Title: A Fair Exchange.
Author: Charlie
Timeline: Post BtVS S7 & AtS S5. Sequel to "Best Laid Plans."
Summary: Xander begins revamping the slayer school but finds his biggest challeges lie within.
Feedback is always appreciated.
Author Notes: Round and round, the ship goes. Where it lands, the
Author doesn't know. Will it be (A)my, (B)uffy, (C)ordelia, (D)awn, (F)aith, (F)red, (H)armony, (K)ennedy or (W)illow that wins the Xandman?
Alex closed the book he had been reading and slowly rubbed his eyes. His experience in dealing with contracts and permits in construction had given him an idea of what to expect when dealing with the regulations in running a school. At least that's what he had thought going in. Xander had found out fairly quickly that while the basic principle was the same, i.e. multiple forms to be initialed and signed, confusing legal policies written so as one needed a degree almost to understand them, etc, he had grossly under-estimated the sheer scope and size of everything.
Not for the first time, he was thankful that Giles and Wood had been around to handle most of it. He was also somewhat thankful that the experience Angel's former teammates had gained in Los Angles had been extremely useful as well. The efforts of Fred and Wesley in particular had been instrumental in making the process as painless as possible.
Still there were seemingly mountains of paperwork; manuals, rules to read through and he had to take breaks from time to time. Especially when the letters started getting fuzzy and things got blurrier then usual. That was happened more often now, one eye struggling to do the work of two. He had to careful lest he overtax himself.
Tired, he pushed the button on the intercom, "Harmony, would you tell Cordelia and Dawn I'll be late for dinner and that Buffy should go ahead and start without me."
There was a pause as his former classmate turned vampire, current secretary answered, "Umm... She's not here."
"Cordelia's not here?"
"No, Buffy's not here."
Xander stared at speaker for a second before asking the inevitable, "Where is she?"
"She and Faith went into town."
"Why?"
"Well they looked like they were out to hit the clubs."
Xander growled as he released the button and stood up. He took a moment to hit the lights as he slammed his office door shut behind him. Dawn found his apartment door wide open with him searching angrily for something.
"Xander?"
He paused briefly to acknowledge her presence before resuming his search.
"Dawn."
"What are you looking for?"
"Something important I need to go in town."
"Why are you going into town?"
"Because your sister and Faith have apparently decided that the rules don't apply to them again. I think I need to have another talk with them."
"So what does this have to do with the", she broke off as Xander found what he was looking for, the hilt to the green bladed sword, "thing."
He looked up at her as he hung it from his waist, "Knowing your sister, odds are she's already managed to attract a great deal of trouble already."
"I'll be back", he intoned in a mocking accent.
Dawn grinned after him as he left. She was just leaving when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Turning she walked over to the counter and picked up a nearly empty bottle of pills. Carefully she read the label on the bottle, her face turning an ashen gray as she did.
"Xander..."
Elsewhere
Faith looked around, subconsciously moving in time to the beat of the music. This night out on the town was just what she and Buffy needed. The club itself was one of many she had found during their stay in Cleveland. Presently it was playing techno and remixed versions of old Christmas tunes in a token effort to fit in with the holiday spirit. Not that she minded really but she didn't think the original version of 'Jingle Bell Rock' had drum machines, keyboards or other electronic instruments in mind when writing the song.
She resumed her scanning of the crowd and quickly located her fellow slayer. Buffy currently had a crowd of guys around her. It looked like at least one was actually grinding on her, which brought a grin to Faith's face. They both needed this night out, B needed it more in her opinion.
'After all, it's not everyday, you get your tail kicked AND fired from the job you built.' A dark look crossed her face momentarily scaring off a few guys that had been about to ask her to dance. Faith both physically and mentally shook off that thought and the feelings that accompanied it. Tonight was all about having a fun, wild night on the town and she was damned if some guy was going to screw it up.
Elsewhere
Two sweaty young women dressed only in their underwear collapsed on a bed together. They held each other close as they tried to catch their breath. Sighing, one girl pulled the other in for a deep kiss with their tongues exploring, tasting one another. Reluctantly, they broke the kiss and pulled apart, each contemplating the other.
"That one was the best yet."
"Uh huh."
"No regrets."
"Only that we waited so long to start."
One girl's hands started caressing the other through her underwear. She pouted as the other girl stopped her, "mmm.... Sorry baby but I've got to shower." Seeing the other girl's frown, she added, "Although if I hurry, maybe we will have time for anot-". She was caught off in mid sentence by a deep kiss from her partner.
"Hurry up Kit."
Kit nodded, quickly gathered her things and went to the bathroom. The other woman heard the shower starting and reclined back on the bed. Sighing, she closed her eyes as the memories of what they had been doing and would be doing again started playing in her mind. A smile spread across her face as she felt herself getting excited again. One hand caressed her rapidly hardening nipples, while the other started stroking herself through her panties.
She moaned quietly at the sensation, lulling her head slightly at the feeling of silk rubbing her body. Vaguely, the girl felt another's presence in the room and opened her eyes expecting to see her lover watching her. Instead she a hulking figure with a mask looming over her with a long metal rod in his hands. She opened her mouth to scream but before a sound could escape, Jason slammed the length of metal through her body and the bed beneath. A quiet gurgle escaped her lips as her blood started staining the sheets and covers.
"Mac?"
Kit opened the bathroom door and started toward her bedroom, dressed in a light blue-green satin nightgown. She blinked as her eyes tried to adjust to the darkness within the room. Silently, the freshly showered girl walked into the room looking around. Finally she spotted the other girl lying on the bed in the darkness and started towards her.
"Mac..."
It was then that Kit noticed the other girl wasn't moving. With a quiet gasp, she took a step back as her mind tried to comprehend the horrific scene in front of her. Before she fully understood what had happened, she sensed she wasn't alone. Kit turned around just as Jason grabbed her by the hair and yanked her off the floor. The combination of seeing her lover's dead body and now being confronted with her near death reduced the young woman to tears as she screamed and begged for her life. Jason ignored her cries and threw her through the window sending her body crashing to the ground below.
But, Kit didn't die on impact. She lay stunned on the ground, pain and shock shooting through her body. Yet, somehow, she started to stand up albeit slowly. With glass in her hair and her body bleeding from numerous cuts, she started running trying to put as much distance between her and the murderous figure that lurked in her apartment.
Jason watched her get up and start running before following her. It didn't matter to him who she was, or why she hadn't died when he threw. She was like the others, another that had to pay for what had been done. He would kill her and the others no matter how long it would take him. It was his job to finish after all.
Author: Charlie
Timeline: Post BtVS S7 & AtS S5. Sequel to "Best Laid Plans."
Summary: Xander begins revamping the slayer school but finds his biggest challeges lie within.
Feedback is always appreciated.
Author Notes: Round and round, the ship goes. Where it lands, the
Author doesn't know. Will it be (A)my, (B)uffy, (C)ordelia, (D)awn, (F)aith, (F)red, (H)armony, (K)ennedy or (W)illow that wins the Xandman?
Alex closed the book he had been reading and slowly rubbed his eyes. His experience in dealing with contracts and permits in construction had given him an idea of what to expect when dealing with the regulations in running a school. At least that's what he had thought going in. Xander had found out fairly quickly that while the basic principle was the same, i.e. multiple forms to be initialed and signed, confusing legal policies written so as one needed a degree almost to understand them, etc, he had grossly under-estimated the sheer scope and size of everything.
Not for the first time, he was thankful that Giles and Wood had been around to handle most of it. He was also somewhat thankful that the experience Angel's former teammates had gained in Los Angles had been extremely useful as well. The efforts of Fred and Wesley in particular had been instrumental in making the process as painless as possible.
Still there were seemingly mountains of paperwork; manuals, rules to read through and he had to take breaks from time to time. Especially when the letters started getting fuzzy and things got blurrier then usual. That was happened more often now, one eye struggling to do the work of two. He had to careful lest he overtax himself.
Tired, he pushed the button on the intercom, "Harmony, would you tell Cordelia and Dawn I'll be late for dinner and that Buffy should go ahead and start without me."
There was a pause as his former classmate turned vampire, current secretary answered, "Umm... She's not here."
"Cordelia's not here?"
"No, Buffy's not here."
Xander stared at speaker for a second before asking the inevitable, "Where is she?"
"She and Faith went into town."
"Why?"
"Well they looked like they were out to hit the clubs."
Xander growled as he released the button and stood up. He took a moment to hit the lights as he slammed his office door shut behind him. Dawn found his apartment door wide open with him searching angrily for something.
"Xander?"
He paused briefly to acknowledge her presence before resuming his search.
"Dawn."
"What are you looking for?"
"Something important I need to go in town."
"Why are you going into town?"
"Because your sister and Faith have apparently decided that the rules don't apply to them again. I think I need to have another talk with them."
"So what does this have to do with the", she broke off as Xander found what he was looking for, the hilt to the green bladed sword, "thing."
He looked up at her as he hung it from his waist, "Knowing your sister, odds are she's already managed to attract a great deal of trouble already."
"I'll be back", he intoned in a mocking accent.
Dawn grinned after him as he left. She was just leaving when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Turning she walked over to the counter and picked up a nearly empty bottle of pills. Carefully she read the label on the bottle, her face turning an ashen gray as she did.
"Xander..."
Elsewhere
Faith looked around, subconsciously moving in time to the beat of the music. This night out on the town was just what she and Buffy needed. The club itself was one of many she had found during their stay in Cleveland. Presently it was playing techno and remixed versions of old Christmas tunes in a token effort to fit in with the holiday spirit. Not that she minded really but she didn't think the original version of 'Jingle Bell Rock' had drum machines, keyboards or other electronic instruments in mind when writing the song.
She resumed her scanning of the crowd and quickly located her fellow slayer. Buffy currently had a crowd of guys around her. It looked like at least one was actually grinding on her, which brought a grin to Faith's face. They both needed this night out, B needed it more in her opinion.
'After all, it's not everyday, you get your tail kicked AND fired from the job you built.' A dark look crossed her face momentarily scaring off a few guys that had been about to ask her to dance. Faith both physically and mentally shook off that thought and the feelings that accompanied it. Tonight was all about having a fun, wild night on the town and she was damned if some guy was going to screw it up.
Elsewhere
Two sweaty young women dressed only in their underwear collapsed on a bed together. They held each other close as they tried to catch their breath. Sighing, one girl pulled the other in for a deep kiss with their tongues exploring, tasting one another. Reluctantly, they broke the kiss and pulled apart, each contemplating the other.
"That one was the best yet."
"Uh huh."
"No regrets."
"Only that we waited so long to start."
One girl's hands started caressing the other through her underwear. She pouted as the other girl stopped her, "mmm.... Sorry baby but I've got to shower." Seeing the other girl's frown, she added, "Although if I hurry, maybe we will have time for anot-". She was caught off in mid sentence by a deep kiss from her partner.
"Hurry up Kit."
Kit nodded, quickly gathered her things and went to the bathroom. The other woman heard the shower starting and reclined back on the bed. Sighing, she closed her eyes as the memories of what they had been doing and would be doing again started playing in her mind. A smile spread across her face as she felt herself getting excited again. One hand caressed her rapidly hardening nipples, while the other started stroking herself through her panties.
She moaned quietly at the sensation, lulling her head slightly at the feeling of silk rubbing her body. Vaguely, the girl felt another's presence in the room and opened her eyes expecting to see her lover watching her. Instead she a hulking figure with a mask looming over her with a long metal rod in his hands. She opened her mouth to scream but before a sound could escape, Jason slammed the length of metal through her body and the bed beneath. A quiet gurgle escaped her lips as her blood started staining the sheets and covers.
"Mac?"
Kit opened the bathroom door and started toward her bedroom, dressed in a light blue-green satin nightgown. She blinked as her eyes tried to adjust to the darkness within the room. Silently, the freshly showered girl walked into the room looking around. Finally she spotted the other girl lying on the bed in the darkness and started towards her.
"Mac..."
It was then that Kit noticed the other girl wasn't moving. With a quiet gasp, she took a step back as her mind tried to comprehend the horrific scene in front of her. Before she fully understood what had happened, she sensed she wasn't alone. Kit turned around just as Jason grabbed her by the hair and yanked her off the floor. The combination of seeing her lover's dead body and now being confronted with her near death reduced the young woman to tears as she screamed and begged for her life. Jason ignored her cries and threw her through the window sending her body crashing to the ground below.
But, Kit didn't die on impact. She lay stunned on the ground, pain and shock shooting through her body. Yet, somehow, she started to stand up albeit slowly. With glass in her hair and her body bleeding from numerous cuts, she started running trying to put as much distance between her and the murderous figure that lurked in her apartment.
Jason watched her get up and start running before following her. It didn't matter to him who she was, or why she hadn't died when he threw. She was like the others, another that had to pay for what had been done. He would kill her and the others no matter how long it would take him. It was his job to finish after all.