(Sorry it was a bit short and sorry if there's a lot of typos, I kind of rushed it before work but I hope you enjoy reading it, anyway)

We'd started up the path to the Bronze when I sensed a presence nearby. I hesitated and sniffed the air. For a moment I was put on guard when I caught the scent of decay, but then realized it was a friend, not a foe.

"Angel," I murmured, looking back over my shoulder for him.

He emerged from a darkened alley and stole up beside us, matching our pace as we walked towards the entrance.

Buffy seemed less than please to see him. Though, she didn't exactly see him, either. She didn't even look at him.

Finally, she stopped and heaved an exasperated sigh. Angel glanced at me and raised an eyebrow in a questioning gesture. I shrugged helplessly and shook my head at him, frowning.

"Still bad." I mouthed at him.

"You know," Buffy broke the silence, "getting stalked is really not a turn-on for girls." Angel shifted and put his hands on his hips. If he was embarrassed, he wasn't showing it.

"Thought you needed help," he explained tersely, "someone to watch your back."

"Yeah, well, Marge insisted on supplying that part." Buffy snapped back at him, still not turning around. She gave a huff of mirthless laughter, "And are you sure you don't mean I need someone to watch my neck?"

I stiffened at that and glanced hurriedly at Angel. That would sting, and it did. I heard a faint rumble of a growl deep inside him as he stalked around to face Buffy, scowling and practically bristling in anger.

"Why are you riding me?" he demanded.

"Because I don't trust you." She answered.

A flicker of pain crossed his face.

"You're a vampire," she all but hissed at him, and he grimaced again.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she continued, "is that an offensive term? Should I say Un-Dead American?"

"You're trusting her," Angel pointed out, motioning to me, "how's that better?"

That stung, but I could see his point. I really wasn't a far step above a vampire in terms of being a monster. Buffy shrugged and glanced lazily in my direction.

"Didn't say I trusted her," she answered, "but at least she's smart enough to know I can kill her in a second if she tries anything."

"Apparently 'she' isn't standing right here." I snapped, hurt and angry with how flippant she'd sounded about it. After all we'd been through she still suspected I was going to turn on her? Was that how she'd always felt about me?

"You know I wouldn't turn on you." I continued, moving up to stand beside Angel.

"No, I don't." she snapped back at me, "You still have that demon, or whatever it is in you, right?"
I felt the Essence stir, responding to anger and the tense emotion in the air. Not to mention her heartrate had sped up during the exchange, I could hear the throb of life being pumped through her body in a beautiful, heated torrent.

"Yes." I answered, ignoring the sensations the Essence was throwing at me.

"Then no, I don't know you won't turn."

Angel sighed, not so much an angry sound as a sad sound.

"You have to trust someone," he murmured, "you can't do everything alone."

Buffy shrugged.

"Trust me." She answered.

"You're not as strong as you think." Angel responded. Buffy's jaw worked beneath her skin and she tilted her head with a smirk.

"Think you can take me?" she asked.

"What?" Angel said, genuinely bewildered.

"Oh, come on. I mean, you must have thought about it. What would happen if it came down to it: You the vampire, me the Slayer, you must have wondered?" Buffy was baiting him, and it annoyed me. There were a great many things she was doing that annoyed me.

She sniffed in disdain.

"Well why don't we find out?"

I growled in frustration and stepped towards her, shoving her shoulders as hard as I could. It caught her off guard, at least, and sent her stumbling back down the path. She spun back around with a yell of anger and lunged at me, but I'd expected that.

When one is very angry in a fight, all they think about is landing the most powerful blow. They aren't thinking about finesse, or technique, or even training, they're just trying to hit as hard and as fast as they can.

Take Luke Skywalker in the final battle with Darth Vader, near the end, he gets so angry with Vader that he throw all thought of technique to the wind, when he pins him on the railing he just starts hammering at him with his lightsaber, it's not delicate, it's just pure anger and power.

That's what make the moves so easy to predict. All I had to do was keep a level head, and as angry as I was, I was more annoyed and fed up than anything, so when she lunged I just stepped out of the way and spun on my heel so I faced her back as she passed right by me.

She'd put too much force behind the lunge and couldn't turn as quickly as she would have normally, which bought me exactly one second to do what I needed to.

I grabbed the collar of her jacket two belt-loops at the very rear of her pants. I started running at the wall opposite us, keeping her at arms-length so she couldn't hit me. Before we reached the wall, I threw her into it and pushed into her back with my knee while I gripped her elbows.

"Fighting dirty, huh?" she growled at me, trying to twist away, "Decide to show your true colors?"

"No, sweetling," I answered sardonically, "I've just had it with your childish nonsense. You're behaving like a pouting, bickering six-year old just dying to cause a fight, and I've had enough. I'm giving you an ultimatum: Behave yourself and stop this idiocy so we can get this night over with, or go home and let the adults handle it."

"You're giving me an ultimatum?" she growled at me, still twisting but unable to pull free.

"Yes." I growled back, "Your behavior is erratic and argumentative, and you're helping no one with that attitude. Lose it, or I'll get rid of it for you."

"I'd like to see you try."
"Right now, dear, I wouldn't even have to." She was silent at that one.

"So what's it going to be, child?" I asked.

She huffed a lot, but finally relaxed in my grip and shrugged.

"Fine." She said, "Lose the 'tude, got it."

"So happy to hear it." I answered, biting off the words as I let go and stepped back from her. She turned around and glared at me, for all the world looking indeed like a pouting child.

"Just so you know, I won't forget this." She warned me.

"I dearly hope not, child," I answered, "I dearly hope not. Maybe you'll actually learn something."

She continued to glare, and I continued to look as though I didn't care.

She looked at Angel, and I saw her flush, smelled the blood rushing to her cheeks. That's what I truly wanted her to feel: shame. I'd embarrassed her in front of someone she knew after her big display of power and confidence.

"We're wasting time," she mumbled, stalking past him, "just stay out of my way."

"Happy to oblige." He growled back.

When we entered the Bronze, something felt…off. I hadn't expected it to feel any other way, I mean, obviously this was a trap, but there was a strange tingling sensation in the back of my mind that I'd missed something.

"Okay, sniffer-dog." Buffy murmured to me. "How many vamps?"

I frowned and sniffed the air delicately.

"One." I answered, "Not counting Angel, just one."

She frowned and looked at me.

"That can't be right."

"It is, though." I answered.

"She's right." Angel joined in, appearing behind us.

We heard faint sobs coming from nearby, and Buffy followed them. Sitting by the stairs leading up to the balcony, with her back to us, was a vampire, trying to make herself sound human. Buffy froze and looked at me.

I shook my head. Not Cordelia.

"You're not Cordelia." Buffy said to the vampire. The sobs immediately changed to laughter as the vampire turned her true face towards us, grinning like an imp.

"Cordelia couldn't make it." The vampire laughed.

"Where is she?" Buffy demanded.

"Not supposed to tell." She answered playfully.

"I don't like this." Angel broke in.

"Oh, I don't know, Angel I was quite enjoying it." I answered with a smirk. Unsurprisingly, he ignored me.

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked.

"There's the bait," Angel pointed out, "where's the hook?"

He had a point. It was an excellent lure, but there had to be more to this.

A battle roar erupted from the vampire and she charged at us, fangs flashing. I'd had just about enough of people lunging at me, so I took a step towards her and jerked my hand up so that it hit her right in the throat, breaking off the roar.

She choked in surprise while Buffy grabbed her arm, lifted her, and then slammed her on the floor and planted a foot on her chest.

"You're right." She addressed Angel, "why would they send just one?"
Cat's away

The Essence doesn't always make sense, but something about the way it whispered those two words sent a chill through me.

'Explain.'

Human saying, remember?

'When the cat's away, the mice will play.'

Rats in this case. The rats baited the cat away, and now they play their game.

"Oh God," I said aloud, understanding the trap.

"What?" Buffy demanded.

"The children." I answered, "They didn't bring us here to catch us, they're going to catch the children."