Disclaimer: I don't own anything, please don't sue me, I have no money. Some of the dialog is from Buffy episode The Replacement written by Jane Espenson.

Chapter 7: Long weekend

“You're going to Sunnydale! Both of you!” Cordelia shrieked, obviously not happy.

“Calm down, Cordelia”, Doyle tried and placed a comforting hand to her shoulder but she just shrugged it off and slapped him several times.

“You can't go! What if there is a vision, or an emergency?” she kept going, waving her hands animatedly at the couple standing in front of her.

“Cordelia, it's not like we're eloping for a vacation in Fiji, this is business. There's a new player in Sunnydale and if there's an emergency here, we're only two hours away”, Buffy reasoned but the brunette didn't seem ready to give up.

“What if it happens during the daytime?” Cordelia asked with a self-satisfied expression, only short of yelping A-HA at Buffy.

“Then I'll just fold Angel into the trunk and drive here”, Buffy said tiredly and earned a questioning look from Angel. “Besides, mom is going out of town and needs me to look after Dawn and she's looking forward on seeing Angel”, she added and Cordelia gave her a confused look.

“I don't even pretend to understand what you're talking about”, she sighed shaking her head and turned to Doyle. “Can't you make yourself useful, have a vision or something!” she yelled at Doyle him gave him few slaps on his arm.

“What can I do? It's not like I get them by request”, Doyle defended himself, raising his arms up in surrender.

“Cordy, it's only three days, you'll call if something comes up”, Buffy said and Cordelia threw her arms up in defeat. “Fine, go ahead! Have fun babysitting this new scooby and prowling around the cemeteries. But our deaths will be hanging over your head, sister”, she threatened over dramatically and stomped out of the room. Everyone looked after her not sure should they be amused or scared.

“Can you spell overreacting, it's only three days”, Buffy muttered with a pout. Angel smiled at the picture she made and gathered her in his arms.

“She's just letting out some fumes”, he consoled her and she nodded.

“I'm gonna go after her to make sure she doesn't break anything”, Doyle stated and signaled to the door.

“Let her cool off a little bit, it might be dangerous territory right now”, Buffy suggested and Doyle seemed to think it was a good idea.

“So, when are you going to tame the shrew?” she changed the subject and Doyle turned to look at her sharply.

“What?”

“When are you going to ask her out?” she clarified.

“I'm going to...” he said not finishing his sentence.

“When?”

“Just looking for the right time, I'm still softening her up”, Doyle answered with a slight hint of defensiveness in his voice.

“What are you waiting for? You have to act, what if she finds another shoe-throwing millionaire? Come on, what's the worst thing that can happen?” she asked looking at him with raised eyebrows.

“She shoots me down mercilessly and things get weird around here.”

“So you're just going to pine over her like a school boy?”

“Hey, I'm not pining. Men don't pine. We just suffer.”

Buffy sighed deeply and threw her hands up in defeat before turning to Angel. “Angel. Talk some sense into him. Do the male confiding thing. I'm going to pack”, she told him and left the room.

“Has she been taking lesson from 'Delia?” Doyle asked with a smirk. Angel turned to look at his friend and shook his head in surrender. Doyle looked at him closely and after a long silence finally asked.

“You're quieter than usual. Cordy explained something about a Buffy-face to me and I'm guessing that's it. But I thought there was no need for that anymore. So what's going on in that big head of yours?”

Angel looked at him from under his brows and shook his head, running his finger through his hair and sighing deeply. “It's nothing. Just thinking about the past and the future”, he answered like there was nothing to worry about.

Doyle looked at him suspiciously, there was something he wasn't telling him. “You're not going to do something foolish and noble, are you?” he asked with a tinge of worry in his voice. Angel looked at him in question and shook his head.

“No, just old ghosts”, he dismissed the conversation.

“I still have a feeling you're not telling me something”, Doyle insisted.

“Look, Doyle, I'm not into the whole discussing my feelings sort of thing, so let's not talk about it”, Angel shot him down and Doyle raised his hands in surrender.

“Alright, alright. I'll change the subject. So you're going back to Sunnydale? You gonna have dinner with the mother-in-law?” Doyle asked like they had been discussing something of the same category.

As soon as Buffy and Angel passed the Welcome to Sunnydale sign she turned to look at him. “Maybe we should stop at the Magic Shop before we go to the mansion. Giles said he'd be there till late at night”, she suggested.

“Sure, but shouldn't we first visit your mother?” he asked and turned to look at Buffy who was giving him the full pout. “Don't wanna. Can't we postpone it till tomorrow?” she asked like a little child. “Buffy.”

“Fine, we'll visit mom and Dawn tonight. But after we see Giles, he's on the way”, she surrendered and folded her arms in front of her.

“Why don't you want to meet your family?” Angel asked not taking his eyes off the road. Buffy sighed deeply and unfolded her arms, only to fiddle with her fingers.

“It's not that I don't want to see them. It's just... I wanted to wait till tomorrow, to regroup a little and get the slayer stuff away first”, she answered, glancing at him from time to time.

“To meet them without me”, Angel stated glumly. Buffy turned sharply to look at him, shaking her head furiously.

“No, it's not that! I want you to see them and Dawn's been waiting to see you again. You have to believe me, it's not you. It's just... It's hard to be the Slayer around them, they don't want to hear it. Mom always belittles that I need to train with Giles and all the other slayer stuff. And Dawn doesn't understand it, she's so protected from it that she just doesn't get what it's like to be a Slayer. Sometimes it's just hard, being a Slayer is part of me, no matter how much I would love it not to be”, she tried to explain, looking at Angel intently even though he was only glancing at her way while keeping his concentration on the road.

“They love you, but people just have hard time accepting the supernatural things in the night”, he stated and took a hold of her hand with his other.

“I know they love me, and I love them. I sound such a bitch, but being a Slayer is a big part of who I am and I just don't... don't like pretending to be something I'm not, not even for them.”

“It's understandable. You don't sound insensitive”, he assured her and she smiled, he just couldn't call her a bitch.

“Have I told you how much I love you?”

He glanced at her with a small smirk on his lips. “Maybe once or twice.”

“Well, just so you know. I love you”, she said with a smile playing on her lips and she leaned closer to him, pressing a soft kiss to the side of his mouth without blocking his view on the road. He pulled over to the side of the road and turned to her, grabbing the back of her neck and pulling her into a passionate kiss. She moaned against his lips while threading her fingers in his hair and deepening the kiss further. She let out a breathy moan and pulled away earning a disappointed groan from him. She gave him a apologetic smile.

“The sooner we see Giles and mom, the sooner we get back to the mansion”, she stated with a seductive grin that was almost enough to make him groan again.

“We're there”, he said and she scrunched her face in confusion.

“Where?”

He couldn't help but smile at her. “The Magic Shop”, he clarified and she looked around herself a little embarrassed.

“Oh, well, we better go inside”, she said and stepped out of the car. They went to the door and knocked loudly. Few moments later Giles came to the door, looking like he had struggled his way through a pack of hyena people.

“Hey Giles, what happened?” Buffy asked walking inside. Giles signed Angel to step inside and he closed the door after him.

“Umm... I was attacked by a stack of books actually”, he stated adjusting his crooked glasses.

“Are you sure you want to open this store? Even the books have it against you and you're old pals”, she asked looking around herself.

“I'm quite sure”, Giles answered walking after her, then he seemed to realize something. “Actually I wasn't expecting you two until tomorrow”, he stated.

“I thought I told you about the classes being canceled for tomorrow, so this is like a long weekend getaway. Only in the business manner”, Buffy answered, still looking around herself.

“Did you just arrive?” he asked turning to look at Angel.

”Yeah, we stopped on our way to mom's”, Buffy answered before Angel could.

“Oh?”

Buffy could hear the question in Giles' voice and she really didn't want to have the conversation with him. Angel could see it and he picked up a book, catching Giles' attention. “Do you have the Ancient Prophecies by Ishida Akio?” he asked and Buffy gave him a grateful smile.

Buffy took a deep breath and rang the doorbell, normally she would have just given a brief knock before walking in but she had misplaced her key, not lost, just misplaced. Hopefully. She could hear Dawn running to the door and yank it open.

“What's with the bell ringing?” she asked not bothering with pleasantries before she noticed Angel and gave him a wide smile. Buffy rolled her eyes at her sister.

“I need you to invite Angel inside”, she said and Dawn gave her a strange look.

“Why?”

“Because of the spell we had to do because of Harmony, so now Angel can't come in without an invitation”, she explained.

“Why don't you invite him?” Dawn asked and Buffy let out a exhausted sigh.

“Because I don't technically live here anymore.”

“So now I can invite vampires in”, Dawn said smugly folding her arms in front of her.

“Dawn!”

“Fine! Come in Angel.”

Angel and Buffy stepped inside and he closed the door behind them. “Hey, kid”, he greeted her with a small hint of a smile.

“Hey, Angel. And don't call me kid”, Dawn answered with a frown.

“Then stop acting like one”, Buffy stated and grabbed hold of Angel's hand before leading him to the kitchen where she could hear her mother.

“I am not!” Dawn protested, running after them.

“Hey, mom”, Buffy said from the door and Joyce turned to look with a smile on her face.

“Buffy”, she said with a motherly warmth in her voice, then her gaze drifted to the man next to her daughter. “Angel”, she greeted with a cooler but not unfriendly tone.

“Mrs. Summers”, Angel responded politely.

“Would you like a sandwich? I was just making some for Dawn and I”, she asked signaling to the ingredients she had spread on the tabletop.

“No thanks, we ate before we left”, Buffy answered, she didn't want to remind her mother of the fact that Angel didn't eat food.

“Oh, well, I just finish these and go make your room ready”, she waved it off, going back to making the sandwiches.

“We're staying at the mansion”, Buffy stated and Joyce stopped her doings, turning around to look at her.

“Why can't you stay here in your old room?” she questioned.

“Because they can't kiss and do all the gross things they do if they're here”, Dawn answered making a disgusted face.

“Dawn”, Joyce chastised and Buffy sent a glare at her sister.

“I'm sorry, mom. I thought I told you we'd be at the mansion.”

Joyce sighed deeply and turned back to the sandwiches. “It would be nice to spend some time as a family while you're here, tomorrow I will go to a trip and Dawn will be spending her day and night at Janice's house.”

Buffy frowned and turned to look at Angel when she felt him give her hand a light squeeze. “You should stay here tonight, make your mother happy”, he whispered, his voice low enough so only Buffy could hear him.

“What about you?”

Angel gave her a small crooked smile. “I think I can manage one night by myself at the mansion”, he answered.

“Are you sure?” she asked feeling unsure about it herself but she didn't want to disappoint her mother, it was true she didn't spend all that much time with her family since she only had weekends in Sunnydale.

“I'm sure. We'll have tomorrow all to ourselves”, he assured her and she gave him a adoring smile before leaning into a kiss.

“Ygh!” Dawn yelped from the door, making gagging noises. Buffy broke the kiss and sent her sister another glare before turning to her mother.

“Okay, I'll stay tonight if you want”, she said with a inaudible sigh.

“That's wonderful”, Joyce stated with a wide smile, truly happy to have her family together.

“We're gonna go change the sheets”, Buffy said gesturing to the door and pulled Angel with her, guiding him to upstairs.

She took fresh linens from the closet while Angel pulled the old ones off the bed and folded them neatly to a chair, a gesture that made her smile. Together they put on the new sheets and after the task was finished, they sat to the edge of the bed. Angel looked around himself, the room hadn't changed all that much, maybe matured but there were still the signs that it was Buffy's room.

“Mr. Gordo is missing”, he stated and Buffy couldn't help but giggle.

“He's in LA”, she said and looked at him, what guy could notice that a stuffed pig was missing from a room he hadn't seen nearly in a year. With the smile still on her lips, she leaned closer and kissed him. She meant it to be just a quick kiss to tell him she thought he was sweet but soon the kiss deepened and was burning with desire. They wrapped their arms around each other and without interrupting the kiss, he gently lowered her to lay on the bed. Her other hand made its way to his hair, fisting the short hair as she let out a small whimper.

After a while, he pulled away far enough to let her breathe. “It's gonna be a long night”, she whispered and silently he was agreeing with her.

The next afternoon, Giles called about a demon that attacked the store and Buffy tortured Angel by driving them to the Magic Shop while he was huddled under a blanket on the backseat. Angel dashed through the door and threw the steaming blanket to the floor. He turned to look at Buffy who was sauntering after him with a smirk on her lips.

“You wouldn't be such a bad driver if you concentrated”, he stated and earned a deeper smirk.

“But it's fun to see you squirm. In more ways than one”, she whispered to his ear.

“Could you two not do that in front of other people”, came Xander's voice and pulled them out of their little moment. They made their way to the others, Angel sat on a chair next to a bookcase and Buffy sat into his lap.

“So, Willow told me your decided to fly off the nest, that you've got a new apartment with a microwave in it”, Buffy started the conversation, turning to Xander.

“No, it doesn't seem that I will get the apartment, they don't take references from my good friend Albert”, Xander answered, folding his arms in front of him and looking at her glumly, he was still little annoyed of the fight he had with Anya.

“Albert?” Buffy questioned.

“One of Xander's many personalities”, Willow explained with a smile, earning a 'Hey' from him.

“Children, please. Let's try to concentrate on the matter at hand, the demon situation”, Giles chastised.

“So, tell us all that happened”, Buffy said like she was talking to a little boy who wanted to tell about his exciting day. Giles sent a halfhearted annoyed look at her and started to explain about his encounter with the demon, demonstrating it vividly with the statue.

“How badly did you hurt him?” Buffy asked as Giles placed down the statue.

“Umm.. hurt, well... maybe not... hurt”, he said awkwardly.

“Well, I'm sure he was startled”, Willow said helpfully.

“Uh, yes, I'd imagine it gave him, rather a turn.”

“So he ran away?” Buffy asked with a crooked grin on her face.

“Sort of more... uh... turned and swept out majestically, I suppose. He said I didn't concern him”, Giles answered little embarrassed and hurt from the demon's words.

“So a mythic triumph over a completely indifferent foe?” Buffy quipped earning a glare from Giles.

“Well, I'm not dead or unconscious, so I say bravo for me.”

Willow went through the bookcase and pulled out a heavy book, glancing through it quickly before offering it to Giles. “There's some good demons in this one. Well, not good demons, but... evil demons... you know, a lot of them... you know what I mean. See if your guy's in here”, she said and Giles took the book, adjusting his glasses before starting to leaf through it.

“So you bought the magic shop and you were attacked before it opened. Who's up for a swinging chorus of the We told you so-symphony?” Xander said looking at Giles pointedly, only to be ignored.

“And let's not forget you were already attacked by a stack of books”, Buffy added helpfully.

“Toth”, Giles stated lifting his gaze from the book.

“Toth?” Angel questioned, clearly recognizing the word.

“What?” Buffy asked with a questioning frown. Giles was about to explain when he noticed Xander holding a crystal.

“Be careful with that”, he chided and Xander put it back to the shelve, looking like a kid who had been doing something wrong. “Toth is a ancient demon. Very strong, the last survivor of the Tothric clan. This book also says that for a demon he's unusually sophisticated.”

“Sophisticated? So should I discuss men's fashions with him before I chop his head off?” Buffy asked and Giles gave her a chiding look.

“The book is referring to the fact that he does not fight bare-handed. He uses tools and devices. And he's also supposed to be very focused. And since he mentioned the Slayer, I think we know what the focus is”, Giles answered.

“Where do we find it?” Angel asked darkly, yet another demon after his Buffy. Buffy turned to look at him and took his hand in hers, entwining their fingers and giving him a light squeeze to calm down his nerves. She knew how protective he was about her and it was cute and annoying at the same time.

“Well, there's no mention of the types of places he might frequent, but... I have an idea since he had a very specific olfactory presence”, Giles answered, closing the book and placing it to the table.

“Well, I guess we're off to the olfactory. I hate that place”, Xander said and added when everyone turned to look at him, “I'm joking, I know what it means. He smelled.” Then he looked at them uncertainly, questioning himself. “Right?”

“Some demon rituals involve anointing with oils. Was it sort of, sandalwoody?” Willow asked helpfully.

“Umm... not even remotely. But he was very... distinctive”, Giles answered.

“Like what?” Buffy asked.

“Like the city wasteyard”, Giles answered and Buffy scrunched her face in disgust.

“And he was supposed to be sophisticated”, she muttered. “But we have to wait till sundown so Angel come out to play”, she added going back to business. Xander sent a glare at his way, of course the vampire had to come, you couldn't see Buffy without him these days. He didn't hate Angel like he used to because of jealousy and Angelus and now that he was in love with Anya and the curse was no longer an issue, he could tolerate the vampire but he still resented him for hogging Buffy to himself.

After sundown the group made their way to the city dump, both Buffy and Angel armed with large axes. The group stopped as they heard rummaging but then relaxed as Spike popped up from a pile of garbage.

“Spike”, Angel growled.

“Spike, what are you doing here?” Buffy sighed.

“Oh, there's a nice lady vampire who set up a charming tea room over the next pile of crap. What do you think I'm doing? I'm scavenging, ain't I?” Spike answered his voice dripping with sarcasm and he showed a small oil lamp to the others.

“Very pretty”, Willow complimented with a smile and earned a nod of agreement from Spike.

“Spike... we're looking for a demon... tall, robed, skin sort of hanging off. Deep voice?” Giles asked diplomatically.

“You mean a great tall robey thing like that one?” Spike asked indifferently and pointed behind them. They turned around to look and the demon raised the stick in his hand.

“Look out!” Angel warned and pulled Buffy away as Toth shot at them.

“That's right! Kick her ass!” Spike rooted the demon. The demon fired again, just barely missing Buffy but hitting the lamp in Spike's hand, shattering it to pieces. “Oh, that's just great! I was on your side!” Spike yelled angrily at the demon and threw the lamp back to the pile before stomping off with his shopping cart.

“Buffy!” Angel yelled and pushed Buffy out of the way, catching the hit himself.

“Angel!” Buffy screamed and ran after Angel who had been thrown to the pile.

“Watch out!” Xander yelled as Toth raised the rod and shot at Buffy. He stepped right in front of her and went flying next to Angel.

“Xander!” Willow said worriedly and rushed over to him. Buffy was already helping Angel to his feet but he seemed a little disorientated.

“Xander, you okay?” Buffy asked while Willow and Giles lifted him to his feet.

“I'm fine”, Xander answered but soon after staggered.

“It appears Toth left”, Giles stated as they seemed to be alone on the dump.

“Good for him, I would have kicked his ass after this stunt”, Buffy grumbled and looked at Angel worriedly. He gave her a assuring smile and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

“I'm okay. That thing had a real kick”, he said shaking his head trying to clear it.

“You sure?” she questioned and cupped his cheek. “Since there's no hole in you, that thing must do something else”, she added looking him up and down, not finding even burnt fabric around where he had been shot.

“Buffy, I'm alright. We better get Xander home, I don't think he's holding up all so good”, he assured her and nodded his head towards Xander.

“I'm okay”, Xander insisted but again his knees gave out.

“Sure you are. Let's get you home”, Buffy answered and they started walking towards the cars.

When they reached the cars, Buffy's cellphone started ringing. With a sigh she answered it. “Hi, mom... What? -- What you mean I have to stay with Dawn tonight, I thought she's at Janice's... Just great... Yeah, I know... What you mean by impressionable? --- Mom, it's not like we're going to teach Dawn how to play a game of tongue hockey... I was just joking... Okay, okay, we'll pick her up as soon as we can... Love you too... Bye.” She hung up the phone and turned to look at Angel who looked at her knowing what the conversation had been about.

“I'm guessing you heard”, Buffy stated, she was quickly learning about vampire hearing, you really couldn't have a private phone call when he was in the same room.

“So I'm spending another night babysitting Dawn”, she sighed. “But Saturday night I'm sleeping with you!” she threatened and blushed as the others turned to look at her. “Umm... As in sleeping, not... You know what I mean!” she tried to explain but ended up blushing even more.

“No need to explain more, I believe we all understand”, Giles said barely keeping himself from stuttering. He cleared his throat before continuing, “Well, we will get Xander home safely. So you two can go fetch your sister.”

“You make me sound like a dog. But, I'll see you guys tomorrow”, she stated and after a chorus of goodbyes, stepped into the car.

As the two cars drove off the city dump, a dark figure stepped into the moonlight. An evil smirk rose to Angelus' lips and he couldn't suppress a chuckle from surfacing. “This is going to be so much fun”, he stated to himself and started stalking away from the wasteyard, whistling a eerie tune.

After some fighting, Buffy managed to convince Dawn go to bed and after the room door closed, she sighed in relief. Dawn was her sister and she loved her but sometimes she could just be so annoying. She made her way to her room and started shedding her clothes. She couldn't believe how tired she was and not long after she climbed under the covers, she was asleep.

She was completely unaware of the fact that Angelus had been sitting by her room window for the last fifteen minutes and now he slowly opened the window and soundlessly climbed inside. Crooked smile in place, he neared the bed.

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