Chapter Three

The next day Buffy went downstairs in her workout clothes to the basement to train. She wanted to do some meditation to help center herself again. Maybe even do some Tai Chi. This was how Fred found her later. Fred had come down the stairs looking for Buffy, but found her doing some sort of martial arts sequence. The blonde slayer did a series of moves that Fred found to be captivating and she didn't want to interrupt, so she watched. She saw how graceful Buffy looked when she moved and compared it to a dance of some sort. Fred also noticed how peaceful Buffy looked and found herself wishing she could join her.

Fred was so intrigued with Buffy's movements that she didn't even notice that Cordy, Wes, and Gunn had joined her in watching the slayer.

"Damn, she's awesome." Gunn whispered.

"She's much better than I remembered. She must have improved a lot before she fought Glory." Wes said quietly.

"I know what you mean. I've seen Angel do these moves before, but Buffy looks more graceful than he does. I wonder if she would consider training with me while she's here, picking up where Angel left off?" Cordy pondered.

"She's beautiful." Fred said in awe. Cordy narrowed her eyes at that. She wondered if there was more to that statement.

Buffy knew that she had an audience, having felt when Fred walked in and then the others, but their presence didn't bother her. She managed to finish her last set of Tai Chi, feeling much more centered than she had felt since before her death. She walked over to the others and greeted them. "Hey guys? What's up?"

"Girl, you were impressive." Gunn complimented. "I've never seen anyone move like that before."

"Yes, very good. Where did you learn that?" Wes asked.

"Angel taught me when he came back from Hell. It was when he was finally getting back to himself. He used it to keep himself balanced. I saw him doing it and asked him to teach me." Buffy explained.

"I knew it looked familiar. Angel has been teaching me some stuff, but he doesn't look as graceful as you do. Would you consider training me a little while you are here?" At Buffy's weird look, she explained, "I actually want to be able to fight the demons these days instead of running away like before."

Buffy nodded. "Sure. How about you meet me here tomorrow morning around this time and we'll do this together?"

"Thanks. Sounds good."

"You were so fluid in your movements. It was stunning. I couldn't stop watching." Fred blurted out. She turned red at her ramblings.

Buffy grinned at the cute brunette's babbling. She found it to be adorable. Cordy noticed Buffy's face brighten up at Fred and speculated to herself. 'I wonder if there's a mutual attraction going on? Do they even realize it? And when did Buffy start liking girls? Well, I always wondered about Faith, but then she turned evil.'

"Thanks Fred. I'm starving. You guys wanna go get some breakfast?" Buffy offered.

Oh I ate before I got here, but you guys go ahead." Cordy said. She went back up to the lobby.

Both Gunn and Wesley mentioned that they ate too, before following Cordy upstairs. That just left Buffy and Fred.

"Fred? Wanna go get some food?" Buffy asked.

"Sure. I was going to ask you earlier, but you were busy. Then I saw how peaceful you looked and so graceful. I decided to wait instead. You looked beautiful. It was like a dance." Fred blushed some more as she babbled.

Buffy took pity on her. "A dance huh? Funny you should mention that. Spike always referred to fighting as a dance. I think he might be right. It might be a violent one, but a dance all the same. Let me get changed and then we can get some food."

"Okay. I'll wait in the lobby for you." Then they headed up the stairs.


Over the next few days, Buffy got to know more of the Fang Gang (As she called them in her head). She used a lot of her time hanging out with them, checking out all of the things she used to love when she lived there. Most of the time was with Fred since she was the only one that didn't officially work there. Fred liked to hang out with Buffy, the scientist in her found Buffy's abilities and life fascinating. Buffy found Fred's innocence endearing and it produced feelings of caring in her that she didn't think she had anymore. She also let Fred explain to her about the theories she came up with, actually taking an interest because she didn't want to hurt Fred's feelings.

While most of her time was with Fred, Buffy also hung out with the others. She and Cordy managed to find a friendship that wouldn't suffer the woes of high school drama or Scooby criticism. Buffy taught both Fred and Cordy an easy set of Tai Chi and they went through the routine every morning. Plus she picked up on working with Cordy on swordsmanship where Angel left off. Buffy was surprised at how well Cordy picked up sword work. She also showed Fred and Cordy a few moves of hand-to-hand self defense in case they should need it. Buffy sparred with both Wes and Gunn to help keep her in shape, as well as give them a few pointers on how to improve. They both impressed her with their fighting. Gunn because of his honed version of street fighting, and Wesley because of his vast improvement from Sunnydale. On a couple of the nights, Buffy would help them with demons, but mostly patrolled on separately, with Fred for company. It was good way to help her learn to defend herself. They mostly came across newbie vamps. Then later, everyone would go out for dinner just for the pleasure of company.

Buffy knew that coming to L.A. was the right thing to do. She knew she was way off of ever being back to how she used to be, but she felt better than she had in the last year. She still suffered from nightmares, but found that talking to Fred about them made her feel better. Fred had given Buffy a new reason to get better. She knew how much the quirky brunette had been through in the last five years and saw that she still managed to see the bright side of things. This gave Buffy hope that one day she would be healed and manage to find life worth living. Buffy also realized that she would be leaving for Sunnydale soon and found herself disappointed. She knew she had responsibilities, but she didn't like thought of leaving the Fang Gang, especially Fred. They didn't expect anything out of her and she liked things that way.