Special Thanks out to Melissa who did the beta reading. Thanks a bunch!

Part One
 

Sighing deeply Cordelia turned over in the bed and slowly opened her eyes. Blinking for a moment, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dimness of the room. Vague blurry objects floated into her view, none that she could really make out until she saw what looked like a small clock on the nightstand next to her. Squinting at it she saw it was only five in the morning and groaned. She still had a good hour of sleep- even if she did do her regular morning beauty routine.

Rolling over again she pulled the covers over her head and allowed her eyes to slip shut, her mind quickly returning to the haziness of sleep. The warm, soft floating feeling one has as they hover between deep dark sleep and glaring, cold wakefulness.  She slipped deeper and deeper into the murkiness, to that place where one isn’t sure if they are dreaming or actually awake.

Floating, floating, floating. Deeper, deeper and deeper.

She was just about to doze off when a funny, nagging…feeling tugged at her. She waited for it to stop and go away, but it only kept tugging.

Tugging harder and harder until her mind was suddenly pulled away from the bliss and smacked into consciousness.

Cordelia sat up in the bed and looked around.

She wasn’t completely sure but…she had the oddest feeling that…

“What the hell?” she mumbled. She rubbed her eyes and looked around her, confusion making her brow furrow.

This room was not her room. It wasn’t her wallpaper or her dresser or her lamp or her desk or anything. In fact there was very little in the room she was in. Just a bed and nightstand. A chair in a corner.  It was really bare and really plain and really, really guyish.

Nope not her room.

“Someone needs to get this person to Ethan Allen but quick,” she mumbled as she swung her legs out from under the covers. She stopped as she looked down at what she was wearing, a squeak eminating from her open mouth.

Cotton pajamas? Nice enough and all but they were men’s pajamas and were like three sizes too big for her. She examined the button down shirt and pajama bottoms and ruled out their being her father’s. He’d never wear the style and it was too small. She sat on the edge of the bed trying to collect herself as she tried to think of how she ended up in a bed she didn’t know, in clothes she didn’t recognize, and in a place she didn’t recognize.

The possibilities were endless and some of them, actually a lot of them, she didn’t even want to think about.

“Wake up, Cordy,” she said to herself. Pinching her arm she winced as a sharp pain let her know that she was definitely awake and not having some kind of weird dream.

She was living some kind of nightmare.

Okay, she was in someone’s bed in someone’s bedroom wearing some man’s pajamas. She had no idea how she got there, whose room or clothes she was wearing and there was nothing in sight to give her a clue or answer to any of her questions.

“Chase what the hell have you gotten into?” she mused outloud.

Suddenly she felt ill.

A wave of nausea crashed over her and she clutched her stomach, curling up tightly. Looking up frantically she scanned for a door-

“Oh God, please be a bathroom,” she prayed as she quickly jumped from the bed only to slam hard down onto the floor. Yelping as tears of pain came to her eyes, she pushed herself up as she felt the nausea grow and quickly scrambled throwing herself at the door. Fortunately for her it was the bathroom, but at that point it could’ve been a closet and she wouldn’t have cared.

After her stomach was empty she went to the sink and out rinsed her mouth, leaning against the sink for support as she waited for the quivering in her stomach to stop. Looking up into the mirror, she saw her reflection and blanched.

God she looked horrible. Her hair was all tangled and nasty and her face had this pasty gross color and dammit!- she had red puffy eyes. God she was gonna have to do some heavy duty work if she was going to look even half decent for school.

She inspected her image closer and winced as she took in the bruise on her left cheek, the small cut on her lower lip, the-

She furrowed her brow and brought a hesitant hand up to the mirror to touch the reflection of the purple bruises that were on her neck.

It looked… it looked as if someone had tried to…choke her? But she didn’t remember someone attacking her. But judging by her appearance she had gotten into one hell of a fight or something.

Buffy. Buffy and her group of loser vampire hunters. She had to have been hanging out with Xander and the others and found some vampire trouble. If she weren’t in love-in like- with Xander she’d drop that gang of freaks so quick-

“Damn vampires. Damn stupid vampires,” she muttered.  Rubbing her neck she winced as the soreness hit and she coughed.

Okay she obviously had gotten into a fight and had won or something because she was in one piece. But-

She couldn’t remember anything. Nothing. Nothing about the fight, nothing about how she ended up…wherever she was and no idea what the hell was going on.

She sighed in frustration and tried to straighten up but instead collapsed to the floor, her legs giving out from under her. Slamming her hands against the floor in frustration, she forced back her angry tears and pushed herself up against the bathroom wall.

What was wrong with her? What the hell was going on? She had amnesia, lost her breakfast and now couldn’t even stand on her own two feet?

She cradled her head in her hands as she search her mind for something, ANYTHING, that would help her to remember. Remember and somehow understand what was going on.

But nothing popped into the blackness. Nothing jumped out at her and shook her and said ‘Hey Stupid! This is what’s going on!’

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

She wasn’t one to panic, well not usually if you discounted vampires and all the other weird things that happened in this town. She knew how to keep a cool head, usually, and knew what to do and how to do it.

But this…today…This was …something was just NOT right with her. Something was wrong but she just didn’t know-

Her head jerked up at the sound of a voice.

“Cordelia?”

She hesitated. Whoever was out there knew her name but if there was one thing she had learned by hanging out with the loser crowd was that not everybody who knew your name was someone you wanted to call to you if you were a sitting duck. But then again if it were some evil bad thing then it would have killed her already-or at least not have left her untied and ungagged in the bedroom.

 “In here!” she screamed.

Hell, if the jerk came and ended up killing her or something at least she’d know who or what had her.

 She turned towards the door, half walking and half crawling when a pair of hands grabbed her gently and helped her up.

Color her completely surprised when she looked up into Giles’ worried face.

“Giles?” she blurted out. Seeing a familiar face, a non-monster face was a relief and she felt her control returning as she tried to balance herself on wobbly legs.  She paused as she took in his appearance and decided he looked almost as bad as she did. Hair tussled, eyes puffy and clothes all rumpled and wrinkled.

“Did you sleep in your clothes?” she asked in confusion. He blinked and looked at her carefully shaking his head slightly and she frowned at his silence.

“I guess that bruise on your forehead left you with the inability to speak, huh?” She looked at him quizzically as he stared at her silently in a way that was making that feeling return, that feeling of fear and confusion and …

He was looking at her with a look of sadness and …and…

Was that pity?

“Giles?” she gave him a pointed look. “ What is going on? Where am I? Why am I dressed like this?” she asked looking at him. She watched as his face went blank for a second and then his eyebrows knit together in a look of confusion. “What?” she asked impatiently. “Do you have problems comprehending what I am saying?”

God, why was he looking at her like that?

“Cordelia,” he began and she looked at him expectantly.  Thank God he can still speak.

He shook his head, “Come with me,” he gently guided her out of the bathroom and back to the bed.

She eyed him impatiently as he brought a chair to sit in front of her. “Giles, answer me. Why am I here? Did I do something stupid last night like try be super slayer or something? Who the hell beat me up? And did Buffy stake them and if no why not? And why am I here? Who undressed me? You? Please tell me Willow or Buffy did otherwise I’m gonna need to go back to the bathroom. No offense to you of course,” she stopped again and looked at him with a touch of annoyance as he raised his hand to stop her. “What? And stop looking at me like that!”

He started. “You don’t- Do you remember anything about last night?” he asked his face a mask of uncertainty. She shook her head and waited for him to continue. He looked away from her, his eyes staring off at the wall and she felt herself begin to weaken, her suit of bitchy armour beginning to crumble as her mind began to search for why he would be acting like this, why he would find it hard to tell her whatever it was that-

Suddenly her body went cold as a thought came to mind and she clasped her hands together to keep herself from trembling.

“Is it Xander?” she managed to say in a firm voice. It took only a second for Giles to shake his head, but for her it had seemed an eternity. She closed her eyes briefly, pushing back the tears and saying a silent prayer of thanks that her boyfriend was okay.

If something had happened to Xander, if he had been hurt or…

She focused back on Giles and sighed at the stricken look on his face. For some reason she reached out and placed her hand over his.

 “Giles what is it? Buffy or Willow? What’s wrong?” she asked in a gentle voice. “You’re freaking me out here.” She gave him a weak smile and watched as he stuggled again to say something.

This was damn freaky. Giles usually could deal with whatever was thrown his way. The Hellmouth threw up a whole lot of things and he always managed to keep his cool, but the way he was acting now he seemed at a loss as to how to act.

“Cordelia,” he finally began, “Buffy and Willow are fine, for that matter all your friends are fine.” She looked at him expectantly, raising an eyebrow but saying nothing when he referred to the Scooby gang as her friends. Heck, she and Xander were dating and she and Willow were on good terms, and she and Buffy had a healthy respect for each other. She had to admit they were her friends. In some wierd way.

“Giles, spit it out!” she snapped when he went silent again. “ What is it? Is the Hellmouth open? Oh God, is the world ending?” she began to stand up but Giles gently pushed her back down.

“No, Cordelia,” he said. “It’s about your parents-”

“What? Are still in France? Doesn’t surprise me.” She jumped up, suddenly and oddly impatient with the conversation. She looked around the room quickly.

“Where are my clothes? I can’t go home in these,” she said pointing to the pajamas she was wearing.

Giles stood up to face her. “Cordelia you can’t go home-”

“Excuse me? “ she was met with another pity stare. “Why not? I do have my car here, don’t I?” she stopped and thought a second. “Wait is that it? I had a car accident, hit my head or something which explains the bruise and cuts and since my parents are out of town the doctors sent me home with you since you’re the only old guy around,” she stopped again at the concerned look on his face. “Well that explains why I can’t remember anything, must’ve hit my head and got temporary amnesia or something. And I guess that’s why I felt sick this morning.” she said satisfied.  “Doesn’t explain why you look like crap though,” she cocked her head at him

Giles studied her. “You felt ill this morning?”

“Uh, yeah, when you found me in the bathroom I had just-well- finished heaving. Not my best moment.” She grimaced. “What?” she asked for the umpteenth time at the look on his face. “Why do you keep looking at me as if someone killed my dog or something?”

If she caught Giles’ flinch she didn’t comment. “Cordelia, why don’t I take you to the hospital. You obviously are still not well and I’m concerned about your memory loss.” Giles said moving towards her.

“Giles, I am fine. I’m sure when I go home and take a shower and get some clean clothes I’ll be even better,” she paused giving him a critical eye. “Having said that you should do the same. You really look like crap.” He threw her an exasperated look and then caught himself. “Sorry, but you do,” she mumbled, shifting a bit under his gaze. She finally tried to walk around him when he grabbed her.

“I’d feel better if you were checked out again.” She looked at him with annoyance and began to shake her head. “Please!” he asked vehemently and her annoyance transformed into mild shock.

“I’m sorry,” he managed in a soft, but tense voice. “ I don’t mean to scare you but you did have a head injury and I want to make sure that you’re really okay.” She relaxed a bit and he let go of her arm.

O-kay. Giles was going all psycho parental on her. She glared at him silently for a moment wondering what was going on in his head. He really seemed worried about her, although she would think she’d be the least likely person he cared for out of everyone. And it wasn’t like they all hadn’t at one time or another been hit on the head or suffered cuts and bruises from their run ins with vampires and demons and monsters.

But he had this look on his face that she knew wasn’t gonna back down. And she didn’t want him to get really postal on her and go into Ripper mode. Better to just go and get examined so he’d leave her alone.

“Fine. Give me my clothes so I can get dressed first,” she huffed.

“Your clothes were ruined last night. What you have on is fine,” Giles said as she turned back to him with a questioning look.

“You want me to leave your house in your pajamas and go to the hospital? I don’t think so-”

“Cordelia, please. People will understand.”

“Fine, fine, fine,” she said padding over to the stairs and out of the room. She stopped when she got downstairs and at the door. “My shoes?” she asked grudgingly.

Giles handed her a pair of generic hugely oversized sneakers. She looked up at him blankly.

“The –“

“Accident. Yeah uh huh.” She shook her head and took the shoes from him and sat on the floor to put them on.

This was so damn unladylike. Her mom would’ve had a cow if she saw her sitting like this. But she was tired and confused and still trying to figure out why Giles was acting the way he was acting. She knew there was something more to it, but he didn’t want to tell.

She finshed tying the shoelaces and stood up. Watching as he picked up his coat and keys off the table, she glanced around the room, her eyes stopping on the coffee table that sat in the middle of the room. She stepped towards it, the silver necklace that sat on it catching her eye.

“Cordelia?” She stared at the necklace another moment before looking back over at Giles who was now at the open front door.

Again he had that look on his face and she felt coldness just surround her. Then her temper sparked.

“Just admiring your jewelry. Is that a crime?” she snapped as she stomped over to the door and quickly moved past him and to his car.

*~*~*
Cordelia squeezed her eyes shut and bit her tongue as for the millionth time the nurse tucked the sheets around her and talked to her as if she were a two year old.

“Now that you’re settled, we’ll start prepping you for more tests-“

“I’ve  already had ‘tests’ done and they showed everything was fine except a bump on my head.” Cordelia interrupted.

“It was a concussion dear and it can be serious-“

“How? Look I watch ER and I know a concussion does not require someone to stay in the hospital-“

“Well the doctors would like to be certain that everything is okay-“

“Everything IS okay nurse,” Cordelia grabbed her hand and pulled back the sheets with another. “Now you just back up and move out of my way. I am going home.” God what was with these people?

“Miss Chase, do we have to call security again? Because I will if you continue to attempt to leave.”

Cordelia’s eyes narrowed into slits and the nurse unconsciously stepped back. “You will not keep me here against my will,” she hissed.

“You require medical attention-“

“I do not. I am completely fine except for the current pain in my ass.” The nurse clenched her jaw.

“Miss Chase you may believe you are fine and that is hopefully true, but until the doctors clear you-you stay here.”

Cordelia laughed. “Correct me if I’m wrong but I can refuse medical treatment-and I am-“

“Mr. Giles asks that you remain here-“

“I ‘m sorry but what does Giles have to do with this?”

“As your legal guardian-“

“Whoa. Wait. No. Giles is my school librarian, NOT my guardian. My parents are out of town. Why don’t I call them-you talk to them- and they will tell you to let me go.” She went for the phone when suddenly she felt dizzy again and the nurse came to her side.

“I’m fine,” she snapped even as she had to be helped to the bed.

What is WRONG with me?

“Rest here, Miss Chase.” The nurse pulled the covers back over her legs and Cordelia still trying to clear her head didn’t stop her.

“I’ll go get the doctor to come see you. Maybe he can help you to understand better than I.”

Doubt it, Cordelia thought as she rubbed her head, taking deep breaths to calm herself and clear her head.

Where was she in the twilight zone? Everybody was losing their minds and treating her like she was some fragile baby. It was like everyone was in on some big conspiracy except her.

She heard the door open again and grimaced.

“Listen lady, I don’t care if you brought me a doctor who knows the meaning of life I am not staying-“ She stopped as she looked up.

“Xander,” Cordelia smiled, breathing a sigh of relief as she saw her boyfriend enter the room.

Xander, Xander, Xander. God he’d tell her what was going on. He’d be honest with her.

She moved to get out of bed, but he quickly rushed over to her and pushed her back down. She looked at him puzzled. “What? Xander, I’m not sick, Giles and these so called doctors are just being stupid.”

“Yeah, well since their keeping you here you better just stay put,” he said softly. She looked at him carefully and noticed that he, like Giles, looked like he had a hell of a night.

“You look like you should be in here instead. What happened to you?”

“Me? Oh, you know the usual,” he said in the fakest upbeat voice she ever heard. She knew that voice. He used it anytime he was covering something. Something big.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Everybody says hi, Buffy, Oz, Willow, even Angel-”

“Angel?” she looked at him in confusion. “I thought Buffy laid him down like a dog?”

She was met with a confused look. “Acathla demon? Angelus big bad guy? Buffy stab and send to hell?”

Xander’s eyes widened slightly, before he swallowed quickly and nodded his head, “Yeah well he’s back.” Cordelia frowned at him and he held up his hand to hold her off. “Long story, but he’s a good guy again. For now.”

“O-kay, “ Cordelia said slowly. “And you’re okay with this? With Angel, Angelus, being back?”

Xander shrugged and shook his head slightly. “I-“

“And what about Giles? I mean Angel snaps Miss Calendar’s neck AND kidnaps him and he just accepts him back as Buffy’s boyfriend?”

“Cordy, I don’t know what… I don’t-“ Xander looked away from her, obviously utterly confused about something.

“Xander, WHAT is wrong? You come in here all serious and spooked about something, you don’t hug me or kiss me-I mean I am your girlfriend for pete’s sake. The least you can do-“

“Cordy. Stop,” Xander snapped.

She raised an eyebrow at him. “What?” she responded icily.

“I’m sorry,” he quickly said. It’s just that I…”

“Just what? Had a bad day? Saw Willow and Oz kissing in the stacks? Upset that Buffy is back with Angel? What?”

“Cordy,” Xander said weakly. He tried to look her in the eye but averted his eyes within a few seconds glancing down at the floor or the wall.

He wasn’t playing the game. He wasn’t snapping back at her or fighting with her or anything. Something was wrong, really wrong. If it were about Willow of Buffy he’d fight back. But somehow she knew it wasn’t about them.

“Did something happen with your parents?” she asked softly. He quickly looked over at her, his brown eyes briefly shocked, then staring at her pitifully. Just like Giles had earlier.

“No, my parents are great,” he said in a harsh voice. She noticed he had now taken hold of her hand with both of his and was holding hers quite tightly. Looking back up at him she could still see that look in his eyes and for some reason she reached out with her other hand to caress his face.

 “Xander, whatever it is we can deal with it,” she whispered. She gave him an encouraging smile, trying to appear confident because she felt he needed to hear it. Quite honestly, he was scaring her, she had never seen him this upset before. Not even when Willow had been hurt in the vamp attack at the library had he seemed this jumpy.

He suddenly looked deep into her eyes, the warmth in them flooding her with a sudden calm. Rubbing her cheek gently with his palm, he smiled weakly.

“You know that I love you don’t you? You know that, right? Even though- I mean despite everything that’s happened-”

He looked at her with such an open frightened look. She blinked at him silently, her breath caught in her throat.

She had never expected to hear him say- She’d never thought that-

She nodded. “I know,” she whispered. “I…I love you too.” She stopped at his wince and grabbed his wrists with her hands.

“Xander, like I said whatever this is we can deal with it. Everything is going to be okay, Xander. Whatever it is, it’ll be okay.” She pulled his face towards his to kiss him when he suddenly jerked from her grasp.

“I, uh, I,” he stepped back, faltering at her shocked expression.

She felt as if she had been slapped dead in the face. But instead of it filling her with red hot rage, she just went numb.

“Why-Why did you pull away from me?” she grimaced at the tone of her voice. Weak, wavering, almost a wimper. “You tell me you love me, I tell you that I love you and I try to kiss you-you pull away from me and look at me as if I- “ She stopped as he looked up at her and then away again.

Dammit, nothing was making any sense. Not him, not Giles, not even what was going on with her.

 She got up from the bed and planted herself in front of him.

“Something is going on, something that is making everyone act as if they’ve lost their minds, something that you all are hiding, something that you don’t want me to know.” He shifted uneasily before her, the look on his face making her hesitate with fear of what it could be and at the same time infuriating her in not knowing.

“Explain. Now.”

He tried to push her back towards the bed. “Cordy, please, just lie back down.”

She slapped his hand away. “Not until you tell me what’s wrong,” she demanded sharply. “Now.”

There was a knock at the door and he glanced behind him, but she kept her gaze on him. “Go away,” she shouted. But they came in anyway. That damn nurse.

“Miss Chase you really shouldn’t be out of bed,” she said coming into the room.

“Yeah, I tried to tell her that,” Xander said weakly as he gently pushed Cordelia back on the bed as the nurse came around to the other side, drawing the covers back around Cordelia. “But she doesn’t like anyone to tell her what to do.”  Cordelia again slapped his hand away.

“Xander, don’t change the subject. Tell me what’s going on,” she said firmly but with a trace of anxiety. She saw Xander exchange a look with the nurse before looking back at her.

“I’m sorry Miss Chase, but I am going to have to ask your friend to leave. We have to run some more tests on you this afternoon,” the nurse said and Cordelia saw Xander sag in relief.

“Screw that, there isn’t anything wrong with me,” she snapped at the nurse. “You’re covering for him because there is something you all don’t want to tell me.” She turned back to Xander who looked at her guiltily. “You’ve never lied to me before, in fact you we have always been brutally honest with each other,” she paused for some reason, sensing a change in his demeanor. “Xander, please just tell me what is going on.”

“Miss Chase-” the nurse interrupted.

“Get out now,” Cordelia clipped at her not breaking eye contact with Xander. She could tell he was about to open up to her, she just needed a little more time.

“No. We have to run more tests and the doctor would like to talk to you before then. Mr. Harris will have to leave,” the nurse walked back around the bed and took Xander by the arm, but Cordelia lunged out of the bed, grabbing his other arm.

“He and I aren’t finished.” She shouted at the nurse and both she and Xander looked at Cordelia in surprise. She stared back at them, just as shocked by her outburst but pressing on anyway.

“Xander, please tell me. Why are you letting them, these people, do this? Why are you lying to me?”

“Miss Chase,” the nurse grabbed her arm and for some reason unbeknownst to Cordelia at that moment she just snapped. An irrational flash of rage just came out of nowhere and her hand jutted out to shove the nurse to the floor.

“Cordy!” Xander looked from her to the nurse and back at her and she just looked up at him in shock.

It had just came from nowhere. It just…

“I…I’m sorry I…” she let go of his arm and just stared at him, her mouth open. The nurse got up and quickly ran to the door, calling out in the hall for help.

Panic hit her and she tried to push past Xander towards the door.

They were going to try to keep her here, they were going to do something…

“Cordy no!” she heard him say from behind her. She felt his arms suddenly around her, lifting her off the floor.

“Xander! Put me down! Let me go!” She screamed and tried to kick at him, but she was at a disadvantage, him being behind her and her being lifted above the floor. He twirled her around back towards the bed and she struggled against him.

“No!” she shouted. She propped her feet on the bed, able to brace herself and push back on it, sending her and Xander to the floor with a hard smack.

Momentarily dizzy, Cordelia went limp and she felt Xander ease up off of her.

“Cordy please just-“

She tried to get up, but he quickly pinned her back down and she let out a yelp.

“I’m sorry. God Cordy I’m so sorry.” She heard him say from behind her.

“Xander, just tell me-“ she stopped short as she felt a pinch in her left arm. She jerked up a bit, but Xander held her firm, his arms tightly holding her at first and then slowly, slowly letting her go.

She didn’t try to get up. She couldn’t. Her arms and legs were so heavy suddenly. She tried to turn her head, but it was heavy too. And foggy. So foggy that she was barely aware of being lifted up from the floor, of being placed in the bed, of having restraints attached to her wrists and ankles.

The only thing she was truly aware of before the sedative finally overwhelmed her was of Xander’s voice, telling her that he loved her.

*~*~*

“Duck…Duck…Duck…Goose!”

Cordelia’s eyes flitted up at the dark haired girl who stood before her, a bored, cold expression on her face.

“C’mon!” The girl grinned down at her. “You gotta chase me!”

“Yeah. Right,” Cordelia snorted. She tossed her head and glanced around. Seeing that they were in her bedroom she frowned. This was odd

“You do! You have to chase me! That’s how you play the game!” the girl cried excitedly.

Cordelia eyed the girl. Normally she liked little kids, but this one and her little game were seriously grating on her nerves.

“I’m not playing your game. Now who are you and why are you in my house?”

“Oh c’mon Cordy, play along for pete’s sake. Then again you don’t do anything for anyone else’s sake except your own, do you?”

Cordelia looked to her left and saw Xander grinning over at her like an idiot. A cute idiot but an idiot all the same.
 

“She always thinks she’s above all the kiddie stuff.” Came another voice. Cordelia looked right to see Willow who waved at her with a goofy smile.

“I am you geeks,” she snapped at them. “ I’m 18 not 4.” She moved to get up when someone pushed her down from behind.

“You sure as hell act like it sometimes.” Cordelia looked up as Buffy walked around her and sat down across from her. “I’ve seen wax fruit act more mature.”

“I’m going to ignore that little comment. Assume that you’ve suffered brain damage of some kind from getting your ass kicked by vampires.”

“Ohhhhhhh,” Willow and Xander both said in unison and Cordelia looked at them both in annoyance, about to comment when she noticed the girl start her little game of duck duck goose again. When she reached Cordelia she screamed goose again, but Cordelia didn’t move.

“I said Goose!” the girl whined. “C’mon!”

Cordelia rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She turned back to the group.

“Aww Cor. C’mon. Play along. If you do you might get a kiss.” Xander lifted his eyebrows conspiratorily and she looked at him with a confused, but small smile.

“Oh gag me,” Buffy groaned and she looked over at Willow whose face was covered with a frown.

“What about me?” she pouted.

“What about you? “ Cordelia interrupted. “He’s MY boyfriend. Not yours-what about Oz?”

“Oz is Oz. He’s sweet and cute and sweet and-“

“We get it Wills,” Xander cut her off. The little girl continued around the circle, droning ‘duck’ on and on in some kind of chant.

“Yeah, well, yeah. Anyway what about me? Do I get smoochies?” Willow squeaked.

Xander leaned towards Willow and winked at her. “If you keep it a secret-maybe.”

Cordelia did a double take. “WHAT?”

“What?” Xander looked over at her innocently.

“You just said that you’d give Willow smoochies you jerk! How could you even have the balls to think that much less say it in front of me?”

“Well your time was up.” Xander shrugged.

“Up?” Cordelia snapped. “You just asked me three seconds ago!”

“Yeah well, you were too slow.” Xander chuckled. Willow stuck her tongue out at her.

“Oh please Cordy it’s not like it’s that big a deal. It’s not like you love him or anything,” Buffy scoffed.

“Shut up Buffy. You know damn well how I feel about-“ she cut herself off and looked at the three of them.

“How you feel about what?” Xander asked.

“I didn’t know she could feel,” Willow said, cocking her head to one side.

“Me either. The way she treats people it’s like she has no feelings of her own.”

“Shut up,” Cordelia snapped.

“Gee Cordy its comments like that that just make me love you even more. NOT!” Xander laughed and he leaned over to give a high five to Willow.

“Goose!” the little girl screamed again whacking Cordelia on the top of her head.

“Ouch!” she screamed bringing both her hands to her head. She glared up at the girl who grinned down at her.

“You’re the goose!” she sang.

“Stop picking on me. Pick someone else. Or better yet just stop this stupid game and get out of my room. All of you!”

“Ohhh somebody’s grumpy,” Xander laughed and Willow and Buffy both nodded their heads.

“Get out!” Cordelia screamed again, almost near tears from the pain in her head and the stinging pain in her heart.

Xander stood up. “Cordy we’re sorry,”

“Yeah we didn’t mean to upset you.” Willow added.

“Well I did.” Buffy said.

“No you didn’t,” Willow argued.

“Yes I did,” Buffy argued back.

“Get out!” Cordleia screamed again.

The three of them went silent.

“Fine,” Xander said after a moment. “But we are sorry. All of us.”

The three of them filed out,leaving Cordelia alone with the girl.

Cordelia glared at her angrily. “You too duck girl. Leave.”

“Nope.” She grinned.

“Nope? Why? Why do you want to stay here?”

“Because…you’re the goose.” She sang again jumping from side to side.

“And you’re a weird kid,” Cordelia mumbled as she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. Opening them again she saw the girl was gone.

“Good,” Cordelia muttered as she got up from her bed and headed to her bathroom. She needed some Tylenol.

Stopping at a faint noise, she turned back to the doorway. She waited and heard it again, a faint laugh coming from the hallway.

Walking over to the doorway, she peered out and saw no sign of anyone lurking in the hall. She was about to turn back into her room when she saw the little girl run out of a room down the hall and stop at the stairs.

“You’re the goose!” she giggled and took off down the stairs.

Cordelia just cocked her brow in mild annoyance.

“O-kay. Some freaky little girl is running through my house.” Cordelia sighed and walked down the hallway and to the top of the stairs.

“Okay kid where are you? Who are you? Don’t you have parents or something who are wondering where the hell you are?”

No answer.

“Stupid kid, stupid, stupid little kid,” Cordelia muttered as she quietly shuffled down the stairs and paused at the bottom. She could hear the giggling again.

“I can hear you ya know? You aren’t too good at hiding yourself.”

Another giggle. Then faintly, “Goosey goosey goose.”

Whirling around in a huff, Cordelia looked about her, her eyes searching until finally resting on the doors to her father’s study.

“I am not chasing you around this house goose girl. Come on out now!”

“I’m not finished yet,” came the reply. Again another giggle.

“Yes you are,” Cordelia countered as she watched the crack under the study doors. A moving shadow confirmed her suspicions and she quickly went over to the doors and flung them open.

“Gotcha!” She said in triumph.

“Wrong little girl. Got YOU.”

Her eyes popped open.

The fog quickly lifted and her mind was suddenly clear.

Clear about everything.
 

Her mind kept replaying and replaying and replaying over and over and over again. Finally it focused on one thing. One thing alone. One thing out of a million possible thoughts that she could be thinking.

She had to leave.

She had to leave NOW.

She began to sit up, only to be hampered by her restraints. She looked down at them as if they were alien to her, foreign and unrecognizable.

Grimacing she began to tug, pulling hard against the bed rail, pulling with all her might.

She had to get free.

She had to leave.

Pulling, pulling, pulling herself free.

Her sweaty hand had slipped right through. She quickly started on the other restraints, her mind remaining fixed on her goal.

On that one thing, that one thought.

She had to leave.

She had to leave NOW.

She had to leave Sunnydale.