Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, school has been a little on the crazy side. The good news is I have this story outlined through part 10, and now it is my only WIP. I will try my hardest to update often. Thanks to everyone who reviewed part 4, it was much appreciated. I didn't get my ten reviews though! Please if you are reading this, let me know! Enjoy this chapter! I know this one may be slightly uneventful, but believe me, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. XD

Part 5

Saturday, June 24th, 2020

The next morning as Serena joined the other girls for breakfast she was mostly just trying to stay awake. She hadn't had any more dreams after finally falling asleep, but she had woken up several times. She could tell that Liz was worried about her, so she tried to pretend nothing was wrong. However she doubted that her best friend was falling for the act.

"Rena, are you sure you're okay?" Liz asked as they headed downstairs for breakfast.

"Yes, I told you I am. But can I just ask you a favor?" Serena asked nervously.

"What?" Liz asked, eager to help.

"Can you just not tell my mom what happened? She's been really stressed out lately and I just don't want her to worry," Serena said truthfully.

Liz nodded. She made a motion of zipping her lips and throwing away the key. Serena smiled.

Breakfast was fairly uneventful, and Serena was thankful that Mrs. Chester didn't fuss. Before long Stacey and Mary-Beth's respective parental units arrived, soon followed by Buffy and Angel.

"Hi sweetie, did you have a good time?" Buffy asked, hugging her daughter.

"Yeah, we had fun. Bye Liz! Thanks!" Serena said.

"Serena, wait," Mrs. Chester called. Serena froze, praying that she wasn't going to mention her nightmare.

"You left this in the bathroom," she said, holding out Serena's hairbrush.

Serena relaxed, and thanked her. Liz's mom told Buffy that she would call her about lunch, and the three of them left.

On the way home in the car, Serena noticed that her parents were slightly more relaxed, although the tension between them was still very visible. She figured they were probably trying to be nice for her. She realized that it was a good time to put her plan into action.

"You know, we haven't seen Grandpa Giles and Grandma Joyce in a while," Serena said nonchalantly.

"They were just over at the house last weekend," Buffy said.

Serena's mind raced. "Well, do we have anything better to do today?"

Buffy glanced at Angel and shrugged. "If you want to, of course we can pay them a visit."

Serena took a deep breath. "Great!"

"Do you want to go home first?" Angel asked from behind the wheel.

"No, let's go now," Serena said quickly.

Slightly bewildered by Serena's sudden enthusiasm to see her grandparents, Buffy shrugged. "Okay. To grandmother's house we go."

Joyce answered the door, surprised yet pleased to see her daughter, granddaughter, and son-in-law. "Hello! What a nice surprise! Come in!"

The three of them entered the house, which although it was considerably smaller, wasn't far from their own, and greeted Joyce with hugs. Although she was 60 now, Joyce still had a youthful air about her, possibly due to her relationship with Giles, or as she called him, Rupert. They had been together for over 18 years now, since becoming close during Buffy's stint as Lynn Herring. Although they had discussed it, the couple had never married, believing that love was more than just a piece of paper.

"Rupert, Buffy, Angel, and Serena are here!" Joyce called. But Serena wasn't paying attention. She was eyeing the large bookcase near the fireplace, where she knew her grandfather kept his books that had once resided in the Sunnydale High School library. She just needed to get alone with them for a few minutes. More would be nice, but hey, she would take what she could get.

"Hello," Giles said, coming in from the other room. He removed his glasses and greeted their company.

"So what brings you here? If I'd known you were coming I would have cooked some brunch," Joyce said brightly.

"It's okay, Serena was at Liz's for a sleepover and she wanted to come by," Buffy said, still wondering why. She knew Serena loved her grandparents a whole lot, but she had never suggested a visit before.

Joyce beamed. "How are you Serena?"

"I'm great," she lied. "I have finals this week," she added, trying to make small talk.

"Have you started studying?" Giles asked, sitting down on the couch.

Serena shook her head sheepishly. "No, but I will tonight!"

Everyone laughed. "I used to hear the same thing from your mother all the time," Joyce drawled.

"Well Serena's a much better student than I was. She must get it from her father," Buffy joked.

"Just like her artistic talent," Angel said with a smile. Serena was a talented artist, just like her father. She had always gotten top marks in art class and her work had won several awards at school. "But she gets her writing talent from her mother." Angel smiled at his wife, and she smiled back. If there was one thing Serena had to get from her, she was glad it was that.

"Do you enjoy English, Serena?" Giles asked.

Serena nodded. "I do." She was frantically trying to come up with an excuse to be alone in the room, but she was coming up empty.

"Oh Angel, I've been wanting to show you this new art piece I just got, imported from France." Joyce stood and motioned for everyone to follow her. Serena smiled to herself.

"Are you coming Serena?" Angel asked, standing up.

Serena shook her head. "I'm kinda comfortable." She patted the chair she was sitting in. "I'll make sure to look before we leave though."

Joyce nodded, satisfied. She guided Buffy and Angel towards the bedroom, going on about the painting. To Serena's excitement, Giles followed.

As soon as her grandmother's voice faded, Serena quickly crossed the room to the bookcase. She scanned the titles, looking for anything related to slayers or dreams. Hebron's Almanac, Bristow's Demon Index, Hell's Offspring...Coming up empty, she selected a random book, and began to flip through.

"Serena?" She jumped a mile, nearly dropping the book. She spun around to see Giles standing there, frowning. "What are you doing?"

Serena quickly replaced the book, blushing furiously. "I don't know, I was just bored, and you know, books equals fun!" she said lamely.

Giles raised an eyebrow. Buffy had never been a good liar, and it seemed to be a trait her daughter had inherited.

Serena looked down. She was busted. "If I tell you something, do you promise it can be our secret?" she blurted out.

Giles began to look very concerned. He sat down in a chair facing her. "Of course."

Serena paced back and forth. "I've been having these dreams. And they're kind of freaking me out."

"What kind of dreams?" Giles asked, slowly removing his glasses.

Serena shook her head. "I don't even know what they are. But it's happened twice, and both times I've seen these girls from the past. I think they were slayers, like my mom."

Giles sat up straight. "You've been having dreams about past slayers?"

Serena nodded. "But they're not exactly nice dreams. More like nightmares."

"How so?" Giles asked quietly.

"In both of my dreams, the slayer was killed," Serena said softly.

Giles sighed. "I see."

"Why am I having these dreams? How do I make it stop?" Serena begged.

The former Watcher chose his words carefully. "I'm not sure you can. But if you'd like, I can research," he suggested.

Serena nodded emphatically. "Please."

"Just tell me, what time periods were the slayers you dreamt of from?" Giles asked.

Serena thought. "The first one was Chinese, looked like maybe the 1800s, early 1900s? And the one last night was in the Middle Ages."

Giles nodded. His mind was racing, but he tried not to look alarmed. The poor girl was already frightened enough, and having nightmares of slayer deaths had to be fairly traumatic, especially considering her mother was one. Even though Buffy rarely slayed anymore.

"Grandpa Giles, promise me you won't tell my parents. Mom has been stressed out enough lately," Serena pleaded.

Giles smiled slightly. "You needn't worry, it will stay between us." For now. "Why has she been stressed?"

Serena sighed. "I think it's a combination of things. She's been sad because Professor Strang died, even though she hasn't let it show. And I think she's been thinking about Liam a lot lately."

Giles's face clouded at the mention of his deceased grandson. The loss of him had been hard on their entire family. He himself even still felt the guilt and pain five years later. "That's not surprising," he replied.

Their conversation was interrupted when Buffy, Angel, and Joyce rejoined them in the living room. Serena exchanged a meaningful look of thanks with her grandfather, and he smiled, although it looked like his mind was someplace else entirely.

"So Serena, you have a birthday coming up," her grandmother said, smiling.

"Yeah, I guess I do." Truthfully, she had almost forgotten.

"Are you going to have a party?" Joyce asked.

Serena smiled. "I don't know. Probably just something small. Fifteen isn't exactly a big one."

"Believe me, every year is big to a parent," Joyce said with a laugh.

They chatted for a little while longer before heading to the door. They all exchanged hugs, and Serena gave Giles another meaningful glance. He simply nodded and patted her shoulder.

Later that night, as Serena got ready for bed, she thought about her conversation with her grandfather earlier. It had been a relief to just tell someone what had been happening, and she knew that if anyone could figure out what was wrong, it was Giles. She stared at her bed, realizing that lying down and falling asleep meant being forced into the front row of another slayer death sequence. With a sigh, she grabbed the remote for her tv, hit the mute button, and began flipping channels.

"Rupert, you've been looking at those books all day. What is so important? Why don't you just come to bed?" Joyce pleaded.

Giles rubbed his forehead and gave her a tired smile. "Just a few more minutes."

"You didn't answer my first question," Joyce said.

Giles sighed. "Something has been brought to my attention, and I just need to see what my books have to say on the matter." He had never been able to lie to her, so right now being vague was definitely the best option.

Joyce joined him at the table and picked up the book he was currently reading. "The Pergamum Codex. Isn't this that book with the slayer prophecies?"

"Yes, the most ancient," Giles replied tightly.

"Is this about Buffy?" Joyce asked suspiciously.

"I have just been thinking about the slayer prophecies a lot because Buffy hasn't been...active in her duties," he said, looking down.

"But I thought another slayer can only be called if the first one dies," Joyce said.

"So did I," Giles muttered. He forced a smile. "Please, go to bed. I'll join you in a little while."

Joyce nodded, resigned. She gave him a kiss and walked away slowly.

Giles continued pouring over the Pergamum Codex. He scanned a passage, slowly cross referencing the languages with another volume. He stopped suddenly, going back to read the same passage again. After confirming the meaning, he slowly removed his glasses. "Damn."

March 30, 2015

"Hey Giles, what's up?" Buffy asked, as she and Angel entered the home of her mother and former Watcher. The last hours of daylight still touched the sky, and Giles was, as usual, pouring over an ancient-looking books.

"Buffy, Angel. I'm glad you're here. It seems that I miscalculated the exact date for the resurrection of the demon Kagesh. It appears that the demon has indeed already risen," he said, sounding stressed.

Angel nodded. "Well, I'll patrol. If the Kagesh shows, it's dead."

"Buffy, would you like to stay here and help me research?" Giles asked. His slayer was 6 months pregnant, and in no way capable of patrolling.

Buffy shrugged. "Not really in the researchy mood. More in the quiet dinner for two mood." She glared at Giles.

He smiled sheepishly. "I am sorry if I ruined your plans. I didn't realize my error until a short while ago. I was intending on helping Joyce with Serena, but more crucial circumstances have arisen."

Buffy nodded. "I'll just go home, sit with mom and Serena. Angel can slay the demon, and then we can go out to dinner as planned. Better yet, I can wait in the car while he kicks some demon butt."

"Buffy, I don't want you anywhere near this thing," Angel said firmly.

"It's okay, I think Buffy is aware of her limitations." Giles smiled fondly at the pregnant girl that was the closest thing he'd ever had to a daughter.

Angel obviously did not like the idea, but knew that Buffy had her mind set on a romantic evening, and if her waiting safely in the car while he killed the demon moved those plans up, he wasn't about to object. "Okay. I have weapons in the car." He took his wife's arm and they headed for the door.

"Do be cautious," Giles called after them.

Angel smiled. "Aren't I always?"

A/N: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Review!