"You don't respect me?! Xander, I save the world! How can you not respect me?!"

"You've never saved the world. Not alone. It's always been part of a group effort. But you take all the credit and everyone lets you."

"I'm the Slayer! Without me, it wouldn't be possible!"

"Really? Because the Halliwell's have saved the world and they're not the Slayer and in point of fact, neither are you. You ceased to be the Slayer when you drowned. You kept the power, but not the title. And every one of those times the world needed saving, it was because you endangered it. "

"What are you talking about?! How the Hell did I endanger the world?!"

"The Master was a self filling prophecy. The actions taken to stop him allowed him to escape. You chose the stupidest way imaginable to deal with him. He was a powerful master vampire. You took a single cross bow bolt and walked right into his lair. It was unnecessary. A malatove cocktail would have taken care of him and you would never have had to get near him or risk the world. And getting involved with a vampire, let alone a vampire under a curse, was also stupid. Curses have out clauses, everyone knows that. But instead of finding out what the clause was, you decided it made him special. And when the curse broke, you kept letting him go. Over and over again. He killed and kept killing. And everyone feels sorry for Buffy, because she cries pretty. What about the people who keep dying because of your choices? Who cries for them?"

Buffy was glaring at him. Everyone else was silent, breaths held, as they considered things they'd never considered before.

"You're human, humans make mistakes. But we're supposed to learn from them. I learned not to use Magic for personal reasons. Willow learned black magic has consequences. What have you learned, Buffy? You hid Angel's return. You endangered the world again, by getting involved with him, again. How many people would have died this time? Over a hundred died last time according to the Elders. Leo told me, my good intentions in reviving you have led to all kinds of problems. Because of the bad choices you've made with your second chance."

"It's not like your perfect, Xander!"

"I never claimed to be. I mess up, same as everyone. But I don't put myself on a pedestal and expect people to give me whatever I want, just because I want it. You've been allowed to get away with a Hell of a lot, far more then you should have. If you were military, you would have been charged with dereliction of duty, manslaughter, and treason, among other things. So tell me Buffy, why should I respect you? What have you actually done that deserves respect?"

"I sent Angel to Hell to save the world!"

"You cleaned up your own mess. A five year old can do that. On the other hand, I have no doubt that, that was hard for you. But it should never have come to that."

"I hate you!"

"I've moved on to indifference to you, personally. I think you need help, Buffy. Your choices aren't just questionable, they're insane."

"You've given us a great deal to think about, Xander. I think we should call it a night." Giles said softly.

"I agree." Professor Dormer said.

"Aren't any of you going to defend me?!" Buffy demanded.

"I don't know, Buffy." Willow said. "While I think Xander might be a bit harsh, he hasn't said anything that isn't true. Just things we haven't thought of before. I never considered the fact that it could all have been avoided."

"Since no one told me any of these things before tonight, I'm wondering if you're all crazy for being so willing to keep helping her knowing she's caused so many problems."

"Mom!"

"Buffy, I love you. That's not going to change. But my gods, I'd dearly love to understand what you've been thinking that justifies your choices. And why didn't any of the rest of you stop Angelus?"

"After she punched Giles for going after him to avenge Jenny, I wondered how far she'd go if one of us dusted him." Xander told her.

"Giles could of died going after Angelus. It was stupid! I need him!"

"Oh, so that's why you stopped me. Because you need me." Giles said flatly.

Glad someone was understanding, Buffy nodded. "Yes, I need you."

"For what? To be your cheerleader? Because you certainly don't listen to my advice, you no longer do training sessions with me as you don't see a need to. Perhaps it's because I do the research. Yes, I do believe that's it. I do the research, I'm useful. Thank you, for letting me know that."

"Buffy, it's time to go." Joyce said, leading the confused girl out.