Back in LA the smae day (night)...

"Angel Investigations, how may I help you?"

"Hey, Cordy. Is Angel around? It's kinda important…"

"Everything I 'end-of-the-world' important with you two – you need to loosen up a little! Don't you eve have conversations about what colours you're going to wear to Saturday's party so that you can match?

"I'll take your silence as a 'no' then."

"Cor! Angel!"

"Oh! Right. He's not here – saving a girl from an ex, I think. Anything you want me to … why did Oz just walk in? Hey Oz! Hang on a minute, would you? Buffy? What's going on?"

"Just tell Angel to speak with me, and it's urgent but not as if the world's gonna end in a few days."

"Okay. Bye Buffy!"

Cordy turned round to see Doyle and Oz shaking hands. She made the introductions, and left them to it, finishing the filing that she had just started – Tina wasn't even there to help because she wasn't feeling too good.

"Hello?"

"Dawn? Hey, is Buffy there?"

"Yeah, hang on a minute. BUFFY! PHONE! Hi Angel! How are you?"

Angel laughed into the phone; dawn really was beginning to act how he imagined his own sister acting in this time and place. Katherine always used to answer the door (even though it was the maid's job) to one of his drinking friends, yell for him, and then continue talking as if Liam's mate was one of her own friends, there for a tea party or some other such nonsense. He never really knew what they got up to, and he didn't think he ever wanted to know – it was possibly a good thing he could never have kids, as he would not be the best candidate for a teddy bear's picnic!

"I'm fine dawn, I just got back to the office, and Cordy told me your sister phoned earlier. How are you guys – I haven't seen you in, wow it must have been a whole 48 hours by now!

"Sarcasm is starting to suit you Angel! Be careful, or you might grow a sense of humour. Oh. Buffy's glaring at me – I should probably go and do the homework that she thought I was doing bye!" She said that all very fast, and then there was the sound of a phone being handed to someone else, presumably her older sister.

"Hello?"

"Buffy."

"Angel." It would seem that even on the phone, they couldn't break the habit of just saying each other's name.

"Dawnie's been spending far too much time with Xander – he's been a bad influence on her! She's meant to be on my side, not his!" Buffy tried desperately not to laugh, but when she heard Cordelia in the background not bothering, she gave up. It felt good to laugh anyway, and she hadn't in a while.

"Humpf. So is she back at school then? She said something about homework."

"Yeah, she went back today – got bored of having nothing to do I suppose."

"We knew it was inevitable."

"Yes, we did." He couldn't stand the small talk much longer.

"Cordy told me you phoned, and oz won't tell me why he's here until I've spoken to you. What's wrong, love?"

"Spike."

"What?" He was practically growling.

"Yep. He came back into Sunnydale, looking for the gem …

"Buffy filled me in. Thanks."

She said she could get here because of Dawnie, and, really, it could have waited for the weekend, but oz still showed up. But those were words that didn't really need to be said – the two usually silent guys understood each other quite well enough without elaborate conversations.

"Gig."

And just like that, they had had a conversation, which could have taken their significant other up to thirty minutes to have – longer if they were feeling particularly 'shary' in Buffy's terminology.

"Are they always like this?" Clearly it would have taken Doyle longer too.

"No, we're usually laconic."

"Tina! I know you don't feel all that great, but we have to go – Doyle's place, right now. An old friend's on the war-march."

The two women practically fled the apartment, after yelling out a goodbye to Dennis, who was somewhere inside, but other that that, who knew!

"You hired a vampire. What do you think he is going to do with the rings when he finds it, huh? Hand it over to you?"

"Oh, good Lord, why didn't I think of … Oh, wait half a mo, I did. I hired a guy who doesn't care about the ring, or anything else on God's green earth except taking blokes apart one piece at a time. It's called addiction, Angel. We all have it – I believe yours is named Slutty the vampire Slayer."

Angel growled softly, and the music mercifully came to an end.

"Thank you! Speaking of little Buff, I ran into her recently. Your name didn't come up. Although she has been awful busy with her mum's death and all. She is cute when she is hurting, isn't she?"

"I think she's cuter when she's kicking your ass."

"Here!"

"How did you do that?"

"You got to get lucky sometimes."

Cordelia kissed him once, as Tina looked on from the side, convinced that it was her who got them together in the end. Well, maybe it wasn't completely her doing, but she definitely helped – they might never have gotten together if she wasn't there!

"Now, come on we've got save Angel!"

"Right, by giving Spike exactly what he wants so he can kill us."

"Right! No, we need a plan."

"I can't wear this."

"You can't mean – no! Angel man! This ring is your redemption! Besides, what happens if you're needed during the day? Just. Don't destroy it, okay."

"Alright. But what if … what if angelus comes back? I'll know where the ring is, and be indestructible!"

"I'll hide it for you if you want? I'll let everyone else know where it is, but not you – that way, if you need it, it's there, and if the worst should happen (which it won't by the way), then angelus won't know where it is either. Happy?"

"Thank you. Doyle."

"How is your mum?"
Hope you could follow all of that, if not, give me a shout.

Sorry it took so long, I've been really busy with school, but holidays start on tuesday, so i might be able to update a few times really quickly. You shouldnt expect an update any time within the next week though ... maybe tomorrow coz it's my birhtday so i'm not going to do any work...