For some reason, this is my favouritest chapter…no idea why…feedback is always appreciated!!  Everyone who has reviewed/emailed you're all wonderful ppl!!!

CHAPTER TWELVE: DIMITRI

Thursday: 10pm

22nd May 1997

Russia: St Petersburg

They'd been in Russia for nearly two months now, and Beth hated it.  They'd left Ireland where she'd been perfectly content and travelled to the freezing climates of St Petersburg.  The only redeeming feature of the move had been another shopping expenditure. 

She knew that they weren't going to be in Russia for very long, which was a good thing seeing as she couldn't speak the language.  Giles could speak it moderately well, but he still struggled to speak it fluently.  Beth hated it because she couldn't taunt the vamps and have them understand her, and she couldn't understand them which gave them a distinct advantage.

She'd started patrolling alone four months ago, reporting to Giles on her daily kills.  She found that she preferred going alone as it meant she could take things as slowly or as quickly as she wanted to without having to follow any orders.  It was surprisingly liberating for her, even though she was still stuck in the confines of being the Slayer. 

It was cold, wet and snowing when she went on patrols, and she had to wonder what vampire in their right mind would go out in blizzards.  The insane kind was usually the answer.  She went into restaurants to scout for vampires, having a sixth sense for recognising them even when they weren't in game face.  She could always feel when a vampire was near because of a tingling on the back of her neck and a cramping feeling in the pits of her stomach.  Giles had been teaching her to hone her senses to pinpoint exactly where a vampire was in a crowded room, something which she had excelled at.

She entered the small restaurant, grateful to get out of the cold.  She could feel several vampires in the room with her, most of them sitting at the bar.  Vampires were incredibly predictable, something that she was immensely grateful for.  They would try and pick up a meal at the bar with their chosen victim thinking they were merely being hit on. 

Beth had learned to use that predictability to her advantage and often sat at the bar to gain attention from the vampires.  It had been easier in Ireland when she had understood what they were saying, even though the accents were thick.  Here in Russia, she was flying blind.  It still worked though.  Most vamps didn't mind her not being able to speak the language, as long as she took their hand when it was offered and followed them outside.

Tonight was no different.  She sat at the bar and ordered a drink, using the Russian that Giles had taught her.  She had asked him to teach her to order food and drinks which he had done, and she had caught on quickly.  Her accent wasn't entirely horrible either, something that both she and Giles were quite proud of.

Her drink was delivered to her, a cup of hot chocolate that she put her hands around to keep them warm.  She couldn't wear gloves on patrol most nights because it was too easy to lose the grip on her weapons when she wore them.  She had found that out the hard way and had then learned that it was better to have frost bitten hands than to not be alive.

She felt someone stand behind her, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end.  A vampire.  He sat beside her and offered her a smile.  She smiled back, falling into the part of a young woman looking for company. 

At sixteen, she was incredibly lovely, with long blonde hair and a heart shaped face.  Her eyes were a greenish hazel colour and when she smiled, her face lit up the room.  She knew she was pretty, but the rest of the population knew that she was beautiful.

The vamp said something to her in Russian, and she quickly told him that she couldn't speak Russian, another phrase which Giles had taught her.  She informed him that she only spoke English.  That wasn't entirely true, she could speak French and Italian as well, something that the Council had taught her. 

The vampire smiled at her.  "Well, in that case, I'll speak English too."

His English was perfect, and she idly wondered how old the vampire was.  He looked to be in his early twenties when he had died, but Beth still had trouble telling how old a vampire was just by the feeling they gave her.  She could tell her wasn't a newly made fledgling though.  He seemed too confident for that.

"You're English is pretty good," she complimented him.

"Yours too," he replied with a cheeky smile.  She couldn't help but laugh at that.  "What's your name?"

"Beth," she answered.  There was no point lying to the vamps, and it was easier to keep track if she just told them her name.  She knew that she would end up dusting them all anyway.  She had yet to lose against a vampire that 'courted' her at the bar.

"I'm Dimitri," he replied.  "Well, lately I am."

"And before?" she asked.

"Well, my mum named me Nigel, so you can see why I changed my name," he said with a laugh.

He was tall, probably about six foot with spiky blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes.  He was dressed for the weather in a black business suit with a long warm black coat over the top.

She finally worked out what his real accent was.  "You're British."

He nodded.  "Born and bred in Bath.  I came to St Petersburg a few years ago.  Changed my name and got an entire new life."

It wasn't the first time that a vampire had told her that they had just started a new life.  It was a little clichéd but at the same time it was true.  They lost their souls and gained a demon instead of a conscience.

He gave her another smile and stood up, holding out his hand.

"Perhaps we could go somewhere quieter," he said.  "I've not had a conversation in English for a while."

She smiled and finished her hot chocolate, taking his hand.  She could never quite get over how cold vampires hands were.  He led her outside and they walked towards a quieter part of town that was sheltered from the wind.  He sat on a park bench, patting the seat beside him.  She sat, a little nervous.  No other vampire had taken her away from the restaurant before.  They had taken her into the alley and tried to sink their fangs into her neck when she would always surprise them with a stake to the heart before heading back inside to repeat the process.  This was entirely new.

"So, where are you from?" he asked.  "I can't place your accent."

"Around," she replied vaguely. 

He chuckled a little and looked at her curiously.  "Come on.  I told you about me.  You can't even tell me where you grew up?"

"I lived in America for a while.  Moved to London when I was five, went to Ireland when I was fifteen, and came here a few months ago," she replied.

"A traveller," he exclaimed.  "I like that in a girl."

She didn't understand him.  Most vampires would have been trying to bite her by now.  He either had a lot of self-control or she had been wrong about him being a vampire.  The hairs on her neck were still on edge so she knew she hadn't been wrong about him.

"Why St Petersburg?" she asked.

He shrugged and put his arm on the back of the bench, his fingers only just touching her shoulder.

"I've always liked Russia.  Plus, we get to wear these big coats.  Always a plus," he said.

She grinned a little and shook her head, liking his sense of humour.  She wondered whether she would have it in her to kill him when the time came.  She knew she would though.  If she didn't, hundreds, even thousands of innocents would die.

"Same question to you.  Why here?" he asked.

"My uncle moved us here.  I came with him," she explained.

"Where is your uncle?  Surely he wouldn't let someone as lovely as yourself wander around the streets by yourself at this time of night," he said.

"He's at home.  Feeling a little under the weather at the moment," she explained.  It was the easiest alibi to remember, the same one she gave to every person who asked where her guardian was.  It always made her laugh, the way people thought that she would need a guardian, when in all honesty, she was the guardian.

"Well, in this weather it's hard to not be under it," Dimitri quipped.

She laughed a little, grinning at him.  He looked at her intently for a moment.  She felt her heart catch in her throat, knowing that the vampire in front of her was playing a dangerous game with her.  She just needed to remember that it was just a game to him.  Even if she found herself liking him a little bit, he would still kill her in the end if he had the chance.

Beth had a grip on the stake concealed in her jacket sleeve, holding on to it tightly.  She watched as Dimitri lowered his face to hers, sure that he was about to go for her neck.  When he lowered his mouth to her lips, she was stunned. 

She'd never been kissed before, especially not by a vampire.  She felt her heart speed up, and before she knew it, she was kissing him back.  It was soft, gentle, not at all what she would have expected from a vampire.  She had seen them when they fed and it had always looked violent.  She'd never been bitten by one and had no desire for it to happen.

Dimitri's hand came to rest on her back, pulling her slight form closer to him.  She could feel his skin warming as he touched hers and suddenly realised that he was craving the warmth of her touch.  With the hand that wasn't holding the stake, she brought her fingers to his face, touching the stubble on his chin as the kiss continued.

She finally broke away, needing air and he looked at her with what could only be described as awe.

"You are…stunning," he whispered.

She blushed a little, and he brought his hand to her face, glorying in the warmth of it. 

"Can I see you again?" he asked.  "Perhaps for dinner?"

And she suddenly remembered that he was a vampire.  She had heard that line too many times as well.  They would ask her for dinner, and she would ask what was on the menu.  At that point, they would vamp and usually growl the word 'you' before trying to bite her.  Predictable.

"Depends," she replied playfully.  "What's on the menu?"

"That depends how you like them," he replied, his lips brushing across her cheek, drinking in their warmth.  "They can be young or old, thin or fat.  You can have them full of wine, or full of sugar."

For the first time since she had been Called, Beth felt blind panic.  Had she not been the Slayer she wouldn't have had a clue what Dimitri was talking about.  But she had grown up knowing about vampires and their rituals and the way that a person became a vampire.  And she knew that he wasn't talking about killing her, he was talking about turning her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, brushing her lips across his for the final time.  She really had enjoyed kissing him.  "I don't think I can join you."

His eyes narrowed.  He hadn't been expecting her to know what he had been talking about. 

"You really don't have much of a choice there, Beth," he growled.  He vamped out and grabbed hold of her shoulders.

She just shook her head and looked him in the eyes.  "Thank you for my first kiss."

With that, she thrust her stake into his heart and watched as he crumpled to ashes in front of her, a shocked look on his face.  Usually, she would have gone back to try and lure out more vampires, but her heart wasn't in it tonight.  With the taste of Dimitri's lips still on her mouth, she wandered back to the house.  She idly wondered whether a Slayer had ever fallen in love, not with a vampire, but with a normal man. 

She'd been told repeatedly during her training that Slayers were forbidden to speak with men when they were Called, but Giles had been lenient with her so far.  She wondered what would happen were she ever to fall in love. 

With a heavy heart, she went into her house and spent the night dreaming of a young blonde haired man in black who had kissed her so gently despite the violence of his nature.  When she awoke the next morning, she quickly shook the thoughts of Dimitri from her mind and promised herself never to let a vampire put her off guard again.

Howdy guys…thanks heaps for your reviews and emails!  Makes me feel all fuzzy when I read 'em!

In answer to some questions:

1)Why call her Beth: because I needed Buffy to be a nickname.  Plus…would you REALLY call ur child Buffy?  I know that it is her real name, but…in later chapters you'll see why I wanted her to be Beth and not Buffy. 

2) What happened to Merrick?:  uh…good question.  Buggered if I know.  ;)  Actually, the real reason is, I haven't seen the movie, so I don't know his character at all.  I don't' like writing for characters that I don't know.
3) The Slayers-in-Training are not trained at the Council facilities but actually outside, in the real world, hence Kendra would still be down in the Carribean (i think, though I could be wrong) with her Watcher Sam Zabuto, and Faith would still have been in Boston: shhh…*grins* Yeah I know.  But, it worked to have them in the one spot really.  And I needed Travers to be a sadistic asshole…
4) Lothos? Does he have a part to play in this story? He was the first Big Bad Buffy slayed: again, I haven't seen the film…and no he won't play into it…this isn't a rewrite of the movie or the series…
5) Isn't India, according to the books anyway, the Slayer before Buffy? And she's in San Diego, with her Watcher Kit: uhhh…I haven't read the books either (makes you wonder if I'm really a fan, huh…hmmm…I should see the movie at least…) 

6) The B/G thing: I know…kinda skanky…I agree with you there…In all honesty, this fic was going to be B/E, but then I changed my mind…that was just tooooo wrong.  Most of the alternate chapters don't really fit with the main story, which is why I didn't make this any sort of 'shipping…I mean…I've written a B/A and can you see a Council trained Slayer going out with a vamp?  And a B/S chappy as well…soulless, chipless, evil Spike and Buffy…not likely.  They're just for fun.

7) Ethan: Yeah, he'll be back.  Not to worry.

8) Pike: Nup.  Not in this fic.  Haven't seen the movie…(I'm thinking I might rent it out soon…)

Yeesh…I really didn't mean to go on for that long.  Almost longer than the chapter itself.  Sorry peeps!

Toodles.

K.