Chapter 2

Giles saw Buffy off at the airport. The others wanted to come, but she didn’t want the fuss. Willow had plenty of work to do for the Cleveland group, and Xander was actually delving in and helping Willow with some research. The trip to the airport was uneventful, but Giles did wish the others had come when he realized how much luggage Buffy had. How many pairs of shoes was she taking to LA anyway?

He pecked her on the cheek and gave her a brief hug as she left to board her plane. She smiled goodbye, and then turned without a backward glance. Her stride was brisk and purposeful down the tunnel through the boarding gate. Gone was the relaxed and carefree Buffy of the past several months. Giles frowned. They had gained so much ground between them lately. They had become closer then ever as friends, confidantes, colleagues, as a family. He had even begun to hope for possibly more in the future. For years he had repressed his love for her, and banished all hopes and dreams from his thoughts. But these past few months all of his feelings had resurfaced, and he had allowed them to surge freely in his heart and soul, waiting for just the right time to show her with his eyes, and tell her with his lips, how much he loved and cared for her, how much he wanted her. He imagined finally telling her, even knowing that he never would outside of his dreams.

He was so conflicted when it came to his feelings for her.

Giles knew Buffy didn’t feel about him the same way he felt about her. And he wasn’t fool enough to think that someday she would possibly want him, even if he did irrationally dream about it. Her friendship these past weeks had been a soothing balm to his breaking heart, however. They trusted each other again. He didn’t think there were any secrets between them now, and his opinion mattered to her. If he could never hold her as a lover, at least he could as her friend. He wanted that to be enough for him. But, oh, had that hurt him in the past. It was okay to love her from afar, when she was alone herself. But to know that a lover held her, first Angel, then Riley, and then Spike….that had been almost too much for him to bear. He thought all of that was in the past now. He had hoped that bringing her here to his home, that perhaps she could open up her heart to him, even if just a little. But if Spike was back, Giles was done for. He held back bitter tears as he returned to the car to make his way back to his home.

His home. His home was on a plane back to LA.

Giles cranked up the radio in his car, and pushed the gas pedal down, speeding along the roadway, trying to outrace the pain and despair in his heart.

When Buffy arrived in the city she grabbed a cab and dumped off her luggage at the hotel where she had a reservation. It was just down the street from her destination, within walking distance from Wolfram and Hart. She took a minute to freshen up, and then walked down to enter the offices.

“Wow!” She whistled under her breath as she gazed up into the imposing lobby. Angel ran this place? Holy Cow! “Geeze, I’ve missed a lot in the past few weeks,” she muttered under her breath as she approached Angel’s secretary.

Buffy lost her voice, just standing there in shock as she looked at Harmony behind the desk. She was truly speechless as Harmony looked up from the fashion magazine she had been thumbing through. The smile ran off of Harmony’s face when she looked up to find Buffy looking at her.

This was the bitch that stole her blondie bear!

“What are you doing here?!” She growled.

Buffy, finally finding her voice, said, “Me? I was about to ask you the same thing!”

Harmony stood up so quickly, her chair crashed over on it’s side. “You can’t have him back! I mean, he’s not mine, and I don’t want him, but you can’t have him back!”

Buffy gaped at her, before realizing that Harmony was most likely talking about Spike. Then Buffy laughed. Hard. She doubled over she was laughing so hard.

Here she was, flying clear across the globe to see for herself that Spike was indeed back, and angry with Angel for keeping that from her, only to be greeted by a jealous past ho of Spike’s.

Harmony just stood there, indignant, hands on hips, staring at Buffy. She realized that Spike would take one look at Buffy and forget all about her again. Not that he paid her much attention now, but at least he was here, and she could see him once in awhile. Well, sort of. As well as one could see a ghost anyway. But with Buffy here, Harmony knew things would change, and it wouldn’t be a good change from her perspective.

Truth be told, Harmony knew this day would come. Buffy had to find out eventually. She was surprised it had taken this long. Angel and Harmony had a lot in common, when it came to keeping Buffy and Spike apart. But that was about to all come to an end now.

Her boss, startled by the laughing coming from outside his office, poked his head out the door. That laughter sounded so familiar to him.

“Buffy?”

Buffy heard his voice, and saw him hiding in the sanctity of his office, with only his head sticking out of the door. Seeing him practically cowering there just made her laugh all the harder. She finally sat down on the floor, because her laughter was so hard that standing up wasn’t a possibility anymore. This must be what they meant when they said, “rolling with laughter.”

Angel slowly walked out of his office. He frowned at Harmony. “What’s wrong with her?” Harmony just glowered, shrugging her shoulders. “Who knows? She’s always been a freak of nature.”

Buffy giggled even more, now moaning in pain from the lack of oxygen reaching her lungs. Angel went over and squatted down in front of her. “Buffy?” he said again.

She tried to gather her wits. Seeing his face that close to hers reminded her why she was here. The laughter finally died down. She sat up straighter, at his eye level, calmly looked at him in the face, and then slapped him.

He rocked back on his heels, throwing his hands up to rub his newly bruised cheek.

“Hey!” Harmony shouted and began to walk around her desk to her boss’s side, but took one look at the expression on Buffy’s face and changed direction, righting her chair instead, and sat back down in it.

Angel slowly stood up, as did Buffy. Both noticed simultaneously that they had an audience, with all the employees and clients in the lobby peering at them.

“To my office. Now.” Angel glowered at the crowd, and then at Buffy, leading her into his office. She followed silently on his heels, and when they were both in his inner sanctum, she turned, stuck her tongue out at Harmony, and then she slammed the door shut.

Harmony narrowed her eyes at the door, contemplating biting Buffy’s neck, when the phone on her desk rang. She sighed, and then picked up the receiver. “Wolfram and Hart…”

Moments later, shouting could be heard from behind Angel’s door. Harmony wondered, not for the first time, why he didn’t get that room soundproofed.

Chapter 3