Forward :
Due to ff.net's downtime I elected to begin using a yahoogroup to post my stories to. For those of you who wish to catch the latest parts ahead of the ff.net readers by at least 24 hours then I suggest/ask/beg that you join up at :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Journeyverse/
I tend to try to post 1-2 parts per day on this group...
There also a surprising amount of discussion going on about the verse as well... shrug so if you like that kinda thing then drop by. :)
Now, On to the story
*****
"Rupert."
"Jenny."
The two stared at each other for a long moment before Giles broke the silence.
"You look well..." he said awkwardly, "I mean... well... Considering..."
Jenny smiled, "I am well, Rupert. And you look good as well."
Giles smiled slightly, "Thank you for the gracious lie, Miss Calender."
Jenny frowned, "None of that between us, Rupert. I'm Jenny to you."
Giles removed his glasses and smiled, "Now and forever."
Jenny laughed. "It is good to be able to speak to you again, you can't imagine how frustrating it was to be able to see you... you all, and not be able to be heard by you unless you were willing to listen."
Giles sighed, "No... no, I suppose I can't."
"Don't be like that, Rupert." jenny admonished him, "I'm not blaming you for anything. It's just the way things were."
"I know. But..."
"It's still hard." Jenny smiled sadly, "I know that too."
Giles smiled at her, "I'm glad you called me and arranged this head to head, Jenny... I... I missed you."
"I know." She said, impishly.
The two finally sat down and began to talk.
*****
Joyce had accepted the invitation to join the impromptu party that had begun to form in Xander's living room, though she was still uncertain what to make of the return of the brunette Slayer.
She watched Faith laughing with the shy blond, Tara, and thought back to when Buffy had told her that Faith had returned. Buffy had been afraid for Xander then, worried about what Faith might do while living under the same roof.
She was relieved that things seemed to be working out, that Faith seemed to be adjusting to life on the right side of the line again, but she couldn't feel comfortable around the girl who had tried to kill her daughter and friends.
"Mrs Summers?"
Joyce looked around in surprise, then smiled. "Yes Jarod?"
"You looked... pensive."
Joyce smiled warmly, she had liked Jarod from the moment they had met a few weeks earlier. The man had this aura about him, one of innocence mixed with power. It was strange, invoking feelings of both trust and security in those around him. "I was thinking about Faith, and the troubles she had before."
Jarod nodded, "I understand. Are you worried about her?"
Joyce nodded, "And for her. But mostly for Buffy and Xander... they are the ones who are closest to the center of this..."
"That's true." Jarod conceded, "But... I like to believe in people. And I respect Xander for accepting the risks and responsibility that come with giving her another chance."
Joyce looked to where the dark slayer was poking the blond, trying to get her to laugh openly at some joke, and nodded. "So do I... but it doesn't mean I can't worry as well, does it?"
Jarod smiled, "I... I think that that is what mothers are supposed to do..."
Joyce looked at him, hearing the uncertainty in his voice. "When did you talk to your mother last?"
He smiled, sadly. "Last night. But... it's not the same... I..."
"Go visit her, Jarod." Joyce urged, "Spend some time with your family."
"But... I... I have so many responsibilities here..."
"Jarod," Joyce said firmly, "Connect with your family. You need to remember what it is that you're defending. Then you can come back."
Jarod nodded, slowly. "I... I'll think about it."
"Good."
The two smiled at each other for a moment until the phone rang and broke the silence.
*****
"Call your mom." Xander ordered with a smile as he tossed a cell phone to Buffy, "She's at my place... worried about you."
Buffy had wiped her eyes and cleared her mind a bit. She smiled at him slightly and nodded, "Thanks, Xander."
Xander shrugged, "No big, Buff. No big."
"Way Big, Xander. Trust me."
"Whatever you say." He grinned at her.
Buffy smiled, shook her head, and dialed the number into the phone.
"Mom? Hey... yeah, he found me... No, I'm fine... just had some things to work out. I'm sorry, I'll try to let people know where I am next time... Ok... Dinner sounds great. Yeah, I'm with Xander now, we're heading back to his place. Meet you there. Bye."
Buffy shut the phone off and went to hand it back to Xander.
He shook his head, "Its yours, Buff. Call it a pre-Christmas gift from Jarod and me."
"I can't take this..."
"Take it." Xander grinned, "It's all paid for, and the monthly bills are covered... but uh... don't loan it to Giles, K? I don't want to see the overseas bills he'd rack up."
Buffy laughed involuntarily at the image of a five pound phone bill thumping to the floor of Xander's place. "Deal."
"Cool." Xander grinned and headed for home.
*****
The Mustang pulled into the garage, and the two occupants got out and headed for the connecting door to the house. Inside they immediately headed toward the noise that was coming from the living room area.
"Hey guys," Xander grinned, "I'm back."
"Lock up your daughters, here's Lover boy."
Xander and Buffy glared at Faith, who just smirked back.
"Lover boy?" Joyce asked.
"Nothing!" Buffy said, quickly. "Don't we have dinner to go to?"
Joyce looked between the glaring Xander, the smirking Faith, and the rapidly reddening Buffy. Something is up here... "Sure... Let me get my purse, Buffy... We'll head out now."
"Good."
Xander and Buffy breathed a sigh of relief as Joyce walked past them.
"And you can tell me all about what Faith is talking about over Dinner."
"Mom!"
*****
After the two Summers women had gone Xander glared at Faith, "You just can't help yourself can you?"
Faith grinned back, unrepentant, "Sure I can... I choose not to."
Xander growled, shook his head, and left the room.
Miss Parker smirked at his back, Jarod looked a little confused, and Tara looked at Faith a little darkly.
"T... that wasn't nice..."
"Maybe." Faith grinned, "But it was fun."
"I... I think you went too far." Tara said, surprisingly firmly.
Faith looked at the shy blond in surprise, and thought about it for a moment. "Maybe..."
"You should at least apologise..."
"Don't push it, blondy."
To the Slayer's surprise the shy bond didn't back down, she actually met Faith's eyes and glared back at her.
"All right... I'll go say I'm sorry..." Faith got up and walked out of the living room. Damn... girl's got some spunk... got a real Tiger on my hands here.
*****
"Xander?"
Xander turned to glare at the brunette Slayer, still angry over her earlier words. "What?"
"Xander... I... ah..." Faith stammered a bit, drawing Xander's curiosity.
"What is it Faith?"
Faith looked at him for a bit, "Tara... Tara said that I went to far..."
"You think?" Xander said sarcastically.
"I... I guess I'm sorry."
Xander blanked out. Two apologies from Faith... that had to be some kind of record. Xander looked at her for a moment, seeing the almost lost look in her eyes and pulled himself together long enough to respond. "Apology accepted, Faith. But try to tone it down some, will ya? Especially around Riley, Mrs Summers, heck... even Giles..."
Faith grinned at him, "No promises..."
Xander glared at her and she laughed a bit, "But I'll try."
"Good enough." Xander said, then he added. "For now."
*****
Evening
Jake looked around, "Hurry up, man, haven't got all night."
Ricky looked around, nervous. "Quiet man... The Slayer checks this place out a lot."
"Yeah man, I know... that's why we're here."
"Huh?" Ricky looked at Jake as if he was insane.
"Hey, if it's important to her it must be something special."
"It's just Sunnydale High, man. I wasted a lot of years here... Don't want to spend no more."
"Shut up and follow me."
The two Vampires walked into the wreckage of the old school, picking their way thorugh the debris. Then there was a sudden thump and Ricky hit the ground in pain.
"Ouch damnit!"
"What?" Jake hissed, annoyed.
"I hit somtin!"
"There ain't nothing here, man."
"I'm telling you I hi..." Ricky had tried to stand up but instead managed to ram his skull into an invisible barrier. "Ouch!"
Jake looked over to where Ricky had hit the ground. He approached slowly, his hands outstretched. His eyes widened in shock when he actually touched something. "Damn! There IS something here..."
Ricky moaned on the ground, "No shit... What the fuck is it?"
"Shutup." Jake snapped. Then he stopped to think, "You know... I might know someone I can ask about this... C'mon man... we're gonna get some help."
Ricky slowly got to his feet and limped out slowly. The two vampires walked and limped away in search of some help to solve the mystery they had found.
*****
Later
"We've been running around this blasted town all day for nothing." Anise fumed as they made their way back to the ship.
"It takes time to locate people in a town this size." Jacob said patiently, "It would have been a lot easier if you had simply asked the SGC for his address."
"This is not their concern." Anise snapped.
"This is everyone's concern." Jacob snapped back.
"Not now." Anise said, then she looked at the ruins of the school they had left the ship at. "What's that?"
Jacob paused and looked ahead of them. He could see several figures moving around the ruins, and more seemed to be approaching. "I don't know."
"We must hold back." Anise demanded, "We can not risk discovery."
"What if they find the ship?"
"We'll keep watch. If they come close I'll have it return to orbit on remote."
*****
Buffy looked at the ruins of the old school suspiciously.
"Why are we here Buffy?"
She glanced back at Riley, "I like to keep an eye on the school... Weird..."
"What?"
"Usually there isn't too many around here... I just skip through to make sure... but check this out..."
Riley lifted a pair of nightvision binoculars to his eyes. "Right... vamps... lots of them."
"What are they up to?"
Riley shook his head, "I'm calling for back up."
"You do that." Buffy said, "I'm going in for a closer look."
She scrambled off as he put in the call. When he looked up again she was gone, "Buffy!" He hissed, "Buffy!"
"Damnit." Riley cursed under his breath, then he followed her toward the old school.
*****
Due to ff.net's downtime I elected to begin using a yahoogroup to post my stories to. For those of you who wish to catch the latest parts ahead of the ff.net readers by at least 24 hours then I suggest/ask/beg that you join up at :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Journeyverse/
I tend to try to post 1-2 parts per day on this group...
There also a surprising amount of discussion going on about the verse as well... shrug so if you like that kinda thing then drop by. :)
Now, On to the story
*****
"Rupert."
"Jenny."
The two stared at each other for a long moment before Giles broke the silence.
"You look well..." he said awkwardly, "I mean... well... Considering..."
Jenny smiled, "I am well, Rupert. And you look good as well."
Giles smiled slightly, "Thank you for the gracious lie, Miss Calender."
Jenny frowned, "None of that between us, Rupert. I'm Jenny to you."
Giles removed his glasses and smiled, "Now and forever."
Jenny laughed. "It is good to be able to speak to you again, you can't imagine how frustrating it was to be able to see you... you all, and not be able to be heard by you unless you were willing to listen."
Giles sighed, "No... no, I suppose I can't."
"Don't be like that, Rupert." jenny admonished him, "I'm not blaming you for anything. It's just the way things were."
"I know. But..."
"It's still hard." Jenny smiled sadly, "I know that too."
Giles smiled at her, "I'm glad you called me and arranged this head to head, Jenny... I... I missed you."
"I know." She said, impishly.
The two finally sat down and began to talk.
*****
Joyce had accepted the invitation to join the impromptu party that had begun to form in Xander's living room, though she was still uncertain what to make of the return of the brunette Slayer.
She watched Faith laughing with the shy blond, Tara, and thought back to when Buffy had told her that Faith had returned. Buffy had been afraid for Xander then, worried about what Faith might do while living under the same roof.
She was relieved that things seemed to be working out, that Faith seemed to be adjusting to life on the right side of the line again, but she couldn't feel comfortable around the girl who had tried to kill her daughter and friends.
"Mrs Summers?"
Joyce looked around in surprise, then smiled. "Yes Jarod?"
"You looked... pensive."
Joyce smiled warmly, she had liked Jarod from the moment they had met a few weeks earlier. The man had this aura about him, one of innocence mixed with power. It was strange, invoking feelings of both trust and security in those around him. "I was thinking about Faith, and the troubles she had before."
Jarod nodded, "I understand. Are you worried about her?"
Joyce nodded, "And for her. But mostly for Buffy and Xander... they are the ones who are closest to the center of this..."
"That's true." Jarod conceded, "But... I like to believe in people. And I respect Xander for accepting the risks and responsibility that come with giving her another chance."
Joyce looked to where the dark slayer was poking the blond, trying to get her to laugh openly at some joke, and nodded. "So do I... but it doesn't mean I can't worry as well, does it?"
Jarod smiled, "I... I think that that is what mothers are supposed to do..."
Joyce looked at him, hearing the uncertainty in his voice. "When did you talk to your mother last?"
He smiled, sadly. "Last night. But... it's not the same... I..."
"Go visit her, Jarod." Joyce urged, "Spend some time with your family."
"But... I... I have so many responsibilities here..."
"Jarod," Joyce said firmly, "Connect with your family. You need to remember what it is that you're defending. Then you can come back."
Jarod nodded, slowly. "I... I'll think about it."
"Good."
The two smiled at each other for a moment until the phone rang and broke the silence.
*****
"Call your mom." Xander ordered with a smile as he tossed a cell phone to Buffy, "She's at my place... worried about you."
Buffy had wiped her eyes and cleared her mind a bit. She smiled at him slightly and nodded, "Thanks, Xander."
Xander shrugged, "No big, Buff. No big."
"Way Big, Xander. Trust me."
"Whatever you say." He grinned at her.
Buffy smiled, shook her head, and dialed the number into the phone.
"Mom? Hey... yeah, he found me... No, I'm fine... just had some things to work out. I'm sorry, I'll try to let people know where I am next time... Ok... Dinner sounds great. Yeah, I'm with Xander now, we're heading back to his place. Meet you there. Bye."
Buffy shut the phone off and went to hand it back to Xander.
He shook his head, "Its yours, Buff. Call it a pre-Christmas gift from Jarod and me."
"I can't take this..."
"Take it." Xander grinned, "It's all paid for, and the monthly bills are covered... but uh... don't loan it to Giles, K? I don't want to see the overseas bills he'd rack up."
Buffy laughed involuntarily at the image of a five pound phone bill thumping to the floor of Xander's place. "Deal."
"Cool." Xander grinned and headed for home.
*****
The Mustang pulled into the garage, and the two occupants got out and headed for the connecting door to the house. Inside they immediately headed toward the noise that was coming from the living room area.
"Hey guys," Xander grinned, "I'm back."
"Lock up your daughters, here's Lover boy."
Xander and Buffy glared at Faith, who just smirked back.
"Lover boy?" Joyce asked.
"Nothing!" Buffy said, quickly. "Don't we have dinner to go to?"
Joyce looked between the glaring Xander, the smirking Faith, and the rapidly reddening Buffy. Something is up here... "Sure... Let me get my purse, Buffy... We'll head out now."
"Good."
Xander and Buffy breathed a sigh of relief as Joyce walked past them.
"And you can tell me all about what Faith is talking about over Dinner."
"Mom!"
*****
After the two Summers women had gone Xander glared at Faith, "You just can't help yourself can you?"
Faith grinned back, unrepentant, "Sure I can... I choose not to."
Xander growled, shook his head, and left the room.
Miss Parker smirked at his back, Jarod looked a little confused, and Tara looked at Faith a little darkly.
"T... that wasn't nice..."
"Maybe." Faith grinned, "But it was fun."
"I... I think you went too far." Tara said, surprisingly firmly.
Faith looked at the shy blond in surprise, and thought about it for a moment. "Maybe..."
"You should at least apologise..."
"Don't push it, blondy."
To the Slayer's surprise the shy bond didn't back down, she actually met Faith's eyes and glared back at her.
"All right... I'll go say I'm sorry..." Faith got up and walked out of the living room. Damn... girl's got some spunk... got a real Tiger on my hands here.
*****
"Xander?"
Xander turned to glare at the brunette Slayer, still angry over her earlier words. "What?"
"Xander... I... ah..." Faith stammered a bit, drawing Xander's curiosity.
"What is it Faith?"
Faith looked at him for a bit, "Tara... Tara said that I went to far..."
"You think?" Xander said sarcastically.
"I... I guess I'm sorry."
Xander blanked out. Two apologies from Faith... that had to be some kind of record. Xander looked at her for a moment, seeing the almost lost look in her eyes and pulled himself together long enough to respond. "Apology accepted, Faith. But try to tone it down some, will ya? Especially around Riley, Mrs Summers, heck... even Giles..."
Faith grinned at him, "No promises..."
Xander glared at her and she laughed a bit, "But I'll try."
"Good enough." Xander said, then he added. "For now."
*****
Evening
Jake looked around, "Hurry up, man, haven't got all night."
Ricky looked around, nervous. "Quiet man... The Slayer checks this place out a lot."
"Yeah man, I know... that's why we're here."
"Huh?" Ricky looked at Jake as if he was insane.
"Hey, if it's important to her it must be something special."
"It's just Sunnydale High, man. I wasted a lot of years here... Don't want to spend no more."
"Shut up and follow me."
The two Vampires walked into the wreckage of the old school, picking their way thorugh the debris. Then there was a sudden thump and Ricky hit the ground in pain.
"Ouch damnit!"
"What?" Jake hissed, annoyed.
"I hit somtin!"
"There ain't nothing here, man."
"I'm telling you I hi..." Ricky had tried to stand up but instead managed to ram his skull into an invisible barrier. "Ouch!"
Jake looked over to where Ricky had hit the ground. He approached slowly, his hands outstretched. His eyes widened in shock when he actually touched something. "Damn! There IS something here..."
Ricky moaned on the ground, "No shit... What the fuck is it?"
"Shutup." Jake snapped. Then he stopped to think, "You know... I might know someone I can ask about this... C'mon man... we're gonna get some help."
Ricky slowly got to his feet and limped out slowly. The two vampires walked and limped away in search of some help to solve the mystery they had found.
*****
Later
"We've been running around this blasted town all day for nothing." Anise fumed as they made their way back to the ship.
"It takes time to locate people in a town this size." Jacob said patiently, "It would have been a lot easier if you had simply asked the SGC for his address."
"This is not their concern." Anise snapped.
"This is everyone's concern." Jacob snapped back.
"Not now." Anise said, then she looked at the ruins of the school they had left the ship at. "What's that?"
Jacob paused and looked ahead of them. He could see several figures moving around the ruins, and more seemed to be approaching. "I don't know."
"We must hold back." Anise demanded, "We can not risk discovery."
"What if they find the ship?"
"We'll keep watch. If they come close I'll have it return to orbit on remote."
*****
Buffy looked at the ruins of the old school suspiciously.
"Why are we here Buffy?"
She glanced back at Riley, "I like to keep an eye on the school... Weird..."
"What?"
"Usually there isn't too many around here... I just skip through to make sure... but check this out..."
Riley lifted a pair of nightvision binoculars to his eyes. "Right... vamps... lots of them."
"What are they up to?"
Riley shook his head, "I'm calling for back up."
"You do that." Buffy said, "I'm going in for a closer look."
She scrambled off as he put in the call. When he looked up again she was gone, "Buffy!" He hissed, "Buffy!"
"Damnit." Riley cursed under his breath, then he followed her toward the old school.
*****
