Connor and Angel looked at each other in an uncomfortable silence.
"So... You beat that guy," Connor finally said.
"Yeah."
"That's good."
They stood there for a few more minutes.
"What happened, exactly?"
"I went home, like you told me. It took a while to get there. And I thought that I lost the key, but I guess that it just disappeared..."
He trailed off for a moment, shaking his head. "The door was locked, so I had to ring the doorbell. Da--Mr. Reilly came to the door, and opened it. I knew something was wrong when he asked me who I was and why I was there."
"So, then what?"
"I asked a few questions, just testing him. He didn't remember a thing. I told him I'd been in some kind of an accident, and asked if I could use his phone."
"So, you went to the phone?"
"Yeah. Only you called before I could figure out how to get in touch with you."
Angel nodded uncomfortably. He hadn't known that taking out the Black Thorn would destroy why he'd taken the job in the first place--Connor's normal life. Then again, was it worth it? Connor was still well-balanced, and could remember the past. And they'd managed to hurt the Senior Partners....
"Guys!" Willow came rushing back out of the house, breathless. "I've got to take you somewhere else."
"What's wrong?" Angel was curious.
Connor, on the other hand, looked at Willow. He could remember her from when she had come to Los Angeles in order to re-ensoul Angelus. She didn't know that, of course. And at the time, he'd behaved like a real jerk to her. But now that he could see her again, and remember what she was like... She seemed really cool. And she was powerful, too.
"Riley's back."
Angel crossed his arms and began to glower. "Is he, now?"
"Yeah. Faith's the only one still here. I'll come back for her. But you two need to go."
"Who's Riley?" Connor looked between the two of them.
"One of Buffy's ex-boyfriends," Angel told him. "He doesn't like me."
"Why?"
"I'm a vampire."
Connor thought on that for a moment or two. He could kind of understand how Riley felt on the matter--he'd felt the same way, a long time ago. Didn't make it any dumber.
"Maybe I could talk to him."
"No." Angel's tone was about two octaves lower than it had been earlier, and Connor knew better than to argue with him about it.
Willow looked between the two of them. She wasn't sure exactly what was going on, and she'd have to ask one of them about it later. Or maybe Illyria, since she seemed to know a lot about Connor.
She shrugged. Now wasn't the time.
"Let's go."
"Where to?"
"Buffy's old place in Rome."
"Buffy.... She's the other Slayer, isn't she?" Connor asked immediately before they shimmered away. When they came back, in Rome, Angel answered him.
"Yes."
"Well, there's actually a lot of Slayers now... But hey, when did you hear about Buffy?"
Angel and Connor exchanged a quick look.
"From Angel," he said quickly. "He just won't stop talking about her."
Willow nodded, not that she believed a word of it. From what she'd seen, Angel still cared about Buffy--but not in the way that he used to. She wasn't sure who was best for Buffy anymore... Angel had grown away, Riley was, well, kind of insane. And Spike? She hadn't even known that he was alive for quite a while.
Of course, the Immortal was completely wrong. But Willow was next-to-positive, from what Buffy had said before, that she was just using him again. Kind of like she'd used Spike after she came back from heaven. Willow buried the tiny twinge of guilt she felt at that. They hadn't known--they couldn't have known.
"I've got to go and find Faith," she announced, teleporting back to England. And maybe when she came back, she'd finally be able to get some sleep... Then again, all things considered, probably not.
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