Giles watched the young couple sitting together on his couch. They were making a list of things they were going to need. Buffy occasionally giggled, but they were quiet and relaxed tonight. There was a healthy glow in her cheeks, though he avoided thinking about what put it there. His slayer was planning a future, bravely taking lemons and making lemonade.

When Xander and Anya arrived, Buffy blushed under their scrutiny. Oz shot a look at Xander and the boy looked away sheepishly. Buffy pretended not to notice, but Giles saw the casual squeeze she gave to his thigh. They were acting like a couple that had been together for years not hours. Even Spike was mellower in their presence. The evening was oddly pleasant.

When an unexpected knock came, Buffy answered the door. A pretty blonde stood there with one cardboard box and a stuffed pig. She smiled then quickly frowned. There was an awkwardness to her that put them all at ease. She bit her lip. Oz came to stand with Buffy. His hand went straight to the small of her back.

"You must be Buffy and Oz," she said in a whisper, failing to make eye contact. "I brought your things from the dorm."

Buffy and Oz stepped back allowing her to pass through the door. Oz took the box after she passed through the door.

"I managed to stop her from destroying or hexing that stuff. I'm so sorry. She's sleeping, now. I need to get back there before she wakes up. She isn't real stable. I'll try to remove the hexes from some of the other stuff and bring it here when I can." She spoke quickly and quietly without looking up.

Buffy treated this behavior with her usual tact, and grabbed the girl's hand in hers.

"Hi, I'm Buffy. This is Oz. Giles is there in the kitchen. That's Xander and Anya on the couch and Spike in the chair." Buffy smiled at her and let her hand go.

"Thank you, pet, for being so polite like." Spike spoke to Buffy as he nodded his head at the new girl, but she never looked up at any of the others.

"I'm Tara. I'm really sorry about your stuff. She's so angry. She won't listen much right now. I really do need to go."

"It was nice to meet you, Tara. You're the girl from the Wicca group. Aren't you?" Buffy sat down and gestured toward the couch. "I am glad she's letting you help her. Please, let us know if she needs anything."

"You are a good friend to her. Eventually, she will see that." Tara looked Buffy in the face and then backed toward the door. "I don't want her to wake up alone. She needs someone around."

Buffy dropped the polite façade, and turned back to the room. She started to shake, and Oz dropped the box. He wrapped his arms around her.

"She hates me. She did the spell, and she hates me." Buffy looked directly at him with unfocused eyes. "I knew it would be hard on her, but she did this. I didn't hunt you down on my own."

"It's okay, Buffy. She'll come around." His hands stroked her back.

"I don't care if she does. Maybe I'm the one that has to come around." Buffy broke and tears poured down her face, soaking the shoulder of his shirt.

"She's in real danger now." Anya said. "D'Hoffryn wants her. She should be off the magic for a while. He will send seducers after her if she doesn't quit with the petty vengeance."

"What are you talking about, Anya?" Xander turned to look at her. "What are seducers?"

"Failed demons mostly, really bitter ones. They aren't creative enough or powerful enough for the job, but they are good at adding to the ranks. They get sent in when someone has caught his eye. Their only job is to acquire new members." Anya shook her head. "He will send them after her if she doesn't stop abusing magic."

"So we can add save Willow somewhere on the list, below getting rid of the commandos and above furniture shopping." Buffy mumbled into his shoulder.

"I think we can do some of these things out of order," Oz said. He felt her relax against him and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Get sheets is top of my list." Buffy whispered and he laughed. Xander looked at them oddly.

"Let's look this stuff over and have Anya and Giles look it over too, just to make sure it's safe. Tara seemed nice, but we don't know her." Oz said and pushed Buffy back to look in her eyes.

"We don't have too long," She said as her cheeks bloomed a lovely pink. "Hold my hand, it helps."

Nothing much was going to help with what was in the box. Giles looked at Buffy and watched her fold the two pairs of jeans, three tee shirts, and one skirt. He could skin Willow for this thoughtlessness. Xander looked upset as well. Oz just stroked Buffy's back with a steady hand.

"You have some cash, right?" Anya asked. Buffy nodded listlessly and hugged a oddly dilapidated, stuffed pig. "Then I'll take you to the flea market tomorrow. We can find some great vintage pieces there, and I'll do the haggling. We might even find some things for your place."

"Thanks, Anya," Buffy smiled. "You've been very helpful. It means a lot to me."

"Xander gave me a book on making friends. I want to have friends, but I appear to have forgotten how to do it in the last thousand years. Humans are far more complicated than demons." Anya shrugged.

"It is so much easier in the demon community. Either you want to kill each other or you want to kill things together," Spike said wistfully. "Those were the days."

"Yeah," Buffy smirked at Spike. "Your relationship with Angel was so uncomplicated and fun."

"Here I am, being a good little vamp, eating my oh, so delicious piggy blood, and you have to bring up the great poofter. Likely to put us all off our feed." Spike grinned wickedly at Buffy. "Didn't get on with that bloody arse because he is a bloody arse. Left you, didn't he?"

"You're not going to run away, are you?" Buffy looked at Spike. He shook his head.

"No where to go, but you or him, bloody arse hat poofter. I respect you. Don't like you, but I respect you." Spike looked down into his mug.

"I say we leave Spike untied and give him things to do." Buffy looked at him. "It's your choice, Spike, productive and useful member of our little group or we can keep you in knots. Which'll it be?"

"Define productive and useful, Slayer." Spike leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.

"Do chores around the house you are a guest in until we figure out a way for you to safely have your own. Help with the research. I could use your help painting one of our rooms." She rubbed the back of her neck with one hand and frowned. "I'm sure there will be other things."

"I'll paint it when I stay at your place, but I won't be doing that for a while." He waggled his eyebrows.

"You're right about that." Buffy smiled at him serenely.

"You drive a hard bargain, Slayer."

"I think it's fair." Buffy smiled. "You do get room and board after all."

"Not your bloody pet. I'm just on your team, now." The vampire grumbled turning away from her.

"Spike, we aren't finished." Buffy caught his shoulder. "I need you to promise me something, well, a couple of things really."

"You'll take my word?" The vampire crossed his arms over his chest and arched his eyebrow up.

"When it comes down to it, Spike, you have honor." Buffy nodded and managed to silence Xander with a glare.

"So what promises will you be needing?" Spike lowered his arms.

"Two things really. The first is obvious. No killing humans." She waited while he grimaced then nodded.

"Easy promise to make as I can't hurt a fly anymore," he gritted out.

"The second is no contact with Angel unless we all know about it." Buffy sighed. "He's not always the most reliable guy."

"That does hamper my ability to gloat, but I can do with less Angel in my life." Spike grinned.

"So, when are you going to tell your mom?" Xander asked in an awkward attempt to avoid acknowledging the alliance that had just formed. "I mean you're moving in with a guy, seems like a mom bit of news."

"We'll handle that soon," Oz said.

"She's going to flip," Buffy warned. "We need some furniture. She's gonna want to see our home. I need to cook. We don't have pots and pans."

"We have some things in the van, and we can get more." Oz smiled.

"I need to go patrol," Buffy said.

"Let's go then." Oz stood. "A quick patrol before dinner."

Buffy pulled Oz back down. She blushed.

"Sorry," Buffy mumbled. "I am just wound up. It's been an eventful couple of days. We need to eat before we head out."

"So, why aren't you caged up?" Xander said. "It is a full moon tonight, shouldn't you be furry?"

"I'm not tied to the moon anymore," Oz shrugged. "Buffy gave me back my free will. I seem to have gained a great deal of control from everything that's happened."

"How so?" Giles asked.

"Well, first Buffy used her magic qui..." Spike started, but the pair of low growls from the new couple interrupted him.

"It would appear there is wisdom in biting your tongue," Giles said with amusement. Spike nodded.

"You should know better," Anya glared at Spike, but he just slumped in his chair. The oven timer sounded out a strange, tinny ring.

"Saved by the bell," Xander said nervously. "There is way too much weird for me right now. My best buds are upset. We are working with fully evil vampires. There is a house needing to be warmed. I want some normal, so let's eat."