TITLE: Glass Shatters.

AUTHOR: Kelly Rowe

RATING: NC-17.

DISCLAIMER: Buffy, Angel and all other characters (except those I make up) are the absolute property of Joss Whedon, Fox, Mutant Enemy, UPN and Warner Bros (If I owned them, do you think that they would be acting this ridiculous right now).

SUMMARY: After her parents are killed, Buffy finds herself with a new life in a new place. However a reoccurring nightmare sends her back to Sunnydale, only to find things have definitely changed.

SPOILERS: BTVS up to season 2 definitely - some minor spoilers thereafter. First 2-3 seasons of Profiler.

TIMELINE: Approximately season 3 (BTVS) and onwards.

OTHER: X-over with Profiler.

DISTRIBUTION: You want you can have it; just tell me where you put it. Any lists just take it.

PAIRING: Buffy/Angelus

WARNING: Foul language, adult themes.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I've screwed around with the timelines of the shows somewhat, just to make my idea fit.

Part 1

Buffy awoke with a start, sweating and her mouth dry from screaming. The horrendous nightmare she'd had was so petrifying that it had rocked her to the foundation. She shook her head trying to sort out the jumble of images that were still rushing through her head, to sort out fantasy from actuality. Without warning the door was flung open and in rushed her aunt followed closely by her younger cousin and her aunt's best friend.

"Buffy?" Samantha Waters asked looking directly at her niece's quivering form. "Are you okay, honey?"

Buffy nodded, "I'm good... it was just another nightmare. No biggie."

"It sounded like you were dying," Chloe said looking at her older and sometimes very bizarre and wonderful cousin.

Angel, her aunt's best and oldest friend, sat next to her on the bed. "Was it the accident again?"

"Not really..." Buffy answered softly. "I'm not sure what it was. I just know it wasn't the same as usual."

Sam leaned over and kissed Buffy on the forehead, "Just try to get some sleep kiddo. Tomorrow's a momentous day."

"Yeah," Angel chimed in, in a noticeable endeavour to cheer Buffy up. "Senior year begins. It is gonna be the greatest time of your life."

As she heard that a flood of memories from her one night with *her* Angel swamped back reminding her of the real best time of her life. Clearing her mind she looked at them, "Sure it will."

"Night," Sam whispered as she and Angel left.

Chloe hung back until her mom had left, "Do you want me to stay with you?"

Buffy patted the bed next to her, "Sure kid, pull up some mattress."

Chloe climbed up the bed and settled in next to Buffy. "Don't worry Buff. I'll protect you from the nightmares."

Looking down at her nine-year old cousin, Buffy said, "I know you will Chlo." And then she lay back and closed her eyes trying to doze without the unspeakable images coming to her.

Meanwhile in Sunnydale, a solitary red-headed teenager hurried through the streets towards her residence, hoping to reach it before *he* came after her. Willow knew that she shouldn't have stayed so long at Giles' place, but the get-together had run overtime as they tried to figure out a way to deal with Angelus and his minions.

They now had Spike on their side, because of his chip, but he was a poor stand-in for Faith, the slayer who had switched sides and been murdered by Angelus for her trouble. The common perception was that things would be better if Buffy was still here, but she wasn't and no one - not even Willow herself - had heard from the blond since her parent's funeral.

She was almost at her front door when he stepped out of the darkness in front of her. He looked her up and down and shook his head in mock displeasure.

"Willow, Willow, Willow," he said still shaking his head. "Looking at you now, I all of a sudden realise just why the wolf likes you... and I'll give you a clue, it isn't your looks."

Willow looked at him with a concoction of distress and hurt evident in her eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about," she whispered wishing she was protected inside and not standing out in the open with him.

Angelus just laughed, "Poor little Willow. How could you not know what it is that is *so* blah about you? Don't you have a mirror, or are you just too *vain* to see the truth of how ugly you are? That no one would want you if it wasn't for your magic."

"G-get away from me," Willow said trying to be brave.

Angelus moved behind the petrified girl, "Calm down Willow. I'm not going to kill you... tonight. It's just so much more fun to play with my food first."

"W-what do y-you want then?"

He spun her around to face him, "Just wondering if you'd heard from the little woman?"

"Huh?"

Angelus grabbed onto her arm, "My wife. Have *you* heard from Buffy?"

Willow looked at him, her eyes widening in shock. Angelus was married to Buffy... it had to be some sick joke. Unfortunately the look in his cruel, evil eyes told her it was not.

"N-no."

Angelus knocked Willow to the ground, "Oh well. Maybe you'll have a different answer for me tomorrow."

Willow watched him saunter off and wondered what he was up too. She didn't wonder for long, she quickly got up and went inside to safety and to call Giles with the new bit of information Angelus had inadvertently given her. She only hoped that Giles could take it and not have some sort of attack.

"Buffy... Chloe..." Sam's voice drifted down the hallway. "Time to get up and ready for school."

Buffy rolled over and stretched, before climbing out of the double bed she had ended up sharing. She definitely wasn't a morning person and couldn't understand why her aunt was always so cheerful. She grabbed the clothes she laid out the previous evening and heading towards the bathroom, she grabbed her cousin's foot.

"Come on Chlo. Time to get up," she said.

"Go away," Chloe mumbled into the pillow.

Buffy laughed and went to get ready.

"Sam... she needs help," Angel said sitting down at the breakfast table with her cup of coffee.

Sam looked up from her laptop and the latest news on Jack's suspected movements. "Who?"

Angel sighed, "Buffy."

"She's fine. She just needs to adjust," Sam said getting up to refill her mug.

"Sam, she's been here for over three months. The nightmares keep on coming and there's no relief in sight," Angel told her. "You go to a psychiatrist, why shouldn't she?"

"Because she needs to keep things normal," Sam said. "A psychiatrist isn't normal at her age."

"It is when someone has suffered that kind of trauma," Angel argued. "Besides it can't hurt. She could go once and if she doesn't want to or need to go again she wouldn't have too."

"I don't know..." Sam replied wavering.

Buffy had been listening and actually agreed with her aunt's best friend. She walked into the kitchen, shocking both women.

"Angel's right Aunt Sam," Buffy replied. "Make me an appointment."

"Are you wacky?" Francis (AKA Frannie) Malone virtually yelled at Buffy - her newest and closest friend - as they walked across the crowded school yard towards the main building.

"Yeah Frannie, I'm wacky. Totally bonkers," Buffy answered sarcastically while rolling her eyes.

Francis looked at her like she'd grown a second head, "Do you realize what's gonna happen now, don't ya?"

"I'm gonna see a shrink and sort out those damn weird-ass nightmares, so I can get on with the rest of my life," Buffy replied convincingly.

She didn't want to discuss this with Frannie - or anyone else at all -, but Sam had taken that choice away from her when she had discussed it with Frannie's father Bailey Malone, Sam's boss and closest friend, although Buffy and Frannie suspected there was much more to it.

"Buff, shrinks equal putting you away somewhere you can't hurt yourself or others," Frannie replied seriously.

 Buffy told her, "I trust Aunt Sam not do that to me."

"Let's hope your right. It'll be no fun around here without ya."

They heard the bell go off and Buffy slowly entered the building along with the rest of the masses and headed off to her classes, while Frannie headed off campus to do whatever she wanted.

When Xander and Cordy arrived at the library at lunchtime they saw Giles, Willow and Oz already there, obviously waiting for them.

"What's up?" Xander asked lightly while a sinking feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.

Giles cleared his throat before commencing, "Willow had a run in with Ang..."

Xander cut him off, "That sonofa..."

"Xander, please listen for once in your life," Giles said frustrated.

"Fine," Xander grumbled, upset that his tirade for the day had been blocked. "Why do I have to behave?"

Giles wished there was another way, but he knew Xander had a right to know. "We've... well Willow, has discovered why Angelus is after Buffy."

"Because she went all slutty and slept with him," Cordy replied bitchily. "Then she skipped town and left us the mess. I mean like really, every time I get stuck dealing with the cute but sucky vampire, I break a nail."

"Hey, her parents died Cordy. It's not like she had a choice about leaving," Willow said in defence of her best friend.

Cordy felt guilty and pretended to just examine her nails, "Whatever!"

"Children," Giles interrupted, "Could we please keep our attention on subject matter?" He waited while the room fell silent, "What we have discovered has more to do with what Angel did, more than Angelus."

"What *else* did Deadboy do before he became Evil Deadboy?" Xander asked sardonically.

Unsure of how to proceed he looked at Willow, wordlessly beseeching her to fill in the blanks which he could not bring himself to do.

"Well... uh... well, you guys remember the funeral," Willow began tentatively.

"Where Buffy wore the heinous black dress," Cordy said as if she was actually illuminating it for someone.

Willow blushed a deep crimson, but bravely continued on, "She was wearing that ring..."

Cordy nodded, but Oz and Xander were drawing visible mental blanks.

"Angel gave it to her..."

"So?" Xander cut her off.

"So..."

"Just tell us damn it," Xander yelled.

Willow erupted, "It's a damn wedding ring."

The room fell into a shocked silence for a few moments. Xander managed to regain his voice first, "What does that mean exactly?"

Giles answered, "It means she bound herself to Angel."

"And?"

"And..." Giles continued, "The demon is bound buy what the soul did. So when Buffy unknowingly married Angel..."

"She also married Angelus," Xander finished with a bleak look on his face.

"So Buffy," Dr. Morton said pleasantly. "Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself?"

Buffy was not relaxed, so far the so-called shrink had been very nice to her, but she rapidly knew that being there might be a blunder. There were just a variety of things about herself that she could not reveal - for example, one mention of vampire slaying and it would be hello to the nuthouse. She should've listened to Frannie and cancelled the damn appointment.

"Buffy?"

She sighed and said, "I just don’t feel comfortable enough to talk about me."

"Well then... how do you feel about living with your Aunt?"

"It's okay," Buffy replied, "But different."

"Different how?"

"For starters back home, I was an only child and now I have my younger cousin following me everywhere."

"Home was where again?" Dr. Morton asked, picking up on the fact that even after six months Buffy still called another place home.

"California."

"Do you miss it?"

Buffy nodded, then shook her head and shrugged. "Sometimes I do, but I don't think I could go back there. Too many bad memories."

"Not any good ones?"

"Sure," Buffy answered. "But I don't know if they're enough to block out the bad."

"So is there a reason you decided to come to this club with me tonight, or is my company just so irresistible?" Frannie asked as she and Buffy lined up, in the freezing cold, for entry to Silver - the only club in their area that didn't bother to check anyone's identification.

"I just wanted to get out for awhile," Buffy replied evasively.

Frannie shook her head in disbelief, "Sure you did."

"Okay. So possibly, Aunt Sam is driving me insane over what went on at my therapy session today," Buffy admitted reluctantly, blushing a bright pink colour.

"So what. Just tell her that if you wanted to talk to her about it, you wouldn't be seeing a shrink in the first place," Frannie said casually, as they moved up in line.

Buffy just looked at the ground and shook her head slowly, "I can't do that."

"It's times like these when I can't believe we're actually friends. You do realize that we're teenagers, right? Parents and guardians expect us to be rude, talk back and even *lie* to them," Frannie replied sarcastically.

"I can't do that. It may be okay for regular teenagers to do that sort of thing, but Aunt Sam was the only one of my *entire* family who wanted me when my parents died... I can't and won't do anything to screw this up."

"Don't worry Buff, it'll all work out," Frannie told her sympathetically as they reached the door and were admitted into the cramped, dingy and yet popular club.

"Sure it will," Buffy said sticking close to Frannie.

They sat down at a tiny table and listened to the band for a few minutes. Anyone that looked at the two girls were as different as night and day and not only in looks. Frannie Malone with her dark hair and eyes was a wild child, out every night and knew where the party was at. While Buffy was small, blond and delicate looking, trying to fit in with a new situation and as an on-looker wouldn't even guess, trying to put the past - all of it - behind her.

Frannie eventually got up and went to get them drinks, leaving Buffy to guard the table. She was happily minding her own business when she sensed something, or rather someone she used to know and had hoped never to run into again. Spike. He hadn't seemed to notice her and she sighed in relief and by the time Frannie returned, he was gone. Pushing thoughts of the annoying bleach-blond vampire from her mind, she concentrated on hanging out with her friend and having a *normal* teenage time.

Everything was fine, at least until after they left the club to head over to the coffee shop where Bailey - Frannie's father - was supposed to pick them up. They had only walked a couple of blocks when she felt Spike's presence again and speeded up her walking pace, with Frannie sub-consciously mirroring hers. She knew that she had to get away from the darkened area and the promise of the coffee shop loomed ahead like a shining beacon. At least until Frannie's heel broke and she fell down, causing Buffy to stop and return to help her friend up. Something then jumped out of the shadows behind them and knocked them down, with Buffy landing on top of Frannie.

"Slayer," it hissed at them as it slid into game face.

Buffy got to her feet and tried to block her friend's view of the creature, an impossible task she knew, but still she tried. "Oh come on, I *so* do not need this," she said.

The vampire moved as if to circle its prey and Buffy drop kicked it in its knee, causing it to fall to the ground temporarily.

"What the fuck?" Frannie whispered as she got her first view of the vampire.

"Frannie, just stay back," Buffy yelled as the vampire started to rise to its feet.

Buffy waited until the vampire climbed to its feet before judo kicking it in the head, causing it to land against the wall. Then using her right foot to pin it there she reached into her purse - which she was still miraculously carrying - and pulled out the trusty stake she always carried with her. The vampire struggled to get away, but couldn't and a second later Buffy plunged the piece of wood straight through it's unbeating heart, removing her foot and watching in silence as it turned to dust.

"Buff..." Frannie began.

Cutting her off, Buffy said, "Your dad's waiting for us."

Frannie let it go - for now - she was still shook up and desperately trying to process what she had just seen. She simply followed Buffy over to the coffee shop where Bailey was waiting to pick them up and take them home.

Neither girl noticed that they were being watched, Buffy was too distracted and Frannie was in shock. However Spike didn't care about that or them. He had finally spotted his chance, his way to get himself back into Angelus' fold and back to Dru. He was the only one who knew where Fluffy was right now and he was definitely going to use it to his own advantage.

Daytime was definitely a vampire's worst enemy, at least for an ordinary vampire it was. Angelus was no ordinary vampire and he never had been, more so now though since he had been the one to find it, the vampire equivalent to the Holy Grail - the Gem of Amara. However being the tremendously intelligent master vampire that he was, no one but he knew of his discovery, so therefore no one can or would be able to challenge him for it - not that he was afraid of a challenge, it was just he had more important things to do than fight lesser vampires.

Sitting in his luxurious den, enclosed by his collections of antique furniture and precious artworks, he was growing increasingly more and more frustrated. He was having no luck - even with his legions of spies - at finding *his* blond slayer. The worst part was his minions and Dru were worried over his fascination with the slayer and that it might make him appear weak in the eyes of other masters. His usual reply was that no slayer got away from him - the slayer killer - and that she was not going to be the first to do so. Angelus stuck to that story unfailingly, there was no way he was going to divulge what that pesky soulful version of him had done - at least not until it was time to do so, when he was at an advantage.

"Master?"

Angelus looked up at the panicky minion standing in his doorway. "What is it?" he growled in response, his eyes flashing gold.

"T-there's someone here to s-see you."

"*I* told you *I* did not want to be disturbed," he growled again.

The minion backed away slightly in fear. "I wouldn't inconvenience you Master, but Spike is here."

"He used my private tunnels, didn't he?"

"Yes, Master."

"Kill him," Angelus ordered quickly.

"B-but Master... he claims that he knows the location of the slayer."

Angelus ceased growling and contemplated fleetingly what the minion had told him. Deciding that his insubordinate grand-childe might truly know something, he whispered menacingly, "Send him in."

Quickly backing away the minion went off to fetch Spike, while Angelus just sat there waiting what was to come.

"So what was that last night?" Frannie asked as she rushed up to Buffy. She'd been lying in wait at the school gate, so that she could pump Buffy for information about what had really happened the previous evening.

"It was nothing," Buffy replied trying to shrug off the prior evening's unanticipated display of her vampire slaying abilities.

"That wasn't just *nothing*!" When Buffy just kept on walking, Frannie grabbed her arm, "Buffy - please tell me what that was."

"You wouldn't understand."

Frannie merely shook her head, "And all this time I thought that we were friends."

As Frannie went to walk away, Buffy yelled, "Wait!"

"What?"

"I'm just not sure that you'd believe what I'd have to tell you," Buffy said biting down on her lower lip.

"After last night," Frannie replied, "I'm ready to believe anything."

The bell rang and looking hopeful, Buffy asked, "I don't suppose you would wait until after school for an explanation."

"Nope."

"Somehow I knew you wouldn't."

The two girls walked away from the school to go somewhere private to talk about what had occurred the night before and about the things that do actually go bump in the night.

When the door opened once more, Spike swaggered inside, obviously confident over what he knew. Angelus had to bite back the urge to snap the little twerp's neck. If Spike thought that he was going to use whatever he knew to get the upper hand over Angelus, he was sadly mistaken. The only reason that Spike was still wandering the earth was because he was being used as an example of what happened to a stupid vampire.

"Peaches," Spike said smiling. "How's good ol' Sunnyhell?"

"Just forget the pleasantries you worm."

Spike simply laughed, "But Peaches, how can *you* not be pleasant?"

Angelus began to growl, "Spike - if you know what is good for you, you'll..."

"I'll what? Tell you where Fluffy is?" Spike cut him off. "Not until I get some reassurances."

"Like what?"

"Like me being let back in here."

"I'll consider it, "Angelus lied.

"Also you have to stay away from Dru," Spike told him.

Angelus just smirked at that one, "If that's what you want talk to Dru about it. She comes to me, not the other way around."

"You fucking bast-"

Angelus was the one to do the cutting off this time," Chill William. After I get Buffy back here, I won't have time to dally with Dru. I'll be too busy training Buffy to submit and inducting her into the family."

"You're gonna turn Fluffy?" Spike said in shock. "No vamp has had the balls to turn a slayer. Well, not for the last millennium at least." When Angelus didn't say anything, Spike continued, "Why?"

"That is none of your concern."

"But..."

Angelus got up and walked over to Spike, leaning over him, he asked forcefully, "Where is *she*?"

"Atlanta."

Angelus looked at him suspiciously, "You're telling me she is in Georgia."

"No... Atlanta, Texas. Of course she's in Georgia," Spike replied sarcastically.

"What is she doing in Atlanta? What in the hell were you doing in Atlanta?"

Spike coughed clearing his throat, "I was seeing a demon doctor about the chip."

Angelus looked surprised, "Wow. Apparently you do have a brain."

"I'm not as stupid as you think," Spike told him. "Do you want to know what I know about Fluffy or what?"

"Tell me," Angelus demanded as he sat down again.

Spike was in reality in raptures, Angelus - the Master of all things deceitful - had essentially kept up his end of the covenant that they had forged over Fluffy's location. The factor that he was largely thankful about was that he now did not have to be dependent on the kind-heartedness - or lack thereof - of the fucking White Hats.

Drusilla had instantaneously received him back, not only into the family once more, but also into her bed - he didn't like to admit it but that made him apprehensive, like he had been given to Dru as a leisure activity, a plaything. On the other hand if he looked at it optimistically, he could accept it for what it at face value; that she had missed him and wanted him back, but he had never been very optimistic, at least since his rebirth.

He was on the other hand feeling an incredibly un-vampire-like feeling on every occasion he spared Buffy a thought, he remembered it hazily from his human days - a guilty conscience. He knew what Angelus' design for the juvenile blond slayer was, he simply didn't know what the giant poof was presently up to; it had after all been more than a week since he had betrayed the slayer's position to him and yet zilch had gone on. However knowing Peaches like he did, there was destined to be something horrendous up his sleeve for the credulous girl.

The reality was that Angelus was only this guarded when he was scheming rather horrific or gathering intelligence and something told the bleach-blond vampire that in the case of this particular slayer, Angelus was looking for an Achilles' heel to manipulate before he even contemplated making his so-called magnificent move.

"My Spike," a voice called to him, breaking him away from his reverie. "Are you hungry my Spike?"

"Famished," he replied drinking in the vision of his undying beloved.

Drusilla meandered giddily across the room and planted a quick kiss on his ice-cold lips. "Then I'll kill a nice toddler for you to eat."

Spike allowed her to pull him to his feet and then he said gently, "I think I'm in the mood for someone a little older." His stomach turned summersaults at the thought of eating a baby, even though they were Dru's favourite snack. He supposed it was partly due to her rampant insanity and partly because of the fact they were something she would never ever have.

"Spoil my fun," she glowered.

Anxious to make her smile evilly once more, he replied, "I never said that you couldn't eat one, pet."

Dru hugged him close, "I'm glad you're back my Spike. Our happy home is complete."

{If you only knew, pet. If you only knew} he thought. "I'm glad I'm back too."

Pushing the niggling traces of guilt - which had to be a by-product of his chip - to the back of his mind, he headed out with Dru for a bite to eat.

One week, it had been one whole week since her explanation of the true nature of herself an of things that go bump in the night to Frannie and it had been just as long since the stubborn, fearful brunette had spoken to her. So much for Frannie's guarantee that nothing Buffy could tell her would shock her, the instant Buffy educated her of what was in reality going on around her, things that she never noticed because she preferred to live in a position of ignorance, Frannie walked away and didn't look back. Not that Buffy in reality blamed her, after Merrick had initially explained the slayer gig to her she hadn't wanted anything to do with it either.

Buffy understood it wasn't the end of the world, she had been by herself before and it freed up her schedule to spend more time with the family or do her homework - if she kept up all her work she was a shoe in to make the honour roll, which would certainly surprise a lot of people. In spite of this she did miss Frannie's friendship and more and more she was missing her old life and friends back in Sunnydale. She was only now beginning to question the wisdom in cutting all the ties to her former life.

"I haven't seen Francis around lately," Angel said as she wandered into Buffy's bedroom. "Is there anything wrong with you two?"

"Not really," Buffy answered pretending to be totally engrossed with her algebra homework.

"Buffy," Angel said sat down on Buffy's antiquated lumpy double bed. "You know you can tell me anything that's wrong. Just think of me as family."

"Angel, I do think of you as family, but..."

"But what?"

"Some things are just private."

Angel merely sat there on the bed and Buffy became conscious that Angel wasn't going to disappear until she had gotten what she sought after and that was for Buffy to unburden her heart to her about what was wrong instead of bottling it up within and letting it fester.

Buffy at long last glanced up from her homework, "It's nothing. Frannie just found out something about me that she didn't like and decided to pretend that I don't exist."

"No matter what she's found out about you, it simply can't be any worse than the things that she has done. That girl is an antisocial delinquent," Angel answered supporting Buffy. Angel stood up when she recognized that Buffy wasn't going to talk about it to any further extent and went to leave the room, pausing at the doorway. "Don't spend the rest of the night brooding here in your room over Francis Malone. Go and do something fun... as long as it doesn't involve you leaving the apartment."

Buffy stared at her aunt's best friend since childhood, "I'll think about it."

"Okay, if you want you can join Chloe and me. We're gonna have an Olsen twins movie fest... you don't wanna miss that."

Giggling and rolling her eyes, Buffy replied sarcastically, "I definitely can’t miss an *entire* evening of that."

"Does that mean you'll be joining us?"

"It means... yeah, I'll be joining you," Buffy told her.

"We'll be waiting," Angel told her as she left the room.

Buffy put down her math book and rummaged through her disorderly writing desk until she came across what she was looking for, her address book. She opened it to the page where Willow's phone number was written, it was a number that she once knew by heart and now since had been so long she could barely remember how it started. For a small amount of seconds she did nothing but stare at it and then as unexpectedly as she had retrieved it, she put it away once more. Taking a deep breath she stood up and went to join her cousin and Angel in the living room.

Sitting at the rear his mahogany writing desk, Angelus tapped his fingers upon the surface in both irritation and displeasure. It had been over a week since he had hired that moronic demon detective to follow his wife around and still he had come up with nothing of value. Sure he now knew his not so darling spouse's daily schedule - school, home, etc -, the fact that she was not dating anyone and the names of the family members that she was now living with. However there was nothing in that information that he could use to his advantage.

There was a soft knock upon his door, right before it swung open. "Master?"

"Yes?"

"Your detective is on the phone," the fledgling whispered mellifluously so as not to antagonize Angelus with an impertinent manner.

"Put him through," Angelus ordered. As the fledgling went to depart, Angelus spoke to him once more, "And next time... you will wait for me to grant you entry or you will encounter the pointy end of my stake. Do you understand me?"

"Y-yes Master."

A few moments later the cordless touchtone phone lying on the writing desk next to him rang and he picked up the extension. "You had better have some good news to report, or I will take you apart piece by piece while you are still breathing - if you are lucky."

"Calm down, Angelus. I wouldn't have dared to call you if I hadn't found you something useful," the aged roughened demonic voice. "It seems your slayer's aunt has a secret."

"What sort of secret?" Angelus asked, his curiosity peaked.

The demon on the other end laughed, "The kind you'll like."

Late into the hours of darkness, long after most normal individuals are dead to the world in their comfy beds, Samantha Waters entered the residence that she shared with her daughter, best friend and niece. All but one insignificant table lamp was turned off leaving the prevalent percentage of the living room in shadow, not that Samantha in reality noticed. As per usual her mind was filled with the latest case that had been assigned to the Violent Crimes Task Force - or the VCTF as it is also known - and the sporadic accidental thought of her stalker, Jack.

Dumping her array of case notes and research onto the undersized timber coffee table, she flopped down onto the overstuffed couch absolutely exhausted - both emotionally and physically. However she knew that no matter how overwrought she may be, she wouldn't be able to reap more than a few hours sleep at best; it was nothing new it had been that way since Jack had murdered her husband. Leaning back she closed her eyes and tried to absorb the stillness, the peacefulness of the quiet apartment into her distressed mind. The peace didn't last long, it was shattered by the shrill ring of the phone. Heaving a sigh, Samantha picked it up expecting it to be Bailey informing her of another victim or problem with the case.

"What now, Bailey?"

"Hi... Mrs. Waters," Francis Malone's voice came down the line. "Can I please talk to Buffy?"

"Frannie, it's nearly two in the morning, Buffy's been in bed for hours. Can't you talk to her at school?"

"Sure. Sorry for bothering you," Frannie apologized. "I guess I didn't realize it was so late."

"It's okay."

"Bye."

Samantha hung up the receiver with a groan and once again closed her eyes and tried to loosen up. The muted thuds of feet tip-toeing down the short hallway disturbed her a short time later; she glanced up and saw Buffy heading into the kitchen area. Accustomed with her niece's habit, she knew that this late night sojourn meant only one thing.

"Have another nightmare?" Samantha asked her. It was really more of a statement than a question, after all why else would her niece be wandering around the apartment at this late hour.

"What else," Buffy replied tiredly, as she moved around the small kitchen area. "Do you want a hot chocolate?"

"Sure," Samantha answered standing up and stretching her wound up muscles. As she walked towards her niece, "Want to talk about it?"

Buffy busied herself making the essential hot chocolate, but she ultimately answered her aunt. "Not really... but..."

"But what?"

Buffy stopped part way through making the drink, "It's changing."

Samantha studied her niece closely, "Changing how?"

Buffy leisurely finished off making the hot chocolate and poured it into two large decorative china mugs. She placed one in front of her aunt before she spoke again, "At first... it was just mom and dad dying and I couldn't save them. No matter how hard or much as I tried I... it was just too late."

"And now?"

Buffy took a seat at the small dining table and took a sip of the hot liquid. Sighing softly she replied, "Now... it's not just my parents I can't save. It's all my old friends back in Sunnydale and I can't save them because I can't..."

"Can't what?"

"I can't figure out what's killing them."

Samantha simply sat there sipping the drink her niece had made her and thinking about what she had just been told. Honestly even with all her training she wasn't sure what to say to Buffy. "What does Dr. Morton say?"

Buffy almost choked on the mouthful of drink she had. "That quack. The best that she can come up with is that I need closure on my life out in California."

"Really?"

"Yeah and since I don't see you letting me head out there all alone, that idea's wasted."

Samantha sighed, "You know that if Jack wasn't..."

"Aunt Sam, it's okay. The truth is I'm not sure I want to go back there - ever."

Samantha patted Buffy's hand, "Tell you what. Next time I head out to California - case or not - we'll go to Sunnydale and figure this all out."

"Okay," Buffy agreed reluctantly.

They then merely sat there, each trapped within their own thoughts, as they finished their drinks and then headed off to bed, to toss and turn because their own fretful dreams.

The fresh evening breeze fluttered ever so slightly against the ice-cold pallor of his skin, but Angelus was scarcely cognizant of it. His complete concentration was focused upon the meeting at this time being held in Giles' run of the mill apartment house.

Not that anything of any immense magnitude was being discussed; it was simply the weekly get-together of the white hats complaining about his activities. And from the infinite tedious speeches that he had heard so far, he now knew that they had no new information on his so-called *wife*. Angelus was most undeniably flabbergasted, he had essentially estimated Spike would rat him out to the good guys once his position within the family was once again safe and sound.

As he positioned himself in a more comfortable location in which he could scrutinize the proceedings, he without a sound began to give consideration to what his high-priced and yet highly effective demon detective had found out about his little slayer for him. There was as you would expect the customary things, his averse spouse had few friends and on no account dated - the respite he felt over this was only due to the fact he did not have the time to go and hunt down any hormonally driven teenagers to rip their spines out, or at least that it what he convinced himself was the veracity.

The pre-eminent news - at least as far as he was concerned - pertained to Buffy's aunt. It seemed that a sadistic serial killer known as 'Jack of All Trades' had a deadly fascination with her. It was at long last something that he could use to his own advantage, after all the main problem his misplaced spouse had was her duty to others and if she thought that her dearly loved aunt was in danger because of this then - well, she would do anything to save her, including giving herself voluntarily over to a demon.

Inattentively listening to the Scooby Gang's ineffectual dialogue, he momentarily considered informing them of Buffy's whereabouts, if only for the entertainment value it would provide him as he watched them scuttle around trying to save the slayer from the inexorable.

All of a sudden his particularly finely tuned hearing detected a shift in the ambiance of the discussion from within the miniature apartment. Being the obviously inquiring bloodsucking creature that he was, he turned his full awareness to them and was disenchanted to find out they were discussing Spike's abrupt departure. Sighing a superfluous sigh, Angelus walked away intent on grabbing a cursory *bite* to eat before heading back to the mansion to check on Draco's advancement on the research he had assigned him.

When Buffy ultimately arrived at the gateway leading into Wilkins High School that subsequent morning, she saw Frannie standing there evidently waiting for her to show up. Still feeling indignant from her so-called best friend's reaction to the knowledge that humans were not the only sentient species on the planet, that the boogie man was real and that Bram Stroker was not some eccentric, alcoholic Irishman with an overactive imagination.

Part of Buffy did not and could not hold accountable Frannie for the pessimistic feedback, after all her own preliminary rejoinder to what Merrick had shown her that temperate California night had not been much better. Also how could she have estimated Frannie would straightforwardly understand a suggestion so outlandish to her just because Willow and Xander had. They had an advantage over her new friend, they had grown up on top of the Hellmouth and had dealt with all the bizarre and off the wall stuff all of their lives; the worst that Frannie had, had to deal with was human brutality.

Walking past Frannie devoid of even giving her so much as a glimpse of acknowledgement, she headed off towards the central school building and her home room class. Buffy had scarcely taken a few steps when she heard her name being called and a hand clamped securely around her arm, whirling her around to face her aggressor.

"Buffy?" Frannie said as she let go of her friend's arm. "Aren't you even going to give me the opportunity to give reasons for my reaction? I let you give an explanation."

Before she could act in response to Francis' inquiry a male classmate made an abhorrent statement. "Hey Malone ‘n’ Summers - what's the matter? Having a lover's tiff?"

"Blow it out of your ass, Robertson," Frannie countered to the bratty teenager. She turned her consideration back to Buffy, "Please give me a chance?"

Buffy nodded, "Okay."

"Let's go."

The two girls left the campus grounds - Buffy dragging her vast book-bag with her - and headed off to the nearby Starbucks. After grabbing a couple of coffees they went to the local teenaged retreat for the ditchers and after settling themselves down in a comfortable posture, Buffy wordlessly anticipated her friend's elucidation.

When not an iota was in the offing, Buffy spoke, "Well?"

"I'm sorry," Frannie began unhurriedly, evidently taking her time and thinking out each thing that she wished to articulate. "It's simply that I always thought that I could come to grips with everything that came my way and in less than twenty-four fleeting hours you blew it all away. On no account, even in my wildest fantasies - and believe me some of them were pretty wild - would I have guessed that vampires and other creepies were real."

"It’s okay, Frannie."

Francis downed her now warm drink, semi-scalding her throat. "No, it's not. I forced you to give an explanation about it all to me and then I took off as an alternative to trying to comprehend what you had told me. I know that I can't take it all back, but I wanna help you - in whatever way I can."

"Just be my friend, Fran," Buffy told her sincerely. "That's all I really need right now."

Nodding she replied, "I can do that."

The walls were decorated dark grey in colour, making the room seem smaller and darker than it was, regardless of the substantial two-way mirror that lined one of the walls. It was freezing cold in there and Buffy's delicate cotton covering didn't help to keep out the cold, it was worn for fashion purposes and not for body warmth. She was however confident that she had not been enclosed within the repugnant room for more than an hour - after a indiscriminate police raid busted the hangout and took into incarceration as many teenagers as they could - but time was seemingly dragging.

When the door at long last opened it was not some unknown police sergeant, but her aunt that walked in with a disillusioned look engraved across her attractive features, making Buffy wish that she had gone to class instead with Francis. They did not speak even one word to each other on the way back to the fire house apartment, but it was not an awkward stillness, it was merely one where neither party knows quite what to say to the other.

The silence was broken the instant that the apartment door was closed behind them. "I am assuming that this skipping school thing is a new development?"

"Aunt Sam, I think you know that I don't skip classes and I think that my grades attest to that. It's just that Frannie -"

Sam interrupted her niece, "I should have guessed. The only times that you have caused or been in trouble are due to her. I don't care if Bailey is her father -"

"Aunt Sam -"

"Just go to your room, Buffy," Sam said rubbing her overtired eyes. "I need to get some perspective before I deal with this."

Buffy sighed and did as her aunt had asked of her. Once she was sequestered within the confines of her undersized bedroom, she sat down her bed and stared out of the window into the fading light. For a split second she could have sworn that veiled in the shadows across the street was a demon, but after a few minutes of searching and waiting she gave up, chalking it up to the stress of the days situation. Turning away from her window, she lay down and let the tears that she had been withholding for so long fall.

Once darkness had fallen the demon came out of his hiding place among the shadows, relieved that he had been wrong about the slayer spotting him. The mess that a situation like that would have caused would have surely meant a painful death at the hands of Angelus. Pulling his cloak tightly around him - to hide his pale yellow scales and green spikes from the unsuspecting humans nearby - he headed back towards his beat up old Ford. Climbing inside he grabbed his cell phone and dialled his employer's private line with his daily report. If it had not been a part of his job description, he would have avoided this particular call at all costs; Angelus was not going to be pleased with today's occurrence.

"What?" came the agitated voice of his employer.

"Master Angelus, I have today's report ready for you."

Angelus' voice did not even soften at the voice of his obsession. "Tell me now."

"As usual her aunt took her to school and brought her home. She has once again not left the apartment since her return there."

"So nothing unusual has occurred then?" Angelus asked confidently.

"Well -"

"Well, what?" Angelus' voice hardened like ice.

The demon swallowed nervously, suddenly glad for the miles between Georgia and California. "Your slayer skipped her classes and was taken in by the police during a raid on the hangout."

"What in the hell was she doing in some hangout?"