Title: The Sacrifices
Author: mispel
E-mail: PG-13
Summary: Xander and Dawn are on their way to the hospital. Willow, Anya and Buffy struggle with their limitations. The demon lair is found.
Spoilers: Early season 7
Disclaimer: I own no one and nothing
Feedback: It's not easy to improve without feedback, so let's have some.
A/N: Takes place in early season 7, not long after Beneath You and Same Time, Same Place.
Previously: Xander had found a baby as well as a white sock by a scene of a demon fight. Anya recruited Halfrek. Harmony and Spike teamed up.
Xander, Dawn, and the baby had gone to the hospital in Xander's car. Dawn was eager and full of energy. It was making Xander nervous, or more nervous. Willow watched them go and waved. She knew Dawn and the baby could take care of themselves, she worried about Xander.
When Willow went back into the house she saw that Buffy had stacked books on the table. She had gotten bottled water for herself and for Willow.
"I'd flip you for computer research, but all I ever seem to find is porn," Buffy explained as she settled and cracked the first volume.
"Really?" Willow tried for convincingly shocked but Buffy didn't buy it. She did research on the computer while Buffy searched the books for references to jewels and baby sacrifices. There were lots of those.
"Baby sacrifices never go out of style, do they? Remind me to kill more demons," Buffy said to Willow, not looking up from the books.
Willow was finding the same thing - lots of disturbing demon practices and ugly jewelry but nothing that matched up with their case.
"You're doing your part unlike some witches that shall remain useless," Willow mumbled leaving it up to Buffy if she wanted to hear it or not. Buffy heard.
"I hope you're not talking about anyone I know. Because my best friend is a witch, and she is damn useful. She just has to take it easy for a while."
Willow smiled at the sweetness of the defense. It sounded sort of automatic. Like 'don't mess with my Willow bla bla bla'. It was still nice to hear after everything. Willow had missed having her best friend around. Giles just didn't know how to have a nice, easy, girl to girl chat. It was probably because he was British.
"Sure. So what's this thing with you being all 'get thee behind me, baby'?" Willow asked since Buffy had somehow managed to resist the cutest baby in the world.
"It's taunting me," Buffy said without raising her eyes from her book.
"The baby?"
"Yeah, it's all, 'check out my cute self, you'll never have this, bitch'." Buffy did some weird arm movements when she said it.
"Such advanced rudeness from a baby. And he doesn't even know you," Willow joked and hid behind the computer monitor.
Buffy lifted one of the smaller volumes from her research pile as if she was going to throw it. But then she looked thoughtful.
"It's my 'just say no to babies policy.' I guess I just don't want a taste of something I can't have," Buffy said putting the book down.
"Who says?" Willow said like she was ready to fight whoever it was.
"All the Slayers who came before me, and all the Watchers, and my own history of dying every few years. It's bound to stick one of these times," Buffy said with a shrug.
Willow couldn't really argue. But she couldn't agree either. Buffy had already defied prophecies and Watchers and death, even. She could defy precedent and history in her sleep, give them a head start and with one hand tied behind her back. After everything fell away, Willow still had loads of faith in Buffy.
"I'm not saying buy a bassinet, just don't scratch it off your to do list yet," Willow told her.
Buffy only frowned. There were all these open doors and she didn't see them. But Willow wasn't sure if she should be encouraging that one dream when it might turn out to be a delusion. It was the giving up attitude that bugged her most. She saw Buffy bury herself in another book so Willow went back to researching.
With Dawn and the baby hiding in the back of his car, Xander drove obeying every traffic rule he still remembered from driver's ed. Complete stops, a turn signal at every turn, keep to the speed limit, or a little under to make sure. All he needed was a Kidnapped Baby On Board sign.
And with all that, he still found room in his brain to worry about Buffy's weird baby allergy. Way to waste precious brain space worrying about someone who could beat up an army of demons, and an occasional god. Maybe she was turning into some kind of superslayer. Or that could be the comic books talking.
Actually, things were great compared to last year. But they pretty much had to be. That's why Xander was watchful for signs of backsliding. In the old days, it used to be Buffy Summers by day, Slayer before curfew. Now Buffy Summers was more the shadowy alter ego. She was leaving her old self behind just like she did the May Queen thing, and cheerleading, and wanting to be a firefighter. When she shed these fun, little outfits, it was bye, bye normal life, hello full time creature of the night.
Xander heard tires screech behind him as he made an unexpected stop when the traffic light barely turned yellow.
"What? No apologetic wave?" Dawn asked. "Buffy is always giving the apologetic wave. She drives like a total spaz. Have you been taking lessons from her?"
"Don't want to attract attention," Xander explained absently. He didn't even look in the rear view mirror - he'd seen the one fingered salute before. And he would again. Probably this very night if he kept driving like a spaz.
"Good job," Dawn spoke the words of praise every driver dreams of hearing, but she didn't mean them.
"Sarcasm is a nasty habit, Dawn. It'll stunt your growth."
"I'm taller than you," Dawn said.
"Shut up! You are not!"
"At least we weren't rear ended," Dawn said not sounding appreciative of his defensive driving style.
On that note, Xander wished for a baby car seat. Since he didn't have one, he resolved to drive even more safely. Really, how hard could it be to get a baby from point A to point B? Well, much harder than he thought when he volunteered. Maybe Buffy was onto something. Babies looked harmless, but they were terrifying. It was like smuggling dynamite, or plutonium, or pot.
Buffy didn't need any more thrills. It was demons every night and apocalypse on the weekends. She hadn't had a solid foothold on a normal, boring life since Xander had known her. It was more like she had been standing on the edge on her tiptoes, like when divers want to spring off the board. Every now and then she would slip up and die. It robbed her of her balance. She lost her land legs, and now she just floated above water like a bloated corpse.
Oh, gruesome and unwelcome image, be gone. He didn't need to think about Buffy as a corpse. He had handled her dead body. Held the legs while Giles held her arms gently setting her in the coffin. You can't not worry after that. And she couldn't be the same. It was too much to expect. But Xander expected it anyway.
Someone honked behind him as Xander had stopped too long at the intersection. Where were they in a hurry to go? Did they have a kidnapped baby to return? Unlikely!
"Hold your horsepowers, buddy," Xander said then looked in the rear view mirror. "Or lady," he corrected himself.
"People should slow down. Unless there is a woman in labor in the back seat, there is no reason to disobey the speed limit or the rules of the road," Xander lectured Dawn, the baby, and the lady driver who was passing him.
Dawn snorted doubting his sincerity.
"Xander, you've driven me before," she reminded him.
"I've seen the light - the red, the green, and yes, the ambiguous yellow - life is too short to hurry," Xander explained.
Xander expected Buffy to have a short life. And when she died, he expected to stop worrying about her. Instead, he had had to agonize about what kind of hell she got stuck in for saving the world. Good thing his other best friend could bring people back from the dead. Sometimes. And destroy the Earth when she felt like it.
Maybe he didn't need to worry about worrying too much. It was only a few months ago, he was in the ambulance while Buffy was bleeding, leaving Willow behind on the edge. He should worry more. Maybe quit his job and do it full time. Instead of getting more settled, things got more unsettled, weirder, and harder to take. Even when it got better, Xander knew that nothing could be trusted. And he didn't trust himself when it came down to it. Xander. In the kitchen. With a frying pan. Fake vision or not, that was definitely something to worry about.
Xander thought about the kid in the back of his car and how crazy people were to take that on. He had opted out. 'No thanks, I'll just coast along with the brain numbing worries I already have.' Hey, Buffy had the right idea after all. Good for her.
Halfrek and Anya followed after the limping demon with the baby under his arm and arrived at an opening in the ground. After the demon disappeared inside, the two of them came close and peered down into the hole. It was dark and the tunnel slanted down at a steep angle.
"It's too small. We'll just materialize inside. Give them a scare," Halfrek said not liking the idea of undignified crawling underground.
"We don't know what's in there. We don't want to startle them," Anya cautioned as she got down for a better look into the hole.
"I want to startle them." Halfrek said not understanding Anya's objection. Then she remembered Anya's traveling restriction. "Oh, that's right you have to fill out forms."
"I don't want to be buried in paperwork. But it's not just that. They might do something drastic," Anya insisted weakly pointing down into the hole in a silly, alarmist way.
Halfrek closed her eyes in exasperation. Anya ignored her as she craned her head to examine the tunnel as far as she could see.
It scared Halfrek that this could happen to Anyanka, of all demons. But there was no denying it - Anyanka wasn't the demon she had once known. That was a fearless creature who showed no mercy and did not worry about consequences. On the contrary, the worse they were the better Anyanka liked it. An unexpected tragedy would have been a welcomed bonus.
Halfrek had tried to adjust and be supportive of Anya's human doings - the wedding, the silly business venture. But none of that could compare to well wrought vengeance. She expected Anya to get a taste of it and get back to twisting the simplest wish into its most gruesome permutation. But Anya dragged herself around not being the least bit awesome or terrifying.
At least, she was in top form. In fact, at that very moment, Halfrek could sense something underground, calling to her.
"I'm getting more of that vibe. It's the baby that demon just carried in," Halfrek said astonished and delighted that something so young could muster up a speck of vengefulness.
"Are you really telling me that a baby is crying for vengeance?" Anya asked, disbelieving.
"It's mostly just crying. But it's mightily pissed," Halfrek assured her. Anya rolled her eyes. She didn't understand the joy of watching vengeance bloom in a young heart. Seeing the first wisps of screaming rage light up a sleepy, little face of an erstwhile innocent angel.
"Let's get in there," Anya said impatiently as if she was ready for action. That would be a nice change of pace.
"Ooh, let's," Halfrek agreed. There was nothing she wanted more than to see Anyanka back in good form, her old self, not this washed up demon with all the weaknesses of humanity still trailing from her like bad smell from a corpse. Halfrek waved her arms preparing to teleport but Anya stopped her.
"We're walking," Anya said as she climbed down into the hole.
to be continued