Graham had expected to feel more nostalgic about being back on the college
                   campus.  He?d spent quite a bit of time there, taking classes and pretending
                   to be an ordinary student.  At the moment however, he really didn?t feel any
                   bursts of fondness or longing for the old days.

                   Of course, the fact that he was hiding behind a tree and watching Willow
                   trudge her way to her class might have something to do with it.  Being on a
                   mission tended to take away from the nostalgia-potential of situations.  He
                   was concentrating on not being seen instead of reliving the past.

                   He frowned as he watched Willow stumble a little.  She was moving as though
                   she were half-asleep.  From what he could remember of his own observations
                   and Riley?s stories, she was a fairly bubbly person, ready with a smile and
                   a line of babble a mile long.  Watching her yawn for the third time in as
                   many minutes, he doubted she?d be able to stay awake through her next class,
                   let alone hold a conversation with anyone.  He made sure she entered her
                   classroom, then leaned up a convenient section of wall and called Riley.
                   ?Ri, how are things on your end??

                   //Sleepy.  I think Tara pulled an all-nighter or something.  She?s yawning
                   all the time and since I?m watching her, I keep yawning too.//

                   Graham stood up straight.  ?Willow looks exhausted, too.?

                   A dirty chuckle drifted into his ears.  //Maybe they just had a *really*
                   good time last night.//

                   Graham groaned.  He didn?t want to think about them having sex.  Not that
                   the mental images weren?t nice, but they reminded him that he wasn?t having
                   sex.  ?She looks way too worn out for that.?

                   //You?re right.  Thinking what I?m thinking?//

                   ?Probably.  They?re exhausted because of something they?ve done that?s
                   helping to keep this place quiet.?  He relaxed back against the wall.  ?Do
                   you want me to call in a preliminary report??

                   //I?ll do it.  I?ve got to do something or I?m going to fall asleep here.//

                   Graham didn?t argue.  It was good to see Riley taking an active interest in
                   the missions.  Their briefing had included orders for them to stay away from
                   Buffy and her mentor Giles.  Attempts to keep tabs on the older man had
                   failed miserably:  surveillance cameras died as soon as they were brought on
                   line and bugs transmitted nothing but static, if they transmitted anything
                   at all.  Their superiors believed that he had access to black market
                   technology that protected him.  Graham was more inclined to listen to
                   Riley?s explanation:  Giles probably had some sort of magical barrier set up
                   to protect himself.

                   He knew he was in the wrong line of work when belief in magic came easy.

                   Because they were unable to maintain any reliable surveillance over Giles,
                   all attempts to monitor him had been canceled for fear that his ?superior
                   technology? would alert him to any watcher?s presence.  Buffy had been
                   spending the majority of her time in recent weeks with him, so all
                   surveillance over her had been cancelled as well.  He and Riley had been
                   given strict orders to stay away from her for the time being.  That order
                   had worried Graham; bad enough that Riley was worried about his ex, but then
                   he was forbidden to see her.  Fortunately, he seemed to be taking the orders
                   in stride, saying something about having time to get his head on straight.

                   The sound of a bell brought Graham back to himself.  He ducked around a
                   corner and watched students file out of the packed classroom.  Willow was
                   one of the last ones out, her eyes half-closed and her feet hardly rising
                   from the ground.  According to her schedule, she was done with classes.  For
                   her sake, he hoped she was going straight home.  He shadowed her all the way
                   to the dorm, at which point he broke off the tail and joined the
                   surveillance team set up in a van outside the dorm.

                   Squeezing into the tight quarters, he nodded to Riley, who?d beaten him
                   there.  ?Do we have visual and audio??

                   One of the techs nodded.  ?Whatever technology that Giles character has, he
                   hasn?t been sharing it.  We?ve got them both on line just fine.?  He fiddled
                   with a few knobs and the van was filled with sound.  All the men inside the
                   van listened intently as they watched the color monitors that revealed what
                   took place inside the dorm room.

                   Willow lay on the bed, her head pillowed on Tara?s lap.  ?I?m so sleepy,?
                   she said quietly.  ?I didn?t expect to feel this tired.?

                   Tara gently stroked her fingers through her girlfriend?s hair.  ?Me, too.
                   It does make sense, though.  Erecting a ward large enough to cover all of
                   Sunnydale was a really good idea, but I?m still not sure we were ready for
                   it.?

                   ?It had to be done.  There were too many new demons in town.  We couldn?t
                   deal with all of them-?

                   Tara quieted her with soft touches.  ?I know, I know.  Without Buffy, there
                   wasn?t anything else that we could have done.  I?m just glad it worked.?

                   Willow sighed as Tara cuddled her closer.  ?I should call her.?

                   ?You know she and Giles are probably busy.?

                   ?I?m worried about them.  I?m worried about Dawn.  She was so sick the last
                   time we saw her.?

                   ?Giles will figure it out.  You know he will.  Dawn?s going to get better
                   and then we?ll have Buffy back.?

                   Graham looked at Riley, who looked baffled.  ?Dawn??

                   Riley?s frown disappeared abruptly.  ?Buffy?s little sister.?

                   That was right.  How could he have forgotten Dawn?  So Dawn was sick and
                   Buffy and Giles were concentrating on her.  Her friends had coped by putting
                   up some kind of magical shield around Sunnydale to keep the HSTs out.
                   Graham nodded to himself.  That felt right.  He quietly ran his
                   interpretation past Riley, ignoring the disdainful look the tech gave him
                   for believing in anything except technology.

                   Riley nodded.  ?That?s what I?m thinking.  Xander?s probably doing research
                   or something like that, maybe running the magic shop with Anya to help out.?
                     He climbed out of the van, waiting for Graham to follow.  ?We should
                   report back in.?  He told the tech to call them if the girls gave indication
                   of moving and then led the way to their vehicle.

                   Graham thought them going anywhere a remote possibility.  He was
                   half-tempted to order Willow and Tara a pizza anonymously to make sure they
                   ate before they gave into sleep.  He hesitated for a moment, then gave in to
                   the impulse and pulled out his cell phone.  He ordered the pizza and paid
                   for it with a personal credit card.  He caught Riley smiling at him.
                   ?What??

                   ?Nothing.?  Riley looked back through the windshield, concentrating on the
                   road once more.  ?Even though we?ve got this thing figured out, we should
                   probably cover all the bases.?

                   Graham shot him a narrow-eyed looked.  The smile hadn?t disappeared.  ?How??

                   ?You know, check up on the rest of the group.  Keep an eye on whoever?s left
                   tomorrow.  Let?s see...we followed Willow and Tara today, so that leaves-?

                   Graham balled up a convenient piece of paper and tossed it at him.  He knew
                   confessing his crush was a mistake.  Riley hadn?t been fazed by Graham
                   coming out to him; instead, he took childish glee in teasing him about the
                   various men he found attractive.  He never should have told him why he was
                   always asking about Xander.  He never would have heard half the stories
                   Riley made a special point to tell him, but...he sighed.  Any amount of
                   teasing was worth hearing Xander stories, especially since Riley was a good
                   enough friend to edit Anya out of them so Xander always seemed available.

                   A man could dream, couldn?t he?

                   ?Tyndal might not agree with you,? he said, stifling the hope rising within
                   him.

                   ?He seems like a methodical man,? Riley said.  ?And Xander?s always been in
                   the thick of things before.?

                   Graham glared at him for as long as he could before giving up and laughing.
                   ?Government approved stalking.  I get paid for it this time!?

                   ?It?s got to be better for you than when you were doing it on your own.  How
                   much extra time did you have to spend in the gym after scarfing junk just to
                   talk to him??

                   Graham flipped Riley off and relaxed in his seat.  It had been worth it.
                   And he might just be fooling himself, but most times he bought something
                   from Xander, he ended up with extra fries or a drink he hadn?t ordered.  It
                   was no undying declaration of love, and it had played havoc with his
                   cholesterol, but it was enough to give him some hope.  Xander didn?t just
                   give free onion rings to anyone.  Graham would know - he?d spent enough time
                   watching him, after all.

                   Their meeting with Tyndal was brief.  He listened to their reports, nodding
                   thoughtfully.  ?I concur with your observations, men.  The actions of the
                   two women seem to be the most likely explanation for the quick turn around
                   in the situation here.?  He flipped through some papers on his desk and for
                   a moment Graham was sure they were going to be dismissed.  Tyndal looked up.
                     ?Still, I prefer to be thorough.  I want you to shadow the Harris boy
                   tomorrow, just to be sure all our bases are covered.?

                   ?Yes, sir.?  Wonder of wonders, both of them managed to keep a straight
                   face.  As they left the office, Graham knew he was in for a long night of
                   teasing.  That was fine by him.  If it helped distract Riley from his own
                   problems, then Graham would take the cute remarks and jokes at his expense
                   in stride.

                   Besides, he was going to see Xander tomorrow.  What else mattered compared
                   to that?

                   *****