Chapter Two: Right Now

Bright lights splash across the white garage doors as the slate colored Jeep Cherokee pulls into the driveway at Sixteen-Thirty Revello Drive. The sun is just beginning to peak over the horizon, but there are still more then enough shadows for the daring vampire to hide in. Joyce takes a long, careful look around her house, the houses alongside and even the homes to either side of them. She didn't bother with her mirrors because vampires wouldn't show up in them anyway. She did however turn around and take another long look out the back of her Jeep.

It would be more of a concern for her if she had some reason to believe a vampire had somehow managed to get a hold of her itinerary so they could be waiting outside her home. She knows it is an irrational fear, but it is one that keeps intruding in her thoughts.

Slipping the gear shifter into park she kills the engine and shuts off the headlights. Plucking the keys out of the ignition she then reaches over into the passenger seat and grabs hold of her large hand bag.

She can feel the sense of dread surging back up again as she pushes the door open and gets a face full of fresh, cool morning air. With a quick glance from the tailgate to the front door Joyce does a quick calculation of how much added time would be needed to unlock the tailgate, collect her bags and lug them to the front door.

Up the road a loud, clattering clang, followed by a sharp hissing shriek causes Joyce to give a slight start as her head whips around to where she thought the sound emanated from.

"I'll come out later," she murmurs getting out of her car as she looks to the sun, "in a couples hours and get my bags," she finishes swinging the driver side door close. It latches with a soft clack that she isn't even aware of as she makes a beeline for her front door, not running, but definitely not dawdling either.

By the time Joyce reaches the front door she has her house key extended, out in front of her. It slides smoothly into the keyhole. She twists, feels the lock turn, and turns the door handle. A moment later she's pushing the door open, slips in-between the small opening, and swings it shut behind her.

Collapsing back she leans against the heavy wooden door, a sense of relief flooding through her as she tries to catch her breath. A breath that she hadn't even noticed that she had lost until this moment.

At times she really wishes Buffy had never, ever told her about vampires, demons, or any of the other things she has. That she could go back to being the unsuspecting rube she had been a couple of years earlier. They had been much simpler times then, when she wasn't aware of everything that went on in the world.

It didn't happen very often, she enjoys the honest, open relationship her and Buffy have now. But occasionally, like tonight, for no apparent reason, it just gets to be a bit much for her.

She gives a slight shake of her head as she pushes herself off of the door. Shifting her shoulder slightly she lets her large shoulder bag drop to the floor right next to the coat rack.

Walking down the short hall to check if anyone had left any messages on the answering machine. Seeing the little red light is still dark, Joyce sighs softly before heading back the way she just came and makes the short climb up the stairs leading to the second floor and her bedroom. Planning on grabbing a quick shower, hoping it will help wake her up a little.

She stops upon reaching the landing. There is something out of place. A feeling that something is wrong, something is different in the house from when she left three days ago.

There's a slight breeze. The bathroom door is open and Joyce doesn't think that she left it open, but she isn't sure. Taking a few steps down the hall in the direction of the bathroom, she slows even more as she spots Buffy's bedroom door standing ajar.

Her eyes narrow suspiciously. That door she knows she had left closed, but she also know it was possible that Buffy had stopped by while she was out of town. Either to raid the fridge, or she could have wanted to, or needed to pick up some clothes. It was also possible her daughter might have done a load or two of laundry. It is possible.

Buffy would never be considered tidy by anyone's standards and leaving her bedroom door open would be just like her. Leaving her radio on however, wouldn't be like her at all.

Stopping completely just before stepping into the open door frame, she closes her eyes and lets out a deep breath. Her gut is telling her to go back downstairs, pick up the phone and call Buffy so she can come over and take car of the possible, would be intruder. All the while another side keeps telling her that its nothing, that is was just Buffy's overly forgetful nature.

Opening her eye Joyce steps around, staring through the doorway and into the dimly lit room. Soft rays of warm sunlight flow through the slitted blinds, covering the eastern facing window, bathing the room in its warm glow.

On the twin size bed, just to the side of the window, with the covers pulled up high so only a shock of dark brown hair is sticking out from underneath the blankets, is a small person. Its hard for her to judge, with them being covered up head to toe, but the person doesn't look any bigger then Buffy in height, girth, or general size.

Without noticing her eyes drift to the nightstand next to the bed. The alarm clock there read ten minutes to six and the alarm is set.

Her gaze shifts back to the bed holding the unusual... She didn't know if the term burglar fit with the person sleeping in her daughters bed. She wonders if the crime should be called breaking, entering, and sleeping.

Again Joyce realizes she should go back downstairs and call Buffy. Again she doesn't though. She stands there for several minutes watching the sleeping figure trying to figure out what to do.

She didn't know a lot about criminals in general, or thieves in particular, but she thought it would be highly unusual for one to take a nap in a house, even an empty house. Letting another soft sigh pass her lips she takes a step into the room.

Three strides and Joyce is at the side of the bed. As she reaches down to wake the person, a young, sleep filled, husky, but definitely feminine voice drifts up to her. "Just five more minutes mom," she murmurs while snuggling in deeper, pulling the blankets tighter around herself. "I promise I won't be late for school," she mumbles listlessly.

Joyce's hand freezes a few inches above the girl. It didn't sound very different from something Buffy would have said, pleading with her, on those mornings after an extremely rough night of slaying. The accent though is definitely from New York.

"I was having the strangest dream," she murmurs. "Stuck in the past... Got in a fight with Dad, couldn't tell him he was Dad... Didn't wanna create any wicked strange paradox's where I wasn't born... That'd just be too freaky," she finishes trying to burrow even further into the bed.

She straightens up while May is talking and takes a small step back. "I don't know who you are miss, but I do know you're not my daughter," Joyce says in a firm voice.

May stiffens at the unfamiliar voice, her eyes popping open as the events of the past few days come crashing back down on her. Being in the past with her father. Getting help from Reed Richards in an attempt to get back home, but instead winding up in California. A California she thought might be in an alternate reality.

She turns her head to look back over her shoulder, her dark eyes taking in the older woman standing a few feet away. The one thing that stands out is how tall she is, about the same height as her mother: five eight, five nine and looks to be around the same age: late thirties to early forties. Her hair is a light auburn, still rich and luxuriant, but looking like its lost a little of its shine, its sheen, with age.

The woman seems more wary, or perturb then frightened or angry. Almost like she is use to strange or unusual things happening to her.

One thing that May is finding different is that her spider-sense isn't reacting to the woman. Even when she had been sleeping it didn't go off. Which is odd considering it went off when her mom would try to sneak up on her. Her dad however never set off her spider-sense.

It could just mean the woman really had no intention of harming her. Which considering the fact that she is sleeping in her house, without permission, is really, really hard to believe.

May rolls onto her back and sits up in the bed, letting the heavy quilt fall away, exposing the red and blue skin tight body suit she fell asleep wearing. "The safest course of action to take when discovering an intruder sleeping in your house is; A: Exit the house as quickly and safely as possible and call the police from a safe location, B: Grab a heavy blunt object and beat them about the head and shoulders, or C: Wake them up and hope they don't turn out to be a psychopath?"

Joyce blinks at the girl, at the multiple choice question she just asked. It is definitely the kind of statement Buffy would have made. Though the gaudy red and blue spandex is definitely something Buffy would never, ever have been caught dead in.

"You're not though?" Joyce answers managing to keep the strain out of her voice.

May shakes her head as she says, "but you didn't know that?"

This time its Joyce who shakes her head. "How about you tell me who you are, why you're sleeping in my daughters bed, then I'll decide whether I'll call the police or not?" She replies in a no nonsense tone of voice as she folds her arms across her chest.

"Does breakfast come with that offer?" She inquires with a tiny smile.

Joyce watches May with an amused smile as the young girl polishes off a second bowl of cereal. She gave her a pair of Buffy's sweets and a tank top to wear. Unsurprisingly the clothes fit as if they had been bought for her. For a moment Joyce wonders where May put all the food, then she remembers the story May told her.

She isn't quite sure if she believes in alternate realities, but May did seem to know some surprising things about Buffy and her friends. Some of it is completely wrong. Like Willow being bi-sexual, or Buffy getting involved with another souled vampire.

Still what she did know. It isn't the kind of information just any person is going to know. Like her having sex with Giles on the hood of a police car. But if in her world Buffy's life, her adventures, are nothing more then a television series it might explain how she knew what she knew.

Like May herself said, the series, along with the two spin-offs, had all been cancelled long before she was born. Add to that the fact she didn't watch them in syndication and it would more then make up for her gaps in knowledge and wrong information.

"Thank you," May says in appreciation as she sits up fully while pushing her bowl away slightly. "That was delicious, thank you."

"It was only cold cereal," Joyce responds with a ghost of a smile. "All I had to do was pour the milk."

"Still its something you didn't have to do," May points out. Standing, she picks up the empty bowl and carries it to the sink. Even after the nearly hour she spent with Mrs. Summers its still surprising her just how accepting and gracious she is. She doesn't know many people that would have listened to the story she had told and not made some excuse to leave the room and call the loony bin to come and pick her up.

Placing the bowl in the sink she turns back around. At first she glances down towards the floor, but after a moment she raises her eyes back up to the motherly figure staring at her. "Not to seem pushy or ungrateful or anything, but do think Buffy will be able to help me. Its nothing personal... I mean, you've been great. Above and beyond and all that, but I'd really, really like to get back home as soon as possible."

Joyce gives her head a small shake. "Its all right. I can't even imagine what you must be going through. Trapped, sometime in the pass, on a different world, completely alone, with no family or..." She stops suddenly looking at May, a horrified expression speeding across her face. "Oh god, I'm so sorry. I wasn't, I didn't..."

May waves off the apology as she says, "it's okay. Not like I haven't been thinking about it constantly or anything," she finishes in a soft murmur.

Her frown deepens as she watches the young woman, teenager really, turn to gaze out at the backyard through the small window over the sink. There wasn't anything that she could do to alleviate her suffering. "I'm going to call Buffy, let her know what's going on. If you want you can go upstairs and take a shower. Buffy still has a lot of clothes here so you shouldn't have any problems finding something to wear."

May nods her head as she says, "thank you." She however doesn't move from the where she is standing, staring at her own ghostly reflection in the window pane. A few seconds, a few minutes- she's not sure which- pass before she hears Joyce's soft footfalls walking away.

Taking a deep breath she pushes down the turbulent emotions bubbling within her. Breaking down or freaking out isn't going to help fix, or accomplish, anything. She needs to be in control right now.

Joyce looks up as she hears the shower come on. She's glad May had taken up her offer of a shower. Hopefully it will give her a chance to gather herself. Especially after that inane comment she had made.

The phone rings again bringing her attention back there. Its the third ring since she dialed Buffy and Willow's dorm room. Glancing at the clock on the wall she notes its almost seven now. "Where could she be?" She mumbles to herself as the phone rings again.

In high school Buffy would just be getting up about this time in order to get ready for school. "Its not like I know what her schedule is now though," she muses quietly. Not for the first time she realizes just how little she knows about what is going on with Buffy now that she's at collage. She didn't even know when her first class of the day is, or her last class, or any of the ones in-between.

Another rings begins, but cuts off in the middle. A brief second later a breathless voice says, "hello."

"Willow, how are you?" She inquires politely.

"Oh pretty good Mrs. Summers, how are you?" She replies.

"Not too bad," Joyce responds. "Still trying to get use to having this big old house all to myself."

"It must be pretty strange," Willow agrees.

Joyce takes a small breath. "Is Buffy available?"

"She just went out," Willow answers. "She had to see Giles about something she ran into last night, so she got up early. I can take a message..."

"I'll just give Mr. Giles a call. See if I can catch her there. Thank you for all your help," Joyce replies.

"Okay, well... I have to get going. First class of the day starts soon," Willow responds.

Joyce nods at her statement. "Thank you Willow," she says a quick moment before hanging up the phone. Bringing the handset away from her head she looks down and punches in Rupert Giles' telephone number.

Unlike Buffy and Willow's dorm room the phone is quickly picked up just after the first ring. "Rupert Giles speaking."

"Hello Mr. Giles."

"Mrs. Summers," Giles replies just as formally. After a brief pause he adds, "is there something I can help you with?"

"I'm looking for Buffy? Willow said she might be with you," she answers.

"One moment?" Giles responds. Then more softly she hears him say, "its your mother."

A couple of seconds pass before Buffy greets her saying, "hey Mom. What's up?"

"I found somebody here this morning that I think you might be interested in meeting," she answers cryptically.

"Mom," Buffy says worriedly.

"You remember the story of Goldilocks and the three bears? Because I got home this morning and there was this young girl sleeping in your bed," Joyce tells her daughter.

"Please tell me you called the police?" Buffy demands.

"That's almost the same thing she asked me," Joyce answers.

"Mom!" Buffy gasps.

"Does this mean you'll be stopping by the house?" She inquires sweetly.

"I'll be there in five minutes," Buffy replies just before the phone goes dead.

Joyce smiles to herself as she hangs up the phone. Buffy should be able to help May out, but almost as importantly she hopes that Buffy and her will be able to reconnect while she's here.

Buffy hangs up Giles' phone with a grimace and a groan. "I've got to go," she says with a quick glance at the old man.

"What's wrong?" Giles asks with an extremely concerned look settling on his face.

She gives her head a slight shake, her blonde hair swinging from side to side. "Apparently my mom decided to open up a boarding house."

Giles face scrunches up slightly in incomprehension. "Would you like me to give you a ride?"

This time its Buffy's face that scrunches up. Only her look is in horror. "Um, no thanks. It'll probably be quicker if I just kind of..." She stops looking at his hurt expression. "Is it okay if I ride in the back and keep my head ducked down so no one will see me?" She asks hopefully.

"All I'm saying," Forest continues as he follows Riley and Graham out the front door, "is that we would've been able to bag that hostile last night." He finishes pounding his right fist into his open palm.

Graham shakes his head slightly but before he can say anything Riley replies saying, "I'm just as glad I was were I was."

"Making time with the freak about campus while you're brothers are getting stomped on?" Forest questions, lot of anger in his voice coloring his voice.

Riley comes to a sudden stop as he rounds on his long time friend. "Buffy isn't a freak," he growls in a menacing tone.

"Hey I just call them as I see them," Forest responds.

"Just for your information," Riley begins taking a step closer. "If she hadn't won last night then what happened in the base wouldn't have matter because there wouldn't have been an Earth."

Forest scoffs at the statement, his eyes glittering with a dark light. "She's stronger then them, faster, and can throw a beat down on them whenever she wants to. So if she ain't a freak, what the hell is she?"

Riley calms slightly as he reflects on the question, on some of the things Buffy has told him about herself. "Buffy's special. She was chosen to protect the world from vampires and demons when she was just fifteen. Unlike us she wasn't given a choice. It was, 'if you don't people are going to die and you could have... Were suppose to save them'."

Forest's scowl deepens as he demands, "so what? Is she like some kind of saint? Should we all just bow down and worship at the alter of Buffy?"

"I don't think that's what he meant by it," Graham insist.

"That's sure as hell what it sounding like to me."

Riley gives his head slight shake. "Look, she's been doing this, the same thing as us, since she was fifteen. On her own. We might be able to learn a lot from her," he finishes.

"Or she could be playing you," Forest replies. "Telling you something she thinks will keep you off her back," he finishes venomously.

"You might not want to hear this," Graham comments keeping himself positioned so he can step between them if necessary. "Either one of you, but both of you just might be right. Now can we get back to the sweep we're suppose to be on?"

"Locating the other hostile?" Forest asks with a special emphasis on the word other.

Graham nods as he says, "if we can."

Riley shrugs as the three of them begin across campus. "That adhesive... Webbing I guess," he starts with a shrug, "was found all the way across town. The last of it almost two hours ago."

Forest glance over at him. "Can you believe it took two and half hours for that shit to dissolve. Nothing we had could scratch it."

"Dulled out three titanium rotary blades," Graham informs them. "Then the stuff just melted into goop."

"The techs are trying to figure it out," Forest adds. "Heard a few of them talking about it. They don't have any idea as to how it was made. From what I heard them saying whoever invented it designed it so that when it melts it chemical composition breaks apart, collapses into its base elements."

The front door bangs open, is nearly torn from its hinges, as Buffy storms into the foyer of her home. A home she has stepped foot in far too infrequently these past few months. Her head swivels from side to side, her eyes narrowing, as she uses all of her senses to search for the intruder in her home. Her ears perk up, listening for any strange sounds, anything that doesn't belong.

Voices. Quiet, subdued coming from the kitchen. Without hesitation she strides silently, stealthily down the short corridor.

Reaching the end of the hall she comes to a stop. Her mother stands on the far side of the breakfast island that occupies the middle of the kitchen. She could hear the words, but couldn't understand them as her eyes bore into the back of the young woman's skull.

May feels her spider-sense tingling, giving her warning of imminent danger, even though the buzz that has been constantly filling her head vanished almost at the exact same instant. Turning smoothly, her dark eyes lock on Buffy, a relieved breath escaping from her.

Joyce glances up, taken by surprise with May's sudden move, to see Buffy standing in the entrance. A small frown creases her lips as she realizes May must have heard Buffy come in. "Buffy," she starts to greet her daughter as she begins moving around the island.

A small smile creeps across May's lips. Her spider-sense had lessened in the seconds Buffy's been looking at her.

"This is May..." Joyce begins.

"We've met," May interrupts.

Buffy shakes her head. "I've never seen you before," she disagrees.

May's grin widens slightly, still nothing more then a small quirk to the corner of her lips. "Last night. There was a bit more spandex in my outfit. Red and blue."

She gives her head a hard shake trying to put the two pieces of information together. "How'd you..."

"Buffy!" Giles calls out as he stumbles to a stop behind his slayer. "You got out of the car so suddenly, before I had the chance to come to a full stop."

Buffy's face reddens slightly, but she doesn't look away from May for even a split second as she says, "this is the girl I was telling you about."

Giles lifts his head a fraction of an inch to take in the slim, but otherwise nondescript young girl, with short cropped dark brown hair, standing a few feet ahead of him. "You mean the one that saved the young woman's life, easily beat a vampire but didn't know how to kill the creature. Clings to wall..."

"Sticks," May interjects with a sullen frown. "You make may sound like a piece of lint." Her spider-sense is still tingling faintly. She isn't surprised that Buffy is staying on guard around her. Waiting for her to make some kind of move so she can pounce.

"Sticks," Giles corrects himself with a small nod of his head, "to walls and swings away on a thin strand of, rope?" He inquires looking at May.

"Artificial webbing," she supplies. Then adds in a proud tone, "my father made it."

"That's great," Buffy snarls. "Really glad for you. But the question is, why did you come here?"

May purses her lips as she glances down to the floor for a moment. She lets out a slow breath as she looks back up at Buffy. "The place, the time I come from... Your life, the life of Buffy Anne Summers, the Vampire Slayer, had been a hit television show. There were a couple spin offs," she comments with a small shrug, "involving your ex-boyfriends. Vampires with a soul, or something. I never watched a lot of t.v. and I'm pretty they were all cancelled before I was born anyway, but after meeting you last night I thought if I was were I thought I was then you might be able to help me get back home."

Buffy stares ahead blankly. It was just about the most outrageous thing she had ever heard. But its also the truth. She can just feel it in her gut.

"Not to call you a liar or anything like that," Giles starts off as he steps around Buffy. "But are you trying to say you come from the future?"

May nods, thankful that they didn't think she is crazy. "Not just the future, but a different reality as well," she informs them hopping up into the island top. "when I first went back it was a straight trip, from one point to the other. Richards said the return should be the same, but he couldn't guarantee it. Somehow I must have gone sideways as well as up the time stream. There had to have been some kind of disruption to the time space continuum while I was making the journey. Something powerful enough to pull me off course."

"The apocalypse I averted yesterday," Buffy burst out. "The third demon managed to jump into the hell mouth but I was able to bring him back out."

Giles nods at Buffy's hypothesis as he says, "its quite possible," in a distant voice. His mind going back over a few of May's statements. One of them was that her father invented an artificial webbing. He had only ever heard of that in one place before and coincided with the powers Buffy described to him, and that May admitted to possessing. The ability to scale vertical surfaces; her strength, speed, agility, fighting skills. Then there was the name of the man who had previously tried to get her back home, Richards. If it was who he thought it was, things might be even worse then he first suspected. "Who exactly is your father?" He finally asks.

"Peter Parker," May answers with a shrug. "Why?" She questions as Giles eyes widen in shock, and even Buffy looks like she's in a state. May's not quite sure what state Buffy's in, but she's pretty sure its not California.

May's spider-sense kicks off in her head like a freight train is roaring between her ears. Her reaction is as fast and swift as it instinctual as she leaps over the breakfast island to catch Joyce before she does more then start to fall.

Startling May is the fact that Buffy is at her side almost as quickly. She looks the blonde in the eyes as she asks, "what?"

"Can you do it again?" Xander asks hopefully, a goofy little smile lighting up his face, as he gestures to the book on Giles' coffee table.

May sighs softly. It had come as somewhat of a shock to her that everyone knew who her father is. That in this reality Spider-Man was one of a handful of highly popular comic books, one of the mainstays, published by Marvel Comics for the past forty years. Now she kind of an inkling of how Buffy must have felt when she told her about her life being a television series. It explained everyone's reaction.

Reaching out with her left hand, her fingertips come in contact with the rough leather cover. She lifts her arm, the book coming with her, flopping open as she only holds on to one cover. From across the room she can practically feel Giles sharp gasp at her abuse of his book, while she watches Xander's eyes light up like a child at Christmas.

"How much can you lift like that?" Xander asks excitedly. May shifts her hand so the book flips close, she concentrates for a brief second, and a moment later the book soars across the few feet separating them to smack Xander square in the face. "Ow!" He cries out as he catches the book before it can fall to the floor.

Giles stands up from his chair, plucking his glasses from his head to rub at his temples with his thumb and forefinger effectively concealing his grin. He's rather glad that the four of them: Buffy, Joyce, May and himself; had agreed to keep the fact that in her reality they were characters portrayed in a television show. A show she isn't all that familiar with. Its safer, also kinder for everyone that they don't know the truth of the matter. Knowing that somewhere, out there, people are watching, looking, gazing in on their private lives.

"How'd you do that?" Xander asks holding the book up in front of himself. "Spider-Man couldn't do that," he adds as an after thought.

She smiles at him sweetly, too sweetly. "Just because I'm my father's daughter doesn't mean I'm my father." After nearly three hours being stuck in a room with only Xander for company she is beginning to go a little stir crazy. The only relief she has is the fact Giles is there as well. Not that that's much of a relief.

The only other person that has been in Giles' apartment was Xander's girlfriend, Anya. A stranger person, not in a costume, she has never met before. For no reason that May could discern she simply came out and said, "Xander's mine so you can't have sex with him." To which May had nearly sprayed the entire room with a mouth full of coke she hadn't quite swallowed.

It had taken her nearly fifteen minutes to convince Anya that she isn't planning on having sex with anyone while she is in this reality, least of all Xander. That she isn't really big on long distance relationship. But even if she had been Xander still wasn't anywhere on her list. Which Anya had gotten extremely indignant over wanting to know why she wouldn't sleep with Xander.

At that May asked her if she wanted a list? Anya hadn't been to pleased with the question. May just hadn't been able to help herself. It was like a reflex action. See person in trouble, save them. See opportunity for witty banter, make half thought pun. May sighs as she looks up at Giles. "What am I suppose to be looking for again?"

Giles glides his glasses back in front of his eyes as he wipes the smile from his face while he turns back around to face May. "Any reference about spatial or reality shifts."

Xander looks up at the comment. "Like what Anya did when she tried to get her amulet back last year."

Giles nods as he says, "quite. It might be quite beneficial if you could convince Anya to return this afternoon. Her experience and knowledge would be invaluable."

May's cheeks redden slightly as she glances down for a moment. "I'm so sorry about that," she says shifting her gaze to Xander. "A lot of times my mouth kind of runs away from me and I wind up saying things I shouldn't."

Xander shrugs again at the comment. "I'm the king of talking without thinking. Most of the time its like my brain isn't even connected to my mouth."

"I can vouch for that," Giles murmurs pulling another book out of the shelving built into his wall. May smiles as she holds out her hand to take the book while Xander glances up at the watcher with an irate scowl, that the older man effectively ignores.

Riley watches Buffy as she crosses the freshly manicured lawn in front of the university's library. To him, with the way she's dressed, she looks like a ray of sunshine made flesh bouncing her way across campus. A large smile plastering her face, her hair sparkling like polished gold in the morning light. Standing up he waves her over.

"Hey," she greets him tossing her arms around his neck and leaning up to plant a light kiss on his lips before dropping her heels back to the ground. "How'd your night go, aside from that near apocalypse you helped me with?"

Riley shoots a quick glance around at the passing students and faculty. "It was, um... Its not something I can really talk about. Not here anyway."

Buffy looks around, a light smile touching her eyes as she takes in all the disinterested people around them. Intertwining her arm with his, she begins leading him away. "I'm going to share a little secrete with you about Sunnydale. Everybody knows what's going on, granted I'd keep the whole MIB thing to yourself, but talking about vampires, demons... Nobody cares." She gives a little shrug. "I wouldn't go shouting it from the rooftops that you go around fighting, capturing, killing things that go bump in the night, or anything like that. But..."

He looks around again, casually. "Its procedure. We can't discuss any incident outside of a secured location."

"Ha!" Buffy exclaims brightly, a mischievous light in her eyes. "So you're admitting there was an incident last night?" She questions playfully.

"I never said that," he responds defensively.

Buffy continues to smile up at him. "I could drag it out of you, you know?"

Riley grins back as he says, "I don't doubt that you could. But you're not going to are you?"

"I'll be good," she promises. "Anything uninteresting happen last night?"

He shakes his head slightly before he catches himself. Looking down at Buffy he sees a small smile playing at the corner of her lips. "Lots of uninteresting things happened. What about you?"

Buffy shrugs as she leans into his arm. "Would you believe my cousin's visiting all the way from New York."

Riley frowns down at her. "She came out at the start of the semester?"

"She's kind of whacky like that," Buffy replies.

He nods at that while saying, "I've got a brother like that myself. Free spirit, no body could ever pin him down and no one ever knew what he was going to do next."

They stop walking for a moment as they reach the curb. Checking both ways Riley begins across bringing Buffy along with him. "So you're going to showing her around tonight?"

She nods saying, "yeah."

Riley looks down at her for a moment before lifting his head back up. "Does she know about... What you do?" He inquires softly glancing around them.

"That I go to collage? Of course," she answers sounding as innocent as ever. He gives her a hard glare as she smiles up at him. "Sorry," she murmurs. "Force of habit, but yeah. She knows, sort of ran into me last night while I was... Dusting up on some of my Civics' paperwork."

Riley's lips curl downward as he says, "I didn't know you're taking Civics. Do you have Professor Lalth?"

Buffy drops her head despondently as a deep breath seems to explode out of her lungs. After a moment she looks back up at him. "I was speaking in code," she informs him. "Don't you guys do that?"

"Well, um... Yeah," he mumbles looking down and away from her while scratching the back of his neck with his left hand. "I just didn't realize that's what you were doing. You know... Maybe we should take a day and make our own code, so we'll be able to talk in private even when we're in public."

"Like we are now?" She questions happily.

Riley nods, glad that Buffy is so excepting, not to mention trusting. "Right, just like we are now."

Xander hangs up the handset to Giles's old black rotary telephone as he turns back to the ex-watcher, an apologetic frown creasing his brow. "Anya's still mad," he begins.

"I really am sorry about calling her an immature..." May starts cutting Xander off.

Giles shakes his head. "No need for you to continue to apologize. You were simply stating the obvious. As you've no doubt noticed Anya can be rather immature for some one of her age."

"Anyway," Xander says pointedly. "She said that spell was only good for retrieval and that she just used the reverse of it to send Willow back."

He nods at the information as he sits down on the stool in front of his counter. Resting his forearm on the hard surface he drums his fingers for a moment as he says, "that's a shame. It was a nifty little spell. Would have solved your problem without a problem. What?" He questions seeing the look of bafflement on Xander's face.

Xander gives his head a slight shake then begins by saying, "I was just wondering if I'd fallen into some alternate reality? Did you just say nifty?"

"Its a perfectly acceptable word, when the occasion permits," Giles responds in defense of his word choice.

"Sure," Xander agrees. "If you're twelve."

"Is that why I never heard you use it?" He inquires with a perfectly straight face.

Xander blinks wondering if he's just been insulted or not. He thinks he has, but he isn't sure. Cocking his head slightly he turns to look at May and asks her, "I was just insulted wasn't I?"

"I think so," May answers with a shrug.

"Thought so," Xander replies. "Just wanted a second opinion."

A soft rapping at the front door brings the pseudo conversation to a halt. Xander leaps up at the sound saying, "I got it."

"Hey," Willow says as she walks in. "Buffy told me what was going on and asked me to stop by and give you guys a hand."

"That's awfully Willowy of you," Xander comments as he swings the door close behind her.

Giles glances at Xander with a raised eyebrow. "And you mock my choice of words?"

May drops her head over the back of the sofa to look at the upside down redhead. "Hi," she greets extending her right hand. "You must be Willow. Buffy's told me so much about you."

Willow takes May's hand. "Buffy's told me a lot about you as well, about your problem," she responds giving May's hand a gentle shake. "Being lost in our reality," she adds with a shake of her head. "I had a thought. About a year ago I accidentally transported my evil vampire self from a different reality..."

Xander shakes his head at her as he says, "already checked with Anya on that one. Came back with a big fat no."

Willow takes a look around. "Where is Anya?"

"She got upset with something I said to her," May remarks.

"She was acting rather childish and May just happened to be the one to point it out to her," Giles clarifies slightly.

Willow nods her head in understanding. She known Anya as long as anyone in the room, though nowhere near as well as Xander has gotten to know her. A small frown slips on then off her lips as she wonders why she finds that thought disturbing. She gives her head a small shake, breaking herself out of the slight funk she finds herself in. "Have you guys found anything useful?"

"Sure," Xander answers while May glances up at the clock. "None of its useful for this though."

"I got to get going," May says standing up. "I promised Mrs. Summers I'd give her a hand."

As she picks up her pilfered back pack Giles stands back up as well. He picks up several books. "These here are all English based text. You shouldn't have any problem skimming through them. Just note anything that you think might be relevant to your situation, no matter how trivial, and bring them back with you tomorrow."

"Thanks," May says taking the handful of books from him. She quickly slips them into her back pack saying, "I'll get them back to you first thing in the morning."

"Are you going to be able to find your way?" Giles inquires with a hint of concern.

"I'll be fine," she answers. "I'll just hop a bus."

Xander glances over at her. "Now when you say hop a bus, do you mean hopping on top of one and..."

"I mean getting inside the bus and riding it to my destination," she replies with a frown. "This isn't like New York, isn't like my New York," she corrects herself. "I don't think the people in Sunnydale would be able to handle seeing some one wearing red and blue spandex swinging around on a strand of webbing."

Joyce smile faintly at the displays she's managed to get set up with May's help. The young girl was literally a bundle of energy, practically bouncing off everything in sight. She's glad May remembered to show up. Not only did she need the help, but it also gave her the opportunity to slip the girl a little bit of money that she couldn't refuse. Plus not having to pull out the Gallery's bulky ladder was an extra benefit Joyce hadn't counted on.

Once the displays were done Joyce had called in an order at Jasper's, the local hamburger shop just up the road, and had them deliver her order. Not surprisingly May had finished off two double cheeseburgers, an extra large order of fries, and a chocolate milkshake all in the amount of time it took her to eat a toasted BLT and a quarter of her tossed salad.

"Has Mr. Giles and the others found anything to help you get back home?" Joyce asks picking at her salad.

May pops a fry into her mouth as she gives her head a shake. "They're going through books, most written in languages I don't understand." She gives a small shrug adding, "even the ones in English look like a different language altogether."

Joyce nods as she says, "he has an extensive collection of rare and ancient books. Most dealing with the occult and the arcane. I'm sure he'll find something before he exhaust his source material."

May rolls her shoulders, a slightly apprehensive frown turning her lips down. "I hope so," she murmurs. A brief moment later her eyes flicker up to Joyce. "Not that you and the others haven't been great, its just... I haven't seen my parents, my friends in almost a week. I'm not even able to pick up a phone, to call them up and talk to them, find out how they're doing. Tell them what I'm going through and having them assure me that everything is going to be all right even if they know its a lie."

Joyce sighs. Reaching out she grips May's forearm. "If anyone can get you back home its Buffy and her friends. They deal with this type of... Situation all the time," she assures the young woman. "I don't know if it helps or not, but I'm sure your parents and friends are just as worried about you as you are about them," she adds in a soft, compassionate voice.

She smiles at that. For a few seconds she debates informing Mrs. Summers that if she can get back within moments, seconds, even hours of when she left- even if she spent years in this reality- to everyone there it would be as if she never left. In the end she decides not to. After all Mrs. Summers is just trying to be kind and comforting, like any mother would be. "Thanks," she murmurs. "You're pretty good at that," she adds in a much firmer tone.

Joyce exhales at the compliment. It wasn't something she wouldn't have heard two years ago, maybe not even a year. She has been- is still- trying to come to terms with Buffy's suppose destiny.

It has taken her quite some time, and while she still doesn't except her daughter's lot in life, she at least excepts Buffy for who she is. It's more then she could have said last year, and she didn't even want to think about how far she has come in the nearly two years since she found out about vampires and slayers and watchers and witches.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do while you're here?" She finally asks after several silent moments.

May's lips turn downward and her eyes narrow as she thinks about the question. After a brief pause she gives her head a slight shake as she asks, "why?"

Joyce looks down at her partially eaten salad, pushes it around for a few seconds with her fork before she looks back up. "It might take a few days for Mr. Giles to find the right spell to send you to your home, and... I don't know if you have anyplace to stay while you're going to be in town, but you'd be more then welcome to stay at the house and I can always find something for you to do around here, that I'd be more then willing to pay you for..."

She had made the same offer to Faith when she had first arrived in Sunnydale last year, and while Faith had shown up occasionally, when she was in dire need of money, the brunette had flatly refused to move in claiming she was more then capable of taking care of herself. Obviously her winding up in a coma was proof that she wasn't. Joyce just hopes that once Faith wakes up she'll reconsider the offer. She also hopes that May isn't as stubborn as what slayers seem to be.

May shakes her head as she replies saying, "you don't have to pay me for helping out. You letting me stay at you home... That's more then I could have hoped for."

"Nonsense," Joyce responds. "You can't be expected to go around without any money. Even if you're only here for another day or two."

May smiles, a glint in her soft, brown eyes. She didn't know what she had done to be so lucky to run across Mrs. Summers, but she is grateful she has. She has the strong feeling that if it not for Joyce, then Buffy and her friends might not be helping her right now. "You're a good person," she informs Joyce in a soft voice.

A soft dew covers the cobblestones lining the courtyard, the plastic tables and their color coordinated chairs, the potted plants as well as the free growing saplings, and the well groomed shrubbery and trees. A newspaper sits on each doorsteps.

May sighs as she slips the back pack from her shoulder after knocking on Giles's front door. It had taken her a few minutes worth of knocking but she had finally come to the conclusion that the English, ex-librarian isn't at home right now. Either that or he's still sleeping and it would take more then her pounding on his door to wake him up.

Squatting down she picks up the newspaper sitting on his doorstep. Dropping her back pack to the ground she hops up on the wooden bench and sits down on its back.

She was still on New York time and having gotten to bed early last night she had woke up early this morning. Having lots of energy and nothing else to do she came here hoping to get something more accomplished.

The books Giles had given her last night were definitely interesting, with lots of information on temporal folds and cross reality junkets. She had made sure to mark down, with great painstaking precision, all the passages concerning both subjects. Hopefully her extra work will help Giles find her a way home that much quicker.

Flipping open Giles's paper May quickly locates the sports section. There wasn't a lot of news on the teams she is interested in, mainly the New York, New Jersey sports franchises, but she's just as content reading about such superstars as Jordan, Bryant, O'Niel, Duncan, Warner, Faulk, Young, T. O. and the others names that proliferate the west coast sports arena.

She felt a little weird reading about Tiger Woods as a young phenom. Not to mention the William sisters. Pete Sampres still playing tennis, as well as Agassi. It almost felt like she was watching ESPNClassic.

"Hello May," Giles gasps breathlessly surprising the young girl, who gives a slight start at being taken unaware. Which in turn surprises Giles with the fact he had been able to surprise her.

May lets out a short, explosive breath just before saying, "hey."

Giles frowns slightly at her reaction. "I thought, that like your father, you possessed a sixth sense. A warning system so to speak?"

"I do," she answers standing up and refolding Giles's newspaper. "Its not precognition though. I don't know everything that's going to happen five seconds before hand. It's more like a danger sense. If you or anybody took a swing, pointed a gun at me... Even with my back turned, or if there's a general danger in the area then my spider-sense goes off," she informs him. Picking her back pack up from the ground a thoughtful frown creeps across her lips. "Is there something... Different about Sunnydale? Something dangerous?" She questions handing Giles his paper.

"What do you mean?" He inquires slipping the paper under his arm as he digs out his keys.

"The whole time I've been in this town," she starts off as Giles unlocks his door and pushes it open. "My spider-sense has stayed at this constant low level buzz. Like there's danger all around me, all the time. This entire town has something dangerous lurking underneath it?" She finishes while Giles closes the heavy door.

"An apt description," Giles remarks as the door clicks shut. He tosses the newspaper onto the end table by the door. He takes a deep breath as May turns to face him. "Sunnydale was built upon a hellmouth, a place in the physical world where the walls separating varies dimensions are extremely thin. Think of a piece of paper holding back Niagara Falls..."

"That's not a very encouraging picture," May mutters solemnly.

Giles nods his head as he says, "no. It isn't. The worst evils in the world are drawn to Sunnydale trying to break down that wall. For the past three years Buffy, Xander, Willow, and a few others have prevented any number of potential apocalypses. The latest one was the night of your arrival here."

"Possibly what pulled me here," May comments leaning against the back of Giles sofa.

"Possibly," Giles agrees. It's taking him a little getting use to. Someone with her type of powers displaying such a natural intelligence. He is finding May to be an odd combination. A forceful intensity mixed with a very laid back attitude. Intelligence, wit, and common sense not normally seen in teenagers.

Then Giles considers some of the challenges she must have faced in her short life so far. Events like what Buffy has had to face since being called. Life and death choices for those around her. He suddenly finds that it isn't all that surprising. After all, it is one of the great adages that came out of the Spider-Man comic books, "with great power comes great responsibility."

"What was that?" May asks.

Giles gives his head a rueful shake saying, "just thinking out loud."

"It almost sounding like something my dad's always saying... Something his uncle told him. 'With great power comes great responsibility.' He always said he didn't understand what it meant until after Uncle Ben died, but he would never tell me what happened. Almost like he was ashamed... Or something. The only thing he ever told me was that he didn't want me to know what it felt like to be responsible, to blame myself when I couldn't save somebody, or worse yet. To be the reason they were in danger in the first place."

Giles moves into the little kitchenette at the start of her musing. Pulling a water bottle from his refrigerator he listens to her with a growing sense of dread as she continues to talk and he takes a short pull from the bottle. Once he's done taking his drink he places the water bottle and his glasses on the counter so he can wipe the sweat from his face with the towel draped across his shoulders.

The very last thing he wants to do is tell her that Peter Parker, her father, once, just after he gained his powers, failed to do the proper thing and allowed an armed and dangerous criminal to escape by doing nothing. That the man he allowed to get away would go on and kill his Uncle, and that Peter Parker would blame himself for his Uncle's death, and that he would spend, perhaps the rest of his life trying to make up for that one mistake.

"You know what happened. Don't you?" She questions after the extended pause.

Giles drops the towel onto his counter top. He sucks in a short breath as he looks at her. "I think that's something you are going to have to discuss with your father once we get you back home."

May scowls for a moment, a light glare before she wipes it from her face. It had been surprising for her to find out that her father's life had been chronicled in comic books. Not just his life as Spider-Man, but also his life as Peter Parker.

In her own reality she had seen old periodicals, newspapers, and comics chronicling her father's exploits. His exploits as Spider-Man. There was never any mention of Peter Parker. Unless it was photo by.

"Fine," she mutters straightening up. There are other ways for her to find out what she wants to know. Giles might be astute enough to avoid, dodge, and flat refuse to answer her questions. Others however wouldn't be so obstinate, or pigheaded on the matter. Especially if she could get to them before Giles has a chance to sink his claws into them.

Picking up her back pack she unzips it and starts pulling out the books Giles had given her last night. "Some good news. Maybe?" She says with a shrug. "There was a lot of information on subjects like temporal folds, time loops, reality subjectivity, subjective reality and a few other topics."

Giles looks at her, astonishment in his eyes as he murmurs, "you truly managed to read them all?"

"Speed read," she answers.

He nods at her answer. "It's definitely a skill that would allow you to accomplish such a feat," he says giving her a curios look. "Is your notebook still in you book bag there?"

"Notebook?" May questions with a frown.

Giles slips his glasses back on his face. "The paper you used to record what pages I need..."

May gives her head a slight shake as she picks up one of the books and flips it open. "You don't have to worry about that," she informs Giles as she quickly thumbs through the pages until she finds what she's looking for.

With a bright smile she turns the open book towards the old man. Giles face blanches at the sight of the bright green blaring out at him from the ancient text. "I highlighted all of the relevant sections. I made sure to color code everything... Green for spatial references, because space, Earth and green is kind of Earth..."

"What the bloody hell possessed you to do that!" Giles shouts at her, his face a purplish mask of fury. His nostrils flare, his eyes bulging.

May's head jerks up, an indignant glare shooting from her eyes. "You told me to take notes. I took notes."

"That's a priceless artifact you bloody twit," he snarls coming around out of his kitchen.

"Then maybe you should have been a little more specific in the kind of notes you wanted me to take!" She shouts back at him hurling the book at his head. He barely manages to react quickly enough to catch the projectile as she snatches her back pack from the floor and bolts out the door.

Buffy slips around the galvanized chain linked fence, making sure to stay well out of May's field of vision. She is right where her mother said she would be. There's a stab of something, jealousy maybe, at how close May and her mother have become so quickly. The two of them seemed to have formed this instant bound that she is still trying to achieve with her mother.

The orange and black basketball bounces lightly off the smooth, tarred blacktop while the young brunette weaves her way through imaginary defenders. There's a smoothness, a grace to how she moves, like a dancer who's perfected an amazing piece of choreography. Swan Lake or the Nutcracker or one of the other ballets she saw back in elementary school. One of the many programs designed to encourage young children to take an interest in culture.

Even from this distance Buffy can see the muscles in May's right leg bunch, contracting as they absorb the impact with the pavement, then explode as she springs back the other direction without missing a beat. The ball staying with her as if it is held in place by some unknown force, or magic.

A quick explosive step, a dead stop, then a smooth pirouette back the other way, jumping- nowhere near as high as she could- mid spin, still twirling while in the air, seeming to simply hang there for an extended period of time before she finally shoots the ball. It arches high into the air, travelling in agonizing slowness as it journeys towards the basket. Her toes touch the pavement at the same time the ball falls through the net touching but the bottom.

"Against Richmond, in the semi-finals..." May starts, still looking at the hoop, as the basketball bounces away from her.

Buffy gives a slight start with the sound of May's voice. She hadn't realized that the younger girl knew she was there. Most people didn't. At least they didn't until she made her presence known.

"...I missed. Of course I got fouled on the shot. Made all three free throws and we won the game. Got blown out the following week by D.C. in the finals," she finishes turning around to face Buffy. Without thinking about it she lifts the hem of her loose fitting tank top to wipe the sweet from her brow.

For a moment Buffy marvels at how tone her body is. She had seen it two nights ago, but that was through a layer of cloth, not that the spandex like material did anything to conceal her body. Its quite obvious that May believes in taking extremely good care of herself, super powers or not, as her muscles flex and relax just from her breathing.

Again Buffy feels that little stab of jealousy. It isn't that she is in bad shape or anything. Its just that there's no way her body is ever going to come close to looking even half as toned and defined as May's. Her slayerness just doesn't allow her body to change that drastically. Maybe if she had specialized equipment that could actually push her enhanced muscles. Absently she wonders if Giles might know how to get anything like that.

"You mean you didn't just take control of the game? I'm not saying that you would cheat... Or that it would be cheating or anything, but..." She questions with an unsure shrug.

May returns the shrug with one of her own. "That game. It's going back a couple years, to a time when I thought I was nothing more then another extremely gifted athlete. Before my powers really kicked in. And who knows, maybe that's all I was back then?" she finishes with another shrug before turning to retrieve the basketball.

Buffy follows after her asking, "and afterwards?"

May doesn't answer her as she squats down to pick up the ball. She dribbles it lazily while turning back around to face the blonde. "At first I thought I could keep playing. Just kind of stay where I was, maintain the status quo, coast along and still lead my team into the championship," she finishes, a sarcastic note in her voice, tossing the ball to Buffy.

She catches it with ease, but shakes her head tossing it back to May saying, "I don't play."

"Why not?" May questions with a frown.

"I'm not dressed for it first of all," Buffy replies.

May arches an eyebrow at that while tossing the ball back. "You're dressed fine. Tennis shoes instead of basketball sneakers, but you should be fine," she says taking a look at Buffy's clothing; jeans- not suffocatingly tight- and a light sweatshirt.

Buffy tosses the ball back. "I don't know how to play," she admits as May catches the ball.

She holds the basketball up. "See ball." She jumps and shoots. The basketball falls through the hoop. "Put ball in basket. Only rule we need to worry about is dribbling. Cannot move when you have the ball unless your dribbling. Don't worry," May starts, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "I promise to take it easy on you."

Buffy's gaze hardens at the words as her highly competitive nature kicks in. "Take it easy on me?" she growls.

May smiles at her, "just till you get your bearings."

Sweet drips from Buffy's brow, her hair had long since been pulled back with her tying it off in a loose braid after it continually falling into her eyes. Her left hand is keeping a light pressure applied just to the left of May's spine, making it easier for the brunette to move to her right then the left when she decides to move. Which Buffy had discerned is her weaker side through half an hour of playing. Not that there really is a lot of difference, but every little edge helps.

May is as quick as she remembers from the other night. Much as she hates to admit it, which is quite a lot, Buffy has to admit that May is faster then her. That coupled with how long she has been playing basketball, and the uncanny way she has of always making the absolute perfect choice.

Despite the brunette's advantages Buffy has still managed to keep the game extremely close, ten to six, and she is picking the game up quickly. Mostly because she is the slayer rather then any real skill she might posses. It isn't like May has been holding back though, or if she has it isn't a lot. At least it doesn't seem like a lot with how ragged she's been running her around.

"You never said why you were looking for me," May remarks backing Buffy down. Attempting to get just a little closer to the basket before making her move.

Buffy grunts, annoyed slightly that May doesn't even sound the slightest bit winded. "Who says I was looking for you?" she asks back taking steady breathes. A few more drops of sweet drip to the ground. She realizes she has to do something to build her stamina. Short; one, two, even five minute fights weren't a problem, but this here nearly thirty minutes of stop and go, burst and break action is wearing on her.

May smiles while shaking her head. "Lets just say you don't strike me as the type of person who visits playgrounds all that often," she answers taking small shuffling steps backwards the entire time.

"Okay," Buffy grunts exerting a little more pressure on May as the brunette approaches the imaginary, do not cross, line she's set in her head. "Giles asked me to find you. Said you stormed off in a huff."

May curses sourly surprising Buffy. A quick moment later she pushes back to her left, beginning to spin. Buffy stays right with her shuffling to her left with an explosive sideways movement. As quickly as she had started to her left May changes direction going back to her right in a sudden burst that only Buffy is able to keep up with as matches May step for step. Then, in mid stride, May leaps up and back, twisting just enough to face the basket, and shoots the fall away jumper from just beyond the three point arc.

Buffy turns to watch the shot fall cleanly through the hoop, a look of pure astonishment lighting her face. That was something she hadn't been expecting, but now that she knows May is capable of something like that she would be. If necessary she wouldn't let May get close enough to attempt the shot.

A sudden image of two men, one black one white, standing on a bridge with a basketball calling their shot, springs to her mind. She didn't know who either man were, Basketball icons she supposes, but she remembers the commercial. The first one to miss the shot loses the Big Mac.

It dawns on her that might be the only place she could put May were she might not be able to sink a shot. Like herself the brunette is more then capable of hitting a shot anywhere on the court. Without even trying hard.

"And did he tell you why... What happened? Or did he just leave it at I left in a huff?" May demands harshly snapping Buffy back to the moment.

Buffy kind of smiles as she turns back to face May. "Something about highlighters, priceless editions ruined, and to tell you he's sorry about the way he reacted."

May shakes her head as she scoffs saying, "no he isn't."

"No. He isn't," Buffy agrees with a shrug. "But he is feeling guilty about some of the things he said and... Did his face turn red?" she asks out of the blue.

"Huh?" May responds.

"It's something I've always wondered about. What Giles reaction would be if somebody ever did what you did, highlighted one of his books," Buffy explains.

"If you can picture somebody whose flesh has turned an interesting shade of purple, then pale back the skin around their eyes, nose, and mouth. Make the eyeballs bulge out of their sockets," May describes with a light smirk. "I thought he was going to jump right out of his skin," she admits.

Buffy chuckles softly at the imagery as she picks up the basketball. She glances up at the hoop remembering the shot May had just made. With a slight nod of her head towards the basket she asks, "is that why you quit?"

May gives a silent snort, shooting out a hard breath. "How do you know the difference between gifted and gifted?" She asks putting an extra special emphasis on the second gifted, like it is more important then just regular gifted. "Teams down by ten points, a minute and half to go when you single handedly lead them back to win the game with the final shot as the clock runs down to zero. You tell yourself that you just got into the zone, that just because you're gifted doesn't mean you used those gifts, you've done the same thing in previous years, but now you have this voice in the back of your head asking you, 'are you sure you weren't just a little better then last year?' or 'did you use just a bit of that little something extra you have?' Then one of the players on one of the teams you play, the star of their team, a phenom like you, turns out to be a TK..."

"TK?" Buffy asks clearly confused.

"Telekinetic," May answers then shrugs adding, "telepathic as well. I think?"

"Let me guess," Buffy begins softly. "You get all indignant. Confront you malefactor, ready to unleash your righteous rage and found out she's just a girl not to dissimilar to you," she finishes. A slight roll of her shoulders as she answers May's gawking by saying, "sorry. Sometimes..." She shrugs again not finishing her explanation.

May nods in understanding. "Yeah, well. You can imagine I came out of that confrontation feeling like the biggest hypocrite. You aren't bad for somebody who's never picked up a basketball before. Heck, you're a natural at it. Better then anybody I've ever played before, faster, great instincts, the entire package. Yet, you couldn't do a thing to stop me. My spider-sense kicks in and it's like I know what you're going to do before you do it, and avoid it with ease. Without even thinking about it. Whether I want to or not." She finishes with a slight shake of her head.

"Its gotta be tough. Doubting yourself like that," Buffy murmurs. She knew what May was talking about, what she had gone through. It's similar to what she went through when she was called as the new slayer. To suddenly be faster, stronger, just better then everyone around you and to have to hold yourself back so nobody finds out what you're really capable of.

Still its only a fraction of what May must have gone through. A star athlete that suddenly has to question if it was her or her powers that defined who she was. Who she is.

The only person that even has a clue as to what she can do is Faith and that's because she possesses the same power. Unlike herself, Faith had reveled in her power. Flaunted them. Buffy doesn't even think Giles knows exactly what her upper limit is. Her friends; Willow, Xander, Cordiela, Oz, Angel, her Mom. None of them knew how much she held herself back, or what she is truly capable of.

If they knew how strong she is, how fast, then there is the chance it would really freak them out and they wouldn't be able to handle it, and she would lose them, which she didn't think she would be able to handle. At times she thinks its her friends, her family that keep her alive. That just by having them to fight for is somehow making her fight better, harder.

"Hey," a loud, boisterous voice booms. "Are you girls about done tying up the court?"

May's scowl darkens as she looks over Buffy's shoulder at the three guys approaching them. Two white men, both with short cropped, almost military- but not quite- buzz cuts. The shorter, thicker of the two, his hair is a shade or two darker then his dirty blonde companion on the other side of the tall, lean, shaven headed black man between them.

He is the one that spoke. He is the one she takes an instant dislike to. She doesn't know why, just that there is something about him she isn't found of.

She's about to say something, a scathing retort about male chauvinism, when Buffy brightly calls out, "Riley," her bubbly exterior popping back into place as she bounces over to him.

Throwing her arms around his neck she hops up, his hands instinctively engulfing her slim waist. Buffy plants a soft, quick peck on his lips. "Hey," he starts off as he puts her back down. "I didn't know you played?" he adds sounding extremely surprised.

"I don't. Not really," she murmurs with a shrug. "May was just showing me..."

"She's a natural," May interjects.

Buffy shakes her head saying, "no, I'm not."

"She's just being modest," she adds with a mischievous smirk.

"You must be May," Riley says with an honest smile splitting his square face.

"Must be," May murmurs.

"Buffy's told me all about you," he continues extending his hand.

"Really," she begins taking his hand. "She hasn't told me a thing about you," she teases matching the force of his handshake.

"That's quite a grip you got there," he says extracting his hand.

May shrugs at him.

"We ready to play now or what?" Forest demands taking a few steps onto the court.

"Hey," May calls out. "We're in the middle of game here."

"May," Buffy says softly. Urgently.

"Please," Forest scoffs. "You weren't doing anything but standing and yapping."

"This isn't necessary," Buffy mutters taking a few steps towards May, grabbing hold of her arm.

May shrugs off Buffy's hand. Riley arches an eyebrow at the gesture. "You want the court, you play us for it. You win its yours," she offers.

"You've got to be kidding me," Forest grumbles. "There's no way I'm playing a couple..."

May tosses the basketball at his face cutting off his last word. "Scared of getting beat by a couple dainty little girls?" she mocks as he barely manages to catch the ball. "Heck, we'll even make it fair. Three on two. This way you can't say we cheated or anything."

"Fine," he hisses tossing the bowl back at her with as much force as she had used. She catches it with ease. "You're on."

She smiles openly at them before she's suddenly jerked to the side by an extremely irate Buffy. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she growls into May's ear as she pulls her a few feet away.

"What?" May asks back.

"We can't play them," Buffy hisses softly. After a quick beat she adds, "and even if we do we can't beat them."

"Why the hell not?" she asks in a mild state of confusion.

Buffy gives her look that says she must be the most dense person in the world. "They're guys. Girls don't go around beating guys at sports."

May's eyes widen in shock. "What kind of antiquated, prehistoric, Neanderthal, bullshit, crap way of thinking is that. Women have been beating men in sports forever. It isn't like we're playing tackle football, or wrestling. Basketball is as much about skill, speed, and precision as it about strength and size," she finishes in a hot rush. then she takes a look over at Riley as Buffy's brain begins working. "Besides, that your boyfriend right?"

"Yeah, kind of," Buffy answers absently.

"And does he know about your calling?" she asks in a hush.

Buffy nods saying, "yeah."

"Good," May replies nodding her head. "And does he know you can kick his butt blindfolded with both hands tied behind your back?"

"I couldn't," Buffy burst out in a soft exclamation. May arches an eyebrow at her and Buffy's shoulders sag under her knowing gaze. "He knows, I just don't think he knows," she says placing extra emphasis on the second, he knows.

"And you don't want to tell because you don't know how he'll react," May comments sagely. "There probably aren't a lot of guys that can handle a woman being stronger then them, and you're afraid of losing what you have. But don't you think it's better to find out now instead of months, maybe years down the road, after you're already deeply invested in the relationship, or are you just going to hold yourself back for the rest of your life just so you don't bruise his ego?"

"Are you always this annoying?" Buffy inquires glowering at the younger girl.

May shrugs as she says, "hey. My father's genius in case you haven't heard. And my mom's an expert on human nature."

"Shrink?" Buffy guesses.

"Actress," May corrects. Buffy chuckles as they turn back around towards the two patiently waiting men and Forest.

"So what are we playing to?" he demands with a sneer.

May returns his stare with a glare of her own. "I was just going to keep playing until you guys are begging for mercy," she replies with an evil smile.

Forest stays low, arms stretched wide, weaving up and down taking up as much space as he possibly can while May dribbles the ball right in front of him, a lazy smile on her lips. She takes a hard step to the right, he jumps at the move. Only she takes an easy step back to where she had been. Her grin widening, becoming predatory.

She had him, whenever she wanted him. He knew it. She knew it. Everyone knew it. Now she just waited for the right moment to blow past him.

Soon. Very, very soon. Buffy was just under the rim, jogging lazily across the floor. Once she was about three quarters of the way into the left corner. A couple of seconds.

She had to give these guys credit. They're taking their thumping, thirty-four to twenty-nine, in good stride. No belly aching or whining. No quit. No finger pointing. they simply realized they were up against superior basketball players. And she, along with Buffy, were playing at a vastly subdued level.

Right on cue, just like they had planned, Buffy quickly spins heading back the way she had just came, with a burst of speed. Riley turns on his heel to follow, but his larger girth enables Buffy to pull away from him by the second step. Graham sees what is happening and moves to cover her.

At that moment May drives hard to the right again. Forest jumps to cut her off. It takes his mind a split second to catch up with what his eyes have just seen. The basketball sails between his legs, as May twirls, on a dime, to her left and blows past him, picking up the dribble as she goes.

Riley sees she has a clear path to the hoop. Graham sees the same thing. Both move to block her path. May jumps, a moment before the two men, spinning to the right she passes the ball behind her back- without looking- to Buffy, as she gets hit head on by Graham. While Riley crashes into her at the same moment sending her sprawling to the ground.

Buffy catches the ball on the move, stops, and shoots in one smooth motion. The ball arcs high into the air before beginning its descent, like an orange moon falling out of the sky. It drops through the rim, through the net, barely catching the very bottom.

"Yes!" she shouts triumphantly pumping her fist. Not that there had ever been any real doubt about her making the shot or not.

"Shit!" Forest curses kicking at the ground, scuffing his foot across the black top.

Graham reaches down offering May a hand up. "Sorry about that," he says sincerely.

May takes his hand as she wipes a trace of blood from her lip. She gives her head a shake. "Don't worry about it," she says as he pulls her up. "It's all part of the game."

"You should have that looked at," Graham says motioning to her lip. "It might need stitches."

May sucks her bottom lip into her mouth. "I'll be sure to do that once we're done here," she tells him.

"We are done," Buffy informs her in a no nonsense voice. "You were suppose to be back at the house a while ago."

"Right," May answers drawing the word out. "I should probably get going. Don't want Aunt Joyce angry."

"Give me a minute and I'll go with you," Buffy says. "I just need to talk to Riley."

May nods in understanding. "Take your time," she replies as Riley and Buffy walk a few steps away from them.

A nervous smile flickers across Buffy's lips, there and gone and back again, as she glances up at Riley. "So," she starts off.

"So," Riley agrees. "After a moment he adds, "that was some game."

"Yeah, some game," Buffy replies glancing down at the tar.

"You were great."

"Really?" she asks looking up at him hopefully.

"Yeah," he returns enthusiastically. "That was really your first time playing?"

"Aside from what May showed me. Yeah," she answers with a small nod.

Riley nods his head as he thinks about something. A moment later he asks, "and thats because of you being the slayer?" Buffy starts her nod even before he finishes the question. "What about May? Is it something that runs in your family?"

"She's a second cousin," Buffy replies. "Twice removed."

Riley smiles at her humor as he says, "I know you two don't look a lot alike, but watching you two play. There wasn't a lot of difference as to whose better."

"May's better. A lot better," Buffy responds. "I'm just a fast learner, plus I have all the extra benefits; speed, strength, agility, accuracy from being the slayer. Does it freak you out?"

"Knowing you can kick my ass?" he inquires with a little shrug. "I know a lot of woman that can give me a run for my money. Not a lot of them can do it so easily. I'd love for us to get together and do a little training. Some sparring?"

She grins happily. Leaning up she plants a deep kiss on his lips. After a moment she drops back down. "I'd love to, but I have to get May back home."

Riley nods saying, "whenever you want to." He bends back down giving her another kiss. One just as deep as the previous one.

Buffy's smile widens as she steps back. She ducks her head slightly as she turns away. A few quick steps and she latches onto May's arm. The two of them walk away with their heads together. Forest watches them go with a scowl.

"Hey," Riley says snapping him out of his haze.

"I think we just found our hostile," he tells them.

Graham looks at him asking, "what are you talking about?"

"May," Forest answers. "Same height, build, weight."

"Get off it man," Riley growls. "You're just sore because they kicked our ass."

"She showed up the same day, and yeah. I'm pissed. There's no way a couple of little girls should have been able to beat us. You wanna say that Buffy's special, some kind of hero. Fine, but there's something off with Parker and I'm going to find out what it is."

________________________________________________________________________

Right Now - Van Halen

Don't wanna wait til tomorrow
Why put it off another day?
One by one, little problems
Build up, and stand in our way.

Oh

One step ahead, one step behind it
Now ya gotta run to get even
Make future plans I'll dream about yesterday, hey!
Come on turn, turn this thing around

(Right now)

Hey!

It's your tomorrow
(Right now)

Come on

It's everything
(Right now)

Catch your magic moment
Do it right here and now
It means everything

Miss a beat, you lose a rhythm
An nothin' falls into place.

No!
Only missed by a fraction
Slipped a little off your pace.

Oh!

The more things you get

The more you want
Just trade in one for another
Working so hard to make it easy
Whoa, got to turn.

Come on, turn this thing around

(Right now)

Hey!

It's your tomorrow
(Right now)

Come on

It's everything
(Right now)

Catch that magic moment
Do it right here and now
It means everything

Said a lie to me
Right now
What are ya waitin' for?

Oh!

Yeah!
Right now


(Right now)

Hey!

It's your tomorrow
(Right now)

Come on

It's everything
(Right now)

Catch that magic moment
And do it right, right now

(Right now)
Oh, right now!

It's what's happening
Right here and now
Right now

It's right now
Oh!
Tell me, what are ya waitin' for?
Turn this thing around