DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of Joss, but he doesn't mind us borrowing. No, really.
TIMELINE: Around and about 'Tough Love' (before the final scene) and 'Belonging'. (See author's note).
SPOILERS: Above.
SYNOPSIS: I figure everyone has this by now.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: So here we are nearly at the end of the season and that means: many run-on episodes between which the characters have no time to sleep. Not having any better ideas, I'm just going to quietly ignore that. Same for the apparent months-long gap between 'Intervention' and 'Tough Love', which in this series just... doesn't exist because I didn't realise it was going to exist. Basically, in the fraughtness of the final eps I'm going to take lots of leeway. I know you don't mind .
FEEDBACK: It actually *might* make me write faster.
RATING: PG

Xander was right. Love on the Hellmouth *sucks*. In an intentional pun way, because with Angel and I; well, the love didn't suck. The love is great. But the relationship spent some time sucking. The part of it when he was evil, as a for instance. But Tara and Willow were so... cosy, I think. They've been together for like a year and that was their first real fight, and it ends up like this. I mean, not that it's all attributable to the fight because Glory would have decided Tara's the Key anyway, but still.

Which is major worry number two; Spike, now Tara. Glory's going through my friends and... non-friend but slayage-not-applicable's one by one. She won't figure it out because Dawn is 'new' in my life (thank you, monks) but it's only a matter of time before she goes for Dawn. And there's the small in a really big way matter of the friends she's going to go through *literally* before she gets to Dawn.

But where can we hide from a god?

* * * * *

It's kind of a shame we can't move into the dreamscape (and that comment is a measure of how stressed I am, because it was stupid. But Angel doesn't mind that) because I don't think Glory would be able to get in here.

Especially not *here* here (even though here is currently just my bedroom and may I cite exhaustion), because I like to think of my time with Angel here as private time.

"I don't have a lot of time," he said apologetically, coming to sit next to me on the bed. "Asleep, I mean."

"Why?" I said, with what concern I could spare.

"Cordy's missing," he said, his long fingers beginning to worry at the edges of my duvet. I took it away from him and patted the space next to me. He shed his coat smoothly (a vampire and his leather coat will not be parted) and climbed in next to me while he explained, pulling me against him like it was the most natural thing... which it was, once. He used to tuck me in a lot before the curse made him unwilling to get too close.

I tried to pay attention to what he was saying. I guess I wasn't that concerned because... well, because it was Cordy, but he was pretty agitated.

"There was a whole big thing with portals," he said, waving a hand either dismissively or to signify a whole big portal thing. "We think she got sucked into another dimension."

"What are you going to do?" I asked, wrapping myself around him.

"Find her," he said with quiet, solid determination, in a tone laced with hints of fear and danger. "I don't know how, but... we will find her."

He sounded almost desperate and I pressed myself more strongly to him, troubled and, okay, jealous. I didn't have any excuse to be, and I hoped I didn't have any reason to be... I mean, Cordelia? And Angel? But, how do I know what goes on in LA?

I guess - pretty much the same as what goes on in Sunnydale, and if any of my friends disappeared to another dimension, I'd probably react the same, so I'll chalk that one up to temporary madness brought on by stress and never, ever tell Angel about it.

"Do you love Cordelia?" I said.

Oh yeah, never except for times when my mouth and my brain aren't connected.

"Yeah," he said thoughtfully, and I could literally feel my heart sink. Angel's supposed to be my constant. "She's family, you know?" he carried on. "You love the gang, right?"

"Yeah. Do you love Wesley?" I asked doubtfully.

I had my face tilted up enough to see him grin. "I love you," he affirmed. The grin turned from sweet to mischievous. "You look better than Cordelia in a bikini."

I sat up fast. I'm pretty sure he only evaded a bang on the chin with vampire reflexes.

"When did you see Cordelia in a bikini?!" I demanded. It's not as if they could have had a company outing to the beach. At least not at a time when tanning was possible. Or swimming smart.

"She got a national commercial," he said.

"Oh," I said. "I mean, wow. Yay Cordy."

"Mm," he said. "The director was kind of a megalomaniac."

"Colour me stunned," I said.

"Cost me a very expensive meal in celebration," he grumbled and I giggled. It's not that he's cheap. It's that he's old, or so he explained to me. Maybe he is just cheap.

"How are you?" he said, his voice becoming tender and solicitous. I sighed amd turned my face to bury it into his chest, not really wanting to think about how I was. He stroked my hair, lending silent support.

"Crappy," I admitted.

"Why?"

I instinctively went into list mode. "Glory made Tara crazy and is going systematically through my friends, Giles made me be an authority figure and Dawn might get taken away."

Actually, it's just occured to me that I could live with that, if it meant she was still alive. And I was. All we have is each other, and we don't have any guarantees of that.

"Dawn might get taken away?" he said, and I mentally applauded him for immediately jumping to the part of that which gave me most sleepless nights. It's like Mom, in a way. To have Dawn under all this threat from Glory and then think I might lose her to something so incredibly mundane as foster parents... it's weird.

"She hasn't been going to school," I confessed, guilty at the thought that I hadn't known, that I hadn't thought she might be acting up and hadn't noticed she wasn't going in. But then, I didn't think I'd have to notice she was lying to me. Well, I didn't want to think she might be. I'm beginning to understand how Mom spent so long clueless about the slaying.

"Does she know?" he asked.

"That she might get taken away? Yeah. I'm hoping it might sort her out a little, you know? Convince her to attend."

"It will," he said. "She's smart."

"I don't... want her going to dad," I said quietly. Not a good thing to admit, is it? I don't want my little sister to live with our father. He hasn't really given me much reason to think he can parent her better than I can. He still hasn't got in touch.

Angel kissed my forehead, and in it, I could feel him remembering his father. "That's not so bad," he said. "Is that why Giles made you be an authority figure? To Dawn?"

"Yeah," I replied. "I wanted him to do it for me."

"You do it for him," Angel said.

"What?"

"You're an authority figure to him. And the rest of the gang," he pointed out.

"You make me sound like some sort of despot," I complained.

He laughed. "That's not what I mean. I mean when you tell them to do something, you assume they'll do it."

"I guess..." I said thoughtfully. "But I'm the Slayer."

"So why can't you use that?" he said.

"Because I'm Dawn's sister," I said softly.

"And still the Slayer," he said firmly.

"Anyway, I *don't* get listened to always," I said. "I told Willow she shouldn't go after Glory and she did regardless."

"They know you'll come through for them," Angel said matter-of- factly. "Now why was Willow going up against Glory?"

"She brain-sucked Tara," I said sadly. Tara used to be quiet, but when she did talk she was kind and knowledgeable and occasionally funny... and now when she talks she's crazed. I've seen the madmen Glory's created before, but only ever the 'after' picture.

"I'm sorry," Angel said, after a pause. He hasn't met Tara, but I've mentioned her. And he likes Willow.

"She might never get better," I said. "Willow's determined she's going to take care of her."

"Maybe she will," he said. "It's not your fault, Buffy."

"Isn't it?" I said. "It's someone's. I haven't taken Glory out yet."

"Buffy," he said admonishingly, "not for want of trying."

"Willow said to me... before she went after Glory, she asked me when we'd go after Glory if she didn't know. If it'd be when it was Dawn. And I said it'd be when we had a chance, because even with Will's magic she couldn't beat Glory..."

"Sounds sensible," Angel said, his voice a soothing counterpoint to my worried, fast delivery.

"But what if we never have a chance?" I said, turning around to look at him. "I have no idea how to beat her and she's going through my friends one by one until she figures out who it is."

"Then you'll make a chance," he said firmly. "I know it, Buffy."

I almost asked him how, but I know how... Angel finds it hard to imagine a world where I've been beaten, where I'm dead. I'm the same; he's survived so long, it's difficult to think either of us could lose, forever. And yet, I'm about to.

I don't know how to go after Glory. But she knows how to come after me.

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