Challenge: The 2016 August Fic-a-Day Challenge on the Twisted Shorts comm on LJ. Day 7.
Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, et al. Charmed belongs to someone with big, scary lawyers.
It had been 12 days since Melinda had first appeared to Buffy and tried not to successfully to introduce herself in a polite and grown-up manner. Luckily Buffy had experience with shy and babbling teenage girls so she had given the girl a chance, despite being badly burned by the last girl who had given her that same first impression. And also despite wanting to be left alone.
Buffy knew full well that it was not good to be alone as much as she had been for the last few months, and remembering how much of a social butterfly she had been before she had been Chosen to fight evil, she had taken a chance and decided to trust this young girl. At least provisionally. Only time would tell if she was worth it or not, but at the very least she could become an ally down the road. Heaven knew that Slayers could really need the back-up.
In an attempt to prove that she was firmly on the side of good Melinda had healed a deep gash on her arm by holding her hand over the wound and letting a pleasantly feeling white light shine down on the wound. It had healed within a few seconds and left no scar or any other visible reminders of violence. Since then she had shown up every two to four days to check in on her. If for no other reason than to give her someone to talk to who knew something about what she was going through, even if it was not exactly the same.
As Buffy was dusting the last of a small group of vampires who had risen from the particular cemetery she was patrolling that night, she caught a gentle tinkle of small bells followed by the now familiar blue and white lights. Or orbs as Melinda insisted on calling them.
"Hello!" Melinda's cheerful voice greeted her as Buffy turned around and brushed the last of the vamp dust off of herself.
"Hi. You're in a good mood tonight."
"I am. We had everyone over for an early dinner. I know I can see them whenever I want, but there's something very different in everyone coming over to the Manor than if I have to orb or drive somewhere to meet a few of them. And Aunt Prue showed me another nifty potion to use against lower level demons. It's so cool when she comes by. Patience and Peyton are so lucky!" Melinda said all this very quickly and excitedly causing Buffy to laugh.
"I take it that Patience and Peyton are your Aunt Prue's daughters?"
"Um, yes." Came the sheepish reply. "Aunt Prue and Uncle Andy, he's a Whitelighter and a former mortal. They have two daughters who are Witchlighters like me because their mother, like mine, is a Witch and our fathers are Whitelighters." Melinda drew a breath before she continued.
"As I've told you, I'm the oldest of three; I have a younger brother named Chris, Christopher, and a younger sister called Primrose. We just call her Rose. We're all Witchlighters. It used to drive mom and dad up the walls when we played Orb-and-Seek all over the Manor and San Francisco." Melinda laughed at the memories of the childhood game, while Buffy laughed along with her thinking about how crazy it would've made her own parents if she and Dawn had orbed all around Los Angeles, and later Sunnydale, without either of them being able to come after them.
As Melinda reeled of her closest family, the two of them walked across the graveyard and over to a park bench and sat down. While they were getting comfortable, she stopped talking for a few minutes before she took up her story again.
"Mom has three sisters. Aunt Prue is the oldest, mom is second, Aunt Phoebe is third, and they have a younger half-sister named Paige. Aunt Phoebe has three daughters; Pandora, Paget, and Portia. She had Pandora with her first husband, Cole. He was a half-demon, Upper Level and very powerful. She thought the name was fitting given that her then-husband was a demon and her own unfortunate habit of turning evil because of various things." She sighed. "Regrettably she, mom, and Aunt Prue had to vanquish him. Several times, but he's permanently gone now."
Buffy thought she didn't sound entirely certain about that, but let it slide. It wasn't her business. From what little she knew about the Halliwell family, both from tonight and what she had said in their earlier meetings, it was obvious that they had more family issues than Buffy herself had ever had.
"Aunt Phoebe's second husband is a Cupid. His name is Coop and he actually took the Halliwell name when they got married. It was so romantic!" The teenage exuberance was infectious and Buffy smiled at her. In this day and age it was rare for a man to take a woman's family name instead of the other way around, but it was clear that the Halliwell's were independent women. It was something she could definitely respect.
"Paget and Portia are his. They have hybrid Witch/Cupid powers, just like I have hybrid Witch/Whitelighter powers. Pandora has hybrid Witch/Demon powers, but she's irrefutably good." Apparently this was a touchy subject so Buffy just gave an affirmative response, because what else could she say? That no, of course your cousin is evil? Not happening.
"Pandora really wants to meet you, especially after I explained to her that the Slayer powers were originally demonic but that Slayers, and you especially, are Chosen to protect the innocent." This statement was punctuated by a hopeful look towards the Slayer in question. "Her heritage is a precarious subject and she needs to understand that being good or evil is a choice she has to make, and stand by. We can all do evil things with our abilities."
Buffy nodded at that. "You're right, all kinds of power can be abused. If I had wanted to I could go on a killing spree because there are a lot of people out there who register as evil on my senses, but I can't really do anything about it because they are human. And the Slayer code says I'm not allowed to kill humans or hurt them to badly." On some occasions she had really, really wanted to torture and kill certain people, but it was out of the question. Faith's reaction to killing a man had highlighted why this was not just a rule but an important law to live by.
"I've used my powers, especially my strength and speed, against humans in the past. Usually on guys who got grabby against either me or other girls, but that is self-defense. There's a line that can't be crossed though, but she has to find that line herself. We all have to figure out where it is and then make sure we never step over it."
Melinda nodded. Both her mother and Aunt Phoebe had said similar things, but they were family and Buffy wasn't and that would hopefully make all the difference. She loved her little cousin and hated to see her upset. To the Halliwell's family came first, no matter how frayed the relationships might be or what had happened in the past.
"Will you talk to her?"
"Yes, but not yet. We're still in a trial period and I need to know more before I get entangled with your family." That got her some relieved laughter.
"We're definitely a handful. Remind me to introduce you to just one or two of them at a time. We can be a little… Um. Excitable. And there's often demon attacks when we get together."
"Demon attacks I can handle, they're pretty much an everyday thing for me. Family issues? Not so much." Melinda nodded, being able to orb was a great way to get away from that. At least for a little while and if she was willing to deal with the trouble it would get her into when she got home again. Then she geared up to continue with her family tree.
"Right. Where was I? Aunt Prue, mom, and Aunt Phoebe. That leaves Aunt Paige!" She grinned. "She needed a couple of marriages to get her Mr. Perfect as well. The first husband was Richard. He's a male witch from an old magical family. They have two daughters; Persephone and Pearl. The second and current husband is Henry. He's a mortal and a parole officer in San Francisco. They have a set of twins; Preslee and Nico."
Before Melinda could continue Buffy decided to butt in with a comment of her own. "So everyone in your family have names starting with a 'P' except for you, Chris, and Nico?"
"Erm, no. We have names starting with 'P', too. Mine's Providence Melinda, don't laugh." Buffy's lips twitched but she managed to just grin. "Chris' name is Christopher Perry, and Nico's name is Nicodemus Peregrine."
"Ouch. That's…"
"Yeah, I have no idea what they were thinking naming us like that. But the names starting with a 'P' began with Grams, my great-grandmother. Her name was Penelope. Grandma was Patricia, and my mom's Piper. It's one of those family things. Dad's an only child, so no cousins on that side." Then she moved on, clearly curious about her charge.
"But let's segue right into you telling me about your family. You said you have a sister, what's her name?" Buffy wanted to know more about the Halliwell family, like what powers each of them had, but fair was fair. It was her turn to start talking, so she did.
"My little sister is named Dawn. She's six years younger than me and still in High School. Our parents divorced when I was 15, and mom died of an aneurysm when I was 20. I've barely spoken to my father since the divorce. My second Watcher has at times been like a pseudo-father, but he began pulling back not long after mom died. So in that regard he's kinda like my real father; not present. Kinda ironic, but there you have it."
Buffy drew her breath to center herself, it was a painful topic but Melinda had run through her own family so she could do it, too.
"I had a cousin named Celia who was killed by a demon called Der Kindestod when we were eight. She was my best friend. Celia has two brothers, Tom and Steve. Their mother is my Aunt Arlene, and I also have another aunt named Lolly. I lost contact with them at some point point between then and moving to Sunnydale at 15." She'd been a self-absorbed teenager back then and then she became the Slayer. Staying away from extended family had been encouraged by Merrick, her first Watcher, to keep them safe. What he hadn't said was that that was just one of the reasons. The Watcher's Council wanted their Slayers isolated so they would be easier to control and being close to anyone, especially family, made Slayers less likely to blindly follow orders.
Suddenly an abrupt ringtone broke the short silence followed by Buffy's summary of her own family history. Both of them immediately patted themselves down looking for the source of the noise. It turned out to be Buffy's and looking at the display she saw 'Faith'.
"Sorry to cut this short, but it's time for my weekly chat with Faith. This is going to take a while so I'll see you in a few days?" It was a little abrupt but she knew full well that her fellow Slayer would just keep calling, and if ignored there were unpleasant consequences. Buffy was also supposed to do the actual calling, which meant that she was more than just a little bit late.
"Of course. Stay safe and remember to call out my name if you need any help." Then she gave the Slayer a last smile before disappearing in the blue and white lights. Buffy sighed. Saved by one bell only so she could deal with something else. She pushed the appropriate button and greeted the woman on the other end.
"Yo, B! Do you know what time it is?" The gravelly voice was both familiar and sort-of welcome. It meant she didn't have to talk about her past family history, but on the other hand it meant a conversation about her former friends.
"No, I was talking to a new friend and completely forgot about the time." Then she began to report on what she'd been up to since the last call, which was then followed by Faith returning the favor.
Throughout it all she made no mention of the fact that her new friend was a witch and her guardian angel. It was still her secret.