A/N: I've used "Lehane" as Faith's last name (I read an article saying that it's going to be printed as such in an upcoming book or something).
Buffy yawned, running a finger through her tangled locks as she padded across her apartment. Arriving in her kitchen, she carefully put on her coffeepot and waited as her caffeinated beverage was made one drop at a time. It was the downside to good coffee in the morning; she always had to wait those extra minutes for the richness that woke her up. Minutes later, when the small red light flicked on, telling her that it was done, she gingerly poured herself a mug. Steaming coffee in hand, she moved through her apartment, really looking at it for the first time in a while. It seemed so strange; thinking that she lived here. She'd never really given much thought to her living quarters, deciding that it was small but roomy enough for her alone to live in. But now, as she looked at the near-bare walls and the few personal touches, it seemed almost… sterile. Like she was walking through a hospital instead of a living room. For perhaps the first time in a while she realized just how much her experience all those years ago changed her. Sure, she'd always been aware of the changes in her demeanour, her attitude and such, but here was the physical evidence sitting right in front of her. Like so many people around her; she had never let herself really get used to this place, let herself warm up to it and really make it a home. Instead, she had only done enough to please those who visited into thinking she was 'normal'. That she had merely been to busy to fully adjust to it all yet, that in time she was fully planning on decorating the bare walls.
Looking down, she spotted a single red rose sitting in a glass vase on the coffee table- the small indulgence that she had allowed herself last week, even though she was still unsure of what had possessed her to buy one, she was glad that she had. Although the edges were beginning to brown slightly, the chemicals that they had grown with ensured that they lasted long; since the colony only had a single shop in which flowers were grown. It was perhaps the most personal thing she had out on display- the only sign that anyone actually lived here. Smiling slightly, she bent down to breathe in some of its beautiful scent, she'd always loved the smell of flowers; just another secret that only those who'd known her as a small child could guess. At one time, it had been a tradition; once a week she would go down to the small flower shop and ask the lady for the prettiest flower she had, and bring it home to brighten up a room in their house just that bit more. She hadn't done it for a long time, no longer seeing any reason to. But regardless, she had walked into that same shop last week, the old woman smiling as she recognized the now grown blonde and immediately moved to pick out a single flower for her, before Buffy had said a word. Maybe, it was one tradition that she could bring back. Something to make this small apartment seem a little more like home.
Making a mental note to worry about it later, she moved to the far end of the room where a window was covered by thick materials. Carefully she pulled back the curtains to peer outside; as usual it was bright and sunny, the early morning sun beaming down on the few people who were awake. She had barely got any sleep last night- three, maybe three and a half hours. It wasn't a huge stretch, seeing as she usually went five hours on her own, but the loss of that extra time had left her tired and anxious, not two of the greatest things in her books. Her thoughts briefly turned to Angel, a part of her wishing he could come with her to the meeting. There was no reason to be nervous, but all this had been so unexpected that she was almost waiting for it all to be taken back somehow. Whether that was exactly what she wanted or not, she had still not decided.
Sighing, she looked up at the clock, realizing that she could probably leave in about an hour (giving herself time to dawdle along the way). Finishing off the last of her coffee, she put it in the kitchen sink before trudging to the bathroom; hoping that a shower could wake her up.
An hour and a half later, she was walking along the grey streets of the colony; a bag in one hand and a thermos filled with none other than coffee, in the other. She'd taken longer in the shower than she'd thought, forcing her to rush through everything else (ergo her still- wet hair that she'd simply left long). She figured she'd go to the meeting and then head over to Giles', expecting that he'd be done his morning teas and such by then. The streets were only starting to get busy, a few small groups passing her by along the way. Storeowners were just now turning over their signs and opening their doors to business, while many others were probably just beginning to awake. As she neared the council's headquarters, she noticed that only warriors seemed to be arriving; as the council themselves no doubt had apartments inside. It was something that was almost always guaranteed to be happening, warriors gong to or from at all hours. The council planned it that way; it was like a security measure that ensured no one would try anything. One that undoubtedly worked quite well.
Arriving at the front entrance she noticed a tall woman dressed in warrior/army gear waiting, Buffy mentally sighed in relief that she wouldn't have to put up with a whole team again. Nodding to her, the woman wordlessly headed inside, signalling for Buffy to follow her. They walked through the halls until they finally reached a small room, inside were three metal chairs and a front desk, a sharply dressed male sorting through files. Her guide leaving her at the door, Buffy stepped inside cautiously, clearing her throat lightly as she neared the desk. The man looked up at her quickly, obviously expecting her arrival.
"Miss Summers, please have a seat, the council will be with you in a moment." He said curtly, motioning to one of the chairs.
Buffy's eyes widened at his words, she gave him a worried look.
"C-council? You mean as in a warrior right?"
The man raised an eyebrow.
"Mr. Travers and the other members of the council are booked to see you momentarily. Now if you would please sit down, they will call when they're ready for you."
Nodding, Buffy reluctantly sat down; her legs suddenly feeling a lot wobblier than before. The council, the whole council wanted to see her? A warrior she could have dealt with, maybe even two- or a whole team, but the entire board of individuals that practically ran all the colonies and human forces across the world, who would no doubt judge and scrutinize her every move? Fear and nervousness ran through her veins, as little she knew about what happened to Gunn and Faith, she knew that this wasn't near regular procedure. Why her? Is it because of what she'd done before? Or have they decided to transfer her somewhere else now that she was on duty? The thought virtually sent chills down her spine, this colony had been her home for so long- she had no idea of anything on the outside world. For all she knew it was all overrun by demons, or that they all spoke some strange language and locked up their warriors until it was time to fight in wee little cells! There was no way she'd be able to handle that!
She was pulled from her thoughts at a loud beeping coming from the desk. The secretary mumbled something before pressing a button that opened the double-doors at the end of the room.
"They're ready for you now." He said, eyeing her suspiciously when she didn't move.
Reluctantly, Buffy got up from her seat and with a deep breath, walked through the doors and into a somewhat familiar, large room. It was a lot like the one she had been in before, only instead of a single desk there was a massive one on the other end of the room, around it seated about a dozen British men and one or two women; and in the centre were two familiar faces. One; Richard Garrison, who was giving her a death glare, and the other; someone who although she'd never met she instinctively knew who he was.
"Ah, Miss Summers, I'm glad you could join us, especially at such an early hour." Quentin said, in a strangely cheery voice.
Buffy didn't' respond, merely nodding as she felt all their eyes digging into her as though she was a criminal or something.
"Well, I'm sure you have several questions about this; why for instance, you're being greeted by us instead of a senior officer." He said, ignoring her un-reply.
"I- well since you've brought it up." Buffy said, trying not to focus on them all at once.
"We've been watching you Miss Summers, more specifically, we know all about the attack on you and the vampire not too long ago."
Buffy, both shocked and angered by their regards to Angel, tried to keep the sharp edge out of her tone as she spoke.
"Oh, well I'd say I'm sorry for my outburst but considering the damage they did to Angel and I, I really think it was necessary."
She briefly noticed Garrison's teeth clench, however Mr. Travers gave her a strange and unexpected smile.
"Yes, well, despite what you may think, we're not here to punish you- quite the contrary in fact." At Buffy's obviously confused look, he continued, "You displayed a great amount of power there Miss Summers, one that up until now we didn't know you had. It forced us to re-think a few of our previous decisions, which is why you're standing here now."
"So… okaaay." Buffy said, still not understanding what he meant.
"You have power Miss Summers, something that we could use on our side. So, after much consideration, we've, as you know, decided to put you on active duty. As a warrior you will be required to patrol nightly and report back any odd occurrences to your trainer. Before you leave you will be given tools such as tazer rifle, communicator, restraints; all the typical equipment. You will be free to go wherever, whenever you please, and are authorized to enter any civilian homes or businesses if you suspect them of anything- with the exception of any government facilities, such as these headquarters; you will need to make an appointment for everywhere but the armoury, training facilities, and libraries; although you must sign out any weapons. If any 'immediate' need arises you are to report it to Mr. Garrison."
Buffy took a moment, trying to let everything sink in.
"What about other warriors? Do I communicate them for help? Or do I have a team or something? And what about bringing… others on patrol with me?"
"That's another thing we need to tell you, we've decided to place you on an upper level of duty. Those who you've been training with are now under your command. That includes Mr. Gunn and Ms. Lehane. You are not required to have any team; you will be working on your own. You will not report to or take orders from anyone but us and your trainer. Although we trust you to act responsibly with this, if we order you to do something you will do it, as you are still under our command. As for whom I assume you're referring to as the vampire, I will advise you to do routine patrols on your own, however what you choose to do is entirely up to you. We will alert you to any specific threats that need looking into if and when they arise, as for what you need to know now, there is a report for you waiting outside."
Buffy had to resist the urge to faint, too shocked to really form a coherent though.
"I… well- thank you?"
Travers shook his head.
"There is no need to thank us Miss Summers, this is strictly what needs to be done. You have power- we need it, it's as simple as that. As I said, there is a detailed report outside of your duties, restrictions, and some classified information that you will need to be aware of. Other than that, I believe that we are finished here." He said, rising out of his seat.
Buffy, still surprised, nodded and began to walk towards the door, stopping as Quentin spoke once more.
"Oh, just one more thing." Buffy turned, anxious to get out of there. "There is a ball next month for all the warriors, I'm sure that you remember it from when you were young. You will receive a written invitation soon and I expect to see you there."
Buffy had to fight to suppress a smile, remembering how much she'd enjoyed them as a young girl when Giles had taken her. Nodding, she quickly hurried out the door. Only stopping briefly to grab the thick report, she rushed out of the building and towards Giles', desperately trying to comprehend all she'd just heard before she arrived.
Twenty minutes later, she was walking up the street to Giles' apartment, an unread folder in hand. The streets were already crowded with the morning traffic, causing her to take an extra five minutes to navigate through the crowds.
On her way there, she'd been able to realize exactly what had just happened, and although the prospect was exciting, she was more confused and worried than anything. Why would the council go from ignoring her, to putting her on such a high level of duty? Why were they going to put her on important missions when they obviously thought she was irresponsible and irrational? So many questions went unanswered, and she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by it all. She knew she was ready for active duty, but given what had been going on lately and the emotional state she'd been in, she was less than confident that she was ready for this. While the prospect was thrilling, like most things that were, it was also somewhat terrifying.
Trying to push those thoughts to the back of her mind, she carefully entered the large home; deciding to creep around for a while until she found her fatherly trainer, not wanting to risk waking up Tara on her day off. Heading into the kitchen, she was surprised to find it, and the teakettle, empty. Shrugging, she put her thermos on the counter before heading across the hall, figuring that he was already up and researching. Entering the library, she was surprised to find it vacant as well. Aside from the dozens of books that were still scattered across the tables, there didn't seem to be anything or anyone there. Suddenly catching a familiar voice, she quietly put her bag and report on the table, moving across the room to the doorway of Giles' office.
She froze at the sight that greeted her; inside was Giles and, to her astonishment, Angel. Giles stood with a book in his hand, his glasses askew and hair ruffled, obviously having been up for several hours already (if he went to bed at all), but the thing that surprised her the most was Angel. Not only because he was here this early (with the sunny and bright weather outside), but also by his physical appearance. He was looking paler than usual, his eyes tired yet seemingly driven by some unknown passion, as he poured over a small pile of books on Giles' desk. The two men were obviously arguing about something, both unaware of Buffy's presence.
"… I haven't 'read it wrong' Angel, it's printed right here in front of me. And it's not a damned bit anymore helpful than the last dozen volumes I've looked over!" Giles barked, obviously frustrated,
"You have to be! This books are the only place I can even think of beginning, they have to have something useful in them!" Angel snapped, not looking up from his books.
"Well then maybe you're wrong and we're not even looking in the right place at all! What if we're just on some wild-goose chase, that's designed so that we will do the man's work for him?"
"We can't risk it!" Angel yelled, standing up from his chair. Buffy nearly jumped at the anger in his voice, never seeing him like this before; this angry and… scared. "You KNOW what's at stake here Giles! We can't just give up and hope for the best! If we do then she'll be gone and it'll be OUR FAULT!"
There was a moment of silence, both men stared at the ground; giving Buffy the impression that she'd obviously missed something.
"Are you two okay?" she asked quietly, announcing her presence to the room.
Both of them jumped at her voice, Angel whipped around and gave her a strange look, one of guilt and pain and worry, like he never thought he'd ever see her again.
"Hey," she said worriedly, coming towards him and placing a soft hand on his cheek. "What's wrong?"
Angel shook his head, looking away from her for a second.
"Nothing, I'm fine." He said, offering a poor excuse for a smile.
Sighing, Buffy turned to Giles and gave him a pleading look. The trainer, taking the hint, nodded and headed into the main library.
"Angel come on, you can tell me. Whatever it is, we can deal with it." She said, trying to offer him reassurances to something she knew nothing about.
Angel just shook his head.
"It's nothing. Giles and I were just researching, I thought I'd punch in early and we got talking."
Buffy raised an eyebrow,
"That's funny because I've never seen anyone talk that loudly before."
Angel's eyes grew wide.
"H-how long were you here?"
Buffy almost jumped at the fear in his voice, now she knew something was wrong.
"Not long, I just came in, heard voices coming from inside." As Angel still refused to look her in the eye, Buffy carefully moved so her eyes met his own. "Angel please, you're scaring me."
Angel's eyes flashed momentarily with guilt, and without another thought he pulled her against his chest, holding her to him with as much force as she could humanly handle. Reflexively, she held him just as hard, hoping that it could give him some of the relief he needed.
"I'm sorry." He whispered, his head nestled in her shoulder. "I just had a rough night, that's all."
Knowing that Angel obviously wasn't going to be talking anytime soon, she nodded against his chest and held him, deciding that his explanation would do; for now at least.
Several minutes later, Buffy pulled back, giving him a warm smile.
"You okay?" she asked, pulling a stray strand of hair from his forehead.
He gave her a sheepish look.
"Yeah. Sorry about the..."
Buffy shook her head.
"Don't worry about it, it's what I'm here for. Besides, it's about time I paid you back."
Angel offered her a small smile, taking his hand in her own; he led her outside where her trainer sat waiting.
"Are you two err…. Finished?" Giles asked, looking to Angel for an indication of just how much he'd told her.
"We're both good." Buffy said, not catching Angel shaking his head slightly.
"Yes well, that's- that's good to hear." He said, trying his best to push the thoughts of what Angel had told him away. "So Buffy, I'm anxious to know how your meeting went."
Pulling Angel into a chair, she reflexively (to the surprise of both men) sat on his lap, moving her attention to Giles. Angel sat stunned for a moment, before brushing it off and wrapping his arms around her waist, giving Giles a small shrug.
"Well I got to Headquarters, just like I was supposed to, only to be greeted by none other than the entire council."
Giles looked up to her in shock at this, silently asking if he'd heard her right.
"Yep, Garrison, Travers, and a dozen other britishy members. I was really freaked out, they were all staring at me like I was some kind of weird science experiment gone wrong."
"Are you alright?" Giles asked, more than a little shocked by the announcement.
"Ya I'm fine, freaked but good." At the two questioning glances she continued. "They said that they knew about what happened to Angel and me- with those Italian guys? And that's why they decided to put me on duty. They said, and quote 'you have power, we need it'. They kinda went on and on about me having power and how they'd decided to let me on duty, then they dropped the bombshell of all bombshells."
"What is it?" Angel asked, worry once again coming back.
Buffy sighed,
"Well, I told you before, within the council there are ranks- usually they put new warriors on the lowest level, and they just work their way up. But, they for some reason beyond me, put me up…. Higher."
Giles stared at her.
"How much higher?"
"Well, I don't have a team- I work alone. I can go pretty much anywhere anytime in the colony, can get into the council's libraries and armouries, have a huge stack of rules and stuff, can now order both Gunn and Faith around, and I don't take orders from, and again quote, 'anyone but them and my trainer'. In other words, other than you and like the dozen people who were in that room, no one."
Both men stared at her in shock, their mouths agape at the realization of what she meant. Although, unlike Giles, Angel had no idea of the system they used, he could easily guess that that was high up there; higher than most people could ever hope for. His eyes widened as Lindsay's words echoed in his mind.
/ "Their goal is to stay in power, and they'll do anything to reach it… we have power over them… They fear what they don't understand, and when they're afraid of something they'll do one of two things: kill it, or try and control it."/
Buffy bit her lip.
"I got this huge report, it has rules and regulations, and they said it'd also have some classified info in it… maybe I'll be able to find something to help us out?"
Her words pulled both men from their thoughts, Giles turned to her quickly.
"Yes, well that's definitely something worth investigating. And congratulations Buffy, I'm proud of you."
Buffy blushed slightly, nodding.
"Thanks, I'm still kinda in awe but, you know."
Giles nodded, turning as he heard the door to the library open, to reveal a yawning Tara in cartoon-charactered pyjamas; something that both she and Buffy shared.
"Tara, you're awake, I'm sorry, I hope we weren't too loud." Buffy said, giving her sister a sympathetic look.
"Oh no, it's fine. I got a few extra hours than usual; I'm more than well rested. Hi Angel." She said, noticing the vampire 'behind' (or below) her sister.
Angel nodded; always the man of few words.
"So, what's going on?" Tara asked, rubbing some sleep dust from her eyes.
"Oh, well it would seem that not only has Buffy been out on duty, but also one of the higher-most levels."
Tara smiled at her sister.
"That's great Buffy! Good for you, I want to hear all about it in a few hours when I'm awake."
Buffy smiled back, knowing all too well how early-morning tiredness was.
"Thanks, what are you doing down here this early anyway?"
Tara shrugged.
"I was awake, figured I could get out of bed. Actually, I was hoping to con Giles into making some of his famous tea and scrambled eggs for breakfast." -hint, hint-
Giles sighed cheerfully and stood up,
"I'd be happy to. Do either of you want anything?" he asked, briefly wondering if Angel ate food at all.
With a quick look at Angel, Buffy shook her head.
"No thanks, Angel and I'll chill- maybe look through that nifty little novel of mine. The council should really think of doing this more compact or something."
Giles smiled and headed to the kitchen with Tara in tow, leaving the silent couple behind them.
As they exited, Buffy let out a sigh, leaning her head against Angel's shoulder.
"How are you doing?" he asked, noticing her slightly off look.
Buffy shrugged,
"I'm okay I suppose. It's just; this is all happening so fast- and so much. I mean, I knew I was ready to be on duty; patrol and maybe train a bit more, but this… I honestly don't know if I'm ready or not. If I'm just going to somehow mess this up or if I'll be able to handle it at all…" she trailed off, giving Angel a worried look.
Angel pulled her closer, giving her a reassuring hug.
"Don't worry, I'm sure you won't mess it up, and you're not alone in this. If you want to do more training we can, and we aren't even positive what it is you have to do yet. So, we'll figure that out and then deal with it. But no matter what you're not going to do this alone, you've got Giles and Tara, and me."
Buffy offered him a small smile.
"Thank you… do you think…. Do you think that you could maybe come on patrols with me? I mean I'll have to do them regularly now, and to be honest that kinda freaks me out a bit."
Angel nodded,
"Of course, if you want we can head out after sundown tonight, it can be our training for the day."
"That sounds great."
Angel moved forward and gave her a long but soft kiss, finally pulling back with a smile.
"And congratulations. I'm sure you'll be great."
Buffy smiled, reaching over to pull out her thick bundle of 'report'. Handing it to him, she gave him her best puppy dog-eyes.
"Read to me?" she asked, knowing that in his voice she might actually pay attention to the words.
Rolling his eyes dramatically, Angel took the stack and opened it to page one and began to read.
"Section 1.1- Basic Rules and Regulations…"
End of Chapter Twenty.