Watchers Council

Chapter 21

Willow kept glancing out of the window of her office. “Why don’t you go and wait in the parking lot?” Danny suggested and tried to hide his grin.

“I need to check this specification before the vacation” she reminded him sternly and scowled as she made herself concentrate on the papers in front of her. “Oh, I give up” she sighed after two minutes. “Who am I kidding, I can’t concentrate enough to float a pencil right now” she closed the file and dumped it into a drawer.

“I’ll get one of the assistants to look it over for any obvious mistakes and you can tackle it again after the break” he reached across and retrieved it from the drawer. “Give me five minutes to pass this on and then we can go and annoy Dawn” he grinned and she started to clear the rest of her desk.

*****

“Why don’t you go and wait in the parking lot?” Dawn sighed as they both sat on corners of her desk. “Some of us have work to do” she nodded her head towards Giles’ office and put her finger to her lips to tell them to keep quiet. “Thank heavens one of us is responsible enough not to slack off on the last afternoon before a major celebration” she raised her voice just enough so that he couldn’t fail to hear her.

“Why don’t you all go and wait in the car park?” he shouted from his office and Dawn winked at Willow.

“If you insist” she shouted as she hurried Danny out of the office in front of her. “Thanks” she leaned up and kissed him. He returned the kiss with interest and they finally parted when Willow coughed to remind them of her presence. “Sorry” Dawn took Danny’s arm and theee hee headed for the open air.

“I’m afraid you’ve just missed her” Giles said politely. “Is there any message?” he automatically started to scribble down what was said and several frown lines appeared as he listened to the bad tempered person at the other end of the line. “Who is this?” he asked angrily and finally hung the phone up and stared at the message in front of him. With a sigh he locked his desk, diverted the phones and picked his jacket up before heading out to catch up with the others. “Willow” he shouted as he saw her disappearing out the front entrance. She popped her head back in and grinned at him but he nodded his head towards a side corridor and headed down it to wait for her.

“What’s up?” she asked and noted the uncomfortable way he checked over her shoulder to make sure there wasn’t anyone else nearby. “Has something happened?” she put her hand on his arm and felt the dread leaking out from it’s hiding place near her stomach.

“Why don’t you tell me?” he asked seriously. “I just took a call for you, they put it through from your office” he handed her the piece of paper and took his glasses off to clean them as she read and reread the message. “Is everything alright?” he asked when she finally looked up.

“Yeah” she nodded absent mindedly. “Can you tell the others I had to deal with something?” she didn’t wait for his answer but walked determinedly off towards her office.

He let out a slow breath and watched her retreating figure for a moment before nodding to himself as if coming to a decision. “Buffy” he said under his breath and headed towards the gym complex. He heard the cheers before he opened the door and the noise reached a crescendo as he walked towards a group surrounding a training mat. The crowd consisted of a dozen students and several watchers, all of whom were oblivious to anything but the contest taking place in front of them. He watched the fight for several minutes, taking pride in the speed and agility of the opponents and noting that neither of them was holding anything back.

“What’s the matter B, getting old?” Faith asked as Buffy took a moment on her knee before rising to face her again and wiping the blood from her lip.

“I think you’re mistaking me for someone who’s ass you could kick” Buffy responded and ducked under the next punch to deliver an arm lock. “Perhaps you should get some new moves, you seem to be getting a little stale” she grinned and twisted the arm.

Faith had no choice but to follow the movement and she landed with a thud on her back. She was about to flip back to her feet when she caught sight of Giles at the back of the crowd and smiled lazily. “I Think we’ve been busted” she said to Buffy and pointed towards him.

“Damn” Buffy mumbled under her breath and held her hand out to Faith. “And that’s just the kind of irresponsible training I don’t want to see from any of you” she pointed round the confused group of trainee slayers before looking over their heads. “Mr Giles, is there something I can do for you?” she asked sweetly and tried to ignore the extremely loud shuffling of a group of people trying to pretend they had somewhere else to be.

“Faith” Giles nodded towards her and waited till the three of them were alone. “Glad you could make it back, how are Kennedy and Grant getting on?” he asked and followed the girls to the back of the room where they had left their bags.

“She’s doing fine and I’d already broken in G2 for her so she’s not having too much trouble with him” Faith shrugged.

“G2?” he asked.

“Well there is only one, original G” she shrugged and smiled at Buffy.

Giles shook his head. “And you’re still happy to be guarding the Hellmouth?” he checked as Buffy handed Faith a bottle of water.

“I wouldn’actlactly say happy” Faith nodded to Buffy. “But I know I can do more good there than I could here” she waved at the complex. “Not really the molding and mentoring type” she shrugged and drank half of the water.

“Unless we start a course on slutty dancing?” Buffy suggested with a grin and sat on a bench. “So did you come over here just to spoil our fun or was there something else?” she looked towards Giles.

“Obviously the curtailing of enjoyment is my main role in life” he suggested solemnly.

“That’s not what Kate says” Buffy grinned at him and was relieved to see him struggling to keep the smile from his face.

“However” he finally managed to swallow the grin. “I do actually need your advice and had no idea that you were renewing old friendships”

“Wow” Buffy stretched her legs out in front of her and gazed up at him in amazement. “You need my advice?” she checked that she had heard him correctly.

“What’s up Giles, you want to date the undead?” Faith asked seriously and locked eyes with Giles when he stared at her. “Perhaps I should just leave you two alone to sort this out” she finally suggested and lifted her bag and jacket. “We’ll finish this later?” she asked Buffy over her shoulder and ned ned on Buffy’s definite nod of agreement.

“Sorry” Buffy said quietly when they were alone and Giles had sat down next to her. “She arrived near the end of my class and we just picked up where we left off” she shrugged. “Still has a hell of a right hook” she mumbled and gently rotated her jaw.

“You didn’t seem to be doing too badly yourself” Giles suggested and smiled at her.

“I did pay attention most of the time in training, you know” she shrugged. “What was it you wanted me for?” she asked before he could refute her claim.

“Oh yes” he suddenly looked serious and studied his hands for a moment. “Willow and Danny came to rescue Dawn from the office a while ago and I to tel telephone message for her just after they left” he began nervously.

“You want me to pass the message to Dawn?” Buffy asked as he stopped and sank into a thoughtful expression.

“Mmm” he looked up at her. “No, sorry, the message was for Willow and it was more than a little strange” he finally explained himself.

“Strange how?” she asked and shrugged as he winced at her grammar.

“The person was extremely angry and threatening but they wouldn’t leave their name, just said..” he paused and seemed to gaze off into the middle distance for a moment. “.. she ought to know by now” he seemed even more concerned now that he had repeated it and wasn’t reassured when he saw Buffy looking serious.

“What kind of threats?” she asked in an even tone that wouldn’t fool anyone who knew her.

“Just general nonsense, that she’d better stay out of their way and stop what she was doing if she knew what was good for her” he watched as Buffy assimilated the information and knew that she had no more idea of the circumstances surrounding it than he had. “I was hoping that you would know if she was in any kind of trouble” he sighed and shook his head.

“Nope, but I think I’m about to find out” Buffy suggested dryly and started shoving her training gear back into her bag. “Was it a man or a woman?” she asked and finished her water while he considered the question.

“Could have been either” he tried to remember something to indicate one or the other.

“Have you told Will?” she tossed the empty bottle into her bag and started towards the door.

“She said she had something to deal with and she looked worried” he followed her. “She obviously knew what the caller was talking about but she didn’t wait around long enough for me to ask her so I came here to find out if she had confided in you” He held the door for her and they both squinted as the sunlight glinted off the water in the pool complex next door.

“Don’t mention this to anyone else, I’ll go and find her right now and we’ll get this sorted out before it ruins our weekend” she nodded and headed towards the main building.

He watched her striding purposefully away from him and shook his head as the memory of her fight with Faith returned to his mind.

*****

“Xander” Dawn squealed and pulled open his car door as soon as he stopped. “I’ve missed you” she mumbled as she practically dragged him from behind the wheel to hug him.

“Dawnie” he grinned and nodded to the young man standing behind her. “Dan” he turned to see Giles headed towards them. “Wow, quite the welcoming committee” he shook Giles’ hand and finally disentangled himself from Dawn’s hug. “So who’s minding the store?” he asked and nodded towards tain ain building.

“It’s in safe hands” Faith suggested from behind him and grinned as he jumped in surprise. “Xander” she slipped her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

“You get fired from Cleveland?” he asked and pulled her in for a hug.

“Came back to make sure B wasn’t going soft in her old age” she grinned and stooped to pick up her bag. “Catch you later?” she asked and headed towards one of the dormitory blocks.

“Is something happening?” Xander asked Giles worriedly. “Last time the girls got together the town didn’t do too well” he reminded him.

“Faith is just here for a week or so to pick up some new weapons and to talk to some of the research teams” Giles explained.

“OK” Xander nodded but didn’t look too reassured. “Where’s Will and Buffy?” he asked and turned to lock the car before following Giles and the others towards the canteen.

“Willow had something to deal with in her office and Buffy was just going to get her when you arrived” Giles explained and tried to keep the concern out of his voice, failing dismally if the look Xander gave him was any indication.

*****

Twenty minutes later the small group were alone together again and finishing their sodas. “So Giles persuaded the Board that the anniversary deserved to be marked in some way and that’s when he decided on the holiday weekend idea” Dawn explained to Xander.

“As a builder of fine properties for the discerning home owner I’m not sure I should be celebrating the demolition of an entire town” Xander suggested and sighed deeply.

“If I can participate in Christmas I think you can manage this” Willow shook her head as she strode into the room and leaned down to kiss him as he turned towards her. “Xan, goddess it’s good to see you again” she took in a deep breath as he stood up and hugged her tightly.

“Will, I missed you” he mumbled into her shoulder. “Do I have to do the snoopy dance?” he asked seriously as he finally pulled back a little but kept his hands on her arms.

“Depends how much you have to drink” she suggested and smiled as the Xander twinkle reminded her of a million memories from their years of friendship.

“Xander” Buffy came into the room and grinned as he came to hug her as well. “You been working out?” she asked as she squeezed his arms and stepped back to admire him.

“Pushing a pen for eight hours a day” he posed a little and grinned at Giles. “So when does the party start?” he asked and rubbed his hands together.

“The f gue guests are arriving tomorrow morning so it will just be informal tonight with the black tie dinner tomorrow night and the dedication on Sunday” Giles glanced at his watch. “Do you want to drop off your luggage and get freshened up?” he asked.

“Sounds like a good idea” Xander nodded. “Are you sure Kate doesn’t mind having a guest?” he asked a little later as he drove them to Giles’ apartment.

“Xander, she had to fight off Willow, Alex, Buffy and Dawn for the right to have you staying with us” Giles explained patiently. “I don’t really know how she managed it but she’s due in an hour or so, perhaps you could ask her?” he glanced across at the young man.

“I’m not sure I want to know” he grinned at the older man. “Perhaps she really needs some shelves put up or something?”

“I think she just wants to make sure that you don’t get monopolised by the others” Giles suggested.

“I’m here for two weeks so there will be plenty of Xander to go round everyone” Xander grinned at him and pulled the car up outside the apartment. After dumping his bags in the spare room and getting a guided tour of the new apartment he settled down with a coffee and looked towards Giles seriously. “So what’s up with Will?” he asked softly and waited for Giles to finish cleaning his glasses. “You looked all uncomfortable when I asked earlier and she felt wrong when we hugged earlier”

“She felt wrong?” Giles asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No hands in naughty places” Xander held up his hand. “She just felt, sort of…” he struggled to find the right words. “Tense and worried” he finally settled but was obviously unhappy at the choice of words. “You can trust me on this, we’ve hugged under most situations that you can imagine and she’s just a little off right now”

Giles nodded his agreement and decided to tell Xander about the earlier phone call. “I don’t want to get involved in what is probably a personal matter but I’m worried that this isn’t an isolated incident and none of us know anything about it” he stood up to pace and allowed himself a smile as Xander paced in the opposite direction.

“Is it something to do with Alex?” he asked and stopped as he met Giles at the mid point of their travels.

“As far as I know everything is fine with them and Alex is due back tomorrow morning” Giles shrugged and they returned to pacing for another five minutes.

“You’ve checked with the coven?” Xander finally asked him quietly and held eye contact.

“I don’t need to, Xander, it’s nothing like that this time” Giles assured him and realised how much it had taken for Xander to even consider such a situation recurring. “I just get a feeling it is very much of this world” he returned to his chair and waited for the younger man to sit down. “It all seems a little too mundane and sordid to be anything really evil” he explained and waited for Xander to understand him.

“You mean the threats sounded like a cheap hood in a bad gangster movie?” Xander asked and nodded. “I thought that at first, when you told me what they said but then you were all hyper worried and I started imagining the usual badness”

“Sorry” Giles shrugged. “But that still leaves the question as to what on earth Willow is involved with that would cause this”

*****

They were still deep in thought when Kate arrived half an hour later. “Xander” she dropped her bag and hugged him tightly. “I’m so glad to see you, we’ve all missed you” she finally let him go and pulled him to sit next to her on the sofa.

Xander caught Giles’ slightly quizzical look and grinned at him. “She doesn’t feel wrong” he assured him and laughed as Giles caught the reference and walked towards the kitchen while shaking his head. “Anyway” Xander turned to a bemused Kate. “What have you been getting up to?” he asked and then raised his hand before she could answer. “The usual rules about Giles and nakedness in the same sentence apply” he assured her seriously.

“Idiot” she swatted his arm and settled down to tell him all about the last three months. “And that brings you pretty much up to date” she announced twenty minutes later and looked at her watch. “Oh blast, Rupert you should have reminded me” she jumped up and looked for her bag. “Did I bring my bag in?” she asked and started trying to find her car keys.

“Your bag is in our room and I’ve laid out your clothes for tonight” Rupert pulled her into his arms. “You have plenty of time to shower and get changed before we have to be there” he assured her before kissing her lightly.

She deepened the kiss and wrapped her arms round him. “Mmm, you are a wonderful man” she finally pulled back and took a deep breath.

“I must be, to put up with you hugging younger men” he pouted and watched her disappear into their room. “You can use the guest bathroom if you want” he nodded towards Xander and started to clear up the mugs.

“Do you know lucky you are?” Xander asked him quietly.

“I know” Giles smiled at him. “And not just because of Kate” he added and took the dishes into the kitchen while Xander seemed lost in thought for a moment or two before heading for his room.

*****

Buffy was standing with her arms folded and her back against the office door. “We don’t leave here until you tell me” she used her most serious tone and planted her feet slightly apart.

“There is nothing to tell” Willow told her for the fifth time but with a little less conviction. “We’re going to be late” she finally pointed to the wallclock above Buffy’s shoulder.

“Not moving” Buffy said and tried to keep eye contact with her friend.

Willow dropped her gaze to the desk top and struggled with the voice of reason that was telling her to involve Buffy and deal with the fallout later. Eventually she took a deep breath and looked back up. “OK, but come and sit down” she waved to the chair in front of her desk and waited till Buffy had hesitated for a moment before sitting down. “Four months ago I found out that Alex had been getting weird letters” she began and marvelled that everything had happened in such a short space of time.

“What kind of weird?” Buffy leaned forward a little.

“Weird” Willow shrugged and took a deep breath. “She passed them onto the agency’s security people. They said it was probably just the usual stalker type and that they would deal with it and she wasn’t to worry” Willow looked grim at this point and Buffy wondered exactly how Alex had managed to calm her down at the time. “I tried to find out what had happened but everything went quiet for a while and it seemed that they had managed to stop them altogether” she paused.

“I’m guessing they hadn’t” Buffy said and shook her head. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she pouted a little.

“Because it was part of Alex’s world and, as far as I could tell, there wasn’t anything end of the worldy about it” Willow pointed out. “Alex ‘persuaded’ me to let the security team deal with it. Apparently this kind of thing happens to models at the agency all the time and a lawyer’s letter or a visit from a beefy security guard usually scares them off” she shook her head and started to get angry at the memory. “I told her that we were capable of dealing with things that didn’t require stakes but she insisted that this was the best way”

“First of all, Alex is an idiot” Buffy pointed out and stood up to pace. “And secondly, the weirdness didn’t stop?”

“It sort of did, for a couple of weeks” Willow acknowledged and took a breath before getting to the part that she knew would make Buffy really angry. “Alex hasn’t had any letters since and the agency think it’s over with” she opened a drawer and dumped a small pile of letters on her desk. “He’s decided I’m the one he really wants to be a penfriend to” she pushed the letters towards Buffy and sank back in her chair. “I don’t have any idea how he found out about us or my contact details but he did and he’s been threatening me to stay away from her ever since”

Buffy stared at Willow for several moments before blowing out a deep breath. “He must have seen you together and you don’t travel with her to work so he could be living here” she stood up to pace. “As for getting your contact details, how long would it take you on the net?” she looked towards Willow who shrugged and nodded. “Why didn’t you go to the security people when you started getting them?”

“Because they would have told Alex and I didn’t want to worry her” Willow seemed to understand the intrinsic irony even as Buffy looked at her incredulously.

“You and Alex are well matched in the idiot stakes” Buffy scowled at her and sat down. “You need to let us sort this out for you” she suggested as she stared at the pile of correspondence.

“He’ll get fed up eventually” Willow suggested.

“Right, because the last human, weird type we came up against just faded out quietly” Buffy said quietly and saw Willow’s lip tremble as she desperately tried to hold herself together. “I didn’t take Warren seriously enough and I won’t make the same mistake again”

“This is my problem and I think he’ll give up if we don’t engage with him” she finally managed when she had her voice under control.

“Not an option” Buffy shook her head. “You know that won’t work” she waited for the slight nod from her friend before moving round the desk to hug her. “Will, we can fix this for you without Alex ever needing to know” she tried to reassure her as the tears finally broke through and Willow sobbed against her. “Giles was really worried” she said as her friend’s breathing finally started to return to normal.

“That’s the second time he’s called” she admitted. “I didn’t think he’d speak to anyone else”

Buffy stepped back and looked wryly at her soaked sweater. “You need to go home and get cleaned up and ready for tonight” she lifted the bundle of letters. “Dawn, Giles and I will look through these and sort out a plan of action”

“But” Willow tried to interrupt.

“No buts” Buffy said severely. “You were moaning about being in charge of the research teams, well its about time that Giles got to do his stuff again”

Willow looked a little shocked and a smile broke through as she sniffed and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “Please don’t tell Xander, he’ll only worry” Willow remembered her friend.

“He’s staying with Giles and Kate for the holiday” Buffy shrugged. “It depends how much he’s already guessed and how hard he pushes Giles for the story”

“Damn” Willow muttered under her breath, knowing that she had hardly ever been able to keep anything from Xander and that Giles had been even less successful.

*****

“Yes, thank you, you’ve been very helpful” Giles shook his head and grimaced as the person on the other end of the phone continued to talk. “Of course, if I can think of any more questions I’ll give you a call” he held his breath for a moment before mumbling good bye and hanging up. “A forty minute phone call for five minutes of useful information” he scowled and flexed his fingers.

“So give” Buffy sighed as she waited for him to share.

“Oh yes” he looked off into the distance for a moment before turning back to look at the two women. “He seemed quite flattered that I was asking his advice and completely believed that Willow had suggested we contact him about the similar problem we are experiencing at the school” he began and shook his head at the gullibility of the general population. “However, he admitted that in the case of Alex’s most recent spate of letters he hadn’t had anything to do with them stopping. He never even got a chance to trace the culprit before they simply stopped arriving” he shrugged.

“Most recent?” Dawn asked.

“It seems that this is a usual occurrence in their industry and it happens to Alex about twice a year” he frowned. “I can only imagine she has kept previous occasions from Willow”

“I can’t say I blame her” Buffy suggested and looked between them.

“Perhaps not, but we don’t have the luxury of ignoring them” he waved to the pile of letters in front of him. “They may have started off as relatively harmless but the ones that Willow has been receiving have become progressively aggressive and much more specific in their intentions”

“So let’s get this sorted out” Buffy suggested.

*****

“That’s them in date order and I’ve entered the post marks on the map” Dawn stood up ten minutes later and put a final pin in the wallmap.

“Doesn’t like to travel much” Buffy stated the obvious as the pins clustered round their town, none of them further than fifty miles away. “Willow gave me an idea when the letters to Alex started, perhaps we should try to find someone who worked with us and left around that time”

“Or someone who joined us at that time. The teaching staff hasn’t changed recently but I’ll get Xander to run through the list of construction personnel” Giles suggested and looked at his watch. “He should be arriving with Kate in ten minutes or so”

“If someone was stalking Kate they’d think she was going out with him” Dawn shook her head.

“Don’t start that again” Giles warned her and started plotting dates in his diary. “Kate and I are happy with the arrangement” he mumbled.

“Can we try to concentrate?” Buffy reminded both of them and settled down to read the last few letters. “OK, so he’s obviously a weirdo but I’m not picking up anything else” she ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. “This always looks really easy on CSI”

“We’re not exactly experts in this kind of investigation” Giles reminded her and leaned his chin on his hand for a few moments. “We can assume that his infatuation with Alex started when he found out how close she was to his territory” he waved towards the map and looked towards Dawn and Buffy. “We can also assume that he found out about Willow when he saw them together” he took his glasses off and inspected the lenses before leaning back and staring at the two girls again.

“You’re killing me here Giles” Buffy finally shook herself and tried to prompt him to get a move on.

“Perhaps he’s been hanging around to watch them?” Dawn suggested quietly.

“Which is exactly why we installed all of those damn cameras in the first place” Giles finally caught up with her train of thought. “How long ago did Willow think this had started?” he asked Buffy as he dialled an internal extension. “Russell?” he asked into the phone and nodded to Buffy. “Can you get me copies of the security footage for the last four months?” he listened to the reply before gripping the phone a little tighter. “I didn’t ask for an estimate of your response times, I want the playback equipment and tapes in my office in half an hour” he put the phone down and scowled at it for a moment before looking up at Buffy’s raised eyebrow. “Bloody jobsworth tried to explain the time consuming nature of information retrieval to me” he blew out a breath and checked his watch again. “We should be downstairs to meet the others”

“Does Kate know?” Dawn asked as they headed downstairs.

“No, I think Willow wants us to keep this as close to home as possible” Giles sighed and shook his head. “Although how we are supposed to keep this from Kate and Alex…”
nee need to present them with the full package when they find out” Buffy suggested. “Case closed” she waited for Giles’ nod and straightened her shoulders before opening the door to the main hall and the noise from several hundred people engaging in small talk.

“Xander” Buffy admired his outfit. “Nice shirt, who picked it out for you?” she grinned and waited for his usual righteous indignation.

“That would be telling” he said enigmatically and the sister’s dragged him off to a corner to torture the information from him.

“Catering emergency dealt with?” Kate asked as she turned from Xander’s plight back to Giles.

“Hmmm?” he smiled before remembering his excuse to leave earlier. “Oh yes, everything’s back on track” he assured her and slipped his hand round her waist before heading towards the buffet laid out against the far wall.

*****

“This takes me back” Dawn smiled at the others several hours later as she settled down with a mug of coffee.

“I like the idea of watching videos as research” Xander suggested as he pulled his chair cr tor to the others. “So much easier on the eye than the musty old books”

“You won’t be saying that in five hours when we’re still watching a security camera shot of a tree” Willow suggested and propped her notebook on her knee as she slumped further down in her chair.

They had relocated the security videos to Buffy and Dawn’s living room. Buffy had suggested that, rather than make another excuse to Kate and raise her suspicions, Giles should leave this part of the research to them. He had finally agreed and made them promise to phone him if anything turned up. Buffy had promised but Xander had seen her crossed fingers behind her back.

Willow had suggested that they cut down the number of tapes to view by only checking those when Alex was home, if this didn’t give them anything then they could check those covering the periods when she was away. Buffy lifted the lid from the first box and pulled out a tape at random. She read out the date and camera ID written on the tape and Willow noted them down. Everyone watched the first couple of minutes in silence before Xander looked towards Dawn. “How many tapes did the guy make you sign for?”

“I think we can speed this up a bit” Buffy suggested as she knelt in front of the VCR. “Most of the time there aren’t going to be any people in shot so we can just fast forward until we find someone then watch that bit.” She matched her actions to the words and everyone watched the lines in the middle of the screen as the only indication of time passing. “Oops” she mumbled when everyone shouted as a lone figure speed walked across the shot. “Wait a minute” she mumbled and rewound to the point where the figure entered. After a moment she shook her head, mumbled a name and continued fast forwarding the tape.

They managed to get through three boxes of tapes in this way, covering several weeks, before they finally came upon someone that nobody recognised. “Let’s keep the tape separate and see if we can find any other times when they were on campus” Xander suggested after rewinding and playing the sequence several times. After four hours they had seven tapes separated out from the others, six of which showed two different people that they couldn’t identify. “Let’s take another coffee break before we look at them again” he suggested and everyone stood up to yawn and stretch.

“I had forgotten all about the cameras” Dawn sighed as she followed them.

“Obviously” Buffy shook her head and winked at Willow. “I would hope you weren’t doing that just for the pleasure of the security guys”

“We were only kissing” she protested and blushed again. “Do you think they would notice if I kept that tape?” she asked Xander and he laughed.

“Why don’t you just tape some sports or something over that bit of the tape?” he suggested. “That way they’ll only find out when they wind it forward to ogle you and Danny”

Willow and Buffy giggled as Dawn groaned and covered her face with her hands. “Nobody mentions this to Danny” she glared at them all and waited for a nod from each of them before lifting the tape from the top of the separate pile and putting it on top of the TV. “Remind me to fix this before it goes back” she mumbled.

“When is Alex due in?” Buffy asked and handed Willow a mug of coffee.

“She’s on the red eye with Laurie” Willow checked her watch. “That give us four hours to identify the strangers on the tapes, track them down, find the psycho stalker and persuade them to stop” she shook her head.

“You need to relax a bit or she’s definitely going to pick up on this” Buffy suggested and followed her back into the living room. “We may not get this sorted out this weekend but we will sort it out” she assured her and they returned to th.
.

*****

“OK, that is definitely a woman” Xander pulled back from his position about three inches from the screen.

“That doesn’t mean she isn’t the one we’re looking for” Dawn suggested and looked towards Willow. “How sure are you that it’s a guy?” she asked.

“Pretty sure, but they were trying to disguise their voice and it might have been a woman” she paused and seemed lost in thought for a while. “But I just got a guy vibe from it” she shrugged, unable to put her finger on anything specific.

“Giles said he couldn’t be sure either” Buffy reminded them and pulled the tape from the machine to replace it with another. “Let’s try the other one” she suggested and they all watched the same scene being replayed several times. “Whoever it is, they are trying to avoid being seen” Buffy pointed towards the figure who seemed to deliberately wait in a doorway until a group of girls had passed. “What date is this?” she turned towards Willow who checked the notebook on the arm of her chair. “Do we know if Alex was on campus that day?” she waited for Willow to check her own diary.

“She had come back from a long trip a couple of days before and I’ve marked a lunch date with her in my diary” she tapped her finger on the page. “I think we met late morning and I showed her our new web server before we went to the cafeteria” Willow struggled to remember what had happened several weeks before.

“And they say romance is dead” Xander grinned at her. “So this camera would have picked up someone hanging about the back door entrance to the kitchens?” he asked and waited for Dawn to confirm the position from the list on her knee. “Can we print off a copy of this to show it round the kitchen staff, perhaps they would recognise him?” he suggested and everyone looked towards Willow.

“I should be able to lift it from the tape and clean the image up a bit” she nodded and looked thoughtful for a moment. “Actually, Kerry is better at this kind of thing, I’ll give it to her as a project in the morning”

“You’re going to get someone to work over the holiday?” Buffy asked softly.

“It won’t take her long and she doesn’t have any family so she’ll definitely be around” Willow shrugged. “And it’s not as if we haven’t done our share of fighting evil over holidays” she pointed out and everyone was quiet for a few moments. “Now that we’ve started on this I just want to get it done” she finally admitted.

“Will, I promised, didn’t I?” Buffy put her hand on her knee and waited for the nod. “OK, so the plan is that we get this printed off and Dawn checks with the staff” she enumerated their tasks on her fingers. “Xander checks the personnel records to find anyone who started or left around that time” she nodded to Xander. “I’ll talk to Faith and we’ll patrol the campus to see if we can spot anyone hanging around”

“What do I do?” Willow askedtheythey all accepted their assignments.

“You get to keep Alex happy, unsuspecting and out of our way” Buffy smiled at her. “If you think of anything, just let Giles know and he’ll co-ordinate everything”

*****

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you all dressed up before” Alex grinned as she sat on the bed and watched Willow slip into the full length, beaded, black gown. “Wow” she stared at the red head as she turned to face her.

“Can you fasten me up?” Willow asked and turned back to face the mirror. She grinned as Alex stood behind her and looked at both of them in the mirror.

“I think this is the first time I’ve seen you in something I didn’t want to get you out of right away” Alex stuck out the tip of her tongue as she started to fiddle with the tiny hook and eye fastenings.

“Thank you, I think” Willow smiled and licked her lips as she turned to stare at Alex. “Are you going like that or is there an outer layer?” she pointed at the lacy underwear and raised her eyebrows.

“It’s a surprise” Alex smiled at her and pulled the garment hanger from the wardrobe. “Wait for me in the next room, I want to get a reaction to the entire outfit” she shooed Willow from the room and waited a few seconds to peek back out the door to make sure she had retreated. “Just checking” she giggled and opened the cover.

Willow wandered around the apartment, not really wanting to crease her gown by sitting down. “Are you ready yet?” she shouted to Alex and heard a muffled reply. “If it takes this long then you’re wearing too many clothes” Willow shouted a couple of minutes later and heard the door starting to open. “At last, what on earth were you….” she turned and stood in shock as Alex slowly pulled the bedroom door shut before turning to face her.

“Will, honey, remember to breath” she said quietly as she walked towards her.

Willow finally closed her mouth and drew in a deep breath. “You look…” she couldn’t find the word.

“Beautiful, gorgeous, sexy, stunning” Alex supplied. “Or all of the above” she grinned as she picked her purse up from the table and dropped a lipstick into it.
ow” ow” Willow mumbled and held her arm out for Alex. “I’m supposed to be working tonight” she reminded her.

“I’m sure Xander won’t mind dancing with me” Alex suggested and grinned at the limo that waited for them at the kerbside. “What’s all this?” she pointed at the car.

“It was Giles’ idea” Willow giggled. “Something about wanting to push the boat out”

“I always said he was a classy guy” Alex nodded to the chauffeur who handed her into the car. “What?” she asked as Willow glared at the man as he stared at Alex settling into the back seat.

“He’s at least sixty years old and he was ogling you” Willow pouted and slid in next to her. “This is torture” she huffed and crossed her arms.

“You’re going to be turning a few heads tonight yourself” Alex reminded her. “And that doesn’t bother me, I just remind myself that I’m the only one who gets to see you later, without the sexy little black number” she whispered in Willow’s ear and kissed her neck as her head rolled back. “Ever done it in the back of a limo?” she ran her hand along Willow’s bare shoulders and pulled her head round for a searing kiss.

“We can’t” Willow groaned. “The entire Board and invited guests are going to be waitin the the other end” she complained and lifted Alex’s hand from behind her.

Alex scowled before moving to the facing seats to slide down the glass partition between them and the driver. She chatted with him for a while before returning to her position next to Willow. “We need to leave by midnight” she said nonchalantly and pulled her lipstick and mirror from her bag.

“Why?” Willow looked over her own mirror before snapping it shut.

“Because Gus finishes up at two and I’ve hired him from midnight till then” Alex ran her hand down Willow’s thigh, smoothing the material that had been crinkled before fixing her own makeup. “Trust me on this, the back seat of a limo is something you don’t want to pass up” she met Willow’s startled gaze and was worried that she had taken a step too far for the red head.

“Just so long as you promise never to tell me how you know this” Willow finally recovered from the shock of the mental images playing through her head and grinned at the blonde.

*****

“That is still a good look for you” Willow said and grinnedXandXander stared at her.

“Xander, nice tux” Alex leaned in to kiss his cheek but he was still staring at Willow. “See, I told you they wouldn’t all be staring at me” she nodded at Willow and turned to greet some of the students.

They were all standing on the steps of the front entrance as another limo pulled up. The rear door opened as it glided to a halt and Giles climbed out before turning and giving Kate his hand. He nodded to the driver and took Kate’s arm, leading her up the stairs to the others. “Thank you” he grinned as Alex wolf whistled at them. “That was for me?” he checked as he leaned in to kiss her and turned towards Willow. “You both look very nice” he turned to shake hands with Xander.

Xander shook his hand and turned to kiss the back of Kate’s hand. “You look fabulous” he took a step back and looked at all three women. “It might kill me but I’m going to dance with all three of you all night” he sighed.

“Oh no you’re not” Willow and Giles both said at the same time, each of them placing a protective hand on their partner’s arms.

“Does that mean you won’t have any time for me?” Buffy asked as she came up behind Xander.

He turned to see her standing with her hands on her hips. “I think I’m dreaming” he looked towards the sky before glancing back at Giles. “Except you aren’t ever in my dreams” he shrugged and everyone laughed.

“Let’s get inside” Giles suggested and ushered the women ahead of him before glancing round the perimeter of the car park. “Who’s on patrol tonight?” he leaned down to ask Buffy quietly.

“Faith and a couple of the older girls are taking the early shift” Buffy nodded towards the back of the car park and he saw someone shift behind a tree. “I explained what was happening to Faith and she agreed to cover this weekend so that Alex wouldn’t notice any of us missing”

*****

Giles was leaning against the wall several hours later, watching the others dancing. “You must be very proud” Justin suggested as he handed him a glass and nodded towards the dancefloor. “You’ve achieved what no other Watcher ever has” he continued. “A slayer who survived long enough to retire”

“That had more to do with the spell Willow cast than anything I did” Giles suggested and sipped at his scotch.

“And who kept Willow from destroying herself and everything else?” the older man asked and smiled indulgently as Alex and Willow moved past them. “Only a few of us know how close she came to dying at the coven” he admitted and saw Giles’ frown before looking at him. “I know you thought everyone at the Council was unaware of what was happening but some of us had links with the coven” he admitted. “I didn’t know early enough to help but I monitored the situation once you arrived back there and I know that your support and friendship meant more to her that she will ever admit to you”

“She had the strength within herself, she just needed some time to control it” Giles raised his glass to some colleagues at a nearby table before turning to Justin. “It was never just about the slayer” he looked towards Buffy as she danced with one of the Board members. “If Quentin had understood the power that the others grew into he would have tried even harder to pull the plug on us”

“He may have tried” Justin nodded and saw Kate and Xander leave the dancefloor. “But that doesn’t mean we would have let him succeed” he suggested and nodded to Kate before leaving Giles in deep thought.

*****

“I’ve hardly seen you all night” Willow pouted and stepped away from Alex as the song ended.

“You’ll have me all to yourself later tonight” Alex leaned in to remind her. “Tonight is all about the Scooby gang so you need to mingle and I need to keep an eye on you from over there” Alex pointed to the bar and grinned as Willow sighed and turned towards another group of Board members.

*****

“Did you have any luck with the search of personnel records?” Giles asked as he led Buffy to the dancefloor.

She sighed and stopped to stare at him. “I thought tonight was all about celebrating our defeat of the biggest of the big bads?” she scowled at him.

“It is but we still have work to do” he reminded her and held his hand out to her as the music started.

“Can’t we just have one dance where we enjoy the still being alive thing?” she asked and stood a little closer to him.

“I suppose we could” he grinned and pulled her closer still. “You look lovely tonight” he smiled at her.

“You don’t look too shabby yourself” she grinned back at him. “Is that the same tux you wore to our prom?”

“Yes and I think it’s pretty impressive that I can still fit into it” he suggested and saw her smile. They swayed together for the rest of the song, both of them remembering the happier memories from their past.

*****

“And we’re all going to meet up on Monday morning to check out our progress” Dawn whispered to Willow as they met up in the corridor outside the Ladies toilets.

“Did Kerry manage to get a decent capture?” Willow asked as she stood back a little to let others past.

“Yeah, it’s a good enough picture but we can’t find anyone who recognises him” Dawn sighed. “But, that’s good because it probably means he’s our guy” she waited to see if Willow would follow her logic. “I need to get back before Danny comes looking for me but everything is OK” she reassured Willow and headed back towards the hall.

*****

“I was thinking” Xander suggested to Dawn as they both took a breather a little later. “Maybe this guy won’t be happy just sending letters, how long will it be before he decides on something a little more hands on?” he glanced round to make sure nobody was listening before leaning in to listen to her answer.

“Buffy said that was one of the reasons Willow didn’t want to get involved” Dawn admitted. “If we went on the attack we might force his hand and then Alex would be in danger” She sighed and looked towards Willow. “The only good thing is that we are prepared, we know about him and he won’t get the chance to get close”

“That’s another thing I’m worried about” Xander nodded. “What do we do once we find this guy?”

Dawn looked at her clasped hands on the table for a moment before sighing. “I know, I’ve been checking the statutes and I can’t find anything legal that we can do to get rid of him permanently”

“I don’t mind burying demons in the foundations but I’d draw the line at humans” Xander whispered and they both sat in silence for several minutes. “I’ll talk to Giles on Monday, once Kate has left, and we’ll work something out”

*****

“Have I told you how handsome you look tonight?” Kate asked as they moved towards the tables at the edge of the dancefloor.

“Not nearly often enough” Giles grinned at her and pulled back a chair. “You’ve seen me in my tuxedo before” he reminded her and sat down with a sigh.

“I know you’ve worn it once or twice when you’ve been to functions with me, but here, you seem to be..” she stalled and he looked up in surprise as she was hardly ever stuck for words. “I don’t know, you seem to be more impressive in this setting and the tux just adds a little extra” she shrugged.

“I think having the most beautiful woman in the room on my arm may enhance my meagre attributes” he leaned across to kiss her gently.

“No honestly, I’ll be fine here, I just need to rest for a few minutes” Alex smiled at the older man who helped her sit down at Giles’ table. He bowed to Kate and walked off towards the bar. “I’m sorry but you’ve got to let me sit here for five minutes” Alex begged them through clenched teeth as she kept the smile plastered on her face.

“What on earth is wrong?” Kate asked as Giles frowned at the older man who turned to wave at Alex.

She returned his wave before dropping the smile from her face and groaning. “I think he’s one of your Board” she nodded towards the man and grimaced at Giles. “He’s been following me round like a sick puppy all night and I finally agreed to dance with him” she shuddered and Giles poured her a glass of wine. “Thanks” she downed most of it in one gulp before taking a deep breath. “Anyway, let’s just say he’s very lucky that Will didn’t catch what he was up to or you would have had an empty chair at the next meeting”

“I’m sorry” Giles topped up her glass. “I should have warned you about Mr Lane, he is notorious”

“Oh it’s alright, it’s not as if it’s the first time something like this has happened” Alex sighed and scanned the room quickly to find out where Willow was. “I’m just a little more careful now that I’m with Willow, she doesn’t deal with stuff like that very well”

“I don’t blame her” Kate suggested and moved her chair closer to Alex. “If Mr Lane had been feeling Rupert up I would have had something to say about it”

Alex laughed and looked at Giles as he smiled at Kate. “At least you wouldn’t have turned the old guy into a toad” Alex reminded Kate about Willow’s particular skills and Kate nodded in understanding. “Honestly, a couple of young guys asked me for my autograph a few months ago and I swear she actually growled at them”

“I’m sure you’d be just as possessive if someone was trying their hand with Willow” Giles suggested and sipped his wine. He had an idea of what may have been behind Alex’s refusal to allow Willow to become involved in finding the stalker and wanted to see if hispicipicions were correct.

“Well I’d break their legs but at least they’d be around to tell the tale” Alex admitted and shook her head. “Anyway, I meant to ask, who designed the dress?” she changed the subject and the two women spent ten minutes discussing dress design in a language that Giles knew he had no chance of ever mastering.

He leaned back in his chair and watched Willow across the room, surrounded by a group of Board members and some visiting watchers. She was obviously telling them an outrageous tale as the gathering regularly let out howls of laughter before leaning in to hear the rest of her story. He marvelled at the poise and social skill in the young woman and tried to match her with the shy computer genius he had first met ten years previously. He suspected that Alex had kept Willow out of the way on the stalker business because she had been worried at the red head’s overreaction to the situation. He also thought that Willow had probably allowed herself to be sidelined for much the same reason. His gaze returned from his thoughts to the group and he grinned as he saw one of the younger watchers put his arm round Willow’s waist. He leaned in and added his own contribution to the discussion and everyone laughed but Willow very gently removed his hand from behind her back. Giles shook his head as he recognised the bravery of too much wine when the young man replaced his hand. “Alex” Giles said softly and waited for her to turn towards him. “Perhaps you should ask Willow to dance” he nodded towards the group and saw her eyes narrow as she watched the by-play. “He’s usually based in Europe and doesn’t know either of you” he tried to excuse the behaviour.

“He’s just about to find out” Alex pursed her lips and took a final sip from her glass. “See you tomorrow?” she asked and smiled at them both as she strode across the dancefloor. “Ms Rosenberg” she said in a voice loud enough to carry to the young man standing behind Willow. “You’ve been ignoring me all night” she pouted and leaned up to kiss a bemused Willow. “Excuse us” she turned to smile at the group of men, most of whom nodded in understanding but a few looked on in surprise at this turn in events.

“What’s gotten in to you?” Willow looked confused but allowed herself to be led to the dancefloor.

“If someone is going to be feeling your butt tonight it had better be me” Alex glared at her fiercely before allowing the grin to start. “Anyway I thought the olds could do with a bit of entertainment” she leaned in and kissed the even more bewildered Willow.

“What time did you book the limo for?” Willow asked when Alex finally pulled back for air.

*****

“Xander what’s up?” Buffy found him sitting by himself watching the dancefloor with a sad look on his face.

He shook his head and nodded towards Willow and Alex as they laughed and danced together.

“I remember you not having a clue about her feelings in the early days” Buffy smiled as she sat down next to him. “I mean I knew she was madly in love with you after about two days and you had no idea”

“I think it’s true that you only realise what you had once it’s gone” he sighed and turned to look at Buffy. “Enough about my regrets, how are you and John getting on?” Buffy’s smile became a little wider and she regaled him with tales of her trips with the band. “Buffy the groupie” he laughed and she nodded sheepishly.

“Xander, Kate and I were going to head home if you want a lift?” Giles asked half an hour later as the crowd had thinned to a few stragglers.

“That’s OK, I was going to meet up with a couple of the guys and have a few beers, I’ll let myself in” Xander smiled and waved them off
“
“What guys?” Buffy asked as they watched the couple head off.

“Actually I was hoping to speak to Faith about this thing with Willow” he leaned in closer to Buffy. “She is patrolling tonight?” he checked and nodded. “I’ll give them five minutes to clear the parking lot and then I’ll go find her”

“And you want to find Faith just to talk?” Buffy asked sceptically.

“What’s the matter, you getting jealous?” he grinned and checked his watch.

“Why don’t I come with you” Buffy nodded towards Dawn and Danny as they left the main hall. “I think I may be a third wheel at home for a while anyway” she sighed.

“Don’t” Xander held his hand up and headed for the main entrance. “I’m still in denial about Dawn being old enough for anything that requires your absence”

Buffy smiled and slipped her hand through his arm as they stood at the top of the steps. “Over there” Buffy nodded almost imperceptibly towards the rear of the parking lot. Xander squinted a little and finally made out a slightly less dark shadow leaning against the side of the building. “Let’s go for a walk” Buffy said in a louder voice as several people said their goodbyes.

“Sure” Xander murmured and headed in the direction away from the crowd. “Faith?” he whispered as they came closer to the corner and he heard the small chuckle.

“Stealthy” Faith rolled her eyes and took a step further back so that they could turn the corner before stopping.

“Anything?” Buffy asked and shivered a little as a cold wind sprang up. Xander absent mindedly took his jacket off and draped it round her shoulders before turning to hear Faith’s report.

Faith sighed and shook her head again. “Nice shirt” she said and waited for Xander to realise that his crisp white shirt wasn’t exactly the garment of choice for covert observation.

“Sorry” he shrugged and stood closer to the wall.

“Nothing so far but they haven’t come out yet” Faith noddo tho the front door and checked her watch. “They’ll be out soon though, the car is due back at 12”

“Car?” Buffy craned round to see the front steps.

“Yeah, seems that the girls think size matters after all” Faith grinned and shrugged. “They booked the limo for two hours” Xander groaned and Buffy smiled as Faith continued to check the perimeter. “The rest of the team are checking the grounds but they are due back here in about ten minutes”

“I’ll go change and take over, if you want” Buffy suggested.

“Up to you, I was going to hang about for another hour or so once everyone had gone, see if he turns up” Faith leaned back and rested one foot against the wall.

“Can you rustle me up a sweater?” Xander asked Buffy and glanced at his watch again. “I’ll stay with you for a while, no point disturbing Kate and Giles while they’re drinking their cocoa”

The two girls smiled and Buffy nodded towards the front entrance. “They’re here” All three of them watched Alex and Willow getting smoochy before the limo pulled up at the foot of the steps.

Xander kept his eyes firmly fixed on the two women but Buffy and Faith were both scanning the darkness surrounding the parking lot for any movement. Xander suddenly swore under his breath and marched towards the limo, ignoring Buffy and Faith’s whispered warnings. “Will?” he raised his voice a little and Willow turned to smile at him as Alex opened the door to the car. “What’s with the car?” he asked and rubbed his hands together.

“Nothing” she tried to pretend the car didn’t exist and hoped he would let them get away.

“We haven’t had luxurious smoochies since Paris so I’ve hired the car for a couple of hours” Alex admitted and grinned as Willow groaned beside her. “Gus agreed to play his music really loud” she giggled.

“Maybe I need to warn Gus about your behaviour, young lady” Xander moved to the front of the car and tapped on the driver’s window.

“Xander!” Willow whispered fiercely to him and hid her face behind her hand.

“Hey” Xander nodded as the window opened. “Xander Harris” he leaned in and offered his hand to the bewildered driver.

“Gus Hamilton” the driver shook his hand and turned to glance at Alex and Willow. “Is there a problem?” he asked.

“Nope, just needed to warn you about these two young ladies” Xander kept his grin firmly stuck in place but checked out the front seat area for anything suspicious. “Also needed to explain how important they are to me so you’ll understand if I ask to see your driver’s licence” he held out his hand again.

“I’m going to kill him” Willow mumbled not so quietly and handed her bag to a bemused Alex. “Xander, what on earth are you doing?” she tapped his shoulder and stood behind him with her hands on her hips.

“Just making sure the limo of love is legal” he winked at her before turning back to inspect the licence. “Everything seems OK” he handed it back and patted the shoulder of the driver. “Thanks for your time, I’ll make sure they give you a tip”

“What was that all about?” Willow looked angry now and would have waited all night for his answer if Buffy hadn’t arrived behind her.

“Xander, where did you get to?” she demanded and nodded to Willow. “Hey Will, nice car” she turned back to the young man.

“Why are you wearing his jacket?” Alex asked and all three of them turned to her in surprise.

“Ehm” Buffy started unhelpfully before Xander rescued her.

“We went for a walk and she was cold” he moved from between Willow and the car and stood beside Buffy. “Couldn’t have my favourite girl getting shivery so did the manly thing”

“You guys are acting weird, is everything OK?” Alex asked as Willow looked on thoughtfully.

“Us, weird?” Buffy asked and lifted Xander’s arm to look at his watch. “Look at the time, we’d better get moving if we’re going to get to the thing” she turned pleading eyes on him.

“Right” he clapped his hands together and nodded to the others. “Have a nice time” he took Buffy’s arm and strode off across the parking lot.

“What the hell was that?” Faith asked as they ducked back behind the corner.

“We have a guy who’s looking to mess with Willow and Alex and I just wondered if he could have borrowed a hat for the night” Xander shrugged and glanced round the corner to see the car making its way out of the parking lot. “Wouldn’t be the first time we’d had the limo kidnap plot sprung on us” he looked to Buffy for confirmation.

“Yeah, sorry it took a while to work out you hadn’t lost your marbles” Buffy admitted. “Did you get his details from the licence?”

“Uhuh” Xander nodded. “Let’s get back inside and I can write it down before I forget while you get changed” he said to Buffy. “You’ll be here?” he asked Faith.

“Unless something comes up” Faith nodded and waited till he had taken a few steps. “Xander” she said quietly and he turned back towards her. “Good catch on the driver” she looked serious and he shrugged before heading after Buffy.

*****

“What was that all about?” Alex asked as Willow continued to simmer in the car.

“Just Xander being his usual self” Willow mumbled but she had figured out that he had been concerned about the driver and was trying to get rid of the nagging sensation in the pit of her stomach. “Probably hoped he’d get an invite” she sighed and consciously curled her hands into fists before releasing them and trying to relax.

Alex looked out the window and hed hed several blocks go by before she turned to Willow. “I’m sorry about earlier”

“Mmmhh?” Willow mumbled from her position at the other end of the seat, gazing out of her window.

“For coming on heavy when that guy was pawing you” Alex slid along the seat to sit next to her. “I moan about you getting jealous and protective, then I go and embarrass you in front of all of those stuffed shirts” she sighed and looked even more concerned. “Rupert tried to explain that the guy didn’t really know you but I just got really pissed when I saw..”

Willow turned to interrupt her with a smile on her face. “Honey” she rested her finger against Alex’s lips. “If you hadn’t interrupted I would have dealt with it myself” she assured her. “I bought this dress for you to admire and fondle, nobody else” she smiled and leaned in to kiss where her finger had rested.

“Then you’re not mad at me?” Alex checked. “It’s just Xander?”

“Yeah, just Xander” Willow nodded and gently lifted a few strands of Alex’s hair that had escaped to rest on her forehead. She leaned in to kiss her forehead and closed her eyes as she placed gentle kisses down Alex’s nose to her lips.

Alex licked her lips in anticipation of Willow reaching them. “Will” she sighed and sank into the seat, pulling Willow closer to her.

Willow ran her hand down Alex’s side, forming small circles when she reached her thigh. She was quickly getting back to the turned on state she had been in before Xander had interrupted them. As gorgeous as her girlfriend looked in her cream dress, Willow was trying to figure out how to unfasten it. “Wait” she pulled back, breathing a little heavier than before. “I didn’t see you putting this on, how does it fasten?” she grinned and raised her eyebrows. “Or more importantly, unfasten?”

“Like this” Alex reached to her other side then shrugged her shoulders and the top of the dress fell away to reveal her underwea
“D
“Did I mention I love this dress?” Willow sighed as she leaned in and started to kiss her way round the edge of the lacy bra.

“Blasted, fiddly little…” Alex muttered under her breath as she tried to unfasten Willow’s dress. “Will, give me a minute” she begged as her brain started to conraterate more on Willow’s actions than her own. “Next time you get one with velcro” she suggested seriously as she finally unhooked the last fastening and pulled the dress away from her shoulders.

Willow braced her shoulders on the back of the seat before raising her hips and slipping her dress to the floor. “Is that easier for you?” she asked.

“It’s a start” Alex agreed and did the same for her dress.

“Gus doesn’t have a web cam ere ere does he?” Willow suddenly looked around the interior of the car.

“If he does then I think we’re about to make half a million teenage boys very happy” Alex suggested and lay out on the seat, pulling Willow on top of her. “Where were we?” she asked.

“About here” Willow suggested and returned to kissing and nibbling her breasts.

Alex shifted slightly to allow Willow’s thigh to slide between her own. Her right hand rested on Willow’s hip while her left ran along the base of her neck, trying to undo the carefully coifed hair. Once her fingers had managed to loosen the pins, she ran her nails lightly against her scalp. “You were magnificent tonight” she sighed between kissing and nipping at Willow’s ear. “Every single person in the room was watching you when we arrived” she lifted her own thigh to give Willow something to push against and felt the instant response. “You were charming and witty and gracious” Alex continued and rolled her head back as Willow started to kiss her neck. “But most of all you were mine” she admitted and felt a rush of adrenaline as the kisses turned to nips and small bites.

“Mmmm” was all Willow could manage in response as her brain had decided to concentrate on the overwhelming situation she found herself in. Since meeting Alex she had become more and more comfortable about public displays of affection but she had never imagined being as turned on as she was by making out in the back of a car. A very nice car, she reminded herself and grinned as she moved back to Alex’s earlobe to nibble on it for a moment.

Above the sounds of Willow biting her ear, Alex could hear music start up in the front of the car. She started to giggle and pulled Willow tighter to her. “Move up a bit honey” she whispered and caught her breath as Willow’s thigh pressed against her even more insistently.

Willow rested her hands behind Alex’s head and lifted herself up a little. She stayed above her for a moment, looking down on the flushed face and knowing grin of the blonde. She pressed her hips against her and grinned as Alex closed her eyes and rolled her head back at the sensation. “I thought you were in the driving seat?” Willow timed her thrusts with her breathing and both were speeding up as Alex reacted to her movements.

“Looks like you’re in charge” Alex finally opened her eyes again and tried to slow down her own breathing. “Besides I was bluffing earlier, this is a first for me too” she admitted. Willow shook her head and pulled away altogether. “Will, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to..” Alex started and struggled to sit up as well.

Willow turned to her with a wide grin and slid off of the seat to rest on her knees in front of Alex. “I didn’t say I wasn’t enjoying myself” she rested till Alex had managed to sit up. “And I’m pretty sure you’re about to enjoy it too” she slowly leaned in towards Alex, waiting for her to open her legs and slouch closer to the edge of the seat. “You might want to ask Gus to turn his music up” she suggested before blowing a gentle breath against the flimsy material of Alex’s underwear.

“Sweet Jesus” Alex managed before grabbing hold of the arm of the seat and dropping her head back to the headrest.

“Lift up a bit” Willow murmured quietly and stopped the slow breaths until Alex complied. She quickly disposed of the last barrier and licked her lips before dropping her head and placing one long, languorous lick exactly where Alex needed it most. She grinned as she heard Alex start a litany of gods, none of whom she believed in but who were always mentioned at this point in the proceedings. After a couple more slow licks she alternated quick jabs with her tongue to the top of her clitoris. She closed her eyes and continued with the lick and jab combination while she remembered the rush she had experienced earlier that night when Alex had claimed her from the group of men. At first she had been mystified by her attitude but had quickly realised she was jealous of the attention they were paying to her. Her heart had lifted and she admitted to herself that it had ignited the slow burn of desire that had been evident since they had started to get ready in the afternoon. She was brought back abruptly to what she was doing as Alex’s hand returned to her hair, her fingers holding on almost too tightly.

“Nearly” was all that the blonde was able to articulate, apart from the occasional low growl. A second or two later Alex opened her eyes to look down at Willow, kneeling between her thighs with her head bobbing gently as she licked and sucked. “Willow” she managed before squeezing her eyes tightly shut and digging her fingers into the arm of the seat.

Willow continued to kiss her thighs and mumble gentle, soothing sounds until Alex was able to open her eyes again. “Hey” she said quietly and gave one final lick before sitting back. The aftershocks took a moment or two to subside and Alex finally looked down to see Willow grinning up at her.

“Hey yourself” she held her hand out and Willow took it, sitting back beside her and gently resting her palm against the lace covered abdomen of the blonde.

“Are you OK?” Willow checked.

“I’m better than OK but I think half a million teenage boys just had heart attacks” she grinned and pulled Willow towards her for a sloppy kiss. “Are you sure you’ve never done this before?” she pulled back and tried to catch her breath.

“Well I have done that once or twice before” Willow admitted and Alex loved that she still blushed when she talked about sex, even immediately afterwards.

“I meant in a limo, stupid” Alex grinned and they kissed for another couple of minutes.

“I think once you’ve mastered the top of the Eiffel Tower, everything else is easy” Willow whispered and started to giggle.

“Willow Rosenberg!” Alex laughed. “You are a brazen hussy” she suggested as she walked her fingers down from her neck to her cleavage. “An overdressed brazen hussy” she amended before reaching round and undoing the clasp on Willow’s bra.

“I seem to remember joint hussiness” Willow tried to defend herself but Alex had leaned down to lick her nipples and she decided to shelve the arguments till later.