Angel took a step closer and then stopped; a sad smile played briefly across his lips as he looked at her eager face. "Hello, Drusilla."

Drusilla approached slowly, her hand lifting of its own volition to rest gently on her sire's arm. "Do you remember the song mummy used to sing me? Pretty."

"I remember."

"Yes, you do."

"Drusilla, leave here. I'm offering you that chance. Take Spike and get out," Angel commanded.

"Or you'll hurt me?" she queried innocently.

Angel looked down at the ground. Even as his cock twitched in anticipation, he swallowed hard against the lump of disgust that rose in his throat at the memories that flitted through his mind. With an effort he forced aside visions of Drusilla laid out naked before him, her smooth porcelain skin streaked with blood as she writhed in equal parts pain and pleasure.

"No. No, you can't. Not anymore," she told him.

"If you don't leave it'll go badly. For all of us."

"My dear boy's gone all away."

"Who?" Angel frowned in confusion.

"My knight. He dreams of her. The girl. The Slayer. His heart stinks of her." She slid her hand across his chest to rest above the once-beating heart. "Not yours, though. It doesn't have a home. It's lost and cannot find its way."

*****

Buffy walked along the roof, her eyes peeled for any sign of danger. Her slayer senses tingled and she moved carefully towards the edge of the roof.

"This can't go on, Drusilla. It's gotta end," Angel protested. His voice carried clearly on the crisp night air.

She tilted her head, reaching up and capturing his mouth in a brief, almost chaste kiss before pulling back fractionally to breathe against his lips, "Oh, no, my pet. This is just the beginning. Almost time for the lost to come home."

She pulled away and smiled knowingly at him, and as he reached instinctively for her waist to hold her to him she twisted easily out of his grasp. "Tsk, tsk. Bad daddy's forgotten the rules." She held his gaze as she backed slowly away, her eyes promising forbidden delights that made both his soul and his demon cry out with need. "The stars will sing such a pretty song and we shall dance until the nasty sunshine comes to ruin all our fun." With a soft tinkle of girlish laughter she turned and skipped away.

Angel watched, entranced, until Drusilla disappeared from view, and then with a quick shake of his head, he turned and melted into the shadows.

Buffy stepped away from the edge of the roof, her lip trembling as she turned and ran.

*****

"Okay, tomorrow night, 7:30, right?" Miss Calendar asked the flustered-looking watcher.

"Yes," Giles agreed with a worried frown. His attention quickly shifted to Buffy as she made her way toward him.

"Hey," the slayer offered, less than enthusiastically.

Giles started walking toward the library and as the teen fell into step he asked, "Um, did we hunt last night?"

"I did a couple quick sweeps downtown."

"Any encounters?" he enquired.

"Nothing vampirey. At least I don't think so..." Buffy began. With a sigh she seated herself on the edge of the research table. Looking miserably up at her watcher she continued, "There was... Angel - he was talking with this woman in the park. She was really beautiful, but kinda wiggy, you know? And my spidey senses were on overdrive..."

"Oh?" Giles' interest was piqued. "What did she look like?"

"Dark hair. Old dress. Pretty in an old-fashioned kinda way. He called her Priscilla, or something. They were pretty friendly," she added.

"Friendly? In what way?"

"In the 'get a room' kinda way," she responded with a pout.

"I see. I've been researching your friend Spike, and the profile is fairly unappetising. And this certainly isn’t his first visit to your shores. He fought and killed his second slayer, Nikki Wood, in New York in the 70’s. Since then there have been few reports regarding him. He was purported to be in Prague last year where his paramour, Drusilla, was killed by an angry mob after she murdered several children." He moved to his desk as he spoke, and after flipping through a book passed an old black and white photograph to Buffy.

"Well, they don't make angry mobs like they used to, 'cause this girl's alive. She's the one I saw with Angel."

"Who'd you see with Angel?" Xander asked as he entered the library followed by Willow.

"No one," Buffy responded, looking imploringly at Giles as she tried to shuffle the photograph out of sight under her books.

"Whoa, who's the babe?" Xander snatched the photo out of Buffy's hand.

"Angel and a girl?" Willow placed a sympathetic hand on Buffy's arm.

"A vampire," Giles qualified.

"Isn't he supposed to be a good guy?" Willow asked, confused

Buffy snatched the photo back out of Xander's hand and, glaring at him, placed it face down on the desk. "Yeah. He is." She collected her things and nodded goodbye to Giles before heading for the door.

"Hey, it's me. If Angel's doing something wrong, I wanna know. 'Cause it gives me a happy!" he joked, following closely behind Buffy as she made her way back out into the hall.

"I'm glad someone has a happy," the despondent slayer announced, allowing a touch of bitterness to creep into her voice.

*****

Xander racked the balls as Buffy and Willow looked on. "So they definitely knew each other?" the redhead asked.

"Oh, yeah." Buffy sipped her soda and slumped back against the wall. "There was definite knowing, with the lips and the hands..."

"Maybe it was like old-friends type kissage?" Willow suggested helpfully.

"I don't think so, Will," Buffy replied glumly.

"Cheer up, Buffster. What you need is to be beaten by a charming, irresistibly handsome and eligible man in a very rousing and—stimulating—game of pool."

Buffy smiled despite herself before her face fell once more. "I don't know, Xan. I think maybe I should just..."

"I'd suggest a box of Oreos dunked in apple juice, but maybe she's over that phase," a voice suggested from the shadows. The stranger stepped into the light, grinning broadly.

"Ford?" Buffy asked in amazement.

"Hey, Summers!"

A delighted smile transformed Buffy's previously sullen features as she threw her arms around the newcomer's neck.

"How ya been?" Ford asked as they separated.

"Oh, my God! What are you doing here?"

"Uh, matriculating," Ford answered, holding Buffy at arms length as he looked her up and down.

"Huh?" Buffy frowned slightly.

"I'm finishing out my senior year at Sunnydale High. Dad got transferred."

"This is great!" Buffy responded enthusiastically.

"I'm glad you think so," Ford replied, his hands ghosting down Buffy's arms as he released her. "I didn't think you'd remember me."

"Remember you? Duh! We only went to school together for seven years. You were my giant fifth grade crush."

Xander's jaw clenched as he watched Buffy's uncharacteristically enthusiastic display. "So!" he interrupted, reaching for his recently abandoned cue. His fingers clenched tightly around the wood as he painted a smile on his face. "You two know each other."

"Oh! I'm sorry. Um, this is Ford! Uh, Billy Fordham, this is Xander and Willow!"

"Hi," Xander offered perfunctorily, turning away to chalk the cue.

"Hey," Ford offered in return.

Willow smiled, pleased to see her friend happy once more. "Nice to meet you!"

"Uh, Ford and I went to Hemery together in L.A." Buffy told her friends, oblivious to Xander's darkening mood. "And now you're here. For real?" she asked Ford, her hand resting on his arm as she smiled hopefully up at him.

"Dad got the transfer, and boom, he just dragged me outta Hemery and put me down here."

"This is great!" Buffy announced. "Well, I mean, it's hard—sudden move, all your friends, delicate time, very emotional—but let's talk about me! This is great!" she repeated.

Willow cleared her throat loudly, and when Buffy looked at her with a puzzled frown she tilted her head fractionally towards the bar.

*****

"Hi," Buffy greeted the vampire, casually leaning against the bar as she waited to be served.

"Hey! I was hoping you'd show," Angel replied with exaggerated brightness. She was the last person he'd really wanted to see tonight; he was already feeling guilty, and seeing her only made it worse. He knew he should tell her about Dru, but he was hoping that after his meeting with his childe the night before he wouldn't need to.

"You drink! I mean, drinks. Non-blood things."

"There's a lot about me you don't know," he murmured.

"I believe that," Buffy muttered to herself.

An awkward silence descended on the pair, each lost in the memory of the previous night as they studiously avoided each other's eyes.

"So. What'd you do last night?" Buffy asked eventually.

"Nothing."

"Nothing at all? You ceased to exist?" the slayer countered.

"No. I mean I stayed in. Read."

Buffy couldn't believe that he was lying to her; or she could, but she didn't want to. "I see. How about a different question, then?" she asked with deceptive sweetness before the painted-on smile faded and she continued with a growl. "And how about we try something new and you tell me the truth this time? Who's Drusilla?"

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