A/N: Thanks to my betas, deiticlast, murg, and satsuma! And thank you so much for your continued support/reviews, and to AnnManga, Jazzibear, Seoid, and vargamor, for the recs!
As Oz steered the rental car into Fangtasia's parking lot, Xander stared at the club in disgust.
"Look at this, the spectacle of it all," he groused as he gestured to the long line of people waiting to get in. "I know vampires are opportunistic, but even this should be beneath them."
Oz just made a non-committal sound as he reached for the door handle.
Though this wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement, Xander decided to take it as one and, being a firm believer that a good rant was a terrible thing to waste, he didn't stop there.
"I know, right? Isn't it enough that vamps take our blood? Must they take our hard earned money, too?" he scowled. "And now we get to watch Thor flash some fang at Buffy every chance he gets. I mean, come on, what is it with that girl and vampires?"
Releasing the handle, Oz turned around to face him, his eyebrow raised in amusement. "I don't think either of us can really throw stones there."
This took Xander completely by surprise, and he just gaped at Oz for a second before he found his voice again. "Well, I just can't accept them at face value like Buffy," he argued.
"Even Vi?" Oz asked with an extremely pointed look.
Xander shook his head in protest. "Vi's different," he insisted.
Oz studied him for a moment, taking a few moments to frame his response. "Listen," he finally said. "I know this a lot to take in—"
"And the winner of 'Understatement of the Year' is," Xander muttered sarcastically under his breath.
Though a ghost of a frown appeared on Oz's face, he continued speaking as if he hadn't just been interrupted. "But you gotta chill a little, for everyone's sake," he advised. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not totally comfortable, either. But until I can make sense of it all, then I gotta go with the trust. Or at least not with the unhelpful sarcasm."
Xander opened his mouth, disagreement clearly written all over his face. Before he could actually voice his opinion, however, some of what Oz was saying finally broke through that big wall of stubborn that was Xander's brain.
He forced himself to take a deep breath and slowly blew it out. "I know, I know," he admitted. "But to be honest? I'm kind of freaking about all this."
"Well, the situation is fairly freak-worthy," Oz pointed out reasonably. "But antagonizing the vampires might not be the best way to deal with it – or with your issues with Buffy, especially when she's just trying to make lemonade out of the pretty sizable lemons she's been handed."
Xander glared at him, but there was a grin lurking behind it. "You know, we can't have conversations like this if you're going to go and use logic against me," he jokingly warned. Then he grew serious again. "This doesn't mean I'm okay with this, though. Or that I agree with everything that Buffy's doing."
"Fair enough," Oz conceded. He reached for the door handle again, but he paused before pulling on it. "We cool?"
"Yeah, we're of the good," Xander confirmed. He paused as something dawned on him. "You know, I think that was the longest 'Oz' speech I've ever heard."
"What can I say? Sometimes I get downright chatty," Oz shrugged. Then he opened the door and got out.
Xander gave a small snort of laughter and got out of the car as well.
He studied Fangtasia for a moment. Then he took another deep breath. "Behold the new, zen-like Xander, friend to Slayer and temporarily silent critic of vampires," he announced.
Oz gave a faint smile. "It's a good look for you."
"There they are!" Sookie announced – unnecessarily – as she spotted Xander and Oz heading toward her and Bill.
Bill just nodded, watching Buffy's friends as they made their way over to where he and Sookie stood near the entrance to Fangtasia. As soon as they had caught up, he strode toward the front door, bypassing the long line to get in and causing more than a few dark comments to be thrown their way.
Slightly uncomfortable, Xander and Oz kept their eyes trained straight ahead, though Xander occasionally threw an apologetic look toward the angry mumbling.
Sookie couldn't even bring herself to do that. Not so much because cutting was just plain rude – which it was – but because a tiny part of her was actually enjoying it.
It wasn't like she ever got to do something like this - at least not before she started dating a vampire. And even if she did have a problem with it, she wasn't about to say anything.
In her opinion, there were two things a person got when they became a vampire: a set of fangs and a sense of entitlement.
And, boy, were both in full swing tonight.
"Pam," Bill said, curtly acknowledging the blonde vampire standing guard at the entrance door. "Take us to Eric."
Pam raised an eyebrow. "Pleasure to see you as well, Bill," she drawled, a bored look on her face. She perked up considerably, however, when she looked over his shoulder. "Why, Sookie, you look lovely enough to eat."
Ignoring the low growl that began emanating from Bill, Sookie smiled politely. "Hi Pam. It's good to see you, too. Could you please take us to see Eric and Buffy?" she asked. "We all came from my house and we're supposed to meet here."
A flicker of something flashed through Pam's eyes; it quickly disappeared, however, as she turned her gaze to Xander and Oz, giving the latter an especially careful once over.
"Am I to assume that these breathers are with you?"
"They're friends of Buffy's," Sookie said quickly, stepping in front of them protectively – which really made no sense, if she thought about it. It wasn't as if the Great Wall of Sookie would deter Pam from anything.
Thankfully, the blonde vampire looked more amused than anything.
Still, Pam didn't budge an inch. Instead they all just stood there as she pulled out her cell phone. Turning slightly away, she pressed a few buttons and brought it to her ear. After a minute or two, she hung up in obvious dissatisfaction as she turned back toward them.
"Why don't you come with me?" she suggested, even though the tone of her voice made it clear that this wasn't really a choice at all.
Then Pam stepped away from the front door and walked inside as another Fangtasia employee came out from within the club and took her spot.
Without another word, the four of them quickly followed her. Mostly. Because as they made there way through the crowd, Xander and Oz couldn't help stopping a few times as they got a good look around.
"Huh," Oz said as he took it all in.
Xander, on the other hand, just made some sort of gurgling sound, his eyes glued to what could only be described as a vampire go-go dancer. He continued to make incoherent noises, too, even as they walked through a door at the back of the main room into a hallway.
He abruptly snapped his mouth shut, however, when they walked into Eric's office, for there, in the middle of the room, was a vampire who was clearly not the Sheriff, looking at the humans with undisguised loathing.
"Chow," Pam said calmly. "We need to locate Eric."
The Asian vampire nodded and stalked out of the room as Pam's implications sunk in with the rest of them.
"They're not here yet?" Sookie asked worriedly. "But they left my house before us, and by the way Eric was tearing down the road, they should've been here a good 20 minutes ago—ow!"
She let out a small yelp as Bill gripped her hand a little too tightly. Confused, she turned to ask him what the hell was going on. The words got stuck in her throat, however, when she got a good look at him.
Seeing a vampire look like a deer in the headlights was just something Sookie could've done without, especially when Bambi's eyes were burning bright with hunger, looking as if he hadn't eaten in weeks – when she knew for a fact that he had eaten just last night.
A quick look revealed that Oz and Pam were acting similarly, which only made the situation seem that much worse.
Sookie glanced over at Xander questioningly, but he also had no idea what was going on. Before either of them could ask, Bill, Pam, and Oz up and left the room in unsettling, supernatural unison.
Now completely bewildered, Sookie and Xander exchanged another glance before following suit.
That's how they all came to witness Buffy and Eric, bursting into the hallway from Fangtasia's back entrance – Buffy clutching the Scythe and wearing nothing but what was obviously Eric's shirt, and Eric, standing just behind her, shirtless and smirking.
Both of them were streaked with blood. A lot of it. And to top it off, they were flushed, like they had just run a marathon – or something equally exerting.
There was a deafening silence as everyone stared at the two blondes, tension filling the hallway with each passing second.
Thankfully, it was broken by Xander of all people, as he began muttering under his breath – and in his head – the same words over and over again.
"Find a happy place, find a happy place…"
Shaken out of her own stupor, Sookie suddenly found herself unable to contain her curiosity. "What happened?" she blurted out.
Buffy shook her head with a scowl. "Not 'what'. 'Who'. We were ambushed by Kennedy and some werewolves," she explained, purposefully avoiding Oz's gaze as she spoke.
There was another pause as everyone seemed to focus in on the blood covering Buffy and Eric.
"You get to have all the fun," Pam finally said, her eyes firmly fixed on Buffy. At Eric's growl of warning, she rolled her eyes – and then immediately went back to gazing at the Slayer.
Frowning, Eric stepped forward so that he was standing next to Buffy, his large frame filling the small space. He didn't say a word, though; he simply stared at Pam and Bill.
Bill looked away, ashamed. Pam, however, simply gave him a knowing look.
Buffy's eyes widened as she looked back and forth between the vampires, the seriousness of the situation suddenly hitting her.
She should've thought about this beforehand, but between the exhilaration of flying and figuring out their next move, her mind had pretty much been elsewhere – not now, though. Now she was uncomfortably aware that she was wounded, covered in blood, in a vampire bar.
She looked up at Eric with a frown. He had to have realized this.
Sure enough, Eric smirked back. "There's a shower in my office, which I suggest you use rather quickly," he advised. "Otherwise, we might have a stampede on our hands, and seeing as I already need a new car, I would rather avoid any reparations that would most certainly be required if I staked one of my patrons."
At first, Buffy was a little confused. Reparations? Then she scowled as she focused on the part she did understand.
She was so not loving the idea of taking a shower there, but she didn't exactly have a better idea, either. And he knew it, too.
Grinning in victory, Eric gave a satisfied smile. "Pam, have one of the human staff bring an extra uniform for the Slayer," he ordered.
Pam nodded. "If everyone will follow me," she called out.
Bill and Sookie started to move immediately; they froze, however, Xander pointedly cleared his throat.
"Wait," he said hesitantly, his eyes glued to the bloody Scythe. "Kennedy. Uh, where is she?" Then he noticeably tensed, almost afraid to hear the answer.
Buffy's expression darkened at the mention of the traitor's name. "She actually ran away," she replied, her voice full of bitterness. A small smile crept across her face, however, as she glanced down at the Scythe. "It wasn't a total loss, though. I mean, I did get a shiny souvenir."
Pam let out a small laugh at this. Eyebrow raised, she looked directly at Eric. "She's really starting to grow on me," she declared. Then she turned and headed for the door that led back into Fangtasia's room, not even bothering to see if anyone was following her.
Buffy watched as everyone left, making sure to give Xander and Oz a reassuring nod when they looked back. As soon as the door had closed, she strode into Eric's office and headed straight for the bathroom.
She stopped in her tracks, however, as soon as she stepped inside.
She knew that some older vamps liked to hold on to the traditions of the past, often dressing and decorating in the styles that were popular in their human days.
Not Eric. The bathroom was modern and luxurious and Buffy had no shame in admitting that she was insanely jealous.
"Nice," she breathed as she took the beautifully tiled shower. When her gaze drifted over to the toilet, she looked over at him, her eyebrow raised questioningly.
Eric shrugged. "I have an appreciation for indoor plumbing," he explained.
Buffy felt herself start to smile. Because she was unwilling to give him anything, she turned away and continued to look around. She only stopped when Eric blocked her path with some towels in hand. And yep, they were just as soft as fluffy as they looked.
With a final smirk, Eric left the bathroom – and continued to walk until he was out the door, the one that led to the hallway.
"Where are you going? Don't you need to shower, too?" Buffy blurted out, completely taken by surprise, because honestly, it wasn't like he was any less covered in blood than she was.
Almost instantaneously, Eric reappeared in the doorway. "I'll be on the phone in the store room, as I have a certain packmaster to speak with," he replied with an amused smile. Then he looked at her thoughtfully. "Of course, if you are worried, we could always shower together—"
She could hear his faint chuckle as she practically slammed the door shut. Not trusting him for a second, she just stood there, waiting until she heard the door to his office close.
Satisfied, she set the Scythe next to the door. Then, after taking a moment to strip down, she stepped inside the shower.
It was a relief to feel the hot water sluice over her, washing away the blood, grime, and car debris the past few hours had brought, so much so that she just stood there with her eyes closed for a good five minutes.
When she finally opened her eyes, she looked around for some shampoo. Not too surprisingly, it was some fancy schmancy brand, one she couldn't even pronounce, let alone afford.
Buffy sighed. Again with the jealousy.
She began to clean herself up in earnest. As she reached for the conditioner, however, she saw the bite mark on her forearm and froze.
It was almost healed already, but that didn't make it any less painful to look at. And it definitely didn't do anything for the regret she was already feeling.
Never again, she silently vowed. It was just too dangerous.
Buffy quickly washed her hair before moving on to the rest of her. Unfortunately, she quickly remembered that the downside to using someone else's shower stuff was that you ended up smelling like them.
Yeah, this whole situation was abounding in weirdness.
Wrinkling her nose in distaste, she finished up and stepped out of the shower. As she wrapped the towel around her, she heard the office door open and close.
At first she thought it was the person bringing in a change of clothes for her. Then she felt it. There was a vampire out there.
Buffy's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Eric," she growled as she stalked toward the door and yanked it open. "Kennedy better be in the club, ripping people apart with her bare hands. Otherwise, I'll be doing some tearing of my—"
She gasped when she saw who was on the other side of the door.
Vi's sire. Chow. Holding out some clothes.
Well, if this wasn't the most awkward moment of the night.
"Uh, thanks," she said, giving him a small smile.
Chow, however, glared at her in return. "This is all your fault," he growled.
It was safe to say that she didn't see that one coming.
"I guess this can get more awkward, after all," Buffy muttered under her breath as she clutched the towel to herself a little more.
For some reason, this enraged Chow, his eyes flashing with anger as he dropped the clothes on the ground and stepped toward her, forcing her to take a step back into the bathroom.
Instinctively, she grabbed for the Scythe, which was still by the door, and held it between them threateningly.
The second she did it, she knew she had made a mistake. Seriously, she actually didn't think that he would do anything here, even though he was clearly far from harmless.
Nope, it was more because she was in an enclosed bathroom with an angry vampire – again. And she panicked.
They stared at each other in stony silence.
"I don't like you," Chow hissed.
"I'm not feeling too warm and fuzzy toward you at the moment, either," she shot back. She purposefully let her gaze flicker down to the Scythe. "Now you're going to get out so I can get dressed in peace. Whether you leave in pieces or not? Well, that's up to you."
Chow stared at her, the hatred burning in his eyes. "We answer to no one, he answers to no one, especially not a Slayer. It would be wise if you remembered that," he spat out. Then he slowly backed away and left.
When she was sure he was gone, Buffy took a few shaky breaths, her hands shaking as she put the Scythe back down.
Yep, she definitely didn't do too well with bathroom confrontations.
Eric hung up the phone. The Colonel had been none too pleased to receive a phone call from him and even less happy when the situation had been explained to him – but that was only because he knew that there would be a reckoning if his pack was involved.
Assuming that Buffy would still be in the shower, he took the time to take care of other business, matters that he had put aside since the arrival of a certain slayer.
Unfortunately, he also had to consider whether or not to close Fangtasia down for a few days, given the new threat.
He was deep in thought as he considered the feasibility of such a move when something just outside the door caught his attention.
"Skulking around for another smell?" he called out. "Does Sookie know?"
Bill came into the storeroom, a scowl on his face. "That's not why I'm here," he said tightly. "Though why you brought her here is beyond me."
"I didn't have much of a choice, did I?" Eric replied. "Though seeing her face when we arrived at my house would've been interesting–"
"We should tell the Queen about this," Bill interrupted, apparently short on patience.
Eyebrow ticking up, Eric smirked. "And we will," he promised. He paused for the briefest moment before continuing. "Just not yet."
Bill's eyes narrowed at this. "What are you waiting for? If the Slayer and her organization are mounting an attack, we must be prepared. Every second you keep this from her is another moment you put all of us deeper in danger."
Eric fell silent. Though he was loathe to admit it, Bill was right. He was playing a risky game here, one that put all their lives in jeopardy. Still, he couldn't bring himself to speak with Sophie-Anne about the situation, not yet. The Queen would take far too a great an interest in the Slayer. It also wouldn't reflect well on him that Violet was taken from his own club, especially since he had little to no information on what this Council's larger plan was.
He just needed a little more time. He just hoped it wasn't too much.
"I will not disturb her until I have something concrete to tell her," he finally said.
Bill stared at Eric in surprise. "You worry what she'll say about the Slayer," he guessed. A fascinated look came across his face. "You care for her."
"I care about what happens to her," Eric corrected.
Chuckling, Bill shook his head. "Has the great Eric Northman fallen so far?"
With a slight frown, Eric regarded Bill for a moment. Then his face relaxed as he gave a nonchalant shrug.
"Remember, Bill," he reminded. "If I go to the Queen, then chances are Sookie will learn about your true reason for seeking her out."
Bill stiffened at this remark; slowly, however, he nodded, as a silent acknowledgement passing between the two vampires.
Though unintentional, they had thrown their lot in together, and they would have to see it through that way.
Buffy fidgeted in her seat at the bar, distinctly uncomfortable, as she played with the straw in her drink, the Scythe at her feet, hidden in a duffle bag.
Seriously, they couldn't actually talk about anything, not in a public place like Fangtasia. That left them with only one option: sitting at the bar, pretending to be customers as they waited for the werewolf liaison of Eric's to show up.
And oh yeah, every now and then Chow would pass by, sending a baleful look her way whenever he could.
Stifling a sigh, Buffy glanced over to see how everyone else was doing.
Sookie was exhausted, having spent the entire time blocking out other people's thoughts. She and Bill had retreated to a quiet corner booth, though Bill still had the occasional groupie approach him for a photo.
Oz was leaning against the bar as he surveyed the crowd. He seemed relaxed, but both Buffy and Xander could sense a little underlying tension there.
And Xander was staring at two girls, who were currently fangirling all over Eric as they had their picture taken with him.
Xander shook his head. "Ah, remember when someone's first reaction would be to run away from a vamp?" he said wistfully. "Now those were the days."
Buffy rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. It almost felt like old times. She was about to reply when an uneasy growl suddenly began emanating from Oz.
"Werewolf," he said tersely, his eyes fixed on a man who was making a beeline for Eric.
Both Buffy and Xander followed his gaze, trying to get a good look at this new werewolf.
He was very attractive in that rugged all-American kind of way with longish dark hair and a few days' worth of scruff. He also looked completely out of place in Fangtasia, dressed super casual in a t-shirt, jeans, and work boots.
But all that was eclipsed – so to speak – by his height. Seriously, the guy was insanely tall; he even looked like he had an inch or so on Eric.
"First the Jolly Blonde Giant and now the Paul Bunyan of the werewolf world?" Xander grumbled. "Can I just say that we're going to need a chiropractor from looking up so much?"
Buffy and Oz ignored him, instead focusing on Eric as he dismissed the girls without a second thought; then he began ushering the man toward the door that led to his office. Before they went through the doorway, however, Eric turned and gestured over toward Buffy. The man looked over, his eyes flitting between Buffy and Oz before looking away.
Just then, Pam appeared by Buffy's side. "Eric would like to see you in his office," she announced. As Buffy, Oz, and Xander went to stand, Pam shook her head. "No, just Buffy. The Long Tooth Pack prefers not to speak of pack business in front of strangers."
Buffy winced. "Sorry."
Disgruntled, Xander sat back down with an 'oomph'. Oz, however, looked a little relieved.
With one last apologetic look, Buffy picked up the duffle bag and headed for Eric's office. As soon as she stepped inside the room, the man stood, warily assessing her even as he got to her feet.
Buffy set the bag down with a thud. Then she raised her eyebrow and stared back as she gave him her own look over.
"Buffy," Eric cut in. "This Alcide Herveaux, a member of the Long Tooth Pack."
Instead of extending his hand, Alcide merely nodded in acknowledgement. "Ma'am," he said politely.
Buffy bit back a frown. She so wasn't loving the 'ma'am' bit. And he wasn't exactly hitting high on the friendly scale, either.
Well, then, neither would she.
"So," she said briskly. "What's the what?"
This seemed to catch Alcide off guard completely, and he turned to Eric in slight alarm. Unfortunately, Eric decided it was more fun to sit back and watch the fireworks. He merely shrugged, forcing Alcide and Buffy to interact with each other.
Alcide turned back to Buffy, a frown on his face. "That wolf out there. He a friend of yours?" he asked.
His tone wasn't forceful, per se, but it definitely wasn't oozing innocent curiosity, either.
"Yes. A close friend. Like a brother, really," she said pointedly, making sure he got her message loud and clear.
And he did.
Alcide blinked at her for a moment, obviously warring with himself on how he should respond. Then he shook his head in reluctant apology. "I only meant that it's customary for wolves to introduce themselves when they enter someone else's territory," he explained.
Buffy studied him carefully. "I'll let him know."
Apparently, Eric decided that it was time for this oh so fun meet and greet to end, because he clapped his hands together authoritatively.
When he was sure he had both their attention, he turned to Alcide, a pleasant look on his face.
"So, Alcide, can you tell me why someone from your pack not only tried to ambush me tonight but also most likely aided in the abduction of one of my own?"