“Ugh, are we there yet?”

Angel smiled.  “What’s wrong, Cordelia?  Did you forget exactly how far from Sunnydale we were?”  He gave her an amused look.   She was anything but amused.  “Ten minutes, tops. . .dear.”

“Thanks dad.”  She rolled her eyes and turned to Willow in the back seat.  “Can you believe this guy.  Give him a soul and suddenly he’s the worlds best un-dead comedian.”

She laughed.  “You wanted to drive first.  I told you you’d be bored.”

She tried to glare, but it came off as being amused.  “And thanks to you too, mom.”

Angel looked at Willow through the rear view mirror and gave her a wink.  She shook her head at him.  <The cryptic avenger thinks he’s funny.>

They pulled up to the warehouse and got out of the car with a sigh.  They’d made it to Sunnydale in record time and there was plenty of time to relax and get a good nights sleep before starting in on the Initiative tomorrow.

Willow sighed as she and Cordelia followed Angel to the side entrance.  He looked back at her and smiled.  “I know, I know. . .mansions and warehouses.”  He shrugged.  “I’m a creature of habit I guess.  Don’t worry little one, we have all the comforts of home here.”  He gave her another glance and opened the door.

Angel’s old apartment.  It was odd for him to be back.  Hell, it was odd to be back in Sunnydale overall.  He’d have to be very careful this time and make sure he wasn’t caught by Buffy or Xander.  They couldn’t know the three of them were in town and the sooner they got the information they needed, and got out, the better.  He leaned against the wall and watched Cordelia and Willow put their things in the cabinets and refrigerator.  From the disgusted sound Cordelia made, he figured she’d found the blood packets hanging in there.  “I had one of my men come by and stock me up for a few days.  Sorry there isn’t a separate refrigerator.”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “At least it’s only for a few days.  I guess I’ll make it through.”  Willow chuckled behind her.  In a very Cordeliaesque manner, she turned on her heel, put her hands on her hips and cocked her head.  “And what do you find so funny, Red?”

She shook her head but couldn’t suppress a laugh.  “Just look at us.  Angel, brooding in the corner, you trying not to touch the packets of blood while stocking his refrigerator with your diet coke and me putting my Oreo cookies in the cabinet.  A souled vampire, a hacker and Queen C herself.  God, what a motley crew.”  She turned around and put some cans of soup on the bottom shelf muttering something about it happening only on the Hellmouth.

Angel and Cordelia looked at each other and laughed.  He walked over to her.  “Here, let me.”

”Finally, the vampire gets some manners.”  She flipped her hair and walked over to the couch.

He was still smirking when he noticed that he was being watched.  He turned to her.  “What?”

“Nothing.  You should smile more often.  It suits you.”

Cordelia called over from the couch.  “Don’t let him fool you, Red.  He can be a barrel of laughs when he wants to be.”

She shook her head at him.  “I knew the cryptic, tortured routine was just an act.”  He crept up to her with a serious look on his face.  She immediately got concerned.  “Angel, what is it?”

He bent down and whispered in her ear.  “Shh. . .it’s our secret.”

She punched him in the shoulder.  “You!   I can’t believe you.  You had me worried there for a minute.”  She crossed her arms and pouted.

He grabbed his arm and feigned injury.  “You’ve got some right hook there, little one.  Anyone ever tell you that?”

Cordelia walked over and broke it up.  “Alright you two.  Don’t you think its time we get some shut eye?  I swear if I don’t get eight hours sleep I’ll get bags under my eyes and. .”

”It’ll be all your fault.”  Angel and Willow said in unison.  They looked at each other and managed not to laugh.

“Fine.  You two jokesters stay here and play stand up all night.  I’m going to bed.”  She walked away but then turned back, confused.  “Um, Angel. . .where exactly is bed?”

“There’s only one and it’s in the back.  Now before you say anything, I’ll ride the couch and you two ladies can have it.  It’s queen sized so you’ll be very comfortable I’m sure.”

Willow put her hands up.  “Hey, I’m not complaining, are you complaining?”  She looked at Cordelia.

She smiled at him.  “No complaints here.  Hope you and your leather couch have a very nice evening together.”

The two girls headed off to the bedroom and Angel changed and laid down.  He actually found it to be pretty comfortable.  He knew he’d slept in worse places than this.  After a few minutes, a pile of cloth was heaped on top of him.  It was Cordelia.  “Two pillows and a blanket.  Don’t say I’ve never given you anything.”

”Why thank you for sharing my pillows and blankets with me, Cordy.  What ever would I do with out you?”  He looked her straight in the eye.

She walked away shaking her head.  “Vampires.  I swear if I ever . . “  The rest of  her thought was lost behind the now closed door.

“. . .it’ll be too soon.”

Willow poked her head out from the bathroom.  “What?”

“Nothing.  Angel’s just being Angel again.”  She changed her clothes and stood next to the bed.

Willow came out of the bathroom and stood next to her.  “Something wrong?”

“No.  I always figured him for satin sheets.”

“I don’t know.  I always thought of him as a 100% cotton man myself.”

”Yeah.  I never would have guessed.”

”Plaid.”  Willow shook her head.  “I think I’m getting less and less surprised the more time I spend with you two.”  She walked away and got into what she designated her side of the bed.

Cordelia climbed in at the same time and they both stiffened.  “Whoa.”

“Stop the ride I wanna get off.”

“Water-bed.  Leave it to Angel.”

Willow chuckled.  “Now that’s something I’d figure him for.”

”If we don’t move too much I think I can brave the sea.  How about you?”  She looked over in Willow’s direction.

“It’s kind of nice, actually.  I’ve never slept in a water-bed before.  It’s sort of billowy. . .”  She shifted and laid on her side sending a small wave to Cordelia then it came back to her.  “. . .or not.  Maybe choppy is a better word.”  She frowned and looked over at the brunette.  “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.  I think I’m starting to get my sea legs.”

”So how do you like working for Angel?  Really.”

”It’s not bad.  The pay could be higher and the danger could be lower. . .but over all I’d say it’s okay. . .and if I’m late he can’t fire me because I know too much.  He’s not too bad on the eyes either and don’t ever tell him I said that.”

Willow laughed.  “I won’t.  I’m glad you two found each other. . . to work with I mean.  You seem to have a great relationship, not that it was bad before or that you had any relationship with Angel before, well, other than the platonic kind, but even then you weren’t too fond of him and somebody shut me up please.”  She shook her head.  <Babble mode. . .I’m cursed!>

Cordelia smiled.  “Nice to see some things don’t change.”

“What? I can still babble myself into a hole in front of you?”  It came out meaner than she’d expected it to and regretted her tone.

“No. . .that your still so observant.  That’s all I meant.”

She hurt her and knew it.  “Cordelia, I’m sorry.”

”It’s okay.”  She paused a moment.  “I have changed you know.”

“I know and I even said that to you.  Old habits die hard.”

”Don’t get me wrong, I can still be as bitchy as ever.  I just know who to use it on now and choose my targets more wisely.”

<Ouch.>  Willow reached out and touched her shoulder.  “I’m sorry.  Really.”

Cordelia turned to her.  “And you’ve changed too.  I can tell.”

”What’s so different about me?”

She thought for a moment.  “Your eyes.”

“What?”

“Your eyes.  You look, I don’t know. . .older I guess.  Like you’ve seen a lot more that you should have.”

”I think we’ve all seen more than we should have.”

”But it’s different with you.  I saw Xander last year and he never changes.  Still has that stupid grin plastered across his face and doesn’t have a care in the world.  I look into your eyes and they’re sadder and older than I remember.”

Willow was a little confused.  “There’s a time when you can remember looking into my eyes?  I didn’t think you ever noticed me. . .other than to pick on I mean.”

“Hey, I noticed.  When you were in the hospital because of, well, the mean guy that is so not Angel anymore.  With all you’d been through you still had that, I don’t know, innocent look in your eyes.  I think we all did.”

“Cordy, that was Junior year.”   Willow was shocked at the revelation.

“Yup.  It was all so much simpler then.  You had Oz, I had Xander.   Then we all had to go and grow up. . .and apart.”

”If I had any doubts about you changing before, I don’t now.  I never took you as a sentimental person.  Ever.”

”I have layers. . .Who I choose to show my layers to is a different story.”

Willow smiled.  “Well, let me be the first to thank you for your layers.  You keep surprising me like this and I’ll be shock-resistant by the time I get back to England.”  She sighed.  That was a long way off and she knew it.  A long way.

“Something wrong?”

“No.  Just thinking about England.”

“Do you miss it?  Who am I kidding, of course you do. . .it’s so beautiful there.”

Willow was hardly thinking of England as a beautiful place right then.  “It can be.  I was studying so much I barely had time to notice though.  I guess it’s for the best.  I don’t know what I’m missing.”  She was absentmindedly rubbing Cordelia’s shoulder.  Neither one of them said anything but they both noticed.

“Willow, did something. . .did something happen to you in England?”

She let out a heavy sigh.  “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“Then why are you with Angel and I instead of Buffy and Xander?”

“Honestly, I don’t know.  Giles suggested it and I didn’t argue.  Buffy’s got the Slayer thing going on full tilt and from what she tells me, Xander’s life is still up in the air.  So when he said I should come here I agreed.  If I’m safe anywhere, it’s with Angel.”

“There’s something you need to be safe from?”

“Mmm, you catch on quick.”

“I’m sorry.  You probably don’t want to talk about it.”

”Not really, but if I do it’s nice to know you’re willing to listen.”

Cordelia reached over and put her hand on Willows.  “That’s what friends are for.  Right?”

She smiled.  “Friends.”  She dropped her eyes to their hands.  “I like the. . .<feel> sound of that.”

“Me too.”  Cordelia’s eyes followed Willow’s.  “Sorry, I didn’t mean. . .”

”No, it’s okay, I mean. . .”

”Sorry.”  They both said it at once and laughed.  Cordelia pulled her hand away first and stifled a yawn.  “Look at what time it is.  We’d better get to sleep.”

Willow laid down and snuggled into the pillow.  “Yeah, we all know how you can be without your beauty sleep.”

”I’ll take that as a friendly comment, Red.”

”Goodnight, Cordy.”

”Night, Willow.”

“Anything?”

“Nothing.  I think we’ve got a big fat goose egg with this one, Buff.”

Riley’s voice came over the earpiece.  “Then that’s it guys.  Why don’t we wrap it up and head home?”

”Can’t.  I have to do a quick sweep before I head back.  Vampires wait for no one.”

Riley laughed.  <Always the Slayer.>  “Suit yourself.  I’m tired and heading in.  Finn over and out.”

He waited a moment and spoke.  “You there, Buff?”

“Yeah, is he gone?”

Xander looked over to where he saw Riley last.  “I think so.  I’m on the other side.  Come on over.”

”Be right there.”  She removed the earpiece and put it in her pocket.  She walked up next to him.  “So what do we have?”

He knelt down and poked the ground with a stick.  “An hour, tops.  It’s still warm.”

She nodded.  “Good, Xand.  I knew that whole changing into your costume thing would prove to be useful.”

He stood.  “I aim to please.  From what I can make out they’re headed north. . .deeper into the woods.  Who can blame them with us and the commando boys on their trail.”

“I don’t think Riley’s telling us everything.”

”Finally, a breakthrough!”  He raised his hands skyward.  “Remind me again why you don’t listen to me more often?”

“Xander, shh.  He could still be around. . .doing that lurking thing.”

He shook his head.  “You and the creepy lurking guys, Buff.  I swear. . .”

”Don’t finish that sentence, Harris.  Come on, we’ll talk more at home.”

She stopped short a moment and looked around suspiciously.

“Spidey sense kicking in?”

“Maybe, or it could be my overactive imagination.  Tracking demons, who’d a thought.”  She shook her head and continued on. They walked off talking about the nights events.

He stepped out from behind the tree when he knew they were far enough.  Kneeling down, he felt the earth where Xander had been moments before.  <Boy’s right.  An hour at best. . .and they’re headed north.>

He stood up and shook his head, quietly laughing to himself.  Never underestimate Xander Harris, no matter how irritating he is.  Behind the boyish grin was someone to be reckoned with and Angel knew as much.  He had a set on him, a big set, and he always pulled through in a pinch. . . .even if it did almost get him killed a few times.

Angel knew there was nothing left for him to do then.  He headed back to the apartment, lost in thought.  He’d caught more than a glance at Buffy.  She looked good, healthy.  What else could she be now that he was gone.  Their love was the best and worst thing that had ever happened. . .to either one of them.  He walked in the door and placed his keys on the table.  Turning around, he found a set of eyes on him.  “Cordy?  What are you doing up?”

“I could say the same thing to you.  You saw her, didn’t you?”

“What?  No, why would I?  That’s not why we’re here.”

“Because you have that wounded bird look again.  You only look like your wings have been clipped after you see her.”

He shook his head.  “I don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse.”

”What’s that?”

He looked down at her seriously.  “How well you know me.”

She smiled sadly.  “So what did you find?”

“The Initiative has recruited Buffy and Xander to track the demons.  As well as I can figure out they can’t do it alone, during the day.  There’s too big a risk of coming up against the demons unprepared.  Buffy and Xander are needed to pinpoint the demons’ location then the Initiative will take it from there.”

”Do they know what they’re in for?”

“You know Xander.”

“Suspicious of any male showing interest in Buffy or Willow for that matter.”

Angel nodded.  “He knows and so does Buffy.  They don’t trust this guy or the entire operation.  Riley I think his name is.  Riley Finn.  She seemed familiar with him, like she’s known him for a long time, but she still doesn’t trust him.  I can feel it.”

“Angel, get over it.”

”I have Cordelia, a while ago.  Something about this guy just. . .”

”Bugs you?”

“Yeah, I can’t put my finger on it.”

”Well, you can do the tortured soul routine solo tonight.  I’m going back to bed.”  She turned and headed for the bedroom.

“Thank you, Cordelia.  What would I ever do with out your. . .”  The door shut.  “. . .perspective.”  He shook his head.  <She knows me too well.  It’s. . .it feels good.>