Disclaimer:        Any character that you've seen on the show is owned by Joss, not me.

Colleen

The new slayer

Jordan

Psychic who receives The Visions

Holly

Half Sellar Demon

Dawn

The Key

Aaron

Currently exploring magicks

*****

            "OK," Aaron said to Colleen as they walked through the graveyard on patrol, "If you had to be stranded with either Oprah or Carrot Top on a desert island who would you pick?"

            "What's wrong with Oprah?" Colleen asked.

            "Bitch thinks she knows everything," Aaron answered.

            "I see," Colleen said. "Well in that case I'm going to have to go with Oprah."

            "No way," Aaron said. "It would have to be Carrot Top."

            "You would want to kill him after five seconds," Colleen told him.

            "He could invent something to get us off of the island," Aaron told her.

            As they were walking Colleen spotted a fresh grave a few plots ahead of them. While she looked at it she felt the familiar tinge in her spine that she always felt when there were vampires nearby. As she watched a hand shot up through the loose dirt.

            "Oh!" Aaron said as he noticed the hand. "Let me do it! I've wanted to try beheading for a while now." Aaron held out the small battle axe that he carried at his side.

            "Go ahead," Colleen told him. "Knock yourself out."

            Aaron excitedly hurried behind the grave and waited as the vampire pulled himself out. Gripping the axe handle with both hands he waited for just the right moment. He took a deep breath and swung the axe at the spot where the vampire's neck used to be. The vampire sensed the attack and tumbled out of his grave and then quickly stood facing Aaron in game face. Aaron tried to go for the neck again but this time the vampire grabbed the handle and pulled it from Aaron.

            "Colleen," Aaron said as he slowly backed up away from the vampire that now held his axe. "A little help would be cool."

            "I thought you said that you wanted to handle this," Colleen said as she pulled out a stake.

            "Extremely not funny," Aaron said as he continued to slowly back up. He flipped over backwards over a tombstone that he didn't see. As he lay on his back he watched as the vampire stood over him, smiled, and then lifted the axe high over his head. Suddenly, his expression changed to horror and he exploded into dust. Colleen caught the axe before it hit the ground.

            "Aren't you even going to say thank you," Colleen said as she offered her hand to Aaron to help him up.

            "It would give you too much satisfaction," Aaron told her as he reluctantly took her hand.

*****

            "You know what sucks," Dawn asked Jordan and Holly. "Titrations."

            Dawn, Jordan, and Holly sat in Dawn's bedroom trying to finish the lab report that was due the next day for chemistry. Jordan sat on Dawn's computer typing the report. Dawn lay down on her bed looking through their lab notes. Holly sat cross legged on the floor flipping through the chemistry book.

            "Is Colleen patrolling alone tonight?" Jordan asked Holly.

            "No," Holly told him. "She got Aaron to cover for me."

            "Cover for you means that he is holding Colleen's stakes and telling her bad jokes."

            "I wouldn't put Aaron down," Jordan told Colleen. "He did save your life a couple weeks ago."

            "I know," Dawn said. "It's just that Aaron doesn't really have any super powers besides the little bits of magick that he learned."

            "I wouldn't worry about it," Holly said. "They might come across two vamps at most tonight. Colleen can definitely handle that."

            "I think that we're just about done," Jordan said as he typed a few more words into the lab report. "We just need to type something up about safety."

            "Good," Dawn said. "I'll have Aaron read it later on tonight to make sure that we didn't make any huge mistakes."

            Jordan's hands immediately flew to his head. His eyes became white the way that they usually did whenever he got a vision.

            "Uh oh," Dawn said looking at Jordan. "This isn't good. What is it?"

            The vision was surprisingly short. It consisted of Aaron and Colleen walking through the graveyard. They didn't realize that around the corner there were two vampires waiting for them. Jordan didn't know much about the vampires beside the fact that they were a man and a woman and for some reason he got the feeling that they were very strong.

            "Two vampires are about to surprise Aaron and Colleen," Jordan told them.

            "Colleen can handle two vampires," Dawn said. "What do you think Holly?"

            Holly opened her eyes. She was still able to psychically pick up on Jordan's visions. "We should probably go," she said. "The Powers That Be wouldn't send a vision unless it was something important."

*****

            "So you and Mike," Aaron said to Colleen. "You guys are pretty serious."

            "Although this does fit into the 'none of your business category,'" Colleen told Aaron, "Yeah, we are pretty serious. Why?"

            "I don't know," Aaron said. "I was just wondering." They walked for a little bit in silence. "You guys look really happy together."

            "We are happy," Colleen said. "He makes me really happy."

            "Do I sense a but?" Aaron asked Colleen.

            Colleen sighed. "No it's not a but. Not really. It's more of a however."

            "However what?" Aaron asked.

            "However it's just weird sometimes," Colleen said. "I mean, I'm all for female empowerment and all, but sometimes it's weird that I'm this super strong demon fighter and Mike's just a regular guy."

            "He does have a mean jump shot," Aaron joked.

            Colleen laughed. "I'm seriously not complaining, but it would just be nice if sometimes…"

            "If sometimes you could just be a regular girl?" Aaron asked.

            "If Mike could be a super strong demon fighter," Colleen admitted. "If he could fight with me, if he could rescue me."

            "I'd never thought I'd here that," Aaron laughed. "Colleen wanting to play the damsel in distress."

            "That's not what I mean," Colleen said. She thought about it for a minute. "I mean, I've never been the damsel in distress, even before I had my powers. It would just be nice if he could be equals."

            "Uh oh Colleen," Aaron said. "I thought we talked this all out last year?"

            "No it's not that," Colleen said. "Like my strength doesn't even bother Mike." There was a pause.

            "So how far have you guys gone?" Aaron said with a smile. Colleen smacked him. "Hey it's not like I couldn't just talk to any of the guys on the basketball team and find out."

"That's the complete opposite of funny," Colleen said. "Why are you asking about this anyway?"

            "Let's say in theory that I had feelings for someone," Aaron said, "Then maybe I would like to get more information about relationships and how one goes about building one."

            "So you're finally ready to admit it," Colleen said with a smile.

            "Ready to admit what?" Aaron asked.

            "Oh come on," Colleen said with a laugh. "It's not like it isn't completely obvious."

            "Obvious?" Aaron asked. "Obvious to everyone?"

            "Well I'd be surprised if Jordan didn't already know," Colleen told him. "What with being psychic and all."

            Aaron sighed. "So what do you think?"

            "I think it's great," Colleen said. "I mean, you guys are already great friends. I think you would make a really nice couple."

            "Has she ever said anything about me?" Aaron asked Colleen. "Like has she ever said anything that might make you think that she felt the same way about me?"

            "Honestly," Colleen asked.

            "Yeah," Aaron said back to her.

            "Not really," Colleen said. "Well, not at all."

            "Dishonestly?" Aaron asked Colleen.

            "She is completely hot for your body," Colleen told him. "She talks about you all the time. Almost some would say too much."

            "Thanks for the effort," Aaron told her.

            "Just because she doesn't say anything though doesn't mean that she is necessarily closed off to the idea," Colleen told him.

            "Think that's good enough for tonight?" Aaron asked Colleen.

            "Yeah," Colleen said. "I think this was a successful night."

            As soon as Colleen finished her last statement she was attacked from behind by a male vampire. He knocked her to the ground but Colleen was able to kick him off of her. He lunged at her again but she flipped him with her legs and sent him flying into a tree.

            "When will I learn to keep my mouth shut," Colleen said as she pulled out a stake from inside her jacket. She moved to stake the vampire in the heart but he moved his arm and blocked the attack. The vampire connected with a few punches to Colleen's face before he uppercut her to send her flying back. Colleen got back to her feet and matched up with the vampire once again. Every blow that she delivered was answered with another blow from the vampire. Eventually, the vampire managed to once again knock her back. As Colleen lay on the ground and the vampire approached her, Aaron managed to land a blow to the vampires head with his axe.

            "Come on," Aaron said as he ran to Colleen and tried to help her up. They got to their feet and ran as fast as Aaron could. Once Aaron couldn't run anymore they stopped and rested. "Was that a vampire?" Aaron asked between pants.

            "Yeah," Colleen said as she rested against a tree. "A really strong vampire."

            "Do you think he followed us?" Aaron asked.

            "He didn't have to," came an unfamiliar voice from behind Aaron and Colleen. They both turned to see where it came from. Aaron assumed that the woman he saw was a vampire. She looked like she could have been no older than 30. She was brunette and she had brown eyes. She looked very familiar, but Aaron couldn't place where he could have seen her before.

            "I'm looking for the slayer," the vampire said as she came closer to Colleen and Aaron. "Why am I not surprised to see you here?"

            Aaron turned to Colleen. He had never seen her like this before. Her face was white as a ghost. Her eyes looked like they could burst into tears at any second. Aaron didn't know this, but at that moment, if Colleen would have been able to think, she would have thought that this was the best and the worst moment of her entire life. But Colleen couldn't think. She couldn't feel, she couldn't even move.

            "I should have expected it," the vampire said as she punched Colleen hard in the mouth sending her flying back.

            "Colleen!" Aaron said as he ran to his friend's side. He knelt down beside her on the ground in an effort to protect her.

            "You never wanted anything that you should have wanted," the vampire said. She no longer approached them. She stood back but continued to talk to her. "You were always happy being a little tomboy. You never wanted any of the things that I could offer you. I should have known then that this was what destiny had in store for you."

            The male vampire had by this time caught up to the female vampire. He stood by her while she continued to talk.

            "Now I'm going to ask you this once, and only once," she told Colleen and Aaron. "Where is the Key?" Neither of them answered. "Answer me."

            Aaron looked at Colleen. She was still in shock. "We don't know what you're talking about," Aaron said in his best pseudo-brave voice.

            "We know that the slayer has the Key," the male vampire said. "And the bruises on my face can testify that you're friend is in fact the slayer."

            "Last chance," the female vampire told Aaron and Colleen.

            "Here's a better idea," Holly, in her demon form, said as she made her way out of the shadows and appeared in front of Aaron and Colleen. She was soon flanked by Jordan and Dawn. Jordan held a crossbow and Dawn had a cross held out in front of her. "How about you get the Hell away from them?"

            "The slayer wasn't much of a fight," the male vampire said. "Why should we back down from you?"

            "Maybe the slayer couldn't put up much of a fight against you," Holly said. "But I'm guessing that the slayer, two demons and a powerful warlock might do the trick."

            "Ahem," Dawn said from behind her cross.

            "And a mighty warrior," Holly added. Dawn nodded.

            "Fine," the female vampire said. "But we will find the Key slayer." No one noticed the eye Dawn's eyes flew open when she heard this.

            "Wait," Aaron said as the two vampires started to walk off. "Who are you?"

            "You can call me Gunner," the male vampire said.

            "And my name is Kaoryn," the female said. "But she would know me better as Karen Danvers," Kaoryn added as she walked away and pointed at Colleen.

            Everyone let that sink in for a moment. Colleen's mother was a vampire.

*****

            Dawn didn't say anything to anyone on the walk home really. Even when she and Aaron split off from the others she still didn't say anything. Aaron was her best friend and she couldn't tell him this. She felt bad that she answered his attempts at conversations with short, one word answers.

            Now Dawn stood in front of her mirror. She thought about all the trouble she caused with her sister. She thought that she caused her sister's death. All of this because she was the Key. Dawn wanted to scream. She wanted to tell everyone the truth. She wanted her mother to tell her that everything would be OK. She wanted to believe that this wasn't all happening again.

            Dawn watched as a tear rolled down her cheek.

*****

            Mike sat on his bed watching T.V. He glanced at the clock. It was getting very close to 1:00 and Colleen still hadn't called. He told himself that she just was really busy tonight and that maybe she just didn't get the chance to call him before she had to go to bed. In the back of his mind was the nagging feeling that maybe something could have happened to her. Mike's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a knocking on his window. Curiously, Mike opened up his window.

            "Hi," Mike said simply.

            "Hey," Colleen said. "Can I come in."

            "Well I'm not going to invite you," Mike told her. "You know, incase you are a vampire."

            Colleen climbed into Mike's bedroom. She stood in front of him. Colleen was a few inches shorter than Mike. Her eyes came up to his chin. She stared up into his eyes.

            "Well now that that's settled," Mike said as he leaned in and kissed her. Colleen leaned in more and pulled Mike as close to her as she possibly could. She didn't want to end the kiss but eventually Mike pulled away.

            "Is everything OK?" Mike asked Colleen. Colleen didn't answer. She walked over to the door and locked it. "Colleen," Mike said as she approached him again. "What's going on?"

            "I love you," Colleen said.

            "And I love you," Mike said. They kissed again. This time Colleen pulled him onto the bed not trying to break their kiss. Colleen began to pull up Mike's shirt.

            "Wait," Mike said. He pulled away slightly from Colleen and made sure that he looked into her eyes. "Do you know what you're doing?"

            "Yes," Colleen said.

            "I don't know what's going on Colleen," Mike told her, "And I don't want you to do anything that you'll regret, but you know that I love you-"

            "Say that again," Colleen cut him off.

            "I love you," Mike told her again. They kissed.

            "That's all that matters," Colleen told him.

*****

Author's Note: Is anybody still reading? Leave feedback if you are. Tell me what you think. It makes my ego feel good. Anyway this was a big chapter, so a review would be really cool. Even if it's negative review anyway. I want to know what anyone thinks with where I'm taking the characters.