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a/n: This was originally written for a rare pairing challenge over at the LJ goodevil community. I gave three pairs of numbers that would blindly give me three pairings to choose from to write about. Gavin/Buffybot was the strangest pairing, so I chose it. The summary was too long for fanficnet so I've added it below:
Summary: This is one "out there" crossover pairing! Set right before BTVS S6 and ATS S3. Somehow, Wolfram and Hart finds out that there's an advanced robot out there that looks just like the current Slayer. As the new VP of Acquisitions, it's Gavin's job to get it to L.A. and find out all about it. When he realizes what it was made for, he decides to use the bot for his own depraved purposes. Will Buffybot take this lying down? And, what will the Scoobies do? Now that Buffy is dead, they have big plans for Buffybot to stand in as the real thing to keep order on the hellmouth and keep Dawn with them.
A New Acquisition
"Giles!" Anya called out as she closed the door to the Magic Box's basement. She paused, glancing around the shop before consulting the clipboard again. "Giles!"
She cocked her head to listen, but there was no answer. Sighing, she frowned at the clipboard as she went behind the counter. He would not like this. They had plans for the Buffybot. They'd fixed it up and got it back to working condition after its confrontation with Glory. Willow was going to work on the programming soon so they could use the bot to fool everyone into thinking that the Slayer was still alive.
She shrugged. Maybe Willow had taken it home with her. Anya hoped that things would get more cheerful once the bot was around. Since Buffy had jumped off the tower and died, everyone was depressed and somber.
Giles came out of the office. "Anya? Did you call for me?"
"Yes." She took small, rapid steps and pushed the clipboard at him. "I was doing inventory in the basement when I noticed that the Buffybot is missing."
"Really?" Giles asked in surprise as he glanced at the basement door.
"Do you think Willow took it?"
"She didn't say anything about taking it." Giles scratched his head. "The bot wasn't under the tarp?"
"No." Anya grabbed the clipboard from him and went back behind the counter. "But Willow must have it. Nothing else is missing. I don't think a thief would want what looks like a mannequin. They'd take the cash and valuables, right?"
Gavin Park, recently promoted to Acquisitions, was busy with paperwork when the phone rang in his office at Wolfram and Hart. Absently, he pushed the button for the speakerphone. "Gavin Park, here."
"Mr. Park. This is Abel Holmes down in the technology lab. How are you today, sir?"
Gavin put his pen down and glared at the high tech phone. "Do you have it?"
"Yes, sir. That is why I'm calling. The robot was just brought in. Would you like us to check it out and send you a report?"
"Don't touch it!" Gavin ordered irritably. "I'll be down in a moment."
Being as meticulous as he was, he just couldn't leave papers scattered on his desk. After he had things put away, he grabbed the file marked "Current Slayer", checked his image in the mirror by the door, ran a comb through his hair, and headed down to the lab.
Gavin paused at the lab door, cracked his neck and took a deep breath. These people worked under him. He needed to go in there and take charge. Throwing the door open, he glared at the men and women in white lab coats.
"Where is it?"
"This way, Mr. Park," the short, balding man named Abel said.
He was led to a small room on the side, filled with computers and monitors. The room hummed with electricity and smelled of silicon, metal and plastic. A woman in a white coat and jeans whipped the gray blanket off in dramatic fashion, revealing the robot underneath.
The gang of do-gooders called it the Buffybot. Shuffling up to it, Gavin noted the closed eyes and the Barbie doll colored hair. He opened his manila folder and pulled out the 8 x 10 of the Slayer, holding it up to the robot's face for a comparison.
"A really good likeness," Abel said as he came for a closer look.
"Yes," Gavin said while keeping his eyes trained on the bot. "We need to find this Warren and get him on the payroll. I believe he could teach you guys a thing or two." He put the photo away and placed the folder down. "I wonder what they were planning to do with it?"
"The guys say it was under a tarp, like it had been in storage for a while."
Gavin touched the bot's cheek and pulled his hand back in surprise. How did the maker get it to feel so much like human flesh? Now really curious to see the bot in action, he said, "Turn it on."
"Are you sure?" A man at the computer asked. "We have no idea what it was built for or what it's capable of."
"Just do it," Gavin ordered with a glare.
He turned back to the bot and watched in fascination as a faint whirring sound started before the eyes flipped open. He blinked when the bot did and marveled at the beautiful, lifelike green eyes that dilated before blinking again. It was truly an amazing invention and they couldn't have picked a more gorgeous female to pattern it after.
"Hello," Buffybot said cheerfully with a hundred watt smile. "Where's Spike?"
Gavin frowned in confusion. "You mean the vampire?"
"Yes, Spike. My vampire. Have you seen him? I need to find him."
As Buffybot spoke, her people recognition software kicked in and rapidly went through the photographs in her memory bank, trying to match one to the man standing before her. The software looped through the list three times in five seconds and came up with nothing.
"Spike's not here." Gavin glanced back at the man sitting near the computer and shrugged.
She cocked her head at him. "Who are you?"
He turned back to the bot and stood taller. "I'm Gavin Park. I am in charge of Acquisitions, and you are now the property of Wolfram and Hart."
Buffybot reached out and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him up. Gavin kicked out, making choking noises and grabbing at her strong arm. The others around him made no attempt to help as they looked on in silent terror.
"I belong to Spike," she told him cheerfully. "No one else could ever own me, but him."
"Shhhh-argh-shut it o-o-off," Gavin managed to get out.
The man at the computer continued to stare until the words sunk it. Then he went into action, clicking buttons on his keyboard to shut the bot down.
The bot's hand relaxed and went to her side as her eyes closed. Gavin slumped to the ground, holding his throat and gasping for breath. When he could stand up, he smoothed out his thousand-dollar suit while glaring at the employees who were gawking at him in shock.
"Make a copy of its programming and analyze it. I want a detailed report about it on my desk in one hour." He straightened his tie before strutting out of the room and then out of the lab.
Gavin glared at the young gofer who backed out of the room while staring at the purple and pink bruises on his neck. As soon as the door clicked shut, the VP of Acquisitions tore into the package and opened the file.
It was well past five, but Gavin was used to being in the office for hours after quitting time. You didn't get ahead at Wolfram and Hart unless you sold your soul to the company. He'd signed on the dotted line long ago. His last girlfriend had left him soon after, complaining in an email that she never saw him anymore. Girlfriends come and go and mean nothing. She might be gone, but he was one step closer to running this whole place. Then he'd have more women than he could handle.
With a wicked smile on his face, he went through the report on the Buffybot. Spike had one sick mind, and Gavin liked it. He didn't blame the vamp for having the hots for Buffy. He'd never seen the Slayer in person, but if the body was an exact replica like the face was, he understood the attraction perfectly.
Gavin wondered why the bot was found in the basement of the watcher's magic shop. Perhaps Spike had been caught with his pants down and the Slayer came in and took the bot away from him. He chuckled at the thought.
An idea began to form. He was lonely, the bot was hot and he could order them to program her anyway he wanted. In quick fashion, he buzzed for his secretary.
"Yes, Mr. Park?" Gracie asked through the intercom.
"Connect me to Abel Holmes in the tech lab."
"Yes, sir."
While he waited, Gavin gathered the papers from the report, sorted them neatly in the folder and placed it on the tray to be filed.
"Abel Holmes on line one, sir," Gracie said over the intercom.
"Abel, here's what I want you to do."
Abel dropped the file on to McNaught's desk. "Here are the specifications that Mr. Park asked for."
Abel was the lab supervisor, but McNaught was their highest paid computer genius. If anyone could figure out how to change the programming, he could. He waited patiently as McNaught went over the file.
McNaught glanced up at Abel and then rolled his eyes. "Is Park for real? This is not going to work." He carelessly tossed the file on to his desk. "If all I do is exchange the vampire's name for Park's, it will be chaos. It's not enough." He frowned at the file. "And what does he think he will accomplish by switching Spike's name with his?"
Abel smirked. "I have a good idea and I don't think it has anything to do with work."
McNaught smiled for the first time as he leaned back in a casual manner. "Oh, man. Park is a twisted individual, but he's not very smart. If that is what he's aiming for, it's not going to work."
"I tried to explain it to him, but you know him. He just went into boss mode, telling me to do what I'm told or I could kiss my job goodbye."
McNaught smirked. "Well, if he's going to be that way about it…" He chuckled. "I'll get right on it. But, man, I want front row seats for when he turns the bot on."
Abel smiled back. "Me, too. The jerk is going to get what's coming to him,0 and he asked for it."
Gavin was in the office bright and early the next morning. So early, in fact, that he knew his faithful secretary was not in yet. He stopped by his office long enough to drop off his briefcase and fire up his computer, before heading to the tech lab.
"You're here early," Lilah Morgan drawled as she leaned against her office door with one sleek leg crossed over the other.
Gavin had worked for Wolfram and Hart long enough that very few things in this world could scare him. Lilah was one of those things. Her ice-cold blue eyes bore into him and her evil smile sent chills down his spine.
"What do you want?"
She frowned at him. "What do you mean? Can't I greet an employee with pleasantries?"
"You can, but you never do." Gavin slipped his hands in his pockets and glared at her. "I don't have time to stand around and chit chat. I have work to do."
"Are you on your way down to play with your new android?" Lilah asked knowingly.
"It's not mine," he said, trying to stamp down his flustering. "I'm on my way to see if they've made any progress."
Lilah straightened up, coming nose to nose with him. "I don't know what sick games you are planning, but that robot better be in one piece." She paused and narrowed her eyes at him. "I have plans for it."
Her breath was sweet like ripened peaches. He took a step back and put a hand up.
"I don't plan to dismantle it." He narrowed his eyes back at her. "What sort of plans?"
"It's the perfect tool to use against Angel," she told him.
Gavin rolled his eyes. Lilah was obsessed with Angel.
Lilah got that far off look in her eyes. "We need to somehow fabricate a heartbeat and get the android to infiltrate Angel's little gang of misfits. Once we are inside, we can monitor their actions and use his feelings for the slayer to manipulate him."
"That'll work," he said wryly as he turned his back to her and then said over his shoulder, "I have work to do."
Casually walking away, he looked straight ahead and hoped that she would let it go. He let out of relieved breath as he rounded the corner and pushed the call button for the elevator.
The lab hummed with electricity, but there was no one in sight. Gavin took a few quick steps towards the door where he last saw the bot and turned the knob. His heart picked up its pace when he realized the door was unlocked.
There she was, looking like she was asleep on her feet. They hadn't bothered covering her up. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. All but one monitor in the room was turned off and there didn't appear to be anyone around. Getting closer, he rubbed the material of her shirt between his thumb and forefinger. Just as he got brave enough to cop a feel of her chest, voices floated into the room from the outer offices. Gavin quickly put his hands in his pockets and looked around the room, trying to appear bored.
Holmes and McNaught stopped at the door when they saw him. They each had a cup of coffee in their hands and they grinned at each other, before coming in.
"Mr. Park," McNaught said cheerfully. "You're here kind of early, aren't you?"
The stony glare that Gavin sent the technician only brought out a wider smile on the man.
"I'm here, so let's get down to business." Gavin circled the bot until he was behind her. He tugged on the wires and squinted at the open square at the base of her neck. "How do I turn her on and off?"
Holmes turned his back to them and coughed, unsuccessfully attempting to cover a laugh.
In a low and clipped voice, Gavin said to McNaught, "Show me how to run this thing."
"Yes, sir!" McNaught said as he came to stand beside him and unplugged the cable from the bot's back. "To turn her on, you push this button and hold it down for three seconds. To turn her off, do it again for three seconds."
"Like this?" Gavin pushed the button and held it down. The whirring sound kicked in.
"Gavin," Buffybot said with a giggle, without turning around. "Is that you playing with my insides?"
He quickly pushed down on the button again, shutting her down. He kept calm, but inside he wanted to laugh. It worked. She wasn't looking for Spike anymore. She was looking for him!
Unfortunately, he had meetings scheduled up until lunchtime.
"Turn her on at eleven. When she asks where I am, give her directions to my office."
No matter how many times he looked at his watch, he wasn't going to be able to make time go by faster. Just fifteen more minutes. He stopped drumming his fingers when Lilah cleared her throat and raised an eyebrow at him.
When things finally wrapped up, Gavin was the first one out the room. He power walked his way back to his office, but stopped at Gracie's desk.
"When a woman named Buffy shows up, just send her right in." He glanced at his watch. "It's eleven now. Once she gets here, you can go on your lunch break." He smiled at her. "You've been working very hard lately. Take the rest of the day off."
"Thank you, Mr. Park," Gracie said in wonder.
He said a quick 'You're welcome' and went into his office. He took a moment to enjoy the view of Los Angeles before closing all the blinds and switching the lights on. Next, he took his suit jacket off and hung it in the tiny closet in his adjoining bathroom. After checking his teeth and adjusting his tie in the mirror, he checked his watch again. She should be here by now.
Under normal circumstances, he was a very patient man, but right now, he felt like a kid on Christmas morning, waiting for his turn to open a present. He wanted it now. Whatever possessed Spike to commission the Buffybot to be built like it was, Gavin was grateful for it.
Every guy should have his own Buffybot. He smiled, even as he paced. Real women were a pain to keep up. And, they always wanted to talk. But a bot? It could be programmed for a man's own personal kinks. He'd be a millionaire if he could market them.
The door swung open and Buffybot stopped just inside the office. Her pretty pink skirt swishing around her legs.
"Do you know where Gavin is?" she asked with that same high glossed smile that he'd seen before.
He strode over to her and shut the door before taking her arm to leading her to the grey suede couch.
"Have a seat."
With her head tilt slightly, she stood and crossed her arms. "I don't want to have a seat. I need to find Gavin."
He straightened up and gave her a confident smile. "I am Gavin."
Buffybot smiled at the picture the came up in her internal monitor. "No, you are definitely not my Gavin," she said with a shake of her head. "My vampire is hot, dangerous and sexy. He wears a long black duster, and has really cool blond hair."
He stared at Buffybot's pert little breasts and could wait no longer. As he reached out and gave the left one a firm squeeze, he said, "I've been waiting all day to do this."
The firm slapped that she gave him had his head reeling. He gingerly touched his cheek and frowned at her. "What did you do that for?"
"I belong to Gavin," she said with a pouty lip. "Only he can touch me."
"No. You have it wrong. I am Gavin Park. Let me prove it to you."
As he pulled out his wallet, she said with a shake of her head, "No, only a poofter would wear a monkey suit like that. Gavin never would."
Gavin frowned as he took out his driver's license. "Look here. See. Gavin Park. And see, that's my picture."
She snatched the license from him and stared at both him and the little card. "This is incorrect. Where's Gavin?" She glared at him. "What have you done with my vampire?"
Buffybot gave him a good shove and he found himself suddenly sitting down on his couch.
"This is a trick," she accused while looking for something in her jacket. She pulled out a sharpened stake and poised it at his heart. "Are you a vampire?"
He gasped, and keeping his eyes on the stake, he shook his head.
"I'm the slayer, you know? I kill vampires. I stake them!" She pressed the stake deeper.
"No!" he said when he finally found his voice. "No, please. I'm human. I have a heartbeat."
"Take me to Gavin."
"I am Gavin," he said with more than a little trepidation. Despite the situation, she was turning him on with her forcefulness.
Buffybot put the stake away and glanced around the room before looking at Gavin. "I have to find him. He needs me." She paused and went through the list of people she knew. She stopped the program on Willow. "Willow will know where he is."
And with that, she turned and walked out of the room. Gavin sat in his place staring at the open door in shock, before he realized that the bot was now walking the halls, probably asking where to find him.
He sprinted out of the office and down the hall just in time to see the elevator close on her. Rushing to the other elevator, he impatiently slapped at the call button, but stopped and waved sheepishly at a couple of lawyers coming down the hall.
Once in the lobby, Gavin looked around wildly, searching for his robot. When he was sure that she was not in the lobby, he began going up and down each hall, asking the people he passed if they'd seen a pretty blond girl in a pink skirt and denim jacket. No one had seen her.
He went back to the lobby and approached the information desk. "Excuse me."
"Yes," the pretty receptionist said.
"Have you seen a pretty blond girl go by in a pink skirt about so high?"
"Yes. What a strange woman. She was asking if I'd seen any willow trees," the receptionist said with a shake of her head.
"Did you see which way she went?"
"She asked me to call her a taxi-"
"What!" he turned away from the desk to look outside but the building was too far back from the street to see anything. "Did she say where she was going?"
The receptionist shrugged. "She said something about finding willows in Sunnydale. If you asked me, I think she needs to see a shrink."
Gavin slapped the desk in frustration and took off at a run out of the building. If he lost the bot, he'd have to answer to Lilah. He had to get that thing back. He got a view of the street just in time to see a yellow taxi driving off.
He ran after it waving his arms and yelling, "Stop!" until it turned right on the next street drove and out of sight.
Gavin drove along the I-15 in his BMW going ten miles over the speed limit and only weaving in and out of traffic when he absolutely had to. He didn't want to risk getting pulled over for a traffic violation and letting Buffybot get more of a head start on him. He had to get there in time to stop her from finding Spike. If she found Spike first, Lilah would kill him.
Needing to hear something positive, he pushed the button on the radio to switch it from FM to the CD player. Anthony Robbins began to speak affirming words to him and he felt a little better. He could do this. He would do this.
Anya, Xander, Willow and Tara sat around the table in the Magic Shop. They were all tired after a long day of working, but now they had Scoobie stuff to work through.
"We have to do something. We need that robot," Giles was saying as he paced back and forth in front of the glass counter.
"There's no way it just walked off on its own," Xander stated. "Someone definitely took it."
Willow glanced at the closed door of the training room before saying, "We know Spike didn't do it. He already agreed that using the Buffybot as a decoy was the only way to make sure we could keep Dawn in Sunnydale. There's no way he'd do anything to mess that up."
Dawn came into the shop from the training room and flopped down into an empty chair at the table. "Spike is pulverizing the punching bag."
The bells jingled at the door as it was thrown open and with a light and quick step, Buffybot walked in and looked around. A scruffy looking man came behind her.
The bots eyes lit up when she spotted the group at the table. "Willow. You're my friend. I need to find Gavin. Can you help?"
"And I need to get paid," the scruffy man said. "I've taken this fare all the way from L.A."
"L.A.!" Giles exclaimed.
Buffybot smiled at the taxi driver. "He's my watcher. See the stupid tweed jacket. He'll pay you." She walked up to a confused Willow. "Do you know where Gavin is?"
"Who the hell is Gavin?" Spike asked as he came into the room and then stopped short when he saw the Buffybot. He quickly stomped a look of sorrow down and turned on his heel to go back into the training room.
He was able to take three steps before the bot was on him, hugging and kissing him. "Gavin! Gavin! I knew I'd find you."
Spike glared at the group as he untangled himself from the bot and pushed her away so forcefully that she landing on her backside. "Willow! Do something with this…this thing."
The building shook as the training room door slammed behind Spike. Buffybot got up and frowned at the door with a tilted head. "What's wrong with Gavin? I think he needs a massage."
Willow grabbed her hand and led her to the table as Giles opened the cash register with a resounding ping. The cab driver counted out the large pile of bills, eyed the bot one more time, and thanked Giles before going out the door.
Gavin rushed up just as the cabbie was getting into his taxi. "The girl. Where is she?" he asked, out of breath.
"You mean that crazy lady that wouldn't stop talking about some guy named Gavin the whole way here?"
"Yeah. Yeah, her."
"She's inside that creepy witch shop." The cabbie shut his door and drove off as fast as he could.
Gavin's heart dropped, but he slinked towards the shop anyway. Maybe no one had seen her yet. From the display window, Gavin could see redhead working at the back of Buffybot's opened neck.
"Shit. I'm toast." He slowly made his way back to the car. Gavin had no idea how he was going to explain loosing the bot, but he did know it wasn't going to be pretty.
"Well," Willow said after they had the bot shut down. "I have no idea who Gavin is, but he didn't do too much harm to the bot."
"We're going to have to find a secure spot to keep it so this doesn't happen again," Giles said.
Anya got up and caressed the cash register. "We should chain her up with a lock. That was one expensive taxi ride."
"We'll just keep her with us," Tara said. "Willow can work on her and we can keep her tied up in our closet.
"That's a great idea, honey." Willow smiled brightly at her lover. "You can help me reprogram her. It's going to take me a couple of days and it will be easier if the bot is at the house."
"Whatever you do," Spike said as he leaned against the open training room door frame, "Keep that thing away from me, and fix it so it doesn't jump on me again." He glared at the bot and waved a hand at it. "I don't want it to have a thing for me, but it would be nice if it called me by my name."