Angel strode through the darkness that enveloped the city of Sunnydale. He hated having to pretend to help the watcher. After all, it wasn’t as if he had been sent here to help an over-the-hill Englishman, but to watch over, protect and guide that luscious blonde he had seen sitting on the steps of her school in L.A. He wondered where she was, and why she hadn’t come to him as soon as possible. After all, they were destined to be together.

“Well, I guess I should go and dispose of those fledges that were sent there. I do need something to report to Giles after all.” Angel thought to himself, a frown creasing his brow.

As he walked towards Shady Hill Cemetery, he fantasized about all the things he would teach the nubile slayer. “Seeing her sitting there on that step… sucking on that lollipop… I’d give her something to suck on all right… teach her how to do it right…”


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Giles sat at his desk, with the parchment spread out before him, a notepad to one side and a pen in his hand. “Lets see, if this is reversed… and this squiggle removed… it resembles the cuneiform symbol for girl or daughter…,” he muttered to himself.

Joyce walked into the den, and placed her hand on Giles’ back. “C’mon dear, supper is getting cold. The parchment wont be going anywhere.”

Giles looked up and smiled at Joyce. “What would I do without you my dear?”

Joyce laughed, “You’d starve to death, that’s what you’d do. Now c’mon.”

Giles laid his pen down and stood up. “Lead the way my dear.” And he motioned for Joyce to precede him from the room.

“Ever the gentleman, Rupert.” Joyce said with a smile.

Giles held the chair for Joyce as she sat down, then leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I hope I never have to find out what my life would be like without you in it, now that I have had the pleasure of you being part of it.” He took his seat cross the table from her. “The only thing that would make this even better is if we knew where you daughter is, and why she hasn’t tried to get in touch with you.”

Joyce raised an eyebrow and asked, “Is that the concerned, sweet, soon-to-be stepfather talking? Or the stuffy, tweed-wearing watcher?”

“A little of both, I do believe. We do know that she is alive, somewhere, which is a good thing. I just wish for your sake that she would contact you and let you know that she’s alright,” Giles said with a depreciating shrug.

“Is the Council any closer to finding her?” Joyce asked with a worried frown.

“Not as such, they believe she is somewhere in California, but they can not seem to pinpoint her location,” Giles sighed softly. “And considering how many people make California their home, it may take some time for even an approximate location to be forthcoming.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Spike stood there glaring at the green-skinned, red-eyed demon who was wearing a suit that was comprised of every known color in existence. “I. Do. Not. Do. Karaoke.” He bit off each word as if it were the enemy.

“Listen scrumptious. If you want me to help you, you have to sing.” Lorne stated with the infinite patience of one who has argued this point many times. “That’s all there is to it, you sing, I see what you need to know, and I pass along the information. No singing? No information. It’s as simple as that.”

Spike growled in frustration, his eyes glowing a brilliant gold. “Alright, just give me the bloody list and I’ll pick something that won’t embarrass me anymore than just being in here has.” He grabbed the play list from Lorne’s hands and stalked over to one of the darker corners of the room, grumbling under his breath the entire way.

Shaking his head at Spike’s posturing, Lorne turned back towards the bar, a gleam of burnished gold catching his eye as he did so. “Cupcake! Long time no see.” Lorne crossed the room with a wide smile on his face. “And you’ve brought your ever lovely shadow with you as well.”

Buffy smiled widely at Lorne’s exuberant greeting. “Yup, thought this place could use a little class. Ya know, of the gentle persuasion.”

“Seeker, have you no hug for me?” Drusilla pouted, a twinkle in her eyes.

Lorne wrapped his arms around Drusilla and gave her a gentle squeeze. “Always have a hug for you, my little chocolate strudel.” Turning to Buffy, with one arm still wrapped around Drusilla, he asked, “So, are you going to grace us with a song tonight?”

“You know me and music, Lorne. Not with the mixy.” Buffy mumbled, shuffling her feet.

“Tell you what. You two head on over to the bar, order yourself a drink and think on it. I’ve got to go talk to the Chirago that just made Brittany Spears sound worse…” Lorne shook his head as he walked off.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Giles looked up with a start at the tapping on the window above his desk. He semi-relaxed when he saw that it was just Angel. He stood up and opened the window, bearing in mind that Joyce did not want him in her home. “I’m assuming you are here to report on how your patrol went?” Giles queried as soon as the window was open.

“Twelve vamps down over at Shady Hill, and I didn’t see anything else out tonight.” Angel informed him rather haughtily. “I did manage to find out that the Master is apparently setting up a proxy for the harvest. I did not manage to discover who it is yet.”

“Thank you Angel. Please do inform me if you find out who this proxy is.” Giles requested with a grim smile.

“Have you managed to translate the prophecy yet?” Angel asked with an almost innocent look on his face.

“No, not yet. It’s proving to be harder than I had anticipated.” Giles said, not willing to share with Angel what he had managed to translate so far.

“I’ll let you get back to that then, and I will talk to you tomorrow night.” Angel said as he turned away, walking off into the night.

Giles closed the window and made sure it was locked before sitting down at his desk. He glanced over the paper he had been writing on and shook his head. “I wonder why he’s so interested in the prophecy all of a sudden.” Glancing at the clock, he realized that it was getting rather late. Turning off the light, he made his way out of his study and up the stairs to bed.

In the darkened study, the ancient parchment glimmered as ancient magics took hold. The words of the first line that Giles had spent so long puzzling over, shimmered and shifted beneath the glimmering light. When the light had faded, four words now read in English…

Daughter of the Sun,

The rest remained in the obscure language it had been written in.