Orin had gone home for the day but promised to be back that night. His parents were expected to return early afternoon from New York on an affair that they felt unnecessary for their son to know about.

It was obvious that Orin didn't have a very good relationship with his parents, and had an agreement to steer clear of each other.

Orin returned, as promised, around dinner time, his muscles a little achey from his exercise and attempt to fight with Buffy, he rubbed his arms, rolling his shoulders backwards and then forward.

As he approached the house he spotted Angel, Pike, Xander, Wesley and Giles sitting on the porch; Pike and Xander leaning against the railing, Angel in a horizontal position on the swing seat and Giles and Wesley seated on opposite sides of one another in chairs they had brought out from the dinning room, creating an odd looking circle.

"Buffy can't keep doing things like that and you know it." Wesley spoke to the group. It was obvious to Orin that the conversation was on Buffy.

"Well, what do you propose that we do?" Giles leaned forward and took another sip of his tea.

Xander unfolded his arms and supported Giles. "Yeah, 'cause its not like we can go up to her and demand that she tell us her feelings." His expression was now anxious. "She'd beat the crap out of us and crawl deeper into that hole she's already got going."

"Xander..." Wesley warned that the boy seemed to be exaggerating the facts. Thinking he was turning them into fish tales.

"No." Angel raised a hand so that he may be recognized. 'He's right." He sat up. "We can't push her."

"Push her into what?" Orin had been listening, standing behind the group. Everyone was startled, but Angel, who seemed to care less that someone new had walked into the discussion.

"Orin! Hey, Man." Zander slid over in offering of a spot on the railing.

Orin took the gesture and looked for some feedback from the other men concerning his question.

"Buffy's keeping herself distant." Pike summed it up wonderfully.

"Xander, I don't think there is any other way to do so, except for taking that risk." He notices the boy calming and taking a step down.

Xander re-crossed his arms as his mind filled with thoughts, possibilities and memories.

"If the case is that she will attempt physical damage to someone then it seems reasonable to send Angel-"

Angel's head snapped in Wesley's direction.

The failed watcher and employee shrugged and gave a sympathetic look and gesture of the hand. "Nothing personal, but you are her, somewhat, match. And you know, more than most of us do, what's going on in her head."

"What IS going on in her head?" Orin looked from Angel and Wesley repeatedly, figuring they wouldn't answer and started to look to Giles, Xander and finally Pike.

Angel broke down his thoughts of keeping this exclusive. "Buffy lost her mother a few weeks ago. She's keeping her emotions locked up about it. Soon-"

"Lets just say the results of her keeping in her feelings about personal tragedy aren't pretty." He knew that Angel would suffer answering this one, so Xander held out a few fingers and started to emphasize his point while he further explained. 'She;s gotten careless," Pushing a finger down. "Put others' lives in danger without realizing it." Another finger. "Ran away, which I don't blame her for anymore, I don't think I would be able to relate with the whopper of killing my boyfriend." He realized what he said and quickly tried to correct himself. "Errr....umm...you know Buffy's-"

'What?" Angel sat up straight, his eyes now wide open, not a hint of laziness within them.

"He does that?" Cordelia was astonished at what Buffy had just dished out about Angel in bed.

Buffy contained herself and nodded as she spoke. "Yes!" She calmed down and leaned back into her seat. "I swear, he has his eyes open and you can see them roll in the back of his head!" She couldn't help herself, she started to continue in silent laughter, desperate for breath.

Anya leaned forward to include the whole group. "Yeah, well Xander screams like a girl. Louder than me sometimes." Granted, it was TMI (Too Much Information) worthy, but, still, the girls lapsed into another fit of laughter.

They were all interrupted when Angel came rushing around the table and bent his head down to Buffy's ear to whisper. "Can we talk?"

Bufty sobered up quickly and stood up to follow Angel into the house.

He led her to her room and shut the door after she had stepped all the way in. She didn't have to wait for him to collect his thoughts on how he should go about discussing whatever it was that was on his mind with her, he got down to it immediately.

"Why did you run away?" Angel put his hands on his hips as his right foot stood with less weight as the other, about two feet from the left.

"Excuse me? Why are you asking me?" She was a bit confused on his sudden concern of her reasons for leaving Sunnydale unannounced over the summer two years ago.

"its a simple question, Buffy."

"One that I feel no need or want to answer if you don't mind."

"Well, I do mind. I think its something that you should tell me about." He almost cut her off he was so impatient, but he didn't want to piss her off further. Not that it would score him any points.

"I don't think that it is necessary for you to know. Please, leave it okay?" She started pass him, aiming for the door, but he stopped her by grabbing her forearm.

"Buffy, you can't keep hiding things from me. From US; Giles, Xander, WILLOW!" He made it clear that Willow, of whom was a very important figure in her life was even being shut out.

Her eyes were brimming with tears at just the mention of keeping her feelings in, but she felt it wiser to leave the room and conversation and ripped herself from him and continued her journey back down to the group of girls.

...She didn't make it half way down the stairs when she eased herself down to sit on the step below her, gripping the railing's posts and resting her head against the back of her hands.

Angel's head lifted high in the air, as if attempting to catch a hint of what or who was invading his mind.

Nothing of the sort.

*Go to her, now! The voice, which he now assumed was Caela's, rung in his head as her tone grew upset with him.

Angel obeyed and rushed to find Buffy. Which was not hard to do. She hadn't even gone far enough for him to lose his breath in all the rush.

He came up to the side of her and started to shush her in a calm manner as he picked her up and cradled her body in his arms as hers wrapped around his neck and she buried her face in the curve of his neck and continued to cry as he carried her back to the room.

Part Fifteen

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