Chapter 9: The Call

****A Few Months Go By****

Buffy's self-defense class became very popular. So much so that Miss Patty insisted she begin charging for it. Why it never occurred to her that she could make money teaching something that was such a part of her was beyond her understanding. Spending time training with Giles had taught her how to hold back when she needed to, so she didn't find it hard at all to behave like a normally well-trained fighter. When someone had asked why a girl from California would have such a skill set, Miss Patty answered for her.

"California is full of would-be muggers who didn't make it in show business. They're beach buns. A girl needs to know how to protect herself living in L.A. I only spent a summer there myself as I found Broadway in New York much more to my liking," Miss Patty said.

"When I got tired of cheerleading and ice skating, it just became my thing," Buffy added with a shrug and easy smile. Naturally, they never questioned her further. They were nosey and curious people in Stars Hollow, but they were never rude or pushy.

Kirk was most enthusiastic and came to every class.

When Buffy was having Thanksgiving dinner at the Gilmores in Hartford, she was sharing tales about the training with Richard and Emily. Paris and Lane were also there at the dinner that night after their other commitments were over.

"Kirk is the oddest fellow. He has like twenty jobs," Buffy said.

"Oh, more than that," Lorelai said. "He starts something new monthly."

"Sounds like he would be an ideal Watcher," Richard said. "Someone with boundless curiosity and enthusiasm for so many things would excel at learning all the things a watcher needs to know."

Lorelai and Rory laughed. "There's no way that Kirk could deal with the ugly truth," Lorelai said when she started laughing.

"It might make him crazier than he is now," Luke added. He and Jess were both at the dinner—much to their surprise. However, Rory's grandparents knew both men were read in and finally insisted that the girls bring their significant others. So far, it was going better than either thought it would.

"People can sometimes surprise you," Buffy said with a shrug.

"What are your plans for Christmas?" Emily asked.

"Dawn and I are going to go home," Buffy said, throwing the news out there.

Of course, Luke and Jess were the only ones not surprised by the news as Rory and Lorelai had told them.

"What?" Paris asked in dismay. She adored and idolized Buffy Summers like she no one ever had. Buffy was both flattered and touch by Paris' devotion. Considering she'd arrived in town feeling raw from her resurrection, Paris' positive attention had made her feel much better about her calling as Paris framed everything in a feminist light. It was a way of looking at her calling that Buffy had never done, and it made her feel less dubious about her future.

"You can't leave us!" Paris said.

"I'm not staying," Dawn added. "I just want to see my friends."

"We're just going to see everyone and see how Faith's handling the new potentials," Buffy added. "Someone is killing potentials. Rory is safe with me here, but if things get too bad, Rory may have to come with me and stay in Sunnydale."

"It's her senior year. She can't possibly leave school," Lorelai said.

"Let's hope it won't come to that," Emily said, warding off a disagreement.

"Can't you protect more girls here?" Lorelai suggested. "Why do they all have to end up in Sunnydale?"

"We do have this rather large house," Richard added.

"You wouldn't mind?" Buffy asked in surprise.

"Of course not," Richard said. "The Council will pay to feed them." Unlike some, he knew how to get money out of the tight wads.

"You mean they have funding for that kind of thing?" Buffy asked, looking pissed.

"Well, of course," Richard said. "Each potential has funds earmarked."

"So why is Faith resorting to demon robbing to feed the ones she's protecting?" Buffy asked.

"What?" Emily asked, outraged. "That is horrible. Richard, you must call your mother. That is not acceptable!"

"I will do so right after dinner," Richard assured them.

"Well, if you're coming back, I guess it's alright if you go," Paris said grudgingly.

"We weren't asking your permission," Dawn said, glaring at the girl. She and Paris didn't really get along. Dawn hated her clear adoration of her sister and thought she was a major kiss-up. When she started talking to Dawn like she was an idiot, Dawn started insulting her in one of the many languages she was studying, which infuriated Paris. Rory frequently had to separate the two.

"I didn't say you were," Paris said.

"Girls, stop it," Lorelai said, glaring at the pair. "I'm the only one allowed to fight at the dinner table as it's tradition and my right as the only daughter of the host!"

As intended, her words made everyone laugh, dispelling the tension.

When Buffy did go to Sunnydale, it was good to see her friends, who were amazed at the change in her. They hadn't seen this smiling version of Buffy in a long time. She was confident and happy. She didn't even let Faith bother her and was happy to spar with Faith without letting her temper cause damage to the once evil slayer. The potentials were in awe of the pair.

Giles started the New Year in Hartford with a few more potentials. It was manageable, and Emily enjoyed feeling so needed. Her life no longer filled with superficial parties and fundraising. Instead, she spent every morning teaching the girls ancient languages and various demonology. The afternoons were spent in training.

Buffy divided her time between Hartford and Stars Hollow. Three days a week she was teaching classes in Stars Hollow, Monday through Wednesday and feeling good about life as she mingled with the wacky townspeople. Watching Luke argue with Taylor never failed to make her laugh. The lightness of the small town worked to counter the seriousness of her time in Hartford. The slayers there only saw her as the slayer, their general, who was training them for battle.

"We have to be ready," she told them in February. There were now ten in total living there full time besides Rory. Kennedy was the strongest even if she and Paris fought every chance they got. Paris hated the uppity slayer, who came from the same background as Paris. Kennedy didn't like anyone close to Buffy, determined to be her number two.

"Ready for what?" Rona asked.

"For whatever is coming," Buffy said. "From beneath you it devours. That's the word Faith has gotten more than once from the First. Remember, if someone you know is dead comes to you, it is not real. It is the First trying to manipulate you."

Shortly after that, the house was attacked by ugly humanoid demons. It was on a Saturday when both Gilmores, Lane, and Paris were there studying and training with the girls.

"It's the Bringers," Giles said as he insisted Emily and Richard get into the safe room.

"I am not hiding while my family is in danger!" Richard exclaimed.

"They have both youth and training behind them," Giles replied. "You have been out of the game, and Emily needs you."

Reluctantly, the Gilmore patriarch went with his wife to safety while everyone else fought the intruders.

Rory tried to not scream. "They have no eyes! How can they see and fight with no eyes!" she exclaimed.

"They are conduits for the First," Buffy explained. "It is guiding them somehow."

Paris was energized and hacked away at the intruders with her sword. "There so ugly!" she yelled as she fought.

Buffy bit back a laugh. "Paris Gellar, never change!" she said. The girl was so much like Cordelia Chase sometimes that Buffy couldn't help but feel the nostalgia. Finding offense at the ugliness over the evil they fought was such a Cordy thing.

Although there had been a dozen Bringers storm the Hartford house, the girls readily dispatched them. Since the Gilmore estate was large and away from close neighbors, the police or neighborhood security didn't come to investigate.

When Lorelai let her parents out of the safe room, Richard quickly organized the disposal of the wretched creatures. Luckily, the maid had already left for the night when the attack occurred.

"I am very glad we never went with a live-in maid," Richard said as he opted for piling the bodies in the center of the backyard before burning them. Emily called both their neighbors to tell them about the bonfire her daughter and granddaughter were having, so they shouldn't be alarmed when they saw smoke.

Buffy and Giles were glad they got through it without any casualties and only minor injuries.

Paris was giddy with excitement. "We did it! Defeated real evil!" she said excitedly.

"Giles, have you tested Paris? There is no way she isn't a potential," Buffy said to her watcher.

"The girl does have more drive and passion than the average person," Giles said.

"That's an understatement," Buffy said. "Sometimes, she actually exhausts me, and I'm the slayer!"

Giles laughed. "I will do the spell," he said.

When Luke heard what happened, he nearly got into his truck to drive there. "No, Luke, we're already on our way back," Lorelai said, exhaustion in her voice.

"Why? You sound tired. What if you fall asleep and wreck?" Luke said.

Just his over-the-top concern made Lorelai smile as Rory giggled next to her. His call was on speaker, so Rory could hear.

"We're okay. Energized and tired at the same time," Lorelai said.

"Come to the diner," Luke ordered.

They did exactly that as Jess was waiting for Rory. Both men embraced their girlfriends, glad to see they were unhurt.

"What the hell happened?" Luke demanded.

"There were a dozen eyeless creatures breaking into my parents' house," Lorelai said.

"What do you mean break in? How did they do that?" Luke asked.

"Seriously? That's your question?" Jess said incredulously. "I want to know how eyeless anything can do a B & E?"

"They had eyes, but they were sewn up," Rory explained. "All of them were the same. It was the creepiest thing!"

"They came in through the glass sliding door in the kitchen and upstairs," Lorelai said. "My old room has a balcony that I used to climb down. I didn't lock the door the last time, and a few came in that way also."

"You could've been killed! This is nuts!" Luke exclaimed, upset at their near miss.

"We're fine, Luke," Lorelai said. "We've been training, and it paid off. Even Paris managed to hack one or two with a sword."

"It was insane. I've never been so scared, but Buffy was very calm. She just told us to stay back-to-back and fight, so we did," Rory said.

"Yes, she killed five of them before most of us managed to get a sword up," Lorelai said.

"What about your parents? Are they all right?" he asked.

"Yea, they went into their safe room," Lorelai said.

"A safe room? Since when do they have a safe room?" Luke asked.

"Since we started training and Council men have been dying along with potentials. It's in the old guest room," Lorelai said.

"That's where you two should've been," Luke said.

"That's not how this works," Lorelai said grimly.

"You have no reason to risk your life, Lorelai. You're not actually a potential anymore," Luke said.

Jess gestured with his head to get Rory's attention, and she nodded. The two slipped upstairs, not wanting to be witnesses to the argument the couple was about to have.

"So you expect me to risk my daughter and hide away?" Lorelai said, raising her voice.

"I expect you to be sensible and stay away!" Luke said.

"I can't do that, and you know it," Lorelai said. "You know that I am going to be by Rory's side, watching over her because she is my child!"

"I can't stand the thought of you fighting demons and monsters, Lorelai! You could die!" Luke said, clearing upset and frustrated.

"I'm not going to die," Lorelai said.

"You don't know that!" Luke said.

"I don't know what you want from me, Luke. You've known what we're studying and training for. This is my life now, and I thought you were okay with it," Lorelai said, the fight going out of her.

Luke ran his hand over his face, trying to put what he was feeling into words. Finally, he just said it. "Before, you were my friend, and I cared about you," he said. "Now, though, you're my life. I love you, and I can't bear the thought of anything bad happening to you."

His words took Lorelai by surprise, and she stood up. "I love you, too, Luke," she said, smiling at him. "I don't plan on leaving you any time soon."

Realizing the enormity of the moment, Luke pulled her into her arms, kissing her.

Sometimes, loving her was like trying to hold onto water. Other times, it was like fire, and she made him burn. Anger, frustration, passion, and love always warred inside him.

Then she would smile and nothing else mattered. Her life was tied to his, and he didn't want to lose her to the dark. Luke vowed to make sure he did everything to keep her alive and safe.

*****May*****

It was time. Buffy had left in April for Sunnydale, taking all the potentials but Paris and Rory with her. Yes, Paris had been identified as a potential after Buffy had Giles check. Paris, of course, had been thrilled and made sure Kennedy knew exactly how unspecial she actually was every chance she got. There wasn't any peace until Buffy took Kennedy with her to Sunnydale. Rory and Paris were waiting as long as they could, hoping to make it to their high school's graduation if possible.

Faith and Buffy were getting ready for the battle they knew was coming as more potentials were being killed by a man dressed like a priest.

Then the Council was blown up, and Richard's mother was dead.

The shock of the move rattled them all and devastated Richard.

"She was there trying once again to get Travers replaced," Richard said. "No one ever thought that a bomb would be a weapon of the First. It's so modern."

"I can't believe it. Are you sure, Dad?" Lorelai asked.

He nodded. "Her driver was waiting out front," he said.

They had a funeral for his mother, and then Rory and Paris made it to graduation. Rory tried to be excited about the car her grandparents gave her as a graduation gift, but worry for her friends in California soured everything.

Then Buffy called them to Sunnydale.

It was time. Tara and Willow were preparing a spell that would make all of them slayers, and they would fight some strong ancient vampires. Of course, no one but the three of them and Giles knew her plan.

Luke and Jess insisted on coming with them. Then Kirk snuck and followed them to California, curious to see where Buffy lived and missing his teacher.

"Great. How we going to explain the hellmouth to Kirk?" Luke said.

"Hellmouth? What's a hellmouth?" Kirk asked, his voice going high.

"You really shouldn't have followed us, Kirk," Luke said with a sigh. "You might not make it back alive. The girls are fighting for their lives, and we're joining them. Now you are, too."

Kirk was scared at Luke's words, but he also was excited at the chance to see his crush and teacher again.

Buffy smiled when she saw Kirk. "I didn't know you were coming," she said, hugging him.

"Well, I wanted to help you," he said weakly.

"He followed us," Luke said.

"I'm not sure you'll be glad that you did, Kirk. Go talk to Giles, and he will explain what's going on and what I am," Buffy said.

"What do you mean? I know what you are," Kirk said. "You are the most amazing and beautiful woman alive."

Xander, Willow, and Faith were all watching this exchange in fascination.

"Buffy finally found her a man," Faith said with a wide grin.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Hardly," she said.

"I don't know," Xander said. "I kind of like him."

"Xander, what the hell happened to your eye?" Luke said, taking in his appearance.

"That psycho dressed as a priest gauged it out after calling him The One Who Sees," Buffy said. "I sliced him in two with my new nifty mystical scythe that I pulled out of a rock."

"Like King Arthur," Paris said, excited to examine it.

"Exactly," Willow added.

Rory introduced Paris and Jess to everyone while Dawn hugged them all.

They met Spike, and he showed Kirk his vamp face. Naturally, Kirk fainted, and Buffy caught him before he hit the ground.

"Should we tell Kirk that he fell into Buffy's arms?" Luke asked, snickering.

"No, he might propose," Rory said, giving Buffy a teasing wink.

Then there was no more time for jokes as final preparations were made.

Before they left for the night, Buffy gave a rousing speech, sharing her plan with them all.

"We might be slayers?" Paris said in dismay. "All of us? Seriously? Talk about female power!"

Lorelai didn't think the spell would affect her since she was well over thirty.

Buffy's place was packed with bodies. Several of them went with Xander for the night, including Luke, Lorelai, Jesse, Rory, and Paris, who had already got into one argument with Kennedy before they left. Anya went with him, planning on staying with Xander since they might die tomorrow.

Lorelai and Rory felt the tension and fear—they were feeling it themselves. This could be their last night on earth. Rory wrapped Jess's arms around her. "I don't want to die a virgin," she whispered.

"You aren't going to die," Jess said even though he was not immune to the rising fear the girls were feeling. He was feeling a bit of his own. "That's why I'm here—to watch your back."

Rory turned in his arms to face him. "Well, if we can't have sex, I should tell you something important," she said.

"What's that?" he asked.

"I love you," she said.

Jess smiled. "That's good 'cause I love you back," he said.

The couple kissed a while before finally falling asleep, both hoping they would live long enough to eventually have the sex.

*****The Next Day*****

This was it. It was time to fight. Both Luke and Kirk had swords just like their girlfriends. Kirk wasn't sure if this was an elaborate hoax or what, but when the guy with one eye handed him a large ax, he took it without comment.

"I want you guys staying in the back with Dawn, Anya, and Andrew," Buffy told the Gilmore group.

"Not a problem," Lorelai said, trying to keep the fear at bay.

"You don't have to do this," Luke said to her. "We can stay in the car."

"I can't let Rory and Paris do this alone," she said softly.

"Let's go," Faith called out. Then they all filed into various vehicles, squeezing in more than allowed while ten of them followed Faith on foot.

A half hour later, the fight was on. Luke and Jess still couldn't quite believe it when they faced their first huge monster vampire. They worked together, the six of them attacking it at once with their blades, bringing it down. Then Anya swung hers, nearly decapitating it. Kirk mainly stood there in a daze, unable to believe what his eyes were witnessing.

"This is real," Jess said, looking down at the thing. Andrew hacked at its half-way severed neck until it finally turned to dust.

"Jesus!" Luke cried.

"Told you," Lorelai said. "They turn to dust if you behead them or get a stake in their hearts."

A few more came at them, and they worked to defeat them. Unfortunately, Andrew jumped in front of Anya, and he was killed. Kirk didn't understand how his world had gotten so terrifying in such a short time. All he did was follow his two idols, Luke and Buffy, to California. How was he to know they were going to battle the forces of darkness? Suddenly, here he was fighting demons and watching a boy he just met die.

None of the Gilmore group had ever seen a violent death and were frozen in shock at Andrew's body.

"Oh, God!" Paris cried. "He's dead! We need to call someone!"

"Vampires are real," Kirk said with a note of hysteria in his voice.

"There's no time. More is coming!" Rory said, grabbing her arm and turning her toward the new one coming toward them. This time it was a Bringer and not a vampire.

Anya had never paid much attention to the annoying former hostage and stared down at his still form.

He had saved her life. The shock of his act of selfless bravery surprised her. After a thousand years, she still found good in the world. Ironically, it was a man—a dweeb—who saved her.

They fought for thirty minutes, which seemed like hours. Luke and Jess both were feeling battered and exhausted, but the girls' continual bravery kept them fighting. After the shock of Andrew's death faded, Kirk surprised them all by swinging with savage glee the axe he was given.

Then it happened. The girls suddenly stopped. "What the hell?" Paris exclaimed.

"It's the spell! It's working!" Rory said as she felt this rush of power infuse her very cell. All her wariness left, and she kicked the approaching vampire in the stomach, knocking it several feet away.

"Wow, Rory!" Jess said.

"This isn't possible!" Lorelai said as she too felt the infusion. They all heard Willow's voice in their head. "Are you ready to be strong?"

"Yes!" they said as one.

Luke and Jess stopped fighting, amazed as the women all began fighting like Buffy. Eventually, Xander made his way out of the biggest part of the fight as he wasn't needed, dragging Dawn out of the battle.

"It's happened," Luke said. "They have the call."

"They're slayers?" Jess asked.

"We totally are!" Paris said, feeling a rush like nothing in her life. She could take on the world—nothing was going to stop her.

Before long, slayers were coming out of the hellmouth telling them to run.

"Get out! The necklace Spike was wearing is going to explode or something. Get out!" Rona yelled.

"Let's go," Luke said, grabbing Lorelai's hand. She threw down her sword and grabbed Rory, who grabbed Jess.

Anya, Dawn, and Xander were right behind them.

"Wait for me!" Kirk shrieked, running after them.

Before long, they watched the town sink into a giant sinkhole. A lone school bus barely made it before the town fell.

"Oh, God," Rory said, feeling sick. "I hope there wasn't a lot of people home."

"I heard one of them say most of the town had evacuated," Lorelai said.

"Why would they do that?" Jess wondered.

"They just had a feeling they needed to go," she said.

"You're joking?" Jess said.

"Hey, this is the hellmouth. Weird things happen all the time," Xander said, overhearing. He and Anya had pulled up behind their rental car outside the city limits. Kirk and Dawn were with them.

"We're alive!" Kirk said with glee that made Rory smile.

"Where's everyone?" Lorelai asked.

The bus opened and girls poured out. Buffy jumped off the roof of the bus.

"You're okay!" Paris exclaimed, hugging her.

"Well, I'm hurt, but I'll live," she said, holding her stomach.

"I could feel them, Buffy. Girls all over the world, waking up to their power," Willow said excitedly.

"You did it," Buffy said, smiling. "I knew that you could. You and Spike saved us all."

"What happened to Spike?" Lorelai asked as she knew Dawn was very fond of him.

"He didn't make it. The necklace emitted a bright light that burned up all the vampires, including him," Buffy said.

Kennedy hugged Willow, proud of her.

"We have to find them," Giles said.

"How about we have a break?" Xander said.

"Of course," Giles said.

Buffy turned to Faith, handing her the scythe. "They are yours now, Faith," she said.

"What do you mean?" Faith said.

"I'm done. Call me if the world's ending," Buffy said. "But I'm done with this day-to-day."

"You can't leave us, Buff. You're the slayer," Xander said.

"No, Xander, I'm not. There are now many, many slayers," Buffy said. "You all threw me out of my house, remember?"

"What?" Luke asked. "Why would they do that?"

"They wanted Faith to lead, and I am done. I died for this world. I once sacrificed the man I loved for this world. Now I want to give back to people in a different way," Buffy said. "I like teaching. Not scared girls who are being picked off. But normal people, who just need to feel safe."

"You want to go back to Stars Hollow," Giles said with a sigh. He knew that she'd earned a break, and he wasn't going to push her.

"Tell her, Giles. She can't leave us," Xander said.

"No, Xander. I'm not going to do that," Giles said. "She's right. When she died closing the hellmouth, her job was done. She could've stopped the first time she died back when she wasn't yet sixteen."

"You died when you were sixteen?" Kirk asked in shock.

"Not the time, Kirk," Lorelai said.

"I love you all. I'm not going to disappear," Buffy said to her friends. "But I need something outside of slaying. I want to be there for Dawn while she's finishing up her last few years of school. She's been through a lot—we both have."

"Can we go home?" Kirk asked Luke. "I'm sorry that I followed. I have had enough of the hellmouth."

Everyone laughed. Buffy, though, put her hand on Kirk's arm and gave it a light squeeze. "You were very brave, Kirk. You didn't have to stay and fight, but you did. You are a true hero," she said.

Kirk stood a little taller at her words.

"I am so ready to find like a dozen vampires and have my way with them!" Paris exclaimed.

"Let's go home, guys," Buffy said to Luke and the Gilmores.

Rory smiled, feeling a connection to Buffy that she hadn't felt before.

Now they were really sisters.

"Yes, let's go home," Rory said.

Buffy hugged Willow, Xander, Giles, and Anya. Faith gave her a nod. "I'll take care of them," she said.

"I know you will," Buffy said. Then she walked with Kirk as they piled into the rental car.

Giles smiled as he heard Rory yell, "Kirk, watch your elbow."

"If your hand touches my boob again, I'm going to break it," Paris said.

"I just wanna go home!" Kirk cried.

Luke rolled his eyes and floored it. He was so ready to get back to Stars Hollow.

*****The End****

The actor who plays Kirk is the Marvel director James Gunn's brother, and he's been showing up in small crazy parts like in Guardians of the Galaxy. It always makes me laugh because Kirk was a singular unique character, and I get such a tickle at picturing him in the BTVS world. I never did understand, though, WHY in the world Marti or Whedon opted to keep the very annoying Andrew over Jonathan or Anya. Killing him off was cathartic for me. I hope you enjoyed this. I'm setting my sights on a Yellowstone/BTVS one-shot next. I also have in the works a Star Wars/BTVS story that I've only got two chapters on and more from my Harry Potter/BTVS world. I hope to wrap up my Marvel/BTVS series soon. Thanks for reading!