Giles sank into Angel's easy chair and let out a large sigh. This case was the most peculiar he had seen in all his years as a watcher. None of his education, training, or real-life work had given him any idea of what to do in this type of situation.

Vampires becoming ill? Surviving without feeding for extended periods of time? Breathing? It was preposterous, to say the least. But then again, so was a vampire having a soul or any ability to feel human emotion, which Angel did.

"So what do we do now?" Willow asked nervously, glancing at the two men before her. "If Angel is alive, Buffy should know about it."

"We don't know if he is alive, Willow," Giles informed her. "Remember, vampires do express certain human characteristics such as sighing and panting at times, but that doesn't mean any of them are alive. This could just be a habit for Angel."

"Giles, he wasn't breathing before," Willow pointed out. "Besides, what you said is true, but would Angel still be able to breathe subconsciously in his sleep?"

Giles nodded and began to stroke his chin in thought. She had a point. After feeding on Buffy, Angel's condition visibly improved and he began breathing. It was obvious from the way his chest rose and fell with each intake of air. The only question was why? And how long would it last?

Other vampires had fed on slayers before. Spike himself had killed two. This didn't mean any of them started breathing. Why was this time different?

Watching the older man, Xander thought about it himself. If Angel was alive, how could he possibly compete? The only real advantage he had, besides the fact Angelus had done so many terrible deeds, was that he was alive. He was living and breathing and dependable in any situation. Buffy could call on him day or night. What would happen if the same suddenly became true for Angel, too? Where would that leave him?

Angelus' crimes were horrific, but Xander was sure that over time, Buffy would forgive him. The situation was almost the same before, and she had done just that. The things might have hit closer to home this time, but who was to say they were any worse than anything he had done previous to his first restoration?

Buffy knew the same thing could happen again if she and Angel got too close, but if he was indeed alive, that might not be true. And Xander might lose his chance for good.

"I don't think we should wake up Buffy," he said, breaking the others from their thoughts. "I mean, not yet. We don't have all the facts and we don't want to get her hopes up, do we?"

Willow glared at him. She'd known him long enough to know exactly what he was thinking, and he instantly tried to amend his last remark.

"We should let her sleep, anyway. She seemed pretty wiped."

"Yes, perhaps Xander is right," Giles said, agreeing with the teen. "Buffy has been through a lot and deserves to get some sleep. We should wait a few hours to wake her and then tell her what we know."

Willow couldn't believe it. The thing Buffy wanted the most in life could finally be coming true and they wanted to wait to tell her? Not if she could help it. Buffy deserved happiness and that involved Angel, no matter what she or anyone else said.

"Giles, put yourself in her position. If the same thing happened to you, would you want to know immediately or would you rather we waited until we were sure of all the facts?"

The watcher thought through that suggestion and immediately came to a decision. If Jenny was dead and had been changed to a vampire, with a chance to come back to life, would he want Buffy to wait to tell him or would he want to know as soon as she did, no matter what the consequences?

"We should wake Buffy just to let her know what's happened," he finally decided. "Then we can all decide what to do from there."

Smiling at her success, Willow nodded and stood up to get Buffy, leaving Xander to stare silently after her...