Author's Note: Now we get back to the actual storyline! Most of the dialogue in this chapter will be taken directly from the Episode Passion, with the exception of Miranda's of course.
Passion, Part Two.
Across the street Buffy Summers awoke slowly, her brain still foggy as she rolled over and glancing at her alarm clock. The envelope on her pillow stopped her, and she sat up quickly, pulling her hair up off of her face as she reached for it, ripping the envelope open unceremoniously.
Inside was a sketch of her sleeping. Buffy gasped, and got up, suddenly in a hurry to get to school.
The Library.
"He was in my room." Buffy announced bursting into the library, and walking past Giles, who was behind the checkout counter checking in books, and Miranda who was leaning against the counter looking more and more like she should be home in bed. Buffy threw her stuff down at one of the tables and slumped into a chair, registering faintly in the back of her mind that Xander and Cordelia were present as well.
Miranda rubbed her forehead wearily, as she and Giles exchanged a look. "Who? Angelus?"
"Angel." Buffy corrected automatically, As Miranda and Giles both took seats at the table as well. Xander and Cordelia looked up surprised, refocusing their attention to the conversation going on in front of them.
"Are you sure?" Giles asked looking perturbed.
Buffy crossed her arms, and gave him an exasperated look. "Positive. When I woke up I found a picture that he'd left on my pillow."
"Join the club." Miranda muttered, pulling her own piece of artwork out and throwing it on the table. "I think Angelus is aware that I am in town."
"Visits from the pointed tooth fairy." Xander quipped half-heartedly, looking at the two women in front of him concern written on his face.
"Wait, I thought vampires couldn't come in unless you invited them?" Cordelia asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.
Giles met Miranda's eyes again, silently asking who was going to field Cordelia's questions. Miranda rolled her eyes, but kept silent. Giles sighed, and bit the bullet. "Yes, but uh, once you've invited them in, thereafter they are always welcome."
"You know, I think there may be a valuable lesson for you gals about inviting strange men into your bedrooms here." Xander said quietly.
"I never invited him in." Miranda shot back. "He left that on my front porch. A friend found in a couple of days ago."
Cordelia, ignoring the conversation going on around her suddenly spoke up, her eyes wide." Oh my God! I invited him into my car once. That means he can come into my car whenever he wants!" She looked at Giles, then at Xander, half terrified by the revelation.
Xander snorted. "Yep, you're doomed to having to give
Him and his vamp pals a lift whenever they feel like it. And those guys
Never chip in for gas!"
"Well, at least Spike never did." Miranda countered, smiling wistfully at some memory that Xander was not even going to ask about.
"Giles, Miranda, there has to be some sort of spell to reverse the invitation right? Like a barrier? No shoes, no pulse, no service kind of thing?" Buffy asked, ignoring Miranda's comment.
"Yeah, that works on cars too!" Cordelia piped up, choosing that moment to insert herself into the conversation again.
Miranda shrugged, as Giles began to speak, telling the girls that he would look into it. He was cut off mid-sentence by Xander, who suddenly jumped out of his chair. "Hello!" Everyone turned, confused as to who Xander would be speaking too, and saw that Jonathon, and another of their classmates Leanne had entered the library while they had been talking. "Excuse me, "Xander continued. "Ever heard of knocking?"
Jonathon looked confused as he gestured to all of the books surrounding them. "We are supposed to get some books…"he paused. " On Stalin."
"Does this look like a Barnes and Noble?" Xander demanded, getting ready to rant.
Miranda covered her laugh with a hacking cough, which sounded very fake as Giles interjected himself into the conversation. "Xander, this is the High School Library."
Xander looked confused. "Since when?"
"Stalin books are on the third row." Miranda told Jonathon gently, "historical biographies." She offered the boy a smile, which he returned, before disappearing into the stacks, Xander, Cordelia, and Miranda all got to their feet, and headed for the door. After a beat Buffy and Giles followed, as the ducked into the hallway, and stepped down a couple of doors to Miranda's classroom to finish their conversation.
"So Angel has decided to step up his harassment of you…" Giles mused, as they settled in, and Miranda pulled the door shut behind them.
"By sneaking in her room and leaving stuff at night? Why
Doesn't he just slit her throat or strangle her while she's sleeping or
Cut her heart out?" Cordelia paused, realizing that Xander and Miranda were both giving her dirty looks. "What? I'm trying to help."
Miranda rolled her eyes, stifling the urge to tell Cordelia to shut the hell up. "Angelus likes to play; it's what some call battle strategy. He is trying to screw with your head, and distract you. "
Giles was nodding, "Precisely. Except in this case I think he is trying to provoke you, or taunt you. Perhaps even goad you into some sort of mishap."
Xander let out a bark of laughter. "So basically it's the nah-nah-nah-nah-nah approach to battle."
The room was silent for a moment, before Giles spoke. "Yes Xander, you have once again managed to boil a complex thought down to its simplest possible form."
Miranda spoke up then, taking the heat off of Xander. "When Angel killed Drusilla he toyed with her first." She paused, giving Buffy an apologetic look." The first thing he did was kill her family."
"You're Mom." Xander said quietly, his face going pale.
"I know." Buffy acknowledged. "I am going to have to tell her something." She glanced at Giles for help. "The truth?"
Giles frowned. "No.. Y-you can't do that."
"Yeah, the more people that know the secret, the more it cheapens it for the rest of us." Xander joked half heartedly.
"But I've got to tell her something. I've got to do something. Angel has an all access pass to my house, and I am not always there when my Mother is. I can't always protect her. Buffy's face was getting more and more worried by the minute.
"I told you, I will find a spell." Giles promised her, flustered.
"What about until you find a spell?" Buffy shot back, frustrated
"Until then, you and your mother are welcome to ride around with me in my car." Cordelia offered.
"How about, until then I live across the street from you." Miranda said softly. " I have a friend who has been in town for awhile, I will ask him to keep tabs on your Mom, make sure that Angel doesn't get to close."
"Thank You." Buffy said quietly, her eyes meeting Miranda's for a long moment.
"Buffy, I-I Understand your concern, but it's imperative that you keep a level head through all of this." Giles said, interrupting her moment with Miranda.
"That's easy for you to say. You don't have Angel lurking in your bedroom at night." Buffy told him, exasperated.
"I know that this is hard on you." Giles paused, interpreting the dirty look that Buffy shot him. "Okay, I don't. But as the slayer you do not have the luxury of being a slave to your, your passions. You mustn't let Angel get to you. No matter how provocative his behavior may become."
There was silent for a moment, and then Buffy spoke. "So what you're basically saying is, just ignore him, and maybe he'll go away."
Giles exhaled. "Yes, precisely."
"Hey! How come Buffy doesn't get a snooty once again you boil it down to the simplest form thing?" Xander demanded. Buffy and Giles both turned and looked at him as he examined Buffy up and down. "Watcher's pet."
Their laughter was punctuated by the bell ringing, and Buffy, Xander, Cordelia and Giles filed out of Miranda's classroom, just as her students began to file in. Miranda watched as they split off farther down the hallway, Buffy and Giles turning towards the computer science room, and Xander and Cordelia going in the opposite direction, then turned her attention to the students in front of her.