Buffy and Xander were out on patrol, just like old times, a stake in her
back pocket and an ice-cream cone in her hand, actually if it had been old
times it would have been a non-fat frozen yoghurt because she cared a lot
more about her weight back then. Xander didn't talk as much as he used to
and she hadn't heard him crack a joke yet, but he told her what he knew
about their old friends and the goings on of the town of late.
"So Willow's in England?" said Buffy rather amazed that her friend went back there.
"Yeah pretty amazing."
"I didn't think she would go back, you know bad memories or something."
"Nah, she's having a ball at Oxford. You know our Will, loves the learning."
"I know what is this her third college now?!" said Buffy in a kind of awe of her best friend, because she hadn't even been able to last two years at UC Sunnydale.
"Yeah something like that,"
"-a doctor." said Buffy dreamily.
"I could have told you that when we were seven, she used to have these books and stethoscope, there was this one time she tried to immunise me with a pen." he trailed off into nothing as they both walked along the empty street.
It was a little after midnight and Buffy could tell that Xander was getting tired and truthfully was she was just getting warmed up, she scanned the street as Xander sipped his third coffee. She would have told him to go home but Buffy wasn't sure how he would be on his own and she after the many nights she'd spent alone recently, found his company comforting even though he was asleep standing up.
A flash of movement caught her eye to the left in the alley beside the video store, she left Xander at the park bench where he happily rested and moved quickly down the alley, being sure to stay close to the wall. She heard voices almost immediately, a female and a male, they seemed to be arguing and just as Buffy was ready to dismiss it as a domestic, she heard the man cry out and a trash can fall to the ground. It took her two quick moves for her to reach the couple, which had turned out to be a vampire and a teenage boy. Buffy grabbed the blonde vampire by her long hair and pinned her against the wall, her stake still in her pocket she swung around with a kick to the vampires head and pulled out her stake. The vampire responded with a run attack to which Buffy hadn't been prepared for, the vampire had her against ground and was moving in for the kill, Buffy used all her strength and flipped on top of the vampire and plunged her stake straight through the heart, an explosion of dust soon followed.
"Are you okay?" she asked the guy, who was sitting on the ground holding his arm.
"My arm, it hurts. Rambo?" He looked up at her and passed out, Buffy lifted him up onto her shoulder and carried him out into the street where Xander was waiting.
"A little casualty here, but nothing a trip to the ER couldn't fix." Buffy explained.
"I'll go get my car and bring it around."
Buffy sat on the bench with the guys head on her lap, he couldn't have been more than 17, with his sandy blonde hair and his muscular body, Buffy was almost positive he was a jock, probably the starring quarterback who thought he'd get lucky with some mysterious babe at the Bronze but had ended up with a broken arm and a nasty hickey, lying on a park bench in the middle of the night with her and she wasn't to sure what she was going to say when he came around. He looked so innocent, well as innocent as any 17- year-old boy could look, but like the world hadn't disappointed him yet, like he still thought that all his dreams would come true and his only problem was who to take to Homecoming. When Xander brought around his car, they managed to lay the boy across the backseat and drive off to the hospital, halfway there the boy came to and they were faced with the confused questions and demands of a scared kid.
"What's your name kid?" Xander asked before Buffy could stop him, it was a bad idea to learn their names, in fact for Buffy the less you knew about them the easier it was to cope with the job.
"Jake Stevens."
Xander paused for a second. "My son's name is Jake."
"Yeah, I was named after my grandfather, he was the finest man I ever met. It's a strong name, hope I can live up to it." The boy said grimly as he touched the blood coming from his neck.
"Don't worry Jake, you're doing just fine," consoled Xander. Buffy smiled, she wasn't any good at the human part. She could slay any vampire you threw at her, but a kid who just broke his arm and she was reduced to a bumbling mess. That was obvious by the way she had handled Dawn.
"Okay, we're here, do you want me to come in with you?" asked Xander, the boy nodded and Xander helped him out of the car.
"Buffy?" Xander motioned for her to follow him.
"So Willow's in England?" said Buffy rather amazed that her friend went back there.
"Yeah pretty amazing."
"I didn't think she would go back, you know bad memories or something."
"Nah, she's having a ball at Oxford. You know our Will, loves the learning."
"I know what is this her third college now?!" said Buffy in a kind of awe of her best friend, because she hadn't even been able to last two years at UC Sunnydale.
"Yeah something like that,"
"-a doctor." said Buffy dreamily.
"I could have told you that when we were seven, she used to have these books and stethoscope, there was this one time she tried to immunise me with a pen." he trailed off into nothing as they both walked along the empty street.
It was a little after midnight and Buffy could tell that Xander was getting tired and truthfully was she was just getting warmed up, she scanned the street as Xander sipped his third coffee. She would have told him to go home but Buffy wasn't sure how he would be on his own and she after the many nights she'd spent alone recently, found his company comforting even though he was asleep standing up.
A flash of movement caught her eye to the left in the alley beside the video store, she left Xander at the park bench where he happily rested and moved quickly down the alley, being sure to stay close to the wall. She heard voices almost immediately, a female and a male, they seemed to be arguing and just as Buffy was ready to dismiss it as a domestic, she heard the man cry out and a trash can fall to the ground. It took her two quick moves for her to reach the couple, which had turned out to be a vampire and a teenage boy. Buffy grabbed the blonde vampire by her long hair and pinned her against the wall, her stake still in her pocket she swung around with a kick to the vampires head and pulled out her stake. The vampire responded with a run attack to which Buffy hadn't been prepared for, the vampire had her against ground and was moving in for the kill, Buffy used all her strength and flipped on top of the vampire and plunged her stake straight through the heart, an explosion of dust soon followed.
"Are you okay?" she asked the guy, who was sitting on the ground holding his arm.
"My arm, it hurts. Rambo?" He looked up at her and passed out, Buffy lifted him up onto her shoulder and carried him out into the street where Xander was waiting.
"A little casualty here, but nothing a trip to the ER couldn't fix." Buffy explained.
"I'll go get my car and bring it around."
Buffy sat on the bench with the guys head on her lap, he couldn't have been more than 17, with his sandy blonde hair and his muscular body, Buffy was almost positive he was a jock, probably the starring quarterback who thought he'd get lucky with some mysterious babe at the Bronze but had ended up with a broken arm and a nasty hickey, lying on a park bench in the middle of the night with her and she wasn't to sure what she was going to say when he came around. He looked so innocent, well as innocent as any 17- year-old boy could look, but like the world hadn't disappointed him yet, like he still thought that all his dreams would come true and his only problem was who to take to Homecoming. When Xander brought around his car, they managed to lay the boy across the backseat and drive off to the hospital, halfway there the boy came to and they were faced with the confused questions and demands of a scared kid.
"What's your name kid?" Xander asked before Buffy could stop him, it was a bad idea to learn their names, in fact for Buffy the less you knew about them the easier it was to cope with the job.
"Jake Stevens."
Xander paused for a second. "My son's name is Jake."
"Yeah, I was named after my grandfather, he was the finest man I ever met. It's a strong name, hope I can live up to it." The boy said grimly as he touched the blood coming from his neck.
"Don't worry Jake, you're doing just fine," consoled Xander. Buffy smiled, she wasn't any good at the human part. She could slay any vampire you threw at her, but a kid who just broke his arm and she was reduced to a bumbling mess. That was obvious by the way she had handled Dawn.
"Okay, we're here, do you want me to come in with you?" asked Xander, the boy nodded and Xander helped him out of the car.
"Buffy?" Xander motioned for her to follow him.