"I just realized Xander can relate to Angel/Angelus better then the rest of us can." Giles said. "Because he's actually been in that situation. The hyena possessed you. It behaved the way a vampire would, remorseless for his actions. But you have to remember it's actions. You feel guilt and remorse for crimes you didn't commit. No wonder you hated Angel, he was a constant reminder."

"Well that and he was useless."

"What are you talking about now, Xander?" Willow demanded. "He helped Buffy!"

"He saved her from the Three and from Darla. And that's it. That's it! That's all he did. He'd show up once in a while with cryptic, useless information. When Buffy was going after the Master I found him in his apartment. Reading a book. He had his shoes off, for gods sakes! When I asked him why he wasn't doing anything to help her, he said he was afraid. I was fucking terrified! But I wasn't sitting in my room reading a book with my shoes off! Don't tell me he helped, Willow. Because he didn't. In case you missed it, he was in the Bronze the night of the Harvest. While Buffy was battling the big guy with the mark on his head and you and Giles were getting people out and I was pulling Jesse off of Cordelia and holding a stake to his chest, Angel was hiding in the shadows, watching. You want proof? You're a hacker, check the camera's recordings at the Bronze, you might just find proof of it. Those are just two reasons why I don't think Angel loved Buffy. He may have been obsessed with her, but that's something totally different."

Once again, Willow couldn't think of anything to say. She just looked shocked. "You're serious? He really wasn't going to help her with the Master? Why did he help with the Three and Darla?"

"Because she could see him helping." Cordelia pointed out. "It's what someone does away from you that's most telling about their behavior, Willow. He never patrolled with her. And we never came across him patrolling on his own. He never offered to help with anything, with research, with any of the demons we had to deal with."

"But he helped on Halloween!"

"He went looking for Buffy." Xander corrected. "He didn't help with any of the innocent victims. Then Buffy ran off and we needed him to help find her. And that's the only example you can think of, isn't it?"

Willow thought about it and realized Xander was right, there was nothing else that said he'd helped aside from. "The Pergamum Codex! He found that!"

"He knew where it was, there's a difference." Giles said. "And I've often wondered how he knew the whereabouts of a book of prophecy about the Slayer, not to mention it conveniently disappeared right afterwards."

"My soldier knowledge is telling me that whole thing was a set up, Giles." Xander said. "But as to who was responsible, well we might not ever know that. The Master was big on prophecy from what I understand. Angel may have been set up or Angelus may have had some influence. But the key players, as far as we know, are all gone. So getting answers is probably not going to happen."

"There was nothing in the prophecy about you reviving her with CPR either. Whoever put it together didn't anticipate that."

"If I can do something, I'm going to try. It's something Willow and I have in common actually, the need to help. It's just we both have to figure out when help is actually needed and the best way to help. And not force our idea of help on people."

"Is that a dig on me, Xander?" Willow asked sourly.

"A little. You're so determined to help, that you haven't taken the time to determine if help is needed or wanted or if the manner in which you've decided to help is even the best way of helping. Buffy needs help, that's a fact. The Watchers Council's idea of the Slayer fighting alone is sheer stupidity in the extreme. All it really does is make the Slayer dependant on the Watchers Council. And the Watchers Council falls far short of being an actual help. I need help, but not any kind of help that you can offer. That's not your fault, Willow and saying it isn't meant to hurt you. It's a simple statement of fact. Giles can provide the practical help I need, Cordelia can provide the emotional. You're my friend, Willow. I love you like a sister. That's never going to change. And I know you'd like it to or at least you did before you met Oz."

"You know?!"

"That you have a crush on me? If the hyena wasn't enough to make me know, your hurt feelings when I asked you to the Spring Fling after Buffy turned me down, was a massively big clue. I thought we'd go as friends, your expression said clearly you were hoping for something more. A more I can't give you. If anything good comes out of the last few days, all of us clearing the air seems like a pretty big good thing."

"Perhaps if I had provided a better example by coming clean, as you say, about Eyghon, Jenny wouldn't have ended up possessed herself." Giles said sadly. "Of course, if I hadn't been so focused on seeing Buffy as a Slayer and not a person, the whole thing with Angel might never have happened. I was so focused on the fact that his presence made her more productive, that I never thought to research the damnable curse in the first place. So many lives could have been saved if I had. Xander is right, the way the Watchers Council and by extension myself, focuses on the Slayer and not the person, causes nothing but problems. At the very least, we as a group need to help Buffy in better ways."

"Starting with using my soldier knowledge more. There's a wealth of knowledge about fighting a war in my head, Giles. And we're at war."