A/N: The boys have arrived! I hope everyone enjoys. As always thanks to my wonderful beta isugirl, plus a special thanks to Supreme-Writer who has graciously agreed to give her qualified opinion on the Giles parts. She's actually from the UK, whereas no one in my family has been a proper Brit since the 1700s. Actually I doubt they were ever a 'proper' anything to be honest. I'm hoping she'll come in really handy when I start throwing Crowley and Balthazar in the mix.

The chapter title is from the Van Halen album 1984, released in (you guessed it) 1984.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was almost 5 p.m. by the time Buffy got the call she'd been waiting for. The Winchesters were on the outskirts of Cleveland and should arrive at Council Headquarters in about an hour. It seemed the brothers were no longer fighting, because Dean was much less moody than he'd been the night before. In fact, he actually sounded more like the flirt she remembered. Maybe Willow was right about their trip being less about business and more about other stuff.

When she'd arrived at work that morning, she found that her best friend had already talked to Xander. He and his girlfriend were all set to play the role of supportive chaperones by going out on the town with her and the Winchesters. Buffy tried one last time to convince Will to come along, but she was still resolve-girl and wasn't budging. So, she went ahead and invited Faith, hoping she wouldn't live to regret it. The brunette Slayer had reluctantly agreed to take one for the team, but emphasized that her 'date' better watch himself or suffer the painful and bone-breaking consequences. For some reason, Faith seemed utterly convinced that she was being setup with a former Lynyrd Skynyrd roadie. Apparently, she'd met quite a few hunters on her travels and had, so far, not managed to find one worth gettin' sweaty for.

At the moment, Buffy was critically appraising herself in the bathroom mirror. She'd ended up bringing her new outfit with her to work and waited until the last minute to get dressed (hoping to ensure it didn't get wrinkly or stained). She was now perfectly coifed with her hair in a loose up-do, but she was beginning to second-guess her fashion choices. The unanimous wardrobe decision of the night before had been in favor of the all-black outfit, which consisted of a pair of snug fitting capri-pants that ended just below the knee, a low-cut silk top that was tapered at the waist, and a pair of peep-toe heels. Under the bright fluorescent lights of the bathroom, the top looked much more revealing than it had last night. Of course, the medieval torture device commonly known as a push-up bra was partly to blame. The rest of the blame fell on the pendant Willow had brought her that morning. It was a large, deep-red garnet on a silver chain. Her friend had told her that the stone was supposed to instill self-confidence, but Buffy liked it because she felt the color would provide a nice contrast against the black clothing. Now that she was wearing it, however, she found that the length of the chain meant the pendant would lie just barely at the top of her cleavage. It was like a flashing red neon sign that screamed 'look at the boobies'. She didn't want to hurt Will's feelings by refusing to wear the necklace, so she decided she'd go show her the final results - confident she'd make the call that it would have to go.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rush hour traffic hadn't been as thick as the Winchesters had assumed it would be, meaning they were almost twenty-minutes ahead of schedule when they pulled into Council Headquarters. The lack of heavy traffic, along with the fact that Dean had refrained from singing for the entire day, had made the last half of the trip much more pleasant than the first. The complete absence of singing was unusual since the older Winchester was famous for his vocal stylings, however, Sam wasn't about to complain. It was obviously Dean's way of making up for the way he'd behaved the day before.

Even without considering the whole 'singing' thing, Sam noted that his brother's attitude had vastly improved. He was hopeful that, for once, Dean may have actually listened to what he had to say. Of course, it wasn't like his brother was openly talking about Buffy or his desire to see her. That sort of behavior would've only convinced Sam that he was dealing with Shapeshifter-Dean. No, the real Dean was more subtle, but if you knew him the way his younger brother did, it was obvious that he was looking forward to arriving in Cleveland. For one thing, they'd eaten breakfast and were packed up and on the road by 8 a.m., which was unusual unless they had pressing business. Another dead giveaway was that Dean's cocky swagger was firmly in place. It was a known fact that his brother's level of bravado usually tended to be in direct proportion to how nervous or frightened he secretly was.

Dean pulled the Impala into the empty space beside Buffy's Camaro, killed the engine, and in a very un-Dean-like move he actually appeared to give a quick check to his hair in the rearview mirror. On their way into the building, he insisted that Sam carry the jar containing the Kahn Worm, saying it looked way too much like a lame science experiment (obviously, that meant his geeky little brother needed to be the one to hold it). Sam went along with that plan, silently enjoying his big brother's sudden descent into teenage-male courtship behavior, although truthfully, he'd never seen Dean act this way even when he was an actual teenager.

XXXXXXXXXX

Just as Buffy stepped out of the bathroom to complete her mission of finding Willow and ditching the pendant, she nearly ran right into Faith and Xander. Her sister Slayer was engrossed in giving the down and dirty details of her recent encounter with five redneck vamps she'd taken on in Alabama. According to her, those vampires were some sort of mutants who could go out in sunlight and were immune to stakes. Buffy was hoping they would both be so engrossed in the story that they would fail to notice her, but she wasn't that lucky. The click, click of her heels against the wooden floor gave her away and they turned to see her.

Immediately, Xander's eyes bugged and his mouth fell open. All he managed to squeak out was a weak, "Buff?"

Faith strode forward with her signature slinky strut and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Damn B," she exclaimed, "you look hot! Seriously girl, you've got a whole classy but trashy thing goin' on."

"Trashy?" Buffy groaned. "Trashy wasn't in the plan. I was supposed to be pretty with a tiny hint of danger. You really think I look trashy?"

"I think you look sexy as hell… and yeah there's a touch of bad girl, but like I said - still classy. It suits you. You're sorta like a naughty school teacher. How much did you pay for all this anyway?" She asked as she rubbed the silky material of Buffy's top. "I bet it was wicked expensive."

"Put it this way, I'll probably be living off of peanut butter and Ramen Noodles for the next two weeks."

Faith peered past Buffy and broke out in a smile. "Those Ramen Noodles are gonna taste like prime-cut steak if the look on that guy's face is what you were goin' for."

Buffy turned her head to see the Winchester brothers walking up the hall towards her. She caught Dean with his mouth open in an uncanny imitation of Xander, but he quickly recovered and gave her one of those confident smiles she recalled so well. Damn, he was even better looking than she remembered.

"Those are the hunters?" Faith asked under her breath. "No friggin way!" she replied to her friend's affirmative nod. "They sure as hell don't look like hunters."

Xander, who had finally recovered from his shock, nodded his head toward Dean and whispered. "Was he raised on a horse?"

"Xander!" Buffy whispered back, giving him a sharp elbow to the ribs.

"What?" he replied innocently as he rubbed his side. "Don't tell me I'm the only person who's ever noticed how bow-legged that guy is."

"I don't think our girl was lookin' that low," Faith grinned. "I'm thinkin' she was focused just a little bit further north. Weren't ya B?"

Buffy answered her friend's question with a wide-eyed, but silent plea for mercy. Of all the people who could've been standing here when Dean showed up, it just had to be Faith and Xander. One, she would have been able to handle, but both? This was going to be an interesting night.

She made the introductions and was very pleased that Dean didn't linger too long on Faith. He did quirk an eyebrow and gave an appreciative nod to her red leather pants and matching bustier, but quickly returned his attention to her.

"You look awesome!" he praised enthusiastically, while not even bothering to hide the fact that he was ogling her chest.

Faith seemed almost as pleased as Dean was, and like him, she wasn't shy about openly appraising the goods (which, in her case, happened to be Sam). She reached out and tested one of his biceps by giving it a firm squeeze. "Nice," she nodded, "very nice. I'll have to take you out on patrol so I can get a taste of your skills. You ever hunt on a Hellmouth before?"

"Uh… no," Sam answered absently (he was still too focused on all the leather to fully participate in the conversation).

Meanwhile, Xander was squirming uncomfortably beneath the cloud of hormones that had suddenly filled the hallway. "Ladies," he interrupted a loudly, "Invisi-guy here thinks we should move this little party into Giles' office. Remember Giles?" he asked as he lifted his hand in the air to indicate height, "Yay tall, English, loves to make with the research?"

"Sorry Xander," Buffy replied, feeling her face growing a little hot. "You're right, we should go check-in with him," she said as she reluctantly tore her eyes away from Dean. "He's probably waiting for us."

As soon as the group entered the Watcher's office, Buffy came face-to-face with Willow, who had been standing in front of Giles' desk chatting. Willow's eyes immediately went wide when they fell on her friend's chest.

"Whoa, look at those!" she remarked automatically before catching herself and diverting her gaze to a pile of books on Giles' desk. "Books," She added awkwardly. "L-Look at those books. Giles, you know how I feel about books lying around all willy-nilly," she scolded. "You should put them back on the shelf when you're done, otherwise no one will be able to find them." She scooped up the stack of books, ignoring the puzzled expression on the Watcher's face, and grabbed Buffy by the arm. "Come over here and help me make sure these are shelved correctly," she urged. "Somebody has to respect the good ole Dewey Decimal System."

"I was a librarian you know," Giles remarked to Willow's back. "I'm perfectly aware of where my books go."

"Where did those come from?" Willow asked quietly, once she'd pulled Buffy aside. "They weren't there last night. I'd have noticed."

"I'm wearing a different bra," Buffy explained softly. "I wanted to have a little'pop', so I went with a push-up."

"Well you've got 'pop'," her friend confirmed, "and, oh Buffy, that pendant… I'm so sorry. I didn't realize it would be a flashy booby-beacon."

"I know," she pouted. "Faith said I look like a naughty school teacher."

"No, that's not..." Willow began before shrugging and admitting hesitantly, "Well yeah, she kinda has a point."

"Wonderful."

"On the plus side, I'm pretty sure Dean appreciates it," Willow added encouragingly. "He's certainly not listening to anything Giles is saying."

Buffy glanced up to see the hunter looking at her. When he realized he'd been caught staring, he gave her a sly grin and winked.

Willow quickly shoved the stack of books into the bookshelf in no particular order. "Let's get back over there," she whispered. "Just hold your head up and pretend it's normal for your boobs to be hanging out. He'll never know the difference."

When Buffy and Willow returned to the group, Giles was holding up the jar Sam had handed him and gazing at the contents with a critical eye.

"Buffy indicated that this creature spoke to you," he said in a voice that was almost doubtful.

Before answering, Sam glanced at his brother for support, but Dean didn't seem at all interested in the conversation. He was too busy leering at Buffy, who had just stepped up beside him.

"It didn't really speak on its own," he began, suddenly feeling very foolish. "First, it had to crawl into a person's ear… after that, it could make them do or say anything it wanted. I'm guessing it would somehow tap into the brain of its human host."

Xander gasped excitedly. "It's a Kahn Worm, like in Star Trek II! Man, that one was my favorite."

"I prefer the one with the whales myself," Giles remarked absently as he continued to examine the jar.

"See," Dean said to his brother as he joined the conversation. "Some people get my Star Trek references."

Sam shook his head. "Dude, the fact that you even have Star Trek references is just disturbing."

"Hey, there were some hot chicks in those movies. Kirstie Alley looked pretty damn fine in that one."

"I'll have to back you up there," Xander stated. "Back in the day, old Kirstie could really pull off some Vulcan ears."

Faith rolled her eyes. "So what was slug-guy's big news bulletin?" she asked, hoping to head off the Star Trek Convention before it was too late.

"Apparently Big Mama prefers to go by 'Eve'," Dean replied, "and, oh yeah, she's pissed and we're all gonna die."

"How terribly original," Giles sighed. "Whatever happened to riddles and cryptic warnings?"

"Sorry Giles," Buffy said sympathetically. "I guess it's just another sign of the inevitable decline of Western civilization."

"Indeed," he agreed, glancing up at his Slayer and then quickly averting his eyes from her rather startling display of cleavage. "In any case, perhaps our search will be more fruitful if we look for information under the name of 'Eve'." He then took off his glasses and gave them a clean with the napkin inside his trouser pocket, hoping to avoid looking at Buffy's top, or lack thereof.

"That's what we were thinking," Sam replied, "but truth is, three of us have been on it for a solid week and we've got nothin'. So, I'm hoping you have some sources we don't."

Giles put his glasses back on. "Several years ago, I would have been extremely confident that we did. However, that was before we lost so many priceless volumes," he sighed sadly.

"That's awful," Sam commented sympathetically.

Buffy cringed when she heard Sam give Giles an opening to start ranting and raving about lost books again. They'd be here all night if he really got going. She tried, without luck, to catch Sam's eye, but he was on the other side of Dean and his eye level was much higher up than hers. She'd have to try the less subtle approach.

"Sam," she whispered as quietly as possible while reaching behind his brother to tug on his shirt tail.

The Watcher cut off mid-rant, having just begun to relate the meatier details of the destruction of Sunnydale High's library. "I can hear you Buffy," he said. "You may believe I'm, as you say, a thousand years old, but my hearing is still on top form."

Buffy shuffled her feet in embarrassment. "I just didn't want Sam to bring up painful memories," she offered weakly.

"Thank you for your concern," he replied dryly before clearing his throat, "Well then, now that we have some direction, Willow and I will get to work on sorting out whom, in fact, this 'Eve' is. Buffy," he said, addressing her without looking up. "Why don't you take Faith and Xander and show these two gentlemen a night on the town? Honestly, I think myself and Willow can get more done if we have fewer distractions around."

"Sounds like a plan to me boss," Faith replied with a sultry smile and a sideways glance at Sam. "I'm sure we can find something interesting to show 'em."

"Yeah," Xander added, realizing Giles was in on the game. "I bet Allie wouldn't mind grabbing a bite to eat, she's probably ready to get out of here for the day anyway. We could go to the fake Bronze."

"Are you sure you don't need a hand with the research?" Sam asked politely. "We'd be glad to help." Unfortunately, the word 'help' came out sounding more like 'yelp' because Faith had reached out and grabbed a handful of his ass at the same time that Dean brought his boot down on one of his feet. Xander, who was standing with Willow behind the group, thought this was all hilarious.

"Thank you for the offer," Giles replied graciously, pretending he hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary. "However, it is Friday night and I'm sure the past few days on the road have been extremely long for both of you."

"Extremely," Sam agreed tightly while giving his brother a nasty glare (it felt like his foot was broken).

"Then it's settled. Enjoy your evening. We'll call if we find anything that requires immediate attention… And Buffy," he continued, "don't feel obligated to patrol tonight. The older girls can take the lead out there, it will do them good to get out on their own every now and then."

"Are you sure?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm sure," Giles replied with a smile, making sure his eyes didn't drop below her face.

"Thank you Giles," Buffy gushed happily. "I'm really gonna look into ordering those King of Council t-shirts."

XXXXXXXXXX

The two Slayers accompanied the Winchesters to the parking lot. Xander had gone to the clinic to meet his girlfriend, indicating they would catch up with them at the 'fake Bronze'. Buffy explained that Xander's girlfriend was the school nurse. Sam was extremely impressed by this and so was Dean, but for a different reason.

"Does the nurse have a sexy little outfit too?" he asked hopefully.

"No," Faith replied, jumping in before Buffy had a chance. "The Council's pretty old fashioned actually. They're afraid having naughty teachers AND naughty nurses would make this place too exciting. Sorry stud," she shrugged, "looks like you'll have to make-do with Buffy here… but I hear she's a helluva teacher… real big on discipline."

"I'm down with that," Dean replied as he met Buffy's eyes and grinned.

Buffy turned red, self-consciously averted her eyes from Dean, and seriously considered smacking Faith. She was already regretting the decision to bring her along.

Sam took pity on her and changed the subject. He had already experienced the fun of being the target of his brother and the brunette Slayer, who was apparently his female equivalent.

"So what's a 'fake Bronze'?" he asked. "What's wrong with the real one?"

Buffy shot Sam a grateful look. "The 'fake Bronze' is actually a club called 'The Hanger'," she explained. "It's close to the airport, hence the highly original name 'hanger'. The real Bronze currently resides at the bottom of a crater we once called Sunnydale. It used to be our favorite hangout, but obviously, we had to pick a new one."

"What kind of club?" Dean asked suspiciously, "Cause I don't dance."

Buffy grinned and patted the hunter on the arm. "It's okay, you don't have to dance," she soothed. "They have plenty of manly things, like beer and pool tables. I hear you can even play this game where you throw little pointy missiles at a target. If you miss, you just might be able to put someone's eye out."

"That sounds more like it," he agreed, feeling a tingle on his arm where Buffy had touched him. "But trust me," he added, "I never miss a shot."

"That reminds me," Buffy said as she reached beneath Dean's shirt and pulled out his pistol, holding it up between her thumb and forefinger like it was some type of vermin. "You can leave this in your car."

He startled a little when he felt her hand reach into his waistband, only to protest when he realized what she was doing. "Hey, I need that!"

"No you don't," Buffy replied firmly. "This way, if you decide to start a fight again, we might not get kicked out at gunpoint."

"I can go to a bar without starting a fight," he said defensively.

"You'll have to prove that," she said, moving the gun farther away as he reached out for it.

"Come on B," Faith interrupted, "You can't leave the poor guy defenseless."

"He's not defenseless," she replied, causing Dean to smirk in smug satisfaction. "Plus, I'm almost 100% sure this isn't the only weapon he has on him. Yep," Buffy said as she pulled up his pant leg to reveal a large knife strapped around his calf. "What a surprise."

Faith barked a laugh. "Dude, you're blinding me. Have those legs of yours ever seen the light of day?"

Sam thought this was pretty funny as well, until his brother jerked the leg of his jeans back down and turned the tables on him.

"Sorry Padaleski. Unlike you, I don't have time to lie around in my tanning bed all day. Guess you get the title of sexy, bronzed Coppertone boy. Just wait 'till all the chicks see you rockin' the banana hammock."

Both Slayers thought this was an interesting revelation and turned to look at Sam curiously.

"It was a bizarre alternate reality," the younger Winchester replied in his defense. "I don't really have a tanning bed… or a banana hammock, really… and my name was Padalecki, not Padaleski," he emphasized to his brother.

"Whatever Jared," Dean smirked happily. "I'm sure Faith will be glad to let us know if you have any visible tan lines."

"Oh, trust me," she replied with a nod. "I'm all over it."

Sam didn't seem to know how to reply. He was actually wondering if he would even have a choice in the matter. It wasn't that Faith wasn't extremely hot, it was just damn – talk about aggressive.

The four had arrived at their cars and Dean went to open the Impala's trunk so he could stow the pistol away.

"This is your car?" Faith asked Sam. "It's hot! What is it a '67, '68?"

"A '67 and actually it's mostly Dean's. He's the one that's unnaturally obsessed with it anyway."

His brother ignored him as he propped up the trunk's false bottom with a sawed-off and shifted some weapons around.

"You ever try out the backseat?" Faith asked while giving Sam a suggestive grin.

"Oh, hell no!" Dean interrupted from the background. "Get a room. I'm not letting Gigantor mess up my baby's upholstery. She'd be traumatized! No amount of detailing can fix somethin' like that."

Buffy smiled at the realization that Dean hadn't changed his favorite hobby. He still, almost reflexively, cracked on his younger brother at every opportunity. She stepped closer to him and leaned over his shoulder, gazing curiously into the trunk as she handed him the confiscated pistol.

"I hope you don't ever get pulled over," she commented with a worried frown, "because Homeland Security would lock you guys up for life. Ooh neat, is that a flamethrower?" she asked excitedly, pointing to a bundle lying towards the back.

"Oh yeah," he grinned proudly. "We've got at least one of everything and two of most. I believe in being prepared."

"Damn!" Faith exclaimed, joining Buffy in admiring the contents of the Impala's trunk. "You boys are packin' some serious heat," she remarked, reaching out to touch a crossbow.

"Hey," Dean snapped. "No touching. You'll mess with my system."

"You're right," Faith remarked to Sam as she drew her hand back, "he is unnaturally obsessed."

"Told ya."

"So, what's the plan?" Dean asked as he closed and locked the trunk again. "You ladies wanna ride with us?"

"That sounds good," Buffy agreed. "I'll sit in the back with Faith. I'm sure Sam would appreciate not being all cramped-up back there. Car makers unfairly discriminate against the tall. You should write a letter."

"You sure?" Sam asked, noting the expression of disappointment on both Dean and Faith's faces.

"I'm sure," Buffy replied cheerfully - she had her back turned and didn't see how unpopular her decision was. "It's my duty as a short person."

"Okay," Sam shrugged. He would have more room in the front and - call him a prude - but he'd at least like to catch Faith's last name before he was completely tossed into the lion's den.

XXXXXXXXXX

The parking lot of The Hanger was packed when the four arrived, but Buffy had spotted Xander's Corolla and was hopeful he'd gone ahead and found them a table. Fortunately, her old friend didn't disappoint. As they entered, she saw him waving from the back of the club, where he and his girlfriend were waiting at a large table. Once they'd wound their way through the crowd, Buffy introduced the Winchesters to Allie, who greeted them both warmly. She greeted Faith warily, however, looking both suspicious and intimidated at the same time. The two had only met a few times and Allie didn't seem to know how to take Faith. Buffy thought that was a little silly since Xander was obviously crazy about his girlfriend, who was the definition of cute. Allie wasn't any taller than Buffy, but she was curvier and had amazing blue eyes and really unruly, curly, brown hair. In contrast to the other two girls, she was still wearing her work scrubs, which were decorated with little dancing Snoopies. As always, she looked adorable, leaving Buffy to wonder why she found Faith so threatening. But then again, Buffy had been guilty of similar feelings herself. It seemed that the other Slayer's sultry good looks and over-the-top sexuality naturally placed her high on most women's threat-radar.

"Does beer work for you guys?" Xander asked, addressing the Winchesters. "I'll get the first round, since I'm the man with the shiny new paycheck. I'm sure the Buffster would chip in too, but she spent her entire paycheck on that outfit," he teased.

"Good choice," Dean commented with a pleased and surprised smile, as he once again admired the view offered by Buffy's blouse.

Buffy wanted to disappear. After all the years Xander had spent surrounded by women, you'd think he'd stop making these epic blunders. Hadn't he learned that all outfits worn by women to impress men were theoretically just old rags salvaged from the back of the closet? At least Allie had quickly recognized the faux pas and Buffy was pretty sure (judging from the confused look on Xander's face) that she'd given him a good kick under the table for it.

"So," Xander continued, shrugging off the puzzling kick to his shin, "Do you two have a preferred flavor? I was just gonna get a pitcher of whatever's on tap, but I aim to please."

"Whatever's fine," Dean assured him. "As long as it's cold."

"What about you Buff? I'm guessing you're still voting 'no' on the beer."

"I'll have a white wine spritzer," she replied. "I'm feeling rebellious."

Dean teased Buffy. "Come on! What kind of a chick drink is that?"

"It's wine with club soda mixed in. The club soda gives it a fizzy little kick."

"You mean it waters it down?" he smiled.

"Yes, but in a fizzy, kicky way."

"You sure you won't have a beer with us?" Xander asked. "Beer good… foamy."

Buffy smirked at her friend. "That joke just never gets old with you does it?"

"Never," he agreed before looking up to greet the waitress who'd just arrived. He ordered Buffy her spritzer, a pitcher of beer with five mugs, an order of nachos supreme, and some hot wings.

Allie raised her hand to catch the waitress's attention before she walked away. "Actually, make that four mugs," she said. "I'll just have a glass of ginger ale."

"I can't believe my girl is making me drink alone," Xander remarked in a tone of false outrage. "You know that's the first sign of alcoholism."

"You're not alone," she smiled. "Plus, look at it this way – you won't have to worry about having too much, because I'll be the DD."

"So, you're saying I can get stinking drunk?"

"Don't push it," she warned.

XXXXXXXXXX

The evening was going pretty well by Buffy's estimation. The only drawback was that, with all the company around, she wasn't able to talk to Dean about anything more substantial than the weather or the best method for killing a wraith. However, the group thing had been Buffy's idea, so she didn't feel like she had the right to complain. At least Faith hadn't tried to move in on her territory, she seemed fully satisfied with saving her moves for Sam. The younger hunter looked like he was interested, flattered, and little scared all at once. Buffy was afraid the poor guy was going to be eaten alive.

Buffy's thoughts were interrupted by Allie's exclamation of disgust. It appeared Xander had sandwiched a couple of french fries between two cheese and chili covered nachos, drenched the whole thing in ketchup, sour cream and salsa, and then topped it all off with a jalapeno pepper.

"That looks appetizing Xan," Buffy remarked.

"I learned it from Dawn," he replied with his mouth full. "She calls it chili-cheese-fries-nachos-extraordinaire."

"That sounds like Dawn," she agreed.

"So, what's up with little sis?" Dean asked. "I guess she's givin' it the old college try."

"Oh yeah," Buffy confirmed. "It sounds like she's having big fun. I just hope she's actually been able to squeeze in a few classes between all the parties and the new boyfriend."

Allie giggled. "You mean her new evil-dark-wizard boyfriend?"

Both of the Winchesters frowned and looked critically at Buffy, obviously disappointed that she had allowed her baby sister to fall in with the wrong crowd.

"He's not a dark wizard," Buffy explained in an exasperated tone. "That's just Willow being Willow. She's convinced he looks too much like this guy from Harry Potter. What's his name?"

"Draco Malfoy," Xander answered. "And I have to admit, she has a point. He's way too blond and pale to be just a regular college guy. Maybe he's a vampire?"

"So you've met this guy?" Sam asked.

"No," Buffy replied, "but she's sent us some pictures. He's actually pretty cute and he's not a vampire," she added, scolding Xander. "I'm pretty sure Dawn would've picked up on a little detail like that."

"I don't know," he shrugged, "she may just be following in…"

Luckily Xander didn't get to finish this sentence because Allie had most definitely kicked him again… and hard.

"So what's her boyfriend's name again?" Allie asked, hoping to quickly get past Xander's near over-share.

Buffy smiled happily at the other girl, she was always so on top of things. "Frederick Russell Chamberlain, the third. They call him Russ."

"What the hell kind of name is that?" Dean asked. "That doesn't sound like somebody you'd meet in the hills of Tennessee."

"Sounds like some sort of yuppie spawn from Yale," Sam agreed.

Buffy shrugged. "Don't ask me. I stopped trying to find logic in the world years ago."

"It does lend some weight to Will's theory though," Xander remarked. "Just what is a guy like that doing at UT, huh? I think some shenanigans are afoot."

"Right," Buffy said with an eye-roll. "He's an evil-dark-wizard-vampire who got kicked out of Hogswaddle and had to find shelter among moonshiners. I think you're getting too wrapped up in Willow's delusions."

"Buff," Xander replied, "you really should take the time to educate yourself on Will's world. I recommend the movies. You probably don't learn everything - they're more like Cliff's Notes - but it's not as big of a commitment. Plus, as far as I'm concerned, the movies are a better value. There are only seven books, but they made eight movies."

Dean snorted a laugh and took another drink of his beer. "Yeah, let's all leave right now and go have a Harry Potter geek-fest," he said sarcastically.

"Don't knock it. If it weren't for those movies I'd have a magical eye right now instead of this fashionable accessory," Xander said with a point to his eye patch.

"That sounds kinda cool actually," Faith remarked. "I bet Willow could pull it off too. You'd be twenty-twenty again."

"See, that's exactly what I'm talking about. Ignorance is dangerous my friends. If you'd actually seen the movies, you'd understand why that's a very bad idea… very bad."

"What happened to your eye anyway?" Dean asked (missing his brother's shocked expression).

Xander didn't seem offended by the question, however. "Religious fanatic on steroids," he replied nonchalantly.

"Son of a bitch… that sucks. I hate those guys."

"He's not on my Christmas list and that's not only because Buffy cut him in half. I'll have to say religious-nutcase guys have edged ahead of bug people in my hierarchy of evil that must be avoided."

"These guys like bugs too," Buffy added cheerily. "When I met them they were hanging with the ant people and today they brought me a cute little worm."

"It's been a strange year," Sam offered with a shrug.

Buffy suddenly felt a slightly evil impulse to give Xander some payback for his big mouth (the two wine spritzers she'd had may have contributed to this desire).

"Xander almost lost his virginity to a giant praying mantis that was masquerading as our 10th grade Biology teacher," she stated with a mischievous grin.

"Dude!" Dean exclaimed in disgust.

"She didn't look like a praying mantis when she invited me to her house," Xander stressed, bristling a little at the girls' giggling.

"Mary Kay Letourneau type?" Dean asked with a knowing nod.

"Oh man, she was way hotter. Trust me, any red-blooded teenage male would've answered the call."

Faith smirked and put her hand on Xander's shoulder. "Well, you lucked out and got an even better teacher for your first time around. Didn't ya?" she asked with a wink.

Buffy wanted to smack herself. She really hadn't meant to drag out this particular subject. Now Allie looked like she'd been punched in the gut and, to make matters worse, Dean actually raised his glass in a toast (which Buffy kicked him under the table for – it was apparently going around). Faith's revelation had quickly turned a very pleasant night out into an excruciatingly awkward situation. What made it so amazing was that Faith seemed puzzled over Allie's reaction. She apparently took it for granted that everyone shared the same casual attitude toward sex.

"How 'bout a game of pool?" Sam asked Faith in an obvious attempt to diffuse the situation.

Faith, who appeared to be confused and little embarrassed, quickly took him up on the offer and hurried away from the table with a very uncharacteristically awkward wave. This left Buffy and Dean alone with the other couple. Dean seemed really fascinated by the prospect of finishing off the last few bites of his burger, leaving Buffy to struggle to find something witty to say. Obviously, Allie hadn't known about this piece of Xander's past and she wasn't taking it well. She actually had tears in her eyes and Buffy had noticed earlier that she'd only picked at her dinner, which made her suspect there was something else going on as well. Xander attempted to put his arm around her shoulder, but she angrily shrugged him off and fled the table.

"I think we better call it a night," Xander said sheepishly as he watched his girlfriend hurry toward the exit.

"Oh God Xander…" Buffy began with a sympathetic frown on her face.

"It's okay," he said. "I should've told her about Faith a long time ago. It's just… well, there really isn't much to tell. Anyway… you two crazy kids have fun. I'll catch up with ya later. It was good to meet you man," he added, raising a hand to Dean.

"Yeah you too," he replied with a nod. "Take care dude… and thanks for the beer."

"Any time," Xander replied as he threw a couple of twenties on the table and then hurried off after Allie.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sam was impressed with Faith's pool skills. He had beat her, but felt that had a lot to do with the fact that she often used too much force when she took a shot. With a little more practice and control, she just might give him a run for his money. In any event, she was definitely an interesting opponent. Each time it was her turn, she'd lean over the table seductively and provide him with a very intriguing view.

He was preparing to take the break shot for their second game when Faith nodded toward the table where his brother and Buffy sat alone talking.

"Those two are awfully pretty together," she remarked.

"I guess," Sam replied.

"No seriously, they remind me of a soap opera couple. Ya know… he's the bad boy with a deep, dark secret and she's the goody-two-shoes daughter of the local big cheese - who just happens to have an undercover jones for bad boys."

Sam laughed in surprise. "You sure know your soap plots."

"Hell yeah. I was lucky my mom kept a roof over my head as a kid, I wasn't about to push for cable. So, it was soaps or PBS… and I grew out of my Sesame Street phase pretty damn quick."

"Yeah, I guess that is one advantage of growing up in motel rooms. Even the really shitty ones usually have cable, but our dad did rent this crappy old house in Minnesota one winter. No cable and it was way too damn cold to do anything outside. My brother would never admit it, but he got totally addicted to General Hospital."

"I always kinda wanted a brother," Faith commented.

"You can borrow mine. Believe me, the charm will wear off really fast," he joked.

"I don't know, I always thought it would be nice to have somebody around. Anyway," she shrugged, "just ignore me, I'm being stupid."

"That's not stupid," Sam replied sincerely. "Honestly, I don't know what would've happened to me if I'd been an only child. Dean's a pain in my ass, but we have each other's back."

Faith looked away, feeling extremely uncomfortable with the serious turn in the conversation. "You know what I think?" she asked in a husky voice as she sidled up against Sam.

"No," Sam replied with a raised eyebrow. He was definitely interested in finding out though.

"I don't think a guy should be as pretty as your brother."

Sam laughed self-consciously. "I wouldn't tell him that, he'd be traumatized for life."

"I'm serious," Faith continued, pressing her body closer against him. "I like my men to look a little less perfect. Pretty just ain't my thing."

"What's your last name?" Sam asked with a smile.

"Lehane," she answered cautiously. "Why do you wanna know anyway?"

"Just curious."

XXXXXXXXXX

"So you and Xander…?" Dean asked in what he hoped was a casual tone.

"Never," Buffy replied, seeing this possible sign of jealousy as a positive sign. "We've always just been really good friends. I've known him since I was sixteen."

"That's cool," Dean replied in an off-hand manner.

"So what were you up to all summer?" Buffy asked curiously. She was pretty convinced by this point that he was interested, so she decided to be bold and push a little further. "I kinda thought you might call."

"Just busy with the job," he replied uncomfortably, not wanting to get into the grittier details. "You coulda called me you know... You had my number."

"Yeah right," she snorted. "After the great Buffy freak show that night, I wasn't pushing my luck. I was afraid you might take out a restraining order."

"What?" Dean exclaimed with a surprised laugh.

Buffy smirked and rolled her eyes. "Sure, like that was just average run-of-the-mill excitement for you. Remember Willow… and Dawn corrupting your brother?"

"Believe me sweetheart, that don't even begin to touch the level of crazy shit I'm used to. Remember Cas? He still likes to make his grand entrances and now we've got an even douchier angel that keeps popping up. This entire summer has been beyond sideshow freaky - alternate realities are just disturbing. Besides, the thing with Sam was actually kinda funny, in a really pathetic sorta way."

"So why didn't you call?" Buffy pushed cautiously.

"Dunno… I guess I thought you had enough going on without having to deal with some shady hunter and his problems. Anyway, I kinda figured you were seeing somebody by now."

"No, people don't set me up anymore," she admitted with an embarrassed laugh. "Xander tried bringing a guy to my birthday party a few years ago, but a demon stuck a sword through him. He survived… thank God, but that was pretty much the end of anybody trying to find a date for Buffy. I'm a liability."

"That guy was a wuss," Dean replied with a seductive half-smile as he leaned in closer. "It would take a whole hell-of-a-lot more than one lame-ass demon to scare me away."

"Oh really?" Buffy questioned as she also leaned in closer.

The pair had just begun kissing when they heard Faith give a whistling cat call from behind them.

"Would it be wrong to kill all of our friends and family?" Buffy asked in frustration.

"I'll gladly beat Sam's ass if it'll make you feel better," Dean offered while shooting a furious glare at his little brother.

Sam shrugged sheepishly and mouthed the word 'sorry'. Faith was less ashamed, however, and stood proudly waving a wad of money in the air.

"What's that?" Buffy asked with a puzzled expression on her face.

"Oh, about five hundred bucks," she replied as she inhaled the scent of the cash.

"So what was the con?" Dean asked with a smirk.

Faith hooked an arm around the younger hunter's waist. "Sam was my poor drunk boyfriend who just couldn't win a game of pool to save his life…at first, anyway. You know for such a big guy your brother really has the sweet and harmless act nailed."

"Yeah, that's his specialty."

Faith shot Sam a sultry grin and split the wad of bills in two, stuffed half in her cleavage and held the other half up for him to take.

"Hey, I'm the one who actually won the game," he protested half-heartedly. "I should get more than half."

"Then come and get it," she challenged.

"I'd be careful Sammy," his brother warned. "I'm pretty sure she can take you."

"Only in a good way," Faith promised, practically purring, before turning her attention to her sister Slayer. "So B, what do ya say we take these two out and give 'em a tour of the Hellmouth - Slayer style. You know… warm 'em up for the main course."

Buffy blushed at Faith's bluntness. "Uh… I guess we could," she replied, giving Dean a questioning glance.

"Oh hell yeah," Dean agreed enthusiastically. "Good times. What are we hunting?"