A/N: Grr. Been having a little trouble with the new story upload settings. But the rest of my time's spent writing and eating easter eggs. Happy holidays to all!

Disclaimer: Joss is king.

Dedication: All my readers and reviewers! Whoohoo, over 50 reviews! **Sniff** I feel honoured!

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Gracia was in a good mood that sunny morning as she weaved her way through the crowded corridors towards the library. Last night's reconcilliation with Angel had put her in a pleasant enough mood to even not worry about Cecelia's possible reaction when she heard that Gracia hadn't gone patrolling.

Dodging a group of moronic footballers giving her the eye, she pushed open the library doors and entered, humming to herself quietly as she shut them. She strolled along, casting her gaze about.

"Cecelia?" she called. "Hello?"

The whole room was disturbingly still and silent, as well as all the blinds being drawn. Slayer senses kicking in, she approached a table and set her bag down onto it, still looking around.

"Anyone here? Hello?" she called, slipping her hand into her bag and curling her fingers around the sharp stake in there. Despite listening so carefully, she was still startled when somebody replied.

"Slayer."

She spun quickly around, stake raised. When her mind registered who it was, she sighed and dropped the stake back onto the table. "Spike! Don't do that."

Spike grinned cockily. "Scare you, did I?"

"No." she insisted, although they both knew there was some truth in what he had said. She frowned. "Why're you here?"

"Brought someone to meet you."

She raised her eyebrows in question and he nodded his head at something behind her. Gracia turned to see, half-hidden by a nearly fully-stacked shelf, somebody bound to a chair, watching her with glowing gold eyes. Gracia chewed her lip slightly as she moved to get a better view of the captive. It was a vampire girl with long, thick red hair and her game face on, a cut across her forehead and a nasty burn on her left cheek. Gracia heard Spike come up behind her and she voiced her question in one word.

"Why?"

"This cult theory you had, love. Thought that maybe this one could help lead you to them if she's in on it." She sensed him shrug. "Just an idea."

Gracia shook her head and looked back at him with a smile. "No, thanks." There was a pause, which caused her to look away again and ask, "I take it Cecelia's not here then? Otherwise you'd be dust."

"Nah, the Watcher chick hasn't shown yet. Good luck for me." Gracia laughed a little before a moment of silence returned.

It was broken by the doors opening again and the twins coming in, laughing and joking about something. Gracia and Spike both turned at the sudden noise, and the twins halted when they realised they were being watched.

"Hey." said Luke easily. "What's up?"

"What's going on?" Keisha sounded a little more concerned than her brother. After all, you didn't really expect to find a vampire in your school when it's both daylight and blazing sunshine. Even on the Hellmouth.

"Oh, we've, uh, got a guest." Gracia explained, gesturing towards the now snarling redhead vamp captive. Luke and Keisha came around to have a clear view of them and stopped dead. Their faces simultaneously paled by several shades.

"Guys?" Gracia asked worriedly. "Guys, what's up?"

Luke eventually found his voice. "Oh my god..."

"What, never seen a vampire before?" Spike asked, earning a quick reproachful glance from the Slayer standing next to him. "What?"

Keisha shook her head. "You...no. You're not. God, you can't be!"

"Can someone explain?" Gracia asked, thoroughly confused. To Spike, she asked, "What's her name?"

He shrugged. "She reckons her name is Tanna. Of course, she wasn't too happy to tell me that. Nice weapon store your Watcher's got."

"But it's not." Luke whispered, gaining their attention again. "It wasn't."

It took a second for Luke's words to register properly in her mind, but when they did, Gracia's eyes flew open wide with realization. Her mind had dragged her back to the night Keisha had been attacked in the alley, when Luke and Keisha had the existence of vampires confirmed to them.

"Oh my..."

"Mind filling a guy in on the situation, pet?" Spike asked, an eyebrow arched. "I did bring her here, you know."

Gracia shook her head slightly, sympathy for the twins on her face. "Her real name's not Tanna," she said in a low voice. "It's Tanya."

"Don't call me that!" the vampire yelled, voice fierce and angry. "Never call me that! My name is Tanna!"

Keisha had tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "Oh Tanya, my god, what happened?"

Spike was still mystified as to what the teenagers and vampire were talking about. He put his hand on Gracia's shoulder and turned her to face him. "What's going on, Slayer?"

Gracia shut her eyes for a second to regroup her thoughts and ducked away slightly from Spike's hand so that she could think clearer. "This girl," she began to explain, and sighed. "She is...was the daughter of their godmother. Only everybody thought she'd died with the rest of the family a few years back."

"They tasted good." the girl formerly known as Tanya jeered cruelly. Keisha screwed her eyes shut tight and put her fingers to her temples as she bowed her head. Luke was staring at her in shellshocked silence until he spoke again.

"Why, Tanya? Why'd you do it?"

Tanya tossed her head. "I was attacked on the way home from college one night by the vampire who later became my Sire. My blood was drained from me and I drank from him. By the time I awoke twelve hours later, I was so much stronger, so much better than mortal. I wasn't Tanya, so I changed my name to Tanna. Then I drank from my family."

"Well that's a basic way of describing vampirification." Spike muttered. Gracia shook her head and replied in a low voice, "We don't need that right now, thanks."

She walked up to the twins as Tanya began to hiss at them how she had come to the house the next night to kill them. The grin on her blood-covered face was one of evil delight.

"Do you guys want to go or stay here?" she asked gently. Keisha's eyes opened and both of them shook their heads. Keisha replied normally, "We have to stay here."

"Remember- it isn't her. It's the demon that killed her." Gracia whispered, praying that Spike wouldn't hear her. She didn't want to possibly offend him.

Calmly, she strode out towards the vampire, who shut up as she came nearer. The grin didn't fade. The Irish Slayer looked back briefly at Spike and an understanding passed between them. He picked up the stake from the table and threw it to her waiting hand. She placed it firmly over the vampire's heart.

"Tell me where the nest is." she demanded coldly. The vampire looked away, shaking her head slightly. Gracia pushed the stake closer to Tanya. "Tell me."

Tanya's head snapped around and her gold eyes flared at the Slayer. "Kill me, go on." she chided. "I'm sure Luke and Keisha will just love you for it. Sooner or later you will, and they'll leave you."

"No." Luke shook his head. "Because you're not Tanya. Like you said, you're Tanna. And we don't know you."

Tanna's eyes widened as she realised that her winning hand had failed and slowly slid her eyes back to the Slayer, patiently waiting for an answer, one eyebrow raised.

"Well?" Gracia asked. "'Cause I don't think we have all day. While you're at it, what is actually going on?"

As she said this, she showed Tanna the crucifix at her throat. Tanna hissed and tired to look away, without much success.

"As you asked, I'll kill you, but how long it takes is up to you. You can go quick or slow, your decision."

Tanna's vampiric face creased in pain and anger. She knew she had no choice and her lips parted to speak. Just one word came.

"Anointed-"

"What is going on in here?" an English voice demanded as the doors were pushed open and banged shut again. They all turned their heads to Cecelia stalking in, an expression of cold fury etched on her pale face. Using this distraction as an escape, Tanna thrust her upper body forward onto the stake in Gracia's hand. She didn't even cry out as she exploded into ash.

"What the-" Gracia looked around again and realised what her captive had done. "Oh great."

Spike's mind processed Tanna's one word answer and slapped the table hard. "Bugger!"

Gracia turned to him, eyes wide questioningly. "What?"

Spike was about to explain when Cecelia shoved a wooden cross in front of his face. He yelled out and stepped back before it touched him, backing away from the enraged Watcher.

"Easy!" He held up both hands in a peace-like gesture. "I'm not here to get dusted!"

"Monster!" Cecelia hissed, continuing to approach him with the crucifix. He was backed up against a shelf now, without any real escape. With her left hand, Cecelia reached out and yanked on the string by the window. The blind shot straight up and bright sunlight struck Spike for a second before he dodged back into the shadows with another yell.

"Cecelia!" Gracia appeared beside Spike, glaring angrily at her Watcher. "He's here to help us!" She rested her hand lightly on his arm and looked up into his blue eyes. "You OK?"

He nodded and was about to reply when Cecelia interrupted.

"I cannot believe you would be as foolhardy as to believe a word that issues from the mouth of this demon!" she sneered. "But then again, maybe you would. Considering how much you wish to consort with this one and the one you call your brother, I don't expect you to see your seventeenth birthday!"

Gracia took a deep breath, normally pale cheeks beginning to darken red. "I'll live, don't worry. To see that birthday and many more. But I am not going to stand by and watch you insult my friends and family like that."

Cecelia narrowed her steel-grey eyes in disgust and hate. "If that thing isn't out of my sight in three seconds flat, his ashes will be scattered across this very floor."

Spike caught Gracia's gaze, knowing the Watcher meant him. "Be seeing you, love."

Taking an unneeded breath, he charged at the exit, breaking through the doors and beginning on his route to his crypt. He stuck to the darker areas and moved as quickly as his vampiric speeds would allow him to.

Back in the library, both Slayer and Watcher were seething with anger at each other.

"I can't believe you just did that!" Gracia exclaimed. "That vampire Spike brought us was going to tell us what was going on when you distracted me and she staked herself!"

"He probably forced her into the deal to say things from his own whimsy." Cecelia snapped. "From now on, I will not allow you to have anything to do with him!"

Gracia's eyes widened with inexpressable rage. "You are unbelievable." she stated evenly. How could Cecelia prevent her from seeing her friend like that? She stalked over to the table, threw the stake into her bag and slung it over her shoulder.

"Where do you think you're going?" Cecelia demanded, casting aside the cross and approaching her. "You have training to do!"

"I'll do it later." Gracia remarked flippantly. She looked up at the twins- who had been unmoving and silent until now- and asked gently, "Are you two going to come with? Mrs. Davis isn't going to be happy if we're late for computer science class again."

They paused before they both started to walk over. "Sure, we're coming." Luke said, managing a smile at Gracia as they all walked away from her Watcher.

"I guess we're all in for studying again tonight?" Keisha asked as they began down the corridor amongst the last few students to get to class. "Researching on the word 'Anointed'."

"Only if you're OK with it." Gracia insisted. "I mean, with what just happened and all..." She trailed off uneasily.

"Doesn't matter, does it Luke?" Keisha asked, and Luke nodded. "She...that vampire told us that Tanya had died years ago. And it's Tanya we knew, not Tanna. So don't blame yourself."

Gracia smiled and linked arms with Keisha. "Thanks."

"Maybe we should ask Spike." Luke suggested as they walked into class (thankfully not late enough to be noticed by the teacher) and took up their usual seats. "I mean, he brought Tanna here."

"I'll talk to him and Angel later on." Gracia said. She frowned. " 'Anointed'. It rings some distant bells in my mind, it's part of a phrase, I'm sure." She sighed and opened the textbook on her desk. "But at the moment, I'm just concerned with passing this class to keep my parents happy."

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Hope you like! Please review! It took me a while to write this, what with revision and all. I know what I wanna put in in the next chapters, but it's a case of sorting it all out. Still, I'd like to know- does the Tanya/Tanna thing make sense? It was always intended like that. Did anyone guess? I'd like to know please! Thank you!