Author: Tohonomike Disclaimer: All characters belong to their rightful owners...it will start off with the Joss/ME characters, and the Lorimar characters aren't mine either and any other characters or real-life folks are clearly not mine. NO money is involved. None are mine.
This is dedicated to those of you who watched the show.
The Bronze, November 4th, 1997, 8:00PM
Xander watches as Willow and Ford are playing pool. Ford sinks
his shot and sets up for another as Buffy arrives at the table.
"Ford! You made it."
"Wasn't hard to find."
Willow nodded agreement as she smiled evilly at the blonde slayer, "Buffy, Ford was just telling us about the ninth grade beauty
contest, and the, uh, swimsuit competition."
"Oh, my God, Ford, stop that! The more people you tell, the more
people I have to kill."
"You can't touch me, Summers. I know all your darkest secrets…"
The girls laugh as Xander gets up and heads for the bar, seeing Angel there, "Buff, Bill, Will, anyone want anything?"
Getting an order for two diets and a regular, he moves to greet Angel after placing the order.
"Hey, didn't expect to see you again so soon…" he addressed politely, then noticed the object of the other man's stare, "Ah, friend from her old school, and your first real assignment."
"Assignment?"
"Yeah, Giles said he wanted him checked out, something didn't sit right with him. And a computer check of records doesn't corroborate the boy's story. So I'd like you to follow him and see if he's a Slayer-level problem. Then—"
"Hi," Buffy said as she came up, "Who're you talking about?"
Alexander Lambert smiled a bit shyly at being surprised, "Business, Buff, I've been contracted in a detective capacity to run background checks and residency checks on at least one student, perhaps other individuals later. I was subcontracting out to Angel, here, as I can't manage everything on my own."
Buffy was overwhelmed by the educated and sincere and word use of one Xander Harris, er, Lambert. This gave Angel a chance to distract her.
"Hey! I was hoping you'd show."
"Hi Angel…You drink! I mean, drinks. Non-blood things."
"There's a lot about me you don't know."
"I believe that" she told him, as the bartender finally delivered the drinks and a basket of mixed appetizers and a coffee Xander had added to the order, "So, What'd you do last night?"
"Nothin'" he began then saw Xander's pointed look as he paid, then a nod, "I mostly stayed in and read. Then went out for a quick walk."
"Really? See anything interesting?"
Angel paused, then admitted with a sigh, "I saw Drusilla last night, Spike's sire and obsession."
"Oh?"
"Yeah…"
"Okay you two, we can talk about the Queen of Evil later," Xander chided, receiving an amused look from Buffy since Angel was being honest, and from Angel at the rescue, "Angel, the coffee's yours, Buff if you could grab the munchy tray…let's all head back to the table."
The three make it back to the table, Willow playing hostess, and making with introductions as Angel and Ford shake hands, Angel moving his coffee to his left hand, "Nice to meet you, Ford."
"So you're Buffy's boyfriend? You look older."
Angel, who'd already begun to recover and feel just the slightest bit welcome, by Xander of all people, had a response ready, "Well, I started out as her history tutor, then before we knew it..."
"What subject? I might need some help?"
"Really, well, I could probably help out in Latin, French, German, Spanish and Italian, then European History."
Xander smiled at the sources of Angel's knowledge, and decided to string along the boy who might be an enemy or future Scooby member.
"Hey Ford? That might work for ya if you need to take any of the other community college courses Angel might be good at."
"Yeah, uh, thanks. But I'm only enrolled at Sunnydale High at the moment," the young man seemed to consider, just a tiny bit haltingly to where only Xander's detective observational training and experience and Angel's being able to sense lies could tell.
"Hey, Angel?" Willow asked, "Do you wanna play?"
"Yeah, Willow, thanks, how 'bout for teams, me and Buffy, you and Ford, Xander and the munchies?"
"Yesssss!" Xander smiled, doing a mock-victory jig, "An automatic win."
The group smiled and proceeded to have a relatively normal evening.
The Magic Box, November 5th, 1997, 6:40PM
"Okay, that's the last test I can perform with the equipment we have so far," Willow apologized as she looked up from her small lab in what in another reality would have become the training room for Buffy. Selma smiled reassuringly at there.
"That's quite alright, Willow," the Artificial Intelligence told her, paused, "I believe our online queries, your test results and Mr. Angel's own observations…indicate that young Mr. Fordham is suffering from a form of cancer, and that his activities warrant further investigation. He has been listed as a runaway, and it mentions his condition. There is a ten thousand dollar reward for his safe return."
Alexander stepped into the backroom with Angel, remarking on the revelations, "Well, it looks like we'll be reuniting Ford with his family and doctors."
Angel agreed, but asked the secondary question that needed an answer, "So why is he making a beeline for Buffy? The Slayer at the Hellmouth."
"Hoping to find a vampire?" Willow suggested, "Too much Forever Knight and Kindred on television?"
"Angel, I'd like you to follow Ford, make sure he doesn't lead Buffy into any traps, or do something stupid. Willow, I'd like you to link up with Buffy, and stay close. Be careful, I don't want anything to happen to my Willow before we head to the Smithsonian this weekend."
Angel looked up, surprised, "DC?"
"Yeah, Darien left me with the impression that if he could send some extra gear and stuff back, he'd do it around four in the morning on ninth," Alexander smiled slightly, "and that means the closet there. Anyway, I'll be contacting the parents, and try getting them here by nine o'clock, alright?"
Everyone nodded, and got to work, Selma playing the financial markets, researching patents and licensing that wouldn't require a lot of test data and trials, establishing small lines of credit for remote betting, and finding the telephone numbers for the Fordhams and their lawyer.
The evening went pretty well, though Buffy picked up a vibe from the way both Willow and Angel seemed to be herding her and Ford toward the Magic Box so early in the evening. It was only a bit before nine! Coming around the corner, she felt her Hemery friend tense up at the cars out front, and noticed how firmly Angel seemed to place a hand on the young man's shoulder so he couldn't escape.
"Ford? What is it?" she asked in confusion, then looked to Angel, who did answer.
"Ford is a runaway, Buffy, and has cancer, so we called his parents so he won't throw his life away," the vampire responded, then turned to Ford, "We wouldn't want something he does to come back and bite him, would we?"
"You knew?" the boy responded, "How?"
"Detective work. You had enough holes in your story that it wasn't really possible to miss." Angel paused, "If you were really here to go to school and reacquaint with a friend that just so happened to be here, you'd have actually registered and gone to classes. And a bunch of idiots wouldn't have started a vampire themed night club the same weekend you showed up. It also helps to not greet them all like old friends."
The group walked in, Ford's mother rushing over in concern, which preempted any reply from the young boy. Buffy looked into the shop to where Xander was shaking hands with Ford's father and a suited man that looked like an attorney. And what looked like a check in his hands. As the LA contingent left, Buffy with a hurt look walked over to Xander, noticing Giles next to him.
"Giles? What are you doing here with Xander? Are you part of whatever this is?"
"Buffy, I-I'm not working for Alexander, but am grateful he may well have saved your life from a young man whose real plans we may never plum. Be that as it may, the boy, Ford, should be with his family and receiving medical treatment, not racing to the Hellmouth and the Slayer."
"Oh. Um, I'm sorry I guess…"
"I-It's quite alright to feel like those around you are being overprotective of you, but remember, we're looking out for you because we care." He patted his slayer softly on her shoulder, "Now, how about a group patrol and we call it an early night, shall we?"