Chapter 52: Theories

Because of their being so many people they decided it would be best to rent a car. Jeremy, Clay and Dawn were in the Explorer. Antonio, Buffy, Savannah and Nick were in the rental.

"I didn't want to bring this up in the terminal," Antonio said as he turned out of the parking building. "But does this have something to do with your problem?" He handed Buffy a folded sheet of paper. She read it. "They gave us that when we got off the plane," Antonio said.

Savannah leaned forward and looked at the note; it was a public health announcement, warning of cholera in the municipal water supply. "Cholera?" she said. "Mom, I thought it was E. coli."

"I think so did they, at first," Buffy said.

"What's cholera?" Nick asked from beside Savannah.

"It's a bacterium that gets into the water. Overcrowding and poor sanitation are the usual culprits. It's almost unknown in the Western world now, but it was a serious problem in the nineteenth century," Antonio said.

"Yeah I know," Buffy said. "Lived through it."

Antonio nodded in understanding. "I'm sure Cholera isn't a cause for concern," he said. "If it was, I'm sure with Dawn's pregnancy, Jeremy would have had you all leaving long before now."

"I know," Buffy said. "Doesn't stop me from worrying though. Dawn of course is immortal, but since we know that Savannah didn't inherit my immortality that Dawn's baby won't either."

"She and the baby will be alright, Buffy," Antonio said.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

As Savannah, Antonio, Buffy and Nick walked into the lobby of the hotel, Nick was telling them about his trip to Cleveland last week, where he'd sat in on labor dispute talks at one of his father's factories.

Buffy looked over at Antonio. "What'd he do to deserve that?"

Antonio laughed. "It wasn't a punishment. He volunteered."

Savannah nudged Nick. "So, what'd you do…that you haven't told him about yet?"

"Very funny, Savannah, I volunteered with no ulterior motive. I'm trying to learn more about the business."

"So, how'd it go?" Savannah asked.

"It was…interesting."

"In other words, boring as hell," Clay said as he, Jeremy and Dawn joined them. They had obviously been following long enough to have heard at least part of the conversation. "In Cleveland, no less."

"Cleveland's not that bad—"

"Only because the Cleveland Hellmouth isn't acting up," Buffy said. "When the Sunnydale Hellmouth is closed all the demons and vamps go there."

"Jeremy!" a woman's voice called.

They all turned, tracking her to the lounge. There, in one of the oversized armchairs, a woman was getting to her feet, hand raised in a hesitant wave, an even more hesitant smile on her face.

"Jaime," Jeremy said, and headed toward her.

She stepped forward … and tripped over the suitcase she'd propped at her feet. Jeremy lunged to steady her, and they all hurried forward, except Clay, who let out a small sigh before bringing up the rear.

Jaime regained her balance with mumbled apologies, her face going as red as her hair. She reached down for her suitcase and bopped heads with Jeremy, who was already picking it up. More apologies.

"Hey, Jaime," Dawn said, as she walked forward beside Buffy. "This is a surprise."

"Dawn. God, you look—"

"Huge?" Buffy said as Dawn slapped her arm.

"I was going to say 'great.' So, how's the baby? Kicking yet? Keeping you up at night?"

"Not yet," Dawn said. "I—"

"What are you doing here, Jaime?" Clay asked.

"I'm planning a Toronto show this winter, and I'm checking out potential venues. I hate relying on staff for that—they always get a place that fits all the requirements but…" A small shiver. "Well, there are things they can't check. I've done one too many shows in a spook-infested auditorium. So, what are you all doing here?"

"Let's take this conversation upstairs, where we can talk privately … and get Dawn a proper breakfast," Jeremy said as he bent to lift Jaime's carry-on bag, but Clay and Nick stepped forward, one grabbing the suitcase, the other the carry-on.

"Jaime, you remember Antonio and Nick?" Jeremy asked.

Once up in the room they told Jaime everything. They hadn't called Jaime in on the zombie or portal business since they had Dawn and Buffy's knowledge to work on.

"So, you guys could probably use some on-scene necro help to deal with the zombies," Jaime said.

"This might be more than you bargained for," Jeremy warned her. "Did you get a notice about the cholera on the plane? That appears to be connected. We've exhausted our resources in trying to find out why these zombies aren't as easy to kill as ones Buffy and Dawn have fought or heard of in the past. This might not be the sort of thing you want to get involved in."

She managed a smile. "Because I have a bad habit of needing rescue every time I do get involved?"

"There is that," Clay muttered.

Jaime waved Dawn and Buffy off before they could jump in. "Clay's right. My track record sucks. I always end up playing damsel-in-distress."

"No," Jeremy said. "You've had some bad luck, but only because your skills made you a target."

"And the bad guys love to pick on the defenseless necromancer. This time, though, I swear I won't get kidnapped or possessed."

The corners of Jeremy's mouth twitched. "All right, then. If you're sure you want to—"

"I do."

"Then I'd welcome the help."

Antonio, Nick, Buffy, Dawn and even Savannah chimed in with their agreement, but Jaime's gaze swept past us to Clay.

"Long as you're here, you might as well stay," he said. "Hang around and do your stuff until we can use you."

"What Clay means is—" Dawn began.

"Exactly what he said," she said. "If Clayton says I can stay, I feel almost welcome. Now, let's talk about zombies."

"Controlled zombies," she said after Buffy and Dawn finished. "Don't ask me how that's possible, but that has to be the answer. I've learned a few things about controlled dimensional zombies in the past. Like ones controlled by a necromancer, they can't be killed until that control is severed. Instead of just staying alive, though, they disintegrate, and their soul returns to the dimensional holding tank. If the door's still open…"

"They walk back out," Buffy said. "So, in essence their bordering on being a demon."

"More or less yes, but in their native dimension their zombies, because they have little free will of their own. Now logically, these shouldn't be controlled zombies, since their coming through the portal. But if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck … It would also explain why that one at the truck stop was so quick to follow Dawn, Buffy and Savannah. Or rather after Dawn."

"His controller sent him after me," Dawn said.

"Right. The controller must want the letter back, and he's convinced the zombies that getting it will benefit them."

"Would they need that incentive?" Jeremy said.

"It would help. Zombies have to do what their controller says, but they do a better job when properly motivated."

"Like any worker," Antonio said.

Jaime smiled. "Exactly. They still have conscious will, if not free will."

Savannah watched as her aunt pushed off the end of the bed and crossed the room to stretch her legs. "But we're back to the original problem with the controller theory," Savannah said. "The portal was created a hundred and twenty years ago. To still be alive, that sorcerer would need to have found the secret to immortality, and the only source of immortality was destroyed two hundred years ago just before mom and Aunt Dawn drank the last of the water from the Fountain of Youth."

"Could something like that be passed on generationally?" Jeremy asked. "Much like a vampire can turn another vampire. But they don't acquire true immortality. Not like what Buffy and Dawn have."

"Like 'I hereby bequeath control of my zombies to my son'?" She paused. "I suppose it's possible."

Dawn nodded. "If so, then it would also make sense to pass on the portal itself … or the device that contains it."

"Patrick Shanahan?" Clay said.

Jeremy nodded, and explained who Shanahan was.

"Shanahan could be it," Jaime said. "If his grandfather commissioned the theft, it could have been to get his own portal back."

"It would be more likely to be a great-grandfather," Jeremy mused. "Or even great-great, given the timing."

"Maybe he was Jack the Ripper," Nick said. "The great-grandfather."

Dawn waved her half-eaten peach at Nick. "So, he created the portal, with the zombies, and sent it to the police, knowing it would go into the files. Then, if the police started getting close, he could just release his zombies—"

"Who could destroy the evidence," Jaime said. "The ultimate inside job."

"Only the police never did get close, so he immigrates to Canada. At some point, his son or grandson, Theodore Shanahan, hires a local thief to get the letter back," Savannah said.

"Yes," Jeremy said. "It makes sense, but there are too many—"

"Creative jumps and leaps of faith," Dawn said. "If anyone knows, Buffy and I know how farfetched that might be. Regardless of how the portal could have been created, Patrick Shanahan is the best, if not the only possible, zombie controller."

"If there is a controller," Clay said. "But no harm hunting the guy down."

"That part you don't mind," Dawn said, grinning as she gave him half her handful of blueberries. "Let's just hope he hasn't hightailed it to parts unknown."

"Can't," Jaime said. "When the zombies are resurrected at the portal, they return to him. Like homing pigeons. So the controller has to stay close by."

"There's our plan, then," Buffy said. "We find one of the zombies, and then kill him, and someone waits at the portal to follow him back to his controller. One of whom should be Savannah in case he doesn't become solid till he reaches Shanahan. She can track magically if he leaves behind any kind of signature."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Kill a zombie, then follow him or her back to the controller. Sounded simple enough. Or it would be, once they found a zombie to kill.

Jeremy decided they'd wait until nightfall, then return to the warehouse district where they'd found Rose the first time. She'd obviously been comfortable there, so she might return. Even if they couldn't find a zombie, they were pretty sure one would eventually find Dawn.

In the meantime, Jeremy, Buffy and Antonio would return to Shanahan's house, this time searching for clues not about the letter, but about Shanahan's current whereabouts. Clay, Savannah Nick and Dawn would visit the person most likely to have had contact with Shanahan—his secretary.

While Antonio and Nick checked in and unpacked, Dawn and Buffy helped Jaime do the same. She'd already booked a room, but it was two floors from theirs, so Jeremy insisted she switch to the same floor. Changing rooms was easy enough—with the cholera outbreak, the concierge told them half of their reservations had been canceled, and a lot of current guests had decided to cut their visit short.

Clay brought Jaime's luggage over from his and Dawn's room, then left the sisters and Jaime to unpack. Or he pretended to leave, though Buffy and Dawn both knew he'd stay close even with Buffy in the room with Dawn.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Jaime wilted against the wall.

"Made a complete jackass of myself, didn't I?" she said.

"What do you mean?" Dawn said as she stooped to unzip Jaime's suitcase.

"I'll get that," she said as Buffy made a move to take the suitcase from her sister. "Sounds like you two will have a busy day. Sit while you can, Dawn."

"Sit," Buffy ordered. "I remember when I had Savannah I couldn't stand all day even with Slayer stamina."

After Jaime finished unpacking, she took off to investigate potential venues for a future show. Clay, Nick Savannah and Dawn got ready for their trip to Shanahan's office. While his administrative assistant wouldn't tell strangers where he was hiding, he or she might be persuaded to divulge a few details to a pair of urban professionals about to have their first baby and looking to make a very large investment to safeguard their child's future.

"I'll play husband and daddy-to-be," Nick said as we walked into the room.

"Yeah?" Clay said. "Well, not to complicate things, but how about the real husband and daddy-to-be plays the husband and daddy-to-be?"

"Won't work. You don't look the part. You look like the actor hired to play the part."

Clay made a rude noise and grabbed his wallet from the nightstand.

"Uncle Clay, Uncle Nick," Savannah said in the tone that one usually heard from a teenager that didn't get her way.

Dawn turned to Clay. "Since when do you ever want to playact anyway? If you do, then fine, but if you're just complaining for—"

"Go ahead," Clay said. "Though I don't see how he looks any more like your husband than I do."

"He doesn't. But if we're about to have our first baby and going to Shanahan for investment advice, we have to look and act like urban professionals. Nick does. I can. You … can't. And you'd hate trying. So, let's stop arguing. We still need to do a quick bit of shopping. I only have two sets of clothes, and neither screams prospective investment banker client. Oh, and speaking of disguises, remember to lend Nick your ring."

"Should I wear it?" Nick said. "If I'm wearing a wedding band and you're not, won't that look—"

Savannah laughed. "Look at Aunt Dawn's hand, Uncle Nick."

Nick's gaze went to Dawn's hand and he stopped, then grabbed it and lifted the ring finger, complete with both engagement and wedding ring.

"When did you start wearing—?" Nick began.

"When I got pregnant. Though I may have to stop wearing it soon. It's getting tight."

"Ah." Nick smiled and dropped her hand. "Didn't want to walk around looking pregnant and unwed. I'll lay dibs on how fast that comes off once the baby's here."

Dawn reached for the door handle. "It's not."

Clay grabbed the door and opened it for Dawn. Nick jumped forward and pushed it shut again.

"Whoa, hold on. You're going to keep wearing it? Even after the baby?"

Savannah stepped up to Nick and growled. Nick looked from Dawn to Savannah and back again.

"She's a Slayer. Just recently Chosen. And Nick you know how Slayers are of those they consider family."

Nick nodded as he remembered how Buffy was protective of her sister. And if Savannah was anything like her mother. He would never come between those Savannah calls family and the ones threatening said family.

Dawn put her hand on Savannah's shoulder. "It's okay, honey," she said as Savannah physically relaxed. She looked at Nick. "You think I'm willing to have Clay's baby, but not wear his ring?" She grinned at Clay. "We're even thinking of making it legal. More hassle than it's worth, with me being immortal and all. Shoot I hate changing my name every ten to twenty years because I don't age."

"Wha—? Married?" Nick said. "What happened to 'not in this lifetime, no way, no how'?"

"Did I say that?" Dawn asked.

Clay opened the door. "More than once. But at the time it was understandable. As it is you're going to outlive me by who knows how long. And well after losing Jack, well let's just say I understood."

Dawn smiled and kissed Clay. "Aah!" Savannah said. "That's sweet."

Clay and Dawn laughed.

"Wait a second," Nick said. "When did all this—?"

The closing of the door drowned out the rest as Clay, Dawn and Savannah headed into the hall.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Shanahan's secretary wasn't talking, but when they "suggested" taking their baby and niece's investment elsewhere, she admitted that he called in daily for messages. They gave Dawn and Nick's cell phone numbers.

Jeremy, Buffy and Antonio's search of Shanahan's house hadn't revealed anything that would tell them where he was. They'd gathered a few leads—his ex-wife's address, restaurants he liked to frequent, the name of his golf club and such. Chances were that a guy on the run wasn't going to pop by the club for a round, but unless they came up with something better, they'd check it out tomorrow.

After dinner, the Pack headed to the warehouse district where they'd first found Rose. It was barely dusk, but the area was empty enough that they didn't need to wait until nightfall. Jeremy wanted Buffy to try hooking up with Zoe at Miller's again. She hadn't called, maybe because she didn't plan to or maybe because she hadn't remembered anything, but she was now their best source of information on the Shanahan family. First, though, they'd hunt for Rose.

They found her trail easily enough. Found a whole snarl of them, so many that it was difficult to tell whether any of them were fresh.

To untangle the mess, Jeremy split them up into two teams. He assigned Nick, Clay, Buffy and Dawn the west side of the area.

The second tendril they followed led to the side door of an empty building plastered with yellowed and curling club vertigo coming soon signs. At the doorway, Clay stopped, then bent for a better sniff of the ground.

"Got an exit trail too," Clay said. "Been and gone."

Dawn and Buffy looked around to make sure no one was passing either end of the alley, then crouched and inhaled.

"More than one 'been and gone,'" Dawn said.

"Definitely," Buffy agreed.

"Could be her hideout," Nick said. "Can we get inside?"

Before Dawn could answer, Clay did. "We should get Jeremy, Savannah and Antonio first."

"Never thought I'd hear you say that," Nick said.

"Gotta be careful these days."

Nick looked over at the sisters—or more particularly at Dawn's stomach—then nodded. "I'll run and grab them."

"You okay to watch her by yourself?" Buffy asked Clay as he nodded.

"Safer in two's just in case so I'll go with you Nick," Buffy said.

Dawn and Clay stayed just inside the doorway until their eyes adjusted to the dark and Nick and Buffy returned with Jeremy, Savannah and Antonio.

"Should we Change?" Dawn whispered to Jeremy.

He peered inside. "I think it'll be easier to search like this for now."

"Split up, then?" Buffy asked.

Jeremy nodded. "We'll stay on this floor. You four take the north side. Meet back here when you're done."

The search was slow-going. Rose's scent permeated the place. Her trails seemed to crisscross in and out of every room, and there were plenty of rooms to crisscross through. From the outside, the place had looked like a warehouse, but inside it was a warren of small rooms.

They reached a closed door where the floor was thick with scent trails. Dawn stood watch while Nick threw open the door and Clay followed by Buffy wheeled through.

Someone uttered a curse and Nick and Dawn both rushed to Buffy and Clay's aid. Dawn's foot hit a rotted board and she pitched forward. Nick lunged for her, as Buffy and Clay turned, but her ankle twisted and she went down onto her knees before any of them could grab her.

As Dawn fell, she sent up a cloud of dust that launched a sneezing fit. She pressed her hands over her mouth and nose to stifle it.

Buffy and Clay knelt beside her both of them instantly worried as they asked, "You okay?"

"Just klutzy," Dawn said. "And that, sadly, I can't even blame on being pregnant." She swallowed an impending sneeze. "Now that I've alerted anyone in here to our presence—"

Something hissed beside Dawn. She turned to see a rat, reared up, teeth bared. Animals smelling their first werewolf usually run, but city rats can lose their natural fear of predators. This one opened his mouth to hiss again. Clay's foot caught it in the chest, and it flew across the hall and hit the wall with a splat.

"Touchdown!" Nick said.

Clay only curled his lip.

"Never did like rats much, did you?" Nick said.

"Disease-ridden vermin," Clay said. "Worse than scavengers. The room's crawling with them. Must be a nest."

Another rat peered out the partly open door, its nose twitching. Then it charged. Clay drop-kicked it into the wall beside its brethren.

"Next one's mine," Nick said.

"Next one is no one's," Buffy said. "Rats are usually good signs of vampire activity. If no rats, you've run into a vamp nest. So, leave the rats alone."

"Sorry, guys," Dawn said as she stood. "As much fun as rat-punting might be, we—"

Dawn stopped and inhaled as did Buffy. Another rat appeared in the doorway. Nick drew back his foot. Buffy flew forward and knocked the rat back into the room, then slammed the door.

"I thought you were kidding, Buffy about the no punting," Nick said.

"Shut up, Nick," Buffy said. "I closed the door because there's something wrong with those rats. Dawn and I both smelled it, can't you?"

Nick only shook his head, but Clay walked to the dead ones, hunkered down, sniffed, and then made a face.

"Disease-ridden vermin, like I said." Another sniff. "What is that?"

"I don't know, but—" Buffy said.

A floorboard creaked down the hall. Clay let out a silent "shit." Nick automatically reached for the nearest door—the one to the rat room—but stopped before they had to say anything.

Jeremy, Savannah and Antonio turned the corner, coming down the hall.

"Find something?" Antonio whispered. "We thought we heard sounds of a scuffle."

Dawn and Buffy shot a covert glare at Clay and Nick. "Clay found a nest of sick rats. They gave us a start. Sorry," Buffy said.

Jeremy knelt beside the dead pair of rats.

"They smell diseased," Dawn said. "What is it?"

"Nothing I recognize. You said there's—"

Claws scrabbled against the closed door. Jeremy pointed. Buffy and Dawn nodded. He waved for them to step back, then eased the door open a crack and leaned into it for a better look.

At the base, tiny teeth and claws flashed in the opening. Beside Dawn, Clay rocked forward onto the balls of his feet, tensed, ready to spring if the rodent somehow managed to squeeze through the half-inch crack. After a moment, Jeremy pulled the door shut.

He turned to them. "I'm going to get a better look in there. Buffy you're with me."

They knew why he asked for Buffy. She could watch his back without worry that she'd catch whatever the rats were carrying. The Fountain of Youth had made Buffy and Dawn immune to most ways a person could die. Disease, poison did not affect either sister. But Savannah had proved that she was not immortal. She had had caught the flu the previous winter. So, they were fairly certain that Dawn's baby would also not be immortal. Which had been why Jeremy, Buffy and Clay had taken to making sure Dawn's pregnancy went alright.

Jeremy motioned Clay to the door, to act as rat-punter, and then gestured for Antonio, Savannah and Nick to stand guard on either side of the hallway, in case Rose was still in the building. Dawn backed up Buffy and Jeremy's noses…from the hall.

Clay swung open the door and drop-kicked the first rat that lunged at him. The next two rats fell back, hissing and chattering. From where Dawn was, she caught a glimpse inside—a small room with a blanket and a few boxes. Jeremy, Buffy and Clay took two steps into the room, and then Jeremy tapped Clay's shoulder, telling him to retreat. A last kick and squeal, and Clay went to close the door, but Jeremy stopped him.

"What's that?" he said, pointing at the floor. "Buffy, hold them off and I'll grab—"

Clay darted forward and snatched up whatever was there.

"Or you could do it for me…" Jeremy said as Clay backed out and slammed the door.

"What is it?" Dawn asked.

Clay held up what looked like a half-chewed cocktail sausage. Then the smell hit Dawn.

"A finger," Dawn said with a small shudder. Out of the corner of her eye she watched as Savannah turned into Nick's shoulder. She knew exactly how Savannah felt. "A chewed finger. Isn't that—It's Rose's."

"Think the rats got her?" Nick said as he tried to comfort the teenage girl.

When they all turned to look at him and Savannah, he said, "What? She smells like she's rotting, right? And rats are scavengers."

Jeremy shook his head. "I think the rotting is what caused the finger loss, not the rats."

"So, she's … falling apart?" Buffy said.

"The extremities would be the first to go."

"Beyond the 'ewww' factor, this might be something we could use. If she falls apart, does that count as 'dead'?" Dawn said.

"With our luck, it won't," Clay said. "Maybe we should save this. In case we have to find all the pieces and reassemble them before we can close the portal."

"I don't think we want to be found carrying concealed body parts," Jeremy said. "And as soon as we get near a bathroom, I want you to wash your hands—well. And once we get back to Stonehaven I intend to have Savannah vaccinated thoroughly. Agreed, Buffy?"

"Agreed," Buffy said. "To tell the truth I don't know why we didn't think of that last winter after she got over the flu." She and Dawn walked beside Jeremy as they headed down the hall.

"Could you tell what those rats have?" Dawn asked as Buffy shook her head.

"Not by smell, but there were several diseases commonly carried by rats a hundred years ago that you don't see often now," Jeremy said.

"You think that's what it is then? Like the cholera and Rose's syphilis. Something else I released from the portal," Dawn said.

"It isn't your fault, Dawn," Buffy said.

"Buffy's correct, there's little the Victorian era can throw at us today that we can't cure," Jeremy said.

"So far…" Dawn said. "But what if the next thing—"

"If we can get this portal closed, there won't be a 'next thing.' Concentrate on that, starting with finding a zombie who can lead us to the controller." Jeremy stopped and looked around. "We'll split up here. I doubt Rose is in the building, but she may return."

They finished searching the building, but found no sign of Rose. At eleven, Jeremy sent Buffy, Clay and Dawn to look for Zoe. Buffy hesitated allowing Dawn come in with her and Clay. But Dawn had made an impassioned plea and broke through Buffy's walls.

"You looking for Zoe again?" the bartender asked Buffy.

Buffy nodded and approached the counter. "Has she been in?"

He shook his head. "Might not be, either. You got lucky last night. If she does pop by, I'll tell her you were looking."

Buffy thanked him and they left.

They went back to the warehouse, where they hung out with the others, waiting for Rose. When she didn't show up by two, Jeremy declared the night a bust.

A jab in the stomach woke Buffy the next morning, and she started awake. "Sorry," Nick mumbled.

The next morning Buffy, Savannah and Nick sat on a sidewalk patio as Dawn, and Clay walked up to them. "So, Nick you're going to be an uncle again. Think you're up for a baby this time instead of a teenager?" Dawn asked as Clay went to get her and himself breakfast.

Nick smiled. "I'm not worried. I'm thrilled for you guys. And I'll love being his or her uncle just as I love being Savannah's uncle. That's the role I'm cut out for. Uncle-hood."

"That's it," Dawn said softly. "You're thinking about yourself. Fatherhood."

"Can you see me being a father?"

"Do you want to be?" Buffy asked.

A sharp shake of his head. "Never really thought about it before. But now that Dawn's baby is coming … My father … He's even more excited about it than I am."

"He loves kids," Buffy said.

A nod as Nick dropped his gaze to his coffee cup.

"Is that it? You feel like you should give him one? A grandson?" Dawn said.

"Shouldn't I? Hell, what else do I give him? I'm thirty-three, never left home, piss around his company pretending I'm working …" He cut himself off with a snarl of disgust. "And I can't even bother bringing him home a grandson?"

"Well maybe we can change that?" Buffy said teasingly.

"You are the one that keeps remind us you are married, Buffy," Nick said.

"As Dawn pointed out it would not have been the first time," Buffy said with a look at her daughter. "I've kind of believed that Rei wouldn't want me pining for her for over two hundred years till I finally rejoin her in Dawn's and my original time." She looked at Nick. "Maybe we can discuss it sometime. I would love to give Savannah a little brother or sister."

"Let me think about it," Nick said.

Dawn looked at Savannah's shoulder and called to Clay, "Better hurry."

Clay walked up to the table and put a plate in front of her and then set his own down as well. "Thanks. Oh, and if you could—" she said.

"Yeah, I'll get you a coffee." He took Dawn's mug but waved off Nick's. "You're not pregnant. Get your own. Better yet you can get Buffy's." He winked at Buffy to let her know he had overheard everything that Dawn, Nick and Buffy had said. "You can move that table over here too. Jeremy and Antonio are on their way."

"Are they bringing Jaime?" Dawn asked.

Clay shrugged, as if it didn't matter to him one way or the other. That was no bad reflection on Jaime. Clay might not have been particularly interested in Jaime as a person, but he didn't dislike her either, which was, with Clay, about as much as an outsider could hope for.

Jeremy did arrive with Jaime … and with news. Cholera cases were still trickling in—either unreported incidences from the original outbreak or secondary contamination.

"The hospitals are scrambling," Antonio said, "but it's under control. The problem now is convincing people of that."

"Reports are two papers about an outbreak of rat bites in the downtown area, but it pales in comparison with the water contamination problems," Jeremy added.

"So far," Dawn muttered. "Any signs of things spreading beyond Toronto?"

He shook his head. "Everything appears to be contained to the city, and primarily the core."

"More or less around the Hellmouth itself," Buffy said.

"That could be a coincidence though Buffy," Jeremy said understanding her concern. They didn't need to worry about two separate threats. One from the portal. The other from the Hellmouth, because someone took advantage of the situation.

"It's likely to stay that way too," Jaime said. "The effects are usually localized."

"So—" Savannah said.

The ring of Dawn's cell phone cut Savannah off. An unfamiliar local number appeared in the display.

"Shanahan?" Nick mouthed.

"Let's hope so," Dawn said before she pushed the talk button.

"Good morning, Slayer," sang a chipper female voice as Dawn handed the phone to Buffy. "I'd ask to speak to someone specific, but I don't have a name. I suppose I could ask for your lovely daughter instead."

"Hello, Zoe," Buffy said. "You got my message?"

"Message?"

Buffy told her about her visit to Miller's.

"Ah, no. Message undelivered. I didn't stop in last night and Angel can be a bit protective, so he didn't phone me to say you'd called. Here, let me give you my number, in case that happens again."

Buffy jotted it down. "You remembered something?"

"After a night of mind-clearing thievery and a morning of mind-settling yoga, I do believe the memory files are creaking open. I'm just running off to the library right now, but perhaps we could meet for lunch?"

"Which library?" Buffy asked.

"At the uni. It's the only one with sewer access. Getting a head start for my fall night classes. Got to keep the mind sharp. At my age, it's the first thing to go." A tinkling laugh. "Or, with vamps, the only thing to go. Are you familiar with the campus?"

"York or U of T?" Buffy asked.

"U of T."

"Very," Buffy said. Dawn had taken a few classes at University of Toronto after they moved to Toronto. And she had met Dawn several times on campus after she had gotten off work. "Give me a place and time, and I'll be there."