Part III
BUFFY
I looked back up at Bleys and I was becoming thoroughly pissed-off. "Uh-oh! What in the hell do you mean by that?" My tirade was interrupted by the sound of Mom waking up, and I turned back to her and softly soothed her, "Mom. . .it's okay, you just fainted. What's wrong?"
Her eyes focused, and she looked at Bleys again and the look of shock returned. "You. . ." Bleys also looked rather shocked, though the shock seemed to be combined with. . .embarrassment? What could that mean? I looked at Mom and asked gently, "Do you know this guy, Mom?"
She got onto her feet, still staring at Bleys. After a minute, she replied softly, "His name is Robert. . .Robert Bleysong. . .I met him some years back."
I heard Xander chuckle sarcastically and comment, "Robert Bleysong? Not much on the incognito thing, are you Bleys?" Nettled, the Amberite turned to Xander and replied, "It's a whimsy my brothers and sisters engage in as well, using some form of our true name when assuming another guise. One of my nephews referred to it as "Brand's Syndrome" after one of my more homicidal relatives, who always made a point of using a form of his name. . ."
Mom was looking more and more confused, and I had had quite enough. "Enough! Bleys, evidently you knew my Mom in the deep and distant past, and whatever it was has her wigged out enough to pass out in front of us. . .something she has never done, to my best knowledge. I want to know what's going on, right now!"
Giles interrupted, looking concerned: "Buffy, perhaps we should postpone this discussion until a more opportune time. . ." I whirled and gave him my death stare, the one I had used to send a room full of vampires fleeing for their lives. He stopped immediately, but gave me one of his annoyed clucks to show that he didn't appreciate such treatment. I mouthed "Sorry" at him and turned back to Bleys. "All right, Amber guy. Spill. Now."
Bleys actually looked flustered for a moment before nodding curtly and sinking into an easy chair. Mom touched my arm and suggested softly, "Perhaps it would be better if your friends waited in the kitchen, Buffy."
I wasn't having any of that. "Mom, if this affects me, then I want them to hear too. Next to you and Dad, they're the closest thing to family I have."
Mom nodded and motioned for all of us to sit down. Looking. . .embarrassed, yes that was it, just like Bleys. . .what was that all about? She began, "It started four days before Hank and I were to be married. He came back to our apartment, drunk, and after a few minutes confessed tearfully to me that he had just slept with a mutual friend of ours, a woman who was to be one of my bridesmaids."
She paused at this point, allowing me to deal with the ick factor of that little piece of information. On the other hand, it explained why the wedding pictures were one bridesmaid short. I took a deep breath and said, "Go on."
Mom continued, "I was furious, and I stormed out of the apartment after telling him to go to hell. I wandered around for a few hours, and found myself in the bar adjoining a trendy restaurant. I had a drink or two. . .and there he was." She paused and looked at Bleys minutely before continuing, "His wardrobe was a little different, though. He was wearing one of those outfits like John Travolta wore in "Saturday Night Fever", with the open shirt and everything."
I heard Xander openly snicker, and a small noise made me turn and see that Giles was biting his lip. Angel, Willow, and Oz were carefully studying the wallpaper design in an apparent effort to avoid looking at Bleys, who was looking even more embarrassed. After a moment, he mumbled, "I was trying to blend, all right?"
In no mood to see the funny in the situation, I motioned for Mom to continue: "Well, I took one look at him and thought, Oh great, another lounge lizard. But he wasn't like that at all. He introduced himself, sat down, and for the next five hours we just talked. He seemed to know about everything, and he was willing to listen to what I had to say. . ."
"I guess some things are the same no matter what universe you're in." Xander chimed in with the snide comment. Mom didn't understand everything that Xander was saying, but she caught the gist of it, and her glare sent Xander to examining the wallpaper along with the others.
Mom cleared her throat, and continued, "Well, when the bar closed, we walked for a while. It was a beautiful night, and well . . .one thing led to another. . ."
All right, this I could do without: "Spare me the icky details, please. What happened next?"
Mom smiled wistfully, and continued, "Afterwards, I was lying there, thinking how wonderful I felt. . .but then I realized that I still loved Hank, and that perhaps this was an opportunity to repair things, since we were 'even.'"
"Sexual revenge. It is an old theme in European and American literature. . ." The observation came from Giles, who received the death glare from Mom, which caused him to turn away. Boy, that wallpaper was getting a good inspection.
Having vanquished her foes, Mom continued, "I told Robert how I felt, and he was completely supportive. He wished me good luck, then he retreated to the bathroom so that I could dress and leave without feeling self-conscious. I never saw him again. . .until now. I went back to Hank and told him everything. . .he was shocked, but decided that it was for the best. We were married as scheduled three days later."
I frowned and commented, "All right, there are things in that story I could have done without hearing, but you and Dad got married anyway, right? What has you so freaked out about a one night stand from nineteen years ago?" Suddenly, a chill began running down my spine. . .there was something about that time frame.
Mom continued, seeing the growing realization in my eyes: "When you were two years old, I took you in for a full physical examination. You had been amazingly healthy up to that point, but I wanted to make sure you didn't have any hidden allergies or other problems that could cause you problems later. When the doctor met with me, he told me that your blood type was an exotic, something that they had never encountered before. For all intents and purposes, it could be treated as AB+, meaning that you could receive any type of blood in a transfusion without problems. . .Buffy, Hank and I both have A- type blood."
I heard noise from beside me as Angel, Willow, and Giles turned around, shocked expressions on their faces. I had a feeling what was coming, but I wanted to hear it from her: "What does that mean, Mom?"
Mom clasped my hands in hers, and explained gently, "It means that Hank isn't your biological father, Buffy." She turned to the silent Prince of Amber and nodded in his direction. "He is."
BLEYS
The blood drained out of Buffy's face for a moment, and Angel moved over to see if she was all right, only to stop in his tracks as she made a savage gesture to prevent him from coming closer. Looking deeply concerned, he began, "Buffy-"
Buffy jumped to her feet and snapped at Angel, "Don't even pretend that you have something helpful to say here, Angel. For all your history of woe, I don't think you have a clue of what I'm feeling right now." She paced for a moment, then laughed-it wasn't a pleasant sound-before beginning an impressive tirade: "Doesn't that just fit the rest of my life?! Let's review, shall we? I've got one father who turns out not to be my father. . .not that it matters much anyway, since I hardly ever see him!" She turned on me, and it took a great deal of determination on my part not to wither under that merciless gaze as she continued, "Some dimension-wandering superman from a place I'd never heard of before tonight turns out to be my father. . .and I never would have even known if he hadn't come here by pure coincidence!" She turned on Giles, and I could see him visibly shrink under her glare as she snapped, "Oh, and I shouldn't forget the stuffy Brit who supposedly loves me like a father, except when he's letting the goddamned Watchers' Council run stupid tests on me!" Without another word, she turned on her heel and ran up the stairs, slamming the door to her room.
For a few seconds, no one moved or spoke. Willow broke the shocked silence by looking at Joyce and I and shaking her head in bewilderment before running after Buffy with a visibly angry look on her face. I looked at the others. Giles looked positively crushed and guilty over whatever Buffy had been referring to. Xander looked as if his entire world had been turned upside down. Oz was looking after Willow with concern on his face, and Angel was looking in the same direction, undoubtedly thinking about Buffy. I took a deep breath, and walked over to Joyce, deciding to take whatever she wanted to say to me as my due. "Joyce, I'm sorry. If I'd known. . ."
Joyce turned to me, and I was surprised to see that there was no anger there, only concern. "I know. . .Bleys, is it now? I should have told her a long time ago. . .but I didn't know where you were, and I didn't want to hurt Hank-he doesn't know. I chose freely to do what I did, and having gotten Buffy from it, I'd do it again in a heartbeat." She looked up the stairs, visibly frustrated, and whispered, "I just don't know how she's going to deal with this."
WILLOW
I opened Buffy's door and closed it behind me. She was lying face down on her bed, and snarled "Go away, damn it!"
All right, I thought, this stuff is going to stop right now. I took a deep breath and commented sarcastically, "You know, you're running out of people to yell at. If you don't stop it, we'll have to send for Cordelia, and she's so clueless you'll have to scream at her forever to get her to leave."
Buffy turned over, and I was relieved to see a smile briefly cross her face before it went sad again, and she leaned forward with her face in her hands. "Oh, Willow, my life just SUCKS!"
I sat down beside her and put my hand on her shoulder: she looked up at me with eyes full of tears. "At times like this, I have a hard time arguing with you," I commented, trying to keep the most supportive expression I could, considering what I was about to say to her, "but even so, you need to deal with this better, at least for now." I could see her preparing a nasty retort, so I held up a finger and said, "Shush." She calmed down, and I continued, "We've had enough conversations over ice cream for me to know that you have issues with your father. . .this situation really isn't going to change that one way or another. But Bleys had no good reason to know you even existed-your mother told him she was going on with her life, and he obviously believed her. You should be grateful for the chance to meet him. . .if not as a father, as a friend who seems to be a little less threatened by the forces of darkness than the rest of us." I paused and allowed my expression to show real anger. "As for Giles, you were way out of line, and I know that you know it-we've talked about the whole thing with the Council long enough for me to know what your feelings are on the matter. So you march downstairs and apologize to Giles and be civil to Bleys so that we can save the world again. Afterwards, you can hash it out with your newly discovered father. Got it?"
Buffy looked at me for a long moment, and I felt like Xander must on the occasions when he has pushed her too far, and he's wondering whether Buffy is about to perform a spontaneous amputation on him. Eventually, she smiled, and replied, "All right, all right. . .I give." She got to her feet and we went to the door. Before we went downstairs, she turned to me and asked with a rueful smile, "How did you get to be so tough?"
I fell back on a fitting cliché: "Necessity is the mother of invention."
Scowling, Buffy opened the door and started downstairs, mumbling, "At least someone knows who their parents are."
BUFFY
I headed back downstairs with Sergeant Willow right behind me. . .this was going to be tough. Giles was speaking intently with Bleys, and I walked up beside Mom, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze, and waited for the two to notice that I had returned. After a moment, Giles looked over and saw me, and guilt raced across his face as he stammered, "Ah, h-h-hello, Buffy." He removed his glasses and polished them in a gesture I knew was a way of avoiding expression of great emotion. Oh hell, I'd better deal with this before the Great Wall of England cracks, I thought. I walked up to him and locked eyes with him before beginning to speak: "Giles, I know that this. . .problem has nothing to do with you, and dragging you into it was wrong. What I said to you was inexcusable."
Giles put his glasses back on and looked at me for a moment before replying, "Not inexcusable, Buffy, perhaps just a little harsh and excessive. Still, if the only fallout between us for my actions on behalf of the Council is that you are harsh with me now and again, I will consider myself quite lucky." He cleared his throat and changed the subject, "Bleys and I have been discussing some things, and we finally may be able to shed some light on certain mysteries in your past."
"Gee, " I replied sarcastically, "Today must be my lucky day. So what deep dark secrets of Buffy Summers have you two solved?"
Giles, apparently himself again, had the presence of mind to look annoyed as he responded, "Well, I think I have discovered why Kendra was called upon your death while you still remained a Slayer upon reviving. The truth is. . .you didn't."
"Huh?" I managed, not having a clue what he was talking about. "Slower please, and with subtitles."
Giles looked at me, and there was excitement in his face that seemed bizarre given his next sentence:
"Buffy. . .you are no longer the Slayer."
As always, comments are welcomed and desired.
BUFFY
I looked back up at Bleys and I was becoming thoroughly pissed-off. "Uh-oh! What in the hell do you mean by that?" My tirade was interrupted by the sound of Mom waking up, and I turned back to her and softly soothed her, "Mom. . .it's okay, you just fainted. What's wrong?"
Her eyes focused, and she looked at Bleys again and the look of shock returned. "You. . ." Bleys also looked rather shocked, though the shock seemed to be combined with. . .embarrassment? What could that mean? I looked at Mom and asked gently, "Do you know this guy, Mom?"
She got onto her feet, still staring at Bleys. After a minute, she replied softly, "His name is Robert. . .Robert Bleysong. . .I met him some years back."
I heard Xander chuckle sarcastically and comment, "Robert Bleysong? Not much on the incognito thing, are you Bleys?" Nettled, the Amberite turned to Xander and replied, "It's a whimsy my brothers and sisters engage in as well, using some form of our true name when assuming another guise. One of my nephews referred to it as "Brand's Syndrome" after one of my more homicidal relatives, who always made a point of using a form of his name. . ."
Mom was looking more and more confused, and I had had quite enough. "Enough! Bleys, evidently you knew my Mom in the deep and distant past, and whatever it was has her wigged out enough to pass out in front of us. . .something she has never done, to my best knowledge. I want to know what's going on, right now!"
Giles interrupted, looking concerned: "Buffy, perhaps we should postpone this discussion until a more opportune time. . ." I whirled and gave him my death stare, the one I had used to send a room full of vampires fleeing for their lives. He stopped immediately, but gave me one of his annoyed clucks to show that he didn't appreciate such treatment. I mouthed "Sorry" at him and turned back to Bleys. "All right, Amber guy. Spill. Now."
Bleys actually looked flustered for a moment before nodding curtly and sinking into an easy chair. Mom touched my arm and suggested softly, "Perhaps it would be better if your friends waited in the kitchen, Buffy."
I wasn't having any of that. "Mom, if this affects me, then I want them to hear too. Next to you and Dad, they're the closest thing to family I have."
Mom nodded and motioned for all of us to sit down. Looking. . .embarrassed, yes that was it, just like Bleys. . .what was that all about? She began, "It started four days before Hank and I were to be married. He came back to our apartment, drunk, and after a few minutes confessed tearfully to me that he had just slept with a mutual friend of ours, a woman who was to be one of my bridesmaids."
She paused at this point, allowing me to deal with the ick factor of that little piece of information. On the other hand, it explained why the wedding pictures were one bridesmaid short. I took a deep breath and said, "Go on."
Mom continued, "I was furious, and I stormed out of the apartment after telling him to go to hell. I wandered around for a few hours, and found myself in the bar adjoining a trendy restaurant. I had a drink or two. . .and there he was." She paused and looked at Bleys minutely before continuing, "His wardrobe was a little different, though. He was wearing one of those outfits like John Travolta wore in "Saturday Night Fever", with the open shirt and everything."
I heard Xander openly snicker, and a small noise made me turn and see that Giles was biting his lip. Angel, Willow, and Oz were carefully studying the wallpaper design in an apparent effort to avoid looking at Bleys, who was looking even more embarrassed. After a moment, he mumbled, "I was trying to blend, all right?"
In no mood to see the funny in the situation, I motioned for Mom to continue: "Well, I took one look at him and thought, Oh great, another lounge lizard. But he wasn't like that at all. He introduced himself, sat down, and for the next five hours we just talked. He seemed to know about everything, and he was willing to listen to what I had to say. . ."
"I guess some things are the same no matter what universe you're in." Xander chimed in with the snide comment. Mom didn't understand everything that Xander was saying, but she caught the gist of it, and her glare sent Xander to examining the wallpaper along with the others.
Mom cleared her throat, and continued, "Well, when the bar closed, we walked for a while. It was a beautiful night, and well . . .one thing led to another. . ."
All right, this I could do without: "Spare me the icky details, please. What happened next?"
Mom smiled wistfully, and continued, "Afterwards, I was lying there, thinking how wonderful I felt. . .but then I realized that I still loved Hank, and that perhaps this was an opportunity to repair things, since we were 'even.'"
"Sexual revenge. It is an old theme in European and American literature. . ." The observation came from Giles, who received the death glare from Mom, which caused him to turn away. Boy, that wallpaper was getting a good inspection.
Having vanquished her foes, Mom continued, "I told Robert how I felt, and he was completely supportive. He wished me good luck, then he retreated to the bathroom so that I could dress and leave without feeling self-conscious. I never saw him again. . .until now. I went back to Hank and told him everything. . .he was shocked, but decided that it was for the best. We were married as scheduled three days later."
I frowned and commented, "All right, there are things in that story I could have done without hearing, but you and Dad got married anyway, right? What has you so freaked out about a one night stand from nineteen years ago?" Suddenly, a chill began running down my spine. . .there was something about that time frame.
Mom continued, seeing the growing realization in my eyes: "When you were two years old, I took you in for a full physical examination. You had been amazingly healthy up to that point, but I wanted to make sure you didn't have any hidden allergies or other problems that could cause you problems later. When the doctor met with me, he told me that your blood type was an exotic, something that they had never encountered before. For all intents and purposes, it could be treated as AB+, meaning that you could receive any type of blood in a transfusion without problems. . .Buffy, Hank and I both have A- type blood."
I heard noise from beside me as Angel, Willow, and Giles turned around, shocked expressions on their faces. I had a feeling what was coming, but I wanted to hear it from her: "What does that mean, Mom?"
Mom clasped my hands in hers, and explained gently, "It means that Hank isn't your biological father, Buffy." She turned to the silent Prince of Amber and nodded in his direction. "He is."
BLEYS
The blood drained out of Buffy's face for a moment, and Angel moved over to see if she was all right, only to stop in his tracks as she made a savage gesture to prevent him from coming closer. Looking deeply concerned, he began, "Buffy-"
Buffy jumped to her feet and snapped at Angel, "Don't even pretend that you have something helpful to say here, Angel. For all your history of woe, I don't think you have a clue of what I'm feeling right now." She paced for a moment, then laughed-it wasn't a pleasant sound-before beginning an impressive tirade: "Doesn't that just fit the rest of my life?! Let's review, shall we? I've got one father who turns out not to be my father. . .not that it matters much anyway, since I hardly ever see him!" She turned on me, and it took a great deal of determination on my part not to wither under that merciless gaze as she continued, "Some dimension-wandering superman from a place I'd never heard of before tonight turns out to be my father. . .and I never would have even known if he hadn't come here by pure coincidence!" She turned on Giles, and I could see him visibly shrink under her glare as she snapped, "Oh, and I shouldn't forget the stuffy Brit who supposedly loves me like a father, except when he's letting the goddamned Watchers' Council run stupid tests on me!" Without another word, she turned on her heel and ran up the stairs, slamming the door to her room.
For a few seconds, no one moved or spoke. Willow broke the shocked silence by looking at Joyce and I and shaking her head in bewilderment before running after Buffy with a visibly angry look on her face. I looked at the others. Giles looked positively crushed and guilty over whatever Buffy had been referring to. Xander looked as if his entire world had been turned upside down. Oz was looking after Willow with concern on his face, and Angel was looking in the same direction, undoubtedly thinking about Buffy. I took a deep breath, and walked over to Joyce, deciding to take whatever she wanted to say to me as my due. "Joyce, I'm sorry. If I'd known. . ."
Joyce turned to me, and I was surprised to see that there was no anger there, only concern. "I know. . .Bleys, is it now? I should have told her a long time ago. . .but I didn't know where you were, and I didn't want to hurt Hank-he doesn't know. I chose freely to do what I did, and having gotten Buffy from it, I'd do it again in a heartbeat." She looked up the stairs, visibly frustrated, and whispered, "I just don't know how she's going to deal with this."
WILLOW
I opened Buffy's door and closed it behind me. She was lying face down on her bed, and snarled "Go away, damn it!"
All right, I thought, this stuff is going to stop right now. I took a deep breath and commented sarcastically, "You know, you're running out of people to yell at. If you don't stop it, we'll have to send for Cordelia, and she's so clueless you'll have to scream at her forever to get her to leave."
Buffy turned over, and I was relieved to see a smile briefly cross her face before it went sad again, and she leaned forward with her face in her hands. "Oh, Willow, my life just SUCKS!"
I sat down beside her and put my hand on her shoulder: she looked up at me with eyes full of tears. "At times like this, I have a hard time arguing with you," I commented, trying to keep the most supportive expression I could, considering what I was about to say to her, "but even so, you need to deal with this better, at least for now." I could see her preparing a nasty retort, so I held up a finger and said, "Shush." She calmed down, and I continued, "We've had enough conversations over ice cream for me to know that you have issues with your father. . .this situation really isn't going to change that one way or another. But Bleys had no good reason to know you even existed-your mother told him she was going on with her life, and he obviously believed her. You should be grateful for the chance to meet him. . .if not as a father, as a friend who seems to be a little less threatened by the forces of darkness than the rest of us." I paused and allowed my expression to show real anger. "As for Giles, you were way out of line, and I know that you know it-we've talked about the whole thing with the Council long enough for me to know what your feelings are on the matter. So you march downstairs and apologize to Giles and be civil to Bleys so that we can save the world again. Afterwards, you can hash it out with your newly discovered father. Got it?"
Buffy looked at me for a long moment, and I felt like Xander must on the occasions when he has pushed her too far, and he's wondering whether Buffy is about to perform a spontaneous amputation on him. Eventually, she smiled, and replied, "All right, all right. . .I give." She got to her feet and we went to the door. Before we went downstairs, she turned to me and asked with a rueful smile, "How did you get to be so tough?"
I fell back on a fitting cliché: "Necessity is the mother of invention."
Scowling, Buffy opened the door and started downstairs, mumbling, "At least someone knows who their parents are."
BUFFY
I headed back downstairs with Sergeant Willow right behind me. . .this was going to be tough. Giles was speaking intently with Bleys, and I walked up beside Mom, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze, and waited for the two to notice that I had returned. After a moment, Giles looked over and saw me, and guilt raced across his face as he stammered, "Ah, h-h-hello, Buffy." He removed his glasses and polished them in a gesture I knew was a way of avoiding expression of great emotion. Oh hell, I'd better deal with this before the Great Wall of England cracks, I thought. I walked up to him and locked eyes with him before beginning to speak: "Giles, I know that this. . .problem has nothing to do with you, and dragging you into it was wrong. What I said to you was inexcusable."
Giles put his glasses back on and looked at me for a moment before replying, "Not inexcusable, Buffy, perhaps just a little harsh and excessive. Still, if the only fallout between us for my actions on behalf of the Council is that you are harsh with me now and again, I will consider myself quite lucky." He cleared his throat and changed the subject, "Bleys and I have been discussing some things, and we finally may be able to shed some light on certain mysteries in your past."
"Gee, " I replied sarcastically, "Today must be my lucky day. So what deep dark secrets of Buffy Summers have you two solved?"
Giles, apparently himself again, had the presence of mind to look annoyed as he responded, "Well, I think I have discovered why Kendra was called upon your death while you still remained a Slayer upon reviving. The truth is. . .you didn't."
"Huh?" I managed, not having a clue what he was talking about. "Slower please, and with subtitles."
Giles looked at me, and there was excitement in his face that seemed bizarre given his next sentence:
"Buffy. . .you are no longer the Slayer."
As always, comments are welcomed and desired.