"So how do you want to do this?" Angel asked me.

The fact that he was asking me how to proceed about anything was enough to make me doubt the reality of the situation, but it was indeed real. Angel was asking me how we should tell Buffy that her childhood friend was potentially involved with something very dangerous. Or at least incredibly stupid.

I thought for a moment.

"She was doing patrol tonight," I told him, "and depending on how well that went she should either be at the school, or at home." I glanced up at him, "If you want her in a more relaxed environment to break the news to her, then I'd suggest telling her at home."

He nodded, slowly.

"What if she's at the school, though?" he asked.

"Then I'll walk her home and try and ease her into the idea that she's about to get bad news." I shrugged.

"Okay," he said, nodding to himself.

We walked in silence, but by mutual (silent) agreement, we altered course for the school. I didn't want to be the one to bring it up, but Buffy also might not want to hear the news from Angel. Especially with the way things had been going lately.

I think he sensed this, since that was exactly what he brought up when we got within sight of the school grounds.

"Hey," he said, pausing and making me stop to face him, "would you do me one more favor?"

I frowned a little, but nodded, having a guess as to what it was he wanted help with.

"I…kind of hate to ask this, but…would you…uh, y'know. Just…help me out?" he stumbled through the sentence like a drunk donkey.

Don't ask me how I know what a drunk donkey looks like, it's a long story.

Suffice it to say that back in the day, people got bored very easily. Especially in a tiny Italian village. They had donkeys and they had a LOT of wine. You do the math. Also, the donkeys were all right afterward. Just very grumpy.

"You mean you want me to go with you to help explain things?" I guessed. He nodded.

"Things have been a little tense between us in case you haven't you haven't noticed," he continued, "so…telling her alone might not be the best course of action right now. With you there, it…might make it better?"

"You want me to chaperone?"

"Well…I guess so."

I eyed him for a moment, half tempted to turn him down and let him figure out how to deal with this on his own. But it wasn't just about him, it was about Buffy and protecting her from a wolf in sheep's clothing, and it wouldn't be easy to do.

"All right." I nodded.

He smiled in relief.

"Thanks, Margery." He said, "I really appreciate it. I know things between us haven't been…well…very chummy, but I do appreciate what you're doing."

"Think nothing of it, my boy." I shrugged. "I can't guarantee this will go the way we want it, so don't thank me just yet."

I sent Angel to wait at Buffy's house while I went in to see if she was there. I could scent her as soon as I entered, so I'd done right to send Angel off, thank goodness. I could also smell Giles and Ms. Calendar present, as well.

That made me uneasy.

If Buffy had interrupted their evening out, then that meant something had happened.

My mind immediately leapt to Ford.

Had he already done something to tip himself off? If so, then this would be easier than I'd thought, but nothing is ever that easy, so I rather doubted it. Regardless, something had happened, so I sprinted for the library as fast as I could.

I entered and saw Giles and Ms. Calendar standing with their backs to me, while Buffy leaned against a study table. She looked shocked.

"You took him to see monster trucks?" She said. Ah, so that's where Ms. Calendar had taken Giles.

I honestly couldn't envision Giles at a monster trucks gathering, I really couldn't. No wonder she hadn't told him where they were going.

"I thought it would be a change." Ms. Calendar defended herself.

"It was a change." Giles repeated weakly. I could practically feel his headache radiating off of him, poor soul. I made a mental note to make him tea when we got home. Bless him.

Buffy was trying not to laugh.

"Look, we could have just left." Ms. Calendar was saying as I walked closer.

"What, and miss the nitro-burning funny cars?" Giles said, "No, we…couldn't have that."

He was the first to notice me, and I won't lie, the look of relief on his face was quite a pleasant feeling. I felt like a lifesaver being thrown to a drowning swimmer. He practically grabbed hold of me like one.

"Margery!" he exclaimed, grabbing my arms and pulling me into the circle, "Wonderful to see you!"

"Not too keen on the giant-wheeled vehicles that crush things, then?" I asked him.

He glanced uneasily at Ms. Calendar, and she smirked.

"Okay can we get back on the vampire tip here?" Buffy interrupted.

"Vampires?" I queried.

"On campus." Giles nodded.

I frowned. That wasn't good. I mean, vampires are never good, obviously, but vampires this close to the Hellmouth always meant something was up. And of course that meant something very bad was happening or about to happen.

My thoughts flew to Ford again.

I said as much and Giles nodded, immediately heading to a study table laden with vampire lore.

"Yes," he said, "yes of course, they're here with purpose and we must ascertain what that purpose is, of course."

"Where's your friend?" Ms. Calendar asked, taking a seat on the opposite side of the table since I planted myself next to Giles as soon as I could. I glanced at Buffy. Ford, of course. It stood to reason he'd been involved somehow.

"I sent him home." Buffy answered.

"Good," Giles said, "the less he's involved in all of this the safer he'll be."

I swallowed and looked at Buffy, again. Angel was going to have to wait for a while, it looked like. We had research to do, and it was going to be very awkward to explain what we'd learned.

Then it got even worse.

"He bagged a vamp his first time out." Buffy said. "Have to give him credit for…that." She frowned uncertainly.

"You saw him kill this vampire?" I asked. She frowned at me, but there was doubt in her eyes.

"Well…no, but… why would he lie?"

I held her gaze. I probably should have said something right then, but…not in front of Ms. Calendar. Not yet.

Buffy dropped her gaze, and her frown deepened at something she was looking at.

It was an old photograph that had been left in a book. Buffy slowly picked it up, and Giles noticed her sudden stillness, as well.

"Who's this?" Buffy asked.

"She's called Drusilla," Giles answered, and he glanced at me apologetically, "I meant to tell you about this earlier but I was, um, distracted. Drusilla was a paramour of Spike's."

Now it was my turn to frown deeply. I stretched my hand out, and Buffy all but shoved it into my hand.

The photograph had to have been taken when she was a human, of course. She was beautiful. Long dark hair, large, soulful eyes. Delicate, I thought, but in a sweet way. I could see how William would have liked her, but Spike being involved with her?

That couldn't mean she'd retained her sweet nature at all, naturally. If anything it had probably been warped beyond recognition.

"She was killed," Giles continued, "by an angry mob in Prague."

"Well they don't make mobs like they used to," Buffy said, "because that girl's alive."

And then it clicked. It should have before, granted, but I was distracted by the thought of Spike and Drusilla together.

This had to have been the girl Buffy saw with Angel. Angel knew her. A vampire. And I doubted she had her soul as Angel did.

Well this just became a great deal more complicated. As always.

Buffy confirmed my conclusion.

"With Angel?" Giles questioned.

"Isn't he supposed to be a good guy?" Ms. Calendar asked.

Buffy put the picture down.

"Yeah," she said, "he is." She'd gotten very quiet.

Now it really didn't seem like a good idea for Angel to break the news about Ford to her at all.

"I think we should read up on this nice lady." Ms. Calendar said. For once I agreed with her.

"Right," Giles said, standing up again and looking to me, "some of our new volumes might have more information?" he said. I stood up as well and nodded.

"Perhaps, I'll help you fetch them." I glanced at Buffy in sympathy, but I doubt she noticed. To be honest, I couldn't help but feel that perhaps now she knew what it had been like for me when William showed up again.

It hurts a great deal to realize people aren't what you thought they were. Realizing people change and seldom for the better. That's a very hard lesson to learn, every time.

Giles was talking again as we moved for his office, but something was wrong.

Kin

I didn't have time to shout a warning, I just grabbed Giles and yanked him back from the door right before a vampire lunged at him, a thick tome in her hands. She snarled and shoved past us. I tried to grab for her coat, but she twisted out of my grasp like an eel, leapt over the banister, and disappeared into the backroom, headed for the rear exit, no doubt.

"It took one of my books!" Giles moaned, recovering his footing.

"Well at least someone in this school is reading." Ms. Calendar smirked.

"He said he killed it." Buffy murmured. We looked at her. "That's the vampire Ford said he killed."

"Buffy," I said, "I…think we should talk."

By the time we got to Buffy's house, she was more or less prepared to hear Ford was not who he claimed to be. And I'd also prepped her for Angel's arrival, which happened not long after we'd settled down a little and Buffy had gotten more comfortable.

Angel announced his arrival with a knock on the door.

"Come on in." Buffy said. She sounded tired, but not really perplexed or annoyed, which was good. Angel glanced at me where I was leaning on the kitchen counter, a flicker of relief passing over his features.

"We should talk," Angel said. Buffy frowned. She had reason to still be upset with him, but I was really hoping she didn't make this whole conversation about Drusilla and Angel. That was an issue, in fact it was very much an issue, but not the issue at hand. Not yet.

"Yeah, so I hear." Buffy said, taking her mug of coffee and moving towards the dining room, leaving Angel and I to follow.

"It's about your friend, Ford," Angel continued, "he's not what he seems."

"Yeah, I hear that too," Buffy said, "but then again, who is, these days?"

"Willow ran him down on the computer-"

"Willow?" Buffy interrupted.

"Don't be angry with her," I said. "She was trying to help. And she did. Just listen."

"We found this address," Angel said, cutting right to the chase, "we checked it out with Xander and-"

"And Xander?" Buffy looked as though she wanted to laugh or cry, or both. "Wow," she smirked, looking at me, "Everybody's in. It's like a great big exciting conspiracy."

"We were concerned," I said, "for you. We weren't sure there was anything to even be worried about but something was off. Both Angel and I could feel it. And we were right, there is something off about Ford."

"Well there's something else off," Buffy snapped, and glared at Angel, "Who's Drusilla?"

Here we go.

Angel looked sharply at me. And I raised an eyebrow. He wasn't getting me to take his side on this one. I'd warned him, at the Bronze. He'd lied to her, and we all knew it, so I wouldn't back him in a lie. Not when it had to do with vampires.

"Don't lie to me," Buffy warned him, "I'm tired of it."

"Some lies are necessary." Angel said.

I groaned.

Not a good start.

"For what?" Buffy demanded.

"Sometimes the truth is worse." Angel answered. "You live long enough you find that out."

Well…I couldn't argue much there, could I?

"I can take it." Buffy insisted, almost begged, really. "I can take the truth."

"Do you love me?"

I blinked.

I…really wasn't sure if I should have been in this conversation, now. Romance discussion is not my forte, obviously.

Buffy seemed just as shocked as I was.

"What?" she asked.

"Do you?"

Buffy looked away for a moment, and I could hear her heart beating faster. I knew what she would answer before she even said it, and I think Angel did too, but he needed to hear it. It made it more real to hear it.

"I love you." She murmured. "But I don't know if I trust you."

Angel frowned.

"Maybe you shouldn't do either." He said. Well, it wasn't really a choice, was it? We don't get to choose who we love, most of the time.

"How about I'm the one who should decide?" Buffy snapped. Good girl.

"I did a lot of unconscionable things when I became a vampire," Angel said, turning his back to us, "Drusilla was the worst." Well, this I hadn't expected. But Angelus had been a notoriously brutal vampire, I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised.

"She was an obsession of mine," he admitted, "she was pure, and sweet…and chaste." A girl of her time, then. An angel. Obvious prey for a vampire or any creature of darkness. They love to corrupt, to soil, to bring down what is held aloft.

"And you turned her into a vampire." Buffy said. She looked like she wanted to cry, and with good reason.

"First I made her insane." Angel said. "Killed everybody she loved. Visited every mental torture on her I could devise. She eventually fled to a convent and on the day she took her Holy Orders…I turned her into a demon."

An uncomfortable, heavy silence followed.

"Did Angelus just get bored really easily or something?" I finally growled, outraged. "All that just because she was uncorrupted?"

Angel just blinked mournfully at me. He regretted what he, Angelus had done, certainly. But admitting mistakes doesn't fix them, unfortunately.

I wanted to ask him what he'd accomplished by doing that to an innocent girl who'd never harmed anyone, but I couldn't. It wasn't Angelus I would be talking to, so it wouldn't matter. He couldn't answer as honestly as he could have. He would try, but it wouldn't be the same. And besides, it would only hurt him more, and he genuinely looked hurt enough already by what he'd done.

"Well…" Buffy breathed, "I asked for the truth."

"Worst part is there's some society that reveres vampires," Angel continued, "practically worships them. I don't know what he wants from you, but you can't trust Ford."

And with that, he was gone.

I stayed with Buffy for a while, answering the few questions she asked about the vampire-loving society we'd found, and how Ford's name had literally opened doors there. So it wasn't as if he was just a random teen dabbling in something new and exciting, he was a big part of it.

She clearly wasn't in the mood for chitchat, so after I'd done my best to get her to go to bed and try to rest, I went home to Giles, and explained it all to him.

He was just as worried as I was, of course, but there was little we could do except watch Ford closely, now that we knew he was up to something. I was more for interrogating him, but that seemed unlikely to produce any concrete leads. And if Ford was planning something big, then it wouldn't help to scare him off before we got a chance to know what it was.

At least now we knew more than we had.

Though that was precious little consolation.