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Ireena never showed the next day. She had sent someone to tell the group there was something she had to attend to. They were to meet her at the town hall at eight that night.
Faced with the afternoon off, the gang decided to begin preparations for the upcoming fight. Stakes were carved, weapons were checked, strategies were thought up. Giles had Buffy and Angel train in the open field next to the inn.
They circled each other, practicing techniques and basic things. They practiced for hours, stretching in between sessions. Cordelia sat in the sun reading a romance novel she had brought. Willow was hooked into the Internet, searching for anything that might be of use. Xander and Oz made most of the stakes, talking as they did so.
“Giles, are we done?” Buffy whined as Angel helped her stand. She gave him a quick kiss as a creepy feeling came over her. The feeling of being watched.
She swung her head around and caught sight of the girl she had seen working the day before. She turned back to her work and Buffy relaxed. But the feeling would not go away.
An old tree sat on their left. It was huge and cast an enormous shadow. Buffy saw a darkened figure standing close to the trunk. Curious, she stepped closer. The figure was leaning against the tree, arms crossed, a strange sense radiating from it. The feeling of power, of confidence and, above all else, evil. The shadow hid the figure from view. She walked closer and as she stepped to the edge of the shadow, the figure faded. She blinked, stunned for a moment.
“Leonna...” she whispered. It had to be. There had been someone there, she was sure of it. Angel had followed her and was now looking at her.
“She was there, Angel. I saw her,” Buffy said as she turned to him. He nodded, having seen her himself.
“It’s beginning.”
“Giles. She’s here,” Buffy said as they walked back to where the Watcher stood. He looked at them, shocked.
“He-here? Now?” he asked. Buffy and Angel nodded.
“She was over there by that tree. In the shadow. And then she disappeared,” Buffy said, shaken up badly. The worst part was she had not been able to sense it was a vampire. Leonna had masked herself from Buffy’s Slayer sense. Angel glanced at her and saw how unnerved she was. He looked at Giles.
“Go get cleaned up, both of you. We have to eat and get to that meeting. I’ll warn the others. We must be extremely cautious. With Leonna’s power she can turn up in places we won’t expect,” Giles warned before going to find Katrina and explain things to her.
Angel led Buffy up to their room. He ran a hot bubble bath for her and waited until after she had climbed into the scalding liquid. She sighed, leaning up against the towel resting on the edge of the tub. Angel kneeled by her and gently massaged her temples as her eyes fell closed.
“Mmm...this is nice,” she mumbled as she sank lower into the water. Bubbles teased the ends of her hair as she sat and thought.
“Angel, I’m scared,” she said in a tiny, terror evident voice. Angel’s heart went out to her. She was so strong. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead before he spoke.
“Everything will be okay, Buff. You’re going to kill Leonna and we’ll go back home,” he reassured her.
“But what if I can’t? What if she hurts one of my friends?” she asked, raising her head and turning around to face him. She looked into his eyes. “What if she hurts you?”
As the words escaped her mouth, tears formed in her eyes. She could not fathom a life without him. She remember how terrified she had been when he had landed in the hospital and when Leonna had turned him.
“I won’t let her,” he said, determined. She gave him a little smile and a soft kiss.
“But what if you can’t stop her?”
“Buffy. I will not let her harm you or anyone else. We’ll triumph, we always do. Good wins over evil,” he said, touching his forehead to hers and giving her an eskimo kiss.
“What would I do without you?” she asked with a small smile.
“I don’t think we want to know the answer,” he replied.
“Thanks. I love you,” she whispered and gave him another kiss.
“I love you too.”
“And someday I’ll be able to comfort you and make you feel better,” she laughed as she raised her head and looked into his eyes. He laughed also and brought a hand up to cup her cheek.
“I’ll let you finish your bath in peace,” he told her as he stood.
“Care to join me?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.
“You know I want to, but...” he trailed off, giving her a look of longing.
“Oh. Yeah. Best behavior thing, sorry. I forgot,” she said, giving him a look of her own. “Stay with me?”
He nodded and knelt back down again, talking softly to her as she finished her bath.
Afterwards, she fell asleep, totally exhausted. He held her but did not sleep, just watched her chest rise and fall. He studied her beautiful face and love swelled inside of him. She was his, forever. He woke her soon after and they went down to eat dinner. They had something called mititei, which were like meatballs that were seasoned and grilled. They tasted surprisingly good.
Buffy glanced around at her friends. Willow and Cordelia were talking quietly and Oz and Xander were talking about comics. Buffy smiled, knowing neither Willow nor Cordelia knew that she and Angel had overheard their conversation. She was glad for the change of heart in Cordelia and glad that she had confided in Willow. Willow had been a victim of Cordelia’s countless times in the past and it seemed appropriate for her to have talked to Willow first.
They didn’t talk at all about Leonna or the meeting they were about to attend, they didn’t trust the gypsies. There was a sort of tension in the air, an anxiety that no one could explain. It was not that apparent, but it was there, causing the usually cheerful group to be sullen and subdued. They were all aware of it and it seemed urgent almost. It certainly added apprehension to the night ahead.
The gang climbed into the two cars after dinner, heading for the town hall. As they traveled down the driveway, Buffy felt a pair of eyes on her. She turned back and saw the old woman standing on the front step of the house, watching her. Buffy grew uncomfortable, even though the stare wasn’t malicious. It was almost pitiful, really, and made her wonder. Wonder about what was ahead.
Wonder if she would survive.