The Fang Gang met at the hotel at 7:00 the next morning. They packed their bags into Gunn's van and Angel's car, said good-bye to Lorne and Connor, and then headed off. Cordelia, Wes, and Angel rode in Angel's car, and Fred and Gunn rode in the van.
The ride was rather uneventful, and the non-drivers quickly grew bored. Fred decided to occupy herself by reading a new book on String Theory. In Angel's car, Wes pulled out a couple of new mystical reference books he had purchased at one of LA's magic shops. However, Cordelia, who was not as bookish as her friends, saw fit to fill the time with aimless chatter. Though her unusually clipped tone betrayed her nervousness, she still managed to get smiles out of Wes and Angel with her recounting of an argument between her and Dennis about his habit of keeping the TV on throughout the night.
When they finally reached Sunnydale, none of them could help but marvel at how it hadn't seemed to have changed over the last couple years.
"You'd think we'd only been away for weeks or months, not years," commented Wes, a bit of awe in his voice.
"Yeah. Same ol' creepy Sunnyhell," replied Cordy, desperately attempting to appear calm, while all she could feel was raging panic. *Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god* "I can't believe we're really back," she murmured.
Angel to felt an inexplicable feeling of panic coming down upon him, but he did his best to shake it off. "Alright, guys, Wes told Willow we'd meet them at Buffy's place. Cordy, do you mind giving Fred a call and telling her the address?"
"Of course not," his seer replied. "But only because I know how terrified the World's Champion is of his cellphone."
"I'm not terrified of my phone!" exclaimed Angel defensively. "It's just that, I mean, well…"
"That's OK big guy. No need to go all stuttery on me. I'll make the call." But Cordy couldn't resist sticking her tongue out at him one last time before she started to dial. "Hi Fred! Yeah, yeah, we're gonna meet them at the Summer's place. Here's the address: 112 Beaument St. See you there! Love you too! OK! Bye!"
As they pulled into the driveway, all three Sunnydale rejects shot each other apprehensive looks.
"It can't be too bad," said Wes, "We've faced far worse before."
Suddenly Cordy broke out into laughter. "Look at us! We fight demons and stop apocalypses every day, yet one visit to Sunnydale and we're frightened stiff!"
For a moment the trio's laughter echoed around the car, but abruptly stopped as they realized their predicament.
"Angel? What are we going to say about Connor?" wondered Cordy. "I mean, do you want us to tell them?"
Angel pondered her question for a second, and then answered, "If they ask. I'm not ashamed of my son, but there's no reason to shout it from the hilltops or anything."
"Okey-dokey. I'll let Fred and Gunn know" she replied. At that moment, Gunn's van pulled up next to them. "I'll go talk to them now," said Cordelia, and she slipped out of the car. For a moment Angel and Wes just sat there, but then they too got up and joined the group. The five of them unpacked their bags and weapons satchels and headed up for the front door. When they got there, Angel rung the doorbell.
There were some muffled sounds of hurrying from inside the house, and then the door opened. Behind it stood Willow, who beckoned them in.
"Hi Angel, Cordy, Wes, Gunn, Fred! Oh! Here, let me help you with your stuff!" Willow exclaimed as she guided them into the living room. "Guys, look who's here!"
All of the people in the living room turned, and Cordelia was surprised to see a mix of familiar and unfamiliar faces. Xander stood leaning on a wall, and on the sofa next to him was a pretty petite blond. From their proximity, Cordy would have to guess that the blond was Anya, Xander's ex-demon fiancée, who Willow had told her of. On the far side of the room Dawn stood perched against a bookshelf, and standing in the middle of the room was Buffy. But what completely surprised Cordy was who stood next to Buffy. A wiry man with bleached blond hair and a leather coat like Angel's, who could be none other than… "Spike!" Cordelia gasped.
The man smirked at Angel. "Well, peaches, nice to see you brought the whole gang. Makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside."
Angel snarled, and his voice dropped into a lower, threatening tone. "Spike. What are you doing here?"
"He's welcome here," came a third voice. Cordelia was shocked to see Buffy come to stand between the two vampires. "He's one of the good guys now."
Cordelia was sure that both she, Wes, and Angel must have looked fairly incredulous, because Buffy hastened to explain the chip. Though none of the Fang Gang were really at ease, they deemed the explanation satisfactory, and moved on. Xander introduced Anya, and Angel introduced Fred and Gunn, and then it was decided that before they talked about the issue at hand, they may as well sit down and talk about old times and enjoy dinner.
"After all," said Buffy, "I cooked. And it's really good."
Cordelia had to admit that Buffy was right. The meal was extremely delicious. *Yet another thing Little Miss Perfect is good at* she thought, a bit bitterly. She turned her eyes towards Angel, expecting to see him eyeing Buffy with that vaguely longing look that he always used to have on his face back in Sunnydale. She was surprised, therefore, to find him glancing her way, his eyes a bit concerned.
*Are you OK?*, his face seemed to ask. *I'm fine*, she shot back, but showed her thanks with one of her 100-megawatt smiles. Inside, however, she sighed. It was going to be a long evening.
Please Review! Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplea se!