The Scoobies were having a meeting in Giles' apartment.

Riley and Buffy were standing by the couch.

Xander, Willow and Tara sat on stools in front of the window in the wall leading to the kitchen. Anya was sitting on Xander's lap.

Giles was in the kitchen.

I was sitting on Giles' desk. 

"Zippo," Buffy told them. "Patrol's been totally uneventful. My kill count's way low."

Willow looked at Tara. "She means there's been less bad-guy activity."

"Well, we know what that often indicates," Giles told us.

"Buffy and Zoey don't make their quota," Xander told us, shaking his finger at Buffy and me. "Bad Slayers."

"Well, I wish it were that innocuous, but with Adam around, I feel he's involved somehow," Giles told us, holding a bag of snacks, pouring snacks into a bowl.

Willow looked at Tara. "When things get slow, it's usually because there's some extra evil brewing."

Tara nodded.

"Except the weird thing is, we've been busy at the Initiative," Riley told us. "Our squads are pulling a lot more captures. We got demons coming out of ears."

Willow looked at Tara. "That's a metaphor."

Tara smiled. "I got it, thanks."

"I've overhelping, aren't I?" Willow asked.

Tara chuckled.

Giles walked out of the kitchen with the bowl. "So, the activity's shifted, but not stopped." He held the bowl toward Willow. "That's fascinating."

Giles sat at his desk, putting the bowl down.

"To an extremely bored person, maybe," Anya told us. Giles looked annoyed. "Well, that was a thrilling hour."

Everyone started to stand.

Giles stood. "You know, I really don't appreciate your snide remarks, Anya." Anya and Xander looked at him in surprise. "Now, I have a great deal of experience in these matters..." We heard the door open. Buffy and Riley looked behind us, surprised. "And if I say there is a matter of some import brewing, I--I..."

Giles turned around to look at the door. 

Buffy, Riley, Anya, Xander, Willow and Giles looked behind me in surprise. They looked from the door to me.

Tara was confused.

I slowly turned around, in shock.

Oz was standing in the doorway, hands in jacket pockets. "Hey."

  ~~~~   

I was still shocked. "Oz." Oz looked around uncomfortably. Buffy and Willow looked at me in concern. "When--when did you get back?"

"Pretty much now," Oz answered.

Xander looked around at everyone, stepping forward. "Oz, man. Hate to sound grandma, but... you don't call, you don't write."

"Yeah, sorry," Oz told us.

Xander and Oz shook hands.

"So, are you here here, or are you just passing through?" Buffy asked.

"Well, um, let's not, uh, bombard the poor chap with, uh, questions right off," Giles told us. He looked at Oz. "Can I get you something? Um, tea?"

Giles took off his glasses, stepping toward the kitchen.

"I'll pass, thanks," Oz told him. Giles stopped. Riley and Tara looked confused. Oz stepped closer to me. "Look, I'm going to Devon's to see if he's got a place I can crash. But... I was hoping that we could talk. Later. Tonight."

I had trouble finding the words. "I guess so."

"I'll come by your place," Oz told me.

"Okay," I told him.

Oz smiled, looking around. "It's great to see you guys again. Really."

Oz walked out, leaving, closing the door behind him.

I was still in shock.

"Everyone's uncomfortable now," Anya told us.

Willow stepped closer to me, a hand on my arm. "You okay?"

"I..." I trailed off, sighing, shaking my head. "I don't know."

  ~~~~   

Buffy and Riley were taking care of patrol tonight.

Willow was with Tara at her dorm.

I was alone in ours, opening the door to see Oz. 

Oz smiled a small smile. "Hey."

"Hey," I told him. Oz smiled. "So... you want to come inside?"

"Actually, I want you to come outside," Oz told me. "I wanna show you something."

  ~~~~   

We were walking across campus after dark.

I stopped walking. "Oz..." Oz stopped, turning to face me. "This is all so weird." Oz sighed, fidgeting with something on his hand. "I--I--I feel like... this isn't really happening. Like it's a dream or--or something."

"It's real," Oz told me. "Look up."

"What?" I asked.

Oz smiled. "Look at the sky." I looked up. The moon was full. "I guess you stopped keeping track of them after I left."

"Full moon,"  I told him, looking from Oz to the moon.

Oz nodded. "Full moon."

I was in shock. "Full moon, but--but how? I mean..." I smiled. "You did it. How--how did you do it? Where did you go?"

"It's a long story," Oz told me.

I looked from the moon to Oz, smiling. "Oh, my God, Oz." I embraced him happily in shock. Oz returned the embrace, closing his eyes. I pulled away, letting the smile fade. "This is... I mean, it's awesome for you."

"I talked to Xander, and he told me about the other guy," Oz told me.

"It's--it's complicated,"  I told him. "It's..." I sighed. "I wouldn't call it anything, to be honest."

Oz nodded. "He told me that, too." He took my hand. "I know what I put you through, and I'm not gonna push. But I am... a different person than when I left. And I can be what you need now. That's what I want. That's why I'm here. But if you need time... to decide, after everything that happened... Then I'm okay with that, too."

I looked down, not knowing what to do.

  ~~~~   

The next morning, back in the dorm room, I was lying in my bed, looking at a jacket.

Oz was lying on the end of the bed.

"I love this," I told him.

"A woman in Tibet traded it to me for the Radiohead record," Oz told me. "Got a lot of mileage out of the barter system."

"So, Tibet was your favorite?" I asked.

"Well, it's where I stayed the longest," Oz told me. "This warlock in Romania sent me to the monks there to learn some meditation techniques. Very intense. All about keeping your inner cool."

"Good, 'cause you were such a spaz before," I told him sarcastically, smiling. "So, that's it? You keep your cool, and no more wolfie?"

"No, there's more," Oz answered. "I take some herbs and stuff. Some chanting. A couple of charms."

Oz showed me some beads on a string wrapped around his hand.

"It's incredible," I told him. "You've been all around the world. you've had this... complete mind/body transformation. I've just been here." I chuckled weakly. "Same old Sunnydale."

"Doesn't mean you haven't gone through a lot," Oz told me.

"It's true,"  I told him. "Uh, I'm getting better at the Slayerage. Uh, better at school. Especially since no professors are out to kill me anymore. And, I don't know." We looked at each other. I fidgeted, looking out of the window. "It's so light out."

"Yeah, we talked all night," Oz told me.

"Well, I believe a manly sized breakfast is in order, don't you?" I asked.

"Or we could just..." Oz trailed off, putting a hand on mine. "Sleep a little while." He looked at me. "Whatever you want."

I was a little nervous. "I'll have the less confusing waffles right now."

Oz smiled. "Breakfast it is." We stood. Oz turned away to get his coat. "So, what do you think? Where you wanna go?"

  ~~~~   

We went out for breakfast.

Now I was back in the dorm room, lying on my bed again, thinking.

Buffy and Willow walked in.

"Hey," Willow told me.

"Hey," I told them. I noticed something off with Buffy. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just..." Buffy trailed off, putting her bag down. "I don't want to talk about it."

Willow took off her jacket, looking at me. "I want to hear about you and Oz." She put her jacket down. "You saw him, right?"

"I was with him all night,"  I told them. 

"All night?" Willow asked, sitting down next to me. "Oh, my God."

"Wait," Buffy told us. "Last night was a wolf moon, right?"

"Yep," I answered.

"So, either you're about to tell us something incredibly kinky, or..." Buffy trailed off.

I smiled, shaking my head. "No kink. He didn't change. He said he was gonna find a cure, and he did. In Tibet."

Willow smiled. "Oh, my God. I can't believe it."

"Okay, we're all with the whoo-hoo here, and you're not," Buffy told me.

"No, there's 'whoo' and 'hoo', but there's 'uh-oh', and 'why now?'" I told them. "And it's complicated."

"You mean, complicated because of Graham?" Buffy asked.

"No," I answered. "I mean, complicated, because... I can't just... forget everything that happened. And I don't want to. I can't. But... then we started hanging out, and... I could just feel everything coming back." Buffy and Willow looked sympathetic. "He's Oz, you know?"

"Yeah," Buffy answered. "I know."

"I don't wanna hurt him," I told them.

"No matter what, somebody's gonna get hurt," Willow told me. "And the important thing is, you just have to be honest, or it's gonna be a lot worse." 

I nodded, sighing. "We were just talking. Nothing happened. But, you know, it was intense. Just talking. And we have a lot to talk about." I shook my head. "I kinda feel like my head's gonna explode. And I know what he meant to me, but he left, and... everything changed. I changed, and..." 

"You don't know what to do," Willow finished.

I nodded barely, shaking my head, looking away. "What do you do when something like this happens?"

Willow shook her head sympathetically. "I don't know."

I looked at Buffy and Willow, sighing.

~~~~ 

I was sitting in the college library, studying without really paying attention, gazing off.

Buffy walked in.

I looked up.

Buffy looked upset and worried, gesturing for me to come over.

I walked closer. "What's up? You okay?"

"Oz," Buffy told me. "Graham and a few other commandos were attacked last night by what they think is a werewolf. And Forrest overheard me telling Riley what Oz was. And... they took him, Zoey."

"What?" I asked. "When? Just now?"

Buffy nodded. "I wasn't there. Riley called to tell me what happened."

"Wait, is Graham okay?" I asked.

"He's walking," Buffy answered. "But a commando got in the demon's way and got himself killed for it. If he hadn't gotten in the way, then Graham would be dead. And that's enough to make Forrest think Oz is the one who went after them, because he knows what's going on with the three of you. That's why he led the beta team to take Oz."

"Buffy, they--they might hurt him,"  I told her.

"I know," Buffy told me. "We have to go."

I nodded.

Buffy and I ran off.

  ~~~~   

We were in Giles' apartment.

Xander and Anya were sitting on the sofa.

Giles was standing behind them.

Willow and Tara were sitting on the stools by the window in the wall leading to the kitchen.

I was pacing.

Buffy was on the phone.

"They took him right before Buffy found me," I told them.

"So, that's good, right?" Anya asked. "I mean, they probably haven't had time to eviscerate him yet."

I gave Anya a look.

"An, you can help by making this a quiet time," Xander told her.

"Once again, we're faced with a fairly daunting prospect of having to infiltrate the Initiative," Giles told us.

"It'd be great if we knew someone dating a man on the inside," Xander told us. "Or at least someone with a few complicated feelings for one of them. Someones with connections." Buffy hung up the phone, walking closer. "Oh, wait."

Xander gestured to Buffy and me.

"He's still not answering his pages," Buffy told us. "I left him another message."

"So, what do we do?" Willow asked.

"Well, we need to move fast," I told them. "So, we make a plan without Riley." Giles looked concerned. "And hope he calls."

  ~~~~   

Buffy was standing by the phone. "Something's wrong. Riley usually returns my phone calls by now."

"We can't wait much longer," Xander told us.

"I know," Buffy told us. She looked at me. "Okay. Xander, you and I are gonna go in. We've done it before." She looked at Willow and Tara. "I need you two to help Giles hack into the city's electrical grid. We've gotta try to power down the Initiative." She sighed. "Now, the only way I know into the Initiative is through the elevator in the Lowell House. But our clearance is long gone."

"So, we grab a guy, make him take us," I told them.

We heard Spike's voice behind us. "Or you could just use the back way." We turned to see Spike standing in front of the door. "Hell of a lot less bother."

"How did you get in?" Giles asked.

"The door was unlocked," Spike answered. "You might want to watch that, Rupert. Someone dangerous could get in."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Or someone formerly dangerous and currently annoying."

"Now, now," Spike told me. "None of that. Or I won't help you get your mongrel back." We looked at him in surprise. "Bad news travels fast with us demons. We all like a good laugh."

Spike chuckled.

"Short of cash, Spike?" Giles asked.

"I happen to be seeking monetary gratification, yeah," Spike answered. "But I also get a kick out of jacking up those army ginks myself. I know how to find the big guy who can take you to Oz."

"Uh-huh," I told him. "So, what's the going rate on a wild goose chase, Spike?"

"Fine, if you're not interested," Spike told us. "But I was stuck in that hole, remember? And I've heard things from other guys who've gotten out. I can get you in. No alarms, no cameras... no waiting."

Everyone looked at me.

  ~~~~   

Spike led Buffy, Xander and me through the woods.

Buffy and I were in lab coat disguises, Xander and Spike in commando.

I looked at Spike. "I've mentioned how much I'm going to kill you if this is a scam, right?"

"Look, would I wear this if I wasn't on the up and up?" Spike asked. 

"You do sort of look like an evil olive," Xander told him.

Buffy looked toward the door. "Guys. Check it out."

Xander, Buffy and I exchanged a look.

Spike walked toward the back door, opening it. "For a nasty town like Sunnydale, nobody seems to mind their locks."

"You first," Buffy told him.

We walked inside.

  ~~~~   

We were walking down the hallway when the lights powered off.

The emergency power kicked on, dimly lighting the way.

We walked into the colonel's room, aiming weapons at the colonel in bed.

The colonel tried to react.

"Hey!" Buffy told him. The colonel stopped. "You know who we are?"

The colonel looked from Buffy to me, nodding. "Yeah."

"Then you know we're pretty good with these things," Buffy told him. "Take us to him."

"Finn stays in the brig," the colonel told us. "Helping an HST escape is a court-martial offense. You're only going to make matters worse."

"Riley tried to help Oz escape?" I asked.

The colonel realized. "That's who you came for. The wolf."

"Guess we're two for one," I told him. "Get dressed."

  ~~~~   

Buffy had broken Riley out.

We walked down the hallway toward the HST containment block.

I held colonel by the arm, crossbow raised.

Four commandos walked around the corner from in front of us, aiming weapons at us. "Hold it!"

Oz stood from inside his cell.

Four commandos walked around the corner from behind us, aiming weapons at us.

I aimed the crossbow at colonel's head. "Stay back, or I'll pull a William Burroughs on your leader here."

Buffy and Xander aimed their weapons at the commandos on either side of us.

"You'll bore him to death with free prose?" Xander asked.

"Was I the only one awake in English that day?" I asked. "I'll kill him." I looked at the colonel, nodding to Oz's cell. "Get him out." The colonel nodded to Oz's cell. A commando used a key card to open Oz's cell. Oz stepped out. I took a step toward him, still aiming the crossbow at the colonel. "Oz..."

Oz leaned against the wall in pain. "Zo, get back."

Oz's hand started to turn into a werewolf.

I took a step back.

Oz couldn't look at me, looking at his hand, concentrating into remaining human, making his hand turn back.

Riley helped Oz along.

"Let's go," Buffy told us.

I pulled the colonel past the commandos behind us, into the elevator.

Buffy, Spike, Oz, Riley and Xander followed.

The commandos let us past, but kept their weapons on us.

The elevator door closed. It took us up.

I still kept the crossbow aimed at the colonel.

Everyone stood quietly, looking at each other in silence.

The elevator came to a stop. The door opened.

Everyone but me, the colonel, Buffy and Riley stepped off.

Riley opened a panel in the elevator wall, ripping up the cords, closing the panel, turning to face us.

I stepped off the elevator, following the others.

Buffy followed.

Riley started to follow.

"You're a dead man, Finn," the colonel told him.

Riley turned to face him. "No, sir. I'm an anarchist."

Riley punched the colonel in the face, making him fall, walking out, following us.

  ~~~~   

Oz and I were sitting alone in Oz's van.

"This thing looks pretty good, considering you drove it overseas," I told him.

Oz couldn't look at me. "Well, it broke down outside of Mexico, and I traded my bass to have it fixed and garaged." He hesitated. "I shouldn't have come back now. I just thought I'd changed."

"You have changed," I told him. "You stopped the wolf from coming out. I saw it."

"But I couldn't look at you," Oz told me. "I mean, it turns out... the one thing that brings it out in me is you... which falls under the heading of ironic in my book." I nodded barely. Oz finally looked at me. "But... you're happy?"

"I wasn't... for a long time," I told him. I spoke sarcastically. "And I wouldn't say that I'm all sunshine and rainbows, like I am all the time." Oz tried to look amused. "But I was getting there."

"And I screwed it up," Oz told me. I shook my head, trying to speak. Oz went on. "It was stupid to think that you'd just be... waiting."

"I was waiting," I told him. "I was devastated, but holding out some hope that you would make it back, but... I couldn't live like that, Oz. If I learned anything between everything that happened to me just in the first year of college... It's that I got to be a realist. And the realist in me doesn't see anything happening. With either of you."

"I know," Oz told me. "And I'm sorry."

We looked at each other.

"What are you gonna do?" I asked.

"I think I better take off," Oz told me.

"When?" I asked.

"Pretty much now," Oz answered.

I nodded.

Oz embraced me for may have been the last time.