3: The Library, Sunnydale High School, Southeast Sunnydale
Buffy made her feelings about Cordelia’s demand to return to the group very clear leading Giles to confess, “Buffy, I invited her to join us.”
“That’s what she said,” his young charge gasped in disbelief. “Giles, that’s just asking for trouble.”
A not-so-subtle nod toward Xander and Willow suggested that teenage angst might be a distraction. Then again, there was always drama of that sort when one’s Slayer and her friends were high school students.
“Did you not announce a moment ago that you agreed to allow Cordelia to rejoin the group?”
Reminding her that she was arguing against something that she had only just said brought a look of resignation to her face. “Uh, I suppose I did, although she kinda told me I didn’t have a choice.”
Fully understanding Buffy’s concerns about the other girl’s health, Giles had plans that should mesh with any need for further convalescence. “Cordelia could be quite useful in a research capacity.”
They would need more than a fresh set of eyes during the tasking days ahead, he knew. However, the announcement could wait until they were all gathered together. Buffy was regaling them with further details of their encounter when it occurred to him that Cordelia had not yet entered the library.
Glancing down at his watch, he confirmed that nearly ten minutes had passed by. “Buffy, I thought you said she was right behind you.”
Rising from her slouched position on a chair, Buffy considered the worst. After all, this was Cordelia Chase. She could attract trouble like a magnet. Still, there was a shred of hope in her voice, “Maybe she changed her mind.”
Willow sounded doubtful and offered up a more likely scenario. “Maybe she’s in trouble.”
“That’s Cor’s middle name,” quipped Xander worriedly.
Faith didn’t bother to suppress her scorn. “Real smart, B, I thought you knew saving the helpless was part of the job description here at Hellmouth Central.”
“Helpless? You obviously haven’t spent much time with Cordelia,” Buffy scowled at the thought that anyone with stubborn bitch credentials would be considered helpless. Still, Cor wasn’t exactly in top form despite her arguments, no matter that Buffy had given in to them.
Xander and Willow were also on their feet, following along as the Slayer charged to the rescue. They pulled up short when the library doors suddenly swung open to reveal both Cordelia and Angel causing the tension to rise exponentially. After Buffy informed them of their meeting, the group expected Cordelia, never considering the vampire would also appear.
Giles felt his throat tighten up at seeing Angel again. It did not matter that his soul had been returned to him. The vampire was a constant reminder that Angelus had killed Jenny.
Seeing them all on their feet and heading for the doors, Cordelia held up a hand to stop them. “Where are you going? We just got here.”
“Saving you,” Willow explained while shrinking a bit at the sharp look she received.
Considering that Willow was probably the last person she wanted saving her from anything, Cordelia’s voice edged on iciness. “I can take care of myself. Besides, I found Angel skulking around outside.”
“‘Trouble’ sounds pretty accurate,” Xander met Angel’s steady gaze for a second before scooting forward to usher Cordelia into the room. It was somewhat gratifying to Giles to note that he was not the only one experiencing a considerable measure of discomfort at the vampire’s presence.
Buffy looked pale, quite ghostly in fact. She’d suggested to him that Angel wouldn’t be around anymore, but had left him without further explanation. The thought had been rather satisfying at the time. He would prefer Angel to stay out of Buffy’s life no matter that his assistance had been valuable in the past. Their relationship was as unnatural as it was destructive.
Now it appeared that Angel had changed his mind about staying away. Immediately walking toward her, Angel cupped her elbow and led her into a far corner. Cordelia and Xander didn’t bother with privacy; they squared off in the center of the room, arguing about her return and whether it was any of his business.
“Are you sure you should be back so soon?” Xander’s question seemed reasonable to Giles, but if there was one thing he had learned from his observations, Cordelia was not likely to be dissuaded from a decision once she made it. “Buffy said you wanted to patrol. It’s too soon.”
“I’m fine.”
This was going to be a long night. Giles sighed deeply and reached up to loosen his tie. Across the room, Buffy and Angel remained in deep conversation, far quieter but no less intense. Faith simply propped her feet on the table and looked on it all with a bored expression while Willow resumed her seat, nibbling at her nails, eyes as big as saucers.
It was times like these that Giles wished he had taken up an interest in paleontology or geology instead of joining the Watcher’s Council. Fossilized bones and rocks never caused such a ruckus. Removing his glasses, he closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to suppress his growing irritation.
A loud whistle suddenly pierced the air.
Giles’ eyelids popped open in automatic response to note that Faith was the culprit. The mistress of chaos herself was trying to bring some order to this hullaballoo. Ironic.
Rising from her chair, she loudly clapped her hands together demanding attention. Giles noticed he was not the only one with his mouth hanging open. He clapped it shut when Faith announced, “Jeeves here has something to say.”
Replacing his glasses, Giles sent her a nod, his mouth a bit purse-lipped as he said, “Thank you, Faith. First order of business: welcome back Cordelia. We are pleased to see you have recovered.”
She met his gaze from across the room and though her arms were folded across her abdomen in a somewhat defensive manner, Giles caught the hint of a smile that graced her lips. Moving on before anyone could cut in with further protest about her decision to return, he reminded the group that they were there for a reason.
“The Watcher’s Council has sent word on a new prophecy.” Giles adjusted his glasses and began to explain the situation details. The others slowly filed back across the room.
Keeping a focus on the task at hand was the only thing that allowed Giles to tolerate Angel’s presence. Though he could not bring himself to offer the vampire the welcome he had given Cordelia, for Buffy’s sake, he was determined to maintain his decorum. He watched Angel take a seat on the stairs, quietly settling into the background.
Before he could make a start on the prophecy details and the goals of their research activities, he noticed Cordelia was left standing as Faith now occupied her usual seat next to Xander. Oh dear. The two were staring, no, glaring at each other now.
Giles hastened to fix the situation. “Move over a bit, Willow. Perhaps I can squeeze in another chair.”
Cordelia took one look at Willow’s gobsmacked expression, grabbed an arbitrary book from the table and walked in the direction of the stairs. “No big. I’ll just sit over here.”
Nudging Angel’s knee with her own, she prompted him to move over just enough to let her sit down. It was impossible to determine whether he was irritated or terrified by the intrusion of his space, but he shifted enough to let her sit down beside him.
Pointing at her throat, she warned him all too seriously, “Don’t get ideas. No snacking.”