Part Twenty-Six Amanda and Nick rushed back to the main room of the hideaway, where they had left Buffy and Angelus. It was Nick that noticed a feint light coming from one of the rooms. Without thought, the couple entered the Beach scene and immediately realized their mistake. The nocturnal couple were engaged in a rather sexual embrace. The extremely worldly Amanda, blushed at the sight. Both she and Nick were grateful that the shimmering water covered their other activities... Angelus growled at the intrusion. Even though Buffy groaned in frustrated pain, she pulled back from her lover, with a small whimper. It was Nick who apologized first. "We're really sorry, you guys, but we've got a problem..." Buffy sighed as she made her way out of the water. Angelus pulled her back in, turning to the other couple. "So you mind?" he growled. Amanda grinned. "You don't have anything I haven't seen before..." She turned to Nick as Buffy giggled. "Come on, let's leave these two to dry off. But if you're more than five minutes, I'm coming in after you!" she called back with a chuckle. *~*~* Buffy and Angelus exited the Beach scene after four and a half minutes. Both were grinning broadly. "Gee, I wonder what you two did with those few minutes..." Nick's voice was dripping with sarcasm. Buffy hit him playfully on the arm. "We got dressed..." "After?" She stuck her tongue out at him. Nick was fast becoming her new best friend. He was at least ten years older than her, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference. Nick's grin faded as he thought about what he had to tell her. He turned to Amanda, her face just as grim. Angelus noticed. "What did you find out?" Amanda sighed. There was no easy way to break this to Buffy, but she knew that Angelus would find the information interesting, if only it didn't hurt Buffy... "He and some man named Giles are looking for you both. Xander is here because he heard that Buffy was here and naturally believed that you were still on her trail." Nick picked up the story. "They haven't had any luck with any bookings, or flashing Buffy's picture." "And they won't..." the low growl escaped Angelus' throat. "Everyone in this town now knows that Buffy is mine. They won't say anything. As it is, he's extremely lucky that he hasn't been killed by any number of the community, just for asking about her." Buffy gasped. "But what if it had been Willow that had come looking?" "Willow's not male..." he casually informed her. "Oh!" Buffy understood immediately. "Very smart, lover. So, what are we going to do about Xander? Giles knows he's here, but does he know that he's immortal?" It was Amanda who answered. "I'd say so, that's why he was sent to protect you. At least, that's the way I understood it. It was strange, though. I actually believed him when he said that he was jus feeling his way around being an immortal..." Angelus shook his head. "Don't worry about it. In that pipsqueak's head the two are separate, so he wasn't really lying." "Or he was so scared that he forgot." A tiny giggle escaped Buffy's throat. Angelus chuckled. "Or, there is that..." Buffy sobered. "He probably won't be here for long. Xander has a habit of not looking very hard and giving up easily. It would be a different story if it was Giles, though. He was my Watcher. I hate deceiving him like this, but I wouldn't want to hurt him, either." Angelus rubbed her back. "Don't worry, Baby. If Xander finds you, then you should be okay if you can get rid of him." "And if he finds out about you two as a couple?" Amanda inquired. "I'll take care of it," the vampire's gaze hardened. Buffy bit her lip, but nodded. "He'll know that I'm immortal, but that would be something in my favor. I can take care of myself and he'll probably leave quicker." "Well, whatever happens, we're here for you, Buffy," Nick told her as he held Amanda's hand in his own. Both Buffy and Angelus smiled gently. "We know, thank you..." Buffy whispered. "What do I do now?" "I think that you should confront him," Amanda stated. "Wait, hear me out first." She held up her hands in defense as they all opened their mouths. "She can just tell him what she' discovered about herself, catch up on gossip, show him that she's fine, so that he'll piss off. "No one will admit that Angelus is around, so there's no reason for him to stay and protect Buffy from an evil that isn't here, right?" The group nodded, a little reluctantly. "And then he'll report back to this Giles character, who will also breathe easier knowing that his Slayer is alive and well. That way, Buffy won't have to know what it's like to kill a friend," Amanda finished sadly. It was Nick's turn to do some comforting as memories of Morgan assaulted Amanda. Angelus nodded, less reluctantly this time. "You realize that I'm doing this for Buffy...right?" Amanda sent him a sarcastic look. "Well, we don't really believe that you like the guy..." They all had a good laugh over that one... Part Twenty-Seven "Are you sure that you haven't seen this girl?" Xander asked the stone-faced concierge. Winters shook his head, his face not changing as he watched the young man before him. He was quiet as he saw the lady in question approach. He also noticed the young man wince slightly, before turning his head as if looking for something. "Hello, Xander." Xander locked eyes with the owner of the familiar voice. "Buffy!" he grinned as he gave her a hug. His eyes widened as he realized just who it was that had caused his immortal senses to go off. "You're..." She nodded. "Yes. I heard that you were looking for me, as well." He answered in the affirmative. "Well, you don't need to. I'm fine. Angelus has stopped chasing me for reasons you won't understand, but just suffice it to say that we've made our piece..." "How-" Buffy cut him off. "Angelus didn't really find it fun to get his ass kicked. He also knows how hard it is to kill an immortal..." "Buffy, are you sure that he's..." Xander began. "Don't worry about it, Xander. Angelus is no more of a danger to me than my Dad is. He knows that if he ever came after me, I'd kill him. You see, I managed to take the ring from him." Buffy flashed him the ring that adorned her finger. She'd borrowed it from Angelus for appearances sake. Xander grinned. "Then we really don't need to worry. So, you're definitely unkillable and Angelus isn't...cool!" During some point in the conversation, Buffy had pulled Xander into one of the spare offices. "So, Xander, how do you like immortality?" Buffy laughed. He answered her seriously. "Well, at first it was kind of cool, but then Giles started to expect me to take over the Slaying coz I was unkillable, well sort of, anyway." Buffy lightly punched him on the arm. "Hey, I got stuck with it for years, it's about time you gave a little." He gave her that 'puppy dog' look. "Aww, come on, Buff. The only really bad things you went up against were Angelus and the Mayor..." Buffy shrugged the comment off, but inside, she was seething. She had never realized just how much of a prick her friend was. "You know what? I'm suddenly finding myself wanting you gone..." Buffy knew her voice was hard, but she didn't care. For once in her life, she was going to make her life the way she wanted, starting with Xander... "Wha-? Hey, come on, Buff..." Xander protested. Buffy exited the office, leaving her former friend standing there wandering what the fuck he'd said... In a moment, the concierge that had denied ever seeing Buffy walked in. "Hey! You lied to me. Where's she go?" Winters refrained from knocking the boy on his immortal ass. "Ms Summers would like you to remove yourself from the premises within twelve hours, Sir." He quickly left, once again, leaving Alexander LaVelle Harris totally clueless. *~*~* "You're kidding!" Angelus burst out laughing. Buffy bit her lip. "Aww, Buff! You're classic! I can't believe that you told that pipsqueak to fuck off..." the laughter continued. Even Amanda and Nick were amused. They'd spent all of this time worrying about what they'd do about Xander, short of killing him, that is, and here Buffy was, telling them that she'd pretty much forsaken one of her best friends. "You know, Buffy, maybe I could add a little extra incentive for Xander to leave," Amanda chuckled, her sword appearing. "And if that doesn't work..." Angelus began. "I can have a go!" A strange light entered the vampire's eyes at the thought. "Oh, no!" Buffy screamed. "I'm not having you go out there and blow everything. You're going to be a last resort. After Amanda, Nick, Winters, me again...then you!" Angelus shifted into game face and growled at the group. "I never get to have any fun!" "Aww, poor didums. Did the mean Slayer put a damper on your fun???" Nick chided. Pretending not to get it, Amanda threw in her two cents. "She stuck an Australian bread thing in your lap???" Okay, totally clueless really did not look good on the bottle-blond immortal. "Huh?" Okay, maybe the wrong bottle-blond. Buffy frowned, concentrating on the joke that went straight over her head. Amanda elaborated. "You know, bread...damper...Australia? The Land Down Under with all of the kangaroos? Crocodile Dundee???" At Buffy's blank look, she threw up her hands. "Oh, forget it!" Part Twenty-Eight Twelve hours later, Buffy and Amanda left the two males, in favor of having some coffee. And once again, they felt the presence of another immortal, namely Xander. Buffy growled, low in her throat. Amanda chuckled. "You've been hanging around a particular dark- haired demon too much, Buffy." The Slayer shrugged with a grin. "It's one way to pass an eternity..." Amanda silently agreed as her thoughts turned dark. "Thinking about Nick?" Buffy inquired gently. Then, spotting Xander, her voice hardened slightly. "How about we continue this later...we have an immortal to deal with." Once again, the immortal agreed. The couple made a beeline for the table that Xander was seated at. The both took a seat and glared at him. "I thought that I'd made it clear, Xander. I want you gone," Buffy issued the challenge. He grinned impishly. "I figured you were just a little on edge about Angelus." "You figured wrong," Amanda informed him. His gaze raked over the older immortal. "Who are you?" "You're worst nightmare," she answered in a deadly voice. She then turned to Buffy. "You know, I never realized just how much I've always wanted to say that..." Buffy kept a straight face, though it was a close thing. "Amanda is my friend and mentor." Xander opened his mouth to speak. "Which reminds me...you never asked how this happened." Buffy was unimpressed. "Neither did you...but you're not hard to figure. You were killed on a routine patrol just after I left. Correct?" "O-kay...How do you figure that?" Buffy shrugged. "Simple. You weren't immortal before I left, otherwise I would have realized it by now. And knowing you, you wouldn't go near a demon if you didn't have to, so I suspect that Giles lumbered you guys with patrol since I've been gone." "Umm...wow." "Am I right?" He nodded. Buffy stared at him. "You still haven't asked me how I got like this." "Umm...how?" "Faith killed me. I hadn't realized that I was immortal until I ran into Amanda. She's explained everything to me and taught me everything she knows. Apparently, my Slayer strength is an added bonus," she lied. Yeah, just add a little fear in there, Buffy...make him squirm. Unfortunately, Xander wasn't squirming. He wasn't even concerned. He still didn't get it.. "Cool. Where can I sign up?" he joked. Amanda sent him a frosty glare. "You don't. You get the fuck out of my town and you leave Buffy alone. She's doing fine without you to play nursemaid." Xander glared back. "I don't have to listen to you. I'm immortal, I do my own thing." He lifted his chin in defiance. Amanda threw him a disgusted look as Buffy placed a hand over Amanda's. Xander caught the gesture and frowned. Amanda was wondering just what Buffy was doing, but she played along. Buffy began stroking the back of Amanda's hand, making it look as if she were calming down a lover... "Uh, Buffy? Is there something you want to tell me?" The Slayer bit her lip, a lone tear forming in the corner of her eye. She nodded slowly. "Yes, there is..." *~*~* In one of the offices, Nick and Angelus were laughing it up. Their girlfriends appeared to be playing it to the hilt. They realized that Buffy had made a split-second decision, but it was shooting Xander's ego straight to Hell. Both males kept one hand on the head sets, just to make sure they didn't fall loose, and they'd miss something. Attaching a small microphone to Amanda's purse was a stroke of genius on Nick's part. "I can just..." Snort. "...picture that..." Gasp. "...little pipsqueak's..." Cough. "...reaction!" Angelus managed to choke out between bouts of laughter. Nick wasn't faring much better. He continued to laugh at the boy's bad luck after he heard the tales of Xander's misfortune in previous attempts to win Buffy over. "DO you think..." Gasp. "...that he'll ever..." Laugh. "...stop tracking Buffy...?" Snort. "When he's dead!" Angelus answered, still laughing. "When will that be?" Nick wanted to know. "The way Buffy's going, it'll be within the next few minutes or so..." The two men fell off their seats when they heard the next part of the conversation. Buffy had just broken the news of she and Amanda's relationship, very tearfully and regretfully. While she was throwing her arms around, begging for Xander's understanding, Buffy had accidentally, well, maybe not, knocked over her drink, and straight into Xander's lap. Let him explain that wet spot when he tries to get up...Angelus mentally chuckled. Part Twenty-Nine "I can't believe you did that, Buffy!" Amanda scolded between fits of what could only be described as giggles. The two women met their men in the private elevator after their encounter with Xander. Buffy had let it pass what she knew of Xander. When it came to girls, he had no shame... But for now... "I know! It just popped into my head!" she responded, also giggling like mad. Angelus and Nick were just as bad with the laughter as they met up with the two immortal females. They both gave Buffy a congratulatory kiss for a job well done. "So, what's next?" Nick asked. *~*~* Winters had organized a special security video to be linked up to their private getaway. The four watched as Angelus kept control of the remote, changing the view every few seconds, searching for Xander. It was Nick who first spotted him. He pointed to the television set. "There! By the bar." The other three saw the immortal boy, looking as at home as ever. It had been a good three hours since his confrontation with the other two immortals, but he was still in the hotel. Buffy picked up the hotel telephone and rang through to Winters. "Mirage main office, hello?" came the concierge's professional voice. "Hey, it's Buffy." "Buffy? Is there a problem?" he asked. "Yeah, well, it seems that Mr Harris still hasn't vacated. I don't suppose...?" she hedged. He laughed. "Say no more. I'll have security have a word to him. And if he still won't listen, well... you'll have to do the rest...sorry." "Understood," Buffy told him. And she did understand. Xander was immortal, and Winters couldn't have anyone put in danger. It would be up to she and the others to deal with problem called Xander. She put down the telephone and sat back to watch through the lens of the security cameras. "Switch to the main lobby," she instructed her lover. Angelus hit the button several times until the view of the lobby came up. He put the remote down and rubbed his hands together like a child anticipating some form of mischief. The four watched as four burly security guards in formal attire approached Xander. Angelus quickly picked up the remote and switched to a closer camera. This one specifically showed Xander's reaction to being asked to leave. He argued with the men, who eventually looked straight into the camera. The immortal noticed this and mouthed the word, 'Pool'. Buffy understood the challenge as Xander turned back to the guards and took the first one out before running. The Slayer had finally had enough of him. She stood up, and wasn't surprised to note that the other three had risen as well. "Are you ready for this, Buff?" Angelus asked. "Coz if you're not, I'd be more than happy to sever the little-" Buffy cut him off with a laugh. "No, but you can come up if you want." She faced each of them in turn. "It's time for Alexander LaVelle Harris to learn that you can't insult a girl's significant others, friends and lifestyle, without paying the consequences. And in this case, the consequences are enough for a guy to lose his head..." *~*~* Buffy, Amanda and Nick headed for the pool area. Xander stood there, waiting. "What's your problem, huh, Buffy?" he cried. "We've always been best friends!" Buffy stared at him. "Willow was my best friend. As a friend, you were my worst nightmare. You critisized everything that I did! You blamed me for Angelus, you blamed me for Faith, Cordelia, Anya, every single female in your life, as well as everything in your damn, pathetic, miserable life that went wrong!" Buffy accused. She continued. "Well, here's a newsflash for you, Xander! It's not my fault!!! It was never my fault. None of it! You may be Mr Comic Relief Guy, but when it comes to saving the world, you don't know a fucking thing! I do things my way, and they get done. The same could be said for right now..." she murmured as her sword appeared in her hand. Xander never saw it coming... "Everything's always about you, you, you...isn't it, Buff? What about Sunnydale, what about me???" She was incredulous. "What about you? God! You're not some great power that goes around doing good! At least I'm the Slayer, I have something to show for my life. Something worthwhile. Why should anyone care how I get the job done, so long as I get it done? And that's one thing that you're going to learn, Xander. When I do things, you don't question, or ridicule, them." A mock regretful look came over her face. "Oh, wait, you already did that, didn't you??" "I'll say..." came the voice from behind the ferns. Xander turned around and saw Angelus step out from behind the plants. "I thought that you had stopped following her?" The vampire grinned. "Of course! Why would I follow her, when she comes back to my bed each night. There has never been any cause for me to stalk my own wife..." Xander swung back to Buffy, hate pouring from his body. "Don't they test you on what's in the Slayer handbook? I'm sure there had to have been a section in there somewhere about getting down and dirty with the slayees..." In a familiar tone, she shrugged carelessly. "What can I say? I flunked the written." She lifted her sword over him with a grunt. Xander met her downward motion with a deflecting blow. For several seconds, the two engaged in sword play. Xander had received several deep cuts on his sword arm, weakening his fighting abilities. Buffy delivered a heavy blow to his solar plexus. Xander fell to his knees in pain. "I know what it's like to be betrayed by a so-called friend, Xander. And in your mind, I guess you do, too...now..." With one final goodbye, Buffy's sword came down and neatly severed Xander's head from his body. The others quickly stepped back as a thunderous noise could be heard. Lightening struck the area, concentrating on Buffy as Xander's immortal strength found it's new host... Part Thirty Buffy fell back against Amanda. "Whoa, there!" the other immortal said as she caught Buffy. "I forgot to tell you that the first times a push over! Push you over, that is..." she chuckled. Nick look at his girlfriend. "I swear, your jokes are getting worse." Amanda helped Buffy to the nearest chair. Angelus came over and sat next to her. "I can't believe I actually did it!" her voice held a tinge of self-satisfaction. "That you did, lover," Angelus grinned at her. "Although, I didn't get to have any fun..." Buffy put her hand to the back of his neck and pulled his head closer to hers. "How's this?" She mashed her lips against his. Angelus groaned as he opened his mouth, welcoming her warm, thrusting tongue. For some strange reason, some of Xander's joking ways seemed to have rubbed off on Amanda. Nick noticed the cheeky grin on the ancient immortal's face as she pushed into Buffy, causing the Slayer and her vampire lover to fall straight into the pool next to them. The couple came up sputtering, not the least bit appreciative of the mouthfuls of water that had come between their kiss. Both Buffy and Angelus glared at her. She shrugged. "I thought you two needed a little cooling off..." They all groaned. *~*~* Now that Buffy had a chance to think clearly again, she was in a panic. The four beings had retreated to their hideaway, but Buffy was the only one concerned. "Oh my God, oh my God...what am I gonna tell Willow? What am I gonna tell Giles? What am I-?" Angelus cut off her guilt trip with a silencing kiss. "Don't worry about it. All you have to do is tell Giles that Xander got challenged by another immortal, but you took care of the guy after he tracked you down as well. But of course, I've found you again, and you'll just have to keep moving, so you're very sorry that you couldn't go back and visit, but you really must be going..." Amanda laughed outright at Angelus' almost perfect rendition of her and a possible five star performance of getting out of trouble. "Well done, Angelus, maybe you should make that call...?" He glared at her. "Anyway...how about we forget it for now and do some celebrating." He dragged the other three into yet another darkened room. "Ladies, take the door to your right. Nick, you follow me. In the closets you'll find some clothes. Winters has organized everything. Take your pick, then use the other door to enter the main room..." Angelus disappeared with Nick through the left door. Amanda and Buffy looked at each other before entering the right... "Whoa!" Buffy cried as she opened up one of the closets. Amanda peered over her shoulder. "Hey, Amanda, go and check the others." Amanda did as she was told. "More of the same...all of them are filled with period dresses...and from what I could tell, they all span over the last five centuries or so..." "Five centuries???" Buffy's eyes widened. "Okay, that's a lot to choose from, but Angel said that he hated the women from his time, so that takes out the mid eighteenth century..." "How about this?" Amanda pulled out an early sixteenth century dress. It was simple. The corset that went with it, pushed up her breasts for what she knew would be Angelus' eager gaze, then fell neatly around her shapely legs. It was easy to see that it was not something for the upper class society, it was too simple, but still quite elegant with it's jeweled bodice. Buffy fingered the silky material with an enchanted smile. "It's beautiful..." she murmured in awe. She took the dress from Amanda and went behind the screen to change while the other immortal waited. "Well...?" Buffy asked hesitantly as she came out from behind the changing screen. Amanda was speechless, but she grinned. "Now, what about me?" she asked. Buffy went to the closets and ruffled around the clothes for a few minutes, before pulling out a loose top and long, sarong-style skirt. Amanda looked at the set in appreciation. "I always did love the sixties and seventies..." She went and changed behind the screen, while Buffy picked out a few accessories. "You know, Buffy, this doesn't really suit my that well..." Amanda remarked as she stepped from behind the screen. Buffy laughed. "I know, but that's why you're going to put this on..." she handed the other woman a wig. Amanda nodded in approval of the wig of long, straight black hair. "Not bad, if I do say so, myself..." Amanda grinned as she took a look in the mirror. Buffy grabbed her hand and pulled her through the other door. "Come on! I want to see what's in this room!" The two stopped dead when they entered. They couldn't believe it. It was a completely furnished ballroom. There were various matching loveseats and cushioned chairs around the outer rim of the room. Buffy was the first to look up. In the center of the ceiling, was a large, crystal chandelier. There had to have been a thousand tiny crystals that made up the centerpiece that hung from the bottom of the fixture at the very least, it was that detailed. Buffy also noticed a large fireplace at one end of the room, but what really caught her notice was the blown-up picture of her. It was a full shot of her in bed, asleep, with the black, satin sheet barely covering her. Amanda chuckled when Buffy blushed. "You know, I think I've dressed for the wrong time period..." Amanda remarked. "Probably," Buffy acknowledged, but shrugged. "But Angelus did say to choose anything..." The Slayer's breath caught in her throat as she surveyed her surroundings further. At the other end of the ballroom, was a full-wall mural of a moonlight seascape... The two females looked around as the lights dimmed into nothing. Candles came alight around the room. There had to have been hundreds of them to light the large room. Suddenly, Angelus and Nick were standing before them, Angelus in tight, black leather pants and a burgundy silk shirt, with the sleeves rolled up, exposing his hard, muscular arms... (*sigh*) and Nick in an old western Sheriff's outfit, complete with silver star. They swept their lover's up into the capable arms and began twirling them around the ballroom as a slow song started up. They were mismatched pairs, but they didn't care, because they had each other and their little world was perfect and undisturbed... Buffy noticed a small window, as she and Angelus danced around the room. She waved to the man she saw there. He waved back with a grin, Winters was also acting as DJ it seemed. Through the night, Angelus and Nick also took turns with the music, swapping their partners with each other and Winters... They were carefree for the moment and planned to enjoy it while it lasted. For the moment, life was good... The End 