Buffy stopped walking and turned to glare at Angel. The look she gave him assured him that he had just asked the stupidest question ever dreamed up.

"Well," she said sarcastically, "it's not exactly every day you inform your mother, Watcher and friends that you're both dead and shacked up with your supposedly off limits boyfriend."

"Buffy," he scolded.

She sighed. "I know I'm being a bitca. I just don't want to do this."

"You have to."

"Why can't we just wait a decade or two?" she whined.

Angel didn't respond verbally, grabbing her hand and half dragging her down the street towards Giles' apartment. He knew Buffy was nervous about seeing everyone. Would they be afraid of her? Would it be weird? In short, he didn't know, but he did know that they all loved her very much and they could take a lot more in stride than Buffy was giving them credit for. Still, it wouldn't be easy, for Giles and Joyce especially.

He didn't know how much thought Buffy had given to her mother, probably not a whole lot. Joyce would be upset, but she would get over it, she always did. He could, however, sense how terrified she was of facing Giles, both because of his earlier betrayal and because she felt her current room temperature status meant she had failed him. To be honest, Angel wasn't certain how the Watcher would react, but odds were Giles would blame himself for everything.

Eventually Buffy quit resisting and walked docilely beside her Sire, her hand safely tucked inside his. He could sense she wanted to say something, but waited patiently, not prying.

"He's going to hate me," she finally said pathetically.

"Giles isn't going to hate you, Buffy. He loves you."

"Then why did he give me to that monster?" she hissed, trying not to sob. She was being barraged by a torrent of conflicting emotions, unsure of what she really felt.

Angel studied the girl beside him as they walked along the sidewalk. She was so strong it was easy to forget how young she was. He squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"Giles was doing what the Council ordered. If he had refused, they would have replace him as your Watcher. They would have replaced him anyway ..."

"If I hadn't died," she finished Angel's unsaid sentence.

"Yes," he admitted honestly. "If Kralik hadn't turned you, they would have fired Giles. He broke protocol by telling you about the test and by trying to stop it. They probably will replace him as Faith's Watcher."

"Why are you on his side?" Buffy asked caustically.

"I'm not on his side. I'm just pointing out that he was only doing what he had to do. And he risked his life to save you. The Council doesn't take betrayal lightly, if Kralik hadn't turned you, Giles may very well have been terminated in a literal sense. I'm still not convinced he's completely out of danger."

"They would have killed Giles?" she squeaked.

"I don't know, but it's a possibility, Buffy. The Watcher's Council is a very shady group. They do things their way, usually with total disregard for the law. They operate on a set of rules crafted millennia ago."

"If they even think about coming anywhere near him, I'll kill them!" Buffy raged.

Angel crooked an eyebrow at her. "I thought you were mad at him."

"I am, damn it! If I want to kill him that's one thing, but they touch one hair on his head and they're toast."

Angel laughed. "How about we just talk to Giles before we do anything. Okay?"

Buffy nodded. They made the rest of their trip in silence.

Angel had arranged the meeting with Giles that afternoon. He had been intentionally vague, telling Giles only that he wanted to meet with him first privately and then with the others as a group. The plan was to go to Giles house and then from there to the library. Giles had been understandably nervous. Angel assumed that the Watcher thought his Slayer had been killed -which was true in a sense. But he hadn't asked, almost as if voicing the question would make it come true.

Buffy sat on a bench in the small courtyard outside Giles' apartment as Angel knocked on the door. This made it all so much more real. She was a vampire. She wouldn't be able to enter Giles' home until he invited her.

Giles was quick to answer the door, looking nervously at the vampires. As Angel stepped aside, Giles' gaze fell on Buffy's seated form. Without thought, the Watcher shot through the door, kneeling before Buffy and pulling her into his embrace. He clutched her to his chest, sobbing violently, whispering apologies into her hair. Buffy began to cry as well, holding onto Giles like a frightened child.

After the two finally calmed down, they got to their feet, stepping away from each other awkwardly.

"Shall we?" Giles asked with a small smile, gesturing towards his door.

The matching smile Buffy had been wearing vanished. "I can't," she said.

Giles looked at her, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"Not until you invite me in," she said softly.

Giles' eyes widened in horror as he understood her implications. "Oh dear God," he said in a near whisper.

Buffy's eyes welled with tears. She took a step towards Giles and he took a matching step back. Crushed, Buffy retreated several steps, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"I'm still me," she said, the words spilling out in a jumble. "I still have a soul. I'm not a demon." She crumpled into a little ball on the cement patio sobbing loudly.

For a moment, Giles stood absolutely still with shock. When he finally regained his composure, he quickly crossed the few steps to Buffy, kneeling next to her balled form, rubbing his hands over her back.

"I'm sorry, Buffy," he said quietly. "I know you're ... you. I was just shocked. It's all right, dear."

Buffy didn't quit sobbing, but she crawled into his lap, hiding her face in his chest. Giles arms came around her, holding her against him as he rocked her gently.

Angel watched the events passively. Any other male doing this would have sent him into a rage, but this was different. This wasn't about sex or possession. It was about love, a parent's love for a child. Buffy was the closest thing Giles would ever have to a child of his own and he was undeniably much closer to her than either of her real parents.

When Buffy's sobs had subsided, Giles urged her to stand with him. "Please come inside, Buffy," he said quietly.

Nodding, Buffy allowed him to lead her into the apartment. Giles stopped to look at Angel who was still standing where he'd been throughout these events.

"Angel?"

"Go ahead," he said quietly, understanding their need for privacy, "I'll wait out here."

Giles handed Buffy the cup of tea and she took it, marveling in the way the mug heated her hands.

"Would you please explain what happened?" Giles asked. It was the first thing he'd said since coming inside.

"Kralik."

"He was your Sire?"

"Was, yes."

"Meaning?" Giles asked, his brow furrowing again.

"He turned me. I killed him. I went to Angel ... and now he's my Sire."

Giles raised his eyebrows for a moment and then nodded. Apparently no further information was needed. He already knew what had happened. Part of Buffy was miffed. She always knew there was a lot of information her Watcher refused to share.

"So you'll be staying with Angel from now on," he said. It wasn't a question.

"Yes."

He nodded again. "Well, given all the ways this could have turned out, this is probably the best."

"You're awful calm about this," Buffy noted. "I figured you'd have a litter of kittens or something."

"Please, Buffy, give me a little credit. You may think I'm stuffy but I am well versed in vampire behavior. And I grew up in the sixties."

Buffy laughed. Giles smiled, for the last four days he had been wondering if he would ever hear that sound again. It made his heart soar. He did so love this child. And though he was being very calm about it, the idea of her having sordid sexual affairs with Angel did *not* sit well with him. That subject, however, would be better breached with Angel himself.

After Buffy finished the tea, Giles ushered her out the door to the library.

The group was assembled and waiting at the library when Giles, Angel, and Buffy entered. Joyce was pacing the room. Cordelia sat at the table looking bored. Xander, Oz and Willow were seated on the stairs leading to the stacks and Faith sat cross legged on the table.

Joyce was the first to notice, running forward and embracing her daughter. Buffy hugged back as Giles motioned for the others to keep their distance. Eventually Joyce became aware that she was the only one near Buffy.

"Rupert, what's going on?" she asked, her voice tinged with fear.

Giles opened his mouth to speak, but Buffy cut him off. "Mom, I need to explain a few things ... to all of you."

Joyce nodded, walking over to the large table with Buffy as the others gathered around, everyone taking a chair. Angel sat next to Buffy, holding her hand. The entire group was quiet as Buffy recounted the events the night of her Cruciamentum. When she finished, Willow and Joyce were crying.

"So what happens now?" Xander asked Giles.

"I don't really know. I've been fired as Faith's Watcher, a new one is en route as we speak. For now, Buffy will stay with Angel."

"Stay with Angel?" Joyce asked. "Why?"

"Joyce," Rupert started, taking off his glasses to clean them, "Buffy's life as a human effectively ended the night of her birthday. She is still Buffy. She has a soul, a conscience, but she is a vampire. This is the way it is done. She must be with her Sire."

"And you're okay with this!" Joyce snapped. "She may be a vampire, but she just turned eighteen, damn it."

Giles looked torn. He glanced between Joyce, Buffy, and Angel. "I wouldn't say I'm *okay* with it. There just isn't anything I can do. Age is irrelevant."

Xander interceded, "So what are we supposed to do when Angelus shows up?"

"What?" Buffy asked.

"Angelus, you know, psychopath, murderer. You're living with Angel now, in very close quarters. Do the math, Buff," he said, his voice rife with resentment.

"It's not an issue," Angel replied with cold calm, staring at Xander.

To his credit, Xander didn't flinch a muscle and didn't back down. "Oh really? And why isn't it an issue?"

"It just isn't," Angel replied, not about to go into the intricacies of perfect happiness and his new childe with the spoiled brat of a boy.

Xander looked at Buffy, who bowed her head. Her reaction stated clearly enough that they knew it wasn't an issue because they'd put it to the test.

"You're already fucking him, you whore!" Xander exclaimed without thinking, his fear dictating his actions.

Xander was pinned to the ground by his neck with Angel growling in his face before he knew what happened. Willow shot Buffy a pleading look, but the former Slayer shrugged helplessly, there was nothing she could do. Luckily, Faith didn't have any conflicts. She managed to pull the enraged vampire off of the boy before he lost consciousness.

"Everyone just chill!"

At Oz's yell, everyone stopped, stunned.

"Okay," the werewolf continued, "so Buffy and Angel are *together* together and Angelus isn't here so I don't see why that's a problem. Buffy has to stay with Angel since he's her Sire, or whatever, once again, ‘why is this a problem'? Buffy is still here! She's still walking and talking! Have any of you taken a moment to realize how close to being dead – not undead, just dead – she was? What the hell is everyone so upset about?"

Oz was breathing hard from his tirade. All of the faces in the room reflected shame. Slowly, everyone returned to their seats.

Willow finally broke the silence. "I have a question."

Giles looked at her. "Go on."

"Well, earlier ... when Angel grabbed Xander, Buffy didn't do anything. Why?"

"I couldn't," the former Slayer said, ashamed of her inability to act.

With the exception of Giles and Angel, everyone looked at her in confusion.

"Huh?" Faith finally asked.

"I couldn't. It's a Sire/childe thing. I couldn't make him stop."

"So," Cordelia said, speaking for the first time, "Angel can do anything he wants and you can't do a damn thing about it?"

"Basically," Buffy answered bluntly.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Giles interrupted. "Now is not the time nor the place to go into the intricacies of a Sire/childe vampire relationship. The important thing is that Buffy is all right. I think that we should call it a night."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The End

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