TDWP: On a Wing and a Prayer pt 3
Were it not for the fact that Willow and Tara already knew how fast Andy could read, they might have been spooked. As it was, the redhead pulls Giles aside to let him know this is normal. He is looking more and more concerned.
"She's okay," Willow tries reassuring him. "I mean, both Tara and I know she's a little different, but there was no reason for Anya to be … well..."
Gile shakes his head, pursing his lips slightly. "We all know that a person does not always know what they are and that sometimes the body is only a shell."
They are both thinking of one very young person in particular, but neither bring up her name. No one can quite work up the guts to tell her what they know. It's too hurtful. Buffy has sworn them all to secrecy. Magic may have been involved in the creation, but from their perspective, Dawn is hers - child or sister, it doesn't matter. She is to be protected, not because of some mystical compulsion, but because she is family. Scoobies know this one truth, one does for family and friends who might as well be.
Willow does not bring up the fact that she thinks that Andy is taller than when they first met. She does not think it will ease Giles' mind. Before she can deliver a trump argument, they hear a comment, "Ooh. I know this one!"
Long practice in protecting their lives has them both asking, "Where?"
"When?"
Just to be on the safe side.
Andy answers without even looking up and everyone exhales in relief as she mentions New York, which, from a Sunnydale perspective is worlds away.
"Well," Giles says, "Perhaps we better get to work." After all, there are still plenty of books to go through.
-TDWP & BTVS-
The evening sun is much lower on the horizon when the bell chimes. A petite woman with her blonde hair in a pony tail, and dressed in designer jeans, blouse and jacket, and wearing steel toed black boots, enters the store. She is followed by another, younger person, a girl; who still finds the store quite fascinating. "Wills, Tara, Giles," they older of the two greets as the girl gazes around looking to see what is new. They both notice that the trio are seated around the round table with a stack of books in front of them. They also both notice the brunette, who is flipping through pages very rapidly. Tara is sitting beside her, apparently taking notes.
The brunette says without looking up, "Ooh, another one. Ungrelim. Ohio, if you can believe. Cincinnati. A year ago. Harmless though. May even be good for the environment. They eat mice."
"Andy," says Willow. "Maybe it's time to take a break."
"Hmm. What?" The young woman glances up, as if coming out of a meditation. "Willow?"
"I have some more people I'd like you to meet."
-TDWP & BTVS-
Buffy and Andy regard each other warily. Buffy, because she is a slayer and she is cautious of every stranger. Andy, because, unknown circumstances make her cautious too. Buffy's senses tingle, but not the way she is used to. In fact, one might call it oppositional. She smells cinnamon and that reminds her of home-baked cookies and cozy nights and details that have nothing to do with what she recognizes as a danger. The blonde resists getting comfortable though, because she knows sometimes beauty or even "niceness" can be a horrible facade. She's been there way too many times.
Andy does not extend a hand, so neither does Buffy. They settle for nods and a brief hello.
Dawn is much more curious. She's young. She should be more frightened than she is, because of what happened with Glory running around their house, but she recovers quickly from unusual life events. "Where are you from?"
Andy answers easily, even as her eyes explore the face as if memorizing. "Ohio. Just outside of Cincinnati."
"Where you said the Ungrelim live."
"Some of them. Maybe. They could have been a wandering tribe, I guess. But I thought they looked like the type to settle down, watch over a place. You know, make friends."
Andy has no idea why she thinks that. She finds Dawn fascinating. There is green behind her eyes. A very pure green that she sees quite clearly. She gets the sense that she should be remembering something about it, but what she also sees is a young, curious, likable girl.
Andy chooses to let it go. She has so many puzzles in her life, what is another? Plus, she figures, she can ask Willow or Tara. They seem to see things like she does.
"So what are you doing?" Dawn looks at the stacked books and open texts and the notepad.
"Anya thought I was someone. It led to looking at books."
"Ah. Research. I'm good at research."
"We were just getting ready to take a break," interjects Willow. They've been at it for hours.
Neither of the recent arrivals appear horribly disappointed. Buffy says, "So. Pizza then?"
By mutual agreement of all, pizza is summoned by the usual means; a phone call.
-TDWP & BTVS-
Later, Buffy has a page of notes which she has snagged from Tara. It is the list of things seen by Andy in Sunnydale. The note includes locations, dates, opinions. Buffy recognizes quite a few, but there are also some she hadn't been aware of. They could have been passing through, she realizes, but now she feels obligated to go visit a certain bar at the end of town, just to be sure.
She wishes, briefly, that Faith was back, but she's travelling and trying to find her way. She'll return, but it'll be in her own time and hopefully she'll be better for it. Buffy, with the help of college level psychology classes and the passage of time, has come to understand more and knows that, for both of them, there were other issues at play; not just being a slayer, but being a teen while slaying... Everything seemed so black and white then. Now, not so much.
Buffy glances at Andy and wonders what she is doing in Sunnydale; aside from college. The slayer realizes that she's probably being overly suspicious, but it's been a bad few weeks. She owes it to Dawn to be hyper-aware and situationally alert. She patrols twice as much, especially around their home. She has no tolerance for taking chances.
Which is why she has the list and why she is definitely going to the bar.
At some point after pizza and before midnight, Buffy slips out of the store almost unnoticed. Dawn, she knows is safe, and is helping with the research, but nothing much is being found. The slayer will return after she's busted a few heads and dusted a few vamps. She knows she'll either find them all still buried in books or deep in talk. It's probably good that the next day is a Saturday. At least this way she doesn't have to worry about Dawn staying up too late for school.
Not for the first time or the last, she wishes their Mom were still alive. Sometimes Dawn is very hard to wake, even when she goes to bed early.
-TDWP & BTVS-
The next day, while the shop is empty for a moment, Giles attempts to ask Anya what she knows. They have possible leads, but nothing solid. No names, no images. She gives him another are you crazy look and says, "Oh no! I've already got my free pass. She's doesn't give those often. I'm not risking it. You talk to somebody else!"
She refuses to say anything else about the topic, not even a hint as to where to look. When Giles suggests that perhaps Anya is mistaken about Andy, she gets irritated, points a finger at him and says, "Watch it buddy!" Then she disappears into the back and he hears the noise of things being organized angrily. She won't even come out to watch the cashier's box, which is something she loves to do.
It makes for a long, sighing day at work, with a lot of wiping of glasses.
-TDWP & BTVS-
Andy went to bed late. She wakes up even later. The day has almost passed and it's dark outside again. She doesn't remember falling into bed, but when she gets up she notices that the bottom sheets have ripped away from the corners and the bedding is coiled and tangled. She remembers dreaming. Or is it that she remembers remembering. She can't tell which any more and it hurts.
She calls her mom, just to chat. Cecelia, also known as Cece, Sachs comforts a daughter who can't articulate what is wrong, but she knows the bad dreams. Andy has had them before. She recognizes the monster ones just by the tone of her daughter's voice and makes a homey prescription. "Tonight sounds like a double-fudge night."
"I slept all day," Andy says guiltily.
"And you were up how late again?"
Andy doesn't have to answer, but she leans on the kindness in her mom's voice. "I think I'm changing, Mom. I wake up and I feel all jumbled and then different."
"Life is change," CeCe soothes. "And, as long as it's not drugs or a life of crime, you know your Dad and I support you." She pauses a beat and next says, "Well, and even then. Just let us know when you need intervention or for us to hide the bodies."
Andy laughs despite herself, loving her mom more in that moment than she can even describe.
-TDWP & BTVS-
Andy holds the stake between two fingers and a thumb and offers Willow a baffled look. "Why do I need this again?"
"You're coming with us," the redhead says. "We thought you might want to see what we do. I mean, besides reading books." 'We' encompasses a group of three people: Willow, Tara and Xander. Andy would make the fourth. "We help with the slayage, so it's not all on Buffy."
"Practical application of skills?" Andy inquires and she glances at the small group. She feels a bit as if this whole thing is like group work at college; there's a lot of studying and even a professor. The only thing missing is being graded. And then she kind of wonders if she might still be evaluated.
Willow smiles and nods, "Exactly." Then she lifts her hands, "But don't worry. We'll handle everything." She points at the stick. "That's just in case." Then she points at her heart. "It's for vampires. You stick it about here." She gets specific, "In them."
Andy does not look at them as if they've lost their marbles. She has been paying attention to the books and she remembers the night at the store. Vaguely. "Um. So, do I just carry it then?"
"Well, that's why we wear coats."
"O-or sweaters."
"Or a toolbelt," Xander provides. He looks very much like a handyman at the moment. She sees ordinary tools - a hammer, screwdrivers and pliers - and a couple of stakes around his belt. They are "gun" position at his hip, like a form of wild-west readiness. The only thing missing is his yellow safety hat and that is on the counter. Andy can see what Anya sees in him. The S-shaped forelock of his hair reminds her a little of Miranda, except his hair is brunette and much shorter than hers.
Then again, most everything reminds her of Miranda. She is a never-ending parade of thought and connections, which Andy has learned to just...accept.
"But it's good to have it in your hands when walking in the dark anyway."
Andy grips the base of the stick then, just to get a feel for it. "Well," she says, without a lot of confidence, "It seems... very stake-like." She shrugs. "I'll take your word for it."
-TDWP & BTVS-
A cemetery would make sense to Andy, but waiting in the alley behind a bar seems counter-intuitive; until she sees people start to leave. Then she understands. Potential victims, flushed with alcohol and a loss of perception stagger out. They are easy targets.
She wonders how the others can tell if someone is a vampire. Would they be walking out with the person or just …
She feels, rather than sees, the shadow move. But once she's aware of it, she can hardly miss it. Just to be sure, she feels she has to ask. "Is that one?" she whispers to Tara. She points. With the stake.
The shadow turns and faces towards them and Andy realizes that she has been heard. When it steps out into the more lit area, it seems like a pretty normal guy. Until his face turns ugly and mean, real fast. "I see the slayer's friends have all come to play. We've been waiting for you!"
"It's a trap!" Xander says needlessly. He lifts a crossbow, which he has been carrying. It has a bolt of wood in it, ready to fire. The twang of the string is the only indication that he has already depressed the trigger.
The next thing Andy knows, they are all moving. Willow is flinging amazingly effective, but tiny balls of fire at the chests of vampires who are part of the ambush. Tara is shielding her. They move together, more than just an item. They are the weapon.
At first Andy is just trying to take it all in, then she senses danger behind her. She whirls, and it's as if a dance of death choreographer has taken over. The stake isn't just a piece of wood anymore, it's an extension of herself, and any surface is the dance floor. She runs and kicks off walls, jumps over beings trying to chase her, slides under them, breaks bones and bodies and dusts in passing. She loses herself in the battle, finds release and terrible glee in it. Then it is over, much too soon. The dust, which seems to glow in the light, settles around her like an ash-y snow.
Willow and Xander look as if they've experienced an epiphany. The young man waves a hand at her, "Well, that explains it! She's a slayer!"
"She must be," Willow says, amazement in her voice.
"B-but …," Tara starts and then she decides not to offer commentary. She is very much of the wait and see school, but she also does not like to be wrong.
Andy looks at the wood in her hand. It has become just another object again. She looks at the others. She doesn't have a better explanation.
They return to the shop. Willow and Xander are exuberant, excited to have a new team-member. Tara is cautiously hopeful. Andy is just... just.
Xander shares the good news with Giles and Anya.
The ex-vengeance demon props her hands on her hips and rolls her eyes. "She is not a slayer!" Then, shaking her head at their obliviousness, she stomps toward the writer. "You. Are. Not. A. Slayer." She says it firmly and with great clarity, shaking her index finger at the brunette. Then she whirls away from them all and disappears into the back room, which seems to have become her haunt when upset.
She's been upset a lot since Andy's arrival.
Well, and from before then too.
-TDWP & BTVS-
Though she is on the east coast, she is not unaware of the pressures elsewhere. Miranda's senses are only limited by her will, not by other forces. She might choose not to throw her attention out into the world or the void or even the universe, but that only means it is her choice.
Lately she has been experiencing the oddest sensations. They are intangible almost-awareness, like the hint of a flavor or scent. When she does sleep, as she sometimes chooses, she will dream of a certain brunette and feel so strongly as if she is present, that it is a shock not to have her in the bed when Miranda awakens. On those days, she always wakes up aroused. She sometimes wakes satiated, which is even more astonishing.
She tells herself that it is not anything important, just a lingering after-effect of a challenging professional relationship. Certainly, while Andrea had become skillful at assisting and fetching, she was not overtly remarkable. It's just that brown-eyed connection, haunting her again.
She has means of clamping down on the dreams. Some are quite draconian though and she is reluctant to employ the ones that would sever the tie completely. After all, she might want to read something from Andrea now and then.
She has spied the young woman's by-line twice, and so now knows that she is both alive and still writing. Miranda finds the thought soothing and takes comfort in the idea that perhaps Andrea will find her way.
In the meantime, she supposes she might as well enjoy the dreams when they happen and appreciate the distraction.
She has needed them. It is not just the stresses of preparation, but lately she has noticed certain unfriendly pressures attempting to find a way through the careful traps and barriers she has set around Runway. She has doubled security at her house, because she has sensed feelers for troublesome things around there too. Something has an interest in her and her household, and it is not a friend.
Were it not for yet another fashion week arriving soon, she would pay more attention and choose a more proactive approach, but times are busy and she has appearances to keep up. She does, however, ask a friend or two to do some exploring for her. If it's a random magic user there are ways of handling the issue in ways that won't cause a crisis. If it's something more, well, she has other tricks up her sleeve.
She feels confident that things will go as planned and as she wills it.
-TDWP & BTVS-
Time passes.
Buffy accepts that Andy is, if not harmless, at least not the one she needs to worry about now and so they've arrived at a kind of "working" relationship. She also does not believe Andy to be a slayer, but goes along with the theory as nothing else better presents itself. They have yet to "slay" together. Buffy resist the idea. Andy does not blame her, though she tries to reach out.
Dawn accepts her as one of the gang and they leave her with Andy when there is no one else. She and the young girl have an easy relationship. They sometimes watch movies or go out to do things. Andy chooses to see herself as just an older friend rather than a child-sitter. Dawn is mature for her age. She's still very young and her mom is gone. However, she needs a friend more than a sitter.
The only ones to visit Andy's home, are Willow and Tara. Lately, it's become more ceremonial than visit-y. She's allowed them to make a more-or-less permanent circle in the back. In some ways, technically, it's a grove. Andy has trees, which surround the space they've chosen. They use paving stones to make the circle, with a really large one in the middle. They use chalk to make any specific marks when they need it. Andy has not tried to use the space by herself. She supposes she could, but isn't comfortable with the idea. She thinks of it as theirs, rather than hers. She is learning a lot though. They all are.
She often feels like a pinch hitter; as if she is filling in where someone else might have been. Willow and Tara will grab her for a third in an invocation when no one else is available. Xander wants her as partner on slaying outings every other time. It's weeks before they tell her about Faith or she hears stories about Cordelia. Or Angel. Or Riley.
Meanwhile, Andy feels as if she is practically living at the store. She does a lot of reading and contemplating of the texts, but mostly she is there hanging out. Ironically, it is Anya who makes Andy feel the most comfortable; aside from Dawn. There is just something about her. It might be the stinging wit or the extreme bluntness. Andy can appreciate that about her and she finds it liberating. Anya is finally speaking to her like a normal person and in some ways has 'adopted,' her from Willow and Tara. Anya is the one who will plunk a book down and say, "Here. Read this."
The topics are all over the place, but lately Anya has been offering texts on consecration and purification, blessings, invocations and summons. Andy, who played Dungeons and Dragons as a teen, thinks of them as the "cleric," texts; relatives of the wizarding tomes that Willow and Tara seems to favor, but different. Not that those tomes haven't found their way into Andy's hands too. After a certain point she has become a definite expert in theory, if not application.
After trying to interfere once and getting a harangue by Anya for his effort, Giles stays out of it. Andy doesn't mind. She's certainly older than most of the Scoobies and can take care of herself, if it comes to it. She feels as if more and more missing pieces are starting to find their way back. It hasn't all come together, yet, but she is no longer afraid of what is happening to her.
She doesn't feel the need to mention any of the changes to anyone. Anya, however, just seems to know. She nods on some days, as if with satisfaction or as if she's been quietly monitoring Andy for signs. The brunette does not know exactly what she sees, but she is now at the point when she can almost know the days it will happen.
-TDWP & BTVS-
Andy catches the news by chance. She is in the student union rec-room when someone switches the channel to INN, which is doing a half-hour cultural arc like they always do about this time of day. Several pieces blip by, and then she sees a model pacing like a thoroughbred down a runway. She suddenly remembers what month it is and and what time. A major fashion show is going on in Italy. The elite are in attendance, including Miranda.
The camera pans and, Andy's breath catches; there she is. Miranda looks, as usual, gorgeous and in control. Andy reads her expression as interested, but not committed. The editor-in-chief's not in love with pieces, but she'll make do. The young woman figures she's already plotting how to fit them in to the magazine and when.
Andy feels a tightness in her chest, behind her eyes, which suddenly glisten with a little extra moisture. She is reminded, even more strongly than the dreams, that the heart wants what it wants. She aches with the knowing and feels as if a piece of her has been missing for centuries. Eons. Relief has only come in the dreams lately and then... there is still the loss when she wakes up. As if Miranda should be in her bed, but is not.
The "should be," is ridiculous, she knows. She has no right or claim to the woman. She was a lowly peon and only ever that in Miranda's presence.
But Andy aches for her so intensely sometimes that it takes her breath away. She read once, that there are chemical as well as physical reasons why a lover misses their companion. As she recalls, however, they had to at least have had meaningful physical contact. She can only dream of it. She was barely even touched by Miranda. She can count the times on the fingertips of one hand and finds it painful to realize that she still remembers those grazing moments in fine, utter clarity.
It is amazing how a fantasy can be built on the tiniest of moments.
Without the bonding of contact, this utter physical longing makes no sense to Andy. It's not a mere inconvenience either and seems, rather than growing softer with time, to only be... expanding.
She doesn't like it. It's not fun or thrilling, like in the romance novels. It's painful and it's distracting. She doesn't like the sense of not being in control of her own fate, of needing someone who barely saw her as a person and of knowing it's never going to happen, no matter how deeply she feels. For once, she gets why someone long ago used the word "crush," to describe the longing one feels for an unrequited passion. She feels crushed and smashed by it sometimes.
She is suddenly not interested in the news or her textbook and can't stand being in the student union anymore. She slams the textbook closed and starts stuffing it in her bag. No one in the room takes any notice of her haste. Everyone is on the run at one point or another in college.
-TDWP & BTVS-
Andy's exit from the room might have gone unnoticed, but she is spotted by Buffy as she hastens from the student union. It's not the speed, it's the body language, which causes a double-take. The slayer is used to seeing Andy serious, but never truly unhappy. It sparks curiosity.
Buffy follows the other woman, expecting her to either head to class or to the shop. Andy does neither. She leaves campus. Her long legs carry her far and fast. Buffy, who is shorter than average, only keeps up because she happens to be the slayer. Otherwise she would have been left in the dust, so to speak.
She could catch completely up, but she leaves some distance. She knows how it is to sometimes need to think on one's feet. Plus, she doesn't know what the problem is. For all she knows it could be a bad test grade. It's unlikely, but it could be. She's seen some really bad grade-meltdowns before, including a few of her own.
Buffy knows, however, that Andy is extraordinarily smart. She thinks the writer may even be as smart as Willow, though in different ways. True intelligence is something that Buffy has come to find both attractive and important in another person. It means they can keep up with her, even if they are not necessarily physically on par. She can outpace so many people that she takes that sort of thing into account. That's why she and Riley were as successful as they were, until he went all insecure and slightly misogynistic on her. He had no idea how much she worked to keep things compatible between them. She doesn't regret the effort, but she does regret the loss. She did love him, even if everyone thought he was too Iowa corn-bread for her. But she knew why she was in the relationship and had no illusions. He was a respite from all the other forces out there, a normal guy that let her sometime be a normal girl. Until he wasn't.
After about ten minutes, Buffy realizes that Andy has no destination in mind; at least not somewhere local to campus. The young woman just keeps walking, passing by a likely shady park and some possible store stops. She is also not heading in the direction that Willow has indicated as "toward" home. Buffy realizes then, that whatever it might be, Andy is too distracted to care where she is at.
Mentally, she flips a coin and a decision is made. One thing tilts her favor. Andy is Dawn's friend. Buffy picks up speed, and starts to catch up with the other woman.
-TDWP & BTVS-
Andy senses Buffy before she closes in on her. That's a thing lately. The more she's gotten to know the Scoobies, the more she can tell where they are in relation to her. She doesn't know what that means.
"So. Hi." Buffy isn't even breathless. One moment she's not there and the next, she's at Andy's side. She keeps up, but the brunette slows down out of habit. Her mom is short like Buffy is short. She is always mindful of differences in pace when it comes to friend and family.
Andy doesn't necessarily want to reply, but she does out of courtesy. "Hi." It's brusque, holding just enough of a hint, that she hopes Buffy will catch.
The blonde lets it slide, "You look like you could use some diversion."
"Buffy," Andy begins, intending to tell her that she already got the message that Buffy had no use for her. She never gets to that part.
"I'm going patrolling tonight. Nine o'clock. My house. Be there."
Buffy stops walking then and by the time Andy turns around, she's already made good headway back toward the campus.
Andy slows to a stop and exhales tightly. Then she turns around too. This time she knows where she is going; home.
-TDWP & BTVS-