Chapter 23
&&&&&&&
3:30 pm
Sunnydale Park
Doyle finally caught up with Cordelia where he'd found her two hours
earlier. She was crying silently, facing away from him, her
face in her hands. "Come here, Princess," Doyle said gently, pulling
her into his arms. "Tell me what I can do to help."
"I'm okay," Cordelia said, wiping the tears from her face as she
rested her head on Doyle's chest. "These last few days I haven't had
a lot of time to let myself react to anything. Watching Angelus play
his evil games until I was able to escape. Then helping Buffy and the
others bring Angel back. And then finding out that you were never
dead. Especially finding out about that, Doyle. Do you have any idea
how many times I've wished that your death was just a bad dream?" she
pushed him away then, and went to sit on the bench nearby.
"Probably at least as many times as I've wished I could tell you,"
Doyle said, walking over to sit next to her. "I'm so sorry,
sweetheart." He held his breath and looked over at her. *Damn, Doyle.
Why'd you let that slip out? Now there's a sure-fire way to scare her
off* he thought. *Well, she doesn't look like she caught it. Maybe
you're safe.*
"What are your plans, Doyle?" Cordelia asked.
"Well, Charlie and I are staying in Sunnydale for a while. Until we
can get rid of Adam. Then I guess we're going back to Ireland."
"Oh," Cordelia said, and Doyle almost convinced himself he sensed
disappointment in that word. "I guess you've made a life for yourself
there?"
"It's just me and Charlie," Doyle answered slowly, not sure what she
was asking. "It's not incredibly exciting, but not too lonely either."
"You don't have anyone?" Cordelia asked.
"Oh," Doyle finally got it. "No, Cordelia. The only 'someone' there
ever was lives in L.A. and works for a vampire." He watched her face
closely, waiting for her reaction.
She looked straight ahead, silent for a half a minute. Then she took
a shaky breath, and said, "He's not a vampire anymore."
"Cordelia," Doyle took her hand, willing her to look at him. She
finally did, and he could see the tears in her eyes. He gathered up
his courage to say, "I love you. I have no right to think you ever
did, or you ever could feel the same way--"
"Doyle."
"Yeah?"
"You talk too much. Just kiss me already," she said, smiling.
Having no witty response to that command, he didn't try long to come
up with one. He took her face in his hands, and kissed her gently.
She challenged, "That the best you can do?"
"I was just getting warmed up," Doyle replied, and moved to kiss her
again. This time he held nothing back, and asked, "Was that better?"
his eyes dancing with laughter.
"Better," she agreed, breathlessly. "But practice makes perfect."
"My thoughts exactly, Princess," he said with a smile, making every
effort to improve with practice.
&&&&&&&&
Sunnydale Sewer tunnels
3:30 pm
"Well, I know it's not the fanciest place," Spike said as he led
Drusilla to a large room off the underground tunnels. "But it's dryer
than the rest of the sewer system. It's safe, too. I don't think
Slutty knows about it."
"Spike I saw something last night," Drusilla said, as she looked
around. Spike could tell she wasn't seeing the room, obviously
disturbed by whatever vision she'd had the other night.
"What's that, Pet?"
"There was a bad thing, and it was trying to hurt you," she said
frowning.
"A 'bad thing'? Drusilla, I'm bad too," Spike said with a laugh.
"No you aren't. You're evil, like me," Drusilla said smiling. "But
this thing, it's...it's not supposed to _be_, Spike. It doesn't have a
reason. It's just bad."
Spike smiled at her reasoning, but knew well enough not to argue with
her. "You must mean Adam," he said. "Don't worry about that creature,
Pet. Spike will take care of it for you."
"No!" Drusilla yelled in a panic, grabbing his arm. "You can't!
Promise me you'll stay away from it, Spike!"
"Hey," Spike pulled Drusilla into his arms and was surprised to feel
her trembling with fear. "I promise, Dru. Whatever you say. It's all
right," he tried to soothe her.
"We shouldn't be here," Drusilla whimpered. "It's not safe. He's
going to kill you and I'm going to be all alone. Don't leave me
alone."
"I'm not going anywhere," Spike said. "Maybe we are, though." Drusilla
looked at him hopefully, and he shrugged. "You win, as always, Pet.
It's been a while since we've taken a trip together. What should it
be this time?"
"You'd really leave with me?" she asked.
"It makes sense to get out of here, for a while anyway," Spike
replied. "As much as I enjoy tormenting the Slayer and our Sire, it's
getting boring. Besides, no self-respecting demon is safe in this
town as long as Adam is still alive. So, yeah. Let's get out of
Sunnydale for a month or so, and maybe during that time the Slayer
and Adam will kill each other. Then when we come back, I can finally
be Master of this town," he said with a grin.
"Paris," Dru said, answering his earlier question.
"Okay," Spike said, "Paris it is. No Slayers, no man-made demons,
sounds like my kind of town right about now," he grinned, laughing as
she threw her arms around him and hugged him, squealing in delight.
&&&&&&&
Giles' apartment
3:30 pm
Buffy arrived and Willow let her in. "Oh, so that's where you two
went," she remarked, noticing Oz sitting not too far away. "Okay,
Giles. This had better be..." Buffy trailed off as she saw the other
red-head sitting in a chair nearby. "Who's that?" she said to Giles,
pointing in Charlotte's direction.
"Buffy, why don't you sit down," Giles said, entering from the
kitchen. "Tea?"
"No thanks," Buffy replied, sitting on the couch next to Willow and
waiting for Giles to finish doing the host-thing. When everyone had
their tea and was sitting, she tried again. "Who's that?"
"Buffy, I need to tell you something, and I'm not sure how you're
going to react," Giles said slowly.
"What?" Buffy asked.
"Faith is dead, Buffy," Wesley finally answered.
"Oh.....okay," she said. At the shocked looks, she added, "What? I'm
sorry if you all expected me to be upset about it, and maybe I should
be. But I'm not. If anything, I'm relieved. She was a danger to
everyone who came into contact with her. At least now I don't have to
worry about her coming back to wreck my life again."
"I suppose I can understand your point of view," Giles said. "But the
fact that Faith is dead means that there's another Slayer. You do
realize that, don't you?"
"I guess," Buffy muttered. "Is this going to go on forever? I die for
just a few seconds, and it throws off the balance of everything? Why
can't the Watcher's Council just stop calling Slayers until I'm
_really_ dead?"
"It's not that simple," Wesley answered. "The girls aren't called
because the Watchers say so, you know that, Buffy."
"I know, it's The Powers that Be that call them," Buffy said
dismissively. "Why can't _they_ stop this double Slayer thing then?"
"Because there's a need for it now," Charlotte answered quietly.
"And you are???" Buffy replied.
"My name's Charlotte. And I'm the new Slayer," Charlotte answered.
She enjoyed watching Buffy's jaw drop.
&&&&&&&&
Xander's House
4 pm
"Are you sure that this is what you want to do, Xander?" Anya asked.
"Yeah," Xander nodded. "I have to, Anya. I don't expect you to--"
"Don't be ridiculous, Xander. I'm with you, unless you don't want
me--"
"Of course I do, Anya," he said, stopping in his tasks to stand in
front of her and take her hand. "I want you, I need you, and I don't
say it enough, or actually ever, but I love you."
"Oh," Anya blinked in surprise.
"You didn't know?" Xander said, surprised himself.
"No, I didn't. I guess I've never really known what we're doing here.
I didn't think you did either, though. I always figured you'd tell me
when you figured it out," she shrugged.
"I'm sorry I took so long to figure it out," Xander said, and kissed
her.
"Oh well," Anya wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling, "Better
late than never."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&
End of 23
&&&&&&&
3:30 pm
Sunnydale Park
Doyle finally caught up with Cordelia where he'd found her two hours
earlier. She was crying silently, facing away from him, her
face in her hands. "Come here, Princess," Doyle said gently, pulling
her into his arms. "Tell me what I can do to help."
"I'm okay," Cordelia said, wiping the tears from her face as she
rested her head on Doyle's chest. "These last few days I haven't had
a lot of time to let myself react to anything. Watching Angelus play
his evil games until I was able to escape. Then helping Buffy and the
others bring Angel back. And then finding out that you were never
dead. Especially finding out about that, Doyle. Do you have any idea
how many times I've wished that your death was just a bad dream?" she
pushed him away then, and went to sit on the bench nearby.
"Probably at least as many times as I've wished I could tell you,"
Doyle said, walking over to sit next to her. "I'm so sorry,
sweetheart." He held his breath and looked over at her. *Damn, Doyle.
Why'd you let that slip out? Now there's a sure-fire way to scare her
off* he thought. *Well, she doesn't look like she caught it. Maybe
you're safe.*
"What are your plans, Doyle?" Cordelia asked.
"Well, Charlie and I are staying in Sunnydale for a while. Until we
can get rid of Adam. Then I guess we're going back to Ireland."
"Oh," Cordelia said, and Doyle almost convinced himself he sensed
disappointment in that word. "I guess you've made a life for yourself
there?"
"It's just me and Charlie," Doyle answered slowly, not sure what she
was asking. "It's not incredibly exciting, but not too lonely either."
"You don't have anyone?" Cordelia asked.
"Oh," Doyle finally got it. "No, Cordelia. The only 'someone' there
ever was lives in L.A. and works for a vampire." He watched her face
closely, waiting for her reaction.
She looked straight ahead, silent for a half a minute. Then she took
a shaky breath, and said, "He's not a vampire anymore."
"Cordelia," Doyle took her hand, willing her to look at him. She
finally did, and he could see the tears in her eyes. He gathered up
his courage to say, "I love you. I have no right to think you ever
did, or you ever could feel the same way--"
"Doyle."
"Yeah?"
"You talk too much. Just kiss me already," she said, smiling.
Having no witty response to that command, he didn't try long to come
up with one. He took her face in his hands, and kissed her gently.
She challenged, "That the best you can do?"
"I was just getting warmed up," Doyle replied, and moved to kiss her
again. This time he held nothing back, and asked, "Was that better?"
his eyes dancing with laughter.
"Better," she agreed, breathlessly. "But practice makes perfect."
"My thoughts exactly, Princess," he said with a smile, making every
effort to improve with practice.
&&&&&&&&
Sunnydale Sewer tunnels
3:30 pm
"Well, I know it's not the fanciest place," Spike said as he led
Drusilla to a large room off the underground tunnels. "But it's dryer
than the rest of the sewer system. It's safe, too. I don't think
Slutty knows about it."
"Spike I saw something last night," Drusilla said, as she looked
around. Spike could tell she wasn't seeing the room, obviously
disturbed by whatever vision she'd had the other night.
"What's that, Pet?"
"There was a bad thing, and it was trying to hurt you," she said
frowning.
"A 'bad thing'? Drusilla, I'm bad too," Spike said with a laugh.
"No you aren't. You're evil, like me," Drusilla said smiling. "But
this thing, it's...it's not supposed to _be_, Spike. It doesn't have a
reason. It's just bad."
Spike smiled at her reasoning, but knew well enough not to argue with
her. "You must mean Adam," he said. "Don't worry about that creature,
Pet. Spike will take care of it for you."
"No!" Drusilla yelled in a panic, grabbing his arm. "You can't!
Promise me you'll stay away from it, Spike!"
"Hey," Spike pulled Drusilla into his arms and was surprised to feel
her trembling with fear. "I promise, Dru. Whatever you say. It's all
right," he tried to soothe her.
"We shouldn't be here," Drusilla whimpered. "It's not safe. He's
going to kill you and I'm going to be all alone. Don't leave me
alone."
"I'm not going anywhere," Spike said. "Maybe we are, though." Drusilla
looked at him hopefully, and he shrugged. "You win, as always, Pet.
It's been a while since we've taken a trip together. What should it
be this time?"
"You'd really leave with me?" she asked.
"It makes sense to get out of here, for a while anyway," Spike
replied. "As much as I enjoy tormenting the Slayer and our Sire, it's
getting boring. Besides, no self-respecting demon is safe in this
town as long as Adam is still alive. So, yeah. Let's get out of
Sunnydale for a month or so, and maybe during that time the Slayer
and Adam will kill each other. Then when we come back, I can finally
be Master of this town," he said with a grin.
"Paris," Dru said, answering his earlier question.
"Okay," Spike said, "Paris it is. No Slayers, no man-made demons,
sounds like my kind of town right about now," he grinned, laughing as
she threw her arms around him and hugged him, squealing in delight.
&&&&&&&
Giles' apartment
3:30 pm
Buffy arrived and Willow let her in. "Oh, so that's where you two
went," she remarked, noticing Oz sitting not too far away. "Okay,
Giles. This had better be..." Buffy trailed off as she saw the other
red-head sitting in a chair nearby. "Who's that?" she said to Giles,
pointing in Charlotte's direction.
"Buffy, why don't you sit down," Giles said, entering from the
kitchen. "Tea?"
"No thanks," Buffy replied, sitting on the couch next to Willow and
waiting for Giles to finish doing the host-thing. When everyone had
their tea and was sitting, she tried again. "Who's that?"
"Buffy, I need to tell you something, and I'm not sure how you're
going to react," Giles said slowly.
"What?" Buffy asked.
"Faith is dead, Buffy," Wesley finally answered.
"Oh.....okay," she said. At the shocked looks, she added, "What? I'm
sorry if you all expected me to be upset about it, and maybe I should
be. But I'm not. If anything, I'm relieved. She was a danger to
everyone who came into contact with her. At least now I don't have to
worry about her coming back to wreck my life again."
"I suppose I can understand your point of view," Giles said. "But the
fact that Faith is dead means that there's another Slayer. You do
realize that, don't you?"
"I guess," Buffy muttered. "Is this going to go on forever? I die for
just a few seconds, and it throws off the balance of everything? Why
can't the Watcher's Council just stop calling Slayers until I'm
_really_ dead?"
"It's not that simple," Wesley answered. "The girls aren't called
because the Watchers say so, you know that, Buffy."
"I know, it's The Powers that Be that call them," Buffy said
dismissively. "Why can't _they_ stop this double Slayer thing then?"
"Because there's a need for it now," Charlotte answered quietly.
"And you are???" Buffy replied.
"My name's Charlotte. And I'm the new Slayer," Charlotte answered.
She enjoyed watching Buffy's jaw drop.
&&&&&&&&
Xander's House
4 pm
"Are you sure that this is what you want to do, Xander?" Anya asked.
"Yeah," Xander nodded. "I have to, Anya. I don't expect you to--"
"Don't be ridiculous, Xander. I'm with you, unless you don't want
me--"
"Of course I do, Anya," he said, stopping in his tasks to stand in
front of her and take her hand. "I want you, I need you, and I don't
say it enough, or actually ever, but I love you."
"Oh," Anya blinked in surprise.
"You didn't know?" Xander said, surprised himself.
"No, I didn't. I guess I've never really known what we're doing here.
I didn't think you did either, though. I always figured you'd tell me
when you figured it out," she shrugged.
"I'm sorry I took so long to figure it out," Xander said, and kissed
her.
"Oh well," Anya wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling, "Better
late than never."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&
End of 23