Less than 24 hours later Buffy sat on a plane staring out the window. She hated going to L.A. and hated even more that a deep dark pit had appeared in her stomach making her want to puke. She had taken the night plane to avoid a crowded trip and the noise of people traveling during the day. She knew during the day, businessmen and women would travel as well as families. She wanted to avoid that and just arrive safely and soundly without having a headache. Since she would arrive in L.A. bright and early she was given special permission to check in to the hotel early. She hated traveling as it was and she had been thankful when she had felt numb on the ride over to England, but now on this ride, she felt as though she were heading to impending doom. It was a different type of feeling than when she was walking into a vampire nest. This impending doom was more like walking the long walk from death row for your execution. She figured she was blowing this out of proportion but couldn’t shake the feeling.
She hadn’t seen the United States since 3 days after Spike’s death when Giles had taken her and Dawn to England. Dawn had high hopes of becoming a Watcher as did Andrew so immediately everyone but Faith, who stayed behind with Robin in Cleveland, hopped on a plane to their future. Faith was now 3 months pregnant but continued to slay with Robin when able. She was running a Slayer Headquarters for the people in America. She seemed to enjoy it just fine.
Upon much discussion, it was decided that the Scooby gang split up to help the new slayers. Xander went to Scotland with a few trained Slayers to run a Slayer Headquarters there. It was a training facility mostly and did not take live-in borders other than the girl he was currently dating. Buffy had been happy to hear he had found someone else who was not a demon although he still missed Anya, he had been lonely. A decoy was placed in the Scotland Headquarters so that the real location of Buffy was not known since she had made a serious name for herself in the world of the vampires and demons. Andrew had taken a crew of slayers with him and went to Rome with a decoy. He enjoyed flings and had yet to settle down. He enjoyed the company of many women who came and went. The only constant in his life that he cared about was the Buffy decoy. Although discussions had occurred about the possibility of him settling down with the decoy, no solid plans had been made yet.
Giles had decided to recreate the Council only this time instead of watchers, he called them Assistants. He had opened a successful Council headquarters in England after repairing the old building with funds for which he was now responsible. There were a great many funds and he was now being given money for slayers who worked as security guards. The large companies would pay Giles a fund to provide them with adequate protection along with paying the Slayers a large income. This setup allowed Giles as well as the Assistants a sufficient income. Giles was quite proud of what he had accomplished and seemed happy enough.
Willow had decided after much thinking that she had a purpose in life too. She and Kennedy left shortly the England headquarters was set up to search for and help the new slayers who had come onto their power. Willow and Kennedy spent their time traveling all over the world to assist the new slayers in coming to terms with their new powers and what it meant. She acted as a guide to help the newly called slayers decide how they would spend their life; whether it be protecting their personal town and staying at home, moving to a Slayer Headquarters closest to them for training or just simply understanding where their sudden power came from and how to not abuse it. Willow loved the work although Kennedy did not. Kennedy kept insisting she wanted to settle down somewhere, which caused many fights. Buffy was really surprised it had lasted so long, but that was none of her business really. She didn’t want Willow lonely anymore than she wanted Willow unhappy in a relationship. She would listen as Willow struggled, but mostly kept out of it not knowing which way to persuade her. She was hardly the expert on relationships or love. Buffy was too busy trying to focus on staying afloat in her own existence to be any use to others in their relationship dramas.
She heard the fasten seatbelt sign and shrugged knowing hers was already on. She gripped the seats so hard her knuckles turned white as she felt the plane lunge to land and she silently closed her eyes and replayed the time in her life that always helped her get through any battle she faced, “I love what you are, what you do, how you try. I’ve seen your kindness and your strength. I’ve seen the best and the worst of you and I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You’re a hell of a woman. You’re the one Buffy.” She sighed as she felt the plane land and opened her eyes as people started to shift around her. She let out a deep breath to try to calm her nerves but knew eating would not be an option. She decided then and there to get off the plane, collect her baggage and only make one stop to the hotel she was staying at before heading right to Angel. She had been planning to see him tomorrow but she couldn’t risk eating and knew sleep wouldn’t come until she faced her inner turmoil and saw Angel. She fell in line behind the others after collecting her carry on bag and went to collect her other suitcase.
An hour later, Buffy was in the car driving to Wolfram and Hart. Dawn had given her the directions thanks to the Internet so she was able to get around L.A. with scarcely a worry in case the car didn’t have a GPS system. She was overwhelmed by what she saw when she arrived. It was a large building with many floors and it had lots of windows. That is one thing she didn’t expect. What kind of evil law firm that hosted a home for vampires and demons, makes with big huge sunny windows? Perhaps they only worked at night. She shrugged not knowing the answer as she pulled into a parking space marked “Visitor”. She didn’t know where she was going and hoped there would be nice people to help guide her. She laughed at herself thinking that she was crazy for expecting that there would be nice people in an evil law firm. She was tempted to whip out her phone and call Angel but knew better than to give him a way to contact her. She was stronger than that. She closed her eyes replaying that special night with Spike and when she finished she reopened her eyes and stepped out of the car.
As she stood in front of the building, she saw no one else was noticing it. They were walking by it as though it weren’t there. Perhaps non-supernatural people didn’t see the building. She shook away her thoughts as she opened the glass doors and entered the building. Once inside she couldn’t help but to let out a soft gasp in shock. She was standing in the lobby and the place was packed with people. They appeared mostly normal but she knew by the way her vampire senses were screaming at her, that they were anything but normal. She took a deep breath and walked inside and up to the front desk. She put on a bright smile as she stated, “I’m here to see Angel.”
The man ignored her and she spoke louder repeating herself, “I’m here to see Angel.” The man looked over at her and asked, “And you are?” She spoke loud and clear hoping that she would intimidate him but she didn’t want to start trouble. “I’m Buffy Summers and if you only let Angel know I’m here to see him, I promise you that he will let me in and welcome me with open arms. So just let him know I’m here if you please.” She stopped her rambling noticing the man wasn’t even looking at her. The man said nothing in reply but instead gestured for her to have a seat. She sat in the plush leather chair looking around. The place was packed and busy. Well-dressed individuals hurried along as high as she could see. The constant mummer of people talking with each other as they walked, the ding of the busy elevator as well as the sound of phones ringing in the distance, filled her mind. The vampire tingles, which were driving her crazy, filled her senses so she was on serious senses overload. How did one function in this place without going crazy? She was about to get up and pace when the man spoke, “Miss Summers? He will see you now. Evans will take you there.”
Buffy turned to see a demon with horns standing in front of her. He was dressed in a tan suit and dress shoes and looked strange but friendly enough. He smiled at her, “Just follow me. No slaying. This place is a violence free zone after all.” Buffy frowned, “Is it safe here?” The demon chuckled, “Probably not Miss Summers but we are controlled by Angel and since you are friends with Angel, you are probably safer than most. Come along, we have a few floors to pass before we get to Angel’s.” Buffy dutifully followed feeling her nerves get more intense. She wanted to puke and was extremely glad she hadn’t eaten that day. She had a horrible habit of missing meals so she wasn’t too worried about the consequences of skipping last night’s dinner and now breakfast. She just wanted to get this first meeting out of the way. She heard the elevator ding and the demon stepped out motioning for Buffy to follow him. She glanced around still seeing people walking to and from but the noise was a lot quieter. She watched as the man went up to the front desk and Buffy glanced around at all the people walking around. There was someone pushing a mail cart filled with envelopes that looked normal enough. There were people walking around carrying briefcases and files of important business. She looked at the closed double doors down the hallway and wondered which one Angel was behind. She guessed he wouldn’t have a window since it was definitely still daylight out.
She sighed as she heard a voice, which gained her attention, “Buffy? Buffy Summers? My god I haven’t seen you since High School when I died! You look great, well a little pale to be honest but I’m always pale and I can’t see myself but I imagine I still look great based on what I see with the camera I use to take my picture to fix my hair every morning. Oh my god!” Buffy saw Harmony standing in front of her and for a minute Buffy was tempted to stake Harmony remembering the issues she had done in Sunnydale. Instead Buffy glanced around putting her hands on her hips and demanded, “What are you doing here?” Harmony gasped out nervously, “I work here. I’m Angel’s personal assistant. This is an evil law firm you know but they have great benefits. What are you doing here? Does Angel know you were coming? He barely just got in.” Memories of how Spike and Harmony dated flooded her mind causing Buffy to take a step towards her stating in a firm voice getting annoyed by her chattering, “Where is Angel? And why shouldn’t I break the rules for all the trouble you caused in Sunnydale years before and stake you right here?”