Title: Cold Coffee and Old Memories
Rating: PG
Author: Bastard Snow
Summary: Third in the Coffee series. The Scoobies head to Washington, D.C....
Author's Notes: This might be the last in the Coffee series. I'm not sure, but I don't have anymore lined up right now. If something else occurs to me, I'll probably write it, but for now I'm going to focus on my other works.
Feedback: Yes, please!
Ten minutes later, Xander met Charlie downstairs in the lobby. The two of them chatted idly about politics (Xander quickly found himself out of his depth), baseball (Charlie was an Orioles fan, Xander a Dodgers fan... neither was particularly happy), and segued smoothly into a discussion the effectiveness of baseball bats when fighting for your life against a mob of undead bloodsuckers (Xander was in favor of sharper weapons, Charlie didn't really have an opinion but was willing to take Xander's word for it).
"I mean it's got good heft," Xander said. "And you can get up some good momentum, but a cracked skull isn't really going to stop those guys. What with their being dead and all."
"So they don't feel pain?" Charlie asked.
"Oh, no, they definitely feel pain. They just don't let it get to them like humans do."
Charlie nodded, and Xander checked his watch. "They're sure taking a long time," he said.
"Well," Charlie said, "I find that women often take longer to get ready than men do, unless it's something a man doesn't want to do. You have no idea how often I have to urge the President to get ready if it's a function he doesn't want to attend."
"You know," Xander said, "I can't really imagine urging the president to do anything. I don't think I have that kind of willpower."
"It takes some getting used to," Charlie said.
The elevator doors dinged, and Buffy and Willow emerged into the lobby.
"Are we ready?" Xander asked as the two ladies approached.
"I think so," Charlie said. "If you'll follow me?"
The three Scoobies followed Charlie out the door and looked around for the car. They were very pleased when Charlie led them to a black stretched limousine and opened the door.
"Interestingly," Xander said as they got into the limo, "the White House is the one landmark I managed to drive us to in this city. Not, you know, on purpose, but we got there all the same."
"Well, the driver knows his way around," Charlie said as he stepped into the limo behind them. He closed the door and knocked on the privacy glass separating their compartment from the front seat, and the limo got on its way.
Upon arriving at the White House, the Scoobies followed Charlie past the security desk, where they were searched and given badges, then back to the administrative office just outside of the Oval Office. Charlie smoothly slid behind a desk, flipped open a notebook and made a note, then turned back to them.
"The President will be with you in a minute," he said. "He should be finishing up any minute."
"Who's he talking to?" Buffy asked.
"The president of Russia," Charlie said as he sat in his chair and pulled up some work on his computer.
"The president of Russia is in the Oval Office?" Xander asked.
"No," Charlie said. "President Bartlet called him."
Willow frowned, checked Xander's watch, and did some quick mental calculation. "Isn't it, like, three a.m. over there?"
"You forgot to account for Daylight Savings Time," Charlie said, almost without thought. "It's only two."
"What?" asked Buffy.
"Daylight Savings Time," Charlie said, looking up. "See, clocks around the world are set by a standard, Greenwich Mean Time, or GMT. Because of their locations, Moscow is GMT plus three, meaning three hours ahead, and D.C. is GMT minus five. But during the summer, most of the U.S. observes Daylight Savings Time, which puts D.C. at GMT minus four, and only seven hours behind Moscow instead of the normal eight."
Xander and Buffy looked to Willow. "I did my math wrong," she said, and understanding lit up their eyes.
"And actually," Charlie said, "he's currently in England at a summit, so we're only four hours behind. It's about ten p.m. where he is."
The Scoobies nodded and began looking around the office a little.
"Charlie," said a voice from the hallway. A tall-ish man with red hair stuck his head in the office. "Justice was supposed to send over a file, Leo wants me to have a look at it."
"What was it about?" Charlie asked, turning his chair towards a stack of files on his desk.
"I dunno," the man said. "Maybe... crime?"
"You're going to have to be a little more specific, Josh," Charlie said.
"No, no, I know this," the man, Josh, apparently, said. He raised a hand to his brow. "Um, I think it was a review of the current death row cases in the Fourth District."
"Yeah," Charlie said, pulling a file from the middle of the stack and handing it to Josh.
"Thanks," the other man said. His eyes scanned across the room to the Scoobies. "Who are you guys?" he asked.
"They're nobody," Charlie said.
"Yeah?" Josh asked, his head turning back to Charlie. "Nobodies don't usually have meetings."
"Yeah, well," Charlie said, by way of explanation.
"Got it," said Josh. "Thanks for the file."
"Was that..." Willow started.
"Josh Lyman," Charlie said. A flicker of light caught his attention, and he stood up and smoothed out his tie. "If you folks will follow me?"
Charlie stepped out from behind his desk and walked over to the door that lead to the Oval Office. He knocked twice and opened it.
"Mr. President?"
"Yeah," was the answer.
"They're here, sir."
"Great. Send 'em in."
Charlie opened the door completely and ushered Buffy, Xander and Willow inside the Oval Office.
They were met by President Bartlet. Xander was struck by the fact that, despite his admittedly small stature, the man simply commanded the room with his presence. He imagined that was a useful skill, when one was the leader of the free world.
"Mr. President, this is Buffy Summers, Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris," Charlie said, indicating each one in turn.
"Nice to meet you," Bartlet said, shaking each of their hands. "Please, come in, have a seat. Would you like something to drink? Coffee? Water?"
"Umm," Buffy said, taking the initiative, "I'd love some coffee."
Willow and Xander nodded their assent.
"Charlie? Have some coffee sent up? And a drink for me."
"Yes, sir," Charlie said, before backing out of the room and closing the door.
"Please, sit down," Bartlet said, leading them to the couches in the middle of the room. "So," he said once they were all seated. "You've guessed, of course, why you're here."
"I voted for you!" Willow blurted, her excitement barely contained. Xander lowered his head and covered his mouth in an effort to hide his chuckles.
"Well, thank you," Bartlet said, an amused smile gracing his features. "Every little bit helps."
"Now that that's out of the way," Buffy said, as Willow reddened and did her best to hide her face from view. "What can we help you with, Mr. President?"
"Well, I have some issues I need clearing up, and I'm hoping you can help me with that," he said. "Issues involving, for instance, super-powered young women, and men who aren't quite men, but often look like it."
A young woman knocked on the door, then brought in a tray of coffee. She poured some for each all three Scoobies, and handed the president a tumbler of scotch.
"Did you have specific questions?" Xander asked once the woman had left. "Or were you looking for a general overview?"
"A general overview I've got," he said. "I need specifics."
"For instance?" asked Buffy.
"For instance, how did vampires come into being?"
Buffy nodded, becoming relaxed with a familiar topic. "The last true demon to leave this world mixed his blood with a human, who mixed his with another, and another, and on until they progressed to what they are now."
"And they told two friends, and they told two friends..." Xander muttered.
"True demon?" Bartlet asked, sparing a small smile for Xander.
"Yes, sir," Buffy said.
"The demons we have here on Earth aren't pure demons," Xander intoned. "They're limited by living in this plane, for the most part. Even the demons that exist here look down on vampires as half-breeds. Sir."
"So," Bartlet asked, "pure demons. What's different about them?"
"Well for one thing," Xander said, "they're bigger." Xander paused and looked down at his hands for a moment, before smiling wistfully. Bartlet saw one hand from each of the young women quickly and easily find one of Xander's, retreating only after imparting a comforting squeeze.
"They're bigger," Willow continued, having recovered from her embarrassment, "and they're more powerful. They can deal more destruction, and they're much harder to kill."
Bartlet nodded. "Have you ever had to kill one of these things?"
"Once," Buffy said. "You're aware that our high school blew up at our graduation?"
"Right," Bartlet said. "The gas explosion that wasn't. I remember from my briefing. That was a pure demon?"
"Yes, sir," Buffy said.
"And what did it take to kill it?"
"Enough ammonium nitrate to fill a small mansion," Xander said.
"You built a bomb?" Bartlet asked.
"Not just a bomb," Buffy said. "A very big bomb."
"And where did you get the know-how for this? I swear if you tell me the Internet I'm having the thing shut down."
"No, sir," Xander said. "I was once possessed by the spirit of a soldier, and some of his training stuck."
"Possessed," Bartlet said, flatly.
"Yes, sir," Xander said.
"But you're better now?"
"Yes, sir," Xander said. "I don't remember much of anything anymore."
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End Chapter 2