A/N Credit reviewer BMS for Dawn's werewolf self nickname. It's definitely appropriate. ;)

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Things in Sunnydale were fairly quiet for the next couple of months. Though the police did discover a vampire themed club, which caused some 'what the Hell?' comments from everyone when they found out. Which was only made worse when it was discovered that the registered owner was someone Buffy had known from Los Angeles. The emotional fallout from both that and finding his dead body in the club after it had been shut down wasn't easy for Buffy to deal with. Especially given what the investigation turned up.

"I'm sorry to say, he had advanced brain cancer." Charles gently told Buffy. "He bought and started fixing up the club a few months ago. The police discovered it the night it opened. Kinda of hard to miss kids dressed like fantasy vampires in a town where the cops can identify vampires on sight. They were trying to track him down to talk to him when they discovered a missing persons report on him, filed by his parents. Interviews with the kids at the club revealed they thought what they called 'the lonely ones' a fanciful name for vampires, were going to bless them all with immortality. Apparently Ford was arranging it or promised to arrange it with some local vamps."

"Why would he do that?" Willow asked.

"Because he was dying." Ana informed her. "He was desperate to live, as I was. The others were clueless, but the fact that he knew Buffy, attended the same school she did when she first became the Slayer, suggests he had another motive. Which I believe is because he was dying."

"Trading me and those clueless kids." Buffy looked sad, considering the idea. "I had a crush on Ford back in fifth grade and even though he didn't return it, we were friends or so I thought."

"Desperation can make a person do terrible things." Ana said softly, leaning against Johnathan, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders , trying to comfort her.

"And the cops finding out about the club and shuttling it down derailed his plans." Alex said. "And the vampires didn't take kindly to him not being able to keep his end of the bargain."

"It's not a pleasant way to die," Joyce said. "but it was considerably faster than dying by inches from cancer. While his desperation may be understandable, his willingness to sacrifice others isn't." She glared at Giles, who wisely remained silent and on the opposite side of the room from her. She wasn't going to forgive him for Buffy being the Slayer, ever.

"But the club's shut down now, right?" Dawn asked, keeping her out of these discussions was impossible now that she lived in Sunnydale full-time with her mother and sister. Her father hadn't argued the transfer of custody. Something that made her sad and wasn't something she wanted to think about.

"Yes, a club like that in a place like Sunnydale just attracts even more problems with vampires than we already have." Charles assured her.

"Good, so what happens to the other kids now?"

"We're helping them get back to their families and suggesting counseling. There really isn't anything else we can do." Charles answered. "Their entitled to their beliefs, however misguided they are and they themselves broke no laws. But obviously there's something wrong in their lives in the first place to make them think immortality is an appealing alternative. Hopefully in time, they come to understand as hard as life can be, it is worth living."

"They need a reason to want to live, if they think they don't have one, then they're just going to keep chasing death." Johnathan pointed out. "Unless counseling or their families can help them, sooner or later, they'll end up statistics. Especially here in Sunnydale, it's pretty much unavoidable. Far too many times in the last year we've discovered people who've been twisted by Sunnydale and what goes on after dark around here. How long until Mayor Wilkins' Legacy stops twisting people and they stop living in fear or denial or being corrupted by the dark or decide embracing it is a comfy alternative?"

"It's been just over a year since I became Mayor." Charles Chase answered. "And I've been asking myself variations of that question ever since. But the end goal, creating a safe haven not for vampires, but for people, is still worth it. I'm not giving up."

"Neither are we." Alex swore as Cordelia and the rest of their pack nodded.

"I want to see that day come myself." Buffy agreed. "So, we keep fighting, even when it's someone we know we're having to fight. And once again, I'm grateful I didn't have to be the one who dealt with a human being the problem, especially since this time it was someone I knew personally. I hope Ford finds peace."

"His parents too." Joyce added. "They must be going through Hell, first the cancer, then he disappeared and now they find out he was chasing vampire legends. They probably think the cancer destroyed his mind, since most people don't know about vampires, something I wish I didn't know. They must have felt so helpless watching him deteriorate and then finding out how he died. I hope they find peace too."

At least Alex and Cordelia had their seventeenth birthdays to look forward to, being Thanksgiving and Christmas babies, with Buffy's birthday following in mid January. And Dawn's adoption ceremony to formally make her part of the tame pack. The holidays proved to be quiet and peaceful and Buffy's first year in Sunnydale ended better than it had started. Hopefully the second year would be better.