The trip to the airfield was made in silence. Each traveler still groggy and lost in his or her own thoughts. They said goodbye to Dawn and boarded the plane, settling in for the long flight to California. Once airborne, Willow broke the silence.
“Uh, guys? I just, I wanna say thanks but that doesn't even really begin to say how much I appreciate you doing this with me. I know it might be a wild goose chase but it means a lot that you're chasing with me.”
“Will, you'd do it for us,” Buffy said.
“Anything for our Willow,” Xander added.
Giles simply smiled warmly at the redhead, nodding slightly.
“There is something, totally unrelated, that I think we need to talk about,” she said. She'd been sort of thinking about this for awhile but realized, when they figured out Dawn was the 'second-in-command', they were going to need a more structured way of doing things.
“What's up, Will?” Buffy asked.
Willow frowned for a moment, gathering her thoughts. “I was thinking about Dawn and our operations and everything.” She looked at Giles before continuing, “I think when we get back, we should have a sort of 'board of directors' meeting. The four of us and Dawn. We're doing okay but I think we're going to need more help soon. We're all relying on Dawnie for everything. And, I think, part of what made Buffy such a successful Slayer was, well, us. The 'Scooby Gang',” she looked at Buffy who nodded in agreement. “I think maybe we should try making this more, uh, businesslike? You know, two or three slayers get one watcher, and two or three civilian assistants for research, carpentry,” she grinned at Xander, “weapon maintenance and creation. Stuff like that. Maybe we can work with the coven and train witches to help in the areas with more demonic activity. I don't want to split us up, we're a good team. But we can all maybe train other us-es? Match slayers and watchers up then let them 'recruit' their own civilians who can come to England and train with us? I don't know, I was just thinking about Dawn and how much work she does and all these other thoughts came up. We really need someone in charge. Giles is busy with Watcher stuff, Xander's in the construction stuff, Buffy'll be working with the new slayers. We need a coordinator. I think that's Dawn. She may need to take some classes, business management or whatever. . .” Willow finally wound down and looked at the group.
Giles was nodding thoughtfully, Buffy and Xander were smiling and nodding in agreement.
“Sounds like a good idea, Will,” Buffy said, “I think you're right, a meeting of the minds when we get back is definitely a good idea. ”
“I'm with you guys. I think slayers would be better off in teams of two or three and definitely their own Scooby Gang would be helpful,” Xander said. “I think you're right about Dawn and not just because I wanna keep her around. I think she would make a good coordinator or whatever. You weren't wrong, Will. She does know all of our jobs and stuff.”
Giles hadn't said anything, just nodded and listened as the others talked. Finally, he cleared his throat and said, “I think you're right Willow. We need to become more businesslike. I was thinking we need to incorporate. Buffy, you remember that 'nothing' we were going to have to talk about when we got back?” Off Buffy's nod, he continued. “Well, one of the watchers in Cleveland was injured.” He held up his hand, forestalling their questions. “No, not badly. He did need medical care though. I told Robin to send all the pertinent information to my attention so we can take care of the bill. But we may want to look into making this a business. Salaries, health insurance, retirement funds “ erm, well, for those who need them and the like. Again, this can all wait until we get back but since Willow brought the subject up, it dovetailed nicely into what I was going to have to talk to the group about. For now, though, I suggest we focus on the mission at hand and shelve this discussion until we return home.”
They all nodded in agreement and the conversation lapsed, each of them lost in their own thoughts for the rest of the journey.
The rest of their journey was uneventful. They landed in a small airfield outside of Los Angeles and, after stopping into a small majick shop in L.A. and procuring the skin of draconis, they took a car to a private hotel about two hours from what used to be Sunnydale.
Checking in, they rented four rooms; Giles would have his own room but it was uncertain what arrangements would be agreeable to the other five occupants. Willow assumed she and Buffy would share a room with Xander while Tara and Angel each had their own room. Of course, maybe Tara would be more comfortable sharing a room with Angel. Unless Angel and Buffy wanted to share a room. Then maybe Tara would have her own room while Xander shared his with Willow. Willow sighed as she realized even her thoughts were babbling.
It was just past four in the afternoon and they decided to get a bite to eat then go to bed. Jet lag was not their friend and it was now just past midnight in England. They would get an early start to Sunnydale in the morning 'One more night,' Willow thought. 'I just need to get through one more night.'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*