Day Time

Giles is at the head of a long table with the rest of the gang; Buffy, Willow, Xander, Dawn, Andrew, Kennedy, Faith, and Robin seated around the table. Some are wearing robes or nightgowns while others, like, Xander, are in what they sleep in: in his case, a pair of boxers and a grubby white t-shirt.

"What have we done to deserve this?" Dawn asks sleepily, rubbing her eyes. She'd managed to get back to sleep after talking with Buffy for a little while. The rude awakening by Giles had not been met pleasantly.

"We're being threatened by Jack the Ripper," Giles says quietly, with a look that shows he won't tolerate their shenanigans about this.

Buffy sits up straighter in her chair, still in the clothes she'd been wearing during their patrol. "What does he want?"

"To meet you, Buffy," Giles says. "Apparently your attempt to find him hasn't gone unnoticed."

"Oh good, I'd hoped I'd played the vulnerable act up," Willow says a little more excitedly than she means. She frowns. "I mean, damn him."

"What do I have to do," Buffy asks.

Giles shrugs and drops the note on the table. "Here's all he left. The fact that he knew where to find us or where my room was specifically is what worries me."

"Not that he can come in and get us, right?" Dawn replies. "We're safe unless someone invites him in. And we all know not to invite anyone strange in, especially after dark."

The group suddenly looks at Andrew accusingly. The young man throws his hands up. "What? The one time with the pizza guy was an accident and he wasn't even a vampire!"

"In any case, we have to be on our toes," Robin cuts in. "There's no way we can allow this Jack the Ripper, or any vampire, into the hotel. This is a critical time, with too many innocent lives within our walls. We owe it to them to keep them alive until we can establish a new Council."

Faith puts a hand on the table. "Let's time out on the Ripper knock-off," she eyes Giles pointedly momentarily before continuing. "Can someone explain to me again why we even need to have another Council? In case we've all forgotten, it wasn't too long ago when we weren't entirely thrilled with the way things were being run anyway."

Kennedy sneers. "It's in case we suddenly have a rogue Slayer running around killing innocent people."

Standing up abruptly, Faith leans deeply over the table, putting her nearly eye level with Kennedy. "You got something to say, Slayerette? We're all ears here."

"I'm not saying anything that's not on all of our minds," Kennedy says, not backing down. "We've got a whole army of Slayers here. What's to keep any one of them from doing what you did? There were no consequences. There was no justice. You went to regular jail for a little while. Big deal. What if one of these girls decides to do what she wants only to expect that we'll welcome her back as soon as she 'proves herself' in a time of crisis?"

Willow puts a hand on Kennedy's shoulder. "Sweetie, that's not what we're here to--"

"Nah, Will, let her go. She seems to think that she's at the grown up table because she's earned it," Faith says. "Not because she's up the skirt of--"

"That is just enough, thank you very much," Giles shouts. Faith and Kennedy sit down slowly, not breaking the staring contest they've gotten into. "Now is not the time to discuss who is where and why. Nor is it the time to discuss whether a new Council is a good idea or not. Jack the bloody Ripper has got his sights on Buffy and we need to put an end to his madness once and for all."

No one says anything for a few minutes. They sit in silence, thinking harder on the task at hand than they need to, avoiding the uncomfortable issues that have just been literally brought to the table.

"Let's just find out what his instructions are," Xander says finally, looking around at everyone through his good eye. "There's really nothing else we can do, right?"

There are no arguments. Faith gets up first and storms from the room. Kennedy stands as though to follow when Willow reaches up to yank her down by the arm roughly. Kennedy opens her mouth to protest but Willow's harsh expression is hard to fight.

"In the meantime, then, we'll start organizing all the interviews," Dawn says weakly. "There are a lot of people here to take place as Watchers. Most of them distraught family members of the former Council members. We've kept them waiting long enough, I think."

"Maybe we should get into day clothes," Willow suggests, her attempt at humor mussed by the serious look on her face. "I don't think they're going to appreciate us in our jammies giving their interviews."

"Tension seems to be running high," Andrew confides to Dawn as they head toward the conference room they'd set up in the former banquet hall of the hotel. "You think we're being cooped up too much? All stuck together like this?"

"You're not cooped up anywhere, Andrew," Dawn replies irritably. "You choose to be here."

Andrew looks at Dawn seriously. "Where else would I go, Dawn? If Sunnydale hadn't been reduced to a smoking hole in the desert, I would be a murderer."

"You still are," Dawn says. "Just because there's no proof that you did anything wrong now, you're still responsible for the death of your best friend."

Jonathan, a boy that Buffy, Xander, and Willow had gone to high school with, was killed to open the Hellmouth. It had been Andrew who had given the fatal wound that had killed his best friend, providing the sacrificial blood required to open the pit for the ancient vampires to attack humanity. Fortunately, it had also been Andrew's tears which had re-closed the gate until the Slayers were ready to face the First. That fact still doesn't change the way most of his companions feel about him, however.

"So," Andrew continues as though Dawn hasn't said anything. "Why are we the ones greeting the Watcher hopefuls anyway?"

"Because the others have more important work, sitting around waiting for Jack the Ripper to contact them," Dawn's voice has a bitter edge to it. "Giles will be down in a bit to give a better explanation of everything but we're the only ones not stuck in a project or in a huff over who has the right to be where, and all that other crap."

Andrew is quiet. He grins suddenly. "At least we get to see everyone first! We're what everyone there's going to expect from here."

Dawn hangs her head. "Great. I'm so excited."

They enter the conference room and freeze, looking at the dozens of men and women seated in the stadium-styled seats before a stage. Dawn and Andrew exchange worried glances before stepping up to the stage. A few people cough but no one says anything as they wait.

Dawn clears her throat nervously. "Um, hello, ladies and gentlemen. I think the first thing I should say is 'thank you'. Thank you for coming all this way. You all know the danger you are putting yourselves in. Many of you have lost loved ones in the tragedy that happened two years ago."

"Nice start," Andrew whispers.

"Shut up," Dawn hisses back. She raises her voice to continue. "The second thing I need to say is that we're not without obstacles. We're severely under funded, despite the generous donations made. We're going to struggle to build this Council to its former splendor. But, for now, it's going to take a lot of hard work and sacrifice. That being said, is there anyone who wants to leave?"

"Where are you going?" Willow demands as she watches Kennedy pack a small bag from the dresser they share.

"Somewhere. Anywhere," Kennedy snaps as she zips the bag shut. She slings the bag over her shoulder and heads toward the door.

Willow stands between Kennedy and the exit, her arms folded across her chest. Kennedy tries to push through but Willow won't budge. "Let me go, Willow."

"No," Willow says. "Not until you tell me what makes you think that leaving here is going to solve anything."

Kennedy drops the bag with a thud. "She's right and you know it. The only reason I have any place here is because of you."

"It's because you're a Slayer, Kenn," Willow starts.

Kennedy holds a hand up. "Let me finish. I'm here, with any place where I feel I belong, because of you. Call me egotistical but I think I'm strong. Damn strong. And it's no secret that there are some Slayers that are more powerful than others. I heard there's a girl that can barely lift a stake but her body heals way faster than any of ours do. And Buffy's reflexes are better than Faith's. And--"

"What's the point, Kennedy?" Willow interrupts.

"Not only do my strengths balance but I'm also stronger than most of these other girls. Maybe as strong as Buffy or Faith. I belong with you guys. But no one sees it that way. I'm 'Willow's rebound girl'. Kept around because I ease the pain of Tara's loss."

Willow flinches at the mention of Tara's name. Warren had shot at Buffy and a stray bullet had killed her girlfriend right before her eyes. The pain is still there. It is always there. No one talks about it anymore, feeling as though Willow's over it but she and Kennedy know better. "I'm going to prove to everyone that I belong here. I belong here more than Faith does, that's for damned sure."

With that, Kennedy takes her bag and pushes through Willow, who seems to be in shock from their conversation. She stands there, alone, for a few minutes before closing the door and lying down in the bed she's been sharing with Kennedy since relocating to England.