Chapter 2

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Hank and Joyce Summers paused in their argument when the doorbell to their small house in Los Angeles rang. Joyce calmed herself as she went to open the door.

"Mrs. Summers? I am Merrick. I have troubling news for you and your husband about your daughter." The man hurriedly explained before she could shut the door in his face.

"Are you from the hospital? Buffy is only a baby," Hank said quickly as he showed the man to the living room.

"There is a group called The Watcher's Council. I was a member until recently. Your daughter has the potential to become what we refer to as The Slayer. I was to be her Watcher, but the Council and I disagree with how they wish her to be treated. Buffy was to stay with you until she is older, but they have decided she is to be taken now and given to another Watcher. They have also decided to do the same with two others. I gathered two other Watchers that I trust to protect the children. We were too late with one girl, but have been able to rescue the other. I need to know if you are willing to accept our help." Merrick looked at the couple across from him, hoping that they would agree to his help.

Hank and Joyce excused themselves to have a moment to discuss what the man said. Hank wanted to give the child he never wanted to the people. Joyce refused to give up her little girl and told Hank to get out. Hank looked relieved.

"Mr. Merrick, Buffy and I will be coming with you if you will allow it. I will not give you my daughter, but I will allow you to protect us. Hank will not be joining us," Joyce said willing the tears to keep from falling.

"Gather what you need but don't worry about more than basic necessities. My companions and I have enough to cover us if needed."

Joyce quickly packed the things that she and Buffy would need right away. She told Hank that she would send for the rest of her things and would also send along divorce papers. Joyce would be selling the house as it was hers before they married. Her mother had insisted on the purchase for Joyce's eighteenth birthday, the year before she passed away from cancer.

When she looked back on the past two years with Hank, she knew that her parents had been right about him. Hank had been such a nice guy when they met at Stanford. Joyce was younger than the average student having graduated high school at sixteen and her grades had several excellent colleges fighting for her. She chose Stanford and by the time she was twenty she was well on her way to her Masters in Humanities, then she met him. It was a whirlwind romance which her father was against, but in the end agreed to allow the marriage to keep from losing his child. Joyce knew that family meant everything to her father because of the estrangement with his own family.

Her father had kept in touch with his younger sister in England and a cousin or two, but when the cousins both died, then his sister died unexpectedly and Marcus White lost connection with any other family that might be left to him. Joyce knew that she should call her father before she left to hide with Buffy and she was unable to contact him.

She dialed her father's number and waited for the phone to be answered.

"Daddy, I need help please," Joyce said through tears she could no longer hold back.

"What has the bastard done now, Joy? Never you mind, love, I am to be in California next week but I can change plans and be there in around seven hours or so," Marcus told his daughter.

Joyce asked her father to hold on and then asked Merrick where they would be the next day. He explained that they would be staying in Sunnydale at least until Buffy and Faith, the other girl they rescued, were old enough to begin school. When Merrick knew why she was asking, he handed her a slip of paper with an address and phone number. Joyce returned to her father on the phone.

"Daddy, Buffy and I are going to be in Sunnydale with some people who are going to help us. The man I met today says that Buffy is in danger from a group called the Watcher's Council. I am so scared, Daddy. Please hurry."

"Do you trust him," Marcus asked.

"For some reason, I do. Hank wants to give her away, Daddy, and I can't even think of it. I think Merrick is getting inpatient and wants to go. I will see you soon. Love you," Joyce told her father.

"Love you, too, love. I will be there soon."

Joyce hung up the phone and gathered the last of the essentials she and Buffy would need. She gathered her ten-month old daughter in her arms, giving her a small cuddle, before announcing that they were ready. Merrick made two trips to the car before lifting the car carrier that now held Buffy. Joyce took another look around before locking the door behind her.

Marcus White hurriedly packed his bags before calling for the plane to be readied. He called his other two daughters to tell them he would be one for about a month maybe longer. His relationship with Lolly and Arlene had never been as close as the one he had with Joyce. Of his three daughters, she reminded him the most of the family he had been forced to leave behind. Joyce looked and acted much the same as his younger sister Dorea, but she was missing the spark to wake her magic. Joyce had a magical core, but no connection to it, but her sisters were born non-magical. Marcus taught Joyce from the time he realized this fact to never speak of the strange things she could she but others could not.

He was not happy that the Watcher's Council was interfering with his granddaughter. He had known from the first time he held her that Buffy was magical, but how could she not be with her father from a Malfoy squib line and they being Blacks. Marcus had changed his name from Marius Black when he was disowned by the family, but he had not been able to give up correspondence with his little sister, Dorea. Arcturus had offered to bring him back into the family for Dorea's sake once he became The Black, when his father died in 1952, but Marcus had already begun building a life in America at that point and declined the offer. He had been back to England twice, once to bury Alphard and once to bury Dorea and Charlus. He would be returning as soon as he got Buffy and Joyce settled to now bury James and Lily. The funeral would be in Godric's Hollow on the 5th of November.

Marcus would once again portkey from Los Angeles to England. Dorea had claimed it would be easier for him to keep anyone looking away from his New York home by traveling from there. Luckily, this would be his last trip or he would have to obtain another route so he could protect Joyce and Buffy. Once Arcturus was gone, New York would be safe again because no one would be left to know where he was.

His driver carried his bags to the waiting car while he seated himself in the backseat. America was so different from England. If you had a magical core, or could access Earth magic, or even knew about the supernatural, you were considered magical with full rights. Marcus spent most of his ride to the airport deciding how much and what he would tell his daughter when he arrived the next day. The rest of the ride consisted of finding out all he could about the Watcher's Council and the people in charge. He would wait until he reached California to sick the hounds, or lawyers as they called themselves, on Hank. Hank Summers would be utterly destroyed because no one harmed the family and got away with it.

When they arrived at the house on Revello Drive, Joyce felt at home immediately. She looked at the three empty lots across the street and wondered if she would have enough from the sale of her little house to purchase them and build. She would wait until she knew the final plans and then ask her father's opinion before proceeding. She just did not want Merrick and the others to think she was a mooch.

Merrick showed Joyce to the room she would be sharing with Buffy and helped her to settle the baby in. He told her to get settled and refreshed then to join them in the living room to discuss the plan in more detail. Joyce splashed water on her face and quickly changed out of the crumpled clothing she had been wearing in the car. Checking on the sleeping Buffy once again, she left to meet with the others.

"Joyce, I would like to introduce you to my associates Rupert Giles and Diana Dormer. Diana will be Faith's Watcher if she is called as I hold that position for Buffy if necessary. Before we begin, what do you know of the supernatural world?" Merrick asked.

"My father knows much more than I, but I have always been able to see things that others cannot. When I was young, my father taught me not to talk about it because it upset Mom and my sisters. Daddy says he will be here tomorrow, but knowing him, he will be here before morning," Joyce replied.

"The short explanation is that monsters are real. Many are demons, but some are human and others are hybrids. The Slayer is the one girl in the world that has the power to defeat the monsters and protect the world. It is the job of the Watcher to train and protect the Slayer, watch her back. Over the years, Watchers have ignored their duty and no longer protect their charges. There are very few of us that still remember that our duty is to protect our charges even if it means dying for them. I can honestly say that the three of us would die to protect those girls.

"For now, we will stick with the basics of the plan and we can go into more detail when your father is here. Our plan is to lay low here until the girls are old enough for school. They will be enrolled at the Redwood Academy of Magic which is about thirty minutes from here. They will accept the girls as from a family of Hunters if they have no magical aptitude. If there is magical aptitude, they will be trained to their potential. The best scenario is for them to be full magical because that will take them from the Watcher's Council's purview, that is they may still be called, but the Watcher's Council cannot touch them." Merrick smiled smugly as he finished.

"Mrs. Summers," Giles took over. "If Buffy and Faith are the ones that we believe it is imperative that they survive. We selected Sunnydale because it sits upon the Hellmouth, a literal gateway to Hell. The girls cannot be found here by magical means. Most full magicals avoid this place and magical means of location do not work from outside. We believe that this is the safest place for them other than the Wizarding World which we will have limited access to without a full magical to introduce us until the girls begin school at five."

"You have given me lots to think about, but I need to rest after the trying day we have had. Buffy is normally awake by 6 am so if you will excuse me, I will retire for the evening. Thank you for helping us," Joyce stated as she left for her room.

Marcus found the house the next morning with little problem. He sat in the rental car stilling his thoughts and preparing himself for whatever may come. Marcus had learned over the past fifty-three years that although he could not perform wanded magics, he could perform internal magics and some Earth magic as well. Marcus was beyond a Master level in all Mind magics and wards. He was prepared to wipe the minds of the people here if it was needed to protect his family. His biggest secret was one that included Joyce; they could both see and read auras.

Marcus finished organizing his thoughts and calmed himself as much as possible before removing a set of crystals and chanting below his breath. Once finished, he gazed around him and made note of the magical auras within sight. His sight was increased to a six block radius and he noted only two malevolent signatures, both at the edge of his vision. There were several Earth magic practitioners with only one being strong enough for any concern. He studied the house for a few moments noting that of the six inside, three were wand capable, two were experienced Earth magic practitioners, and then Joyce. She was capable, but due to him, untrained. With no sign of malevolence, he exited the rental and approached the house.

Marcus was greeted by an older man, close to his age but he looked it where Marcus did not. He was shown into the house without being invited in. Introductions were made and after a few cuddles with Buffy, he placed her with the other young girl in a playpen. Both girls were giggling and playing when he turned his attention to the adults.

"How serious is this threat? I know that magicals are protected from the Watcher's Council, but it seems to me that these two girls are being targeted prior to being proven as magical, then they can make them disappear. I have people I can contact to bring them down if necessary. I will protect my family!" Marcus huffed once the meeting started. "American schools begin at five years old so we only have a little over four to hide them. What if we hide them in the Wizarding World?"

"Do you have contacts?" Merrick asked attempting to keep the joy from his voice.

"I have been away for fifty-three years, but I do. If I am correct, so does Mr. Giles," Marcus responded.

"In my youth, I made mistakes. A group of us summoned a demon and of the seven of us, only two survived. My wand was broken and I was banished from that world. My father, rather than disowning me, forced me into the Watcher's Council, Records Department. When I found the corruption in the Council, I began researching the Watchers that would be gaining potentials soon," Giles began. "I am unsure if you what you know of your birth family, but both Buffy and Faith are from the Black Family. Faith is illegitimate and…"

"Buffy is descended from squib lines of both House Black and House Malfoy," Marcus said as he cut him off.

With this opening, Marcus explained his history. He explained how he was disowned and expelled from his birth family. He also told how he stayed in contact with his little sister and her family as well as one cousin. He told of the death of his nephew and his wife with the funeral in three days. He told all that he knew of the world he had only visited three times since he had been sent away.

After Marcus finished his tale, he and the other adults began to make new plans. Joyce and the girls would go with him to England, not only for the funeral, but to feel out House Black. Arcturus had offered once before to bring him back into the family, but this time, if he got another chance, he would take it. If possible, he would have Joyce, Buffy, and Faith acknowledged, too. They would need all of the help they could get.

Regulus arrived under a disillusionment spell shortly after Marcus. He waited while listening, ready t step in if any of the plans would endanger his charges. As he listened, he filed away the additional facts that would help him. He held himself when it was revealed that Faith was a Black. He knew that he would need blood from both babies to be able to confirm their claims, but when he heard that Marcus would be travelling to England with the children for the funeral of the Potters. These matters could wait. He had one more task to accomplish before he could return to England and the little boy that had come to mean so much to him in such a short amount of time.