Title: Sirens' Song
Author: Sinayah
Email:
Distribution: Ask and ye shall receive.
Rating: PG-13 so far, with an option for R and NC-17 later; those will be marked.
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Buffy, Angel, or Xmen. They belong to very rich people who don't appreciate them as we fanfic writers do.
Disclaimer 2: The Chapter Title and Lyrics belong to Trisha Yearwood and the song at the end is sung by Garth Brooks.
Authors Note: This and all chapters following are dedicated solely to those wonderful people who have waited so patiently for me to get my life together and continue with this fic. You know who you are, and it's been your faith in me that kept this story alive.
Chapter 19: How Do I Live
"how do I live without you? I want to know. How do I breathe without you if you ever go? How do I ever, ever survive? How do I, oh how do I live…"
The days after Serena's abrupt disappearance left an unfillable hole in the lives of the people she lived with. "I don't know what to do Lance, it's like we don't know how to live without her anymore. Kurt, Pietro, Rogue, they're all hurting so bad you can almost see it when you're in the same room with them. And seeing Logan is awful, he's not eating or sleeping, he just wanders the woods or sits for hours in the place where Kurt found her clothes, like he's hoping she'll appear out of thin air." The brunette told her boyfriend, leaning into his embrace with her head against his shoulder."
The rock tumbler moved with her over to the window seat, away from the disaster area she'd made of the kitchen while trying to make dinner from one of the missing woman's recipe books. "I know Kit Kat. She's special to everyone here, except maybe Jean. We all miss her, even me and the boys, but there's nothing we can do, we don't know where she's gone or what made her leave."
"Logan came and gave me a present from her for my birthday yesterday. I guess he found it in her room. She must've had it for a while; it was a model I saw in the craft shop that she took me into right after we started hanging out here. He said she'd have wanted me to get it even though she wasn't here to celebrate with me. I didn't even know she knew when my birthday was; let alone thought to get me a present. It hurts, you know, to find out she cared that much and not have her here to say thanks." The older boy replied, letting his hurt show to the girl.
The pair sat quietly in the window seat comforting each other until Scott and Faith walked in. "Another adventure in the kitchen Kitty?" The laser-eyed teen asked, trying to lighten the heavy mood of the room.
Kitty nodded against Lance's shoulder; "I just wanted everyone to sit down for dinner together again. I haven't seen everyone all together since Serena left. I miss it." She whispered, tears filling her eyes.
Scott sighed; he missed the nightly gatherings too. It was fun to have everyone together, just sitting and talking over dinner. He went over to the brunette couple and knelt so that he could see the girl's face. "Why don't Faith and I go out and bring back some Chinese food. Then we can call everyone down to eat together okay?" He said, hoping to make the younger girl feel better.
She gave her older teammate a smile and moved out of Lance's arms to hug him. "Thanks Scott, that'd be nice. Lance and I will get this mess cleaned up while you're gone."
The laser-eyed teen chuckled and passed Kitty back to her boyfriend. "You do that, and get some of the others to help. Cripes knows Todd and Freddy didn't clean up after they tried to cook last night." He said, going over to take Faith's hand before walking out to the garage.
"You make a pretty good big brother Shades. How many times have we gone out for food this week because somebody screwed up the kitchen?" The slayer asked as she hopped over the door and into the passenger seat of the red convertible.
Scott smiled a little, "Three, if you don't count us going by ourselves after that whatever it was Freddy and Todd made yesterday. I'm debating over whether I should ask Storm to go grocery shopping or not. If we run out of food no one can try to cook and accidentally poison us all." He said, chuckling.
Faith returned the laugh and leaned back in her seat, enjoying the wind blowing through her hair. "What's with everyone trying to cook anyway? Even Kurt and Pietro tried the other night, and they aren't doing much but hiding in their rooms this week."
Her question made the laser-eyed teen sigh, "It's a Serena thing. Before she came we pretty much lived on take out and whatever we could make ourselves, and we didn't all eat together much. After she got here she took over the cooking and made us all sit down for dinner every night. We were always to be home for supper unless we had a date or something planned in advance. I know I enjoy it, I've learned a lot about everyone from listening to them talk over dinner."
The brunette woman reached over and patted his hand where it sat on the gearshift. "I get it now, they're trying to take over where she left off, making it seem like she isn't gone. I just didn't notice it; I just thought that was how it always was when I got here. I know they miss her a lot, you miss her too don't you?"
He nodded in reply, "Yeah I do. She's been a big part of our lives since she came. Before, we were a fighting team that just happened to live together. We were friends, but not family. She made us family, and since she took off, we're falling back into what we were before. What about you?"
"I dunno, I miss having her around to talk to. She understands where I'm coming from since she knows more about demons and vamps and that kind of stuff than any of the other girls. We've had some interesting conversations since I got here, and she has some great stories." The slayer replied. The pair continued to drive in comfortable silence, each thinking about their missing friend and wondering why she'd left.
The attempt at a group dinner would've been a success, if Jean hadn't interfered. Scott and Faith had gotten back with loads of Chinese food and laid it out on the table before calling the others. They came in a few at a time and sat down after serving themselves, beginning somewhat tentative conversations. The telekinetic girl was seated next to Kurt, and was disgusted when the boy turned to his girlfriend and started asking the witch about possibly using magic to find Serena.
She was even more disgusted when everyone else turned to pay rapt attention to the young woman's ideas. "This is so stupid!" Jean yelled, turning their eyes to her as she jumped up from her seat. "Why don't you all just move on for crying out loud! So the bitch is gone, who cares? I'm not going to sit here and pretend to be sorry she's vanished, hell I say send the vampire, the witch, and the damned slayer after her and hope they never come back!"
"Serena's been nothing but trouble since she got here, and now she's brought all these freaky demons and demon fighters here and gotten us involved in some stupid fight that has nothing to do with us. I can't believe you're all so miserable without her!" With a jerk of her head, she sent the food flying up to land all over the table and its occupants before trying to storm out.
Only trying, because Rogue got to the door first and decked the girl with no preamble. Jean hit the floor hard, her hand rose to her quickly swelling eye. Rogue leaned down close to the other girl and said, "You spiteful little bitch. How dare you say those nasty things and ruin our dinner. Serena was nothing but nice to you, but you're so jealous of her that you can't stand it, and you can't stand anyone else liking her."
"Well I've got news for you Jean. We all like Serena, we love her, and we want her back. We'd rather have her here than you, and you can bet that we wouldn't be half as worried if you were the one to disappear. Just stay the hell away from us; I'm not the only one here who's had enough of your bitchy attitude. Keep it up, and the next person who hits you is likely to be a lot stronger than me." Rogue threw a nasty look at the other girl and stalked back to the table where she joined the effort to clean up the spilled food.
Willow and Evan hadn't watched the exchange between Rogue and Jean. They were too busy looking after their boyfriends. Kurt was shell-shocked over his older teammate's vicious comments and judging by the fire burning behind his eyes, he was angry too, and Pietro had tears gathering in his eyes. With a look between them, the witch and the chocolate skinned blond stood and took their partners hands to lead them from the room.
They went up to the third floor, to Pietro's room. Evan led his boyfriend to the bed and sat with him, leaning back against the headboard when the smaller boy climbed into his lap. Willow brought Kurt to sit at the other end of the bed and held his hand, watching the white fire of anger in his opalescent eyes die down as he calmed. After a few minutes of silence, Pietro turned his head from Evan's shoulder to meet Kurt's eyes. "Mama will come back Kurt, she told me she would." He said quietly.
"But she didn't tell me. She always tells me goodbye when she leaves. I don't even know why she left, since you say you can't tell her secret. I'm worried about her. You didn't see her clothes when I found them; they were ripped to shreds. What happened to her after she left the house?" The blue furred boy replied, covering his face with his hands and shaking his head.
Willow leaned in and gave her boyfriend a hug, "Kurt, she's okay. Serena knows how to take care of herself. We know she's alive, the residual link from the spell we did together tells me that much, and Spike says his link with her is still firm. Logan and Professor Xavier think she dove off the cliff, and that's why she left her clothes behind, she didn't need them in the ocean. Believe me Kurt, she's okay."
Evan was nodding and voiced his agreement with the witch. "She's right. 'Rena knows how to handle herself, and if she needed to get away for a while the ocean's where she'd go. You two need to remember that, and that she'll come back when she's ready. Do you think she'd be happy with you cutting classes and hiding out in here all the time, worrying about her? I don't think she would; in fact I think she'll rip you up one side and down the other when she comes back and finds out you ditched the chemistry test on Wednesday."
The two couples talked for a long while, as had become their habit over the week. Kurt and Pietro didn't want to be around the others much, especially Jean, and Pietro seemed almost scared to be in the same room with Logan. So, they all met up in one of their rooms during the evening and talked or studied together. Both Evan and Willow were worried about their boyfriends and did their best to support them when their surrogate mother's disappearance dragged them into depression, but each hoped that the woman would return soon and bring happiness back with her.
Logan was fuming over Jean's words, and her destruction of what was looking like the one good spot in a very bad week for the group. One glance around the room showed that everyone else shared his anger at the redhead, and it only increased when Willow and Evan led their hurting boyfriends from the room. When the group had finished cleaning themselves and the dining room, the big man walked over to Scott and Faith, who were talking with Lance and Kitty. "I wanted to say thanks, for trying this. It woulda helped everyone if Jean hadn't gone and ruined it with her temper tantrum. You did good, all four of ya." He said quietly.
Kitty came forward and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, "She'll come back soon won't she Logan? We tried, but it's just not the same without Serena here." The girl asked in a whisper.
"Yeah baby girl, she'll be back soon. We just gotta hang tough until she does. I know none of ya really understand why she left, but she did have her reasons. The last thing she said was that she'd be back, only that she didn't know when. You know Chatty doesn't lie, so we just have to wait for her to show up and let her know how much we missed her so she won't get it in her head to take off again." Logan replied, hugging the girl back and petting her hair as he spoke.
He held the girl for a few moments before nodding to Lance, "Okay Kitten, go on back to your rock tumbler. If you've gotta come to an old grump like me for a hug I'm gonna decide he's not good enough for ya after all and scare him off." He said, passing her off to the boy and chuckling a little at the kid's expression.
Logan patted the nervous looking teen on the shoulder and walked off, heading for the door after bumming a cigarette from Spike. A few minutes later, the vampire took his girlfriend's hand and led her outside, following the scent of his friend toward the cliffs. His keen eyes saw the big man as they approached, sitting under a tree near the spot Serena's clothes had been found.
The couple joined him on the ground, and Rogue leaned her head against the dark haired man's shoulder while her boyfriend lit them both a smoke. "You okay Logan?" she asked, turning her eyes up to see his stoic face.
The big man took a drag from his cigarette and put his arm around the girl to keep her warm. "As good as I can be Spitfire, as good as I can be. How bout you though? I heard you havin a nightmare last night and came to check, but Spike and Kitty were with ya."
"I'm okay, just one of those times when I get flashes from the lives of people I've touched. I've never had one of 'Rena before, but I guess not having her here brought one up. I saw the first time she changed form and since it scared her, it scared me." She replied, recalling the dream of looking down only to see a magnificent fish tail where her legs used to be.
Spike shook his head, "I remember that, it happened not long after we found her. She was trying to teach Dru how to ice skate and fell through a thin patch, changed on instinct. Imagine my surprise when Dru and I hauled her out to find her transformed; her eyes, fangs, claws, fins, and that tail. Poor Nymph was so scared of herself she went into shock, took hours before she was feeling calm and secure enough to force herself back to normal." The vampire told them, remembering the fear he'd felt as he and Dru held their little girl between them while she shook and cried in fright over her changed state.
Logan nodded his understanding, "I think that happens to every new mutant at some point. It did to me when I first saw my claws and how my skin healed right up when they retracted. Happened to most of the kids here too if I remember right."
It didn't surprise the vampire to hear that, "Happens to us as well. Waking up a vampire is a damned scary thing, feeling your face change at the first scent of blood, the demon taking up residence where your soul used to be. Looking at me now, you wouldn't recognize the human I used to be, William Masterton, geek extraordinaire."
Hearing his full name, both Logan and Rogue turned to look at him with curious eyes. "William Masterton? Isn't that 'Rena's last name Sugar?" Rogue asked.
"Oh, that's why you're both looking at me funny. Yeah, when we set her up in New Orleans, she didn't want to be Nichola Kalinskia anymore, so Dru and I gave her a new name and set up the paperwork for it. Serena Annabelle after Dru's sisters, and my human surname. It took about a year to convince her it wasn't a good idea to call me Gramps." The blond replied, laughing a bit at the joke he shared with the young woman.
When only Rogue's light laughter joined his, Spike sighed and turned his ice blue eyes to see Logan staring out into the darkness. "Logan mate, why do you keep coming out here?" He asked.
The big man lifted his hand from Rogue's shoulder and pointed to the cliff, "Because that's her spot, where the Elf found her clothes. She comes here to think, and when she has something important to say to someone she brings them here. If what we think is right, and she jumped, then she's out there in the water somewhere, and when she heads back, she'll come to this spot."
"I can't sit here and wait much longer Spike. I need to know she's okay, that she's safe and not drowning in that god-awful memory I helped bring out of her. It'll be a week tomorrow that she's been gone, and if she doesn't turn up by then, I'm goin after her the next day." He stood up then, and walked over to the edge of the cliff to look out over the water. "I'm comin after you Darlin, cause I don't know how to live without you anymore." He whispered before turning away and heading back to the house.
True to his word, the next night Logan called a house meeting and announced that he was giving Serena one more day to reappear and if she didn't, he was going after her. Everyone agreed with him, fearing for her safety after a week with no sign of her.
While Logan was announcing his intention to go looking for his missing mate, someone else stood on a lonely stretch of beach and watched as the form of a naked woman washed up just in front of their feet. The watcher placed a blanket over the bedraggled; half starved form and lifted her up with preternatural strength. The exhausted, badly injured woman was carried away from the beach and placed in a car.
Serena awoke while her injuries were being tended. When her amber eyes opened for a moment and she saw the huge, haunting brown eyes set in a delicate face surrounded by dark brown curls Serena gave a weary smile. "Take me home, please?" She said quietly.
Her rescuer tucked the blanket closer around her shoulders and got behind the wheel of the black luxury car with darkly tinted windows. As the car pulled out of the parking lot and turned toward the freeway a sweet voice replied in a far away tone, "Of course Pretty, I'll take you home."
"Home to Father, home with Mum. Home to Logan and the little ones. Home to rest, to wake and rise, home to take the devil's prize. No dolls, no stars, just you and me. Just you and me and your children three. Scattered by pain, brought together by fate. It's been so long, you mustn't wait. Claim your daughter, claim your sons. With family love, one battle is won." The singsong chant continued, repeating as the cars driver headed north, towards New York, towards Bayville, towards the sleeping woman's home.
It was sunset, and Logan and Spike were in the garage readying the big man's motorcycle for the trip ahead. They finished checking the bike and Spike pulled out his pack of cigarettes, shaking one out for himself and offering the pack to Logan. "If you wait a few minutes, till the sun goes down all the way, I'll walk you up to the gates. I hope you know what you're doing mate. The Nymph is damn fast in the water, fully transformed. You'll have a lot of ground to cover." The vampire said, worried both for the missing woman and the man who was leaving to find her.
"I know Spike, but I have to at least try to find her. I didn't realize how badly I fucked up with her until she told us about Magneto. I went off the deep end thinkin she'd been sleepin with you and it turns out she was raped. That day, you warned me not to put the word whore on her, but that was already the second time I'd done it, and now I know why she hates it so much, it's what he called her. I don't blame her for bein so pissed at me; I cut her to the core without even knowin it. I can't wait for her to come back any longer; it's drivin me crazy. At least if I'm out there lookin I know I'm doin somethin to bring her back." The big man replied with a deep sigh.
The two men finished their cigarettes, watching the sun sink below the horizon from the shelter of the garage. When it was safe for the vampire, Logan kicked up the stand on his bike and started walking up the long driveway. Spike pulled a piece of notepaper from one of his duster pockets and looked at it for a moment before handing it over. "What's this?" Logan asked.
The blond ran his fingers through his hair and rubbed his neck for a moment before he replied. "I've been watching the news reports and listening to the radio every day. That's a list of beaches where sea predators have been turning up dead. Sharks mostly, and a few stingrays and jellyfish, they've been washing up on beaches all down the New York coast and into Jersey for the last week. Reports say other predators or dolphins and the like killed them because they're torn up. A predator did them in alright, but none they've seen before. Nymph said she needed to lose herself for a while and she did. She let the Siren out and she's been killing anything that comes close enough."
"There's fifteen beaches on that list, heading straight down the coast. Follow the trail she's leaving; try to get ahead of her. Eventually it'll be a naked woman washing up on the beach, not whatever crossed her path. It's the only help I can give you, but it's more than what you had." They'd made it to the gates by the time Spike finished his explanation and Logan rested the bike against the wrought iron barrier.
The raven-haired man looked down at the notepaper, reading the list of public and private beaches and what was found there. He saw that the last beach was on the Jersey coast and asked, "This last entry, today?"
Spike nodded, "Yeah, two sharks were found washed up there this morning. She's making good time, I'd suggest you drive fast and get ahead of her. It's about a days drive for me, what with sunlight issues, but you should be able to get ahead by tomorrow and just wait for her to come to you."
Logan agreed and the two men shook hands. The big man straddled his bike and was putting his helmet on when he heard a car engine. He looked over at the vampire who was about to open the gate and said, "You hear that Spike? Someone must be lost, there aint nothing up here besides the mansion. You talked to Wheels last, he mention anyone coming by?"
"No, he didn't say anything. Don't take off just yet, in case it's trouble and not some idiot who got lost." The blond replied, looking down the road in the direction the noise was coming from. Logan laid his helmet over the bikes handlebar and the pair watched the road.
After a minute had passed, they saw a black Lincoln coming toward them. The driver of the car braked to a smooth halt in front of the gates and the automatic window on the passenger side rolled down. An alto voice with a lilting British accent came out of the dark interior. "Spikey, Spikey. I don't like what happens when I leave you alone. You went and got yourself in trouble and then you lost our songbird, naughty boy. Not to worry though, Isabella told me what was wrong and I came to visit. Pretty's wolf pet's been a bad doggy, but the stars say he's sorry and that her little ones need her, so I brought her home. Be a good boy now and open the gate so I can come in. My pretty one is all cold and tired from playing with the fishes."
Spike groaned. He couldn't help it really. He'd finally gotten used to being around people who didn't talk to stars and dolls and Satan knew what else and now here she was, in all the beautiful, undead flesh. "'Ello Dru. Back the car up so you can get in once we open the gate." He said in a resigned tone.
"Thank you Lovey. We're quite tired and I'm hungry. Pretty is too tired to feed me tonight but she said you had plenty of yummy bagged food here. When did they start putting people in bags Spikey?" Came the voice from the car again. The vampiress didn't wait for an answer and started backing the car up.
The blond gave another groan and punched in the code for the gate. He glanced over at Logan who, though he looked confused as all hell, was smirking at him. "Shut the bloody hell up and help me open the damned gate." He grumbled.
The smirk broadened and threatened to become a laugh but the younger man held himself in check and simply said, "I didn't say a word, and I'm not gonna. She hasn't been here two minutes and she's already called me a bad doggy. I'm not gonna give her reason to have another go at me."
The two men pulled the massive gate open and watched the black car drive through. Drusilla didn't stop to wait for them and continued up the driveway to the mansion. "Shit, hurry up Logan, she's going to need an invitation which means we have to convince the Prof to issue one. Oh, this is not going to be fun." The vampire said, resisting the urge to groan again. The men quickly got the gate shut and locked before jumping on the bike and roaring back down the drive.
They found Drusilla's car parked in front of the mansion and Logan let Spike off the motorcycle to talk to his former girlfriend while he put the bike back in the garage and went to explain to Charles. Spike approached the luxury car, wondering when his ex had learned to drive, and saw the woman's behind sticking out the open back door of the vehicle. "Pretty, Serena, it's time to wake up now. Mummy's brought you home to your Daddy and your wolf-pet and little ones. You want to see your little ones don't you? Wake up now." He heard the vampiress speaking to her passenger.
"Budge over Pet, let me see the Nymph. Her mate's inside now wrangling you an invitation so we'll be able to get you some blood in a minute." Spike said, coming up and patting Drusilla's rear to make her move.
The brunette woman let Spike take her place and the vampire leaned in to see Serena asleep under a blanket. He shook her gently and watched her amber eyes open and look at him blearily. "Spike? What're you doing he…oh, we must be home then. Cripes I'm tired." She said, her eyes closing again.
The blond man shook his head and muttered, "Gonna make me carry you, aren't you Nymph. No matter, I don't mind. It's good to have you home Luv, you've been missed." He went to lift the blanket away so that he could pick the small woman up but after glimpsing only a lot of bare skin underneath, he hoisted her into a sitting position instead and wrapped the blanket more securely around her before lifting her from the car.
"Couldn't you have stopped long enough to dress her Dru? No wonder she's cold. Come on then, looks like Logan found the Professor." He said, turning and walking toward the front steps. He paused a moment later and turned to the vampiress. "I want a promise from you Drusilla, on the link we share with Serena. You promise me that you will not bite any of the humans who live here, or any that come to visit. You don't bite them; you don't even threaten to, understand? These are my friends, and they're Serena's friends, they are not food."
The insane woman nodded, "I promise Spike, on the link we share with our songbird. She already made me promise not to hurt anyone while I'm visiting. Can we go inside now? I want to see the bagged food, I can eat that right?" She said in a childish voice.
The blond took a deep breath and started up the stairs. "Yes Ducks, you can eat the bagged food." He said, hoping that a bit of time with Serena would make the vampiress more rational. Drusilla always seemed a bit saner when the amber-eyed woman was present. Serena didn't allow the other woman's flights of fancy and insisted she behave as rationally as she could.
The vampires came to stand just outside the French doors and Spike adjusted his burden before addressing Charles. "Professor Charles Xavier, may I present the Lady Drusilla, childe of Angelus. Serena and I both have her promise that she will harm no one while in this house. It's a promise she can't go back on prof. You can trust her."
"Good evening Drusilla, I've heard much about you from Spike and Serena. Won't you come in please?" The bald man said, holding his hand out for the vampiress. Dru placed her hand in his and stepped past the barrier.
Charles looked up at the lovely, ancient woman, expecting to hear some kind of nonsense in reply to his invitation and ended up getting the shock of his life. 'Thank you for the invitation. I've missed my Pretty and I'm looking forward to visiting with her and meeting her little ones. I promise I won't hurt anyone here.' The telepaths mind was filled with Dru's lilting voice as he locked eyes with her and she projected the words to him.
Spike noticed the professor jump in surprise and bumped Drusilla with his shoulder. "Be good Dru, don't scare the man whose home you're staying in. Logan, come here and take the Nymph up to her room. I need to get Dru fed and settled before the niblets come across her." The blond said, holding the sleeping woman out to her mate.
Logan came forward and took the small woman in his arms, cuddling her close to his chest. He turned toward the stairs and started walking but was halted by a womans chiding voice. "You be good to my Pretty. If you're a bad doggy again I'll have to punish you. I don't like it when Serena is unhappy. She won't sing for me if she's unhappy." Drusilla said in a very serious and slightly threatening tone.
The big man turned and nodded at the vampiress. "Yes ma'am, I don't want her to be unhappy either." He replied and started away again only after receiving a nod and wave of permission from her.
Walking up the stairs slowly so he wouldn't jostle the sleeping woman, Logan peered down at her elfin face. Her skin was darker, tanned from a week in the ocean under the bright sunlight. Her face was thinner, and she felt lighter, which he imagined came from living on he didn't want to know what during her absence. He nudged open the door to their bedroom, glad he'd taken the time to straighten up that afternoon in preparation for when he returned with her.
He laid her down on the bed and went to her dresser to retrieve some clothes. He came back with a pair of panties, some lycra leggings, and one of his flannel shirts for her but rethought the idea of dressing her himself. For all he knew she was still angry with him and he didn't want to risk ticking her off even more by dressing her without her permission. Instead, he laid the clothes down beside her and went to the intercom. "Storm, Faith, please come to Serena's room, it's important." He said into the box, calling for help from the two oldest female residents.
He met the women outside and ushered them into the room. "As you can see, Chatterbox is back. Spike's ex girlfriend brought her in just as I was taking off. She's cold and tired, probably hungry too. I don't want to risk pissing her off so would you two mind checking her over and getting her dressed?" He asked hopefully.
"No problem Wolf. Blondie's ex though? Isn't she a candidate for the vamp mental hospital?" The slayer asked, going over to sit on the bed beside the sleeping woman.
Logan shrugged, "From what I can tell, Xander isn't kidding when he calls her Loony Toons. She was telling Spike about Chatty's doll and the stars telling her to come here. Not to mention she called me a bad doggy, and got away with it. I think she's gonna be stayin a while though, so you can't stake her."
Faith grumbled about that but replied, "Five by five, as long as she doesn't try to eat anyone I won't dust her. You might want to warn her that there's a slayer in residence before she sees me though. Vamps like her can sense slayers and I don't want her attacking me because I surprised her."
The big man nodded and thanked his female teammates, then left the room so that they could take care of Serena, telling them that he would be back in a while. He headed back downstairs, using his nose to track the vampires. Dru's perfume and Spike's aftershave led him to the elevator, so he figured the blond was getting his ex something to eat.
He found the pair in the infirmary where they stocked the blood bags that wouldn't fit in Spike's mini fridge. The vampiress seemed to be entranced by the ruby liquid and was turning the bag from side to side, watching the blood move. He gave Spike a quizzical look and the blond shrugged and said, "Whatever makes her happy mate, that's her third bag. You get the Nymph settled?"
"I called Ororo and Faith in to check her over and get her dressed. They'll probably wake her up to have a bath too since she smells like salt water and dead fish and there was God only knows what in her hair. The Firecracker said I should make sure Drusilla knew about her in advance, something about sensing her and attacking because she was surprised." Logan replied, coming over to sit with his friend.
Spike nodded and called to the brunette woman, "Quit playing with your food Pet, and come over here when you're finished, I need to talk to you." He watched the vampiress bite into the bag and turned to Logan, "Good idea that, she's right. Master vampires, like Angelus, Dru, and I, can sense slayers when they're near. You saw my reaction in L.A. when we got to the pouf's place and I sensed her. We don't like slayers, obviously. They're our natural enemy. If you spend enough time around them though, you get used to the creepy feeling. Best to warn her anyway, keep any accidents from happening."
Three pints of blood obviously helped the woman's mental state. She joined the men as Spike finished explaining about sensing slayers and took a good look at Logan. "Spike, didn't you kill this one? I remember him, but you said he was dead. How can he be dead? He's not one of us, but he's here and he claimed my Pretty."
The blond sighed and hoped Dru would understand his explanations. "Logan is like Serena Dru, he's a mutant. He can heal himself much faster than even we can. I thought I killed him that night, but he managed to heal himself after I left. There are a lot of mutants here Ducks, all the Nymph's little ones have different powers. You'll get to meet them in a little while, once Serena is awake and can come down. They're going to want to thank you for bringing her back, they've missed her."
"That's nice, the stars told me the little ones needed my Pretty. And it's good that you didn't kill her wolf-pet. He makes her happy so she'll sing for us." The brunette replied and turned her dark eyes on Logan. "You won't hurt her again will you? You won't make the devil-man haunt her dreams again?" She asked, looking up to meet his sapphire gaze.
Logan shook his head negatively, "No ma'am. I didn't mean to hurt her before, and I'm gonna apologize to her when she wakes up again." He answered honestly.
Dru reached up and patted his stubbled cheek. "That's good. You tell her you're sorry and she'll be happy. She'll sing for us and we won't go funny in our heads anymore because Mister Bald Man fixed her voice. Did you want to tell me anything else Spikey?"
Both Spike and Logan were too busy laughing for a few moments over her nickname for the professor to answer her question. When Spike finished chuckling he replied, "Yes Ducks, I have to tell you about some of the other people who are here. You remember when we went to the hellmouth? We met the slayer there, and her friends?"
"I remember. There was a little tree girl, and the funny boy and the yummy tasting book man. I liked him, he kissed very well." The brunette answered, causing Logan to choke and shoot Spike a questioning glance.
Spike rolled his eyes over the comment and continued, "Yeah, that's them. They're here now Dru. Willow lives here and the whelp and watcher live in town. There's also a slayer here, but not the blonde one who hurt us. This slayer is pretty good, she won't hurt you as long as you keep your promise and don't harm anyone here alright?" The woman nodded agreement and waited for him to continue, which he did after a moment, "There's one more thing Dru. I met someone here, someone I love. I…"
A delicate hand tipped in dark purple nail polish stopped the blond. "I'm a bit mad Spikey, not stupid. I know about your Spitfire, and I'm happy for you. I hoped you would find someone new to love when I told you to go. Miss Edith told me about the girl you met and she said you were happy. I want to meet her though; I have to make sure she'll take good care of my William."
The vampire closed his eyes and smiled underneath the woman's fingertips. He raised his hand and took hers away so that he could kiss her knuckles. This, he remembered, was why he had stayed with the insane woman for over a hundred years. No matter how bad she got, how many times she had visions that left her weak and talking only to her dolls for months, she always wanted him to be happy. "Thank you Dru. Rogue does make me happy. I may not be with you anymore Luv, but you'll always be my Princess."
Logan watched as Spike raised his and Drusilla's hands over their heads and the woman turned in a circle underneath. He decided to give the vampires a few moments to themselves and walked over to the intercom. He punched the number for Serena's room and called, "Hey Faith, Ororo, how are things going up there?"
The weather witch answered him a moment later. "Things are going well Logan. Serena is awake and says she is feeling better, though she's tired. I see you're calling from the infirmary. Would you mind bringing up some bandages, tape, and stitching supplies? She has some nasty injuries. I was just about to go down there myself."
"Sure thing 'Ro, We'll be up in a minute." He replied and cut the connection. While he gathered the supplies, he told Spike and Dru where he was going and asked them to come along. They took the elevator up to the second floor and hurried down the hallway to Serena's room.
They entered quietly and found the three women on the king sized bed. Serena was lying down with her flannel shirt tucked up under her breasts, exposing a raw looking scrape across her left side and belly. They'd traded the lycra leggings Logan had picked out for a pair of cotton shorts so that Ororo could continue to hold a towel against her leg. "Good, you're here. Give Faith one of those bandages Logan, and Spike; she says you or your friend can do something about her leg. It won't stop bleeding." The dark skinned woman ordered.
Both men came forward and Logan handed over the requested supplies before stepping back to watch what was happening. He was feeling nervous now that his lover was awake and didn't quite know what to do with himself so he simply sat down in the rocking chair and watched.
While Faith bandaged up her abdomen, Spike lifted her right leg up and removed the makeshift compress to reveal another large scrape along with a fairly deep cut that ran from the bottom of her thigh to the middle of her shin. "What in the hell did this Nymph?" He asked before going game face and lapping at the wound to try to seal it.
"Shark. I ran into a big one last night, the tear is from something that was stuck in its hide. Damned thing was almost too much for me to handle. It caught me off guard; I had changed back to my normal form and was swimming to shore when it came at me. I was able to force my claws out and blind it to get away, but not until after it did this. Luckily, Dru was waiting when I washed up and managed to stop the bleeding before she brought me home." Serena replied, sending a grateful look over to the brunette vampire.
The Slayer had finished with her bandaging and lowered the flannel shirt before she spoke up. " Storm and I didn't realize how bad it was when we first saw it. It was scabbed over; we thought it was just a nasty scratch since she has that scrape right around it, but the damned thing came open and started bleeding when the water softened the scab and we realized how deep it was. Scared the shit outta me when we couldn't get it to stop."
The amber-eyed woman smiled and replied, "Sorry Faith, if I'd been a little more coherent I would've warned you it was bad."
A few minutes later Spike raised his head from her leg and asked the weather witch for the stitching supplies. Ororo handed him the threaded needle and backed away, looking a little green. Muttering all the while, the blond stitched the wound shut, wincing in sympathy every time Serena did. When he was done, he bandaged her leg tightly from thigh to ankle and elevated it, telling the younger woman in no uncertain terms that she was to stay off the leg until it healed thoroughly. Finished with their job of putting the hypnotist back together, Ororo and Faith left with Spike and Dru close behind them.
Before he left though, Spike stopped next to Logan and leaned down to whisper in his ear, "Talk to her Wolf, and don't muck it up. I don't want to see either of you until you've worked things out." The blond patted his friend's shoulder and rushed out after the women, knowing he needed to keep Dru out of sight until they could announce her presence to the teens.
Logan watched the door close behind his vampiric friend and turned back toward the bed to find Serena looking back at him. He gave a nervous smile and felt his heart flutter when she returned it with one of her own. She patted a spot on the bed next to her and called to him softly, "Logan, come sit with me, please?"
The big man moved to her side eagerly and sat down next to her. Unable to resist, he took her hand in his and raised it to his cheek, nuzzling the soft skin and breathing in her scent. He looked down into her whiskey-hued eyes and found her still smiling. "Logan, I'm so sorry about before. I should've told you, about Spike, Pietro, Magneto. The fight we had was my fault, and I'm sorry. I stand by what I said, who Pietro's father is shouldn't matter here, but I should've told you about everything."
He saw her eyes fill with tears of regret and replied, "No Chatty, it was as much my fault as yours. I shoulda asked you about your relationship with Spike when I first suspected somethin. You were right about Speedy too, it doesn't matter who his father is, he's a good kid. I'm sorry for bein an asshole that day, for not wanting risk sounding stupid for askin questions. Forgive me?"
"If you'll forgive me. I love you Logan, and I missed you so badly while I was away, but I couldn't come back, not until I purged all the feelings reliving that memory left in me. But I'm glad Dru found me and brought me home, I don't think I could've lasted much longer without seeing you and making things right between us. Are we alright now Logan? Is everything okay between us?" Her golden eyes pleaded, sparkling with unshed tears.
Logan nodded and his lips turned upward in a grin that lit up his sapphire eyes. "More than okay Darlin, much more than okay. I love you Serena, and I missed you like I'd miss breathin. " He leaned down as he spoke, and pressed his lips to her sweet mouth in a kiss that spoke of forgiveness and love that wouldn't fade no matter how many arguments and misunderstandings came their way.
An hour later the raven-haired couple were interrupted by a knock on their door. They'd spent their time alone talking about their pasts, as well as their shared present and future. Logan answered the door, greeting their visitors and allowing the group inside. Charles was the first in, and since the professor hadn't had a chance to welcome their missing housemother back, he went directly to her bedside. "Welcome home Serena. We've missed you around here."
The amber-eyed woman sat up and swung her good leg over the side of the bed so that she could lean down and hug the telepath. "I've missed you too Charles, and everyone else. I'm glad to be home."
Spike, Dru, Ororo, and Faith came in after the wheelchair bound man and spread themselves out around the room. After Logan had helped Serena back onto the bed and adjusted her injured leg on a pile of pillows Charles explained the impromptu meeting. "I just wanted to inform you all that I've telephoned Rupert and Xander. I told them that you were back Serena, and who brought you. They have some concerns about Miss Drusilla being here and are coming over to talk about it, and of course, to welcome you home."
The blond vampire was nodding his agreement and spoke up next, "I expected that. Ripper will be okay once we tell him Dru promised on the Rite of Sire bond not to harm anyone, and the whelp trusts him. I don't anticipate any problem from them, it's Jean I'm worried about. She's not going to be happy to find out the Nymph is back, and she'll pitch a fit over Dru visiting."
"I gotta agree with Blondie Professor, Giles and Xander will be okay but Miss Priss is gonna freak out big time." Faith put in and got a unanimous round of agreement from the other residents.
Charles gave a deep sigh, "I'm worried about Jean. She hasn't been herself for months and she took an unusual amount of pleasure both in Serena's disappearance and in provoking those of us who were upset over our missing friend. We'll need to speak with her about this soon, but for now she will just have to live with it I'm afraid."
"Now, I believe we have guests about to arrive and a group of teenagers who will be most pleased to see their housemother back. Ororo, would you please ask everyone to meet in the rec room in ten minutes? And Faith, my dear would you go down to the gates and meet our visitors?" The women agreed and left the room to complete their tasks and the telepath followed them after asking the remaining four to come down when he called for them.
After the door closed behind the professor, Serena turned her amber gaze on the vampiress who was sitting in her rocking chair, murmuring to the porcelain doll that usually resided there. "Dru? Come over here with me would you?" she called.
The brunette smiled and carefully sat Isabella back in the chair before coming over to sit next to her friend. "What is it Pretty? I was having a lovely chat with Isabella. I haven't visited with her in quite a while and she has many things to tell me." The vampiress asked.
Serena smiled indulgently for a moment before she took the other woman's pale hand and looked into her hypnotizing eyes. "Were you listening to us Dru? You're going to meet my friends in a few minutes. I want you to be yourself when you meet them Dru, no stars, no Isabella or Miss Edith, just you, just Dru. Can you do that for me? I want my friends to meet the real Drusilla, not the mad vampire."
Drusilla seemed to fade away and her eyes went glassy for a moment before she came back to herself. Serena and Spike both grinned at the vampiress when they saw the light of sanity and keen intelligence in her dark eyes rather than the twinkles and sparkles that usually occupied them. "Yes Serena love, I can do that. It's easier with my stars and dolls, but I can be myself for you."
"Thank you Dru, I know it's hard for you, but it's better this way. I've always told you reality might be more difficult, but it's better than imagination." Serena replied, leaning forward to hug her best friend.
Spike made a disgruntled noise and put his two cents in, "Hey, I've told her that as well you know. How come you only listen to the Nymph Dru?"
The women laughed, and it was a beautiful sound. "Because she says things worth listening to and you don't Spikey." Drusilla replied, setting Serena off in laughter again with Logan joining in. Even the blond had to chuckle over his ex girlfriend's joke once he finished blustering at her.
Once they'd recovered from their humor, Serena had Dru pick something out of her closet to exchange for the elegant gown the vampiress was currently wearing and a much more modern woman emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later. She'd chosen a royal blue halter-top that left her arms and midriff bare and a pair of black cotton pants that had a silver and gold Chinese dragon coiling up each leg. Her mahogany curls had been brushed out and hung loose around her shoulders to the middle of her back. "You look wonderful Dru." Serena complimented, with Spike and Logan immediately voicing their agreement.
A minute later, Charles called over the intercom for Logan and Spike to come down with their surprise. Anxious to see her friends, Serena swung herself off the bed and stood up, only to fall back when she put weight on her injured leg. Spike started chiding her for disobeying his orders while Logan lifted her into his arms and they left the room with Spike and Serena arguing all the way down about which one of them was the worst patient.
By the time they reached the closed door to the rec. room Drusilla had joined the argument on Serena's side. Spike was too busy being double-teamed to think before he opened the door and he barged in grumbling, "Bloody women. Someone remind me why I don't stake one and eat the other?"
The gathered people could only sit in stunned silence when Drusilla followed the blond into the room, and then Logan came in carrying Serena. The two women gave each other a look; "Because you love us Spikey!" they replied together in childish, singsong voices, which made Logan laugh.
"No I don't. I hate you both. You're pains in my arse, thorns in my side, and headaches worse than this bloody chip." The vampire returned before taking note of where he was. "Ah, bugger. Surprise." He said to the teens, gesturing toward Serena.
There was a sudden rush of activity as many of the teens started to get up to greet their housemother. "Whoa rug rats! Let me sit her down somewhere before you mob her." Logan called to stop them. He didn't want to end up on his butt at the bottom of a pile of teenagers.
Faith got up from the couch she was sitting on and hauled Scott and Lance off as well, giving Logan a place to put the small woman. The big man nodded gratefully and sat his burden down gently on the middle cushion, leaving the sides open for the two boys who'd been as worried and depressed over her disappearance as he had. He backed off after commandeering a footstool for her leg and took up a position behind her. None of the teens made to get up again until he raised an eyebrow and said, "Well, doesn't anyone want to say hello anymore?"
They came forward a bit more calmly this time, greeting their teammate with hugs of welcome. As Logan had expected, Kurt sat down beside the raven-haired woman when he hugged her and cuddled in close, wrapping his tail around her waist as he spoke to her in his native German. What did surprise the big man was that Pietro, who'd been agonizing over his surrogate mother's disappearance, was not the first to reach her. Instead, the speedster was hanging back, his whole manner screaming insecurity and nervousness. Serena also seemed to have noticed the teen's absence, and after she'd given Xander a warm hug, her eyes locked with the boy's silvery blue ones and she held her arms out, softly calling to him, "Ptichka?"
The snowy-haired teen came forward and sat down, tentatively wrapping his arms around the woman's small waist. The feel of her arms coming around him to return the embrace seemed to break through his insecurity and he tightened his hold, burying his face into her neck and whispering hoarsely into her ebony curls, "I'm sorry Mama, so sorry. Please don't leave me again."
Serena's eyes became troubled when she heard the boy's words and she pulled back just enough so that she could lift his face up with one hand. She saw tears gathering in his eyes and stroked his cheek, "What is this, little one? Why are you sorry? You haven't done anything wrong."
Pietro hid his face in her hair again as the tears he'd been holding back spilled over; "It's my fault, all my fault. He hurt you, I made you tell, made you leave. I'm sorry Mama." He whispered, the emotion making his voice crack and break. Serena tightened her hold, crushing the boy's small frame against her.
The woman tried to soothe the snowy-haired boy, rocking him gently back and forth and murmuring softly against his ear. She felt Logan lean down from his place behind the couch and heard him whisper to Kurt. A moment later the blue furred teen had his arms around both of them and they vanished with a whiff of smoke.
Logan had asked the German boy to teleport Serena and Pietro up to her room so they could have some privacy. The group still had no idea of the circumstances behind their teammate's disappearance, and the big man didn't think they needed to witness the conversation between the woman and boys.
Serena was grateful to her mate for gaining them some much-needed privacy. The trio had landed softly on her bed and she scooted up against the headboard, bringing Pietro with her so that he was lying against her chest. She looked up when she felt Kurt remove his arms and tail from around her and whispered to the teen, asking him to stay and holding one arm out to embrace him as he came back to cuddle against her side.
Kurt didn't know why the amber-eyed woman had asked him to stay, as obviously something needed to be said privately between she and Pietro, but he wanted to remain close to her after her long absence, so he curled up with the pair and laid his head on her shoulder, enjoying the warmth of her embrace. She sang to them in a soothing tone, using the Ukrainian lullaby to relax them all.
When she felt they had all calmed sufficiently enough to talk, Serena coaxed both boys into sitting up so that they could see each other. "Now," she began, "Everyone tells me that both of you were very hurt and worried when I left, and I am sorry for that. I thought that we should talk about it, but first, I think you wish to know what has Pietro so upset, right Kurt?"
The blue-furred teen nodded in answer, and Serena sighed before giving a firm nod of her own. "You know something bad happened to me, I remember you stayed until Spike made everyone leave. After you left, I told Logan, Pietro, and Charles what happened, and then I went away. I told them about Magneto, and the time I met him. I told them that Magneto beat and raped me, and then took Pietro away. Pietro thinks it is all his fault, what happened to me, why I left."
Her eyes turned and fixed on Pietro then, she reached out and took his chin in her hand, lifting his face until he met her gaze. "It is not your fault Ptichka, none of it. You did not hurt me all those years ago, he did. You were just a child, asleep in bed when it happened. I was a stupid girl, I should have known it would do no good to fight with him, but I did, and I lost. It was my decision to fight for the child I loved, and I would do it again with no hesitation or regret. I never blamed you for it, and I never will. And you will not either, you understand me? You are responsible for no one's actions but your own. Not mine, not Magneto's, no one's."
"And it was also not your fault that I left, no more than Kurt or any of the other children are at fault for it. Yes, you asked me to tell you what happened, and it hurt to relive the memory, but that is only part of why I left. Several things went wrong that day, most of which I am not going to speak of with two teenage boys who do not need to know the details of my love life. I needed to get away, to lose myself until I had everything straight in my head again. So, you listen to me, and believe what I say, nothing is your fault." When she finished, her arms opened to welcome the snowy-haired boy, who returned her embrace with his normal fervor.
After a moment, Kurt was brought into their hug, and the older woman squeezed both boys tightly before releasing them to talk about the other thing on her mind. "Back to where I started now. I was not happy to hear how the two of you worried over me while I was gone, and how you showed your concern. You skipped school, you failed your big chemistry test, and you hid in your rooms with Evan and Willow when you were home. You, Ptichka, I understand now. But Kurt, I would like to know why you were so troubled, I can't think of any reason for you to fret so badly."
Kurt looked back at her a bit shyly and replied, "I was worried you wouldn't come back. We haven't talked as much as we used to since Willow and the rest came, and it hurt when you left without saying good-bye. You always said good-bye before when you had to leave, even for an afternoon, and if it was going to be longer you never left without telling me you loved me. This time, you were just gone, disappeared. I found your clothes at your spot on the cliffs and didn't know what to think."
Serena shook her head sadly; "I am sorry Kurt, my sweet. But did it never occur to you that I would not leave forever without saying good-bye, and telling you where you could find me? Silly boy, I do love you, and I would never go for good without letting you know. This was a one-time thing; I was very upset and not thinking."
"Now, I have one more thing to say to both of you, and then we need to go back downstairs." She took one of the boy's hands in each of hers and held them tightly as she spoke. "I love you, both of you. The kind of love that happens when a mother sees her child for the first time. There is a special bond between us, from my heart to each of yours. You are my children, my little ones, and I promise you that I will never leave you behind. I may leave for short periods of time, but I will always come back to you. Even when you are fully-grown and don't need me anymore, I will be there, just in case you do."
She pulled the boys into another hug and finally felt the peace she'd been trying to find for the last week. Her relationship with Logan was back on track, and she'd told her boys, the sons of her heart, how she felt about them. The part of her that was Siren eased itself back into the recesses of her mind and relaxed, knowing that she was safely home with her family.
After Serena and the boys had departed, all eyes turned to Logan, Spike, and the strange woman who'd accompanied them into the room. The Sunnydale group, as well as some of the teens, recognized the woman either from personally meeting her, or from Serena's photo and Spike's stories. Dru nudged her former lover in the ribs when she started feeling self-conscious, silently ordering the blond to explain her presence.
"Right, explanations all around then. For those of you who don't know, this" He paused and made a grand gesture, " Is Drusilla. You've all heard me talk about her at some point, but I'll tell you the basics again. Dru here is my ex. She's a vampire, some twenty odd years older than I am. She's a few smokes short of a pack, and she has psychic visions once in a while, but she's a likeable enough bird if you can put up with the stars and dolls talking to her."
He received a sharp smack to the back of his head from the vampiress for his description of her, and continued with a bit more tact after rubbing the sting from his skull. "Anyway. Dru, I'm assuming from one of her visions, knew that Serena needed her and was waiting when she washed up on a beach in Jersey last night. She cleaned her up as best she could and brought her home."
The blond turned to Giles when he spoke the next part of his explanation, knowing the watcher would understand what he was saying. "Ripper, I know you and the whelp are wary of Dru, and given our history with each other, you have reason. Under any other circumstances, you'd be right to worry about having her here around the kids. But before she was invited in, both Serena and I extracted a promise from her. She promised on the Rite of Sire bond we both share with Serena, not to harm anyone who lives here or comes to visit. You know she can't go back on that, and she wouldn't have made the promise if she intended to break it."
Giles nodded at his former housemate and addressed the entire group with his reply. "That does relieve my concerns. I suspected you shared that type of bond with Serena when I saw your mark on her neck. If Drusilla has made a promise on that bond, I believe it is safe for everyone to have her here. Even her insanity would not allow for the breaking of that promise."
The group relaxed a bit after the librarian's pronouncement, trusting the man's judgement in things like this that they didn't understand. Logan spoke up next, wanting to add his thoughts. "We all owe Dru a big thanks for what she did. If she hadn't been waiting when Chatty turned up on that beach, she might've bled to death before she could get medical attention. You all saw her leg; Spike put about twenty stitches in it after she arrived. Drusilla's gonna be staying here for a while, so if you're still leery of her, despite what Giles said, then remember that she saved Serena's life and brought her home to us."
Dru smiled up at the big man and turned to face the group of people on her own. "There's no reason to be scared of me, I do promise not to hurt anyone. I may go a bit crazy sometimes, but Serena made me promise to try and be myself around you all. She's talked a lot about you children in her letters and on the phone, and I'm happy to finally meet my Pretty's friends." She gave a smile to the group, pleased when a few smiled back.
Over the next minute or so, the room filled with nervous tension. Despite the reassurances they'd been given, none of the teens wanted to be the first to go up and introduce themselves to the vampiress. Finally, Rogue remembered where she'd put her backbone, got up from her recliner, and went to face her boyfriend's former lover. "Hello Drusilla, it's nice to meet you. I'm Rogue, Spike's girlfriend. I wanted to say thanks, for bringing 'Rena back, we've missed her a lot."
"You're welcome, but there's no need to thank me. Serena means a lot to me too. The three of us really must sit down to tea while I'm here. Pretty and I have many stories about Spike that you certainly wouldn't hear from him. Did you know he was called William the Bloody because he was a bloody awful poet when he was alive?" The vampiress replied, chuckling softly.
Logan turned to the blond and raised an eyebrow as he commented, "You mean when you threatened to show me how you got your nicknames you were gonna torture me to death with bad poetry? Hell, I actually bought that line!"
Spike growled, first at Logan and then at his ex. "Bloody hell, Drusilla! You tell one more story like that and I'll smack you so hard when you wake up your damned gowns will be back in style!"
Dru stuck her tongue out at the blond as everyone else broke out in laughter. When it subsided, the tension seemed to have eased off and Xander kept up the light-heartedness with one of his trademark wisecracks. "By the way Drusilla, welcome to the twentieth century."
From where he was standing, Spike could see Dru's dark eyes light with mischief and chuckled, waiting for her comeback. The vampiress sniffed daintily and turned her nose up in a snobbish manner, "Why thank you, you might consider joining me here one day. I'm sorry; I don't seem to remember ever getting your name. The last time we were in close contact, I was too busy comparing your face to a poem and keeping Angelus from making you his dinner to ask. I do hope you've given up on using magic to aid your love life?"
Xander's jaw dropped and his face flushed bright red with embarrassment as everyone laughed and gave him curious looks. "It's not a good idea to joke about Dru when she's sane whelp, especially if she's got anything embarrassing on you. She's as sharp as Ripper and the Pixie put together when she's not talking to the stars." Spike informed him through his chuckles, remembering the incident from his Sire's ranting after the fact.
With their fears eased by the vampiress' good humor and witty repartee the group broke off into smaller bunches and conversed together as if it were any other evening. A few at a time, the teens came over and introduced themselves to Drusilla, speaking with her for a while before moving off again. The brunette woman had a lovely smile for everyone who came to her, happy at being accepted among her friend's charges.
She knew she owed a large part of her acceptance to the reassurances of the watcher and drifted over to where he was sitting in a recliner, talking with Professor Xavier. She sat down on the arm of his chair and waited patiently for the man to notice her. He looked up at her after a few moments, curious as to who was sitting beside him, and was startled to see the vampiress. "Hello Drusilla. What can I do for you?" He asked.
"Your name is Giles isn't it? That's what the children call you." She asked and waited until he nodded before continuing. "I wanted to say thank you Mr. Giles. You told them the truth about the promise I made, and helped them accept me. Considering what I did to you the last time we met, I wouldn't have been surprised if you'd told them to make me leave or even had your slayer stake me. I can't say I'm sorry for what I did, because it stopped Angelus from torturing you any longer, and I don't enjoy seeing anyone tortured. But I am sorry you lost your lover, she must have been a very special woman." The vampiress said softly, with sincere regret in her tone.
Giles nodded, feeling his heart twinge for a moment at the mention of Jenny. "Thank you Drusilla, and you're welcome. Looking back on the incident, I am grateful to you for stepping in when you did; though I do wish you hadn't gotten the information I held. You have an amazing amount of power and control with that particular gift. I truly believed for a few moments that Jenny wasn't gone, that she'd come back to me in my time of need. It was almost worth the pain of losing her again when you released me."
Charles watched his friend and the vampiress, curious about their conversation and wondering if they even knew that their hands had linked while the Englishman spoke. He decided after a minute of silence between the pair to ask about it. "Forgive me for interrupting, but I must admit you've made me quite curious as to what you're talking about."
The librarian seemed to give himself a mental shake and turned his eyes away from the lovely woman. He related the story of his capture and torture by Angelus and how the vampiress had intervened. "Drusilla is a very powerful hypnotist and I believe, telepath. She projected herself as my girlfriend Jenny, whom Angelus had killed some time earlier. As Jenny, she was able to get me to tell her the information Angelus wanted to perform a ritual that would bring about an apocalypse. Not even Kendra, a very well trained and accomplished Slayer, could withstand Drusilla's mental powers."
The professor nodded and replied, "I believe I've already been given a small demonstration of her abilities. I'd thought I was imagining things, as vampires are supposed to be immune to telepathy, and Spike has so far proven that true. But I could swear I heard Miss Drusilla speak to me telepathically when she arrived."
Dru smiled at the bald man, "You did hear me Professor, I thanked you for the invitation and promised not to harm anyone. Vampires are immune to telepathy, as a rule. It's like with mirrors; as our bodies do not create a reflection for others to see, neither do our thoughts. I can't receive your thoughts, but Mr. Giles was correct, I can use my own telepathic abilities to project my thoughts to you. My talents, with both hypnosis and telepathy, are powerful, though limited; I have to maintain eye contact with the person." She explained, showing her keen intelligence.
They continued chatting together; discussing different types of hypnosis and ways it could be used. When Serena, Pietro, and Kurt came back a while later, having retrieved a pair of crutches for the woman from the infirmary, the vampiress gestured them over to the nearby couch. When the raven-haired woman got settled between her boys with her leg elevated by a footstool she said, "Sorry I disappeared on you Dru, I had a few things to work out. Is everything alright?"
"Everything is fine Pretty. Spike, Logan, and Mr. Giles made sure the children wouldn't be frightened by me, though Spike needed his tact button pushed rather sharply. I see you worked things out with your little ones, would you mind introducing me?" The vampiress replied, giving a smile first to the watcher and then to the woman and boys.
Serena returned the smile and glanced curiously at Giles before she spoke, taking note of his hand linked with Dru's. "Kurt Wagner, Pietro Maximova, I'm happy to introduce my dearest friend, the Lady Drusilla, childe of Angelus. Dru, my sons Pietro and Kurt." The raven-haired woman gave the formal introduction.
The boys had already been told about the vampiress' presence and greeted her warmly, thanking her for bringing their mother home. With the introductions completed, Dru turned the conversation back to its previous topic. "I was just talking with Mr. Giles and Professor Xavier about hypnotic and telepathic powers." She told Serena.
The lion-eyed woman smirked over at her mentor when she heard that and asked, "Really? So, have you figured it out yet Charles?"
The professor gave her a curious look, "Figured what out Serena?"
Her smirk broadened as she replied, "You've been curious as a cat about my mental defenses since you first tried to probe my mind and couldn't get past them. I'm a bit shocked that you've been sitting here discussing mental powers with the woman who trained me and couldn't figure that out without being told."
Charles gave in and laughed lightly with Giles and the women, shaking his head at his own ignorance. "Yes, I should have worked that out. Miss Drusilla is very knowledgeable on the subject. I imagine she coached you in the technique you used on Jean a few months ago as well?"
She chuckled darkly before replying; "You don't know the half of it. Jean is a child, and I punished her as one for that incident. If I'd wanted to, I could have driven her insane before you were able to break through my walls and stop me. Dru taught me the techniques yes, but Spike taught me how to use them against an attacker."
"And both Spike and I learned first hand under our sire Angelus, who is feared in both the human and demon world as a master of mental torture. Of course, Angelus himself has been driven completely insane by his own soul now. May it never leave him again." Dru spoke up, remembering her sire's insane power trip during the months he'd been soulless.
Giles and Serena both nodded in agreement with the vampiress, having met both Angelus and his souled counterpart Angel. "Speaking of Angel, I believe we should get in touch with him soon and find out how things are going in both Sunnydale and Los Angeles. Buffy would not have been best pleased to see him on the security tapes fighting side by side with Logan and Faith against the soldiers that night." The watcher said, looking to Serena.
The raven-haired woman agreed with him and put words into action by sending Pietro over to collect Logan and Spike. She had Logan clear the room, as it was almost curfew, which meant bedtime for the teens, and asked Spike to pass the word around to Faith, Ororo, Willow, and Xander that there would be a meeting in the ready room in ten minutes.
As the teens left, they stopped by to say goodnight to their housemother, understanding that she wouldn't be able to come up and visit with them individually until her leg had healed. She held Kurt and Pietro back for a few moments after the others left, saying goodnight and letting them know that she'd tell them the outcome of the meeting in the morning. They left for their rooms with a last long hug and Serena sighed, positioning her crutches and pulling herself up.
She fought with the metal crutches for a few moments, trying to find a comfortable way to walk with them and failing miserably. Finally, she started forward, holding her leg out at an awkward angle. It took a few minutes, but she made it to the staircase just as Logan was coming back down. She gave the big man her best pathetic expression in hopes of catching a ride down to the ready room in his arms.
He laughed loudly in response to her silent plea and lifted her up, leaving the crutches on the floor for Spike, who was on his way down after saying goodnight to Rogue. "Where did you get those stupid things anyway Chatty?"
"I asked Kurt to pop down to the infirmary and find me something so that I could get around when we decided to come back downstairs. He came back with those. I don't know how I'm going to get around the house until my leg heals with those things, they're a pain in the arse." Serena replied, wrapping her arms around her lover's neck and getting comfortable.
The feral man shook his head, still chuckling. "There's a wheelchair down there somewhere. It's not as fancy as Chuck's but it'll get you around. I'll get you settled in the ready room and go find it while we wait for the others. By the way, where'd Dru get off to? I thought she'd be with you."
The amber-eyed woman shrugged, "Faith wanted to show her where she'll be sleeping, and before you ask, I have no idea where that'll be. I just asked Faith to vamp proof a room for her if she got a chance."
Spike caught up with them in time to hear the comment and chuckled, "Slayer's giving Dru your room Logan. They were hauling your things into the Nymph's room when I came down. You should've seen them mate, they've got your clothes draped over the bookcase and they were carrying it down the hall. Looked bloody ridiculous seeing as that bookcase is a foot taller than both of them and weighs about five times what they do."
Laughing at the mental image, they took the elevator down to the first sub level, which housed the infirmary, ready room, and the gym. Logan settled his burden in the ready room quickly and left with Spike to return the crutches to the infirmary, both of them coming back after a few minutes with a motorized wheelchair for the woman.
By the time the others who made up their team arrived, Serena was situated in her new chair and was talking with Logan and Spike about whether or not they needed to be discreet about their contact with the souled vampire. "I don't think we should bother Chatty. I'm bettin Buffy saw all of us on the security tapes and told the soldiers who and what we were. The only question is whether she gave Angel up to them. If she did, they've tapped his phones and will listen in on our conversation, which is no big deal now, and if she didn't then we'll still have some privacy." Logan explained.
The others agreed with the big man, and Giles made the call to Los Angeles. He greeted Cordelia when the woman answered and was quickly put through to Angel's office. The watcher turned the speakerphone on when the vampire picked up so that anyone on their side could listen and participate in the conversation. "Hello Angel, this is Giles. I'm sorry we haven't contacted you before now, things have been rather hectic around here." The librarian said.
"It's good to hear from you Giles, I've actually been meaning to call myself. I've got some news about Sunnydale you and the others should probably hear. Are they there with you now, or are you alone?" The vampire asked.
Giles chuckled, thinking that it was typical of Angel to get straight down to business. "They're all here, including Professor Xavier and Miss Munroe who you haven't met, and Drusilla is here as well. I've put the call on speaker so that everyone can listen. What news do you have?"
Angel mimicked the watcher and turned the speakerphone on so that Cordelia and Wesley could listen to the conversation as well before he answered, "First let me say that I'm sorry I couldn't get more of your things Giles, and Willow and Xander as well. From what I saw of it, Buffy did not react well to your disappearances. She tore the dorm room and your apartment apart. I got out what I could before the sun rose and took it all to the mansion. When I went back the next night, everything had been cleaned out, right down to Xander's disco ball."
The three Californians winced, but were grateful for what their friend had managed to save. "Thank you for saving what you were able to Angel. I believe Willow, Xander, and Anya will agree that you retrieved our most important things. The fact that the Initiative didn't get my books and weapons or the trunk with Willow's spell supplies relieves many of my worries. Has Buffy contacted you at all? We've been worried about whether she'd turn you over to the soldiers since she failed to bring us in." Giles asked.
The dark-eyed vampire didn't reply for a moment, having paused to rub away the headache that took up residence when he thought of his ex. "She came down here, alone, about a week afterwards. I think she must be finding it harder to live without her friends than she thought it would be. She said she didn't tell them who Faith and I were, but I honestly don't know if that's the truth. She did tell them about Logan, Serena, and their group, I know that much; she was raving about them and how their 'freaky powers' had destroyed the complex. She's been converted by this Walsh person, and truly thinks the Initiative has the right idea."
"As for Sunnydale in general, it depends on your point of view. For the humans, things have never been better; there are very few vampire attacks or 'gang violence'. But the demons and those who associate with them are running scared. The soldiers are capturing demons and vampires left and right, whether they're malevolent or not. They're also taking humans who can be connected to the demon world. Willy disappeared about two weeks ago, and there have been others." The vampire told them, having kept in touch with his contacts on the hellmouth since Serena had first contacted him.
The vampire went on to detail one more happening he'd been told about. "There have also been some very odd murders of both humans and demons in the area. The bodies look to have been dissected and examined. My source for that information described the culprit for me, it's the thing we fought with that night, the one that got Logan."
The big man was sitting quietly, listening to Angel and Giles talk and thinking. When the souled vampire finished detailing the situation he spoke up. "Angel, Serena told me once about the Consortium of Nightwalkers and I was just wondering, have they gotten involved in this at all?"
Angel was a bit shocked that the feral man knew about the Consortium, but he was able to answer. "Good question Logan. The L.A. consortium knows about it, but the only measures they've taken are to pass the word around down here. They've placed signs around the city, both magical and demonic, warning that Sunnydale is now extremely dangerous and shouldn't be approached. I'm not in touch with anyone in the consortium here, so I can't say for sure, but I don't think they'll take any direct action in this. Despite the damage they're doing, the Initiative is protecting the hellmouth from apocalyptic threats, which is what the Consortium did before Buffy came."
The men continued to talk for a while, catching up on what each group had been doing, but about fifteen minutes later they ended the call and the group of mutants, vampires, and demon fighters turned their discussion to what they had and could do to stop the soldiers. Willow, Charles, Ororo, and Kitty had been working on the stolen computer files every chance they had, but so far had come up with little.
The red-haired hacker pulled out a pile of documents she'd printed from one of the files just that morning and showed the thick stack of papers to the group. "I finally decrypted one of the top secret files we got from their computers and lucky for us, it's a helpful one. This is a report from Professor Walsh to her superiors on the progress of the 3:14 project. From what I read, I figured out that 3:14 is the thing that skewered Logan. It's a hybrid; part human, part different species of demon, and part artificial intelligence. They call it Adam, and at one time, it was a highly decorated army ranger named Adam Michael Pearson, who was severely injured in Desert Storm. Now, it's the first of a new breed of government crafted soldiers."
All eyes turned to Logan as the man growled loudly and practically leaped out of his chair, striding out of the room at a fast clip. Both Faith and Spike made to go after the big man, but were held back by Charles words, "No, let him be. This hits very close to home for Logan. It is exactly what was done to his friend, who you would know as Captain America, and very similar to what happened to him. Logan just needs some time to himself, to work out his anger at seeing this happen again. He hasn't gone far, just into the gym. Once he has drained his frustrations, he'll return. For now, it is getting late, so I believe we should call it a night."
The rest of the group agreed and left the ready room, heading for bed, or in Xander and Giles case, to their own homes. Serena hung back, saying goodnight to her friends and pointing her wheelchair toward the gym. She knew what her mate was doing, and wanted to be there for him when he came crashing down from the high charged emotions.
The gym had been enhanced and rearranged over the last month in order to suit the new training for the teens, and to serve as Faith's training room when the slayer started working with her watcher again. She entered quietly in her chair and positioned it just to one side of the door and settled back, watching her lover.
Logan had chosen the specially constructed training dummy to work out his fury on. The vaguely human shaped punching bag had a solid steel core and was bolted to the floor, making it a good choice for the man, who had enhanced strength that almost equaled the slayer it had been made to withstand. The big man punched and kicked at the dummy, going through the complicated routine he used when training his abilities.
Serena watched as he completed the familiar routine and moved on to another, and yet another with no signs of stopping. Her heart ached for the man, and she wanted to soothe him, so she began humming softly. She kept her voice low, not trying to overpower the noise of Logan's growling and the steady thuds of his fists and feet against the dummy, only make herself heard in the background.
As she'd hoped, Logan began to slow his rapid pace, his subconscious mind responding to the soothing sound of her voice. Eventually, he stopped altogether and simply leaned against the dummy, breathing heavily from his exertions. When he'd caught his breath and felt a bit more steady, the big man came over and took the back of Serena's chair without saying a word and pushed her out of the room and down the hall to the elevator.
When they reached their room, the still silent man turned back the covers on their bed and lifted his mate out of the chair only to settle her quickly into bed and walk into the bathroom. He came back fifteen minutes later, damp from a shower and wearing only his boxers. He got into bed beside Serena and she curled up against his chest, looking up at him with worried eyes. "Sing for me Darlin, let me know everything's gonna turn out alright. Let us all know." He said softly, leaning down slightly to nuzzle her sweet smelling hair. The lion-eyed woman placed a soft kiss against his chest and started singing the same tune she'd hummed for him earlier.
"You know a dream is like a river,
ever changing as it flows,
and the dreamer's just a vessel,
that must follow where it goes.
Trying to learn from what's behind you,
and never knowing what's in store,
makes each day a constant battle,
just to stay between the shores.
And I will sail my vessel,
till the river runs dry.
Like a bird upon the wind,
these waters are my sky.
I'll never reach my destination,
if I never try.
So I will sail my vessel,
till the river runs dry.
Too many times we stand aside,
and let the water slip away,
until what we've put off till tomorrow,
has now become today.
So don't you sit upon the shoreline,
and say you're satisfied.
Choose to chance the rapids,
and dare to dance the tide.
Yes I will sail my vessel,
till the river runs dry.
Like a bird upon the wind,
these waters are my sky.
I'll never reach my destination,
if I never try.
So I will sail my vessel,
till the river runs dry.
And there's bound to be rough water,
and I know I'll take some falls.
But with the good Lord as my captain,
I can make it through them all.
And I will sail my vessel,
till the river runs dry.
Like a bird upon the wind,
these waters are my sky.
I'll never reach my destination,
if I never try.
So I will sail my vessel,
till the river runs dry.
And I will sail my vessel,
till the river runs dry.
Till the river runs dry."
Her voice echoed through the quiet house, and everyone heard at least a whisper of the song. For those who were still awake, it was a special treat to hear the woman singing again, and her song brought hope with it that everything would be alright. Even the sleeping teenagers were effected, relaxing in their slumber and smiling softly.
When the sound faded away, Logan sighed deeply and smiled, comforted by his mate's song. "Thanks Sweetheart, that was just what I needed to hear. Welcome home Serena, I love you." He whispered.
She tilted her head up and kissed him gently for a few moments before settling her head back onto his shoulder and replying, "I love you too Logan. Sweet dreams." And drifting off to sleep in his embrace. He followed her soon after, feeling more at peace than he had since she'd disappeared.
