Title: What Could Have Been

Timeline: AU S3

Pairings: Willow/Tara, Xander/Cordelia, Giles/Jenny

Disclaimer: The characters are property of Mutant Enemy, FOX and other companies. In other words, they aren't mine.

Summary: What if Tara had come to study at Sunnydale High in the beginning of Season 3?

Chapter 1

It really had been a tolerable summer, considering the circumstances, Rupert Giles mused. The weather, for the most part had been just fine - not too hot, not too dry. He looked through the window of his apartment. The deceptive charm of Sunnydale managed to impress him once again. The golden disk of the sun was very close to hiding beyond the horizon and its light was bathing the street. A young couple was passing nearby, holding hands. The boy was so busy whispering (Giles assumed) compliments in the ear of his beloved that he almost collided into a tree. Giles felt a stab of jealousy but he also wished the two would get inside soon and preferably not inside a public building. For all its beauty, a sunset had another, ominous meaning for a Watcher – vampire time,

Love and vampires, huh? He really had to find a way to steer his thoughts to a more pleasant place, the Angelus affair having left him with, to put it mildly, a bitter taste, when it came to mixing relationship with vampire hunting. So he decided to finally check his mail, something which he had stubbornly neglected to do in the past few days. Yes, rebel without a clue was one way of putting it but one's habits could only take as much spam…He reached for a letter at random and shock and horror! It did not look like a leaflet eulogising this or that vacuum cleaner, dishwashing liquid or the horror of horrors, a deity. Yes, Sunnydale had not only branches of all the major churches in America, many driven to a frenzy by glimpsing and trying to rectify without understanding much the monstrosities that happened here, but it had a few unique sects of its own. The fact that some of the demons these idiots had chosen to worship actually existed for sure unlike other more well known gods that Giles could mention, certainly wasn't an excuse to post leaflets drenched pig blood in his mailbox!

So this letter – it looked like it had traveled a long way, stains and stamps being all over it. But enough guessing – Giles opened it impatiently and started to read it.

Dear Rupert,

I hope you remember me. No, I know you remember me. It was a long time ago but there are things one does not forget. Like finding out that one of their fellow students is a witch. At Oxford, no less. Don't these people have standards any more? Ah, if it wasn't for the Armada's failure the Inquisition would have shown them how to chase witches!

Yes, Rupert, it's really me – Laura. I lost track of you after you dropped out. I remember that you always resented your destiny. Not being a Watcher but having a destiny decided for you by your family. I don't blame you but you could have stayed in touch, you know?

But that's all water under the bridge. I heard you are doing great and have really gotten control of that destiny thing. I can just picture you wondering how I learned all that and your address, too. Well, I have traveled around the world expanding my knowledge of the world of magic and occult. I met many witches, shamans and demon hunters. Recently, I traveled to the jungles of Guatemala, trying to track a long-lost artifact. I failed but I came across Kendra, the Vampire Slayer. She stumbled across me while I was trying to set a vampire on fire with magic, so we could drop the masquerade and talk.

I asked her if she knew of a Watcher named Giles and imagine my joy when she said that not only she knew you but she had actually met you recently. She told me about the dark power she helped you battle. Incredible story – two Slayers against such a powerful foe! Kendra also told me how impressed she was by your Slayer's friends and their willingness to assist her in her duties. And this really got me thinking.

I have a daughter who is almost eighteen. She has been a taught a lot about magic by me and her Grandma but the quiet town where we live hasn't really given her more opportunities to put them to practice. I have only taken her on two of my trips to exotic places, despite her pleas and pouts. During my trips I have come across some rather nasty creatures and managed to dispose of quite a few of them. I might also have exaggerated my heroics in my stories for her and the result is that Tara views me as some sort of a superhero. I keep telling her that I have had to use local help in all but few of my feats but still I am afraid she might run away from home and become…I don't know what exactly. A rogue demon hunter?

To make matters worse she is very shy and has led a sheltered life. But just like her mother, she can be very stubborn. So I am afraid, I will have to ask you for a big favour. Kendra's story assures me that you can deal with teen girls. Your Slayer's group of young friends might also become the friends my girl desperately needs. Yes, I know that Sunnydale is a very dangerous place to live but sometimes in life one has to take huge risks. I can't hide her under my metaphorical bed forever. I know it's very presumptuous of me to ask but would you be willing to consider allowing my daughter into your life for a few months and showing her that fighting evil isn't as romantic as it sounds? The other option would be to take her on of my journeys but usually I spent most of them being an anthropologist (my not so secret job), plus she needs to finish school first. If you are willing to consider the possibility, please write to…and I will be come with the little angel in tow. If not, I will come alone and with one less present for you. I am dying to see you but there is still some unfinished business here with the vampire nests.

Your long lost but loving friend,

Laura Maclay

Well, I will be damned! Giles was finding it terribly hard to comprehend this letter. Laura Maclay? Talk about a pleasant surprise. They had spent so much time together in Oxford talking about history, politics and everything or just having fun at the endless succession of parties which the life of every student becomes at one point or another (if they know what's best for them). But she was – finding about her magic skills had been a shock. Sure, he knew how to do spells as a part of his Watcher skills but she had a natural affinity for magic. Plus, she had enjoyed spells more than him even before the Eyghon insanity had put him off magic altogether until he met Buffy.

Laura had a child? Okay, "who is the father" had indeed been one of the first thoughts that crossed Giles's mind but not because he felt any jealousy. Their relationship hadn't been romantic. It had been such a shame that by the time Giles had resumed his studies in Oxford, Laura had gone somewhere else for her master's degree. He probably could have found out where but back then he had felt so ashamed and guilty that in a way he had punished himself by immersing himself fully into his studies and not getting close to any living soul for almost a decade. Well, except for one cat…

He didn't have to think long about Laura's unusual request. His experience with Buffy has shown clearly that trying to convince people that something is too dangerous usually only fueled their desire to explore or even worse, rush to defeat the danger without a proper plan. Without the support from him and her friends Buffy would have been long dead by now, despite her formidable superpowers and admirable determination. This Tara must either learn the value of teamwork or be scared enough by Sunnydale's horrors so that she chose a different, safer life path like being a sapper or a writer hell bent on killing the characters his fans love. He was going to make sure her mother had a clear idea of Sunnydale too as descriptions could be deceiving. Giles himself had almost fallen prey to a vampire in his first days near the Hellmouth.

He remembered how nervous he had been in his early days here, wondering if this Buffy Summers would ever accept him as her Watcher. And now Sam Zabuto and Kendra had praised him so much that he was going to see a long lost friend! It was hard not to feel a bit of pride of a job well done. Then he thought of Buffy and corrected himself - mostly well done. He should never have allowed her to date Angel. So many victims because of that idiotic curse but also because he and Buffy had been fools. Damned gypsies!

The front door opened, stopping his train of thought before it had reached the darkest tunnels of self-flagellation. Well, life had its pleasant sides too.

"Hi, honey, I am home!" The voice was dripping with irony but also had more than enough tingles of affection to send tingles down Giles's spine. He turned around and smiled at the newcomer.

"Jenny! You startled me. I thought you were going to teach Willow magic?" he stepped forward and gave the dark-haired woman a kiss. She laughed, pulled back from his hug and put the bag she was carrying on the ground.

"Rupert, you really need to control yourself. A few hours without me and you turn into one of my students. Patience, England, patience." But Jenny's tone suggested that she was more flattered than annoyed by Giles's actions. Many men would have backed down from Jenny's teasing way of communicating but for Giles this was merely one the many things he adored about her. Let's see - her smile, her eyes, her wit, her stubbornness, her…

"Are you even listening to me? I said we have the evening all to ourselves. Willow doesn't really need my help with magic much these days. Buffy's still sulking and doesn't want anyone with her on her patrols. I almost pity the vamps she might encounter. So, barring an apocalypse, we can go out…or stay in?"

How does she do it? Making everything sounds that dirty. And hot. "I…I think it would be nice to go for a dinner. I have something important to tell you. But later I see some definite staying in. Here or your place?" This day just kept getting better and better…

A/N: The general idea of this story is to keep the spirit of BTVS's high school seasons, keep Jenny Calendar alive and explore what might have happened if Tara was to come study at Sunnydale High. Angel and Spike are gone for good as I don't have any interest in human-vampire romance. The rest of the Scooby gang will get their chance to shine but I don't plan writing too much from Buffy's PoV, the show explored that quite thoroughly, so I'd rather concentrate on the sidekicks. I hope you enjoyed the start of the story.