Buffy wandered aimlessly through the woods, feeling antsy from the lack of slayage. Though it had been Kennedy's night to patrol, Buffy had volunteered just to get some energy out. She needed it - despite the fact that it almost caused World War III between her and Dawn.

Buffy understood her sister's concerns. She really did. She still hadn't completely recovered from the zinger she had received from Greyback in that final fight with him and his pack. She could fully admit she wasn't anywhere near apocalypse ready - but she knew she could handle herself in a one on one fight. Unfortunately, Dawn disagreed.

It was almost enough to dissuade her from going out. Buffy had been back in Cleveland for almost three weeks now, and while it had been hard at first with not all the girls accepting her return, things were finally starting to calm down. Best of all, her relationship with Dawn had never been stronger; Buffy had made sure of it. Part of that meant not rocking the boat unnecessarily over the small stuff. Her time with Bill's family reminded her how important family was, no matter what.

But it also proved to her that she was and always would be a Slayer, with a capital 'S'.

Buffy still had no desire to lead the slayers, but she now knew that separating completely wasn't the only other option, especially now that she realized she could allow herself to relinquish control of the group. By doing that, she had the unique opportunity to find the balance she always craved but never had.

Maybe even if the Activation Spell fell apart.

Apparently, while Nora's ritual had been successful in saving Willow's life, there was a chance it was only temporary. Because they didn't want to be caught off guard again, Willow and the others were going to do what they could to take preventative measures and make some serious contingency plans. That meant some tough decisions had to be made, first and foremost by Willow herself. Whatever she decided, Buffy vowed she would be there to support her however she needed.

Buffy looked forward to talking to Nora again, too. By all accounts, Greyback's final spell should've killed her, or at least zapped her strength for months. Yet here she was, out and about just three weeks out - not to mention emanating tiny sparks of magic from her hands every now and then.

Clearly, there was more to Winnie than met the eye, and Buffy wanted to know as much as she could. Nora was the obvious place to start. Buffy had gotten the head of the coven a membership to the spice of the month club as a thank you for her help and she hadn't been hexed yet in response, so she took that as a good sign.

Of course, traveling to England meant being in Bill's neck of the woods.

Buffy felt her shoulders droop at the thought of him, a common occurrence these past few weeks. There had been no word from him since she had returned. She didn't necessarily expect it. He had a lot to figure out. She told herself that it didn't mean anything.

She underestimated just how disappointed she would feel, however.

She had known almost from the beginning that there was definitely something between them. She just wasn't sure what that was exactly and up until now, didn't want to know. Now, however, as she experienced this radio silence, she finally had to face the truth; though she still didn't know what this was between them, she really, really wanted the chance to find out.

Buffy supposed she could have contacted him, but the ball was in his court, not hers, by her very own design. She didn't want to reach out to him if he didn't want to see her anymore, having decided that she was either too close to the werewolf side of him or that he just wasn't interested. Besides, she didn't know how to get in touch with him. She didn't have the patience to wrangle an owl into delivering a message, especially these American owls. They weren't nearly as well trained or respectful as the British ones she had seen in action. Not that she knew from firsthand experience - at least, with any witnesses. Besides, there was a chance she'd see him anyway, once talks began between slayers and wizards. At the very least, she could feel Hermione out.

She was beginning to debate the level of patheticness of pumping Hermione for information when the sound of a twig snapping caught her attention. That in itself wasn't so unusual, but the complete silence that enveloped the woods afterward did.

Pretending she didn't notice anything amiss, Buffy continued on her path, altering it only ever so slightly to give her a better angle to catch a glimpse of the intruder. They were on to her, however; she heard faint noises as they moved toward a stand of trees off to the side to conceal themselves.

Not in the mood for hide and seek, Buffy stopped and put her hands on her hips. "Can we just stop with the games? We both know you're there," she called out.

To her surprise, her stalker laughed; a warm and familiar laugh.

"One day I'll be able to sneak up on you," Bill said as he stepped out into a clearing, standing less than thirty feet away.

Though Buffy was secretly impressed he had made it as far as he had undetected - and maybe, just maybe her pulse quickened at the sight of him - she kept her expression neutral.

"I wouldn't count on it," she retorted. "Even if you did, you would end up with a stake in the heart. Remember, slayers and surprises don't mix."

"Right then," Bill winced as he rubbed a phantom spot on his chest.

Soon, his hand fell away and they both fell silent as they took each other in. For her part, Buffy didn't know where to start. Her mind instantly flooded with questions. He looked good, all happy and relaxed. Was that a good sign? While she was glad to see him, why was he here unexpectedly like this? What did he want? What did it mean?

What came out, however, was the least important question of them all.

"How did you find me? Did you use the moonstone?" she blurted out.

Bill immediately blanched, though surprisingly not because of her ridiculous question.

"No, I didn't. I would never use something like that without your permission, life threatening situations aside," he vehemently replied. "Though in full disclosure, I do have it on me. To be perfectly honest, I never take it out of my pocket out for fear it will fall into the wrong hands - and that includes George and his infernal product development, by the way."

For some reason, hearing how he constantly protected the moonstone made Buffy melt a little. Thankfully, Bill seemed completely unaware of her reaction and continued on with a tinge of pride in his voice.

"I used my werewolf instincts to track you. That is, after your sister kindly pointed me in the general direction."

"She did?" Buffy exclaimed, unable to hide her surprise that Dawn would be so accommodating about her whereabouts.

Though she had given her sister a rundown on what had happened with Bill, he was still a complete stranger to Dawn.

Bill gave her a wry smile. "Only after I introduced myself. I think her exact words were, 'Oh thank god! It's about time one of you guys got your head out of your ass! I just can't take any more mopey, there's-nothing-I-can-do-about-the-situation-so-I'm-going-to-blindly-slay Buffy. Honestly, I've never met two more romantically constipated people in my life!'"

Buffy felt her face ignite with embarrassment. She was so getting her sister back for this. Slowly. For the rest of her life.

Eager to change the conversation yet still feeling off balance by his sudden appearance, Buffy blurted out the next question that came to mind.

"So what are you doing here anyway?"

Buffy regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth, which was clearly not connected to her brain. Not because she didn't want to know the answer, but because the way she said it was way too blunt, borderline hostile, as though he was annoying her by showing up when the exact opposite was true. It definitely had the effect of stunning Bill into silence. After a moment, however, he plucked up his courage.

"To see you. And ask if you wanted to visit England for awhile," he said. "The next full moon is coming soon, and I thought we could weather this one together."

Unconsciously, Buffy touched her shoulder. They still didn't know if she would transform at all. She didn't think so, but she had planned on locking herself in a cage, just in case. Bill's invitation, however, sounded much more… intriguing.

Giving herself a mental slap to pull it together, Buffy raised her eyebrow, mustering all the mojo she had within her. "Are you asking me out on a date-cation? One where we may possibly be locked in a cage together?"

It was Bill's turn to flush a deep shade of red, all the way up to his ears. Still, he didn't waver. "I suppose I am."

Buffy forced herself to play it cool. "Well then, I would love to. I was planning on going to see Willow anyway. And I would love to see your family again," she continued, getting caught up in the excitement of all the possibilities. "Ooh, and maybe we can even take a side trip to Romania? Charlie invited me out to tour his dragon reserve-"

A low growl came from Bill's throat, for which he immediately looked apologetic. "Sorry, reflex."

"It's okay. For now. You do realize if this is going to work out between us I will be talking to your brother every now and then?" she pointed out. "And you can't go all werewolf on me every time that happens."

"Understood," Bill said contritely. "Although…"

Suddenly, there was playful, almost predatory, gleam to Bill's eye as he began to stalk toward Buffy, quickly closing the gap between them. He stopped only when he was less than a foot away, leaning even closer to her as he spoke.

"I thought you liked my werewolf side? Encouraged it even?" he asked, his voice a low rumble as he teased her.

Buffy took an uneven breath, unused to this side of him but very much liking it. "It's no fair using my words against me," she protested.

Then, because two could play with fire, she pouted.

It had the exact effect she had intended, drawing Bill's eyes down to her lips, a gesture she returned with her own.

Bill took a deep breath as he caught her gaze before his eyes dipped back down to her mouth. "Is this okay?"

Breathlessly, Buffy laughed. "You have the official green light, sir," she assured him. Before he could lean in, however, she frowned, effectively stopping him in his tracks. "Wait, do you have green lights? Aside from the killer green light? Because I was so not trying to send that message. I meant green light as in 'go'. In a car. Or other things. And… I totally ruined the moment, didn't I?"

Bill stepped back a little and chuckled. "That's okay. I'm hoping there will be many more moments like this to come."

Pursing her lips together, Buffy gave him an appraising look. "Many more? You're awfully sure of yourself, aren't you?"

Bill gave a sheepish shrug. "I always have been. I just forgot for awhile there."

Buffy didn't doubt it. The easy confidence she had immediately spotted wasn't forced or some kind of false bravado; it came completely naturally to him.

"I've gotta say, it's definitely a good look for you. I like it," she admitted.

"Good," Bill grinned. Then he held his arm out to her. "Ready to blow this popsicle stand?"

Buffy laughed, delighted at his use of slang and the obvious studying he had done. She quickly linked arms with him. "I am ready, willing and able. And you?"

She looked at Bill challengingly, daring him to answer everything the question implied - and giving him one more opportunity to back out.

Nonplussed, Bill grinned down at her. Then, without any hesitation or embarrassment, he threw his head back and howled.

A/N: Thank you so much for coming on this journey with me! This is the first multi-chapter fic that I ever finished. Even though it took much longer than I expected, I'm still over the moon that I can say it's completed. I hope you enjoyed it! And even if you didn't, thank you for giving it a shot!

You may have noticed that there are a few loose ends hanging. This was purposeful, as I've always had a sequel in mind for Howl involving Buffy, Bill, her sword, Willow, and a whole bunch of Arthurian legend thrown in. Unfortunately, reality is telling me this is unlikely to happen. Before I even think of starting a brand new story, I'd like to finish up some of my unfinished ones. That being said, if you have any preference of which ones you'd like to read the end of, let me know! I'd love to work on something that I know people would like to read. :)

Again, thank you for reading!