Contented
Disclaimer: I don't own Joss Whedon's awesome characters or any part of his show.
Chapter Two: Assignments
"Alaska?" Willow demanded. "We're going to Alaska to find a group of five plus Rogue Slayers?"
Buffy pulled open the refrigerator and grabbed sodas for everyone. Faith, Robin, Giles, Willow, Kennedy, Andrew, Dawn and Xander were all flopped in various places of the living room in the Summers new house. It was a replica of the old house, made in reverence to Joyce and her life as the mother of a Slayer and the holder of the Scoobies. They had joined together like in the days of old to decide who would be going to Alaska and who would stay behind at the institution.
Buffy sat down after handing out the sodas; her body snuggled against Xander's side. His fingers entwined with her fingers as the debate began. "I go where Buffy goes." Xander said as his piece and kissed Buffy cheek. Dressed in a black button up and blue jeans, the man looked at ease with the things going on around him but as the argument began Buffy felt Xander go tense.
"What's wrong Baby?" Buffy asked. She'd learned to trust Xander's feelings over the years. After all, he was a seer; without the actual magical powers of a seer.
"I don't think this is going to work unless we have the perfect group together. One wrong person going and we could fail and failure against a Rogue Slayer would be dangerous, even fatal to you. I don't want to lose you, we finally came together in a way that is forever and I don't want to lose that."
Buffy sighed as she smiled at him, "So, whose staying and whose going, love?" Her forehead touched his as the question was posed to him and he groaned. "What if I make a mistake?" he asked.
"If you fail, then I'll cover your butt."
"Then I suggest we take Willow, Kennedy, Dawn and Giles."
Buffy nodded and informed the group on her decision. Faith raised her hand and Buffy nodded for her to ask away. "Not that I don't mind not going to the Last Frontier but why aren't I going?"
"Someone older in the Slayer department needs to be here. I need the original gang together on this. I have nothing against those not going but Willow, Xander and I have been together so long we can talk without speech and Dawn and Giles are our researchers and we do need a Watcher with us, especially one with Giles' abilities. I need at least one other Slayer and Kennedy is the one I need."
No one questioned Buffy's decision so the group members who were going went to their homes and got ready to go and fight some Rogue Slayers which was never a fun gig. Since Xander lived with Buffy as well as Dawn, Willow, and Kennedy; the more correct thing to say was that they went to their rooms to pack. After the fight with the Big Bad the team was separated a lot of the time for about six months and Buffy became lonely. She invited them home when they were to find places to live when they moved to England. Xander made the house, larger rooms for the couples and smaller rooms that were still big enough for a teenager such as Dawn. He remade Buffy's special weapons trunk for her twenty second birthday and they created a reminder to Spike and Anya so they would never forget them.
"Buffy, what are you thinking about?" Xander asked as they took out clothes for the trip and once again Buffy drifted away as she looked at their closet, his clothes next to her clothes. It was a special sight and it was one she never thought she'd see.
"Baby?"
"What? Oh yeah, I'm thinking that I'd like to have you all to myself for a little while," she said on a sigh as she wrapped her arms around Xander's neck. He smiled and kissed her softly, as he usually did. Something in Xander was different since the battle with the first, he was never in a rush to kiss her. When the sparks started happening they were always soo hurried, almost unable to wait out the need inside them but now, he was never in a rush when they touched each other. Like at the moment, his hands were moving up around the back of her head to play with her long blonde hair. Buffy allowed herself to do the same and her fingers bumped the band of the eye patch. She opened her eyes and looked into his one beautiful brown eye and she cried.
"What is it, Baby?" Xander asked his worry for her evident in his tone as he sat her down on the bed and knelt in front of her. "Answer me, Buff."
"I've hurt my friends in so many ways you can't tally them up; it wouldn't fit on one piece of paper."
Xander looked confused when she looked down at him, which only made her ball harder. She fell to the floor, collapsing herself into his arms. Xander wrapped his arms around her and Buffy felt better that he could touch her and be in love with her even though she'd made him a handicap.
"Baby, this wouldn't be about my eye would it?" Xander asked in a weird, can read minds kind of way and Buffy sat up and looked into his healthy eye. Xander was smiling softly, laugh lines showing his pleasure with her. "I told you once and I'll tell you again. This wasn't your fault nor was it mine or Dawnie's fault. This was the Big Bad trying to dump on our moral and it didn't work. You are a hero in all sense of the word; you are unique in a room full of Slayers. You shine when you speak to them and I shine when you speak to me."
Buffy kissed her boyfriend and laughed as he started telling stupid almost dying jokes, how if she'd died, he'd just bring her back and that's what he did. As if a mutual decision was reached, they finished packing and walked downstairs to join the others. Willow asked Buffy if she was alright because Will could always tell if one of her friends were hurting inside or had been crying. Giles was talking to Dawn and Kennedy was talking to her trainer replacement as they said their goodbyes and walked out to Xander's nice car, which Faith was driving to get them all to the airport and then she would take the car back to the institute.
Dawn kissed Andrew goodbye just before getting in beside her sister and the car drive was made fun with stupid jokes and stories about work and school. Giles muttered about the future of the world being doomed and then with the counter from Xander that he'd said that several times before and it was this doomed generation that kept saving the world, with a story told about the mayor's ascension and the reminder that everyone in the senior class and other classmates saved the world right next to the Scoobies. It was this generation that understood that Buffy had become the protector in High school and the stories started merge into one another when they finally arrived and Giles threw himself out of the car and they headed for their terminal.
"Well, this is it," Buffy said as they got on the plane that would take them to the threat and sat down. Everyone was together in the middle row, going Kennedy, Willow, Dawn, Giles, Xander and Buffy. "Do we really have to go to Alaska?" she demanded one last time as the plane loaded and Giles nodded.
Xander chuckled at the exchange and the plane soon took off, leading them to some serious fighting, something that had been missing from their lives for months. Buffy exhaled slowly and decidedly put her hair up in a ponytail and took out all the things if it were really cold there. When Xander finally looked away from Giles' ranting he noticed her actions and grabbed her hands, "Are you worried about the Rogues?"
Buffy shook her head, her blonde hair swinging with the motion and he waited for her to answer, "I've never seen snow more than once and they said that in Alaska it gets below zero and sometimes you couldn't get out of your drive way because the snow was so deep that you just couldn't. They go to school in this kind of weather."
"You're worried about the winter?" Xander asked, confused by his girlfriend's actions.
"Yes, I am."
She said that short sentence with such conviction that Xander had to keep from laughing so he wouldn't hurt her feelings and he just let her snuggle down next to him and they slept the rest of the way to Alaska.
Disclaimer: I don't own Joss Whedon's awesome characters or any part of his show.
Chapter Two: Assignments
"Alaska?" Willow demanded. "We're going to Alaska to find a group of five plus Rogue Slayers?"
Buffy pulled open the refrigerator and grabbed sodas for everyone. Faith, Robin, Giles, Willow, Kennedy, Andrew, Dawn and Xander were all flopped in various places of the living room in the Summers new house. It was a replica of the old house, made in reverence to Joyce and her life as the mother of a Slayer and the holder of the Scoobies. They had joined together like in the days of old to decide who would be going to Alaska and who would stay behind at the institution.
Buffy sat down after handing out the sodas; her body snuggled against Xander's side. His fingers entwined with her fingers as the debate began. "I go where Buffy goes." Xander said as his piece and kissed Buffy cheek. Dressed in a black button up and blue jeans, the man looked at ease with the things going on around him but as the argument began Buffy felt Xander go tense.
"What's wrong Baby?" Buffy asked. She'd learned to trust Xander's feelings over the years. After all, he was a seer; without the actual magical powers of a seer.
"I don't think this is going to work unless we have the perfect group together. One wrong person going and we could fail and failure against a Rogue Slayer would be dangerous, even fatal to you. I don't want to lose you, we finally came together in a way that is forever and I don't want to lose that."
Buffy sighed as she smiled at him, "So, whose staying and whose going, love?" Her forehead touched his as the question was posed to him and he groaned. "What if I make a mistake?" he asked.
"If you fail, then I'll cover your butt."
"Then I suggest we take Willow, Kennedy, Dawn and Giles."
Buffy nodded and informed the group on her decision. Faith raised her hand and Buffy nodded for her to ask away. "Not that I don't mind not going to the Last Frontier but why aren't I going?"
"Someone older in the Slayer department needs to be here. I need the original gang together on this. I have nothing against those not going but Willow, Xander and I have been together so long we can talk without speech and Dawn and Giles are our researchers and we do need a Watcher with us, especially one with Giles' abilities. I need at least one other Slayer and Kennedy is the one I need."
No one questioned Buffy's decision so the group members who were going went to their homes and got ready to go and fight some Rogue Slayers which was never a fun gig. Since Xander lived with Buffy as well as Dawn, Willow, and Kennedy; the more correct thing to say was that they went to their rooms to pack. After the fight with the Big Bad the team was separated a lot of the time for about six months and Buffy became lonely. She invited them home when they were to find places to live when they moved to England. Xander made the house, larger rooms for the couples and smaller rooms that were still big enough for a teenager such as Dawn. He remade Buffy's special weapons trunk for her twenty second birthday and they created a reminder to Spike and Anya so they would never forget them.
"Buffy, what are you thinking about?" Xander asked as they took out clothes for the trip and once again Buffy drifted away as she looked at their closet, his clothes next to her clothes. It was a special sight and it was one she never thought she'd see.
"Baby?"
"What? Oh yeah, I'm thinking that I'd like to have you all to myself for a little while," she said on a sigh as she wrapped her arms around Xander's neck. He smiled and kissed her softly, as he usually did. Something in Xander was different since the battle with the first, he was never in a rush to kiss her. When the sparks started happening they were always soo hurried, almost unable to wait out the need inside them but now, he was never in a rush when they touched each other. Like at the moment, his hands were moving up around the back of her head to play with her long blonde hair. Buffy allowed herself to do the same and her fingers bumped the band of the eye patch. She opened her eyes and looked into his one beautiful brown eye and she cried.
"What is it, Baby?" Xander asked his worry for her evident in his tone as he sat her down on the bed and knelt in front of her. "Answer me, Buff."
"I've hurt my friends in so many ways you can't tally them up; it wouldn't fit on one piece of paper."
Xander looked confused when she looked down at him, which only made her ball harder. She fell to the floor, collapsing herself into his arms. Xander wrapped his arms around her and Buffy felt better that he could touch her and be in love with her even though she'd made him a handicap.
"Baby, this wouldn't be about my eye would it?" Xander asked in a weird, can read minds kind of way and Buffy sat up and looked into his healthy eye. Xander was smiling softly, laugh lines showing his pleasure with her. "I told you once and I'll tell you again. This wasn't your fault nor was it mine or Dawnie's fault. This was the Big Bad trying to dump on our moral and it didn't work. You are a hero in all sense of the word; you are unique in a room full of Slayers. You shine when you speak to them and I shine when you speak to me."
Buffy kissed her boyfriend and laughed as he started telling stupid almost dying jokes, how if she'd died, he'd just bring her back and that's what he did. As if a mutual decision was reached, they finished packing and walked downstairs to join the others. Willow asked Buffy if she was alright because Will could always tell if one of her friends were hurting inside or had been crying. Giles was talking to Dawn and Kennedy was talking to her trainer replacement as they said their goodbyes and walked out to Xander's nice car, which Faith was driving to get them all to the airport and then she would take the car back to the institute.
Dawn kissed Andrew goodbye just before getting in beside her sister and the car drive was made fun with stupid jokes and stories about work and school. Giles muttered about the future of the world being doomed and then with the counter from Xander that he'd said that several times before and it was this doomed generation that kept saving the world, with a story told about the mayor's ascension and the reminder that everyone in the senior class and other classmates saved the world right next to the Scoobies. It was this generation that understood that Buffy had become the protector in High school and the stories started merge into one another when they finally arrived and Giles threw himself out of the car and they headed for their terminal.
"Well, this is it," Buffy said as they got on the plane that would take them to the threat and sat down. Everyone was together in the middle row, going Kennedy, Willow, Dawn, Giles, Xander and Buffy. "Do we really have to go to Alaska?" she demanded one last time as the plane loaded and Giles nodded.
Xander chuckled at the exchange and the plane soon took off, leading them to some serious fighting, something that had been missing from their lives for months. Buffy exhaled slowly and decidedly put her hair up in a ponytail and took out all the things if it were really cold there. When Xander finally looked away from Giles' ranting he noticed her actions and grabbed her hands, "Are you worried about the Rogues?"
Buffy shook her head, her blonde hair swinging with the motion and he waited for her to answer, "I've never seen snow more than once and they said that in Alaska it gets below zero and sometimes you couldn't get out of your drive way because the snow was so deep that you just couldn't. They go to school in this kind of weather."
"You're worried about the winter?" Xander asked, confused by his girlfriend's actions.
"Yes, I am."
She said that short sentence with such conviction that Xander had to keep from laughing so he wouldn't hurt her feelings and he just let her snuggle down next to him and they slept the rest of the way to Alaska.