Chapt. 11- Two Slayers, No waiting
"Good to hear it. Now here's your first mission. The other Slayer, Kendra was killed last night. A new slayer's been called. She and her Watcher will be arriving in a few days. You gotta keep her on the right track."
"That's it? Keep the new Slayer on the right track? You're joking right?" Buffy exclaimed.
"Nope. Good Luck." Whistler replaced his hat and left. Everyone sat dumbfounded. They couldn't believe what had just happened. And could they trust what they were being told?
"Can we trust him?"
"Sadly, yes. He's the one who put me on my path of redemption. He's the real deal."Angel replied. He was afraid to get Spike's hopes up, let alone his own. Spike could sense Angel's distrust of the promises Whistler made, but he said nothing. If Angel was going to go with the flow so would he.
"We'll test some theories later. For now, bed," Spike spoke softly. Willow smiled with the angelic smile of someone who would make all fears drift away and took their hands.
"Night guys. We'll discuss repercussions tomorrow." Willow stepped beside Buffy for a moment; Buffy slipped her cross into Willow's hand. At least one theory would be tested sooner than the others.
Xander yawned and got up from his seat. Cordelia followed him. "Um, G-man, can Delia stay the night?"
"Yes, I suppose that would be best. Especially considering her newest gift. Buffy, would you like to stay also?" Giles' soft words meant a night of cuddling and kissing.
"Very much so. It's been a long day. Just let me call mom." Buffy phoned Joyce and let her know she'd be staying over. While Joyce was none too happy about the Watcher's relationship with her daughter, she didn't try to hinder it at all. After they explained what being a Slayer entailed and what kind of life expectancy she had, Joyce only wished her daughter as much happiness as her life afforded her. Now, with the promise of eternal life hanging over them, Joyce may change her mind. But since Buffy was 18 now, there really wouldn't be much she could change. Actually, Buffy had every intention of moving in within the year anyways. It made more sense than leaving a few suitcases lying about. What she really was hoping for was marriage within the year. Buffy was totally and completely in love with Giles and would do anything to be Mrs. Giles. But for now, every night spent at the mansion equaled one Mother/Daughter Night.
Giles received a phone call first thing in the morning confirming Whistler's news about Kendra. He comforted Buffy as she mourned the loss of not just a friend, a sister. Willow withheld telling the others that Spike and Angel were indeed immune to sunlight and crosses now. They just planned on showing up at school later.
"Morning pip," Spike came down for breakfast breaking the relative silence. Buffy and Giles had gone to the workout room to meditate so Willow, Xan, and Cordy were left to contemplate the loss of their friend.
"Morning Spike, you're up early," Willow replied quietly as she passed him a cup of coffee.
"Peaches stole the covers. Woke up." Spike kissed her softly. When he leaned down for the kiss he noticed her tears. "So I take it the other slayer is really gone?"
Willow nodded slowly. She held tightly to him to stop her tears. Spike stroked her hair briefly. "I'm sorry pet. She fought well that one. I'll try not to piss off the Slayer too much today."
"Thank you for that Spike. I'm going to go get dressed. Love you."
"Love you. Now get. I'll keep Xan and Delia company."
"That's ok Spike, we need to get ready too. Thanks though man. I know you mean it." Xander and Cordelia got up from the table and headed back upstairs. Once Spike was alone he kicked the island. He hated the fact that his family was hurting; and over the last year everyone in the house had become family. Spike grabbed enough blood for himself and Angel and went upstairs.
At School
"What are you telling me? Today! But how? So soon? Yes, Travers. I understand. Thank you. Goodbye." Giles slammed down the phone. "Soddin' prat." Giles left his office agitated. Willow looked up from her laptop.
"Everything ok Giles?"
"Apparently our friend was slightly wrong. The new slayer will be arriving today. I had hoped to spare Buffy this pain for a few days at least but I suppose I cannot." Giles sighed and sat beside the redhead. " This also presents a problem in that no one at the council knows the precise nature of my relationship with Buffy or that of yours with Spike and Angel."
"Well then, don't tell Watcher man until he needs to know. Angel and Spike already know to introduce themselves as Liam and Will so we shouldn't have a problem," Willow suggested. Xander sat quietly studying. He knew better than to bother them right now. They way they mourned was to worry about other things and reassure one another. Often times, Xander would forget that they weren't really father and daughter, or more so that they weren't really his father and sister. The years of abuse and neglect had melted away the instant Giles was awarded custody of Xander and Willow. He couldn't be happier than he was with his new family.
Just as the morning bell rang, the library doors opened. Buffy and Cordelia were chatting as though they hadn't lost an ally. Buffy's eyes caught glimpse of Giles and she smiled. "Hey you. Can I just say how much shopping therapy is of the very good?" Buffy smiled brightly as she moved over to him. She resisted the urge to kiss his cheek. Instead she just smiled even brighter, "Bought you something too." Buffy pulled a book out of her bag. It was a leather bound edition of Swiss Family Robinson.
"It's lovely dear. Thank you." Giles returned her smile. "I do have some news to tell you. The council just called. The new Slayer and her watcher should be here later today. I know how hard this is for you and I'd understand if you don't want to meet her yet."
"No, it's ok. I'll be ok, really," Buffy choked back some but continued. "And if I'm not, I'll just borrow your credit card and take Wills anniversary shopping." Giles sighed softly and began to clean his glasses.
"Yes dear."
The double doors swung open and a young woman stepped in. She was dressed in combat boots and low- rise pants with a tight low cut tank top. Her dark hair flowed around her softly; it was the only soft thing about her. She had a hard edge to her that made her that dangerous kind of sexy. She eyed up the room slowly.
"Hey, I'm looking for an English guy. He's about yea high. Has a stick up his ass."
"Haven't seen him. Sorry, the only English guy I know is right here and we had his stick removed last year," Buffy replied. She didn't like this girl. Something about her was very wrong.
"You must be Faith. The council called me to let me know you'd be coming. My name is Mr. Giles." Giles extended his hand to her. Faith just looked at the hand for a second then back up to Giles.
"Yeah, hey. So, other English guy? You haven't seen him huh?" Faith looked around at everyone's faces. Just as she turned to leave, Jenny entered the Library with a look of disdain and sadness on her face. Straggling behind her was a very lost looking young man wearing far too much tweed.
"Look it's a mini Giles only with worse fashion sense. You must be English guy," Cordelia teased. Xander smiled at her joke.
"I found this wandering around in the hallway. Thought he might belong to you. Miss Chase, I expect that you'll actually be attending class today?"
"Yes Miss Calender, but this is my free period." Cordy scowled. Miss Calender had been rather unsocial with the Scoobies ever since the whole incident with Angelus, when really it was partly her fault. Of course Giles had been cold to her as well.
"Thank you Miss Calender. If there's nothing else," Giles motioned for the door.
"Rupert, why do you have to be this way?" Jenny looked at him sadly, "Why can't we be the way we were before Him?"
"Because Giles doesn't take well to deceit. And neither do I for that matter. Plus, he's moved on. You should try it." Buffy came to Giles defense. The younger watcher took everything in. Jenny left with a huff. "That felt good. Still wouldn't mind hurting her but she's technically human. Oh, can I have Spike hurt her?"
"No." Giles replied with a slight smile. Buffy pouted a bit but then smiled again.
"Mr. Giles, how do you do? My name is Wesley Wyndam- Pryce. The council sent me. I'm Miss Daniel's Watcher," Wesley extended his hand in greeting to Giles. He seemed oblivious to everything else going on. Then he noticed that the room was full of teenagers. "Er, I mean, her guardian."
"It's ok. We know what you mean chief. Don't worry." Xander turned his attention to Giles as he gather some books and kissed Cordy's cheek, "So G-man which lessons am I working on today?"
"You have Arabic today and Chemistry. And of course physical education. Yes, Mr. Wyndam- Pryce, we have a team here. I thought the council would have informed you as such. These students work as a family, as you can see. Especially since two of them are my children." Willow smiled at that statement. Wesley looked stunned.
"Mr. Giles, I've followed your career for years. You have no children."
"Well then you haven't paid very close attention because I became Willow's legal guardian last year when her parents were killed by an insane vampire. And shortly thereafter, I adopted Xander as well," Giles explained smugly. He was quite proud of his children and loved them dearly. As Giles spoke, the doors opened once more. It seemed to be a very busy day for the library with no real work being accomplished.
"Sorry we're late Rupe. Someone wanted to play a bit," Spike explained as they entered smiling.
"Thus saith the one with grass in his hair," Angel commented under his breath.
"Yummy looking boys. Saddle up and ride boys," Faith said as she eyed up Spike and Angel. The vampires were smiling and joking with each other. Angel said something in Spike's ear that made the younger man's eyes light up and he kissed Angel on the cheek. "Damn. They're gay? What a waste."
"Well, not exactly," Willow teased as she rose from her chair. "Hey babies. You played out in the sun and didn't wait for me?" Willow pouted as she pulled Spike down for a kiss. She pulled a few strands of grass from his hair and giggled.
"Well," Angel shrugged, "We can always play later too. I'm sorry little one. But he looked so beautiful in the sunlight. He was my William again, you know?" Willow broke her kiss and smiled up at Angel.
"Ok, guys. I really love you all, but I don't need to think about what you guys do for fun. Cause that image is kinda you know, ew." Cordy commented.
"You're forgiven Liam, but now is the time to kiss me." Angel smirked at her as he wrapped his arms around Willow's waist. He did catch what she had said though and made note to play along.
"Whoa, Little Red has herself two boys. Wow. Thought maybe the Bimbo would have something like that going on," Faith muttered. Delia and Buffy just glared at her at first.
"Clarify," Delia interjected, "Who exactly are you calling the Bimbo?"
"Blondie in the tight pants and the cut off top. Looks like a bimbo to me." Faith said, already begging for a fight.
"Giles, please let me hit her. Just once, I promise I'll walk away." Buffy begged as her anger began to boil.
"No Buffy, you can't hit her unless of course it's in training and then I may allow you and William to show her the ropes." Giles' eyes promised Buffy many chances to pummel the cocky young slayer.
"Miss Summers, how do you do? My name is…" Wesley was cut off.
"Yes. I heard you the first time however, right now I'm just a bit pissed off so unless you want to find out just how hard a Slayer can punch I suggest you back off."
"I'd do it mate. Buff's the toughest yet. And Skanky over there, your slayer pet, should keep her trap shut. I'm the only one allowed to call Buffy names," Spike came to Buffy's defense. Buffy pushed the men out of her way to stand toe to toe with Faith.
"Look, the girl you replaced was more than just a friend. She was a sister. We're a family here and take family seriously. Don't come in here throwing insults to anyone or you deal with us all. And you," Buffy turned to look at Wesley, "Teach you slayer some manners or I will."
Buffy stormed over to the table and sat down. Willow also returned to the table and silently began working. Spike smiled and whispered something about Slayer spunk. As the students began to work, second bell alarmed.
"That's me. I'll be back around lunch. Oh and new girl, keep your hands off this one too. Every male in this room, save maybe your nancy boy watcher is taken so consider yourself warned." Cordelia leaned over and kissed Xander's cheek before heading off to class. As she opened the doors she accidentally slammed it open on Snyder's face. "Oh my god! Principal Snyder, are you ok?"
"Miss Chase, while I can do nothing about who you choose to socialize with I would suggest that you be more careful in where you choose to place a door. Now go to class!" Snyder barked at her. Cordy left quickly. "What is this Mr. Giles? A party? I count 1, 2, 3,4 people more than should be in here."
"Principal Snyder, may I remind you that this is library. Those two gentlemen are college students borrowing a few texts for a term paper, and this is Miss Daniels, a new transfer to Sunnydale High. She simply came in for her new books." Giles explained through a clenched jaw.
"What about you?" Snyder turned to Wesley.
"As you know Principal Snyder, the primary function of this large room is as a Library. The school board saw the importance, however, of Mr. Giles' teaching venture. They have thus hired me as an assistant Librarian. Mr. Wesley Windham-Pryce at your service." Wesley said extending his hand once more.
"Yes, well. I'll see about that." Snyder turned and stormed out muttering something about teenage hoodlums and glared at Buffy as he left.
"Now, that that's finished, Faith you should head to class. Liam, William, what are your plans for the rest of the day?"
"Hang around here but avoid being seen by the Troll," Angel smiled as he renamed Snyder. "We need to research that box still. Figured we'd get more done here than at home."
"Only if Willow keeps William's mind on task," Xander teased. Then he returned to his studies. Wesley continued to observe the group as Faith left for class. After about an hour of working Buffy pushed her books away.
"I need to stretch. William, wanna spar for a bit?"
"Sure luv. Need a break anyway. Want I should put on some music?"
"For the last Bloody time, Billy Idol is not music!" Giles shouted. Buffy and Spike rolled their eyes and put the cd on anyways. White Wedding began streaming over the speaker as Buffy stretched. They moved to the back of the library where a large section of the floor was empty. Spike tapped Buffy on the shoulder and swept under her legs. Buffy landed with a thud and scissor kicked Spike. The battle began.
"Getting old aye Willy?" Buffy quipped as she got up. She smirked down at him,
"You know I hate that name." Spike jumped back up and swung at Buffy. A series of hits and blocks followed. Buffy found an opening after several moments and took it slamming her fist into Spike's nose.
"Oh Blody ell! That's my nose you stupid chit!" Spike's hands went instantly to his face. His nose was broken in three places. It was in that moment that Spike learned that they could still be hurt and definitely feel pain. "Damn."
"Spike! Omigod! Are you ok?" Buffy asked, not realizing that she'd revealed who he really was. Buffy didn't know why she worried; Spike would heal as quickly as a Slayer. Willow glanced up from her laptop when she heard them yelling. She looked at Spike's nose and knew he'd be fine.
"He's just a big baby. There's an ice pack in the mini fridge in the office. Go get it and you'll be fine." Angel shook his head in amusement as Willow spoke. She always handled his injuries the same way if they were minor.
"Did she, um, say S-spike? As in William the Bloody? I knew he reminded me of someone!" Wesley asked unsure if he could be making any sense of it all.
"Ah, yes. That would be him. And Liam is Liam Charles Angelus, better known as Angel to us." Giles commented forcing Wesley to rapidly back up.
"But how? What? Do you know what you've done!" Wesley scrambled for a cross and stake. Everyone just stared at him incredulously.
"Um yeah. Deadboy and Deadboy Junior are our friends. Actually, no, they're family. And, um, they aren't like other vamps." Xander came to their defense not only verbally but he stood between Wesley and the vampires.
"It's ok Xan. The crosses don't do anything to us. Thank you though. Please sit down Mr. Windham- Pryce. We really don't want to cause a scene." Angel approached him slowly. He wrapped his hand around the cross hesitantly. A part of him, conditioned over the centuries, still expected the burning sensation but it never came. Angel smiled. "See, no problems."
"But, but…You're a vampire, a foul creature of the night," Wesley stammered. He couldn't seem to form a coherent thought. Meanwhile, Spike was finding this all bloody hilarious.
"Yeah, we covered that. Your point?" Buffy asked as she too suppressed a giggle. "Look, these two have been fighting on our side for a while now. And unless you want to deal with one brassed off slayer and one really pissy witch, I'd suggest you back off."
Wesley put his 'weapons' down. As he sat down at the table, Giles brought him a cup of tea. Wesley just kept shaking his head. He mumbled something about the most feared vampires in history. Buffy rolled her eyes at him and fought the urge to call him a pansy. The scoobies all moved to one end of the table arms crossed and eyes glaring. Giles cleared his throat and the teens returned to their studies while the vampires began to research the Mayor once more.
"I know this is hard to take. When Angel first came to us, I too was apprehensive but as you can see they are family now. Anyone my daughter loves is welcome in my home. I do hope we won't have a problem after today." Giles sat beside Wesley quietly speaking but letting a hint of what he once was slip through.
"Er, yes. Well, I'm sure we'll be fine. How," His voice squeaked with fear. "How then may I help you?"
Faith returned around lunchtime to find everyone working hard. To say it was quiet was an understatement. She was almost afraid to open her soda. Almost. The fizzy pop of a can of grape soda broke the silence. "Sup?" She asked as everyone looked her way.
"Studying. You know that thing that allows one to graduate?" Xander replied rather curtly. He really didn't like the new slayer. "What are you doing here?"
"Lunch. You know that meal between naps that allows one to live?" She snapped back. Faith looked over to Buffy. "We were never introduced really. Name's Faith."
"Buffy. And before we go any farther, I just want to say that Kendra was, as I said before, more than a friend, she was a sister. By default that makes you a sister too but you have to earn respect. We patrol at nine." Buffy and Faith stood nose to nose once more. Before any more could happen though Spike stepped in.
"Slayer. Be nice."
"We're cool Blondie. B here was just letting me know what kinda shoes I had to fill. I'm 5 by 5 if she is." Faith watched Spike carefully for a few moments. Something was off about him. She grabbed his wrist and instantly knew. "So tell me, why the Slayer would have Fang here hanging around? I mean that's not exactly by the book slaying if I'm not mistaken."
"Actually she has two vamps. And they're here cause I'm here. We are a packaged deal. Oh, yeah, and they're good." Willow explained with an attitude. Just as she spoke, Cordelia entered with lunch for everyone. Seeing the tension in the room, she suggested a picnic venue would be a good idea. Everyone else agreed. When Spike and Angel joined them, Wesley and Faith raised more questions that the gang didn't really want to answer yet but had to anyways.
"Ever hear of the Gem of Amara?" Angel suggested when asked why he and Spike were able to survive things like crosses and sunlight.
"Yes, it's a legend though. A vampire Holy Grail so to speak," Wesley replied.
"Maybe it's not as legendary as one might be led to believe." Giles prodded. This was a better explanation at present than we were granted immortality by the God that the Watcher's deny exists. Giles had come to terms a few years back with the idea that the Powers that Be were merely a more politically correct term for the Holy Trinity. But since they weren't pushing to correct people's beliefs neither would he.
Willow started to zone out on Giles and Wesley's argument. She was much more concerned with the two gorgeous vampires before her. Goddess, they're so lovely. In the sunshine, Spike was her Adonis and Angel her Cupid. Willow's breath caught in her throat.
"You ok Wills?" Xander saw Willow nearly mesmerized by the sight of her two lovers. He and Cordy chuckled. "Hey, boys you may want to attend to your girl here." Xander motioned to Willow and as quickly as the words were out of his mouth the two vampires fell upon her with lavish kisses. While Faith might enjoy the show, Xander decided to give them at least some semblance of privacy by changing the subject. "So, Buff. You staying over tonight?"
"No. Can't." Buffy pouted a little. "I gotta do the whole mother/ daughter bonding thing. So, I patrol with Spike and Faith after dinner, report in and home by 11:30 for a movie with Mom." Buffy shrugged. She'd really much rather cuddle with Giles all night. She smiled over at her lover. "Um, I think I might go for a little Watcher/ Slayer training session this afternoon before Dinner, if you don't mind me stealing your dad for awhile."
"Only if you put him back when you're done," Xander teased. Giles, who had been listening knew exactly what Buffy was talking about with her training session. He needed to make a stop at the store on the way home. Xander saw the wheels turning in Giles' mind. He shook his head but kept on. Cordy began passing out the food for the day. "Delia, baby, is that what I think it is?"
"Yes, I'm being nice. You and Giles get the artery clogging Coney dogs. Buffy and I have Sushi; Willow a seafood salad with wheat crackers, Spike and Angel get A-pos." Cordy finished passing out the food and snuggled up against her boyfriend.
"Delia, you are too kind." Buffy sat next to Giles and began to devour her meal. The other Slayer watched incredulously.
"I'm not sure which bothers me more, the fact that Fang and Jr here are your buds or the fact that you can sit here eating raw fish." Faith sat uncomfortably as she watched with horror at the food being eaten. Several hours later, she'd be fighting side by side with this tiny looking girl. "How is it that you guys are so comfortable with each other?"
"Like I said, we're family."
Buffy was stretching in the workout room while she waited for Giles to come home. Her headphones were on but her body was fully attuned to her surroundings. "I know you're behind me Xander, come on in."
"Damn you're good," Xander said as Buffy pulled her headphones off. "How do you do that?"
"Slayer, remember?" Buffy teased as she continued her work out. "So what's up?"
"I was just thinking about the new slayer, Faith. What do you think about her?"
"I think she's a loose cannon. She's strong and stubborn." Buffy became thoughtful, "One look in her eyes says that she had a hard life even before she learned about vampires. She's very likely to be dangerous. But she has the potential for greatness. We've gotta do what we can."
"So, G-man on his way home?" Buffy nodded. "I should go down to the lab then shouldn't I?" Buffy nodded again. Xander smiled knowingly and headed out the door. "Have fun."
Buffy placed her headphones back on and pushed play. She began doing gymnastics, very grateful that Giles had given her the jogging cd player for Christmas. She was fully aware of the pair of eyes watching her small breasts bounce as she tumbled about. Buffy smiled softly as she completed her round off. She grabbed her towel and wiped off the glistening sweat. A soft groan made her smile even more.
"Dear heavens, I keep forgetting how lovely you are." Giles stepped up behind her, closing the space between them, he wrapped his arms around her. Giles took a deep breath taking in her scent. "I love you."
"Oh really? I never would have guessed." Buffy turned around and kissed him deeply. The kiss left them both gasping for breath. "You lock the door?"
"Of course. I have no idea if the slayer and watcher will try visiting us or not." Giles pulled her slowly to the mats. "I would say, let's go to the bedroom but, as I said, no way of knowing."
"Yeah, I know. Which is why," Buffy pointed to a sleeping bag in the corner. "Mom always said to be prepared."
"Hmm. Well, then let's make the best of that, shall we?" Giles smiled and led her to the sleeping bag.
When 8 o'clock rolled around, Willow and Spike were relaxing on the couch as dinner was being made. Spike's fingers danced on Willow's stomach as she lay against him. The doorbell rang. "Company," Willow shrugged.
"Don't worry sis, I got it." Xander teased as he walked into the room. Willow smiled inwardly thinking how Xander had called her sis without thinking about it. Willow snuggled into Spike's arms as Angel came downstairs. Xander looked back at Angel and the others and smiled as Angel kissed the top of Spike's head and rested at the foot of the couch. He turned his attention back to the door as the bell rang once more. "Yeah, yeah. I'm coming."
Xander opened the door to reveal Wesley and Faith impatiently waiting. "May we please come in?"
"You're early. We're getting ready for dinner. Come on in. We've got plenty of food." Xander welcomed them in. "Hey Wills, we've got two more for dinner," He called over to the living room. The response was a muffled 'mmmh hmmm'. "She's, um, occupied."
"Yes. Well, is Mr. Giles home?" Wesley asked with an air of snootiness.
"Yeah, let me go get him for you. Why don't the two of you wait in the kitchen? I think the coast is pretty much clear in there." Xander shook his head slowly with humor in his eyes. He really wanted to put the uptight watcher in his place, but since he was soon to be studying under such stuffy men he chose to behave instead.
There was an obnoxious knock on the door. "Go away. We don't want any," Buffy yelled from under the sleeping bag. She was happily resting in Giles' arms and wanted nothing to disturb them.
"Buffy, it's me. The Slayer and Watcher are here. They want to talk to Giles." Xander yelled through the door. He really hated bothering them before dinner but he didn't want to leave Wes and Faith alone with Cordy for any length of time either. That, he decided, was a very bad idea.
"I'm coming Xan. Give me about five minutes please?" Giles asked as he got up, leaving a very cute but pouting Buffy on the ground waiting.
"Yeah. Hey Buff, dinner's in 20, you can shower if you want."
"Thanks Xan. You are a godsend." Buffy smiled but the door was still closed so only Giles benefited from it.
"I know. See you in a few." Xander turned around and headed down to the main rooms. He passed the living room, glancing only long enough to see that the trio was well into another make-out session. He yelled out that dinner would be ready soon and then headed on to the kitchen. He picked up a carrot and munched on it briefly before giving Cordelia a kiss on the cheek. "Hey beautiful. What can I do?"
"Set the table and make your guests comfortable. For once I can finally cook a decent meal and you," Cordy smacked Xander's hand as he picked at some more food. "Aren't going to screw this up."
"Aren't you two the picture of domestic bliss?" Faith said sarcastically. Cordy rolled her eyes at the girl and continued cooking. She smiled when Xander brushed it off as well.
"Mr. Windham-Pryce, would you like a glass of wine? Or some Brandy?" Xander asked as he gathered the glasses for dinner.
"No, thank you. I should think that Mr. Giles wouldn't allow his son to drink at such a young age." Wesley said in a haughty tone.
"He doesn't. But he allows me to serve it to guests. How bout you Faith? Can I get you some juice, tea, water?"
"Whiskey sour maybe?" Faith asked hopefully having not had a decent drink since she'd received a watcher. Xander laughed.
"Um, no. That would be of the bad since it would be illegal, plus you're patrolling tonight. No alcohol. Sorry."
Laughter filled the home during dinner. Buffy and Giles were regaling the Scoobies with a story from when they'd been out patrolling a week before. It had been one of the few nights that Spike had gone out patrolling with Angel instead of Buffy. It was one of the nights that they used to plan their anniversary celebration. Buffy spoke of how they had been in the middle of a fight when one of the vampires pointed out how nice her shoes were. Buffy stopped the fight for a few minutes to discuss fashion. Giles and a male vampire had stopped fighting only because they couldn't believe what they'd seen. "And then, after like five minutes she said that it was a shame my clothes were last season and my hair was last fall. I mean the nerve right? So, I used the shoes as a stake. It's a wonderful thing to have stiletto heals."
"That's my slayer, Buffy the vampire fashion critic." Giles joked. He smiled across the table at her. Angel had finally taken to eating human food like Spike did. After a few minutes, Xander began telling another story as they ate. He was very animated as he spoke and Willow and Cordelia had to keep dodging his arms. Faith even became lost in the moment. However, Wesley did not.
"I can't believe you all take this so lightheartedly. It's unprecedented that a Slayer should be allowed family and friends, let alone that they be put in the line of danger, or that vampires are enlisted for assistance." Wesley broke the mood.
"Wesley, you are quite the mood killer aren't you? I wonder, are you a virgin?" Buffy blurted out. Spike chuckled and Willow nearly spit out her tea.
"I don't see how that is of any importance."
"So the answer is yes? Wow. I don't know what to say," Buffy began eating again. Giles hid a laugh before he spoke.
"I'm sorry Wesley, but you really shouldn't have been so rude. You see, while there is no such precedent for these things, neither has there been the opportunity to research such a situation. You see, we are the best team you've ever seen. We'll always be the best team you'll ever meet." Giles tossed his fork down onto the table. He was angry with Wesley for his impudence. Willow looked up at him. "Now, if you'll excuse me I need to recheck the weapons bag. Buffy, you and Spike have downtown with Faith, Willow and Angel will take from the Bronze to the mall. Xander and I have the university. Cordelia, you'll take the home front for tonight."
"And where will I be Mr. Giles?" Wesley asked slowly.
"I don't give a bloody hell where you are Wesley so long as it is no where near me right now." Giles got up from the table and headed down to the lab. His weapons were locked in a closet down there, as were the others. He began checking while everyone else finished their meal.
Willow did a brief sweep of the area with a scriving crystal before she and Angel went out. She picked up on 7 vampires in their quadrant. She knew they'd have no problems but then again, they weren't in the cemetery district. Spike and Buffy would have many more vamps to deal with. When she'd checked their zone, it had 23 vampires and 5 demons. Xander and Giles only had about 5 and she was pretty sure that at least one of them was working for the mayor. That would make him off limits for only a few more days. Willow sent everyone out with the knowledge of what they'd face. Tonight would be much easier than usual.
Buffy walked away from the group as they studied Willow's plans. Faith watched her go but shrugged. Wesley, however, followed her down the stone stairs to the basement.
"Hey Broody," Buffy smiled as she saw Giles sharpening a stake viciously. "Was the stake bad?"
"No, I'm afraid the poor weapons have done nothing. Tell me Buffy, was I that pompous when we first met?" Giles looked up only then to see his beautiful girl walking towards him. She laughed lightly.
"Honestly? Yes dear. You were a horribly stuffy British windbag who thought he knew exactly what I needed," Buffy took his hands in hers. "Of course, I never would have admitted to the fact that you were right."
"Thank you," Giles replied softly as his eyes met hers. Giles brought her hands up to his lips and kissed them gently. "I'm sorry for ever being so terrible to you. I, we have always been trained to be cold to our charges so we could better cope with, um, the inevitable."
"So, it's a nice way to say you're taught to be ready for when I kick it. And you were never terrible to me. You were always, oh god, you were so… I was the terrible one. I should be apologizing, not you." Buffy stared into his eyes, her own filled with tears of guilt. Giles chuckled a bit at the scene they must have been. Buffy smiled back.
"Listen to us, apologizing for our shared foolishness. I love you so much Buffy." Giles brought her up for an intimate embrace.
"I love you too Rupert. Always. Now, let's go kick some demon ass sweetheart," Buffy smirked and kissed his cheek. She spun on her heel and gasped slightly as she saw Wesley failing at his attempt to hide on the stairs. "Well, looks like that lasted long, huh?"
"Quite. Mr. Windham-Pryce, we know you're there so you might as well come out." Wesley stood up in a rather stiff motion. Buffy allowed Giles to drape his arms around her waist in a very protective manner.
"Have you no shame Mr. Giles? This girl is the same age as your children, she's your charge. She's…" Wesley stuttered a bit.
"She's also the most wonderful thing that's ever happened to me. She's the strongest woman I've ever met and the only person I know who could stand up to hell itself and win." Buffy beamed with joy as Giles spoke. Wesley was quickly turning very red. Buffy then smirked a little at him. She desperately wanted to say how wonderful a lover Giles was and how no man could ever compare to him in life, bed, and facing fears. But, she thought he might just implode if she did. Instead, Buffy just pulled her watcher in for an impassioned kiss.
Dumbfounded, Wesley just stared as the couple carried the weapons upstairs to be distributed to the others.
"Oi, Slayer, a little help here!" Five vamps were pummeling spike. Buffy knew he'd be ok so she just smirked and continued her own fight. She watched as he knocked off one more then returned her full attention to the fledge she was currently battling. Buffy was grateful that they were never smart enough to attack en mass. Spike growled a bit as one of the vamps pinned him to the ground. "Slayer!"
"Need some help there blondie?" Faith stood above him, stake in hand. She drove the stake home into his attacker and smirked down through the settling dust. She reached a hand out to help him up and just as she did, Spike pulled her down and flipped her over him with one hand and staking a vamp with the other. "Oof! Uh, thanks cutie."
"Careful there Slayer, I'm taken and neither one takes kindly to people trying to steal me away." Spike dusted himself off and kicked off the ground in a leap just in time to watch Buffy finish off the last two vamps in a double staking. Smiling over at them, Buffy shrugged.
"Wanna go check on the others?"
"I was just thinking the same thing. You wanna go check out the Uni, I'll head over to the Bronze." Spike suggested as he began jogging towards the exit.
"And where should I go?" Faith protested. She was unintentionally being neglected.
"You've got a watcher who needs a lesson or two in slayage. You might wanna take him on an old school patrol," Buffy said as she caught up with Spike. Faith shrugged. Their ideas were as good as any.
Willow and Angel had an art form all their own when fighting. When Angel attacked, Willow ducked down. She was the decoy at first but she was as deadly as he was and Angel knew it. Willow would roll underneath an attacking vamp and soon come up behind him with a ball of fire or a right cross that led to an imminent staking. Angel rarely worried about her safety anymore but she did roll with each punch. When Spike caught up with them he was already bouncing to jump into the fight.
"Ello ducks. Room for one more?" Spike asked as he began tearing into one of the vamps.
"Of course lover, welcome to the game. You wanna take stupid or dumber?" Angel smirked as he landed a blow into a smaller vampire's abdomen. "Personally, I think dumber is right up your alley."
"I'll take him then. How bout you Red? What have you got?" Spike asked as he punched into his vampire's back. Willow smiled brightly.
"I got them all actually." Willow whispered a few words and the alleyway lit up around them. Willow shrugged as their marks exploded into a cloud of dust. "Sorry to spoil your fun boys but I wanted to go to bed with the two hottest guys in California."
"It's ok. It's kinda hard to stay angry at you when you say stuff like that." Spike swept Willow up in his arms and laughed. "Besides, it's nice to see this side of the ball of light."
As Spike whirled Willow in the air, Angel crossed his arms over his chest and laughed. It was good to see his lovers so happy. "That's settled. Let's go home."
"Duck!" Xander called out as Giles arched his ax around and down low. Xander's own cross sweeping kick knocked the leather bound vampires down onto the cross emblazoned on Giles's jacket. "Good job."
Xander's stake landed into the screaming vamp's chest and the dust flew up towards him in a puff. Giles rolled into a crouching pose. His ax was poised for battle as another, younger vampire came running at him. "I do believe they get dumber every time we fight."
"That, or you're just getting smarter with each fight." Buffy remarked as she entered the scene. She shook her head sadly as one incredibly stupid vamp saw her as no threat at all. She didn't even blink as she slammed the stake into his heart. "Nope, they're getting dumber. Sad really."
"Buffy dear, that's not fair. The least you could have done was let him have a good fight. It's more sporting that way."
"True, but then I can't have a few smootchies before I go home. See, this way I get smootchies and Xander gets to go home to Delia before it gets too late." Buffy smiled as she wrapped her arms around Giles's neck.
"I like how you think Buff," Xander stated as he gathered the rest of their gear. "By the way, how'd the new slayer handle things?"
"She did good. She helped Spike out of a few rough spots. She nearly got herself killed once or twice too but that's to be expected right?" Buffy smirked as she kissed Giles softly. "Missed you."
"Yes, well, while I do love spending time with Xander, I am apt to agree that time with you is much sweeter spent. In other words, I missed you too my dear." Giles smiled and returned Buffy's tender kiss. Xander cleared his throat and then gave up trying. He just headed towards the house.
"See you at home Dad. Buff, have a good night."
"So, this is what you do when I'm out staking and slaying? You stuff yourself into a musty corner and catch up on what, your demon knowledge? Didn't you get enough of that boring shit in England?"
"Faith, I will kindly remind you that knowing your enemy is the first step towards defeating him. Whilst you and Miss Summers are out playing with vampires, I am in fact learning how to better train you both against the dark forces of the night." Wesley's staunch speech made Faith giggle.
"So, Buffy was right, you are a virgin. Got it. First priority is get you laid. It may in fact stop the next apocalypse." Faith joked. "Ok. So really, what's so important that I need to know about it?"
"The ascension." Wesley placed his text in front of her. "This is what we're facing next. Buffy and her friends have been preparing for it for the last several months. I'm afraid we're a bit behind in the game. Will you be able to step up to the plate?"
Faith took the book from Wesley and crossed her legs as she sat Indian style to read. Her brow furrowed as she studied the meticulous writings more closely than most would assume the tough teen would do. She looked up after a few minutes and smiled at him. "I'm ready and willing. Here's hoping they let me into the clubhouse, huh?"
Wesley smiled with pride in the young slayer though he said nothing to her. He went back to his research and allowed Faith to do the same. In the late hours of the night, Faith and Wesley began the early stages of their work. After a few hours, Wesley began to realize that he'd underestimated the Slayer. He thought she was a lost cause, too long neglected by everyone who should have cared for her to be any good to the fight he'd been training his whole life for, but now as he looked at her sleeping form draped over one of the many texts that he'd pulled out for research, Wesley saw hope.
Within a few days, Faith had assimilated herself into the group. She knew that she'd never be as close to them as they were with one another but she was one of theirs now. Faith loathed school though. She was never one for an establishment but she was trying. Wesley, however was unprepared to deal with two slayers, let alone the team that came with them.
"Mr. Giles," Wesley sighed as he tried to catch his breath. "Perhaps you could be so kind as to train with Buffy this afternoon. I'm afraid that I may have a coronary if I run the course with them both."
"No problem English. I can take Buffy out," Xander suggested. "Besides, I need the practice if I ever want a slayer of my own."
"Are you sure Xan? If I recall last time you took me out on the course you almost passed out," Buffy teased.
"That was before I started working out with Angel before school. I'm much stronger now." Xander made a muscle with his arm and made his best Arnold impersonation, which elicited giggles from the girls. "Not exactly the response I was hoping for there girls."
"Yeah, but it was funny. Well, you guys have fun training. I'm going to try and hack into the Mayor's office and find out what his agenda is next." Willow pulled out her laptop to research the Mayor more deeply.
"You can do that? I mean, get into his personal files and such from here?"
"Well, yeah. It's not easy cause he's got a lot more firewalls and password protections than most computers but it shouldn't take me more than an hour to break in. It's really kind of fun, even though Giles frowns upon it." Willow said as she typed away. Faith watched in awe over the witch's shoulder.
"Yes, well that could have something to do with the illegalities of it all." Giles muttered over the rim of his cup of tea. He took a deep sip and then spoke up again. "But then of course, this is the most evil being in Sunnydale right now, so you have my approval in this instance."
"Um, I was just gonna say, cool." Faith remarked with a smile. She sat back and began to file her nails half- heartedly. She looked over to Wesley, feeling sorry for him. She really did give him a hard time and the others didn't help much. They often suggested that she build a relationship with him but didn't know where to begin. She thought about asking Buffy but they weren't that close. Maybe Cordelia could help out. "I'm going to go to gym class now. I'll catch you later guys."
"See ya Faith." Xander piped in as the brunette slayer headed out the doors. "All right Buffster, let's see what you've got."
"You don't belong you know. You're not one of them." The Mayor sneered at Faith. He'd tried the polite father approach and failed. Faith just stared at him. She knew everything he was saying was a handful of lies. She may not belong, but she was one of them; not in the way they would have liked because she kept herself back too much for that. Faith would not live forever; she could get hurt, but she knew that no matter what they considered her family. Maybe in another time, had things been different, the slayer could have been deceived by Wilkins's ploy but not now.
"You know what Dick? I'm not a foolish little girl like you think I am. Careful around us, by the way. We tend to bite." Faith staked the Mayor's right hand vamp and walked away. She smiled to herself. Knowing that the mayor thought he could win her over by giving her what he thought she never had, Faith laughed. She had what he thought she lacked, a place to belong. What the fool never realized was that Angel, Spike and Willow had already given her that. They gave her a home, a place to be herself. They understood her need for light and darkness both; they'd been there. She smiled more broadly as she stepped down the halls of the city building and saw her watcher waiting there for her. "Hey Wes. Guess I passed the test, huh?"
"So it seems. Shall we report to Mr. Giles and the others?" Wesley offered his arm to the Slayer as she met him by the door. "Or should we spend some time together as they so often suggest?"
"I like the way you think Watcher boy." Faith slipped her arm through his and kicked open the door. "I don't think the mayor is gonna be as much of a problem anymore by the by."
"And why might I ask is that?"
"I may have accidentally spilled his box of bugs. Oops!" Faith playfully covered her mouth with her free hand, causing her friend and watcher to laugh out loud. "Wes, you laughed. Are you ok there bud? Do you need to rest?"
"No, I assure you Faith that I too have a sense of humor. Now let's go get some coffee, shall we?"