Disclaimer: I don't own anything, please don't sue me, I have no money. Some of the dialog is from Angel episode Rm w/a vu written by Jane Espenson and from Buffy episode Real Me written by David Fury.

Chapter 4: Living Arrangements

Doyle walked down the stairs and stopped at the bottom, staying still, watching the happenings in the room. The little furniture the room had, had been moved to the side and Angel and Buffy were standing in the middle of the floor. They were both wearing their work out clothes and were making slow tai chi moves, Buffy mimicking his movements. Doyle couldn't help but feel slightly at awe as the couple moved as one and after a while, Angels moved behind her, covering her arms with his and guiding her movements. As his lips descended on her shoulder, Doyle decided it was time to make his presence known. He cleared his throat and walked into the room as though he hadn't seen anything.

“Could you please learn to knock”. Buffy sighed and stepped away from Angels arms, annoyed that they had been interrupted.

“Sorry, darlin' but Cordelia wants to talk to Angel”, Doyle said shrugging his shoulders and lazily sat down to a chair. Angel glanced at Doyle, not liking the interruption either but opted it was better to go and talk to Cordelia before she came downstairs. He grabbed a sweater and pulled it on, he gave Buffy a quick peck on the lips before going upstairs.

“You knew Cordelia before, right?” Doyle asked and Buffy nodded slowly, raising her eyebrow in question.

“Yeah, why?”

“Just curious. Who's Aura?” Doyle answered acting casual.

“She was one of the Cordette's, back in high school Cordy was the queen C and she had the flock of faithful followers of rich and bitchy snobs”, Buffy said with a sardonic smile, she had been targeted too many times by them but she didn't let that get to her, not anymore.

“And she was the richest of them all? From what I've heard her talk about her past, it's like the servants were made of solid gold.”

“I wouldn't be surprised if they were. But her parents forgot to pay their taxes, like forever and they lost everything. But I think she's doing okay now, sure it's not the marriage with a millionaire and fabulous career in movies but she'll land on her feet”, Buffy stated.

She glanced around herself and sighed. “Since you were the one interrupting my tai chi lesson”, she started and gave Doyle a dirty look as he raised an eyebrow suggestively. “Get your mind out of the gutter. You better make yourself useful and help me pack.” She went to the bedroom with Doyle following her, staying at the door leaning to the door frame as Buffy took out a suitcase throwing it to the bed.

“Packing?” Doyle questioned.

“I'm going back to Sunnydale for the weekend, all that liquor you've been drinking must be affecting your memory. Get me the crossbow from living room”, she answered smirking and continued packing her clothes.

Some time later Angel came back down and walked into the bedroom, noticing the half-packed suitcase. “You're packing”, he stated solemnly.

“Yeah, I have to be in the bus in an hour”, she answered, halting her movements and locking her eyes with his.

“I can't see you to the bus station. Why you're leaving so early?”

“Mom pressured me to come early, she's putting me on babysitting duty”, she explained crunching her face, showing that she wasn't happy about it.

“She's what?” Angel asked watching her in question, she could see from his face that he was doing some hard thinking.

“She's got some big opening at the gallery and I have to look after Dawn so she doesn't get into trouble”, she explained but when Angels expression changed to one of confusion, she raised her eyebrow in question.

“Dawn?” he questioned and then seemed to realize something. “Your sister.”

Buffy looked at him like he had grown another head. “Do we know any other Dawn?” she asked with a tinge of sarcasm and concern. Angel just gave her a smile which did little to appease her confusion.

“Are you okay?” she asked and quickly made her way to him, lifting her hand to cup his cheek. He gave her another smile and placed a soft kiss to her lips.

“Just little distracted”, he assured her and with her skeptical look, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her flush against him before claiming her lips. Doyle cleared his throat at the door and the couple turned to look at him with identical glares.

“Your crossbow”, he explained his presence and tried to fight against the urge to run away to save his skin.

Buffy stepped out of the bus and her eyes found Giles, leaning against a red convertible. She couldn't help but giggle as she made her way to him.

“New car?” she questioned, letting her eyes take in the mid-life-crisis vehicle.

“Yes.”

Buffy walked around car, throwing her bag to the backseat and stepped in. Giles started the car and after a short silence started with shop talk.

“After you have settled in at your mothers, will we have a training session?” he asked and Buffy nodded but realizing that he wasn't looking she answered.

“Yeah, sure. Angel's been teaching me tai chi again, we used to do that back here but it used to lead to bad touching.”

Giles turned sharply to look at her.

“Giles, the road. And get your mind out of the gutter, I mean back then any touching was bad, it was before his soul was permanent”, she explained awkwardly, Giles was the closest thing to a father for her, discussing about touching Angel, no matter how innocent, wasn't a topic was comfortable talking with him.

“Umm... How is the demon situation in Los Angeles?” he changed the subject with a slight stutter.

“Just fine, plenty of vamps to dust and even a doctor who's limps were running around loose”, she answered airily.

“Well, Los Angeles is a big city, there is bound to be plenty of demon activity.”

“But the doc wasn't demon, just evil”, Buffy clarified not loosing the flippant tone.

They kept the shop talk going till they reached the Summers house and Giles promised to pick up Buffy in two hours. She watched as Giles drove away and she took a deep calming breathe, too bad it did little to calm her. She grabbed her suitcase and made her way to the door, for a moment contemplating should she just walk in or ring the door bell. Finally deciding that it was her home after all, she took out her keys and stepped inside.

“Mom! Dawn!” she called out to the seemingly empty house.

“We're in the kitchen!” her mother's voice was heard. Buffy put down her suitcase and went to the kitchen, where Joyce and Dawn were in the middle of a perfect mother-daughter moment, Joyce and Dawn were decorating the pancakes with cream, chocolate sauce and berries.

Joyce lifted her head and gave her daughter a warm smile as Dawn just acknowledged her with a quick glance. “Hi, honey. Sorry we have just two plates of pancakes”, Joyce said and then added as a afterthought: “I could make some more.”

Buffy gave her a tight reassuring smile. “No need, Angel made me breakfast”, she said and it was all she could say about it to her mother.

“Oh good, I just have enough time to eat these and head to the gallery”, Joyce said in relief and started eating her pancakes.

“You're going to the gallery already? But I'm meeting Giles to train and we're stopping at the magic shop”, Buffy tried to protest but Joyce gave her one of her stern looks.

“Buffy, I need you to take care of Dawn while I'm at work, this opening is very important and you can spare the time to spend time with your sister. Mister Giles can wait and you are taking Dawn to buy school supplies.”

“I don't need a babysitter”, Dawn protested with her mouth full.

“Come on, you do, you get into trouble with every turn you take”, Buffy said and turned to her mother. “But that doesn't mean I have to be the sitter. Mom, I have told you how she is when Giles and I are training.”

“I know this slayer thing is important to you but it wouldn't kill you to help me, Buffy”, Joyce said pulling the full guilt mode. She placed the empty plate on the sink and grabbed her purse. “I'll see you later, honey”, she said placing a motherly kiss to Dawn's cheek before making her way out.

Buffy sighed deeply and turned to look at her sister. “I'm going to unpack, be ready when Giles comes”, she said and left the kitchen, grabbing her suitcase on the way she went to her room. With one look around, she knew Dawn had been going through her things and she had never been happier that her diaries were in LA.

Giles picked up the Summers girls and they rode to the Magic Shop, Dawn moping on the backseat like a petulant child.

Willow and Tara were just going in to the Magic Shop when Giles pulled over. “Hey!” Dawn yelped waving her hands and the two women turned, walking to the car.

“Nice wheels”, Willow commented.

“Rest of the car is nice too”, Tara added. Everyone got up from the car.

“Hey, guys. You going to the magic shop?” Buffy asked.

“Yeah, I have some charms in order”, Willow answered with a nod.

“Hey”, Dawn said with a smile and again waved her hand, more subtly this time.

“Hey Dawn”, Willow answered and started a conversation with the younger Summers girl as the group made their way towards the Magic Shop.

“Maybe it's closed”, Tara suggested as they could see the shop was dark.

“That's odd”, Giles stated as he opened the door and slowly they made their way inside the rummaged shop.

“I'm thinking the odd just got upgraded to bad. Dawn, stay back”, Buffy said as they moved further in.

“Hello? Anyone here?” Giles called out but there was no answer.

“Mr Bogarty?” Tara called out and Willow turned to look at her in question. “The owner. I come here a lot”, she explained.

They split to different directions and suddenly Willow tripped. “Au”, she moaned.

“Will, you okay?” Buffy asked making her way to where Willow was.

“Oh, fine. I just tripped over... Mr Bogarty”, Willow said seeing the body on the floor, his neck full of vampire bites.

“Is he okay?” Dawn asked and tried to come and look but Buffy gave her a stern look.

“Go wait outside”, she said her voice leaving no room for discussion.

“I don't want to wait outside”, Dawn protested and again tried to come closer. Buffy grabbed her by her elbow and dragged her to the door, pushing her outside.

“Dawn, wait here”, she commanded.

“I'm telling mom”, she threatened and Buffy sighed deeply, pinching bridge of her nose with two of her fingers willing herself to calm down.

“Do as you like, I don't have time for this. Just wait here”, she said and went back inside where Giles was examining the body without touching it.

“From the bite marks, I'd say there was more than one vampire, four from what I'm counting”, he stated and stood up.

“So a new fang-club.” Willow came to them holding a book in her hands.

“I've cross-checked the inventory list, and things are definitely missing. Mostly books. Including A Treatise on the Mythology and Methodology of the Vampire Slayer”, she said and Buffy took the list as Giles took the inventory book.

“Oh, shoot! Was that the only copy?” Buffy said and Giles gave her a annoyed look.

“Come on, Buffy, this could be very serious. Whoever is leading this pack of vampires appears to be interested in learning more about you. Perhaps searching for weaknesses or ... good lord!”

“What?” Buffy asked slightly alarmed.

“I had no idea the profit margins on a shop like this were so high”, Giles said in wonderment. “Look at this! Low overhead, out-of-state orders, international. It's no wonder there's never any trouble attracting new owners. A place like this is a virtual...” he continued looking around himself.

“Deathtrap?” Buffy assisted.

“What? Well, uh, yes, there is that. But, uh, still... Location, pedestrian traffic...” Giles continued distractedly, walking around the shop.

“Maybe I should start looking for their hide-out tonight since I only have this weekend to dust those vamps”, Buffy said and Giles nodded absently but soon noticed something was missing.

“Something else has been taken from this case”, he stated and Willow started going through the inventory book.

“I should think an item of value, or power, possibly even a...” Giles started but was interrupted by Willow.

“A unicorn. 10-inch ceramic unicorn imported from Thailand.”

“Was it valuable?”

“List price, $12.95” was Willows response.

“Which begs the question, what kind of an unholy creature fancies cheap tasteless statuary?” Giles questioned.

Later in the evening Joyce returned home and just as Dawn promised, she told her mother about the day. “You took your sister to a murder scene?!” Joyce asked incredulously.

“I didn't take her to a murder scene, it just happened. And it's not like she saw anything”, Buffy tried to defend herself but just got a scolding look from her mother.

“And that makes it all better? Buffy, you need to learn some responsibility, I trusted you to look after your sister for one day and this is what happened”, she sighed shaking her head.

“I'm sorry, okay. But I need to go on patrol”, Buffy said looking down to the floor.

“What about Dawn? I have to be at the gallery. Can't you just leave the patrolling for one night?”

“I can't, I'm here only for the weekend and I need to find this gang before I go back to LA. What if I get a babysitter for her?”

“I don't need a babysitter!” Dawn yelled from her room causing Buffy to roll her eyes.

“Where are you going to find someone in such a short notice?” Joyce asked obviously not believing in the chance.

“Xander”, Buffy answered and Joyce looked at her like she had grown another head.

“Okay”, Dawn promised from her room door.

But the calming moment was broken by the thumping noise from the door. Angel groaned out loud and stepped out, grabbing a towel before wrapping it around his waist. He went to the door and opened it, to his surprise finding Cordelia on the other side.

“Cordelia?” he asked as Cordelia walked inside, shoving two large suitcases into his arms.

“It was awful! I'm not going back there!” she said shaking her head dramatically. “Don't look at me! I look terrible”, she continued, shielding her face with her hands before pointing to the door. “And there's more of my suitcases on the hall, you might want to get them.”

All Angel could do was watch her speechless till he finally got his head around. “What happened?”

“My apartment! It was terrible! I even tried to call Doyle. I have sunk that low. When he didn't answer, I came here, though it's not like this is the last resort, I just don't have anywhere else to go. There was roaches! Live ones, dead ones, all scrawny feet and creepy antlers”, she kept on talking signing with her hands.

“Antlers?” Angel questioned with a raised eyebrow and let the bags slide down to the floor so he could get a better grip on the towel that was hung around his hips.

“And the water was all brown and spurty and not hot! I'm dying for a shower. I actually smell! I never smell! I’m just going to have to stay here until I can find a decent place, however long that takes and when I do you are completely invited over. You can just dump my stuff on the couch or let me have the bed, it's not like Buffy will mind since she's not here. Also my suitcases are still out in the hall. Your shower is in here, right?” she kept talking without giving Angel a chance to say anything back before she turned around and went to the shower with one of her bags.

“What just happened?” Angel asked to himself and ran his hand through his wet hair.

Buffy did a sweep on two cemetery's but didn't find more than one newly risen vampire and a clueless demon that from what she had been reading, wasn't a threat, so she just threatened him and told him to get out of town for his own good.

On the way home, she stopped at a phone booth and dialed home number. She let it ring several times before there was an answer. “Angel investigations, how can we help you”, came Cordelia's voice from the other end.

“Cordelia? I thought I called the apartment number and come to think of it, what are you doing there this late?” she asked confused.

“Oh, you did call the apartment, the answering just comes so naturally for me, you know what a people person I am, always ready to help my fellow woman. Good news for you, not so much for me, I'm moving here, of course till I get a new apartment. It was so awful! I couldn't stay in that place for one moment longer. I didn't even have a working shower! It was so terrible. So here I am”, Cordelia said and Buffy could just picture her talking vividly with her hands.

“You moved to our place? Nevermind, is Angel there?” Buffy asked shaking her head.

“He's in the shower. So how's Sunnyhell?” Cordelia answered flippantly.

“The usual, there's a new gang of vamps and they killed the Magic Shop owner and it seems they are after me, what else is new.”

“Why would anyone want to buy that place, the mortality rate on that shop is so high, if you're suicidal, it's the perfect profession for you. Well, you better kill those vamps so they don't move here and come after me while getting to you.”

Buffy couldn't help but roll her eyes. “Thanks for the advise, I think I'll do that”, she said with her voice spiced with sarcasm but either Cordelia didn't notice or didn't care.

“Do you want me to tell Angel to call you back?” Cordelia asked.

“No, I'll call him tomorrow, mom will freak if I'm on the phone in the middle of the night. Well, I have to head back home. Bye Cordelia.”

“Bye”, came the answer before Buffy hung up. She looked at the clock on one of the buildings and it was time to really head home, hopefully Dawn hadn't driven Xander and Anya into a nervous breakdown.

Buffy returned home and Xander told her about Harmony coming with minions, he didn't have time to continue his tale as Buffy burst into laughter. “Harmony? She has minions?” she giggled, almost sinking to the floor as she had to take hold of the kitchen counter so she wouldn't.

“Yeah, that was our reaction too”, Xander answered.

“Minions?” Buffy asked incredulously again and just laughed harder at the idea. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry”, she said still smiling, trying to compose herself. “It's just... Harmony has minions!” she continued, again bursting into laughter, not able to help herself.

”Buffy, there's actually a more serious side to all this”, Xander tried.

“I hope so, cause I'm having trouble breathing”, Buffy said again bursting into giggles before managing to straighten up and taking couple of deep breaths. “What is the serious side to this?” she asked keeping a straight face.

Xander looked nervously at Anya. “Well, she did come here to kill you”, he said and Buffy burst into laughter.

“Come on, Buffy, this is serious”, Xander chided.

“Especially now that she can enter your house any time she wants”, Anya added helpfully and Buffy stopped laughing, turning serious.

“She can what?!” she asked making the couple fidget in front of her.

“Uuh, yeah... actually, she... Harmony... kind of happened to sort of get an invite in”, Xander tried to get the words out.

“You guys can't invite her in. I mean, only someone who lives here can...” Buffy started to say and then the reality hit her, making her face even more serious. She looked up to the ceiling and then at Xander who nodded, confirming her suspicion.

“Where is she?” she asked, all mirth gone.

“In her room. Look, I think she's still pretty freaked out”, Xander answered and Buffy headed to the stairs.

“Dawn!” she yelled and tried to go upstairs when Xander took a hold of her hand and pulled her back to the kitchen.

“Buff, it was an accident. She didn't mean it”, he tried.

“Oh, well that just makes it okay then, doesn't it?” Buffy said back and crossed her arms in front of her.

“No, but believe me, nobody feels worse than her right now”, Xander said but Buffy just gave him a stern look, one that she had learned from her mother.

“She invited a vampire inside this house! I know she's just a kid but she's old enough to understand how dangerous that is. Everybody treats her like she can get away with anything but inviting Harmony in was irresponsible of her, it didn't endanger only her but you, Anya and my mother.”

“Give her a break. She's not a slayer, it was a simple mistake”, Xander tried to calm her down.

“I know she's not but that doesn't mean she can just get away with anything. What she did was stupid, she knows about the creatures in the night and she can't afford mistakes like that, she needs to use her head”, Buffy said seething but soon calmed down, taking deep breathes, a solemn look taking over her face. “She needs to be careful, something really bad might have happened to her. This time she got lucky, but what about the next time.”, she said quietly and turned around, leaving the house.

She went to the cemetery and managed to find a unsuspecting vampire that she beat up before staking it. Much more calm, she turned around and headed back to the house. She walked in and met Xander at the bottom of the stairs.

“I called Willow about the de-invitation spell. Where's Anya?” Xander said and looked around himself. They headed to the kitchen finding Anya unconscious on the floor.

“Anya!” Xander yelled alarmed and dropped down to his knees, lifting Anya into his arms. Buffy closed the door and grabbed the phone.

“Dawn... She ran out... Harmony...” Anya mumbled half-conscious.

“Harmony has Dawn”, Buffy whispered to herself, glancing at the door.

“Call the ambulance, I'm going to find Dawn”, Buffy said to Xander and handed him the phone before running out the door.

She headed straight to Spike's crypt, kicking the door in, she stomped inside. “Speaking of dishes... What do I owe this unpleasant...” Spike started cockily but Buffy wasn't in the mood and punched him in the nose. “Oww! Bloody hell!” he screamed at the pain.

“I don't have time for banter. Where is Harmony's lair?” Buffy asked grabbing a hold of his shirt.

“I don't know. I haven't seen the chit...” Spike started but earned another punch in the face. “Bloody hell, slayer! Lay off the nose.”

“Where is she?!” Buffy asked with a full slayer tone and when he showed no signs of answering, she pulled her hand back, ready to strike.

“All right, all right. She used to have a cave in the north woods. About forty meters past the overpass construction site”, Spike gave in and Buffy hit him again before turning around and heading to the door.

“I told you the truth!” Spike yelled at her.

“I know.”

“You can't just walk into town and start punching people!”

“You're not people”, Buffy answered before sprinting into run, she needed to find Dawn and soon.

Buffy sneaked into the cave and saw one of the big vamps holding Harmony by her throat as Dawn was chained to the wall, one of the others nearing her. “Touch me and my sister's gonna kill you”, Dawn threatened but the vamps just laughed at her.

“Like this?” one of them said and poked her with his finger. Buffy threw a stake through his back and his heart, the vampire bursting to dust. The others turned to look at her, the big log letting go of Harmony.

“I can't say she didn't warn him”, Buffy quipped innocently.

“And you didn't believe my plan would work”, Harmony said to the beefy vamp. Buffy rolled her eyes and turned to Dawn.

“Dawnie, close your eyes”, Buffy told her and Dawn did so, scrunching her eyes closed tightly.

“So slayer, at last we meet”, Harmony said sounding like from some cheesy B-movie.

“We've met, Harmony, you halfwit”, Buffy said looking at her like she had lost her mind, though it didn't come to her as a surprise.

“I'm the halfwit? Excuse me but it is you who walked right into my...” Harmony started to boast as the other vamp attacked Buffy with his ax but Buffy staked him with a quick flick of her wrist, grabbing hold of his ax and cutting the other vamps neck with it. “...trap”, Harmony finished her sentence as her minions ashes settled down to the ground.

“Harmony, when you tried to be head cheerleader, you were bad. When you tried to chair the homecoming committee, you were really bad. But when you try to be bad... you suck”, Buffy said to her, not noticing that the burly vamp was moving behind her.

“Buffy look out!” Dawn yelled in warning and Buffy swung her ax, just missing the vamp. He grabbed hold of the ax and knocked Buffy down with it, hitting her in the back.

“Good Mort!” Harmony cheered but when Mort send a dirty look her way, she decided it was best to flee. Mort tried to hit her with the ax but Buffy dodged it, jumping up to her feet and hitting him hard in the face. She grabbed a piece of wood and hit him with it, breaking it in half with the impact.

They traded fierce punches, Buffy managed to dodge most of them till Mort managed to get a strong hit on her. She fell to the ground and he hit her on the back before grabbing her and throwing her across the cave against the wall. He came stomping after her and grabbed her by her throat, lifting her off the ground. She glanced down and saw an old unicorn statue. She placed her feet on his chest and kicked him away from her, landing down to her feet, she grabbed the statue and stabbed him with it.

After the vampire was dust, she looked down at the unicorn she was holding and made a disgusted face before throwing it down. She grabbed the ax as she walked to Dawn, giving her a stern look. “You are in so much trouble”, she said to her sister.

“Yeah, well... I'm telling mom you slayed in front of me”, Dawn threatened with false bravado. Buffy raised her ax and hit the chains, causing sparks to fly but not managing to break them.

“Fine, I'll just tell mom that you ran out of the house in the middle of the night”, Buffy said back and hit the chains again. “And that you got Anya hurt”, she continued and hit the chains. “And invited a halfwit vampire inside the house.” She hit the chains once again. “And got kidnapped.”

Finally she grabbed the chains and pulled them down from the wall. “Okay, time to go home”, she said and they left the cave.

They stopped by at Willow's and Tara's place to get the chains removed from Dawns wrists and then they headed home, just making it home before Joyce came back from the gallery. “Hey, what you two girls been doing all evening?” she asked and placed her purse on the kitchen island.

“Nothing much, just watched some tv, the usual”, Buffy said looking at Dawn, she didn't seem to be saying anything to contradict her.

Doyle glanced at his watch as he walked down to the apartment hoping he could talk to Angel in private before Cordelia got to work. But to his shock, Cordelia was already sitting at the table freshly showered and wearing only a white robe.

“Hey Doyle”, she said only sparing a glance at him and continuing combing her hair with her fingers, using a metal vase as her mirror.

“Morning 'Delia”, he answered feeling confused.

“Hey Doyle”, Angel said from behind him and he turned around, seeing Angel only clad in black boxers and robe that was hanging open.

“There's peanut butter on the bed”, Angel said to Cordelia who looked at him innocently.

“I don't think so”, she answered and Angel showed her his hand, stained with chunk of peanut butter.

“Okay, I look”, Cordelia said sighing and got up, going to the bedroom.

“No, no, no. Angel, man, how could you?!” Doyle accused. Angel just looked at him strange and went to the sink, wiping the butter off his hand with a dishtowel.

“Could what?” he asked not understanding what Doyle was talking about.

“Man, you know I was crazy about her, and I was wearing her down, too. But no, handsome, brooding vampire guy has to swoop in, all sensitive mouth and overhanging forehead”, Doyle ranted and Angel lifted his hand to his forehead self-consciously.

“How about leaving some scraps for the homely looking fellas. And have you thought about your girlfriend, how she feels about this? How would you feel if I started wooing Buffy?” Doyle continued and involuntary growl escaped Angel.

“Cordelia stayed over because something’s wrong with her place. I spent the night on the sofa”, Angel explained trying to get rid of the thought of Doyle going after Buffy, it wasn't going to happen, he knew that but still it had rubbed him the wrong way.

“Oh. That’s okay, I suppose”, Doyle commented looking at the couch. Then he turned to look at Angel again, the look on his face making him a little nervous. “Could you stop looking at me like you're having a dinner party and I'm the main course, it's making me nervous.”

“Sorry, just... I'm still a vampire... I know you're not interested in Buffy but...” Angel tried to explain little embarrassed.

“Yeah, I know. I've seen the whole property of Angel mark on her. You do know I wasn't serious?” Angel nodded.

“I know. And Buffy would say I'm jealous. I admit it happens, it's a reaction when she's around men, she may be obvious to all the attention she gets but unfortunately I am not.”

“Well, I completely understand, man. She is a beautiful girl. But need not worry, I have my eyes set on certain brunette”, Doyle assured him and the brunette walked in to the kitchen, fully clothed.

“Angel, at some point in the recent history YOU got peanut butter on your bed, and it’s gross. I think you’re gonna have to change the sheets”, she said waving an accusing finger at him.

“It's not mine, I don't eat. And I changed the sheet yesterday morning after...” he started but decided to cut short and he was just glad he couldn't blush. Cordelia crunched her nose in displeasure.

“Thanks for the visual!”

“Yes, I second that”, Doyle grinned and earned a dirty look from Angel, he just shrugged his shoulders innocently as a reply to it. Angel sighed tiredly and headed to the bedroom. He threw the robe to a chair and rummaged through his closet, picking up pair of black pants and a black stripe dress shirt. He sighed again and returned to the kitchen, noticing the wet towel on a leather chair. He got distracted from the towel when he saw the bad bruise on Doyle's hand.

“What happened to your hand?” he asked drawing Doyle's eyes to his hand.

“Badminton”, he answered, making Angel suspicious.

Angel grabbed the towel from the chair and showed it to Cordelia. “Why is there a wet towel on my leather chair?” he asked but Cordelia just shrugged her shoulders innocently and gave him a big fake smile. Sighing he turned around and went upstairs.

For a moment he just stared at the phone till finally grabbing it and dialing Buffy's home number. Finally there was an answer. “Dawn Summers”, was heard from the phone.

“Hey, lass. Is your sister home?” he said to the phone and sat down to the table.

“Hey Angel. Yeah, she's here”, Dawn answered and covered the phone with her hand before screaming Buffy's name, still Angel had to draw the phone away from his ear.

“It sounds like she's coming. So how is LA? Have you seen Johnny Depp?” Dawn asked and Angel couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.

“Who's Johnny Depp?” he asked and could hear the exasperated sigh on the other end.

“Who doesn't know who's Johnny Depp, hasn't Buffy taught you anything? But at least you don't call me a kid anymore.”

“You've told me not to call you a kid.”

“Is that Angel?” Buffy asked coming from behind her. Dawn turned to look at her not wanting to give up the phone but Buffy gave her a stern look, making her roll her eyes.

“I have to go, your girlfriend wants to talk to you”, she said and slapped the phone to Buffy's hand.

“Thank you”, Buffy called after her and sat down to the couch. “Angel?” she answered to the phone.

“Hey. How are things there?” he said to the phone, he couldn't help the small smile from rising to his lips.

“Not bad, the usual, Dawn invited a vamp inside the house, ran into the night and got kidnapped by Harmony”, Buffy answered flippantly even though she felt everything but and Angel could tell it was all a front.

“But you saved her. Are you okay?” Angel asked with concern showing in his voice, making Buffy serious.

“Yeah. But it scared me, not the fact that Harmony had minions, but Dawn could have gotten seriously hurt”, she answered with hushed tone, looking around herself to make sure she was alone.

“I know, but she's okay, right?” Angel assured her and then remembered something else she had said. “Harmony had minions?” he asked chuckling and drew a small giggle out of Buffy too.

“Yeah, that was my reaction too. Till Xander told me Dawn had invited her in.”

“Well, she's young, I doubt she'll make the same mistake again”, he started and could hear the irritated breath she drew. “I'm not making excuses for her, it was a thoughtless thing to do and she should know better but she's still learning. She hasn't really known about vampires and demons more than few years.”

Buffy sighed deeply and closed her eyes. “I know, but she needs to think before she acts, she could have gotten really hurt, Anya was hurt because of the slip and she got lucky that it wasn't that bad. But let's not talk about it anymore, I want to forget it. So how has your weekend been going?” she changed the subject.

“Nothing much, just the usual, waiting for the phone to ring and dusting the vamps”, he answered little awkwardly, there was no way he was going to tell her that Cordelia had spent the night.

“The big city life”, Buffy quipped cheekily.

“Tell me about it. But I think Doyle is in trouble”, he stated.

“What kind of trouble?” Buffy asked, offering him her full attention and standing up from the couch.

“I don't know yet, he had a big bruise on his hand and it didn't come from badminton.”

“Badminton?” Buffy asked clueless and he could almost see the puzzled expression on her face.

“Never mind. I think I need to do a intervention”, he said with a smile.

“Okay, I'll let you intervene. I need to meet with the gang anyway. I love you and I'll see you tomorrow.”

“I love you too”, he answered and they hung up.

Angel stood up and went to the apartment. “Hey Doyle. There’s a big guy there to see you. I’ll tell him you’ll be right up”, he said from the stairs keeping a close eye on Doyle's reaction.

“Oh, that’s great”, Doyle said gritting his teeth and Angel returned back upstairs.

As soon as he was gone, Doyle turned and sprinted through the back door. Angel was waiting by another door as Doyle sprinted through it and almost collided into him. “You know it’s not nice to trick people!”

“You’re going to tell me what’s going on?” Angel replied giving Doyle his no-bullshit face.

Buffy, Dawn and Giles were in the Summers home living room, both of the girls eyes were locked with Giles. “You're buying the Magic Shop?” Buffy asked incredulously and Giles nodded. “Giles, are you sure?” she asked again.

“Why wouldn't I be?” he asked.

“Well, aside from the fact that most magic shop owners in Sunnydale have the life expectancy of a Spinal Tap drummer, and have you ever run a store before?” Buffy reminded him.

“I was a librarian for years. This is exactly the same, except people pay for the things they don't return. It'll give me focus, increase my resources. And it'll prevent you lot from trampling all over my flat at all hours”, he said making Buffy smile at the last comment. “There may even be some space for you to train in the back when you are visiting Sunnydale”, he added.

“Boy, you've really thought this through. How bored were you last year?” she asked cheekily.

“I watched Passions with Spike. Let us never speak of it again”, Giles said pointedly and Buffy burst into giggles, even Dawn had a hard time keeping straight face.

“Well, I must be off now”, Giles said with a sigh and headed to the door, Buffy following him.

“I'll see you later, we can do the reflex training thing”, she said while opening the door for him. He took off his glasses, polishing them with a little smile.

“Yes, the reflex training thing”, he said and left.

Buffy closed the door and nearly collided into Dawn. “When am I going to LA?” she asked folding her arms in front of her.

“Never”, Buffy answered only half-serious.

“You don’t even know who this demon is collecting for?” Angel questioned glancing at Doyle.

“All right, look, here’s how it works: I owe some people, other people owe me. I do a favor for some guy and the debt goes away. It’s a system of checks and balances”, Doyle explained.

“And some of your checks didn’t balance.”

“Well, it’ll work out. It just takes a little diplomacy, the kind of thing you’re so good at, actually. Say, maybe you wouldn’t mind taking a crack at it?” Doyle said getting hopeful.

“We all have problems. It’s a matter of priorities. And at the moment I’ve got a bigger one then you do”, Angel said with a sigh.

“Bigger than a Kailiff demon?” Doyle questioned raising his eyebrows.

“Much. I’m thinking you can help me with mine and maybe I can help you with yours. Checks and balances”, Angel suggested.

“I don’t know, man. I mean, what’s your problem, exactly? Because you know, vampire business is...” Doyle started uncertainly but was interrupted by Cordelia clearing her throat. The two men turned to look at her. She walked in with a big smile and gave them a small wave.

“Hi. I was just wondering if you had any linoleum glue... for if it started curling up all over.”

“I’ll be there in a minute”, Angel promised and gave an inaudible sigh.

“Okay”, Cordelia said as she turned around and left.

Angel watched her walk away and addressed to Doyle: “Find her an apartment and I’ll deal with your demon.” He turned to look at Doyle pointedly till he frowned remembering something else. “And Buffy doesn't need to know about this, not if you can't find Cordy an apartment before Buffy gets back. I don't think she will be all that understanding, and there is no way that she will let Cordy take over the bed again”, Angel added frowning.

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don't think our Cordy will want to be in your bed after what you revealed this morning”, Doyle said with a smirk. Angel just gave him a glare.

Angel walked into Doyle's apartment and looked around, carefully staying out of the way of the sunlight that was shining from under the curtains. Suddenly someone grabbed him from behind and threw him against the wall next to the door. Angel spun around and grabbed the demon, smashing him against the wall where he himself had been just moments earlier.

“My name is Angel, what's yours?” he asked.

“Screw you”, the demon growled and Angel smashed him against the wall again.

“My name is Angel, what's yours?” he asked again and when there was no answer he smashed him once more against the wall.

“Griff”, the demon relented.

“Good start. Who do you work for?”

“He never gave me his card”, Griff answered and Angel threw him on the floor, bending his arm back.

”I don’t know his name, he gets his orders to me”, Griff continued.

“You can get a message back to him?” Angel asked and Griff nodded gingerly.

Angel pulled him to his feet, letting his face shift back to its human visage. “You're letting me go?” Griff asked a little surprised.

“I'm letting you up. You were send to collect Doyle”, Angel answered shortly.

“At first. But I’m not seeing any money, so now Doyle gets dead as a message to the others.”

“And your boss never gets his money. Pretty expensive message when you add in whatever he is paying you”, Angel stated.

“My fees are very competitive”, Griff defended himself.

“I can get Doyle to pay you the money. You have my guarantee”, Angel promised.

“I saw what I saw, right? You’re a vampire. How come you’re helping some little demon half-breed?” Griff scoffed, taking cautious steps closer to Angel.

“It’s a good offer. You should take it. On the other hand you’re making me want to fight some more. You get lucky you might last ten minutes. Really lucky and you’re unconscious for the last five”, Angel threatened keeping his poker face perfect.

“You get Doyle to pay, and he’s safe”, Griff promised.

“Thanks. Good meeting”, Angel answered and let Griff walk past him, not turning his back to him.

Angel handed Doyle a cup of coffee, much to his disappointment it wasn't spiced with liquor. “How did you manage to get Cordy a place on a Saturday, it's beyond me”, Angel said shaking his head and sat down to a chair.

“Well, I know a guy and the realtor was in a hurry, all she had to do was sign and the place is hers. You should have seen her, she was practically flyin', man. So what about my problem?” Doyle answered and sipped his coffee, making a face at the taste, he wasn't used to drinking just coffee.

“I promised you'd pay them back, it's the only way to get them off your back”, Angel broke the news to him and Doyle jumped up from the chair he was sitting, nearly spilling his coffee all over himself.

“What?! I knew I should've handled it myself, where am I going to get the money, huh? You can't get blood out of stone, you know.”

“But they can out of you. There's a price on your head, if you don't get the money, they will make a warning out of you. They weren't looking for the money anymore, I just bought some extra time”, Angel warned him and gave him a look that told he was serious. Doyle stopped pacing and looked at him, finally nodding.

“You're right. You probably saved my life as well. Thanks about that.”

Angel just nodded in acknowledgment. “Can I ask you something?” at Doyle nod, he continued. “Why did you pick this kind of life?”

Doyle spread his arms in surrender. “Why not this kind of life?” he questioned and at Angels pointed look, took a more serious root. “I guess, it’s the kind of life that keeps your expectations from getting too high. Seems like you’re the one to understand that.”

“I do understand, but why would you choose this, I didn't really have all that much of a choice, but you do. What happened?”

“Don't worry about it. Not everything is doom and gloom in Doyle City, there are bright spots. Like Cordelia for instance”, Doyle said sitting down and taking a sip from his cooling coffee.

“When is the missus coming home?” he changed the subject as the mood was starting to get too heavy.

“Tomorrow afternoon. maybe we should give Cordy a visit, we could pick up Buffy from the bus station and then go to see Cordy”, Angel suggested.

“Fine by me. Do you think a bottle of whiskey would be a nice housewarming present?”

Buffy stepped out the bus and immediately her eyes landed on Angels car and on Doyle who was leaning against the front door. A smile broke down to her face and she hurried to him.

“Your chariot awaits, madam”, he joked and nodded towards the backseat.

“Well, thank you, James”, she answered and quickly put her suitcase to the trunk before climbing to the backseat where she found Angel huddled under a blanket.

“And what do we have here?” she asked with a smirk and peeked under the blanket. An arm grabbed her behind her neck and pulled her into a passionate kiss, they didn't even notice that Doyle had started the car.

“Missed me?” she asked with a smile playing on her lips as they broke the kiss.

“You have no idea”, he answered and pulled her into another kiss.

“Hey you two, don't break any laws under that blanket”, Doyle commented from the front and earned a kick to his seat. “And no bullying the driver, we're almost there”, he added. Buffy managed to pull away from Angel's lips long enough to glance out the window before she was pulled back down, his lips claiming hers.

“Where are we going? It doesn't look like we're going back to the apartment”, she asked between the kisses.

“Cordelia got a new apartment, we're dropping by”, he answered and pressed a soft kiss to the side of her mouth, deciding to let her just breathe for a while.

“Cordy got a new apartment? I thought I was out of town just for a weekend”, she commented, causing Angel smile.

“She had some trouble with her old apartment. I even got her a housewarming present”, he said and signed to the plant on the floor. “It's a cactus”, he added helpfully and Buffy couldn't help but giggle at his enthusiasm.

“What are you two doing in there?” Doyle asked and Buffy again kicked the seat. Soon they reached their destination and Angel took a dash to the building away from sunlight. They gathered to Cordelia's apartment door and Doyle knocked. There seemed to be yelling inside the apartment and Buffy turned look at Angel in question but he just shrugged.

“Cordelia, you in there?” Doyle said through the door and it took some time till Cordelia opened the door, peeking out cautiously.

“Housewarming present. Cactus”, Angel said and handed the cactus to her.

“Umm... Thanks. Oh Buffy... You're back”, she said just noticing the third person. “Yes, I am”, Buffy answered with a nod.

Doyle tried to step inside the apartment but Cordelia stopped him. “Look I’m still getting it just the way I want. Maybe in a day or two, okay?” she protested, trying to close the door but Doyle just walked in past her.

“Come on, the place looks great. You worry too much. Don’t know what you had against that chair though”, he said looking around the room and seeing the broken chair on the floor. Cordelia frowned at him and then turned to Angel who was still standing outside the door with Buffy.

“Oh, that’s right you can’t come in”, she stated but Angel just stepped in, Buffy following and closing the door behind.

“I was just being polite”, Angel stated.

“Wait! What about the rule?” Cordelia asked loudly.

“You said when you got a place I was completely invited over”, Angel explained.

“What? I didn’t even have a place then. These rules are getting all screwed up, there should be a book or something!” she said and then saw Doyle pulling the curtain cord that had been just minutes earlier wrapping itself around her.

“Don’t touch that!” she yelled at him but he just let the curtain fall over the window and looked at Cordelia like she had lost her mind.

“I’m just closing these so our boss doesn’t burst into flames, if that’s all right with you? I doubt our Buffy here would appreciate if Angel was small enough to fit into an ashtray”, he explained and Cordelia just nodded, watching around herself warily.

“This is a great apartment, much better than the old one”, Buffy commented .

“I know. And anything is better than the old one”, Cordelia answered in her normal blunt tone.

“How about giving us a tour?” Angel suggested and Cordelia looked at him with wide eyes before signaling to different directions.

“Kitchen, living room, bedroom and I'm gonna knock down that wall.” A pair of scissors flew across the room but Cordelia caught them from air and feeling something, Buffy spun around ready to catch something coming towards but only saw Cordelia opening a drawer. She looked around warily, the apartment was giving her the creeps, not that she would tell that to Cordelia.

“How about some lunch? There's this great place just across the street”, Cordelia started when a trophy flew down from the mantel at Doyle's neck but Angel caught it before impact. “That's been doing that the whole time. It's probably a crooked mantel or something”, Cordelia tried to cover but the others didn't seem to be buying it.

“That thing lunged at me!” Doyle cried out.

“What's really going on?” Angel asked.

“I had the same question in mind. My slayer senses are going all wonky in here”, Buffy said glancing around herself.

“It's just a bad trophy”, Cordelia tried but was interrupted by a haunting wail.

“Sweet mother...” Doyle started to say when blood started dripping from the wall, spelling a word 'die'. The three went to Cordelia and grabbed a hold of her, trying to drag her to the door.

“I'm not giving up this apartment!” she protested desperately.

“It's haunted”, Angel said.

“And the walls say die”, Doyle added.

“But it's perfect. It's rent controlled. And it's so me! I'm not letting go of it!”

“Cordy, it says 'Die', written in blood”, Doyle said pointedly, looking into her eyes as to get through to her.

“It could say diet, it's friendly, judgmental but friendly”, Cordelia tried desperately. “It's beautiful! It's perfect! I need this!” she kept going, stomping her foot to the ground.

“You don't need this, you're going to find another apartment. It's just a place. You're better than this”, Angel tried.

“How am I better?”

No one seemed to have the answer so Doyle decided to step in. “We could cleanse it. Try and put the ghost to rest”, he suggested, lifting his eyebrows.

“Could we?” Cordelia asked hopefully like a child to a father.

“We'll figure that out in the office, but now we have to go, okay”, Buffy stepped in, talking to her like to a child that needed convincing.

“Okay”, Cordelia amended, glancing around at her apartment as the others dragged her towards the door. “Listen good, Casper, you haven’t won a thing here! I’ll die before I give up the apartment, you hear me? I’ll die!” she yelled to the apartment as the others had to force her through the door, Buffy finally slamming it shut after them.

Doyle worked on the computer, trying to find information on deaths in Cordelia's apartment while Angel tried to make her calm down and Buffy took her suitcase downstairs. She looked around herself and noticed the rise in the vinyl floor, it had been glued back on but it was still noticeable. Somehow she had a feeling that it had something to do with Cordelia but she shook the thought out of her head, she wasn't going to think about it right now, she had more important things to think about.

She threw the suitcase on the bedroom corner and returned upstairs, just in time to hear Doyle say he had found something. They gathered around the computer.

“First person to ever live in your place, Mrs. Maude Pearson”, Doyle clarified.

“How did you get that?” Angel asked, looking at the article.

“Name carved over the entrance of the building: Pearson Arms. I checked the obits for Pearson, we got lucky. Turns out Maude Pearson built the place and took a unit there, too. And in 1946 she dropped dead of a heart attack in Cordelia’s living room at age of 57.”

“That’s it! That’s her”, Cordelia said pointing at the screen.

“Are you sure?” Buffy asked.

“It’s not a violent death, I mean, ghosts usually...” Angel added but Cordelia interrupted him.

“It’s her, I know it. That place has that weird little old lady smell, like violets and aspercreme. This is easy. Little old lady ghost, probably hanging around because she thinks she left the iron on. Let’s get a nice cleansing spell and get rid of her!”

“Well, this is not an easy spell. I mean, hawthorn berries and lungwort and bile. I don’t know if we can get everything.”, Angel said reading the list of ingredients they were going to need for the spell.

“Hope we had Willow here, she is a real witch in these things, and I mean it literally”, Buffy commented, also reading the list and crunching her nose in disgust.

“I can find them. I know this guy in Koreatown, he does these spells all the time so I can get the stuff form him.”

“Oh, goody! Another one of Doyle’s guys. Tell me, is this the same guy that help me find my poltergeist-delicious apartment?” Cordelia commented cattily.

“At least the poltergeist wasn't our fault this time”, Buffy muttered and Angel gave her a small shove, remembering full well how the poltergeist in the frathouse got started.

“Doyle, go. Get what you need”, Angel said to Doyle and he grabbed the list before heading out.

“I’m gonna try and get some more information, maybe Kate can find something. You wait here”, he said to Cordelia and headed to the door.

“Little old lady ghost. How come Patrick Swayze is never dead when you need him?” Cordelia muttered and Buffy gave her a sympathetic smile.

“I'm gonna go with him. Are you gonna be alright by yourself?” she asked ready to stay if needed, even though she was itching to leave before Angel managed to.

“I'll be fine. The sooner the ghost lady is out of my apartment, the better”, Cordelia answered and with a grateful nod, Buffy headed out, managing to catch Angel before he got to the car.

“What are you doing?” Angel asked as he saw Buffy getting into the car with him.

“I'm coming with.”

“What about Cordelia?”

“She said she'll be okay. And the ghost has secluded her haunting to the apartment”, Buffy explained and put on the seatbelt, she felt that she didn't need it cause she trusted his driving but it always eased his mind and no matter how good driver he was, it didn't mean that some idiot couldn't cause an accident.

“I don't trust Kate. First of all, she has pointed a gun at me and that always drops several points in my book and she has a thing for you”, she added making Angel chuckle.

“She doesn't have a thing for me”, he protested but Buffy just shook her head.

“Come on, she so does. I've seen the lost puppy eyes she's been sending your way and I've only seen her with you few times.”

Angel smiled triumphantly. “Why, miss Summers, are you jealous?” he asked enjoying the situation all too much and Buffy couldn't help but roll her eyes.

Buffy looked at Kate's office once more as she waited Angel to quit his phone call back to the office. Angel turned to look at Buffy as he waited for an answer, she didn't look happy, she was almost pouting and an involuntary smile rose to his lips.

“Aah... Angel investigations... We hope you're hopeless... I mean...” Doyle's voice answered to the phone.

“Doyle, it's me. Could you put Cordelia on the phone?” Angel interrupted him.

“She's not here. Wait a minute, there's a message on the machine”, Doyle said and played the message on the answering machine. Angel could hear his own voice on the other end and from his brooding looks, Buffy too was alarmed.

“What is it?” she mouthed and Angel returned with mouthing: “Bad.”

“That's not me”, he stated as the message ended. “Take the ingredients and wait at the door, we'll be right there”, Angel said and hung up.

“What was it?” she asked as they headed to the car clearly in a hurry.

“Cordelia went back to the apartment”, he answered.

Angel, Buffy and Doyle burst through the apartment door and first their eyes landed on the limp body Cordelia, hanging from a cable wire. Angel quickly ran to her, lifting her up and down from the noose. He placed her down to the sofa and she started to cough while trying to breathe.

“The furniture and... and the wall and the blood, she’s doing it.. she is doing it all... She’ll be back. She’s stronger than us. And she knows me”, Cordelia cried near hysterical.

“We can stop her”, Buffy tried to calm her down, taking hold of her hand and giving it a light squeeze.

“No, we can’t stop her. She's too strong. We can't stop her”, Cordelia cried and Buffy looked at Angel for help, a bitchy Cordelia she could handle but she didn't know what to do with the hysterically crying one.

“She’s made a connection with you. She thinks you’re someone she blames for her murder. Cordelia, answer me”, he said to her.

“I... I’m... I’m taking her son away. She thinks I’m taking her son”, she managed through her cries.

“That’s good. Her son was the one that killed her. All right, you’re playing a role in her delusion, that gives you power. You’re the one that can stop her”, Angel said to her and then turned to Doyle. “Start the binding circle, I’ll find the spell.” He got up from the floor and started leafing through the book.

“We're gonna make it through this. Listen to me, Cordy, this isn't the worst situation we've been in. We have to fight it”, Buffy said to Cordelia, forcing her to look at her but she just shook her head in disbelief and cried harder.

“Bring the truth into the light. Let the villain be reveal that a soul can take its rightful place for eternity”, Angel read from the book as different object flew around the room.

“She knows what we’re doing”, Doyle warned noticing the larger things that were flying around.

“We need Cordelia now”, Angel said and looked at the whimpering girl on the floor.

“Cordy, get up!” Doyle yelled at her but she didn't move.

“Cordelia, stand in the circle and strike at its center”, Angel said in the middle of his reading the spell in Latin. “The ghost is in contact with you, she’s given you that”, Angel tried to explain and keep reading the book.

Buffy grabbed Cordelia by her shoulders and forced her to look at her. “Cordy! You need to stand up and go into that damn circle! Are you going to let some old ghost do this to you!? You're Cordelia Chase! You're queen C, damn it! Now pull yourself together!” she yelled at Cordelia and pulled her to her feet, guiding her to the circle. Cordelia just kept on crying and the storm inside the apartment seemed to increase.

“This isn't working!” Angel yelled over the wind.

“And it's getting dodgy in here”, Doyle added.

“We need to get her out of here. It isn't safe in here.”

They headed to the door when it flew open and there was three guns pointed at them by Griff, another kailiff demon and what looked like a human. “No one is going anywhere”, Griff stated.

“Guns, why does it have to be guns? Don't you have any respect for traditional weapons”, Buffy muttered under her breath, it was no secret she hated guns.

“I thought you were going to let him pay”, Angel stated looking at the guns held in front of him, he wasn't all that keen on them either.

“I lied”, Griff answered and then glanced at Buffy more thoroughly.

“You are full of surprises, vampire. First helping a half-breed and now working with the slayer”, Griff added shaking his head.

“You know who I am?” Buffy asked in surprise.

“Word gets around”, Griff stated calmly while the human was getting nervous.

“What is going on here?” he asked watching as the items flew around in the wind.

“Ignore it, it's just a ghost”, Griff said not taking his eyes off of Angel. As the human started shooting at the ghost, Doyle tackled Cordelia down to the ground away from the bullets way. Angel used the opportunity to grab Griff's gunhand and hit him hard, throwing him against the wall as the human ran away. The other demon grabbed Doyle and pulled him to his feet while pointing the gun at him.

“Look, I've got the money”, Doyle tried to stall as Angel was beating up Griff. Buffy glanced after him but Doyle seemed to be the one needing more help, Angel could handle himself. She tried to sneak up on the demon, but she dropped down to the floor as Angel warned about knives. Doyle ducked and the large butcher knives impeded themselves on the demons chest.

Griff grabbed Angel, throwing him over a chair to the floor and jumping after him himself. Doyle jumped into his back and Griff backed into a wall, slamming Doyle against it. As soon as Doyle had slipped down to the floor, Buffy kicked Griff, sending him staggering across the room. He fell down to the floor and tried to grab a gun that was laying on the floor but Buffy kicked it away from him before kicking him to his chin. Angel pulled him up from the floor and snapped his neck, letting the body fall down to the ground.

They had barely time to breathe when Cordelia stepped out of her bedroom where she had been thrown by the ghost during the fight. “You okay?” Buffy asked and Cordelia just nodded in answer.

“What happened?” Angel asked concerned but still relieved.

“She pissed me off”, she answered.

“Or found her center”, he suggested and Cordelia eyes turned foggy.

“Cordelia?” Doyle asked in alarm but she didn't seem to be listening. She grabbed a lamp and with a war cry, started to hit the wall repeatedly till it started to crumple and showed a skeleton with robes around it. A white light surrounded the skeleton before snaking out and sending a bright light across the room.

“I guess you don't see that every day... Unless you happen to be us”, Buffy stated.

Buffy walked into the office, acknowledging Cordelia with a nod, she headed out to the coffee maker and poured herself a cup. She sat to the chair in front of the desk and just sipped the coffee.

“So, you didn't tell us how the vamp hunt went in Sunnyhell, were you a good little slayer and dust the baddies?” Cordelia asked, it was good to know the whimpering Cordelia was gone.

“Yeah, too bad Harmony got away”, Buffy answered and took another sip.

“Harmony?” Cordelia asked scrunching her face in confusion.

“She's a vampire, didn't you know?”

Cordelia just shook her head, looking surprised.

“Yeah, she's been on and off with Spike and now she has decided to be the new big bad. She even had minions”, Buffy explained and burst into giggles, she still couldn't even think about Harmony having minions without cracking up. But Cordelia didn't seem to see the funny side of it.

“What's so funny?” she asked.

“Come on, Harmony having minions”, Buffy said through her laugher, nearly in tears. “If you were a vamp, I'd understand. But Harmony”, she barely finished and Cordelia smiled, seeing her point.

But soon Buffy turned more serious. “She may not be a major threat but she's still a vampire and she kidnapped Dawn”, she stated and again Cordelia looked at her not understanding but let it pass, not caring enough to ask.

“Why did you come here the other night? I would have thought you'd gone to stay with Doyle or something”, Buffy started, not knowing how to get out what she really wanted to ask.

“He didn't answer his phone”, Cordelia answered not caring about the topic but then seemed to understand the undertone. “You think that I... Oh come on! I'm so over him. And the not breathing thing, such a turn off. Sure its good for you, you're already a freak”, she started and as Buffy raised an questioning eyebrow at her, she added: “You know what I mean.”

Buffy gave her a small smile. “Yeah, I think I do”, she answered and got up. She placed the empty coffee cup next to the coffee maker and went downstairs. She grabbed her school bag but seeing the bedroom door slightly ajar, she couldn't avoid the temptation, she threw her bag back to the couch and sneaked into the bedroom finding a sleeping Angel.

“I know you're pretending”, she whispered into his ear and a grin formed to his lips. He rolled to his back and pulled her into a thorough kiss. As he pulled back, she looked at him seriously, even though the kiss made her want to smile as brightly as she could.

“We need to talk. Well, not now since I have class but once I get back, we will talk. I know Cordelia stayed over here the other night and I'm not mad, I know when she decides something, you have no choice but to hang on. But you should have told me, we can't keep secrets, even about the little things”, she said and he nodded, shifting his gaze off of her. She grabbed his chin and forced him to look her in the face.

“This is not a brood-worthy talk, so don't even think about it. But we will have that talk...”, she said glancing at the clock, adding: “... later. My first class is with professor Clift, wish me luck”, she said and he smiled, pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

“Good luck”, he whispered and now she surrendered to the urge to smile brightly. She flashed him her smile and sending a flying kiss from the door, she left.

As he heard the footsteps getting further away, he sighed deeply, he knew keeping Cordelia's sleepover as a secret was a bad idea but he was still learning, for over 250 years he had never been in a relationship, not when he was alive and not when he was a vampire, not until Buffy, since what he had with Darla didn't exactly qualify as a relationship. The relationship talk was ahead and he had the urge to brood about it but managed to suppress it, barely. Maybe the honeymoon phase was over and the reality was starting to set in. But the he remembered the reunion they had just twelve hours earlier and they definitely weren't over the honeymoon phase. With a smirk he got up from the bed, if he didn't soon get upstairs, Cordelia would probably come and get her and he really didn't need that. But his mood was already better.

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