Dawn grunted as she turned the wheel and shifted the car into reverse. Damning Xander for not having an automatic and then damning him some more for putting her in this position in the first place.

"Okay I can do this. I've taken Drivers Ed. I'm so much a better driver than Buffy. Okay here we go." Dawn gave herself a little pep talk before shifting to first and pulling off. After a few little bunny jumps the engine smoothed out.

"See, I can do this!" She told a still sleeping Xander. 'Ha! Teach him to chloroform me. How'd you like a taste of my taser.'

She couldn't believe Xander would do this to her. Try and whisk her off, away from her friends and her family when she needed to be with them the most. How could he let Buffy talk him into deceiving her like that? 'He's supposed to be my friend too.'

As for Buffy, Dawn was furious with her big sister. Okay so she could see that maybe Buffy was just trying to keep her out of danger, but that was just the thing. The whole world was in danger. What was the point of sending her and Xander off into the middle of nowhere, just so they could watch the world end without their loved ones?

Maybe this is what her mom had meant when she visited. She'd said Buffy wouldn't choose her at the end. Maybe she meant wouldn't choose her to fight. Well that was definitely better than some of the theories that had been going around in her head.

Furthermore, if the world could be saved, then Buffy needed them in Sunnydale. Hadn't she proved her worth last year with the dirt monsters, and all this year as well and Xander had been fighting demons almost as long as her sister had been, and only being able to see half the terror and bloodshed had to be a bonus.

'Okay, no thinking about terror and bloodshed or I might just turn the car back round and finish what Xander started.'

One fact remained solid: This beautiful world that Buffy so badly wanted her to see would be only half as beautiful without her sister there to see it with her. They were family, and no matter what the consequences she was not going to run away from that. 'Summers' sisters stick together,' she thought.

She smiled fondly at Xander as he grunted and snored and tried to turn over. He was sprawled at a weird angle. When the monks had made Dawn out of Buffy, they obviously hadn't taken her from any of the Slayer bits. She'd managed to shove him over just enough to get the seat belt around him.

He looked so cute all snorey like that, trying to plump up the head rest in his sleep. "I'm still mad at you though, both of you!" She told him while she tried to find the flashing turn signal thingy.

Suddenly the pressure was gone. She coughed and retched until her breathing came back under control. Still her throat felt sore and she could feel dried blood under her nose.

She felt hands on her shoulders and she leant into them. Blinking her eyes until they came back into focus, her mouth dropped open in shock. Then she started to giggle.

"Oooh, I've gone to Heaven again. I can see an Angel." She tried to step forward into his waiting arms, but something was keeping her in place. She kicked at it but it was stuck between them. Looking down she realized it was Caleb.

"He shouldn't be in Heaven, he's the baddie." She gave him a kick to the ribs. He groaned but stayed motionless.

She stepped over him and sagged into Angel's still waiting arms. "So am I really in Heaven with you and everything is finally sorted out, or are you just here to complicate my life even more?" She asked, burying her head in his shoulder.

"Well it's not the first one. You're still very much alive and so am I, well, kinda." The vampire rested his chin on top of her head and held her tightly.

"I'm not too convinced on the very much, I feel at least half dead." Buffy realized she was probably getting blood all over his shirt and pulled back slightly and touched her nose.

He smiled at her. "Here, use this." He handed her a crisp white handkerchief and she gratefully used it mop up her mouth and chin.

"Is that better?" She asked, when she'd finished.

"It's a bit swollen, but I don't think it's broken."

"Great, first time you come and see me for years and I've got a swollen face. That's worse than getting a zit!" She moaned. "So that's my answer, you're here to make me go even crazier."

"Well actually I came to give you some information on the First. His boss I assume." Angel pointed down to Caleb.

"Uh huh."

"And a fancy necklace as well. I'm sorry if it makes things more complicated, but you know, I figured every little helps." He shrugged. "I wasn't talking about work, and yes it does help. We need all of that we can get. And why ever you're here I'm glad you are. An Angel fix is always welcome." She leaned up to kiss him gently on the lips. At first the contact was light and friendly, but soon the old passion they shared grew new wings and they both reveled in the touch they'd been denied too long.

It was Buffy who pulled away first, realizing smooching her past wasn't really helping her figure out her present. He smiled down at her, eyes dancing in a way the undead shouldn't be able to achieve.

"That was nice," he said simply.

Buffy nodded at him, a smile on her face and her hands still on his shoulders. "But not helping."

Before he could ask her to explain Caleb dragged himself to his feet.

"Look here Bitch, I haven't finished with you yet. I was gonna kill you nice and slow so we could both enjoy it, but now I just want you to be another dead little girl. Like all your friends are going to be." Spittle flew from his lips as he raged.

Buffy and Angel stood side by side as he swayed towards them.

"If you're still feeling a bit woozy, I can finish the job," Angel offered.

"Nuh-uh, me and Father Doom have a little unfinished business."

Buffy stepped forward into the preacher's right hook, catching his wrist in both hands before it connected with her face. Using his own momentum, she swung him around in a semi circle and smashed his face into the wall. She held onto his arm and twisted until she heard it break.

He gave a little cry of pain and pushed himself backwards as hard as he could, but Buffy was ready for that too and tripped him neatly, still holding his injured arm so it was wrenched upwards at an impossible angle. This time the cry of pain was louder.

Angel side stepped out of the way, giving Buffy an encouraging grin as she dropped one knee on the Caleb's chest while positioning her left foot over his damaged shoulder.

"I told you about calling me little girl, didn't I, but you chose not to listen. Well now I'm gonna give you something to remember me by for your long stay in Hell," she told the stricken figure through gritted teeth.

She lifted his head, let go and punched him hard in the face. The back of his head hit the concrete with a thud. "That was for Molly!"

She lifted his head up again and repeated the action. Thud. He swore a few times. Every time he tried to struggle she put as much weight as she could on her left leg, grinding her heel against the damaged socket. "That was for Shannon and Rhona and everyone else I can't think of at the moment because I'm too damn angry!"

Again she lifted his head and punched him with all her strength. "That was for blowing up Faith!"

She could see his eyes begin to glaze over slightly and she wanted him conscious until she was finished venting, so she switched tactics. She rose to her feet and kicked him hard under his right armpit, causing his whole body to jerk with the agony and a guttural scream to escape his throat.

Breathing hard now, she told him: "That was for torturing Spike and trying to turn him against me. And this is for PISSING ME OFF!"

She stepped back a bit, aimed and kicked him hard between his legs. This time the scream was high and loud and long. Then he passed out.

"Wussy boy," Buffy taunted him, stepping away from his inert body.

She turned to Angel to see him wincing, a hand covering his groin in sympathy.

"Oh come on, it was just a little kick. He deserved it," she told him.

"Yeah I remember when you gave me just a little kick like that, my eyes watered for a week afterwards," Angel replied.

Buffy gave a indifferent shrug and a playful smirk. "Well you deserved it too."

Angel nodded amiably and they moved to sit on a broken pillar. "Aren't you going to finish him off?"

"No, I want him to wake up first, I have more to say."

"Oh, okay. Did that guy really torture Spike?"

"No the First's lesser minions did that, but, y'know, I was on a roll."

"Yeah you certainly were. I don't remember you being quite so...violent." Angel struggled to find a word that wouldn't turn the violence on him.

Buffy laughed. "I'm the Slayer, violence is in the job description."

"Yeah, but you just inflicted some serious pain on that guy and enjoyed every minute of it."

"Nowhere near as much pain and suffering he and his boss have caused me and the people I care about. If you only knew what we've been through here, you wouldn't be showing any consideration for the bad guy!" Buffy got up, not willing to defend herself or her actions to someone who had no idea.

"Buffy, wait – sit down," Angel said, grabbing her hand and pulling her back to sit beside him. "I didn't mean to judge you and I've certainly got no love for the First. I want to help kick its ass for trying to get me to kill myself. It's just a side of you I've never seen before. You never used to enjoy the slay, let alone deliberately prolonging their hurt." Angel had picked up the scythe and was fiddling with it. "Ouch!" He muttered when the pointy tip broke the skin on his finger.

Spotting Caleb begin moving weakly she stood up. "Yeah well a lot's changed since you were last in my life. I had to deal with coming back from Heaven - which is a lot harder than coming back from Hell - so I guess I do enjoy beating up on the things that make life so much harder than it needs to be, but this." She took the scythe from Angel and turned to walk back to the fallen preacher. "I'm gonna enjoy most of all."

She winked at Angel and then turned her attention to Caleb. She stood with her feet either side of his chest.

"Hey remember me? I'm the little girl whose ass you couldn't kick. Glad you came back to us 'cause I've got one last thing to say." She hefted the scythe up in the air. "This one's for Xander, you evil son of a bitch." She brought the scythe down, point first, ramming it straight through Caleb's left eye.

He jerked and spasmed for a full two minutes while Buffy and Angel both looked on. When the body was completely motionless Buffy yanked the scythe back out.

"Eww Buffy, that's gross," Angel stated but still couldn't look away.

"How can you think that's gross? You're a vampire, you drink blood," Buffy said indignantly but she had to admit seeing an eyeball skewered on the end of her weapon did redefine her previous grossness scale.

"Well that just shows how gross it actually is if it even makes me feel queasy." Angel finally managed to look away.

Buffy shook the scythe, daintily at first, but when that didn't dislodge the offending item she shook it harder. It finally fell onto Caleb's body with a soft plop, nearly making her hurl.

Taking a few steps away to recover, she took a few deep breaths and wiped at her mouth. Then she turned and neatly lopped off Caleb's head.

"Just making sure," she told the vampire before bursting into giggly, hiccuping sobs.

Angel was in front of her in a nanosecond, his arms tightly holding her. "It's okay, Buffy. It's okay."

"Yeah (hic), it's better now (hic). That's why I'm crying. That doesn't make much sense does (hic) it? Things have just (hic) been so bad and so (hic) weird for so (hic) long. That now (hic)...Damn it (hic)!"

She stopped trying to talk and concentrated on getting herself under control. She really was crying because of the good. She felt like she'd been bottling Xander's injury up inside her. Letting herself react to it would have made her weaker, unable to do the job at hand. Now she'd killed the bastard that did it to him she could finally let all that sorrow and guilt and anger go. She just wished he was at home so she could tell him, but he and Dawn should be miles away by now.

When she felt better, she pulled away from Angel. "Thanks," she told him sincerely. "I've been holding that in for a while."

Angel gave her a soft smile. "Any time. Do you want to talk about it? No judgeyness I promise, just a caring ear."

His words reminded her of something Spike had said the night before. She groaned. Spike, Faith, the First. Her work wasn't finished tonight. She still had a lot of stuff to get through. She wondered how much she could tell Angel without hurting his feelings.

"Really no judgy? You might not like what's going around in my head – I don't know yet if I like it."

Now he was beyond curious. He used to know this girl so well. He'd left to make her life easier, but just from tonight he could tell it had only got more difficult.

"Buffy, we're friends. You can talk to me about anything. Do you want to go back to the house, where the decor's a bit less – gruesome?"

"Er, no not the house. Um the house is where, um everyone is at the house." Spike and Faith were at home, she somehow felt bringing her ex home would not be a good move.

"Well it would be good to see everyone again and then we can talk in the basement. No one would bother us down there." Angel wondered what she was hiding at the house, surely nothing that shocking.

"Um, can we just sit outside on a sarcophagus, I always get my best therapy on one of those and... and I'll start at the beginning," she begged.

Letting it go with a smile, he followed her outside.

Faith was playing poker with the others but her mind wasn't on her cards. She'd won a few hands, lost a few hands and spent a lot of time making eye contact with Robin.

What she wasn't doing was thinking about a certain blonde Slayer, in fact that blonde Slayer couldn't be further from her thoughts. Buffy had made her choice. Okay so she'd done it without knowing she actually had a choice, but like it was going to make a difference if she knew Faith was crushing on her.

So they had kissed briefly and flirted briefly; it was all just part of the power struggle. Faith had always had the upper hand when it came to the vocal combat, like Buffy had always had the upper hand physically. It appeared their time apart had honed both their skills and that's all this was. Instead of going all shy when Faith started with the innuendos she was flirting back and that had confused Faith for a while.

Now though she knew where she stood again. Buffy was back with Spike and good luck to her. She'd need it with that cocky, egotistical vamp. She narrowed her eyes at him over the table. 'But you hurt her again, and I'll stake your ass.' She thought to herself.

She looked around to find Robin studying her with a small smile. She gave him her sexiest grin. "See anything you like?"

He grinned back, shaking his head slightly in amusement he looked back at his cards. "I'm not sure, but the packaging's pretty," he told her.

"Gee thanks, you want me wear a bow?" She quipped.

"Oh will you two get a room!" Willow mock groaned.

"Feeling jealous, Will? I'm sure Kenn's got a cure for that, haven't you kid?" Faith said.

"Yes!" Kennedy hissed.

Willow went red and everyone started laughing.

"Oh, no, sorry sweetie, I mean look. I just won my first game." She spread her cards on the table and collected her winnings, all smiles.

"Oh that's great. Congratulations." Willow gave her girlfriend a big hug. Spike, Faith and Anya all rolled their eyes while Andrew's eyes went all misty.

"You wanna go celebrate?" Kennedy asked, with a small wink.

Willow yawned and stretched her arms over her head. "Um yeah I do feel a bit tired now you come to mention it. Let's go."

The witch and the potential all but ran up the stairs. "Call us if anything exciting happens!" Willow called down once they were out of sight.

"Like anything exciting is going to happen in the middle of an apocalypse," Robin said with a straight face.

"Well at least someone's got a room," Anya grumbled. "Where's Xander, why isn't he back by now?"

"Don't worry Anya, I'm sure they'll be back soon. Maybe they went to help Buffy," Andrew said.

"Oh, well he's probably in some life threatening situation by now then. Buffy has a habit of causing those," Anya continued.

Faith was about to jump in and tell Anya off, but was interrupted.

"Buffy don't cause these situations luv, she stops them, which kind of means she has to be where they are. If Xander's gone tugging at her apron strings again, that's not her fault," Spike said.

Faith watched Spike for a few minutes. He'd sounded proud. He showed no indication he knew she was watching him, but he looked a little tense all the same.

She shook the thoughts away. She didn't want to think about Buffy and Spike.

"They didn't go with Buffy. I saw her leave," she told the group.

This time Spike looked up. "When?"

"When she left," Faith answered, not looking at him.

Spike looked like he was about to argue but was stopped when the front door opened. It was Dawn.

"Hi, um can someone please help me get Xander in from the car? He's conscious now, but he's complaining of wobbly legs and says he can't walk in. I think he's sulking 'cause I electrocuted him." She breezed through to the kitchen. She didn't know if everyone else was in on the plan to kidnap her but her head was still hurting because of the chloroform fumes and she wasn't in the mood for a fight. She'd save that for when she saw Buffy.

Everyone in the living room just stared at her until she disappeared, then they looked at each other. Then everyone erupted into action.

"Dawn – What have you done to Xander? Any bits drop off and it'll be on your head, missy!" Anya bellowed.

Spike burst out laughing.

Faith and Robin both sprinted out to the car to see what the damage was, and Andrew trailed along behind to capture the excitement on the camera in his mind, ready for the day he was bigger than Spielberg. He was running through a list of possible actresses that could play Faith when they reached the car.

"Xander, what's up?" Faith asked, reaching him first.

"Nothing, I'm fine, just a bit shaky still and I didn't want to walk in there leaning on Dawn, y'know? I have my manly pride to think of," Xander told them. Attempting to stand up, but quickly lowering himself back down.

"Yeah well I have your manly ass to worry about, like not leaving it out here to get bit so come on." With that Faith scooped him up in her arms and carried him towards the house.

"Manly pride, Faith. Manly pride," he pleaded.

"S'all right Xan, you've still got it. It's just buried real deep in you, that's all." She maneuvered him through the front door and stood in the hall deciding what was for the best. "Right, do you want to stay down here, or do you want to go to bed?"

"Is that an offer?" Xander was feeling better already.

"No, sorry champ, it's not. I've got other plans." She winked at Robin over the top of Xander's head.

"Oh my God Faith, put him down. See this is just what I meant. Isn't it enough your already sleeping with Buffy and the principal, do you have to seduce Xander too?" Anya said, rushing back from the kitchen where she had been berating Dawn.

Faith's mouth dropped open at the same time she dropped Xander.

"Ow! So I was right? Does this mean I was right for once? Can I just say I told you so?" Xander crowed from floor level.

Spike stopped laughing. The hallway suddenly seemed very over crowded.

"I'm not sleeping with Buffy, where'd you get that crazy idea?" Faith asked, flustered and hating it.

"It's not so crazy," Anya continued. "I know Spike said nothing was going on and Willow thought she'd know because of the some kind of gaydar or something, but the signs are all there."

"What signs?" Asked Faith, tight-lipped.

"The sex signs. You've both been moody and temperamental and avoiding looking at each other. Ever since you got here Buffy's gone all weird, just like she did last year when she was boinking Spike and didn't want us to know."

"So what makes you think she's not just screwing Spike again?" Faith looked over at him. She never thought in a million years she'd ever ask him for some help but he was the only one who could salvage this situation. If he told the truth, he could stop all this right now.

Spike looked back at her, genuinely distressed, but he turned away without saying anything. He'd tried to set them straight earlier and Anya obviously didn't believe a word he'd said, and now everything she was saying was making sense. He thought back to their moment at the top of the stairs. If Buffy truly wanted him over anyone else, what would she need to discuss? Maybe they couldn't do all the togetherness stuff until after the battle but she could have given him a simple yes or no instead of all that guff about wanting to get to know the man inside. 'She knows the man in me. She brought the man in me out, long before I got my soul.' Spike could recognize a stall tactic after it had beaten him around the head a few times. 'Slipped back down the snake then, Spike, my boy.'

"She probably is, but it's you who's causing the weirdness to radiate from her. Spike's been around for forever. You haven't. She only became distracted and dreamy since you showed up again and you've been the same. You're supposed to be bad ass Faith and you've been following her around like a puppy," Anya continued.

"I have not!" Faith took a step forward and Xander quickly rolled out of the way. She stopped in front of Anya, fists clenched at her sides. "You wouldn't know anyway, you're too busy griping at Xander for not having sex with you after you've told him it's over a couple of hundred times. You don't want him, but one sniff of anyone else wanting him you go into uber-bitch mode."

"I do want Xander, but things are complicated between us," Anya said, slightly tearful.

"Yeah well things are complicated between me and Buffy too, so butt the hell out." Faith turned on her heel and stormed up the stairs.

"So you are having sex then?" Anya shouted after her triumphantly.

"No, we're damn well not!" They heard Faith bellow before Buffy's bedroom door slammed shut.

"Well I think that went well," Xander dead-panned as Robin helped him up.

"Yeah, terrific," muttered Spike, disappearing into the basement.

"Mark my words, if they're not doing it yet, they will be soon," Anya said, moving to help Xander to the couch.

"It's okay babe, I feel better now, you don't have to fuss."

"I want to fuss."

Xander smiled at her. "Okay. Someone should go after Faith. In that mood she could hurt herself, or more likely Buffy's furniture."

After a moment, when no one else looked inclined to go, Robin started to walk up the stairs. "I'll go, she's got the least reason to want to kill me."

"Good luck." Xander called after him.

"So let me get this straight. Spike is sleeping in your basement and he has a soul but he's been killing again and you think you are in love with him?"

"Angel, you said you were an objective ear, remember? No getting all disapproving on me," Buffy scolded.

The vampire held his hands up. "I'm not, I promise. I'm just making sure I've got it all clear."

"And I didn't say I was in love with him, I said I had feelings for him."

"I take it these are good feelings?"

"Sometimes. I care about him."

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." Faith muttered over and over again.

What the hell had happened down there? One minute she was having a laugh, the next everyone was accusing her of doing the deed with Buffy. Like that could be further from the truth. Why hadn't Spike jumped in and put them straight? She'd seen them kissing with her own eyes, she knew what was going on; why didn't he tell them that?

How was this even happening? She'd only decided a few hours ago that she was going to make a move on Buffy and now everyone knew it. Did they know about the kiss? Surely her vibes weren't giving that much away. Jeez, if Buffy was here she'd be spitting. She certainly wouldn't have taken that crap from Anya.

It was possible Anya was just sounding off, jealous because of her past, such as it was, with Xander. Was she that smart though, that she could pick the one thing that would hurt Faith the most?

'Yeah she's been around for a thousand years, she probably is that smart, but let her try and be smart with me again and I'll teach her how much a broken nose can smart,' she told Buffy's empty room.

There was a knock at the door.

"If it's not life threatening leave me alone!" Faith yelled through the closed door.

She heard the person on the other side hesitate for a moment before he said.

"It is important."

Faith smiled a wicked little grin. Here was just what she needed, a timely distraction from her inner tirade, and a handsome hunk of man meat to quell all these annoying, and more importantly, untrue rumors.

"Well you better come in then," she told Robin.

"Faith was in your bed and Spike walked in and caught you kissing?"

"No, last night Faith kissed me, and I sort of kissed her back." Buffy suddenly became very interested in her hands. "Tonight on the bed we were just laying there, talking."

"What's sort of?" Angel fidgeted on the cold stone. Wondering why he'd gotten into this.

"Sort of pleased when she kissed me, sort of waiting for it to happen, sort of felt way too natural to be natural," Buffy tried to explain. "If this is too much sharing for you? We can stop."

"No I'm fine. Do you think it was maybe a spell?"

"Why does everyone ask that? I have no proof it wasn't a spell, but why would anyone cast a spell to make me wanna kiss Faith?"

"Willow once cast a spell that made you want to marry Spike. Before you started feeling stuff for him, obviously." Angel got up from his seat and shoved his hands deep in his pockets.

"You're not okay with that, are you?" Buffy asked needlessly.

"Well I don't know how I can be, Buffy. You've got feelings for Spike, you don't know if you're in love with him or not, but you still kissed him. Which was after you kissed Faith, who a week ago you still wanted dead..."

"No I didn't, I got over that a long time ago!" Buffy protested.

"Only because she wasn't around. Can you honestly tell me that before she came back you'd ever thought about renewing your friendship?"

"Well no. I never thought we'd get the chance. It's different now."

"Obviously."

"I knew you wouldn't be able to be impartial," Buffy said stroppily. She hadn't asked to get into all this, he'd offered.

"It's hard to be impartial when you're crushing over a vampire who had me tortured for hours, and a Slayer who's tried to kill me twice. It hardly brings forth my inner cheerleader."

Buffy chuckled at the image of Angel in pom poms. "Sorry, I guess my love life shouldn't really be a topic of conversation for us, but can I just ask you one question, oh wise old vampire?"

"Yeah you can, but less of the old. I'm not even two hundred and fifty yet." He grinned at her and motioned with his hand for her to ask her question.

"What should I do?" She whined.

"Oh God Buffy, I don't have the answer to that. I think you're playing with fire either way. Spike and Faith. Neither of them are going to win sanity of the year award."

"I thought you liked Faith?"

"I do, much more than Spike, but she's volatile, Buffy. She's been doing really well, but it wouldn't take a lot to send her over the edge again."

"You think I would send her over the edge?"

"You did last time," Angel answered quietly.

"That was not my fault. I'm not saying I couldn't have done things differently, but I didn't tell her to run off to the land of denial after staking Finch. I tried to help her, I wanted to help her. You know that, you were there." Now Buffy was pacing in time with him.

"Hey, I know. This isn't about blame, I'm just saying how it was. If you and Faith want to make a go of it then you have my support, I'm just saying it won't be easy."

"And you think this is? Anyway I don't even know if Faith likes me like that. Just 'cause she kissed me doesn't mean anything, right? I mean, she used to kiss anything that moved, right?" Jealousy crept up on her, but she beat it back down. It wouldn't help her now.

"I don't know if she's in love with you, Buffy, but I know she loves you."

"How do you know?"

"We talked, a lot, and she wrote to me a few times. She talked about you, mostly in fact."

"I don't know if I'm in love with her, I don't know if I can be after everything that's gone on between us. I just know I can't stop thinking about her. It's like back before the ascension, but with smiley thoughts instead of frowny ones."

"Do you think you can be in love with Spike after everything he's done to you and you've done to him? I don't know much about your little affair last year, but I gather it was pretty destructive," Angel said.

"Who told you?"

"No one, but a sexual affair with a soulless vampire can't ever be a good thing for a Slayer. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah, okay I do, but he has a soul now and I know he loves me."

"But do you love him?"

Buffy looked at the ground, a tree, a grave stone, anything not to see the look on Angel's face when she said this. "A bit of me does."

"Is that bit enough?" He asked and she shrugged. "Is it bigger than the bit that loves Faith?"