A/N New chapter! Also the final chapter of this episode.

Parts of Dialogue taken directly from the Episode: Some Assembly Required.


The answer to what happened to the bodies came when they found Angel and Cordelia waiting for them in the Library.

The temperature in the air dropped ten degrees when Buffy looked at Angel. Aisling had to fight the urge to shiver.

Haltingly they explained that Cordelia had found body parts in the dumpster outside the school.

"There were so many parts, they were everywhere. Why are these terrible things always happening to me?" Cordelia said.

"So much for the zombie theory," Willow said.

"I don't get it. Why go to all the trouble to dig up three girls only to chop them up and throw them away? It doesn't make any sense."

"What I saw didn't add up to three whole girls. I think they kept some parts." Angel said.

"Could this get any yuckier?"

"They could be Frankenstein-ing this?" Aisling suggested.

"Or eating the parts," Willow spoke up.

"And question answered."

Giles piped in asking why they would dispose of the bodies several miles from the cemetery, to which Buffy replied that they likely had classes.

"This was not a hatchet job. They knew what they were doing." Angel told them.

"What student here is gonna be that verse in physiology?" Giles asked.

"If a student is dedicated enough. They will learn/find a way." Aisling said. "Trust me. Friend of mine was constantly being grounded for one reason or another; didn't stop him from finding new ways to sneak out of his bedroom all the time. Even after they barred his windows." Aisling smiled sadly. "Annoyed the heck out of all of us."

"She's right," Willow said. "I know five or six guys in the science club. Including me."

"So, Will, Come clean. Promise to never do it again, we'll call it a night." When no one responded he gave a nervous grin. "He joked!"

"Willow why don't you get these guys' locker numbers so we can do some checking?"

Cordelia shook her head. "I have to go home now. Take a bath and burn my clothes."

Xander gave her a pout of mock disappointment as he waved goodbye to her.

Cordelia turned to Angel and asked him if he could escort her home. Angel stared in shock his mouth agape, he looked at Buffy as though for help but Buffy just stared at him in disapproval.

She started to lead him out, but just as they passed Aisling Angel stopped.

"How about we drive her home as well?" Angel said gesturing towards Aisling.

Aisling rolled her eyes. "No thanks, Angel, I have my car, that I'll be driving home in. Dad would have my head if I didn't bring it home with me."

Angel looked at her in concern.

"I'm joking," Aisling said. "Still, he wouldn't be pleased that I took a drive with someone I barely know." Aisling waved at Angel. "Slán!"

With another tug Cordelia succeeding in pulling Angel out of the library.

"Slawn?" Buffy whispered to Aisling.

"Slán. It means Goodbye," Aisling said.

"You know Irish Gaelic?" Giles asked.

Aisling nodded. "d'fhoghlaim mé é ó mo thuismitheoirí," Aisling said; then translated. "Learned it from my parents."

"Fascinating."


The five of them searched through the lockers of the boys in the science club, Giles as a faculty member, had to put up a modicum of resistance before he started searching through lockers too.

"Chris Epps." Aisling read off of the sheet she was given. When she found the locker she opened it and started looking through its contents. When she saw what Chris had in his locker she turned to her the rest of the gang.

"Uh, guys?" Aisling said. "Think I found something."

Willow, Xander and Giles came over to take a look, on top of science textbooks like 'Grey's Anatomy, Mortician's Desk Reference, and Robicheaux's Guide to muscle's and tendons there was also a newspaper that had an article about the three girls that were killed in a car wreck a while ago.

"Safe to say he's involved," Giles said.

"Yeah," Aisling said. "But why?"

"I think I have an idea," Buffy said she opened the locker she was looking through to show a collage of a woman made from different pictures.

"Bloody Hell!" Aisling cried.


After not seeing Chris at all at school, she'd finally found him walking away sometime during lunch. She thought to call out to him but thought better of it and decided to follow him.

She remembered his odd reaction when she mentioned his brother, and while it was just as likely that he'd been cautious because she was a stranger, she couldn't help but make parallels to Crystal when her brother died.

She had no idea what this had to do with the dead girls in the cemetery, but people did odd things when the deaths of loved ones were involved. She'd seen that first-hand.

On a whim, before she started following him, she looked up Chris's brother. Daryl Epps was tall and built like a fridge. He wasn't her type, but she could see the appeal that a girl like Cordelia would have with him.

Daryl might have nothing to do with the missing girls. Aisling told herself.

Yet she couldn't shake the feeling that he did, and even if they didn't, Chris was still connected to them. So, following Chris still made the most sense.

She followed Chris to what she assumed was his old house, when he entered the house she panicked for a moment and looked around for a way to hear what was going on before she heard sounds coming from an opened window from the basement.

She walked over to it and watched Chris and Eric argue.

"I can't do it!" He told Eric as they talked.

"We will lose the entire body if we don't find a head soon!" Eric told Chris.

"We have time!"

"We don't!" Eric said. "The crash with the girls was lucky. We can't just keep waiting around for another lucky accident to drop a head in our laps." Eric straightened and stepped away. "You know what we have to do, hell it's just one lousy girl." Aisling had to physically stop herself from attacking Eric right there. How dare you. How dare you nonchalantly discuss the murder of an innocent.

"I won't do it," Chris said. "I-I can't kill anyone"

Aisling let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. Mutilating the dead girls was disgusting and horrible, but the girls' bodies were dead. Not going through any pain as they were chopped into pieces, and by the looks of it, Chris wasn't willing to end a life prematurely to act on his goals.

He still needed to be stopped, but so long as he wasn't planning a murder, she had time to talk him out of this.

Then Chris turned around and she panicked thinking she'd been spotted. "Please." He said. Aisling looked on in confusion. Who was he talking to? "Understand, I- I can't do that. Please don't make me."

"You gave me your word." Someone else said impatiently. Aisling couldn't see who was talking, the guy was in shadow, could only tell he was big and tall and had a voice that was slightly lower than Chris'.

"You promised me, little brother." The man continued talking, he came out into the light and Aisling had to cover her mouth to hide the horrified gasps, the third person was Daryl Epps. "I wouldn't be alone." The man said.

Daryl Epps was a Frankenstein-looking person with jagged scars across his face, that had been stitched together by a novice. He'd been in a state of decomposition when he was brought back since his skin was greyish-green.

No vampire looked like that, which meant that whatever force had brought him back it hadn't been through siring. She wasn't sure if that was a positive or a negative in this case.

Eric spoke up. "The body is perfect, And if we harvest a head tonight, she'll be ready by sunrise," Shut up! Aisling thought viciously toward Eric. Shut up, shut up, shut up.

Daryl turned to Chris, "When you brought me back, you promised you'd take care of me." Daryl said. He knelt and clasped Chris's shoulder. "I need this, Chris. I need someone."

Hold your ground, Chris. Aisling thought herself. Please hold your ground, you know this is wrong.

"Please don't ask me to do this." Chris pleaded with his brother. "Don't ask me to take a life."

Daryl pushed away from Chris, frustrated.

"I tried to tell him," Eric said. "If you take a life in order to make a life, the whole this is a wash. No harm no foul."

Aisling had to physically hold back the bile at Eric's nonchalance at murder.

"Maybe you could-you could go out." Chris insisted.

"No!" Daryl shouted.

"Let people know." Chris pleaded with his brother.

"They can't see me." Daryl turned back to his little brother. "Chris, you've always been smarter than me." Daryl knelt in front of his brother. "You were always the brains. You're the only one who can help me now." Chris looked away. "Third and long, seconds to go," Daryl said. Aisling assumed this was some kind of football reference but she didn't get it. "Where do you throw?" He shook Chris a little "Where do you throw?"

"Number 5," Chris said reluctantly. He looked at his brother. "Daryl's going to drive."

"Help me, Brother." Daryl insisted.

Stand your ground. Aisling pleaded internally. Please, please, please. Stand your ground.

Her stomach dropped when she saw


Chris nod to his brother. Daryl stop up eagerly and hugged Chris tightly. "Thank you," Chris said. He looked up at Eric. "Show me." He told Eric.

And then Aisling got context for why Eric was taking so many candid shots in the hallway the other day. As he grabbed photographs and laid them out in front of Daryl. You conniving little bastard. If you're lucky the only thing that I'll do to you is rip your, bloody, camera apart. You sick twisted creep. How long were you planning to murder one of your classmates?"

"Who's she?" Daryl asked.

"Oh Aisling Pratt, She moved here a few weeks ago," Eric said. Aisling held her breath as her stomach dropped out from underneath. "Cute isn't she?"

Without saying anything, Daryl moved right on past her face and focused on another. "This one."

"Haha." Eric said lifting up the picture, which unfortunately Aisling couldn't see he started cutting into it while he sang 'My girl, my girl, talkin' bout my girl." He finished it by cutting off the head.

He pasted the head on a copy of the model he was making and that was when Aisling saw that the head they were planning on using.

Cordelia Chase's.

The moment she realized Cordelia Chaste was their target, she pulled out her cell and immediately started making phone calls as she ran as fast as she could to the school. "Cordelia," She said when she answered. "You are in immediate danger."

"Gosh, what is it now?"

"Just trust me ok?" Aisling said. "Just find Buffy and tell her that the head that they wanted to use is yours," Aisling said as she ran as fast as she could from the building. "Please, it's really important. I followed Chris and Eric, there making a girl, and the head they want to use is yours."

"That makes no sense."

"I know," Aisling said. "Trust me I know. Just please I'm not kidding when I say they want to cut off your head and attach to some Epps-Gittleson she-creature. Just please."

"You're not messing with me are you?"

"No," Aisling said. "I'm almost at the school, just… Cordy, please. Your life depends on it."

"Alright, alright," Cordelia said. "Don't have a cow. It's not like Eric and Chris are gonna kidnap me in the middle of class. Buffy should be in the library after school, I'll head there immediately after class, alright?

Aisling took a deep breath.

"But if I find out you've lied to me, I will end you. I'm cheering at the game tonight, If I'm gonna miss it, it better be because my life is actually in danger."

Right Queen B. Aisling thought to herself. "I'm not. I wouldn't. Not about this."


"Well, you don't have to figure out whose head they want to chop off," Cordelia said entering the library, her voice sounded as though she was barely concealing her fear. That meant she'd overheard their conversation about those two needing heads. "Aisling called me just before lunch ended, they want mine."

"How would she know?" Buffy asked.

"Found Chris during lunch," Aisling said entering right behind Cordy. "Ended up following him."

"You find out anything relevant?"

"Yeah, they want to cut off Cordelia's head," Aisling said. "And the person who ordered the Epps-Gittleson She-creature is Daryl Epps."

Buffy looked at Aisling confused. "But Daryl is dead."

"Not anymore. From what I saw, Chris revived him somehow, and now Daryl wants Chris to make him a girl, someone who knows what it's like to be a freak."

"That explains why he wants Cordelia," Buffy said though she looked vaguely sick. "Is revivification possible?"

"Like soul and all? Only under very specific circumstances. Reviving dead tissue…" Aisling said. "With magic, yes. Zombies are a thing, but I don't know… Daryl had more agency than a lot of zombies I've come across. And they weren't using magic, I heard talk of electrical currents. Felt very Frankenstein's creature, to be honest."

"Yeah, but that was a book," Xander said. "This is real life."

"Yeah, Dracula's a book too," Aisling said. "What's your point?"

"Dracula's a myth," Xander said. "Right?"

Buffy cut in. "Ok before we go into a 'fiction vs fact' debate. Do you know where they're keeping the body?"

"No. But Daryl is at Chris' house." Aisling said, "But, what about Cordelia? We can't just leave her alone."

Buffy nodded and she immediately started ordering people around, "Giles, Willow, Xander, you stick as close to her as possible, don't let her go anywhere alone."

"Uh, I can take care of myself," Cordelia interjected.

"Yeah, you can." Aisling agreed when it looked as though Buffy was going to argue with her. "But do you want to be alone? When two high schoolers and a zombie want to chop off your head?"

Cordelia bit her lip and shook her head. "No."

"Ok. Good." Aisling nodded her head. "You have your cellphone. I have mine, you see Chris and Eric your call immediately and then get as far out of dodge as you possibly can."

"Good, but I have to be at the game," Giles said.

Aisling blinked. "You're prioritizing a game over, a student's life?" Aisling said.

"Well, it's probably the first time he's had a date in forever," Xander said. "And it's Miss Calendar who he's been crushing on for a while. I can understand wanting to avoid Cordelia duty"

Aisling gave Xander a 'WTH' stare before she turned to Giles in disgust, "First of all, you can reschedule a date. Second of all a student's life is in danger. And third, it's Miss Calendar who already knows about the supernatural and weird in Sunnydale. Tell her the truth."

"I have to be at the game." Cordelia cut in sounding as though she had just be been brought back into the conversation. "So… him being there works out."

"Not the point I was trying to make," Aisling said trying to cover over her embarrassment. "But… fair point, I'd forgotten about that."

Cordelia looked on and nodded slowly. Her mind already going somewhere else.

Aisling and Buffy turned to go.

"Wait."

Aisling paused and turned back to Cordelia and Buffy looked annoyed. "Yes?" Aisling asked.

For the first time since she entered the library, she looked close to tears. "Daryl… he… it was him? You're sure?"

"He called Chris little brother," Aisling said. "Yes. I'm sure."

Cordelia looked down and wiped her eyes. She looked at them for a moment her mouth open to ask and then she looked down again. "Ok."

Aisling and Buffy nodded once before they turned and ran out of the Library. Aisling's backpack was still on her shoulders.


Buffy was faster than her, Aisling found herself being pushed to her limits to keep up. The knowledge that Buffy was likely slowing herself up so Aisling could lead her to the Epps house did nothing to help.

I don't understand why Chris would do something like this, just to appease his brother."

"A friend of mine was turned," Aisling said wheezing slightly. "He ended up staked, but before that… his sister, also a friend of mine, did a lot of questionable things just to keep him happy."

Buffy turned to Aisling, but Aisling refused to stare back at Buffy.

"When you lose someone and they come back… even if they're not exactly like they used to be… for some people they'll do anythin' to keep them around. Even if you know it's wrong."

Buffy looked down, "That doesn't make it right."

"No," Aisling said.

"What happened to your friend, the sister?"

"Her dad drowned his sorrows in every alcoholic beverage he could get his hands on and her mom…" Aisling shook her head, "Her mom just kind of just stopped existin'. I think she was hopin' that after a while she could reintroduce her brother to the family and everything would be alright again."

"But then he dusted."

"Yeah," Aisling said. "He dusted."

"Did your dad dust him?"

Aisling shook her head "Dad didn't know…" Aisling sighed. "Not until after he was gone, no the person who dusted him was me."

Buffy stopped running for a moment to put a hand on Aisling's arm. "You did the right thing, when a human is turned, the person is gone and a demon takes their place."

Aisling didn't answer for a long while. For a while, she just continued walking slowly so she could catch her breath "I could see the human." She said after a moment.

"What?"

"My friend. There were parts of him that were leftover from his human days. Just dialled up to 11 and twisted in ways I could never have imagined."

"That's not possible. He acted that way because the demon was trying to trick you."

Aisling stayed silent, she wanted to argue the point, but she could tell by her insistence that Buffy wasn't quite ready to hear it.

They saw the house come up and Buffy picked up the pace and quite nearly jumped up the stairs and rang the doorbell.

While they waited for someone to answer the door Buffy turned to Aisling. "You know, maybe-"

"The day you've beaten me in a fight, you can tell me to wait here." Aisling cut in.

"We've never actually-."

"Yeah, that's my point," Aisling said crossing her arms. "And you've never seen me fight so, you know, hush."

"You die-"

"Buffy-" Aisling said putting a hand on Buffy's arm. "My father's a demon hunter, he taught me how to hold my own. Especially against beings that are bigger, stronger and faster than me. Trust me."

Whatever Buffy wanted to say was interrupted as a middle-aged woman opened the door.

The woman was unwell. Likely extremely depressed, unable to do anything but watch videos of her eldest son's games.

She felt bad for the mom. Bad for Chris as well, perhaps if the mom had gotten the help she so clearly needed, maybe things would have been better.

It didn't make any of this ok, but… maybe…

Aisling didn't have time to focus on any of it. Buffy and trailed to a door that was plastered with 'keep out' signs all over it.

Buffy opened the door to stairs heading toward the basement. Buffy and Aisling looked toward each other and nodded.

"Think we should have brought weapons?" Buffy whispered.

Aisling raised an eyebrow and opened her backpack. "Never leave home unprepared. Dad's rules."

Buffy took a small axe, Aisling pulled out a knife; they headed into the basement together.

"Daryl?" Aisling called out. "Daryl Epps? We know you're here."

"This really a good idea?"

"Hush," Aisling said. "Daryl?"

Nothing happened, instead, they kept walking down the stairs as slowly as possible.

"Why can't…"

"Shhh!" Aisling said.

"There's no point. I can hear you." Daryl said walking over from a curtained-off area. "Who are you?"

"We know you're the one behind the missing girls in the cemetery." Buffy cut in glaring at Daryl.

Immediately Daryl's stance became defensive, Aisling groaned. "Daryl please you have to know that murderin' people is wrong."

"She won't be dead," Daryl argued. "Not really, she'll be like me, different."

Aisling stepped forward slowly. "But will she want you?" Aisling said softly. "What if she just resents you instead?"

Daryl shook his head. "That won't happen." He argued. "She'll love me."

"You don't know that," Aisling said softly.

Daryl growled at the girl and tossed down a nearby shelf. "You're trying to confuse me." He argued.

"No," Aisling said. "No, just hoping to make you understand."

Daryl shook his head. "She'll love me." He said. "She has too."

Aisling shook her head. "She won't."

"How do you know?"

Aisling looked Daryl in the eye. "Cause when a person I loved tried to do the same thing to me," She said, "I killed him."

She could feel Buffy's eyes on her, and Daryl's shock hanging in the air. She held her breath hoping Daryl would see sense.

Daryl scoffed. "That was you," He said getting ready to fight. "She will be different."


"Crystal?" Aisling called as she made her way into her friend's house.

"Coming!" The girl shouted from upstairs. "Just finishing up my makeup. Make yourself comfortable."

Aisling had already been in the process of doing that, preparing a glass of orange juice for herself before making her way to the living room and turned on the television to wait.

"Where are your parents?"

"Mom's sleeping." Crystal shouted down. "Dad left after changing out of his work clothes."

Aisling nodded Crystal's mother slept like the dead. Nothing baring a natural disaster could wake her up when she was in the middle of REM. So yelling to be heard between floors did not risk waking her up. And since Travis died the least said about Crystal's father the better.

She sat down on the couch and started flipping through the channels. When she found a show she was interested in she smiled and sat back watching the characters interact.

She barely even registered the sound of metal snapping coming from the basement.


Daryl attacked.

Buffy fought back as hard as she could. Punching and kicking him as hard as he could, doing her best to keep his attention her, while Aisling did her best to take him from behind.

Every loud noise made Aisling wince. "Buffy!" Aisling winced, "we can't risk, Mrs. Epps, hearing us."

"Don't really have a choice here." Buffy gasped aiming another punch.

Aisling bit her lip. She looked through her bag and grinned when she found her dad's zippo lighter. She looked around the basement and found pesticides hiding on the shelf. She ran toward it and shook it.

Aisling waited for a moment and then came at him, using the spray from the pesticide can and the flame from the lighter she was able to make a three feet long stream of fire that caught Daryl off guard

"ARGH!" Daryl cried.

"Tell us where the body is," Aisling said. She didn't want to risk the house catching fire. "Now."

Daryl shook his head, thanks to the fight it appeared that some of his scars had reopened making him look even more grotesque as usual. "I can't."

Aisling sprayed the pesticides and watched as the flamed jettisoned three feet in front of her. "I don't want to hurt you." She said. "But we can't allow anyone to be hurt to be hurt." She said.

Daryl shook his head. "My life isn't worth living without her." He said.

Aisling hesitated. Oddly enough she believed him. "I'm sorry you feel that way," Aisling said. "I do, but ruining another girl's life is not the answer."

"She'll have me," Daryl said. "We'll have each other."

Aisling shot another stream of fire at him after a few seconds of screaming Aisling stopped. "Where's the body?"

Daryl spat at her. "Like I would tell you anything!" He spat at her.

Aisling believed him. She also believed that she would cave to her hatred of causing pain that he would cave to his pain. Aisling tossed the aerosol can away.

At that moment, her cellphone rang.

Aisling answered the cell and balanced the phone between her ear and her shoulder to keep her hands free to keep shooting fire at Daryl if she needed to. "Yes."

"Chris told us everything," Willow said. "The body is being kept in the abandoned science building on campus."

That was quick. Aisling thought to herself though she didn't have time to ask for specifics. "Destroy it."

"NO!" Daryl screamed. "No! You can't!"

When Daryl tried to lunge for her Aisling sprayed fire in his general direction. "It's over," Aisling said. "It's done."

"Umm Aisling." Aisling looked toward where Buffy was and how she was desperately attempting to smack out a fire that Aisling had accidentally caused.

"Sorry!" Aisling winced immediately dismissing the homemade flame thrower and took out a mini axe from her backpack when it looked like Daryl was going to make a run for it. Unfortunately, Aisling was still weaker than Daryl and Daryl had already picked up momentum, so when Aisling and Buffy went to intercept him Daryl had pushed Aisling out of the way causing her to crash into nearby shelves.

Buffy faired slightly better. Able to get a few kicks in but Daryl was able to grab the back of her neck and toss her aside. In the moment of confusion, he ran up the stairs and out of the house.

"His mom must be so out of it," Aisling said wincing and clutching her side. "Ow."

"Yeah," Buffy said. "You ok?"

"Think I bruised a rib or two." Aisling hissed. "But…" Aisling hissed in pain. "I should be fine."

"We should get going," Buffy said eying the open window. "Think you can…"

Aisling looked up at the window and took a deep breath and stood. "Let's go." She said.

Fortunately, by the time Daryl reached the science building, Willow, Cordelia and even Chris were there already setting the building on fire. Xander seemed to be keeping an eye on Eric to make sure he did nothing stupid.

Even in the middle of watching an abandoned building burn down she could help but smile at Eric's face. Bruises seemed to be forming on his cheek and around his right eye.

She remembered how he almost seemed to be egging Daryl on. Convincing him to kill an innocent girl.

Eric got off easy.

Aisling didn't have time to wonder what happened to make Chris change his mind, though given that he has always been hesitant it was likely it would not take too much to turn him around.

"NO!" Daryl shouted hurrying to the body. "No!"

Chris tried to stop him. But Buffy held him back.

Cordelia stared at Daryl as he ran into the building. Aisling walked up beside her. "Are you ok?"

Cordelia stared at her reanimated ex-boyfriend. "He…"

Aisling looked down. "Yeah."

Cordelia looked down as Daryl lay on top of the girl he had convinced his brother to build for him. She said nothing.

What was there to say?


Aisling clutched the stake in her hand as she stared at a pile of dust. After a long moment, she hesitantly looked up over at Crystal.

"Crystal," Aisling said bending down.

She stared at the dust for a long while then stared back up at Aisling. "You killed him-"

"I know," Aisling said. "I know. I'm sorry."

"He… tried to kill you."

Aisling shook her head. "No, he wanted to turn me. Same thing."

Crystal stared up at Aisling. "Would being a vampire have been so bad?"

"It's not what I wanted," Aisling said.

"So he had to die for it?"

"He wouldn't take no for an answer," Aisling said. "Crystal…"

Crystal jerked away from her. "You killed my brother." She said. "You- YOU killed him. Because he was a vampire. For all you know he could have turned out like your father, seeking out his soul, trying to be good for us. All because you didn't want to be a vampire. Get out."

"Crystal…"

"Get out." Crystal hissed, "Get out. Get out. GET OUT!"

Aisling took a step back and then another she didn't even try to reason with Crystal, couldn't even try to comprehend the mental hoops that Crystal was jumping through to keep herself sane. So she turned and left the house.

"Da'?" She called swallowing back her tears. "Can you come, pick me up?"


She was hesitant to approach Chris, her mind reminded of Crystal's anger after she had been forced to kill Travis.

So she took the coward's way out and let Buffy speak to her.

She stayed next to Cordy.

"Thanks for warning me," Cordelia said. "I… if you hadn't warned me I would likely be dead now. So… thanks."

Aisling shrugged. "Believe it or not. I know what it's like."

Cordelia stared at her in confusion before they softened in understanding. "Your boyfriend was turned."

Aisling shook her head. "Just a friend. But still."

"It sucks," Cordelia said.

Aisling watched the fire burn and listened as the fire trucks drove up. "Yeah."


The police questioned her and she explained that when she arrived the building was already on fire and she had no idea how the fire got started. She stared up at the officer with as much innocence that was believable.

It worked the officer thanked her for her help and he turned away

In the distance, she could see Xander and Cordelia talking with Willow standing off to the side.

She leaned against a tree and slid down so she was sitting tears filling her eyes. "I'm sorry." She cried. "I'm so sorry."

Then almost as though by fate her phone rang she stared at the number and her eyes widened she clicked the call button and put the phone to her ear.

"Jonathan?"

"Hey, Ash." The boy said. "How're things."

Aisling looked at the burning building and sighed. "Went through something the reminded me of how Travis died."

Jonathan paused. "Oh, Ash…"

Aisling looked up at the sky wondering how it had gotten so dark so soon. She smiled at seeing the waning moon in the sky. "Yeah… he wasn't a vampire, but…"

"Wasn't a vampire but still reminded you of Travis' death…" Jonathan said. "Want to talk about it."

Aisling pulled her legs to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. "How was everythin' for last week?"

"Same. Crys and Donnie came over and we dealt. You?"

Aisling shrugged. "Nothin' much. Sorry I didn't call. I had a lot of things goin' on."

"No, no problem. I figured living on a Hellmouth would not be easy. I just called to make sure things were ok."

"Everythin''s as fine as could be expected," Aisling said. "How's Crys?"

"She's fine. You know the anniversary's coming up."

"Yeah. In about a month." Aisling sighed. "Doin' anythin' for it?"

"Just gonna sleepover at Crys' and watch home movies. Want to come over?"

Aisling sighed and had to will away the tears. "I don't know if I can. My dad might not be healed then."

Jonathan heard what she didn't say. "You had no choice, Ash. He would have turned you otherwise."

"Yeah," Aisling said. "But Dad-"

"Is one of a kind," Jonathan said. "You have no idea what you would be like as a vampire. And more than that, you have every right to push back; you didn't want to be turned."

That was true. Her Therapist had said the same thing too.

Vampirism changed you, and Aisling had already been changed so much from the happy little girl living in a white house with a wrought iron fence in Galway Ireland, she didn't want to be forced into another change.

She knew she would change. Was still changing, but she wanted her changes to be on her time.

No one else's.

"Your right," Aisling said. "Still."

"Yeah," Jonathan said sympathetically. "Still."

They were quiet for a moment before Jonathan spoke again. "Lois and Clark was on last week."

"Already airin' reruns huh?" Aisling asked. "What episode was it?"

"Season 3 premiere."

Aisling chuckled. "Who's asking? Clark or Superman?" Aisling smiled. "I love that scene."

"I know." Jonathan chuckled. "You also enjoy the scene right after where Lois is chewing Clark out for keeping secrets. Hypocritical of you, I think."

Aisling frowned and looked down. "I can't tell anyone yet. Not until I know-"

She paused when she felt something crawl up her back and she looked behind her and rolled her eyes. "Gotta go." She groaned. "Talk to you later."

"Uh- Ok talk to you later."

Aisling shut her phone off and sighed. "Don't you have a girlfriend to be comforting?" Aisling called out as Angel came out of the shadows.

"I told you before. I'm concerned."

"And I'm telling you," Aisling said standing up. "That I don't need your help. So go be with your girlfriend and please leave me alone."

"I can help you deal with having to stake your friend."

"You're a licensed therapist?" Aisling asked.

"No, but-"

"Then I don't need your help. Nor do I want it."

"Therapists can't-"

"Mine can." She said then she turned. "Buffy!" She called when Buffy turned her way she pointed at Angel "Your boyfriends here!"

"Any particular reason you came home smelling vaguely of smoke?" Spike asked when Aisling walked through the door, her hair wet and wearing her white nightgown.

"Somethin' happened and it ended with a buildin' havin' to be burned down," Aisling said.

"Do I want to know?" Spike asked.

Aisling shrugged and looked down.

Spike looked at her for a long moment the reached out his arms. "Come 'ere." He said.

Aisling stared at him and then her eyes watered again and she fell into his arms.

"What happened."

Aisling cried in his arms. "I was reminded of Travis today." She gasped.

"Oh… sweetie." Spike stroked her hair. "I'm so sorry."


"What happened?"

Aisling stared at Spike in his leather duster and her eyes watered as she ran into his arms. "I had to stake my best friend." She whispered, her voice broke on the last word.

For a moment Spike said nothing then he pulled her into his arms and she broke down crying.

"I'm sorry." She cried as her knees gave out beneath her. In a swift movement, Spike picked her up bridal style and carried her to the car. The entire time she cried into his chest, apologizing for something that she should never have been subjected to.

He knew there wasn't much he could say. So instead he let her cry, holding her tightly. Trying desperately to be her raft in the sea of her emotions trying so desperately to drown her.

Spike shook his head. Her first kill. And it was of her friend.

A fate he wouldn't wish on anyone let alone his own child.

He held her tightly as she filled the night with her heart-wrenching sobs.


A/N for the record anyone wondering how Eric got those bruises on his eye. Xander punched him in the face.
In regards to the Cordelia and Xander talking: Cordelia and Xander wound up talking after Buffy and Aisling left and ended up bonding.
I may do a few one shots detailing the scenes that we don't see, but I don't know.