CHAPTER NINE: BETH
Saturday: 12:45pm
26th October 1996
London: Watcher's Council
Buffy stood in front of Ethan, tears in her eyes. Ethan looked down at her, touching her cheek fondly.
"This isn't goodbye forever, you know," he whispered.
She nodded, fearful that if she spoke her voice would fail her.
"I'll still be able to come and see you. You know that. This doesn't change anything," he assured her.
"It changes everything," she whispered tearfully.
He gathered her into his arms.
"I swear to you, wherever you end up, Ill come find you. No matter how far away you are. I'll always be able to find you," he whispered.
"And we can still send letters, right?" she asked.
He nodded and kissed the top of her head.
"Of course we can," he replied.
He relied on the weekly letters almost as much as she did. He led a dreary life, running errands for whomever paid the most. Buffy always enjoyed hearing about his adventures that took him all over the world. He was always in London for the weekend though, no matter how well someone offered to pay him to work on a Saturday. He refused to go if it meant he would miss his weekly meeting with the young girl.
"I wish you could be my Watcher," she whispered.
He smiled but didn't reply.
He had hoped against hope and prayed to every god that he knew that Buffy would never become a Slayer. But, it wasn't to be. She hadn't been Called yet, but Buffy had told him earlier that day that she would be Called tomorrow. He didn't know how she knew, but she had been right every other time, so he knew better than to question it.
She was scared, petrified really. Not only of leaving the Council and leaving behind Faith and Ethan, but of finally becoming the Slayer. She knew that she had the skills to hunt vampires, but she also knew that no matter how well trained a Slayer was, death was always the outcome. It was a lonely life that they were forced to lead.
She had mourned each Slayer's passing when the new Slayer's had been Called. She had known the last five, known them quite well, and they had all died. It was frightening knowing that Maddy would be dying sometime that evening and that there was nothing she could do about it.
She had made the mistake of telling one of the trainers about the fact that she knew that a new Slayer was going to be Called. She had been worried about Laurie, the first Slayer she had really known before they had been Called. She had felt within her soul when Laurie was about to die, and she had told one of the trainers in hope that they could prevent it.
The trainer, had, of course, told Mr Travers, who had quickly taught Buffy that she shouldn't be telling tall tales. When the next Slayer, Alex, had been Called the next day, the trainer who she had told had immediately felt guilty about Buffy being beaten over it and had, since then, shied away from the girl, fearful of her precognition for predicting the Slayer's demises.
"You make sure that you're Watcher treats you with respect, you hear me?" Ethan said, his voice shaking. It had been four years that they had been swapping letters, and he still hadn't been able to accept the fact that Travers regularly hit the tiny girl. It had never sat well with him, but he honoured Buffy's wishes and never confronted Travers about it. "If I hear about one bruise that isn't vampire or demon related, then your Watcher will be drawn and quartered."
Buffy giggled a little which was the response that Ethan had wanted. He breathed in deeply and gave her a shaky smile.
"When you finally settle somewhere permanent, I'll find you," he said.
She nodded and looked up at him with innocent eyes. He marvelled that her eyes hadn't really changed that much from when he had first met her. She was still innocent, open and expressive. The Council had tried to take it away from her, had tried to beat it out of her, and they had failed. He truly admired the young girl for having the strength to face the Council and come out of it on top.
"Will you stay in London?" she asked.
He shrugged, not really knowing the answer to her question.
"I'll be checking my mail at the address I gave you, but…I can't rightly say."
"If I sent letters to Faith, could you get them to her?" she asked.
He nodded. "I promise you."
She smiled and nestled back into his embrace. She liked hugging him now that she was a little taller. She still only came up to his mid-chest though.
"I'm gonna miss you," she whispered. "And our visits. Even though they were never long enough…they made my week worth it. It gave me a reason to get up in the mornings."
"And then Faith came," he whispered.
She nodded. "I don't know how I'm meant to say goodbye to her," she confessed.
Ethan stroked Buffy's hair and looked down at her, gently touching her chin to tilt her head upwards to meet his gaze.
"You'll find a way. Just tell her the truth. And make sure she knows that she's your best friend," he said.
Buffy nodded and lost herself in his hug, not wanting to end their meeting. She knew that she would have to leave soon though. It wouldn't do to finally be caught with Ethan on their last meeting. Irony just wasn't as funny when you paid for it with cane strokes across your back.
Ethan pulled back and kissed her forehead one last time.
"You'll do brilliantly Buffy. Just remember what you're fighting for," he whispered.
"And what's that?"
"For the people you love. For Faith and for the other Potentials. To keep them from being Slayers," he said.
"And for you," she added.
He grinned and touched her nose playfully. "I didn't want to be presumptuous."
She laughed and threw her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. "You know I love you Ethan."
He nodded and stepped back from her. "My whole life, I've only ever loved two people. You are most definitely one of them."
She smiled. "You'll tell me about him one day, won't you? Ripper, I mean."
Ethan's eyes went wide and Buffy held back a grin, biting her lip.
"How did you know that?" he asked.
He had mentioned his old friend Ripper in his letters to her, but he had never implied the close bond they had shared. He hadn't ever told her that Ripper was now a member of Council.
She just shrugged and gave him a cheeky smile. "I just know these things."
He rolled his eyes and watched her walk away, a heaviness settling in his heart as he realised that he had seen her as Potential for the last time. The next time they met, she would finally be the Slayer.
------------------------
"It's happening tonight, isn't it?" Faith asked, sprawled out on her bed, Buffy sitting at the head with her back against the wall. It was close to ten o'clock, the official lights out time for the Potentials older than fifteen. They had hated that rule the previous year when Faith had been fifteen and Buffy had been fourteen. They had broken it regardless, but they both felt safer knowing that they weren't breaking any rules that would lead to harsh punishments.
"You can feel it too, huh?" Buffy asked.
Faith nodded and chewed on the end of her pen thoughtfully.
"Who do you reckon it'll be?" Faith asked.
Buffy didn't answer. She hadn't told Faith that she already knew that come tomorrow, she would no longer be Beth Summers, the Potential, she would be Beth, The Vampire Slayer. She hadn't wanted to worry Faith, and she certainly hadn't wanted to make things strained between them. Her friendship with Faith was one of the three most precious things in the world to her. (The others being Ethan and Mr Gordo of course)
"I'm thinking it might be Kelsie. She'd be a good Slayer," Faith said, oblivious to Buffy's quietness.
Faith rolled onto her back and sat up, leaning against the wall, hugging a pillow in front of her.
"It'd suck if it was one of us, hey?" Faith said suddenly. Buffy closed her eyes and swallowed hard, and Faith continued obliviously.
"I swear, I'm hoping it'll pass both of us by. I've only got another fifteen and a half months in this hell-hole, then I'm so outta here."
Buffy swallowed hard. That was one good thing about knowing that she was going to be Called. Faith would be safe. The problem was, Buffy didn't know when she was going to die. She knew that Faith wasn't next though, which was a comfort to her. Buffy also knew that the girl between herself and Faith was the same age as Buffy, which meant that Faith would turn eighteen first, making it so that she could never be Called. Buffy would have to remain the Slayer for two years before Faith was no longer a Potential, and three years before Kendra was free as well.
After Faith though, the next Slayer would be Chloe, a girl who was only eleven, four years younger than Buffy and five years younger than Faith. Buffy knew that Chloe would be a Slayer, no matter how hard she tried to prevent it. Buffy knew that she wouldn't last seven years. The longest any Slayer had lasted had been five and a half years, and she had been Called at fourteen. She'd died just before her twentieth birthday. The oldest Slayer in history had been twenty-one, having being Called at seventeen, lasting only four years.
"What are you gonna do when you get outta here, B?" Faith asked.
Buffy loved Faith's positive outlook on life. Faith hadn't ever really considered being Called as the Slayer. She was here to do her time, and then get out. But Buffy had known since she was eleven that she would be a Slayer one day.
Buffy gave the older girl a small smile and leant back against the wall on her side of the bed.
"I'm not getting out of here Faith," she replied.
Faith's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What're you talkin' about?"
Buffy shrugged and hugged Mr Gordo tightly to her chest. He had been in Faith's room since the night before, Buffy giving him to Faith to cheer her up after she had been scolded in a lesson for not having a spare pen when hers had run out. Buffy breathed in deeply and prepared to be yelled at from Faith.
"I know who's gonna be Called."
Faith felt her heart drop. She could tell by Buffy's tone of voice what the young girl's next words were going to be. She shook her head, trying to deny what Buffy still had yet to tell her.
"No. No, not you."
Buffy nodded. "I'm sorry."
Faith just continued to shake her head. She hopped off the bed and began pacing frantically. She had always known deep inside that Buffy would be Called. She hadn't wanted it to happen, but she knew that whomever did the choosing for the Chosen would be nuts to not choose Buffy as a Slayer. She was the best and had been for years.
"Maybe you're wrong," Faith said. "Maybe it'll pass you by. We could…we could get Ethan to do a spell or something…"
The nervousness was making her ramble, something that Buffy had become used to in the last two years of their friendship.
"Faith-"
"No! I refuse to accept that! There's…there's gotta be another way."
"Faith-"
"And how the hell do you know anyway? Not even Travers knows who it's gonna be next. You can't be sure-"
"I'm sure."
Faith stopped and looked at her friend, tears in her eyes.
"I don't want it to be you, B," she whispered. "I don't want you to die."
Buffy wanted to reassure her, to tell her that she would be fine, that she wasn't going to die. But she knew that the words would be just that; words. They would be meaningless, because Slayers died. It's what they did.
Buffy just looked down at her hands, surprised to see them shaking. Faith followed her gaze and stepped forward taking one of Buffy's hands in hers.
"What am I meant to do without you?" she asked quietly.
Buffy looked up and tried to hold back her own tears.
"You have to take care of Chloe," Buffy said quietly. "You have to teach her."
Faith bit her lip. "She's next? She's just a kid."
Buffy shook her head. "She's not next exactly. But I'm gonna make it that way."
Faith looked at Buffy in complete confusion. "What are you on about B?"
"Do you trust me?" Buffy asked seriously.
Faith just looked at her strangely, wondering what sort of a question it was. Buffy was the only person that Faith had ever trusted, and Buffy knew that. Or so Faith thought. She'd never told Buffy that out loud.
"You know the answer to that," Faith replied.
"Yes or no. Do you trust me?"
"Yes."
"When I was eleven, I knew who was gonna be Called. Six months later, I knew again. I've predicted five callings, and I know who the next five after me are gonna be."
Faith felt her mouth go dry. No one had ever known who was going to be Called, so she didn't know whether or not to believe what Buffy was telling her. But, Buffy had trusted her with this, and she would give her friend the benefit of the doubt.
"There's a girl, a Jamaican girl by the name Kendra. She's the Slayer after me. And after Kendra, is you," Buffy said gently.
Faith looked stricken at the thought. She'd never wanted to be a Slayer. She loved the training, loved sparring with the Potentials, she even enjoyed a lot of the lessons about demons, but being Called was a completely different matter.
"Me?"
"I'm gonna make sure it doesn't happen," Buffy said. "I swear to you, I won't let it come to that."
"You think I couldn't hack it?" Faith asked, anger tinging her voice.
Buffy rolled her eyes.
"Do you really think I could ever think that of you Faith?"
Faith sighed. "Sorry B."
Buffy gave her a small smile. "You know what I think about your fighting. You're amazing, Fai. You're one of the only people who can take me down."
Faith nodded, knowing that her friend wasn't just saying that to make her feel better. It was the truth.
"I don't want you to be the Slayer, cos I know how much you want out of this place. You've been counting down until you get out for months. And you've only got fifteen months left, and then you can do whatever you want with your life. And I'm gonna make sure the same goes for Kendra. But I can't do that for Chloe, so I need you to take care of her. But she can't know that it'll be her. It's horrible knowing it. Just help her," Buffy said.
Faith nodded, grateful that she would at least have some sort of a focus.
"When I get outta here, I'm tracking you down though," Faith promised.
Buffy grinned and the girls finally hugged tightly. "You'd better."
There was a knock at the door and a voice calling 'lights out'. Buffy wiped tears from her eyes and tried to muster up a smile for her friend.
"I guess this is goodbye," Faith said sadly.
"Not good-bye. Just 'see you later'." Buffy said.
Faith nodded and bit her lip to keep from crying. Buffy hesitated a moment longer before pushing the small pink pig into Faith's hands.
"To remember me by."
While Faith looked at her in shock, Buffy slipped out the door towards her own room, mentally preparing herself for another sleepless night. Faith could only stare at the small stuffed animal in her hands and try her hardest not to cry.