•••

/This isn't working./ Angel pushed himself out of his chair and switched the monitor of his computer off. Nothing was distracting him from his worries—the nagging feeling that whatever was going on in London was going to be bad. It hadn't helped that Cordelia had expressed similar concerns. He also missed Wil, but there was nothing he could do about it. The blonde vampire had been quite adamant that they expend their energies solving their latest cases. Angel agreed with him and knew that it was the right thing to do, but it didn't make him miss Wil any less. At least they got to chat via e-mail occasionally, now that Cordelia had dragged him kicking and screaming into the twentieth century.

The last batch of information from their London contingent had been troublesome. After more than two weeks on site, Wil and the others had found out that the Wolfram & Hart subsidiary operating there had at least as sophisticated a network as Wolfram & Hart, and more importantly a strong connection to the Watcher's Council. None of the investigators could think of a good reason for the law firm to have an interest in the organization that governed Slayers.

In fact, all that they could think of were very bad things—Wolfram & Hart using the Watcher's Council to direct the Slayer to fight their battles—much like the law firm used Angel and his crew to clean up their messes. If this theory was true, then the main reason why Buffy was in Sunnydale was to either fix something they did wrong or get the place prepared for another nefarious scheme they had in mind. The former was a little less nasty than the latter, but neither option pleased them.

From what Wil had said, Wesley was not taking the news well. Although the ex-Watcher had gotten over his separation from his former employer and even had a bit of dislike for them now, he was uncomfortable with the idea of them being associated with his sworn enemies—mostly, it seemed, because he was afraid that he had somehow benefited from Wolfram & Hart during his training and employment. And now that he wasn't human, Wesley was even more worried that he might have been responsible for the deaths of innocent nonhumans during his tenure as a Watcher.

"Still brooding?"

Angel looked up from where he'd been staring at the floor. Cordelia was leaning against the doorframe, smirking slightly. "I wasn't brooding," Angel lied.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Right, and I wear clothes from Wal-Mart." She crossed over to where Angel had stopped to think. "You need to get out, you know? Why don't you come with Fred and I? We're going—"

"Shopping?" Angel interrupted.

"Yes, and you're going with us," Cordelia insisted. "It will get your mind off this stuff." Angel began to shake his head, but she cut him off. "The sun's just set, you've got nothing to do right now, and Gunn's not here to rescue you. Face it, mister; you're at my tender mercies."

"Tender, my ass," Angel muttered as he followed the Seer out of the office.

"I heard that," Cordelia shot back.

/This is going to be torture,/ Angel thought to himself as the trio went down to his car.

•••

"No."

Fred grinned. "Please?"

Angel shook his head. "There is no way I'm going in there."

Cordelia smirked. "Fine, but you have to go into the next store we get to, and buy whatever I say."

"Deal," Angel said quickly, sure that whatever Cordelia chose wouldn't be as bad as Frederick's. There was no way in hell that he was going into a lingerie shop. The women left him on a bench with a bunch of bags and boxes as they went into the store. Angel looked around, noticing a rather large gathering of men in a similar situation.

"You got off light," One guy said to Angel.

"Yeah, she could have made you buy her a car," Another one said.

"Girlfriends can be a real pain in the ass," A third man added.

"She's not my girlfriend," Angel replied.

"Sure," The first guy said with a smirk.

"Secretary," Angel shot back. "With my research assistant. My boyfriend never gives me this kind of trouble." As he'd predicted, and wanted, the men around him took two steps back and shuffled around nervously. Los Angeles might be a progressive sort of town, but some things still got a reaction.

A few minutes later Cordelia and Fred returned with a pair of miniscule bags, which they stuffed into larger ones in Angel's hands. "Ok, boss. Time to pay the piper."

•••

Gunn pointedly chose to not comment on Angel's new hair or the pair of steel rings in his ears. Even without being told, he knew that they were Cordelia's doing. "Any new business?"

"Nothing," Angel growled, running his hands through his hair for the thousandth time. He silently cursed himself once again for not just going into the damned lingerie shop. Cordelia had managed to find something worse—a salon. Granted, she'd not gotten much cut off, but the flaming ruby highlights and earrings were, well…not what Angel had been expecting. The Polaroid she'd taken of him hadn't reassured him in the least. He didn't look very professional. It was annoying and different and he wished that Wil was here to tell him it looked ok. Or to offer to fix it. She'd made him promise to leave the rings in for two weeks, and not color his hair for at least five days. As if he could find a color to match his natural shade. She was going to suffer for this.

"Demon spawn, high school, band practice," Cordelia spat out as she and Fred ran into the office. They threw an assortment of knives and swords at Angel and Gunn as they headed for the door.

"Vision, I take it?" Angel commented as they ran down the stairs. Fred waved at Lorne as they made for the stairs.

"Nice hair, Angel!" Lorne called out as they passed.

"Not a word, Lorne," Angel warned.

"Yes, a vision," Cordelia replied. "I know the school."

When they got to the high school, they found a hundred teenagers cowering in the auditorium as a pack of rodent-like demons advanced on them. Fred and Gunn convinced the marching band members to retreat outside while Cordelia and Angel took care of the hungry demons. By the time the werewolf and the vampire had disposed of the bodies, Fred and Gunn had convinced the kids that it had simply been a serious rat infestation. The drum major swore that he was going to sue the school, and most of the band followed his lead. To the kids' surprise, Fred and Gunn just nodded. Hey, they weren't in line to get sued, so who cared?

"Let me guess, rodent infestation?" Angel asked as they piled into the car. There wasn't any use in trying to get paid for that job. The school board wasn't about to shell out money for that kind of work.

"Worked like a charm," Gunn replied.

"And your new hair didn't affect your Batman routine one bit," Cordelia added. "See?"

"Don't start."

•••

"Um, Angel?"

Angel looked up from his computer. Fred had poked her head into the office, distracting him from paying bills. The job was so much easier when Wesley was around to help him. "What?"

"You've got company. From Sunnydale."

That only meant one thing now. Buffy. Angel closed his eyes and took a deep, unnecessary breath. Why him? He stood up and moved toward the door. "Why?"

"She wouldn't talk to me—she's not very fond of me, you know," Fred replied. "Dawn and Willow are with her."

Angel walked down the stairs. Buffy was standing in the middle of the lobby, peering suspiciously at Caritas. Dawn had Willow in one corner, sitting on a bench. The redhead was still catatonic. "Angel!" Dawn exclaimed when she saw him. Buffy turned around to see the vampire descend the stairs.

"What did you do to your hair?" Buffy squeaked.

"Cordelia," Angel said, as though that one name answered all questions. "Why are you here, Buffy?"

Buffy bristled at the matter-of-fact tone. "I need help."

Angel cocked one eyebrow. "What kind of help?"

"Is Xander here? We could use him in Sunnydale," Buffy non-replied, looking around.

"No, he's working elsewhere right now," Angel answered. Had something occurred in Sunnydale that he'd not been told about? Before he could ask, his cell phone rang. He kept his eyes on Buffy as he answered it. The caller turned out to be one of his Sunnydale contacts. At least now he knew what was going on and why Buffy was standing in his hotel.

"The Initiative's back," Angel said flatly, hanging up the cell phone.

Buffy looked shocked, but quickly recovered. "Not exactly—it's just the soldiers. They've started patrolling and all. No scientists."

"No place for a Slayer?" Angel questioned.

Buffy fidgeted. "Not really. There must be fifty of them—they've got more training now. Riley's leading them."

The fact that Riley was there and Buffy wasn't surprised Angel. He'd have thought that she'd stay where he was. "Did they make you leave?"

It took a long minute for Buffy to respond. "It would have been…difficult to stay."

/And now you're here because…/ Angel thought to himself. It was fairly clear to him why she was in LA. She'd disconnected herself from the Watcher's Council, who would have under normal circumstances directed her. Not that he disagreed—the Watcher's Council was a corrupt organization—but he wasn't prepared to start guiding a Slayer. "Can they protect the Hellmouth?" That was his first concern. If they couldn't, Buffy was going back immediately.

"Yeah," Buffy replied forlornly. Angel winced. It must be hard to be the Slayer and know that someone else can do your job.

"How's Willow?" Angel asked, changing the subject.

"No change," Buffy said. "Still a zombie."

"She's better," Dawn countered angrily. "She responds more now, and she's stopped drooling."

"Ah," Angel murmured. "Why don't you take her upstairs? Fred can show you a spare room." He looked around the lobby. Cordelia and Gunn weren't going to like this one bit.

•••

"I don't like this one bit," Cordelia growled. She didn't want the Slayer or the witch in her home. Dawn she could stand—the kid had character to spare. But Buffy and Willow? She didn't buy the drooling, brain-dead bit, and the Slayer needed a swift kick in the rear.

"We don't have a choice," Angel countered. "She's good, and we need everything we can get right now. That bad feeling isn't going away."

"I know, believe me I do," Cordelia said. All of them had started getting feelings of impending doom lately—as though they just knew that something big was going to happen, and they were going to get caught up in it. "But does she have to stay here? I mean, with the others gone…"

"It will be fine," Angel ground out. "Fred and you can get her up-to-speed on Wolfram & Hart. Despite some of her traditional techniques, she does understand subtlety."

Cordelia looked skeptical, but nodded and walked out. If Angel was that confident that Buffy could do it, fine. It had become apparent to the investigators that the Slayer and her sidekicks, such as they were, weren't going anywhere—with the Hellmouth protected, it wasn't as if they had pressing engagements in Sunnydale. Besides, it would be easier to get Willow treatment in the city.

Once Cordelia was gone, Angel sat back and sighed. He wasn't nearly as confident as Cordelia thought he was. While he knew that Buffy was capable of working in the type of conditions that LA, and Wolfram & Hart, required, that style wasn't her preference. Also, she had other worries—Social Services would watch Dawn much more carefully here, and Willow still needed a keeper. Then again, Angel could use the help and fresh perspective on the Wolfram & Hart angle. And, it might take a little pressure off him—he hadn't realized how much Wil and the others had helped diffuse the stresses of this job until they were gone. Well, since Wil had gone. The extra physical labor didn't bother him; it was the emotional burden that was wearing him down. It was odd, but the same heavy load was almost unbearable now. Before Wil had come along, he'd just shouldered it without comment. Now it was something he hated doing alone. If it was a weakness, so be it. Angel wasn't willing to give up what he had with Wil.

According to the blonde, it wasn't really a weakness at all. Wil had said once that the ability to love was a strength to be fostered and nourished. There were many capable of obsession and lust, but relatively few capable of love—which was what the two vampires felt for each other. Angel still worried occasionally that his involvement with Wil was a distraction, keeping him from his duties, but he couldn't bring himself to stop. Being with Wil made him a better warrior.

Of course, it was a real distraction now. He was supposed to be focusing on Buffy's appearance and Wolfram & Hart, and what was he ruminating about? Wil. With a wry shake of his head, Angel got up to check on the others. It was going to be a long night of arguing with the Slayer and preparing another report for Wil's crew in London. They were delving deeper into the Watcher-Wolfram & Hart connection, using some of Wesley's old snitches for information.