Disclaimer: I own neither Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor The Covenant. Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon, and the boys belong to Renny Harlin. It's too bad, too, 'cause I'm sure I could have lots of fun with those boys... They DO have magical powers afterall! cough

Summary: Buffy helps Caleb deal with his father's death.

It would help to read this AFTER you read my other Buffy/Covenant fic, Matching the Covenant, but it's not really necessary. All you gotta know is that Buffy grew up with the boys and is back to visit after defeating the Mayor in season 4.

Alright, so I know that I said it was going to be a while until I got another Buffy/Covenant fic out, but as it turns out, when I sat down to write a paper for my Intro to Electricity class, this is what came out. Huh. Curious. So here I am. An three and a half hours later later (with food and T.V. breaks... my roommate's watching The Office...). With a 4 page fic and nothing written about William Shockley. Damn. Good thing it's not due tomorrow.

Anyways, hope you enjoy it! Here we go...

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Buffy watched in silence as Caleb knelt at the foot of his father's flower-covered grave, his knees at the very edge of the freshly disturbed dirt and his hands resting on the ground by his sides. It had been a little over a week since Buffy had defeated Chase, and Caleb was taking the death of his father rather hard. Even though William Danvers hadn't played a pivotal role in his son's childhood, he was still Caleb's father. To an outside observer, he seemed just fine, but Buffy and the other Sons of Ipswitch knew better. He had become somewhat withdrawn from the world around him and had settled into the habit of making gestures instead of talking.

Her black turtleneck sweater and light jacket didn't offer much protection against the elements, and she shivered, forcing a small smile as Pogue pulled her close to his chest and wrapped his leather jacket around her, the heat from his body warming he back. Tyler and Reid stood next to them, both watching Caleb with sombre expressions on their faces and huddling close together for warmth. The rest of the funeral procession had long gone, heading back to the Danvers' mansion for the wake, but the four friends had stayed behind, waiting to stay with Caleb as he said a final goodbye to his father. Gently extracting herself from Pogue's embrace, Buffy made her way over to Caleb, her boots sinking into the muddy earth with each step, and stopped behind him, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Caleb." He made no indication that he had heard her, continuing to stare expressionlessly at the gravestone in front of him. "Caleb," she tried again, kneeling down next to him and taking his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. "We should head back." His expression didn't change, but he nodded, allowing Buffy to pull him to his feet and lead him toward Tyler's SUV. Sliding into the middle seat between Pogue and Caleb, Buffy gave Tyler, who was craning his head around the front seat headrest to look at her, a nod and he started the car, pulling out of the parking lot of the cemetery and quickly heading back to the Danvers' mansion. Watching as Caleb stared absently out the window, she slipped her hand into his, receiving a sad smile when she squeezed it gently. Tyler pulled the SUV into the driveway of Caleb's house and killed the engine, getting out of the car and opening Caleb's door for him. Nudging him until he got out, Buffy followed him to the front door, pausing momentarily as he pushed the door open and walked into the entrance hall.

"Oh, Caleb," called Evelyn as they entered, and she swept over from where she was talking to a few people to take his hand and pull him toward the back of the house. Giving Tyler a gracious nod as he took her coat and hung it up by the door for her, Buffy followed Caleb and his mother through the house, stopping as they reached the drawing room. "So good of you to join us." Buffy could tell that she was relieved that he was there to help her deal with the guests. She was surprisingly sober for an alcoholic who had just lost her husband, but it sort of made sense. She did have to make all the decisions and arrangements for the funeral and wake. Looking around the room, she noticed that only those somehow connected to the Sons of Ipswitch were present; all others had been told that William Danvers had died many years ago when he had disappeared from the public eye. Buffy lost sight of Caleb as she was stopped by a thin blond woman in a long black dress who kissed her once on each cheek before pulling her into a hug.

"Buffy," she greeted, dropping her arms to her side and gesturing for a tall man with dark hair to join her. "So good to see you again. Though it is a shame that it's under such... terrible circumstances."

"It's nice to see you again, too, Mrs. Garwin. Mr. Garwin." Buffy smiled softly, watching Pogue, Tyler, and Reid out of the corner of her eye as they escaped to the corner of the room where a small table of food was set out. She had never been particularly close with the Garwin's, as they had traveled the world for most of Reid's childhood, leaving him with various nannies over the years.

"Please, dear. It's Cynthia," the woman corrected with a small smile. Buffy nodded, and after spending a few minutes exchanging meaningless formalities, she politely excused herself and headed over toward where her friends were standing. However, before she could reach her destination, a small blur of black attached itself to her leg, and she stumbled slightly, managing to catch herself before she fell flat on her face. Looking down, she saw a little girl hugging her leg, and she smiled in spite of the sombre mood of the room, reaching down to pick her up. It was Tyler's six-year-old sister, Ashley. She was dressed in a poofy black dress with tights and shiny black shoes, and tied in her hair was a somewhat lopsided bow.

"Buffy!" the child called, wrapping her arms around Buffy's neck and burrowing her face into her neck.

"Hey, sweetheart," Buffy greeted back, hugging the little girl closer. Buffy was somewhat surprised that the girl still remembered her. She hadn't seen her in two years, and Ashley had grown so much. She could already see a little bit of Tyler in her. "How have you been?"

"Good," Ashley answered, her face still nestled in the crook of Buffy's neck. "How come you don't come visit us 'nymore?" Buffy smiled, and ran her free hand up and down the girl's back, her fingers sliding effortlessly across the faux-velvet.

"I know it's been a long time, but I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere for a while, okay?" The little girl extracted her face from Buffy's neck and gave an excited nod, causing Buffy to laugh softly at her enthusiasm. "But I'm going to go talk to your brother and his friends now, alright?" Ashley nodded again, and Buffy set her back on her feet. "I'll see you soon?"

"Yeah!" she cried and wrapped her arms around Buffy's legs once again in parting before scampering off to find her mother. The Slayer sighed amusedly and shook her head before once again heading toward the corner, seeing that Reid and Tyler was standing by themselves, looking extremely uncomfortable. Evidently, Pogue had gone off somewhere, leaving his two friends behind.

"Hey," she greeted softly, giving them a small smile, and Tyler wrapped his free hand around her waist when she stopped next to him. She frowned slightly, looking around and not seeing Caleb anywhere. "Where's Caleb?"

"Dunno," answered Reid, and Tyler shrugged and took a sip from the cup he was holding. "Haven't seen him since his mom dragged him away." Pulling away from Tyler, Buffy informed them that she was going to go look for Caleb before making her way through the small group and toward the front hall. Not seeing him, she quietly climbed the stairs, tilting her head to the side in concern when she saw that the light in his room was on. Knocking gently once she reached the door, she entered when she got no response. Caleb was sitting on his bed with his shoes off and his tie loosened, staring off into space.

"Caleb?" she asked softly, and when he didn't answer, she walked over to the bed and sat down next to him. "Are you alright?" This was a stupid question. Of course he wasn't alright. His father just died. But she asked him anyway. It was one of those questions you asked out of politeness even if you knew the answer or when you didn't know what else to say. He shrugged but didn't say anything, and Buffy let out a sigh. "Caleb?" Once again, he didn't answer, and they lapsed into silence, Buffy unzipping and kicking off her boots and curling her legs under her in an attempt to make herself more comfortable. She had no idea how long they sat like that, but all of a sudden, Caleb whispered something so quietly that Buffy had to strain to hear it, even with her Slayer hearing.

"I'm not alright." He turned toward her, and she gasped slightly when she saw that his eyes were filled with tears. She hadn't seen Caleb cry since they were children. They were six and he had fallen off his bike and slammed his elbow against the cement curb. Buffy had given it a kiss to make him feel better, and just like that, he was fine. But this was nothing like a bruised elbow or skinned knee. "He had a problem, but he was still a good guy. And he loved me. All of us." Buffy nodded took his hand in hers, gently stroking her fingers over the back of his. For as far back as she could remember, William had been like a second father to her. He had often bought her expensive presents despite her mother's protests, used small bursts of magic to entertain her as a child, and even when he left the Danvers' mansion and went to live in their old colony house, he had always thought of her, calling to make sure that she was alright and well taken care of. "That could be me." Buffy's head snapped up to see Caleb's face turned toward hers, his dark brown eyes connecting with her hazel ones.

"No, Caleb," she protested, her brow furrowing in concern. "You're not going to end up like him." He shook his head and looked back down at his hands.

"It could happen to any of us. I don't know what I would do if I lost you. Any of you." She knew that he was talking about Pogue, Reid, and Tyler, and she frowned. He had always warned the boys about using, but she had no idea he was so worried about it.

"Caleb," she said softly, using her free hand to turn his face back toward her. "I promise. Nothing's going to happen to any of us." She had no idea if she was lying to him, or herself for that matter, but she couldn't bare to think about life without her four best friends, content on lying herself if that's what it took.

"You don't know that." Her heart broke at hidden emotion behind his eyes, but she stood her ground, looking him straight in the eyes.

"I promise. I will never leave you," she whispered, her hand cupping his cheek, feeling the tears begin to sting her eyes. "I'll aways be here with you. Always." The two continued to stare at each other for a few seconds before something happened that made her breath catch in her throat and her heart beat loudly in her chest. Slowly, Caleb dipped his head and touched his lips to hers, bringing his hand to gently cup her jawline before brushing a stray strand of blond hair out of her face. Buffy sucked in a surprised breath, the feeling of his lips against hers sending sparks shooting through her body, and pulled back, separating their lips with a soft smack. "What are you doing?" she asked softly, her breath coming in small pants, making her feel slightly lightheaded. He leaned in again, seriously invading her personal bubble, and she pulled back further, trying to get away from him. "Caleb, we can't do this." Even as the words tumbled from her lips, her fingers ached to reach out and touch him, and she clenched them together in her lap to prevent them from doing so.

"Buffy," he pleaded softly, the need in his eyes overwhelming her. He needed to know that it was going to be alright. The he was never going to loose her. That she was never going to leave him. "Please." Her mouth suddenly dry and her eyes trained on his lips, she nodded almost imperceptibly and closed her eyes, melting into his touch as he grabbed her waist and pulled her toward him, smashing his lips to hers. Gently begging entrance to her mouth by sweeping his tongue across her bottom lip, she parted her lips, her tongue making contact with his almost immediately. The next thing she knew, Buffy was lying on the bed with Caleb on top of her, their hands roaming wildly in each other's hair and under each other's clothes, both craving skin to skin contact. Buffy opened her eyes as his lips left hers, tracing a wet path down her neck, and moaned softly, tugging his tie and shirt over his head, her hands touching every part of him she could reach. Pulling her to a standing position, he literally ripped the clothes from her body, kicking off his own pants and boxers in the process. With a soft growl, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her flush against his naked body, taking a couple of steps forward and sending them tumbling onto the bed in a mass of tangled limbs.

It wasn't gentle. Or romantic. Or meaningful. It was comfort. And she was okay with that.

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Well, that's that! I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty fun to write! I would have made it more... erm... detailed, but I decided to keep it safe so that I could post it here. Anyhoo, hope you enjoyed it and drop me a review on your way out! I'll try to crank out another with her and another of the boys soon!