"Wes? Are you awake?"

He looked to the doorway and smiled.

"Dawn. Come in."

She returned his expression and hobbled in to sit.

"You didn't answer my question."

"I'm sorry?"

"Are you awake...or just bored out of your mind with your eyes
open?"

He chuckled. "The latter, I'm afraid."

It had been ten days since the climactic battle had taken place with the remnants of the Watcher's Council. To both Dawn and Wesley, however, it seemed like much less.

"How is your leg feeling?"

She shrugged. "Ok. The doctors say I should be able to get off these crutches in a few days."

"The infection has cleared?"

"Yeah. Still hurts when I try to put much weight on it, but that'll improve. Just takes time...for some of us at least," she finished, rolling her eyes.

Wes nodded his understanding.

"Of course. You should make certain that you don't try to rush things. You lost a lot of blood, as I understand it."

She looked at him oddly.

"Uhhh...Wes? I'm not the one that got shot here. I probably ought to be the one giving you the 'take it easy' speech."

"I was lucky."

"Yes, and what could be luckier than a bullet in the side?"

"I believe you understand my meaning."

Dawn nodded grudgingly. The bullet had, in fact, missed several vital organs by centimeters. The wound itself was healing much more quickly than the last time he'd been shot, but he thought it best to avoid that subject. He tried to hide a smile as her arms folded. She was so pretty when she pouted.

"You lost a lot of blood too, you know."

"I am aware of that, Dawn. Thank you."

"I was scared to death. I couldn't help you."

He reached out to take her hand.

"Angel and Cordelia helped me. Well, I'm told they did. I don't remember much, actually."

Perhaps without even realizing the intimacy of it, Dawn absently ran her thumb up and down the veins on the back of his hand as she answered.

"If Cordelia hadn't shown up you would've bled to death."

"Luckily, we'll never find out."

"Yeah."

The former Watcher decided to change the subject.

"I take it by your earlier eye-rolling that the others are well?"

"Oh, yeah. Has anyone told you what happened that night? Post fight, I mean?"

"Not really. I've only been out of the influence of painkillers for two or three days."

"No fair. I still have to take them. Anyway...we lost power right after it ended. It was totally dark. We got out of the rain, but the only ones who could see anything were Spike and Angel, and only one of THEM could walk. Spike was actually crawling on the floor because none of us were physically capable of helping him. I mean, Willow or Buffy might've been able to help a little, but they were outside undoing the hurricane spell with Xander."

Neither spoke for a moment, both silently reflecting.

Hurricane Mitch had done extensive damage in the coastal areas, with winds in excess of 110 miles per hour. Cocoa Beach had suffered the most, with several homes utterly destroyed; many others had incurred serious damage. Literally hundreds of thousands of people in East Central Florida had been without power for nearly a day due to wind and lightning. Flooding had occurred in the low-lying inland areas, providing CNN with the inevitable footage displaying citizens rowing from one rooftop to another to pick up their stranded neighbors.

Nearly every cable channel in existence had taken up temporary residence in the area, more interested in the circumstances rather than the outcome. Never in recorded meteorological history had a storm simply appeared without warning and abruptly disappeared without a trace. Even Sci-Fi Channel had gotten into the act, bringing a stable of psychics to report on the energy that was emanated. Several theologians--representing various religious sects--arrived to proclaim this event as a momentous sign that the End was near.

One fact that was skimmed over as a mere anomaly had relieved the Scooby Gang beyond measure: almost impossibly, not a single person had been killed or injured. Even less attention was paid to the anonymous donors from California who'd provided millions of dollars worth of building materials free of charge to those who needed them most.

"You were saying?"

"Huh?"

"You were telling me what happened that night. After."

"Oh, right. Where was I?"

"It was dark."

"Yeah. I'd been in there before, and I remembered there was a lounge with a bunch of couches and chairs just around the corner from the main lobby. Angel managed to find it, and somehow we all got in there. I remember looking around at everyone."

Dawn started to giggle.

"This is so awful, because it isn't funny, but...we were all so thrashed. Everybody had flopped on to a couch...bleeding and groaning all over the place. I felt like I was caught in a M*A*S*H episode, waiting for Hawkeye and BJ to come running in."

Wesley actually comprehended the reference, for once. FX was one of his favorite cable networks, and that particular offering was shown for roughly 20 out of their 24 hours of programming. Oh well, he thought. At least it's actually good. He nodded with understanding.

"There's nothing awful about it. Sometimes laughing is all you can do to keep from falling apart."

Their eyes locked for a moment as she nodded.

"I guess so. Anyway, those guys never came, so we had to settle for Hot Lips Rosenberg."

Dawn shook her head as she continued.

"She was amazing. The woman had just done a massive counterspell outside, and she just ran around like nothing ever happened. She set Angel's arms, immobilized Spike's neck, butterfly stitched our cuts--that SO stung, by the way--and treated Xander's burns. I've never seen anyone do so much. It helped a lot that she had all of Disney's first-aid resources in the building, of course."

"I thought there was no electricity. How would she find them?"

"Locator spell tracked down some flashlights and a generator. Like I said...amazing. I can't even think about how much power it takes to make a hurricane...to be able to reverse that AND have enough left over to do a locator..." Dawn trailed off.

"Well, clearly everyone was all right in the end."

"At the time Willow was most worried about Faith. Well, actually Xander was the MOST worried, if you know what I mean...but Willow had concerns that Faith's broken ribs might have punctured a lung. Disney has a lot of things in that building, but an X-ray machine isn't one of them. We called Cordy on Angel's cell--poor guy couldn't even dial it unless he used his nose, so I did it--and she left you here to come get Faith. She wound up taking everybody to the hospital--except Angel and Spike, obviously. We took them to the hotel. Somehow Buffy got Spike upstairs. I don't know where she found the strength to do that with all the blood she'd lost...but she did it. The rest you know."

Wesley nodded.

"I've seen everyone in the last two days. All seemed well."

"Supernatural healing must really rock. Kinda annoying, actually. I'm going to have a big scar on my thigh."

Wesley shoved the idea of asking her to show it to him out of his mind.

"I concur regarding the healing. Spike seemed rather unsteady, however."

"No, he's fine. That's just his walk."

"Oh. Well, then. Correction, by the way...I've yet to see Xander."

Dawn smiled excitedly.

"He's been totally busy. Have you heard about what's going on?"

"Yes..I have."

"You get out tomorrow, right?"

"They say I should be well enough by then."

"Cool. So...."

Wesley looked at her with puzzlement at her sudden awkwardness.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all, actually. It's good news. I've been accepted to UCLA."

"That's wonderful, Dawn. Congratulations."

"Thanks. Buffy cried for, like, ten minutes or something."

"She's proud of you. It's to be expected."

"Ok, I guess I can deal with that, but Spike, Xander and Willow were crying too. They were trying not to show it, but..."

Her voice broke.

"See, now I'm crying, and I don't know why. This is stupid."

Wesley gripped her hand more tightly.

"No it isn't. You're leaving Sunnydale. Life is about to change a great deal. That can cause strong feelings in everyone who cares for you."

"Yes, but it's not like I'll be far away, right?"

"Exactly."

"And I'm still going to work for Xander and Willow. Full time in Sunnydale in the summer, and part time in L.A. while I'm in school."

"Excellent."

"And I'm still crying."

"Naturally."

They smiled at each other. Dawn swallowed hard, holding his gaze.

"I'm going to be a lot closer to you."

Wesley felt a tingle in his spine.

"You will indeed."

They sat together in silence for a long time, still holding hands.

Wondering.

****************************************************

"How are the arms doing?"

Angel shrugged.

"They're back. Working fine."

Willow shook her head at that.

"I couldn't believe how your bones healed. It's almost like they set themselves."

"You helped more than you realize. Thanks. Really."

"Sure."

"So...any idea why Xander wants to talk to me?"

"I have some idea...but not completely. He'll be here any minute now. There's a lot on his plate."

"So I've heard. That could be interesting."

Willow shook her head again, now smiling her agreement.

"Tell me about it."

Xander opened the door behind them.

"Hey. Sorry I'm late."

Angel was seated on the king bed. Cordelia had decided to lie out at the pool. He'd politely demurred when she'd invited him along, telling her that he didn't wish to work on his tan. She made some snarky comment about the magical new invention known as the umbrella...then kissed him tenderly and left him alone, with the promise she'd be back soon.

Things hadn't been this good in a long time.

He watched Xander, clearly still sore from his injuries, rather gingerly make his way to the round wooden table in the corner of the room, joining Willow. Angel smiled slightly as Xander leaned over to kiss the redhead's cheek. There was clearly an increased level of closeness between them since recent events. It reminded the vampire of simpler times. Well...simpler for us, at least.

Xander faced Angel and cleared his throat to speak.

"Ok. This is gonna seem weird to you. I have some things I want to say."

Angel just looked at him expectantly. Xander looked down at his shoes, than back up, seemingly steeling himself.

"There's a lot of history between you and me. Most of the time it wasn't very good."

He shifted uncomfortably.

"You figure some things out as you get older. At least, I think you're supposed to...and a lot of the stuff I've figured out has to do with you."

"Xander, what are you talking-"

The carpenter raised his hand.

"Please hear me out. I've been on this...."

He chuckled to himself.

"I don't know how to say this without sounding like some kind of new age goofball. Oh, what the Hell. I've been on this 'clear out the vessel' kick lately."

Angel raised an eyebrow.

"Clear out the what now?"

"I read something in a magazine once about these people who like to fast, you know? They just drink some kind of special water with basic nutrients and stuff, and after a while they get this kind of high. Their minds are sharper, they see things more clearly. Short version? They feel good about themselves. All the bad stuff that we take in eventually comes out when the body gets a chance to catch up.

In my case--and I don't know why this is happening all of a sudden, so don't ask--it's more about letting go of things that stay with me. Sort of like when you swallow gum. Did you know it takes years to digest gum after you swallow it? It just...lies there, taking up space in your stomach. This is like that...emotional gum that just sticks to me. I need to get it off. I need a big laxative to toss out all the baggage. Does any of this make sense?"

Angel's face held no expression as he responded.

"I may have to consult with Willow on this, but you may have just set the all time record for mixed metaphors in one group of sentences."

The redhead simply nodded with an affectionate smile thrown toward Xander. He sighed and shook his head.

"Ok, clearly this was a bad idea. Let's just forget it."

It was Angel's turn to hold up his hand.

"No...go ahead. Finish what you wanted to say. I think I get
it...well, mostly."

"Ok, it's like this. You're a big piece of gum for me. Like three or four pieces of Grape Bubble Yum all swallowed at one time and-"

"Xander?"

"Yeah?"

Angel spoke softly.

"Why don't you just say you want to bare your soul?"

They stared at each other for a moment. Finally Xander nodded.

"I guess that'd work."

He shifted uncomfortably and began.

"I was a pretty screwed up kid sometimes. I don't think I was entirely bad...but I was still screwed up. There were reasons for that, but I'm not going to sit here and make excuses. I did what I did, and a lot of times I was wrong.

"More than any other single thing, I was wrong about you. I judged you unfairly because I loved Buffy so much I couldn't see straight...and she loved you. I latched on to the fact that you were a vampire and hooked it to the wagon that said 'Xander Harris will never be loved.' I needed someone to blame, and you were the most convenient. All I could see was the woman I loved choosing someone who couldn't even breathe...over me.

The point is, when I hitched you to that low self-esteem wagon, it became a big luxury RV of anger and bitterness...and it was wrong. On some level I always knew how much you two loved each other...but it hurt too much to admit it. It was easier to hate you."

Xander ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.

"For what it's worth...after all this time, and all that's changed, I still regret a lot of the things I said and did during that period. I realize it's about four years late and a dollar short...but I had to say it. So thanks for listening."

Angel didn't know how to respond. The two men just looked at each other in silence for a long time. Finally Xander took a deep breath.

"Ok, new business...and this one is a lot easier to talk about."

"Can it be a little less confusing and awkward?"

Xander looked at Willow, then back to Angel with a grin.

"We'll do our best. It's actually a pretty good thing. Kinda terrifying...but the good kind, not the kind that gets your blood sucked out. Angel, you're looking at the people who are going to build the new Los Angeles Coliseum."

He raised his brows in surprise.

"Really? That must be quite a project for the two of you."

Willow couldn't contain herself.

"It is, but it's going to be so cool! Wait'll you see my designs. I've got stuff on the drawing board that'll make your hair stand straight up--or maybe in your case flatten out some. Since, you know, your hair already sticks--"

Xander snickered as Angel gave her a grimace and spoke.

"I'm happy for both of you. Really. I mean that sincerely. How long is this going to take? Won't that be a lot of work?"

Xander resumed control of the meeting.

"Hell yes, it will. That's the terrifying part. Wills can think as big as she wants...but I have to make it work. We're talking two years, minimum."

"That's a lot of L.A. time. Guess we'll be seeing more of each
other."

"Possibly more than you think."

Angel looked at him cautiously.

"Meaning?"

Xander looked at Willow before continuing.

"We found out about this a couple of days ago. You're the fourth person to hear about it. We haven't even told Faith or Buffy, though we will now. Like I said, this is a huge project, and neither one of us want to move to L.A full time...so there's going to be a ton of commuting back and forth, but that's neither here nor there.

What I'm trying to get at is this: the site is not exactly located in the finest part of the city."

"Where's it going to be?"

"Same place as the old one."

"You aren't lying, then. The old Coliseum is a hangout for all kinds of things....not just people either."

"We figured that. We also figured that we were going to need big time security to watch over the site at night."

Xander pulled five envelopes out of his pocket.

"These are five sealed bids from security firms in L.A. You've probably heard of all of them. They overnighted these to us. HarrisBerg Construction has suddenly become awfully popular in your town."

"Money works wonders."

"Got that right. We opened each one, of course. All of them had pretty much the same terms, as we expected. Armed security, working in teams of twelve, yada yada yada. We skipped that stuff and went straight to the price tag. Best deal we got was $15,000 a week."

Angel raised his eyebrows. "Lotta money."

"Yeah. Too much money, actually. I talked it over with Wills, and I considered scrapping the whole security idea."

"Xander, I don't want to tell you what to do, but I wouldn't recommend that. You'll need security in that kind of area. It's probably why they charge that much. They know they can get it."

"You didn't let me finish. There was one more bid. One that fits into our budget quite nicely, in fact."

He tossed the fifth envelope in his hand into Angel's lap. The vampire looked at it, then back to Xander, frowning. Willow was smiling at him as she spoke.

"Open it."

He tore the seal and looked inside. After about thirty seconds, he looked back up.

"Is this a joke?"

Both Xander and Willow shook their heads at the same time.

Inside the envelope it read:

Angel Investigations & Security

Offices...Hyperion Hotel, Los Angeles, CA

OFFICIAL BID FOR OFFERED SERVICES

$14,999.00 per week.

Xander shook his head sadly.

"You underbid them, you undead bastard."

"I don't do security."

"The Hell you don't. That's practically all you do. You keep stuff safe. Now you're going to get paid for it, that's all. Come on, man; you know as well as I do that by yourself you'd do a better job keeping the site clear than any twelve man crew. Once you've established a presence there, bad guys will find a new place to dwell. You're the perfect choice for our purposes."

"I have a purpose of my own."

Xander rolled his eyes. Sometimes he still needs a good smack.

"As a mutual friend of ours would say...well, DUH! We know this. There's going to be times when all of us get called away. Like now, for example. We'll deal. It's not like you're alone in this. Hell, throw some cash Spike's way and I'll bet he'd be willing to make the trip now and then.

Dawn--who was the third person to hear about this, by the way--is perfectly capable of filling in some nights, too. She's already signed on as part time help for us in the office...but she might be able to do some Spring Break ass-kicking if necessary. I'd rather we not make her do that, since she's got schoolwork, but...every once in a while she might enjoy it."

Angel was speechless.

"I don't know what to say."

"Say you're thrilled to work for me? Nahh...that'd be too much to ask. How about just 'yeah, Xander, I'll do it.' Man, we could use your help. I'm not going to be there every day, and if stuff goes down, there's no one in L.A. I trust more than you."

Angel was struck dumb for a second time. Xander waved his hand slowly.

"You out there? Earth to Angel?"

"I just...I don't know."

Xander sighed.

"There's something else in the envelope."

"That reminds me--"

Angel held up the letter.

"Who did the letterhead?"

Willow took that one.

"Fred. She's good with the fonts, isn't she?"

"And...this sealed bid thing? If you're commissioned by the city of L.A. to do this job, doesn't that have to be done officially? Is there a potential legal problem here?"

Willow put her hand against her heart.

"Xander and I both swear that this envelope was sealed when we received it via FedEx this morning with all the others. Of course...a phone call might have been made, but those particular cell phones have mysteriously disappeared."

Xander grinned.

"And when Willow says mysteriously disappeared...she REALLY means disappeared. In case you've forgotten, by the way, your potential new boss asked you to look inside the envelope again."

The vampire complied, turning the envelope upside down. A check slipped out, floating on to the bed. He slowly picked it up, frowning. He read the amount made out to his business account.

His mouth dropped open. "Is this right?"

"Yeah, it's right. Call it an advance."

He looked up, staring hard at Willow, then back to Xander.

"An advance of one hundred fourteen thousand, five hundred twenty-two dollars and thirty eight cents?"

Xander grinned. "Not enough?"

Angel looked back at Willow, now shifting a bit uncomfortably herself.

"Why does this number look familiar?"

Xander spoke before Willow could.

"Don't blame her for violating your confidence. It was my idea to hire you; when she mentioned that you were having trouble with your mortgage, we did some research. As of this moment, your debts are gone. Hell, you can even give Cordy a paycheck that clears. You might want to hurry up and put it in the bank, though. We still have to pay Amy off. Suze Orman advises against fighting evil for a reason."

Angel swallowed hard and shook his head.

"Xander, what you said to me earlier was....well, actually kind of bizarre, but in a nice way. I appreciate your doing it, I guess...but you don't owe me anything."

"I owe you a Hell of a lot more than what you have in your hand right now."

Angel's eyes widened in surprise. "Say again?"

Xander took a deep breath.

"A few years ago, a new Slayer came into our lives. She was wild, dangerous and sexy as all Hell. She was also vulnerable, damaged and sad....and most of us had no clue how to deal with that. We were 18 years old. We didn't know jackshit about some of the stuff that can happen in real life."

He glanced at Willow.

"Well...that's not really true. We did, actually. We just didn't know how to deal with it. There were demons of our own, you know? Still kids."

He looked back to Angel.

"Not you, though. You understood Faith right away. You saw what she was deep down. How much stronger she could be if she just let some of her weaknesses out. Faith didn't know what trust was...and with good reason. No one had ever given her a chance. They'd just used her.

Until you came along. You taught her how to trust. You started her on the path to being great. Who she really is. My life is better than I ever thought possible because she's in it...and without you, there is no Faith. Not the one who fell in love with someone like me. Theres not..."

He cleared his throat before he finished.

"There's not enough money in the world to repay you properly. For Faith...and for me."

Angel stared at Xander for a long time as Willow wiped her eyes. Finally he spoke.

"So when do we start?"

"We break ground in a month."

Angel rose and offered his hand. Xander took it with an abrupt nod and sat back down. The vampire looked back down at the check.

"Love the teddy bears, by the way."

Xander glared at Willow. She pointed a finger at him.

"Hey! If you got more involved in the business side of things, you might have a say in the check designs, Buster!"

"Next time we get checks I want a guy hitting the teddy bear with a hammer."

She smacked him on the arm, careful to avoid his still-healing sores. Angel actually laughed out loud.

No one could quite believe it. Xander spoke once more.

"Since you're in such a good mood, this might be the time to ask you for a favor."

****************************************************************

Buffy and Spike stared at the plane.

The Lufthansa jet gleamed in the afternoon sunshine. Spike was carefully in the shadows, of course, but he could safely look at daylight. Just not sunlight.

They'd left the body of Colonel Anthony Martineau in the pond. No one had any desire to see his face again. The news reports were amazingly sketchy; it was more than a little disturbing how well Disney World controlled the local media.

Hans Katzenbach and Inge Steiner, however, were another story. Most of her dust had been blown into the night by the time she'd made it back, but some had actually adhered to his body due to the rain like gray silt. Buffy had lifted him carefully and placed him into the back of Gunn's truck.

The next day, she and Willow researched his personal files, searching for any evidence of a will or final resting place. At last, a Katzenbach family resting place was discovered in Munich. Willow had organized transport via the 'Net.

Only one job remained, and Buffy and Spike did it together that evening. Breaking into crematoriums would never be high on the blonde Slayer's list of things to do on a Saturday night, but this occasion had the aura of something special.

She decided not to ask how Spike knew how to work the equipment. The answer might not have been fun to hear. Some things were best left alone. As they placed him on the stone, she again saw the ash, now dry and embedded into the former Watcher's skin.

Buffy nodded gravely as Hans and Inge became ash together. After gathering them reverently and placing them in a brass urn, they'd added a note to his family. By all accounts in his personal journals they had not been close; still, when the time came William had written the note as fervently as he could. They should know who he was, at least in death.

"How's your back?"

Spike turned to her, scowling impatiently.

"For the millionth time, luv, it's fine. A little sore, is all."

The shadows were lengthening in the building; though he'd never openly admit it, it made him infinitely more comfortable. The sun, even indirectly, would never be his friend. Buffy watched the plane slowly reverse from the jetway as she spoke.

"I'm sorry I keep hounding you. I worry too much."

"No need to be sorry. Just stop worrying."

She turned and kissed him softly.

"You ready to go?"

"Doesn't matter to me. Are you?"

She looked out at the plane again as it began to taxi.

"In a minute. Come on."

She took his hand as they rose from the hard plastic seats, careful to remain in the shadows as they walked. At last they reached the huge picture window that allowed for visual access to the planes as the took off. Fortunately for Spike, the sun was behind them, allowing him to watch without fear.

Well...mostly.

He turned to Buffy. "You talk to Xander today?"

She shook her head. "Yes. It's crazy."

"Yeah."

"But it's pure Xander."

"Again, yeah."

He put his arm around her as she leaned against his shoulder.

"Spike?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you think it takes to go to Heaven?"

He snorted out a laugh without intending to.

"Sorry, luv. Pretty sure you're askin' the wrong guy."

She raised her head and met his eyes.

"Pretend I'm not."

He looked back to her. Clearly this was important to her...so he decided to try.

"All right."

He shrugged a bit, as if he wanted to remove the weight of the topic from his shoulders.

"I suppose it's to do with the way people walk through life. Doing right by those that matter."

He stared at the plane, now in a holding pattern several hundred yards distant.

"If you're asking me about those two...well, I honestly don't know. I'll say this much...people are defined when they don't even realize it. Showin' someone you care about 'em at the exact time they need it most. Forgiving them even when they don't feel they should be. Sacrifice of some kind."

He sighed.

"Like I said, wrong guy."

Buffy just continued to stare, waiting. His eyes remained on the jet.

"In our case--by that I mean those of us who choose to fight the demons--moments are clearer. Easier to define. We've all done it more'n once. Times when you've literally sacrificed your life..or someone else's. I went through all Hell to get this soul back...because I wanted to be a man...a man worthy of someone like you. Didn't factor all the residual pain into the bargain...but it was still worth it. A lot of times we try to do the right thing for each other, but it all gets turned 'round. Goes the opposite way, it does. Causes good people to hurt each other. Thing is, we tried...and if there truly is a heaven for us, it has to reward trying. Making the effort."

He focused on Buffy.

"No one can ever say we didn't make the effort...and as long as I'm not dust, no one ever will. Same goes for everyone...and every member of this little Scooby Club has sacrificed at one time or another. Love makes us go, it's true; but sacrifice goes hand in hand with it.

Dawn's got a scar on her leg forever because of sacrifice. Willow made a hurricane happen for the same reason. Xander has burns on his body because of it."

Buffy looked away as she spoke.

"I still can't believe he did that. I don't know if I..."

"Could do that?," Spike finished. "There's a reason, you know. It wasn't your moment. It was his."

"You lost me."

"You can't imagine willingly torturing yourself to help fight evil. I think you would...but that's not the point, is it? Xander probably never thinks he could take his own life to save the world, I'd wager. He can't imagine doing it...but it wasn't his moment. Willow would never agree to do what she did now...but it was her time. She did what she had to."

"You mean the hurricane?"

Spike gave her a long look.

"Do you remember calling for Xander? That one last time?"

Buffy nodded. "I didn't know what he was doing...but I knew it had to be bad. It couldn't have even started without him...and without Xander I was finished. I needed him."

"I know a bit about tasers...the effect they have. One can hit themselves a few times, I suppose. Don't want to find out, myself...but it can be done. Eventually, though, the human body would shut down if it were done continually. He'd simply pass out from pain and exhaustion. Pretty sure that's what he did before you called for him...and I don't think you could've woke him at that stage."

Buffy frowned. "Then how did he--" Her eyes watered. "No. She could never..."

"That was Willow's moment, Buffy. She did something awful to save us all. She sacrificed."

Buffy put her head down and breathed deeply to gather herself.

"Our connection is gone."

"Say again, luv?"

"Xander and I. The connection is gone."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes. I'd gotten used to picking up every feeling he had, you know? The morning after the fight, I held his hand and got pretty upset, because he'd hurt himself so much...and then I asked for more. He got pretty emotional too...but there was nothing inside me but my own feelings."

Spike stared off into space as the plane finally began to pick up speed.

"Why?"

The Slayer shook her head.

"I don't know. I mean, I have a guess, but..."

"Well?"

"It's bizarro land."

"I rather like it there. Do tell."

She stood up and folded her arms, rubbing her hands against herself as if she were chilled.

"I think we're being tested somehow. It used to be just me who had to do awful things and make awful choices to save the world, but now...everybody is. The truth is, there would've been an apocalypse five times over without everyone there to help...but it's becoming more and more demanding. It's as if someone is trying to see how far we can go. I think the connection between us served as Xander's test. To see what he's capable of. Now that I learn this about what Willow did, I'm even more sure. We're being tested."

"By whom? For what?"

"I wish I knew...but I'm scared, Spike. I'm scared of where this could be leading. The only conclusion I can come up with is this: the removal of the connection means he passed with flying colors. Somehow, I can feel it. I know I'm right."

He didn't respond as the plane accelerated and began gliding gently into the air. Buffy took his hand and began to walk. He stepped with her, keeping his eyes on the jet.

"You never answered my original question, by the way."

"Sorry luv. What was it again?"

"Do you think Hans and Inge are in heaven?"

"You never asked me that directly."

"You said you'd forgotten. Fibber."

They grinned at one another and shared another kiss. Buffy turned around in his arms, allowing both of them to watch the plane disappear from sight. Spike sighed.

"Let me put it this way. When that dying old man gave up what remained of his life...if that isn't a moment that defined him, I'd love to hear what was. Personally, I'd say both of them earned a chance to be at peace long ago. It's their turn."

Buffy turned back around, reaching up to caress his perfectly healed cheekbone, speaking softly.

"Someday it'll be ours."

***********************************************************

"Where the Hell are we going?"

"Not far."

"Xand, this game is pissing me off."

"It's right around the corner."

"You said that ten minutes ago."

"Faith, you've only had it on for five."

The dark haired Slayer folded her arms.

Fifteen minutes earlier he'd asked her to don a blindfold for him. As she expressed worry about re-injuring his burns if they got too kinky, he assured her it was for a different kind of surprise. As she couldn't coerce him with physical threats to tell the secret, she'd grudgingly acquiesced. After ten minutes sitting on the bed while he went to the bathroom, she'd nearly ripped it off when he announced they were going for a drive.

"This sucks."

"Jeez, baby. Stop moaning already."

"You're gonna be moaning in a minute."

"Promise?"

"I meant in pain, jackass."

"Promise?"

She pursed her lips, but couldn't stop the smile.

"I hate you."

"Buffy and I don't connect any more."

She turned her head toward him in surprise at the abrupt change of subject.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning just that. We don't share emotions any more."

"You're sure?"

"I'd know, honey. Believe me."

"Huh."

"That's what I said. Well, it was more like 'how's about that', but that's generally the same as 'huh'."

"Are you ok?"

"I guess. It was hard to deal with sometimes. On the other hand, it felt nice to really be important. Thing is, being important hurts like a son of a bitch."

"Why do you think it stopped?"

"I don't even know why it started."

"Huh."

"You said that already."

"I said I'd have you moaning in pain too, but I guess you didn't buy into the sincerity of the threat, so lemme say it once more."

Xander said nothing. He was breathing rather heavily. Faith frowned with concern.

"Honey? Are you ok? Are your burns hurting you?"

"No. Everything's fine."

"Bullshit. What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. If something were wrong, I'd say so."

"I'm taking off this stupid blindfold so I can look in your eyes and tell you're lyin' to me. Then I'll beat your ass until you tell me the truth."

"Come on, Faith. If you take it off, you'll miss the surprise."

She fell silent. Finally the car made a turn to the right. Just for the Hell of it, she'd been trying to figure out where they were going by the movements of the vehicle. She strained her memory.

"Are we going to play golf? 'Cause I'm not wearing those stupid pants."

"No golf, babe...though I would like to see your stroke sometime."

She smiled again despite herself as the vehicle came to a stop. Xander got out of the car and quickly moved to the passenger side to help her out.

"So....are we here? What's the what?"

Xander was breathing really hard now.

"Xander, you're really scaring me."

"Don't be scared. I'm scared enough for the both of us."

"Why? What the Hell is going on?"

"Ok....ok. Here's the thing. I love you. A ton, actually. More than I ever thought possible. I know I've said that before..but this is a good time to say it again."

Her voice softened.

"Baby, please. Just tell me what's wrong."

"All right. I will. You, Faith, are one Hell of a woman. You're strong, smart, funny, kind, caring, and so sexy I can't see straight sometimes. Even after all you've been through, you're one of the mostest bestest people in the world."

She reached for his hand blindly. He obliged her by entwining his fingers with hers.

"Baby, this is beautiful...why are you shaking?"

"Here's what's wrong. You never got a chance to get treated with respect. You've always been Faith. Just Faith. Yet you got through it...you made 'just Faith' into someone who's saved the world. But it bugs me. A lot. That whole 'just Faith' thing. So I wanted to ask you something."

The blindfold came off. Faith blinked, adjusting her eyes to the sun reflecting off a gorgeous white gazebo, designed in the classic southern style. Beyond it was a comfortable looking building, painted in soft white. The petals of white roses danced across blue velvet carpeting that led into the structure.

Faith's breath caught.

It was Walt Disney World's wedding pavilion.

She looked down to see Xander Harris, on one knee before her in a tuxedo he'd quickly changed into while she was blindfolded. Shakily he forced himself to speak.

"You've deserved a last name for so long. I was wondering if you could let me lend you mine for the rest of my life."

- End Chapter Twenty-nine -