TITLE: The White Mouse 4/7
AUTHOR: Tony McD
DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Joss Whendon, Mutant Enemy, WB and others. This is for fun, not profit. SUMMARY: In an effort to save Buffy (again), Buffy and Xander find themselves fighting the greatest evil ever while trying to find a way home.
SPOILERS: Season 5 but set before The Gift.
RATING: PG 13 (for now)
The White Mouse 4/7
The three walked through the maze of tunnels that was the sewers. To Buffy and Xander who had spent a good deal of time either down sewers or in graveyards, the sewers of Second World War France were little different to the sewers of 21st century Sunnydale. Occasionally their guide would stop, looking at the walls and pipes of a junction for some sign or mark that
neither Buffy or Xander could discern.
Rounding a corner, they were surrounded by several men with guns. The woman spoke to them in a language neither could follow. One of the men removed the pistol from where Xander had it tucked into his jeans. That done, they entered a cleverly hidden iron door which they assumed protected the hideout.
The red haired woman spoke to another woman who they assumed to be in charge.
Buffy and Xander sat on a wooden bench and waited. They both were angry at each other, but they were also ashamed of their behaviour towards each other.
They looked at each other, their faces a mix of emotions. Then Xander gave Buffy a small smile and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Buffy returned his gesture with a relieved smile of her own and took Xander's hand in her own, their silent make up complete. A slight cough from the second woman ended the moment.
"Sharon tells me that you saved her from the SS." The dark haired woman said to Xander in a slightly French-Aussie accent.
"Yeah, I guess we did." Xander replied with a slight shrug. He now had a name for the woman he had saved.
"Why?" she asked Xander.
"We saw the SS guy try to take her away. I couldn't stand by and watch, so I had to do something." The dark haired woman nodded.
"But what were you two doing here? I presume you and your girlfriend are both Americans." Buffy and Xander looked at each other and Buffy quickly corrected her.
"Umm... he's not my boyfriend. We're just good friends." Buffy told her. Out of the corner of her eye, Buffy saw Xander deflate a little when she said that. She pondered for a second. Xander didn't have those kinds of feeling for her any more. Did he?
The dark haired woman looked at them sceptically.
"It doesn't matter." she said with a dismissive wave. "The important thing is why were you two out on the street. America isn't at war with Germany, we are."
"We were trying to get to the American Embassy so they could arrange to get us home. But I guess that with half the SS after us, that idea is out the window."
"Indeed it is. The SS major you killed was the younger brother of the SS general in charge of this section of France. He is going to want your heads. And I mean that quite literally." the Resistance leader told them. Buffy rolled her eyes.
"Great, another big evil that wants us dead." she said to Xander. The woman looked at them quizzically. Buffy silently panicked. How was she going to explain her way out of this? Xander came to her rescue.
"We grew up in a pretty tough neighbourhood. A lot of gangsters and stuff. If they thought you had seen too much then, well, I guess you ended up on their 'to do' list, if you know what I mean." One of the Resistance guys laughed.
"Oh, we know exactly what you mean. You are looking at Nancy Wake, the most wanted woman in all of occupied Europe." he said gesturing at the Resistance leader. "The Germans call her 'the White Mouse' because she has been able to get out of every trap they set for her. She has helped over a hundred British airmen escape the Germans and return them to England. So you can imagine that she is high on the Nazi 'to do' list."
Nancy blushed a little at the mention of her deeds.
"I do what I can, nothing more." she said to him. Quickly she regained her focus.
"We can't get you to America, but we can arrange for you to get to England. The American Embassy there can get you home. It's not going to be easy. The Nazi's have been hitting our organisation very hard of late and it may take a little while to get things going again. We can keep you here until the time is right. Marko will show you to your beds. They may not be comfortable, but I imagine that it will be more comfortable than what the Germans had in
mind."
====================
They were shown to their temporary home. It was a small alcove off a passageway with no door and two small bunks. A jug of water and a large basin sat on a table in the corner. Not the Ritz, but infinitely better than a SS jail cell. Xander sat down on the bed closest to the entrance.
"You can take the one closest to the wall, Buff." he said. Buffy, exhausted from her day, flopped down on the bed, not bothering to get under the thread bare blankets. In seconds she was in a deep sleep.
==============================
Buffy woke with a start. It took a few moments to remember where she was. Looking around she noticed that someone had hung a few blankets up to screen off her part of the alcove, giving her a measure of privacy. She heard the sound of water splashing and peeked out of one of the blankets.
It was Xander, stripped down to his Tickle-Me-Elmo boxers, washing himself out of the basin. Buffy almost giggled at his cute boxers. Watching the water run down his body, Buffy saw the lanky boy she knew in high school had become a man. As she watched the water run down his muscled frame, she wondered why she hadn't noticed his transformation before now. When Xander turned towards her to get his towel, Buffy quickly lay back down.
She felt disgusted with herself, acting like some sick peeping tom on her best friend. But she had to admit that, watching Xander just then, she had felt a tingle of attraction. Buffy lay for a few minutes trying to process this new development. Then Xander called out to her from the other side of the blanket screen.
"Buffy? Are you awake yet?"
"Uh, yeah. I'm up."
"Are you decent?" asked Xander.
*No, I'm a dirty pervert who gets her kicks out of spying on her bestfriend.*
Buffy thought to herself. Aloud to Xander she said "Yeah." Buffy could hear Xander smiling when he replied.
"Oh, OK then, I'll come back when you're not." Rolling her eyes, Buffy sat up and stuck her head out of the screen.
"You are such a pig some times." she said with mock disgust. The one she felt disgust towards was herself.
"So long as I'm like that pig in that movie 'Babe' I can live with that." he replied. Buffy was silent for a moment then looked around at the screen and at Xander.
"What's the what?" she asked gesturing around their little alcove and at Xander.
"The screen? I thought you might want a little privacy so I hung my blankets up. I'm sorry I couldn't do a better job but they haven't got any more blankets to go around." Buffy looked at Xander's bed and saw that he had stripped off the blankets and now only had a thin sheet on the bed.
"Xander! You can't do that! You haven't got any blankets. You'll freeze." she protested. He waved her protest off.
"Buffy, I'll be fine. It's not that cold. Besides, I know that privacy is important to a girl." he said bending over the end of the bed and thus missing Buffy's guilty look. He came up with a pile of clothes and handed them to her.
"Here. I got us a fresh change of clothes and there's water in the basin so you can clean yourself up a bit. I couldn't get any hot water for you, so it might be a little bracing." he said. Standing he untied the rope the blankets hung on and retied it across the entrance to their alcove.
"There. While you're doing that, I'll find out about food. Be warned though, this being France, we're more likely to be having garlic snails than pop tarts." Xander said with a grin and left.
Buffy watched him go. She felt like the biggest bitch in the world and undeserving of such a wonderful guy friend like Xander.
Anya was truly a lucky woman.
AUTHOR: Tony McD
DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Joss Whendon, Mutant Enemy, WB and others. This is for fun, not profit. SUMMARY: In an effort to save Buffy (again), Buffy and Xander find themselves fighting the greatest evil ever while trying to find a way home.
SPOILERS: Season 5 but set before The Gift.
RATING: PG 13 (for now)
The White Mouse 4/7
The three walked through the maze of tunnels that was the sewers. To Buffy and Xander who had spent a good deal of time either down sewers or in graveyards, the sewers of Second World War France were little different to the sewers of 21st century Sunnydale. Occasionally their guide would stop, looking at the walls and pipes of a junction for some sign or mark that
neither Buffy or Xander could discern.
Rounding a corner, they were surrounded by several men with guns. The woman spoke to them in a language neither could follow. One of the men removed the pistol from where Xander had it tucked into his jeans. That done, they entered a cleverly hidden iron door which they assumed protected the hideout.
The red haired woman spoke to another woman who they assumed to be in charge.
Buffy and Xander sat on a wooden bench and waited. They both were angry at each other, but they were also ashamed of their behaviour towards each other.
They looked at each other, their faces a mix of emotions. Then Xander gave Buffy a small smile and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Buffy returned his gesture with a relieved smile of her own and took Xander's hand in her own, their silent make up complete. A slight cough from the second woman ended the moment.
"Sharon tells me that you saved her from the SS." The dark haired woman said to Xander in a slightly French-Aussie accent.
"Yeah, I guess we did." Xander replied with a slight shrug. He now had a name for the woman he had saved.
"Why?" she asked Xander.
"We saw the SS guy try to take her away. I couldn't stand by and watch, so I had to do something." The dark haired woman nodded.
"But what were you two doing here? I presume you and your girlfriend are both Americans." Buffy and Xander looked at each other and Buffy quickly corrected her.
"Umm... he's not my boyfriend. We're just good friends." Buffy told her. Out of the corner of her eye, Buffy saw Xander deflate a little when she said that. She pondered for a second. Xander didn't have those kinds of feeling for her any more. Did he?
The dark haired woman looked at them sceptically.
"It doesn't matter." she said with a dismissive wave. "The important thing is why were you two out on the street. America isn't at war with Germany, we are."
"We were trying to get to the American Embassy so they could arrange to get us home. But I guess that with half the SS after us, that idea is out the window."
"Indeed it is. The SS major you killed was the younger brother of the SS general in charge of this section of France. He is going to want your heads. And I mean that quite literally." the Resistance leader told them. Buffy rolled her eyes.
"Great, another big evil that wants us dead." she said to Xander. The woman looked at them quizzically. Buffy silently panicked. How was she going to explain her way out of this? Xander came to her rescue.
"We grew up in a pretty tough neighbourhood. A lot of gangsters and stuff. If they thought you had seen too much then, well, I guess you ended up on their 'to do' list, if you know what I mean." One of the Resistance guys laughed.
"Oh, we know exactly what you mean. You are looking at Nancy Wake, the most wanted woman in all of occupied Europe." he said gesturing at the Resistance leader. "The Germans call her 'the White Mouse' because she has been able to get out of every trap they set for her. She has helped over a hundred British airmen escape the Germans and return them to England. So you can imagine that she is high on the Nazi 'to do' list."
Nancy blushed a little at the mention of her deeds.
"I do what I can, nothing more." she said to him. Quickly she regained her focus.
"We can't get you to America, but we can arrange for you to get to England. The American Embassy there can get you home. It's not going to be easy. The Nazi's have been hitting our organisation very hard of late and it may take a little while to get things going again. We can keep you here until the time is right. Marko will show you to your beds. They may not be comfortable, but I imagine that it will be more comfortable than what the Germans had in
mind."
====================
They were shown to their temporary home. It was a small alcove off a passageway with no door and two small bunks. A jug of water and a large basin sat on a table in the corner. Not the Ritz, but infinitely better than a SS jail cell. Xander sat down on the bed closest to the entrance.
"You can take the one closest to the wall, Buff." he said. Buffy, exhausted from her day, flopped down on the bed, not bothering to get under the thread bare blankets. In seconds she was in a deep sleep.
==============================
Buffy woke with a start. It took a few moments to remember where she was. Looking around she noticed that someone had hung a few blankets up to screen off her part of the alcove, giving her a measure of privacy. She heard the sound of water splashing and peeked out of one of the blankets.
It was Xander, stripped down to his Tickle-Me-Elmo boxers, washing himself out of the basin. Buffy almost giggled at his cute boxers. Watching the water run down his body, Buffy saw the lanky boy she knew in high school had become a man. As she watched the water run down his muscled frame, she wondered why she hadn't noticed his transformation before now. When Xander turned towards her to get his towel, Buffy quickly lay back down.
She felt disgusted with herself, acting like some sick peeping tom on her best friend. But she had to admit that, watching Xander just then, she had felt a tingle of attraction. Buffy lay for a few minutes trying to process this new development. Then Xander called out to her from the other side of the blanket screen.
"Buffy? Are you awake yet?"
"Uh, yeah. I'm up."
"Are you decent?" asked Xander.
*No, I'm a dirty pervert who gets her kicks out of spying on her bestfriend.*
Buffy thought to herself. Aloud to Xander she said "Yeah." Buffy could hear Xander smiling when he replied.
"Oh, OK then, I'll come back when you're not." Rolling her eyes, Buffy sat up and stuck her head out of the screen.
"You are such a pig some times." she said with mock disgust. The one she felt disgust towards was herself.
"So long as I'm like that pig in that movie 'Babe' I can live with that." he replied. Buffy was silent for a moment then looked around at the screen and at Xander.
"What's the what?" she asked gesturing around their little alcove and at Xander.
"The screen? I thought you might want a little privacy so I hung my blankets up. I'm sorry I couldn't do a better job but they haven't got any more blankets to go around." Buffy looked at Xander's bed and saw that he had stripped off the blankets and now only had a thin sheet on the bed.
"Xander! You can't do that! You haven't got any blankets. You'll freeze." she protested. He waved her protest off.
"Buffy, I'll be fine. It's not that cold. Besides, I know that privacy is important to a girl." he said bending over the end of the bed and thus missing Buffy's guilty look. He came up with a pile of clothes and handed them to her.
"Here. I got us a fresh change of clothes and there's water in the basin so you can clean yourself up a bit. I couldn't get any hot water for you, so it might be a little bracing." he said. Standing he untied the rope the blankets hung on and retied it across the entrance to their alcove.
"There. While you're doing that, I'll find out about food. Be warned though, this being France, we're more likely to be having garlic snails than pop tarts." Xander said with a grin and left.
Buffy watched him go. She felt like the biggest bitch in the world and undeserving of such a wonderful guy friend like Xander.
Anya was truly a lucky woman.