Impact

Buffy and Giles met up with Willow, Xander and Dawn in the lobby, and Giles just managed to wrestle the two remaining jelly donuts from the box before Xander devoured them himself. “Where is everyone else?” Buffy asked after thanking Giles and taking a big bite of the donut.

“Angel is taking Lilly home, and Wesley hasn’t returned from Wolfram and Hart yet. And I think Fred and Gunn are there too with Lorne. They are helping to research the Blimey, and they are to phone us as soon as they find a weakness in the thing.”

Willow then proceeded to tell them what Angel had encountered the night before, his confrontation with Dru and the Blimey, and how Lilly was the host of the demon. Giles was saddened to hear of the nurse’s ordeal. He had come to like her a great deal.

Wesley and Angel arrived almost simultaneously and the group grabbed the weapons and supplies they thought they might need, and then clamored into the van. It was huge, and Buffy thought back to that dismal excuse of a motor home they had “borrowed” to run away from Glory in. Where was this van then? It was state of the art, complete with a DVD player for the passengers in back, leather seats with individual controls for air and heat and lumbar support, tinted windows to keep the sunlight out for Angel, and a mini bar in back. Wesley took the wheel, and Willow took the shot gun seat. Buffy smiled and winked at the witch, who blushed and smiled back. Buffy leaned over so she could whisper into Giles’ ear, “I think something is brewing between Witch and Watcher.” Buffy raised her eyebrows at Willow and Wesley up front until understanding came upon Giles’ face. He smiled too, and then took Buffy’s hand in his own. The two of them sat in the very back. Everyone had books sprawled onto their laps however, except for Wes who was driving. They had yet to find a way to defeat the Blimey, and now that Drusilla and the Blimey were merged, finding a weakness was tantamount.

They stayed in constant contact with Fred and Gunn via Angel’s cell phone. Xander did most of the communicating with the mobile. Angel still didn’t understand the phone’s mechanisms, and just plain hated using it. But he did comprehend it’s usefulness.

Dawn, Xander and Angel all shared the middle seat in the van, with Dawn sitting in between the two acting as a buffer. Buffy was not amused that Xander still to this day did not truly accept Angel back into the group. It troubled her that Xander would not let the past go. Xander never could separate Angel from Angelus. If anyone should hold it against the vampire it should have been Giles. But Giles just wasn’t that kind of man. That was just one of the reasons Buffy loved him so much. She promised herself to speak to Xander about this later.

They were half way to Sunnydale when the front right tire of the van exploded and popped. Wesley momentarily lost control of the van as it skidded down the highway until he could apply the brakes and pulled the van over into the gravel on the side of the road. “It appears we’ve got a flat.” Wesley frowned as he informed the group. “So much for state of the art.” Buffy commented. Angel turned in his seat and glowered at her. He wasn’t amused. He would be trapped in the protective covering of the van even longer now. Giles and Xander climbed out to help Wesley change the tire, followed closely behind by a hyper Dawn. At least it came with a full spare tire. Xander jacked up the van while Giles and Wesley struggled to take off the popped tire and replace it with the new one. Dawn provided a running commentary to the men as all the cars passed by on the highway. She was hungry again, or thirsty, or just wanted to know how much longer until they finally got there. And what was taking them so long fixing the tire anyway? The men hushed her in frustration, but to no avail. She was oblivious as she continued to chatter away.

In the van Willow came back to sit with Buffy. Angel appeared to be reading, and they were in need of some serious girl talk.

“So, Will, speak with Kennedy lately?” Willow looked guiltily at the book she fingered in her lap. “I phoned her last night and told her we were coming here today.”

Buffy nodded, encouraging Willow to go on. When she didn’t, Buffy decided to add some fuel to the fire. After all, Kennedy had been one of them to kick her out of her own house, had not believed in her as the Slayer, and frankly, Buffy didn’t really like her. She wanted better for Willow, her best friend. Granted, she had never truly gotten along with Wesley back in high school, but that was when he had been trying to replace Giles as her Watcher. No one could ever replace Giles, especially in Buffy’s heart. But Willow’s heart was another matter.

“Wesley has definitely improved over the years, don’t you think?” She prodded Willow.

Willow smiled and her eyes sparkled as she looked into Buffy’s face. “Yes, he’s quite handsome, don’t you think?” Buffy giggled. “It must be the Watcher in him!” The two girls giggled at that, until Angel turned around and glared at them. They just smiled innocently at him. He returned to his book.

Willow wanted to ask Buffy questions about her and Giles, but decided with Angel so close, that was not a good idea. But she was glad to see her friend so happy. Maybe a Watcher could make her happy as well?

Angel was getting restless in the van. His long limbs were confined, and he felt quite claustrophobic. He picked up the cell phone Xander had discarded in the seat and decided to dial Gunn to see if they had any news. But there was no answer back in Los Angeles. That was worrisome.

Finally the three men and Dawn returned. Giles decided to drive this time, and Dawn took up shotgun. Willow stayed in the back with Buffy, and that left Xander in the seat with Angel again. They all turned as Wesley entered the van. He looked very uncomfortable, first looking at the space in between Angel and Xander, and then at the inviting seat next to Willow in the rear seat vacated by Giles. Finally his eyes reached Angel’s gaze, and the vampire smiled and nodded at his friend. Wesley, relieved and grateful, smiled back. Then he sat next to Willow. Buffy smiled and caught Giles’ eyes in the rearview mirror. He smiled at her reflection as he started up the van and they returned to the highway, back to Sunnydale.

Ahead of them, all that remained of Sunnydale was a gigantic crater in the Earth. The door to the Hellmouth had exploded in the battle against the First, and the ground was now laid open, hollow, charred, and ragged. Where the library of the high school once stood, the crater crept down to middle Earth. Smoke still clung think in the air as far as the horizon.

A lone figure was slowly making her way through the ruins. She carried a book under her arm. Her designer gown looked out of place in the barren land, and her heels were not made for this kind of trek. Finally she stopped and leaned down against a burned stump, pulling off her heels. “So much for Dolce” the blonde whined. “I loved these shoes!” She sat the book down on the stump and knocked the heels off of each shoe, turning them into flat soles. She sat for a moment and stared up at the dark sky. It was the middle of the afternoon, but the sky over Sunnydale was dark with the smoke. The covering allowed the blonde vampire to wander out in the middle of the day. She finally stood, stretched, picked up her book, and continued on her journey to the mouth of hell. She never realized she was being watched. Drusilla smiled in surprise when she first spied the woman, then frowned in jealousy. How dare Harmony intrude! Spike was her’s!


TBC