Part 7

                     "Buffy?" Willow repeated softly, stunned by what Pacey had just said.  "As
             in our Buffy?"  Pacey nodded his head as he watched Willows emotions play
             across her face.  First there was shock that, after so long, they had
             finally found the girl that had meant so much to most of them.  Next came
             the happiness at the discovery that Buffy was still alive and well.  Then,
             finally, anger, as she understood that Buffy was alive and well and hadn't
             cared enough for her friend to even let them know.
                     "Are you sure?" Cordelia asked, surprised that f all the places Buffy could
             have ended up in, she was in Capeside and was hanging around Pacey's old
             friends.  Capeside was about as far away from the Hellmouth as you could
             get, in the cheerleader's opinion.
                     "Yeah, I'm sure," Pacey told them.  "I've seen enough pictures of her to
             recognize her.  Her hair's a little longer and blonder, but it's definitely
             your missing Slayer."  pacey could see that the news that Buffy was in
             Capeside had shocked all three girls, including the brunette Slayer that had
             yet to meet her. He looked around the store, aware of the stares that they
             were receiving from the other customers there.  "Look, why don't we go back
             to the hotel.  I'm sure that Xander and Angel will want to know about this."
                     The four teenagers slowly made their way back to the hotel where they had
             left Angel and Xander, each person lost in their own thoughts.  Pacey, who
             didn't know Buffy and had only heard stories about her, was concerned for
             his new friends.  He knew, by the way that they talked about the missing
             girl, that they missed having her in their lives.  He didn't know what to
             expect from them now that they knew she was living in Capeside, apparently
             without a care in the world and completely having gotten over whatever had
             made her run packing.  And he had no idea how he was going to tell them that
             she was happy in her new life.
                     Faith was worried about her place within the group's dynamics.  Granted,
             everyone had accepted her into their little band of friends, but what would
             happen if Buffy decided to come back to Sunnydale with them.  She remembered
             how hard it had been for them to accept that Faith wasn't the blonde, but
             they did eventually.  But that didn't mean that there would be room for two
             Slayers in the town.  She had always known that the possibility of Buffy
             returning was there, but the longer that her predecessor stayed away, the
             probability of that return had lessened.  But now, buffy had been found and
             Faith felt herself actually scared of losing her friends and her life as she
             knew it.
                     Cordelia thought back to the young girl who had shown the self-centered
             teenager that there was something more to life than just parties and dates.
             She remembered the nights that they had all spent in the library,
             researching some demon that had just come to town or some new prophecy that
             Giles had discovered.  Sure, Cordelia was always ready with some sarcastic
             comment or insult, but that was her role.  She was the tactless one.  It
             didn't mean that she hadn't taken seriously what they were doing or the
             respect that she had for the girl whose destiny if was to battle the forces
             of darkness.  But that was before.  before Buffy had decided that it would
             be easier for her to run away from her destiny, leaving Sunnydale's
             residents and her friends to defend themselves against the things that went
             bump in the night.
                     Then there was Willow.  The one person for whom Buffy's disappearance had
             hurt the most.  Willow had never had a close girlfriend before Buffy had
             fome to town.  She and the blonde had been like sisters, often spending that
             night at one or the others houses.  Willow loved helping Buffy in her
             slaying, because it as a way to help the girl that had befriended her.
             After Angel had lost his soul and started tormenting everyone, Willow had
             been the one whose shoulder Buffy had used to cry on.  That's why she had
             been so willing to try doing the restoration spell, even after she had been
             put in the hospital.  She didn't want Buffy to have to kill her love.  But
             how did Buffy repay her for that.  She ran away, with no explanation,
             because she decided that she couldn't handle what had happened.
                     Everyone's thoughts were broken when the reached the hotel.  They entered
             the suite that they were using, to find Xander and Angel watching a video.
             Faith and Willow walked over to their respected boyfriends and gave them a
             huge hug, much to the surprise of Angel and Xander.  They could tell that
             something had happened, but didn't know what.  Angel looked over Willow's
             head, silently asking Pacey and Cordelia what happened.
                     "I ran into some friends of mine while we were in town," Pacey started to
             explain.  "They had someone with them."  Pacey didn't elaborate when he saw
             Willow pulled away from Angel, deciding that maybe she should be the one to
             tell him about his former girlfriend's return.
                     "It was Buffy," was all she said, but it was enough.  She felt Angel
             stiffen in her arms before standing up and walking over to the covered
             window.  Silent tears started to fall down her face as she realized that
             with Buffy's return, there was a real chance that Willow would lose her
             relationship with the souled vampire.  She remembered how much Angel was in
             love with the blonde Slayer and began to prepare herself for the time when
             Angel said that he wanted to get back together with Buffy.
                     "Buffy," Xander whispered, taking in the news that the missing Slayer had
             been found.  "Are you sure?"
                     "Like I told the girls, I've seen enough pictures of her.  It was her,"
             Pacey repeated his earlier comments.
                     "How did she look?  Did she say anything?  Did you tell her that we were
             here?"  Xander fired questions at the boy as fast as he could, but all Pacey
             could do was nod his head.
                     "She looked okay.  Definitely didn't have the look of someone who was on
             the run or anything," Pacey informed them.  "She seemed happy.  I didn't
             tell her that I was her with you or that I even knew who she was.  She's
             going by the name Anne.  I did ask her what brought her to Capeside and if
             she missed her friends.  She said that she was trying to escape her past and
             that she figured you guys were better off without her."
                     "She thought we were better off without her," Cordelia nearly screamed.
             "She leaves us with no Slayer, basically giving the demons free reign over
             Sunnydale and she thinks we are better off without her.  Who the hell does
             she think she is?"
                     "Easy, Delia," Faith tried to placate the girl.  "Maybe she just figures
             that now that she was gone, that your lives could go back to the way they
             were."
                     "Yeah, like we could have forgotten that there were vampires that wanted to
             take over the world," Xander replied sarcastically.  He looked over at
             Willow, who hadn't said a word since telling everyone that it was Buffy that
             Pacey had seen.  He noticed her staring at Angel's back and suddenly
             realized what she was thinking and wished their was some way he could help
             his friend.  "Wills?"  She came out of her daze and looked over at Xander.
                     "Huh?"
                     "Are you okay?"  Willow nodded her head.
                     "Yeah, I mean, I'm fine.  Buffy's alive and well.  And now that we know
             where she is we can try and get her to come back to Sunnydale and the
             Slayerettes will be whole again, and even better since we have Pacey and
             Faith with us.  And then everything will be back to normal.  Well as normal
             as they can get.  You and Faith will be together and Pacey and Cordy.  And
             Buffy and ….." Willow suddenly found herself unable to finish her babbling
             sentence, as she thought of Angel and Buffy back together.
                     "Buffy and who," Xander prodded, knowing that Willow needed to say what she
             was thinking.
                     "Buffy and Angel can get back together."  Angel was by Willow's side faster
             than anyone had ever seen the vampire move.  He took Willow's hands in his
             and looked into her green eyes, love reflecting in his own.
                     "What makes you think that I want to get back together with Buffy?" He
             asked his lover.  The tears that had fallen earlier, resumed their course
             down Willow's face.
                     "Because, you and her are soulmates.  I mean, if she had been around when
             you came back, then the two of you would still be together," she tried to
             reason.  Angel cupped her cheek in his hand, wiping at the dampness that lay
             there.
                     "No, my little one, we wouldn't," he told her.  "I had a lot of time to
             think when I was in Hell.  I had realized that she wasn't the one that I
             belonged with.  I only thought she was because of my need for redemption.
             It was always you."  Willow looked at Angel with a new hope in her eyes at
             his words.  "No matter what happens with Buffy, I am with you now.  That's
             how it's going to stay."
                     "Well, in that case, whose up for a little fun at the Winter Dance tomorrow
             night?" Pacey said teasingly to all of his friends.  "Because, I'm thinking
             we could make her squirm a bit for her leaving the way she did."

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