Chapter Eight: Job Offer

"I'm fine, we're all fine." Buffy said and looked at the ax. "Did you kill something?"

"There was a demon that was after you." Tara explained. "Don't worry, it's gone now."

"Come in, come in." Buffy said and moved out of the way.

Tara walked into the house. "I can't stay long." She said, "I just needed to make sure you were okay."

"I'll make some tea." Wesley said and shut the door.

Tara set the ax down and sat on the couch. Buffy sat across from Tara. Wesley walked into the kitchen and relieved Dawn of cleaning. He informed her that Tara was here. Dawn immediately dropped the dishes in the sink and left the kitchen. Wesley smiled and started a pot of tea. Dawn ran into the living room and hugged Tara. Tara hugged her back and smiled.

"Hi Dawn," she said. "How are you?"

"Good, we've just been taking care of the baby." Dawn explained and then stopped. "Well, I've been taking care of the house."

"That's good." Tara said and smiled again. "So you're okay here?"

Dawn nodded. "I'm happy that Buffy is back. Even though she's not in her real body, she's still Buffy."

Buffy smiled at Dawn. She was happy that her sister believed her. That was one less thing she had to worry about. She was upset that her other friends didn't believe her, but at least Tara believed her and it looked like tonight, Tara saved her life. She turned to Tara and asked,

"So what is with the ax?"

"We were haunted." Tara explained. "By some creature that was trying to get rid of you."

"Oh." Buffy said, a little shocked. "Why was it trying to get rid of me?"

"It was trying to get rid of you so it could stay on this plane," Tara explained some more. "But you're safe now. I sliced its head off."

Buffy's eyes widened. "Have you ever done that before?"

Tara shook her head. "No and it was terrifying. I wasn't sure I was going to make it."

"But you did." Buffy said.

"Something was after Buffy?" Dawn asked and sat down. Tara nodded.

"It's taken care of," Tara said. "You're all safe now."

"Thank you Tara," Buffy said. "I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome." Tara said. "Any time."

Wesley entered the room with a tray of crackers and some tea. Everyone sipped on their tea and Wesley joined them. Spike was taking care of Connor upstairs. Jack and Laura were asleep. Wesley looked at the window and the sun was starting to rise. Tara looked at the sun as well and set her tea down on the coffee table. She stood up and said,

"I guess I should be going." Tara paused. "Thank you for the tea. I'll keep in touch."

Dawn nodded. "I'm going to get some rest." She stood up and hugged Tara goodbye.

Tara said her goodbyes to Wesley and Buffy. She grabbed her ax and walked out of the house. She walked back to Xander's apartment. She knocked on the door and Xander opened it.

"Shh, everyone is asleep," Xander said. "Come on in. I volunteered to stay up for the ladies. We took turns. We were worried about you."

"It took longer than I thought," Tara lied. "But I got rid of the demon. We won't be haunted by it anymore."

"Tara?" Willow called out and she stood up from the couch. Xander let her in and shut the door. Tara walked over to Willow.

"I'm back, Will," Tara said. "Everything is fine. We are safe now."

"Where did you go?" Willow asked. "We were worried."

"Just around town." Tara lied again. "But we should get going."

Willow nodded and got up. Tara and Willow went home. Anya was still asleep. Xander nudged her to wake up.

"It's sunrise." Xander whispered. "Are you going to the Magic Shop today?"

Anya yawned and stretched. She nodded and said, "Yes, I'll go open it."

Back at Buffy's house, everyone started to wake up. Except for Buffy and Dawn. The two girls went to sleep. Wesley, Jack, and Laura took care of Connor. Spike went to sleep as well. The doorbell went off, almost waking everyone up. Wesley quickly went to the door and looked through the peephole. He rolled his eyes and opened the door.

"Lilah," he said.

Lilah grinned. "Hello Wesley," she said. "May I come in?"

"I don't think that's a good idea." Wesley said and almost closed the door on her. Lilah put her hand on the door and her foot in the way.

"I have a job offer for you." Lilah said.

"And it keeps getting funnier." Wesley said. "What do you want?"

Lilah stepped inside. "Is this your new home?"

Wesley sighed. "Yes, it is."

Lilah saw Jack and Laura with Connor. "The Winters are taking care of Angel's son?"

"How do you know who they are?" Wesley asked and rolled his eyes. "Right, it's your job to know."

Lilah turned around. "Correct." She said, "Are you going to offer me some hospitality?" Lilah paused. "You really can't turn me down."

Wesley sighed heavily. "Fine." He turned to Laura. "Laura, would you mind getting Buffy and telling her that we have company."

"She just went to sleep." Laura argued.

"This is important." Wesley insisted.

Laura nodded and handed Connor over to Jack. She went upstairs and knocked on the Summers' girls door. Buffy heard the knock and rolled her eyes. So much for sleep, she thought, and got up. She tried not to wake up her sister. Buffy tiptoed around her room and answered the door.

"What is it?" Buffy whispered to Laura.

"Wesley needs you," Laura whispered. "Some woman is here for you."

Buffy nodded. "Okay." She walked outside the room and gently closed the door.

She and Laura walked back downstairs. Lilah and Wesley were in the dining room, at the table. Laura went back to her husband and Connor. She gave the three of them some privacy. Buffy sat across from Lilah and turned to Wesley.

"Who is this?" She asked.

"This is Lilah Morgan," Wesley explained. "She works at Wolfram and Hart, the evil law firm."

"And what is evil doing in our house Wesley?" Buffy snapped.

Lilah grinned. "Who are you?"

Buffy turned to Wesley and shook her head. Lilah sighed. "Right, need to know. I'll find out." She paused. "I'm here to offer Wesley a job at Wolfram and Hart."

"Wesley?" Buffy asked.

"I had no idea she was coming." Wesley said in defense. "I really don't know what she's talking about."

"I'm talking about a job," Lilah explained. "As in we pay you everything if you keep your word."

"What word is that?" Buffy asked.

"We want you…" Lilah chuckled and sighed. "We want you to keep Connor away from Angel." She paused. "Forever."

"What?" Buffy asked, surprised. "How can we do that?"

"With our help," Lilah explained. "We would pay for everything: medical, dental, and all of Connor's appointments."

"Why do you want us to keep Connor from Angel?" Buffy asked.

"To make him suffer." Wesley said and Lilah nodded.

"We need Angel to keep his head in the game." Lilah explained. "And of course, we want him to suffer."

"I don't like it." Buffy said.

"What other choice do we have?" Wesley asked. "I think that we should consider this."

Buffy sighed heavily. "It would ensure Connor's safety."

"Think about it." Lilah said and handed Wesley a business card. "That's my line, directly." She paused. "You have twenty-four hours to decide." Lilah stood up. "I'll show myself out."

Lilah walked out of the room and out of the house. Buffy turned to Wesley and said, "I still don't like it."

"I don't like it either," Wesley agreed. "But it would help Connor. We don't have all the necessary funds to keep him afloat."

"I guess. We'll think about it. She gave us until tomorrow." Buffy said. "Do you have an eye on things here? I'm going to try and get some rest."

"Yes, go get some rest." Wesley said. "Everything will be fine."

Buffy nodded and left the room. She walked back upstairs into the girl's room and shut the door, careful not to wake up Dawn. She tiptoed back to the bed and crawled under the covers. Buffy closed her eyes and had weird dreams. The dreams were so vivid. It felt like she was still awake. Buffy awoke and threw the covers off. It was late afternoon. When she turned to see if Dawn was still there, the bed was empty.

She didn't even hear her get up. Buffy must have been exhausted. She stretched and walked downstairs. When she saw everyone, they were at the table. Except Spike. He was asleep. Jack and Laura looked quiet and concerned. Wesley looked puzzled as well. Dawn appeared to be in deep thought. Buffy sat down and asked,

"What's going on?"

"We know the offer." Dawn said. "And we've all been talking about it while you were asleep."

"Oh," Buffy said. "What does everyone think?"

Jack and Laura looked at her. "We think we should take it." Laura told her.

"It makes sense." Wesley said. "It's a good offer."

"Other than the fact that Angel will never see his son again." Buffy said flatly. She looked at Wesley. "That's part of the bargain."

"I think we should take the offer Buffy." Wesley said.

Buffy sighed heavily. "Does everyone feel this way?" She asked.

"Feel what way?" Spike asked.

He appeared out of nowhere, which made Buffy jump. She turned to him and said, "We didn't mean to wake you."

"It's fine," Spike said and sat down. "What are we all discussing?"

"Whether or not to take the job offer from Wolfram and Hart." Wesley told him.

"Aren't they evil?" Spike asked.

"Yes," Buffy said. "And if we cross this line…"

Spike looked at her and said, "We won't be evil. We'll be using our resources." He paused and crossed his arms. "I think you should take it."

Buffy thought for a moment. Angel would be crushed if he ever found out, but the rest of the group was not wrong. It was a good idea. They needed back up. They needed help. Buffy looked at Wesley and said,

"Call her and take the job."

Wesley nodded and pulled out his cellphone. He grabbed the business card that Lilah gave him and dialed her directly.

"This is Lilah Morgan." Lilah said instantly.

"This is Wesley Wyndam-Pryce." Wesley told her. "We'll take the job."

Author's Notes: Something different. I wanted the group to have resources and I thought that Wolfram and Hart would be a great resource. Yes, it's different, but I think this part of the story fits!