Slayers, Vampires, and Genetically Engineered Oh My!

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon owns Buffy and all characters pertaining and created therein; Cameron, Eglee, and the Fox guys Dark Angel and all characters and associations.

Chapter 7

Xander didn't waste any time after class, he was already on his way out the door, and down the hall heading toward the library before the bell barely begun to ring. He was very, very worried about Buffy and he wasn't going to let a little thing like mandatory classroom attendance stand in his way of checking in on his ill friend.

Unfortunately, Cordelia Chase was not mandatory class attendance, and she was very much in his way, a fact Xander didn't compute until the inevitable collision occurred.

Cordelia was a beautiful girl in nearly every sense of the word. She had gorgeous mocha colored hair that hung straight and perfect down her back, impeccable tanned skin, and eyes that would give hot chocolate a run for its money. Her slender, tallish figure would and did have boys and grown men of all ages wild.

"Excuse you! Look what you did, Harris! You totally and completely ruined a perfectly good pair of Gucci sandals and my brand new Charlotte Rouse ensemble!"

She was also an uber mega queen B and not in the good I make honey sense either. The license plate on her flashy, red sports car red Queen C, and indeed Cordelia was the most important thing or person to Cordelia. Such a shame really, she was actually quite smart and personable, if you could get past the spoiled rich girl exterior.

Xander didn't waste time to partake in the usual witty repartee the pair traded, of which Xander was often times the loser, and he didn't spare Cordelia another glance except a vaguely mumbled, "Sorry," and then he was off again.

"Another perfect example of Homo Sapio Loser," Cordelia rolled her eyes in exasperation at her Cordeliaettes. The air brained girls nodded solemnly in agreement.

Willow was out of Ms. Calendar's class and tearing down the hall before she knew it. That in itself was unusual, the usually nerdy red head would take the extra time to make sure her computer was properly shut down, that all her folders and supplies were neat, and spending a few extra minutes talking to Ms. Calendar or the other computer techies.

Willow only hoped she wouldn't run into Principal Snyder. The man was practically uncanny in popping up where you least expected him to, often catching you in the middle of some awkward to explain act or conversation. Would it be too much to ask the Powers that Be to let the man go away and leave them alone?

She made it to the library without any Snyder sightings or mishaps, and for once, Willow was grateful that the walk from the library to Ms. Calendar – Jenny's – room was only a short jog down the hallway, left through another hallway, and straight on, to the left.

"Giles?" she called out anxiously, eyes darting around to take in all the corners of the spaciously curved library.

The door to Giles' office opened and the Watcher stuck his head and partial shoulder out. His eyes flicked to her and behind her as Xander burst through the same double doors Willow had.

"Is…" Xander began, but Giles' upraised hand stalled any further comment, and the two teenagers walked with anxious dread toward Buffy's Watcher.

"Inside," Giles ordered and the two followed, glancing at one another.

"Buffy?" Willow questioned, peering into the darkened office.

She spotted the petite Slayer curled up in the corner on the cot and she couldn't help but run to the first 'cool' person who had shown a compassion and liking to her.

"Hey, Wills," Buffy smiled, a little bit stronger than she had been. She was still pale, but the rest had done her good, now on her way to recovery.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're okay, you scared me, scared all of us, shaking and passing out on us like that!" Willow chided her friend with all the pent up worry and frustration of the past hour and a half.

"Hey, Buff," Xander spoke up quietly, suddenly afraid to come in. Not afraid of Buffy, per se, more like he was afraid for her.

Seeing her lying there, passing out, body wracked with shaking that he swore would have snapped her spine or neck had left him shaking himself with worry and dread. He stood there in the doorway, shy and uncertain.

Buffy looked up from hugging Willow, not letting on that the hug had hurt, and saw Xander's expression. It broke her heart, that uncertain but extremely loyal look, and for some reason she wanted to cry.

Has to be a side effect of the seizures, she tried to rationalize, even as she smiled at Xander.

"You want a hug, too?" she asked and Xander's usual smile flitted across his face. He could never resist a chance to touch her in some way, and the trio shared a long, satisfying hug.

Never underestimate the power of a simple touch given in friendship and caring.

"So…Buffy. What happened?"

"So much for tact, Xander," Willow rolled her eyes at her best friend, keeping one arm around Buffy, the blonde girl tucked close and resting her head on Willow's shoulder. Xander was on the other side, the three connected by entwined arms.

"My sentiments exactly, Willow," Giles shot Xander a look, his entire being paternal for his Slayer, warning the other male to back down.

"Is she okay?" Jenny Calendar asked, coming into the office and shutting the door behind her.

"I was just about to debrief them, ma'am," Buffy quipped, still a bit fuzzy around the edges.

Whenever she was tired, her military upbringing automatically surfaced for her to fall back on; usually working it's way into her posture, reactions, and word choice.

"Oh, okay."

Jenny sidled toward Giles, offering her support, and Buffy found herself at the center of attention once more. She cocked her head, considering how much to tell them. It was bad enough they knew she was the Slayer; could she tell them about being a transgenic as well?

Well, how bad could it be? They face the supernatural on a regular basis, things that are unexplainable and sometimes impossible to believe. Science would be nothing to that.

Right?

"Today I had seizures," she went for the most basic truth, making eye contact with them all to get her point across.

"We could see that," Xander encouraged, and Buffy smacked him gently.

"They were a mild form of Grand Mal."

"Grand Mall? As in the best shopping ever?" Xander asked again and this time it was Willow who smacked him.

"A Grand Mal, m-a-l, seizure is the worst kind of seizure to have. They often result in fatality, if left unchecked and untreated," Giles jumped in, polishing his glasses, the motion jerky and rough with his agitation.

"And Buffy had one?" Xander was incredulous. "Wouldn't her Slayer healing and all protect her?"

"Buffy still present," Buffy raised her hand, giving Xander a weak version of her pointed look. "Yes, I had a mild Grand Mal seizure. I haven't had them since I was a little kid growing up."

"Does it run in the family? Does your mother know?" Jenny fired off the questions.

Does it run in the family? "You could say that."

Pain, cold, fear, run, run, where are the others? Run!

"What, that it runs in the family or about your mother knowing?"

"Geeze, Xander!" Willow glared.

"It's okay, I wasn't clear. No, my mom doesn't know, and yes, it does run in my family…sort of."

"Sort of?" Now it was Giles' turn to stare at her. Buffy squirmed.

"Did you know that I'm adopted?" she blurted out, and saw the shocked look on everyone's face. "Yeah, I am. Mom and Da-Hank adopted me when I was little."

"Okay, did anybody else just go into shock mode or is it just me?" Xander pulled away from Buffy and Willow so he could get a better look at Buffy.

"I'm with you, Xander," Willow nodded, but she gave Buffy's shoulder a squeeze.

"We never knew our birth parents, we as in the other kids like me. Some of us would get seizures like this, but I never really had a problem with them. We were brought up in a very…militaristic facility, all duty and discipline and blah blah, and they treated us rotten, so a bunch of us we ran away."

"Mom and Hank found me after I'd made my way to L.A., then the Pulse hit, and it was easy to just attach myself to them, to become Buffy Summers. Things were rough, but we were a family, and we made it through the nasty. I'd get the occasional shake, but they had stopped around the time I became the Slayer, so today was the first time in a long time that I had these, and I've never had them so violent before. It's a good thing I had some Tryptophan left over, otherwise."

Buffy shrugged again. What else could she say?

Okay, so she didn't come out and tell them, hey, I'm a genetically engineered super soldier taught to and have killed since I was a baby, I'm not even a hundred percent human and probably became a Slayer by fluke, who knows what else is thrown in my messed up genetic cocktail. That would come later. Right now, they all seemed to be having enough trouble with the idea she was adopted. It was only merciful she didn't unload it all on them at once.

Really.

A/n: Yes, I'm back! And I have good news, aside from the obvious I'm back and posting another chapter. My muse has been named! His name is… Drum-roll-Jareth! Named after that tricky and clever and musically talented Goblin King of Jim Henson's Labyrinth proportions!

A/n 2: Thanks for all who reviewed and who sent in their suggestions as to which X5 our Buffy should be. :)