Julia and Barnabas have finally made their peace with the spirit of Dave Woodard and reconciled with their nephew. In the meantine, Louella is feeling more pressured each day by doubts about her pregnancy, and Willie's insecurities. David is becomng fascinated by fire, and is being pursued by the image of a mysterious woman who frightens him. Buffy helped out Derek in a scheme to fix a horse race, and made a nice bundle out of it, but was disappointed by his lack of interest in her as a woman.

THE SALAMANDERS

Chapter 1

David looked stunned at the collection of burnt matches that his room had accumulated. Had he been doing that for so long? Burning all of them?

It was lucky that the place had not burned down. Almost a miracle.

It was that woman... the one with the red hair and soft voice.

With horror he realized who the woman was, and what she wanted.

And the only way he could keep her away was to use the stuff.

Barnabas stoked the fire absentmindedly. He wondered if there was a need to. Not for his own benefit, for sure. It made little difference to him if there was a fire on not, except for the fact that it looked pretty.

He moved to the sofa. It was there that two nights ago Zeb had been struggling against the cords that bound him while Jessica stood impassible, unable to help him in any way...

It had only been last night that he and Julia had finally made their peace... Only yesterday that once more he had lost somebody he cared for...

And he was alone again, staring at the fire.

True, Buffy was there, but... it was not the same with her as it had been with Phillip...

A cynical half-smile formed on his lips. There he was again, complaining that that Buffy was not Phillip, as he had once complained because Phillip was not Willie, and Willie was not Ben...

They were different each of them. He had to learn to accept that. He had certainly learned to accept worse.

It was having to start all over again that got him. Transitions were always hard on him. The goodbyes never got any easier...

He wondered what Buffy was doing. Maybe asleep, maybe not...

Except for when he had explained to her that he had provided for her in case Zeb killed him, he had never invited her to join him in anything. Not even in watching the fire.

He knocked at her door with uncertainty. Would she accept the invitation? She was still uneasy with him, even after he kept silent about her caper with Derek... But he had to try and start somewhere.

She accepted his invitation, even with a curious look, and sat on a chair, facing the fire, and holding the drink he offered her.

"It is getting colder and colder, isn't it?'

Buffy nodded. She hoped that he wanted to talk about more things than the weather.

"How do you feel?" he asked her.

She turned to face him "Why did you invite me down here?"

"Because I felt lonely, and I wondered if you were, too."

"I am not complaining."

"I know you don't. But still it must be difficult for you."

"I can manage."

"Don't you wish you could do something besides keep house for me? I barely appreciate it. As long as it is not unbelievably filthy, I can life with it."

Buffy said nothing to this.

"Don't be ashamed to say so. I too know what it is to be in a strange place, with no real friends, no one to talk to."

"The worst part is that they can't forget the other one, Buffy Duncan, who was murdered." she shivered. " the person I could have been if my choices had been different."

"I wish I could make things easier for you. Do you ever miss the people you left behind?"

"A bit. But you told me what happened to them... I certainly have no desire to meet Haskell, or his replacement. And Quentin's dead. And Roxanne..."

"Roxanne's changed. She is still there, and we might get together again one day, but... but I don't know how it would be like."

"She was always so...intense. She let Quentin use her. And not only because of her face. She believed the same things that Quentin did."

"Yes. She did believe, Does believe."

"You came too late to make a difference." slowly Buffy was relaxing, as she saw in Barnabas, not just her employer, not just the vampire, but the man who had met Roxanne Drew and Quentin Collins and been wounded by them. "She belonged to him, body and soul. Or rather, she belonged to the Cause."

"I realize that."

"I liked her. Him... I am not sure. He was cold. Neither Maggie nor Roxanne seemed to mind it. Maybe they had a victim mentality. Or maybe there was something in him that made it worth it... Still I wouldn't let anyone tread me that way. John Yeager taught me that much."

"You realize what Yeager's story was."

"Yes." she shrugged "Cyrus Longworth, with a experiment that went wrong."

"It was long ago."

"Yes." Buffy stretched herself. as she felt the tension drain from her. "I think that I got you to thank for one thing. I did face Yeager once. He was harassing Maggie and I made him back down. I used to be terrified of him, but that day I was fearless... And I wonder where could I have gotten that spine... that was after you fed from me, and put your mental hooks on me... If I got the courage from you, then I am indebted to you. Because I did make him back down."

"I would not know if it was that, but if it was, I am glad I could be of help."

It was easy to think of him as human...and why not? He's got his insides screwed up, of course. But he was a lot more human than Todd. Or Haskell..

"Do you find it easier to deal with Sheriff Brant?"

"It is hard to think that I can trust someone in a uniform." she sighed. "it is nothing personal."

"He understands that."

"He's your friend.?"

" A very good one."

"Did he ever mind...what you are?"

"A bit at first." He wondered a moment why he cared more about George's...peculiarity than George cared about his own... even with a corpse between them.

"But then Quentin did not care about it at all. As long as you served the Cause." Buffy smiled. "Maybe there is a Cause that Brant serves too." she shivered "you were right, it is cold."

Imperceptibly she slid on his direction, reclining her head on his shoulder.

"I can't warm you much." he confessed.

"It is not just cold." she answered. "It is... it is being alone."

He put his arm around her. "Feel better?" he asked.

She nodded "Yes. it makes me feel like I belong somewhere, like I am home at last."

They sat there, watching the fire, feeling less lonely, less hurt.

Tammy looked at Frank, two tables away from hers. He lifted his glass with self-mockery and gestured to her to join him.

She did. She took her own glass and walked to his table.

"In speaking terms with the rest of humanity?" Frank kidded her.

"Yes. " she agreed.

"I wish I could say the same for myself. I wasn't made for small town life. Where's your boyfriend?"

"He's tailing somebody. I couldn't come along, since I am too conspicuous." she smiled "Do you think that it is discrimination if I am never assigned to undercover work?"

"I doubt it. There are very practical reasons for you not to do it. You are just too conspicuous."

"Too bad" she took a swallow off her beer "You know about me and Barnabas?"

"What you mean, you and Barnabas? You two having an affair?"

"Nothing as simple as that. It turns out that he's my ancestor. Direct ancestor."

Frank looked at her in amazement. "You area putting me on!"

"No. I am not. I AM his direct descendant."

Frank shook his head "Now I have heard everything."

"That's why I was so insufferable lately. It is kind of hard to digest."

"With Barnabas, everything is hard to digest. the things he does, well, they have some kind of logic, but don't ask me what that logic is. Oh, he's all right for... for a hick."

"Hick?"

"Yes. He's one. All of you here are."

"You have not adjusted to living here, I see."

"The Russians are kinder to people who rub their superiors the wrong way. They shoot them or send them to Siberia. We just bury them in small towns. And now winter will come and I will be taking my life in my hands when I drive. I don't know how I can stand it."

"Frank you need yourself a woman..."

"Don't I know it? Well, you were telling me how upset you were when you found a vampire in your family tree."

"I don't care about that. I meant, it might have mattered if he was black, but... But, damn it! His family made money in the slave trade! he was involved in it too. He may not have been personally involved but he was glad to have the money it brought to them. And he did not care about my ancestor, not the little half-breed that he fathered."

"Disgraceful" Frank said "But nothing that was seen as wrong in those days."

"And now he wants me to act like his long lost daughter, run up to him, throw my arms around his neck crying daddy! daddy! It makes me sick, just thinking about it. You can imagine how angry I was. Well, I finally decided not to let it bother me. But I imagine that I made myself insufferable in the meantime. I don't know how Joe puts up with me."

Frank nodded. "Forgive me, Tammy, but I can't help it. I find your predicament very funny."

"Do you know that he wanted to make it legal? Put me in his will and everything?"

"If you ever got to cashing your inheritance, all you'd get would be his debts."

"Then he tried to give me some jewelry that belonged to his mother."

"Did you take it?"

"No. There was no point to it. It was beautiful, but I could not keep from thinking how it had been paid for. And if I took family jewels, it would mean I was family."

"Was he hurt?"

"No worse than usual. He lives in a constant state of heartbreak. No. It could be worse. He can't have children of his own, now, that's why I am so important to him. Important enough to overlook the color of my skin."

Frank shook his head "I wonder what the people of DC would think if they heard us? Probably tell us to see a shrink.

"Like Julia Hoffman?" Tammy laughed.

"Yes the same one."