Author's Note: It's taken me a while to get this chapter but finished, but after writing chapters 14 to 20 so close together my ability to concentrate on this fic kinda went out the window, and that's what I'm blaming the delay on. (I briefly considered blaming it on myself, but why do that when there's a scapegoat available?)
Marcus Lazarus brought up some points in his review that I figured I should tackle for the record, namely: in the Shadowland universe, Ripper never actually joined the Watchers' Council, preferring to make a less-than-legal living off the dark arts; and I'm not actually planning on repeating episode storylines from the TV show. There'll probably be the occasional outbreak of Hellmouth-y weirdness, but so far this fic has been more about character interaction and development than random Hellmouth events (i.e. giant praying mantis teachers and hyena possession) and it'll probably stay that way.
I'm glad I'm not the only Jesse fan around, and as always, reviews have made me want to go out on the street and hug people at random out of sheer joy (which I haven't actually done seeing as how it could probably get me arrested around here, but still). :-P
21. The Englishmen
By the time Buffy and Angel returned to the mansion from patrol, the velvety darkness of the night sky had already given way to the faint, ethereal pale gray light of pre-dawn. They made their way silently up the gravel path that wound through the mansion's overgrown back garden, passing by the ivy-covered sculpted stone fountain on their way to the back door.
Buffy stifled a yawn and her eyes flew automatically to the nearest clock, which read a few minutes past five in the morning. Her entire body ached with exhaustion, but she wouldn't have nearly enough time to sleep it off before school started. At least it's Friday, she thought in relief. Soon as I get back from school, I can sleep all I want. In fact, I'll have my very own one-woman Sleep-A-Thon.
She turned to find Angel watching her quietly. "Tired?" he asked.
To anyone else, his voice would have seemed expressionless, but she knew him well enough to recognize the concern in his tone.
"Who, me? Nah." She smiled crookedly. "I think 'ready to drop dead of sheer exhaustion' covers it a lot better."
He grimaced faintly. "No death jokes, please. Watching you take on Drusilla and Spike last night was enough of a Buffy-near-death experience to last me a lifetime."
He held out his arms for her and she drifted readily into them, wrapping her own around his waist. "Don't tell me you thought I would lose," she said, her tone bordering on amused.
"The possibility did occur to me." He sighed, kissing her forehead lovingly. "About a million times, in graphic and highly disturbing detail."
She laughed. "Positive thinking. Look it up." But she was touched by his concern, and by his obvious relief that she was safe now. And happy, she added silently, pressing closer to him. Definitely happy.
For a moment they simply stood together, lost in the deep wordless comfort of each other's closeness. Buffy let herself lean into the cool solidity of Angel's chest and he rested his chin on the top of her head, his arms tightening slightly around her body.
"You should sleep," he said finally, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Mm," she murmured in agreement, nestling her cheek into his shirt. "Soon."
"No, now." He spoke quietly, but firmly. "You can't spend the entire day feeling exhausted."
"Can too," she said, smiling to herself. "I'll just nap in class and borrow Willow's notes after school. The boys do it all the time."
She couldn't see him rolling his eyes, but she knew he was doing it. "Stop that," she admonished. "It's a good system. And by 'good', I mean it works. Mostly."
"You know what works even better?" he asked. "Sleeping." He dipped one arm under her knees and picked her up in one swift movement, surprising her.
She held onto his shoulders, laughing. "Hey, no fair."
"Either you get upstairs to bed on your own, or I carry you." His smile faded slightly as he realized the possible doubling meaning of that sentence. And judging by Buffy's expression, she hadn't missed it either. "And I mean that in the most non sexually exploitative way possible."
She leaned in to nuzzle his neck gently. "That's a shame."
He laughed quietly. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were only coming onto me as a distraction tactic."
"Well, that depends." She smiled up at him innocently. "Is it working?"
Angel sighed. "Yes."
He stopped her laughter with a kiss, holding her up against him. He barely felt the weight of her petite frame in his arms and she relaxed completely in his grip, knowing that he carried her with ease. See, this is why boyfriends who don't have superhuman strength are clearly second-rate, she thought smugly.
She was so caught up in kissing him that she barely cared that he'd started moving, although she certainly felt it. She briefly thought about protesting as he began to climb the stairs to the second floor, but since he followed up each step with a separate, tantalizing little kiss to her lips, that thought was soon forgotten and she was content to simply hold on to him.
Without moving his mouth from hers for a moment, he maneuvered past the landing and through a door, and she found herself being lowered gently out of his grasp. When she managed to tear her attention away from him long enough to focus on her surroundings, she realized that they were standing in her bedroom.
"Sneaky," she whispered against his mouth before resuming the kiss, her arms still wrapped around his neck.
After a moment Angel pulled out of the embrace, and she made a little noise of disappointment, reaching for him. He purposely stayed out of reach, his dark eyes wearing an expression that could almost be described as wicked. "Sleep," he said softly. "I'll see you this afternoon."
And just like that, he was gone, closing the door behind him as he left.
For lack of a more appropriate response, she stuck her tongue out at the door.
---
"Issu allimonin fosku."
"What?" Jesse glanced sideways at Xander, peering suspiciously at his best friend's heavy-lidded eyes and slack jaw. "Dude, are you high?"
Willow giggled, holding onto Xander's arm to steady him as they made their up the steps to Sunnydale High's front entrance. "No, he's just tired. And I think he said, 'it's too early morning for school'." She paused. "Or else he's asking for alimony."
Jesse snorted. "Please, like Xander would ever have kids. The guy can't keep a hamster alive."
Xander blinked at him. "'As na true!" he protested sleepily. "An' aim na hai!"
"Oh, yeah, that's real convincing," Jesse said, grinning. "Now try saying it without the Robert Downey Jr. drug addict slur in your voice."
"What was that about drug addicts?" Buffy asked, catching up with them just outside the entrance. No one who looked at her could tell that she'd only managed to sleep for about two hours before the alarm rang that morning. She'd changed out of last night's outfit into a pair of jeans and a V-neck sweater, and had even had time to pull her hair back into a ponytail.
All in all, she seemed as well-put-together and as energetic as ever – while in contrast, Xander looked like he was on the edge of passing out completely. His clothes were rumpled, his hazel eyes were unfocused and there wasn't a single strand of his black hair that wasn't standing on end.
Buffy looked at him in concern. "You should maybe have thought about skipping school today, Xand."
"You're kidding, right?" Jesse asked incredulously. "If he missed out on an entire day's worth of education, Willow would kill him and make it look like an accident."
Willow rolled her eyes, though she was smiling. "Ignore him," she advised Buffy.
"Always a wise decision where McNally's concerned," Cordelia's voice said cheerfully, a moment before the cheerleader herself appeared, walking up from behind them. If possible, her outfit was even more revealing that usual, and she'd obviously spent a lot of time on her makeup, which bordered on over-the-top.
Xander managed to revive himself sufficiently to stare at the plunging neckline of Cordelia's top. "On your way to the next skank convention, Cordy?"
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Please, you wouldn't know fashion if it got naked and offered to relieve you of your pathetic virginity, Harris. This," she indicated her ridiculously short skirt and figure-hugging top, "is my guarantee that Mr. I Make History Sound Sexy is going to wake up and realize the woman of his dreams is sitting right in front of him." She gave them a regal little wave and sashayed past them to join Harmony and Megan, who were waiting by her locker.
"Oh, God." Willow grimaced. "Tell me that didn't mean what I think it meant."
Jesse looked faintly sick. "I would, but I'm too busy trying to erase the mental image of Cordelia and Rayne sucking face." He shuddered.
"The idea of Rayne doing anything even remotely non-platonic with anyone is creepy enough," Buffy told him, disgusted. "There's no need to get with the details."
"Hear hear," Xander agreed fervently. "Let's talk about something less disturbing – like matricide, or cholera."
Buffy grinned. "Anyone wanna hear the story of how I took out a Gortrach demon on patrol last night?"
"Uh, maybe some other time," Willow said, nudging her. Buffy realized she'd been speaking a little too loudly, and looked up to find someone watching them curiously. A very good-looking, tall, blonde someone whom Buffy found oddly familiar.
The guy seemed to recognize her too, and smiled. "Hey, Beach Party Barbie."
"Um, hi." She smiled back. "I'd call you Ken, except I have this nagging suspicion that's not your real name. "
He laughed. "Points for intuition. I'm Riley Finn." He held out his hand and she shook it, surprised at how warm his palm was. And in a dry, comfy way, not in a sweaty gross way, she thought appreciatively. Not that it matters. At all. Because the only male hands I think about these days are Angel's hands. I'm a one-man's-hands woman. So there, Mr. Warm Palms Finn!
Buffy told him her name, adding, "And you probably already know my friends." Riley greeted the others casually, but he seemed far more interested in her.
"So, I hear you were at the Bronze last night," he said, his eyes suddenly fixing on hers.
Buffy tried not to panic. Be calm. "Uh, yeah, I was," she replied, hoping that word of her axe stunt hadn't spread around the school and he was only asking her to confirm the fact that she was a rampaging psycho.
Because of course, nobody would've mentioned the vampires, she thought dryly. Oh no. As far as the Sunnydale High rumor mill is concerned, I was just in there tossing heavy weaponry around for the heck of it.
But to her surprise, Riley grinned. "Some party, huh?"
"Yeah," Buffy agreed hesitantly, deciding to go with the flow. "Yeah, it was."
"I mean, there have been raves at the Bronze before, but this is the first time I've ever heard of the entire second floor collapsing," he continued, seemingly unaware of her reaction. "How many people were up there, anyway?"
"A lot," she said, smiling in sheer relief. Yes! Way to go, Sunnydale High rumor mill! "And it's really no wonder they brought the entire section down, what with all the movin' and groovin' going on," she added cheerfully.
A moment later she regretted it. Movin' and groovin'? What was I thinking? That's grandma-level lame!
"It's too bad I missed it," Riley said ruefully. Then he gave her a roguish half-smile. "But since you're in on the rave-loop now, how about you take me to the next one?"
"Sorry, but I can't," she said, with genuine regret. I mean, let's face it, this guy is yummy. If I hadn't met Angel…
He looked disappointed. "You mean you can't, as in your religion forbids contact with the male species, or you can't, as in you're politically opposed to dating?"
Buffy laughed. "Neither. I have a boyfriend."
"Oh. And here I was, thinking there was a serious obstacle to us going out," he said, looking amused.
"A boyfriend is a serious obstacle," she said, unsure of whether or not he was joking.
For a long moment he didn't reply, his eyes lingering silently on hers. Then he smiled in a way that made it obvious he didn't agree with her statement about boyfriends. "I'll see you around, Beach," he said softly.
After Riley left, Willow rounded on her. "I can't believe this. The most popular guy in school just hit on you! A lot!" She seemed awed.
Xander glanced disdainfully at Riley's retreating back. "Popular shmopular – that guy is so on steroids. And since when is hormone-induced beefiness attractive?"
"Um, since forever," Willow told him, smiling. Then she turned back to Buffy. "Okay, so not only have you got a hunky immortal boyfriend, but Riley Finn obviously has a thing for you." And I'm not jealous, she told herself. Not much, anyway. Just curious. In a best-friend-y, very supportive way. "How do you do it?"
"It's the hair, mostly," Xander said. "The way it's all bouncy and shiny. And the eyes, obviou–" he stopped when he saw the others staring at him. "Or so I've heard."
Buffy gave him an odd look, but didn't comment on his outburst. "Were you guys even paying attention to the important part of what he said?" she asked instead. "Everybody thinks that the upstairs section of the Bronze fell down by accident!"
"Which means that no one's putting the blame on you," Jesse said, nudging her with a smile.
She smiled back at him happily. "Yeah," she said. "It's a nice change."
---
When the bell rang to signal the end of the day's last class, Buffy couldn't feel the same relief as her classmates; while they were free to go home, she had an appointment to keep with Rayne to discuss her training schedule. Although she'd protested, her friends had insisted on at least walking her to the History classroom, and she had a feeling they'd find a way to stick around for her meeting with Rayne. It felt good to know that they were willing to sacrifice part of their Friday afternoon for her, and she'd already decided to make it up them over the weekend.
"So, can't he plan your training sessions on his own?" Xander asked. "I mean, really, how much say do you get in this whole training thing anyway?"
"Knowing the Council, none," Buffy said gloomily. "They're really big on ignoring everything the Slayer has to say. And according to Merrick, most active Slayers train with their Watchers for like thirty hours a week."
Jesse whistled. "That's just harsh. I mean, how much practice does it take to be a Slayer anyway? 'Point, poke, dust. Do sexy victory dance.' End of training."
"The man's got a point," Xander said, jerking his thumb at Jesse. "In fact, you should just scrap all that other stuff and focus on the sexy victory dance. We could videotape it for you," he offered. "For improvement purposes, obviously."
"And get you a special outfit – something that doesn't cover too much skin," Jesse said dreamily. "Uh, so that it doesn't get in the way of the slaying," he added quickly, seeing her expression.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "You guys are such lobotomy candidates."
They'd reached the History classroom and stood facing the closed door. "Well, here it is," Buffy sighed. "Last stop on death row." She reached for the door handle, but Willow's hand suddenly reached out to pull hers back.
"Wait," she whispered anxiously, her expression troubled. "Do you hear that?"
It took a moment, but then Buffy heard the faint though unmistakable sound of voices speaking inside the room. Voices, plural. She couldn't make out the words, but she definitely heard two male voices; including Rayne's, which sounded a lot calmer than the other one. Whoever the second man was, he sounded absolutely furious.
"He's arguing with someone," she said, glancing at her friends. She knew they were all wondering the same thing she was: whether they should leave and come back later, or just go ahead and walk in. "It sounds pretty serious."
"It does," Willow agreed, "but he asked you to be here, so we can probably go in." She didn't seem too sure about it, though; especially when the stranger's voice rose even louder and they distinctly heard the words 'goddamn' and 'bastard'.
"Yeah," Jesse said, siding with Willow. "I mean, he might just be in there duking it out with Snyder over who has the biggest creep-out factor."
Xander raised an eyebrow. "And you'd wanna walk in on that?"
Jesse shrugged. "If we're really lucky, they'll get into an educational death-match and one of them will kill off the other one."
"Or better yet, they'll kill each other," Xander said, smiling cheerfully at the thought. "All right then – let's just walk away and leave 'em to it."
Buffy shook her head. "It's not Snyder in there, guys. I'd know his weasel-y nasal tones anywhere, and this other guy sounds… different." She had an odd feeling that the voice of the second man was one she'd heard before, but she couldn't put her finger on who exactly she thought it belonged to, or where and when she'd heard it. She closed her eyes, trying to concentrate solely on the voices arguing behind the door.
Willow looked at her in concern. "Buffy? What's wrong?"
Her question was answered when Buffy gasped, her eyes snapping open. "I know that voice!" she hissed, glaring at the door. "Evil son of a bitch. I'll kill him."
Xander backed away slightly. "Whoa, hey, what's all this talk of killing? We're all anti-Rayne here, Buffy, but there's no need to get all Terminator on us."
"Not Rayne," Buffy bit out, still glaring at the door. "Wesley."
Jesse and Xander glanced at each other. "Who?"
But Willow, who'd heard the entire story of Buffy's summer in LA, gasped softly in dismay. "Oh no."
Buffy tried to open the door, and found it locked. "See?" Jesse said nervously. "Clearly, he doesn't want anyone barging in on him and his, uh, friend, so we should all just –"
His voice was cut off by the sound of wood splintering as Buffy put her shoulder to the door and forced it open. "Or – or we could do that," he said quietly, staring at the damage done to the doorframe. But then his attention was caught up completely in the strange scene going in the History classroom, and like the others, he stood staring in astonishment. What the hell?
Rayne stood with his right arm outstretched, gripping a dagger which was covered in arcane runes and glowing faintly. He held it pointed squarely in the chest of a lividly furious Wesley, whose own hands were raised in the air, evidently on Rayne's command. The two men were glaring at each other with utter loathing, and Rayne seemed only seconds away from sinking the dagger into Wesley's heart.
But that wasn't nearly as strange as the sight of the apparently lifeless body lying on the floor between the two Watchers – a body Buffy easily recognized as Ripper's.
---
Neither Wesley nor Rayne turned their heads to look at the teenagers, but they both obviously knew they were there, judging by the hardening of Rayne's features and the bitter smile that spread slowly across Wesley's face. "Hello, Slayer," he said pleasantly. "Nice of you to drop in."
"Get out of here, all of you," Rayne said hoarsely. "Now."
"Whoa, déjà vu," Buffy said, forcing herself to sound cheerful, even though she felt ready to snatch the dagger from Ripper's hand and stab Wesley herself. "I mean, if you're gonna make a habit of kicking us out, what's the point of even letting us in?"
"I didn't," Rayne said tightly. "That door was locked, remember? And now is not the time to make clever small talk, Buffy. Please wait outside while I … finish this."
"What, the way you 'finished' Ripper?" Buffy asked, gesturing towards his body. "I don't think so."
"Coming to my rescue, are you?" Wesley asked softly, though his eyes were still fixed on Rayne. "How touching. I had no idea you were so merci–"
"Shut up," Buffy said harshly. "Just shut up. Do you think I give a damn about what happens to you?"
"Then you're not going to try and stop me?" Rayne said, glancing towards her briefly. He seemed relieved.
"No, I am," Buffy told him. "Because, believe it or not, I do give a damn about what happens to you. And I don't want to see you go to jail for killing this scumbag."
"Do you have any idea what kind of man he is?" Rayne asked, pushing the dagger just a little harder against Wesley's chest, so that he flinched in pain. "What he's done? What he's tried to do?"
"Oh, that's rich," Wesley hissed. "Coming from the man who was willing to sell out his own Slayer for the sake of revenge."
Buffy stared at Rayne in shock. "What is he talking about?"'
"He agreed to tell me your whereabouts in exchange for the chance to get his revenge on poor Rupert," Wesley explained maliciously, "even though he knew I was no longer part of the Council and could very well be intending to harm you. We were supposed to meet tonight, but I thought it best to arrive early and unexpectedly, before my old friend here would have time to set up a trap." He glared at Rayne. "Turns out I needn't have bothered, since he's managed to double-cross me after all."
Buffy smiled faintly. "So the Council finally realized you're a raving lunatic and kicked you out, huh?"
Wesley actually turned his head to stare at her in disbelief. "Did you hear a single word I just said, girl? Your own Watcher was going to hand you over to me! He's just as 'bad' as I am – or worse!"
"Uh, no, actually, it's looking a lot like he was just going to kill you," she said cheerfully. "And somehow I find myself not caring. So color me not fooled by your lame divide-and-conquer tactics, Wacko Wes."
Jesse leaned in towards her slightly. "So, just to clarify – we're on Rayne's side?"
She nodded, not taking her eyes off the two men. "Pretty much."
"Does that mean this other guy is going to die now?" Xander asked, pointing at Wesley. "'Cause it's always nice to have a little warning when something freak-out-worthy is about to happen, and an imminent murder definitely gets filed under 'Reasons to freak out'."
"Nobody's going to die," Buffy said calmly. "Not today, anyway."
"The dagger being pointed at my chest would suggest otherwise," Wesley said dryly. "Feel free to remove it at any time in the near future, by the way."
"You're not going to kill him," Buffy told Rayne. "I know it, and you know it. It's just not in you."
"Buffy, there's a dead body on the floor," Xander said incredulously. "So I'm thinking, it probably is in him."
"Ripper's not dead," Buffy said dismissively. "He's unconscious, but definitely alive."
She turned back to Rayne. "Ethan, please," she said softly. "Just put the dagger down."
If Rayne was surprised at the use of his given name, he didn't show it; and the grimly determined expression on his handsome face didn't change. "I'm sorry, Buffy. I really am. I have to do this." He tightened his grip on the dagger, preparing to stab Wesley with it.
Buffy went from standing still to moving forward in the blink of an eye, and Rayne's reaction time was no match for Slayer speed as she grabbed his wrist, forcing him to release the dagger. Wesley started to make a dash for the door, but Jesse put out his foot at just the right moment, tripping him up neatly.
Buffy glanced at the ex-Watcher sprawled on the floor. "Knock him out!" she told her friends urgently, struggling to keep the dagger out of Rayne's reach.
"With what?" Willow asked, panicking. "Ooh!" She spotted a heavy glass paperweight on Rayne's desk, grabbed it hastily and handed it to Xander.
"What, you want me to do it?" Xander stared down at Wesley, who was quickly getting to his feet. Oh, crap. Xander closed his eyes and swung the paperweight wildly. Unbelievably, he heard a dull thud as it connected with Wesley's skull, and he opened them again to see that the ex-Watcher was lying face-down on the floor. "I did it!"
Jesse grinned. "Yeah, your aim was actually on for once. It's an unseasonal Christmas miracle!"
Xander glared at him. "Dude, don't make me swing this thing at you."
They turned to find Buffy kneeling beside Rayne, who was evidently unconscious as well. "I had to knock him out," she explained to them ruefully. "He wasn't going to stop trying to get that dagger and I didn't want to have to hurt him."
"Hey, do you hear us complaining?" Jesse asked cheerfully. "I like these guys a lot better when they're out cold."
"But what do we do with them now?" Willow asked worriedly, staring down at the three men lying unconscious on the classroom floor.
Buffy shrugged, sighing. "That's a good question."
---
Author's Note: Hopefully this will all seem a little less weird once I get around to some Rayne/Wesley/Ripper POV in the next chapter. Feedback welcome (even anti-Riley feedback, which I totally see coming).