Chapter Fourteen – Do You Really Want to Know?

"Morning," Olivia heard as she stepped out of her room and saw Buffy sitting comfortably at one of the chairs. Olivia tried to get a read on her mood but couldn't. Buffy's face was utterly composed. She looked calm and controlled.

"Be ready in 30 minutes and dress casual," Buffy said. "There's something you need to see."

"Buffy…" Olivia started but was cut off.

"Save it," Buffy said. "Dawn said you wanted to know the truth. Be ready in 30 minutes."

"What are you going to show me?"

"The truth," Buffy replied.

"I was planning on talking to Alex," Olivia said.

"Alex is getting married today," Buffy said. "She's going to have a good day. Good days don't generally include having someone demanding to know everything about my life. Besides she wouldn't have told you anything anyway."

"Why not?"

"Because its my truth to tell," Buffy replied. "Not hers. You want to know something about me, then ask me."

"What happened to you?"

"Why do you want to know?" Buffy asked.

"Somebody hurt you," Olivia replied. "And you're still in pain. I can see that."

"This isn't a case Olivia," Buffy said. "You're not investigating some crime. You're not going to be arresting anybody at the end of the day."

"Buffy you've got children here," Olivia said. "And you talk about sending them into war. That's not right. It may be the way the world is, but that doesn't make it right."

Buffy smirked. "No one ever said it was right. And you haven't answered my question yet. Why do you want to know?"

Olivia stopped. For the past two days everyone had been warning her that magic had a price and that truth was painful. "Because that's what I do. Somebody has to," Olivia was surprised at how difficult it was to find the right words.

Buffy studied her carefully. "Alex was right. You are stubborn. Do you really want to do this Olivia? Do you really want to walk through this door? No one is making you. You can still just go to the wedding this afternoon. Have a good time with your friend and head home tomorrow knowing the world is a little stranger than you thought."

Olivia paused to think. "That's not an option Buffy. You have children here. Are they going to end up like you? I can see the mask now. You're still in pain. Is that what being a Slayer means? Hiding the pain."

"Get dressed," Buffy said. "Meet me downstairs in 30 minutes."

"Why do we have to go somewhere else to learn the truth?" Olivia asked.

"Because you're not the only person who needs to learn something today," Buffy answered. "I'll be waiting down in the lobby with Faith and Janie." With that Buffy got up from her chair and left.

Almost 30 minutes later Olivia stepped out the elevator and walked over to the lobby where she saw Buffy and Faith talking with the young girl who offered to carry her bags when she arrived Tuesday. She'd only been here two days. It felt like months.

"Morning Olivia," Faith said. "Buffy said she was going to drag you along for this."

"Drag me along for what?" Olivia asked.

"My first patrol," the girl said excitedly. "Hi again detective. You probably don't remember me. I'm Janie," she said sticking out her hand.

"I remember you," Olivia replied shaking the offered hand. She then turned her attention back to Buffy. She tried to keep her voice under control. "You're taking this girl out to fight."

"Yes," Buffy replied. "She's had a lot more training then I did before my first patrol. And I didn't have the benefit of two other Slayers and New York detective to back me up. Plus it's daylight, minimal demon activity. We're just going to do a little clean up from last night's festivities. You wanted to know what it means to be a Slayer."

"You should have let me come last night," Janie complained. "I could have helped."

"We had everything covered," Faith said. "You're not ready for that kind of thing just yet."

"I'm the best in my class," Janie responded. "I can out fight all the other girls. You let Pam go."

"Pam was working with Anne's group last night," Buffy replied as she started leading the group out the door. "She was already on the scene."

"I'm stronger than she is," Janie pouted. "I have the power. I can feel it."

Buffy looked back at Janie. "You're feeling the Slayer. That isn't the real source of your power," she motioned at one the cars in the lot. "Get in. Olivia why don't you ride in the back with Janie. You're both from New York."

"Your sister said it was a bad idea to let you drive a car," Olivia pointed out.

"My sister is sometimes easily startled," Buffy replied.

"I saw your records in New York Buffy," Olivia said. "Clean accept for six tickets over a three year period."

"I'm perfectly safe behind the wheel," Buffy said. "You're the one who wants to know the truth. Get in."

Olivia nodded and got in the car next to Janie. She looked over at the girl next to her. She was young. Red hair from a bottle, cut about shoulder length. She was about Olivia's height but thinner.

"So how long have you been here Janie?" Olivia asked.

"Three weeks," the girl replied. "I'm spending my summer training. I turned fifteen in February."

"What does turning fifteen have to do with it?" Olivia asked.

"That's the age when a potential comes into her power now," Faith answered.

"And Mona wouldn't let me do anything until I had proper training here in Cleveland," Janie pouted.

"Whose Mona?"

"One of the Slayers who lives in New York," Buffy said. "She keeps an eye on Janie along with a field Watcher."

Olivia suddenly grabbed the door handle when Buffy sped out of the parking lot. That didn't bode well, Olivia thought.

"There are Slayers in New York?" she asked.

"Just a couple," Faith said. "New York is a pretty quiet town when it comes to demons. Most of them just pass through on their way here."

Olivia turned her attention back to Janie. "Do your parents know you are a Slayer?"

"Just my dad," Janie replied. "Mom kind of disappeared after the divorce. He's known for a while now. He doesn't like it. But I'm Slayer," she smiled up at Olivia.

"And you like being a Slayer."

"I can't begin to describe the feeling," Janie said. "The power just flows through me. I'm stronger and faster then everybody else."

"You haven't been out in the field yet," Olivia noted.

"Not really," Janie answered. She got mischievous grin on her face. "I did a little patrolling in New York. I dusted a vampire."

"You dusted a fledging," Buffy said. "Mona took out the other three while you weren't looking. And shouldn't have been out there."

"But I could feel them," Janie protested. "I had to do something. How did you know anyway?"

"You think you're the first Slayer who ever snuck out of her house to patrol," Buffy said. "We keep an eye out for that sort of thing. Besides what's rule three?"

"Always know where your sisters are," Janie answered.

"You still haven't figured that one out yet," Faith said.

Janie deflated. "I can fight."

"That's not always enough," Buffy said.

She merged the car unto the freeway. Olivia braced herself against her seat the car began to accelerate and dart in and out of traffic. The car was going way to fast for Olivia's comfort. She glimpsed around. Faith and Janie seemed perfectly relaxed. Buffy seemed way too relaxed for the speed she was going at. She was barely paying any attention to the road. She just zipped around the cars seemingly without seeing them.

Maybe Dawn was right about never allowing a Slayer to drive.

She decided to take her mind off watching Buffy maneuver through traffic by sorting through everything she had seen over the last two days.

She remembered her conversation with Dawn the night before. Buffy wasn't hurt by someone driving her away but by bringing her back. Back to the Slayer, Dawn had said. She was starting form an opinion about what had happened to Buffy. What the others had done to her. She looked over at Janie.

She could see the Slayer in the girl now that she knew what to look for. The predatory gleam in her eyes. The way, without looking, she seemed to know everything that was happening around her. The tightness in her muscles, the way she was always ready for battle. She had an idea what the girl could do from the training sessions she had seen. She was willing to acknowledge that that kind of power needed an outlet. But it still felt wrong that a fifteen year old girl had to fight monsters.

And if she was right in her suspicions, the girl didn't have to be a Slayer. She looked at Buffy. She had a pretty good idea now just what Xander, Willow and the others had done to her.