"I shudder to think we have somehow missed the massing of an army of vampires." Slumping against the back of the couch, Giles rubbed the back of his neck. "Suddenly, I find myself missing our days at Sunnydale High School. We were far more likely to stumble upon likely dangers when we met in the library. It is exceedingly difficult to muster the same thoroughness now that we are all scattered across town."

"Right," Buffy agreed. She rolled her eyes. "Because it takes me a whole five minutes longer to walk from campus to your apartment these days. Not to mention that those of us not ready for retirement are actually more likely to have a personal life now that we aren't living at the library." Then she, too, slumped. "I guess I'm not really doing so much better at that, though…"

Tara watched both of them for a minute. Lost in their own inner monologues, neither shook off their mood or seemed at all interested in continuing the strategy session. Trying to prod everyone back to work, she said, "W-Willow, where else could the vam-vampires hide? Don't they usually s-stay in the cemeteries or…" She tried to remember what she had heard from Rupert and Joyce earlier. "…warehouses?"

At least Willow was still participating in the planning. "Yep. I don't even want to think about the number of creepy old buildings Faith's dragged me through. The area out by the docks is good, too. Not a lot of people out there and most of the structures are abandoned these days. On campus, though? Not so many good hiding spots." She grinned suddenly. "I don't remember any of the fraternities that require their pledges to avoid sunlight. I guess we aren't looking for a fake frat house."

Shaking off her moodiness, Buffy said, "Too bad. It would be nice if things were that simple. Can you just see the pledges? All pasty and dressed in their best seventies leisure suits. We'd spot them a mile away."

"Since that is unlikely to happen, perhaps we might consider the possibility that there are caves or underground tunnels nearby?" Giles straightened and rejoined the conversation, too. "I believe I remember something from our research concerning the Mayor last year. Can you find us the topographical maps of the campus, Willow? They may be able to verify the information."

"Sure." Hopping up, Willow left the room. "Just let me grab my laptop, Giles." Her voice drifted down the hallway, faint yet somehow still infused with her excitement. "I can hack into the university's system in no time. Their electronic security is really bad. I keep emailing them about it, but they never listen."

In a very quiet voice, Buffy mocked, "Well, I guess Will will teach them, huh?"

Tara giggled. "And if they c-catch her, she can simply say that she'd warned them and they hadn't listened. This was Willow's l-last attempt to m-make them see reason, after all." She could picture the scene, too: a very righteous Willow upbraiding a group of middle-aged bureaucrats.

Even Giles cracked a smile at that.

"Hey, what's so funny? Did you figure out the hiding spot without me?" Willow asked with a pout as she returned clutching her computer. Resuming her seat on the floor, she shook her head. "What am I saying? I know better. There aren't even any open books around. You've just been making fun of me, haven't you? Good Old Reliable Hacker Will…"

Starting to stiffen at the accusation, Tara saw the way Willow watched Buffy as she talked – and the smirk she wore. This wasn't serious. This was some kind of good-natured payback. She relaxed back into the chair and watched their interaction, enjoying the easy camaraderie.

Buffy confirmed her suspicions about Willow's revenge by blushing brightly. "Will! I said I was sorry! Come on…" Holding her hands out in supplication, she pleaded, "Don't be mean. I won't ever take you for granted again. I remember what happened the last time."

The front door flew open suddenly, cutting off the rest of Buffy's comments. "Last time?" Faith asked as she stepped into the apartment. Her arms were loaded with Tupperware containers. "Did I miss the fun, B? You about to go all Cave-y and mouth off to Red again?"

The atmosphere in the room chilled, and Tara prayed that things wouldn't escalate. Faith and Buffy appeared ready for more than a verbal discussion.

Buffy scowled at Faith. "No," she said shortly. "But I might have a few things to say to you."

"Girls, I don't care if Buffy is about to revert and go hunting the Little People. I need a hand getting the rest of dinner into the kitchen so we can eat. Stop with the attitudes and do something useful." Joyce appeared in the doorway carrying more containers.

Buffy's scowl only deepened. "I thought you were going to call when you got here."

"Don't climb on your soapbox, B. I found Mrs. S in the parking lot. If it makes you feel any better, she was punching numbers into her cell when I knocked on the window." Faith grinned suddenly. "Nearly got my ass staked, too. She's got wicked reflexes."

Everyone except Buffy laughed. "You probably deserved it." Finally, though, Buffy seemed to lose her irritation. "Good thing Mom missed. Will just forgave me for my Dumb Buffy Day; I don't think she'd be so nice over Staked Faith." She hopped off the couch and pulled most of the Tupperware out of Joyce's hands. "Come on. I'm starving."

In the blink of an eye, everything was back to normal. Feeling a little off-balance from the rapid shifts in mood, Tara turned to Willow. "Is it always like this?"

With a gamin grin, Willow said, "Oh, no. This is tame. If they're both having tantrums, it usually ends up in a fight. This was just a little Slayer posturing. They both want us all to think they're Top Dog."

She didn't sound at all upset by that, and Tara wondered if Buffy friends needed psychiatric help.

Glancing around to see if Rupert or Joyce were paying attention, Willow lowered her voice. "Don't tell Faith I told you, but…it's all for show. Buffy and Faith may not always get along, but I think they pick at each other because they enjoy it."

Wanting to shake her head at that bit of logic, Tara murmured a soft, "Oh. OK," and let the subject drop. If she spent too much time thinking about it, her head would explode. Instead, she got up and looked around the room. "Should we help Mrs. S-Summers set things up, too?" Or clean up the literary debris in the living room? She'd seen the kitchen. It wasn't large enough to hold all of them.

"Nope. We'll eat in here." Willow didn't bother moving from her spot on the floor. She returned to typing on her laptop as she talked. "Welcome to your first official Scooby Research Party. Pull up a book or scroll and have some dinner. Just be careful not to spill anything on the pages. It makes Giles cranky."

***

Buffy led the procession into the kitchen. The back of her neck itched and her shoulders knotted with tension. When was Faith going to start? Waiting wasn't her style, and she had so many new things to bring to the table this time. The earlier jibe had been only the beginning, she was sure.

"So, B, did Will find anything while I was out keeping the peace?" Faith asked. She squeezed past Buffy and dropped her armload onto the counter. "'Cause I got to tell you, there wasn't much happening on campus. I mean, from the way you were actin' at the house, I figured there'd be fights and naked tag all over the place."

There it was. Now that the teasing had started for real, Buffy felt marginally better. She hated the anticipation the worst. "Ha ha. You're funny, Faith." Narrowing her eyes, she glowered for effect and put her load of food on the table. "Willow did find something. Or…she was looking for it. You and Mom came in before we got to the good part."

As usual, Faith looked ready to charge out the door at the news. "We gonna need the heavy stuff or will stakes do? I got this new sword that Red found on e-Bay."

Heaving a dramatic sigh, Buffy crossed her arms. "Faith, we don't have the information yet. Where would we go with the new sword? What would we kill with it?" She had to pause to move out of Joyce's way.

It was long enough to let Faith back into the conversation. "Right." Was that a slump in Faith's shoulders? Buffy wasn't quick enough to get a second look because Faith stalked to the refrigerator and yanked open the door. "So we still ain't got a plan. Do you at least know if it's the costume man doing all this shit?"

"That's the last I heard." Buffy refrained from saying anything more. If she did, they'd end up in a fight and she wasn't up to that. It really had been a long day - not to mention she didn't want to give Willow another reason to be upset with her. "The big news now has to do with all the vamps we've felt in town. Tara and I got a taste of them downtown. It nearly blew my head off, and I tried to turn Tara into a marathon runner to get here before we got munched."

"Talk and carry, ladies." Joyce held out a large tray filled with plates of spaghetti. "The bread and silverware are ready to go, too," she added with a significant look at a second (smaller) tray on the counter. "You know how Willow and Rupert like to have an audience for whatever they've discovered. At least if you're eating while they talk, there's less chance you'll fall asleep."

Faith snorted. "Nah, I ain't gone to sleep during the research thing since Red cracked me in the head with that spell book. Think I still got a bump." With a wink, she took the tray out of Joyce's hands. "The food's a good idea, though, Mrs. S. Keeps me from sayin' something stupid and getting her all riled up."

Feeling a sense of déjà vu, Buffy picked up the second tray and trotted after Faith. The research gang hadn't moved; although, she noticed a few cleared areas amid the piles of books. Depositing her tray on one of these, Buffy handed a napkin and utensils to Giles.

"Thank you, Buffy." He immediately shook out the paper napkin and perched it on his knee. "Are we ready to proceed? I believe Willow has the information on the area around campus, and I am curious if we were correct about possible locations for the vampires."

"I guess." Buffy cocked an eyebrow at Faith as she shoved plates of food at Tara and Willow. "Faith's nearly finished handing out dinner." Making sure to keep up with her part, she quickly set out more napkins and silverware before sitting on the floor across from the couch. "What do you have for us, Will?"

She caught Willow with a mouthful of bread. Chewing frantically and waving one slender hand, Willow tried to clear her mouth. After a few seconds, she said, "Giles was right, guys. There are tunnels under the campus. And caves. Not under the campus. Around campus. You know…" She seemed to realize she was babbling, and Buffy watched her press her lips together as if to stop the flood of words. When Willow resumed talking, her voice was more controlled. "The tunnels were part of the old maintenance plan, but they've been sealed off for years. I do have a map, though. I couldn't find anything specific on the caves."

Sealed off… "You mean, the tunnels were sealed off," Buffy murmured as she placed her plate on her knee and twirled spaghetti around the tines of her fork. "If there are a lot of vampires moving in, I don't think we can assume those tunnels are closed anymore. That has to be where the vamps are. You said Faith felt the vampires on campus; unless I heard you wrong, that makes the caves a bad choice. " Why would there be a horde of vampires hiding under the college?

"Why?" Faith asked around a mouthful, echoing Buffy's thought. Her words were garbled as she continued. "We ain't seen anything about a new Master, and there hasn't been a big body count. If we got so many vamps, what are they eating? Fang's the only one that don't mind the rats – and he's in LA."

"Indeed; that is an excellent question, Faith," Giles responded. "From your and Buffy's reports lately, demonic activity has been quiet." Frowning, he idly pushed the food around on his plate. "When did you begin to sense the increase in vampires on campus?"

This time, Faith held up a hand as she chewed and swallowed. "'Two, maybe three weeks ago."

She'd known all this time and hadn't said anything? "You should have told us, Faith." Buffy put down her fork and glared at Faith. "What if we could have stopped…" Her words trailed off. They didn't even know there was anything to stop. Not letting that slow her for long, Buffy forged on. "…whatever before it got started. My Slayer senses were so freaking tonight."