Warning: Mild language from Spike and this is written in English English not American English.
Beth awoke to the loud chirping of birds outside her window. Blinking, she slowly realised she wasn't in her
room. Then it hit her; the events of the night before came rushing back.
She shivered, then got out of the large bed she had finally fallen asleep on. Looking around, she spotted a
large black sausage bag on a chair near the front door. Her favourite bag. Walking over to it, she saw a letter
pinned to the front of it. It was from her mother telling her to be brave and her family would support her if she
stayed with Angel or came home.
Tears slowly formed in her eyes, but Beth quickly brushed them aside and unpacked her bag.
Grabbing a pair of jeans and a black three-quarter length sleeved top, she quickly showered, then slipped on
a pair of black boots to finish the look.
As she picked up her shoes, she noticed another bag that had been carefully placed so she would only spot
it if she were going out.
Curious, Beth opened the small leather bag. Inside was a beautifully crafted, small, simple, silver cross
necklace, a bottle of water with the words Holy Water written on the front and a wooden stake.
With each item, she carefully inspected them trying to see if there were any instructions on how to use these
gifts. Upon seeing that these were the only items in the bag, she put the cross on and placed the holy water
bottle into her pocket.
Unfortunately the stake was too large for any of her pockets, so she resolved to slip it into her boot.
"If these had been left in her room, they must be important" Beth thought to herself. As she slipped the
stake into her boot, she noticed in each of her boots there were sleeves for stakes to put in. She also noticed
that although she was putting something large into her shoe, the boot didn't look any different on the
outside nor did it feel uncomfortable on the inside. She could only just feel it was in there.
'Magic!' Beth gasped in surprise. 'After last night I shouldn't be surprised at anything. Angel did mention
that magic existed.' She then added to herself. Shaking her head at her own folly of talking to herself, she left
the room to begin her search for Angel.
Her search led her down what seemed like hundreds of identical corridors. After what seemed like an eternity,
Beth finally stumbled across a lift. Figuring it was time to try a different floor, she called for it. Almost
immediately the doors opened revealing a slender, brunette woman, a tall dark man and a very pale, bleached
blonde man.
Getting into the lift, the dark man spoke 'Which floor do you need.'
'Err I'm not sure. Do you know which floor Angel is on?' Beth asked.
'Oh, we're on are way just now. I'm Gunn'
'Beth '
'You're the Slayer Angel rescued last night aren't you' Gunn asked, his eyes lighting up when he heard Beth's
name.
'Oh bloody hell, not another slayer. If you try to kill me I swear to God I'm gonna…' The bleached blonde man
started but was cut off by the brunette.
'Spike! I'm Fred, I run the science department.' The brunette introduced herself after warning Spike.
Just as Fred had finished speaking, the lift doors opened revealing a large lobby.
'This is the stop you want. If you go over to the desk with the blonde secretary, she will show you in to
Angels office.' Gunn told the slayer as she stepped into the lobby.
Following the instructions she had just been given, she wandered over to desk indicated by Gunn, trying not
to stare at the strange and hideous demons milling around the building.
'Excuse me, could you tell me where Angels office is?' Beth timidly asked the lady behind the desk, trying to
ignore the strange feeling in her stomach, the same feeling she had felt in the lift and the night before when
she was near Angel and the Vampire that had been chasing her. Then it hit her; the feeling she had was a
warning system to tell her when vampires were around. Angel's secretary was a vampire!
'Sure, do you have an appointment?' the vampire asked.
'No but I really need to speak to him'
'Oh, you're Beth, the Vampire Slayer! I'm Harmony, Angel's secretary.' Harmony introduced herself, 'Angels
office is through those doors, just go in, I'll tell him you're coming.' Harmony told her pointing to a set of
double doors a few metres away.
'Thanks' Beth told the woman as she went over to the doors and slipped inside.
'Yes I have another slayer here, can you tell Buffy that…I know she isn't there now but when you next see
her can you tell her…Okay...Bye' Angel spoke down the phone, then hung up to see Beth standing just
inside the room bye the door.
'Beth! How are you feeling today?' Angel asked, startled.
'I'm better' Beth slowly answered, then asked 'Who's Buffy?'
'She was the Slayer before all the potentials became Slayers. At least, she was one of two, it's a long story'
Angel told her. 'I see you found my gift then' Angel commented after a short pause, indicating to the
necklace and bulge in Beth's pocket where the holy water was being stored.
'Yes, thank you, but what do I do with them?'
'The stake is the main weapon of a slayer against Vampires. If you stab one through the heart, it will die:
explode into dust like the one last night did. Sunlight and beheading will also do the job. The cross and holy
water burn vampires, so it's best to always carry them with you.'
An awkward silence followed, so Beth took the opportunity to ask the question she had come to see Angel
about. Taking a deep breath she began.
'I have a really big favour to ask, I know we have only just met and I already owe you my life, but…' She
paused, not sure how to continue.
'But…' Angel encouraged her.
'I thought about it a lot this morning, and I know you aren't a Watcher, but…' Beth paused again then
continued 'could you train me to be a proper slayer? I want to be able to defend myself and not be a victim if
these demons and monsters are going to be after me, I mean, that's if you want or have time to train me…'
'I would be honoured, but when Buffy comes, she will want to train you herself' Angel answered.
'Then I will tell her I already have a Watcher' Beth told Angel firmly. Seeing he had no chance of winning this
argument, he simply asked her 'So when do you want to start?'
'Is now too inconvenient?'
'No. If you go and change into something more suitable for training in, I should have a room ready by the
time you are changed.'
'Oh thank you' Beth squealed, causing Angel to wince at the pitch of it. Beth ran over to Angel and threw her
arms around him giving him a quick hug, then kissing him on the cheek before running out of the office to go
change, leaving behind a stunned Angel.
'She'll be good for you, you know.' A voice from behind Angel said. Angel jumped. 'Beth. Everyone has
noticed you feel disconnected, Beth will bring you closer to the people you seek to help.'
Angel turned to see Wesley standing at the door.
'With Buffy not trusting you and being forced to save people by signing pieces of paper, you've started to
feel disconnected. Now that Beth is here, you have a chance to reconnect with the people you are trying to
save.' At this finishing note, Wesley left the room, allowing Angel to dwell on what Wesley had just said to
him.
Upon Beth's arrival to the training room, Angel was stunned to see what Beth considered 'Suitable' for
training. Dressed in a low cut, cropped, pale blue vest top and navy lycra pedal pushers.
At Angel's stunned expression she simply asked 'What?'
'Ummm is that really suitable to train in? Just because people on television wear those type of clothes for
workouts doesn't mean they are what you should wear. Cotton would be a lot better since it breathes.'
And so the training sessions began. Each day Beth and Angel worked on fighting skills, gymnastics as well
as helping Beth understand about demons, Vampires and Slayers. The routine stuck for months, causing the
friendship between Beth and Angel to blossom. Beth even became friends with Fred, Gunn, Wesley and
Spike (Less so with Spike, but they tolerated each other. Spikes ego was still recovering from the last Slayer
he had met!), as they taught Beth about the different aspects of each of their work.
Each week Beth's progress went in leaps and bounds until Angel finally decided it was time for Beth to meet
her next Vampire.
'So you really think I'm ready to fight a vampire?' Beth asked nervously.
'You won't know your own strength or abilities until you do this. I'll be right there with you. If you need help,
just say, or if you look to be in trouble, I'll also help then' Angel told her reassuringly.
'No, I've got to do this on my own. You're right, I won't progress any further until I realise how much I can do
already.'
'Even so…' Angel started.
'No, if he is about to kill me, then defiantly help me, I'm not ready to die just yet, but otherwise, stay back.'
Beth told him firmly, trying to ignore the voice in her head telling her she should ask for a little more help on
her first patrol.
A rustle sounded behind the two of them, spinning, stake in hand and cross around neck, Beth came face to
face with the first Vampire she was going to kill.
Angel stepped to the side, following Beth's wishes.
Reacting on instinct, Beth front kicked swiftly followed by a roundhouse kick. The vampire staggered back a
few steps, then regaining his footing, he charged forwards knocking Beth to the ground, forcing all the air
out of her.
Without pausing, his fist came closer to her face as he punched. Small blue birds spun in front of Beth's eyes
as the punch connected. As the birds tweeting died down in pitch, darkness started to edge into her vision,
but not before the Vampires teeth came closer to her neck.
TBC…