Lilith, uncaring of making peace, skids over to the kitchen, and heads for the kitchen knives just as an arrow zooms past her so she has to duck her head. She secures two stake knives, goes into a crouch again and slides one over to Buffy across the floor.
      Buffy grabs it. "Hey, this was gonna be for the turkey."
      Lilith rolls her eyes. "I'll clean it, just fight, Slayer."
      It seems good enough for Buffy as she stands and sets into fight mode. Lilith alongside her, though she'll let Buffy take care of the inside of the house and she makes run for the outside, that way they'll cover more ground.
      She finds Anya and Willow already there, sees them propel a flower vase at one of the ghosts. But they're not the only ones outside, surprisingly Angel is also there. His hands wrap around one of the ghost's neck and he snaps it, makes the kill with ease.
      Anya stares, amazed. "What's he like when he is evil?" 
      Angel is grabbed from behind by the neck and struggles against the same ghost he thought he just killed. "Help the others!"
      Angel manages to fight off the ghost warrior, Anya and Willow run upstairs to help. 
      "So, this is you now?" Lilith asks as she stabs a ghost behind her. 
      She gets a memory flash of the last time she saw him. They were in this exuberant Romanian castle, it was Dracula's party, and they'd been been drunk on blood and wine. Darla was there too. It'd been the nineteenth century.
      "Spike mentioned you," Angel says, recalling Spike's visit to L.A., and fighting off another ghost. "I didn't think you'd be here."
      Lilith grins. "With the good guys now, just like you." 
      Angel laughs. They fight off the ghosts together.


☀︎


      Buffy slashes the ghost with his own knife, discovering that can kill him but Hus the ghost also mystically turns into a bear.
      "A bear!" Spike shouts, freaked out. "You made a bear."
      "I didn't mean to," says Buffy, sheepish.
      As the bear locks eyes with Spike and roars, he shouts again, "Undo it! Undo it!"


☀︎


       Buffy defeated those she had to defeat, as she always will. 


☀︎


      Thanksgiving dinner comes around. Everyone gets a chair but Angel who left to avoid Buffy seeing him; even Spike is pulled closer in his chair though still tied up.
      It all wasn't well explained by Angel on why he couldn't be seen by Buffy, sometimes he just liked being ominous and dramatic. His excuse was a prophecy or vision or something he had gotten of her and him meddling would affect it but it could still very well not come true. 
      Lilith enjoys this evening for what it is: a nice dinner with friends (though, she's not a friend). This dinner solidified why she wants to ally herself with the Slayer because she gets to have this. 
      She gets to have things she's never had before, sees this love and friendship they have for each other and wants a piece of it herself. They all seem more feeling, much happier than her.
      If she was trying to be herself, she'll try to ruin this thing they have because it's not hers and it can't be hers. But she won't ruin it since she wants to get in Buffy's circle, so she'll have to hide parts of herself.
      Such as hiding that she killed an innocent man for the bloodthirsty part of herself.
      It's too easy for her to hide it as she talks and smiles through dinner. There's no guilt, no remorse. She doesn't even stop to think about the night before, now that she's with Buffy and her friends, all moralistic and merciful. That should be reason enough for Lilith to stop wanting this, she's not meant to be with them and they'll never understand each other. 
      But she's used to wanting things she shouldn't for the hopes they'll bring her something new and allow her to find what she's been looking for all this time, she's never known what exactly.
      "Well, maybe we started a new tradition this year," Willow says, hopeful too. She's been wanting for the time with her friends be like it was before, lately she's been feeling like they've drifting apart. They all have. "We all worked together. It was like old times."
      "Yeah, especially with Angel being here and everything," Xander says, spilling the secret.
      All eyes turn to Buffy.