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Part 7

Elise had been in London for almost two days before she found St. Margaret's Ursuline School for girls; headmaster: Rupert Giles.  The former convent was, she suspected, now both home and training facility for the Watcher and the Slayers in training.  And, the secluded location, just on the outskirts of London, was practically ideal if one wanted to avoid attracting attention.

Much to her frustration and impatience, it was another two days before she finally managed to catch Mr. Giles alone. He was often with one or more of the girls, or a young blonde man who appeared to be - at least if Mr. Giles' expression was any indication - less than ideal company. 

On this particular afternoon, she was waiting on the steps outside the main building when he returned from some errand.

"Rupert Giles?"

"Yes?" Giles squinted into the late afternoon sun at the woman sitting on the school steps like a young girl. She wore a baby blue cashmere sweater with a white blouse peeking above the neck and below the hem, perfectly tailored black pants and a pair of high-heeled pumps. Other than the fact that she was a few years older than he initially guessed at first glance, she could have fit in with the other girls at the school.

"Hello, I'm Elise Seymour. I left you a couple of messages."

Regarding her carefully, he shook the proffered hand and replied, "Ah yes. Hello."  He guarded the school and the girls carefully from any and all prying eyes.  He didn't want any attention on their efforts at the school, so to the world at large, St. Margaret's was known only as a highly exclusive college preparatory academy for girls.

They stood for a moment, scrutinizing each other before Elise spoke again.

"If you have some time now, I really would like to talk to you."

Glancing at his watch to check the time, Giles nodded reluctantly. He had a feeling from her calls and the look on her face that the woman would be persistent, so he'd have to deal with her at some point. It might as well be now. "I have an hour or so," he replied with a sigh. Taking his keys, he unlocked the door and escorted her down the short hallway to his office.

"Would you like tea?" he asked as she took a seat in the chair across from a much cluttered and very old desk.

She nodded, and he excused himself only to return a few minutes later with a tray containing a teapot, cups and saucers, and a random mix of Pettit fours, crackers, and shortbread cookies. 

Balancing the tray on a stack of books on the corner of the desk, he poured two cups and handed one to Elise before taking a seat across from her.

"By chance, was your father Charles Seymour?" he asked, flicking on the desk lamp to stave off the afternoon gloom.

"Charlie was my stepfather, though for all intents and purposes he was my father. My real dad was a bastard," she trailed off, embarrassed by the uncharacteristic blurt of personal information. "Um, you knew him? Charles, that is."

"I didn't know him personally, I'm sorry to say, though I did know of him. I'm sorry to hear of his passing."

"Thank you. It's been some time now, but I still miss him." Picking up her tea cup, she cradled it in her hands. "You knew of him through the Council?"

Giles paused uncertainly for a moment before nodding. "He was quite well respected." Despite being a former Watcher's stepdaughter, he didn't know how much she knew or how much he cared to reveal.

"That's nice to hear. He was a good man, and very dedicated to. his pursuits."

With an understanding nod, Giles asked curiously, "So, what was it that you wanted to see me about?"

"This is rather difficult."  Elise said with a sigh. "As I mentioned in my message, I'm a novelist."

"Yes, I'm familiar with some of your work." Given her family connections with the Council, Elise's first novel had been discussed at length amongst the members of the Watcher's Council at the time of publication. While they all knew that the material was presented as fictional, there was considerable fact in what she had written, and for many that was a concern.  Some of the members feared that her book would compromise the organization, despite there'd not been a single word about the Council in anything she had written. Others believed that Charles himself had compromised the organization by providing her with the information, something he denied. The fury died down after her third novel, published not long after Charles' death. The Council wasn't in any position to question much of anything any more, regardless. Most, if not all, of the ruling members had been eliminated by the return of the First Evil.

"You are?" Elise said with surprise. She smiled self-consciously. "I mean, that's nice to hear."

Giles said nothing, only returned her smile.

"I'm not quite sure where to start so I'll just. start.  I'm working on a new book, and I was hoping you might help me."

"If it's about the Council, then the answer is no. I've not been affiliated with them for quite a number of years-" Giles began.

"It's about a vampire slayer." Elise interjected politely, "and a vampire. I know Angel, you see, and I found out recently about Buffy."

Giles stiffened uncomfortably.

"I know that you cared about her deeply. And I understand that my coming here and showing up on your doorstep out of the blue, a complete stranger asking questions and wanting you to talk about someone that you cared about is intrusive and rude, especially given the circumstances of her disappearance." she said solemnly but earnestly.

Glancing away, Buffy's former Watcher stared down at the stack of assorted papers on his desk.  He hadn't been in favor of Buffy staying in Los Angeles with Angel, though he had to admit she had been happier there than he had ever seen her.  His concern was less about her relationship with the ensouled vampire, and more about her proximity to evil. It had been his estimation that one couldn't live in the belly of the beast for long before being devoured, and Wolfram & Hart most definitely fit the category of 'beast' in all capital letters. He wished he had been wrong, but Buffy's disappearance had been a brutal reinforcement of his fears.  Many times since, he had chastised himself for not doing more, for not taking her away, for not protecting her somehow, some way.  For not having found her...

"I've read everything that they have in the Wolfram & Hart library - which is quite a lot actually - on Slayers, and on Buffy and on Angel. Her story is an incredible story.  You know that perhaps more than anyone else. I want to immortalize that story, her story. It's the least I can do, and far less than she deserves if everything that I've read about her is true."

Sighing, he glanced back at the woman watching him intently. It was true that Buffy had been remarkable, and it was also true that if anyone deserved to have their story written down to be told for years to come, it was Buffy.  But would talking to a stranger about her life be a betrayal of her trust? Or of his integrity as someone who had been her Watcher, and who had loved her like a daughter?  

"If you have all of that, which I presume includes many Watchers' Journals, some of which were no doubt my own, then what more do you want from me?"

"I'd like your perspective on what I've read, and, of course, on Buffy, as well as clarification on a few specifics," Elise replied, reaching into her bag for her tape recorder. "Do you mind?  I don't share the tapes with anyone, but it helps me stay true to the facts when I write."

With a small shrug Giles shook his head. "I don't mind, as long as you understand that I may not answer all your questions - those things that are too personal, or that I would rather not see in print."

"Understood," she said agreeably as turned on the tape recorder and set it on the desk.  Next she took out her pad and paper to jot down any reminder notes for herself.

"You said that you knew Angel. What does he think of you turning Buffy's life, his life, into a novel?"

Elise glanced up, her expression a bit chagrined. "He doesn't know yet. I plan on giving him the draft before I give it to my editor."

"And if he objects?" Giles asked calmly, unsurprised by the news that Angel didn't know about the intended book. The vampire was rather fiercely protective of Buffy and of their privacy; it was doubtful that he'd be supportive of the novelist's efforts to put their story into print. 

"If he objects. then I'll either edit or I won't publish it.  I don't want to hurt him, or Buffy, or anyone else with this book. That's not my intention," she said unequivocally. "You do understand though the lure of this, don't you? The sheer beauty and magnificence of the story? The challenge will be for me in capturing it properly, writing it in such a way that actually does it justice."

Giles thought over her words for a moment before he politely acquiesced. "That will be a challenge indeed.  Now what is it that you'd like to ask me?"

"As I mentioned before, I have read a great deal of what was documented about their relationship, and I have talked with Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, whom I'm believe you know, so I have the basic facts in broad strokes. I'd like to start with your perspective, from the beginning. What did you think of Buffy's relationship with Angel when they first met?"

Giles' brows lifted slightly as he considered the question. "Of course, I was quite surprised. A vampire helping a Slayer is unheard of, you understand, so when he offered information to prevent the Harvest, and later when he actually helped her to defeat the Three."

"Almost as unheard of as a vampire with a soul?" she asked, curious about the former Watcher's response.

"Indeed," Giles acknowledged, "Though we didn't know that he was a vampire, or that he had a soul, at least not initially.  He showed up in Sunnydale about the same time that Buffy herself did, and he'd drop her bits of helpful information. She thought he was a friend of mine then." Pausing, he smiled. "She called him cryptic guy."

Elise smiled at the name; it was certainly fitting. "And later, after you found out that he was a vampire?"

"After. I suppose I didn't see the harm in it. She had someone that could help her, someone that understood vampires the way that none of the rest of us could or did. Admittedly, having someone out there watching out for her was a comfort. As strong and capable as Buffy was, I still felt better knowing that she had someone with her, someone to watch her back. And it was obvious from the first time I met him that Angel cared about her a great deal."

"I understand that they both tried to uh, refrain from any further involvement."

"Yes, that's true. And they did manage it for several months, but inevitably young love, and, er, lust, wins out."

"Were you concerned when it became apparent that they were moving toward something more than friendship?" She tilted her head, looking at him with genuine interest.

"Yes, of course. Buffy was only sixteen, Angel much, much older, let alone the complications that were part of their lives just by the very definition of who they were: vampire and Slayer.  And we certainly didn't foresee the loss of his soul as a ramification of their involvement. I would have preferred to spare her those months following." he paused and removed his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose. Jenny had foreseen it, of course, but hadn't been forthcoming with the information. Had she shared that very important detail, things would have been very different, and she would most likely still be alive today.

"I can't imagine how difficult that time must have been," Elise empathized solemnly.

"Yes, well," he said, clearing his throat and shaking away the maudlin thoughts. "It wasn't easy."

"After Sunnydale was destroyed, what did you think of Buffy staying in Los Angeles with Angel?" she questioned, shifting the subject to one that might a little be less difficult for the former Watcher.

"After spending seven years on a hellmouth, I thought Buffy was overdue for a break. Oh, there are vampires and demons in all parts of the world, so it's not as though she would have given up her calling. but moving from one mouth of hell to another." Picking up a cloth, he rubbed the lenses of his glasses before slipping them back on. Meeting Elise's gaze once more, he continued, "Make no mistake, Wolfram & Hart is as evil, perhaps even more so, than any hellmouth."  

"Was that your only concern?" she asked softly, reading more between the lines that he perhaps intended. Was he warning her about the law firm?

Giles took a sip of his tea as if to collect his thoughts.

"No, it wasn't," he admitted on an exhale of breath. "I wasn't at all certain that Angel's soul was secure, and I believe the last thing that we need is a vampire as vicious and as shrewd as Angelus with Wolfram & Hart's resources at his disposal."

Elise paled slightly. It was hard for her to imagine Angel as dangerous and evil as others had described him, but she had to defer to their experience. They had first hand knowledge of seeing him that way; she did not.

"Understandable," she murmured softly.

"And I wondered, too, if they were rushing into things. Besides concerns about the curse, Angel had left Buffy because he wanted her to have a normal life, because he was concerned that he wasn't good enough for her, that he couldn't give her children or take her out in sunlight. Those things hadn't changed."  He paused, looking distressed. "Buffy was devastated when he left her the first time. In all honesty, I didn't know how she'd take it if it didn't work out this time." He said the last with all the concern and seriousness of a father whose child's future was at stake.

"Did you know they were trying to have a child?" she questioned tactfully. "I understand that Buffy had been undergoing in vitro fertilization. They were seeing the top specialists in the area, as well as someone in the Wolfram & Hart medical services group."

His brows lifted. "Yes, Buffy had mentioned it several times. She called about once a month, sometimes more."

"So some things had changed."

"True enough," he admitted grudgingly. "You probably heard that she miscarried twice as well. She was quite distraught."

"Do you think she wanted a child?"

Giles looked almost startled by her question. "Yes, without question," he answered without hesitation. "She never thought she'd have children, much less children with Angel, yet like anyone considering parenthood, she was excited and scared at the same time. She was afraid of the changes that it would bring to their lives, and of her ability to raise a child, but she was anxious for the challenge. Are you suggesting-"

"No, no," she interrupted quickly. "I'm not suggesting anything. I just wasn't sure how she felt about children."

Satisfied with her answer, Giles nodded.

"And Angel, what did he think about having a baby?"  Elise asked, making a few notes as he talked. His words were a contrast to what Willow, Buffy's best friend, had said, which was rather curious. Either Buffy had lied to one of them, or one of them lied to her about Buffy.

"I'm not certain, though my impression was that he was thrilled about the possibility of being a father.  I understand that she was pregnant again when she disappeared." He paused, his expression pained. "She had called the day before." 

There was a long moment of silence. Giles stared at something on his desk as though he were struggling with his emotions.

"What do you think happened to her?" Elise asked, going to the question that she knew would be perhaps the most difficult to answer.

"I don't know," Giles said heavily. "I wish I did. I checked all my contacts. I went everywhere I thought she might go - despite Angel having been steps ahead of me every time. I even tried magic, as did Willow, to see if we could locate her. Nothing."

"Did she ever say anything to make you think that she wasn't happy in Los Angeles?"

"No, not that I recall," he answered thoughtfully. "In fact, she was happier than I had seen her in years. She liked working with Angel, and said that she thought they were making a difference there. She often said that she never imagined she'd get a future with Angel, that it all seemed like a dream sometimes. There was no doubt that she loved him, and he her."

Elise glanced at her watch and sighed with disappointment. "I know you said you only had an hour, and I don't want to take any more of your time. I do have some more questions that I'd like to ask you. Would you mind if I stopped by again some time later this week?" She switched off her tape recorder.

"Yes, that should be fine. Thursday evenings are usually quiet. Why don't you stop by then?"

"Thank you. That'd be perfect."

She slept. She hadn't wanted to, but she had. Exhaustion was an undeniable force, even when the dreams that came with sleep made her waking hours that much more unbearable.  

Fingertips, light as butterfly wings, drifted over her shoulders, along the length of her spine to the swell of her hips. Cool lips at her nape. delicate, soft, erotic brushing her shoulders, her back, moving lower.

She stayed very still, hungry and waiting, wanting the elusive sensations to continue. Aware that if she moved, she would wake, and he would once again be gone.

The tip of his tongue teased her bare skin, licking softly.

She sighed blissfully.

He nipped and lapped with kisses that enticed with wicked pleasure. Fingertips stroking, caressing, gliding up and down over every inch of her skin. eliciting pure liquid heat that burned through her skin, into her blood to pool between her legs.

Then she felt the powerful strength of his body, cool as a calming breeze, yet tempting as sin, as he moved against her, pulling her closer. The hard length of his cock pressed firmly against her ass as his lips once more grazed her neck, before sinking in to take her flesh between his teeth and sucking hard in mock imitation of what he desired.

Aching for him, she whimpered and attempted to inch closer still.

His hands drifted along her arms, dipping in to caress the taut skin of her stomach. Stroking, petting, higher, higher, though not high enough. She arched in frustration, pressing her breasts firmly into his hands, her bottom into the cradle of his hips.

He rolled her beneath him then and took her with swift, searing force, unable to contain the storm building between them. She shuddered violently beneath him only moments before he soared to his own explosive climax.  Exhaustion, satiation, contentment, filled her.  Amazed, happier than she had ever imagined she could be now that she was finally able to be with Angel in such exquisite intimacy. she reached out to draw him close.

Finding only emptiness, her mind snapped back. Her eyes opened as the vestiges of sleep evaporated in a single burst. In the darkness, tears stung her eyes and Buffy wept silently.

It had been real once, but now it was only a memory, and a dream.

On her return trip to St. Margaret's on Thursday, Elise talked to Giles for almost two hours before they were interrupted by an exotic young woman with dark hair. In perfect French she explained to Giles that there was a minor emergency in the girls dorm: a clogged drain that was grossing everyone out. With a slight roll of his eyes, Giles excused himself to handle the situation.

Flipping through her notebook, Elise began to reread the notes of their conversation. Giles has commented that he thought Buffy and Spike's relationship was 'destructive' and that she had kept it from everyone for quite some time.  Given what she knew about their relationship from Spike, Elise wasn't too surprised by that.  Giles had then talked about Angelus at length, and the things that he had done to all of them, particularly Buffy, during his brief months in Sunnydale before he was resouled. 

"Are you really going to write a story about my sister?"

Startled, Elise glanced up. "Pardon?"

"I heard you and Giles talking," Dawn stated almost accusingly.

"You must be Dawn Summers," Elise said, rising to offer her hand in greeting. "I'm Elise Seymour. And yes, I am. At least, I'm researching your sister with that in mind. I was hoping actually to get some of your time."

Dawn stared for a moment, an unfriendly expression on her face.  Finally she shook the offered hand. "Why?"

"I'd like to talk to you about Buffy, if you feel up to it. I'm very sorry to hear about what happened to her."

"Yeah?  Well, if she had come to London with the rest of us then she'd still be alive today. Instead she had to stay in Los Angeles at Evil, Incorporated."

Elise was surprised by the bitterness in the young girl's voice. She wasn't quite sure what to say in response that wouldn't seem like an insincere platitude. Finally she decided to simply speak from the heart. "Losing someone you love is always difficult. It's completely natural to think of the what ifs and could haves that would have changed things."

"What do you know about it?" Dawn asked sourly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I lost someone once, only a few years back," the novelist replied quietly. "He was an innocent bystander at a robbery. Sometimes I still think about how different things would be now if he had gone out ten minutes later or had stopped at a different store. It's irrational I know, but sometimes I still even get mad at him for smoking in the first place. If he'd have given the damn things up he'd have never gone out for cigarettes at all. We'd have bought that house in Pacific Palisades or New Orleans or Dublin or any of the half a dozen other places we talked about living someday." Pausing, Elise took a breath. "Instead, I'm here with only my memories of him to keep me company."

"Oh." Dawn murmured, her expression softening slightly. "Are you really going to write a book about Buffy?

"Yes, I plan to. Even if I never publish it and the only people that see it are Angel, and Giles, and you, if you'd like."

Dawn frowned. "You know Angel?"

"Yes, I met him while researching my last book," Elise supplied honestly. "That's how I came to know about your sister."

The younger woman's brows lifted. "What? He just told you about her?"

Elise debated how best to answer the question, which from Dawn's tone, was loaded with insinuation. "No, not at first, but we didn't talk about anything personal for several months after we met. And you know Angel, he's not really one for personal disclosure."

Dawn snorted. "True, but Buffy was important to him. Or so he said."

"She was. Still is from what I can tell," Elise agreed. "My guess is that he doesn't talk about her because it's still too painful for him. He misses her, and is still grieving."

"Then why doesn't he find her?!" Dawn exclaimed tearfully. "He has everything at Wolfram & Hart, everything. Magic, science, computers, seers. why couldn't they do something?!"

"Dawn," Elise began soothingly. Leading the younger woman by the arm, they sat side by side in the chairs near the desk. "Have you asked Angel about it?"

Wiping at her eyes, Dawn confessed halfheartedly, "No. I don't really talk to him at all."

"You should, honey," the novelist encouraged. "I think you might find that the two of you have more in common than you think.  Look, I don't know all the details, but I'll tell you that Angel, Spike, Fred, Wes, pretty much anyone in the offices there. they all say the same thing. Angel used every resource available at Wolfram & Hart, as well as anyone and anything else that he could get in searching for her."

"Then why'd he give up?  Why isn't he still looking?" she asked in a small voice.

Giles, now standing in the doorway, overheard the last part of their conversation.

"Vampires have a connection to their mates," he began as he entered the office and closed the door behind him. "It's persistent, strong, and from what I understand, quite profound.  There's a similar bond among vampires that share a common lineage - their children, if you will - though not with the same degree of intensity. That connection is severed only in death."

Elise and Dawn both looked up at Giles as he took the seat opposite them on the other side of the desk.

"We haven't covered this in your training, I know," the headmaster at St. Margaret's admitted to the young Watcher in training. "The circumstances of the last year have been trying, and it wasn't something I wanted to emphasize for obvious reasons."

"Buffy and Angel had an abnormally strong connection from the beginning," Giles continued plainly. "There were signs of this early on, when they were having shared dreams. I also believe it was their intense emotional involvement combined with this connection that managed to pull - for lack of a better description - Angel out of hell."

"Really?" Elise asked interestedly, hoping he might elaborate.

Giles sighed. "I never discussed it with Buffy, other than some basic details, but yes, I believe that something she did managed to bring Angel back from the hell dimension he was in.  I wish I knew more about the specifics, but quite honestly I feared discussing it with her. I thought that if she believed, even for a moment, that it was something that she had done, she would have tortured herself incessantly for not have done it sooner.  She felt guilty enough about having sent him to hell with his soul. I simply couldn't add to that."

"So when he bit her." Elise prompted.

"He simply put the finishing touch on what seemed from all accounts to be predestined. In other words, I think that was a formality of sorts, as they were essentially already bonded, but something that definitely strengthened or perhaps solidified their connection."

"Did you know that at the time?" Elise asked, watching the former Watcher interestedly for his reaction.

"Yes," Giles admitted reluctantly. "And quite honestly, the implications were alarming."

Elise looked at him, puzzled. "How so?"

"Angel had already decided to leave Buffy, and to leave Sunnydale. Given that we all believed that the clause in his curse was still very much an issue, I agreed that his leaving was for the best. Once he essentially staked his claim on her as his mate, I doubted that he would leave Sunnydale. I had, in fact, thought that the temptation for physical intimacy would be that much stronger. And in all honesty, it surprised me that he still had the strength of will to leave after that. If the lore holds, being away from one's mate is quite difficult for vampires - physically and psychologically. The feelings lessen over time, but in the first year or perhaps more, Angel was likely quite vulnerable."

"Vulnerable?" Elise questioned with a perplexed frown.

Giles shrugged expressively. "Physically weaker, perhaps. Open to psychological manipulation, certainly. In Angel's case, I imagine that he may have been tempted to give in at times, that he may have ceased to care about finding his purpose or mission, or his own future. When the First Evil attempted to work it's will on Angel, attempting to convince him to kill himself or Buffy, I believe that it knew about this weakness and was attempting to exploit it.  I suppose that we can be grateful that it didn't happen the first year Angel was in Los Angeles. The outcome could have been quite different.  There's nothing specific to back up the theory, of course, and I've not had the opportunity to explore the idea further." 

"So you think that Angel thinks. that Buffy is dead because he no longer feels that connection?" Dawn asked thoughtfully, looking from Giles to Elise and back again.

Giles nodded slowly. "He reluctantly admitted some months ago that he could no longer 'feel her', though he didn't go as far as to say that he believes her to be dead," he confessed sadly. "Though given that, as well as the complete lack of clues as to her whereabouts, it's difficult to draw any other conclusion."

"I know." Dawn nodded, her voice was a whisper.

"When's the last time you talked to Angel, or anyone at Wolfram & Hart?" Elise asked curiously.

"It's been a few months now," Giles answered, glancing at Dawn.

"I. I didn't really get along with Angel," Dawn admitted with a shrug. "I guess I always saw him as the guy that took away my sister. And he scared me. after all he had done and stuff."

"Were you close, you and Buffy?" Elise asked.

"We were, and then we weren't, then we were again. I mean, we were when we were younger, then not so much when Buffy became the Slayer and stuff. There were times things were better than others. and then after everything with Sunnydale when it blew up and stuff. well, we kinda were close again after that. At least as much as we could be since she was there and I was here." Dawn explained with a shrug.

"Did she talk to you about her life with Angel, and about things about Wolfram & Hart?"

"Some, yeah," Dawn told her.

"Was she happy?" Elise glanced at Giles who was watching her suspiciously, then back at Dawn.

Dawn nodded. "I think so. I mean, when I talked to her it was always Angel this or Angel that. I know they spent a lot of time working, but she always made it sound like fun rather than work. I guess, too, they spent a lot of time at home, you know, doing it."

Elise's brows lifted, but she smiled. "I see."

Shaking his head, Giles asked, "You've asked that question before. Did you have reason to think otherwise? That Buffy was not happy in Los Angeles?"

Elise looked from Dawn to the former Watcher pensively. "Well, someone that I talked with suggested the possibility. or perhaps I simply misunderstood them."

"And you believe this person to be credible?" Giles inquired, concerned.

"Was it Angel?" Dawn blurted curiously. "Because I know Buffy said he was always worried about that, if she was happy."

Elise smiled at the young woman. "No, it wasn't Angel. And I can't really say who it was; I keep my interviews confidential. If I didn't, I'd never get anyone to talk to me."

Dawn frowned. "Oh. Well, ask Willow. She'd probably know. She saw Buffy pretty much every day, and they were pretty close."

Nodding politely, Elise glanced back at Giles who was watching her intently. She wondered then, if he knew something, somehow. Something he hadn't told her and wasn't planning too.

"Did you know Buffy faced Dracula once?" Dawn mentioned, beaming proudly as if she herself had been there.

"Really?"  Elise inquired, though she had read as much in one of the Wolfram & Hart journals. Accompanying the passage had been an annotation in the margin about a visit Angel had paid to Dracula not long after that, apparently to make sure that the Transylvanian Count understood completely the boundaries of his trespass. It was unclear whether the famous vampire had survived the encounter.

Picking up her pen and notebook, and making sure her recorder was running, Elise listened to Dawn's stories about Buffy for the next few hours. It was as if the young woman had finally found an outlet to talk about her sister, and was eager to do so in considerable detail.

Sipping his tea, Giles listened indulgently, smiling at times, and frowning at others. There had been so little time in the last year to indulge in walks down memory lane; the demands of running the school had simply not allowed it. But, he realized as he listened to Dawn's chatter, it was something that they both needed, and that was long overdue as Buffy was still very much in their hearts.

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