In the days after the incident with the possessed teenagers, the group found themselves relying on each other for support as they dealt with it as best they could. Cordelia, especially, was struggling and for exactly the reason Rupert Giles had mentioned to Rory Harris, that she hadn't been fast enough.

"You may be capable of following a scent trail, even scent trails that are old and faint, but that doesn't mean you could have done it any faster than you did." Xander assured her. "You did the best you could under the circumstances. We could go on and on, on this matter, Cordelia. If I'd remembered the entry in Uncle Rory's book sooner or if Lance had come to us after the incident at the zoo, but the fact of the matter is, it's not our fault that Kyle died and not our fault that the four of them got possessed. It's not even their fault that they got possessed! Sure, they shouldn't have snuck into the closed off Hyena House in the first place or bullied Lance, let alone anyone else, for that manner. But that doesn't make it their fault that it happened. It's that zookeeper's fault for planning that whole stupid trans-possession ritual and importing hyenas in the first damn place! And those Hyena Wesen earned their own punishment for violating Wesen law. Bottom line, we did the best we could. Given the condition those kids were in, chances were someone was going to die. They tried to eat Principal Flutie, remember? And you had no idea that he was in any danger. If he wasn't Wesen and able to protect himself, we'd have lost him today. Please don't beat yourself up over this, Cordy and don't forget, it was your very first time doing something like that. Sure, theoretically you knew you could do it, but that didn't mean in practice you could do it. Today you found out that you could and the other three are alive and that's because of you."

"You would have found them eventually, they were taking a nap after eating."

Xander slipped his hand under the edge of her shirt and rubbed the soft fur that ran down her back in an effort to comfort her. He felt her begin to relax under his touch. The fact that she trusted him enough to relax in her woge state meant a lot to him. "We had no idea where to look for them, Cordelia. We would have had to take the time to ask people if they'd seen them, what direction they'd gone in, what state they were in. You were able to find and follow their trail from the moment you had their scent. You saved us potentially hours and who knows how many victims. You did good, Cordy."

Cordelia felt his hand on her back, rubbing and soothing her and sighed. "I guess it's your turn to help me deal with the after math of choices and actions, isn't it?"

"It's one of the things you do in a relationship, when you care about someone." He assured her. "Jesse and Amy are probably talking too. He's working on Good Boyfriend things too. Like not attending Cheerleader tryouts because they reminded Amy of her mother and what she did to her."

"Is that what you call it, Good Boyfriend things?"

"Sure, it's not like there's a guidebook for relationships, you know. We have to figure it out as we go along. And we both figured being supportive of our girls is high on the list of things we should be doing. And it's not a chore, I like supporting you, Cordy. Showing you how I feel and knowing that I can help you. I might not get it right, but that's okay, because I'm still learning. And I'm sure if I get it wrong you'll tell me."

"I will." She assured him with a grin. "You're not the only one who's glad they can help. It felt good helping you deal with the choice to stop the She Mantis. The fact that you let me, shows you trust me. In any relationship that's a really big deal, but for Wesen, since we live our lives in secret, it's even more. It was really the thing I was most afraid of before we got together, whether I could trust you and if risking my heart is worth it."

"You're conclusion?"

"You're worth it."

"So are you."

It wasn't until they saw Buffy the next day that they realized, Buffy didn't have anyone who could give her any real support.

"Buffy, are you alright?" Cordelia asked her after Cheerleading practice. "You seemed distracted today."

"I had a nightmare last night, not the first time. Slayers have dreams after all. Dreams of Slayers that came before us, sometimes what killed them and dreams that hint at future events. And I've been fighting vampires for a year and seen their victims, but this is the first time I've seen a human that was killed by another human. It's a new kind of nightmare."

"Have you talked to Mr. Giles? Isn't it his job to help you deal with things like that?"

"My first Watcher had no interest in hearing about it unless it involved future events and I barely know Giles, I just met him when I got to Sunnydale. And it's not like he's asked how I'm doing."

"Why not talk to your mother about it, surely she should be able to help you deal."

"I'm not allowed to tell her, she's safer if she doesn't know about vampires and the supernatural."

Cordelia stared at her and then blurted out. "That has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"