AUTHOR'S NOTE: This vignette takes place after the teaser of BBB but before the scene where Xander gives Cordy the locket. This stays true to the actual aired ep.

DISCLAIMER: Joss is God. I am a peon. The title is taken from a song by Jackie De Shannon and the lyrics are by the Eagles.

It was well after midnight when the third obnoxious ring from the cordless situated next to her bed brought her to her waking senses. She glared at it as it sounded a fourth ring and then decided that a fifth would be daring her mother to ground her again. Reaching across, she picked it up and jabbed at the "on" button. "What?"

"I'm naked."

She blinked. Her mind was foggy with sleep but something told her that those words were not ones that she should be hearing. A moment later a bell rung in her head and she was able to put a name to the voice. "Xand, I think you hit the wrong button on your speed dial. Number three is 1-900-Spank-Me."

"Buff, I'm serious," Xander Harris cried, sounding almost as if he were about to cry. "You gotta help me."

"Wait, are you still naked?" Buffy Summers asked as she sat up. "Nevermind...don't answer that. Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I'm in my room and it's horrible. You've got to help me."

"What's horrible, Xand?" Buffy asked calmly, her mind slipping into Slayer mode. After all, she could detect panic in his voice. Something was sure scaring the hell out of him.

"Valentine's Day." Xander said breathlessly. "I'm gonna..oh God...I have nothing to wear."

Buffy blinked again. "You have nothing to wear? You woke me up at.." she glanced at her clock, "Twelve thirty to bitch about clothing."

"Buff, please. I don't want to look like an idiot." Xander pleaded. "I'll do anything."

She smirked, "Anything?"

"Anything."

"Alright. You're on." Buffy said with a grin.

He smiled at her akwardly as he led her into his room. It was somewhat neat as long as you didn't look into the corners where everything was piled. She saw the arm of an old broken GI Joe sticking out of his drawer. A second look revealed there to be a small wooden toothpick embedded in it's chest. She grinned over at him. "Practice?"

"Something like that," he muttered, grabbing at the toy and shoving it into the drawer. He looked over at his bed and his eyes went wide when he noticed that it was wrinkled. He chuckled nervously and then grabbed her arm and led her to the closet. "Help."

"Calm down, Xand, I'll have you looking edible by the time you go to meet Cordy. Not that I would..uh..ya. So, this is a nice jacket."

He stared at her a moment longer but she had already averted her eyes. With all that she was going through, was it right of him to ask her for even the slightest bit of help?

"Here, try these on." She said suddenly, pressing a bundle of clothing into his hands. "Once we decide what you're wearing,we can iron and all that."

"Iron?"

She laughed, "Don't worry, Xand-man, I'll take care of you."

He was taking forever. Sighing dramatically, the little Slayer tipped backwards on her good friends' bed and rested her head against his pillow. She closed her eyes and allowed her thoughts to sweep away. It was Valentine's Day...a thought she neither needed nor wanted. Without Angel..well...it wasn't gonna be a day for the scrapbook.

Angel. Her beloved. Swept away in a night of passion and now just basically not a very nice guy. Love pretty much sucked as of late.

"Um, I think it's too tight." Xander said, stepping out of the bathroom. Buffy blinked and turned her head. She coughed as her eyes locked on his pants.

"Tight. Too. Ya. Ya." Buffy murmured, a chuckle seeping out. "Um, new pants." She turned quickly towards the closet so he couldn't see the grin on her face. "We'll go, uh..darker." She grabbed at a pair of slacks and handed it to him. Reaching back into the closet, she took out a nice silk shirt and then held it against the slacks. After a pause, she lifted both against his face to see if the tone was right. Finally she smiled and with a nod of her head, urged him towards the bathroom.

As soon as the door shut, she turned and sat back on the bed, her hand gently and absently stroking the soft comforter. Her eyes strayed to a stack of piuctures on his nightstand. Leaning across, she picked them up. They were recent. Oh God...

"This was the picnic," she murmured. Three days before her birthday, before they'd known anything about the Judge, they'd all gone on a picnic at the beach in Santa Barbara. It'd been so beautiful and just after sunset, Angel had joined them.

She picked up the first pic and blinked. It was of Cordelia and Xander. Huddled together. This was at least four to five days before their secret had been revealed. God, how oblivious had they been? She ran her finger lightly over the glossy paper. The looks on their faces were happy. Easy-going. Not cautious. They had no idea.

She looked at the next pic. One of her sleeping on Xanders' chest. The sun was still out and they both looked wet. A few feet away in the pic, Cordelia stood watching as Willow built the beginnings of a sand castle. Buffy flipped a few more pictures until she got to the one of all four of the kids working on the castle, covered in mud.

And Xander and Cordy helping each other. Giles or Ms. C must have taken the pic. Xander was looking at Cordy with a dopey grin and now looking back, it was so obvious.

And yet she had missed it. Been so absorbed with her own world that she had missed the obvious signs of Xander and Cordy getting together. She sighed and dropped the pictures back down. Closing her eyes once more, she laid back.

A few moments later, she heard the door open. Without looking up, she whispered, "Xand, do you love her?"

"What?" he asked, sitting down next to to her.

She sat up and rested her head on his shoulder, "Cordy. Do you love her?" He blinked. "I..I dunno." He chuckled lightly. "I'm not sure what I feel. She drives me crazy but I'm always thinking about her. Whether it's wanting to smack her upside the head or kiss her..I don't know."

She smiled at him,"You're a good guy, Xand." Then she took her head off his shoulder and looked up into his dark eyes, "But be sure what you're doing. Whether it's just about kissing or maybe it's something more. Make sure you know what you're doing."

He looked at her for a long beat and wasn't all that surprised to see that her eyes were becoming glassy. Reaching out, he pulled the little Slayer into a hug. "It's gonna be okay, Buff. We'll make it through this. We all will."

After a moment, she pulled away and favored him with a smile. "I know." Then she frowned. "Your shirt's not buttoned right."

He almost pointed out the lack of segue but then realized quickly enough that it was her way of coping with something she was not yet able to completely deal with. Her hand moved forward with un-natural speed and began to rebutton his shirt. She stood back and frowned again. "What?"

"We're missing something. The slacks and shirt look great..wait wait wait..I have just the thing. Drive me back to my place."

He gave her a strange look and then nodded. As he reached for his car keys, his fingers glanced over the pictures she'd been looking at and his eyes locked on the pic of he and Cordelia lying exhausted and covered in sand in the surf. The signs had all been there. Denial was no longer an option. Perhaps Buffy was right. It was about more than just kissing.

He stepped into the Bronze, pulling at the collar of the jacket nervously. Buffy said it looked good. The mirror confirmed it so why was he so sure that Cordy was gonna start laughing like a hyena.

The jacket had been the final touch. Hung with reverance in her closet. She'd pulled it out and said that it had been the jacket her father had been wearing when he had taken her mom out on their first date eighteen years earlier. It was pretty fashionable but then it seemed that the Summers very much were.

Buffy had smiled at him, trying to be strong as she had draped it over his shoulders and then marveled at the perfect fit. She'd told him to turn around and then whistled in appreciation. "Damn, Xand, you're pretty hot." Reaching up to kiss him on the cheek she'd said, "Good luck."

And now here he was, tugging at the collar of Hank Summers' eighteen year old amazingly well-kept jacket and wondering what the hell he was doing here. And why his heart was pounding so fast. She was just a girl. A simple girl. So what that she was the one he's wanted to grab and throttle since they were kids. So what if he had wondered what it would be like at times to kiss her just to shut her up. So what...a kissy here..a kissy there. What did it matter?

"Xander!" Willow called out, waving at him. He smiled at her, suddenly feeling very sick in the pit of his stomache. No, he had to leave, he had to get out of there. This was insanity.

He pushed his fingers into the pocket of the jacket and felt his fingers graze the necklace. And then suddenly he couldn't leave. Swallowing hard, knowing he was damned one way or another, he stared up at the band and rehearsed what he was going to say to Cordelia once more.