Episode 5: Never Kill a Boy on the First Date
Part 3: Breakup
Rachel's mind went clear, and her world narrowed to herself, her uncle, and the two vampires menacing them. Giles turned around beside her.
Without looking away from the vampire, Rachel slid her hand into Giles' back pocket and pulled out a cross. She discreetly placed it in his hand. He'd know what that meant- they'd rehearsed that kind of scenario too many times to count.
Suddenly, Rachel flipped the stake in her hand, threw it, and nailed the vampire in front of her through the heart. He disintegrated, and she pulled one out of her sleeve. Beside her, Giles held up the cross she'd handed him, and his vamp quailed in fear and pain. She whirled and tackled the other vamp, stabbing him as she did so.
She turned to Giles. "We've got to get inside!" Rachel ran over to the door and rattled the handle. Amazingly enough, it was unlocked. She pushed open the door, and they sprinted inside. Giles put the cross into his bag, and Rachel tried one of the doors. This one was locked. She heard shouts behind them- it seemed that the rest of the brethren had arrived.
Rachel and Giles pelted headlong through the dimly lit corridors, trying every door they found. One was open, and they burst into the morgue. Rachel slammed the door behind them, and Giles grabbed a filing cabinet. He and Rachel dragged it over to block the door. The door and the filing cabinet rattled and shook, but Rachel could see that the vampires wouldn't be getting inside anytime soon. She leaned against the wall of the room, catching her breath and looking around.
The morgue looked very clean and metallic, with several little square cubbies for the bodies lining the walls and a few larger chambers with arched doors around the bottom. A sink with tools laid out neatly on the counter and cabinets overhead graced the wall opposite Rachel, and a long metal table dominated the center of the room. There were barred windows above the sink. Rachel cursed- it appeared they were trapped. Then she looked up. The ceiling was tiled with that gray speckled cardboard-y material that people used whenever they didn't want to pay for something more expensive. Rachel knew from experience that usually, one could push the tiles up and hide in the ceiling.
Then, Rachel noticed two familiar faces at the window. Despite Rachel's explicit instructions to the contrary, Willow and Xander had decided to come along. Rachel didn't know whether to be relieved, exasperated, or both. A plan began to take shape in her mind.
Willow waved at them as she raised the window sash. "Guys, it's us!"
Rachel scowled. "Guys, I thought I told you not to follow us!" She'd have yelled, but she didn't want to give away their location.
Xander's eyes widened a little before he answered. "We saw two guys going in after you. Are they…"
The door shook ominously, and Giles went pale. "They are! Uh, listen, you should get to safety."
Willow ignored the suggestion. "Can you get out this window?"
Rachel tested the bars, shaking her head. They were solid metal, pretty firmly seated in the wall. She doubted even Buffy would be able to get through them. "Nope." She reached for her beeper and keyed in a quick message for Buffy. "Okay. You two, head for the Bronze and get Buffy here now. Don't let her bring Owen."
Willow frowned concernedly. "What will you do?"
Rachel crossed to the banks of cadaver cubbyholes and opened one. It still had a body in it, but desperate times called for desperate measures. She motioned to her uncle. "Giles, in. I know it's a corpse, I know it smells atrocious, but it's that or the crematory oven. I'll sneak into the ceiling and take out the two outside, try to draw attention away from you." She turned to Willow and Xander. "GO!" The two skedaddled, and Giles gingerly clambered on top of the body. Rachel bit back a laugh as he tried to avoid touching the corpse as much as possible. He tried holding a plank on top of the corpse, but then his feet slipped off its ankles. He rolled on his side, but then his hands were touching the corpse. He rolled on his back and curled into a fetal position, but then, he couldn't fit into the drawer. Sighing, Rachel walked over and untangled him, forcing him to lie flat on top of the corpse. She smiled at her uncle's scandalized, grossed-out expression.
"Giles, it's just a corpse. There aren't any marks on the neck. It won't bite." She kissed his forehead, and then pushed the tray back into the cubby before she could change her mind. Hopefully, Giles would have enough sense to open the door a little for oxygen when necessary.
Then, she clambered onto the sink, and then climbed on top of one of the banks of cabinets. She pushed one of the tiles up and out of its niche, carefully edging it on top of the tile beside it. If the vampires saw a hole in the ceiling and a tile on the floor, they'd know where she'd gone and the jig would be up. She grabbed the edges of the hole and slowly hoisted herself into the ceiling, trying to minimize any noise and evenly distribute her weight.
The ceiling was dark, cramped, and dusty. Striated aluminum tubing coiled through everything, both crossing in front of her and running alongside her. It looked like one of those jungle gyms at fast food places, all convoluted and twisting into a tangled mass.
Rachel pulled the tile she'd moved back into position and crouched like a spider, trying to listen for any signs of the vampires. For the millionth time, a spike of resentment shot through her. If Buffy were here, this would be so much easier. She's got much better senses than I do, and she can actually sense vampires. But on my own, I'm basically flying on instruments!
She closed her eyes and listened. The ceiling vibrated faintly beneath her right hand. Maybe that was the vampires hurling themselves against the door. Slowly, she moved her hand slightly, trying to divine the direction of the vibrations. The further right she moved her hand, the stronger the vibrations got. She had a direction, at the very least.
Then, a sudden pain shot through her as her right knee collided with something hard and metallic. Cursing to herself, she moved her hand around the object. It appeared to be an air conditioning duct. She smiled as a new plan began to take shape in her mind. Assuming she could get into the duct, the AC system would give her a way of navigating the building.
Rachel moved a tile out of the way and dropped back into the morgue, pulling the tile through the hole with her. She rummaged through one of the cabinets and found a stack of purple Post-It notes, sticking them in her pockets. Now, she'd be able to retrace her steps.
Now for the hard part. Rachel clambered over to the grating on the AC duct and pulled her Swiss Army knife out of a zippered pocket on her coat. Giles had given one to her for her tenth birthday. The little gadget was incredibly useful, and she always carried it with her, even at school. Rachel peered at the screws to the grating and took out the Philips-head screwdriver bit. Lying on her back on top of the cabinet, she removed the screws holding the grate in place, putting them in her pocket. She caught the grate as it fell, stifling the clatter of metal. Then, she climbed around to the hole she'd climbed through and patched it with the grate. Her plan relied on surprise, and if the vampires got in and saw the hole under the AC duct, they'd know something was up. Then, she put her knife back into her pocket, pulled herself up into the air duct, and pulled the tile behind her. Then, she patched the hole with the tile and began to climb.
This was quite probably the most physically taxing thing Rachel had ever done. She grunted with effort as she clambered past a turn, sighing with relief as the duct leveled off. She began to crawl, placing a Post-It at every turn. Every time she encountered a grate, she would peek through, trying to find the vampires pounding at the door.
She didn't have very far to go. On the fourth grate, she found a pair of vampires pounding at the morgue door. The grate was perfectly positioned for Rachel to take them by surprise, just a few feet behind them. She pried up the grate with her knife.
Rachel dropped through the hole, landing with a soft thump, wincing slightly as the impact lanced through her leg.
In a series of smooth, silent movements, she pulled a stake out of her boot, lunged forward, and pulled one of the vampires onto her waiting stake. As he died, Rachel turned on her heel to face her next opponent.
Rachel froze. She recognized her opponent. About a foot taller than her, with limbs like tree trunks, a scarred face, and close-cropped red hair.
Unconsciously, her hand rose to touch the scar on her jaw that he had given her exactly 1,001 days ago.
The vampire frowned in confusion. "You're supposed to be dead."
Rachel scoffed. "That's pretty rich, coming from a guy who quite literally crawled his way out from six feet under."
The vamp growled slightly. "I defeated you once, I can easily do it again!"
Rachel shrugged. "Works for me. I was hoping for a rematch myself." Her tone was incongruously light, almost conversational. The two began circling each other like dancers in some macabre ballet. "But I'll warn you- I'm not gonna go easy on you like I did last time."
The vampire snarled. "The Master of our brotherhood will reward me richly for killing you, Rachel Giles." Then, he charged.
But Rachel wasn't there, and a foot like a sledgehammer scythed into the vampire's back. The vampire backhanded her, and Rachel smiled thinly as he turned to face her. Then, lightning- quick, she aimed a front snap kick at his face. He grabbed her foot. She bent both legs and exploded into the air, turning slightly and slamming her free leg into the side of his face.
He dropped her, and she whirled to face him. She darted in, getting in close and jabbing at him with her fists. Gritting her teeth, she blocked his counterattacks on her forearms.
Then, the breath whooshed out of her as he sank a massive fist into her stomach. Deep within her, she felt something pop and knew that she'd have a bruised rib at minimum.
Then he grabbed her around the middle and began to squeeze with those tree-trunk arms. It was like a massive industrial vise was crushing her, and she gasped and clawed at his hands. Her ribs bent and cracked, sending little lancets of pain through her. Helplessly, she kicked out at him. She could feel herself getting light-headed from a loss of oxygen. She'd have to do something, and soon.
Rachel went limp. The vampire dropped her. She collapsed to the floor in a heap, biting her lip in pain as her injuries protested the impact. The vamp stood over her, with one leg on either side of hers. He smiled triumphantly down at her. "You're still just a weak little human, Giles. You're no Slayer, just a little girl playing pretend. Nobody can stop us now, not you, not your uncle, not the Slayer!"
And that was when Rachel scythed her legs apart and kicked him in the backs of the ankles. He crumpled, and as he fell, she grabbed his collar and rolled them over.
She came out on top, kneeling on top of him.
Rachel cocked her head at her vanquished prey, smiling coldly. "Sayonara, sweetheart."
The stake plunged, and the vampire disintegrated with a scream.
Rachel got up and brushed herself off. She lifted her stake and blew daintily on the tip. She took a moment to take stock of her injuries. Bruised, possibly strained knee, bruised, possibly cracked ribs, miscellaneous aches and pains. Nothing she hadn't seen before.
Then, she heard a door bang open. Holding stake and squirt gun at the ready, she edged through the corridors, moving like smoke, peeking around the corners. She smiled in relief as she saw blonde hair, a pink jacket, and black boots. Thank God. The cavalry had arrived.
Casually, Rachel strolled out in front of Buffy, only to see Willow and Xander as well. She waved. "Hey, guys."
Buffy nodded. "Are there any vampires in the building?"
Rachel smiled in grim satisfaction. "Not anymore. C'mon, guys. The morgue's around back, but we're gonna have to hurry. I don't know how much time Giles has." Rachel turned on her heel, only to jump as she heard a wildly enthusiastic voice.
Owen Thurman had had to show up. "This is so cool!"
Growling slightly, Rachel turned around. "Thurman, what then bloody hell are you doing here?"
Owen shrugged, but backed up a few steps. "What are you doin' here? Are we gonna see a dead body?"
Buffy nodded. "Possibly several." She turned to Xander and Willow. "Guys, watch him." Then, she and Rachel walked off.
They soon arrived in front of the morgue. Rachel turned to Buffy. "I got in here through the AC duct. I'll need a boost if I'm going to get in there, and before you ask, I'm not strong enough to lift you."
Buffy nodded, and then cupped her hands to form a sort of stirrup. Rachel stepped into Buffy's hands, grabbed the edge of the hole she'd made and pulled herself in.
Thanks to the Post-Its she'd left, getting back to the morgue was pretty easy. She kicked aside the tile and dropped onto the cabinet, climbing to the floor. Rachel hurried over to the cubby she'd left Giles in. She quickly opened the door and rolled the drawer out.
Giles sighed in relief. "It is you. Are you hurt?"
Rachel grimaced. "Possibly a few cracked ribs, and I'm going to have quite the impressive bruise in the morning."
Giles jumped off the cadaver and brushed himself off. "Is Buffy here?"
Rachel nodded. "Yeah. So are Willow, Xander, and Owen. Buffy's right outside, actually- we might want to let her in." Uncle and niece wrestled the cabinet away from the door and pulled it open.
Buffy walked in. "Was it that prophecy thing?"
Rachel nodded. "Yeah. I ran into a couple of the brethren. Kicked their asses. We need to find the Anointed- that news article says the bodies were taken here. He might be long gone, but he might not be. But we cannot let him get away."
Buffy nodded. "We need to get Owen and the others out of harm's way first."
Giles shook his head. "Buffy, when I said you could slay vampires and have a social life- OW!" Rachel had promptly stepped on his foot.
"Rupert, this is not the time!"
Buffy closed her eyes as she spoke. "I know. I'll get rid of him." She turned to leave.
Giles grabbed her arm in an attempt to stop her. "Y-you can't make him go out there alone, we don't know where the brethren are. I-I'll just…"
Then, Rachel grabbed Giles' arm and pulled him away from Buffy. "No, Giles, Buffy and I have to do this. You'd raise too many questions, and the poor kid's gonna have enough of those already."
Buffy looked at Rachel in shock. "You're coming with me?"
Rachel nodded. "Of course I am. I'm your friend. Coming with you as you go into a deadly situation is kinda part of the job description." She held up a hand. "And don't go getting all weepy and huggy on me, I might have a busted rib."
Over Giles' exclamations of concern, they ran out into the hall, looking around for the others.
Just then, Willow, Xander, and Owen came around a corner. Willow's concerned expression melted upon seeing Rachel and Buffy alive and reasonably unhurt. "Is everything okay?"
Rachel shot her a thumbs up in response.
Xander deflated with visible relief. "And we'll be leaving?"
Rachel fought the urge to roll her eyes as Owen squawked indignantly. "We're not done lookin' around yet!"
Rachel glared at him. "Shut up, Thurman. I-"
Buffy cut off Rachel's sniping with a raised hand. "No, he's right." She grabbed Owen and started to turn him around, and her voice took on a reassuring tone. "So let's find a nice, safe, fun room to look around in." She grabbed Owen's hand and led the group down the hall.
They reached a solid, yellowish-brown wood door with a rectangular window on it. Owen shook his head. "We tried the office here, but it's locked."
Buffy kicked the lock and broke it free of the door. "No it's not!" She went in.
They'd found themselves in what appeared to be a sitting room, with red curtains covering two of the walls and several green armchairs similar to those one might find in the lobby of a chain hotel. There were also a brown sofa and a few tables. The walls were a dreary shade that couldn't seem to make up its mind between grey, blue, and purple. It looked pretty safe to Rachel.
Owen frowned in confusion. "Well, I don't think we'll find much in here."
Buffy put her hands on her hips and looked around. "That's the plan."
Owen nodded. "Okay." Then, confusion swept over his face. "What?"
Rachel grinned and grabbed Buffy's arm. "We've gotta go to the bathroom now."
Owen grimaced. "Why do girls always have to go to the bathroom in groups?"
Rachel shrugged. "Haven't you read Harry Potter? Hermione went to the bathroom alone and got petrified. Myrtle went to the bathroom alone and died! Anyway if you hear anything, like a security guard or something, just be really quiet." She turned to Willow and Xander. "After we're gone, barricade the door."
The girls hurried back to the morgue. Giles was already poking through the body drawers trying to find the Anointed One. Rachel chuckled as she noticed how gingerly he was treating the bodies.
Buffy slid open a drawer and wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Eww, parts!"
Rachel tossed a glance over her shoulder. "Just think of it like you're in biology class. And breathe through your mouth."
They kept rifling through the drawers, but found nothing. Giles opened a storage cell, and Buffy slid out the door.
Rachel cursed. "Damn, damn, damn! We were too late- he's gone! I don't think they keep the dead bodies anywhere else in here. We've got to get out of the funeral home, stop him before he gets to the Master."
Just then, Rachel heard the distinctive crunch of glass shattering.
Her head whipped around. That was coming from the direction of the office! "Actually, scratch that. C'mon, guys!" Buffy and Rachel pelted out the door, Rachel lagging behind somewhat due to her cramped leg. Every step sent pain lancing through her, but she gritted her teeth and pushed on. There was too much at stake.
They ran into Willow, Xander, and Owen, who were pelting down the hall ad breakneck speed. Xander pointed frantically back the way he'd come. "He's in there!"
Rachel shouldered past him. "Get out of here, guys! We'll be fine."
Buffy and Rachel kept running. Rachel could hear gravelly, off-key singing coming towards them. The Anointed One might have been some badass vampire warrior, but he couldn't carry a tune in a bucket.
Rachel pointed at a hallway, and Buffy nodded understanding. They tore off down the hallway, trying to cut the Anointed off before he reached the exit.
They skidded to a stop in front of the morgue door. Giles was still there, for some reason, and Buffy rushed in. "What've you got!"
Giles looked up. "What?"
"What'd you bring? Do you have a stake?"
Rachel rolled her eyes. Oh, of all the… She grabbed a stake from the waistband of her jeans and handed it to Buffy. "You're welcome." Rachel walked over to the other side of the table and turned to Giles. "Get out of here, Uncle. Make sure the others are okay." Then, she noticed someone approaching the door. "BUFFY! Watch out!"
As the warning left her mouth, a hulking vampire entered the morgue, grabbed Buffy, and tossed her like a rag doll into the cabinet. Buffy slid to the floor, unconscious, and Giles rushed to her aid. Rachel pulled out her squirt gun, aimed, and spritzed the vampire liberally. He howled in pain, but lumbered towards Giles. This, then, would be the Anointed One.
He was huge, even bigger then the Order vampire she'd slain a few minutes ago. He only wore ragged brown pants. His bare chest was liberally tattooed, although Rachel couldn't make out the markings. His face was just ugly as sin, with military-cut black hair. The vampire smiled and spoke in the gravelly rasp of a voice Rachel had heard earlier. "They told me about you while I was sleeping."
Giles held up a cross, and the vampire shied away in pain. "Ah! Why does he hurt me?" Then, he slapped Giles' hand away. The cross landed close to Rachel, and the vampire grabbed Giles and tossed him into the crematory controls. The fires in the chamber lit with a low thump. Giles fell to the floor unconscious.
"NO!" Rachel grabbed her uncle's cross and threw it like a knife, and it hit the Anointed One in the shoulder. "Hey, ugly! Why don't you pick on someone who can actually fight back?"
She charged at him, screaming like a banshee. But he backhanded her, and she crashed into the table, grunting as the breath whooshed out of her. The vampire bent down to pick up Buffy, and Owen came charging in behind her.
Rachel shook her head frantically. "Owen, no! Get out!"
But he wasn't about to be dissuaded. "Buffy!" The vampire raised Buffy above his head. "NO!"
Owen grabbed a tray and swung it into the Anointed's back as Rachel got up, wincing as her ribs creaked. The vampire's knees buckled, and he let go of Buffy. She staggered into an open drawer door, and fell down unconscious again. The vampire turned, grabbed Owen by the neck, and growled as he moved in to bite.
Rachel darted over to a rack, grabbed a nice, hefty urn, and smashed it over the vampire's head. He crumpled, and Owen and Rachel went over to help Buffy. Buffy blinked woozily, and Rachel swore. A concussed Slayer would be of absolutely no use here.
Owen laughed hysterically as he helped Buffy up. "Did you see that? He tried to bite me! What a sissy!"
Then, the apparently indestructible Anointed One grabbed Owen and smashed the back of his head into a cubbyhole door, knocking him out. Buffy screamed in horror. "NO!"
The vampire grinned ghoulishly. "Dead!" He let Owen fall to the floor. "He was found wanting!"
Rachel grinned predatorily. "Hey, Buffy, what do you say we show this guy what happens when he takes on a slayer and a half?"
Buffy grinned back. "He killed my date!" She got him in the front with a snap kick, and he rolled over the gurney and onto the floor. Before he could get up, Rachel ran over to the far end of the gurney and shoved it into his gut, then jumped onto the end of the gurney, making it pop up and hit him in the chin. Anointed One, meet High School Physics.
He staggered back and fell. Rachel flipped off the gurney and onto the floor as he got up. The vampire swung at Rachel's face, but she swayed backwards. His second punch connected, knocking Rachel to the ground. But then Buffy was there; trading punches with the vampire while Rachel got to her feet and wiped blood from her nose. Buffy yelled angrily. "You killed my date!" Rachel dimly noticed Willow and Xander arriving at the door.
Buffy stumbled backwards as one of the hulking vampire's blows connected, but Rachel darted forwards, blocking a fist scything down at Buffy on her arm and driving the heel of her palm into his nose. He tried to punch her again, but she instinctively blocked and punched him in the stomach. He leaned forwards, and Rachel kneed him in the gut. By then, Buffy was back in the fight, and she and Rachel threw the Anointed back into a counter. Across the room, Rachel saw Giles beginning to stir. Thank God.
Buffy bared her teeth in anger. "You killed my date!"
The vampire turned back to them. "Your turn!" He lunged, but they neatly sidestepped, turning and using his own momentum to toss him onto the gurney. The gurney rolled over to the crematory, stopping when it hit. But the vampire kept moving and slid in. Giles kicked away the gurney and slammed shut the door. Rachel watched impassively through the small window as he melted away into ashes, screaming and clawing at the walls around him.
Then, she heard a small groan. It seemed that Owen was alive after all. "Does anyone have an aspirin? Or sixty?" Rachel didn't know whether to be pleased, irritated, or both.
Buffy rushed over to Owen and crouched beside him, the very image of a devoted girlfriend. "Owen!"
Owen rubbed his head. "What happened to that guy?"
Rachel crossed her arms as she looked down at Owen. "What do you think happened, Thurman? This is me we're talking about here. We kicked his ass."
Owen nodded slowly. "Oh, good. 'Cause, y'know, I would've…"
Buffy nodded and made gentle shushing noises. "I know. Here…" She helped him up. "I'm sure this isn't exactly what you had in mind for our second date."
Owen laughed ruefully as he rubbed his head. "Yeah! I was hoping maybe we'd finish at Ben & Jerry's."
Buffy smiled hopefully at him, clearly hoping to salvage something of her date. "We still could…"
Rachel wagged her finger at the lovebirds. "Uh, uh, you two! I'll bring you some Cherry Garcia at the hospital. You were both knocked unconscious and might have concussions. You need to get checked out. You too, Giles. Since I'm the only one here who both knows how to drive and has not been knocked unconscious recently, I'm driving, possible cracked rib be damned."
Giles went pale.
XXX
The next day seemed no different than the previous one. The sky was still blue, the birds still sang, and the boys still fawned over Cordelia.
Yet, there were a few differences. Rachel and Buffy both wore makeup to hide their bruises, and Rachel had bandages around her ribs and her right leg in an Ace bandage. She was also walking with a slight limp. Amazingly, nobody had had a concussion, not even Giles.
Buffy, Willow, Rachel, and Xander walked along the balcony, chatting animatedly. Buffy was interrogating Willow and Xander. "Well, did Owen say anything about me on the way home?"
Willow furrowed her brow. "Oh, did you mean specifically about you?"
Buffy shrugged. "Or generally… i-in the area, in the ballpark, any sort of indication?" They rounded the corner and started down the stairs. Rachel trailed her hand along the whitewashed railing, closing her eyes for a moment. She felt as if a weight she hadn't known she was carrying had been lifted. She'd met her old enemy- and demolished them.
Xander shook his head. "Well, in that case, no."
Buffy's face fell, and Willow hurried to cheer her up. "But he was pretty incoherent, so we might've missed it."
Buffy smiled. "You think?"
Xander shook his head a little too quickly for Rachel's taste. "No. OW!" Rachel had smacked the back of his head.
Buffy sighed. "I knew it. I totally blew it last night!"
Rachel shook her head. "I don't know about that. I'm pretty sure vampire prophecies count as extenuating circumstances."
Xander shook his head, edging out of Rachel's reach. "No, see, what you need is a guy who already knows your deepest, darkest secrets and still says, 'Hey, I like that girl!' Someone like…"
Rachel grinned conspiratorially. "Someone like Angel, for instance… From what I've seen, the boy is crazy about you."
Buffy ignored them both. "Owen!"
Willow laughed awkwardly. "Well, heh… this is our stop." She walked around Buffy and dragged a squawking Xander with her. Rachel walked away and sat down with her back to a tree, taking out her long-delayed math homework.
A few minutes later, Buffy walked over to her, looking fairly dejected. Rachel looked up at Buffy. "You guys broke up?"
Buffy nodded, and Rachel thought she heard a little wobble in her voice. "Yeah. I had to end it- I think we'd be better off as just friends."
Rachel stood up and enveloped Buffy in a hug, stroking her back soothingly. "Oh, Buffy, I'm so sorry. I know how much you cared about him." She packed up her stuff and led Buffy over to a gray stone bench. "I'd like to apologize for my behavior earlier, by the way. It was… completely uncalled for. The Order of Aurelius… I nearly died because of them, Buffy. I… I hated them and feared them and I let that distract me and cloud my thinking. And I took all my hatred and fear on you and Owen, and I'm really sorry." She sighed, waiting for Buffy to reject her.
Then, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. She turned to find Buffy hugging her. "It's okay, Rachel. It's completely okay. I'm your friend. Forgiving you is kind of part of the job description."
Rachel stared off into space. "I don't really remember what I wanted to do with my life before I found out about vampires. I think I wanted to be a movie star or something. Or maybe a librarian." She paused. "For what it's worth, he seemed like a nice kid."
Buffy sighed and leaned against Rachel. "Yeah. But he wants to be danger man. You, Xander, Willow, Giles, you guys… you guys know the score, you're careful. Two days in our world and Owen really would get himself killed. Or I'd get him killed." She faced Rachel. "Or someone else."
Rachel grimaced. "Buffy, don't give me that. I wanted to go to that funeral home."
Buffy nodded. "And I should have been there!"
Rachel closed her eyes. "Buffy…"
"I blew it!"
Rachel grabbed Buffy's chin so she couldn't look away. "Listen to me. I have been training to kill vampires for ten years, killing them for eight. I have training that might amount to a black belt in several martial arts. But I never know exactly what to do. We play things by ear. And I think that as a Slayer you're doing very well."
Buffy smiled. "Well. At least we stopped that prophecy thing from happening."
Rachel held up a hand, and Buffy high-fived it. "That we did. Scratch one Anointed One. I'll bet the Master, wherever he is, is having a fairly bad day himself."
Their laughter rang through the courtyard.
