Human Layers by Pat Kelly

Rating: R
Disclaimer: I make no money. All hail Joss and his army of Mutant Enemies. And oh, if you have time, FOX and UPN, too.
Distribution: The Mystic Muse http://mysticmuse.net
Feedback: Thank you.
Spoilers: Season 2.

Pairing: Buffy/Cordelia
Summary: Buffy learns there's more to Cordelia than anyone would have guessed.

"I can't believe this. Why didn't...?" Buffy trailed off, thinking it wasn't right to go on the attack. "You could've told us."

"Not Angel – you could've been honest with us about who you were. Are." The slayer clarified.

The teacher had asked to speak to her alone after waking up, even though she wasn't feeling too great. Her left leg was in a cast, her lower lip was cut, and there was bruising on her face and wrists; as well as on areas she didn't realize Angelus had hit. But above all, she was worried about Giles. Being in worse shape than she was, they'd immediately rushed him into surgery, and it'd been nearly three hours since the two of them were admitted – they weren't saying anything to her about his condition.

He wasn't supposed to get caught up in her clan's ancient crusade, but outside involvement was pretty inevitable at this point, as the situation was out of her control...well, almost.

When she learned that she had visitors, she knew she had to tell Buffy the whole story. Now that the secret was out, Angelus would step up the timetable for his plans – whatever they happened to be – and they needed to get ready for him. Her reaction to the news, to the truth, had been a relatively calm one, but answers were wanted answers. Only there weren't many to give.

"I know...and it's a mistake I wanna take back. I'm sorry, Buffy, I really am, but I was taught to put my people ahead of my life – they were fools." Jenny closed her eyes, pushing back the pain. "I guess that makes me a fool, too."

Buffy crossed her arms over her chest. "So you care about people that used you, and act like they were the only ones hurt by Angel...a hundred years ago. I'm trying to understand, here."

"What about Giles?" The teacher-student dynamic was still in place, but her eyes gave her feelings away. "Good." Then she wasn't a fool. "Cause he cares a lot about you."

"The doctor said there was some internal bleeding..." The blonde's forehead creased. "But the only part I really heard was the 'He'll heal,' part." Arms dropping to the side, her expression softened – the woman had paid enough. "How're you doing?"

"I won't ever badmouth drugs again." Jenny received a chuckle in response. "My uncle said they were going to send me a permanent spell before..." She swallowed, his death fresh in her mind. "It'll save Angel."

"We just gotta find someone to do it in time, right?" This was bad, but the scariest thing was that it explained his recent, odd behavior. "You're sure he's still in there?"

"If he wasn't, I wouldn't be alive right now." The adult said, not kidding. "Neither would Rupert. Angel isn't doing this, Angelus is."

"I see your 'ugh' and raise you a 'whoa.'" Xander looked away, realizing how not tactful that sounded, which was one of the side effects of being around the cheerleader. "Sorry."

"Ooh, who did that?" Willow questioned, getting angry. "I'll-I'll...do something real mean to them! And glare at them when they're...um, in jail. A-a whole bunch, though!"

The slayer gave the patient a, 'They're gonna find out, anyway' look, but still, she hesitated.

"They're moving Giles to a room." The young male said. "We'll keep her entertained if you wanna go see him."

"Tell him," Jenny wanted to be able to move, "tell him I wish I could get up and come with you."

"Bet he's thinking the same thing." The blonde smiled, reassuringly. "You haven't run out of chances yet, just get better." She looked at her friends. "Make sure she stays comfortable, guys."

Cordelia wordlessly followed her exiting girlfriend, not releasing her grip. Sensing a new level of stress, she figured she should remain close – stress and Buffy wasn't a good thing.

The cheerleader walked slowly across the parking lot, making her way to her car. A very ill-looking Buffy was barely managing to follow beside her, which was why she wasn't leaving school grounds as quickly as usual. Everyone knew the slayer had been pushing herself too hard; she'd passed 'exhaustion' after the second day, but they were afraid to say anything. Angel had moved out of his apartment, so they didn't know where he was, and they were all anxious about what he was going to do next.

Opening the passenger-side door, Cordelia watched as Buffy wearily climbed into the seat, a hand on her forehead. Then she spotted Snyder, and ducked. He'd been trying to corner them – their "open displays of affection" were inappropriate and unwelcome in his school. It was an occasional, kiss, hug, or handhold...what was so wrong about that? If it was the 'gender issue,' then she didn't buy it. All he wanted to know was how he could get his hands on a videotape.

"I have to...and I don't get sick." No sooner had the words come out of Buffy's mouth, that she sneezed. "First time for everything."

Cordelia's face displayed concern, and she wasn't budging. "You should stay in and get your mom to make you soup or something; at least you have a parent that lets you milk illness."

The slayer smiled a little. "Would you make me soup if...nah. You wouldn't wanna have what I got."

"I'll risk it if it'll keep you inside – where you can't get killed." The brunette hated saying it even more than she did thinking it. "It's going around, probably catch it no matter what." Then her eyes widened as an idea came to her. "Hey, maybe I could mooch off your mom, too. It's not like Marta's an option. She's a maid, but there's things she swears she won't do, which I don't get."

Cordelia nodded. "But that's actually fine by me, because there's no way I'd put my life in her hands."

Buffy saw the forceful look behind the humor – she knew it well by now. "It won't be a long one, okay?"

"You can barely stand!" The cheerleader exploded, not used to people arguing with her. "And no wonder you're ready to collapse! All week you've been going to cemeteries looking for Angel, then you spend the rest of the night at the hospital playing 'Stakeout' waiting for him to show, and then you come here and worry about what he might've done – do you even sleep? Am I in there somewhere?"

"Yes. All the time. That's why I'm..." The blonde's words dropped off. "I don't want him coming after you. And Giles and Miss Calendar are getting released tomorrow – "

"So I won't go out at night; I can adjust. You're missing the point – what happens if you run into each other?" Cordelia questioned. "What're you gonna do, Buffy, cough on him?"

"Wait till you can breathe. It's great that you wanna save people's lives, especially mine, but you won't be able to do anything like this, and you know that."

"It really gets to you, huh?" The dizzy slayer was slowly starting to understand that.

"The idea of you dying? Yes!" The brunette was ready to rank her girlfriend's question up there amongst the dumbest ever. "And since I don't trust you to rise above your 'Super-Girl' complex, I'm not letting you out of my sight."

Maybe it was because she was delirious, but Buffy thought that was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her.

Spike's legs hung over the side of the mausoleum, while he puffed on a cigarette; he'd been sitting there for the last twenty minutes. Being able to move freely again had its advantages. He was back in the loop with everything from Angel's unpredictable behavior, to the new twist in the Slayer's love life. No middlemen or lackeys for him, anymore – he decided that now was the time to take charge, to be his own man. Yeah, he was the master of his destiny, and no one else would tell him what to do.

He'd used his brief period of disability not only to grieve, but also to make a clean break from his attachment to Druscilla. Oh, he'd definitely have his revenge...and when that was over, he was going to say so long to this damn town – he and Sunnydale were through. Where would he go? Maybe back to his old haunts, establish a permanent lair, and let eternity pass him by, achieving the vampiric status he knew he deserved.

Alone and solitary. Love? Who needed it? Certainly not him. Why'd he get so upset, anyway? He was a demon – the biggest and baddest of them all. It was time they all knew that.

Hearing the crunch of footsteps, he nonchalantly blew one, final cloud of smoke out of his mouth, and flicked the cigarette to the grass. One of the shoes that were the cause of the sound, stamped out the faintly glowing butt. The bleached vampire had known he was here; that's why he had picked this spot to wait for him. Took the guy long enough, but then again, Spike was fine with the staking delay – it allowed him to get his head into it.

"I heard somebody's been unstable lately." The elder vampire looked up when he heard the younger one's voice. "What's the matter, Angelus? Soul got you down?"

"Well, that's a relief." Spike commented. "I'm no doc, but I wager it's gotta be bloody crowded in there."

"Yeah...phase...right." The Brit sneered. "Don't get repetitive on me, Granddad – you'll start showing your age."

"Just enjoying the night air, is all; bother you, does it?" Spike smirked. "So...hiding from the Slayer yet?"

"Hiding?" His ex-lover's sire asked, incredulously – with a touch of annoyance. Like he would hide.

"Wouldn't blame you – I'll be the first bloke to admit she's got the stuff, and word is, she's on full alert."

"Ah, that's the game then – waitin' for one of your boys to wake up. Smart. I mean, you've never needed reserves before, but it's good to see that ya know when you're outmatched. I had to learn the hard way, but you've always been one for strategy, haven't you?" Spike complimented, thinly. "Are you rushin' off to smother her watcher with his pillow, or to tear apart the slut she tossed Softy aside for? No, not you – why be rash, you say? Not cause you're scared, but because you've got brains; and that's why you won't ever stop teachin' the rest of us."

Spike hopped off of the mausoleum to stand in front of the other vampire. "Don't wanna sound greedy, but because you're such a generous guy, how about answerin' a question? Simple one, really." His target waited, wary. "Who did Dru in? You or the Lapdog?"

His knuckles connected with Angel/Angelus' forehead, then. "Doesn't make a difference, but I appreciate the honesty – thanks for that."

Buffy had to admit that Cordelia had a good idea. After spending the whole day in the house because her mother forced her to stay home from school (if she didn't know better, she would've thought there was some conspiring going on), her girlfriend had come to get her outside. The brunette commented that the entire place smelled like sweat and germs, and her response was that they didn't have a particular smell, which then led to a debate on the purposes of scented Lysol.

But the night before, Cordelia stuck to what she had said. She kept the blonde at her house until Joyce finished at the gallery, and then took the sick girl home, to be monitored by a watchful, motherly eye.

It was 2:45 in the afternoon now though, and they had just about absorbed all of the fresh air Wetherby Park had to offer. The rest of the group had accompanied them – including Amy and Oz – and soon they were going to pick up Giles and Miss Calendar from the hospital. Buffy rested her head on her companion's shoulder as they walked, but other than feeling completely drained, she thought she was doing okay, her fever having broken a half-hour ago.

"Whatcha thinkin'?" She asked the cheerleader, as there had mostly been silence so far.

"Wanna narrow it down for me?" There wasn't enough energy in her body to devote to smacking.

The brunette glanced behind them, judging their distance from their friends. "You don't wanna hear them; not when you look that pale and splotchy." Then she muttered, "But I'm *still* attracted to you."

"What's it have to do with how...?" Buffy lifted her head up, as the answer dawned on her. "Oh." She flushed, but the reason for it was totally unrelated to her health. "Really?"

True to form, Cordelia wasn't the least bit fazed at being found out. "Did you forget that we're kind of involved? Also called 'dating'? If I didn't think about it, we'd have to like, rethink this."

"Enough that it causes me problems, all right? Sheesh...too much flattery can be bad for you, ya know." The cheerleader warned her. "And don't tell me you haven't."

"No, I-I have...I mean, look at you." Buffy sputtered, which made her girlfriend grin. "But I just...that's far."

"That's not what I meant." Now the slayer checked the gang's distance, whispering. "I've never...with anyone...but I want us to...only there's this thing where...I don't exactly know how."

"Hello, in case you didn't notice before? They were guys." The brunette remarked. "I'm just as clueless as you are about...that."

"Yeah, in a back room somewhere." Cordelia wrinkled her nose as if she had just caught a whiff of a really bad odor.

"Xander's probably read all about it – we could ask him." The cheerleader grimaced. "Eww...I'm *so* sorry I just said that."

"What're you two chattin' about?" Xander questioned, which was very good, almost creepy timing. "It more interesting than the birds, the bees, and all the swell nature that's around?"

The blonde wanted to laugh, but winced instead; her unpredictable monster of a flu was coming back with a vengeance. "Can we sit?" She requested, not knowing why the trees had to spin. "Dizzy."

Cordelia briefly wondered if this was just a way to leave the topic they were discussing, but one look at her girlfriend told her it wasn't. "Hang on, there's a bench right..."

"What do I owe ya, Danny?" Spike asked the blood bank's delivery boy, as they stood at the rear entrance of Sunnydale General that night.

Just as he'd gotten the upper hand the night before, the recruits decided to rise. Three of them – Angelus must've had a big meal. Could anyone blame him for not liking those odds? If it had stayed one-on-one he would've taken him, but as soon as he saw an opening, he decided it was better to split. He probably wouldn't have another opportunity to get the drop on him, though. It was always a bad idea to not finish what you started.

"That's five bags: three, AB positive, two, O negative...got a special this week, be thirty-five. It's an outside shipment – quality straight from Virginia. Lucky you." The substantially younger vampire answered.

He reached into his pocket and handed over the requested price. "Yeah, lucky me."

The seller's hands went up. "Nothing, man; got nothing to say. It's just...you don't normally buy this much from me, and we all heard about Angelus...what you did."

"And I'd do it again. S'not him I'm worrying over, anyway; it's the Slayer. She doesn't know I'm out and about." Spike clarified. "Last thing I need is them both on the hunt – got that, Danny Boy?"

"Sure, sure. But I don't think the Slayer'll be a problem. Least for a couple nights. She checked in this afternoon."

This grabbed his attention. "You're kidding." He smiled when Danny's head shook. "For what, 'Bitchitis'?"

Before she even opened her eyes, Buffy knew exactly where she was, and mentally groaned. The smell gave it away, though she also felt the IV in her arm, and the too tight blankets pulled up over her. She didn't want to see just yet, but she would've bet anyone that they put her in one of those gowns. When she finally allowed herself to look at the room they'd given her, she had to rationalize –

But for other people, not for herself. As she reached for the controls to make the bed sit her up, several questions flew through her mind: Did they get Giles and Miss Calendar out okay? Where was everybody? They didn't patrol, did they? How was Cordelia? When could she leave? Because the blinds were closed, she didn't know what time it was – day or night? She'd be a sitting duck if it were the latter.

Then she remembered something; whether it was last night, a few hours ago, or a dream, she didn't know, but she thought she got out of bed after seeing a kid walk down the hall. Then there were two doctors arguing about treatment...was there some sort of demon wearing a hat? And a dead girl? It was probably just all in her head – she knew she hadn't been thinking straight.

"The doctor says you're doing better – want me to tell them to bring you breakfast?" Joyce offered.

So it was morning. But hospital food? That would make her sick all over again. "No, I want you to tell them that you're taking me home." The slayer said in a small voice.

The parent went over to the bed and rubbed her daughter's hair. "They only wanna keep you a little while longer."

"Nope, they made Cordelia and I both go home – she was scared for you." Joyce's expression was sympathetic. "You were out of it when they were wheeling you away, honey. Saying things..."

"Just about how you didn't want to be here." The elder Summers answered. "And something about vampires..."

"Ha. That's...pretty strange. Very strange. Pay no attention to crazy me." The daughter smiled nervously. "Sickness leads to that kinda talk – I'm a nut-job."

"We all knew it was because you were sick." Her child sighed, and then she continued. "I told your friends why you didn't like hospitals, and Cordelia seemed to take it hard. I think she felt guilty; she drove you here, you know."

Celia – her cousin had died in the hospital while she was there in the room. It was a very traumatic thing for an eight-year-old to experience; she still thought about her, and now the gang knew one of her biggest fears, which her girlfriend was wrongly punishing herself for revealing.

Even though Buffy didn't want to admit it, going to the hospital had more than likely saved her life. "Are the guys at school?"

"Mm hmm. Xander said they'd come visit afterwards, and Mr. Giles said he'd call to see how you were – Miss Calendar is staying with him until her leg heals." Joyce said, and the teenage blonde couldn't blame him for not wanting to come back after spending a week here. Thinking about the living arrangements, however, a grin was masked. "That was a horrible thing that happened to them; did they ever find who was responsible?"

The provider in the family glanced at her wristwatch. "I should go to work – will you be all right? I promise I'll be by later."

After her mother kissed her forehead she headed for the door, but for some reason, suddenly stopped and turned around, a questioning look on her face. "You and Cordelia...you spend a lot of time together, don't you? More than you used to last year?"

"A lot? I dunno about a lot..." Buffy responded evasively, a big 'CAUTION' sign going up. "Why?"

"Uh, stuff changes, I guess." Her daughter shrugged. "And she's really a cool person."

"She didn't wanna leave; she dared security to try and throw her out." The young blonde gaped at the info she was being presented with. "Is she usually that...direct?"

Buffy smirked. "I think it's impossible for Cordelia to be anything but. She lives by it; it's practically a code."

"That's a good quality to have; it shows she has confidence. Not many people will say 'no' to her." Joyce said, thoughtfully.

"Party Wagon's here!" Xander announced, bursting into the room with balloons several hours later.

Buffy was happy to see them, especially after getting Giles' call. He asked how she was, said that he and Jenny had talked things out, but the main reason he phoned was to tell her that he'd been doing some thinking about Angel. He didn't want to get into specifics because she was in the hospital where their conversation wasn't entirely private, so he left it by saying that he would know more when she came home.

"Good!" Dr. Wilkinson said as the rest of them flooded in. "Maybe you can keep our
patient from bolting." She looked at the fussy girl in the bed before leaving. "Rest! Hmm?"

Cordelia shut the door and then joined the group, biting her lip almost like she was frightened.

The slayer was quizzical – her friend had to know her better than this. "Homework?"

The redhead grinned. "I did all your assignments; all you have to do is sign your
name."

Amy was next in line. "I just did a healing spell for you – options were kinda limited."

The brunette was last, but not least. "Nobody told me I was supposed to bring a gift." She eyed everyone. "I was out of the loop on gifts."

Cordelia wanted to smack herself – she was the girlfriend. Out of the group, she was the one most expected to bring something; it was just difficult to keep track of all the 'relationship rules.' Buffy's well being was on her mind every period, though...they had to give her points for that.

"Silly, we've discussed this – you're my gift." The blonde patted the mattress, and the cheerleader climbed up onto it to sit beside her.

"You look better." Cordelia couldn't hold back any longer. She touched her lips to a familiar pair, for one, impressively long French kiss. "Yep...definitely better."

"It's also traditional to take dogs for walks." The brunette countered, glaring. "Amy, maybe you should tie him up outside."

"How about I give him fleas?" The witch suggested, folding her arms across her chest.

"Hey, not fair – it's hard being a guy boxed in by high levels of estrogen, day after 'twenty-four hour' day." He defended himself. "Then you gals had to start with the rainbow action..."

"You've been a guy, what, seventeen years now?" Buffy estimated. "Get used to it."

"Sleep okay?" Cordelia asked, focusing on her girlfriend. "I had no idea...about her." She felt so bad. "I'm sorry."

"I know you didn't, but no worries – I'm coping, really. Thanks for ignoring and getting me here." The slayer kissed her that time. "Heard about the fight you put up."

All day, Buffy couldn't shake the feeling that the thing she saw last night was real. At the risk of sounding insane, she thought she ought to place it before the group – they could research. "You know, let's take a walk; there's something I gotta tell everyone."

Angelus was thoroughly enjoying his new abode. The mansion fit him – large, antique...it always came down to status. If vampires didn't grab a hold of the finer things in life, then they were only animals. Not him; he appreciated art and wealth, as did his more moral half. Though it had kept quiet for the most part, conserving what remained of its strength, no doubt, for when it would truly come in handy.

Smart in a way, but just plain stupid in another, because people still continued to die.

Spike's little attack was a formal announcement that the bleached blonde had chosen to enter into the game, which he could handle. Yet right now he was content to wait and see just how much the younger generation was willing to put on the line – the move was his. He wished he could to be there when Buffy disposed of the competition, and a part of him almost felt sorry for his grand-childe.

Hearing his dinner moan behind the gag, he wondered how he could have forgotten – where were his manners? Fear added a little spice to the blood.

The sun was going down the next day, as Buffy sat in her hospital room with Willow, contemplating how to deal with Der Kindestod. The thing went after sick children, and it killed the doctor that was trying to treat the kids because he was taking them away. She didn't see it, however; it was like it was invisible to her now. And she needed to be able to look at it to fight it – she wasn't a Jedi.

"Well, technically the 'word' wasn't ever..." Buffy was trying to avoid being too descriptive, as it made the discussing easier. "But yeah, we had a non-conversation about it; how we could maybe, ya know...some day that's soon."

The hacker pushed aside the embarrassment that wanted to overtake her. "You should research; cause knowledge equals power. I'm a firm believer in that – the firmest."

"We oughta be the best we can be, don’t you think?" The slayer paused. "And that sounded *way* too Army. But then I think going with the flow could be the best thing...I dunno."

"What don't you know?" Cordelia questioned, walking in and up to them carrying a DoubleMeat Palace bag and a milkshake.

"How I could've survived in here without you." Buffy eyed the bag hungrily, clawing for it, but her girlfriend held it just out of reach.

"This is something that's priv..." The hacker trailed off as she was silenced with a look. "Who ever said hospital chairs weren't comfy? Nothing could get me out of this. Nuh uh."

"Sex. You and me. Approaches to." The blonde spilled, too starved to give her the runaround. "That was the discussion...now gimmie."

"B-but there was no experimenting. No, uh, testing or anything close to...talking! We talked. O-o-oh, um, but no-no talking about experimenting – none, not even a vowel sound. I mean, it'd be bad cause of Oz and you and 'best friend' boundaries...and they have Hungry, Hungry Hippos in the waiting room...leaving now." Willow bolted.

"Chair must not have been as comfortable as she said." Cordelia rationalized. "She should really see somebody about that."

"I promise to get her a 'Babble Specialist' as soon as they let me out, just feed me." Buffy whined. "I can't slay on an empty stomach."

"Feed you? Did you break your arms when I wasn't looking?" The brunette chucked the bag, and the blonde caught it. "I'm not that easy."

Carefully positioning herself beside Buffy so she didn't drop the cup, she handed it over and kicked off her shoes. Then she stole the fries once her girlfriend got them out, resulting in a mini, staring contest as she dared her opponent with her eyes. Defeat was admitted when the straw was stuck into the milkshake, but the 'Puppy-Dog' look was used, nonetheless.

"You're such a baby sometimes...here." Cordelia held a fry in her hand. "If every vampire knew – "

"But they don't." The slayer cut her off and was fed, the fry being contorted and pushed into her mouth. As she accepted it, she couldn't help but accept a fingertip as well.

The cheerleader's eyes widened at this development, and then became very focused. "Is it getting hotter?"

Buffy chuckled, ceasing her actions. "Two seconds...less than, and already you're going 'Badly-Acted Porno' on me – that's definitely being filed for future reference." Getting the kissing underway, she didn't even realize that the solution to the demon problem had presented itself. "But see? I receive, I give..."

Cordelia's lips managed to reach neck, and her hands started to feel up the gown Buffy was wearing – which was *all* she was wearing.

"You had to pick now?" A few more seconds of touching, and the slayer wouldn't be coherent. "Where it's public, with nurses and doctors and other...people going...could be...coming, too..." Did she just hiss? "God, thanks to you my temperature's gonna shatter records; they'll keep me here for a month." Then it clicked like a flash. "'Temperature,' that's it! That's how I'll be able to see it when I kill it!"

Her girlfriend could sense that their heavy groping session had come to an end. "Kill what?"

"Der Kindergarten or...whatever his name is. I was sick when I saw him before, so I need to be sick again; Willow can help me." Buffy responded. "Which waiting room did she – ?"

The brunette sighed. "This is going to put a major crimp in our sex-life – meaning, we're never gonna have one."

"We will, too." The blonde insisted, hugging her close. "And...hospital? They catch us, we're in the slammer – you're the only bitch I want, Cor."

"Nice, Buffy. Real nice." Cordelia sighed as if she were being forced to acknowledge something supposedly a given. "But I *am* the best."

"Compliment of the harmless kind." She saw the mischievous grin, and knew whatever was behind it, couldn't be lawful. "Whatever you're thinking, remember...bars and chain gangs. There'll be no kinkiness till after I have at least one, normal, sexual experience. Who knew Cordelia Chase was such a – ?"

"It's a flaw, you *did* know that, and I can't help it if you drive me crazy." The cheerleader's kiss was more chaste than the ones before it. "I'm tracking down Willow, aren't I?"

Cordelia tried to look put out, but couldn't manage it. "Why not?" Which was followed by a shrug. "Anyway, now I hafta go to the bathroom and reapply – *twice* in one day."

"You can't seriously wanna blame the smearing on little ol' me...you animal." The slayer teased, resulting in the sticking out of tongue. This was the childish side only she witnessed, and she shook her head at it. "Don't with the tempting, you can't win."

The second Cordelia emerged from the bathroom and turned to go in search of their missing friend, a hand covered her mouth from behind.

She was quickly and quietly dragged over to the next door, which led down to a sewer grate wonderful for entering and exiting without being seen.

She knows that side of me
Can't help it
Can't help that side of me
Just a little more
Just until I know what I'm feeling
Just a little more to find my sanity

I'm lost in a thousand nights
But sun shines at my feet
I'd walk through a thousand fires
And next to me she'd be

The cheerleader was sitting on a box in the rundown factory, watching apprehensively as her chain-smoking captor paced back and forth – was he trying to kill her through secondhand? And since when did he lose the wheelchair? She guessed it didn't matter for the time being; her nerves were shot, and if he was going to torture her, she wished he'd get it over with, as 'patience' wasn't something she had. She'd been here...well, it was now the following afternoon. She thought she deserved a reward for being the obedient captive this long.

It was becoming clearer and clearer that Spike's kidnapping plan wasn't that airtight. The only thing he'd told her to do was stay quiet, which was hours ago, and a quick glance around the factory revealed to her that they were alone. He didn't have anyone watching her – she could wait for him to turn away and be in daylight easily. He must've known that though, because he wasn't going anywhere; he also had to know that she was at the top of the priority list.

What was the deal? Buffy didn't know he was back in action, so it would take her a little while to get on the right track, but that's all he had going for him.

"Are you gonna start acting evil anytime soon?" Cordelia decided to try her luck. "You are a vampire, right?"

"What did I tell you?" He paused in his pacing to snap at her, and then resumed.

"Hey, I haven't said a word since last night...that's a first for me." She studied and picked at her nails. "Doesn't matter; I'll play hostage, Buffy'll come kick your ass, and then we can go back to worrying about someone who's actually scary."

He walked up to her, speaking with controlled anger. "Don't test me, Princess. Good for both of us if your lungs keep on – makes things less complicated, and you less dead. But I can change the plan if I have to."

"I'm sure." She was flippant, because he was just buying time – even she could see the fear in his eyes. "Just...whatever you're trying to prove, do it some time today? I have places I could be."

That's the last thing Giles had said to her before she left to come here, and he hadn't needed to finish his sentence – getting Angel back was an option. A week ago she would've been 'gung ho' about the idea, but she'd lost her ability to be subjective; the demon wearing his face kind of made that hard when it stole her girlfriend. That was the general consensus around town, anyway.

He would be punished...badly. Her emotions were all over the place, but she knew that much. She'd lay into him, maybe even kill him, and then do the rescuing. Concentrating on Cordelia's safety was the only thing stopping her from collapsing. Angelus would do it, end the brunette's life on a whim – she had to find him before that whim hit.

She was surprised Giles even told her. By the look in his eyes, and the way he looked at Miss Calendar, she got the feeling he hadn't wanted to – he wanted to see Angelus dusted for injuring his girlfriend. Watcher and Slayer were on the same page, but the teacher was more forgiving; she was still able to make the distinction between 'Man' and 'Monster.' The adults had obviously debated the issue, and it wasn't a shock that the woman won.

On the plus side, Freddy Kruger's less talkative cousin was no more – she'd snapped his neck, and the children could get healthy. Cordelia had been missing at the time, but she wasn't able to worry, then. After being released and spending the morning in her own bed (per mother's orders), the worry didn't hold back. Right down the hall...she was so mad at herself for that. The uneasy feeling spreading throughout her body didn't help much, either; she didn't know what she'd do if...if something happened to her.

But nothing would. It was going to be okay – she could handle this. Her girlfriend was tough, and she'd hang in there until help came. Or so Buffy hoped, learning the true extent of her feelings. This had to be a test; as a slayer, if she wanted love, she had to work for it. Unfair? Most definitely. The choice wasn't hers though, and jumping through the hoops was part of the job. For once, she cared about getting a high score, had to.

She knew she deserved to pass, because being separated and not having any say in it, was causing pain. Realizing that, any reservations she had about telling her mother floated away. Somewhere along the line they had gotten serious; there was a hopeful, long-term investment. She didn't think it was a conscious decision on either of their parts, it just kind of evolved beyond their control, and she welcomed that.

There was attachment big time – she wished they could've made love. Cordelia had been pushing, and while she hadn't said 'no,' she hadn't been nearly as motivated. Well, she was damn sure motivated now, and planned to show her just how committed she was to their relationship. Yet first, they had to get past this speed bump.

"Out." Buffy commanded the demonic patrons of Willy's bar as she stepped inside, and those that could, went wide-eyed. "Now."

She stared them down until they began filing out past her and her unwavering, determined stance. Checking to see if she and the bar's owner were alone, she was disappointed when she saw a vampire still sitting at a table, having a drink – this wasn't the right day to challenge her resolve, really wasn't. In full slayer-mode, she walked up to it, and grabbed the collar of its shirt. "Here, let me help you find the door."

Briefly she considered being nice and hauling it to the sewer entrance, but then she pretended it was Angelus, and thoroughly enjoyed tossing him out into the sunlight, where he burned up rather quickly...vampires were very fragile.

Willy was fragile as well, which was why he ducked behind the bar. "He was one of my best customers, ya know." He poked his head out.

"What brings you here, Slayer? Need anything? Or did you just chase away my regulars for the fun of it?" His nervous queries got no replies. "Which I'm totally cool with, by the way."

"I need to know where Angel's new place is; and don't try to weasel your way out of this, because I'm not in the mood to bargain." She meant it, too.

Hopping over to the other side, she then drove him back, eventually slamming him up against the jukebox. "Do you really wanna see my mean side, Willy?"

There was a fire in her eyes he hadn't seen before. "Okay, okay – I'll tell. On the house."

"You kidnapped me to make Buffy think Angel did it?" Cordelia wanted to laugh, but held it in. "Why don't you kill him if you hate him so much?"

"I tried, all right? The bugger's a cockroach that just bloody won't die." His desperation was obvious. "My whole un-life he acted better than me; he was always Dru's favorite." Fists clenched tightly, then unclenched. "Slayer's the end of the line, believe me, but the bird's dedicated. Capable, she is."

"It's a 'jealousy' thing? Oh my God. I can't believe...you are *such* a loser." She thought this was pitiful, and the vampire glared at her as she stood up. "What happens if Buffy can't do it?"

"Oughta have more confidence in your girl; seeing how your life hangs in the balance and all that." He reminded her.

The now pissed off brunette got in his face. "You could've sent my girlfriend marching off to her death."

"Have you always been a coward, Spike? Or is it just seasonal?" He 'vamped,' but she didn't flinch. "If she dies, I'll – "

She felt the blow of the supernatural slap, and then was on the floor, her jaw aching.

"You'll what, join her? Say the word, pet." He picked her up, flung her over his shoulder, and carried her into what was once Druscilla's room. "See if that 'Good Guy' streak of luck dried up in a bit...in the meantime, you're gonna belt the hell up."

"You dumb ass!" She yelled back in defiance. "You're gonna be so staked! Put me down!"

He obliged, setting her on the bed, and Cordelia was quickly creeped out by the doll collection that surrounded her. Spike grabbed a sheet, tore it in slices to make a piece that would fit around her wrists, and then proceeded to tie her hands together. She wanted to be out of there, dying young wasn't a goal, yet if there was a possibility Buffy could die coming after her, she'd rather take her chances with the lame excuse for a creature of the night.

But aside from being one of the rare, selfless thoughts she'd had during her short lifetime, it didn't hold any weight; it wouldn't change a thing. Still, it led to an important revelation (how come those always seemed to happen when she was bound?). All she had begun to picture her future to be, the slayer was in it – the stubborn, strong, weak, funny, serious, childish, complex, beautiful slayer. She'd fallen...despite her better judgment, of course.

What was her category? 'Lesbian'? 'Bi'? Clearly 'Straight' was off the list, but she had come to learn that sexuality was too confusing to label, so she didn't bother. The world had its own system, and wherever people were going to place her, that's where she was going, whether she was okay with the choice or not. And though it was unavoidable, there was no way she was stereotyping herself; she counted on Buffy being there with her so they could adjust together.

The blonde was a permanent fixture in her imagined future – a year, two years, three, four...she was seen down the road. 'Love' was a term meaninglessly thrown around in high school, that was hardly unknown, but they were the real deal. She could feel it, if only because of the simple fact that Cordelia Chase didn't tend to put the well being of many people ahead of her own, and here she was wishing she could do that right now.

"You're not going, Giles." Buffy told him, gathering weapons. "You want me to list reasons? Cause I can." She examined the blade of an axe that could've been sharper.

"I won't argue; I realize there isn't time." He said, and the slayer was grateful.

He saved her the trouble of a lengthy explanation, because he knew the shape he was in, and that 'irrationality' was bound to infect his judgment. But he also feared that it would happen to her, and that she'd get careless. In her mind, wasn't going to happen. Cordelia was alive and depending on her – she was going to be anything but careless.

She was focused, prepared to do whatever it took, even if it meant losing Angel. She didn't want it to come to that, but if she had to, then she had to. Plus, besides holding her girlfriend hostage, Angelus had to pay for all of the deaths he was responsible for, all the pain he inflicted...all the evil she couldn't prevent.

Jenny was lying on the couch, her leg propped up on pillows, concernedly watching them both. There was more that had to be said, and she hoped he would.

The gang was the blonde's support team – they weren't letting her go alone, and unlike with Giles, her objections weren't as stable. "They said they'd be right back."

"And they will." He confirmed, and then paused. "Buffy, I know that you care for Cordelia..."

It was no different than how they felt about each other; 'age' didn't make experts, especially not when it came to heart stuff. The emotional one, anyway – the physical one was gross, yet necessary. Whenever she heard someone say, 'You don't know what love is,' she wanted to counter with, 'What's the divorce rate again?' Though she didn't want Giles and Miss Calendar to be a statistic.

Removing his glasses, the Englishman wisely stood corrected. "That you *love* her a great deal, and I don't want to say anything that might affect your plan to go about getting her back...but, you should be aware of all we've discovered."

"There's more?" She threw her selections into a duffel bag at her feet, and then gave him her full attention. "Tell me."

"We put him in five different trash bags, which we then burned...with lots of enthusiasm." Her face fell. "His ashes didn't remake him, did they?"

"He could've caused Angelus to come out; he's the only force I can think of that's powerful enough to break through the magick my people used." Jenny said, noting the perplexed look. "I wasn't there at the mall, but Rupert walked me through what happened."

"Angel got hit." Buffy replayed the events in her head. "Me, he got hit protecting me. It bought time, and I got the shot off."

"Had the Judge held onto him a few seconds longer, Angel would have been vaporized." Her watcher continued.

The techno-pagan took her turn. "But instead, his soul weakened just enough for the demon to take over. The curse wasn't broken, only damaged – which is why he's still there."

"Sooner or later he won't be, right? Then it's too late?" The slayer asked, and received a nod of confirmation from Giles. "Does the Judge have anything to do with the spell? You know, because he caused – ?"

She should've figured it out, should've known. It made perfect sense, and she knew why they told her – the plan was to kill him all along, but the blinders weren't working now. Angel had to watch his hands murder innocents because he had saved her life; knowing that, it would make staking him harder. He risked his existence for her, and his 'thank you' was death? That didn't seem right.

And it wasn't his fault...he didn’t know. Neither did she, except there was guilt anyhow. When she reached that decision point, she wasn't certain of what she'd choose, but at least she knew the whole story; if she'd found out afterwards, she wouldn't have taken it very well. This added a new wrinkle for sure, but she liked to be in control whenever possible, and they opened up all the available paths – she hated having decisions made for her.

Willow came in. "We're good to go. Plus, tense, frightened and...really frightened, but we're ready." She gave a brave smile. "You?"

"You don't have to..." Buffy trailed off as she watched the redhead's foot tap expectantly on the floor. "Ready and raring." She looked at the older man. "That it?"

"I will." She headed to her friend once she picked up the bag, and then turned to smile reassuringly at him. "We all will."

Angelus had decided that he loved the twentieth century. All of the information and news he could possibly want was at his fingertips, and as he looked at the headline in the morning's paper again, he smiled. Just when he thought he wouldn't have anything grand enough to give Buffy the proper send off, this was waiting. He should've known that America, with its need for expansion and wealth, would help him out – the land was so giving. And what better way to say goodbye to the soul, then by giving it one, final kick while it was down?

Some of the boys were out doing a little, last minute checking, but he planned to have it before dawn tomorrow.

He was close, and being as confident as he was, it was a bit of a shock to see Buffy and four of her friends just stroll right into his home. Three of his people surrounded them quickly, but they were hit by bursts of holy water from Super Soakers that Willow and Xander were holding. He watched, rather impressed by their organizational skills, as the werewolf and a girl he hadn't seen before, staked two of the trio while the pain distracted them. The leader easily handled the third with a well-aimed bolt from a crossbow.

Stuffing the paper underneath one of the cushions of the couch he was sitting on, he got to his feet, clapping.

It took his foe a second to remember that she wasn't looking at her friend. "Three? That's all you had? And I was expecting this to be hard." She taunted, chucking the bag that was hooked around her shoulder to the gang, and motioning for them to hang back.

"Good help's rare these days." He answered with a, 'What can you do?' shrug. "If I knew you were coming, would've made it more challenging for you."

"Wanna find out?" She offered amicably. "Or, you could tell me what you've done with her, and I might just reconsider."

He understood the reason for the attack now, and almost laughed. Spike was cleverer than he thought, she was dumber – it'd cost her. "Nice move." He whispered to himself, and said the next part so she could hear. "Don't think I wanna do that."

Patting her pocket to make sure she had a stake there, she charged Angelus, and the fight began. Adrenaline allowed her to get the first strike – a high, front-snap kick, which when it connected to his face, forced him to hold out his arms to maintain balance as he stumbled backwards. Seeing that he wasn't able to counterattack, she followed up with a punch to the gut; as soon as he doubled over, she round-housed the side of his head.

Rolling onto his back on the floor, he could see that his opponent was in a bad position – he grabbed her ankle, pulled, and saw her fall face-first to the floor. Not wasting time, he got over her and gripped her neck, giving it a tiny squeeze. Predictably she struggled, but he was putting everything he had into keeping her in place. The thing about adrenaline was that it always wore off, and now he could smell its replacement...fear.

"Gotta do better than that, Buff." The vampire scolded her. She was lifted as he stood, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Xander fire. The stream was off-target though, not penetrating his shirt. "Somebody just tagged himself in."

Throwing Buffy against the wall, he shifted to his vampiric face, not even bothering to watch her slide down to the ground. He headed in Xander's direction, and was met by two crosses in the hands of Willow and Oz. The other girl was being blocked, and the boy had chosen to brandish an axe – so, they had ditched their guns. He winced, keeping just enough distance from the blessed nuisances.

"Stay back." Xander commanded, a slight crack in his voice betraying the image he was going for.

"What's a'matter?" Angelus questioned. "There a chink in the White Knight's armor?"

Before he could begin to decipher what was going on, he noticed Willow's lack of attention and swatted the cross away, smiling as her eyes bugged out.

"Willow!" The boyfriend yelled, but he couldn't get to her and keep his cross in place.

Xander, however, could do something. He swung the axe upwards with all the strength he could muster, and snagged Angelus' chin; then he tried again, as it seemed to have no effect. Sometimes he forgot that he was a mere mortal. His second attempt was intercepted – Angelus got a grip on the handle. One fast yank and he was flung, dropping to his knees when his legs couldn't keep up the speed he needed to stay upright.

It was being raised anyway, and Oz didn't have a choice. He was going to jump him, but a voice stopped everything: "Yo, over here!" Buffy shouted.

Angelus turned just in time to see his sofa come flying at him; the blonde had gotten a running start, and was able to launch it. When the contact came his knees buckled, and he fell back onto the cushions, his legs hanging over the arm. He had also lost the axe, which she caught in midair and was holding against his neck.

"Now do you wanna tell me?" The slayer asked, and he still had the smug smile. "I'll look while you wait here – right, Amy?"

The group moved aside, and the witch looked upon him with blackened eyes, energy swirling around her. "Thicken!"

Buffy backed away, and couldn't help the laugh that came when he tried to take a step from the couch – the spell wouldn't let him walk beyond it. "Watch him, and don't get too close." She began her search. "Cordelia!"

"Come on," Spike said looking at the ceiling, wishing the noise upstairs would stop, "sodding follow through for once."

He also wished he could be there to make sure she did, but he couldn't very well leave the girl here alone – this had to be worth it, or he was a goner.

"You'll be there for about three hours, so get comfortable." Amy told the vampire, a satisfied smile on her face.

Buffy rejoined them, glaring at Angelus – she'd scoured the place, and Cordelia was nowhere to be found.

Waiting for him to answer her unvoiced question, he just started laughing, sending a shiver through everyone present. "You always fall for it!" He was almost giggling when the truth dawned on her; opening her mouth to speak, there was no sound. "Here's a clue – bleach fetish."

"Up on two legs, and kinda mad at me. Can't imagine why." There was an evil gleam in his eye. "He's got your plaything."

"They knew you'd come after me, and they all don't like me too much." He wasn't naïve. "What can I say? I'm a pain in the ass – no matter who came out on top, they'd win." His guests absorbed this information. "Anything else you wanna know? Like maybe...how to do your job?"

"So finish it...stake me." Her enemy dared her. "And then if she's still alive..."

She thought she could hear Angel in that request. "Oz...sword." Not feeling anything being placed in her outstretched hand, she turned to stare at their unsure expressions – hers, however, was not. "What's the hold up?"

Any objections that were ready to emerge from their lips, died when they saw it wouldn't change her mind. But what about the spell they'd been working so hard on? What about Angel? Even though she could see a flicker of him in those eyes, she had promised herself that she would punish the killer, and Angel would probably welcome the release – he'd probably been craving it.

The guitarist fished around in the bag, finding what she wanted, and handed it to her. Angelus hadn't wavered, still silently challenging her to go through with it, adding a cocky smirk in the hopes that it would push her over the edge. If she just walked away, it would show her lack of resolve – a weakness she didn't want to be associated with – so she raised the blade, and apologized to her trapped friend.

Then she thrust the metal straight through his Adam's apple, until she could see it coming out of the back of the couch, covered in blood. He began gagging and failing his arms, trying to free himself. It wouldn't kill him, but it would be painful for a very, very long amount of time. What kind of punishment was death for a vampire? It was over in an instant, with little to no hurt involved.

"Rope – we need to tie his hands." The blonde instructed, and then he wasn't going anywhere. "If you have any guys left that can stand you, they'll spring you eventually. But um...if ya don't mind, I think I'll just grab whatever you're hiding."

She lifted up his leg, and removed the paper she'd seen him stash when they entered. Yeah, he was most likely planning something, but it wasn't going to work, because she'd be there to stop it. She'd get Angel back as well, though first she had a cheerleader to save, and an undead, limey bastard to kill.

"We'll have to do this again sometime." Xander remarked, cringing slightly as blood poured from Angelus' mouth. "Careful, that's a nice couch; ya don't want it to stain. 'Blood' is the unforgiving predator of all cloth types."

"Mom makes me do the laundry...and I never use enough fabric softener." He explained, his fellow male choosing not to contribute any tips. "I steam clean, too."

"Honestly, Slayer, it was just a – " The swift kick that she gave to Spike's groin, effectively shut him up. "Oww!" Except for the scream, that is.

Buffy bent down to look him straight in his agony-displaying face, but deliberately avoided drifting any lower. "If you so much as *pinched* my girlfriend? Trust me, whatever you're feeling now, it'll be nothing compared to what I do to the rest of you, Spike."

"She's...upstairs...no harm done..." He told her, and she left him finally, though he wasn't out of danger – four groupies had weapons at the ready. "Hello all...lovely day, isn't it?"

The slayer was kicking down the door to Druscilla's room in about five seconds flat, rushing in to find dolls everywhere. Not to mention a restrained Cordelia on the floor, who was making muffled exclamations through the sheet preventing her from speaking. Her rescuer, however, despite having full control of a mouth and its related muscles, couldn't form words. She got down, pulled the brunette into a sitting position, and freed her as fast as was super-humanly possible – which was pretty damn fast.

They stared at one another for what seemed like an impossibly long stretch of time, until they hugged like there was no tomorrow. And considering the lives they led, there might not be. Without even realizing it, both girls had begun to allow tears to escape down their cheeks – to Cordelia, whose mascara was going to run, this was a relatively new sensation. She wasn't crying because she had been afraid for her life (Spike had come close, but not that close), she was crying because she'd been afraid for Buffy's, and now things were okay.

It was an overload – they both were muttering unintelligible forms of 'thanks' into each other's necks.

Buffy was crying for much the same reason, only the cheerleader's name was substituted for hers. For nearly twenty-four hours she had feared for the girl's life; she wanted to apologize, wanted to grovel for being so stupid, wanted to beg for forgiveness. But when they separated, her girlfriend told her not to with an expression she knew by heart: 'Feel guilty and I'll yell at you loudly.'

The blonde shook her head. "I couldn't, not while we have a chance." She saw a faint bruise below her bottom lip and touched it, frowning. "Did Spike hurt you?"

"It'll cover up. He barely qualifies as a villain, but I guess I got on his nerves." The brunette grinned. "So what happened, you break out of the hospital?"

"Nope, released legally – I'm fluless." Buffy stroked her girlfriend's dark hair. "One day. *One* day, and I go insane. You shouldn't've been here in the first place, but...I missed you."

"What do I hafta do to get through the thickness?" Cordelia eliminated the chance for any sort of reply by initiating physical contact. "I missed you too, but," Kiss. "I'm fine," Kiss. "We're fine," Kiss. "It's all fine." Kiss. "So knock it off. I mean, did anybody ever tell you that gloom is a huge turn off?"

Each wanted to feel the other, and the kissing quickly reached a fevered pitch; they didn't even stop as they were getting off of the floor. Though as soon as Cordelia remembered the locale, she called it quits. "If this is...you know, leading where it better be leading...then let's not go there in Crazy Elvira's bedroom." She gestured to the dolls, her breath heavy.

"Good point." The slayer found the toys just as disconcerting. "Let's get outta this dump."

They headed out and towards the stairs. "About damn time – your complexion can't go too long without natural light. Somewhere, that's a medical fact." The brunette informed her. "Just because Spike bursts into flames in it..."

"Duh, why d'you think 'Sun Block' was invented?" Beginning their descent, Cordelia lowered her voice. "Are we going to?"

The cheerleader had seen that look before – she was wanted, and it made her suddenly nervous. "Uh huh." Like she'd say no? Everyone came over, relieved, yet not exactly making a commotion. "Don't act all overjoyed to see me or anything."

That was the green light for the gang, who hugged her one-by-one. Well, Oz just held up his hand in a short wave. The blonde stood back and viewed the mini-reunion, allowing herself a deep breath, and a very slow exhale. No matter what her girlfriend said, it was a close call that could've gone badly. Next time something tried to get to her through Cordelia, it might have more nerve than Spike, and then where would she be?

Willow came up behind her, placing a comforting hand on her back. "She's all safe and sound-y, see? I know what I'm talking about."

"Thanks, Will." That was the future; she could smile now. "And yeah, I am glad you guys were there." Her friend smiled, liking ego boosts. "Amy was – "

"He better not piss her off." Buffy concluded, and they snickered. "You sure you're...?"

Spike cautiously walked over. "Well, looks like the troupe's all smiles, got your slag back and what all...*and* in one piece – "

"Hey, take the back!" Willow had been gaining a working knowledge of British slang so she could understand Giles, and that 's-word' wasn't very nice.

"Could be argued it was more of a slap...an accidental slap, mind you..." Crap. The vampire started to backpedal. "Just tell me he moved into an urn, and I can die with a spot of happiness in my heart."

"Heart?" She forced out through a cough, disbelievingly. "You mean the one that hasn't worked in like, a century? Because it's *dead*?"

Spike studied her. "You didn't do it." He let loose an anguish-ridden bellow, knowing the answer. "That's bloody typical of you – all Hat and no Cat."

"I still say you shoulda let me make him swallow one of his cigarettes – he could've burned to death internally." Buffy said through gritted teeth.

Cordelia was sitting at the petite teen's vanity brushing her shower-dampened hair, and stopped the comb in mid-stroke. Looking past her reflection in the mirror, she rolled her eyes at her girlfriend's attempt at a disturbingly gleeful tone...wasn't working. Similar remarks had been made ever since they left the factory, and whereas before it'd had the desired effect, now it was just overkill. She was only doing it to get a reaction, and trying too hard – it was time to put the lid on it.

There must have been fifty, different odors in that factory, all of which had one thing in common: Death.

"Okay, so maybe I wouldn't've gone that far," The slayer conceded, lying on her bed, "but that doesn't make the imagery any less fun." She eyed her sleepover guest. "You look great in my robe, by the way."

The cheerleader smiled, checking out the very cozy, very soft, dark-green bathrobe she was wearing. "I know." Now Buffy rolled her eyes. "And *you* know I'm right about Spike."

"You don't kill losers; you get them to do whatever you tell them to do." The Queen spoke from experience. "You wanna make him regret 'kidnapping' me – and I use the term in the loosest possible way – you force him to help us, which damages his already pathetic reputation. Plus, he hates Angelus."

"You'd have to rely on Xander." Cordelia got glared at for answering the rhetorical question. "What? Pretend it's not a scary thought if you really need to, but when you wanna try 'reality,' I'll be around."

While they were on the topic of her job, Buffy thought back to the look on Giles' face when she gave him that newspaper. It was too worried for her liking, and...no, she had to take a break – no more shop talk, no more shop thoughts. She got off of her bed, went over to the vanity, took the comb from Cordelia's hand, and set it down.

The brunette didn't protest, mainly because she was distracted by the new view in the mirror. "Is that my shirt?"

"Cause you just...*forgot* to bring your own clothes." Cordelia remembered, only half-accusing.

"Does the word 'assassins' ring a bell?" Buffy asked, and slid her arms around her girlfriend's neck. "Believe what you wanna believe, but I wasn't trying to steal from your gigantic, fashion collection...even though you stole from mine."

"You said I could keep them." The cheerleader countered. "And if you want the shirt, just ask." It was one of her favorites, though.

"You want it back, you can have it back, but first," Buffy leaned over to whisper in her ear, "gotta take it off me."

Cordelia swallowed – it was easy to be the aggressor, but being on the receiving end was causing every hormone to go haywire. "Those pants...are they my pants? They look like...yeah, I think they're mine."

"So get them back, too." The slayer wore a grin...a playful grin. An 'I'm not planning on or expecting any interruptions, so are you coming with?' grin.

Buffy took her hand, waited for her to rise from the chair, and then led them over to the bed, which they both sat down on. Then she looked to her to make the next move, her 'take charge' attitude suddenly gone. All Cordelia could think to do was push back further onto the mattress so they could lay, and after staring at the ceiling for a while, they thought it might be a good idea if they could see one another – they turned on their sides.

It was amazing how fast a combination of fear and horniness took away the cheerleader's control, and ability to function, especially when it was only supposed to be a 'guy' problem. The number of times that she'd had sex was a slightly exaggerated figure, but still, in her limited experience, her body had never felt as against her as it did now. 'Sex' had been almost trendy in the past, not something she absolutely needed to partake in, yet that was no longer the case. She had to do this, but not simply to 'do it.'

She wanted to make love to her girlfriend more than anything; she wanted to cement what they had, while getting to learn every inch of her in the process. Would she be any good? That's what she was afraid of. It was their first time, and she didn't want to be so bad that it would be their last. Even though they were both new to this (Buffy was probably having the same thoughts), she was nevertheless putting a lot of pressure on herself – there was going to be pleasure, damn it.

During the quiet, they'd been lightly – not even aware of it – touching each other, wandering wherever their hands wished to go. Gaining courage, the blonde, every part of her tense, decided to take the leap and guide them. The fingers of her one hand began to outline the brunette's face, while the fingers of the other wrapped around the cloth belt holding the robe together. She listened as her girlfriend sucked in a sharp breath, feeling the small shudder that ran through her; seconds then passed, which felt like eons.

The kiss came from Cordelia, who smiled, the familiarity calming. "Go with the flow."

The moonlight had found its way into the now darkened bedroom, casting a shadow of the blinds hanging in the window, which played across Cordelia's naked back. But they failed to notice. A robe, a shirt, a pair of pants, and those layers of clothing that were usually kept hidden, were scattered somewhere along the floor; as soon as that had happened, all the girls noticed were the sounds and the movements their partner made as they experimented in new territory, their minds having long since clouded.

Buffy was subjected to jolt after jolt of pleasure, graciously provided by a seemingly expert touch. Once the cheerleader discovered that the slayer was going to like what she was doing because *she* was the one doing it, the shyness left in a hurry. Wanting to go beyond, wanting to master another realm purely to make someone else happy, she was making the most of the knowledge she'd gained of the body under her, and enjoying it thoroughly. It helped that she knew what she'd liked, when it was her turn to give.

They were half-covered by sheets. Underneath them, as the brunette slid her fingers through the only hair that was still natural, the heels of the blonde's feet pushed and dug into the mattress, while her head tossed from side-to-side. As sweat cascaded down her forehead, Buffy couldn't hold back the sigh. Or the moan. Or whatever noise it was that she'd just made – she didn't torture Cordelia this much, did she? So tense...she was right...another hand started caressing her face, which got her to relax somewhat, and open her eyes.

Cordelia, who she vaguely recognized as her girlfriend and lover, smiled down at her. "Hey."

The word sounded husky and sweet, and said everything – 'I love you,' 'I can't believe we're doing this, but I don't wanna be anywhere else,' and it asked permission. She hoped her frantic nodding was clear enough. She mumbled something then, but she wasn't sure it was heard or seen, because the girl went out of sight. Within a second, she felt warm breath blowing where she hadn't ever remembered feeling breath before, then she felt a mouth...and then came dizziness. And spinning.

She was on a whole other level, knowing she was calling out her Cordelia's name, but being deaf to her own voice. Knowing her hands were grasping a pair of shoulders, but not feeling them. She let the shockwaves coursing through her do what they wanted, let the blissful sensations knock her out, and then things began to settle down. Her girlfriend lay beside her, snuggling close and planting small kisses down her arm as she recuperated. It hadn't even had the slimmest chance of being a disappointment – it was indescribable.

Sex with her girlfriend would be a consistently wonderful and draining experience.

Cordelia looked directly at her. "I didn't know anyone could do that and look so..." Buffy's tired eyes were questioning. "You know...beautiful or whatever." They rolled next, and cheeks blushed. "I'm serious."

"You looked pretty beautiful yourself. Not that that's a new thing..." Buffy amended, loving the afterglow. "I'd a'said so after, but you jumped me before I could get a word in edgewise."

"I didn't have a choice. Had to have you." The brunette's nails lazily traced the top of the blonde's breast.

A throaty chuckle. "I love you, Cor." Her eyelids were drooping, and as a result, the last part of her admission was said in the midst of a yawn. "So much."

Maybe they should've taken notice of those blinds, because looking out of them would've revealed a Jeep in the driveway. If they hadn't been so involved, they also could've heard the front door open; and if they weren't so exhausted, they would've realized that there were footsteps on the stairs. Oh, they heard the bedroom door, but by then it was too late.

Light from the hallway flooded in. It was bright, intrusive – a stark contrast to the tranquility of the light given off by the moon, which allowed for a degree of privacy. Tonight, anyway. Yet the artificial source illuminated more than the girls had intended to reveal, and more than the intruder had cared to see; it made them all become real alert, real quick.

People were sleeping, demons were sleeping, lots of things slept now, and that was how it should be. Imagine if nobody got any sleep – why, cops would doze off in their coffees, pedestrians would zone out looking at the little, 'Crosswalk Sign' guy, and the puppies...who would walk the puppies? Those were the arguments for returning to bed that Buffy was considering presenting to her mother, who was waiting downstairs. Life would be simpler if the three of them could just agree to pretend that what happened, didn't happen.

"That wasn't how I wanted her to know." She said to Cordelia, pacing. "I wanted it to be a nice, calm talk, with plenty routes for escaping...but no, it had to be a big, heart attack causing moment. With the suddenness, and-and the seeing – my god, the seeing." There was terror, and then sarcasm to ease the pain. "Can't wait to find out what develops in the emotional scarring department."

They were clothed, and rather uncomfortable. Even 'lovemaking' had an aftermath, which was undoubtedly perspiration...adding layers to nakedness so soon, was a bad idea. In a rush to eliminate the awkwardness, however, they selected the first apparel – from the appropriate 'Shirt,' 'Pants,' and 'Undergarment' drawers – that their hands came into contact with, and put on the combinations they'd selected (mismatching or not), probably setting a 'Speed Dressing' record in the process.

Cordelia wouldn't normally be caught dead in a Power Rangers T-shirt and purple shorts with an elastic waistband, but this was an extreme circumstance – sacrifices had to be made. She was sitting at the foot of the bed quietly, but she was just as freaked, continuing to allow Buffy's rant to run amuck.

"And what're we about to go do? Come out? Come out halfway? One foot totally free while the other foot holds the closet door open, in case its buddy wants back in? What?" The slayer took a deep breath or three. "They've gotta invent new terms. Like 'Gayishly Straight.' Or 'Straightishly Gay. Or, 'Les-Boys Are Cute Sometimes-ianism.'" She quickly regretted saying that. "Not that I wanna label us...it's just that she's gonna ask, and we're...kinda un-labelable."

The blonde did babble in her own, unique way, but was she was trying to challenge Willow's monopoly of the market? "Yeah? Yes?" The gears were having trouble slowing, but she produced a smile. "Oh, so I *was* talking to another person. Cordelia...hi."

"Hi." Cordelia smiled back. "First, take a Valium. Second, get a dictionary and look up 'Bisexual.' It's stupid, but if we have to, then that's what we are; it's common knowledge, and way more simplified. Maybe she'll take it better if she knows we don't exclude and only check out biker chicks, or something."

"Well, I'm not gonna wear a button announcing it, cause the thing would probably clash with every outfit, but yeah, you're the only one who gets to admire the whole me." The brunette's arm ensnared her waist.

The slayer received a small kiss. "Good, because I'm all yours." Getting contemplative about their predicament again, she frowned. "What if...?"

Cordelia sighed, squeezing her girlfriend's hand. "We'll explain, answer her questions, and if she doesn't explode, it'll be over." That was all they could do.

"Great, then we both agree on that. And because it's impossible to argue with, you should have no problems with me showering – I really feel like it's the thing to do." The cheerleader said, trying to weasel. "So go ahead down; fill me in when I'm done."

The blonde shook her head, smirking. "Nice try." Her forehead scrunched in thought, while her girlfriend was disappointed that her 'stall' attempt had bombed. "She probably does think I'm gonna turn 'Biker Chick' on her, doesn't she?"

It was a typical stereotype, which was why they had to talk to Joyce. To show her that they were still Buffy and Cordelia, individuals that hadn't somehow become faceless generalizations. Basically, with the exception of a few changes that they wouldn't dare throw away, they were the same people they'd always been. And once that got settled, they had to make the woman see that their feelings for each other weren't part of a phase, or else she'd never completely take in and accept what they were going to tell her.

Buffy looked at her door – beyond it, her relationship with her mother hung in the balance. She'd already decided that she wasn't giving up Cordelia, so getting her to understand was a goal they couldn't afford not to reach. The consequences would no doubt be costly if the reaction was negative, and she hadn't exactly mapped out what 'Plan B' was. Mainly because she respected her mother, thinking her to be fairly open-minded.

Taking a deep breath, she knew it was time to test her high opinion. "Let's do this."

They didn't find it amusing. Their morning had begun with an interrogation, only without the 'Good Cop-Bad Cop' routine – a domineering mother was all that was necessary to put the fear of God into them. Willow, Oz and Amy, however, were just confused by Xander's miniature show: two fish-sticks were being held upright on a cafeteria tray and moved and intertwined in various ways, as he provided the appropriate commentary for his audience.

"Oh, Buffy, kiss me!" The processed nutrition was mashed together. "Take my nude, supple bod and never stop...ahhh!" He dropped them, and picked up a straw, 'walking' it over. "Mother, I can explain! She was bitten by a snake and I was just sucking out the poison!" He moved the bendy part of the straw up and down. "My first-born has been defiled! Whatever shall I do?"

She gave him the shoulder punch to end all shoulder punches, from her seat beside him. "Moron."

He rubbed his aching flesh, gingerly. "It was just a joke; you said she was cool about it."

"I said she *seemed* cool about it." Buffy corrected him from her spot on the brunette's lap. All the girls had used their partners as seats, as a matter of fact. "All she did was ask and nod...it wigged."

"You can always stay at my house," Her girlfriend offered sympathetically, "cause I know what my mother would say: 'A girl? Really? How brave of you, dear. I don't know where all those horrible films get the idea that those people want to be men. My stylist is gay, and the most adorably feminine woman – do you see her at your meetings?'" She shook her head, sighing. "And *that's* why I avoid talking to her."

"Hey, as long as your mom doesn't try to axe-murder you or switch your bodies, everything'll probably be okay." Amy contributed, grinning slightly.

"Yeah, let's not forget whose mom won the 'Worst, Most Psychotic Parent Ever Award,' around here." Xander supported his very powerful girlfriend, and they smiled at one another.

"I guess it kinda does." Buffy smiled. "But thanks to 'Mom issues,' there's no way I'm passing the History test today."

"Don't say that!" The redhead exclaimed. "You're gonna pass it if I have to sweat blood."

"Do you think you're likely to?" Her male best friend wondered. "Cause I'd like to be elsewhere."

She gave him a smile, and then spoke to Buffy. "Next period after my computer class, we'll cram like two, committed, insane women."

"Boy, Willow, you've really got the teaching bug – taking over Computer Class while Miss Calendar's out, tutoring..." The cheerleader realized.

"Speaking of love," Xander started, "if you weren't all over my portrayal of your night of hot and steamy...uh, steaminess, then how's about a demo so I can get it right next time?"

"Fine, fine...if you want inaccurate, 'Food Theater,' then go ahead and reject me." He reached for the blonde witch. "I'll just have to turn to my very own Black Magic Woman, for some comfort and lovin'." Amy tried to dodge his fingers, laughing. "Let me caress you..." He requested with a French accent.

Snyder interrupted him, coming over. "That's enough of that." He looked at them all. "Are we having a chair shortage?"

"I didn't read anything about...oh." The hacker said, and they all found separate seats. "We get it."

"These public displays of affection are not acceptable in my school – this isn't an orgy, people, it's a classroom." The principal informed the gang.

"Yeah." Buffy sarcastically agreed, glancing around. "Where they teach 'Lunch.'"

The short man glared at her. "Just give me a reason to kick you out, Summers...just give me a reason."

When he was gone, the brunette scowled. "How about because you're a tiny, impotent Nazi with a bug up his butt the size of an Emu?"

"Sums it up." Her girlfriend nodded, finding a hand to hold underneath the table.

- How long has this been going on? -
- When did you realize...? -
- Was that...your first time? -
- Do your parents know? -
- You're teenagers; it's natural to be curious. -
- You what? Oh. -
- I don't know what else there is to...no, I'm...it's okay. -
- You both should...sleep. Just sleep. -

That was all Joyce could remember saying as she sat in the employee lounge of the gallery, drinking her coffee. She hadn't said anything she regretted, nothing irrational that she would end up having to take back. She had handled things fairly well, especially given how she'd found out; of course, that didn't mean she understood or was comfortable with it. Fiddling with the straps of her purse sitting on the table in front of her, she asked herself one question:

Well, she'd never figured that her daughter might be...they said 'bisexual,' but if she was with a girl now, that made her gay, didn't it? No, not wrong, just...a little weird. There were certain things in life you couldn't really grasp unless you experienced them yourself, and she hadn't been attracted to a woman before. She'd noticed if a woman *was* attractive, but all women noticed that – it was like they needed to be jealous of one another.

Her parents had been religious people, so she'd grown up around those values, though as she became an adult, most of it got thrown out. You either rebelled or conformed, and she did the former, promising herself she wouldn't be as strict or demanding. She held onto one value, however – to live the best life possible, and be respectful of others. But was God against her daughter? That couldn't be true. If He created every human being and loved all of His creations, then He had to want some people to love in different ways, right?

This led her to two, probable conclusions: either He was a hypocrite, or the ones responsible for conveying His message twisted it to fit their own prejudices. She settled for the latter, not wanting to believe that a supreme, omnipotent being would be as discriminating as mortals.

Going into her purse, she pulled out a pair of objects, which she rested in her hand – a bracelet and a locket, that were supposed to be evidence of how serious Cordelia and Buffy considered themselves to be. They were given to her temporarily, the girls hoping that she'd become swayed to their way of thinking; in other words, breaking it off wasn't in the cards any time soon. The bracelet had been a birthday gift, the locket a Valentine's gift. At least they had enjoyed that night...her date had gone nowhere.

The girls were apparently in love, and she couldn't deny that she saw it. Opening the golden heart, the picture inside wouldn't let her. Their smiling faces were genuine and contagious. When Buffy came home after spending the summer away, she was distant. Her demeanor had completely changed since then – she was bright, happy...there were times that wasn't always the case, but generally, Cordelia appeared to be a good influence. Should she fight that, even though she wouldn't know why she was?

How come she thought it was expected of her to make a big deal out of it and scream? Was it residuals from her parents' teachings?

She had picked up on something when Cordelia brought her sick daughter home, just about a week ago. Granted, she probably wasn't the most observant person in the world, but at least she'd had an inkling before walking in on them. Because her flight was cancelled, her daughter was traumatized; it was embarrassing for both of them, but if there wasn't any sex going on in the house, it could've been avoided. She had to put her foot down, there.

The cheerleader was a nice girl (albeit somewhat tactless), and the way she'd been hovering protectively over Buffy during their chat, it was clear that she cared. She guessed that everyone had a few, surprising layers, and from what was said, they were caught off-guard, too. She clicked the locket shut at that thought, as Carol came in.

Her friend and employee saw the jewelry, and whistled. "Yow...they look expensive, Joycey. Didn't steal 'em, did you?"

"Yeah, that's just the kind of change I want in my life. Who would suspect that a forty-two-year old jewel thief would run her own art gallery?" Joyce joked.

"Not me." Carol smirked. She was three years younger, and rather liberal. "You gonna dish, or what?"

That did get a reaction – an impressed one. "A Chase, huh? Buffy must have something special to be able to snag one of them. Good for her." Carol looked at her employer carefully. "You're all right with it, aren't you?"

"Ohhh..." The dark-haired woman understood, grinning. "Sometimes I forget that that's the one thing you *didn't* try in college." Her friend rolled her eyes. "But I know my jewelry, and you don't spend what they probably cost, on a fling – love's love, sweetie."

Carol was happily married, but she had known her opinion on the subject for twenty years now. That was great and all, but when it came to Buffy, she had to know where she stood, not where someone else did. Her main concern was making the rift between them larger, so she had to be smart about this. She loved her daughter – all of her parental muscles would go towards not screwing things up.

Buffy's eyes scanned the classroom, looking for anything out of the ordinary, as she would've welcomed it. She saw her friends sitting in their various places, but nothing that would justify her stopping and not taking this test. She compared it to getting her teeth pulled – she wasn't having a good time. Cramming didn't solve all of her problems, because she still dreaded talking to her mother after school. Little did she know, Angelus had been kind of cranky himself.

Not being able to pull a lousy sword out of an ancient, stone-encased demon that was going to suck the world into hell, would do that to a guy. He wanted to wipe everything out in one, fell swoop. She had pissed him off – the holes in his neck weren't pleasant. Oh, they'd healed, but that wasn't the point. It was time to be ruthless and unforgiving. No more playing around. He'd see that look of defeat on her face just before the heat flayed her skin...he swore it.

Except that first he had to figure out how to make that happen, which was why one of his children was walking into Buffy's classroom, shawl covering her head, and carrying the sword the slayer had used to cause him...discomfort. From tip to hilt, it was covered in his blood, and there was a paper attached, sitting in the middle of the blade. She noticed the vampire before the rest, as the sword was being pointed directly at her.

The thing then removed its shawl, revealing its warped face. "Tonight...Sundown..." The class looked up. "At the graveyard..."

"You will come to him. You will come to him or more will die." It ignited and started to burn. "Tonight!" While students leapt from their chairs, she remained calm, and not all that shocked. "His hour is at hand!"

Giles was back in the library. He wished it could've been for happier reasons, but the end of the world didn't exactly qualify. Books were here that he didn't have at home, so he'd called Buffy's house (knowing it would be pointless to believe that the cheerleader was anywhere else), and had asked Cordelia if she'd give he and Jenny a ride to school this morning. He wasn't going to leave her alone, so she had to maneuver with the aid of a wheelchair.

Kendra had arrived while the kids were in class, and once again, it was because her watcher believed that a very dark power was about to rise in Sunnydale. That pretty much confirmed what he'd been afraid of – the object the paper said was unearthed, was something that should've remained buried. He had spoken to the museum curator yesterday from his home, getting a description of the markings on the obelisk, and today, the curator was dead, the stone prison gone.

Looking up from their readings, he, Jenny and Kendra saw a very uneasy group coming to join them. Buffy was holding what appeared to be a sword and a piece of paper, which she placed on the table while the others sat down. He wordlessly began to examine the bloodied sword, soon realizing that it was part of his collection. He picked up what appeared to be a pencil drawing, next – it was an amazingly well done portrait of Buffy and Cordelia, kissing. But thanks to being on the sword, there was a hole in the middle, outlined in red.

"The window was closed; I would've definitely heard that open. Plus, the blinds were blocking any good view." Buffy said, anger in her voice. "Which means he got in somewhere else – probably the back door. He must've left before my mom came back...and I guess since nothing is supposed to be private in my life, yes, we got caught."

"Your intimacy habits aside, Buffy," Her watcher's face was blushing, "you're fortunate that he didn't choose to do anything more than...observe."

"Yuck, Giles!" The brunette screamed, turning away so she could lean into her girlfriend and receive consolation. "You think we can do it over?"

"Not over, but definitely again." The blonde grinned. "Then again after that...there's a whole 'again' pattern."

"Ah...sorry." The librarian apologized for what he'd said before they distracted themselves; it didn't sound the way it sounded, in his head. "I meant he could've killed you, however – "

"Good idea." Buffy agreed. "Angel just got those to me through an 'Immolation-o-Gram' during class."

"B-but there is good news." Willow entered into the conversation. "You said it was better if we had Angel's blood for the spell, and we have lots of it now."

"It makes things easier." The teacher smiled. "That reminds me – I need to talk to you and Amy about something."

The girls looked at each other questioningly, and then followed her back into the office.

"Whaddaya think Angelus would do if he found out he gave us a hand?" Xander wondered as he watched them disappear. "Am I the only one who'd pay good money to see the look on his face?"

The slayer smirked, and with the break in the discussion, finally noticed Kendra. She rushed over, deciding to ignore her 'hugging rule.' "Hey, long time no see."

"A half-an-hour ago, I believe. I see dat you and Cordelia are...dat you have..." The girl got embarrassed. "I am happy for you."

"It's Acathla," Giles corrected her, "and yes, the information provided by Kendra's watcher seems conclusive." He took off his glasses. "I've been on the phone to the museum. The demon is missing, and the curator has been murdered – vampires."

"Then Angelus has it?" Cordelia asked, coming to stand by the blonde. "This sucks."

Buffy thought. "We have to do the spell tonight, before he gets the chance to wake the thing up...can we?"

"Yep." The redhead came back out looking nervous, trailed by Amy and Miss Calendar. "Amy and me. It's cause I'm a...what am I?"

"An untainted soul." The witch supplied. "I sorta do darker stuff, and this needs purity – I'll be giving her protection."

Willow nodded. "Uh huh, totally super sure. So *not* a witch...and-and what if I blow it?"

"You won't." Jenny assured her. "Whether you know it or not, you have the ability, but we'll still guide you through it."

Oz came to put his arm around her. "You can do anything, Will; I'll be right there with you."

"No, no I seriously can't. I can't tap dance, I can't juggle...I can't even play the maracas right, and if you can't play them, then you're basically just a big dufus." The hacker's shoulders slumped. "I don't wanna let you down, Buffy."

The blonde joined the circle of support. "If it doesn't work, then I'll do what I hafta do, but it will. If they say you can, I believe 'em – you'll pull it off."

Willow bit her lip. "Okay, but somebody explain the whole 'He will suck the world into Hell' thing...just so I know how much pressure to put on myself."

"Well, the, uh," Giles put his glasses back on, "the Demon Universe exists in a dimension separate from our own. With one breath, Acathla will create a vortex, a-a kind of, um...whirlpool that will pull everything on Earth into that dimension, where any non-demon life will suffer horrible and...eternal torment."

"Imagine what the postcards'll look like." Xander deadpanned. "But whoa, upside – no more History test."

"Or we'll just be doomed to take it in hell forever." Buffy offered the flipside of the coin. "We've got work to do. Main plans, backup plans...we need to move, and we need to move fast."

"Satan probably hates dates." Her girlfriend commented, and they all stared at her. "Wouldn't you feel spoiled if you lived in a place where time has no meaning?"

It was night. After the 'Vampire Scare,' the rest of the day had been devoted to coming up with a well thought out way to win, which would keep everyone alive. No matter how many scenarios got considered, however, there were always unforeseen factors, so nobody made any guarantees. Still, they were all working hard to get it done – hopefully, it'd be enough.

"Hicce verbis consensus rescissus est." Amy said the final words of the de-invitation spell they had discovered earlier, as Buffy rummaged through the supply trunk in her room, taking stakes, bottles of holy water, and crosses. "Should be it."

"Giles', Willow's, and mine...yeah, bases covered." The slayer confirmed. "I don't think he'll try anything, what with him busy attempting to end the world and all..."

"Chances bad." Buffy stuffed the pockets of her jacket with the supplies. "K, everyone knows what they're doing at the library, so now we just have to – "

Reaching the bottom, they found the brunette looking out of the open, front door, as Kendra and Spike destroyed a vampire on her porch. Her enemy then turned to grin, while her fellow slayer had an apologetic expression. Before she could utter a word, her mother came walking up in between them, whose face was white with surprised fear.

"For the last time, I'm bloody well sure." Spike wondered if she was going deaf.

This was the deal – he helped her, she didn't kill him for kidnapping and striking her girlfriend. She had sent the other slayer to go get him, to bring him here, and then she was going to fill them both in on their part of the plan, except she was about to modify it. Kendra had brought him up to speed on the way over, but when they arrived, they were jumped by one of Angelus' guys; it was only bad timing with Joyce.

"Then that means he has a bigger force than we saw at the mansion...damn it, it doesn't add up." She was frustrated, and then Kendra hit the vampire square in the nose. "Read my mind."

"Kendra's big on prevention, so on the off-chance you were even thinking of saying something...do you see where I'm going with this?" She gave him a tight-lipped smile. "Control yourself, and once this is over, I might just let you leave my town in non-dust form – for good."

"Well, if you like, I can leave right..." He was shown a warning fist. "What's the move, Churchill?" She quirked an eyebrow. "Roosevelt work better for you?"

"I don't know what game Angelus is trying to play, but whatever it is, he's counting on me to be at the cemetery...predictable Buffy." The blonde shook her head. "Not this time – I want you two there instead. If he's got friends, get back to the library. If he doesn't, it's a diversion, and we'll be ready for it. Keep him busy as long as you can, and when the spell kicks in – "

"That's the first, good idea you've had, Slayer." Spike said, almost sounding impressed. "Once he's all soul-havin' again, you really think they'll be able to look the broody Care Bear in the eye without needin' to heave? How about you and the watcher?"

"Go." Buffy said after several moments of silence, not wanting to think about that just now. "Spike, you do anything evil, and that includes 'Jay-Walking,' she will stake you."

"Say 'pretty please.'" He responded, cockily. The girl gave him a hard stare. "I'll just be over there then, shall I? Damn, frigid slayers." Standing on the walk, he smiled at her before going away. "Good luck with your mum." It gave him indescribable pleasure, seeing her in a bind before what was probably going to be a big, nasty brawl.

When he was on the sidewalk, Kendra turned to her compatriot, retrieving a long, twisted stake from her pocket. "Here – in case dere is trouble, dis is my lucky stake. I have killed many vampires wit it. I call it, 'Mr. Pointy.'"

"Remind me to get you a stuffed animal." Buffy accepted the weapon with a smile, and looked it over. "Thanks."

Joyce and Cordelia were sitting on the living room couch in silence, waiting for Buffy to come back in. Amy had made an exit – she didn't need to stick around, nor did she want to. When one of them caught the other looking, they would just smile and then avert their eyes. Hearing the ticking of the clock in the background, the older sat with her hands in her lap; the younger brushed her hair behind her ear at random moments, tapping her fingers on her thigh.

Then the adult began to realize how ridiculous it was becoming. "How..." She started, making the brunette jump, her heart leaping into her throat and then falling back down into place. "How was school?"

"Uh...you-you know how it is. You've been through the pain. Except for the occasional monster with slime for brains, which I can say now that the cat's officially shredded the bag, it's always the same, old, boring – " Cordelia stopped as soon as she heard the door shut, and saw the blonde come from the foyer to stand inside the entrance to the room. "Buffy."

"No, I think you're here." Her girlfriend was next to her in an instant. "So take over."

"Uh, Amy...but you know her, and Kendra and Spike." Buffy answered her mother. "Kendra's a slayer – "

"Right." She nodded, but was unsure how to proceed. "Spike's a...he's a long story."

"But his face was like that man's out there." Her parent couldn't believe what had happened. "Who disappeared."

"So if you, if you kill vam...them, why was he helping that girl? Shouldn't you...?" Joyce trailed off.

"That's a good question." Buffy turned to Cordelia questioningly, expecting her to supply an answer.

The cheerleader opened her mouth, saw the sets of eyes focused on her, and then closed it, putting her hands on her hips and glaring – she decided to go explore the kitchen.

"I'm so confused." The woman was trying to understand. "First I find out that you're..." She paused, considering how to say it. "Dating a girl...and now you're some kind of...what? A-a superhero? Next you'll probably tell me one of your friends is a witch." The sigh was involuntary. "Is this real?"

Her daughter went and kneeled in front of her. "Uh huh, it's all real. And I know it's a lot to take in...it was for me too, but you gotta trust me. I'm not crazy, we weren't all delusional, and I know what I'm doing." She paused. "Most of the time."

"I was going to talk to you; I had it all planned out. I thought for once I could pretend I knew how to be a parent and how to relate to my daughter. I was even ready to pat myself on the back. Compared to this, having a conversation with you and Cordelia seems like the easiest thing in the world." Joyce smiled a sad, defeated smile. "And now I'm lost again, because...I really don't know you, do I?"

"Teenagers are a complex bunch – but at least I'm not smoking that wacky dope us kids are so into." The slayer joked, but she felt horrible. "It's not your fault, Mom. I wanted to tell you before, but there're these rules against getting people involved. I didn't advertise my job to my friends; they sorta had the dots connected for them the first time they got attacked. When – "

"Uh huh. Some days I'm glad, other days..." Buffy trailed off – it was too complicated, and she hated to do this, but she didn't have the time. "Um, I don't wanna go, but I...have slayer stuff to do. I *promise* we'll have that talk when I get back."

Her mother's eyes bugged out. "You can't just dump this on me and then leave, Buffy."

"I don't mean to, really, it's just...if I don't deal with this now, then I'll have to figure out how to save the world later, and you know how much I hate extra work." She had to think. "Ooh! Cordelia can stay with you – she knows the basics."

It was a big leap of faith on Joyce's part, but what choice did she have? "If you have to...then go."

"I love you too, honey." The adult hoped that was obvious, and the hug got tighter. "Are you going to be okay? You'll be careful, right?"

Angelus walked out from behind the mausoleum expecting to see Buffy, but instead found Spike and Kendra – she had to pick now to gain some intelligence? For the first time since being let out, he wasn't quite so sure of things; she had a game of her own, or else they wouldn't be here. This wasn't going to turn out well, and not knowing why left an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

"She wanted to stop by, but she already had plans – tea party, I think." The younger vampire said. "Didn't wanna be rude, so she asked us to come have a few jollies for her. Couldn't see any reason to turn the girl down."

"What happened to you, Spike? Working with the take out?" Angelus narrowed his eyes. "I'm disappointed."

"Yeah, breaks my code...'cept we both got the same, nasty prickle in our sides."

"I don't think you had a choice." The grandsire smiled when he saw his family member grit his teeth, and the veins become visible in his neck. "What could she possibly be doing that's more important than this?"

Buffy ran through the doors of the library, finding Willow already reciting the spell and sitting on the table, Indian-style. The redhead was in the middle of a circle made of blue powder, and that same mixture was formed into a pentagram on her forehead. A small bowl filled with Angel's blood and other ingredients was situated between her legs, and Amy was spreading incense around her while Jenny (a cross and garlic around her neck) was beside her in the wheelchair, parchment in hand, making sure she stayed accurate in her wording.

The men were all armed – the guitarist with a staff that had a sharpened end, the librarian with a dagger, and Xander with his trusty Super Soaker. She was glad that they had actually paid attention when she called and told them to be prepared; handing out stakes and bottles of holy water, she was careful not to disrupt Willow. This was their only shot, which had to work, because she really didn't want the fate of the world to rest in her hands. She had enough stress in her life, and didn't know if she could handle any more.

"Spread the water around the table. If we have crashers, I don't want them getting close to..." She was telling everyone.

Then just as she did, six vampires appeared in the library by way of the cellar behind the stacks, and one of them jumped over the railing to stand in front of her.

"We'll keep them busy, Will – don't stop." As the slayer punched her opponent, she noticed that they weren't rushing to face her. They pushed Oz and Xander aside, and were crowding... "Amy, help Giles!"

The witch looked at the crowd, her eyes shrouded in darkness. "Diana, disperse the unclean!"

The demons went flying. One hit the counter, two were thrown over it, and one hit a bookcase, knocking that over; the last one went crashing through the office window. Buffy swiped the feet of the one she was fighting, then readied Mr. Pointy, starting to think that this might just go their way.

"So she's always been able to...be a slayer?" Joyce asked, noting how Cordelia would repeatedly look out of the window, or stare at the clock.

"Um, I think it's like a puberty thing." The cheerleader responded distractedly. "Like...you know you're gonna get breasts, but you don't until your body starts annoying the hell out of you, and then you're not sure they're worth it anymore. Only Buffy didn't know she could beat things up pre-puberty, and I'm...not making much sense, am I?"

"No, I..." The teenager sighed. "Yeah. It's not like I don't get that she wants me to be safe, and you to be okay with everything – it was new for me once, too. And I don't really fight too well; but she does, she's great at it, and she'll come back...I know that. She gets so stubborn when she has to slay, though. It drives me nuts. If she does something stupid..."

Her daughter had grown into this amazing person, and she'd missed out on it. The school librarian apparently knew her better than she did. Buffy was never a hoodlum, she never hung out in the wrong crowd...she was just a teenager with a lot more responsibilities than cleaning her room and taking out the trash. She got on her case, punished her for saving people's lives, and it wasn't as if she had even asked for the job.

Everything was going to change, had to change, whether she was prepared for what would follow or not. Where did being 'gay' rank on the issue scale now? Somewhere near the bottom. The fact that your only child could die at any given moment really caused you to reprioritize quickly. Guilt had a hand in it, but she had just found common ground with the girlfriend, and had to be sympathetic.

Her girlfriend's mother laughed. "When she was five, she wouldn't let me teach her how to tie her shoes – she *had* to learn on her own. She got so frustrated sometimes that it broke my heart, but one day, she just did it. Didn't make a big deal out of it, didn't wait for me to say anything, she just put them on, and then we went food shopping."

"I try. I still think she's got things that she keeps, hidden or whatever, but I'll crack her. Nobody escapes me when I want something, and I'm not gonna start slacking off now." Cordelia swore.

"I believe you." Every time Joyce looked into the brunette's eyes, she saw the forcefulness in them, but now she saw something else. "Looks like we both know how much hard work loving Buffy can be."

With a small snicker, the girl nodded. "I'm willing to put up with her as long as she's willing to put up with me – I can't help it. I didn't go looking for this, but that doesn't mean I don't want it...I do." The words spilled from her mouth, and after they were out, what Joyce had just said, fully registered. "Hey..."

Again, what other choice was there? None as far as the adult could tell – well, unless she wanted to ruin things, which she didn't. "Cordelia, would you do me a favor?"

The cheerleader cleared her throat nervously, thinking she had stepped into a trap. "Of course...what?"

"You've been a big help, but...go watch out for my daughter." Cordelia smiled, and her host went into the dining room for a purse, taking out two things she'd held onto long enough. "I think these are yours."

The smile remained on Cordelia's face as she put the bracelet in her pocket, and her necklace back where it was supposed to be – she knew something had been missing. But there was a slight problem. "Uh, do you maybe have something that's good for whacking?" Joyce raised her eyebrows. "Demons, obviously. What is it with people?"

Xander yelled, having just had his arm broken in two places by a vampire. Rather than give into the searing pain, he remembered that he still had one, good arm, which continued to hold his weapon of choice. He twisted out of the demon's grip, and before either of them knew it, the barrel of the Super Soaker was in its mouth – he was running on some kind of 'fear-powered' autopilot.

"You look thirsty." He pressed the trigger, and a seemingly endless stream of holy water found its way down the vampire's throat. Within seconds it was smoking, and then combusting from the inside out. Inhaling some of the dust, he began to cough. "They can't suck the life outta ya, so they kill you with asthma instead. Good one."

Being out of immediate danger, he took the opportunity to survey the situation. Thanks to him, they were now down to four vampires. Soon to be three, if Oz could find an opening and plant the staff where it needed to go. If they hadn't expected this, things could be a lot worse than a broken arm. Both their girlfriends were very involved in what they were doing, Amy expending most of her energy shielding Willow, and Willow at the point of no return in terms of the casting.

The hacker-turned-witch was in the throws of the spell. Her eyes had an eerie focus, words flew from her lips in a language Xander didn't understand, and he didn't think she did, either. The blue powder was swirling around her now, transforming into a bright, blue light; the image on her head was doing the same thing. It was like she wasn't aware of the commotion surrounding her. He and Miss Calendar both watched as she lifted her hands into the air, and then shoved them into the bowl, as the light started to fluctuate.

Oz did it – they were down to three. The force of the magickal energy was probably messing with the vampires' heads...and he wished he hadn't thought that and jinxed them all, because one of the things was advancing on Miss Calendar. He screamed her name and hurried as fast as he could to her, but Giles was already well aware of the trouble she was in. The watcher thrust his dagger into the vampire's back violently, and as it turned, he removed the blade, staking it with satisfaction.

Two left. Xander cradled his injured arm close to his chest, and reminded himself not to make jokes at the Englishman's expense ever again.

Buffy had the remaining vampires covering her front and back, over by the counter – just as she got one down, the other attacked. She couldn't keep ducking and dodging forever.

But apparently a voice that sounded strangely like Cordelia's thought she could. Not having any better ideas, she did as told, and the one in front of her somehow ended up lying on the ground. She looked, seeing that it was indeed her girlfriend – holding a nine-iron. It must have been from her mother's set; the woman never golfed a day in her life, but kept saying that when she found the time, it'd be a good idea to have the necessary clubs.

She thought it was better not to ask questions, and simply smiled. "I think you sliced it."

"Forget it." Having the odds evened out for her, the slayer and Mr. Pointy made quick work of the one behind her, while the cheerleader's victim was covering its face. "Can I kill him yet?"

"No, but I can." Cordelia snatched Mr. Pointy, dropped the club, and knelt down to finish the job. "Nobody messes with my girlfriend."

The cheerleader grinned, straightening and brushing the dust off. "You're not the – "

She couldn't finish her sentence, because when the lights went out, her vocal chords went out with them. Everyone looked to Willow, and the only thing visible through the dark was her glowing, blue eyes.

Unexpectedly, Angelus found himself flung into a tree. He sat on the grass, stunned, even as Spike belted him in the face again and again.

"This is for Dru." His grandchilde said, snarling. "Take her from me, will you? She was mine!" He laughed, and just kept laughing...couldn't feel a thing. "Shut it! I'll – "

"Spike, my boy, you whine too much – let it go! Because I can do this all night." The elder smiled, his features covered in his own blood. "He's gone!"

Kendra stood next to Spike, breathing heavily. "And if dey are successful, den he will be back, and you will not."

Angelus' face fell, and shifted. "No! Not again!" He growled, springing to his feet, and they jumped back.

Buffy wasn't going to get out of this with no casualties. With single-minded determination, he grabbed the girl by her ponytail roughly, not giving her a chance to fight. Then snapping her neck with ease, the body fell to the ground. She'd known it was coming, somehow. Wishing the only sister she'd ever had, luck – the unorthodox blonde would go far – she allowed the hole she'd felt ever since being taken from the family she never knew, to finally be filled.

Spike looked on, mostly pissed off that that wasn't his kill – this was the day, and he hadn't capitalized. "Say goodbye, mate." The Brit got in the Irishman's way.

He didn't think nearly fast enough for Angelus, who knocked him out of the way and ran in the direction of the library. The bleached blonde decided it was time for him to move on; he did what he was supposed to, and didn't give the lifeless slayer a second thought.

Willow was sharing her soul with Angel's; she couldn't describe it any other way. It was so weak, so battered. A century's worth of torment, loneliness and painful memories were open to her now. His fear, his guilt, and overwhelming sadness – it was there before he even became a vampire. She could see it and feel it, and for someone as young and cheerful as she was, it was too much. She understood everything, knew him, and knew why he had to come back.

He had to cleanse his soul, had to achieve some sort of peace, no matter how long it took. So the redhead held on, allowing him to gain strength from her; she shook, tears and sobs wracked her body, but still she held on. She could almost make out Snyder and two, security guards with flashlights, who had come in demanding answers. Didn't stop her, and she didn't have to see Angelus to know he was there – that he'd barreled through the principal and guards, and was heading for her.

She stared him down...he froze. His eyes turned as blue as hers, and in just a few seconds, she was passed out, the lights were on, and Angel was back.

"Will!" Xander exclaimed, as he, Giles and Cordelia joined Amy and Miss Calendar by the table.

Oz went to get some water, and Buffy walked to Angel, looking him over cautiously.

When he cast his eyes downward and didn't answer, her eyes went wide with shock. No...she turned away from him, and joined her friends – damn Spike for being right. The guitarist returned, and they fussed over an extremely tired Willow. Snyder remained speechless, as some badly dressed, unknown man wearing a hat too small for him, appeared out of nowhere and came over to Angel.

"Been rough on ya, huh?" The good demon said. "Think it's time to go – next assignment's waiting, if you want it. But sheesh...clean yourself up."

"Got a soul, don't you? Gives you free will. Take it or leave it, but personally, I get the feeling you've overstayed your welcome. You did what you had to do," Whistler looked to the ceiling, "and They won't forget that."

"Wasn't your fault." His guide patted him on the back. "You tell me what you wanna do."

"You're leaving?" A conscious Willow asked, standing, though wobbly. Her boyfriend was holding her steady. "You can't leave."

"Says who? You've got things to do, still – we need help. Okay, your alter ego? Scary, but not you." She told him. "Bad things happened, people died, and it stinks that you have to live with it, but you do, and moving won't change that. After a hundred years, you think you woulda figured that out."

"You always make me uncomfortable! And without the 'grr' face. Oh...that sounded mean, didn't it? Sorry." The hacker got up next to him, and began to poke his chest. "But I didn't just do all that magick and speak a language I don't even know – not to mention the lights and stuff – so you could run away, mister. If you go, then that's just like quitting...I'm not a big fan of quitter people." She paused, looking at the new guy. "You're a bad advice giver, don't like you."

The demon looked perplexed, and then got the full force of it; he coughed, backing out through the library doors. "Uh...you've got a year. Then I'll ask you again."

"Chair?" Willow requested, which was quickly supplied for her sitting pleasure. "Whew."

Snyder stormed over to them in a rage. "You're all expelled! And fired! You damaged school property – "

They just stared at him – his cell phone was ringing. "Gonna get that?" Xander wondered.

"Quiet, Harris." The principal answered it, angrily. "What?" He went white. "No, sir...Of course not...No, they're...Oh, I...Yes, I understand...Absolutely...Thank you, Mr. Mayor." He hung up, glared at the hooligans, and then left with the guards. "Let's go!"

The Council sent people to take Kendra's body back to England, Quentin Travers being her legal guardian. Buffy thought about that as she sat on her porch with Cordelia a few weeks later – she had never gotten to say a proper goodbye to her or Spike, who'd taken off. Wise decision on his part. She kept thinking that she could've stopped it, but she had to quit torturing herself. Kendra was a friend she wanted to have known better, but she couldn't control everything. While Miss Calendar was out of her cast, Xander was still in his.

Angel was living at the mansion now, and he'd handled the disposing of Acathla. Despite Willow's (who was all into witchcraft now) rant, it would take a while for them to warm up to him. The good news was that nobody was jobless or not enrolled. She didn't care what had changed Snyder's mind – she was just glad that the worst was over. The emotional trauma would be dealt with over time, and all she had to worry about now, was preparing for the finals coming in a couple months.

They'd had 'The Talk' with her mother, and she was wearing her bracelet again. Joyce had been understanding, supportive...Buffy's opinion of her was validated, which was a huge relief. The only downside was the 'No sex in the house' rule, but there were many, many loopholes to that. Girlfriend and parent had bonded in a way (thanks to being able to complain about her), and however frightening that was, if it helped with the acceptance, she could handle it.

But if the discussions about her girlfriend maybe taking her mother to one of the country clubs in town to go golfing became a reality, then there'd be problems.

"Do we have to sit out here? I feel like I'm eighty." Cordelia complained. "Seventeen's too young to start thinking about wrinkles."

"Could go to the movies and have another, cliché make-out session in the back." The brunette suggested, being not exactly opposed to clichés anymore.

"What if we see Giles and Miss Calendar there?" Buffy asked, and they both frowned.

"My house – we could go to my house." Came the next suggestion. "Have you seen the hot tub?"

"Then I guess you'll have to get in." The cheerleader said, a grin beginning to form, to match the one the blonde had. "Which means I'll have to, because I know from experience that I can't leave you unsupervised."

"You can *borrow* one of mine...if my parents come home." Cordelia kissed her girlfriend then, smiling seductively. "Trust me, they won't."

The slayer coughed. "So...hot tub, huh? Why-why don't we, um, head over now? Yeah, now looks good to me."

"Maybe you should get your shoes on first; I'd help you tie, but I don't want you mad at me." The brunette said, barely keeping a straight face.

Cordelia raced into the house, a tiny blonde on her heels. It had definitely been a long year, and even though it wasn't without its share of dark spots (technically it wasn't even over), having the lives that they did, they had to admit that overall, it'd turned out pretty okay.

~~ I didn't know how to act around you
Didn't know what to do or what to say
You'd show me one face
Then another
Just hitting 'repeat' the next day

Look harder
You never know what you'll find
Go deeper
Never know what you'll find ~~

Finals were over – the wait for the dreaded, report cards had begun. However, sitting in the Bronze, they weren't dwelling on that. Summer was here, which meant freedom; for Buffy, it meant that she only had to work nights. They were just hanging out now, acting their ages and savoring every moment. Xander was especially happy, because he had a girlfriend who healed him faster than medical knowledge could understand. Coupled off at a table, they were temporarily missing Willow and Oz, who were just coming in.

~~ I wasn't supposed to be this into you
Wasn't supposed to go as far as this
You showed me every face
And were suddenly human
Revealing the layers that exist

Look harder
You never know what you'll find
Go farther
Never know what you'll find ~~

The hacker was carrying a yearbook she had bought the day before exams, and she didn't understand why she was the only one among them who had – nostalgia was important. Plus, her pictures had made it in, and she knew her friends would be excited to see one in particular. Students in the school voted on various categories every year: 'Nicest Person' (which she happened to win), 'Most Laid Back' (which her boyfriend won), etc. Two other people in the gang snagged a category too, and she'd had the perfect snapshot.

~~ I can't see down the road ahead of us
Can't see the path we're on
But we find the way together
As signs clear before our eyes
Pointing us to the future and,
Now our fears are gone, oh ~~

She set the yearbook down on the table when she reached them, and began flipping through the pages.

One day about a month ago, she'd had her camera with her when she caught Buffy and Cordelia talking in the hallway – the cheerleader had just gotten out of the shower because of the exertion caused by gym class, and the slayer had been absorbed. It was no secret that the brunette managed to look irresistible whenever and wherever, though in asking them to pose, she thought they'd be flushed and nervous; she hadn't anticipated the opposite result. Finding the page, she pointed it out:

"Damn straight – we *so* deserve it." Cordelia readily concurred. "Cause we are hot. And as long as they recognize that, they can call us 'freaks' till their faces turn blue."

Buffy smiled, meeting her lips and then looking at the redhead. "Nice going, Will; you probably clinched us the title."

"Should do the 'photo-taking' thing professionally." The lankier male encouraged. "Know where the money's at? Artsy, naked centerfolds – layers are overrated."

~~ Look harder
You never know what you'll find
Go deeper
Never know what you'll find

Never know what's...
Never know what's inside
Never know what's...
Never know what's there to find ~~

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Human Layers

By Pat Kelly

Copyright © 2003

pat2082@verizon.net