Xander was pacing around, practicing mock feints in the air with his stake. Willow sat on the grave of one Ernest Spedlinger, dead thirty years. Actually, she sat on her jacket on the grave, a little squeamish about getting dirt on her clothes. On one side were her weapons of choice: a couple of stakes and a large cross. On the other was her book bag. She held her history book and queried her blonde friend. "Buffy, you know this. Who were our enemies during WWII?"
"Um. Germany, Italy aaand…" Buffy's brows wrinkled then she puffed out her lips, exasperation overtaking her scholastic efforts. "Arghhh! Why can't I ever remember that last one?"
"It's Japan," Willow informed her.
"I knew that," Buffy replied huffily. "I just don't remember it."
Xander made a swipe at an imaginary foe. "I don't see Germans and Italians hooking up with the Japanese. They don't even eat the same kinds of food. Where's the cultural mesh?"
"Exactly!" Buffy ejaculated. "How are we expected to remember stuff like that when there's nothing that relates one non-related thing to the other non-related thing?"
"Well, there's a little mnemonic device I use when I'm stumped," the redhead offered.
Buffy's face went blank. "Pneumonia what?"
"Mne-mon-ic," Willow repeated, enunciating every syllable. "It's a trick you use to help remember things. I think of G.I. Joe."
"The little soldier doll with the kung fu grip? What kind of toys did you play with when you were growing up, Wills, and how come I never saw 'em? I thought we were bestest buds. You're supposed to share!" Xander pretended to whine.
"Ha ha. I don't mean the doll, just the name. G.I. Joe is a soldiery doll. Soldiers mean war. War equals World War II. The G, I, J stands for Germany, Italy…"
"Japan!" Buffy exclaimed, catching onto the idea. "Wow, that does work. And here I thought all your good grades came from big brains. It's all just student A tricks, isn't it?" Buffy clucked her tongue in mock disapproval.
"Actually, I'm really a cyborg with a computer chip for a brain," the red-haired girl intoned in a mechanical voice a la Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"Huh. Somebody's been spending too much time with one Xander Harris," Buffy said.
"And that's a bad thing?" Xander asked. "I see it as adding valuable cultural data to her schooling. All school and no play makes Wills a dull girl."
"You think my intelligence make me dull?" Willow asked, sounding hurt.
Xander backpedaled as he realized his unintentional offense. "No, that's not what I meant! I just think rounding out book learning with meaningless pop trivia is necessary for every healthy, growing teenager."
"That's why I decided to have a night out with my bestest friends—in a dirty graveyard," Willow finished, grimacing as she shifted on the grave. Then her eyes widened and she waved her hand frantically at something behind Buffy. "Buffy, look out!"
"I hear him." Buffy spun her stake between her fingers as the vampire at her back clawed his way up from his newly made grave. Barely allowing him to stagger upright, she pivoted and drove the stake into his chest in one fluid move. "Now where were we?"
"World War II," Willow replied, tapping her pen on her notebook.
"I wonder what Angel was doing 'round that time." Conversation about the past always tended to draw Buffy's mind back to her 240-odd-year-old creature-of-the-night boyfriend.
Willow heard Buffy's wistfulness. "Now that I think about it, how come you're not doing this with Angel? He'd be way better at helping you with history lessons than me seeing as he was around for over two centuries of it."
"Well, after the Ted fiasco, I thought I'd show mom a little support by spending more time with her and my friends and less with my undead boyfriend. She's nursing some serious wounds over dating the robotics world's answer to Bluebeard," Buffy replied, her tone rather wry.
"Good for her. Spending time with human, breathing friends instead of undead fiends is also a part of a healthy diet," Xander quipped.
"Well, my undead fiend was the one who fingered Ted as being of the not-human persuasion," Buffy pointed out.
"Angel fingered Ted? I wouldn't have thought robots were his thing," Xander joked.
"The way demons are your thing, Xander?" Buffy replied sweetly. Dismissing his scowl, she then glanced at Willow's book, trying to get a peek at the answers. "So I got the G.I. Joe thing, Willow. Anything else I should know?"
"Vampires. Lots of 'em. Headed this way," Willow bleated while scrambling up from the ground.
Buffy sighed as she gripped her stake. "Studying and vampire slayage. I wonder how the hell Kendra managed it."
It was easy to keep up the pretense that nowadays she lived only for slaying, homework, friendship bonding and her mom. But she was a normal, teenaged girl with normal, teenaged girl needs. And what Buffy needed was her boyfriend. She and Angel had stepped up their relationship from shy kisses to full-on body groping and caresses. She'd spent hours at night at his place after patrols, either getting patched up from some injury or simply talking about her day. She didn't tell anyone about these nocturnal visits, especially not her mom. Why worry her mother needlessly?
Besides, she was angling for a driver's license and wanted to impress her mother with her sense of responsibility. Having midnight smoochies with her undead boyfriend wouldn't go far towards giving that impression, would it? But she loved Angel. Sometimes she thought life would be unbearable if she couldn't have him by her side.
Thinking that he was waiting for her now, she hurried her pace and jogged to meet him. If Willow or Xander called her mother's house and didn't find her, she could say she met with some vampires on the way home. It pricked her conscience to deceive her friends like this. But she didn't want to tell Willow the truth because then she would spill the beans to Xander and she didn't want to hear Xander's nasty comments about Angel accidentally-on-purpose blurted out in front of her mom.
Buffy sighed unhappily. Sometimes it seemed as if the only person who knew her completely was Angel. At least she didn't have to lie to him. Shaking her head, she continued along the street towards his apartment.
The woman sitting in the car watched the blonde girl as she ran obliviously to her boyfriend. Jenny Calendar had made it a point to find out where Buffy Summers lived and she was certain the direction she was taking was nowhere near it. Of course, the Slayer could have been merely making the rounds of cemeteries. But what was she doing on the streets instead of taking a shortcut through Sunnydale's many graveyards? Pondering the implications of the girl's furtive movements, the teacher waited until the petite Slayer was out of sight and then quietly started up her car and drove home.
Willow hummed tunelessly to herself as she gathered up her materials in computer class the next day. The redhead seemed to possess boundless energy; she was glad of that, otherwise it would have been next to impossible to keep up with Buffy.
Last night had been exciting and it had provided a nice change from the Ted mess. When they'd investigated Ted's underground hideaway, Xander had accidentally stumbled on the remains of Ted's previous spouses. She hadn't seen what Xander had; he'd shut the closet door too quickly for that. But she could still recall his tight-lipped, ashen face before he'd lapsed into his customary joking.
She didn't mind Xander's jokes most days. She knew they were a genuine part of his open, sunny personality and she really appreciated them. But she also knew how the humor was often a cover for the misery provided by his unhappy domestic life and seeing the bodies of four women killed by a husband who supposedly loved them must have hit him hard. She knew more about his home life than anybody else and at times she wished he'd drop the clown act and let her comfort him.
[Not in a girlfriend kissy kind of way 'cause God forbid Xander should get his head out of the sand and think of me like that. But I could give him best friend hugs. Nothing wrong with that, is there?] She sighed over Xander for the umpteenth time and turned to leave.
"Oh, Willow?"
She turned back and smiled. "Uh, yes, Ms. Calendar?" Willow had no trouble getting along with her teachers. Her big brains made sure of that. She was smart and eager to learn which had made her a teacher's pet since she was in kindergarten. But she'd gotten really close to Ms. Calendar since having found her niche with computer knowledge.
"I wanted to talk to you for a bit." Ms. Calendar closed the door. "It-it's about those dead bodies we found."
Willow's cheery mood vanished. "Oh, yeah. Those."
"Those poor women. What did the police have to say about them?"
"Well, that's the funny thing. Once the police realized they were dealing with your average, basic serial killer, they put out an APB on Ted. See, the guys at the morgue reported that Ted just up and walked away after he was pronounced dead so the cops think he's alive. So Buffy's off the hook with that and they don't think she's a killer any more; they think she was acting in self-defense and protecting herself. But now they know Ted is a mass murderer so they posted warrants for his capture and arrest. Only they don't know he's a robot and Buffy destroyed him so they'll probably still think he's at large somewhere and that all works out great for us. One more Sunnydale murder mystery wrapped up even if the police are still clueless."
Jenny blinked at the rapid onslaught of words and Willow grinned feebly. "Sorry. When I'm excited, I babble."
"I see," the dark-haired woman murmured in response. "I'm glad Buffy and her mother got out of it safely. And you say Ru—Mr. Giles was patrolling with Angel while Buffy was at home?"
"Yup. All the bases were covered. Is-is that what you really wanted to know? How Giles was doing? 'Cause he'd be happy to tell you all about it if you ask him." Willow peered at the teacher as she spoke. She knew things between the pretty computer teacher and the librarian were strained since Jenny had seen a glimpse of the awfulness of Giles's past. She could have done without that trip to Giles's ugly side herself. Seeing where tampering with the forces of darkness led had shaken Willow. She hoped that never happened to her.
But, if Ms. Calendar was curious about Giles, maybe that meant the teacher might be calling off the great chill. Or at least experiencing a kind of thaw. She hated the thought of all the adults around her keeping away from romance just because the Hellmouth threw wackiness at them.
However, the teacher's next words were noncommittal. "We'll see what happens. Giles and I need to take things—slow." She picked up her opened purse. In her hurry to close it, a small necklace fell out onto the floor.
Willow was quicker than Jenny to scoop it up and she stared curiously at the design before Jenny gently plucked it from her hand. "Oh, that's pretty. I've never seen anything like it. Was that an eye covered by a vine?"
"Old trinket I picked up at an outdoor flea market," Jenny replied shortly. The older woman then tucked it into her bag without another word and sat down at her desk. The students for the next class began trickling in, forcing the inquisitive redhead to leave before she could question her further.
Leaving the class, she decided to take a swift detour to the library. She found Giles poring over his latest acquisition of books with a concentrated air, thought wrinkles furrowing his brows. His glasses were dangling by one handle from his lips as he read, giving his face an open, unguarded look it didn't often wear. He really was cute; she occasionally wished she were older so he'd take an interest in her. Shaking her head, she padded over to him. "Must be a real page turner."
He started, nearly dropping his glasses. Fitting them back on his head, he stammered, "W-Willow. I didn't hear you come in. Was there something you wanted? Buffy's not here if you were looking for her."
"Oh, I didn't want Buffy. I-I was looking for you, actually."
He raised his eyebrows and closed the book. She barely caught a glimpse of the cover but it seemed to feature an anonymous nasty looking demon. Memories of Moloch rose to taunt her before she pushed them down. Giles was speaking and she concentrated on his answer. "Yes? Was there a problem that needed addressing?"
"Um, not with me." Now that she was here, she wondered if this was such a good idea. She shuffled from one foot to the other and blurted out, "H-have you patched things up with M-Ms. Calendar?"
Giles reddened faintly. "M-Ms. Calendar was rather shaken by the glimpse she had of my past and I-I can't say I blame her. Her life was placed in danger and all because of heinous, reckless behavior I committed in my regrettable youth. Frankly, I shouldn't wonder if she never spoke to me again."
Gosh, the guy was really hurting. Oh, he was doing that stiff-upper-lippy thing the English did but she could hear the longing underneath it. She cleared her throat and said, "Well, I-I'm thinking she may be not so much of the stubborn about that, Giles. She was asking where you were when we were tracking down Ted's hidey-hole. I-I got the feeling she was really interested."
An optimistic expression flickered over his face. "Really? W-what did she say exactly?"
"Uh…" Now that she thought about it, all that Jenny had done was to ask where Giles was. That was pretty much it. She seized on Jenny's other words. "She said you needed to take things slow. But taking things slow means taking things—somewhere, doesn't it? A-as opposed to not taking things anywhere at all. I mean, there's cause for hope, right?"
He didn't look particularly hopeful. But he could see this meant something to Willow so he tried not to disillusion her. "Yes, I suppose so."
She shuffled once more. "Maybe you could try again."
"Perhaps I should wait for her to make the first move. S-she's a very independent, forward-thinking woman. I'm sure she'd have no problems with making her wishes known if that's how she feels. However, I told her I'd give her space so I'm not going to push matters. Now it's up to her." Having felt he'd made his point, he turned his back to her and made a busy show of putting the books away.
Willow sighed and decided to let it go. Maybe she was sticking her nose in where it wasn't wanted. What did she know about romance anyway? Exiting the library, she bumped into a short, dark-haired boy. "Oops! I'm sorry!" she exclaimed as he dropped his books.
"No big." He bent to pick them up and she knelt with him. Pausing to give them back, her eyes widened.
"Oh! I know you. You're the guy I met during Career Week! You're—Oz, right?"
"You remembered. And you're Willow." He extended his hand and she shook it, distractedly noting his fingernails were painted dark blue. "Uh, I wanted my book."
"Oh, right." She blushed and handed it back to him. She snuck a look at the cover. "How to Get Music Gigs Without an Agent. Does this have to do with that diminished thingy you were talking about?"
"Yeah. Devon's thinking of taking our act on the road after we leave high school and I want to make sure we don't get screwed over. It's a shark-eat-shark world out there for us up-and-coming musicians."
"You've no idea," Willow muttered.
Oz quirked an eyebrow. "How's that?"
"Uh, nothing." She smiled feebly and prepared to get to her next class.
He hurried after her. "Say, if you're not doing anything after school tomorrow, you wanna come to the Bronze? We're performing there. I can stand you dinner afterwards if the manager pays us this time. Nothing fancy. Strictly fast food but I can promise there'll be condiments."
"The Bronze? You'll be playing?" Willow squeaked. "And y-you want me to come? Uh…"
"Hey, no pressure. You don't have to eat with me afterwards if you don't want. You can just come any way. I-I'd just like to see you there, you know. Lending support, that kind of thing."
"Sure!" She gulped. "W-when should I come?"
"Eight's good. See you there, then?" He smiled and walked off to class, leaving a dazed Willow in his wake.
"Oh boy," she mumbled. "Did I just get a date?"
Jenny Calendar fumbled with the keys to her apartment, balancing the homework she had in her other arm. Making sure the door was locked behind her, she dropped the keys on the hallway shelf and flicked on the light. She wandered to the living room and plopped the papers onto the broad table.
"Janna. It's good to see you." The deep, considered voice came from her right and Jenny started in fright, swinging around to see the figure partially shrouded in shadow.
"Uncle Enyos? I-I wasn't expecting you."
The tall man seated in the armchair stood up, a slight disapproving frown on his face. "Indeed. I haven't heard from you in quite some time, Janna."
"I-I know. I'm sorry I haven't been making reports as often as I should have. I've been busy." She didn't want to have this conversation now when she was tired. She was at a disadvantage and she was certain her uncle knew it.
"Busy? What could make you so preoccupied you would forget your duty to your people?"
"I wasn't preoccupied. I just have obligations and responsibilities. This job…"
"This job is meaningless. It is merely a ruse to stay close to the Evil One, remember? You think you are this person, this gadje Jenny Calendar?" Enyos said, his contempt clear as he dismissed the paperwork on the table. "You are Janna of the Kalderash people. You must never forget that, just as you must never forget what your mission is."
Jenny's jaw clenched. She hated how defensive she got whenever her uncle was around. It had been hard enough to bear when she'd lived within the fold. Having tasted the freedom and opportunities the outside world had to offer outside of their tightly knit circle, his domineering nature had become insufferable. She took a deep breath and attempted a calm tone. "I don't forget, Uncle. But nothing has changed. The curse still holds."
"Does it?" He darted a shrewd glance at her. "The elder woman says there is something different. She says the misery surrounding him lightens. There is a change."
"There is no change. He still suffers. And he is trying to atone for what he's done. He even saved my life," she pointed out, her chin lifted defiantly.
"The elder woman is never wrong," he countered flatly. "You have been watching, yes? What have you seen?" He moved closer, his eyes never leaving her face. Jenny forced herself not to back up. At moments like this, she thought her uncle was very like a snake, trying to hypnotize or cow her with his look.
Well, she wasn't to be so easily frightened. She wasn't a little girl any more to be scared by ancient tales whispered around the fire. "If the curse had been broken, the streets would be full of the dead and dying. I've heard enough horror stories to know that much. Nothing has changed."
"There is change!" he barked out. When she said nothing more, merely narrowing her eyes at his harsh tone, he tried to sound more conciliatory. "Janna, I wish to keep you safe, to keep all of us safe. This monster once murdered one of our favored. The wretched vampire pack he traveled with slaughtered every man, woman and child in the clan who ever knew her. If this beast should get loose again, those dark days would be upon us once more. Do you want to be the one responsible for that?"
Jenny's look faltered and she stared at the floor for a moment. When she lifted her head, she muttered, "I-I've seen him. With a girl. S-she's special to him."
His gentle air vanished at this news. "And you have allowed this? Janna, this cannot continue. If this monster experiences one moment of pure happiness, then the curse is broken and his soul is lost. If this girl you mention holds the key to that happiness, then this business between them cannot continue. Whatever this girl means to him, you must deal with her at once. Do you understand?" His dark eyes bored into hers.
"I-I understand," she whispered faintly.
The older man continued to bend an unwavering stare on her. What he saw must have satisfied him because he nodded sharply and left the apartment without speaking to her again.
Jenny stood motionless for several moments after he'd gone. Then she came to a decision. Walking to the hallway, she picked up the phone where it sat on the ledge and began punching in some numbers. When a well-known voice picked up on the other end, she forced a tremulous smile onto her face. "Rupert? I-I've been thinking things over for the past few weeks and I think I've had enough space. Would you like to meet me for dinner tomorrow?"
Xander shifted on his hard seat. He hated chemistry class. It was smelly and pointless. Other than learning how to make stink bombs in the second grade, what good was it? "And this string of symbols means what again?"
The redheaded girl beside him glanced at his paper. "Nitrous sulfate."
Xander scribbled something on his paper. Willow peered over his shoulder and whispered, "No, that's a sulfide."
"What's the difference?"
She frowned and gestured. "Look at the board. We've been over this."
"And it's still Greek to me," he moaned softly. "When am I ever gonna need this stuff?"
The green-eyed girl stated with authority, "Knowledge is power, Xander."
"No, a great big hammer is power. This is just useless wear and tear on the brain," Xander huffed under his breath.
"It helped us find out about Ted the robot, didn't it?" Willow pointed out. "I'm telling you, that guy was a genius. There were parts of that machine that predated—"
Buffy looked back at the two of them. "Willow, tell me you didn't keep any parts," she accused.
The redhead looked guilty and mumbled, "Not any big ones."
"Willow, you're supposed to use your mind for good not evil," Xander chided.
"I just want to learn stuff," Willow said defensively.
"Like how to build your own serial killer?" Xander quipped. Then the bell rang and he sighed in relief. "Yes! And on that note, I was wondering if you ladies would like to go Bronzing tonight."
"Um, yeah!" Willow said too quickly. "I-I was sorta planning on going anyway. I'm kinda meeting someone."
Buffy was immediately interested. "Really? Who?"
"His name's Oz, short for Daniel Osbourne. He's a guy I met during Career Week. These computer guys had been tracking me because of my big brains—you know, the ones that make me so dull," she sniped at Xander.
"Hey, I didn't mean—"
She went on, ignoring him. "And they wanted me to work for them for their computer software company. There was only one other student who met their criteria and this guy is it. He's really smart, too, a-and I think he likes me," she finished in a rush, casting her eyes down and blushing.
"Way to go, Wills! Not many guys who like a girl for her brains," Buffy observed.
"I like your brains, Wills!" Xander protested. "I like all of you. You're a wonderful Willow package."
"Thanks. But I think I'd like to go out with boy who actually notices and appreciates the Willow package for a change," Willow tossed back airily. She took off for her next class, leaving behind an unhappy Xander and thoughtful Buffy.
"I get the feeling I've been snubbed. Do you get snubbedness vibes from her, too?"
"No. But she probably felt it from you a lot. Shoe's on the other foot now, eh, Xander?" Buffy couldn't feel too sorry for Xander. She'd seen how Willow's heart broke into little pieces every time Xander drooled over every girl who crossed his path except hers. Guess Xander was going to find out what it felt like to take your best friend for granted.
"I never snubbed Willow," Xander said stiffly. "She's been my bestest friend for years. And who's this Oz guy anyway? How come I never heard about him? Have you heard about him before?"
"Nope. Guess he travels in big brain country. Bye, Xand. Maybe I'll see you later."
Xander perked up at that. "Sure. If Willow is going to be busy, you and I can pair up at the Bronze."
She hesitated before ducking into her next class. "No can do. I've got plans. Maybe tomorrow."
Xander stood in the middle of the hall and then shuffled off before the bell caught him. "Huh? What am I suddenly, the school pariah? Did I forget to put on deodorant this morning?"
Giles had agonized over his choice of clothing for ages. He was well aware that Buffy and her friends thought of him as Boring Tweedy Book Guy and Jenny had called him "snobby" as well. Perhaps something a little less stodgy was in order. However, his wardrobe was surprisingly unyielding in this capacity.
"Tweed, tweed, denim, no, too casual, more tweed," he muttered. "Goodness, when did I turn into such an old codger?" He finally pulled out a slightly less worn tweed jacket. Well, she'd seen him in tweed so it wasn't as if this would be a surprise for her. And she seemed to like him regardless so why bother to change now? He laid out his suit and decided to give his shoes a good, solid polish.
The restaurant was quiet but not too much. Therefore, they didn't feel as if they had to whisper. All in all, Giles thought it was a good choice. He had asked what kind of cuisine Jenny preferred and she told him that, since she was taking him out, she already had a place in mind.
So here they were at a Chinese place. It was casual without the implied romance of Italian cooking or the hauteur of French cuisine or the odd adventurousness of Indian. It was nicely neutral. Jenny certainly seemed to appreciate it. She was wonderfully chatty although she was interested mainly in himself. "I was thinking about Eyghon," she murmured casually while helping herself to a piece of dim sum.
He stiffened and dropped a piece of his dumpling into his lap. Luckily he had a napkin over his thighs and quickly retrieved the sticky food before the stain could leak through to his trousers. "E-Eyghon? I thought you…that is, I thought you didn't want to dwell on that. I can't tell you again how sorry…"
"I'm not blaming you, Rupert. It's not as if you intended to hurt me. Or your friends. You suffered a hell of a lot more than I did, after all. You lost people you cared about." She gave him a sympathetic look and waited for him to get himself under control.
"Indeed," he muttered. He thought about Randall and all the others lost through the years because of a stupid spell-enhanced orgy. He thought of his Slayer, her body violated and put in danger by that ponce Ethan Rayne. That memory alone was enough to make a dark, red tide swell behind his eyes. He shook off the reminiscence to concentrate on the lovely brunette woman opposite him.
"I didn't mean to hurt you by bringing it up. I just wonder how a young Englishman goes from being a rebel sorcerer to a stuffy, if rather handsome, toe-the-line Watcher." She smiled winningly at him and his heart fluttered, both at her expression and her description of him as "handsome."
"Ah, well, actually the transition was rather the other way around."
She lifted an eyebrow as she speared another dumpling. "Really?"
"Yes. My father wanted me to be a Watcher. But I hated the idea that my whole life would be devoted to helping some slip of a girl I'd never even met. It felt too much like an arranged marriage in which you never see the bride until the wedding day. It was positively medieval, to my way of thinking. So I chucked it all and ran off to the big city and fell in with Ethan and his crowd. I tried to distance myself from everything I knew and was. I succeeded beyond my worst imaginings."
When he fell silent, she prodded him gently. "So what happened then? What made you turn your back on the dark arts? Was it Eyghon?"
"Yes. You might say that was my wake-up call. I saw where such evil led, the innocent lives it would claim and how I was distinctly unprepared to deal with such power. I had ability as a sorcerer, certainly. But there was no real training to control it and I had no true desire to use it for my own ends. Also, I-I was genuinely terrified when I saw what the magicks could do. As Eyghon said, I was never strong enough for him."
"That's nonsense, Rupert. I had that thing inside me, remember? I could hear its thoughts. It wanted you in the worst way because it craved your strength. It was willing to take Rayne, all right, but only as a substitute." She took a chance and reached across the table to clasp his hand lightly. "You were strong enough to turn away from it, after all."
A flare of heat raced up his arm and he could feel his breath coming unevenly. Taking a sip of water to steady himself, he stammered, "I-I didn't see it that way at the time. When the magicks started killing my friends, I ran…back into the bosom of my family, back to the Watchers Council that was waiting for me to fulfill my destiny as Watcher. It seemed cowardly, yet another way of running away from something I didn't want to handle."
She drew back her hand and resumed spearing her food expertly with a chopstick. "And how has that destiny been working out for you? Do you find it easy balancing the duties of a Watcher with the ordinary, day-to-day life of a regular Joe?"
He chuckled. "You would be the first person I've met here to describe me in those terms. I'm hardly regular."
"Still, no one would look at you and think you lead a double life." She bit and swallowed a piece of pork and then leaned across the table. "So how do you manage with Buffy?"
"Well, with Buffy, I found the normal rules didn't apply. From the first, she made it plain she wasn't about to be bossed about or ordered. All I could do was provide guidance and training. In every other aspect, she's definitely her own person."
"I get that." Jenny smiled although inside her heart was pounding. Her line of interrogation was coming along swimmingly. Giles apparently had no inkling she was pumping him for information. She felt sick, that she could dupe him so easily. The man trusted her and she was no better than a spy and informant for her uncle. Pushing aside her growing unease, she asked, "It's not a danger, having other people in on her secret?"
"Surprisingly no. I'd been taught from the very first day as a Watcher that secrecy was paramount. The outside world could not know of us or of Slayers and it was best on the whole for these young girls to remain hidden in order to provide safety for their role as protectors of the world. But Buffy has proved me wrong. She draws strength, not from her training as Slayer, but from her friends, her family a-and people like yourself. I'm still grateful for the aid you lent us against Moloch the Corrupter, by the way," he finished with a shy smile.
"Happy to help." Jenny braced herself inwardly. This would be the tricky part. "So how do you reconcile keeping Buffy safe with letting her…associate with a vampire?"
"A-Angel isn't just any vampire," he offered. "He possesses a soul, courtesy of a gypsy curse."
Jenny managed to keep her face impassive in the wake of this news. "A curse?"
"Quite. I was astonished to learn of this myself. The Watchers Council had lost sight of him for almost a century. No one knew what had happened to him. Then he turned up here in America and Buffy learned he had a soul."
"But that doesn't explain why you allow her to remain with him. He's a vampire. She's a vampire Slayer. I would have thought there'd be only one outcome to such a situation."
Giles had often harbored secret doubts about Buffy's relationship with Angel. He could understand how others might perceive the affair as being rather warped. Nevertheless, he felt the need to defend Buffy's actions to Jenny just as he had defended them to Kendra. "Angel's soul makes him unique, special. There is no other like him in the world. And his help and strength make him an invaluable asset to Buffy's cause. That's why we see no need to kill him out of hand."
"I'm not talking about that, Rupert. If he's that great a fighter, I'd be the last one to keep him from wading in, fists swinging. I'm referring to the fact that he seems to be conducting a romance with her. Surely that doesn't meet with your approval?" She tried for a light tone but she couldn't help the clear edge of disapproval from seeping in.
"I had my qualms about Angel's…involvement with Buffy. But as I said she is exceedingly strong-willed. If I were to forbid her to see Angel, she would doubtless continue to do so in defiance of my wishes. I also have no legitimate reason to separate them other than the obvious. As I said, he is an asset in the fight and has saved her life on more than one occasion. He even killed his Sire in order to defend her."
"He did?" Jenny hadn't heard this story and she wasn't sure she wanted to. She didn't want to feel any kind of sympathy towards Angel. If she was to fulfill her mission, she had to keep an emotional distance.
Unaware of her emotional turmoil, Giles proceeded with his tale. "We thought Angel had attacked Joyce Summers, Buffy's mother. But it turned out that it was his Sire Darla who had committed the deed. Apparently, she was either trying to goad Angel into feeding or trick Buffy into killing him."
"Why would she want Angelus dead if she's his Sire?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"What?" Giles was staring at her with a puzzled frown. Jenny wondered what was wrong.
"You called him Angelus. Where did you hear that name?"
Jenny could have kicked herself. She had been listening to her uncle's stories about the demon for so long, the name had just slipped out. "I did? I must have heard you mention it."
"No, I never call him that. None of the others do either. He gave up that name when he gained his soul. Even Xander doesn't refer to him as anything other than Deadboy. It's rather childish of him but he doesn't like Angel and this is his way of needling him. Where did you hear the name Angelus?"
He was getting suspicious and she had to throw him off the track. Jenny grinned in what she hoped was a sheepish fashion. "All right, you caught me. I've been sneaking into the library and reading some of your precious books when you weren't around. I wanted to see what you found so fascinating about those musty old dust collectors and I saw references to Angelus in one of them. The engravings aren't as good as photographs but the resemblance is pretty strong. Angel is Angelus, isn't he?"
"He most emphatically is not. If he were, he would have killed Buffy and everybody who ever knew her. Angelus was known as the Scourge of Europe the way Attila the Hun was known as the Scourge of God. They were both ruthless, cutthroat killers without a shred of conscience. Angel is not that creature. He cares for others and I have found him sensitive, thoughtful…"
"It sounds like you've spent some time with him yourself. How do you reconcile that with your duty as a Watcher? Doesn't your training tell you he should be killed, soul or no? What does the Watchers Council have to say about this?"
Giles had no idea why he suddenly felt on the defensive. Jenny couldn't possibly be faulting his role as a Watcher; she barely knew what it meant. Still, he strove to clarify the matter for her as best he could. "As I've pointed out, being Buffy's Watcher has meant making certain concessions. Besides, the Watchers Council is a kind of ivory tower of learning. They spend so much time among their books, their tomes of ancient lore; they have no idea of what it means to cope in the outside world. I could go on being their lackey, serving them blindly without regard for Buffy's needs and wishes. But it would make her a poorer Slayer—and me, a deficient Watcher."
Jenny was silent as she picked at her food. Without looking up, she mumbled, almost to herself, "But it must be hard…bucking centuries of tradition, defying the words and teachings of hidebound old men who feel they know better than you what you should be doing. They've been your mentors for years. How can you go against their training?"
"Perhaps a little of the 'rebel yell' still remains in me, yes? And being with Buffy has been an eye-opening experience in many ways. She's quite special…much like Angel. They both defy tradition," Giles responded with a proud beam. When Jenny returned his grin with a wan smile, he added, "Besides, what the Council doesn't know won't hurt them."
Jenny gave him a startled look. "They don't know about Angel?"
Now it was Giles's turn to look guilty. "N-no. I have deliberately kept his name out of my reports. I thought it was best, all around. Like you, they might not understand. If they found out that Angelus was still on the scene, they wouldn't care that he possessed a soul. They would demand action. And, if Buffy refused to take the obvious steps, they might send someone over here to deal with the matter."
"They'd have someone kill Angel?" Jenny probed.
Giles hesitated. He didn't want anyone to know how ruthless the Council could be. He had deliberately hidden such knowledge from Buffy, her friends and her mother about what kind of people they were. Even Joyce had only had an inkling of what they were capable of. But Jenny was genuinely interested and he wanted to show some sign of trust after what he'd put her through with Eyghon. "They might, although, given the stories of his exploits, they would be too cautious to deal with him directly. No, their probable course of action would be to—remove Buffy and let the next Slayer in line do the deed for them."
"They'd kill Buffy?" Jenny was appalled. Giles looked almost ill and there was a grim, tight line about his mouth. He didn't answer; he didn't need to. His silence spoke volumes. She bit her lower lip nervously and reached for his hand again. "I'm so sorry, Rupert. I had no idea. D-does Angel know what a danger his presence is for her?"
Giles squeezed her hand convulsively. "No, I haven't told him. And you shouldn't either. I'm trusting you to keep this a secret, Jenny. Not that there's any great need. The Watchers Council doesn't know about Angel and they're not likely to. I can trust you to keep that secret, too, can't I?"
His smile this time was light-hearted as if he were sharing a great joke. She smiled back and laughed lightly. "Goodness, listen to us. I invited you out to dinner for a little making up and we wind up having a grim discussion about vampires."
"Only on the Hellmouth," Giles replied in a dry tone. "So enough about my wild and misspent youth. Why don't you tell me about yourself?"
Here Jenny was on surer ground. She told him the tale of her boring and mundane past, her extensive training as a computer teacher on the east coast. It was there Angelus had been spotted in the 1980s by her people in their relentless tracking of him during his aimless journeys around the world. She had been the latest in the Kalderash line chosen to follow and watch him. In her way, she was a Watcher, too. Too bad she couldn't share that with Rupert.
She left all that out, of course, concentrating on her computer training since she knew it would bore him. Sure enough, his responses dwindled down to casual and polite murmurs as his attention wandered. She kept up a stream of light, running chatter and let the conversation turn down other avenues.
She protested when Giles insisted on paying for the meal. He was being the English gentleman but she pointed out that since she had asked him out for dinner it was only right that she pay for the meal. Actually, the urge to pay stemmed mainly from the guilt she was experiencing for her motives.
She eyed the handsome Englishman while she pulled out her credit card and handed it to the waiter. Giles was so comfortable with his deception of the Council. He felt no qualms about keeping them in the dark about the monster that shared a forbidden love with his Slayer. It was a baffling attitude to take. She didn't know whether she admired or hated him for that.
Giles had seemed so wholesome, so safe. Not in his calling as Watcher, of course, but in his own sweet self. The stodginess that she'd teased him for, his old-fashioned courtly ways, the tweed and love of tea had been worlds away from the mystic fanaticism of the Kalderash people. For a while, she had fooled herself into thinking she could immerse herself in his world and forget about the stifling duty demanded of her.
The affair with Eyghon had completely rattled her, destroying her illusions. Angelus, the creature she'd been taught to hate and fear, had saved her while the man she had come to like and trust had put her life in mortal danger. Her beliefs had been challenged on both fronts and she'd been unable to handle it. It had been easier to withdraw from Giles—easier and safer. Without contact with him, she'd been able to keep apart from his world and watch the vampire she'd been sworn to follow from a distance. That had reduced the conflict between her feelings for the Englishman and her duty…until Uncle Enyos had shown up demanding sterner measures.
Jenny had wanted to impress on the Watcher the dangers of letting the souled vampire remain by his Slayer's side. She had hoped that perhaps he could be persuaded to separate Buffy from the vampire. But he couldn't see the need. If she was unwilling to be honest with him, then how could he know the full danger they were all in?
She couldn't inform the Council. Even if she somehow managed to get hold of their number, the risk to Buffy was just too great. Although Buffy's demise would solve the problem, she wouldn't connive at the death of an innocent girl. How would she be any better than Angelus if she did?
She sighed and allowed Giles to open the restaurant door as they left. Other than gaining new information about the Council, she wasn't certain the date had accomplished anything. It certainly hadn't soothed her feelings about lying to a man she was afraid she had come to feel too much for already.
Without warning, a man darted up to her and snatched her purse. "Hey!" she yelled.
"Blast!" Giles yelled and then tore off down the street after the fleeing man.
"Giles! Wait! Forget it. It's not worth it!" Jenny hesitated and then took off after him.
Giles knew within a few feet that he had no chance of catching the thief. The offender was young and fast and the distance between them was lengthening with each second. As the fleeing criminal turned the corner, the librarian paused and leaned, panting, against a car. To his astonishment, he saw the purse-snatcher come flying back onto the pavement in front of him. Looking up, he saw Angel step out of the shadows, Jenny's bag in his hand. "I don't think this belongs to you," he told the kid on the sidewalk.
Leaping up the boy flicked out a switchblade. His head swung back and forth between Angel and Giles. He didn't really want to take on two men even if one of them was an old guy. When Jenny came stumbling to a halt, he grabbed her around the neck and held the knife to her throat.
"Let her go!" Giles cried out. He hadn't seen Jenny saved from a demonic possession only to lose her to a common mugger.
"Tell your friend to hand over the purse, otherwise I cut her. I mean it!" he snarled, a feral gleam in his eyes as he tried to keep Jenny between himself and the other two men.
"Fine. Although I don't think it goes with your dress," Angel replied casually. He tossed the purse so it landed a few feet away.
The boy crouched down, his tight grip ensuring that Jenny had to crouch with him. Snatching up his prize, he shoved her into Giles's arms and turned to run—only to encounter a broad chest and deceptively calm face that stared down at him. He did a double take to see the tall guy he'd been facing somehow had managed to get behind him. "Hey, how did you—?"
"I'm fast on my feet. Used to be a messenger." This time Angel didn't throw him. His fist flew up and impacted with the guy's chin. It wasn't a killing blow by any standards but it must have packed a wallop nonetheless. The punk's eyes rolled up and he crumpled to the ground like a cut clothesline.
The vampire picked up the purse where it lay by the man's outstretched hand and gave it back to Jenny. Angel frowned as the fear smell peaked and got stronger as he came closer. The danger was over. Why was she still afraid?
"A-Angel," Giles breathed. He stroked Jenny's shoulder as she trembled. "Thank goodness you were here. Why were you here?"
"I live a few blocks from here. I was just strolling through the neighborhood." His sharp ears caught the increase in the woman's heartbeat. Now she was truly nervous and the fear smell was getting stronger.
"Indeed? I-I didn't know that. W-well, luckily you were in the vicinity." He turned to Jenny. "It seems all our dates are destined to end in one disaster or another." He recalled the vampire with them. "Oh, Angel, you were never formally introduced. You remember Jenny Calendar, don't you?"
"That business with the demon spirit. I remember. Not the sort of first encounter to slip the mind." He held out his hand and she took it tentatively. Oh, yeah, there was definitely more than ordinary anxiety at work here.
"Y-you see, this is Angel we're dealing with here now. Not his menacing alter ego," Giles joked in an attempt to ease her obvious distress.
Angel eyed Ms. Calendar as he spoke. "Why? Were you expecting him?"
"Jenny is not entirely convinced of the decency of your souled status," Giles replied.
"I so like being discussed as if I weren't here," the woman snapped sharply and both men glanced at her in surprise. She straightened and began marching down the street back towards Giles's car.
"Forgive her, Angel. She's must be rather shaken. I'd best get after her and see her home." Giles waved distractedly at Angel as he strode after Jenny.
The vampire stopped him. "What about this guy?" He gestured at the fallen mugger.
"Oh, him? Well, yes, can't allow him to continue attacking the citizenry, can we?" Giles ran his hand through his hair. "I-I'll call the police to deal with him. You don't need to stick around. We'll say you were a Good Samaritan who helped and went on his way and leave it at that, shall we?"
The vampire smiled faintly. "Thanks. See you around, Giles." This had only been the second time he'd encountered Ms. Calendar but both times she'd exhibited the same trepidation even though he'd saved her life. It was part and parcel of being a vampire, he supposed. Some people never got over that no matter how harmless he tried to make himself appear. Maybe it was the height thing…
The night was still young and there was a chance he'd run into Buffy on her patrols. Thinking of her, he smiled to himself. Nowadays, contemplation of Buffy brought the only spots of happiness in his otherwise dour existence. Dismissing the Calendar woman, he jogged off to find his Slayer.
Giles found himself smiling all throughout the next day. Jenny had been a trifle subdued because of the physical assault but that was to be expected. Other than that, she was much warmer than she had been for weeks. They had spoken briefly in the school hallways this morning and had made plans for another date the following week. It appeared the dangerous nature of their dates wasn't enough to keep her away. She was quite the feisty woman.
He smiled at the thought and shelved another book. Xander and Willow came bouncing into the library. The redhead called out, "Hey, Giles! How're things?"
"Things are going rather well, Willow." He beamed at her. He would have preferred to say "smashing" but typical English reticence held him back.
However, Xander must have seen something in his face because he said, "What's up, G-man? Did you come across special demony phenomenon Buffy has to squash?"
Buffy chose that moment to enter, Angel on her heels. "Did somebody mention my name?"
Giles raised his eyebrows at seeing the vampire and then glanced outside. Goodness, was it evening already? Daydreaming about Jenny had caused the hours to fly by. "Um, hello, Buffy. Has anything eventful occurred on patrol?"
Buffy plopped into one of the library chairs and rubbed at her scalp. She hated getting vamp dust in her hair. It clung to the natural oils in the strands the way ordinary dust didn't and was hell to wash out if she let it set. But she thought her Watcher ought to know the sitch so she checked in with him before going home. "Well, the number of bloodsuckers is rising again. Something tells me the Anointed has been holding an open call for new vampire recruits. There were six newbies tonight, all young and kicking, and seven vamps we caught trying to snack on the local yokels. Giles, I don't get it. The Anointed One is just a kid. Why should he be so hard to track and why are new vamps so loyal to him?"
"He's part of the Master's line. If he's still trading on his reputation, that would be enough to gain him a certain respect in the vampire community," Angel said. He looked up at Giles. "How was Ms. Calendar? She looked a bit wobbly to me. Did you get her home all right?"
"Yes. Thank you, Angel." Giles flushed faintly when he saw two pairs of feminine eyes turn their gazes on him.
"What's this about you and Ms. Calendar?" Buffy asked, her hazel eyes noting Giles' sudden embarrassment.
"Ooh, did you take my advice and ask her out again?" Willow breathed.
"Um, no, actually. She asked me out. I told you she wouldn't be shy when it came to speaking her mind although her offer took me by surprise."
"I don't believe it! Even the G-man is getting more luck in the dating pool than me. I'm starting to feel like a wallflower at the prom here," Xander complained. "Is it possible for guys to be wallflowers? Maybe they're called something more manly—like wall vines or wall trees."
"I didn't get lucky, Xander. Not that it's any of your business," Giles reproached him stiffly.
"What was that Angel said about wobbliness? Did Ms. Calendar break a heel?" Willow asked.
"No. She was attacked by a knife-wielding purse-snatcher. Fortunately, Angel was in the neighborhood and managed to foil the assailant."
"You did? You never said a word, Angel!" Buffy exclaimed.
Angel shrugged uncomfortably. "It wasn't anything."
The Watcher was swift to deny that. "I must differ. Jenny owes you her life."
Angel frowned. "I don't think she saw it that way. She was far more frightened of me than she was of the mugger."
Willow raised her eyebrows. "Really? Did you have your 'grrrr' face on?"
"No. She just was really nervous about me."
"Yes. We had had a talk in the restaurant about you and your demonic other half. Jenny wasn't convinced by my arguments about your having a soul. She thought Angelus remained a clear and present danger."
"How did she know about Angelus? I mean, how does she know Angel is Angelus? I didn't tell her. Giles, did you go blabbing to Jenny about Angel?" Buffy drew closer to Angel and rubbed his arm. She had seen the shadow fall over his face at the mention of his inner demon and wanted to reassure him that it didn't bother her.
"She says she's been sneaking in here when I'm not around and taking peeps into my books." He pulled out the book he'd shown to Buffy about "the vampire with the angelic face" and Angel leaned over it with a frown.
"She couldn't have touched this one, Giles. It doesn't have her scent on it. In fact, I don't smell her in here at all." He gestured around the open space.
This time it was Giles's turn to frown. "Well, she hasn't been in here in some weeks. She's been avoiding me, you know."
"So when has she been reading the books, then, G-man? And what do you mean by you don't smell her on the books? Since when do books carry odors, Deadboy?" Xander challenged.
"Books are full of natural materials for the most part—wood fibers from the paper, the old leathers and bindings on Giles's copies. Even the animal glues carry their own scent and such substances pick up odors from anybody who has been handling them. If Ms. Calendar had had her hands on this book recently, her body odor would be on it—and it's not." Angel tapped the book in question.
Xander gave an exaggerated shudder. "Okay, is anybody else majorly creeped out by the undead bloodhound in our midst?"
"B-but why would she lie?" Willow asked. "Why say she'd seen Angel's name in a book if she'd been nowhere near it?"
"Not Angel's name. Angelus," Buffy said slowly. "Not one of us uses that name and she had to come up with a story about where she'd seen it. So what better culprit than one of Giles's books?"
"Ookay. So Ms. Calendar knows about Angelus. How does she know?" Xander was struck by a horrid suspicion. "Holy moly. You don't think she's a demon, do you?"
"No, Xander. If she were a demon, I would have smelled it," Angel said with some asperity.
Buffy was impressed. "Wow, that vamp smell of yours does come in handy."
"But what other human being would know about Angelus?" Willow wondered.
"I can't imagine. The only one I could think of o-other than Kendra would be a Council member." Giles recalled his conversation with Jenny in the restaurant and a hollow sensation opened up in his stomach. "Good Lord."
"Oh, I hate it when he says that," Buffy muttered. "What is it, Watcher mine?"
"Jenny and I were discussing Angel and your a-association on our date last night. She was very disapproving of your r-relationship with him, Buffy, and wondered why I didn't break it off." He remembered what he had told Jenny about the Council and what probable steps they would take against his Slayer and he blanched.
Buffy noted his pallor. "What is it, Giles? What's wrong? You're starting to give me the wiggins."
The next moment he dismissed his fears. "I was thinking that she might be an undercover Watcher sent to spy on Buffy. But that's not feasible. She's been here for almost a year and she's known of you and Angel for months. If she were a Council spy, steps would have been taken before now to kill him and free you from his influence."
"So if she's not a demon and she's not a Council spy, who could she be, G-man?" Xander asked. "Anybody notice anything off about her?"
"Other than the technopagan thing, Xander?" Buffy asked with a shrug.
"I saw a funny-looking necklace fall out of her purse the other day. She told me it was something she picked up at a fair. But she was super quick to hide it like she didn't want me to see it," Willow added.
"What did it look like, Willow?" Giles asked.
Willow pulled a notebook out of her bag and fumbled for a pencil. "It looked like an eye with vines and leaves twisted around it." She finished the crude sketch and turned it around so the others could see it.
Giles perused the design carefully. "Hmmm. The eye is a part of many arcane symbols and motifs. However, I-I don't think I'm familiar with this particular insignia."
"I am." The quiet, chill voice drew everybody's attention to the souled vampire. He stared at the design as if mesmerized.
"Angel? What is it?" Buffy didn't think she'd ever seen Angel afraid except when it had been for her sake. Whatever this eye-thing was, it had him majorly spooked.
Angel lifted his eyes and spoke directly to Giles. "It's the insignia of the Kalderash tribe. The gypsies who cursed me with my soul."
TBC
[A/N: Vaida means Gypsy chief. Gadje means non-gypsy.]