1: Jefferson Avenue, Near the High School, Southeast Sunnydale

“I know you’re out there,” Cordelia shouted toward the shadows. Stopping in her tracks, she reached into her purse for her stake. “Back off, buddy.”

Startled, Angel glanced around for sign of an imminent attack, but saw nothing. He had not made a sound, either. Instinct alone had alerted her to his presence. On the top step, Cordelia whirled around, stake in the air as she backed closer to the door. Seconds away from what he figured would be an ear-piercing scream Angel stepped forward into the light of the closest lamppost, holding his hands up in mock surrender.

The Cordelia he remembered would have screamed first and run for the hills hoping trouble would not follow. It seemed a lot had changed during the summer he missed. Angel said nothing, merely assessing her reaction while suppressing a smile.

Recognizing him, she dropped her arm to her side. “Oh, it’s you.” Her hand kept a firm grip on the stake. “Great,” she added in a non-enthusiastic way that Angel was growing used to. The reception was hardly a welcoming one and so far it seemed that his presence here in Sunnydale was merely tolerated for Buffy’s sake.

The unconscious stab at his ego caused his mouth to tighten up. Dropping the pretense of surrender, Angel moved silently up the stairs to stand beside her. Any amusement he had felt at her brave attempt at defending herself faded quickly. He supposed she had a legitimate reason or two not to trust him, although it was hard to suppress the urge to remind her that there was a time he could have had her for the asking.

That was not just his ego talking. No doubt it was a lucky escape on his part considering her constant chatter. It was doubtful Xander had time to make a move despite the length of time those two dated. He could not deny that Cordelia was a stunning beauty, but she possessed no tact whatsoever, and her rather obvious crush on him had made for some awkward moments.

Buffy once told him that Cordelia was the most irritating girl she had ever met. That had puzzled him at first because she was always very friendly with him. Clingy, but definitely appreciative of his help. Frankly, it was just as well he rarely ran into her because she never failed to flirt. There was a time he would have eaten that up, and her with it, which was the problem. Never knowing what to say to her made him feel even more out of place, but Cordelia kept turning up. Like that one time at the Bronze while he was waiting for Buffy. One moment he contemplated escape and then next found himself mesmerized by her smile and the conversation. She had done most of the talking, and he enjoyed listening to her ramblings.

Things changed between them ever since Cordelia had discovered that he was a vampire. Any interest she had in pursuing him ended abruptly. Despite the sting, it was a good thing. The only time she welcomed his presence was if her life was endangered. Otherwise, he was persona non grata. Considering the night Angelus had attacked her in the cemetery, Angel felt lucky that she was still speaking to him at all. Then again, this was Cordelia Chase.

“Sheesh! Are you competing with Oz for stoic of the year award?” Cordelia snapped her fingers in front of his face. “C’mon, Angel, say something. It only takes one syllable to say ‘hi’.”

Opening his mouth, he closed it again, wondering what she expected. “Nice night,” he finally muttered, not knowing what else to say and inwardly cursing himself for sounding like an idiot.

Cordelia snorted. “Guess you left your vocabulary in hell because you weren’t tongue-tied when you were evil.” She moved toward the door when Angel’s hand closed over her wrist preventing her well-timed exit. A tremor shuddered beneath his unexpected touch.

Even he was surprised by his action. Usually something to be avoided, human contact was not something he had gotten used to, but Cordelia’s way with words irked him into an automatic response. The instant his skin touched hers Angel knew it was a mistake. Temptingly warm. Soft. His fingertips reflexively traced the pulse skipping at her wrist. Despite her bravado, she was nervous, he realized, listening as her breath hitched in an almost imperceptible way. A part of him liked that a lot, wanted to turn nerves to fear, the way countless others had done upon discovering the man who held them close was a vampire.

They both glanced down at the stake and then up again. He could not tell what she was thinking, but figured it was best not to let go. Opting for a distraction, it occurred to him that he did have something to ask that might qualify in her estimation as a real topic of conversation. During the early days of her hospitalization, he had made an unprecedented effort to visit her there, having felt sorry for Cordelia, knowing something of the betrayal she felt, and the physical pain it caused. A small measure he had taken to ease her misery, as well as his own, had been forgotten until now.

“I stopped by Mercy General, but the nurse said you couldn’t have visitors,” he revealed his failed attempt at a friendly overture. Angel realized he had shocked her by actually coming up with something to say. “Did you get the flowers?” Making polite conversation was not his thing. Nor did he make a habit of sending bouquets to anyone without some grim purpose at the heart of it.

He was not entirely certain why he had done so this time.

Drawing in a deep breath, Cordelia held it for a second, a hot flush spreading across her skin remembering the conclusions of the nursing staff. The way they had gushed over her tall, handsome boyfriend only to be told that he was no such thing. At the time, she had not wanted to see Angel any more than Xander.

Three days went by before she accepted any visitors into her hospital room. In the end, she had allowed Xander in only to send him away again. Giles stopped by with a stack of homework and a Get Well card, telling her that her teachers wished her a speedy recovery. He was followed by a floating armada of shiny balloons brought in by Willow who made her apologies with stuttered whispers and tears in her eyes.

Apparently, Angel only made the one attempt to see her, which was one more try than Cordelia ever expected. Since returning from that hell dimension, he was even more of a reclusive mystery guy than usual. Not that she would have wanted him to see her like that. Hospital gowns were hardly haute couture.

“Yes, I got the flowers.” Smiling at the memory, she was surprised that Angel brought up his gift. He was asking in a tone that suggested it was not quite appropriate for him to do something so personal. Pfft. Maybe he was scared Buffy would find out her favorite lapdog had done something without her say so. Truthfully, his was the only offering that seemed remotely genuine. Xander’s huge bouquet bore the stench of guilt despite the color they added the bland walls of her hospital room.

“So, you liked them?”

Admitting, “I did,” she told him with a hint of the same amazement she had felt upon receiving them. Smiling, she said, “They were gorgeous, unique. Thank you.”

“Good.” Warmly, his gaze held hers as his grip shifted, softening and opening up to move down over the back of her hand. Angel tugged loose the stake, holding it up between them. “I think it’s safe to put this away.”

Snatching it out of his hand, “Says you.” Lightly poking his stomach with the end of the stake, Cordelia huffed, “How am I supposed to know if you’ve gone all homicidal maniac on us again?”

All she got that time was a low grunt as he absently rubbed the spot she had poked. Cordelia’s gaze automatically slid down, watching Angel’s hand slide across the dark material of his shirt, fingers splaying over the taut muscles beneath. Her attention darted back up to discover that irritation had replaced his formerly calm demeanor.

“Umm, I guess we should get in there,” she backed toward the door. Angel followed step for step until Cordelia bumped into the metal door handles. Her heart rate sky-rocketed as Angel’s big body loomed close, blocking her in as his hand closed over her hip.

An irrational flash of fear swept over her only to realize seconds later that Angel was simply moving her out of the way in order to get to the door. He held it open for her, motioning her in and quietly reminding Cordelia that there was always going to be one constant between them. “Buffy’s waiting.”

3: The Library, Sunnydale High School, Southeast Sunnydale

Buffy made her feelings about Cordelia’s demand to return to the group very clear leading Giles to confess, “Buffy, I invited her to join us.”

“That’s what she said,” his young charge gasped in disbelief. “Giles, that’s just asking for trouble.”

A not-so-subtle nod toward Xander and Willow suggested that teenage angst might be a distraction. Then again, there was always drama of that sort when one’s Slayer and her friends were high school students.

“Did you not announce a moment ago that you agreed to allow Cordelia to rejoin the group?”

Reminding her that she was arguing against something that she had only just said brought a look of resignation to her face. “Uh, I suppose I did, although she kinda told me I didn’t have a choice.”

Fully understanding Buffy’s concerns about the other girl’s health, Giles had plans that should mesh with any need for further convalescence. “Cordelia could be quite useful in a research capacity.”

They would need more than a fresh set of eyes during the tasking days ahead, he knew. However, the announcement could wait until they were all gathered together. Buffy was regaling them with further details of their encounter when it occurred to him that Cordelia had not yet entered the library.

Glancing down at his watch, he confirmed that nearly ten minutes had passed by. “Buffy, I thought you said she was right behind you.”

Rising from her slouched position on a chair, Buffy considered the worst. After all, this was Cordelia Chase. She could attract trouble like a magnet. Still, there was a shred of hope in her voice, “Maybe she changed her mind.”

Willow sounded doubtful and offered up a more likely scenario. “Maybe she’s in trouble.”

“That’s Cor’s middle name,” quipped Xander worriedly.

Faith didn’t bother to suppress her scorn. “Real smart, B, I thought you knew saving the helpless was part of the job description here at Hellmouth Central.”

“Helpless? You obviously haven’t spent much time with Cordelia,” Buffy scowled at the thought that anyone with stubborn bitch credentials would be considered helpless. Still, Cor wasn’t exactly in top form despite her arguments, no matter that Buffy had given in to them.

Xander and Willow were also on their feet, following along as the Slayer charged to the rescue. They pulled up short when the library doors suddenly swung open to reveal both Cordelia and Angel causing the tension to rise exponentially. After Buffy informed them of their meeting, the group expected Cordelia, never considering the vampire would also appear.

Giles felt his throat tighten up at seeing Angel again. It did not matter that his soul had been returned to him. The vampire was a constant reminder that Angelus had killed Jenny.

Seeing them all on their feet and heading for the doors, Cordelia held up a hand to stop them. “Where are you going? We just got here.”

“Saving you,” Willow explained while shrinking a bit at the sharp look she received.

Considering that Willow was probably the last person she wanted saving her from anything, Cordelia’s voice edged on iciness. “I can take care of myself. Besides, I found Angel skulking around outside.”

“‘Trouble’ sounds pretty accurate,” Xander met Angel’s steady gaze for a second before scooting forward to usher Cordelia into the room. It was somewhat gratifying to Giles to note that he was not the only one experiencing a considerable measure of discomfort at the vampire’s presence.

Buffy looked pale, quite ghostly in fact. She’d suggested to him that Angel wouldn’t be around anymore, but had left him without further explanation. The thought had been rather satisfying at the time. He would prefer Angel to stay out of Buffy’s life no matter that his assistance had been valuable in the past. Their relationship was as unnatural as it was destructive.

Now it appeared that Angel had changed his mind about staying away. Immediately walking toward her, Angel cupped her elbow and led her into a far corner. Cordelia and Xander didn’t bother with privacy; they squared off in the center of the room, arguing about her return and whether it was any of his business.

“Are you sure you should be back so soon?” Xander’s question seemed reasonable to Giles, but if there was one thing he had learned from his observations, Cordelia was not likely to be dissuaded from a decision once she made it. “Buffy said you wanted to patrol. It’s too soon.”

“I’m fine.”

This was going to be a long night. Giles sighed deeply and reached up to loosen his tie. Across the room, Buffy and Angel remained in deep conversation, far quieter but no less intense. Faith simply propped her feet on the table and looked on it all with a bored expression while Willow resumed her seat, nibbling at her nails, eyes as big as saucers.

It was times like these that Giles wished he had taken up an interest in paleontology or geology instead of joining the Watcher’s Council. Fossilized bones and rocks never caused such a ruckus. Removing his glasses, he closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to suppress his growing irritation.

A loud whistle suddenly pierced the air.

Giles’ eyelids popped open in automatic response to note that Faith was the culprit. The mistress of chaos herself was trying to bring some order to this hullaballoo. Ironic.

Rising from her chair, she loudly clapped her hands together demanding attention. Giles noticed he was not the only one with his mouth hanging open. He clapped it shut when Faith announced, “Jeeves here has something to say.”

Replacing his glasses, Giles sent her a nod, his mouth a bit purse-lipped as he said, “Thank you, Faith. First order of business: welcome back Cordelia. We are pleased to see you have recovered.”

She met his gaze from across the room and though her arms were folded across her abdomen in a somewhat defensive manner, Giles caught the hint of a smile that graced her lips. Moving on before anyone could cut in with further protest about her decision to return, he reminded the group that they were there for a reason.

“The Watcher’s Council has sent word on a new prophecy.” Giles adjusted his glasses and began to explain the situation details. The others slowly filed back across the room.

Keeping a focus on the task at hand was the only thing that allowed Giles to tolerate Angel’s presence. Though he could not bring himself to offer the vampire the welcome he had given Cordelia, for Buffy’s sake, he was determined to maintain his decorum. He watched Angel take a seat on the stairs, quietly settling into the background.

Before he could make a start on the prophecy details and the goals of their research activities, he noticed Cordelia was left standing as Faith now occupied her usual seat next to Xander. Oh dear. The two were staring, no, glaring at each other now.

Giles hastened to fix the situation. “Move over a bit, Willow. Perhaps I can squeeze in another chair.”

Cordelia took one look at Willow’s gobsmacked expression, grabbed an arbitrary book from the table and walked in the direction of the stairs. “No big. I’ll just sit over here.”

Nudging Angel’s knee with her own, she prompted him to move over just enough to let her sit down. It was impossible to determine whether he was irritated or terrified by the intrusion of his space, but he shifted enough to let her sit down beside him.

Pointing at her throat, she warned him all too seriously, “Don’t get ideas. No snacking.”

4: Sunnydale High School, One Week Later

Mr. Whitaker’s creative lesson on the modern legal system did not stand a chance of holding Cordelia’s attention today. Using the fictional title character from ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ as the defendant, half of the class was to prosecute Jack for trespassing, theft, destruction of property and murder. The remaining students took the stance that Jack was an innocent victim of his poor station in life and were assigned the task of defending him.

As her head buzzed with thoughts that had nothing to do with school, the chalk on the blackboard simply blurred into a fuzzy abstract. She wondered what new excuse Buffy would come up with tonight.

Nearly a week had gone by since her return to Scoobiage. During that time, Cordelia agreed to go along with Mr. Giles’s suggestion about focusing on their need for research. No one actually questioned her right to be there anymore, not to her face anyway, but Giles expressed the group’s ‘mutual concerns’ about the fragile state of her health and readiness to resume patrols.

Basically, Cordelia was convinced that Buffy did not want her to tag along because it would make Willow uncomfortable. Fine. She was back because she needed to be, not only because she enjoyed seeing the guilt in their eyes every time Willow or Xander looked in her direction.

That was just a perk.

One she was frequently faced with considering that the two of them also stayed in the library to help Giles out on their research project while Angel and the two slayers went out on late night patrols. It made the first couple of nights a little awkward.

Certain lying, two-faced cheaters sat on one side of the table, and she stayed on the other. Giles kept popping out of his office to check on them as if expecting to find all three of them in some girly bitch slapping fight on the floor.

Not that the thought of it wasn’t enjoyable. She was just above displays like that. “Get those hangdog looks off your faces, people. It’s depressing.” When Xander and Willow grinned in hopeful response to her perky tone, she changed her mind. “Forget it. I liked the guilt better. Resume your wallowing.”

Research proceeded despite its rocky start. Cordelia quickly saw that Willow abandoned the books in favor of the computer set up at another table. The usually chatty redhead kept strangely silent as she focused on her task. Giles remained in his office pouring through original documents and copies of ancient texts unless he was checking on their progress.

Cordelia and Xander were left as research buddies. Neither managed to stay silent for more than a couple of minutes. The doofus managed to make her forget that she was supposed to be mad at him. Too bad it caused a stitch in her side when he made her laugh. That reminded her quickly enough.

Yet they managed to fall into a pattern where they could interact without bringing up the reasons for their breakup. The week went by slowly. Despite the fact that Giles seemed pleased that they were piecing together the puzzle that surrounded the prophecy, it was boring as hell. Cordelia was not used to being so idle.

Last night, it was still early in the evening when she decided it was time to revolt. With the whole gang there, she was back on the stairs with Angel. She had dropped another leather-bound volume onto the growing pile at her feet.

“I’ve had enough of these musty old books.”

“You’re quitting?” Buffy sounded almost eager about it.

“No,” Cordelia remembered correcting her. “Duh! I want patrol with you guys tomorrow night. You said it yourself that you need more eyes and ears out there watching for the first signs of the prophecy. I’m tired of sitting here collecting splinters.”

Even though she and Xander had struck up a cease-fire, Cordelia chose not to make a big deal out of reclaiming her usual spot at the table during the larger group meetings. Sitting next to Angel became automatic after the first couple of times. And when she frequently rushed in at the last minute, he simply moved over to make room for her.

He would tell her what she missed, but afterward their conversation tended to be one-sided ninety-nine percent of the time. Every now and then, he would help her out with some extended translation around one of the key words Giles had given them for their search.

Further attempts at conversation tended to result in the odd grunt, irritation, or a blank stare as if she had said something completely alien. She was starting to think that Angel had lived in a cave for the past couple of centuries. For someone who seemed to know so much he was clueless about… everything.

Standing up to rub a hand over the ache, she muttered to Angel, “I don’t know how you handle sitting here every night. Aren’t you stiff?”

A half-turn toward him came just in time to catch him staring at the slide of her fingers over her bottom. He shifted on the stairs, sounding out a soft gruff complaint, raising his eyes to hers. “Sometimes.”

One word and her imagination took off to places it had no business wandering. The hint of innuendo in those rich male tones was not real. Couldn’t be. This was Angel. Mr Stoic himself would not volunteer any details about his stiff sexy bits with her. Admittedly, though, she had reason to suspect that one particular man part was in no way itty bitty.

What was she doing thinking about Angel in that way? And had he just checked her out?

Holy hell.

Talk about letting your imagination run away with you. Her body clenched in reaction, a hot wave gathering force and leaving her tingling. With extreme effort, she tried to turn her curiosity off and her apparently dirty mind toward other subjects.

This was Angel. Mr. Most Likely to Turn Evil if He Gets Some. Not a contender on her list of suitable replacements for anyone else who might happen to be in the room.

The memory of Angelus tackling her to the ground that one night also brought to mind the sensation of his muscular body pressing into hers. Terrifying, yet hot. He had been going to kill her, but took a little too long to toy with his prey before the Slayer showed up to the rescue.

Getting turned on by a vampire who once planned to rip out your throat was all kinds of wrong, Cordelia counseled herself, even while trying to determine if Angel was only talking about leg cramps and back aches. Scrutinizing his calm expression, she decided he was really good at poker faces because she could not tell what he was thinking.

“Dead Boy’s already a stiff,” Xander called out from behind the four-inch thick tome of the Vampyr and putting a different spin on it. Either he completely missed out on the flash of tension between Angel and Cordelia, or he was ingeniously trying to diffuse it.

Just in case anyone had any inkling about the direction of her thoughts, Cordelia gave Angel’s shoulder a pat of mock comfort as she tried to find a way to play off Xander’s bad joke. “That’s right, undead guy. Stiffness just comes naturally for walking corpses.”

“Think so, Cor?” Faith, who was performing stretching exercises in the middle of the floor instead of doing research, paused to glance over her shoulder at Angel. A dimple hollowed both cheeks as she grinned conspiratorially, as she made it perfectly clear that she knew exactly which direction Cordelia’s thoughts had taken. “There’s one way to find out. Check it out for yourself since you seem to be the hands-on type.”

Someone harrumphed in disapproval trying to call their attention back to research, but Cordelia wasted no time telling Faith what she thought of that inflammatory suggestion.

It didn’t matter that her fingers itched to explore Angel’s long, hard frame and anything else long or hard that might happen to find its way into her curious grasp. That was just between her and her almost forgotten Angel fantasies.

Recognizing her meaning came far too quickly and Cordelia could not stop her colorful imagination from adding images of post-mortem rigidity to her previous list of vampire topics to avoid. It did not help that Buffy stood just over there with her face looking like a thundercloud. Cordelia had no real designs on Angel or his stiffness issues. Even if he was a gorgeous hunk of salty goodness, he was still a vampire.

Still, she did not want Faith’s words to give anyone ideas.

“Geez, Faith, you’re such a skank,” she snapped before reminding herself not to capsize the already rocky boat she had found herself in since her return. One slayer frenemy at a time was more than enough. “Does everything have to be about sex?”

Faith only laughed and totally let her get away with it. “Life is short, Cor. Getting laid might make you less uptight.”

“Eww!” and “Gross, Faith!” and “Bleh!” sounded out from the peanut gallery sitting at the table nearby along with a decidedly vexed sigh from Giles who lifted his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Beside her, Angel conspicuously cleared his throat, the rumble drawing her attention. A subtle ripple beneath her hand drew her gaze from the dark mischief glinting in his eyes, as if he was enjoying the idea, too. Then suddenly, Cordelia realized that her simple pat had evolved into a slow massage as her hand rubbed a circle over his soft black sweater smoothing across dense ridges of rock-hard muscle and bone.

Snatching her hand away, Cordelia took a rapid step back, tripping over several books piled up on the floor. A shriek burst to life and withered away just as fast when Angel leapt up from his seated position on the stairs to catch her mid fall. She held onto his arms grasping for purchase, but his big hands quickly set her to rights restoring her balance.

“What are you doing?” Self-preservation made her panic as her softer curves crushed into his hard angles. It felt good, safe, and terrifying all at the same time. God, he even smelled delicious. For a second, Cordelia closed her eyes and breathed him in. “I’m fine. Let go.”

Characteristically, Angel kept his opinions to himself, and merely released her. His eyes were on hers, hooded and dark, his lips tightening up as he resumed his position on the stairs. No comment? Fine. Cordelia really did not need to know what was going on in his head right now.

She stared back at him, angry with herself for feeling embarrassed, foolish, and most of all, frustrated. Angel was so out of bounds that he should not even register on her radar. Pushing all of it aside, she raised her chin a notch, and grunted, “Thanks for the rescue.”

Angel merely handed her a new book and nodded toward the open space beside him. If he had any idea at the oh-so-wrong direction of her thoughts, and thanks to Faith, she guessed that he did, it seemed like he was giving her a pass. Considering the frequent jostling of knees and elbows as they shared the step, Cordelia hoped this was just a sign of momentary insanity and not renewed attraction for yet another guy whose heart was already taken.

The rational part of her mind told Cordelia that Angel would never pounce on her, but it was too easy to picture those fangs flashing white in the darkness as they closed in on her neck. Hello, she liked her neck intact, thank you very much. Fortunately, from what she had seen over the past few days, Angel was not anywhere near being happy enough to lose his soul.

Buffy kept him at a distance and appeared to be just as miserable. If their misery made Cordelia feel safer she was all for sticking with the status quo. No one needed Angelus on the loose again.

When Cordelia took too long to sit beside him, Angel finally spoke up. “You could always squeeze in at the table.” There was just a trace of a challenge in his tone as if he wanted her gone, but also wondered if she had the guts to stay. “Giles could get you a chair. I’m sure it would be more comfortable.”

“No such luck, big guy,” Cordelia snorted while noting that he had actually strung three sentences together. Angel just preferred to be alone despite the fact that, like her, he could not seem to stay away from these Scooby sessions. If it was important enough for him to say something, it could not just be her comfort he was thinking about. Maybe he thought Buffy would not like it if she stayed. “There’s even less room over there. I’ll put up with bumping elbows with you for a while.”

Cordelia felt anxious to get back into the activity of patrolling again. Being cooped up in the library like some dusty old book was starting to get to her. Now that the prophecy date loomed closer, she planned to be more involved. Nobody here was better bait. Even if it was a lame job, at least it was hers.

5: The Cafeteria, Sunnydale High School, Southeast Sunnydale

“Don’t worry about Faith,” urged Buffy as she responded to Willow’s concerns over the other slayer’s predictably rowdy behavior. She pushed her tray down the line and grabbed a carton of milk from the ice-filled bin. “I’ll deal.”

Willow was not sure how. It seemed that Faith was out to cause trouble just for the fun of it. Poor Mr. Giles had his hands full trying to keep the new girl in line. Buffy and Faith were constantly at each other’s throats over everything, especially if it had to do with slaying.

Taking a chocolate milk of her own, Willow set it down on her tray as she followed behind Buffy in the line. “Speaking of dealing…I actually talked to Cordelia during our last class together.”

“How’d that go?”

“She didn’t bite my head off,” Willow’s smile showed her relief. That was progress as far as she was concerned. “I noticed that she was kinda lost in thought when Mr. Whitaker explained the lesson, so I brought her up to speed.”

“Ah, Jack’s trial,” Buffy nodded having already heard what to expect from another student. She had Mr. Whitaker’s government class during fifth period instead of second like Cordelia and Willow.

“Poor Jack. He got twenty to life,” Willow told her. “Nobody gives the good guys any credit.”

Buffy muttered sourly, “Tell me about it,” as she stared at the two main entrée choices. Pointing to option number one, she told the serving lady, “I’ll take the mystery meat.”

Opting for the cheese enchiladas, Willow added her request for the Spanish rice and some green veggies. After putting the plate down on her tray, she asked Buffy, “Does Cordelia seem different after her accident?”

“No. She’s just as loud-mouthed and pushy as ever.” Buffy added truthfully, “With all of the squabbling between her and Xander, you’d think they were still together. It’s hard to tell the difference sometimes.”

“It’s just kinda strange. Did you know that she quit the cheerleading squad?”

Buffy obviously had not, her eyes widening in surprise. “Really? That’s a shocker. Being head cheerleader kept Cor in control of all the pretty people. “Maybe she’s still hurting. I told her it was too soon to get back into the physical stuff.”

With a shrug, Willow had to admit that she did not know for sure, but revealed a rumor that suggested Cordelia might simply have other interests.

Slaying never gave her time to get any juicy gossip. “Like what?”

“You’ve noticed that she’s been late coming in to research,” Willow reminded. In fact, Cordelia seemed to show up ten to fifteen minutes late almost every night. They scheduled their meetings right after dinnertime and usually gathered for a couple hours of research before heading out on patrol.

“So?” Ten minutes without Cordelia was not exactly a hardship in Buffy’s line of thinking.

Willow glanced behind her to make sure there was not anyone listening. “I heard it from Brittany who got it from her brother Brandon who’s dating Meg. Y’see, Meg overheard Harmony telling Aura that Cordelia is dating some college guy at Sunnydale University and that’s why she decided to quit the team.”

The woman at the register returned Buffy her meal card after deducting the price of her lunch. Willow handed hers over, waited to get it back, and then picked up the cafeteria tray to follow Buffy toward their usual table.

“So what do you think?” she prompted Buffy who had not said a word about it.

“I think we should just ask Cordelia,” she answered, spotting her standing with her own lunch tray in hand. “She’s over there, talking to Oz.”

Willow’s eyes darted over to her boyfriend who was casually speaking to Cordelia, both of them with smiles on their faces. She felt her stomach churn nervously. It wasn’t that Willow really thought Cordelia would try to put a wedge between her and Oz, especially since she’d managed to do that all on her own. Maybe, just maybe, even if it was her own guilty conscience telling her so, Cordelia might deserve a little revenge.

“Thinking of having lunch with us today, Cor?” Willow asked rather chirpily, giving herself major kudos for making the offer. Even though Cordelia had resumed her place in the Scooby Gang for their research project, she had not bothered to join them at their table in the cafeteria.

“Why not,” Cordelia shrugged, setting her tray down next to Oz. “There’s no one interesting around at the moment, so I might as well sit with you.”

No sooner were they all seated than Buffy got straight to the point. Willow had to admire her friend for not beating around the bush. “We’ve heard rumors about your latest after-school activities.”

Cordelia stopped sipping from her Capri Sun, the blood rushing out of her face for a moment before she recovered. “What I do is none of your business.”

“C’mon, give a little,” Buffy prompted. “Xander isn’t here to hear about it, so it’s just us girls. Oh, and Oz, but he won’t say anything.”

“What’s Xander got to do with it?” Cordelia looked over her shoulders first one side and then the other glancing around the cafeteria as if she expected everyone to be listening in.

“Duh! You dumped him.” Next to Buffy, Willow squirmed in reaction to the words. Any reminders that the break-up was her fault suddenly made her lose her appetite. “Who’s the rebound guy? Do we know him? I hear he goes to Sunnydale-U.”

After gaping at Buffy, Cordelia quickly recovered and simply confirmed everything they had heard by saying, “I guess there’s no such thing as a secret around this place.”

“Aren’t there enough guys around here to pick from?” asked Willow curiously. It was not like there had ever been a shortage of jocks, geeks, or nerds eager to gain Cordelia’s attention.

Cordelia sipped at her drink again before answering, “There’s a huge difference when it comes to dating a man instead of a boy. Don’t you think so, Buffy? No offence, Oz.”

Being the only male at the table, Oz kept his opinions to himself, but Willow knew he was just as curious as they were to know more. She was not surprised when he decided to ask Cordelia for the pertinent details.

Occasionally playing gigs for some of the frat parties at the university, Oz knew quite a few of the students. He asked, “What’s his name?”

“Oh look, there’s Harmony.” Cordelia suddenly pushed back her chair, picked up her tray and left without a backward glance. “Gotta run. See you tonight.”

Willow mulled over Cordelia’s disappearing act. It was not like her to back off a simple question, especially when she would normally be rubbing it in their faces. “I think she’s hiding something. Maybe he’s someone famous and she’s protecting his identity.”

A glance at Oz revealed that he had gone back to eating his lunch having already lost interest in the subject. Buffy dug into her own lunch with gusto as if their simple confrontation with Cordelia had worked up an appetite.

Swallowing down her third bite of mystery meat, Buffy paused to say, “Cordelia can date anyone she wants as long as it’s not anyone I know. Boy slayer or not, she really hurt Xander when she kicked him out of the hospital.”

6: Main Hallway, Sunnydale High School

Cordelia heard Buffy call her name just as she was shutting her locker. “I don’t have time to talk.”

“Your new boyfriend can wait a few,” Buffy instinctively positioned herself with her back to the exit as if guessing Cordelia would try to make a break for it.

“Say what you have to say,” Cordelia huffed at the delay as she glanced down at her watch. She would have to haul butt to get there on time even without interruption.

There was no avoiding whatever lecture was coming her way.

“Look, I’m telling you this as a friend,” her words immediately alerted Cordelia’s inner defenses to call for reinforcements. “You’re not giving yourself enough time. Not with wanting to patrol and not with jumping into another relationship.”

“Was Scott just a distraction for you? I seem to recall that you dropped him fast enough once Angel turned up again.”

Buffy felt the impact of those words just as if Cordelia had thrust a stake into her chest. She opened her mouth as if to deny it, but had no time to respond.

“Drooling over Angel is not good for your health,” Cordelia commented. “Think of the tragedy. If I end up with a zit because of the stress, it is so your fault.”

“Say what?” Buffy practically squeaked in reaction. “And that’s a tragedy?”

“I want to look good at my funeral,” Cordelia explained matter-of-factly. “That’s what’ll happen if Angelus shows up again, and I don’t want people seeing a gigantic zit on my chin as they stare into my coffin.”

Looking all scowly-faced, Buffy finally blurted, “Whatever.”

“Just promise not to bone your boyfriend so I can relax a little. Sheesh! Neither one of you knows when to quit.”

After a scary moment when Buffy looked like she might launch an all-out attack, a soft admission sounded, “I did quit.”

“Wha—huh? You quit Angel? I definitely missed that memo,” Cordelia quipped hardly believing it was true. Not for a second. Hell freezing over had more of a chance.

“Angel was supposed to back off,” Buffy revealed her frustration over the fact that he had not exactly followed along with her plan. “You’re right. We can’t keep seeing each other. It’s too dangerous.”

“Duh!”

Unshed tears sparkled in Buffy’s eyes and Cordelia honestly tried to feel sorry for her, but she could not seem to manage it. Though it did shed a little light on why those two had not been quite as demonstrative as they used to be.

“I don’t trust myself when I’m around him.”

“Who am I, Confession Girl?” Cordelia really did not want to hear this. “Tell Angel. He’s your problem, not mine.”

“Yeah.”

Cordelia had enough problems of her own without worrying about Buffy’s failed romance with Angel. Stepping around her while she was distracted, she paused only long enough to point out, “You need him around with this prophecy thing going on. Just find a way to deal.”

7:     Revello Drive, Central Sunnydale

Resurrecting an old habit, Angel followed along from the shadows as Buffy made her way down from her house in the direction of the high school. She walked at a brisk pace aware of everything around her except him. That was easy enough to change. That is, if he had a clue what to say to her.

The opportunity to speak to Buffy without the ever-present entourage of Scoobies was a rarity. Each day seemed to widen the gap between them. Angel now cursed himself for a fool, grinding up the bitter pill of guilt and longing that seemed to be eternally lodged in his throat. Still, he followed.

Only the times when he caught her staring gave him any hope of reconciliation. It was impossible to turn back the clock and start over again. No words could ever make up for Angelus’ actions. Even if they could, he did not know how to ask for forgiveness and was certain that he did not deserve it.

No profound solution presented itself before Buffy rounded the last corner leading up to the school. Angel caught sight of Willow’s red hair shining under the street light ahead just before Buffy called out her name, waved, and ran to catch up. The boy was there, too. Even now, Xander and Willow remained joined at the hip.

Too much history had passed between them to let their indiscretion ruin their friendship. Angel figured there might be a lesson in that if he sat down to think about it for a while. Plenty of time for contemplation back at the mansion where it was dark and quiet, and without distractions, he figured.

Faith was lounging on the top step, energetically bounding up from her seat when the others appeared. They all moved indoors with Angel trailing behind unseen at a short distance. When he opened the library doors, he saw Rupert Giles unlocking the weapon’s cabinet in preparation for tonight’s patrol.

The hinge on the library door squeaked as it swung shut, instantly alerting the slayers to his presence. Angel had eyes only for Buffy. She stared back like a doe trapped by a predator. He crossed the room without a word, tilted her chin and bent down to press his lips to hers.

He tried not to look smug at her reaction caught somewhere between stirring passion and anger. Sometimes words just got in the way of making your point.

Sputtering for control as Angel casually strolled over, leaning against the balustrade, Buffy recovered enough to say, “Good, everyone’s here.”

Angel’s attention turned to the empty steps at his side; his gaze flicking around the room just to confirm the fact that one member of their team was still missing. Though chronically late, Cordelia always managed to show up. It sounded like Buffy was already counting her out.

“What about Cordelia?” A twinge irritation on her behalf was a curious surprise.

“Not my problem,” Buffy turned away to rummage through a duffel bag full of supplies. “If she really wanted to patrol with us, she would be here instead of breaking in a new boyfriend.”

Looking gut-punched by the news, Xander muttered, “A new what?”

Buffy gasped in horror at having blurted it out like that. “God, I’m sorry, Xan. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Doesn’t matter,” he muttered, but his eyes told a different story. Even Angel felt a little sorry for the kid.

Just then, Cordelia breezed through the door dressed in a slinky top, very short skirt and heeled sandals, her long hair wind-blown and curling around her face. “What a craptastic day! But I’m here now. Ooh, pointy weapons. Which one is mine?”

Buffy could not believe it. Exactly what was it about Cordelia that shifted the world axis to revolve around her? Xander’s heart was crumbling into little pieces and she had the nerve to waltz in, late as usual, looking like she had come straight from a date with her mystery man.

Grabbing the nearest stake, Buffy shoved it into her hand. “Take this.”

Trying to get them focused on the mission at hand, Giles stepped forward to discuss options for patrol. “As you all are aware, we are not dealing with a simple warning of mal intent. The scroll found by the Watchers Council is but one piece of a much more intricate prophecy.”

Quieting down they turned their attention his way eyes following as he circled the room. “Its origins are so old that some of what is written into the scroll appears as familiar as folktales. Other parts translate as an ancient riddle.”

“Two demons walk into a bar…,” quipped Xander nudging Willow with an elbow. He knew from their recent research that this situation was not to be taken lightly, but he could not resist the chance to ease the tension tightening his shoulders. He zipped his mouth upon receiving the watcher’s disapproving stare and tossed the proverbial key over his shoulder.

Taking up a cross bow and a small quiver of bolts, Giles swung them onto his shoulder. “We are to expect several precursor events. Natural phenomena. Human sacrifice. Signs intended to harbinger the last days of freedom on Earth.”

“A new Big Bad is coming to town,” nodded Buffy matter-of-factly as she shifted focus to the task at hand. “Here we go again.”

Giles pursed his lips for a moment as he realized the situation was worse that any Buffy had faced thus far. “Buffy, to use your words, the demon threatening our world is one those other ‘Big Bads’ worship as a god. If we fail to note or intercept the signs laid out in the prophecy, it will be impossible to determine the exact time and location of the final event. We must prevent it at all costs.”

“We’re up against a god and all I get is this crummy stake?” Cordelia complained with a loud, “Pfft!” and moved over to look at the other options.

Unfortunately, considering her role as Bait Girl, it was hard to hide anything other than a stake on her person. She reached for a small dagger with a bronze sheath and considered having to use it. Vampires conveniently turned into clouds of dust when you killed them, but other things had the nasty habit of bleeding.

She was about to put it down when Angel reached in to pull it out of her hand. He stood just behind her, leaning close enough that his cheek brushed her hair as he took the dagger away. “Stick with what you know.”

“Hey, grabby hands, that was mine.” Cordelia’s irritated gaze trailed after him as he stepped back over to his spot in Buffy’s shadow only to connect with the slayer herself.

Buffy really did not want to have to put up with Cordelia tonight. Or any night, for that matter, but for some strange reason she was determined to be here. Pushy ex-cheerleaders had no business taking part in nightly patrol if it was not taken seriously. She idly wondered what it would take to convince her not to bother.

“We have only the clues in the prophecy to guide us,” Giles cut in on Buffy’s thoughts. “Each sign is unique. Some will be nothing more than a visual key, others substantive. Starting tonight over the next few weeks, during the hours immediately before and after the transition of the moon, we must be vigilant in our observations.”

Willow gulped, “Sounds like sleep is a no-go anytime soon.”

Xander squeezed her shoulder, “It’ll be okay, Will. We can nap during first period. Mrs. Tolliver usually nods off in the middle of her lecture anyway.”

“Easy for you to say,” Cordelia huffed, trying to ignore the friendly hug, “I’ve got Eagle-eyed Everson in my drama class. It’s all about focus, concentration and emoting”

“So tell her you were emoting with your eyes closed,” Xander shrugged.

“This may be difficult,” Giles agreed, “but it is necessary to cover as much ground as possible. We cannot afford to miss any of the signs. They may provide further clues.”

Buffy understood what he was getting at. “Teams?”

“Teams,” he confirmed with a nod.

“I’ll take GQ,” Faith volunteered all too quickly, her cheeks dimpling in amusement as she grabbed another opportunity to vex Buffy about her questionably ex-boyfriend, “if you really don’t want him anymore, B.”

Only the fact that Angel made no visible reaction kept Buffy from blowing her top. Just how Faith had gotten wind of her decision to break up with Angel took only a short leap of the imagination. Cordelia. Those two were hardly friendly, and rarely spoke a word to each other, yet somehow Cor managed to pass on the news.

While Xander was busily making a wisecrack, Willow sent Buffy a look of hurt and confusion when she realized that Buffy had kept something so important from her. Sucking in a deep breath, Buffy promised details, “Later.”

Giles did not bother trying to figure out what they were talking about. He was still trying to make his point. “Actually, Faith, I’d actually like you to accompany me. We can work on some of those drills we discussed.”

“Whatever you say, boss,” Faith grabbed her jeans jacket from the banister and put it on. “I’m ready to kick some ass whenever you are.”

“Er, yes, but I think the ass kicking will come a bit later,” he pursed his lips with a wry smile. “Cordelia and Xander can also join our group.”

That left Angel and Willow, Buffy realized. That meant that Willow would be the only one there to distract her from Angel. It would also be impossible to talk to her best friend about breaking up with him if he was right there.

“We should try something a little different,” Buffy tried to sound casual about it. “After all, you said we should cover more ground. Why not split into three teams instead of two.”

Giles did not take long to agree. “We have three strong fighters here. One per group. Excellent idea, Buffy.”

She beamed a wide grin at her success. It faded a little when she caught the nearly imperceptible change in Angel’s expression, but she was resolved to avoid any situation that threw them together. It was the only way to avoid temptation.

Besides, if she was right about this, Cordelia would whirl herself into a tizzy and quit before the night was over. “Angel and Cordelia can team up. I’ll take Willow and Xander.”

“What?” Clearly thinking about her encounter with Angelus, she gasped in horror. “Me and him? He’s safe enough here in the library, but the two of us out there… in the dark?”

A glance at Angel suggested he was not too thrilled with the idea himself, but he said nothing. Buffy could tell that he was less mad at Cordelia’s comment than he was at her for suggesting they split up their patrol in the first place.

“Better than Angel and Xander,” shrugged Buffy, drawing immediate scowls from both of them. “See what I mean? Unless you really want to be teamed up with me.”

“Oh.” Cordelia obviously had not thought about that one.

Angel suddenly grasped Buffy’s elbow leading her toward a far corner of the library where the others could not easily overhear.

Demanding softly, “What is this?” he dropped his hold after whirling her to face him.

Buffy stared at the floor, the ceiling, her fingernails, gaze darting from place to place in order to avoid his eyes. They read her too easily, so she admitted the truth, or at least part of it. “I don’t want to patrol with Cordelia.”

“You’re the only one who suggested it,” he pointed out.

“That’s what’ll happen if you don’t agree to team up with her,” she said. “I don’t think Cor and Xander should patrol together right now. It’s just asking for trouble.”

“Then let her go with Giles and Faith. I’ll be more effective on my own.”

Well, that would not get the job done, Buffy realized, as a plan started forming. Faith and Cordelia might not be buddies, but they obviously got along enough to share a secret—hers. Cor might say anything if she really had the time to gossip.

Shaking her head, “Not a good idea,” she explained. “Giles has a hard enough time controlling Faith without the added pressure of Cordelia tagging along.”

“I know that Cordelia has her moments, but is she really so difficult?” Angel asked. He obviously had not had enough firsthand experience to understand what the real Cordelia Chase was like. “Surely a slayer should be able to able to handle her.”

“Think it’s so easy?”

Angel glanced back at Cordelia who stood cross-armed, tapping her toe, waiting for them to make a decision. “Easy enough.”

“Huh. You haven’t got a clue. All you’ve seen is Cordelia-Lite, the version that used to fawn over you.” Buffy suddenly realized that her words were hardly convincing him to take her along. “Look, Angel, the truth is that I don’t think she can handle it. Not to mention the fact that she is not really one of us. She should never have come back after dumping Xander.”

Angel rubbed a hand across his face as understanding hit. “You knew Cordelia would have a problem patrolling with me. You’re setting her up to quit.”

“So what if I am?” Not denying it, she shrugged one shoulder. “It’s for her own good.”

“What if you’re underestimating her?”

Buffy pressed her lips together, trying not to look smug. “No, I don’t think so.”

If things worked out, Cordelia would call it quits. If it didn’t, the match would keep Angel from shadowing her every move. It hurt to be apart, but every time they were in the same room, Buffy wanted to do wild things with that gorgeous body.

That could not happen. It wasn’t fair.

“You’re certain this is what you want?” Angel offered her one more out only to get a brief nod before she walked back to the main group.

Yes, teaming them together was ingenious, Buffy decided, giving herself kudos for the plan. Cordelia would learn to stick with her own crowd. As for Angel, there was a lesson in it for him, too. She laughed inside at the thought of those two on patrol together. If he thought he had a handle on Cordelia Chase, he was in for a surprise.

The idea of letting him suffer just a little bit actually brightened her mood. Buffy barely registered the thought, but it was there.

“You’re with me,” Angel said as he approached Cordelia. He reached out to lead her back toward the area where he had left his jacket.

Cordelia jerked her elbow out of his grasp. “Hey. I don’t need guide dog.”

Dropping his hand to his side, Angel slowly curled his fingers inward until his nails pressed sharply against his palm. Opening up, his fingers flared out again to gesture toward the stairs. “Ladies first.”

She quirked an eyebrow upward and then grinned. “That’s better.”

“Do you want to go home and change clothes before we get started?” Angel eyed the unsuitably breezy top and the expanse of those long legs showing beneath her skirt. Similar to her usual style, it was more suited to the library steps than patrol.

Glancing down, Cordelia saw nothing wrong. “I’m ready.”

“You don’t exactly blend in with the shadows.”

“Bait’s not supposed to blend.”

Angel had heard Cordelia talk about her role as Bait Girl, but it never occurred to him that she would actually want to do such a thing. “You aren’t bait when you’re with me.”

“Pfft! I’m not with you. We’re a team. Don’t expect me to do nothing,” Cordelia argued back. “I didn’t sign up for this just to play cheerleader on the sidelines.”

He moved closer reacting automatically to her obstinate stance. Angel’s smooth voice lowered to a low growl. “We have a job to do.”

“Fine.” Cordelia tucked her hair behind her ear exposing the line of her throat to Angel’s view.

In an instant, his demonic instincts flared to life. His eyes darted to the pulse there, fury stirring in his veins, and for a flicker of a moment it was all he could do to tamp down on the urge to grab her by the neck and bury his fangs in that buttery soft flesh.

The thought came and went so fast that he barely had time to acknowledge it was there. Angel was not sure how she had managed to get a rise out of him so quickly.

He was doing this for Buffy’s sake even if a part of him knew that she arranged it to keep them apart. That was a mistake. Patience was a game he knew very well. He could handle anything Buffy threw his way, including Cordelia Chase.

8: South America, Somewhere East of Brasilia

The stench of stale beer, old blood and demons awakened Spike from pleasant dreams of violently putting the Slayer in her proper place. Bright moonlight beamed into his bloodshot eyes as his lids cracked open. Squinting, he raised an arm to block it out instantly bashing his head with the forgotten beer bottle clutched in his hand.

“What the—,” a curse followed as it hit his aching head, splashing warm Skol across his black t-shirt. Growling in confusion Spike lay sprawled across a hard surface, thoughts wading through the dullness that seemed to fill his head. “Where the deuce am I?”

Getting up seemed like a good way to find out. He willed his reluctant body to move. A slow roll onto his side took him an inch too far.

Spike took a nasty drop off the Desoto’s hood crashing down to the ground with a thud. The bottle shattered, cutting his hand, blood mixing with the warm liquid as it soaked into the dirt.

“Bloody hell.”

When he opened his eyes, the lace-trimmed edge of Drusilla’s gown billowed softly in front of him. Spike scrambled to his feet, completely uncoordinated, but sobering a bit when he managed to recall why he’d set himself up to get drunk.

She had left him.

Drusilla had actually abandoned him and run off with a Chaos demon. It had not been that hard to find them considering this little watering hole was the only legitimate demon hangout east of Brasilia.

Spotting them at the park next to the cantina, Spike decided to plan his revenge over a few dozen beers. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but now the dull ache was evolving into a thundering jackhammer. He plastered a smile on his face, and hid his bleeding hand behind his back.

“Hello, luv,” Spike leaned forward and then leaned back, wavering in his attempt to hold onto his balance. “Come to kiss and make up now, have we? Gonna tell me you were daft for running off with that sticky-faced idiot?”

Dru looked skyward staring at the moon, an eager smile spreading across her blood red lips. Clasping Spike’s jaw in her slender hand, she held him steady. A dark light shone in her eyes. She spoke with a surety Spike had grown to trust over the years and the false warmth provided by the alcohol faded suddenly as her words chilled him to the bone.

“Daddy’s home.”

He jerked within her grasp. Angelus was supposed to be dust. “World’s still here,” he drunkenly swept his uninjured hand in a wide arc. “Slayer got him. Your Daddy dearest is dust now. Just dust in the wind.”

Clucking her tongue, Drusilla corrected knowingly, “My Angel went to hell. He went and came back again.”

Searching inside himself for some sense that she was right proved nothing. The House of Aurelius and its bloodline were broken now, and the only one he could sense was Drusilla. His muddled senses barely even allowed him that faint twinge acknowledging that a link exited between them.

“He is weak, but grows stronger.”

Whether she truly sensed him or the preternatural visions had granted her a glimpse of her sire, Spike knew that Dru would not give up the idea. The visions always held a measure of truth, even if they often came mixed up in madness.

Spike did not want to believe it. He was perfectly happy with a world that did not include Angelus.

Shaking his head only caused him to growl at the wave of nausea that hit. His alcohol-soaked brain provided a more reasonable conclusion. “Maybe the world did end. This is hell. That’s why you left me.”

Dru pouted looking forlorn for an instant and then her dark eyes glittered coldly. “Not so. You left me first.”

He was about to protest that he’d done no bloody such thing when Dru grazed her fingertips across his forehead, “Here in your thoughts,” she spoke softly, “and here,” flattening her palm over his unbeating heart.

Even drunk, Spike knew precisely what she meant. Dru’s touch was cold, but her words burned. “It’s the Slayer who fills your thoughts and stirs your lust. I have to get my pleasures somewhere.”

Glancing behind her at the broad-shouldered Chaos demon, Spike did not see how she could compare that thing to him. He was in no shape to fight or to defend his confused interest in the Slayer. “So you came over here to jab the stake a little deeper. If you’re planning on introducing me to lover boy, you can save it.”

The Chaos demon actually had the nerve to step closer, a sappy smile on an even sappier face, antlers dripping with treacle. Spike wobbled into an aggressive stance and glared at the beast. He planned to impale the Dru-stealing demon on its own antlers just as soon as he could figure out which one of the swimming faces was real.

In the meantime, he had to complain, “These days a bloke can’t even fantasize about a girl without her poofy ex coming back from the dead and getting in the middle of it.”

The rant was wasted on Drusilla, who was dancing around him, her skirt twirling. Her suitor appeared alarmed by Spike’s sudden show of fangs rushing to explain that he had no idea Dru already had a boyfriend. Spike had a few choice words to say about that.

“I wasn’t talkin’ ‘bout me,” Spike growled his clarification to the horned demon. “I was talkin’ ‘bout Angelus and his bleedin’ heart soul.”

Spinning to a stop, Dru lifted Spike’s injured hand, running her tongue along the bloody trail across his palm. “Take me to him.”

The rush of pleasure at her touch gave him pause, but Spike pulled his hand away. “It’s not my bloody business. Gonna forget Sunnyhell and everyone in it. Plan to stay here and stay drunk until you realize that you’re mine— mine.”

Enfolding him in her arms, Drusilla held his head against her chest, running her fingers through his soft blond hair and cooing his name. “Do you want me to be happy again, my Spike?”

“Yes,” he sniveled drunkenly into her shoulder.

“Then we must find Daddy before he is lost to us forever,” Dru explained gently as if talking to a small child. “One will guide him, but I must point the way.”

Raising his head, Spike wiped at his face with his sleeve. “The Slayer? The only place she’ll be guiding Angelus is back to hell. Unless he got himself trussed up with another soul and then she’ll just shag it back out again.”

“Another,” Dru told him and went right on talking. “I will tell her how to please him.”

“Slayer already knows that little secret.” That brought another scowl to his face. Thinking about Angel and Buffy made him want to drink or hurl, possibly both.

A little trill of laughter sounded as Dru corrected him. “Not the pesky Slayer, you naughty boy.” She tweaked his nose, which drew a chuckle from the Chaos demon still watching them. “The one like me.”

It was impossible to think clearly. Spike had no idea what she was talking about. “There’s no one like you my goddess of the night, my pet, my black beauty, my ripe wicked pl—”

Interrupting, Dru sounded a deadly promise, “Blood will spill. Death shall bind us.”

Spike tried to concentrate. His head was clearing a bit. It sounded like somebody other than the Slayer was warming Angel’s bed. That cheered him considerably even though he did not want to think about why. “The chit dies?”

Holding his hand, Drusilla dug her fingertip into the slashed skin that was already half healed. It bled. She swirled the red blood over his pale flesh, staring into it, her dark eyes focused far away, looking inward. Repeating her words, “Blood will spill and the darkness will come for her.”

“Don’t think I care,” Spike shrugged and then lifted Dru’s bloodied finger to his mouth to lick it clean. “Last time Angelus got properly shagged he went off his bloody rocker.”

Drusilla pressed her finger across his lips to shush him. “We want our Angel happy, don’t we, my Spike?”

Depended on just how happy she meant. His lips pursed under the gentle pressure of her finger, and though his eyes shone with defiance, he realized this was one of those arguments Drusilla had already won.

“Let us leave this place,” Drusilla’s tone turned soft and pleading. “Come with me. I need you.”

Like he always did when he was with her, Spike felt like he would stand in blazing sunshine if she asked for it. Quite sure of it, he nodded, “Anything for you.”

Behind them, the Chaos demon looked a bit forlorn, “Drusilla?” instantly bringing a smug smile to Spike’s face.

He added, “As long as your friend isn’t planning to tag along. There’s no room in the Desoto for those antlers.”

The Chaos demon blew Drusilla a parting kiss that she caught and held to her heart. Waving her slender fingers at him in return, she called out a goodbye. Spike groaned disgustedly. Ushering her into the passenger seat, he rounded the car, hopped in and turned on the ignition.

“Let’s go then.” Screeching tires and a billowing cloud of dust followed in their wake.

9: The Library, Sunnydale High School, Southeast Sunnydale

Buffy had sent Angel to hell again. Being teamed up with Cordelia Chase was only going to hinder the whole mission. This was not a treasure hunt. There would be a fight to the finish against unknown odds in order to follow the signs of this prophecy. Babysitting a talkative cheerleader was not his first priority.

Being manipulated by Buffy grated Angel’s nerves. Anger welled up like a rising force he had to consciously temper. Patrol was their time together even on the occasions when the others were tagging along. Now she had made a conscious decision to end that by separating the group into teams.

“Is everyone settled on his or her assignments?” Giles’ voice filtered through Angel’s thoughts registering despite his distraction.

If this worked out as Buffy hoped, then Cordelia would quit after the first patrol. By rights, he should make it tough on the girl and force her to change her mind about staying with the Scooby Gang. He would have her out of his hair and win some points with Buffy.

Those bright eyes darted toward him before turning back to her watcher. “Yup, all settled. We’ve got twelve cemeteries to cover tonight. I’ll handle the east side of town with Willow & Xander.”

“We’ve got the west side,” volunteered Faith before Giles could choose.

That left the central part of town and its four cemeteries assigned to him. Those were the closest to the mansion and very familiar ground to Angel, which would make the search easier.

Cordelia had other opinions. She puffed out her cheeks like a blowfish, rolling her eyes as she huffed, “Ugh, it figures I’d get Old Sunnydale Cemetery. It smells and it’s really creepy.”

The hard glare she sent his way made it seem like she expected him to fix that. Cordelia had not stopped staring at him since they had both agreed to Buffy’s plan. There was no hint of the soft, sensual glances she used to send his way before she learned he was a vampire. None of the sweet appealing charm that had been so distracting back then. The truth was that he never knew how to handle that or her fast-talking, nonsensical chatter.

The language of death was something he understood and he had that in common with Buffy. It did not require talking.

Despite his anger, Angel went along with Buffy’s plan. There was a need to take care of the threat and the suggestion to split into groups actually had some merit. That did not make him like it any better. He would deal with it and Cordelia.

She was the real victim here. Recognizing that was the only thing that made him decide to let her quit of her own accord. He would not make it worse on her just to send her packing. If Cordelia chose to stay, so be it. She would just have to learn to keep up.

“The prophecy contains the clues we need to identify this powerful demon before he reaches our dimension,” Giles’ visible reaction to Cordelia’s comment faded as he gave them all last-minute advice. “Your research has provided us with the key to interpreting each clue.”

Xander quipped, “Now we get to find out if the indigestion was worth it,” referring to their late-night pizza sessions.

“What are we looking for?” Faith wanted to know. She had missed half of the group meetings for reasons she chose not to share. Now that the action was about to begin, she was back on board.

Angel watched Giles struggle for an answer. Truthfully, the prophecy was not very clear, or even complete. There was some doubt that they had been able to identify all of the Signs of the Prophecy leading up to its main event. Tonight, however, was an exception. The eruption of two volcanoes on opposite sides of the world was clearly mentioned in the scroll, a precursor to something far closer to home.

“A discovery will be made,” the watcher suggested this would be less of a sign and more of a physical object. “A bone relic amongst the stones of the dead.”

“Vague much?” Cordelia spoke as she strolled across the room to stand beside him. He just was not sure if she was asking or just being sarcastic. “What are we supposed to do… knock on every crypt to ask if anybody’s into home decorating?”

He was guessing sarcastic. Answering, “That’s a start,” Angel met her gaze long enough to realize he was staring.

“Just look for anything unusual,” Giles told them. “We know for a fact that tonight is the night. The objects described within the prophecy are likely to be vital to its fulfillment. Should you locate the relic let no one interfere in obtaining it.”

Buffy stood cross-armed next to her watcher visibly mulling over his advice. “So you’re thinking there might be trouble. Demon minions? Bad guys looking for the same signs.”

“Quite certain. The followers of this demon god will be watching for the same signs we have discovered,” Giles readily cautioned. “It was written that an awakening will occur to spread the news of its coming. Once the first sign is noted, the prophecy texts provide a countdown to the final days.”

“Creepy,” Willow shuddered.

“Yeah,” the soft voice next to him was probably not heard by anyone else. Angel glanced down at Cordelia who was staring down at the stake in her hand.

“Stick close,” Angel advised only to see a flash of anger and defiance in her eyes as her head snapped up.

Cordelia opened her mouth in preparation to respond only to be cut off by Giles giving them one last instruction. “Please gather back here at the library sometime between two and three o’clock to compare notes.”

It wasn’t until Faith called to Cordelia that he realized he escaped a barbed tongue-lashing. Having witnessed the rapid-fire response Cordelia could dish out during some of her tiffs with Xander, Angel knew it would be hard to avoid.

Watching her move across the floor, following the natural sway of her body as his eyes lingered the line of her back, the curve of her hips and the subtle flexing of her toned calves, he caught himself thinking patrol would be a lot more pleasant if his partner was gagged for the duration of the night.

“Enjoying the view?” Xander’s voice jerked him out of his thoughts, a hint of territoriality laced in the words.

Failure to notice the boy sneaking up on him suggested that Cordelia was going to prove to be a distraction on patrol, too, obviously a bad sign from the start. Angel glared back without bothering to dignify his question with a verbal response. Xander Harris had eyes enough to see that he had been looking at Cordelia. Clearly, any man would like what he saw, but Angel was not just a man.

The insignificant threat Xander posed still managed to irk Angel into glowering at him in a way that would cause most humans to shrink into a shaking mass of flesh and bone. The kid surprised him by standing his ground, but he watched the hard shell weakening as Xander’s dark eyes revealed a sense of pain and loss, something with which Angel was all too familiar.

“Watch out for her,” Xander pleaded with him. “Cordelia really doesn’t know what she’s getting into. We tag-teamed to handle a vamp or two when Buffy was out of town, but this is different.”

Pissed off at the idea, Angel scowled as he concluded. “So you want her out, too.” The subtle growl rumbled in his chest.

“Out?”

The confused look Xander produced told Angel that he knew nothing of Buffy’s plans for ousting Cordelia from the ranks of the Scooby Gang. It was all genuine concern with a measure of guilt on the side.

“N-no,” Xander stuttered. “I just want her safe. She got into this because of me. I don’t know why she’s back.”

Revenge was high on Angel’s list of theories. Show the young fool what he was missing out on. Cordelia was not about to let wounded pride get in the way of what she wanted, whatever that was. Angel could only guess at her motives, but he had to admire the fact that she walked back in with her head held high.

Strange as the feeling was to him, Angel also had to give Xander some credit for facing him now. There wasn’t exactly any trust built up between them. While Xander accepted Buffy’s decision to place his ex-girlfriend with him for the duration of this mission, he stepped forward to ask him to watch over her.

“Y’know, it’s not that Cordelia looks for trouble,” Xander shrugged his confusion as he rambled on. “It’s just that trouble seems to find her.”

“Relax, Harris. She’s my responsibility now,” Angel assured him gruffly and then left him standing there.

Buffy tugged at his coat sleeve, stopping him on his way to the spot Cordelia and Faith had chosen for their little talk. He saw their eyes lingering on him and tried to catch the gist of their conversation. He heard no more than a whispered word or two before the distraction of Buffy’s voice drowned them out.

“Did Xander give you a little pep talk?”

“You could call it that.”

“Um, great.” Buffy seemed to want to say more, but started to hedge away from him. Settling for a peppy smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, she said, “Guess we oughtta get started.”

Angel stopped her. “Not so fast. I know you’re avoiding me. Don’t think I didn’t notice.”

“Oh.”

“We need to talk, Buffy.” He saw a hint of fear before her gaze darted over to Giles. The watcher was already on his way out the door, holding it open for Faith who pointed at Cordelia as if reminding her of something from their conversation. When Angel’s attention turned back to Buffy, her eyes glistened brightly with unshed tears as if his request to speak to her privately was too much to take. “I just want to spend some time with you.”

She caught her lip between her teeth, nibbling on it before blurting, “I can’t. We can’t. I’m not ready for that. That’s why I asked you to stay away,” her furious whisper crushed any guilt he might have felt for pushing her too fast.

“Maybe I should leave,” Angel dropped his hold on her arm, stepping back to await her reaction.

Buffy gaped at his words, almost hopefully. She looked almost eager to get rid of him. He realized that was precisely what she was thinking.

“We need to get going, Buffster,” Xander interrupted as he slung his arm around her shoulder. “The clock’s ticking.”

Angel let her go. She huddled with Xander and Willow at the counter reviewing the status of their weapons and snacks. He had never known Buffy to be afraid of anything, except him, apparently. Maybe not him, he corrected, them.

10:     Jefferson Avenue Heading North Toward Thousand Oaks Drive

The last thing Cordelia needed was Faith’s advice on handling vampires. Though tongue-in-cheek, Faith’s comments on ‘handling’ Angel did not make her feel any better about patrolling with him. There was obviously some tiny spark inside her that still smoldered each time they were in the same room. Insane, but it was true nonetheless, even after the whole Angelus thing.

Going on patrol with Angel was risky business that had nothing to do with her naturally healthy fear of neck-chomping vampires. Nothing in his behavior suggested she would not be able to trust him to keep her safe out there. Or that he would ever intentionally place her in harm’s way. Her fear had more to do with already trusting him more than she should.

Cordelia had no intention of letting the embers of an old crush flame up again. Close quarters on the library steps during research sessions had caused countless accidental touches. It was not like she planned it, but Angel always responded with that stone-faced expression glowering at her until she moved her hand from his arm, shoulder, or thigh.

Maybe he did not trust her, either. This assignment was bogus and she knew it, but she was not about to let Buffy win by refusing it. “Let’s do it, big guy. I hope you can keep up.”

Without waiting for a response, she darted out the door leaving Angel standing in the middle of the library with a scowl on his face. Giggling at his expression would ruin her exit, so Cordelia held it in as she jogged down the hall despite her heels. Reaching the main exit, she pushed open the door and waited for him to follow. He was taking his time about it, she noted as she leaned up against the bricks of the school building.

A twinge of pain caused her to lift a hand to her side, a gasp catching her breath just as Angel emerged. His eyes flicked down just as Cordelia dropped her hand to her side. Though his gaze turned suspicious, he said nothing, stalking off in the general direction of Restfield Cemetery expecting her to follow.

“Hey, can’t you take a joke?” she called out. Angel was already starting to fade into the shadows, his black clothes blending with the night. “I guess you’ve lost your sense of humor, too. If you ever had one.”

Navigating the stairs, she hustled after him, having to walk fast in order to catch up with his long, steady strides. He stayed just far enough ahead to be out of easy conversation range. Cordelia’s clicking heels sounded along the cement sidewalks until she finally stopped in the middle of the crossroads at Jefferson Avenue and Thousand Oaks Drive. Gathering a deep breath, she shrieked his name.

Angel whirled around and was at her side before the echo faded. “What is it?”

She was breathing heavily, gasping with outrage and just from having to work so hard to follow him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, you jerk?”

“Testing you,” he answered roughly, making no apology for it.

“This isn’t a tryout,” Cordelia snapped back furiously. “I’ve already made the team and you are my lame-ass partner. Get over it.”

Angel did not budge despite her wild gesturing. Too calmly, he leaned down knowing his height would intimidate her. Pointing out, “My lame ass will be the one saving yours if you’re not ready for this.”

“Pfft. We have no idea what to expect from this prophecy thingie.”

His eyebrow quirked upward giving Cordelia the only answer she needed: that was his point, exactly.

“Oh. I’m ready,” she told him while hoping that was the case. “Besides, I learn fast. Teach me, Obiwan.”

“Teach you what?”

Sigh. “Never mind. Blame me spending too much time with Xander. Just get out of the street,” Cordelia told him while moving back onto the sidewalk. Walking on at a more comfortable pace with Angel now strolling along beside her, Cordelia muttered, “Is it any wonder I have vampire issues. Your fault, of course.”

Angel frowned. “Mine?”

“Duh! I should have known that anyone so hot who was into Buffy Summers had to have something wrong with him,” she commented as they cut through the grassy open field toward the First Presbyterian Church and neighboring Restfield Cemetery. “Evil alter-ego and all.”

He blanked out on her obvious issues with Angelus, his focus immediately drawn to the only positive note. “Hot?”

Pointing out, “That is a term usually reserved for people with a pulse,” Cordelia patted his back. Angel stopped in his tracks mid-field, clearly about to attempt to make a case for his defense. “You can’t help that you’re dead. Everyone has their own problems, but you have an even bigger one…”

Cordelia poked him in the chest. “You lied to me.”

At his puzzled look, she realized he did not have a clue about which lie she was talking about. Convenient much? What was it about guys that allowed them to forget all about their wrongdoings?

“Hello, you let me think you were human,” she accused bitterly. A gruff little sound left her throat. “Lead a girl on and then wham! The truth comes out. You’re all liars.”

She tried to move on, but Angel captured her face in his palm, turning it up so Cordelia was forced to meet his gaze. “Leave your issues with Xander back home. If you have a problem with me take your own advice and get over it.”

Shoving his hand away, Cordelia told him, “Just when I started to trust you again, you did the horizontal mambo with Buffy and turned evil. So I just want to know: why me? I get that you wanted to tick off Buffy by killing one of her friends, but why did you pick me? Willow was closer.”

Angel hesitated in the face of her fury, answering cautiously, “You looked tastier.”

That had such a ring of truth to it. The brooding look that descended over his face caused Cordelia to grin despite him making her mad. A laugh bubbled up. “Oh. Well, duh!”

“I won’t lie to you,” Angel said, standing close, but no longer touching her. “There are things about me that you should fear. I’m a vampire. A part of me will always wonder what you taste like.”

Cordelia’s eyes widened, but he was actually talking and she would take the truth over his somber stoicism any day.

“As long as I have a soul, I’d never deliberately hurt you,” he promised solemnly.

Gazing up into those deep brown eyes, Cordelia answered softly, “Then I guess you’d better not lose it again.”

She felt Angel’s hand on her hip gliding upward and her already wide-eyed gaze stared unblinkingly into his. Her skin shivered as his fingertips slipped under the loose end of her silk blouse to clasp her waist. Squeezing in just the right spot before Cordelia knew what he was up to Angel put just enough pressure on her healing injury to cause her to wince.

“Ouch! You bastard,” Cordelia jerked out away from his touch, pushing at his chest to put some distance between them. “You just promised that you’d never hurt me.”

Angel shoved his hands in his jacket pockets before replying, “I needed to know your vulnerabilities. You’re not a slayer. You heal differently.”

Rubbing her stomach, Cordelia glowered at him. “You could have just asked.”

“Truth works both ways,” he told her. “I thought it best to find out for myself.”

Forging a tentative truce, they continued on to Restfield Cemetery. The quarter-moon lit the tombstones and left the wooded edges of the grounds swallowed by shadows. It was, in a word, creepy. Cordelia clutched her wooden stake, walking along beside Angel, watching to make sure she was not stepping on anyone’s grave.

Giles had made the big speech about signs and whatnot, but it seemed like a whole lot of watching and waiting for something that was not supposed to happen for another few months. “Some council guy finds an old scroll just in time to warn us that a demon is coming to the Hellmouth. Pfft! Welcome to our week.”

“This isn’t just an ordinary demon,” Angel reminded her. “Whatever it is, the Scroll of Septarius describes it as being nearly unstoppable. If it reaches our dimension it would take an army of slayers to defeat it.”

Cordelia gave him a serious nod. “Guess we better stop it, then.” He might have been impressed if the subject had not immediately changed to her mulling over the fact that she should have worn closed-toed shoes instead of sandals.

Restfield had tiny little pebbles mixed in with some of the dirt. When she stopped to pluck one out of her instep, she caught Angel’s wry stare. “I would’ve been fine if we got to patrol the east side.”

Angel said nothing, just offered her a hand as she balanced herself. They moved on a moment later, but hadn’t gone more than a few feet when Cordelia asked, “Do you see anything, cos I don’t see anything.”

“I see just fine in the dark, Cordelia,” he answered flatly.

“Hello, vampire, I know that. I meant do you see a sign? THE sign. You know, the one we’re looking for?”

They had not seen anything more exciting than the grass moving with the subtle shifting of the night breeze. “Bored?”

“No,” she huffed defensively. “I’m just saying I see no ‘walking dead amongst the stones’ hanging around. Prophecy said there would be walking dead and unless it’s talking about you, we’ve got the wrong place.”

They walked past every headstone before Angel finally conceded that it was time to move on to the next cemetery on their patrol route. “We’ll head to Old Sunnydale next, go up to Shady Hill and then head back down to Parkdale.”

“Ugh. Okay. Might as well get it over with,” agreed Cordelia suddering at the thoughts of Old Sunnydale Cemetery. It had the oldest marked graves in town and contained a large section of broken stones and unmarked plots that dated way back to the town’s earliest settlements.

A fifteen minute walk took them due west closing in on Maple Street. They were near Giles’ house and not so far from the mall, but far enough that the trees blocked her view of the familiar domed roof of her favorite local getaway. With a sigh, she waited as Angel pulled on the heavily rusted iron gate barring their entry into the cemetery.

The hinges squealed and Cordelia cringed at the grating noise because it had to alert anything living or undead inside to their presence. Tucked into a spot that kept it hidden from the traffic, the old cemetery possessed its own personality of sorts. The low ground turned misty when the cooler night air descended lending a haze that deepened shadows as it swirled around the crypts and headstones.

Cordelia knew Angel could tell that this place creeped her out. Her heart had to be playing a bongo beat in his ears by now. She stuck close as ordered. Maybe a little too close. After bumping into him several times when he paused to look at something, she figured she’d better back off a bit.

“What was that?” Cordelia saw movement in the shadows, but Angel was already following the figure as it darted between the trees toward the cover of a large crypt.

“Vampire.”

Gulping, Cordelia nodded, holding her stake at the ready and moving along at a slow pace. Angel gestured for her to hold position. The sound of shuffling leaves drew their attention and before Cordelia could figure out where the danger was coming from the vampire leapt off the top of the large crypt tackling Angel to the ground.

“Oh, crap!” That was not supposed to happen. Cordelia held up her stake and tried to angle around to get at the bad guy. “Hold him steady.”

Angel’s gaze clashed with hers for an instant just before he vamped out. “I told you to stay put,” he counseled her while tossing his scrawnier opponent against one of the marble columns.

“Well excuse me for trying to save you.” Bristling with annoyance, Cordelia stood statue-still as Angel hauled the guy to his feet, wrapped an arm around his neck and twisted. One snap and the vampire was dust.

“There was only one little one,” he pointed out that her involvement only placed her in danger and was hardly necessary. Angel made a little growl of frustration, not even noticing that his game face was still in place as Cordelia reached up to wipe the dust from his jacket.

A search of the crypt and the rest of the cemetery led to no new clues and certainly not anything that looked like a bone relic. Old Sunnydale had nothing to offer. Cordelia was happy to leave it behind and move on to Shady Hill where the hilltop view was actually rather pretty at night when the town lights shone.

Unlike the Restfield cemetery, Shady Hill was a much smaller place, though in aspects no less creepy than Old Sunnydale. It had a history as shady as its name linked to old tales of witchcraft, hangings and ancient burial grounds. They waited there for nearly an hour, spending an equal amount of time here as in the others. Cordelia got the feeling that Angel was also giving her a chance to rest up before they trekked back across town to Parkdale.

“The hour of darkness is at hand,” Angel quoted a line from the prophecy scroll, startling her out of her thoughts.

“Pretty dark,” Cordelia quipped uncertain what he was getting at. “Always is around the Hellmouth.”

His lips quirked into something that was almost a smile. “We shouldn’t overlook that line in the prophecy. It may be vague, but it could also be a clue.”

“If you say so,” Cordelia was not certain about anything except the thought that she actually felt safe sitting here in the dark with the former Scourge of Europe. How weird was that?

This seemed like a good opportunity to get to know Angel a little better. Cordelia figured there was no time like the present. And since he had not told her to shut up or mind her own business so far, he obviously did not mind her asking.

Parkdale was a neatly kempt cemetery directly across from City Hall and several local businesses. It neighbored the city park, hence its name. Approaching from the north end of the grounds, they weaved through the granite headstones, looking for anything that resembled a bone relic or a clue.

Angel was mainly looking for some peace and quiet.

Cordelia was starting on his last nerve. If she asked one more question about his past, he was going to lose it. “No, I never ate any famous Americans. I was ensouled by the gypsies before leaving Europe.”

“Oh, so you only ate Europeans,” she sounded disappointed and settled down into the quiet search pattern he had established. Quiet for about half a minute, that is. “Anybody famous?”

There was one particular royal. “Actually,” Angel started to tell her about one gruesome tale since she seemed so interested in hearing him talk.

Shuddering, Cordelia made a face of disgust, “Eeeew! I don’t want details.”

That left him feeling bad about bringing it up and then he started to think about the torture he had inflicted on that victim before finally killing him. His soul ached at the memory of it. How could he possibly expect Cordelia to understand the ongoing conflict inside him at the memory of his victims’ deaths? The triumph, power, and pleasure he had felt at his domination over those he made his prey warred in an internal battle with his conscience.

What was he doing trying to share one of those moments with her and expecting her to comprehend its power? It was as horrifying as her expression suggested.

The distraction of their conversation brought them halfway across the Parkdale grounds before noticing small gathering at the south end of the cemetery. Four suited figures stood around a fresh grave.

“Kinda late for a funeral, isn’t it?” Cordelia asked Angel when they caught sight of the group.

“Vampires.”

Even at four-to-one, Angel figured he could handle it. Though it was impossible to tell if they were all fledglings from this distance, he knew it would be safer if he took care of things on his own. “Stay here,” Angel ordered sternly. The last thing he needed was Cordelia trying to ‘help’ him again.

“And what happens if you get staked?”

Angel glanced back over his shoulder, “Then run like hell.”

“Pfft.” Her soft complaint was followed by a stubborn agreement. “Fine.”

Approaching stealthily, Angel noticed that they were all staring at the new grave, simply waiting for the vampire within to emerge. There was no mistaking these four for human. Even if he could not already sense it, they made no attempt to disguise their true faces.

The turned earth shifted a bit and they seemed to lean in even closer to watch. Angel stepped right up next to them, positioning himself at the foot of the grave. Taking a page from Cordelia’s book, Angel leaned in to grab their attention as he asked, “Is it somebody famous?” After all, he wanted to give them a sporting chance.

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