Disclaimer: all characters from the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Joss Whedon etc
Authors note: Okay, this is the sequel to Young Slayers, and it is a very good idea for anyone who has not read that to do so before starting this. Also, reading 'Before the council: Buffy' wouldn't be a bad idea, but is not necessary. Yes, anyone who had been reading Young Slayers, this and Chapter two used to be chapters 23 and 24 of that fic, but people suggested, and I agreed, that the end of chapter 23 made a good end to that story, and the old title really did not work anymore, and that chapter marked a turning point in the lives of the characters. So, here is Times of Change. Anyone who has read Young Slayers, you will have already read the first two chapters. This takes place a couple of months after the that.
CHAPTER 1
Giles awoke with a start. What on earth was that noise? It sounded like someone banging on the front door, but it was the middle of the night. Who would be calling at this time? What could be so important that it couldn't wait until the morning?
He stiffened. Perhaps it was a demon, come to lure them to their deaths while they were tired and disorientated? Some demons had been known to do that, after all.
Giles couldn't help smiling wryly at that thought. He did not wake well. The thought that it could be a demon was simply illogical. Whatever was at the door couldn't possibly be demonic in nature. Traverston had alarm wards surrounding it, which would go off if anything demonic tried to cross.
Giles staggered out of bed. It was probably one of the other Watchers, wanting help with a sick girl or something similar. Any time something happened to one of the Potentials living in Traverston it almost always seemed to fall to him to sort it out. Since he was the one with the most experience with children, the others expected him to know what to do in situations that they were uncomfortable with.
What awaited him at the door was no Watcher, and definitely not a demon. It was two young girls: a young teenager and a child of around five. And the elder of the two looked awfully familiar, although she had changed much since he had seen her last.
It was his niece, his little brother's daughter. He was certain of it. There was no mistaking her, even though it had been six years since he had seen her. She had been seven then, so she must now be thirteen. She had grown a lot, and her hair had lightened from a light brown to blond, but her features remained the same.
"Anya! What are you doing here?" he asked her, "has something happened to your parents?" His heart trembled at that thought. He didn't think he could bear it if something had happened to his baby brother. He may not have been able to see them for six years, due to his Watcher duties, but that did not mean he didn't care for them. Giles would feel terrible if something had happened and he hadn't been told.
Anya shook her head. "Nope, they're both fine. We just figured it was time someone came to visit you, since you're stuck here with only girls and other stuffy, tweed wearing people for company. We thought you would like to see us."
Giles sighed. Obviously the girl hadn't learnt much tact since he'd seen her last. She still said things exactly as she saw them. "That's all well and good," he told her, "But couldn't you have waited until the morning?" he was still puzzled as to the timing of her visit.
He sent an inquisitive glance at his niece's companion. 'And who might you be?" he asked her. He was sure he had never seen the child before, although he thought he could see some slight familial resemblances. But surely he would have been told if Lily had had another daughter?
The little girl glared at him. "I don't wanna talk to you. I wanna go home. This place smells funny" She stomped her foot and turned on Anya. "Ahn wan' mum and dad!"
Anya scowled down at the child. "Be quiet Darla," she said. "You are the one who wanted to come with me in the first place. No one made you."
She rolled her eyes and turned to Giles, effectively blocking out the temper tantrum that Darla was having with an experience that obviously came from years of practice. "That's Darla, mum had her since we saw you last. Remember, I told you in the card I sent you, like a year after you moved."
Giles winced. That explained why he hadn't known. Anya's writing had literally been a scrawl the last time he had received a letter from her. He had hardly been able to make out anything. Obviously he had missed an incredibly important piece of writing.
Then the fact that he was an uncle again dawned on him. What a nice surprise that was. He went over and scooped the thunder- faced child up into his arms. "Hi there" he said. "It's nice to meet you Darla."
She wriggled in his arms until he let her go. "No! Not nice!" she screamed.
Giles looked at Anya. "Whatever is the matter with the child?" he asked. "I thought you just said that she wanted to come?"
"She did" Anya told him. "She just likes being a brat. I didn't want to bring her, but she didn't want to go with mum and dad." Anya fell silent. Whoops. She shouldn't have said that. Now he'd know that her parents had gone somewhere. She knew it would be too much to ask that
"Did not want to go with your parents where?" Giles asked sharply. His niece did dot answer him. "Anya!" he snapped, "There is something you are not telling me. What is it?"
"Mum and dad gone to France" Darla piped up. "Anya an' me came here because we didn't wanna."
"Mum and dad said they were going to tell you" Anya stuck in quickly. "They said it was okay, honest."
Giles glowered at her. "Anya, if wherever your parents are has a phone number, give it to me now. And come with me, you two need to get some sleep."
Anya sulkily recited a number for him and he wrote it down.
Anya scowled down at Darla again. If it hadn't been for the kid she could have held off her uncle for at least a couple of days. She was really starting to wish she'd just left the brat behind when she'd came.
Giles led his two nieces into his room. He pointed to his bed. "Sleep" he ordered Darla. "You can have the settee" he told Anya, "or you can share the bed with your sister. I really don't mind. Just get some rest"
He left the girls to sort it out. He had a much larger problem to sort out. Their very presence here. He was fairly sure that Jeff and Lily had no idea where their daughters had disappeared to. They must be frantic.
They were. Jeff answered the phone almost immediately with a cry of "Anya?" and then a groan of frustration when Giles told him who it really was. Giles was pained to hear his younger brother sound so upset, so he hastened to tell Jeff that both girls were safe and with him.
"Oh, thank god, Rupert" Jeff said. "They've been gone for almost a week. We have the police out looking for them and everything."
Giles was astonished at how far the two children had travelled to get to him. He was so glad he'd included his address with the last Christmas card he'd sent. Otherwise, who knew where the two would have headed.
"You know, they really don't wish to go with you and Lily to France" Giles told his brother. "Perhaps we should let them stay here, for a few months at least. Perhaps they will eventually decide that they miss you and will want to join you over there."
"I... I just don't know," Jeff told him, a little shakily. "I realise how serious they are about this, how much it obviously means to them. But... I don't know if I can stand living without them."
Giles sighed. To him, that sounded a very selfish reason for wanting the children. The extreme measures Anya had taken to get here, he could only guess that meant she wanted to stay here for a while. God knows, he wouldn't mind. He had missed out on enough of her life, and all of Darla's, as it was. If they could stay here with him it would give him a chance to catch up.
Giles heard his brother sigh over the telephone receiver. "Oh Rupert, maybe you're right. Maybe they should stay, for a while at least. If you really don't mind."
It was obvious that his brother had been quietly discussing things with Lily, and that they had reached an agreement.
"Alright" Giles agreed. "It's settled then. "I'll tell the girls in the morning." Looking at his watch he realised it was morning. "Or afternoon, as the case may be"
Giles bid farewell to Jeff, wishing him a safe trip. Walking into his room he found the two sisters curled up on the bed together, Anya with a protective arm around her smaller sister.
He sighed. How them staying here was going to go, he wasn't sure he wanted to know. He just hoped he had made the right decision.
Authors note: Tyanks to Gidgetgirl for the Anya/Darla thing, and I hope I haven't lost my reviewers by changing the title and everything. I'll tell you though, I have a lot of fics on the go, and the ones with the most reviews are the ones that get reviewed faster. So please review as you would if this was still Young Slayers, or more, if possible :)
Authors note: Okay, this is the sequel to Young Slayers, and it is a very good idea for anyone who has not read that to do so before starting this. Also, reading 'Before the council: Buffy' wouldn't be a bad idea, but is not necessary. Yes, anyone who had been reading Young Slayers, this and Chapter two used to be chapters 23 and 24 of that fic, but people suggested, and I agreed, that the end of chapter 23 made a good end to that story, and the old title really did not work anymore, and that chapter marked a turning point in the lives of the characters. So, here is Times of Change. Anyone who has read Young Slayers, you will have already read the first two chapters. This takes place a couple of months after the that.
CHAPTER 1
Giles awoke with a start. What on earth was that noise? It sounded like someone banging on the front door, but it was the middle of the night. Who would be calling at this time? What could be so important that it couldn't wait until the morning?
He stiffened. Perhaps it was a demon, come to lure them to their deaths while they were tired and disorientated? Some demons had been known to do that, after all.
Giles couldn't help smiling wryly at that thought. He did not wake well. The thought that it could be a demon was simply illogical. Whatever was at the door couldn't possibly be demonic in nature. Traverston had alarm wards surrounding it, which would go off if anything demonic tried to cross.
Giles staggered out of bed. It was probably one of the other Watchers, wanting help with a sick girl or something similar. Any time something happened to one of the Potentials living in Traverston it almost always seemed to fall to him to sort it out. Since he was the one with the most experience with children, the others expected him to know what to do in situations that they were uncomfortable with.
What awaited him at the door was no Watcher, and definitely not a demon. It was two young girls: a young teenager and a child of around five. And the elder of the two looked awfully familiar, although she had changed much since he had seen her last.
It was his niece, his little brother's daughter. He was certain of it. There was no mistaking her, even though it had been six years since he had seen her. She had been seven then, so she must now be thirteen. She had grown a lot, and her hair had lightened from a light brown to blond, but her features remained the same.
"Anya! What are you doing here?" he asked her, "has something happened to your parents?" His heart trembled at that thought. He didn't think he could bear it if something had happened to his baby brother. He may not have been able to see them for six years, due to his Watcher duties, but that did not mean he didn't care for them. Giles would feel terrible if something had happened and he hadn't been told.
Anya shook her head. "Nope, they're both fine. We just figured it was time someone came to visit you, since you're stuck here with only girls and other stuffy, tweed wearing people for company. We thought you would like to see us."
Giles sighed. Obviously the girl hadn't learnt much tact since he'd seen her last. She still said things exactly as she saw them. "That's all well and good," he told her, "But couldn't you have waited until the morning?" he was still puzzled as to the timing of her visit.
He sent an inquisitive glance at his niece's companion. 'And who might you be?" he asked her. He was sure he had never seen the child before, although he thought he could see some slight familial resemblances. But surely he would have been told if Lily had had another daughter?
The little girl glared at him. "I don't wanna talk to you. I wanna go home. This place smells funny" She stomped her foot and turned on Anya. "Ahn wan' mum and dad!"
Anya scowled down at the child. "Be quiet Darla," she said. "You are the one who wanted to come with me in the first place. No one made you."
She rolled her eyes and turned to Giles, effectively blocking out the temper tantrum that Darla was having with an experience that obviously came from years of practice. "That's Darla, mum had her since we saw you last. Remember, I told you in the card I sent you, like a year after you moved."
Giles winced. That explained why he hadn't known. Anya's writing had literally been a scrawl the last time he had received a letter from her. He had hardly been able to make out anything. Obviously he had missed an incredibly important piece of writing.
Then the fact that he was an uncle again dawned on him. What a nice surprise that was. He went over and scooped the thunder- faced child up into his arms. "Hi there" he said. "It's nice to meet you Darla."
She wriggled in his arms until he let her go. "No! Not nice!" she screamed.
Giles looked at Anya. "Whatever is the matter with the child?" he asked. "I thought you just said that she wanted to come?"
"She did" Anya told him. "She just likes being a brat. I didn't want to bring her, but she didn't want to go with mum and dad." Anya fell silent. Whoops. She shouldn't have said that. Now he'd know that her parents had gone somewhere. She knew it would be too much to ask that
"Did not want to go with your parents where?" Giles asked sharply. His niece did dot answer him. "Anya!" he snapped, "There is something you are not telling me. What is it?"
"Mum and dad gone to France" Darla piped up. "Anya an' me came here because we didn't wanna."
"Mum and dad said they were going to tell you" Anya stuck in quickly. "They said it was okay, honest."
Giles glowered at her. "Anya, if wherever your parents are has a phone number, give it to me now. And come with me, you two need to get some sleep."
Anya sulkily recited a number for him and he wrote it down.
Anya scowled down at Darla again. If it hadn't been for the kid she could have held off her uncle for at least a couple of days. She was really starting to wish she'd just left the brat behind when she'd came.
Giles led his two nieces into his room. He pointed to his bed. "Sleep" he ordered Darla. "You can have the settee" he told Anya, "or you can share the bed with your sister. I really don't mind. Just get some rest"
He left the girls to sort it out. He had a much larger problem to sort out. Their very presence here. He was fairly sure that Jeff and Lily had no idea where their daughters had disappeared to. They must be frantic.
They were. Jeff answered the phone almost immediately with a cry of "Anya?" and then a groan of frustration when Giles told him who it really was. Giles was pained to hear his younger brother sound so upset, so he hastened to tell Jeff that both girls were safe and with him.
"Oh, thank god, Rupert" Jeff said. "They've been gone for almost a week. We have the police out looking for them and everything."
Giles was astonished at how far the two children had travelled to get to him. He was so glad he'd included his address with the last Christmas card he'd sent. Otherwise, who knew where the two would have headed.
"You know, they really don't wish to go with you and Lily to France" Giles told his brother. "Perhaps we should let them stay here, for a few months at least. Perhaps they will eventually decide that they miss you and will want to join you over there."
"I... I just don't know," Jeff told him, a little shakily. "I realise how serious they are about this, how much it obviously means to them. But... I don't know if I can stand living without them."
Giles sighed. To him, that sounded a very selfish reason for wanting the children. The extreme measures Anya had taken to get here, he could only guess that meant she wanted to stay here for a while. God knows, he wouldn't mind. He had missed out on enough of her life, and all of Darla's, as it was. If they could stay here with him it would give him a chance to catch up.
Giles heard his brother sigh over the telephone receiver. "Oh Rupert, maybe you're right. Maybe they should stay, for a while at least. If you really don't mind."
It was obvious that his brother had been quietly discussing things with Lily, and that they had reached an agreement.
"Alright" Giles agreed. "It's settled then. "I'll tell the girls in the morning." Looking at his watch he realised it was morning. "Or afternoon, as the case may be"
Giles bid farewell to Jeff, wishing him a safe trip. Walking into his room he found the two sisters curled up on the bed together, Anya with a protective arm around her smaller sister.
He sighed. How them staying here was going to go, he wasn't sure he wanted to know. He just hoped he had made the right decision.
Authors note: Tyanks to Gidgetgirl for the Anya/Darla thing, and I hope I haven't lost my reviewers by changing the title and everything. I'll tell you though, I have a lot of fics on the go, and the ones with the most reviews are the ones that get reviewed faster. So please review as you would if this was still Young Slayers, or more, if possible :)