Chapter 21

The entire group was silent as they absorbed what Victoria had told them. Some, like Xander, Cordy, Giles and Joyce, had slightly nervous expressions upon their faces. Angel, Spike, Buffy, and Willow however were calmer, or at least were able to disguise their unease better than the others. Victoria watched the others digest, inwardly cringing as she noticed how nervous they were. She glanced at Angel, now feeling slightly nervous herself. Angel smiled at her reassuringly, nodding his head in approval. Victoria instantly understood what she was being told. That Angel thought no differently of her, even though she had murdered so many people in revenge for what happened to him, and that he approved of how much of her story she didn't tell. Only he, Spike, Giles, and possibly Willow and Buffy, would be the only ones who knew that all those times Victoria said she was just travelling around really meant that she was going from town to town, feeding and killing a couple of people, before moving on.

Giles took off his glasses and began to polish them, studying the faces of the rest of the group. He could see that Victoria was doing the same, and that she was becoming increasingly nervous, fearful of the groups generally negative reaction to her story. Deep down, however, the former Watcher felt sorry for the Vampire; although everything he had ever been taught while he had been training to become a watcher told him he should stake the dark haired girl that sat beside Angel. He had heard the story of the massacre of the Kalderash Gypsy clan by a member of Angelus' family, presumably Victoria; although there was no concrete proof that it had been her. Victoria, however, was the prime suspect, as far as the Watcher's Council was concerned anyway. Giles, however, had no intention of telling the council that Victoria had confessed, unless she gave him her permission to do so, as ever since the whole being fired situation back in 1999, the Englishman felt that he was tied more strongly to the gang, and its allies, than with the council, and that his loyalty was definitely to the Scoobies, including Angel and Spike, and, by association, Victoria. Giles had a feeling, however, that at some point, Victoria would earn her own place in the Scooby gang. Replacing his glasses on his face, Giles cleared his throat.

"Is there anything someone else wants to add?"

"Any questions?" Victoria added.

"It doesn't sound like you've done anything that's, you know, worse than what Angel or Spike have done." Buffy said.

"How long has it been since you, well, killed a human?" Joyce asked Victoria.

"Eighteen years, since I got my soul." Victoria promptly answered.

"And you've been hunting demons up north for the last fifteen years?" Cordy asked.

"Yes, we averaged about sixty demons a year, and then there were vampires, and a couple of other little situations we had to deal with. It kept us busy, not at this time of year though. Coming out of winter everything is still warming up, or hasn't come back from their winter vacations."

"I think I speak for everyone when I say Huh" Xander said. Victoria let a slight smile cross her face.

"You wouldn't have to deal with it down here, but up in Michigan, it gets really, really cold in the winter. Most demons tend to like warmer conditions, so from December to about March is really quiet Demon wise because they all head south. It gets back to normal in early May though. Most Demons that migrate like to spilt the year, six months up north, six months down south somewhere." Victoria explained.

"I'd heard that, but it's never been an issue for us" Giles commented, interested by Victoria's theory.

"Yeah, Queenie, It doesn't even snow here. No white Christmas or anything." Spike was grinning, and Victoria put a shocked expression on her face.

"What! No white Christmas, no snow men and snow ball fights, and snow angels, and going ice skating on the frozen over pond in the backyard. That's sacrilege." She said, her voice outraged. Spike cracked and began to laugh, and Victoria began to giggle as well.

"Hey, we had snow one year." Willow protested as Angel and Spike chuckled, remembering their white Christmases as a family.

"Yeah, our senior year" Cordy put in.

"The year that Angel tried to, um, never mind." Buffy faded off, not knowing if Angel wanted Victoria to know about what happened that year.

As Victoria's laughter eased, she relaxed a little, "its okay, Spike. I've had Summertime Christmases before, when I was in Australia, and when I was in Africa."

"Oh, you've been to Australia?" Willow was interested.

"Why would you go there? There's nothing there but desert and beaches." Spike teased.

"I spent seven or eight years travelling around Australia in the sixties. And there is a lot more there than just Deserts and Beaches, let me tell you, Spike." Victoria smiled.

Giles tuned himself out of the conversation, happy to just watch Victoria interacting with the group. Xander and Cordelia had relaxed slightly, and Joyce had obviously come to the conclusion that the younger girl wasn't a threat to her extended family. Giles had known that for many years now, Joyce considered Willow and Xander to be just like her own children, and that fondness extended to Cordelia, only to a lesser extent. She even considered both of the Vampires as members of her family, despite her early misgivings about Angel. The fact that Spike, Angel, Willow, Buffy, and Giles himself seemed to trust Victoria meant that the older woman was inclined to extend her own trust to the younger Vampire.

Giles glanced sideways at Joyce and smiled, taking her hand in his and squeezing gently. They both watched as the children, and the vampires, chatted about various locations around the world. Giles felt himself relaxing as he watched, and revelled in the closeness he felt to everyone else in the room. Wether he had planned on it or not, the Scooby gang, in its entirety, had become his family, and nothing would change that fact.

BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS

Victoria changed into her pyjamas silently, grinning to herself as she thought of how much fun Angel and Spike would be having as they undressed. Both Willow and Buffy were going to stay the night, and each couple had been last seen making for their own bedroom at a rapid pace. Victoria had caught Giles' eyes, and had started laughing. Giles had chuckled, before coughing and blushing deep red, taking of his glasses to polish them. Victoria snorted at the memory, and sat down on her bed, flopping backwards on her pillows. She felt a strong sense of Déjà vu, and realised that once again, she was the fifth wheel. Just over one hundred years ago, it had been the same, Angelus in one room with Darla, and Spike in another room with Dru, with her by herself. Some things never changed when she was with her family.

Victoria scowled to herself, and rolled over on the bed, until she sat up on the edge. She put her elbows on her knees and leant forward, cupping her chin in one hand. She missed the others, her gang. It had been days since she had contacted them, the day before she arrived in Sunnydale. They would probably be worried. She decided that tomorrow she would ring them, and tell them that she was okay. She'd probably have to tell them that she wouldn't be back for another month or two, but she knew they'd be able to cope. As a united front, they would be able to stop pretty much anything. Well, Victoria winced to herself, they'd be able to temporarily stop it for long enough for her to get there.

Pushing aside her worries about her gang, though they still lingered at the back of her mind, Victoria got to her feet and crossed the room to where her bag was sitting. She began to sort through it, until she found a small, thin hard cover book, tucked in between the clothing and other things she had tucked in there. Victoria glanced around the room, ensuring that there was no one else in there with her, although she could hear nothing, except for Buffy's heartbeat in the next room, and the occasional muffled groan. Satisfied that she was alone, she walked back to her bed and sat on the edge, opening the book up to its front page. Victoria carefully withdrew the envelope hidden in the book, and then set the book aside, fingering the unsealed envelope carefully, before opening it. Reaching inside, she withdrew a photo, and looked at it, a smile crossing her face.

"I miss you, my love," she whispered.

A.N. Hi, sorry this chapter is so short, but I was having trouble thinking of what else I could add. Also, apologies that this chapter is a bit late, as I had a couple of problems uploading it. Anyway, what do you think? Reviews are excellent. The next chapter will be up on Friday, barring any major disasters. I hope it wasn't too OOC.

R.W.