Jessie Sammler, Vampire Slayer
Chapter 29
Author: j_rock873
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Buffy and Faith talk about Jessie becoming attracted to Dawn, the Scoobies are shown the paintings Katie had worked on the previous night, and Katie makes assumptions about Jessie and Dawn.
Disclaimer: I own nothing from either show.
Reviews: I would like them. Constructive criticism is ok.
Author's notes: To get a good idea of what the Scooby gang painting looks like, just imagine the original Scoobies posed like the cast of The Breakfast Club on the movie poster or VHS/DVD cover. Their positions: Buffy - Molly Ringwald (with a stake in the hand touching the floor), Faith - Judd Nelson (with a stake in her right hand), Xander - Emilio Estevez, Dawn - Ally Sheedy, Willow - Anthony Michael Hall (with her resolve face showing), Jessie - sitting between Willow and Xander (while smiling), and Giles - standing behind Xander (with a slight smile on his face) There will be some Xander bashing at the end of this chapter because I thought he was stupid and a hypocritical jerk too many times.
The next morning, after breakfast, the girls' apartment
Katie and the Scooby gang had gathered in the family room.
"So why did you want us to come up here, Katie?" Willow asked as her curiosity grew every second.
"Yeah," Xander added with apparent confusion.
"I just wanted to show you the paintings I did last night. The first one is of the new Scooby gang, and the second is of Buffy and Dawn."
"The new Scooby gang?" Xander questioned while still confused.
"Yeah, since Jessie's a Scooby now, it's correct to say that. You've all seen The Breakfast Club, right?"
"Yeah, so?" Willow inquired.
"YOU DIDN'T!" Buffy giggled.
"I SO did," Katie admitted with a smirk, "I would like to present the NEW Scooby gang."
When Katie pulled the cover off of the painting, the rest smiled before joining Buffy in laughter.
"I love it just as much as the one of Buffy and Dawn," Jessie said as she kissed Katie and began singing "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds.
"Well?" Katie quizzed the rest of them while smiling at the feel of the kiss and hearing Jessie sing.
Willow congratulated her, "It's excellent. You captured our normal expressions so well."
"Where should we put it?" Buffy announced.
"How about on the wall next to Giles's office door?" Dawn suggested as the rest of them couldn't remove the smiles from their faces.
"That's a great idea," Xander complimented Dawn.
"How does that sound, Giles? I mean do you like that idea?" Buffy commented to their mentor.
"Yes, quite a bit actually. You're very talented, Katie."
"Th-Thank y-you," Katie declared shyly.
"You haven't even seen the second one yet," Jessie reminded them.
"Oh, right," Katie mumbled nervously, "Dawn told me of how she helped out in the fights a few times, so here it is."
Katie then pulled the cover off of the other one. Buffy, Dawn, and Willow shed tears of joy at seeing Buffy standing beside Dawn with her left arm wrapped around her sister's shoulders. They both had cute smiles on their faces as Buffy was holding the famous scythe in her other hand while Dawn held a sword in hers. Giles and Xander smiled back and forth between the painting, Katie, Buffy, Dawn, and Willow.
"Aw, how sweet," Faith playfully mocked before changing her tone, "Those are some wicked paintings, hotstuff."
"I told you she was great," Jessie bragged.
"Thank you, B…," Katie tried to say before she was hugged tightly by both Dawn and Buffy.
"Ok, step back, she needs to breathe now," Jessie giggled.
"Thank you," Buffy told Katie with a heartwarming smile.
"Yeah, th-thank y-you," Dawn stuttered before smiling.
"You're welcome."
"What are the plans for the rest of the day?" Faith quizzed after having enough of the Hallmark card moments for the day.
"Well, several hundred of the new slayers will be arriving starting today through the rest of the week, and we'll be meeting the teachers for the girls still in high school. Classes start in about a week. We should do a final look to make sure that the rest of the dorm rooms and classrooms are still in good shape. Then we need to decide the living arrangements for those slayers," Giles explained.
"So we quickly check out the rest of the dorm rooms, the classrooms, and then back to the library for the next Scooby meeting?" Buffy groaned.
"Exactly," he confirmed.
The next few hours were spent making sure everything was ok with the rooms. Everything seemed ok, so they met up again in the library while the rest of the slayers there took part in light sparring matches.
"Ready for your first Scooby meeting, J?"
"I sure am, Faith. I know she's not officially a Scooby, but would you mind if Katie comes with us?"
After getting a positive nod from the rest of them, Faith answered, "It's cool, yo."
Buffy then led her girlfriend to the same spot as before but had Faith sit on her lap this time. Katie and Jessie watched them and chose to do the same thing with Katie sitting on Jessie's lap. When they had their backs to Dawn, she let out a very soft sigh and flashed a brief, sullen look. Buffy then gave her sister an apologetic look that Dawn acknowledged with a shrug.
"She'll be alright, B," Faith assumed as she caught the interaction between the sisters.
"I hope so."
Before Buffy could even finish her reply, Jessie turned to look at Dawn; who immediately looked away. Jessie then turned to the older slayers, who signaled for her to not do anything. The rest of the meeting went smoothly. They had come to mutual decisions on who would be sharing rooms going by age. Then they contacted a few shuttle companies and set up pick up times for trips to and from the airport, train stations, and bus stations. As they were getting ready to end the meeting, an idea popped into Faith's mind.
"Hold up," Faith demanded before they got out of their seats, making all of them turn to look at her.
"What is it?" Buffy muttered with a smile.
"Since J's a Scooby now, she should get to hear the speech you made back in Sunnydale."
"Which one?" Buffy sighed.
"The one you used to motivate the potentials before they became slayers," Faith replied.
"I don't think so," Buffy groaned.
"Speech," Faith began to chant as she smacked the table in unison.
This was quickly followed by Dawn, Xander, Willow, and Katie. Jessie simply smiled as Giles chuckled at Buffy's growing irritation of the chanting.
"Fine," Buffy groaned again.
Her girlfriend acted like she didn't hear it to irritate the blonde even more.
"What was that, B?" Faith responded as the others continued to chant.
"I said FINE," she growled.
"That's what I thought you said," Faith smirked as the rest stopped.
Buffy stood to give it the full effect and made sure to point at Willow at the right moment like she had done in Sunnydale.
"I hate this. I hate being here. I hate that you have to be here. I hate that there's evil, and that I was chosen to fight it. I wish a whole lot of the time that I hadn't been. I know a lot of you wish I hadn't been either. But this isn't about wishes. This is about choices. I believe we can beat this evil. Not when it comes, not when its army is ready, now. Tomorrow morning, I'm opening the seal. I'm going down into the hellmouth, and I'm finishing this once and for all. Right now you're asking yourself, 'What makes this different? What makes us anything more than just a bunch of girls being picked off one by one?' It's true. None of you have the power that Faith and I do. So here's where you make a choice. What if you could have that power…now? In every generation, one slayer is born because a bunch of men who died thousands of years ago made up that rule. They were powerful men. This woman is more powerful then all of them combined. So I say we change the rule. I say my power should be our power. Tomorrow, Willow will use the essence of the scythe to change our destiny. From now on, every girl in the world who might be a slayer will be a slayer. Every girl who could have the power will have the power. Can stand up will stand up. Slayers, every one of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong?"
Buffy began to smile at her sister slayers as the rest clapped and whistled.
"That's my girl," Faith chimed in as she wrapped her arms around Buffy and kissed her softly on the right cheek as her girlfriend blushed.
"Happy now?" Buffy remarked after she stopped blushing.
"Five by five."
After the meeting was officially adjourned, Jessie and Katie decided to head back to the apartment while the rest went to check on the other slayers. Katie was internally pleased that there would be enough room for Jessie to temporarily share a room with someone other than Dawn after she left for Oxford and shortly after that, her own room. However, Jessie felt the opposite and let her know it as they made their way back to the apartment.
"So, uh, Billie."
"Yes, sweetie?"
"Now that you know that you can share a room with someone other than Dawn, are you going to stay in the same place or crash someplace else? Then when there's enough room, you can have your own room."
"I think I'll stay where I am now. Do you still have a problem with her?"
"I didn't say that."
"Then why did you ask?"
"The main reason you liked the attic bedroom was because you didn't have to share it."
"Well, I thought I'd have a problem sharing a room, but I don't. It sounds like you do though. What are you afraid of?"
"That not too long after I'm gone, she will make a move on you or maybe even spy on you when you want some privacy."
"What makes you think she'd do that?"
"Well, after what Grace said, I wouldn't be surprised if she tried. Besides, I'm sure she still remembers that invisibility spell."
"She wouldn't do that."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Because I TRUST her."
"Fine," Katie hissed as they walked the rest of the way in silence.
Their friends assumed from the way Jessie and Katie were acting that it was a fight but couldn't confirm it since the girls were far away enough to not be heard.
Twenty minutes later, Dawn and Jessie's bedroom
Jessie had become tired of the silent treatment, so she started up another conversation.
"Ok, I'm tired of this silent routine. So say something, or I will."
"Something," Katie snapped as she sat down on Jessie's bed.
"Oh, that's really mature."
"You told me to say something, and I did."
"That's not what I meant, and you know it."
"What do you want me to say?"
"If you honestly think Dawn would do something like that, or maybe it's that you think I wouldn't stop her."
"With all the things she's done already, I wouldn't put it past her. I trust you though."
Jessie wasn't too convinced by the last statement and spoke, "I don't believe you."
"Well, if she already admitted that she loved you, then she's probably at least thought about it. Who's to say that in a moment of weakness after a slaying that she makes a move, and you don't stop it? You could probably get her to do ANYTHING for you or to you."
"So then you don't trust me either."
"I didn't say that."
"You just did. I think you need to stay up here and think about the way you're acting before you do something you regret."
Jessie then made her way out the bedroom.
"Where are you going?"
"To join our friends while you do some thinking."
"Are you going to tell them what we said?"
"No, because I don't want a repeat of what happened earlier."
At hearing Jessie leave the apartment, Katie stood up and tried walking around the bedroom in the hopes of calming herself down. After not getting results from that, she lashed out and kicked over a trash can by the dresser. Katie smiled at the release of her anger and leaned over to clean up the mess. She gulped as the last item she picked up turned out to be the instructions for the invisibility spell and its reversal. She quickly hid it in the side pocket of one of her bags before leaving the room.
Around thirty minutes later
"Where's hotstuff?" Faith grunted as Jessie walked over to them while they were hanging out at the same spot on the grass near the library.
"She's still upstairs. She'll be down in a little bit."
"Did you two have a fight?" Buffy assumed.
"Uh, yeah, we did."
"What was it about?" Buffy continued cautiously.
"It was about me. Their fights are always about me. I'm really sorry, J," Dawn apologized before looking down at the ground.
"A little overconfident, aren't we?" Faith chuckled to try and ease the tension.
When Jessie didn't respond, Buffy spoke, "So then it was about my sister?"
"Yeah."
"I told you so," Dawn mumbled before sitting down against a nearby tree.
"Anyway…," Jessie murmured as she tried to think of a new topic.
"So what should we do now?" Xander interjected.
"I guess I could show Buffy, Faith, and the other slayers already here some moves I haven't seen any of them use yet."
"Oh, really," Faith claimed, "How good are they?"
"You'll have to see for yourself," Jessie answered.
"Is that a challenge?" Faith almost scoffed as she arched an eyebrow.
"I guess so," Jessie informed confidently.
"Xander, you and Red go track down the other slayers," Faith advised.
Buffy took this moment to walk over and sit next to Dawn, who was still moping over Jessie's confession, as Faith and Jessie were trying to have their own conversation.
Faith and Jessie
"So how does it feel to know that when you see me that you can look but can't touch?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb with me. I know you wanted me to open that robe, or maybe you wanted to open it yourself."
"I did not."
"Sure, you didn't," Faith chuckled, "B and I also saw you checking out Dawn last night."
"Once again, I don't know what you're talking about."
"When Dawn left the bathroom, we saw you looking at her butt."
"No, I didn't."
"Look me in the eyes and say with a straight face that you didn't do any of that. If you can, then I'll believe you."
When Jessie couldn't do it, Faith smirked at her.
"I knew it and so did B."
"She wasn't upset about any of it, was she?"
"No, but if you hurt Dawn, there will be a problem."
"I would never intentionally hurt her."
"Ok."
"Please don't tell Katie."
"Your secret is safe with us."
Buffy and Dawn
"It will be ok soon. I'm sure of it," Buffy tried to comfort Dawn.
"I don't think so," the moping teen disagreed as she tried not to think about what she had heard about Jessie earlier, "I try to control myself around Jessie, but it doesn't seem to do any good. Katie thinks as soon as I get a chance, I'm going to do something with or to my best friend. She's probably found and reading my diary as we speak."
"You mean the Dawnmeister Chronicles live on?" Buffy teased as she recalled an earlier talk with Xander back in Sunnydale.
"Yeah, don't tell anyone else, ok?"
"Ok."
Then all four girls looked at each other. Dawn became aware that the other two had heard everything, but she hadn't been as lucky. From the looks on their faces, she could tell that maybe it was better that she hadn't. Dawn tried to look away when Jessie made it clear that she wanted to say something, but wasn't sure how to say it.
"I know you heard me and Buffy. So if you want to say something, just say it."
"Alright, I don't think Katie would do that, but I'm kind of curious now. Can I read it?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because the latest chapter is probably about you," Buffy asserted as Faith smirked and Dawn began to blush.
After a few minutes of silence, Xander and Willow returned with the other slayers.
"So I guess Xander and Red told you why we wanted you to come over here."
When they nodded no, Faith and Buffy gazed at their friends curiously.
"We thought we'd let you tell them," Xander explained before he and Willow sat down beside Buffy and Dawn.
"Ok, junior slayers, Jessie seems to think there are a few moves that we haven't taught you yet. I agreed to challenge her," Faith affirmed before turning to Jessie, "This isn't going to be like your fight with you know who, is it?"
"Of course not. Just a regular, sparring match with the moves thrown in."
"Good, because I wouldn't want to damage the beautiful face of D's best friend."
"Are you ready?" Jessie warned before laughing.
"Bring it on, J," Faith insisted before smirking.
"Jessie, before you two start, we thought we'd let you know we saw Katie about five minutes ago," Willow divulged as Xander nodded.
"Uh, ok. Did she say where she was going?"
"She said she was just going to walk around the campus a bit before heading to the gym."
"Alright," Jessie sighed.
Dawn, Buffy, Faith, and Willow became a little uncomfortable at the growing tension, but Faith shook it off as she prepared for the challenge. The match started out as usual with each of the slayers getting in a shot or two while blocking others. As the match continued, Jessie became slightly more aggressive and shocked all of them a minute later. She connected with a punch/kick combination to Faith's face and upper body that knocked the more experienced slayer down to her knees. Faith immediately got back up with a small frown. They battled for a few more minutes before Jessie landed the second one, which made Faith land on her back with a split lip. Jessie stood in front with a curious expression as she tried to figure out what Faith would do next. The Scoobies inhaled silently together as Faith slowly got up, wiped some blood away with her fingers, and approached the now worried blonde. Jessie contemplated her next move as Faith stood there sneering for a few moments. They exhaled in relief as her sneer turned into a smirk.
"Nice work," Faith admitted as she shook Jessie's hand.
Dawn got up from where she was sitting, walked up to Jessie, glanced around to see if Katie was anywhere close, and hugged her when she didn't see Katie.
"Nice job, J."
"Thanks, D," Jessie replied as Dawn quickly stepped back and smiled at her.
"Are you ok?" Buffy voiced gently as she smiled at her girlfriend.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you that aggressive in bed, J?"
Jessie rolled her eyes while the rest groaned.
"Sorry," Faith apologized at the glare from Buffy, "but come on, you were all thinking it. Well, maybe just Dawn."
"I DID NOT!" Dawn denied.
"Whoa, I was only kidding."
"I know, but could you not say stuff like that so often? At least while I'm around," Dawn requested.
"But it's part of my charm, along with my extreme sex appeal," Faith boasted with a wink thrown at Buffy and Jessie.
"Hey, Dawn."
"Yes, Xander?"
"Do you think you should have hugged Jessie like that? What if Katie saw you?"
"I didn't see her around anywhere."
"Just because you didn't see her doesn't mean that she didn't see you. She needs to work on her jealousy. She's beautiful and intelligent, so she shouldn't be acting that way around you."
Before he or anybody could say something else, Jessie confronted him.
"Listen up, Mr. Seven minute man. You won't ever put down my girlfriend again. After all of the stories you and your friends have told me, you're the last one who should be giving advice. After all those years, I would think that you would have learned to watch what you say around someone. You have put your foot in your mouth so many times, I'm surprised your breath doesn't smell like dirt. If you hadn't saved your best friends' lives, you would be TOTALLY expendable. Anybody ever tell you that? Oh, wait, they did. Does the name Cordelia Chase ring a bell?"
Jessie smiled as he flinched under her glare while Faith whistled in a low tone.
"Jessie, I'm sure he didn't mean to offend you. Could you apologize to him?" Willow stated nicely.
"Sure, I'll apologize for being mean if he apologizes for being stupid."
"Jessie," Dawn pleaded.
"I'm sorry, Dawn, but he kind of asked for it."
"I know, but…"
"But he is your friend," Jessie finished for her.
"Yeah," Dawn exclaimed before looking at him, "Xander."
"Ok, Dawn. I'm sorry, Jessie," Xander murmured with a sincere expression.
"Good, I'm sorry too." Not really, but whatever.
Jessie suddenly noticed a lot of them looking around her. She turned around to discover Katie standing there with a smile on her face.
"What's going on?"
"I thought you were going to take a walk around the place before heading to the gym?"
"Well, I was going to, but after I heard you were going to teach the girls some moves, I changed my mind. I guess I should have moved faster. I'm sorry I missed it. I just didn't feel like moving as fast as they did."
"Oh, so what did you see and hear?" Jessie asked nervously.
"Just you defending me and the apologies. What did he say about me?"
"Nothing for you to worry about. We both apologized and everything's cool."
"Thanks, Billie."
"You're welcome."
