"May I come in?" Jenny asked hesitantly as she shifted uncomfortably on her feet. She wasn't really sure why she was there. The sombre features of the tall brunette vampire that was hated above all others by her clan certainly didn't appear very welcoming. But the hints and suggestions that Giles, Buffy, Joyce, and Cordelia had been making all summer had intrigued her to say the least.

Angel took a moment before stepping back, allowing her to enter but not inviting her in any way. He was unsure of his place; off kilter. He hadn't managed to fit in with any of the group since Buffy had faced the Master. His beautiful girl had completely shut him out. His saviour, the one gleaming light in his harsh existence, refused to even speak to him any more. He felt like he was floundering, his love for her only escalating with her rejection. He'd tried everything he could think of, but nothing worked. Nothing changed. He was on the outside looking in, and consequently his need to work for redemption seemed to have dimmed.

His soul craved not only Buffy's attention, but the acceptance of the others. He wanted it, but it taunted him. They were an enigma to him, these humans. He didn't know how to relate to them, and the desire to interact when coupled with his loneliness only seemed to heighten the distance between them. But here was a human willingly coming to him, and he didn't know what to think or how to react. When she offered him a hesitant smile, his soul sang with joy. Maybe this one would help him. Maybe this one would let him belong.

~*~*~

"How 'bout next time you take on the human minions while I take on the reptile-y snake-y demon," Buffy huffed as she settled into the passenger seat of Cordelia's car. Her dishevelled outfit made her look like one of the homeless next to the perfect appearance of her friend.

Cordelia smirked in amusement. "When you can turn into day-glow girl and melt the suckers into nothing, we'll talk!"

"Yeah, well, don't think I won't be having a thing or two to say about that the next time the Powers want my co-operation," the petite blonde muttered, her bottom lip jutting out prominently.

"Do you think maybe it's all a little too easy, Buffy?" Cordelia asked quietly, voicing the concern that plagued her.

Buffy considered before she answered. "I don't think it is all that easy, Cordy. I mean, sure the demons are kind of a no-brainer, but they aren't really why we were sent back. We already dealt with them the first time. It's the other stuff; the bits we screwed up the first time that we're meant to be concentrating on. Just look at this whole Dru sitch. My solution to fix Dru means that the Order of Taraka won't be hired and Angel won't be used for the spell. That will mean no wheelchair for Spike, but it might also mean that I've completely dropped the ball and the ho will be all better and more dangerous. Also, the circumstances that made her leave him may not occur now. And then there's Angel; what if the way we've been treating him is wrong. Maybe we've been too harsh. We've got him on such a tight leash, but we haven't really been giving him anything positive; enticing him to be good. I can't help thinking that we're making the same mistake now with him that we made with Spike the first time. So...easy? Ah, I'm gonna be going with a great big no on that one."

"Don't panic, Barbie, Spike may not know it yet, but that boy is yours. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Dru's damn pixies or that stupid doll of hers has already whispered it in her ear." The brunette seer tried to ease her friend's fears. "And I gotta agree with you on the demon front. We do have other things that are more important to deal with. Smart move introducing Willow to Oz by the way; it's certainly kept the little witch off my back. Oooh!" Cordy exclaimed as she pulled the car over outside the Summers home, "have you thought about bringing Anya in early?"

Buffy laughed. "You just want to get rid of your Xander shaped shadow!"

"You know, it's times like this that you prove that blonde is not your natural colour," Cordelia offered sagely as they left the car and headed inside.

"HEY!" Buffy cried indignantly as she finally realised what the other girl had said.

"And then again..." Cordy snickered.

"Oh! You are so on my list."

~*~*~

As Buffy and Giles dealt with Ethan Rayne before he could perform the spell to change his customers into their costumes, Drusilla looked out of the window of the factory and waited for the chaos to begin.

The deadly beauty itched with anticipation as her newly healed strength pulsed and thrummed through her. She thought about the sweet succulent taste of the powerful blood that had cured her; it had almost made up for the fact that she had not been allowed to take it directly from the source. Everything seemed clearer, more focused. She smiled at the melody of the stars as they sang to her in a voice that only she could hear. She waited impatiently for the discord to clash. Miss Edith had told her all about the pretty man that liked to play with chaos; she longed to taste it in the air.

When Miss Edith whispered to her, telling her that the sunshine and the watcher that rips and tears had stopped the chaos before it could begin, Drusilla snarled and turned to her doll in fury, all the while listening to the tales and stories that were being shared.

"It's all wrong!" the dark vampiress spat hatefully. "The light burns everything in her path; burning; destruction. All my pretty things all covered in ash. Sweet agony, so delicious, so wrong; the sunshine can't have my knight and daddy too! Mine! My pretties! Mine! Pretty boys all tied in pretty bows. Just for Mummy, they are. Daddy so brave and strong, just for Princess, and the knight standing in the shadows, all dark and lovely and oh so lonely, wanting to be Mummy's brave knight. Such a wicked, wicked boy, trying to take Daddy's place. So delicious, yearning for his Princess, but never touching what Daddy has. Naughty William, Daddy doesn't like to share."

Spike looked on in horror as his dark princess spun and raged. Decades of experience had him automatically taking in her cryptic rantings, his agile mind fine tuned to decipher the otherwise nonsensical words. Pain stabbed at his non-beating heart as he was once again relegated to a place behind his hated grandsire. A hundred and twenty years of dedication thrown out like yesterday's garbage.

"No, no, no. No ash for Spike. No treats for you. Kill her! Kill her for me, my William. Kill the Sunshine, or she shall taste the ashes of your lips as I replace them with your skin."