A.N. - behold, after a lengthy delay.

"Dinner went really well. Sure, there was that part where you got all cranky-slayer when Faith and Xander joined in on that little food fight and turned it into World War III, and you felt like they were wasting all that hard work in the kitchen. But I guess that's what happens when you get a large group of teenagers together, line up long tables and benches, and expect them to look to people that still call themselves "scoobies" as authority figures. It was like high school all over again, only without poisoned jello or hot dog surprise, and sure you'll probably never get the cranberry stains out of your blouse, but you can't tell me it wasn't worth just for the image of Angel trying to pretend he wasn't freaked out by the garlic mashed potatoes that got stuck in his hair. Words cannot describe"

Buffy really missed a good Willow babble-fest, and she missed being able to be silly. For a brief moment, Buffy had imagined smooshing the lemon crème pie across Giles' face, before thoughts of how this was not the orderly thanksgiving dinner she wanted held her back. It was scary how uptight it made Buffy feel, but she comforted herself with certainty that she would have done it to Principal Snyder...

After dinner, after cleanup, and after the giddiness had faded, story-swapping gave way to the more serious discussions about the future of the Slayers. Somewhere along the line, somebody had brought up the old "Slayer Handbook" at which point Riley asked to see a new one...

"You'll make fun of me for this, but I've still got a copy of my Boy Scout handbook stashed somewhere. The old rules don't apply, but that doesn't mean these new slayers shouldn't have access to some useful guidelines. After all these years with Buffy, haven't you basically been redefining what it means to be a slayer? I don't know how many you've located, but it was clear to me this summer that a lot of these gals could really benefit from some of your collective wisdom. So could the folks you'll be asking to help out these slayers, and the folks who'll be doing this a hundred years from now."

He was met with much in the way of blank stares and the smacking of foreheads. There were certainly times when Buffy had wished for the wisdom of the past slayers to guide her. These new slayers couldn't be expected to learn years' worth of lessons on their own, and the new generations of Watchers shouldn't be expected or even entrusted to have all the answers either. Buffy had benefited immensely by breaking with tradition and forming a loyal support group, and had been fortunate to land an understanding and capable watcher in Giles. Drawing up a new handbook, filled with advice for the modern slayer could be the start of a new legacy for the new slayers.

An even bigger surprise, Dawn was selected to produce the first draft. As she'd pointed out, the individual slayers were too busy actually slaying and trying to reestablish lives to do the bulk of the work, and both Wesley and Giles were both "too British" and too heavily ingrained in Council practice to write anything a teenage girl would want to read. 'Junior Watcher' Dawn, however, had copious free time, actual writing talent, some detachment, and knew the potentials who'd wind up reading it far better than anybody else. Plus, she'd just finished the constitutional convention section of her US Government class, and seemed to have some general ideas for organizing the book.

"You know we're only entrusting you with this totally cherry job because you have a better memory of my High School diary than I do. Okay - and you understand the "teenage girl struggling to fit in when she realizes she's different" thing too. Now remember, you've got a big list of interviews to conduct, and we're going to have to review it when you're done. Oh, and you should probably write something for the watchers too. 'Cause it's not really about slaying - it should be about living the life. I'll even answer annoying personal questions, but I'm doing it for all the girls and not because I feel bad abandoning my baby sister. Just make sure this doesn't interfere with your grades, Brainy Smurf."

The Handbook was hardly the only issue that needed to be worked upon. While most everybody agreed the Council of Watchers was a dinosaur, it served useful functions and something needed to be done to meet the slayers' needs. Namely, they'd need to form a new organization to maintain the legacy of the Slayer and aid in her fight for succeeding generations. They'd tentatively agreed to name the new institution the Slayers' Council to reflect the nascent organization's primary mission statement - to support slayers in the effort to protect the world against supernatural threats. The basic structure involved setting up some divisions, headed by a board of directors, and ultimately run by an elective chairperson. Buffy drifted off when the discussion turned further toward Organizational detail. While her input would be useful, this was exactly the sort of work that "Big Picture Buffy" wanted to delegate away.

"As you know, the First Evil destroyed Council headquarters and most of the leadership, but the old Council was much more extensive and resilient than we thought. With the help of the Devon coven, I seem to have located much of the scattered remnants, and have made progress toward gaining legal control over the surviving council assets. Which is a most fortuitous, as this new undertaking will require significant financing."

They'd asked Giles to be the chairman for a few years. In the long run, if the council was supposed to be working for the slayers, it should probably be run by one, but Buffy had argued that they we still too young for that sort of responsibility. As long as he understood that he was there for all the slayers, and that Faith would personally "swim to England and have his ass for grass" if he pulled any funny business. Giles accepted, noting that this would hopefully be probably safer for him than a field assignment, giving him the chance to settle down and find a girlfriend before he took one too many knocks on the head.

"The whole debate reminded me of that conversation Robin, Eddie, and Gunn kept having over why Michael Jordan got fired. I think Giles has the right idea about this organization being run by a Slayer. But I'm twenty-two, and while I like the idea of having control over the council and want my ideas to be heard, I'm tired of being responsibility-girl, and I'm pretty sure I'm not needed to be. And I think I need to experience more of my life first, because the things that make me good as the slayer aren't the things I'd need to be good at this job. And who ever is running the council has to do it everyday, but I should still be out there. You know?

Maybe in a few years - I seem to be saying that to you a lot, don't I - anyway, we'll see if I feel more ready. I can't really imagine entrusting it to one of the other slayers either, because I'm so used to being the leader, but maybe that's something else I need to learn. Although the idea of taking orders from Kennedy gives me the wiggins. I'll have to think more about that later I still can't believe that somebody put you in charge of a law firm!

Anyway, I think Faith and I are going to need to get a watcher of out own in Chicago pretty soon. We do what we can with the research, and keeping up on local stuff, but we spend way too much time on the phone with Willow and Giles, and you've been telling us to "get a Wesley of our own" because we've been using your Wesley way too much. And Buffy's brain just went to a very 'Smallville' place

But we don't need a Giles. We just need somebody who can do research, keep up on local issues, do paperwork, knows a little magic, but can otherwise take care of themselves and has their own life. Okay, so I want a Giles. But I'll take the next best thing, I guess."

They were still using the term 'Watchers'. None of the slayers particularly liked the term, and several thought it sounded downright 'ooky', but no one had been able to come up with a suitable alternative that accurately described the jobs they'd be asked to fill. Quite unlike 'Slayer' which pretty accurately described the job, even if some problems called for more metaphorical forms of slayage.

There was still the problem of losing much of the council's knowledge base regarding the Slayer herself. Although Buffy had grown to consider some of it dubious anyway, there was clearly a need to learn more about what, precisely, a slayer was and what she was capable of.

"What are your mental and physical capabilities? And how different are slayers from regular folk, and how much of that is mystical? See there's all kinds of tests and studies I'd do. Bloodwork, DNA, biochemistry, personality diagnostics, endurance, nutrition and sleep studies. All kinds of things. And maybe we could do some workplace studies - weapon ergonomics, better clothing to fit your needs

Cause, really, how much do you actually know? I'm just thinking' - 'what if I was a slayer? I'd want to learn so much more about my self, cause I'd need to be able to know what I can do if I have to. And these girls are gonna be curious. What do you plan on saying to families, because you can't expect them to keep it secret forever. "

That sparked another series of long discussions as Wesley brought up the tests the council made Buffy and Faith go through, while Riley had some more suggestions for personality tests and some of the endurance tests he'd gone through with the army. Before Fred could get carried away, the group decided to break off discussion and get some rest.

"I think we laid enough groundwork for one evening, and it's time for some quality post-holiday snoozing. And maybe after Dawn and I go see my father, we can actually get to spend a few hours watching cheesy movies, eating snacks and just catching up with my Xander-shaped friend - can't remember the last time that happened. You can tell me about all the big fun you've been up to in my old hometown."