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Back in the den, the old man exclaimed triumphantly, "Yes. This is the one! Now we can win the battle." and he began to do a little jig. Giles smiled, but their celebration was short lived because then they heard Willow shout from the front room that she had spotted John and Buffy outside of the house. Miles responded, "Giles quickly. We must gather the supplies for the spell. We need four springs of lavender, over there on the table." Giles ran and picked up the vase and Miles continued, "two cloves of crushed garlic, it's on the mantle I believe" he continued after Giles had found the garlic, "a page from the ancient tombs which I have here behind me and lastly a dash of holy water...now where did I put that holy water...Giles tell the others to grab a weapon and look in the other room for the holy water." Giles followed his orders quickly.

The gang all grabbed weapons, but they already knew that the weapons would not be able to save them. They all secretly feared for their lives. Their fear was met by a knock at the door.

Outside Buffy stood with John who refused to answer her queries as to who lived here and why they were there. Suddenly it hit her like a ton of bricks, he was the demon. She had trusted the wrong guy this time and now everyone would pay. John or whatever his name was must have been able to read her thoughts because at that moment she watched his mouth curl into a huge smile and then he began to laugh a deep maniacal laugh that shook the very earth that they stood on. Buffy tried to make a run for it, but she was too late he already had her by the hair. He pulled a long knife from his jacket sleeve and held it to her throat. He then turned back to the house and shouted, "Miles I know you're home old man. Why won't you let me in? It's not polite to act this way. And Giles, I expected better manners from a proper Englishman like yourself." Buffy tried to wriggle free, but to no avail.

Inside the house the girls and Giles scrambled to find the holy water the final ingredient for the spell. While running and searching around the dark room Willow tripped and landed hard on the floor with a loud thud.

Oz ran to her side, "Are you okay?" he asked tenderly. A stunned Willow replied that she was fine and when she reached over to brace herself against a nearby coffee table she spotted the holy water. She grabbed the bottle and ran it over to the table where Miles had begun to set up the other ingredients for the spell. Miles was pleased that he could now begin. He asked Giles to light seven candles and to place them around the table. Giles moved quickly and did as he was told. Once the candles were in place Miles began to speak, "Demon we hear your roar. We hear your evil and we are not scared. We will bond together to fight you and we shall prevail."

The words could be heard outside by John/the demon and Buffy. The demon was obviously upset and he began to moan loudly. His anger made him respond by pressing the knife harder against Buffy's neck, but not so hard as to break the skin. The demon's anger also caused him to lose control over his chosen form and he began to experience physical changes. He exposed his true self in the form of an angry looking beast and Buffy screamed in terror.

Xander watched as Buffy came closer and closer to death. He could not stand idley by and he rushed to the door and thrust it opened. Xander shouted at the beast, "Let her go."

The demon responded by laughing at Xander's attempts to free Buffy. Buffy tried to tell Xander to go back inside and to stop acting so foolishly, but inside she was more than a little moved by Xander's apparent bravery and how much he seemed to care for her. She began to plead with the demon to spare her friends and to only take herself.

Inside Miles put together the lavender, the garlic and the paper in a large vat and then he quickly tossed a dash of holy water on the mixture while screaming, "Allow the evil to be bound by my words and allow the good in all of us to rise and win this battle. We are your servants and we will obey for we can see the light beyond the darkness. BIND HIM NOW!" were his last words before collapsing on the floor. Giles and the girls ran to Miles to see if he was okay. He was weak, but not harmed. Oz decided enough was enough and ran outside just as the demon turned back into the form of John. Confused the young man released Buffy and asked, "Where am I? Who are you people?"

Before anyone could explain Xander ran and hugged Buffy tightly and then backed away uncomfortably. After a moment of awkward silence Xander told John what had happened and then after all the confusion was cleared he announced that he actually was Riley O'Keefe and asked that they stop calling him John. It turned out that the demon had to reincarnate the Watcher in order to steal his form. The danger had been avoided this time.

The others joined them outside and everyone hugged and celebrated until it began to rain. Inside the gang went to dry off and to enjoy the spoils of another victory against the dark side. Buffy was introduced to Miles and told of the events leading up to her rescue. She was amazed by efforts that her friends had gone to in order to help her.

Oz pulled Xander aside and said that he thought it was time that he told her how he felt and to end the charade. Xander was decided he was right, although he was still confused why Oz was so invested in getting him to tell Buffy how he felt. Xander walked over to Cordelia and told her that he needed to tell Buffy how he felt, but he didn't want to hurt her. She told him that he should do whatever his heart told him was right and that she would be just fine with out him. She then cast a glance at the very hot looking and very available new Watcher in town and smiled devilishly. Xander then walked across the room and asked Buffy if they could talk in private for a moment. She agreed and they went into the den.

Buffy was confused by Xander's actions and said, "What are you up to now Xan? What's the deal?"

"Buf I need to tell you something and I'd really appreciate it if you didn't laugh. Do you think you could handle that?" pleaded Xander.

"I make no promises. Now come on what's all the seriousness for. Why so glum chum?" joked Buffy while pressing for answers.

"Buf...I uh...well...I guess I should just say it..."

"I wish you would." Buffy joked again.

"Buffy...I...I...." Xander took a deep breath, closed his eyes and blurted out, "I love you."

Xander kept his eyes closed so he didn't see the smile on Buffy's face when she heard the words she had been dying to hear. She leaned over and whispered in his ear, "I know I'm not supposed to laugh, but would it be alright if I just" and with that she kissed him full on the lips. You could have knocked Xander over with a feather at that moment. His eyes popped wide open in surprise and he said, "Buffy don't play with me. I mean it. I love you."

Buffy kissed him again and whispered, "I love you too Xander."

Xander wrapped her up in his arms and held her to him tightly for a long time without saying anything and for anybody who knew Xander it was definitely a first to see him speechless!

Back in the front room, Oz pulled Willow aside and said, "I'm not sure what's going on, but you need to know that Xander loves you and well, so do I. So I guess it's time you decided who you want to be with it? No pressure, but I'd really like you to pick me." He started to walk away, but Willow's surprised voice stopped him dead in his tracks, "You love me? Me, Willow? You, Oz? You love me?"

Oz turned back to Willow just as she responded, "I love you too Oz." and she hugged him so quickly that they bumped heads.

Oz and Willow both laughed and then she said rubbing her head, "I guess their right love does hurt."

Then a surprised Oz said, "So...you don't love Xander?"

"No...well I love him, but I'm not IN love with him. Why?"

At that moment Buffy and Xander walked back into the front room hand in hand and as they passed Oz, Xander turned to him and said, "Thanks man. I owe you one."

Oz smiled, shook his head, turned back to Willow and said, "Forget it. I guess it was just a case of looks can be deceiving."

Which in turn Buffy replied, "You can say that again!" and they all laughed.

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