•••

“I-I’m not alone,” Buffy said quietly, standing up.

“No? Who do you have to help you?” Wil asked the Slayer.

Buffy looked around. “Willow, when she gets better; Dawn; and Giles.”

Giles looked up from the carpet he’d been studying. “I wasn’t…”

"Planning to stay?” Wil finished for him. “And Willow isn’t going to be any good for months—if she’s ever able to help you again.”

Buffy scowled at him. “What, you think I can’t handle my job without an army behind me?”

Wil sighed softly. “No, that isn’t what I think at all. Buffy, you’re the oldest Slayer in known history, and a lot of that is because unlike other Slayers, you do accept help. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that I’d like to see you continue to stretch the life expectancy of a Slayer for many more years.”

“But we can’t just leave you here by yourself when we’ve got resources to spare,” Xander said. “There are eight of us in L.A., and I think we can manage a person or two short,” He paused when Buffy snorted, but pressed on, “Until everybody here is at full strength.”

“It would just be a temporary arrangement,” Angel reminded her. It would have to be; no matter who stayed in Sunnydale, they wouldn’t want to forever, since their lovers would almost certainly be in Los Angeles.

Buffy grimaced. She really didn’t like this at all. Actually, she couldn’t think of anyone that could stay. “Who would it be?” She asked Wil. “You know it can’t be you or Angel. I’m having a hard time with the whole ‘you two together’ thing and the ‘Spike with a soul’ thing, not to mention ‘owing Spike my life’ thing. Seeing the two of you together all the time won’t do good things for my slaying.”

“I can’t stay,” Oz said. Everyone nodded, knowing that the reason why was sleeping in the kitchen.

“Xander has the vision thingy going on, and I be they’re not going to switch to Sunnydale visions just because he’s here,” Dawn added.

“So that knocks out all of you,” Buffy said with satisfaction.

“But there’s still Cordelia, Wesley, Fred and Gunn,” Wil reminded her. “Cordelia must stay in L.A. for the same reason as Xander, and Wesley should stay away from the Hellmouth—we aren’t sure what or who might find a faun useful yet. But Fred and Gunn could, if they were willing to do so. They’re also still human.”

Buffy frowned again. Those were the two that she knew nothing about. They were also the only two humans—at least for the moment. That ‘still’ bothered her a little bit. Considering what had happened to Cordelia, Wesley and Xander, the likelihood of these other two humans staying that way was rather slim. “I don’t know…”

“I would recommend you think about this rather carefully, Buffy,” Giles said to his former charge. “I can stay here for a few weeks, but after that I must return to England. I have responsibilities there now. These people may be able to provide the assistance you will rather desperately need while Willow is regaining her health and Dawn learns the basics of slaying.”

Buffy winced at the mention of Dawn. She’d tried to protect dawn from the slaying thing, but now it didn’t seem like such a great idea. Her kid sister had a decent knowledge of fighting, as evinced during the last few days, but she had a lot to learn before she could just strike out on patrol. “What if they don’t want to come here?”

Wil shrugged. “Then we’ll think of something else. I can call them now, though.” He pulled out a cell phone and stepped into a corner. The conversation was brief and a bit strained. “They’re talking about it now,” Wil said when he hung up.

“We should go,” Oz said quietly. The sun would be up in less than half an hour and being somewhere else would be best.

As they left, Wil turned back to Buffy. “We’ll meet you here tonight.”

“When you will, of course, tell us all the other stuff you left out before,” Dawn reminded him with a yawn.

“Of course, Niblet,” Wil murmured.

•••

Wesley shifted uncomfortably in his chair. The phone call from Wil had ended just a few minutes before, but no one had said a word since. “Well?”

“Well what?” Gunn asked shortly. “The damned vampire wants us to run over to Sunnydale to baby-sit his old crush and clean up her mess. Why should we?”

Wesley sighed. “Because it isn’t just Buffy. In fact, I’d wager that most of Wil’s motives for asking us focus on Dawn, although wouldn’t dare tell Buffy that.”

“Why and why not?” Fred asked, confused. Wesley smiled at her garbled question.

“Why would he be concerned for Dawn? He’s always cared about the girl because she was one of the only people who liked him and expected nothing from him. Why wouldn’t he tell Buffy? The Slayer has a bit of a jealous streak in her. What she remembers most about Wil would be how he mooned over her before she died. She probably still thinks he’s pining for her, the same way she thinks that Angel is longing to be with her. What do you think she would say if she found out that not only does Wil want to help because of Dawn and not her, but that both of them are more than capable of being with her now—that Angel’s soul could easily withstand the sex—but that neither of them are choosing her?” Wesley asked.

Cordelia scowled. “She’d throw them out on their asses and dust them on sight after that.”

Wesley nodded. “That is precisely why Wil is handling this the way he is. He can’t just take Dawn away from Buffy; but if he tells her the truth, he won’t be able to help the girl at all. Neither his nor Angel’s connections in Sunnydale are strong enough to protect Dawn, much less Buffy. Until the Slayer either gets her act together or realizes that she needs to move beyond her ties to Angel, it is probably for the best that we help out.”

“You’re taking this really well, considering that Fred’s going to be one of the people leaving,” Gunn said to Wesley. “I don’t like the idea of leaving Delia here.”

Cordelia rolled her eyes. “I’ll be fine, you know. There’s gonna be five other people here to protect my weak, defenseless self from all the things that go bump in the night.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Gunn said with a smirk.

“I know, I’m choosing to misunderstand you,” Cordelia replied.

“I don’t like it either,” Fred added, “but I see why we should do it. Like Wil said, it won’t be but for a few weeks, until Dawn’s got the hang of slaying and Willow is on her feet again. Of course, it would be better if Buffy just moved on. Aren’t there other places that could use a Slayer?

Wesley shook his head. “Sunnydale will require most of her attentions for the rest of her life. Unlike most of the world, Sunnydale doesn’t exist in a balance between humanity and its demonic counterparts. The Hellmouth changes the community, leaving it vulnerable again and again to attacks.”

“Why doesn’t someone just close the Hellmouth?” Fred inquired.

“It is closed,” Wesley said. “But it can always be reopened by someone with the right knowledge. That is where much of the danger comes from.”

Gunn snorted. “So there’s nothing to do but leave a Slayer chained to the town?”

“For the moment, yes,” Wesley answered.

“Then I guess we have to go to Sunnydale, at least for a little while,” Gunn said. Fred nodded her agreement. “But I’m not going to like it.”

•••

The next evening found Wil, Angel, Oz and Xander standing at Buffy’s door. When they knocked, Dawn answered. “Thank gods you’re here!”

Wil and the others stepped inside. “What is it?”

Dawn pointed at the kitchen. “Willow’s having *another* breakdown. She hasn’t left the kitchen all day.”

“Where’s Buffy?” Angel asked the girl.

Dawn swore softly before answering. “Where she always is when stuff gets all emotional—slaying. Giles went after her, since she shouldn’t be out right now. I mean, she’s the only one that can keep Willow calm for any length of time, and besides that, this just isn’t the right time to go chasing a slaying high! We need her here.”

Angel looked at Wil. “We can try to help Willow while Giles looks for Buffy.”

“Um…can I stay out here and wait for Gunn to call for directions?” Xander asked. It would be more than an hour before Gunn and Fred showed up in Sunnydale, but he really didn’t want to be near Willow. If they needed his empathic skills, he could help them from out here—even at this distance he could feel her quite vividly.

“Sure,” Wil said, understanding. Oz and Xander settled on the couch while the vampires went in to look after Willow.

The redhead looked like death warmed over. She was a shadow of her usual self, all sunken, flat eyes; dull, greasy hair and defeated body language. Angel crouched down next to her. The witch didn’t even look up. “Willow?” Angel whispered. She sniffled a little but otherwise showed no signs of life.

Wil was about to go over to her when he heard Oz in the living room. “Wil?” He turned around and went back to the others.

“What is it?” He asked.

Xander looked at him over the cell phone he was dialing. “Vision. It was in daylight, so I think we have time to get back. But it was a bunch of demons, so we’re going to need to go—it’s more than Wes and Cordy can handle.”

“I’ll tell Angel,” Wil said. This wasn’t what he’d planned on, but then again they never could plan well with the visions coming whenever they wanted. “Angel?” He said quietly.

“What now?” Angel replied.

“Vision. We have to go,” Wil replied. Angel nodded and looked up at Dawn, who was standing nearby. “Tell Buffy what happened. Gunn and Fred will be here soon. Gunn’s a tall black man, and Fred’s a short brunette woman.”

Just a few minutes later, the foursome was piled in Angel’s car, barreling down the highway. Xander was on the phone with Gunn and Fred, giving them directions to Buffy’s house and last minute pointers on how to avoid Slayer-wrath. After that phone call was over, he rang Cordelia and Wesley, who were understandably worried about the situation. He gave them all the details he had from the vision, so that they could collect information while the rest of the team was in transit.

Angel honked and waved as they passed Fred and Gunn a few miles outside of Sunnydale. After that, the atmosphere in the car quieted noticeably as Xander snuggled up to Oz and fell asleep. Wil watched cars go by the other direction and thought about Buffy. He was quite relieved that seeing her hadn’t dredged up any unexpected memories. It hadn’t even hurt very much. He wasn’t sure what that meant.

“It means you’ve moved on,” Angel said. Wil looked over at him. Had he said that out loud?

Angel grinned. “You didn’t have to say a word, Wil. I know what you’re thinking—the same thing I do every time I see her.”

“Hmm. Still, it’s not an experience I care to repeat in the near future,” Wil replied.

“Why do you think I make so many trips to Sunnydale?” Angel said. Wil grinned. “Get some rest, Wil. I know you didn’t sleep well last night.”

Wil nodded and rested his head on the window. He had slept rather poorly the night before so a bit more sleep wouldn’t hurt. Besides, even though Xander’s vision had indicated sunlight, there would still be work for him to do in L.A.—even if it was just research.

•••

Cordelia and Wesley were quite happy to see the crew when they returned. “How was Buffy?” Cordelia asked as they piled out of the car.

“She’s fine. Willow’s the one we’re worried about,” Wil answered. Cordelia nodded sagely.

“What about our demon thing?” Xander asked as Oz helped him out of the car. His leg was asleep, so he hopped around a little to wake it up.

Wesley growled. It was still sort of odd for the others to hear the Watcher actually growl—he didn’t sound like the vampires or the werewolves when he did it, but it was still strange. “I’ve located the nest of Fyarl demons you saw. According to one of Lorne’s sources, they’ve been hired by Wolfram & Hart to destroy a homeless shelter downtown—those were the people you saw.”

“What’s the plan?” Xander asked.

“Those of us who can will fight above ground, while Wil and Angel work in the sewers. We’ll use one of Fred’s tricks and pull the fire alarm to evacuate the shelter,” Wesley responded. “At least Gunn won’t complain about missing a great fight this time.” They all laughed, knowing that Gunn wouldn’t mind sitting this one out. His reaction to Fyarl demon blood was rather extreme.

“So we’ve got, what, at least five hours before this big plan starts?” Xander asked.

“Thereabouts, yes,” Wesley replied.

“Then I vote for naps all around. Sunnydale wore me out,” the Raphe decided. “Any objections?” Seeing none, he made for the stairs, Oz close behind him.

“We should do the same,” Wil told Angel. The dark vampire nodded and followed Wil up the stairs. After a few moments, Cordelia and Wesley went up as well. They hadn’t slept while waiting for the others, so they too were tired.

•••

Wil found himself engulfed by Angel’s arms as soon as he got into bed. Angel held him close, burying his face in Wil’s neck. The blonde lay there silently, waiting for Angel to compose himself. He knew that despite all of Angel’s bravado, he was deeply affected by his brief return to the Hellmouth. “I love you,” Angel whispered a few minutes later.

“I know,” Wil replied just as softly. “And I love you. That won’t change, no matter how many times I see her.” Angel nodded, and then pulled away slightly.

“But I’d still rather not go back very often,” He said. “That place is in the past.”

“Yes, it is,” Wil agreed. “What do you think will happen?”

Angel thought for a few minutes. “I really don’t know. It’s just too soon. I want to see what Gunn and Fred think about the whole situation.”

Wil nodded but said nothing in response. Instead, he ducked his head down and placed a soft kiss at the base of Angel’s throat. The older vampire purred and began to rub the small of Wil’s back. It was not the time for sex—they had too much to do too quickly—but that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy each other in the meantime. Being around Buffy was traumatic for both of them, and they needed to reconnect. That, of course, would have to wait until after they dealt with the Fyarl demons. This was nice, though.