"It looks like the sun's down to me." Xiaoting's voice was tinny over the transport's CB.

Buffy glanced back from the driver's seat to look at Angel, who was huddled in the back, away from the faint light still coming in through the windshield. He shook his head. "I told you," he said. "Another four minutes or so. I'll give the signal."

"Angel says no," Buffy said into the speaker. "We'll have our cue on the mark, okay? Tell the Watchers to hold their horses. That means to tell them to wait."

Sumiko, seated across from Angel, looked over at Buffy curiously. She had her crossbow, holy water and blaster -- but Buffy had seen to it that she also had a sword. "You're gonna watch out for her, right?" Buffy asked Angel.

"I will," Angel said. "When I'm not watching out for you."

Buffy rechecked her own weapons and opened the door. "You tell the Watchers to roll the first second they can. Then come on out with your face on."

"Be careful," Angel said quietly.

"Pot, meet kettle," Buffy said. "You watch yourself too, okay?"

Angel nodded. Buffy gave him a smile. "See you after the party."

She stepped out of the transport and took a good look around at Piccadilly Circus. Once, this area had glittered with electronic signs and hologram billboards. The remnants of these glitzy marvels were dark now, torn with the ravages of age and disuse. Buffy looked up at the statue Angel had told her was of Eros, the god of love. His iron-dark wings were spread against the vivid blue of twilight.

One building near the area was occupied. The dim lights shone in the windows, and Buffy could see the shadows of the many people crammed within moving about as they tried to get comfortable for yet another long seige night. Across the way, she could see Agatha and Sky; Agatha was pacing, grim, already in battle mode. Sky stood on tiptoe and waved wildly at Buffy, who grinned and waved back.

Sky's such a kid, Buffy thought. Wonder how she fights? Guess I'll find out.

The transport's door clanged open. Buffy whirled to see Angel coming out. Behind her she could hear Xiaoting jumping out of her transport across the way as well.

And then she heard it.

Deep, low shuddering, just at the point between vibration and noise. Rumbling closer, and closer -- the remnants of explosions at Oxford Circus, Leicester Square, Charing Cross and Green Park. The tunnels were collapsing, tumbling in, just as they'd hoped --

"Here they come," she whispered.

From the depths below came vampires -- one after another after another -- pouring out of the broken-down remains of the subway station. They were dusty, cut-up, furious, already in vamp face just from the rush to escape. As they ran into the open, they began to halt in their tracks and look around wildly.

Apparently none of them had expected to come up and find five Slayers -- and one Angel -- waiting for them.

For one moment, they were all quiet, almost motionless. Buffy took a deep breath as the wind ruffled her hair. Not quite three dozen, she thought. Gonna be quite a show.

Sumiko cried out, her wordless shriek breaking the silence and the stillness as she vaulted toward the vamps and swung her blade. The first vamp was beheaded before the others could even react.

Then all hell broke loose. Vamps rushed at them, insane with rage or fear or just being vamps. Buffy stopped thinking and started fighting.

Buffy grabbed her crossbow first and started shooting; the up-close-and-personal method was definitely more fun, but there was something to be said for conserving your strength when you were dealing with these kind of numbers. She managed to dust a couple like that -- and, out of the corner of her eye, saw another few go up in smoke thanks to some of the other Slayers' arrows. But then they got too close for the crossbow, and Buffy smiled as she threw her weapon down and clenched her fists.

Uppercut, jab, jab, left roundhouse, jab, she's down! Get the stake -- gone. And right side kick, right crescent, left hook, stake and gone! UNH -- turn it into a roll, get on your feet, block left, left front kick, left front kick, DAMMIT, swallow the blood and left hook, right jab, left hook, stake and gone --

Buffy sucked in a breath through her cut lips and took one desperate glance around. Agatha was walloping on a vampire twice her height with a gusto Buffy never dreamed her proper friend had in her. Another vamp seemed to have Xiaoting pinned down -- until Angel, with a roar Buffy could hear through the din, tackled him. Sky's fists were flying with a speed and accuracy any of them might have envied; she was smiling as she fought, her grin one of feral bliss. And farther away, she could see Sumiko moving so fast that she was almost a blur, her sword spinning like a helicopter's blades as she slashed her way through.

Another vampire sprang at her, and Buffy had to somersault backwards to avoid the metal bar he had clenched in his hand. The force of her leap took her all the way back to what had once been a fountain; four metal statues of horses pranced overhead. As the vampire came at her, Buffy jumped up and locked her hands over one of the horses' forelegs. She swung her legs out to kick the vampire viciously in the gut. Even as he cried out in pain, Buffy brought her feet up to catch him under the chin. He fell to the ground, and Buffy dropped to her knees and staked him in one fluid motion.

She stood up again and grinned. Sky was knocking the unliving daylights out of a vamp on his knees, and Sumiko beheaded yet another vampire. Xiaoting was looking around for another one to kill -- and coming up blank.

People were hanging out of the windows of the occupied building, pointing at the melee, grinning and cheering. Buffy beamed as she wondered how many runners would carry the good tidings around tonight.

As Angel staked his last, and Sky finally finished off her hapless victim, Buffy whispered, "We won." Then she yelled it again, "We won!"

"What did you expect?" Xiaoting said.

"Five Slayers!" Sky crowed. "And -- and Angel too! They never had a chance, did they?"

Sumiko laughed jubliantly and tossed her sword into the air. It spun around, a silver crescent in the night sky, before it flew back to her, handle dropping neatly into Sumiko's hand as though she'd summoned it there.

"In 10 minutes, we killed as many vamps as we could all expect to do in a night. And we destroyed a big chunk of their lairs," Buffy said. "Let's see the Council complain about this."

**

The Council, after endless bickering and dissent about supplying the explosives and risking the Slayers for the Underground assault, was only too happy to take the credit for the mission's success. The Watchers who had dropped the explosives -- including, to Buffy's dismay, that toad McGregor -- were lionized as heroes.

But that was nothing compared to the reception the Slayers got.

"This is so very exciting," Agatha said, squeezing Buffy's arm as they got into the lift. Agatha's hair had been set in a style she referred to as pincurls; though the overall effect was a little Nellie Olson for Buffy's taste, it was actually rather flattering. "I had so hoped there would be a musicale."

"I don't know," Buffy said doubtfully. "I'm not sure the Council's idea of a party is going to match up with mine real well."

"Well, you look stunning, if I do say so myself," Agatha said. "The dress is the way you wanted it?"

"You're a genius," Buffy said.

"You're quite certain that's -- that's meant to be worn alone? That's truly all there is to it?"

Buffy took a glance down at the dress Agatha had, despite some hesitation, made for her. It was necessarily very simple -- dark red, sleeveless, with a deep V in the front that showed a little cleavage and a hem that showed a lot of leg. To her, it seemed ordinary enough, but Buffy figured that it looked pretty racy to somebody who'd never showed her ankles in public."Trust me, Agatha. This is exactly how it's supposed to be. You look really nice yourself, too."

Agatha smoothed out her wide blue skirts and white bodice. "Oh, this. If I had a corset and some hoops, then I could make something truly grand."

"Tell me honestly," Buffy laughed, "do you really miss that corset?"

"Not a bit," Agatha said, joining in Buffy's laughter.

The lift doors opened, and Buffy grinned. "Oh, this is perfect!"

The Council had originally wanted to set up the public celebration outside, as they generally did for such events. But Buffy had protested that Angel deserved to attend too, and couldn't well be part of festivities held outdoors in the afternoon. To her happy surprise, the other Slayers had vigorously backed her up, and Ishak had commanded it. Frances had been heard grumbling about the impossibilities of doing such a thing in the warehouses.

But Frances had pulled it off. A number of the Gardens' planters had been moved down just for the event, so dark green leaves ran along the sides of the vast area cleared for the festivities. A band with instruments that looked handmade was playing merrily in one corner. Buffy couldn't have identified the music -- it sounded celtic one minute, bluegrass the next, and then something undefinable altogether. A large number of people were dancing what appeared to be very complicated dances -- long rows of men and women were criss-crossing, joining hands and trading partners with speed. "Guess we can't just get out there and shake our groove things," Buffy said.

Agatha was delighted. "Oh, it's like a reel! We can learn the steps easily if we only watch."

"You watch," Buffy said with a smile. "I need to find my date."

She kept winding her way through the party, enjoying the surprised and even shocked expressions her dress was inspiring. In the land of pyjamas, Buffy decided, it does not take much to stop traffic. People did not throng to her the way they did outside; she sensed that, within the Keep, a greater level of deference was due. But they still lit up at the sight of her, smiled or even waved. The frisson of interest, even celebrity, that surrounded her still bothered Buffy -- even now, when she done something to deserve a little of it, Buffy thought.

At last she caught sight of Angel. He was not actually standing in the corner, but he was hovering near the side, obviously uneasy in the group. Buffy wondered how long it had been since he'd attended something like this -- years, she thought. Decades, maybe.

Buffy came up behind him, and he didn't hear her until the very last minute. He turned around, and his eyes grew wide.

"I heard this rumor that vampires are drawn to bright colors," Buffy said with a slow smile. "Tell me, is it true?"

"It's true," he said, returning the grin. "You look beautiful."

She went on tiptoe to kiss him. "Come on," she said. "Let's mingle."

Angel looked distressed. "I don't mingle. Mingling is not one of my skills."

"No, really?" Buffy said, pursing her lips. "I know this. I'm going to help you."

"Wouldn't you rather stay over here, just the two of us?" Angel was running his fingertips down her arm.

Buffy ignored the little shivers going up her back. "Good try. But this party is for stuff you did, too. You deserve the credit. You deserve to be out there in the middle of it. And you deserve to enjoy yourself."

"Those last two are mutually exclusive."

"Angel," Buffy said, more serious. "These people need to start seeing you as something besides the monster in the attic. This is about making the Council see what you really are. About everybody seeing that. Once they see you, maybe they'll start to hear you. Are you with me?"

Angel sighed. Without much hope, he said, "All right, then."

Buffy looped her arm through his and drew him toward the busiest area of the room -- the tables of food. She took a moment to marvel as the behavior of the people who were thronging in and out -- though they were all desperately poor by her standards, struggling to live day to day, none of them even looked twice at the stores of material and tools piled on the shelves pushed against the walls. They did not snatch at the fruit and cheese and bread laid out for them on the table -- they politely took their shares in their turns.

Out on the dance floor, she could see Sky merrily bouncing her way through the dance. She'd only asked for the same kind of garments she usually wore, but her tunic was blue and her pants red, rendering her one long, leaping streak of color amid all the gray. On the end of another row was Xiaoting, in a blue dress that covered her neck to wrists to ankles, but was so formfitting as to rival Buffy's dress in shock value. She was stumbling through the steps, messing up at every turn and laughing so hard that the other dancers couldn't help but laugh with her.

Ishak caught sight of them and happily motioned them over. Buffy and Angel walked up to the main group of Watchers; Markwith and Frances were there, looking more cheerful than Buffy had ever seen either of them. Sumiko was standing next to Markwith. Buffy smiled as she took in Sumiko's outfit; Agatha, she decided, was a genius. With the help of some sketches from the library, she'd actually made a white kimono -- maybe not perfect, but passable -- with a dark-red obi around the waist. Sumiko had actually done something with her hair for the first time ever; it was swept up in a complicated series of buns that made her look like a geisha.

"Splendid, isn't it?" Ishak said. "This is a fine day. A very fine day."

"This is how we wanted people to feel," Markwith said. "This is what I hoped the Slayers could bring back to our city."

Buffy felt a sting of annoyance; why did Markwith use every chance for PR for his own big plans? Apparently some of what she felt had showed on Angel's face, too. Markwith looked at him and said, "Come, come, Angel. You can't still have objections, not now." He punctuated his comment with a sideways glance at Buffy's skimpy dress.

Angel's face showed a mixture of emotions -- jealousy, protectiveness, and distrust -- but then, to Buffy's surprise, relaxed into a rueful smile. "You know how I feel on this matter. But I would be lying if I said I was sorry you'd brought Buffy back. I'm very -- grateful -- to have her here again." He looked down at her gently, and Buffy felt her own grin going all gooey.

"That was brilliant, that was," Sky said, panting as she ran up to them. Xiaoting was trialing behind. "Next one's a calenada, Buffy. D'ya wanna have a go?"

"No thanks," Buffy said. "Angel doesn't dance -- or has that changed in the last couple centuries?"

"That will never change," Angel said solemnly. "But you should dance. I think I remember that you loved it."

"There's that memory kicking in," Buffy said. "Maybe later. I want to figure out what I'm doing first."

"Knowing what you're doing is completely unncessary," Xiaoting said, ruffling her short hair to cool off. She held a glass of wine in her free hand. "In fact, I would say it interferes with the fun."

Agatha also wandered up, nibbling daintily on a thin slice of cheese. Ishak stepped onto a nearby chair and held his hands up for attention. Almost immediately, the room quieted -- the hundreds of people, the band, even the other Watchers. "Good citizens!" Ishak called. Even without the acoustics of the Chamber, Ishak's voice rang out and commanded the room. "We enjoy this time of success and promise as a result of the work of these five women. They returned from the dead to save this world in its hour of greatest need, and we cannot fail to honor their courage!"

Applause rang out. Buffy tried not to roll her eyes. Returned from the dead, Buffy thought. Like I had a choice.

Ishak opened his mouth to speak again, but Markwith suddenly interrupted him. "And we must also not forget the hard work and loyalty of our very own Slayer!" He held his hands out to indicate Sky, and the room broke into applause yet again. Buffy joined in the applause enthusiastically, as did Angel and the other Slayers. Sky actually ducked her head and grinned. Great, Buffy thought, now I'm gonna have to like Markwith.

At the next pause, Ishak once more tried to speak -- when a voice called out, "Begging your pardon, sirs?"

Everyone wheeled around to face a bearded man in the crowd. Buffy squinted, then realized she'd seen him before -- he was one of the people who'd been saved from the first burnout she and Angel had seen. The man looked as though he couldn't believe he'd spoken out of turn, but he hesitantly took a step forward and said, "These Slayers have helped me and my family, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. But we -- we were also helped by Angel there, and I thank him too."

For one moment there was silence -- and then the applause began again, just as warm and welcoming as it had been for the others. Buffy beamed over at the man so widely her face almost hurt. Angel looked more uncomfortable than anything else, but he managed to smile and nod his head quickly at the man. "Been a while since that happened," he whispered to Buffy.

"I'm good for your image," Buffy said. She glanced over at the others. Markwith was clapping with all the rest.

**

The celebration went on until about an hour before sunset. Buffy enjoyed herself thoroughly -- dancing when the mood took her, but mostly talking with Angel and her friends. Agatha actually loosened up after a couple glasses of wine, it turned out. Sumiko, after placidly watching the dances for most of the evening, took to the floor at the very end and danced as beautifully and expertly as anyone else. Markwith had watched her with a wide, unguarded smile. Later on, it seemed to Buffy that the two of them left the party around the same time -- though she couldn't be sure.

After the celebration's end, nobody seemed to expect the Slayers to be involved with cleanup. So they all sat around and talked some more. Angel, as it turned out, knew a few of the youthful peccadillos of Xiaoting's Watcher and was able to amuse her with several tales. Sky shyly asked him whether he was stronger than plain old ordinary vampires. And Xiaoting made ridiculous kissy faces at Buffy whenever Angel wasn't looking, which invariably reduced a tipsy Agatha to giggles.

So, after night fell, Buffy didn't see any point in just going to bed early on their night off --

"I should come here more often," Angel murmured into her hair.

"Better not let me catch you here with some other girl." She stretched out languidly in the grass and ran one hand down his chest. The leaves above their head showed little glints of starlight in the night sky.

"I promise not to kiss other girls in the gardens," Angel promised. "Unless -- maybe Xiaoting's available --" Buffy swatted him playfully on the shoulder, and he grinned.

"I can see I need to remind you of my feminine charms," Buffy said. She kissed him again, mouth open, arms pulling him down on top of her. He returned the kiss for a very, very long time. When their lips finally parted, she whispered, "Why don't I finish reminding you back at your place?"

"Better not."

Buffy frowned. "Why not?"

Angel pulled her close and kissed her again. The kiss was hard and hungry, and he caressed her possessively, desperately. When he ended the kiss, he said hoarsely, "Not tonight, Buffy."

"Right," Buffy said. "Not tonight."

"But soon -- I promise, soon --"

Angel looked as broken-up as she felt. Of course, she thought. The nights when we want each other the most are the nights we can be together the least. I hate gypsies, and I hate curses, and I hate having to wish that the man who loves me didn't love me so much.

She half-rolled over to hide the disappointment in her eyes, and Angel hugged her from behind. "I mean it, Buffy. I -- I waited a while, because it just came out of nowhere -- and I wanted to be sure -- but now -- "

"Shhh," she soothed. Buffy stroked his hand. "You don't have to apologize for what you are."

He breathed out, almost a laugh, and shook his head. "I think maybe I do --"

"No," Buffy insisted. She rolled over to face him, cupped his chin in her hand. "I want to tell you something. From the first day I found out what you were, I kept asking myself, Why? Why does the love of my life have to be a vampire? Strange things and miracles happen all around us, all the time, but never the miracle that would let you be human. Let you live again. There were times I thought I'd sacrifice my own life to give yours back to you."

Angel's face was alight as he looked down at her. "Buffy --"

She cut him off. "But now I understand why. It all makes sense. Coming back from the dead, living forever -- it wasn't just your destiny. It was ours."

He was quiet, studying her face. She propped up on her elbows and kept talking. "When they took that lock of Noor's hair -- and I knew that they could bring any of us back, again and again and again -- I felt so terrible. Am I just going to have to keep coming back, over and over? Keep dying, over and over? Until the end of time? I -- I still don't like that idea. At all. But at least I know, no matter how many times it happens -- you'll always be here for me. You'll always love me. Maybe that's what we were meant to be. And as unfair as it is, it's so much better than having to go on without you. I love you. And I think I can face coming back, as long as I know you'll be here."

Angel hugged her close, burying his face in the curve of her neck. She returned the embrace, let him lower her to the ground. When he lifted his head up again, his eyes were bright, and she touched his cheek. "Angel --"

"I'm sorry," he said. "I hadn't thought of it that way."

"Doesn't it help, though?" she murmured. "Thinking of it like that? Knowing we'll always be able to come back to each other?"

"Yes," he whispered. But there was still something sad in his eyes.

She drew him close again, and they lay quietly together for a long time.

*

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