The bar was very charmingly named 'Le Blues Bar' and was displayed out front in bright neon blue letters. Buffy suspected it was because Joe himself was a blunt man. A fancy name didn't suit him, not even for the heart of Paris.
The interior of it was very much the same as the one in Seacover. Joe had obviously not been too concerned about the decoration of the place. Still, despite its rather Spartan look, Buffy immediately felt at home.
Dawn walked beside Buffy, taking in the place and grinning broadly.
"In Paris only a day and already we're hitting the bars."
"Only cause I know the owner," Buffy told her wryly.
"I was wondering when the Old Man would get around to bringing you here." Joe Dawson's voice caused Buffy to turn as she watched the Watcher exit the back room of the bar slowly, but deliberately.
She smiled widely and approached him, embracing him tightly but not enough to knock him over.
"It's good to see you again!" She exclaimed as she hugged him. When she pulled back, she was delighted to feel the immortal buzz wash over her. It meant that Duncan and Richie were close by.
Seconds later Methos turned, just as Duncan MacLeod and Richie Ryan entered the bar.
Richie called out her name and immediately hugged her tightly as did Duncan, although not as eagerly.
Backing up, she allowed the three men to see Dawn who had watched the reunion politely waiting for her introduction.
"This is my sister Dawn," she told them. "Dawn, this is Joe Dawson, Duncan MacLeod and Richie Ryan."
"Pleased to meet you," Duncan said warmly as he extended a hand. Flustered, Dawn shook it, then Richie's.
"Now that that's out of the way, where's the beer Joe?" Methos was already at the bar, looking for the tap as he grabbed a glass.
"Oh no you don't!" Joe called out as he made his way over to where Methos sat. "You're not putting this on any 'tab' tonight. You're damn well paying me this time!"
"Testy, testy Joe!" Methos exclaimed, raising his hands in surrender. "Are you getting enough fiber in your diet?"
"Ignore them," Richie told Dawn as she watched the bickering going back and forth. "They're always like this."
"Actually, usually they're worse." Duncan put in with mild amusement. "This is Adam's best behaviour."
"C'mon, let's sit down." Buffy suggested as she found a table near the bar. Within moments, Methos had managed to wrangle a beer for himself out of Joe and a rum and coke for Buffy. He brought Dawn a soda.
"So tell me," Joe said as he sat down at the table. Duncan and Richie soon followed suit. The bar was empty having been closed by Joe that night for the reunion. Normally Tuesday nights were fairly busy, but Joe didn't want to have to serve customers and divide his attention. As well as having missed the young slayer, Methos had mentioned that she had done something that might require the help of the Immortal branch of the Watcher's Council. If any part of this was business related, Joe had to be alert. "What exactly happened to your town? Adam showed us the news story where it…sunk?"
"Yea, well that was only partly my fault." Buffy pointed out with a heavy sigh. "There was an amulet involved that…well, I gave it to a friend and I didn't know what it would do…"
She broke off as the memory of Spike saying good bye engulfed her. Shaking her head clear of the confusing feelings, she proceeded with the story explaining once again what she had done in order to defeat the first, including the consequences of a large band of slayers where once upon a time there had been only one.
Joe, to his credit looked suitably shocked. He had known of the untimely demise of the Slayer branch of the Council, but had assumed that one of the Immortal branch Watchers would be trained to take over the duties of a slayer while they slowly rebuilt. Now, with so many slayers in existence it looked as if that would not be sufficient. One girl…one girl in all the world. To think that the small blonde in front of him was responsible for such change in the balance of good and evil…it was mind boggling. Duncan said as much.
"What you did sounds pretty…unprecedented."
"That's one word for it," she said ruefully. "Look, Joe I don't want to come off like the only reason I came here was to ask for your help, but…"
"Say it," Joe told her. "After that story…I'd be insulted if you didn't ask."
"I want to reform the slayer branch of the Council, but I want to do it my way." She looked to Methos and Joe, as they were the key figures in this. Methos, with his knowledge of the past history of both the slayer and Immortal branches, and Joe because he happened to be not only an Immortal's Watcher, but also had knowledge of the former slayer branch of the Council. Both would be necessary if she were to succeed. "No more subjecting helpless girls to the mercy of an archaic belief structure. I gave them this power, but I want them to be able to keep it for themselves. If you were to help me, I would need you to contact your superiors and give them my terms. My Watcher Giles is in England at the moment with a very powerful friend of mine working on restoring the old building. The girls would live and train there until they wished to leave."
"Sounds good, but what do you need from me?" Joe looked perplexed.
"Man power," she replied. "I have a ton of slayers desperately in need of Watchers. Once that building is back up, I'm gonna need volunteers from this branch to train the girls. I figured you'd be the best person to turn to since you had knowledge of the slayer branch anyway. I'm not asking you to train any of them, but to find people who you feel can do so without pulling any power trips. I want this Council to be different Joe, and you're the only person I could trust to make it that way."
"That's a lot of confidence Buffy," Joe told her with genuine warmth in his voice. "Thank you."
"So you'll help me?" She asked with great relief. He reached out and clasped her hand tightly.
"It would be an honour." Joe said firmly.
"I'll help in any way I can as well," Methos added, eliciting a raised eyebrow of surprise from both Duncan and Joe. Methos offering his help in any situation that might be potentially dangerous was a rare thing indeed.
"Thanks," she said gratefully. "I'll give you Giles' number. He'll be waiting for your call."
"In the meantime, why don't we concentrate on enjoying ourselves for the night?" Duncan suggested. "It's been a while since we've seen you."
"Sounds great," Buffy told him. She had never been the closest to Duncan, but she had still missed him and it was nice to not have to worry about anything beyond that night. Everything would work itself out, another night.
An hour or so later, Buffy and Joe were involved in a lively game of darts on the one end of the bar, Richie and Dawn were engaged in conversation at one of the tables, and Duncan and Methos shared a beer together at the other end of the bar.
Both of them watched the slayer and the Watcher play, but neither of them were keeping score.
"She looks good," Duncan finally said to Methos changing the topic to include the object of their mutual observation. "A bit thinner than before, but good...different."
"Hardened," Methos said with a sip of his beer. "A warrior's lifestyle will do that. She's a damn site harder to take down now too, I'd wager."
"Doesn't look like she would hesitate much on that score anymore." He observed quietly. Methos smiled sadly as he realized what Duncan was implying. He too had noticed how the slayer had grown up in more ways than one.
"No," he said softly. "She wouldn't."
"She'll bring trouble." Duncan looked to Methos quizzically, "won't she?"
"Yes." Methos agreed with a small nod. He didn't take his eyes off of her. "She's trying to stay out of it for her sister, but I know her too well."
"Her sister…" Duncan let his gaze drift over to where Dawn sat, talking to Richie. "She's just a child."
"Same age that Buffy was when I first met her," Methos pointed out wryly. Duncan nodded.
"She seems younger though." He trailed a finger around the rim of his whiskey glass. "More innocent. I don't remember Buffy's smile ever being that lighthearted."
"Dawn's been through a fair bit too you know." Methos pointed out, though part of him knew that Duncan was right. She had endured a lot, but Buffy had been able to shelter her from a lot of it as well. She had died protecting the young girl, and that wasn't something you recovered from very easily. Methos was glad that the young Dawn Summers still possessed some of that innocence. It meant that the slayer's sacrifice had not been in vain. "Buffy could only protect her from so much."
"You still have feelings for her, don't you?" Duncan's question took Methos aback momentarily, but he managed to compose himself and offered a raised eyebrow.
"I don't know what you're talking about Highlander." His attempt at innocence did not work on Duncan.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about Old Man," Duncan shot back. "You were never very good at hiding your care for the girl. I think you might have loved her once."
"What makes you think that?" Methos asked, not denying it, but refusing to confirm it too easily for the Highlander.
"Because you don't put your ass on the line for just anybody." Duncan point out with some asperity.
"Perhaps," Methos agreed. "Why does it matter what I feel?"
"Just trying to get a lay of the land," Duncan said with a slight shrug. "After all, if you're not interested I was considering asking her out…"
"What?" Methos' voice was a little sharper than he had intended it to be causing Duncan to chuckle. Methos blushed slightly, realizing the trap he had just walked into. Caught.
"Just wanted to see your reaction Old Man," Duncan said smoothly. "Deny it all you want…I know the truth."
"Yea, yea, you're a bloody genius," Methos muttered sourly. "It doesn't make any difference Mac. When she looks at me, all she sees is a friend, not a man."
"I wouldn't assume too much." Duncan cautioned the older Immortal. "Give her time. You never know."
Methos waved Duncan's words away as if they were an annoying bug and took another drink of his beer. The dart game continued, but both men were too lost in their thoughts to pay it much notice.