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Banner by Alissa.


Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I really thought that folks were feeling done with this fic. Hearing that so many people still want to see it through really helped me plow through the giant writer's block in my path. Also...I was touched.

Big thanks (like Big Love but with less wives) to DampersnSpoons for betareading. :D She is awesome.
Oxford, England 2008

Liam didn’t leave his office until dark. That wasn’t unusual. He preferred to keep late hours as much as possible. Coming in late allowed him to sleep off the previous night’s activities and provided the added benefit of helping him avoid perky do-good types who were inevitably awake at dawn. He considered, briefly, giving William or Wesley a ring on the telephone and decided against it. Liam enjoyed being a bachelor, but not so much a third wheel.

So he was headed to the pub alone when he spotted her. William’s girl was sitting on the park bench outside his building, looking a bit too much like a lost kitten. He approached her with a concerned expression.
“Lass, don’t tell me you’re waiting for Willie all alone out here.”

She looked up at him with a startled expression before shaking her head.

He could see that she was upset. Liam noticed the tears she was holding back and wanted nothing more than to stop them. He really couldn’t handle a crying girl, but he didn’t have a clue as to what was bothering her.
“Do you need help, love? I could help you find him.”

“No!” Buffy stood up quickly. “I can’t…I can’t see him.” There was a frantic tone to her speech.

Liam’s eyes widened and he hoped sincerely that this wasn’t as bad as it looked. “Okay lass, why don’t we start at the beginning?”

“I can’t see him. I can’t. But you can.” She looked at him imploringly. “You could go see him and just…just make sure that he is all right.” Buffy couldn’t go in her current state of turmoil. She wasn’t sure whether she’d hug Will or break his nose.

“And why don’t we go see him together? Yeah?” He was tempted to go find William right then, but he knew that the other man would want him to take care of Buffy first.

“No. I can’t see him. I don’t even know him…not…he lied to me.” She wasn’t even talking to him any more, just muttering mournfully to herself.

Liam shook his head. Well shit, Willie, he thought sadly, what the hell have you done? “Well, now that doesn’t really sound like our boy, does it? It’s a misunderstanding, maybe.”

Buffy gazed up at him miserably. He was William’s friend, but he’d been kind and she didn’t have anyone else. “He lied to me. I…we…we slept together, but…”

Relief poured through Liam’s body. He smiled at her gently and tucked her hair behind her ears. “I don’t know what happened, love, but I swear on all that is holy, the boy loves you heart and soul.”

He was horrified when she dissolved into tears a second later.

Oxford, England 2008

William was out of liquor, he wasn’t much of a drinker so he didn’t keep a lot in his flat. He certainly didn’t have enough to fill the Buffy-shaped hole in his heart.

He stared at the empty bottle in front of him but saw only the look of disgust that had been on Buffy’s face before she had run out.

Even in memory the look felt like a punch to the gut. William looked about desperately for something to numb it and found himself out. Two, now empty, bottles had been the entirety of his home bar.

There was nothing else he could do. William had to go to the pub. He knew that they had plenty of liquor there.
It had been two hours since Buffy had run out. He didn’t think that she was going to come back, but he left the door unlocked just in case. The possibility of being robbed didn’t concern him; he’d already lost the only thing that really mattered to him.

Oxford, England 2008

Liam patted Buffy gently on the shoulder as he tried to make sense of her sob-ridden speech. “Lass, I’m not sure if I understand the problem here. You’re upset because the boy slept with you because he’s in love with you.” He couldn’t quite keep the incredulity out of his voice. In Liam’s experience, most girls expected a pledge of undying love in the morning, regardless of what they said the night before.

She sniffled and nodded miserably.

“And you…don’t love him?”

Buffy frowned. “Of course I do, I’m just…” She almost said that she wasn’t in love with him, but her mind questioned that assertion. Could she be in love with him? Her eyes widened as the thought occurred to her. She shook it off. It wasn’t really the point. Right now, Buffy had to focus on the mess they’d made of the friendship.

“He’s my best friend, but he tricked me. I wouldn’t have…if I’d known that it would hurt him, I’d have never done it. I never wanted to hurt him.”

Liam nodded and tried to figure out exactly what had happened. As best as he could figure, William had managed to get the girl in his bed by convincing her that friends can have sex without damaging their friendship. Friendly sex, sounded to Liam more like something he, himself, would come up with. It provided a nice out if the girl started to get too clingy, but it made no sense for William to suggest it. William clearly wanted the girl to get all clingy. Liam knew the younger man well. He was certain that William was desperately in love with the small blonde girl now crying in his arms. Why hadn’t his boy simply kissed the girl and admitted his feelings? Liam sighed. William seemed hell bent on making things more difficult and Buffy appeared set to go along with him.

“Of course you didn’t.”

“So, you’ll go check on him? Don’t…don’t tell him I sent you; just make sure he’s okay.”

“Yeah, lass. I’ll be doing that. First, let’s get you all set. Have you eaten?”

****************************************************************************
Liam led Buffy into the pub and guided her towards a table with a gentle hand at the small of her back. She hadn’t spoken much to him once he’d assured her that he would check on William, but had accepted his help and directions with a sort of exhausted gratitude. If he hadn’t been so concerned about his friend, Liam would have enjoyed playing White Knight for the pretty girl beside him. There was certainly something about her that brought out his protective side. The only other person who did that was William, who Liam supposed had taken on the role of little brother.

He pulled out a chair, helped Buffy sit down and was taking a step towards his own seat when he saw Faith was headed his way in a full fury. He grinned. He didn’t have a clue about what had her so worked up, but she was glorious in her anger. He watched her stalk towards him for a brief second, her nostrils flaring and her eyes flashing, before stifling his smile and adopting a bored expression.

“I knew you were a dog, but even you I wouldn’t have thought could sink this low.” She grated the words out in a loud whisper as she shoved him towards the door.

He pulled his arm away from her and glared. “Oi! What are you on about now, you harpy?”

“You should be ashamed of yourself. Have you no concern for your friend at all? Your friend, who by the way has been nearly passed out on my bar for the past hour and is in love with that girl. But it’s nothing to you, right? Just a bit of fun.”

Liam’s eyes widened as he absorbed what she was saying. It hadn’t occurred to him that William might come to the pub and, though he thought that Buffy and the boy needed to have themselves a good talk, he suspected it would go better in the morning. He would need to keep them apart tonight. His frown deepened as he realized what Faith had been accusing him of.

“Sorry I can’t live up to that villainous role you’ve got playin’ in your head there, lass. I found the girl all weepy outside my office. Seemed to me that my friend would want her cared for, so I called up Winifred and got her a place to stay for the night…brought her here for some food while we wait.”

He watched with a touch of surprise as Faith blushed guiltily. He wanted to bask in his moment of moral superiority, but mostly it just hurt that she had thought him capable of such a despicable maneuver. “And if the boy’s so bad off why didn’ ya cut him off and send him home?”

Faith shook her head and gave him a small smirk. “I did cut him off…been feeding him shots of ginger ale and he can’t tell the difference.”

Liam grinned; he never held his anger very long. “The lad’s a light weight.”

She nodded companionably. “I couldn’t send him home. He looks all helpless…like a puppy or something.” She shrugged and looked away awkwardly.

Liam enjoyed watching her admit to her softer side, but knew better than to tell her that. “I appreciate you keepin’ an eye on him. I’ll come collect him just as soon as Freddy comes for this one.” He nodded towards Buffy before leaning in to whisper conspiratorially. “I’d best take her upstairs until then.” He winked.





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