Title: Segue

Summary: A reunion of sorts.

Spoilers: BtVS:The Replacement, AtS:Redefinition

Disclaimer: Characters and setting belong to Joss Whedon, ME, and/or 20th Century Fox.

AN: I hadn't orginally intended this part to be so long, but once these guys get to chattering in your head they just don't stop! This is also my first effort at ensemble writing (I don't count ABF); you be the judge of my success.


Part 2, Our Gang

The tall, sandy-haired young man bounded up the steps of Stevenson Hall, looking forward to a beautiful Saturday with his girl. This would be the first time in a long time they would be getting together outside of campus and patrolling. Riley had great hope that this time with Buffy, just her and nobody else--especially no vampires or demons--would help rekindle her feelings for him.

Not long ago he had told Xander he knew just how lucky he was to be with her, also admitting he could feel her slowly slipping away. While he wasn't quite desperate yet, he was at loose ends trying to figure out how to get that indefinable spark back into their relationship. He hoped that magic, of the non-hellmouthy variety, would be in the warm early autumn air.

Bouncing on his toes in anticipation he knocked on the door. It swung inward to reveal Buffy Summers, wearing nothing but sandals, a bright yellow sundress and an even brighter smile. He nodded his head in appreciation and gave a soft whistle, "Why Ms. Summers, you're looking quite gorgeous today!"

"You like?" twirling on her toe, flinging the dress open and revealing more of her tanned legs.

"Very!" He scooped her up and gave her a deep lingering kiss which she returned with a passion, making a pleasurable humming sound.

"Hmmm, morning kisses from my boyfriend, the best kind!"

"R.T.R?" he asked when they finally broke apart, already feeling the day had gotten off to a perfect start.

"Artee-are? Is that how Iowan's play pirate?" she teased.

"No," smiling indulgently, "Initiative-speak for 'Ready to roll'. So...?"

"RTR we are!" Buffy confirmed with a quick nod, laughing as they walked hand-in-hand down the hallway. "And where are we rolling to, Mr. Finn?"

"I thought we might head up the coast, maybe go to San Simeon. See the Hearst Castle. I've heard it's really neat and the drive is supposed to be beautiful."

"Oh, so that's why the early start," she nodded her head in understanding before a the first frown of the day made it's appearance. "I don't think we can go that far," hurriedly explaining in the face of Riley's obvious disappointment. "I promised Giles we'd help out at the Magic Box this afternoon. With the lifting and stuff. I hope you don't mind too much, honey?" She screwed up her face prettily to help plead her case.

Determined not let this obstacle get him down, Riley brightened again with a new idea, "Pismo Beach, then? A quick picnic on the beach. We can be back by one. Two at the latest?"

"Well..." began Buffy, amused by Riley's eager-to-please puppy-dog looks, "...okay. But a real quick picnic. A quicknic!"

"Done!" he said as he opened the car door for her before running around to get in himself. After starting the car he looked over to Buffy and saw she had a pensive look. "Now what's the what? See? You have a multi-lingual boyfriend: I can do Scooby-speak, too!"

She smiled fleetingly before she answered. "I need to ask Giles about something."

"What? If it's not too slayer-confidential or anything."

"No, no, nothing like that. It's, well...last night. I had the strangest dream."

"Did you now? Did you sail away to China, in a little rowboat to find me?"

"No, why would I do that?" genuinely curious.

"Uh, No reason, no reason," mild disappointment evident and then gone. "Was I in it at all?" he asked hopefully.

"Actually..." hopeful lines creased his brow as he waited on her answer. "No, you weren't."

"Oh," he harrumphed, "What was it?"

"Well, beaches seem to be a theme today. I was on the beach, just standing in the sand, watching the sunset."

"And that's strange because..." the question left hanging.

"The sun was going backwards."

"Backwards?"

"Yeah, rising. Not setting."

"Okay, a backwards sun. A little odd, but that's not so strange. I mean, for dreams."

"Well, just as the sun was coming up, the sky turned green." Her eyes went big and dreamy with the memory of the vision. "It was the most beautiful color I've ever seen. The entire sky. Just for a moment. Then it was just a regular sunset again, only backwards, y'know, 'cause wrong-way sun."

"Hmmm." he nodded his head very thoughtfully.

"Are you still qualified to say that?" she chirped.

"Oh, yeah. I've got my muh degree."

"Huh?"

"No, not a 'Huh' degree," he chided her in a teasing tone, "A Muh degree!"

She didn't respond this time, waiting him out, arms crossed. He gave in first, of course. "Master of 'Hmmm'. 'M' 'H'. Muh."

She groaned theatrically, "Oh, you are so in trouble for that!"

"I quiver in fear," he mocked. "Actually," a thoughtful look replacing a leer, "maybe I really should."

"Yes, I think you should!" He had just stopped the car for a red light and she used the opportunity to lean over and tickle him on the neck, right where he was most sensitive.

"Hey hey hey, no tickling the driver!" he shouted as he first tried to squirm out of reach before retaliating with a full five-fingered tickle to her side, fully knowledgeable of her weak spots.

"But the driver can tickle the passenger? Where's the fair in that? And you've got reach!"

"All's fair in love and war, and I'm sure this is one of them."

"Oh, I think it's war!" as she leaped again to tickle him.

They eventually settled down and, after the light turned green, they were on their way to a beautiful day at the beach.

But Riley couldn't leave well enough alone. "Still. Why the big worry?"

"It kinda felt like a slayer dream."

---

The incoming beam of late morning sunlight slowly traced across the unmade bed and onto Xander's face, gently caressing his eyes with its warmth. His waking reaction was to squinch his lids tighter yet. His head throbbed and pounded like the jackhammers at the construction site that week, and the last thing he needed to add to it was the heat of the hellfires.

I hate California! Why couldn't it rain all the time? I'll bet Seattle has nice rain.

His self-inflicted agony was not improved by memories of a horrific nightmare. He'd gotten plastered after finding Anya had left him. Then the avenging ghost of Cordelia came back from LA to taunt him, very much the ghosts of past, now, and future Harris Christmas's all rolled into one. This one ranked up there with some of the worst nightmares he'd ever had. Perhaps the very worst.

The sun wasn't at all intimidated by the fierce scowl and cranky grumbling and didn't meekly hide behind a convenient cloud. Xander decided, therefore, to make a tactical retreat to the windowless bathroom, an idea heartily seconded by his bladder.

After relieving himself, he leaned down heavily on the sink basin and dared a glance in the mirror. "Unnghyah!" exclaiming, as he recoiled from the sight.

Note to self: get rid of mirror.

Shaking himself off, and carefully keeping his eyes off the mirror, he splashed water onto his face and opened the medicine cabinet. He was sure he had the mega-large bottle of extra-strength aspirin, a daily staple for demon fighters who are not also slayers, he stole from home. Finding and putting three in his hand, he closed his eyes to judge the pounding without the distraction of the demon image in the mirror, and added another tablet. He ran some water into his Scooby-doo cup and drank deeply, satisfied he had accomplished something constructive. He was halfway turned toward the door when he discovered his other hand still held the pills. Groaning, this time he put them in his mouth before taking another drink from the cup.

Deciding he could face down the sun, or at least avoid it, he took off to accomplish his next goal: find food. Feed a hangover. He exited the bedroom and headed for the kitchen. Xander didn't notice at first the smell of fresh brewed coffee, but he did see the back of a very feminine figure sitting on a bar-stool at the kitchen counter.

Anya? Anya! She's back!

"An--"

The exclamation died a bitter end on his lips as the statuesque brunette turned her head, smiling brightly.

"Mornin', sunshine!" Cordelia greeted before taking a sip from her coffee.

"Oh God!" clapping his hand to his forehead, staggering with the sudden hammer-blow pain ricocheting around the inside of his skull.

"I prefer 'Cordy'. 'Cordelia', if you insist on formality. I like 'Princess' too, but only one person is allowed to call me that." A memory caused her bright expression to falter momentarily. "But it's still kinda early and you're hung over, so I'll forgive you." As an epilog she quickly added a disclaimer and a warning, "Just this once. Call me 'Cor' and I'll twist your nuts off." the light lilt in her voice layered over steel.

He collapsed onto the stool across from her and started pounding his head against the counter in rhythm to the internal hammer blows.

"If you're going to reshape your head--which I might add, can only be a good thing--do it quieter. Your moaning is really creeping me out."

The nightmare wasn't over! It's the Nightmare on Montgomery Street! he wailed internally.

He sighed, then exclaimed, "Cordy! What are you doing here? Here! In Sunnydale! In my apartment! Here!"

Amused, she asked innocently, "You don't remember?"

"I remember this ni--um, dream. Dream. And you were in it. You came back to torture me!"

"Well, I did come back. Obviously. And not that you don't deserve much pain in your life, it looks like you're in enough for now and I'll desist. But you were the one who invited me to stay." nodding her head at the sheets and pillows on the sofa.

"I did? Me!" he squeaked, glancing over.

He cleared his throat a couple of times before continuing in a more normal tone. "Wh--uh, umm, why? I mean, why would I do that? More importantly, why would you accept?"

His seemingly simple questions brought them to the brink of a critical juncture in their relationship. She understood that she had three choices here. She could lie, she could tell a truth, or she could tell the honest truth. She opted for the last.

"You're a decent guy, Xander Harris," she admitted before adding a qualifier, "Sometimes."

He blinked. Was that a statement or a question? He wasn't sure. He tried parsing her response again. Hmm, nothing. He tried it backwards. Nope, still nothing. He let it roll around in his head a few more seconds still with no luck. He tried it on toast with honey. Nadda, still zip. Damn, she can be really subtle! He was stumped. Maybe this is one of those new LA things that hadn't made it to the sticks yet?

"Okay, color me stumped," he admitted, "It's early. My head hurts. But I'm not sure how that was supposed to 'get me'. I know it dulls the knife but... can you explain the punch line?"

She heaved an exaggerated breath. She guessed she would be doing that a lot more in the near future. Last night, able to see at least somewhat through his drunken bitterness, she could tell he had matured reasonably well in the year and a half since they parted ways. But jeez, he can still be such a putz at times! That, unfortunately, was something that hadn't changed.

"I wasn't trying to be mean, Xander. No knife. No punch. No punch line. I meant what I said."

"Really?" blinking his astonishment, at her presence or her present attitude, he wasn't sure.

Nodding her head gently and speaking softly, she confirmed her original answer, "Really, really."

Emanating deep down from emotional depths, a laugh of intense relief come forth. It was a laugh for the relief he felt that this woman before him, one that he had hurt so badly, had seemingly forgiven him and was willing to make a peace with him. She gave him a curious look, one mixed with the disdain only she was capable of, which only made him laugh harder.

With a huff, Cordelia resorted to ignoring him while he got whatever he needed out of his system, and returned to her coffee. When he had finally settled down he wordlessly got up and retrieved a mug from near the sink, eyed the insides, sniffed it, shrugged his shoulders and poured himself a cup of genuine Columbian-grown Cordelia-made brew, his first ever.

Sitting back down again across from her, he asked, "Why didn't you take the other bedroom?" taking his first sip as she answered.

"Duh, no bed! Just boxes."

"Oh, yeah. Forgot," he grimaced, more from the battery acid he'd just ingested than from any embarrassment. It took incredible effort to keep his face from turning inside out, and only somewhat less from making any actual comment. Wow! Someone really is capable of making worse coffee than Giles!

"You're doing a lot of that lately." She paused to take another sip from her cup before continuing in a serious tone, "Look, Xander, about why I'm back. I need to talk to Buffy."

"You want to talk to Buffy? Really?" expression and voice both indicating astonished disbelief.

"No, numb-brain! Listen to the words I'm saying. I don't want to talk to her. I said I need to talk to her. She's not living at home, right?"

He nodded his head slowly. "She's on campus."

"Can you show me where? It'd save a lot of time."

"I can do that, but we're all supposed to get together at the Magic Box this afternoon anyways, to help Giles. Can it wait till then?"

"Well, I suppose so. A few hours shouldn't make a difference." If she understood that last vision correctly.

She gave Xander's apartment a long and careful inspection. "This really is a nice place, Xander. Nice ceiling fan."

---

"I didn't say anything before, Cordy, but giving Buffy a message can hardly be enough of a reason to come back here. You were going to be an actress, I thought. And you're working with Angel, right? So what's going on?" Xander asked Cordelia as he turned out of the parking lot, heading for Giles' new shop.

Cordelia pushed back into the seat before answering. "Yeah, acting. Pfft! It was a lot tougher than I thought. Talk about illusions! I may have been hot stuff in this flea-bite town, but there, I was another pretty face with little talent. Bigger boobs than some, otherwise nothing special. Just another notch for some casting agent or director."

"Stop it, Cordy!" he scolded her, harsher than intended. He swallowed before continuing more calmly, "That's bullshit. You're an amazing person, someone--"

"Special?"

"Yeah," smiling, "that. Special. I've always believed it."

Cordelia looked over at him, lips turned up in a small, sad smile of her own. "You always were kinda stupid that way," she observed without malice.

"Idiot Jed's cousin, Stupid Jake." which earned him a short laugh from the girl beside him. "So then you hooked up with Angel?"

When he'd heard the news from Willow he didn't understand the onslaught of emotions that bit of knowledge brought forth. On the one hand, Xander wasn't sure who he should feel more sorry for, her or Angel. On the other, he detected in himself the distinct malodor of jealousy of their onetime ally of convenience.

"At a Hollywood party." she confirmed. As they worked their slow way through Sunnydale's streets, she quickly described how she joined Angel and Doyle, forming Angel Investigations. He quirked his eyebrow in interest at the description of her friendship with Doyle, but said nothing and let her continue. He had no way of knowing what details of her role with AI were being left out.

"And that brings us back to the original question. Why are you back?"

She studied him closely before answering. As best she could tell he was asking only out of innocent and curious interest, mixed with concern for her well being. No guile intended, no desire to throw her answers back in her face.

As before, she wanted to give him the full and honest truth, but she didn't think she should do that until first speaking with the slayer. This time she decided on answering with only the personally painful part of the truth.

"Angel..." she began as she closed her eyes. She recalled the utter and complete shock she'd felt at the time, not sure what had just happened. It was like someone had gut punched her, knocking all the breath from her for several long moments. The terrible hurt and disappointment had followed close on the heels of that shock.

After Xander's betrayal she had promised herself to never allow anyone have that power over her, not ever again. Never to let someone just trample on her emotions and trust like they were dry leaves, to make her feel so useless, helpless. Unwanted.

But life never works out like you plan. Genuine friendship, once offered, accepted and experienced, is a subtle and powerful drug. Fully aware, she gave into its seductive addiction and let Angel and Doyle, and later Wes and Gunn, into her life. They had become first her friends and then her family as the drug worked its way into her psyche.

Once again she felt loved and comforted.

Only to get stomped on.

Again.

She quickly got over her initial anger at Angel, her experience with Xander teaching her it just made things worse. But she still keenly felt the hot bitterness of disappointment in someone she had placed her trust and the withering emptiness of loss.

How painfully, comically ironic that Xander, the other person to have trampled on her like that, was the one person she felt she could unburden herself to. A short bark of bitter laughter escaped her, earning a quizzical look from Xander.

Sucking in a deep, strengthening breath she finished her statement, "He fired us."

"Fired you? As is in 'You're fired!' fired? Shown the door? Given the boot? RIFed? Hasta la vista, without the vista?"

"YES! Xander! Fired. Got it?" she spat out. "Not killed, like you're about to do--AAAGGH!" Xander quickly swerved to avoid the oncoming tree. "Now keep your eye on the road!" So much for confiding in putz's, angrily shaking her head.

"Aw shit! I'm--Damn! I'm sorry, Cordy. That really bites! No pun intended." He reached over and gave her hand a quick gentle squeeze. "I really am sorry."

Okay, so maybe he wasn't such a putz.

"What happened. I mean, if you don't mind my asking."

She launched into the whole sordid story of Darla's return as human. How she infiltrated Angel's dreams. How Angel tried to redeem her but failed. How Drusilla was recruited to turn her again. How he'd let Drusilla and Darla kill the Wolfram & Hart lawyers. And how Angel degenerated in order to fight her. How she and the others had called him on it. And been fired over their concern for a friend in trouble.

Xander remained uncharacteristically quiet during her tale before squawking, "Angelus is back?"

"No! Take a chill pill would you? No, he's not Angelus. He's just like, obsessed with killing Darla. But I don't think he'll hurt humans."

"And the Wolfram & Hart, they're like Evil Incorporated, LA?"

"Yeah. Big evil law firm."

"Kinda redundant." he smirked, Cordelia laughing in agreement. "He's really not Angelus?" still skeptical.

"No, I'm sure about that. Well, pretty sure."

"And he's only after Darla?"

"Drusilla, too, I guess."

He paused to look around before proceeding through the intersection. "Who's 'we'?"

"We?"

"The 'us' that got fired."

"Me. Wes and Gunn."

"Wes has a gun?"

"Charles Gunn. Two N's," gesturing with two fingers the way Gunn had corrected her. "He's from LA, leader of a street gang that fights vampires. A good guy. He helps us out a lot."

"And Wes? That's our Wesley? Mr. Screams-like-a-woman Wes?" feeling that twinge of jealousy again.

She rolled her eyes at the slur on her friend. "That Wes, yes. He's different now."

"Sure."

She refused to get into a debate over her friendship with Wesley and didn't respond.

---

Early afternoon found Giles wandering about his very own, and very cluttered, shop, overwhelmed at the amount of work that still needed to be done before the grand opening. Where to begin? he wondered. Books were easy. They're all just books, for which perfectly good filing systems had been invented. You just picked a starting point and worked your way through the shelves until every book had its place. Simple.

The others weren't due for a little while yet and he wearily trudged to the back room. He wanted to see what he could do about clearing it to make space for a training area for Buffy. Just before entering the room he glanced over his shoulder to make sure Dawn was not getting into any trouble or making things even more of a mess.

And why am I babysitting while Buffy's mom is off for the weekend? I really need to learn to say 'no' to that woman!

Xander and Cordy entered the shop, the annoying little bell attached to the door frame ding-a-linging. Coming out of the bright daylight they didn't see anyone at first.

"We're a little early, I guess. Giles must be in the back or something."

Xander started to head in that direction when he spotted a young female sitting with her back to him, long dark hair falling straight down. Xander gave Cordy a conspiritual wink and grin, putting his finger to his lips to indicate she should stay quiet. Cordelia rolled her eyes at his immature theatrics but went along with the request just the same.

He slowly, noisily, tip-toed up behind Dawn, whose back straightened but remained turned to him. She clearly heard his squeaking shoes and smiled brightly as she raised her head, still not turning to face her would-be assailant. She was ready to play her part in the game.

Approaching closely, Xander put his hands carefully across his own eyes, completely blocking all sight and, in a silly gruff voice, issued his challenge: "Guess who!"

Dawn's indulgent smile widened with her first answer.

"Mick Jagger?"

"Yuck! No! Try again."

Cordelia smiled warmly at the childish pair and their games, snapping her expression back to imperious disapproval when he peeked her way, again shushing her.

"Buffy?" Dawn guessed next.

"No. Getting warmer." shaking his head in mock-disgust.

"This is really tough! Hmmm, who could it be now? Is it...Prince Charming?" eliciting a snort from Cordelia.

"Bingo!" Xander cheered, taking his hands away as Dawn quickly stood, knocking over the chair without a care, turning and giving the object of her crush-y desires a delighted enthusiastic hug.

"Xander!"

She immediately saw Cordelia over his shoulder, "and Cordy!" screeching in his ear at a painful pitch, letting go of him and racing around to enfold Cordelia in a bone-crunching embrace. At first the older girl tried to play cool and detached, as if above all this immature nonsense, but soon dropped her carefully constructed veils and wholeheartedly returned Dawn's affections, overjoyed at seeing the younger Summers again.

"Oh my God, Cordy! I'm so happy to see you!" Dawn was virtually spastic with energetic joy, bouncing and clapping her hands. Xander watched the pair with a huge delighted grin. Aside from himself, Dawn was just about the only other person that ever 'got' Cordelia, and the two girls had always gotten along well, even after his breakup with Cordelia.

"Wow, you're here in Sunnydale! Wow!", clapping her hands and jumping up and down some more, "What are you doing here? Oh, this is so cool! Are you staying long? Where're you staying? You've got to come over to--"

"DAWN!" Cordelia shouted, nearly as excited as Dawn was, "time to come up for air!" She switched to a soothing, more even tone, "Be dignified. Breath" she instructed, making encouraging rolling motions with her hands, "Breath..."

Dawn stopped bouncing and began taking deep breathes, grinning ear to ear nonetheless. "Calm, calm, I'm being very calm. See, Cordy, I'm calm and dignified."

"Excellent! A queen is always calm, collected and dignified."

"How does that explain you?" interjected Xander before wilting under Cordelia's withering glare.

"And you're here with Xander!" Dawn's smile changing to a knowing, teasing, leer. Even though she had a newly developed crush on Xander, Cordelia was the one person she would share him with.

"Yeah, I'm here with the dork. I stayed at his place last night. And I'm here for a while, I don't know how long."

"Is he being good to you?" she asked suspiciously. She'd been almost as heart-broken as Cordelia was when they broke up, a real low point for her and Xander's friendship. But he had confided in her after the break-up and she got a sense of what he was going through, how he was beating himself up for being such a jerk. Not that that was any sort of excuse in her book; he was still a jerk, just not quite as big a one. It took a long time for them to mend their friendship.

"He was a real gentleman." Cordelia answered with a sideways look, daring him to challenge the claim.

Xander was befuddled and surprised at Cordelia's unexpected compliment, held speechless, just as intended.

"A gentleman? Xander?" Dawn snickered, then nodded her head, "Oh, yeah! Good one, Cordy. LA seems to have affected your sense of humor." Dawn then pulled Cordelia back to the table and they were soon engaged in a lively interrogation, asking each other everything about Los Angeles and Sunnydale, catching up on all the latest gossipy news.

Xander smiled again at the two of them before he headed back in search of Giles, hearing peals of laughter from behind. It was strange how the two of them had always gotten on so well even though Cordelia's interaction with Dawn's sister tended to be cool. He could only shake his head in wonder at the strangeness of life on the Hellmouth.

He returned a few moments later with Giles, the later smiling broadly at the sight of Cordelia. "Cordelia, my dear, it's so nice to see you again!" They embraced quickly and discreetly, "If it's not too intrusive, may I ask what brings you back?"

"I have a message for Buffy," she informed him seriously.

"You do? Well...err, good, then. She should be here any moment. Would you like some tea or coffee while we wait?" Giles, as always, was the perfect host.

"Tea would be wonderful, Giles, thank you." He stepped over to the sideboard he had set with tea and coffee service--one of the first things he'd done with the place--to prepare her drink.

While Sunnydale mostly contained people, places and things she never wanted to see again, Giles was emphatically not one of them. His comforting patriarchal presence had been a rock in her life, his cultured and mannered demeanor never faltering no matter how bitchy she got, for which she dearly appreciated.

Everyone turned their heads at the sound of the bell to see Willow and Tara enter, in the middle of a heated but good-natured difference of opinion. Deep in their arguments, neither Willow nor Tara noticed the others as the pair descended into the shop.

"It's the action that's important in this situation! She's a woman of action. A solemn task, yes, but ultimately one that needs doing, that requires action to be fulfilled. And that's what needs to be expressed!" Tara tried to explain to Willow.

"But solemn! And spirituality! It's a very deep and intense business. She needs to be able to maintain her spirituality and be in touch with that side of her destiny. The action is nothing without the spirit!"

"S-s-spirit, shmeerit," Tara retorted, casually dismissing Willow's points with a wave. "Action. Direct and to the point!" She grinned suddenly at her little joke, "Heh! Point. Get it? Point?" Tara giggled to herself for a moment, not caring that Willow had misplaced her sense of humor today.

"I think you've been spending wa-a-ay too much time around Xander, sweetie," Willow scolded gently, rolling her eyes.

"What're you ladies talking about?" asked Xander, getting their attention.

"Speaking of the devil." Willow took it upon herself to answer, attempting to get across her side first, better to sway Xander in her favor. "Xander, if you had to pick a Slayer anthem, what would it be? 'Dust in the Wind' or--"

"'Another One Bites the Dust', Tara quickly inserted.

"Oh," Xander seemed a bit taken aback but recovered quickly, not needing any time to weigh the pros and cons. "'Bites the Dust'. Hands down."

"What!" exclaimed Cordelia, "'Dust in the Wind' is so-o-o way better. You have no class, Xander--no news there, of course. Whatever you pick has got to be the wrong answer. It's like a law of nature."

"Hey, Cordy!" Willow spoke up in greeting, though with not nearly as much cheery enthusiasm as Dawn had previously. She and Cordelia were friendly enough over the phone whenever Cordelia needed help on the computer. But face-to-face Willow still had some conflicting thoughts. Still, she came over and gave Cordelia a quick hug, "When did you get in?"

"Last night. Stayed at Xander's," she admitted tiredly. Might as well get that part over with as soon as possible.

"Oh?" Willow made a face and eyes at Xander. Though she continued to have her issues with Cordelia, and didn't think she'd ever understand why Xander had been so attracted to her, she also had never warmed up to Anya. If forced to pick between the two for Xander she would choose Cordelia over Anya any day. Well, most days, anyway.

"Yes, really." Getting it over with did not mean she intended to get into a discussion of her stay at Xander's and she quickly changed the subject. "Who's your friend?" turning to face Tara, who had suddenly gotten very quiet.

"Oh, right. Cordelia, this is Tara. We're...ah...that is..." she hemmed and hawed, "We met at school." Willow said finally, not explaining more. "Tara, this is Cordelia, a...friend?" Cordelia answering her questioning glance with an exasperated confirming nod, "a friend from high school."

"It's v-v-very nice to meet you, Cordelia," Tara stuttered, but otherwise met Cordelia's eyes with a steady gaze and firm handshake of her own.

"The pleasure's mine."

A brief but absolute silence fell over the shop, everyone staring slack-jawed at Cordelia, Xander the exception, whose jaw was only half way to the floor.

"What!" demanded an aggrieved Cordelia.

"Nothing. Nothing, Cordelia--" began Giles.

"It's just... Are you feeling well?" a perplexed Willow wanted to know.

"Just because I have style and don't dress all Earth Mother doesn't mean I can't pretend to be nice. Sometimes. It's good acting practice."

"Okay yup. You're good!" a very relieved Willow grinned, now that her understanding of the world, momentarily knocked off-kilter, had corrected itself.

"You've abandoned Sears' softer side. It works for you. And I like the haircut too, Will. And I even agree with you. 'Dust in the Wind' would be a much better choice."

And so the friendly verbal smack-down was on, Xander and Tara tag-teaming for 'Another One Bites the Dust', while Cordelia and Willow upheld 'Dust in the Wind'. Dawn jumped in with her suggestion and the four young adults and almost-teenager were soon were engaged in a vociferous argument.

Giles opined from outside the field of battle that 'Here Comes the Sun' should be considered in the mix as well. He remained silent after a chorus of 'Ewwws' and "old fart music" rained down upon him from all quarters, except for Dawn.

"I like that one!", she piped.

The fray was still a-fraying when the door once more jingled, revealing Buffy and Riley.

"Buffy!" Xander and Willow chorused, "you're the deciding vote!"

Willow quickly said, "'Dust in the Wind'?--".

"Or 'Another One Bites the Dust'," said Xander. Cordelia took the opportunity to drop back a little, unnoticed, into a shadowy part of the store.

"And I'm deciding what now? Children," Buffy switched to her best mom-voice, hands on hips, "we've talked about this before. When I walk into the middle of a conversation, you have to give me the back-story before asking me anything."

"Slayer anthem. Which one is better?"

"Oh. Oh." She settled back to think, hand raised to chin. "Uh...what are the choices again?"

"'Dust in the Wind' or 'Another One Bites the Dust'", Tara provided.

"I rather liked 'Here Comes the Sun', but--" Giles was again quickly silenced by a round of Bronx cheers from the younger crowd.

"Hmmm." Buffy paused to carefully consider her choices while Riley stepped into the store to grab himself a cup of coffee, chuckling quietly. The slayer and her friends never ceased to amaze him with their inanity--nay, insanity!--in the face of the horrific dangers they faced every day. He always found it a refreshing, if somewhat uncomfortable, difference from the stolid and military-stiff seriousness of the Initiative.

"Okay, I've got it," Buffy proclaimed, giving an acknowledging nod to Giles, "it's 'With a Little Help From My Friends'."

Silence ensued as everyone digested this entirely new angle. Willow was the first to go all weepy, rushing forward to engulf Buffy in a teary hug. "Aww, Buffy! That's so sweet!" she sniffled.

She was soon joined by Xander, Dawn and Tara in a big group hug-a-thon. Giles was naturally too British to join in such emotional displays, no matter how mushy his insides had just turned, and he settled for a quirky half-smile. Riley looked on and decided to stay next to Giles in a silent expression of macho solidarity.

While still engaged in the wonderful sensation of being hugged by lots of females, Xander looked over at the aloof Riley and quickly dismissed inviting him in, knowing he was still too much the soldier to feel comfortable with such silliness (If he only knew what he's missing!). His eyes alighted upon Cordelia, still standing uncertainly in shadow.

He called out to her. "You too, Cordy! Come on!" waving her over.

The mention of Cordelia's name drew a response from Buffy, "Cordy?"

Reluctantly, Cordelia gave the group a loose and prim hug before quickly disengaging, soon after which they all broke apart.

"So. Cordy. You're back," Buffy observed.

"Yep. Stayed with Xander last night."

Buffy's raised her eyebrows, but quickly moved on to what she really wanted to know, "And how's LA these days?"

Cordelia easily read the sub-text of the question and answered accordingly, "LA...could be better."

"Oh?" Buffy paused to decide what to do next.

While Buffy tried to divine the meaning of Cordelia's terse obtuse news, Cordelia took the opportunity to step up to Riley with an appraising look.

"And you must be Riley," nodding her head approvingly.

"Uh..." throwing a confused look Buffy's way. "Uh, yes, ma'am. Riley Finn."

"Ma'am!" she arched her eyebrow disdainfully to match his amused smirk. "Turn around," she commanded, indicating with her hand how he should turn about. The soldier in him automatically obeyed before the recently discovered inner rebel could stop him. He did a slow turn on his heels while Cordelia nodded her head appreciatively during the inspection. "I can see why Angel doesn't like you."

"That works well then," grated Riley, "I don't like him either."

Ignoring his reply, she directed her next comment to Buffy, "A real pain in the neck, is he? Any time you're tired of him just say the word."

"What! No!"

"Really? By the end of the day, always craning up at him, I'd think you would be suffering!"

"Cute." Buffy decided to give a little back, "So, Cordy, what kind of moron are you? You said only a moron would ever come back to Sunnydale. I'm just kinda curious."

Dawn, who had been watching the brewing clash of the two alpha females from the side, shook her head and rolled her eyes, throwing up her arms in disgust. Her sister could be such an obnoxious bitca. She had never learned to appreciate Cordy's candor and good taste. Deciding she had an elsewhere to be before the catfight got properly underway, Dawn grabbed her backpack and headed for the door. "I'm supposed to meet Janice today to go over next week's test. Bye." she announced to the group. "Please stop by some time, Cordy," she invited.

"Thank you, Dawn, I will."

Buffy shook her head, not understanding her baby sister at all. She often wondered how they could even be sisters, their ideas and opinions, and pretty much everything else differed so much. She returned her attention back to Cordelia.

"I'm here to see you, Buffy, something to tell you."

"Will miracles never cease? No, wait, this wouldn't count as a miracle. Maybe an anti-miracle..." she trailed off as she waggled her hand.

This was going about as well as Cordelia expected, maybe even a bit better, but she still didn't have to enjoy going through the motions. "In private." she huffed, taking the slayer's arm and guiding her off to a far corner of the shop. Buffy was too surprised at this turn of events to raise a protest and let herself be carried along.

"I wonder what that's all about," commented Willow. She made a question face at Xander, while watching Cordelia waving her arms about, making a determined effort to convince Buffy of something. Buffy looked over at them every now and then. Whatever Cordelia was saying, Buffy didn't appear to be taking it well.

"I have no idea," answered Xander, as Cordelia began tapping her temple. After a few more moments, Buffy got visibly upset while Cordelia tried to calm her down.

Eventually they reached an impasse and rejoined the others, Buffy's arms crossed under her breasts, assuming a somewhat belligerent posture, Cordelia fuming a little but otherwise satisfied with her effort.

Riley joined Buffy, worried by her attitude. "What was all that? What did she tell you," casting an accusing glare at Cordelia, who ignored him completely.

"I'll tell you later. It's nothing. Nothing important," staring at the door Dawn had recently passed through. She gave herself a quick mental shake and moved on to the next agenda item. "Giles!"

"Hmmm, yes, Buffy?"

"I had a dream last night. Maybe a slayer dream, but it was really vague. Not like other slayer dreams I've had."

Giles was immediately interested, pushing his glasses back up, "What was it?"

She related the same story to Giles and the group as she had to Riley. Giles nodded his head thoughtfully during the tale, occasionally asking for additional details or clarification. "Interesting," he concluded when Buffy finished.

Buffy waved her arms about, "Interesting! That's all you have to say? Interesting?"

"Yes, interesting. The phenomenon you described is a fairly simple, though quite rare, atmospheric occurrence. It's commonly know as the Green Flash"

"Isn't that a comic book or something," Buffy looked Xander's way for confirmation, who was focused on Cordelia at the moment.

"Err...yes," Giles stammered, before regaining his equilibrium. He had long ago learned not to get sidetracked by Buffy's spurious comments. He shook his head and slid easily into his professorial role. "You know what a prism is, correct?" looking to see everyone nod their heads.

Everyone made themselves as comfortable as they settled in for another of Giles' patented long-winded lectures. Xander scanned the shop to make sure no globes or flashlights were in reach.

"Well, the Green Flash is essentially the same thing, with the atmosphere as the prism. It occurs when the sun rises or sets, so that it's low on the horizon, and there's more air for the light to pass through, to-to-to increase the prismatic effect.

"The sunlight is broken up and spread out just like a prism, essentially giving us multiple, overlapping images of the sun, each in a different color. We don't see the red because the sun is still high and bright enough we're blinded by the glare. Same for the yellow. We don't see the blue because that color is most easily scattered and absorbed by the molecules of air.

"But--if the conditions are just right--we might get to see a bit of the green. But only for a moment: a flash. Hence, the Green Flash, as it were.

He sat down on the edge of the table and began polishing his glasses. "But the way you describe it is very odd. It's only a small portion of the sun that flashes. Never the whole sky."

"And the backward sun!" Buffy chirped.

"How do you know it's going backwards?" he asked in a Socratic tone, settling his glasses back on his nose.

"Giles, I just told you! I was at the beach and it was rising over the ocean. Ever been to the beach? The sun sets over the ocean."

"It sets over the ocean at all beaches?"

"Huh?"

"Oh!" Xander nodded his head in understanding. "That's right! At dawn the sun rises over the ocean...on the east coast!"

Giles gave him an approving nod.

"But..." Buffy began uncertainly, "But why would I dream I'm on a beach in the east? I've never even been outside California, much less the other side of the country."

"I don't know, Buffy, but it sounds to me what you dreamed was a form of the Green Flash at dawn. Just an ordinary dream. Nothing to fret about." His face assumed a faraway wistful look, "I've always wanted to see it, the Green Flash. Never have. It's supposed to be quite beautiful." He sighed deeply.

When Xander glanced over at Cordelia, her head bowed in concentration, forehead furrowed, as Giles and Buffy continued debating the dream, though overall Buffy seemed much relieved.

Xander leaned over, "What is it?" he whispered.

She shook herself, trying to knock disorganized mental puzzle pieces into place, before answering, "It's nothing. Not yet. Something you said. Crazy thoughts."

After some more group discussion of dreams and what they can mean, an awkward silence joined the group. While everyone stared around at each other, not wanting to get started on the work ahead, Tara looked over at Cordelia curiously. "H-H-How long are you in town for, Cordelia?"

"Please, call me Cordy. That's much friendlier."

Tara smiled shyly, "Okay, uh, Cordy."

"I don't know how long I'll be here. For a couple of months, maybe," pointedly looking at a silent Buffy. "I have to find a place I can afford," swallowing her pride and throwing out the hint.

"You could stay at o--" began Tara.

"Why not continue to stay at Xander's" broke in Buffy.

"WHAT!" blurted Xander.

The corners of Buffy's mouth were upturned with what might have been an evil grin, Xander couldn't tell. "He has that extra room, and everyone else is full up. And he's already complaining about the rent. You could split it with him."

"Oh no! No way! No, no, no. And might I emphatically add an 'Are you nuts!"

"I'm not. And what's wrong with the idea?"

"Cordelia? Me? Does anybody remember a little incident a couple of years ago?" making warding gestures. "Look, this is just such a bad idea on way too many levels to count!"

Cordelia, who had been strangely thoughtful since Buffy broached the idea, pushed out her lower lip, like a little child might, and patted him condescendingly on the back. "That's okay, Xander. We'll work on your twosies tomorrow."

Unable to think of a biting retort, stunned by both the very notion of the plan and that Cordelia hadn't raised her own objections, Xander settled for a venomous glare. Or at least he hoped it was venomous, she didn't seem troubled in the least.

"What about Anya?" asked Tara.

All eyes turned to Xander, who sighed through pursed his lips and looked down at the table. "She's gone and I don't think she'll be coming back." punctuating his conclusion with a tossing motion of his arm.

"Then it's perfect!" beamed Buffy.

He sighed again and considered further, arguing with himself. Well, it is an expensive place, tough to swing, even after the promotion. A roomie would help, but...Cordelia? Yeesh!

"Alright, alright, she can have the extra room. If she wants it," raising his eyebrows in question to her, getting a short nod back.

"Now all I need is a job."

Recovering quickly from the shock, Xander's face began to split into it's own beautific evil grin as he looked squarely at Sunnydale's newest merchant. "She could work here, for Giles."

"What? What was that? What?" stammered Giles.

Cordelia blasted him with the full power of her megawatt smile, virtually melting him in place as he tried to squirm out from under Xander's counter-plan. "But I-I-I'm just getting started," he waved about aimlessly, "I-I-I don't even know if I'll need any help."

"Oh, please!" Cordelia scoffed, looking around with a critical eye, "Of course you need help!"

"But, it's just-just..." Giles weakly attempted to continue before sighing, much like Xander had, and giving in, again like Xander, but with somewhat more grace. "Cordelia, would like a job?"

"Such a sincere offer. However can I refuse?" she snarked in her best antebellum plantation accent. "But yes, I'll take it, thank you. Can I get a one month advance on my salary?" she inquired sweetly.

Giles spluttered incoherently before acquiescing, as everyone knew he would.

"And I don't have to wear a name tag, do I?"

"No, Cordelia. I-I-I'm quite sure I can remember your name," Giles reassured her.

Xander wisely kept consul. The others didn't know what to make of her odd question and so shrugged it off as another Cordy'ism, never to be fathomed by the low and poorly dressed.

With all arrangements settled, the group finally got off their collective ass and down to the actual reason for their presence in the shop. Riley and Buffy did most of the heavy grunt work, aided occasionally by Xander, moving crates and unloading the heavier items. Xander built and installed shelving and display cases, occasionally aided by Buffy and Riley. Willow and Tara spent their time unloading most of the boxes and arranging the items in the spaces just created. Giles bustled about helping when and where he could, occasionally trying to act like he was running the show. And all of them worked under the critical direction of Assistant Manager Cordelia Chase, who had a flair for organization and running things and basically just telling other people what to do.

By the late evening they were again sitting at the table, exhausted, shooting the breeze, making plans, and generally enjoying each other's company.

Cordelia, for the most part, sat back and listened to the chatter, usually scowling or tossing out some acerbic comment, but secretly enjoying being immersed in the camaraderie again. Even though deeply hurt by Angel's turnabout, escaping back into the shallow and brittle world she once inhabited was no longer for her. Addicted, she knew she would accept the drug again.

As she looked around and watched her once former, and now current again, friends, she noted missing persons. They were noticeable by the lack of discussion in addition to their physical absence.

Anya was explained. From the few hints and comments that had been made earlier by Xander and the others, she had pulled a disappearing act for reasons unknown, even to Xander.

But she also noticed a distinct lack of Oz. He was usually a fixture at any of these Scooby meetings, always silently by Willow's side. She leaned towards Xander, who noted the motion and leaned in as well, and whispered in his ear, "Where's Oz?"

Xander took a moment before answering. "He had issues with his inner wolf and broke up with Willow. Very messy. The last anybody ever heard he was in Asia somewhere." Then he just shrugged his shoulders and rejoined the conversation which had gotten back to the slayer anthem.

"I have that study meeting to get to, Willow," Tara informed Willow a little while later, satisfied that 'Another One Bites the Dust' had won the day, fair and square, four to three. "See you afterwards?"

As Tara was getting up she bent over and gave Willow a lingering kiss, "See you later, baby" Willow said.

Cordelia's eyes bugged and she gagged on her drink. She barely managed to keep her hacking coughs quiet as she elbowed Xander in the gut, causing him to emit a painful harrumph. "What'd I do this time?" he whined.

"It's what you didn't do!" she hissed, nodding her head at the pair that where just detaching now.

"Oh, yeah," he smirked, "By 'friend', she meant 'girlfriend'. Dawn didn't say anything?" He turned back to the table as if the issue was settled before he had a chance to see her shake her head.

"Well, girlfriend, sure. But Girlfriend? As in together, umm, well y'know, together? No, she didn't. Little brat, I'm gonna fix her good!"

"Revenge aside, what of it?"

"Oh, nothing, I guess."

---

"Prepare to meet your dustiny," Buffy quipped as she pushed the stake through the beaten vampire's heart. She brushed the remnants of the vampire off her sweater and looked around, soon focusing on a groaning bush.

Slowly, Riley painfully struggled up from behind the bush. Buffy rushed to his side to give him a hand. "Are you hurt, Riley? Oh my God, did that first vamp get you?" she asked, quickly inspecting him for injuries but not finding anything obvious.

"No, the vamp I didn't get a scratch from. It's the pun that's making me need the ER."

"Hey! I work very hard on those! See what happens when you stake as many vamps as I have; you try and come up with something good and original every time!" Indignant outrage soon spent she sheepishly admitted, "Besides, ever since this afternoon I haven't been able to get that stupid song out of my head."

"Which one?"

"The Kansas one."

"I know what you mean. I've had Queen going all night long. I keep wanting to strut around, bouncing my head in rhythm."

An awkward silence settled down between the pair as they headed for the cemetery's exit. Riley was the first to break it. "So, that was Xander's ex? Gotta say I'm a little surprised."

"Yeah, that was her in all her glory."

"Blunt."

"You don't have to be so nice around me."

"Tactless bitch?" he laughed.

"Better." She laughed with him, then stopped to consider, "Well, no, not really, I guess. I mean about being a bitch. We were never very close. Still aren't, obviously. But we did have one or two heart-to-hearts. There's more to her than the Queen Bitch. I guess Xander was one of first to really see that.

"The few, the proud, the whipped?" Buffy chuckled at the same time she shook her head before Riley continued. "Xander and her. Wild. Still can't picture them together. I mean, I like Xander a lot, he's pretty cool for a geek. But she's major leagues, and well...he's still single-A ball."

"Nobody else could see it either."

Another lingering quiet moment, as they both dropped the subject, was again broken by Riley, "What did she say that got you all upset?"

"Just a lot of different stuff. Nothing really all that important," attempting to shrug off the question as nonchalantly as she could.

Riley wasn't buying, and again considered how less and less a part of Buffy's world he was becoming.

---

On a cheap sofa purchased from a local thrift store, Willow sat with Tara, the two girls snuggled in for the evening.

"Really? Xander used to go out with Cordelia?" inquired Tara.

Willow made a face when answering, "Oh yeah, back in the bad old days, in high-school."

"She seems nice. A little forthright, maybe--"

Seeking to inform her lover before she got any wrong-headed notions about Cordelia, Willow assumed a stern teaching voice, "Well that's because you don't know her. Half the time in high school you couldn't tell which was worse, fighting the vampires and demons, or having Cordy around!"

"Really? She doesn't seem at all ba--" her response was again cut off, this time merely by Willow's stern-yet-not-quite-resolve face.

"How did they ever get together?"

"Now there's a question for the ages! I mean, Jesse, Xander and me, we had this 'We Hate Cordelia' club going. Yeah, a little childish, I know," Willow shrugged to Tara's look. "So, okay, I knew Jesse was just pretending, cause he just wanted to be in a club, and he really had a crush on Cordelia. But I always thought it meant something to Xander. Those guys would fight tooth and nail. You needed to duck and run for cover whenever they would get into it. And then", her animated expression becoming sad, "I caught them one day, making smoochies in the stacks." She shuddered suddenly. It had been one of the worst days of her life.

Tara smiled in understanding and gave Willow a gentle 'you-should've known' look. "Fighting all the time?"

Willow nodded.

"And you never saw it? I'm only surprised you were surprised."

Willow sat back a moment, quickly running through her memories of high-school Xander-Cordelia encounters. Looking back on them with a bit greater wisdom, and an insight not clouded by her own crush on Xander, she did see what was happening. Sadly shaking her head she considered how naive she was then.

She noticed Tara gazing at her with tender concern and love and resolved not to dwell in the mistakes of the past.

"Let's not talk about depressing subjects, shall we, sweetie?"

"I like your thinking," as they resumed their kisses and caresses, snuggling closer under the warm comforter draped across them.

---

The apartment door crashed open, smacking the doorstop and rebounding back at the laden couple about to enter.

"This isn't a barn! Learn to open doors!" the better half snapped as she tried to step past her companion and across the threshold. Xander, not paying any attention to Cordelia, also tried to step through and, just like in badly written sitcoms, found himself wedged shoulder with her, both unable to continue.

Sighing, he pulled back and ungraciously gestured for her to continue, "Beauty before brains."

"Both, in this case!" she sniffed, proceeding to the kitchen.

With a low growl he clenched his teeth and reached with his free hand to throttle her from behind, tripping on the threshold. An unbalanced flail, a yowl, and a spilled bag of groceries later found Xander once more looking up at her from the ground.

She turned at the commotion behind and burst out laughing at the sprawled figure. "Oh, you're good, Xander! Real good. Lorne tells me Circus Circus is looking for new clown acts. You should apply."

"Who's Lorne?"

"Friend in LA," she answered, turning back to her bag and unloading it on the counter. He gathered his own supplies off the floor and stacked them on the counter in a pile next to hers.

"Okay, this cupboard is yours and this one is mine. You take the top two shelves in the fridge. Deal?" She curtly nodded her head and began placing her items in the indicated places.

While stowing his own purchases he noted with amused interest as she put first one, a second, and then yet another jar of peanut butter on her shelves.

"Didn't lose the peanut butter habit, I see."

She refused to be baited, only sticking out her tongue at him.

In moments they were both only left with a few toiletries that needed to be stored. "Can we have a time out? For a moment?" he inquired.

"Time out?"

"Yeah, from the usual you and me."

It had been a very trying evening and early night, the earlier detente ending when they left the shop and realized the full import of what they were about to become: roommates. They immediately started bickering and sniping at each other as they tried to work out some of the arrangements, constantly getting side-tracked pursuing one trail of put-downs after another. Nor had the verbal brawling eased up during their short trip to the Albertson's to stock up on needed food and supplies. Aside from actually acquiring said supplies very little real progress had been made.

She leaned back against the countertop, arms crossed, mouth pursed, and eyebrow lofted, looking at him through narrowed eyes.

He continued quickly but wouldn't meet her stare. "If we're going to make this work with the minimum amount of pain and ick for either of us then there's got to be some ground rules."

Her eyebrow ascended minutely, daring him to finish. He nervously licked his lips, cleared his throat, and barreled on before he lost his nerve. "One. The guest bathroom is yours, but no girlie things can be left hanging around. Two. No going into my room. Off-limits. Verboten. Three. I wake up early on weekdays, sleep late on--"

"You're deciding all the rules?" she demanded.

"My place, my rules."

"Uh huh." She uncrossed her arms now that it was her turn. "I don't like this any better than you do. Less! But until something shows up that I can afford and," taking a quick look around, "is as nice as this, we'll just have to deal. And since I'm paying half the rent then half the ground is mine and I get to make half the rules! First. I get up late on weekdays and," her voice dropping to a dangerous level, "oh boy, had you better respect that! Stay quiet when you get up. Two..." She continued her recitation of the rules as she saw them. Xander zoned out and prayed heavenward, wondering just who would end up shooting the other first.

Coming back into the zone he gave a startled jump when he discovered Cordelia had finished and was in his face, glaring, obviously waiting for some kind of response. He swallowed convulsively and stepped back, not sure what to say.

"Uh...okay?"

That seemed to satisfy her and she turned away to put the last of her stuff in "her" bathroom.

That preceeding moment, when she was so close he could feel her breath on his neck and cheek, had been a dicey one. He'd had the sudden urge to kiss her and just might have tried if she hadn't turned away in time. He shook his head, confused by the raging return of familiar strong feelings. Xan-man, you are in BIG trouble! he thought miserably. He took a couple of deep calming breaths. I can make this work. I can make this work.

When she came back, he decided to try and continue the time out and see how she responded. "Can I fix you something. Some coffee, maybe?"

"Yes. Decaf. And, uh...thanks."

As he set about heating the water he casually asked her, "What was it that bugged you earlier today?"


AN: The Green Flash is real, and the physics given are pretty close to what actually happens. Like Giles, I've never seen it myself, but sure would love to. By the way, the title refers to the children comedies popular during the 20's, 30's and 40's.