Chapter 31: Rejection

Bauer brought the sisters breakfast the next morning, along with a coffee for herself. They settled at the table and, after getting the "How's breakfast? How did you sleep?" formalities out of the way, Dawn said, "We'd really like to see Ruth. If it's possible."

Bauer was silent a moment. "It isn't possible. I'm sorry. Doctor Matasumi and Colonel Tucker think it's a security risk. I can only push things so far before they start shoving back."

"How is Ruth?" Buffy asked. "Still depressed?"

Bauer paused, and then nodded. "A bit. More adjustment problems than usual."

"Maybe if she saw us. A familiar face," Dawn said.

"No. Really, I can't. Please don't ask again."

Buffy picked up a slice of apple and nibbled at it, then said, "Well, maybe she could have another visitor, then. What about Savannah? That might perk her up."

Bauer tapped her nails against her mug. "You know, that might not be such a bad idea. But, again, there's the security issue."

"Is there?" Dawn asked. "We thought Savannah hadn't come into her powers yet. Now with Buffy and I, there's the danger that Ruth, Buffy and I could plot something together. I understand that. But what kind of spells could Savannah cast that Ruth couldn't already do herself?"

"That's a good point. I'll mention it to Lawrence. Doctor Carmichael and I are worried about Ruth. A visit from Savannah might be just what she needs. Very thoughtful of you two, to think of it."

"It might be good for Savannah, too," Dawn said. "An older witch to talk to, now that her mother's dead."

Bauer flinched as Buffy glared at her sister.

"We enjoyed meeting Leah yesterday," Buffy said. "Thanks for arranging it."

"I'll do what I can. I know this isn't … the best of circumstances."

"Not as bad as it could be," Buffy said. "Though we are going to miss a publication deadline if we're not out by next week. We don't suppose there's any chance …"

Bauer gave a tiny smile. "Sorry. No promises."

"Worth a shot." Buffy said as Dawn finished her orange juice. "So, when we were discussing careers yesterday, we forgot to ask you about yours. Do you work for the family business? Pulp and paper, right?"

"That's right. My father retired a few years back, so I head the business now."

"Wow," Dawn said.

Bauer smile. "There's very little 'wow' about it. I'm only there because my father had the misfortune to sire only two children. My younger brother took over the company after my father retired. Actually, 'took over' is a minor exaggeration. My father handed him the company. It proved to be too much for my brother. He killed himself in eighty-eight."

"I'm sorry," Dawn and Buffy said.

"After that, I was the heir by default, much to my father's chagrin. If he hadn't had a stroke after my brother's death, he'd probably have taken the reins back rather than hand them to a woman. Like I said, old company, old family. A daughter's place is to marry well and bring fresh blood to the board of directors. Technically, I run the company, but in reality I'm only a figurehead, a woman still reasonably young and attractive enough to trot out at major functions, show the world how progressive the Bauer family is. CEOs, VPs, they do all the work. They think I can't handle it. It doesn't matter if I'm twice as smart as my brother was. Twice as ambitious. Twice as driven. But you two must know what that's like."

"Us? We don't really—" Buffy said.

"The only females in the Pack? Two bright, strong-willed young women invading the last bastion of male exclusivity? Come on. This Pack of yours. They treat you two like some kind of pets, don't they?"

"They aren't like that," Dawn said.

Bauer was quiet for a moment. "You get respect?" she asked as Buffy and Dawn shrugged. "You two enjoy special status, don't you? The only two females."

"We wouldn't say that," Buffy said.

She laughed. "I've talked to that other werewolf. Patrick Lake. He knew everything about you two. You two speak for the Pack leader. You two intercede with outside werewolves on his behalf. You two can even make decisions in his stead."

"We're just glorified mediators," Dawn said. "When it comes to mutts, Buffy and I do more housecleaning than policy-making."

"But you both are entrusted with the power to speak for the Alpha. Immense power in your world. The trusted aides of the most important werewolf and you both are the lover of the second most important. All because you're the only females. Do you two know what the worst thing about my life is?"

"Boredom," she said. "I'm tied to a job no one will let me do, stuck in a life no one will let me lead. I've tried to take advantage of it, the spare time, the money. Mountain-climbing, alpine skiing, deep-sea diving. You name it. I've done it. The riskier and more expensive, the better. But do you know what? I'm not happy. I'm not fulfilled." She leaned forward. "I want more."

"It must be difficult—" Buffy said.

"I deserve more," she said.

Before the sisters could try another response, she stood and sailed from the cell like a prima donna after her greatest performance.

"What the hell was that about?" Dawn muttered to Buffy who shrugged.

The sisters looked as they rubbed their heads. They both felt a headache coming on. They both thought about lying down but the overhead lights hurt them. So they didn't stay in bed. They got up and the movement felt like needles stabbing through their eyes.

"Dawn? Buffy?"

The sisters looked at each other.

"Ruth?" Dawn said.

"Dawn? Buffy? Come on!"

It was Paige. But there was a problem, neither sister had much experience in telepathy. Neither of them had been around the times Willow had used it. They only knew Willow had used it from second hand reports. So, they weren't sure how to reply, they had talked to Ruth during her use of the telepathic spell out loud. And they had yet to try and use the spell on themselves that Ruth had taught Dawn to see how it worked.

They tried first mentally forming a response. But received nothing. They tried aloud, again nothing. The sisters decided to take a shower and then try and relax and hope Paige would try again.

Paige's second attempt came about two hours later when the sisters were half asleep. When they heard her call, they responded without thinking, answering in their heads.

"Good," she said. "… there."

"We can barely hear you," Dawn said.

"Ruth said … you two don't … experience."

"… Ruth?" Buffy asked.

"She's okay."

"Good." Dawn said as the signal between them seemed to be getting better. "How about you? Are you okay?"

"Surviving."

"Good. Hold on then," Dawn said.

"Hold—?"

Too late. The signal disconnected. They were alone. Again.

Twenty minutes later. "Okay, I'm back. You ready?" she asked.

"For what?" Buffy asked.

Suddenly the floor slid out from under both Buffy and Dawn and then everything went black. And from out of that blackness came a voice.

"Dawn? Buffy?"

A man's voice, they recognized.

"Jeremy?" Buffy said

"Jeremy?" Dawn echoed the word.

Dawn said the word, didn't think it, but said it and heard it as her eyes opened. But the voice they heard when Dawn had spoken was Paige's. She was sitting in a room. Jeremy stood in front of her.

"Jer?" Dawn said.

Dawn realized she and Buffy were in Paige's body.

"Dawn? Buffy?" Jeremy crouched in front of Dawn. He frowned. "Did this work? Are you two there?"

"Jer?" Dawn said again.

Buffy realized she was hearing but when she tried to speak no words came from Paige's mouth. Only Dawn could hear her.

"What—" Dawn began. "Where am I? Who am I? I can't move."

Jeremy's face clouded. "Didn't she—?" He muttered something under his breath, then started again, calm. "Paige didn't explain?"

"Explain what?" Buffy said.

"Explain what?" Dawn echoed Buffy's question. "What the hell is going on?"

"She's transported you and Buffy to her body. You both can see and hear. But only one of you can speak at a time, and you won't have any sort of mobility. She didn't explain—?"

"No, she dumped us into limbo and we woke up here. I can hear Buffy and I gather she can see. Paige is showing off."

"I heard that," Paige said.

"She's still here," Dawn said. "Eavesdropping."

"I'm not eavesdropping," Paige said. "You have priority over my body, Dawn. Where am I supposed to go? I wasn't showing off. I knew you and Buffy would want to speak to Jeremy, so I wanted to surprise the two you. It should have been a smooth transition, but I guess your lack of experience—"

"Our lack of experience?" Dawn said. "I'm more powerful than you, Paige."

"Ignore her," Jeremy said.

"I heard that," Paige said, quieter.

"How are you two?" Jeremy asked.

"Buffy and I feel kinda lonely," Dawn said. "Not for lack of company, though. Seems we're quite the popular 'guests' around this place. But it's—we're tired. Originally, we thought of trying to gather information and teleport out later. Within the first day they found out I was also a witch and now I can't teleport and since then Buffy and I haven't really been sleeping well, not eating well, no exercise. So, we're both kinda touchy. Cabin fever, I guess. Physically, we're fine. They aren't torturing us, beating us, starving us. Nothing like that. We'll be okay."

"I know you two will," he said softly. He pulled up a chair. "Do you two feel up to talking about it?"

"Yes," Buffy said.

"Buffy said, yes. So, I'll let her," Dawn said. "Paige, how do I let her have control?"

Paige told Dawn and Buffy how they could switch and then Buffy told Jeremy about Bauer, Matasumi, rattled off some details on the guards and the other staff like Xavier, Tess, and Carmichael, giving him a rough picture of the situation. She explained as much as she could about the setup of the compound, then about the other captives, remembering Paige's silent presence and stopping herself before talking about Savannah.

"I'm only interested in getting you two out," Jeremy said when Buffy had finished. "We can't worry about the others."

"We know," Dawn said.

"Dawn said we know," Buffy said. "And we do know."

"How are you two holding up?"

"Fi—" Buffy started.

"Don't say 'fine,' Buffy. You maybe the Slayer and this maybe run of mill for you. But you two are far from fine, okay?"

"Okay," Buffy said.

"Buffy, can I have control, please?" Dawn asked.

"I'm switching you back over to Dawn," Buffy said.

"Is Clay … around?" Dawn asked. "Maybe I could talk to him … Just for a few minutes. I know we have to keep this short. No time for socializing. But I'd like—if I could …"

Jeremy was quiet. Inside Dawn's head, Paige muttered something. Alarm zinged through her.

"He's okay, isn't he?" Dawn asked. "Nothing's happened—"

"Paige?" Buffy said. "Do you know something?"

"Clay's fine," Jeremy said. "I know you would like to speak to him, but it might not be … a good time. He's … sleeping."

"Sleep—?" Dawn began.

"I am not sleeping," a voice growled from across the room. "Not voluntarily, at least."

"You put him under a sleeping spell?" Buffy asked.

"No," Paige said.

Dawn looked up to see Clay in the doorway, hair tousled, eyes dimmed by sedatives. "Clay," she said. He stopped and fixed Dawn with a scowl. "Causing trouble again? What did you do to make Jeremy drug you up?"

His scowl hardened with something she'd seen in his face a million times, but never when he looked at her with contempt. He turned his attention to Jeremy.

"Cl—" Dawn began. "Clay?"

"Sit down, Clayton," Jeremy said. "I'm talking to—"

"I can see who you're talking to." Clay glared at Dawn. "And I don't know why you're wasting your time."

"He thinks you're me," Paige whispered.

"Give me control," Buffy said and Dawn did.

"CLAYTON!" Buffy growled. "You really want to tick off Dawn today or would you rather talk to her?"

Clay recognized the Slayer within Buffy's words. Still he was looking at Paige. How was he sure this was really Buffy or Dawn and not a ruse on Paige's part?

"It's not Paige," Jeremy said. "It's Buffy and Dawn. They're communicating through Paige."

Clay's expression didn't change. Didn't soften. Not even for a second. He turned his stare to Buffy and she saw the disdain there, stronger now, hard and sharp. "Is that what she told you?" he said. "I know you want attention, Paige, but this is low. Even for you."

"It's me, Buffy. Dawn's here." Buffy said. "It's not Paige. Dawn and I are both here."

He sneered, and Buffy and Dawn saw everything there that they'd never wanted to see in Clay's face when he looked at them, every drop of contempt he had for humans. They looked at him and something snapped. Then they were no longer there.

The sisters awoke on the floor of the cell. They looked over at each other not sure if what had happened was real or imagined.

"Buffy?" Dawn asked as she looked at her sister, tears in her eyes. "Was it a dream?"

"For our sake I hope so," Buffy said. "For our sake I hope that mister sorcerer upstairs somehow put us into a shared dream. Or in this case a shared nightmare. I've never ever seen Clay look at us that way, before."

"I know," Dawn said as they held each other.

"You know we might find some solace in the fact he saw Paige, not us," Buffy said. "We both know how he feels about humans. We were the only humans he's ever gotten along with. He probably wasn't getting along with Paige."

"I know, Buffy," Dawn said. "But I would be lying if I said that helped."

"I know," Buffy said.

Dawn nodded as she buried her head in Buffy's shoulder.

Lunch came and went. Bauer didn't bring it; they didn't see her again until nearly six. She walked in with none of her usual assertive grace. Two guards followed her in and stayed. She waved them toward the sisters, and they bound them to the chairs they had been sitting in.

"Go," Bauer said when the guards were done.

"Should we wait outside—" one began.

"I said go. Leave. Back to your posts."

Once they were gone, Bauer began to pace. "Do you two know what this is?" She whipped a syringe filled with liquid from her pocket and held it up.

"Look," Dawn said. "If we did anything to upset—"

Bauer waved the syringe. "I asked if you two knew what this was. Do you know what this is, Buffy, Dawn?"

"What is it?" Buffy said.

"It's a saline solution mixed with your salivas."

"Our what?" Buffy asked.

"Saliva, spit, gob." Bauer giggled. "Do you two know what this can do?"

"We don't—" Dawn said.

"What will it do if I inject it into myself?"

"Inject—?" Buffy said.

"Think! Come on. You two are not stupid. Your saliva. You bite someone. Your teeth pierce his skin, like this needle piercing mine. Your saliva goes into his bloodstream. My bloodstream. What happens?"

"You'd turn—You could turn—" Dawn said.

"Into a werewolf." Bauer stopped pacing. "That's exactly what I'm going to do. Oh, come on. Is that the answer to your problems? You don't get respect at work so you'll become a werewolf? Get a good job with the Pack, knock some heads together, and find yourselves a handsome lover? 'Cause if that's what you both are thinking, trust me, it doesn't work that way. I'm not an idiot. What I want is change. To reinvent myself."

"Becoming a werewolf isn't the answer," Buffy said softly. "We know you're not happy—"

"You two know nothing about me."

"Then tell—" Buffy said.

"I came to this project for one reason. For the chance to experience something new, something more dangerous, more exhilarating, more life-altering than scaling Mount Everest," Bauer said. "Experiences all my money and influence can't buy. Spells, immortality, extrasensory perception, I didn't know what I wanted. Maybe a little of everything. But now I know exactly what I want, what I was looking for. Power. No more kowtowing to men, pretending I'm dumber than they are, weaker, less important. I want to be everything I have the potential to be. I want this." She held up the syringe. "I want you two to understand. Help me. Don't make me use this thing."

"You don't have to use it," Dawn said quietly. "No one's going to make you."

"Do it for me then. Please."

"Do—?" Buffy asked.

"Bite my arm."

"We can't—" Dawn said.

"I have a knife. I'll cut the skin. You two can just—"

"No, we can't," Buffy said.

"Help me do it right, Buffy, Dawn. I don't know how well the saline solution will work. I could only guess at the amount, the proportion. I need you two—"

"No," Buffy and Dawn said.

"I'm asking you—"

"Listen to me, Sondra," Buffy said. "Give us a minute and let us explain what'll happen to you if you use that. It isn't the way you think it is. You don't want to do this."

"I don't?" Bauer lifted the syringe.

"No!" Buffy shouted, bucking in her chair. "Dawn!"

As Dawn teleported out of the chair Bauer buried the needle into her arm, shoved the plunger down. And it was done. One second. One split second.

"Goddess!" Dawn yelled as she reappeared. "You stupid bitch—Call the infirmary. Now!"

Bauer's face was preternaturally calm. "Why, Dawn? Why should I call the infirmary? So, they can reverse it? Suck the gift from my veins like snake venom? Oh, no. We'll have none of that."

"Call the infirmary! Guards! Where the hell are the guards?" Buffy said.

"You two heard me send them away."

"You don't know what you've done," Dawn snarled. "You think this is some great gift. One prick of the needle and you're a werewolf? You did your research, didn't you? You know what happens now, right?"

Bauer smiled. "I can feel it coursing through my blood. The Change. It's warm. Tingling. The beginnings of metamorphosis."

"Oh, that's not all you're going to feel," Dawn said.

Bauer's eyes widened. Veins in her neck and forehead popped up. She gasped, choked. Hands going to her throat. Body jerking upright. Spine snapping rigid. Eyes rolling. Rising to her toes, pitching forward and back, like a convict on the end of a hangman's noose. Then she collapsed, pooling to the floor. They screamed for help.