Episode 12 of What Was Giles Thinking, this is "Phases"

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In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer.

It was 7 in the morning when Buffy slipped inside the school building and walked down the long, dark and empty halls towards the library, her head in the clouds and a happy, distracted smile plastered on her face.

She was thinking about Giles, who she was now going in to meet. It was three weeks after they had shared their first - and only - kiss, and for the last two weeks Buffy had been coming into the library every morning to be with Giles, to hang out. Her mother thought she was crazy, especially when Buffy said she was working on a project that she really wanted to get a good mark on.

Buffy's face fell slightly as she thought about her mornings with Giles. They would hang out, research the newest vampire phenomon, watch movies, and generally hang out, just like regular couples did. Giles had even been helping her with her school work, and her marks had gone up since they had first started 'dating'. The only thing they didn't do like regular couples was kiss.

They could hug, they could sit next to each other on the couch with Giles' arm around her shoulder. Sometimes Giles even pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her while they were watching a movie together. But Giles was insistent that their relationship couldn't progress until she'd graduated. Basically until it was legal. It made her pouty but she knew he was right.

Plus it wasn't as if she didn't sneak in the occasional kiss anyway.

Good mood restored, Buffy's smile returned and her step grew lighter as she turned and continued down the twisting halls. Her friends thought she was crazy as well, she mused as she walked. They knew she hadn't seen Angel in exactly three weeks, and she tried to act depressed about that whenever she saw them... after all, they didn't know about Giles. But sometimes they caught her smiling, or daydreaming, as she was now, with a dopey look on her face, and tried in vain to figure out why she was so happy.

Having finally reached the library, Buffy pushed open the door and instantly found herself wrapped in Giles arms and whirled around. Buffy laughed, loving the more playful side of Giles that he had been revealing recently, and pushed him lightly away as he settled her back on her feet.

"You're late." Giles complained with a mock stern look.

Buffy glanced at the clock. 7:05. She raised an eyebrow and he only grinned and hugged her again.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Buffy asked chirpily, swinging away from him to dump her bag on the table.

"Well I think we've already watched all the DVD's I own." Giles pointed out.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I'm not surprised."

"So I thought we'd do something different today." When Buffy narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him, he said, "I want to teach you how to dance."

Buffy's eyebrows shot up. That she had not expected. "Why?"

"Because you don't seem like the dancer type to me. I figure I have about a year and a half to teach you how to dance properly before your prom. I don't know...it'll be cutting it close. But I might be able to perform a miracle."

Buffy punched him lightly on the arm. "Is that a challenge? Come on, really, why?"

He smiled, "I thought it would be fun."

Giles grabbed her, placing one hand on her waist and clasping her opposite hand with his other, and pulled her up against him. Their faces were so close as he spun her around that their breath mingled. Buffy leaned in closer and whispered against his mouth, "You're right. This is fun."

Giles closed his eyes briefly. "Buffy..."

She pulled her head back, "I know,I know, no fun for Buffy..."

He scowled, almost comically. "Do you think I like having to wait over a year to kiss you properly?It gives you too much time to change your mind, I think."

Buffy frowned. "Don't talk like that. You are amazing."

He smiled at her.

To restore the good mood, Buffy quipped, "I have the feeling everything's going to be very proper with you around. We have to dance properly, kiss properly..."

Giles laughed and spun her yet again, then whisked her around in an improvized waltz. Buffy tried to follow his steps, using her gymnastics experience to keep her footsteps light and quick.

"Well I couldn't have you dancing like you do at the Bronze at your own prom." He replied.

"Why? Don't you like it."

He frowned, trying to look disapproving, "That's the problem."

Giles spun her one last time, then dipped her onto his arm.

Staring up into his face, Buffy whispered, "Aren't you supposed to kiss me now?"

"Have this instead." He pulled a rose out of his sleeve and placed it between her teeth.

Buffy rolled her eyes and straightened again, taking the rose out of her mouth. "What do you know, I'm learned all sorts of things these past couple of weeks that I thought impossible before. I mean, I may even have to start believing in Leprecauns, if Rupert Giles is going to go around being funny and sweet and romantic."

Giles grinned mischeviously and moved up behind her, scooping her up into his arms like a child. Buffy shrieked and laughed, pretending to struggle.

"Giles, what are you doing? Let me go!" She was laughing too hard to speak properly, and Giles was smiling down into her face, so she was content to just lie there and stare up at him for a while. He seemed to get distracted from his original plan as he looked down at her.

Then he blinked and looked away, walking purposefully to the back room, where the TV was set up.

"I lied about not having any more movies. I want you to see the classics."

Buffy raised a brow. "I thought we already did."

Giles rolled his eyes, "Sorry, forgetting that for you the Sound of Music, Flipper and G-Men are classics for you. No I meant the real classics, like Casablanca, citizen Kane and To Kill a Mockingbird."

"You're not that much older then me."

"No, but you should still get equainted with the good stuff."

As Giles settled onto the couch, hugging her close to his chest, Buffy pressed her nose into his shirt and wondered at the simple joy of being together, being silly, having fun.

What could possibly go wrong?

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After watching Casablanca, Buffy had slipped out of the back of the library and around to the front of the school, pretending as if she had just arrived along with everyone else.

She entered the school and saw Willow and Oz standing not far from the trophy case, facing each other. Oz's back was turned to her, but Buffy could tell by Willow's expression that the conversation was an awkward one. Then Willow saw Buffy and pointed at her, said a few more words to Oz, then ducked down the hall towards her.

"So," Buffy teased as they walked down the Hall, "How far have you and the mysterious Oz gotten?"

"Nowhere. I mean, he said he was gonna wait until I was ready, but I'm ready. Honest. I'm good to go here."

"Well, I think it's nice that he's not just being an animal." Buffy pointed out.

"It is nice. He's great. We have a lot of fun. But I want smoochies!"

Me too. Buffy thought with a pout. Then she blinked herself out of it and said, "Have you dropped any hints?"

"I've dropped anvils." The girl complained.

"Ah, he'll come around. What guy could resist your wily Willow charms?"

"At last count, all of them. Maybe more."

Buffy sniffed, "Well, none of them know a thing. They all get an 'F' in Willow."

"But I want Oz to get an 'A', and, oh, one of those gold stars."

They had wandered out to the courtyard, so they sat on one of the benches.

"He will." Buffy assured her.

"Well, he better hurry. I don't want to be the only girl in school without a real boyfriend."

Buffy pouted again. Technically, she didn't have a real boyfriend either. They hadn't defined themselves as a couple, and Giles wouldn't kiss her, dammit.

Buffy looked up to realize Willow was looking at her sympathetically, "Oh, I'm such an idiot. I'm sorry. I-I shouldn't even be talking about... Do you want me to go away?"

Buffy froze, thinking Willow might know about Giles. Then she realized Will thought they were talking about Angel.

"I wish you wouldn't." Buffy replied belatedly.

"How are you holding up anyway?"

"I'm holding." She tried to think of something that sounded approprietly lovesick. "I was going on two minutes there without thinking about Angel."

"Well, there you go."

"But I would do a lot better if you and Xander and I could do that 'sharing our misery' thing tonight."

"Great. I'll give Xander a call. What's his number? Oh, yeah, 1-800-I'm-Dating-A-Skanky-Ho." Willow rolled her eyes.

Buffy's eyebrows rose in surprise and she gave a startled laugh. "Meow!"

Willow smiled, pleased. "Really? Thanks. I've never gotten a 'meow' before."

"Well-deserved."

"Darn tootin'. I'm just saying Xander and Cordelia? I mean, what does he see in her anyway?"

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The next day, Xander proudly showed off the giant gaping hole in the car roof of Cordelia's father's car to Willow, Buffy and Oz. Cordelia stood next to him, looking horrified.

"And you're sure it was a werewolf?" Buffy asked, hoping off from the car - where she had climbed up to get a better look - and landed on the ground below.

"Well, let's see," Xander said, pretending to think. "um, six feet tall, claws, a big old snout in the middle of his face like a wolf. Um, yeah, I'm sticking with my first guess."

"Seems wise." Oz commented.

"Oh, oh, and then there was that little thing where it tried to bite us."

Cordelia put her head on Xander's shoulder. "It was so awful."

"I know." He crooned, wrapping an arm around her.

Cordelia pulled away. "Daddy just had this car detailed."

Giles showed up next to Buffy with a newspaper. They shared a small, secret smile before Buffy asked,

"So what's the word?"

"Well, it seems there were a, a number of other attacks by a wild

dog around town." He handed her the paper. "Several animal carcasses

were found mutilated."

"You mean, like bunnies and stuff?" Willow turned to Oz, upset, "No, don't tell me."

Oz smiled at her, reassuringly. "Oh, don't worry. I mean, they might not look it, but bunnies can really take care of themselves."

Willow calmed and smiled back. "Yeah."

"Yeah."

Giles took the paper back. "Yes, uh, um, fortunately, no people were injured."

"That falls into the 'that's a switch' column." Buffy said.

"Well, for now. But my guess is that this werewolf will be back at next month's full moon."

"What about tonight's full moon?" Willow asked.

Giles looked at Willow, confused. "Pardon?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Giles saw Buffy staring at him in disbelief, and knew what she was thinking. Willow knows something Giles doesn't??? He could almost hear the little camera clicks going off in her brain as she recorded the memory forever. He rolled his eyes at her and she laughed silently.

"Well, last night was the night before the full moon," Willow explained, " traditionally known as... 'the night before the full moon.'"

"Meaning the accepted legend that werewolves only prowl during a full moon might be erroneous." Giles said.

"Or it could be a crock." Cordelia added.

"Unless the werewolf was using last year's almanac." Xander said with a grin.

Buffy smiled. "Looks like Giles has some schooling to do."

Buffy could tell that Giles barely heard her. He was already lost in his own mind. "Yes, I must admit I, I am intrigued. Werewolves, it's... it's one of the classics." He started to walk away. "I, I'm sure my books and I are in for a fascinating afternoon."

The four friends watched him go, amused.

"He needs to get a pet." Buffy said outloud, then got so lost in the possibility that she didn't near anyones response.

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That day in gym, Buffy and Willow, along with the other students in the class, were taking lessons in self defense. Buffy of course, wasn't really listening. She was actually stuck on what she had said earlier. She'd said it lightly, as a joke, that Giles should get a pet. But she found she liked the idea. She wanted to get a pet for him.

But what was the perfect pet for Giles? Not a fish, they were too boring and we're really solvers of the lonely problem, which was the whole point. Dogs were probably too entergetic, and cats... well Giles seemed like the kind of guy who would be allergic to cats. How to find out though?

Willow nudged her, and Buffy refocused in time to hear the coach say,

"Sunnydale is becoming more dangerous all the time. And a full moon like tonight tends to bring out the crazies, but with some simple basics of self-defense each of you can learn how to protect yourself."

Buffy smiled and whispered to Willow, "Here's a suggestion: move away from the Hellmouth."

Willow smiled at Buffy, then looked behind her curiously when Oz reached up and tugged a loose tag back into her sweater.

"Tag." He explained, patting her back as if to seal the tag in there.

Willow and Buffy exchanged another smile.

Willow smiles at Buffy. Cut to Xander and Cordelia.

From across the room, Xander scowled at Oz.

"Would you look at that? He's all over her."

Cordelia glanced over.

Xander leaned forward and hissed, "Psst! Hey, buddy, this is a public forum here."

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "I think you splashed on just a little too much 'Obsession For Dorks'."

"By being prepared, you have the power." The coach said, "Okay, everyone get into your assigned groups."

The students go down to check the sheet, and Xander sees that Larry - resident school bully and womanizer- has his arm in a bandage.

"What happened?"

"Oh, last week some huge dog jumped out of the bushes and bit -nine stitches. They oughta shoot those strays."

Oz appeared next to Larry and said, "I've been there, man." He held up a finger. "My cousin Jordy just got his grownup teeth in? Does not like to be tickled."

Xander laughed, and Larry scowled at them, disgruntled, before moving over to his group member, Theresa, who is stretching. Larry leans over and whispers in her ear,

"Theresa! Be still my shorts. We're in the same group.I may have to attack you."

Theresa paled slightly. "No, a-a-actually, I think, uh, in our group there are a few of us."

Buffy bounced up next to Theresa and turned a threating look to Larry. "And I'm one of the few."

Before Larry can react, Willow appeared and pulled Buffy away. as she

"Don't forget," Willow lectured, "you're supposed to be a meek little girlie-girl like the rest of us."

Then she walked off.

Buffy scowled at Larry. "Spoil my fun."

A few minutes later everyone had partners, and was lined up in two rows, girls in front, boys in back.

"Okay, everyone, listen up." The coach said, "I wanna show you what to do should you be attacked from behind." She walked over to Buffy and Larry. "In this situation, bend forward, using your back and shoulders." She pressed buffy down to demonstrate, "to flip the assailant over to the ground."

As everyone else tried to copy that and flip their partners, Buffy made a show of giving weak pulls on Larry's arm, grunting for effect. Willow smiled proudly at her and nodded.

Buffy threw in another pathetic grint, and Larry grinned behind her.

"Oh, Summers, you are turning me on."

He reached around with her free hand and grabbed her ass. Instantly, Buffy slipped him over, hard, onto the mat in front of them. Larry moaned painfully, and the coach and Willow both shoot Buffy a Look.

Oz is grinning. "That works, too."

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Later, in the library, Giles was giving one of his customary Monster Lectures, demonstrating the phases of the moon using his globe with a small moon attachment.

"And, uh, while there's absolutely no scientific explanation for lunar effect on the human psyche, uh, the phases of the moon, uh, do seem to exert a great deal of psychological influence. And th-the full moon is, is, seems to bring out our darkest qualities."

"And yet, ironically, uh, led to the invention of the moon pie."

Giles paused. "Oh..." Then he laughed. "Yes, the moon pie." He laughed again, and Buffy and Willow gave him a look. Willow because he was acting crazy, Buffy because she knew half of his public display was a show. Eyes dancing, Giles stopped laughing and said in a serious tone, "Y-you see, uh, the-the werewolf, uh, is such a, a potent e-e-extreme representation of our inborn animalistic traits that it e-emerges for three full consecutive nights: the full moon and, uh, the two nights surrounding it."

"Quite the party animal." Xander commented.

"Quite. And it, uh, acts on-on pure instinct. No conscience, uh, uh, predatory and, and aggressive."

"In other words, your typical male." Buffy said with a grin.

"On behalf of my gender, hey." Xander protested.

Giles frowned at her too. "Yes, let's not jump to any conclusions."

"I didn't jump. I took a tiny step, and there conclusions were."

Giles rolled his eyes. "The point is that our wolfman could also be a-a-a wolfwoman, or-or anyone who was bitten by a werewolf."

"So then I'm guessing your standard silver bullets are in order here?"

"No. No bullets. No matter who this werewolf is, i-it's still a human being, who may be completely unaware of his or her condition."

"So tonight we bring 'em back alive."

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That night, Buffy and Giles were alone in the park, walking in a secluded area, flickering their flashlights around in the dense trees and along the few parked cars.

Buffy walked up to Giles from the row of cars and he asked, "Anything yet?"

"Yes. And you won't believe what I saw. Brittany Podell was making out with Owen Stadeel, but he goes with Barrett Williams." Giles gave her a look. "If she ever found... No, um, no, no sign of the werewolf. How about you?"

"Uh, the same." He glanced around. "I thought we might, uh... I thought

we might knock on a few windows, uh, ask if anyone has seen anything yet."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Giles, no one's seen anything."

"Oh, yes. No, of-of-of course not, no. Yes."

She grinned. "You know, it could be us in one of those cars if you weren't so stubborn."

He grinned at her and kissed the tip of her nose. "Soon, Buffy."

Then he turned away and moved off to continue looking.

She stared after him for a moment before going off on her own into the trees.

Her flashlight beam cut around in the darkness, and she found a small clearing, which she stepped into. Suddenly there was a loud noise, like a larch releaseing, and she yelped as she felt herself being yanked up into a net. A man in hunter gear leapt out of the trees and pointed his gun at her.

"Gotcha!" Then the man paused, "What the hell?"

"Giles!" Buffy squirmed in her net, trying to move away from the gun. She hated guns. "Giles!"

Giles came running. "Hey!" Then he saw the gun and put his hands up. "Whoa!"

"Hands are good right about there." The man sneered.

"Who, who are you? What are you doing?" Giles cried.

"The name's Cain. I'm the one with the gun, which means I'm the one who gets to do the interviewing."

Buffy spoke up, "Ahem. Hey, before we get all chummy here, how about we do something about me being in this net thing?"

Cain sighed, leaned his gun against a rock and pulled out a knife, slicing Buffy down. She hit the ground hard and Giles instantly reached down to untangle her.

"You alright?" He asked, checking her for injuries.

"Yeah." She stood, and moved slightly closer to Giles.

"Gotta say, I'm impressed." Cain said.

"Excuse me?" Giles' voice was suddenly colder then Buffy had ever heard it.

"Well, it's good to get the fruit while it's fresh."

"You'd be wise to take that back."

"Hey, what a man and a girl do in lovers' lane at night is nobody's busi..."

Giles instantly started towards Cain, his hazel eyes dark and furious, but Buffy grabbed his arm and pulled him back to her.

"Oh, okay, hey, enough. It's not what you think. We're hunting werewolves."

Cain laughd.

"Okay, it's funny if you don't believe in werewolves." Buffy admitted.

"No, it's funny thinking about you two catching one." Cain said, "I mean, this guy looks like he's auditioning to be a librarian, and, you, well, you're a girl."

"I assure you she's quite capable." Giles insisted.

"Uh-huh. Lemme ask you something, sweetheart. Exactly how many of these animals have you taken out?"

Buffy frowned. "As of today?"

"I tore a tooth from the mouth of every werewolf that I killed." He held up a tooth necklace. "This next one will bring the total to an even dozen."

Buffy looked at him, appalled. "So you're just gonna kill it?"

"Well, see, that's the thing. Their pelts fetch a pretty penny in Sri Lanka, and it's a little hard to skin 'em when they're alive."

Giles was equally as shocked. "Y-you hunt werewolves f-for sport?"

"No, no, I'm in it purely for the money."

"And it doesn't bother you that a werewolf is a person twenty-eight days out of the month?"

"That's why I only hunt 'em the other three. I'd really love to stay and chat, but I'm on a tight schedule. Any idea where else the boys and girls like to get together around here?"

"You're looking for a party?"

"No, but the werewolf is. They're suckers for that whole sexual heat thing. Sense it miles away. Since this little doggie ain't here, I guess he found another place."

Buffy shrugged. "Sorry. Wish I could help you."

"But you don't know squat?" He shook his head, "Gee, what a surprise."

When he left, Buffy turned and headed back towards the car.

"Where are we going?" Giles asked.

"I think I know where to look. We just have to make it there before mein furrier."

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Meanwhile, in another part of town Theresa walk walking home. She passed a house that had a tall fence and an overabundance of weeds, and even as she walked by she heard some rustling. She stopped, looked around, and heard nothing more, so she continued. At the corner, Theresa turned and continued along the same fence. Again, she heard a rusting, and this time, when she stopped, a low growl.

Terrified, Theresa turns back around to run and slams into Angel's chest, screams.

"Everything okay?" Angel is holding a daisy in his fingers, and twirls it. He does not seem like Angel though. His voice is cold, his face dark.

"Yeah, I just, uh, I, I thought I heard something... behind me."

He walked around her in a circle, apparently looking behind her.

"No one there."

"Oh. I guess I was wrong. I could have sworn that..."

"It's okay. It can get pretty scary out here, all alone at night."

"Yeah."

"Hey, don't I know you from somewhere? Don't you go to school with Buffy?"

Theresa smiled. "Oh, you know Buffy?"

Angel laughed softly. "Yes, I do, very well."

"Oh."

"Come on, I'll get you home."

And Angel began to walk her home.

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Giles and Buffy pulled up to the Bronze fifteen minutes later to see people fleeing through the large double doors.

"Looks as though your hunch was right." Giles said.

"Who could resist Sunnydale's own house of hormones?"

She jumped out of the car and instantly ran into Willow.

"The werewolf, it's in there."

Buffy nodded briefly, then shot around and through the door into the Bronze just before the door is shut by the bouncer.

"Coming through!"

Inside, the Bronze is trashed. Tables and chairs are upturned, and people have spilled drinks and snacks in their urgency to escape. As Buffy moved further into the room she spotted a shadow behind a bead curtain and moved towards her, taking off her backpack as she moved and pulling out a chain.

Buffy steps onto the stage and walks past the drums. Then the werewolf omes out from behind the curtains, snarling. Bufy spins and drops her bag, then unravels a length of chain and uses it as a lasso around the werewolves neck. As it struggles and yanks at the chain, it pulls Buffy into the drums and gets the chain loose. Instantly, the werewolf crashes though a window and runs out into the night.

Later, the employees of the Bronze have returned and began to pick up the mess. Buffy packed away her chain, her expression defeated.

Suddenly, Cain walked up to her from nowhere. "You let it get away."

Buffy scowled. "I didn't let it do anything. I had the chain around its neck."

"Chain? What were you gonna do, take it for a walk?"

"I was going to lock it up.

"That's beautiful." He approached her. "This is what happens when a woman tries to do a man's job.

Trying to ingore him, Buffy stood and slipped on her bag. Then Giles walked up from behind Cain.

"Now, you look here, Mr. Cain. This girl risked her life trying to capture a beast that you haven't as yet been able to find."

"Uh-huh. And Daddy's doing a great job carrying her bag of milk bones."

Giles threw his bag to the ground, but seemed to restrain himself from hitting Cain.

"You know, sis, if that thing out there harms anyone, it's going to be on your pretty little head. I hope you can live with that."

Buffy stared at him with blank green eyes. "I live with that every day."

Cain shook his head at her. "First they tell me I can't hunt an elephant for

its ivory...Now I've gotta deal with People for the Ethical Treatment of Werewolves."

As he left, Giles muttered under his breath, "Pillock! Right, lets move out."

They shouldered their bags and left the Bronze.

He grabs his bag and goes. Buffy follows right behind.

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Later, Buffy and Giles were in the park again, and Buffy came walking up to Giles car.

"Giles?"

No one appeared to be inside. Terrified, Buffy ran up to the car.

"Giles!"

She ran up to the window and peered inside to see Giles sleeping inside. He awoke at the sound of her shout and sat up with a groan.

"I didn't see you there. I thought something had happened."

Giles looked at her worried face and smiled reassuringly. "Oh, no, I'm, uh..."

Buffy got in the passenger seat.

Giles yawned. "I'm okay. I'm just, um, fine... uh, just, uh, I'm, uh.... Uh, any sign of the, uh, werewolf?"

"No. I'm guessing you didn't see anything either from that vantage point of having your eyes closed."

"It's, uh, it's, it's, uh, gonna be light soon, so we'd better..."

"Wait."

Buffy was listening to the news on the radio, and she reached over to turn up the volume a bit.

"Police say that the incident was apparently connected to the animal mutilation which occurred two nights ago. The coroner's office has identified the body as that of Sunnydale High School student Theresa Klusmeyer, age seventeen. The authorities ask that anyone with further information..."

Buffy's face crumbled slightly, and Giles reached over and pulled her against him.

"Buffy, we're gonna get this thing. We have another whole night."

She looked up at him with misty eyes.

Giles sighed. "There's nothing more we can do now. It's nearly sunrise. That werewolf won't be a werewolf much longer."

She looked away, sadly.

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Meanwhile, at the top of a hill overlooking Sunnydale,a werewolf is seen sleeping on the ground. As soon as the sunlight touches its fur, the fur begins to melt away, and Oz takes the werewolf's place, resting against a log. When Oz opens his eyes, he sits up and takes in his situation.

"Huh."

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Inside the library later that day, Buffy is pacing anxiously though the library, Giles and Willow are sitting at the table, and Xander is leaning against the counter.

"I can't believe I let that thing get away. Cain was right. I shoulda killed it when I had the chance."

Oz walked in. "Killed what?"

"Uh, the, uh, the werewolf. It-it-it was out last night."

Oz nodded. "Is everybody okay? Did anyone get bitten or, or scratched?"

"No, we're fine."

"Gladness." Oz said, relieved.

"Yeah, but he got someone. Theresa."

Oz's face fell. "'Got', as in..."

Buffy raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Buffy sighed. "And I coulda stopped it." She sat down next to Giles, taking comfort from being near him.

"Well, we, we have one more night." Giles told her.

"Another night?" Oz asked, eyes wide.

"Oh, yeah. Believe me, I'm gonna give that wolfie something to howl about."

"Hmm."

Xander walked over. "But while we hang here doing nothing, there's a human werewolf walking around out there, probably making fun of us."

"The way werewolves always do." Willow said sarcastically.

"But there's really no way to tell who it is." Oz insisted.

"Oh, sure there is. Giles knows stuff, and I'm practically an expert on the subject." Xander bragged.

"On account of once you were a hyena?"

"I know what it's like to crave the taste of freshly killed meat, to be taken over by those uncontrollable urges."

Buffy gave him a Look. "You said you didn't remember anything about that."

Xander chuckled nervously. "I said I didn't remember anything about that. Look, the point is, is I have an affinity with this thing. I can get inside of

its head." He closed his eyes. "I'm a big, bad wolf. I'm on the prowl.I'm sniffing, I'm snarling, I'm a slobbering predator, I'm..." His eyes flew open. "Wait a second! It's right in front of us." Oz takes a step back, his face pale. "It's obvious who I am. I'm Larry! The guy's practically got wolf-boy stamped on his forehead. You got the dog bite, you got the aggression, not to mention the excessive back hair."

"And he was awfully gleeful about tormenting Theresa."

"Still, that doesn't necessarily mean that..."

Xander shrugged. "I'm gonna go talk to him. Gonna force a confession out of him." He left.

"Good. Go. Uh, in the meantime, we need to cover our bases. Willow, um, check the student files. See if anybody else fits the profile. Uh, Buffy?"

"Where are we going?"

"I-if none of that works, I think I may have an alternative." He disapeared into the office.

"Yeah, me and the werewolf alone in a cage for three minutes. That's all I ask."

Oz sighed.

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Later, Buffy came out of Giles' office and went over to check on Willow, who was surfting the internet on her laptop.

"So what's the scuttlebutt? Anybody besides Larry fit our werewolf profile?"

Willow smiled. "There is one name that keeps getting spit out. Aggressive behavior, run-ins with authorities, about a screenful of violent incidents."

Buffy scowled. "Okay, most of those were not my fault. Somebody else started 'em. I was just standing up for myself."

Willow looked up at her. "They say it's a good idea to count to ten when you're angry."

"One... Two... Three..."

Willow turned her attention back to the computer. "I'll keep looking."

"I, um... noticed you were looking solo."

"Yeah. Oz wanted to be someplace that was..." She hesitated and looked up at Buffy. "Away... from me."

"I'm sorry."

Willow leaned back in her chair. "I can't figure him out. I mean, he's so hot and cold. Or luke-warm and cold."

"Welcome to the mystery that is men. I think it goes something like, they grow body hair, they lose all ability to tell you what they really want."

"It doesn't seem like a fair trade." With a sigh, she stood and put her laptop away.

"Well, if you wanna up the speed quotient with Oz, maybe you need to do something daring. Maybe you need to make the first move."

They began to gather their stuff for class, and Willow frowned over at her.

"Well, that won't make me a slut?"

"I think your reputation will remain intact."

Willow and Buffy came out of the library and started down the hall together.

"It used to be so much easier to tell if a boy liked you. He'd punch you on the arm and then run back to his friends."

"Those were the days."

Xander appeared and tapped Buffy on the arm. "Hey."

"I'll see you guys later." Willow said. Buffy glanced at her. "Cordelia asked me to look over her history homework before class. I think that means I

might have to do it."

She left.

"Wow, those two gals are hanging out a lot together. This would be a good time to panic."

Buffy laughed and walked down the hall with Xander.

"So how'd it go with Larry?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Xander snapped defensively.

"I think it's supposed to mean, 'so how'd it go with Larry'?"

She stopped to open her locker.

"He's not the werewolf. Can't we just leave it at that? Must you continue to push and push?

Used to Xander's strangeness, Buffy merely opened her locker and said, "I'm sorry. I was just wondering."

"Well, he's not."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"But there goes our lead suspect." She stuck her bag in her locker and closed it. "Which then puts us right back at square boned."

"You're not boned, you're Buffy. Eradicator of evil. Defender of, um... things that need defending."

"Tell that to Theresa. She could have used my defending before she was ripped apart by that..." She paused.

"Werewolf." Xander supplied helpfully.

"Nowhere in any of the reports did it say anything about her being mauled." She looked up at Xander. " I mean, they were linked to the animal attacks from the other night, so we just assumed werewolf."

"What else should we have assumed?"

******************************************************************************

Later, at the funeral home, Buffy opened Theresa's coffin and pulled down the scarf the girl had around her neck to reveal a bite.

"Vampire."

"So that's good, right?" Xander asked, "I mean in the sense of the werewolf

didn't get her, and..." Buffy gave him a Look. "No. There is no good here."

"No good. Instead of not protecting Theresa from the werewolf, I was able to not protect her from something just as bad." She went over to the guestbook and picked up a pen. "She had a lot of friends."

"Buffy, you can't blame yourself for every death that happens in Sunnydale. If it weren't for you people'd be lined up five deep waitin' to get themselves buried. Willow would be Robbie the Robot's love slave, I wouldn't even have a head..." He looked down at the coffin. "And Theresa's a vampire."

Theresa sat up and looked around with a low growl. Buffy whirled around to see the girl hop out of the coffin. instantly Buffy lunged for her and tried to wrestle her, but Theresa threw her and then went after her again, trying to pin her. Buffy rolls and breaks off the leg of a nearby wooden easle holding a wreth. She is about to stake Theresa when she says,

"Angel sends his love."

Angel??? Buffy blinks down at Theresa in shock and confusion, and Theresa uses the moment to kick Buffy's arm and send the makeshift stake flying. She pins Buffy and tries to bite her, but Xander stabs her from behind. Buffy stands.

"Angel..."

Xander was frowning. "That's not possible, is it? I mean, dead boy doesn't bite anymore."

"He didn't three weeks ago."

"You mean you actually think he bit Theresa?"

"I don't know. I mean - No! Of course he didn't. I have to go over there and check it out, make sure he's okay."

"I have a date with Cordelia later, but I can cancel..."

"No, I'll be fine."

Buffy started to leave the room, but Xander's voice had her turning around again.

"Yes?"

"At least take Giles with you? Please?"

Buffy hesitated, then nodded and left the room.

******************************************************************************

Two hours later, Buffy was pacing back and forth, alone, in Angel's apartment. She had arrived there an hour an a half ago, and had been waiting for him to return rather then to go out looking for him.

She had seriously considered stopping by the school first to get Giles, but then she imagined what it would be like if Angel really had gone back to biting. If Giles was injured just because she was too scared to face her ex-boyfriend alone, she would never forgive herself.

Finally, Buffy heard the door open, and Angel stepped into the room.

"Angel!" She ran to him.

"Hey!"

She hugged him tightly and stepped back.

"I was worried about you. Where have you been?"

"Been around."

"Oh. Alright. Its just I killed this vampire tonight and..."

"Buffy!" Angel held up a hand to silence her. "Do you really think that after my disgusting relationship with you, I would ever want to see you again, much less listen to your pathetic whining about how hard it is being 'the Slayer'?"

"What?"

Angel laughed, "You got a lot to learn about men, kiddo. Although I guess you proved that, showing up here today. Hanging out with the distinguished older librarian. Do you really think he wants to be around you because he loves you? Please, you're just a hot-ish young body to him. He could never love a baby like you."

"That's not true... Giles hasn't even touched me yet. What are you saying?"

"Right. Hasn't touched you yet. Of course not. He knows he's gotta put some work into making you trust him, and there's no reason for him not to wait until its all nice and legal." He sighed, as if bored. "Lets not make an issue out of it, okay? If fact, lets not talk about anything at all. Pretend I never kissed that revolting mouth, pretend I never told you I wanted to be with you forever. It was all a load of crap. Just like whatever the librarian is spewing to you."

"How can you say this to me?"

Angelus grinned and grabbed his coat, pulled it on. "Lighten had fun sometimes, right? It doesn't mean like we have to make a big deal."

He reached up to touch her face, but she jerked back.

"Don't touch me."

Angel sneered, shook a finer at her. " I should've known you wouldn't be able to handle it."

He started to leave, but Buffy called after him. "Angel!" He turned back. "I love you..."

He rolled his eyes and pointed at her, "Love ya too." He said carelessly, then left.

Buffy began to cry.

******************************************************************************

~~~~~~~~~~ Part 4 ~~~~~~~~~~

In the library, Giles opened a guncase, undid the straps and pulled

out some peices, easily setting up the tranquilizer gun.

Buffy entered the library.

"Sorry I'm late. I had to do some unscheduled slayage in the form of Theresa."

Buffy's tone was light and airy, her face dry and clear, but Giles could instantly tell something was wrong. Her eyes looked... broken.

"Good God, Buffy, what's wrong?"

He stoopd his assembling and dropped the gun onto the table, crossing to her and taking her face in his hands. "Are you hurt?"

"No." A lie, unless he meant only physical injury. "Giles..."

She looked into his beloved face, and suddenly a thought struck her. She remembered researching in the past that a vampire would loose his soul if he slept with someone. She had already concluded, on the way to the school, that Angel had lost his soul. He was completely different, and had started killing again. But what if Giles believed it was her Angel had slept with? And the horrible memories of Angel's tauntings, his comments about her being a baby to Giles... she couldn't stand that. She knew she had to talk to him...but they had a werewolf to catch first.

Buffy placed her hand on his face as well and leaned forward to kiss him lightly. He was so upset at her obvious pain that he did not even protest.

"Giles, can we talk about it after we catch the werewolf? Please? I just to get this over with, before I can think about it."

He nodded, and reluctantly released her. When he spoke, trying to change the subject, his voice was hoarse.

"So Theresa...She's a vampire?"

"Was. An...A vampire got her. Send her specifically to me as a little present. But that's part of what I want to talk about later."

He nodded and held up the tranquilizer gun, ready to hunt a werewolf.

"All set." He grabbed a dart and stared out. "Let's go find this thing."

"One question: how exactly do we find this thing?"

Giles frowned.

Suddenly Willow burst into the library.

"It's Oz! It's Oz!"

"Wh-what's Oz?"

"The werewolf."

"Are you certain?"

Willow's voice rose a coule of octaves. "Can't you just trust me on this? He-he said he was going through all these changes. Then he went through all these... changes."

"Where is he now?"

"In the woods."

"Let's go." Giles said.

Willow stopped him. "Go where? You're not gonna kill Oz! Yeah, he's a werewolf, but he doesn't mean to be."

"Don't worry, Willow. We're not going to hurt him."

They left.

"I put enough Phenobarbital in this thing to sink a small elephant. It should be enough for a large werewolf."

He grabbed his coat and held open the door for Buffy and Willow.

******************************************************************************

Gain had his eye - and his gun - trained on the werewolf he was watching from behind the cover of the bushes. He was about to pull the trigger when he was kicked unexpectedly from the side. His gun fired in the wrong direction, and the werewolf looked up.

Buffy grabbed Cain's gun and tried to wrestle it from him. Then she flipped the rifle, using it to flip the man's entire body, and gaining possession of the rifle. He tried to get up, but Buffy knocked him in the head with the barrel of the gun, and he passed out.

The werewolf lunged at her, and she ducked. Giles and Willow arrived just in time to see the werewolf grab Buffy and lift her off her feet. She pushed it back with the gun. As Giles tried to get a clear shot, the werewolf held Buffy between them.

"Careful!" Willow cried.

"Damn it!" Giles muttured.

Buffy raised the rifle and smacked the werewolf over the head with it. He dropped her, stunned, then smacked at her, knocking the gun from her hand. Oz shoved her away and into Giles and Willow, causing all three of them to topple. It lunged, and Willow scrambled for the tranquilizer gun, bringing it up. She pulled the trigger.

The dart hit Werewolf Oz in the chest, and he stumbled backwards before falling.

"I shot Oz." Willow murmured.

"You saved us."

He took the tranquilizer gun from her, and Buffy picked up Cain's rifle even as the man regained conciousness and stood.

"No wonder this town's overrun with monsters. No one here's man enough to kill 'em."

"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure of that."

Cain turned to see Buffy hlding out his gun with hold hands. Before his eyes, she bent the metal into an arch and pushed it into his hands.

He gaped at her.

How about you let the door hit you in the ass on the way out of town?" She suggested.

He left. Quickly.

Buffy moved over and crouched down next to Willow and Oz.

"You think it'll be okay?"

Both girls looked up at Giles.

"He'll be a little sore in the morning, but... he'll be Oz."

******************************************************************************

Later that night, Giles entered the library to see Buffy sitting at the table alone, staring into space. Silently, Giles walked up to her, ulled out a chair, and sat down facing her. He didn't say a word. He just waited.

Buffy told him everything in a rush, her words tripping over themselves as she described how she had broken up with Angel, what he said when she went into his apartment. then she added,

"And I'm so afraid that you're going to think that I slept with Angel and made him loose his soul, and I'm so afraid that Angel was right and you just see me as a child and can never really love me and -"

It was at that point that Giles covered her mouth with his hand and scooted his chair closer to hers so he could peer intently into her frightened face.

"Buffy. I know that you didn't sleep with Angel. The connection between us, its stronger then that. I'd know, just as you'd know if I tried to go sleep with someone else. I don't think its possible, for us to keep secrets from one another. Not with anything that monumental anyway. And as for what Angel said.." He trailed off and simply looked at her for a moment. "First off all, I could never see you as a child. Sure, I think you are a bit irresponsible at times. But most of the time, you are the most mature young woman I've ever met. Every day you risk your life for people you don't know, carry the burden of those that you couldn't save. And yet you live your life, refusing to give up anything, even to make your life easier. You have no idea how much I admire you for that."

When Buffy remained silent, staring at him with tears running down her cheeks, Giles added,

"Don't you realize we have the same types of insecurities in this relationship? I'm terrified that I'm too old for you, that you'll wake up and realize you're married to a toothless old man, that you'll want someone younger, prettier. And you're scared that I'll one day think you're too young, that I'll treat you like a child, like a baby, and not appreciate you for all that you are. But Buffy, I love everything about you. I can't imagine ever regretting. Its inconcievable to me. I love you too much."

Buffy started to cry harder, though still silently, and she whispered, "I feel the same way about you."

Giles took her in his arms and rocked her slightly, soothing her, and as he did he whispered,

"Buffy... we'll get through this together. We can make this work, we can get past the situation with Angel. I honestly believe we can do anything together, if we try."

She smiled, and rested her head against his chest, secure in the comfort of his arms.

******************************************************************************

The next day, Willow walked up to Oz outside, sitting at a table.

"Hey."

"Hey."

Willow sighed. "Did you want to go first?"

"I spoke to Giles. He said I'll be okay. I just have to lock myself up around the full moon. Only he used more words than that. And a globe."

"I'm sorry about how all this ended up. With me shooting you and all."

"It's okay. I'm, I'm sorry I almost ate you."

"It's okay. I kind of thought you would have told me." Willow looked away, then forced herself to meet his eyes, a sober expression on her face.

"I didn't know what to say. I mean, it's not everyday you find out you're a werewolf. That's fairly freaksome. It may take a couple days getting used to."

"Yeah. It's a complication."

"So..." He got off the table and they walked together. "Maybe it'd be best if I just... sorta..."

"What?"

"Well, you know, like, stayed out of your way for awhile."

"I don't know. I'm kind of okay with you being in my way."

Oz stopped and faced her. "You mean, you'd still..."

"Well, I like you. You're nice and you're funny. And you don't smoke. Yeah, okay, werewolf, but that's not all the time. I mean, three days out of the month I'm not much fun to be around either."

"You are quite the human."

She smiled. "So, I'd still if you'd still."

"I'd still. I'd very still."

Her smile broadened. "Okay. No biting, though."

"Agreed."

Willow started to walk away, and Oz watcher her go, a smile on his face. His eyes widened in surprise, however, when she turned around and came rushing back. She stared at him for a moment, then kissed him, before running off again.

Oz smiled.

"A werewolf in love."

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Okay I know that one was long... but its such a nice episode ^_^ Also that confrontation with Angel happens in the previous episode, but when you're skipping episodes you just kinda gotta stick in the important stuff. I hope it worked, and that you liked. Please review