Hard Choices

Author-Kaitelynn

Parts: 11 - 21 (End)

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~Part: 11~

Angel and Willow were sitting on the couch, making out heavily. It had been about two hours since Buffy had left in a huff and, in that time, they had alternated between talking and kissing. Angel was surprised when Willow informed him that her parent's had decided to extend their short trip into a two month vacation that meant that they would, not only miss Willow's birthday, but also her graduation day too. Not only that, they had known all along that Willow had not been planning on staying with Cordelia while they were going to be away, having talked to the Chases, and weren't angry by her deception. They told her that they trusted her and knew that she wouldn't do anything truly harmful to herself or others. They also knew that Willow was old enough to make her own decisions, her eighteenth birthday coming in a few weeks. During one of their talking sessions, Angel nervously broached a subject that he hoped Willow would be okay with.

"Willow, I want to ask you something and I want you to know that I'll understand if you say no and that I'm not trying to pressure you into anything."

"What is it?"

"Well, I was wondering if amaybe you would, wel, what I mean to say is if you would consider, ummm…," the vampire suddenly felt himself becoming self-conscious as he realized how much he was trying to say with his one questiong. Willow looked on, amused at her boyfriend's nervousness.

"You were wondering if I would what?" She encouraged him to finish.

"I was wondering if you would move in with me," Angel hurriedly said, shocking the girl in his arms. WHile she knew that Angel did love her, she had no idea that he would want to live with her even after her parents came back. Then again, Willow still had problems believing that someone like Angel really wanted to be with her at all. Then she began to think about what her moving in with Angel would meant. True, it wouldn't change her lifestyle too radically, since she already spent move of her time with the souled vampire and she had taken on vampire hours long before the two of them got involved. And she knew that her parents wouldn't say anything about it, they would probably be glad that she was out of the house. Xander and Cordelia would be happy for her, having already begun teasing the hacker about her pracically living with Angel already. Giles, while not exactly ecstatic over it, would probably support her, wanting Willow to be happy. And Buffy. Well, Willow didn't even want to think about what the Slayer would do. While all this was going through Willow's mind, her silence made Angel grow apprehensive. He knew Willow loved him, he had absolutely no doubt of that, but he figured it would only be a matter of time before she realized what being involved with him meant and wasn't sure if Willow was ready for the kind of lifestyle being with him would mean. There were so many things that he felt Willow deserved that Angel couldn't give her. Romantic sunrises and sunsets. Picnic lunches. Walks in a sunlit garden. Children. A man who would grow old loving her. A life without having to battle the demons that threatened mankind. And the longer Willow was silent, Angel grew convinced that she would say no to his request. When Willow finally whispered her answer, he almost missed it because of his brooding.

"What did you say?" He asked, wanting to make sure he heard her correctly.

"I said, I would love to…." The rest of Willow's answer was cut off by the vampire, who began to shower her face with kisses, ecstatic that Willow said yes. Angel's mouth captured Willow's in a deep passionate kiss that conveyed everything that he was feeling. Love. Devotion. Admiration. Passion. And Willow was matching his emotions with her own. Only when Willow's lungs felt like they were about to burst from lack of oygen did they separate.

"I take t this means you're happy about my answer."

"You have no idea," he told her. "I wasn't sure if this would be something that you would want to do. I was afraid that I might actually scare you away by asking you to move in."

"You actually thought I would say no?"

"I can't offer you everything that you deserve," Angel answered, voicing his thoughts. Willow took his face in her hands and her green eyes met his brown ones.

"I don't want anything other that you," she said, meaning every word. "I don't need those other things if I can't share them with you." Willow placed a kiss on Angel's mouth. "You are everything that I could possibly want."

"Are you sure?" Willow chuckled at Angel's nervousness.

"Positive. Besides, where else would I possibly find a two hundred and forty year old man to fall in love with?" Angel joined in with Willow's laughter. "I love you Angel. I have for a long time now."

"And I love you, Willow." Angel and Willow shared another long, slow kiss.

"Angel."

"Yes." Willow pulled back slightly and looked up at the vampire's face. "Make love to me," she quietly commanded. Angel looked into her eyes, making sure that this was what Willow truly wanted. He had made sure not to put any pressure on the red-head and didn't want her to do anything that she wasn't sure about. What he saw in her emerald orbs told him that she truly wanted him. He brushed his hand across her cheek lightly before lifting her off the couch and into his arms.

"You'll never have to ask me that again."

Angel carried Willow into the bedroom and gently laid her across his bed. He stood to the side of the bed, and removed the sweater that he was wearing before joining her. He began to place kisses all over Willow's face while his hands worked at unbuttoning the top that she was wearing. His mouth made it's way from her face to her throat as he kissed each newly exposed piece of flesh. Willow shivered as she felt his cool mouth take in her nipple, suckling it like a new born bade. She ran her hands through his hair, holding him close to her breast.

"Goddess, yes," she said hoarsely, her breathing become slightly erratic as Angel's hands made their way to the waistband of her skirt. One hand slipped under her panties and he could feel the wetness that was pooling between her legs. He ran his finger over her slit and brought the moisture to his mouth, tasting his Willow for the very first time. Willow writhed under him, her body hot for something that she knew only he could give her.

"Angel, please."

"Please, what, my love?" He lightly teased her, knowing that it would only be a matter of time before he would no longer be able to control his own need.

"Make me yours," she begged and he proceeded to do so in a very slow and deliberate way that left both participants exhausted.

~Part: 12~

"Hey Willow, looks like you didn't get much sleep this weekend," Xander joked as he greeted the tired redhead. Xander and Cordelia grinned as they watched Willow's face turn a bright shade of red.

"And something tells me that she isn't going to be complaining about why she's so tired, either, or that it will be the last time she has that look on her face," Cordelia couldn't resist adding.

"Yeah, well, let's just say that there are some definite advantages to living with a vampire." Xander missed the way Willow had worded her reply, but Cordelia caught it and stared at the red head in shock.

"Living with? What happened to just staying there while your parents were on vacation?" The brunette inquired.

"Angel asked if I wanted to move in permanently and I say yes. I mean, he's everything that I dreamed of, but never even hoped of having. I know its moving a bit fast, but it just feels right. We're moving the rest of my things to the mansion tonight," she explained. "And I was wondering if maybe you guys wanted to help."

"Do we get pizza?" Xander asked, thinking with his stomach and not even fazed by the idea of his best friend living with a vampire. Well, at least not this particular souled vampire, that is. He knew how much Angel loved Willow. He also knew that the vampire would rather meet the pointy end of a wooden stake held by the Slayer rather than do anything that might hurt her.

"Yes, you get pizza," Willow sighed. "And, if you're really good, we'll even get you an ice cream cone."

"Oh, I'll be good," he drawled. "I'll be really good." Cordelia and Willow rolled their eyes at Xander's suggestive tone, the brunette hitting him on the arm.

"Oh brother, look what you've started." Cordelia muttered. "Like he isn't hard enough to deal with on his own. He doesn't need any encouragement from you." Xander draped his arm over his girlfriend's shoulder and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Hey, watch the make-up. I didn't spend an hour getting ready for school just so you could ruin it all." Even though there was sternness in Cordelia's tone, there was also affection showing that she didn't really mind Xander's attention or show of affection.

"Cordelia, my sweet, you only have to wake up to be the most ravishing woman on the planet," Xander told the cheerleader, only to have Willow make gagging noises at his side.

"Problem there, Wills?"

"Yeah, you'll excuse me for a minute while I got sick," she teased. "I can only take so much sugary sweetness at one time."

"Yeah, like you and Deadboy aren't the same way when the two of you are together. There have been times when I've wanted to cool you both down with a shower of cold water," Xander commented. He saw Larry signaling him to come over. "Be right back. Try not to miss me too much."

"It'll be tough, but we'll manage," Cordelia grinned. Once Xander was gone, Cordelia grabbed Willow's arm and pulled her down onto one of the couches that were in the lounge area.

"Okay, spill, how was it? Was it everything that you hoped it would be?" The excited girl asked the red head, who suddenly had a dreamy expression on her face.

"Oh yeah and then some," Willow replied. "Oh no you don't, little miss not so innocent. I want details. I mean, Angel's over two hundred years old. I'm sure he's had plenty of lovers in that time, that you would much rather not think about. He had to have picked up something," the brunette reasoned. Willow's blush returned full force. "You could say he definitely knew what he was doing."

When Willow noticed that Cordelia was not going to be put off that easily, she continued. "Okay, to start, just imagine your wildest fantasies magnified ten times over and you might just begin to understand how it felt. I mean, it was so much better than I ever thought it could be and, let's just say I have a very vivid and active imagination when it comes to Angel and me. He was so gentle and loving. He wanted to make sure that he pleased me, and boy did he. Goddess just thinking about what he can do makes me want to run back home and into his arms again."

"Okay, see this face. This is me, Cordelia Chase, jealous," Cordelia stated. "Okay, so you said that there were advantages to living with a vampire, and I take it they aren't his housekeeping abilities. Dish. What are they?"

"Well, let's just say that I have definitely gotten over the fact that he doesn't need to breather, if you know what I mean," Willow commented slyly, causing Cordelia to blush this time. "Not to mention the whole vampire stamina thing. I swear, I was about ready to collapse just from exhaustion.' So I take it you," Cordelia couldn't bring herself to finish the question, but Willow knew what she was trying to ask and nodded her head.

"More than once?" Again another nod. "How many?"

Willow shrugged her shoulders. "Lost count after twenty."

Cordelia sat back in her chair, gaping at the hacker next to her. "Wow."

"Wow what?" Xander asked as he rejoined the girls, sitting on the arm next to Cordelia. The two girls looked at him, both going red about being caught talking about Willow's sex life. Xander, seeing their faces, quickly figured out what their conversation had been about. "Never mind. I think I have a pretty good idea what you were talking about and I would really rather not hear about Willow and Deadboy's sex life."

"Good, because I wasn't going to tell you about it anyway," Willow said, laughing at the face that Xander had made at the thought of Willow's sex life.

"Oh, yeah, I meant to tell you Willow. Giles called and wants us to meet him at the library before class," Cordelia told her, causing Willow to moan at the thought of having to deal with Buffy so early in the morning. "Yeah, I know. I hate the thought of having to deal with slutty the slayer this early too, but I told him that we would be there."

"Did he say why he wanted to see us?"

"Nope. Just said to be there before class."

The three teenagers reluctantly stood up and made their way to the school library. When they entered it, Willow groaned again as she saw Buffy sitting at the middle table, talking to a strange brunette girl that she hadn't seen before. Buffy offered an evil smile when she saw the hacker.

"Oh, looky, if it isn't Sunnydale's very own slut," she said.

"Looking into a mirror again Buffy," Cordelia countered, causing the brunette girl to chuckle. Buffy just ignored the comment and continued to stare at Willow.

"Look kind of tired there, Willow. Tough weekend?" The red head just stared sweetly at Buffy.

"Actually, it was a very nice weekend. Very…" Willow appeared to look for just the right word, "busy, if you know what I mean."

Buffy's face grew red in angry at the innuendo that Willow was using. "Once an unwanted visitor left, Angel and I spent quite a long time getting acquainted with each other."

Cordelia and Xander laughed outright at the way Willow was talking.

"Acquainted? Is that what they're calling it nowadays?" Buffy said pointedly. "You little slut. Don't think this means that I'm going to just roll over and let you steal my boyfriend away from me."

Willow refused to let Buffy push her around, Slayer or no Slayer. "He stopped being your boyfriend the minute you broke up with him," she pointed out. "And I didn't steal him and you damn well know it, even if you are too thick skulled to admit it. Or did all that bleach you put on your head finally start to kill your brain cells."

"Willow," Giles said, shocked at the hacker's comments. He had come out of his office when he had heard the heated discussion that was coming from the library and had missed his Slayer's words. "What in the name of all that is good is going on in here."

"Sorry, Giles," Willow apologized. She knew that she shouldn't have said what she had, but she was tired of Buffy trying to make her seem like the bad guy.

"Giles, it wasn't Willow's fault," Cordelia offered, coming to her friend's defense. "Buffy kept calling her a slut and accusing her of stealing Angel. Willow was just sticking up for herself."

The Watcher turned to face the blonde. "Buffy, is this true?"

Buffy looked down at something on the floor, unable to meet the disapproving glare of her mentor.

"Why?"

"She slept with him, Giles. You know what could have happened?"

"But the curse is permanent. Angel's soul cannot be taken away again, no matter how much happiness he achieves," Giles pointed out. "I'm very disappointed in you. This is no way to behave on Faith's first day."

"Hey, it's cool with me, G-man. I rather enjoyed it myself," the strange brunette said, drawing the attention of Xander, Cordelia and Willow again. "It was rather amusing in a soap opera kind of way."

"Yes, well." Giles turned to the three new arrivals. "Willow, Xander, Cordelia I would like you to meet Faith. She's Kendra's replacement."

"Hi," Willow said, moving forward to greet the new Slayer. "Sorry about all of this."

"Five by five," Faith stated. "Is it always this interesting?"

"No, only when Buffy and Willow are in the same room," Xander commented. "Hi, I'm Xander. The lovely red head in front of you is Willow. And this ravishing beauty by my side is Cordelia."

Faith nodded at each person. "Hey."

"Well, now that the introductions on made, I think I'll head to class," Buffy announced, wanting to get away from her three former friends. She didn't want to be in the same room as any of them, especially Willow.

"Buffy, I do need to talk to you about what you saw last night," Giles told her. "Come by during your lunch."

"Whatever. Just make sure that you're alone." With that, Buffy left the library.

"Well, that went better than I expected," Willow muttered.

"Oh yeah, things are just peachy," Cordelia added. "I swear, if it got any colder in here, I would have needed my fur coat." The first bell rang and the three remaining schoolmates bid good bye to Giles and Faith, heading to class.

Faith turned to look at her new Watcher. "Oh, I'm thinking I'm going to like it here."

~Part: 13~

"Okay, so let me see if I have this right. B and Fang used to date, but she broke up with him because he was a vampire and she wanted someone normal in her life. Red decided to help him get over B, but only in the 'let's be friends' kind of way. Which, of course, didn't exactly stay that way. B then got jealous of the closeness Fang had with all of you, especially Red and changed her mind about breaking up with him. Now Red and Fang are living together. B is pissed at her best friend, saying that Red purposely went out and stole Fang from her and the two of you are caught in the middle," Faith finished, rehashing everything that Cordelia and Xander had spent the last two hours telling her. Her mind was reeling from all the information that she had just received. A vampire with a soul. A Slayer in love with said vampire. It made no sense to her, but then again, nothing in her life had ever made any sense.

"That's pretty much it," Xander finished. "Aren't you glad you asked about the lives of the slayerettes now?"" Faith smiled at the couple in front of her. They were sitting at a back table in the Bronze after having patrolled together. Xander and Cordelia had volunteered to show Faith around the town, including all of the cemeteries and other places that vampires and demons liked to hunt for victims. During that tour, the tried to answer any question Faith had about the people that were now a part of their lives, ending with the dissertation about Willow, Angel and Buffy's twisted triangle.

"Well, life is definitely not going to be boring here, that's for sure," she grinned. "I feel like I suddenly stepped into All My Children."

"More like Dark Shadows," Cordelia corrected. "I mean, we are talking tortured vampires here."

"True." Faith looked over at the couple in front of her. "So, where do you two fall in all of this. I mean, it looked as if you were supporting Willow in this." Cordelia and Xander looked at each other before answering, Cordelia doing the talking.

"Look, don't get us wrong. If Buffy needs us for anything, we'll be there, but when it comes to her and Angel, you just had to be there to understand why we would rather see him with Willow," Cordelia explained. "Buffy and Angel had that whole tortured romance thing going. Buffy might want to think that it was more Romeo and Juliet, but it wasn't. Buffy either couldn't or wouldn't accept Angel for what he was. She always wanted to forget that he was a vampire. And this made him super brood boy. I mean, that man has the act of brooding down to an artform."

"And now that he's with Willow?"

"Completely different," Xander spoke up. "He laughs, which surprised all of us when we first heard it. I didn't think he had it in him. He was always so serious, especially around Buffy. With Willow, he lets his guard down. Hell, even I can't hate him anymore and that was one of my favorite hobbies before. I mean, I remember the first time I ever went to his place, how nervous I was to be in his presence, alone and that was to get him to help me save Buffy. Now, I have no problem hanging out with the guy."

"They even do a guy's night out once a week," Cordelia added, teasing her boyfriend.

"Like you and Willow don't do the same," he retorted. "Look, basically what we're trying to say is that Willow and Angel just seem to make sense. They complete each other if you know what I mean." Faith nodded her understanding.

"Yeah, I get that. Sure, I wasn't here to see B and Fang together, but I can see where there would be problems with that relationship," she informed them. "We are talking vampire and Slayer together. Not exactly a sane idea if you ask me, especially when that Slayer is Buffy." Xander and Cordelia looked at Faith, confused as to what she meant by that statement. Faith had only been in Sunnydale for two days, and she has only spent a few hours with Buffy.

"Why do you say that?" Xander asked, causing Faith to shrug her shoulders.

"Just something I picked up last night when patrolling with her," Faith explained. "I mean, damn that girl is so boring, not to mention dense. All she did was spend her time moaning about how life was so cruel to her because she's the Slayer. That her best friend betrayed her by stealing her boyfriend. Yada yada yada. It was all I could do to keep from hitting her. And let me tell you, I was sorely tempted to." Cordelia smiled as an image of Faith hitting Buffy came to mind.

"If you ever get that temptation again, make sure it?s when I'm around. I don't want to miss it," the cheerleader commented, causing all three to laugh.

"Hey, what's this," a voice said from behind Xander and Cordelia. "Having a party and you didn't invite us. I'm hurt."

"We thought you would be too busy doing the nasty with Deadboy to join us," Xander quipped as he made room for Willow and Angel to join them. Willow shot daggers at the dark haired youth whom she has known since childhood.

"We do not do the nasty, Alexander Harris." Cordelia and Faith moaned at the use of Xander's full name. "It would be nice if you didn't refer to it as that, thank you very much."

"And how would you have me refer to it as," Xander questioned, enjoying the teasing at his friend's expense.

"Doing the horizontal mambo," Angel surprised them all by saying and earning himself a hit by his lover. Everyone laughed at the vampire's joke, including Faith who had yet to meet him, only knowing who he was because of everything she had been told by Xander, Cordelia, Giles and Buffy, but she could tell that he was someone that she would get along with.

"See, what did I tell you," Xander said. "He cracks jokes now. Faith, Angel. Angel this is Faith, the new Slayer." Angel and Faith looked over each other, sizing the other up. They both seemed to come to some kind of an agreement and nodded at the other.

"How's it hanging, Fang," Faith grinned. Angel rolled his eyes at the newest member to the Sunnydale gang, already able to tell that she would be a handful.

"Pleasure to meet you too Faith," he replied causing the brunette to laugh again. "Welcome to Sunnydale."

"Thanks," she answered. "Interesting little town you've got here."

"We like it," Willow replied, glad to see the Faith was willing to give Angel a chance before killing him, which is what Kendra had tried to do before. "So have you and Buffy been hitting it off. I know she must be pretty excited about having someone else here to help with the whole slaying thing." Even though Buffy was currently mad at Willow, the red head was still concerned about her former friend, hoping that some day the friendship that they had formed would be salvaged.

"Actually, B seemed kind of pissed that another Slayer was in town," Faith told everyone. "She seems to think that she's the only one that can get the job done and that the Council should realize that having two of us around would only make things even more confusing, but from what I've seen, that girl has a stick up her ass the size of a red wood." Everyone laughed at Faith's accurate description of the blonde slayer. While they all had been Buffy's friends at some point, they also knew that, according to Buffy, the world seemed to revolve around her.

"Yeah, well, get used to it," Cordelia muttered. "That girl thinks that world revolves around Buffy Summers and heaven forbid something doesn't go the way she wants it. She'll turn on you in a heartbeat." Everyone grew quiet as they thought about how Buffy had done just that to Willow when the red head had helped Angel move on with his life.

"Then she's in for a surprise," Faith informed the group, "because there's a new Slayer in town and her name is Faith." With this, everyone cheered, raising their glasses in a toast to the new arrival, completely oblivious to the hate filled glare that was being directed their way by the object of the conversation.

Buffy sat at a table, a slight distance away from the others, their view of her obstructed by the tables between them. She could make out pieces of their conversation and was seething at how well everyone seemed to be getting along, especially since it seemed that they were bonding over their mutual feelings about her. Buffy hated anyone that went against her, no matter what the reason. Xander and Cordelia had already been on her hit list because of their befriending of Willow and Angel, and now it appeared as if they had successfully turned Faith against her too. Well, Buffy was not going to stand for this. She was the Slayer and Sunnydale was her town.

If Faith and the others didn't like it, then they could damn well get the hell out and Buffy was more than willing to make sure they did.

~Part: 14 ~

"How was patrol last night, Buffy?" Giles inquired as he saw the blonde Slayer enter his office. He watched as she took a seat on the couch. There was something about the way that she was acting that caused him to believe that something had happened.

"Giles, I'm kinda worried about Faith," Buffy began, looking at him with her best innocent look that had always worked on him in the past. "I don't know if she's gonna make it."

"What do you mean?" Giles asked, suddenly worried about his new charge.

Faith hadn't said anything to him about there being any problems, but it was apparent to him by Buffy's behavior that something had to have happened.

"I mean, I don't know if she's the right person to be a Slayer," Buffy elaborated. "She seems a little," Buffy looked for the right word, finally settling on one, "unstable, if you know what I mean."

"How so?" Buffy sighed, making it clear that she didn't want to tell Giles her reasons for thinking the Faith might not make it as a Slayer. Finally she decided to just go and tell him.

"Well, I didn't want to say anything, but something happened the other night while we were out patrolling," Buffy began. She waited to see if Giles would say anything and, when he didn't, she continued. "We ran into some vamps. About four or five."

"And?"

"They came after us, of course, and we began to fight them off," the blonde explained. "Well, at least, I did. Faith froze. Completely. She couldn't move. She just stood there, still as a statue. I couldn't believe it.

Then a vampire had her by the neck and was just about to drain her, and she still didn't do anything. If I hadn't of been there, or had already taken care of the others in the group, Faith would have been history. As it was, I barely got to her in time."

"My god," Giles exclaimed as Buffy's revelation sank in. He had never heard of a Slayer that had completely frozen like the way that Buffy was explaining, but that didn't mean that it wouldn't happen. He just didn't think that it was something that would affect the brunette girl that had just arrived. "Is she alright? She didn't tell me anything about this."

"Well, she was really shaken up about it and made me promise not to say anything about it, but I just didn't feel right about that," Buffy tried to tell him. "I mean, this isn't exactly the kind of thing that you can just slack off on, know what I mean."

"Of course," Giles said distractedly. He was going over everything that he had learned about Faith and her past, trying to figure out what could be done to get her over her apparent fear of fighting vampires. "And I'm glad that you told me about this. Something will have to be done about this."

"Well, if you ask me, I think the best thing might be to send Faith away," Buffy suggested. "You know, someplace where she wouldn't have to deal with all the nastiness that is the Hellmouth. Even if there are vampires where she is, there wouldn't be as much of a chance of her running into too much trouble."

"True, but that could also be more of a hindrance than a help," Giles replied. "It could just reinforce her fear. Make her see it as a way to get out of slaying and could cause her to take more risks, trying to prove that she can fight. It might cause her to take unnecessary chances with her life and I'm not willing to risk that." Buffy stared at Giles, a look of disbelief on her face. That wasn't what he was supposed to say.

"So, what do you think we should do?"

"I think the first thing we should do is try and get Faith to talk about what happened," Giles suggested. "Help her realize that what happened wasn't her fault. Get her to move past it. That way she will be able to perform as a Slayer."

"And how are we going to get her to do that?" Buffy inquired. "I don't want her to know that I told you about what happened. I told you that she made me promise not to tell anyone." Giles thought a moment about what had to be done, knowing that it wouldn't be easy to help Faith. He could tell, just from his brief meetings with her that her personality wasn't going to be too receptive to have her faults pointed out to her.

"I'm not sure, but I'm sure that we'll be able to come up with something," the Watcher replied. "We'll just have to let her know that we're here for her. Maybe some extra training. And we can see if the others will be willing to help. I know that Xander and Cordelia went patrolling with her last night. Maybe they noticed something that we could use to help her."

At the mention of the couple in question, Buffy had to fight to keep her anger in check. She knew that Giles was already upset with her because of the lingering feeling of betrayal she felt towards Willow and she didn't want him to become even more distant if he knew that those feelings now were aimed at Xander and Cordelia. She was sure that Giles would eventually forgive her for how she was acting, but she still didn't like the idea of him being unhappy with her.

"Well, I can ask them if you want," Buffy volunteered, hoping to prevent Giles from talking to the twosome. Giles lit up at the suggestion, still not comfortable, even after a year of dealing with the teens, how to approach them about personal things.

"That would be greatly appreciated, and I'll try and think of some ways to help Faith, without her realizing what we are doing," Giles added. "But for now, I think the best thing to do is having you get to class. Don't want you getting into anymore trouble with Snyder than you already do." Buffy smiled at the man that she considered a father figure.

"Gotcha." Buffy got up and stood at the door to Giles' office.

"Thank you, Buffy." Buffy looked at Giles, trying to discern what it was he was thanking her for. "For telling me about Faith. It couldn't have been easy for you to do."

"Well, I just didn't like the idea that she could get hurt because I didn't do everything I could to help her," Buffy told him. Giles nodded his head once and watched as Buffy walked out of his office.

As Buffy was heading out of the library, she saw Faith entering. "Hey B. What's up?"

"Nothing much, F," Buffy answered. "Love to stay and chat but I've got to get to class."

"Five by five with me," Faith said. Buffy nodded and left the library at the same time she heard Giles call Faith into his office. As soon as she was out of sight, a smile lit up her face as she thought of what was going to come. She was pretty sure of what Giles was going to do to get Faith to open up about her "freezing" and she knew that Faith would not take to kindly at it. In fact, Buffy was willing to lay odds that Faith would just up and walk away, probably leaving Sunnydale, just because Giles was treating her with kidgloves.

"One down and three to go. Then Angel is all mine, just like he's supposed to be," Buffy whispered as she plastered a grin on her face and entered her first class.

~Part: 15 ~

"Faith, I do wish you would listen more to what I'm telling you," Giles sighed as he watched Faith put a stake trough the vampire practice dummy.

They had been training for at least an hour and the brunette slayer had yet to do one thing that he had asked. Not that it was that much different from when he trained Buffy, but he was worried that Faith might freeze up again.

He hadn't said anything directly, just as he had promised Buffy he wouldn't, but he had given her several opportunities to open up to him. He had become discouraged when she didn't tell him that she had a problem, instead telling him about the vamps she had taken out the past couple of nights. Nights when, according to Buffy, Faith hadn't been out on patrol or when she was, she wasn't able to actually do her duty.

"I do listen to you, G-man," Faith told her Watcher. "I just choose to do something else."

"If you listened to me, you wouldn't keep calling me G-man after I've repeatedly told you not to," the librarian pointed out.

"Hence the choosing to do something else," Faith batted back. She went over to the table in the middle of the room and grabbed her water bottle, draining the whole thing in one shot, before turning back to face her Watcher. "Okay, Giles, give."

"Give what?"

"What's the deal with today's training thing?" Faith elaborated, emphasizing her point by waving her hands.

"I simply want you to be prepared for any encounters you might have on patrol," Giles replied innocently. Faith wasn't buying it.

"Whatever you say, Giles, but I'm pretty damn sure that this is the beginner's course to Slaying," Faith said. "All your doing is going over the basics. Kinda like Slaying 101."

"Faith there is no suck thing as basic Slaying techniques," Giles admonished the teenager. "This is all very important if you want to survive as a Slayer."

"Really?" Faith quirked her eyebrow. "Then why isn't little Miss Buffy here training with me? Or does Saint Buffy not have to do the basics anymore?"

"Buffy has proven herself time and again," Giles told his newest charge.

"SO, what, I have to almost die and then sleep with a vampire, turning him evil, before you'll consider me as true slayer material? The brunette taunted her Watcher.

"No, that won't be necessity."

"Then tell me why you're putting me through all this beginner's crap that I already went through with you and my first Watcher, while Buffy gets to go out on patrol and have all the fun?" Giles looked at the young girl in front of him, sighing inwardly as he realized that he would have to tell her what Buffy had confided in him.

"Buffy told me what happened the other night." Faith's features showed the confusion that she felt. "The night the two of you patrolled together."

"Yeah and, that was like over a week ago," Faith stated, not understanding the point that Giles was trying to make. "What's the big deal?" This time is was Giles who was confused.

"Buffy led me to believe that the two of you were on patrol a couple of nights ago and that you froze when some vampires ambushed you," the librarian told the stunned Slayer.

"B and I have only patrolled together my first night here," Faith informed Giles. "Since then. I've been going out on my own or with one of the gang. And I have never frozen in a fight. In fact, I have a tendency of getting extremely pumped, just asked the others. They can tell you." Giles slumped dejectedly against the return desk as he realized that Buffy had, for some reason that escaped him, lied to him about Faith.

"This doesn't make any sense," he said, to no one in particular. "Buffy told me that she had to save you in a fight because you couldn't, or wouldn't, defend yourself. She even went so far as to suggest that maybe it would be better for you if you left town. She thought that is would be easier for you away from the Hellmouth, that way you didn't always have to face demons and the like."

"I see," Faith commented, sudden understanding coming to her as to why Buffy had told Giles the things she had. "Seems little miss perfect isn't too happy that there's a new Slayer."

"But Buffy already knew about Kendra," Giles pointed out. "She didn't seem to have a problem with her. That is, once Kendra stopped trying to kill Angel."

"Yeah, but Kendra didn't live in Sunnydale and become friends with Buffy's friends, including Angel," the brunette reminded him. "Kendra went back to Jamaica when whatever she was needed for was done. She even had her Watcher. I don't. Buffy could still be top girl. Now I'm in town. She knows that I'm buddies with Red and Fang, and that can't be making her too happy. This is just her way of trying to get her life back. Or at least, what she thinks is her life. B's probably feeling extremely threatened."

"Buffy would never act like that," Giles insisted, although Faith could tell he wasn't even able to convince himself of that. He knew that Buffy didn't like the fact that there was another Slayer, let alone living in Sunndayle. Buffy home turf, at least in her mind.

"Right," Faith drawled. "And I really was delivered by a stork in the middle of the night. Giles, you and I both know that, in Buffy's mind, the most important thing is Buffy. It doesn't matter that with all the nastiness that is around, its actually a good thing that there are two Slayers. All she cares about is that she isn't number one anymore. That she might have some competition for her friends, and your, affections."

Giles listened to what Faith was saying, and although he hated to admit it, she was right. It was becoming apparent that Buffy was angry that Faith was around. And it didn't help that Buffy's friends, or former friends as the case may be, had all accepted Faith and helped her adjust to her new living situation. Unfortunately, since this was the first time that there were two Slayers, the Watcher had no idea what to do to ease the situation.

Faith could see the thoughts that were going through Giles' head and actually found herself feeling sorry for the librarian. Through her conversations with Willow and the others, she had a good idea of how Giles felt towards his charges, even though he wasn't supposed to get involved with anyone other than his Slayer. And she also knew how much the other teens looked up to the Brit.

"Look, as much as it pains me to say this," Faith started, "maybe I could try and make all nice with B. You know, do that whole sister Slayer thing."

Giles looked gratefully at the brunette.

"That may help. Maybe if she sees that you aren't trying to replace her that will help her deal with whatever feelings she has," Giles thought. "It really would be beneficial if the two of you worked together instead of apart."

"Yeah, that whole united we stand, divided we fall thing," Faith quipped.

"Gotcha. So from now on I'll try and play nice with Buffy, no matter how I may feel about her." Giles could hear in Faith's voice just exactly how difficult it might be for the girl to be friendly towards the blonde Slayer.

"Do you have a problem with Buffy?"

"You could say that," Faith answered. Giles continued to look at her and Faith elaborated. Normally she wouldn't tell tales, but since Buffy had apparently decided to declare war on her, Faith only felt justified to return fire with fire. "She just seems a bit, you know, self centered. Like that night that the two of us were patrolling, all she could talk about was how she had felt betrayed by Red and Fang. she went on and on talking about how she was the chosen one and that she couldn't understand why everyone couldn't see that."

"Yes, that does sound like Buffy," Giles agreed. "At least, since she first found out about Willow and Angel being together. She hasn't taken it very well."

"That's the understatement of the year," Faith quipped. "I mean, I'm sorry for everything that she's had to go through and all, but enough already. She's a Slayer. Angel's a vampire. It was not going to work no matter how much she wished it would. This is real life we're talking about, not some sci-fi show on tv. Besides, from what the others said, she never was really able to get past that whole vampire thing while Red was. And it isn't like she hasn't dated a few guys since she sent Angel to hell, so what's the big deal. She should just move on."

"It isn't that easy Faith," Giles told her. "Buffy has dealt with a lot of things in her life and this was just the last point before she had to break."

"Oh please, her life is like a picnic on a nice summer day with the guy of your dreams compared to mine," Faith commented dryly. "She has a loving parent that wants nothing more than for her daughter to be happy. She has, or at least, had friends that care about her. She never has to worry about where her next meal is going to come from or where she's going to sleep at night. So she's a Slayer. Big deal. So am I and I don't have any of the advantages that she's had. So you want me to play nice with the little spoiled brat, I will. But don't go making excuses for her behavior because I'm just not buying it."

"I'm sorry Faith," Giles said, sincerely meaning it. He knew how difficult Faith's childhood, what little she had, was and knew that compared to her, Buffy had it extremely easy. "You're right, there is no excuse for the way Buffy has been behaving and I do appreciate your offer to 'play nice' as you put it. I just hope that it will be enough to get through to her."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't go holding my breath if I was you. After all, this is Buffy we're talking about."

"Yes well," Giles coughed, "be that as it may, I do appreciate it."

Outside the library, someone was listening to the conversation between the brunette Slayer and Watcher and couldn't believe what was being said. 'That bitch. First Xander and Cordelia and now she's turned Giles against me. Who the hell does she think she is, coming into my town and trying to take over my life. Well, she's not going to get away with this. I'm going to bring you down, little miss Faithy, and I know just the person who will be more than happy to help me do it.' With that final thought, Buffy went to the one man that she was sure would be more than happy to help her get rid of the other Slayer, even if it meant selling her soul to get it.

~Part: 16 ~

"Have you guys seen Buffy around today?" Faith asked as she joined the table that Willow, Angel, Xander, and Cordelia were all sitting at. The brunette Slayer had found the friends at the Bronze, trying to forget the trouble that Buffy was trying to cause them.

"Thankfully the answer to that would be no," Cordelia replied, answering for the group. "Why?"

"Oh, I promised Giles I would try and play nice with B," Faith sighed, taking the drink that was sitting untouched in front of Angel and downing it quickly. "Geez, Fang, never figured you for the diet soda type of guy."

Angel just shrugged his shoulders.

"What can I say? I'm watching my figure." Everyone at the table laughed at the exaggerated way he said that, sounding exactly like some stuck up girl.

"I thought that was Willow's job," Xander teased, causing his best friend to blush.

"If it isn't, it should be," Cordelia joined in the teasing. "She does the job so well."

"Yeah, well, I've always been of the sound mind that if you're going to do something, do it right," Willow told her friends, before promptly sticking her tongue out at them. Willow then turned her attention back to Faith, curious as to why the brunette had told Giles that she would be friendly to Buffy.

"Why are you going to play nice with Buffy?"

"Seems little miss CryBuffy feels her toes are being stepped upon," Faith informed everyone. "She told Giles that I froze out on a patrol and that she had to save me. Then the bitch suggested that maybe it would be better for everyone involved if I left Sunnydale. You know, the whole safer for me since I can't handle things here."

"Why in the world would Buffy tell Giles that?" Willow asked, knowing full well that, if anything, Faith had gone out of her way not to interfere with Buffy's life.

"The spoiled brat probably is upset because we're hanging out with Faith instead of her," Cordelia answered, not even bothering to hide the contempt she felt at the blonde's actions. She had always felt that Buffy was too self-centered for her own good. The only reason she even bothered hanging out with Buffy in the first place, helping her with the whole saving the world gig, was because the others seemed to accept her. She had finally found people who liked her for who she was and Cordelia would be damned if she let anyone hurt her friends.

"Give the cheerleader a prize," Faith quipped. "That's pretty much what I figured. B is probably pretty pissed that I'm hanging out with you guys, especially Red and Fang."

"But she doesn't want to have anything to do with us," Willow protested.

"Exactly, which means that she doesn't want anyone else to have anything to do with you either," Faith pointed out. "Look at how she's been acting towards Xander and Delia and they've known you your whole life. She expected them to drop you like a hot coal just because her feelings were hurt."

"And let me guess, Giles is afraid of what Buffy might do next," Angel commented. "That she might do something to Willow." Faith nodded her head causing Angel to involuntarily pull the young hacker closer to him.

"Pretty much," Faith answered. "B blames everything that's happened on Red and considering the fact that she isn't exactly the most stable of people right now, I wouldn't put it past her to do something stupid to try and get you guys back in her camp."

Willow shuddered as she thought of the blonde haired girl that had befriended her two years previously. She had known that Buffy resented the fact that Willow and Angel were together, but she thought that eventually the Slayer would get over it. Instead, it appears that the exact opposite was happening. That Buffy was now trying to involve her friends by making them decide which girl they wanted to hang out with. The shy girl hated seeing the people she cared be put in the middle of something that shouldn't even be happening. She just hoped that it would all stop before it got too out of control.

"Willow, sweetling, are you okay?" Angel questioned, worried about his girlfriend. He could see she was lost in thought and was pretty sure he knew what it was she was thinking of. He wished there was something he could do to make it easier for her to deal with the actions that Buffy has done the past few weeks but, short of moving away from Sunnydale which they both refused to do, he couldn't think of any.

"I'll be fine, Angel," she assured him. Angel looked at her, not believing her but not willing to upset her any further by making it an issue. He figured he could do that when they got home. Willow saw that Angel was going to accept her answer, for now, and tried to put a smile on her face.

"Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I would really rather not ruin a perfectly good night by worrying about what Buffy may or may not do. I came here to dance."

"Well, then, shall we?" Angel stood, offering Willow his arm. She rested her hand on his arm and the vampire led her to the dance floor where a slow song had just started. Angel wrapped Willow in his arms, holding her petite body close to his. They quickly lost themselves in the other, putting aside everything that was happening to them for another time. All they wanted, in that brief moment, was to relish the presence of the person they loved.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Xander questioned, as he and the other two girls watched the couple from the table. Cordelia shrugged her shoulders.

"They should be, but it all depends on what Buffy ends up doing," she answered. "All I know is that they're going to need our support to get through whatever is going to happen.

Buffy stood outside of the one place she had never thought she would willingly go to for help. She knew that once she took this step, that things would never be the same. That there was a good chance that the people that she cared about would no longer want anything to do with her, but she was convinced that it was the only option left for her. She wanted Angel back in her life, and she knew that she needed to get rid of Willow to make it happen. The man on the other side of the door could do that for her. He had that kind of power. And, who knows, maybe this was her true destiny. Buffy took a deep breathe and knocked on the wooden door.

"Enter," came the reply. Buffy twisted the door knob and opened the door.

"Well, well, well, what an unexpected surprise. To what do I owe the honor of your visit, Miss Summers?"

"I thought that maybe you would have a job for me," Buffy started. "I heard you recently lost a couple of good people and figured that maybe you could use my particular services." She walked into the room and stood in front of the man that she had decided to sell her soul too. He sat behind his desk, his fingers steepled under his chin as he regarded the blonde teenager that stood in front of him.

"I never would have figured you would be the one to come see me about a job," he answered. "I had actually thought it would be the other Slayer.

?What's her name? Faith?" Buffy growled at the mention of his fellow Slayer. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, such nasty little noises coming from such a pretty girl."

"Faith is nothing but trouble," Buffy stated, her distaste of the brunette girl evident in her voice. "She is currently turning everyone against me and I would like nothing more than to see her knocked off of that high horse of hers." The man regarded Buffy for a moment, as if deciding whether she was lying to him or not. He smiled as he came to his decision.

"And you are willing to help me knock her down, is that it?" Buffy nodded.

"While I would like nothing more than to believe that you are her because you enjoy my sparkling personality, I have to believe that there is something more to this than hard feelings towards the other girl."

"I want your help to get Angel back," Buffy answered, firmly. The man nodded his head, sudden understanding coming to him.

"Ah yes, Angelus. I had heard that he had moved in with a fellow student of yours. One Willow Rosenberg if I'm correct."

"That bitch stole my boyfriend and I want her to pay," Buffy swore. "And that goes for all of those other traitors that have chosen her over me."

"And you're hoping that with young Miss Rosenberg out of the way, Angelus will come back to you." Buffy nodded her head.

"Once he sees what a conniving tramp she is, he'll leave her and come back to me, where he belongs," Buffy reasoned.

"And if I was to help you with this, what are you willing to do for me?"

This was it, the moment of truth. This was Buffy's last chance to leave with her soul, and dignity, in tact. She could just turn around and none would know about her visit to the man that was intent on killing her friends. Buffy looked up at the man, meeting his eyes.

"I'll do anything you want," she answered, condemning herself.

"Anything?" He repeated. "Including killing those that you once called friends?"

"Yes, including killing those that I once called friends." The man smiled at the blonde girl, knowing exactly that she would now be his personal assistant. The girl would help him in his plans of conquering Sunnydale, and then the world. She would be his right hand man, or woman as the case may be. He saw great things for their future. she would be the daughter he didn't have.

"In that case, Buffy, welcome to my team."

"Thank you Mayor Wilkins."

~Part: 17 ~

"Hey B, where have you been hiding yourself?" Faith asked when she saw Buffy in the library.  It had been three days since the brunette Slayer had told Giles that she would try and play nice with Buffy.  In that time, no one had seem to be able to find the blonde girl.  It was beginning to make the others nervous, wondering if, and when, Buffy would strike next in her ongoing attempts to take Angel away from Willow.  They had even called the Summers' home but Buffy's mother didn't know what was going on with her daughter.  The elder woman had just assumed that Buffy was out doing something in regards to her Slaying duties.

"Been around," Buffy answered, non commitedly.  "Got a job that's been keeping me busy.  Hasn't really allowed me to have a whole lot of free time to socialize."

"Really?" Faith quirked her eyebrow.  She had never imagined that Buffy would ever be willing to lower herself to be a member of the working class, especially if she didn't' have to be.  Faith always figured that Buffy was the kind of girl that would just find someone reach and live off of him as oppose to actually making a living herself.  she was curious as to what the other girl would do.  "What kind of job?"

"Just running errands and stuff," the blonde answered.  "I'm kind of like a Gal Friday, you can. Say.  Nothing major.  Just something to give me some extra spending cash.  You know, so I'm not that much of a burden on mom.  And its not like this is a paying gig, so I gotta get some cash somehow."

"That's cool.  Money is always of the good, although I wish I could find a job so that maybe I could get out of that lousy motel I'm shacked up in," Faith commented.  "So do you have any idea of what G wants to see us about?" Buffy shrugged her shoulders, knowing that her acting abilities were about to be tested.

"Not a clue, although I would guess that maybe it has something to so with the mayor's plans," she replied, hoping that she didn't sound too guilty.   Buffy still felt bad about working for the mayor, knowing that there was a good chance, hell ore than a chance if she was honest with herself, that a lot of innocent people would be killed if the mayor's Ascension took place.   But he had promised that she would be able to get Angel back.  Buffy felt bad that people would be killed, probably even people that she knew since the Ascension was supposed to take place at Graduation, but that couldn't be helped.  It was all for the greater good.  Her getting her love back and away from that boyfriend stealing tramp Willow.

"So what do you think the good ole mayor has planned for Graduation," the brunette Slayer inquired.  Buffy shrugged her shoulders.

"Who knows.  Probably something like bringing hell on earth or some such thing," Buffy joked, although there was a tenseness in her voice that she hoped Faith didn't pick up on.  "You know, the Sunnydale usual."  Faith looked over at Buffy, trying to study the other girl without appearing too obvious about it.  There was something off about the blonde that she couldn't' put her finger on it.  And she hadn't missed the tightness in Buffy's voice when she had said bringing hell on Earth.

'She's up to something,' Faith thought to herself.  'I just know it. Probably something to do with trying to win Angel back from Red. Damn, why did I promise Giles that I would try and be nice to her.  I know its only gonna come and bite me on the ass later.'

"Oh good, you're both here," Giles said upon entering the library.  He noticed the tense atmosphere and sighed.  He had hoped that whatever problem was between his two Slayers would be easily solved, but that didn't appear as if it was going to happen anytime soon if the looks Buffy was shooting towards Faith were any indication.

"Yeah we're here, G, just as ordered," Faith quipped.  "So what's up?"

"I've recently come across some information that might be useful in our fight against the mayor," the Watcher told her.  Buffy's ears perked up at this, knowing that it would be something that she would have to tell her new boss.  There was a part of her that felt guilty about what she was doing. Betraying her friends, and her family by working for the man that was determined to kill them all. Unfortunately it was a very small part and the desire to win back Angel overrode whatever that little voice tried to tell her.

"So what will help us bring him down?" Buffy asked.

"Well, it seems that he isn't completely invulnerable yet," Giles explained.  "Not for another week.  AT that point, he has to complete a ritual that will make it so that, no matter what we do, we cannot do any harm to him."

"Great, just what we need.  A demon we can't kill," Faith groaned.

"So what you're saying is that we need to take him out sometime this week," Buffy elaborated, trying to get as much information out of Giles as possible.  she knew the mayor would demand it of her, almost as a test of her true loyalty, although she was sure he believed that she truly was going to work for him.

"Yes, ummm, Take him out does seem to be appropriate," Giles nodded.

"But we need to do it before he completes the ritual.  Afterwards our only hope to destroy him will be when he ascends, and from what I've read that will be most difficult."

"Well, then, what are we waiting for," Faith jumped to her feet.

"Let's go take down ourselves a mayor?"

"Faith, why don't you go ahead," Giles suggested.  "I would like a word with Buffy, if I may."  Faith looked between Watcher and Slayer, sensing as if whatever was about to be said, she didn't really want to be around for anyway.

"Five by five with me.  Gonna do a few rounds before meeting the gang anyway."  Faith left, leaving Buffy and Giles in the library.  Giles looked over at the young girl that had managed to worm her way into his heart.  He removed his glasses, cleaning them and trying to decide the best way to approach discussing the subject that was on his mind without making Buffy become defensive.

"Spit it out, Giles," Buffy told him.  "I know something's on your mind, what is it?"

"Buffy, I talked to Faith the other night and I know what's going on," he finally started.  Buffy sat up straighter.  'He can't know.  I mean, I haven't really done anything for the mayor yet.  Just ran a few errands. Sure, I didn't kill a vampire like I was supposed to, instead bringing it to Wilkins like he ordered, but I made sure no one was around at the time to see me.  How could Giles possibly know about that?'

"Buffy I know that you lied about Faith freezing on patrol," Giles began again and watched as Buffy visibly relaxed.  'Odd, what else did she think I was talking about if she  is more comfortable with my talking about this.'  "Buffy, its not like you to lie about something like that.  Why did you do it?"  Buffy shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know, Giles," she answered.  "Its just something that popped into my head and I said it."

"I think you do know, but you just don't want to admit it," he told her gently, going over to sit beside the blonde.  "I think it bothers you that there's another Slayer in town.  One that is here permanently, so you can't forget that she's here, unlike Kendra.  And, I'm sure it doesn't help that your friends have accepted her as well."

'They're not my friends,'  Buffy wanted to shout.  'That bitch Willow stole my boyfriend.  And now Cordelia and Xander are with her.  They've turned against me.  It's they're fault I've been forced to go against what I believe because they support Willow and Angel.  And now they've turned Faith against me.  That witch would rather see Willow with Angel than for him to be with me.  I'm his soul mate and yet none of you are willing to see it.  You all just tell me to move on with my life.  But damn it, what's so wrong with my being happy?'

"Buffy, why can't you see, that having two Slayers in Sunnydale is actually a good thing/" Giles continued to prod.  "It means less work for you to do, in the first place.  And aren't you the one that is always complaining about having to patrol instead of going out with your friends? With Faith here, you don't have to patrol as much and the demon population is still kept under control.  And you have a chance to go out.  Isn't that what you wanted?"  Buffy nodded her head.

"Yeah it is," she whispered, finally speaking.  Giles sighed at Buffy's admission.  He knew it wouldn't be easy for her to admit that she was jealous of Faith's acceptance in Sunnydale and he hoped that, given time, Buffy would be able to see that having the other girl would be a help. Especially with the mayor.

"Buffy, I know it isn't easy seeing the others just accept Faith as part of the group, but I do wish that you would try," Giles told her.  "Try and remember how easily they accepted you into their lives. It only makes sense that they do the same with Faith.  If anything, they are doing it because of you."

'Yeah, because they all think I'm a self centered bitch.  They all hate me.  They're jealous because I'm the true Chosen One.  Not Faith.  She's only here because of a fluke.  They've even managed to turn you against me.   But I'll show you.  I'll show you all.'

"I'll try, Giles," Buffy smiled her sweetest smile.  The one that she knew would turn Giles into a pile of mush.  And, like always, it worked once more.

"That's all I can ask of you, Buffy," he told her, giving her a little kiss on the cheek.  "Now, why don't you go out and have some fun.  Maybe go to the Bronze.  I think Xander and Cordelia said something about heading over there.  I think it might do you a world of good to get out with your friends and have a good time.  Who knows how long the quiet will stick around, with the mayor's plans and all."

"I will , Giles.  Thanks."  Buffy gave Giles one last smile before turning and heading out of the library, thinking of exactly how much things were about to change due to the mayor's plans.

~Part: 18 ~

"Damn, I'm beginning to really hate nighttime, you know," Faith commented as she plopped herself into a chair.  Willow, Xander, and Cordelia followed her lead and grabbed chairs for themselves. Angel remained standing, gently rubbing Willow's shoulders.

"Oh yeah, right there," she sighed as he hit a particularly tight area.

"Oh man, that feels so good."

"Hey Willow, would you mind lending out your boyfriend's hands," Cordelia asked quietly from her chair.  "I could use some of what you're getting."

"Here you go, sweetie," Xander volunteered, moving his chair closer to his girlfriend and massaging her shoulders.  Cordelia let her head fall forward as the teenager rubbed away some of the tension that she had been feeling.

"I knew you were good for something, Xander."

"Okay, I'm suddenly feeling really neglected here," Faith mock pouted from her seat.  "I really need to get a boyfriend."

"We'll start a  search," Willow teased.  "Sometime next week after we get over tonight."

"Well, I take it by the looks of all of you, that you didn't exactly have an uneventful evening after all," Giles questioned as he entered the library.  He saw how weary his charges were and felt bad for them.  Vampire attacks have increased dramatically over the past two weeks, the Slayerettes having been unsuccessful in their attempt to thwart the Mayor from performing the ritual needed to make him impenetrable.

"You could say that," Faith replied. "I swear, is it just me or does it seem as if the vamps are getting inside info?  Its like they know where we're going to be and how prepared we are and then they show up.  Like the can read our minds or something."

"That's impossible," Willow said.  "I mean, unless the mayor had the library bugged or something.  And we didn't make the plans here.  We talked about them on the way to the Bronze last night."

"I'm with Faith," Angel backed the brunette Slayer up.  "It has to be more than just coincidence that we've been running into more vampires than normal.  Its like the mayor is always one step ahead of us."

"So what are you saying, there's a spy among us?" Giles wondered aloud.

"That's absurd.  No one here would have anything to do with the Mayor and his plans.  What would any of us have to gain from it?"

"How about a vampire boyfriend," Cordelia stated, once again surprising the others by her observations.  They all looked at her in shock.

"What?  Buffy's the spy?" Xander asked incredulously.  "There's no way. Why would she work with the Mayor on something like this?  She's fought against demons for three years.  There's no way she would suddenly change like that."

"I'm with Xander," Willow added.  "I mean, sure Buffy's been a little distant lately, but she's been upset over everything that's happened.  She wouldn't betray us like that."

"Really?"  Cordelia quirked her eyebrow.  "Are we talking about the same girl that told Giles that Faith had frozen during a fight and tried to get him to send her somewhere else?  Or the girl that decided to show up at Angel's the other day in nothing other than a coat and a red lace teddy?"

"She did what?"

"When was this?"

"Why didn't you say anything?"  Came three stunned replies.  Xander, Cordelia and Giles all looked at Willow and Angel, unable to believe what Cordelia had just said.  They could feel the anger rolling off the couple at the memory of Buffy's visit came to them.

"What happened?"  Giles asked, his voice returning to normal, somewhat.  He knew how hard it would be for Willow to recall the event that Cordelia had just mentioned, but he needed to know how unbalanced the blonde Slayer had become. Willow looked up at Angel, silently asking him to tell the story. She still didn't want to think about what had happened at the mansion.

"It was Wednesday," Angel began, taking a seat next to Wednesday.  "It was right before we were to meet everyone for that night's patrol.  Willow hadn't got to the mansion yet so when someone knocked on the door, I had assumed that it was her.  It wasn't."

"Buffy?"  Xander inquired.  Angel nodded his head.

"Buffy.  Needless to say, I wasn't exactly thrilled to see her," Angel continued.  "There was something off about her that instantly put me on guard.  I knew that she had something up her sleeve, but I wasn't sure what it was."

"What exactly happened when she got there?" Giles repeated his question.

"She kept saying how that everything was going to be okay.  That things were going to go back to the way they were supposed to be.  That Willow would be gone and that she and I would be together forever."

"And did she say why she thought this?"  Angel shook his head.

"No.  She just said that there was something happening that would bring her and I back together," the souled vampire replied.  "Then she said that she didn't see any point in waiting any longer for the inevitable and she took off her coat."

"And underneath was the teddy,"  Faith wanted to make sure she understood everything.  Even at her worst, she had never have pulled something like that.  Then again, if a guy made sure to tell her that he wasn't interested, she usually just moved on to the next.

"Yeah, just the teddy, which didn't exactly leave anything to the imagination."

"You can say that again," Cordelia muttered.  "Now I know way more about the bottled blonde than I ever wanted to."

"Wait a minute, how do you know what the thing looked like?" Xander asked his girlfriend.  He couldn't believe that no one had told him about Buffy's little attempt.

"Well, Willow and I walked in just as she was trying to get Angel to respond to her,"  Cordelia seemed to look for just the right word. "Flirtations.  It wasn't a pretty scene.  Trust me."

"What did Buffy do when you showed up?"  This time it was Faith who asked the question.

"She tried to convince us that her and Angel had been about to do the horizontal tango even though he couldn't get away from her fast enough," the cheerleader answered.  "You should have seen it.  Buffy kept trying to hold onto Angel, all the while he kept trying to break away from her, the entire time saying it was only a matter of time before Angel went back to her."

"That bitch," Xander spat as he tried to picture what his girlfriend was telling him.  He couldn't believe that he had ever though Buffy was a beautiful girl.  It was obvious that she only cared about herself.

"I second that and add a whore to it," Faith joined in.  "But that doesn't mean that Slutty is helping the mayor."

"Okay, then, is it me or does anyone else think its kind of odd how the mayor seemed to start getting inside info the same time that Buffy got her new job?"  Cordelia pointed out.  "Or how, even though she can't stand to be near any of us, especially Willow, she's made a point of coming to research parties and hanging with us at the Bronze.  Or that she's constantly been present whenever we've thought up a plan that later is known to the bad guys."

Everyone tried to digest the information that Cordelia was giving them. They all had to admit that they hadn't even thought about how Buffy had seemingly decided to hang with them again, or began to come to research parties a little more eagerly now.  They had all just assumed that she had decided to put aside her grudges so that they could defeat the demon.  And, now that they thought about it, none of them really knew what it was the Buffy did for a job.  And Cordelia had been right, it did seem that Buffy's getting a job and the mayor getting an inside track on what their plans were a bit coincidental.

"Could it be true?"  Willow whispered, as if afraid to say it any louder would make it real.  "Could she really hate us that much that she would align herself with the mayor to get back at us?"

"Anything's possible," Giles reluctantly admitted.  He didn't want to think that his Slayer, the girl that had stolen his heart and whom he thought of as a daughter, would betray them all like that because her heart was broken.   He wondered if there was something missing that he should have seen if this was truly the case.

"Yeah, its not like B's the most stable of ladies right now," Faith pointed out.  "Her little escapade at Angel's proves that.  But my only question is how do we prove it?  Not like we can just go out and say, B, we think you're spying for the mayor, care to comment."

"Unfortunately Faith is correct," Giles said sadly.  "We can't just ask Buffy for the truth for that's the best way of making sure we don't receive it."

"So, what?  We just go on like we don't suspect anything?" Xander asked. "I mean, what would that accomplish?"

"I'm not suggesting going on as before," Giles informed them.  "I'm just saying that we need to keep an eye on Buffy and see if she does anything that supports the theory that she is the one giving information to the mayor."

"So you're saying we spy on the spy?" Cordelia clarified.  Giles nodded his head.  "When did my life become a James Bond movie?"

"When you decided to do the right thing and help us," Xander answered his girlfriend, leaning over and placing a kiss on her cheek.  "Which is why I love you."

"Sounds about right to me," Cordelia smiled, leaning her head on Xander's shoulder.  "Knew there had to be an explanation somewhere.   So what's the plan to trap little miss spyBuffy?"

~Part: 19 ~

"Okay, please explain to me how it went from we couldn't get a break from the vamps, to suddenly it being so quiet it should scare me?"  Faith questioned as she and  Willow wandered the cemetery.  The two girls had decided to go on patrol together while Angel tried to see if any of his sources could help in the upcoming battle against the mayor.  And, like it has been for the past week, things have been unnaturally quiet.  Ever since it had been decided to leave Buffy out of the planning of anything.  It only leant more credence to the speculation that they had a spy in their midst in the form of the blonde Slayer.

"Maybe the mayor gave up on his plans to ascend and left town?"  Willow joked, although only half heartedly. "Maybe he's gone somewhere else to terrorize it."

"Yeah, that must be it," Faith readily joined in.   "Wilkins decided that Sunnydale was just too small a town to take over so he headed somewhere else.  Like LA?"

"See, now I was thinking more like New York myself," the red head continued.  "You know, all those people to oversee."

"Yeah but there are already a bunch of freaks there.  Like they would notice another one," Faith pointed out the flaw in Willow's logic.

"Good point.  London maybe?  Show the Watchers a thing or two."  Faith laughed at the image of the Mayor in his demon form going to see the Watchers Council.  It was just too funny to put into words.

"Okay, can we just say I want to be there to see that."  The sounds of other people caused the two girls to quiet.  It wasn't that they were hiding, they just didn't know who it was that would be hanging out in a cemetery in the middle of the night.  As the voices grew closer, they were able to recognize them and Willow paled as all of the suspicions from the week before were confirmed.  Then the two people came into view.

"Damn, I had hoped we were wrong," Faith swore quietly, not wanting Buffy or the Mayor to know that they were there.  The brunette Slayer couldn't believe her eyes.  It had been one thing to speculate that Buffy was working for the Mayor, but it was something else entirely to see the two of them together.  She couldn't believe that someone whose duty it was to protect the Earth from the demons was now in league with those that she used to fight.

"Faith, what are we going to do?"  Willow whispered.

"Stay and listen."  Soon enough Buffy and Wilkins were close enough so that they could make out the words that were being said.

"Something is going on," Buffy was saying. "The others have been really secretive lately.  Even Giles.  When I ask them where they're going or what's the patrol for the night they don't answer me.  Its like they're trying to keep me in the dark or something."

"And my little Buffy doesn't like that, does she?"  The Mayor commented. "Have they said why they haven't been including you?"

"Giles said it was because the others weren't comfortable around me because of my saying that Angel and I belong together," the blonde replied. "He said they thought it would be better if I went off on my own, but I could tell that it was more than that.  I think they suspect something after that last attack."  Faith and Willow watched as the Mayor nodded his head, thinking about what Buffy was telling him.

"It is possible," he finally said.  "As annoying as they are, they certainly aren't stupid.  The fact that they've managed to survive this long proves that."

"So, what do you want me to do?  I mean, Angel won't even talk to me now." Willow could hear the anger in Buffy's voice as she said that and knew the blonde blamed her for that.  "He's so concerned with Willow that he hasn't even had time to return my phone calls."

"She's been calling Angel?"  Faith looked over at Willow, who shrugged her shoulders.

"First I've heard of it."

"I think its time to move to the next step in our plan," the mayor suggested.  "That is, if you're ready for it."

"He won't do it readily," she informed her boss.  "That tramp has him too wrapped around her cute little finger."

"It doesn't matter," the mayor said matter of factly.  "I know of someone that can help us in achieving our goal.  In fact, I've already contacted him and told him what we needed.  You'll get your Angel back soon."

"But I thought you said it would be..,"

"It will be but he won't be like he was before," the Mayor interrupted.

"Nor will he be as vindictive towards you.  I've made those arrangements. He shall be a combination of the two and just what we will need to hurt the others."

"But he will be mine, right?"  Buffy almost pouted.  "He won't want anything to do with her?"

"No, my sweet girl."  Faith and Willow shivered as the watched the Mayor put his arm around Buffy's shoulders.  "He'll be all yours.  Now come one. I believe my girl has a date to get ready for."

Willow and Faith stayed in their hiding place until they were sure that Buffy and the Mayor had gone.  When they both finally moved, Willow did so automatically.  Even though they had never said his name, she knew that Buffy and the Mayor had been talking about Angel and she was scared of what might be planned for her mate.

"Faith, they're going to do something to Angel," she said.  "Something bad. "

"So I figured," Faith nodded, worried about her friend.  She didn't understand why Buffy was being so stubborn in her refusal to see that Angel and Willow were together and the two of them had already put up with so much from the blonde Slayer.  Faith didn't like that it apparently still wasn't over in the girls' eyes.  "Do you have any idea of what they meant when they said he was going to be a combination of the two?"

"The only thing I can think of is maybe Angelus."  Willow's eyes became wide as something occurred to her.  "Oh Goddess, they're going to take Angel's soul away from him..  But she knows his soul is permanent. "

"Damn they must have found a way to remove it."  Faith grabbed Willow's hand.  "Come on, we have to get to Giles like yesterday."

~~~*~~~

"Giles, you have to do something,"  Willow yelled as she entered the library.  "Buffy's working for the Mayor and they're planning to do something to Angel."

"I'm afraid they already have, Willow," Giles replied.  Willow stopped dead in her tracks, Faith right behind her.  Cordelia and Xander sat at the table, sadness written on their faces.  Willow began to shake and she sank to the floor.

"No, no, no, no,"  she kept repeating.  Giles went over to the red head, taking her into his arms.  "No, he has to be all right.  He has to be."

"I'm sorry, Wills," Xander said from his spot.  "I was there when it happened. One minute he was our Deadboy and then the next, it was Angelus. I don't know what happened. I'm just grateful that he didn't decide to start snacking on me and Cordy."

"I second that," Cordelia added.  "I still can't believe how different he was.  I mean, he wasn't like the Angelus that had paid us a visit last year."

"It was the Mayor," Faith informed them.  When everyone was looking at her, Faith started to tell them about what she and Willow had witnessed in the cemetery.  "We heard him say that he had gotten someone to make it so that Angel was a combination of Angel and Angelus."

"But why?"  Giles asked.  He felt Willow's sobs subside and he helped the girl up and over to the table, where Xander and Cordelia took over trying to comfort her.  "Did they say anything as to what they had hoped to accomplish by removing Angel's soul?"

"Well, it seemed to me as if the Mayor had something planned for the new and improved Angelus," Faith informed them.  "And we all know why Buffy wants Angel away from Willow."

"But Angelus hated Buffy," Xander pointed out.  "What makes her think it will be any different this time around?"

"They've done something to him," Willow finally said, pulling herself together.  SHe knew that breaking down wouldn't help her get her Angel back.   "To make him accept Buffy now."

"Probably doesn't hurt that she's more like him now," Faith added.  "We were right.  She is our spy.  It was disgusting watching the two of them together.  I think I lost my lunch somewhere back there."  The brunette noticed her Watcher lost in thought.  "Yo, G-man, something's on your mind. Out with it."

"You said that the Mayor was going to have someone remove Angel's soul." At Faith's nod, Giles continued talking, but it seemed as if it was more to himself.  "I wonder if it could have been him.  He would be the most likely person, although there are others.  He is the most experienced and one of the oldest."

"Who is Giles?  What are you talking about?"  Willow questioned.  "Do you know what the Mayor might have done?"

"I have to do some checking but I believe I may had the answer we are looking for as to what happened to Angel and how to fix it."  At this, Willow brightened.  Giles smiled at the hope in the emerald eyes of the hacker.  "I have a friend.  Actually he's someone who owes me a favor."

"And this friend might have the answers we're looking for?"  Xander asked. "Dare I ask how?"

"He's a soul-stealer," the Watcher explained.  "Its his job and he owes me a favor that I think its time I called him on.  Yes, I think its time indeed."

~~~*~~~

"Angel," Buffy said tentatively as she entered the mansion.  she could feel his presence but she wasn't sure what his reaction to her would be, even though the mayor assured her that it would be fine.  "Angel."

"Now, now, now, Buffy," came a  taunting voice and the blonde froze.  It was the voice from her nightmares.  "I would have assumed that after all that work you went through to make sure I was here that you would at least be willing to call me by my right name."

"Angelus," Buffy whispered.

"Very good," the vampire taunted as he came up behind her.   "I always wondered if you actually used your brains."

"What are you planning on doing?"  The Slayer inquired, wanting to know what was going to happen next.

"Well, I was planning n a little murder, mayhem and bloodshed," came the flippant reply, "but there is something that I did want to start with."

"What?"

"This."  Buffy felt herself turned and her lips being plundered by a cool mouth.  she wrapped her arms around Angelus' neck, reveling in the feeling of being kissed by the man that she loved.  Soul or no soul, he was still her Angel and she had missed being with him.  Now that they would both be working side by side, she didn't plan on losing him.

"Angelus," Buffy gasped when they parted.

"Is that what you had planned, Buffy?" Angelus asked.  "Is that what you had in mind when you joined the mayor?"

"I only did it because I wanted you back," Buffy answered, Angelus' hold on her never loosening.  Then again, it wasn't like she was trying to get away.   "I knew that you would rather be with me, even if you were with Willow.  I knew it was me that you dreamed of at night."

"You want to know something Buffy," Angelus whispered, his mouth next to her ear.  "Soul or no soul, it would only be Willow that I want to be with."   Buffy's eyes went wide as Angelus pushed her away from him.

"What?"  she stammered, trying to understand what had just happened. First, Angelus had been kissing her, just like he used to, and now he was saying that it was still Willow.  No, it wasn't possible.  The Mayor had promised her that Angel would be hers.

"Did you really think that your little plan had a chance of working," Angelus' continued to taunt.  "That I would just forget Willow and go back to you?"

"But the Mayor promised me that you would be mine once you lost your soul again."

"One little problem with that, Buffy," Angelus informed her.  "I still have my soul."

"How?"  She noticed Angel's eyes dart to the closed bedroom door.  The door that was now opening, revealing Faith, Giles, Willow, Xander and Cordelia, all with disappoint and disgust written on their faces.

"A friend of mine, Buffy," Giles explained to his former charge.  "He gave Angel back his soul as a payback for something I did for him years ago."

"But, but, but," Buffy began to stutter, backing away from the group of people that she used to care for.

"You're stuttering, B," Faith smirked.  "Did you really think that we would let you get away with something like this?  That we would let you just take Angel away from Red."  Buffy didn't say anything.  she couldn't.  she had lost Angel, yet again.  And she remembered what he had said.  Soul or no soul, it was still Willow.  The blonde Slayer ran from the mansion, vowing to get even with the red headed witch that had taken everything from her.

~Part: 20 ~

This was it.  Graduation Day.  The day that the Mayor was planning his Ascension.  The day that everyone had been preparing for.  The day that friends could die, and probably would.  The Slayerettes had prepared as well as they could.  They had discovered a way of possibly killing the Mayor after he changed into demon form.  They had also discovered that their fellow students weren't as oblivious to what went on in Sunnydale as they had originally thought.  It had only been a matter of talking to just the right people, and Cordelia always knew which people to talk to, and they had a small army ready to battle the vampires that the Mayor was going to use. They had thought of every contingency that might occur.  The only thing that they couldn't plan on was what to expect from the former Slayer, Buffy.

Three weeks had passed since the attempt to take Angel's soul away had been performed and in that time Buffy had stepped up her attacks.  Now that there was no need to keep the fact that she worked for the Mayor a secret, she did everything that she could to hurt Willow, including arranging the deaths of her parents.  The blonde Slayer had completely gone over the edge, leaving no doubt that her sanity was no longer there.  AN attempt by the Watcher's to control her had proven futile and the blonde was a loose cannon that they were sure was about to go off.

"Is everything ready?" Willow asked as she finished packing up the last of the boxes in the library.  The plan called for the destruction of the school, as well as the demon, and they were all packing up Giles' books to take to the librarian's home.

"As ready as can be," Giles answered.  "Xander is getting the last of our supplies and Faith and Oz are distributing the weapons to the students." That had been one of the only good things to come out of the Buffy tragedy. They had gained a new Scooby member.  It turned out the guitarist for the local band was a werewolf, a fact discovered by Faith one night on patrol. The two of them had hit it off and now there were three couples that comprised the Scoobies.  Four if you counted Giles and his friend Olivia, but since she wasn't in town, they tended to leave her out of their activities, which Giles preferred anyway.

"Angel said he would get here as soon as he could," Willow added.  "He wanted to go to Willy's and make sure that there weren't going to be any last minute surprises.  Well, other than whatever Buffy might want to throw at us."  Giles heard the catch in Willow's voice as she said her former friend's name.  He knew that, even after everything that she had done, Willow still missed having Buffy to talk to.  The blonde had been the first girlfriend Willow had ever had and she missed all the late night gab fests that the two girls had had.

"Willow, it will be okay," Giles tried to reassure the red head, although he was also trying to convince himself that everything would turn out all right.  He just couldn't be sure and he hated that.  This particular group of young people had been through so much, they deserved to have something go right for them.  "You'll see."

"Will they Giles?" Willow asked, the tears that she had been trying to hold back, coursing down her face.    With each box she closed, she felt as if another part of her life was being left behind.  First her friendship with Buffy had been hurt because Willow had falling in love with Angel. Then, because the blonde couldn't deal with reality, she had lost her parents. Now she would be losing her school.  The one place that had been like a home for her.  The only place, other than Angel's, that made her feel safe. Giles took Willow into his arms, trying to comfort her.

"They have to be," he answered.  "I refuse to believe otherwise.  We will defeat the Mayor and life will continue."

"And what about Buffy?"

"Hopefully we can save her from herself,' Giles said.  "Hopefully there is still some part of the girl that we all cared for inside of her and we can help her find her happiness again."

"I wish I could believe that Giles, I really do," Willow cried.  :Its just so hard sometimes.  She's done so much."

"I know she had, Willow," Giles cooed, soothing the girl in his arms. "Especially to you.  Out of all of us, you are the one that has had to deal with more than your share of grief at the hands of Buffy.  I wish there was some way that I could instantly make it all better, but there isn't.  The only thing I can do is offer hope that things will get better."

"That's all any of us can do, kitten," Angel said, coming from behind Willow.  HE took Willow from Giles, holding her in his lap.  He had known that it would only have been a matter of time before the events of the past few months came crashing down on the red head that he loved, and was glad to see that she was finally letting go of all of the fear and tension that she had been feeling.  "You just have to trust us when we say that we're going to do everything we can to make sure that she doesn't hurt you again."

"I do trust you," she rushed to say, lifting her head up so that she could look at the vampire that was now holding her.  "I trust you with my life." Angel smiled, leaning over and placing a gentle kiss on Willow's lips.  "I love you, Angel."

"I love you too, kitten.  And after today, we won't have to worry about Buffy ever again," he promised her.  "One way or the other, she'll be out of our lives for good."

"I don't want to see her dead," Willow stated.  "Even after everything that she's done to me, to us, I don't want her really hurt.  She needs help."

"Then we'll do our best to make sure that she gets it, my love.  Now come on and lets get this stuff over to Giles.  We don't have long before graduation."  Willow nodded her head and Angel helped her off the floor, although she made sure to stay close to the vampire.  Despite their assurances, she knew that there was a very good chance that one, if not more of the scoobies wouldn't make it through the fight.  She just hoped that she was wrong.

~~~*~~~

Willow, Xander and Cordelia watched as the eclipse began from their seats among the other students, signaling the beginning of the Mayor's Ascension. So far there had been no sign of Buffy, but Faith and Giles had positioned themselves so that they had a full view of the area so that if Buffy did show up, they would be able to spot her.  Their attention was drawn to the podium where the mayor was giving his commencement speech.  Or, at least, trying to.

"Well, ummm, it appears that this is starting a little sooner than I expected," Wilkins was saying on the stage.  He was grasping at his chest.

"Don't panic, it won't do you any good."

"Looks like its showtime," Xander quipped.  When he saw the first vampire coming up to the people assembled, he shouted.  "Let's go."  And with that single command, the entire student body ripped off their gowns, revealing what was hidden underneath.  Stakes, crossbows, axes and every other weapon that they had been able to assemble was being held by the students.  Even the Cordettes had their own makeshift weapons.  Can's of aerosol hairspray and lighters.   The Mayor looked out as the students began to take on the vampires.

"I don't know why you're fighting this," he gasped. "Its only delaying the inevitable."  That was the last thing that the Mayor said, for within another moment, where a human had once stood, was now a giant snake.

"Okay, can we say majorly gross," Cordelia stated, seeing the demon as he ate Principal Snyder.  "And you know that's gonna cause one hell of a case of heartburn."

"Well, let Faith deal with him," Willow screamed, as she headed into the battle.  "That's what her and Giles are for.  We have our one little problem here."

The students were doing well, although there were casualties.  Xander watched as Larry was killed and Cordelia saw Harmony getting bitten by a vampire.  Neither person allowed those sights to stop them though.  There would be plenty of time to grieve later.  Right now, they had to fight for survival and the right to that grief.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the little slut," came a sneering voice from behind Willow.

"Buffy," Willow stated, turning to face her old friend. "I was wondering if you would show up here today.  I mean this was supposed to be your graduation too."

"Of course I would be here," Buffy replied.  "I mean, this is what I've been fighting for the past few months."

"What the deaths of people that used to consider you a friend?"

"Friends don't stab their friends in the back," Buffy threw out.  "I don't have any friends.  And I don't need any.  Once the mayor has finished with all of you, I'll have Angel back and that's all I've ever wanted."

"What makes you think Angel will go back to you after this?"  Willow asked, backing away from Buffy.  There was something almost feral in the blue eyes of the Slayer and the red head found herself truly scared for her life.

"You'll be gone.  Its only natural that he'll turn to me in his grief," Buffy explained.

"Yeah, not like you would have had anything to do with why he was grieving in the first place or anything," Willow taunted.  "If you truly think that Angel will go back to you if you kill me, then you're more deranged than I had thought."  Buffy screamed at Willow's words, lunging for the girl. Willow tried to scramble out of the way, but the fight around her hindered her escape.  Buffy caught her easily, wrapping her hands around the smaller girl's neck, cutting off the oxygen.

"Buffy," Willow croaked, feeling the hands around her throat constricting even tighter.  Willow tried to fight but the lack of air made that impossible and she began to feel lightheaded.  Just as she was about to black out she felt the pressure decrease and then everything went black.

~Part: 21 ~

"I can't believe you're really going," Cordelia cried, hugging Willow tightly.  "I mean, its not like I'll miss you or anything."

"I'll miss you too, Cordy," Willow smiled at the former cheerleader who had come to mean so much to her.  Who would have thought that when they started high school, and Jesse, Willow, and Xander had started the We Hate Cordelia Chase club, that the two girls would become close friends four years later. It just was another example of how strange things could get on the Hellmouth.  "But LA isn't all that far from Sunnydale and you know you and Xander have an open invitation to come and stay with us."

"I know, its just gonna be weird not having you around,"  Cordelia said, swiping away the tears that fell.  "Who am I going to make fun of now."

"Well, there's always Faith," Willow volunteered.

"Hey, no making fun of the Slayer," came the response from the brunette in question.  "Or else I'll make you go on patrol with me one night and then lose you."  Willow and Cordelia laughed at that.  "D's right though, Red. Things won't be the same without you here."

"I know, and I'll miss you all so much," Willow admitted.  "But, Angel and I need some time to ourselves.  So much has happened ever since we got together that we haven't really had a chance to be alone.  Not like I mean that in a bad way though."

"We know."  Faith threw her arm around Willow's shoulders and the three girls walked out of the mansion together.  ""The two of you do deserve some downtime. We all do. "

It had been a week since the fight with the mayor and Buffy.  The mayor was dead, having been killed in the explosion that also leveled the high school, much to the chagrin of the town council.  Buffy had been stopped from killing Willow by Oz, who had seen what was going on and had tackled the girl, just before Willow had lost consciousness.  As a thank you, Angel had offered the mansion to the musician, figuring that it would come in handy for those nights that he had to chain himself up.  Not to mention, a steady place for his band to play.

The blonde Slayer was now in a mental hospital, heavily sedated and guarded.   Buffy had been placed on a suicide watch after an attempt to slit her wrists.  The Slayerettes mourned the lose of the girl that had brought them together in the first place.  They knew that the girl they had cared about was gone, in her place someone who couldn't handle reality so had chosen to make her own.  They just hoped that she would be able to heal. Sunnydale also had to heal.  In addition to losing its mayor, it had also had to deal with the "unexplained" deaths of twenty five students at graduation.  The devastation had been so severe that news agencies across the world had picked up on it and the nation had mourned with the small town for its lose.  Officials were looking into the explosion, trying to find an explanation for what had gone wrong, but the Scoobies knew what would happen.  Nothing.  The world would just forget about what happened in Sunnydale, the only people remembering would be those that had been there. The group had just come from the last of the funerals.  It had been for Larry the football player and Harmony the cheerleader.  The entire town had showed up, as they had for the other funerals, to say farewell to two of their own.  Xander and Cordelia had both chosen to speak on behalf of the two people that they had been friends with.  Now they were saying goodbye to two more of their members, although this time it wouldn't be a permanent one.  At least, they hoped not.

Willow and Angel had decided that they needed to leave Sunnydale for awhile.   They were going to head to Los Angeles.  Angel was going to continue fighting the good fight, while Willow was going to attend UCLA.  The souled vampire had found a building that would serve as both a home for him and Willow that had plenty of room for everything that they would need it for. They had sent everything that ahead so that they only had a few pieces of luggage to take with them.

Willow saw Angel standing next to his car talking to Giles, Xander and Oz. She walked over to the men and allowed herself to be taken in Angel's arms. After everything that they had been through, it was the one place that she loved being in.  Angel kissed the top of Willow's head, taking in her scent.

"Everything okay?" She asked when she finally allowed herself to separate from Angel, who nodded his head.

"Yes," he replied.  "I was just giving Giles our phone number and address."

"Well, you better use it, too," she mock growled at the Watcher who was so much like a father to her.  Now that her own parents were dead, Giles was the only parent she had left, even if it was a biological one.  "Often."

"I will, I promise," Giles told her, taking her into his arms and hugging her.  "I will miss you, sweet Willow.  You will take care of yourself, won't you?"

"I will," she promised him.  "Besides, considering how much of  a mother hen Angel is, I don't think I'll really have that much of a choice."

"Hey," the vampire said.  Willow smiled at her lover.

"And its only one of the many reasons that I love you."  Angel returned her smile with one of his own.

"I can't believe that you're actually leaving me alone," Xander pouted.

"Now who am I supposed to go to get all my answers to my homework from?"

"Does this mean that you've decided to go to college?'  Willow beamed as Xander nodded his head.  She squealed and launched herself at her long time friend.  "Oh Xan, that's great.  I'm so proud of you.  And you know that if you really need any help that I'm only a phone call or an email away. Besides, I know you're plenty smart.  You're just too lazy to actually work at it."

"Hey, I always had a Willow, why did I need to work?"  Xander quipped, earning himself a hit on the arm.  "But thanks, Wills.   You know you're still my best friend, right?"

"I better be," she answered.  "Its only fair because you're still mine."

The two friends hugged and when they pulled apart, Willow saw Xander swipe something from his face, but she wouldn't call him on it.  She knew he would never admit to the fact that he had been caught crying.  She looked over at the newest member of the group who was holding Faith's hand.  "You take care of Faith, Oz.  She needs someone to keep her in line."  The quiet boy just nodded his head, acknowledging the statement, all the while holding Faith closer to himself.

Angel stood silently by the car, waiting for Willow.  He knew how hard it was for her to actually be leaving and, if she said that she changed her mind, he would unpack the car in a minute.  He realized that Willow was leaving behind her childhood and was more than willing to do anything that she wanted to make her happy.  Finally, Willow decided that it was time to leave or else she would change her mind.  It was already difficult for her to say good bye to her friends, no her family, and the longer she put it off, the harder it got.  She walked over to Angel who gave her another hug.

"Are you ready, kitten?"  Willow nodded her head and Angel went to the front of the car.  Willow turned to the others one last time.  "I'll miss you guys so much.  You better keep in touch or else."

"We will," Giles promised, the only one in the group still maintaining some sense of composure.  Willow nodded and got into the car and five people watched as the two drove off into the night, hoping that the couple would finally be able to find the happiness and peace that had been denied them in Sunnydale.

The End

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