Carolee woke up early the next morning. She never could sleep well when not in her own bed, and especially with so much excitement. Giles had shown her to the guest room she would share with Allison last night, and she had crawled right in and fallen asleep. She never heard Allison come in at all, but now that Carolee was awake, she was antsy but didn't want to wake her friend up in the next bed. Carefully and quietly Carolee pulled on some sweat pants and a cotton shirt that someone had left for her, and softly tiptoed out of the room.

It was early yet, and the house was very quiet. The guest room was the last room in the back of the downstairs. Just down the hall was a door that led into the backyard. Carolee decided that some morning sunshine was just what she needed. She thought about Master Lee, and how he encouraged her to start every morning with a good meditation exercise, so she sat on the grass cross legged and practiced her breathing, inhaling and exhaling deeply. Soon she found that quiet place within her, and the world melted away.

After some time, she opened her eyes and stretched her legs out in front of her body, stretching and holding the muscles to encourage flexibility. Eventually she stood up and rotated all of her joints individually, warming up the muscles. Then she practiced her kicking techniques. Once she had a good sweat formed, and her muscles were as supple as they were going to get, she decided to work on her pattern. She started with Poomse TaeKwonDo, the first pattern. When she finished and held the last stance, his voice floated down to her.

"Make your stance longer, and don't bend your back leg. Poomse is all about the long stance." He was standing on the back porch sipping from his tea, an amused expression on his face. She could see he hadn't shaved yet, and had that morning look about him.

She relaxed her stance a bit. "Thanks. I always have problems with that stance. My back leg just doesn't want to behave."

He set his tea down and joined her on the lawn. "Okay, let's do it together, on my count. One. Two. Now, key up on the punch. Good. One. Two. Okay, hold it right there." He placed his hands on her leg to put her in the proper position. Carolee became immediately flustered, but tried to not show it. She rotated her hip as he said, and almost cried when he lifted his warm hands off of her and illustrated her proper stance. They finished the Poomse and then repeated it several times until she had it almost perfect. "Good." Giles complimented her. "All you have to do is remember to keep your back knee locked, and you've got the rest."

"You aren't stealing my Watcher there, are you?" Buffy stood in the doorway, hands on her hips, with an amused expression on her face.

Carolee immediately stood up straight, and she almost felt as if she should salute the general or something. "Uh, no. I'm sorry, I was just practicing and..uh.."

Giles chuckled and rescued her. "She was struggling with her Poomse a bit, so I thought I'd help her. She's doing quite well actually."

"Good. Giles is the greatest. I think it's great that you are training. It will help with what's to come." Giles left her on the lawn and joined Buffy on the porch, picking up his now cooled tea, but still sipped from it nonetheless. Buffy smiled at him. "Good morning."

He smiled back, a bit taken back by her good mood. "Good morning Buffy. You slept well?"

"Best sleep in weeks, actually. Dawn, Xander and I are about to make a donut run." She turned towards Carolee. "Is there a special kind you like?"

Carolee thought for a second, and then smiled. "A jelly donut would be great, thanks."

Buffy and Giles laughed out loud at that, and then with a little wave, Buffy turned and yelled down the hall for Dawn to meet she and Xander in the car.

"Well, if that didn't wake your friend Allison up, nothing will." Giles said.

"She does have a gang of little boys herself at home, so I'm sure she's used to it. Can you point me towards the shower?"

Giles said he could, and he also said Cordy was already planning on taking her and Allison out clothes shopping after breakfast. And not to worry, because the Council funds would provide for everything they'd need.

Carolee wasn't sure what kind of clothes she should buy. She didn't know what the future held, where they would be going, or if it even mattered. When she asked Giles, he told her to not worry about it for now, that they'd tell her more later, but to dress warmly for the beach. They'd be traveling to the ocean tonight, under the full moon.

Meanwhile, Allison luxuriated in her warm bed. Part of her wanted to leap out and find Carolee, and talk and listen to the rest of the gang. It was invigorating for her to be a part of this. Perhaps she should be scared, with an apocalypse on the horizon and all, but she just couldn't find any fear in her. Besides, Buffy always won in the end. She was sure this time would be no different. And, hello, Spike was here! That was the motivating factor in getting out of the bed. But, at home in California, she never got to sleep in or just relax. There was always something she had to do, always someone else she had to think of. It was nice to just lie there now, content in knowing that she didn't have anyone to dress or feed but herself.

A soft knock came on the door.

"Come in."

Willow peeked her head in. "Good morning. Oh, and by the way, you probably should never say 'come in' again. Just for future reference. Could be dangerous."

"Oh, of course. I'm sorry."

Willow came and sat on the end of the bed. "Oh, don't be sorry. I just want to keep you safe."

"Thanks." Allison smiled at her.

"Sure. I just came to tell you that Buffy, Xander and Dawn just came back with some donuts for breakfast. Then we all are going to have a meeting, with you and Carolee, and tell you the plan for tonight."

"So we are invited to the meeting then?" Allison was sharp, and could be brilliantly sarcastic at times. Willow looked chagrined.

"I'm sorry about last night. It's just Buffy's way. She's just trying to protect you and Carolee. Really, don't take it personally. She just wants you safe.

"And how can a lack of communication be safe for any of us? We aren't children, Willow. Carolee and I have seen things, and lived right along with all of you through the years. We aren't ignorant. And we want to help."

"I know. And I'm sure Buffy knows that and will loosen up in time. Besides, she's in a good mood this morning. So, you better hurry before all the donuts are gone. Okay? Carolee should be out of the shower soon, and then you two can join us all in the kitchen."

Allison nodded. With that, Willow got up and left Allison to get ready. She pulled back the comforter on the bed and sat up, her toes dangling over the edge of the bed, not quite touching the floor. She felt bad for Buffy. Obviously the girl was still in a lot of pain. Sometimes Allison could relate, but other times she just wanted to smack the girl and make her realize she was a wonderful, loving person, and should be grateful for the loving friendships she had instead of pushing them away and wallowing in her pain all the time. Feeling sorry for oneself never got you anywhere. She sighed and ran her fingers through her long blonde hair. "Ack, I must look a sight!"

Carolee heard her comment as she came in. "That's what all that late night kitty poker with a vampire'll do to you," she said teasingly. Carolee fell onto her bed. "So, spill it. How did everything go with you and Spike last night!"

Allison furrowed her brow for a moment. "Kitty poker? That sounds bad." Then they burst into giggles.

"Carolee, it was so wonderful. I love Spike."

"Yes, I know you do. And even I have to say, he's quite handsome in person. He's no Giles of course, but not bad at all."

Allison punched her on the shoulder, and then Carolee's stomach growled loudly, causing them both to fall into fits of laughter again. "I'm starving, but hurry, I want to hear about last night!"

"Oh. Well. Really, there isn't anything more to say. He showed me how to play cards, we laughed a lot, joked around. Nothing serious or anything. And then Giles came in and told me I should get some rest, and get you to bed since you were already out."

"God, how embarrassing that he saw me like that. I wasn't drooling or anything, was I?" Carolee was suddenly mortified.

Allison shook her head. "No, no. You were quite adorable. Giles even smiled when he saw you. Then Spike woke you up and you went to bed. He and I just stayed up talking for a bit longer."

"What did you talk about? I want every detail."

Allison grinned mischievously. "Well, you'll just have to wait until I get my shower. Did you leave me any hot water?"

Carolee looked a bit guilty for a second. "Um, maybe?"

Allison grabbed up the clean clothes that were sitting on the dresser for her. "Then, as punishment, you won't get to hear every sordid detail."

The pillow missed her and landed against the closing door instead. Carolee laughed, and waited for her friend to return from the shower.

For the life of her, Allison couldn't really remember everything she and Spike had talked about last night. She had been concentrating too hard on memorizing every inch of Spike's face. His gorgeous blue eyes, the spiky blonde hair, his rippling muscles, the way his eyes lit up when he smiled, the tone of his voice that made her shiver with delight, and his devil may care attitude. She sighed contentedly under the lukewarm spray of water until another knock on the door jarred her back into reality. "Yes?" Allison said.

Cordy spoke through the bathroom door. "The donuts are going fast and time is wasting. We have shopping to do! Hurry up." Allison could hear her turn on her heel and stalk down the hall.

Why did Carolee have to take so long in the shower anyway. Allison grumbled under her breath as she hurried to wash her hair and throw some clothes back on. Now she'd definitely withhold all Spike/Allison info!

Carolee wondered why Allison didn't just get her lazy bones out of bed and shower earlier while she was training. What a slacker.

Chapter 6