Title: The Beginning of a New Age
Author: Kristin Hulett
Summary: The extended Scooby Gang gets together for the holidays. When two unexpected guests arrive with a series of prophecies, the celebrations are somewhat unceremoniously halted.
Disclaimer: I don't claim to own any of the characters established on either Buffy or Angel. Those characters are all the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, etc. However, all characters that are new to this story, the children of Buffy, Angel, Xander and Anya, Christopher Bishop, Gabriella, Victoria, Nicholas, and the representatives from the Watcher's Council, and the concept of this story are mine. In any case, nobody sue me, because it would be pointless. You wouldn't get much.
Time Period: 2020, about ten years after the end of "Immortal Miracles".
Part Three
A few days later, Megan was essentially alone in the house. She was babysitting for her little sister while everyone else was out doing some last-minute Christmas shopping. While Felicity was busy coloring some pictures from school, Megan decided to go down to the basement to work off her boredom on some of the exercise equipment her mother had down there.
While she was working out, she noticed the closed door to the room her parents called the "library." "What's in there? We have most of our books upstairs, so I wonder what's so special about this room."
She quietly turns the doorknob. The door was unlocked. Inside the room were some bookshelves filled with really old-looking books. There was a table with some other books on top of it. Megan walked over to the table and notices a slim book that looks comparatively newer than the other books, but still fairly old. She sits down in the chair that was pulled up to the table, and opens the book.
"This is the journal of Rupert Giles, Watcher."
Half an hour later, Megan had read the journal. She dropped it on the table and slowly left the room. She sped up slightly while going up the stairs. Once she got upstairs, she went to Felicity's room to check on her. Felicity was still happily coloring. Afterwards, Megan headed to her room and her phone.
"Hi, Mr. Harris. Is Michael there?"
"Yeah. Do you want to talk to him?"
"Yeah. Please."
A few seconds later, Michael was on the phone. "Meg? What's up?"
"Um. . . I found something in my house. Can you come over?"
"You found something ? What do you mean?"
"Well, you know how you always said my parents were hiding something? I think you were right."
"OK. I'll be there in a few minutes."
Megan went downstairs to wait. Five minutes later, Michael arrived. She led him down to the basement room and showed him the book. Twenty minutes later, Michael raised his head from the journal.
"Wow."
"I know."
"Vampires, monsters, demons, they're all real. I mean, I know our parents always told us they were, but I never really believed them. You know?"
"Yeah."
"Your mom fought them."
"I guess. At least, that's what this book says."
"And your dad was a vampire."
"But he's not now. I don't get it. The journal pretty much stops around the middle of my mom's senior year of high school, when it says the guy got fired. This Giles guy."
"Our parents are always talking about a guy named Giles. It must be the same guy."
"I don't know. I guess I'll have to ask my parents."
They get up and start heading upstairs. Halfway up the stairs, they hear voices. Megan hurries up to the door and puts her ear up close.
"I think they went upstairs."
They open the basement door quietly and slip out. They head towards the kitchen while Buffy is coming down the stairs.
"Michael! I didn't know you were here."
Megan turns around. "Oh, Mom! I thought I heard you come home. I called Michael a little while ago and asked him if he could keep me company since Felicity was up in her room."
Buffy becomes kind of suspicious, but decides to humor her daughter. "Oh, that's nice. How's your arm?"
Michael responds. "It's OK. I mean, it doesn't hurt as much anymore."
"That's good. Where were you guys? I didn't see you when I came in."
Megan responds quickly. "We were in the family room."
Buffy counters. "I didn't hear the TV."
"We were talking about what we thought we were going to be doing when school started again."
Buffy concedes, still aware that her daughter's hiding something. "OK. Well, it's getting late. Michael, you might want to head home so your parents don't worry about you."
"OK. Sure. Megan, call me later."
"Sure. Bye."
"Bye." Michael heads out the door.
"OK, Megan. What were you really doing?" Buffy asks once Michael has left.
Megan ignores the question. "Who exactly was Giles? And how come you never told me Dad used to be a vampire?"
"What?" Buffy says, surprised.
Megan just pushes past her mother on the stairs and keeps going up.
"Megan Elizabeth Summers! Get back her!"
Buffy only hears a door slam upstairs. Felicity comes out of her room.
"Mommy? What's going on?"
"Nothing, Lissy. Just go back in your room." Buffy sinks down onto the stairs in shock. She is still sitting like this when Angel gets home with Jamie.
Angel walks in the front door carrying Jamie. He immediately sees Buffy sitting on the stairs dejectedly. "Buffy? What's wrong?"
Buffy looks up at him, unshed tears shining in her eyes. She doesn't say anything.
"OK. Let me get this guy settled, and we'll talk about it." He heads toward the playroom to put Jamie down. When he returns, he sits down on the stairs next to Buffy.
"What happened?"
Buffy looks up. "Megan knows."
"Megan knows what?"
"Everything. She asked me about Giles, and why we didn't tell her you used to be a vampire."
"So how do you know she knows everything? If she asked questions, there must be something she doesn't know."
"I don't know. I'm scared, Angel. I feel like I can't protect her anymore."
"Do you even know how she found out whatever she did . . . find out?"
"No. She was home watching Felicity alone. Apparently Michael came over, but I know Xander and Anya wouldn't have said anything."
"OK. So how else could she have discovered anything?"
"I don't know. The basement, maybe? I know she's gone down there to use some of my equipment before."
"How about we go down and see if she went in the 'library'?"
"You go. I'm going to call Xander and make sure Michael got home."
"Sure." Angel gets up and heads for the basement, leaving Buffy at the stairs. Shortly afterward, Felicity comes back out of her room.
"Mommy? I'm hungry."
Buffy looks upward, composing herself quickly. "We'll eat as soon as everyone gets back, OK?"
Felicity comes downstairs. "Can I go play with Jamie?"
"Sure. He's in the playroom." Felicity runs off, and Buffy heads to the phone.
Angel walks slowly down the stairs to the basement. The first thing he notices upon arriving at the bottom is the open door to the "library." He heads inside and looks around.
A few seconds later, he sees the open book on the table. "I don't remember leaving any books open." He walks over and looks down at the pages the book is open to. He reads a few words, enough to identify the book. Then he closes the book and puts all the books that he had left on the table the last time he had been down here back on the shelves.
He picks up the journal and leaves, closing the door behind him. Then he heads back upstairs.
When he gets there, Buffy is standing outside the door, looking anxious. "Well, did you find anything?"
"Yeah. Does this look familiar?"
"Of course! That's Giles's journ . . ." Buffy trails off, eyes widening.
Angel continues speaking. "Someone had been reading it. Probably Megan. It would explain her questions."
"Yeah, it would."
At this exact moment, Cordelia, Christopher, and Gunn arrive back from shopping.
"We're back!" Cordelia cries while breezing through the door. Angel and Buffy jump, startled by the sound, and then head toward the front door.
"Hello? Is anybody here?" Gunn calls out, and then he is startled by Buffy and Angel's appearance in the hallway.
"Yeah, 'somebody' is home, although we have a crisis." Angel responds.
Chris is the first to speak. "What kind of crisis?" Everyone else is surprised, since this is one of the first times Cordy's boyfriend has spoken since they arrived from LA.
Buffy is the first one to speak. "Megan was home watching Felicity. She found Giles's journal and apparently read it. Now she won't leave her room."
Cordy speaks up. "Let me try and see if I can talk to her."
"OK. If you think it'll help." Buffy still seems distraught.
Cordy heads upstairs and stops in front of Megan's bedroom door. She knocks and there is no answer. "Megan. It's Cordelia. Can we talk?"
A voice floats out through the closed door. "No, not unless you're going to tell me the truth about why Mom didn't tell me about her and Dad's past."
"I honestly don't know why."
"Fine. You can tell her that I'm not leaving until I get an explanation."
Cordy heads back downstairs. "She says she won't come out unless she gets an explanation."
Oz has just stepped in the door when Cordelia returns downstairs. "Who won't come out until she gets an explanation about what?"
Angel answers while continuing to comfort Buffy. "Megan. She found out about our past and doesn't understand why we didn't tell her about it. She's locked herself in her room."
Oz thinks for a minute. "Why don't you call Will? Maybe she can get through to Megan."
Buffy looks up. "You think so?"
"It's worth a shot."
Angel decides that he'll take care of the call and tells his wife to check on Felicity and Jamie. Buffy slowly heads for the playroom and goes inside.
Angel picks up the phone and dials. After a few rings, the other end is picked up.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Tara? It's Angel. Is Willow there?"
"Yeah. Would you like to speak to her?"
"Yes, please."
"Hang on."
A few seconds later, Willow's on the line.
"Hey, Angel! What's up?"
"We have a slight problem here."
"What? What kind of problem?"
"Megan's locked herself in her room and won't talk to anyone."
"Why? I mean, I'm not trying to pry or anything, but I'm wondering."
"She read Giles's Watcher's journals."
"Oh."
"Now, she thinks we lied to her by not telling her about our past."
"She didn't know?"
"No. Buffy wanted to protect her and let her live a normal life."
"In Sunnydale." The disbelief is apparent in Willow's voice.
"You know what I mean. If she had known, if we had told her she was the daughter of a Slayer and a former vampire, she might have thought she was different from all her friends."
"Did she know about Slayers, vampires, and everything else?"
"Yeah. She obviously knew that Victoria is the Slayer and Nicholas is her Watcher. And she knew Spike is a vampire, whether or not he is dangerous."
"OK. So she only didn't know about you, Buffy, and Giles."
"Yes. And now she won't leave her room, and we thought you may be able to get her out."
"OK. I'll be there in a few minutes."
"Thanks."
Both people hang up the phone.
Willow shows up at the house as she said she would. She stops to talk to Buffy, who is, by now, trying to feed Jamie, and then heads upstairs to try and talk to Megan.