Crossover: BtVS/SPN

Characters: Oz, Dean, Sam.

Summary: Could the Scoobies really keep the hordes of darkness at bay for a whole summer while Buffy was dead? Maybe if they had a little help.

Spoilers: SPN up to at least 2x03, BtVS to end of series 5.

"So…you're witches…"

"Yuh-huh!"

"And you're a demon…"

"Ex! Ex-vengeance demon."

"Right…and you're a vampire?"

"What? Big scary hunters have never seen a vampire before?"

Sam looked at his brother. Willow didn't seem evil, none of them did really, and yet here they were sat round a table in a comfy, middle-class house with a whole host of things Dad had always taught them to kill. Dean looked like he was about to start shooting, and Sam couldn't really blame him: this was getting weird even for their family. What made it weirder was how normal the whole place was: no sigils on the walls, or bloody altars, just a few dirty dishes in the sink and a pile of books that looked like homework, piled on the corner of the long dining-room table.

"And you actually fight alongside the Slayer…?"

"I know it's a little unorthodox," The older man, Giles, said, "but Buffy always beat her own path…"

Everyone froze at her name except the girl in question.

"Willow, I require repairs."

Repairs? She didn't look hurt…

"Fine, come here and I'll see what I can do. If you keep going like this though we're going to need more spare parts and I don't know where we're going to get them. Shame there's no "Male Chauvinist Mad Scientist's R US" around here."

Willow turned her seat to face her patient as Buffy strode over and knelt demurely at her feet, turning her back to Willow and sweeping her long, blond hair out of the way with one hand as she bent her head forward a little. When Willow pulled down Buffy's top Dean looked up, but when she opened the obviously metallic panel in the girl's neck to reveal the complex circuitry inside it was Sam who leaned forward to see.

"She's a robot!"

Willow looked surprised for a moment at Sam's outburst, then merely sad.

"She really must be realistic," she said under her breath before raising her voice to a more normal level. "The real Buffy died three weeks ago. We thought the Buffybot could help, you know none of us are strong enough to be the Slayer and we needed to convince the evil things she was still alive…"

Willow's voice caught, on the edge of tears. Tara hovered closer, resting a comforting hand on Willow's arm though she hardly seemed to notice. The room had grown still in that insurmountable way that only happens after something truly devastating. Sam was struck dumb, unable to offer any solace to these people he had only just met. Dean however…

"Wait a sec," Dean said, "you said this hellmouth thing you've got here is like a big evil magnet? And all that's standing between the mouth of hell and the rest of the world is you guys? Witches, demons and vampires standing against the…witches, demons and vampires?"

"Dean shut up," Sam hissed urgently as an array of hurt and angry (and quite possibly evil – he still wasn't completely convinced) faces turned his brother's way. "They're doing their best."

Dean shrugged away Sam's consideration, excitement glittering in his eyes. "Whatever, the point is this is like the ultimate job Sam. Can you imagine if dad had found this place? We never would have moved again."

"You're thinking we should stay?" Sam asked incredulously. "You actually want to stay here?"

"Why not? Come on Sammy, what better place is there going to be to hunt things?"

Xander stood up. "Hold on. You find out that this is the most evil, dangerous place on earth and you want to stay?"

"You stay." Dean rebuffed.

"I've been fighting these things since high school. It's kind of hard to let go."

Dean smirked. "No kidding. We've been fighting since Sammy was six months old…"

While Dean and the Scoobies bantered Sam was thinking. Could they really stay here? He couldn't think of a reason not to except it felt wrong. Were they going to get an apartment? A day job? No more motels and hussling pool. No more phoney credit cards or trying to find a comfortable way to sleep crammed in the Impala. He knew this should be what he wanted, this was the kind of stability he had always craved, but it just seemed wrong. Stability was for sunny days at Stanford where the only thing he had to worry about was his LSATs. The family business belonged on the road, never settling down, never letting it sink in. If they stopped moving they would never leave anything behind. Every failure, every wound, every thing that no one should ever have to see would stay with them, with the town itself as a permanent reminder.

The fact that Dean was so keen just made it even creepier.

"We could certainly use the help," Giles said, leaning heavily on the table and taking off his glasses to rub his eyes. He slipped them back on again. "Even all of us together isn't enough to replace Buffy-"

"No one could ever replace Buff." Xander said sternly.

Giles just looked saddened. "Of course. Well, I'm sure Willow and Tara won't mind you staying here for a couple of days until you get yourselves settled in town."

"Uh sure, I'll find some sleeping bags."

"Let me show you…"

"Help yourself to…"

With that the decision had been made and Sam tried to ignore the feeling in his gut that told him it was going to end badly…