Lost In New York

"Wow, I'm so glad we finally have some time off, those finals were killing me!" Claire said enthusiastically to her girlfriend Gretchen, as the wandered the streets of New York at night, each carrying an ice cream dripping with delicious gelato.

"Yeah," Gretchen agreed. "And your decision to come to NYC for a vacation was inspired."

"Yeah well, my Uncle Peter lives here so it's not like we have to stay at a motel."

"It was nice of him to let us stay." The other girl agreed. "I guess we should head home which way is his apartment again?" Gretchen turned and asked Claire.

"Hey, girls." Said a voice from behind them. Claire and Gretchen whirled around and faced a teenage guy in a baseball cap.

"Hey," Claire said warily.

Gretchen, however took a different tactic. "What do you want?" she asked and moved closer to her girlfriend, putting an arm protectively around Claire's shoulders.

"Easy there girlie," the guy said moving forward, "I was just wondering if you wanted to go for a bite." Gretchen noticed that his face seemed to morph and his eyes turned yellow. She couldn't help but tremble.

"Don't come any closer," Claire said bravely. What kind of ability was this, she wondered.

"Yeah? What you gonna do about if I do?" He moved closer still and in the dim light the two girls could make out something that looked like fangs protruding from his mouth.

"Hey, you! Why don't you quit hasslein' these kids and play with the grownups?" Came a voice from behind him.

The guy whirled around, but it was too late. The minute he did, it was too late. He evaporated into a pile of dust. Both Claire and Gretchen stood gaping.

"How you ladies doing?" asked the brunette who came out of the shadows.

"What kind of ability did he have?" Claire asked with a slight quiver to her voice.

"Ability?" Faith asked. "What do you mean?"

"Hey, Faith," said a blond from behind their new found friend. "Sorry, I didn't catch up in time but I see you got things under control."

"It's okay, B." Faith answered.

It was Claire's turn to speak, "What's going on here? Who where those people? What are their abilities and what are *yours?" she asked, ranting desperately.

"Abilities." Faith said flatly. "You mentioned those before, what do you mean?"

"Well you know…" Claire gestured with her hand at a loss for words. "Powers. Powers to fly, to heal, to go back in time… that sort of thing."

"You mean like a superhero?" the woman named Buffy asked.

Claire felt a lump in her stomach at the realization that perhaps she had been wrong and these women had no idea what she was talking about. "N-nothing… Forget I said anything." Claire stuttered nervously. Both she and Gretchen turned to leave.

"Wait! Hold up a second, I want to know what you were talking about!" Faith started after them.

"Geez, Faith, don't startle the poor girls." Buffy admonished her partner.

Buffy walked over to the girls slowly, shooting Faith a look that said she'd better stay back. "Hi, I'm Buffy and this is my girlfriend, Faith."

Claire took Buffy's hand nervously, but her handshake was firm. "Hi, I'm Claire and this is my girlfriend, Gretchen."

Gretchen smiled and said politely, "Hello."

"So look," Buffy said diplomatically, "Do you want to go back to our hotel room? Something tells me this conversation isn't exactly for all ears." Buffy lowered her voice. Claire nodded gratefully.

000

When they got back to the women's hotel room, Claire sighed with relief. They had walked back to the hotel and while it didn't take long, the night air had turned cool and Claire was glad for the central heat and something to eat and drink.

The girls tucked easily into the burgers and fries they'd bought and for a few moments there was blissful silence. Then, Buffy started to speak. "Faith and I are here on business." She said, slowly.

Claire wasn't quite sure what this had to do with the matter at hand, but she was grateful for the delay. "Oh, really? And what is it that you do?"

A mischievous grin spread across Buffy's face. "We slay vampires."

Claire had to stop herself from taking a sip of her drink so she wouldn't choke and she set her paper cup down at once.

Gretchen, however, hadn't been so lucky and Clair moved quickly to pound her girlfriend on the back and stifle her chokes and sputters. "You *what?*" Gretchen finally managed to ask when her body had calmed itself.

"We slay vampires." Buffy replied, smiling again. "We don't normally tell many people but given what you saw and the fact that you actually stayed around to ask questions, we figured we were pretty safe."

Both younger women were stunned. Vampires actually *existed.* It was Gretchen who spoke first. "So, what we saw… what attacked us…"

"Yup, vampires." Buffy replied simply, the smile still not moving from her face.

"So when you said you were here for work, that work was slaying vampires?" Claire finally spoke up.

"Yes, Faith and I help run an organization to train Slayers, but we're the oldest Slayers remaining."

"Oh really? And why's that?"

Faith groaned. "It's a long story but it used to just be her." Faith pointed at Buffy. "And for me to come a Slayer, she had to die first."

"I've died before." Claire said quietly, leaving Buffy and Faith stunned

"How?" Buffy asked, finally.

"Jumping off a roof once."

"And just what were you doing jumping off a roof?" Faith asked, critically and with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll show you." Clair said softly and proceeded to stab herself with the plastic knife that had come with her burger.

Now, the knife itself was not very sharp, but it should've left some kind of mark. Buffy and faith sat shocked as Claire showed them her uninjured arm.

"How?" Buffy asked.

"It's my ability." Claire answered. "I can't be injured or killed.

"Your ability, you mentioned that before." Faith couldn't hide her curiosity. "What do you mean 'ability?' Are their other people who can do this?"

Clair shook her head slowly and proceeded cautiously. "Not this specifically… But there are other people who have powers, we're sort of like comic book heroes."

Faith looked incredibly interested. "So, how come we've never heard much about you guys?

"Honestly?" Claire replied. "With abilities like this, don't you think that'd be kind of dangerous? There are people after us, big people, like the government.

Faith shook her head slowly. "Damn, I should've known. People haven't always been so kind to us Slayers either. That's why B set out to make a safe haven for the girls." She gestured at the blonde.

"That's true." Buffy spoke up. "If there's ever anything we can do to help you, you should let us know." Buffy reached for a piece of paper and scribbled down a number. She leaned over and handed it to Claire. "Here, this is my private number. If you need me, call here. It'll cut through all the crap and you won't have to go through all the channels at the Council to get to me. It can be quite a headache being put on hold for hours on end." She said, with a chuckle.

After awhile, the young women cleaned up there garbage and Claire and Gretchen prepared to leave. "Remember, if you need anything just let us know." Buffy said to Claire with a big smile.

"Thank you, for everything. You saved our lives." Claire replied.

"All in a days work, little lady." Faith said with a wink. Buffy gave her a mock glare and slapped her. Everyone laughed, uproariously.

000

Later as the two girls were walking back to Peter's apartment, this time unafraid in the dark, they held hands kissed and laughed, reveling in the existence of new found friends.