2003
Night
Sunnydale, California
Maple Court Street
Reeling from his shock, Nick shrugged the straps of his backpack off and placed it on the ground. He opened the zipper to the bigger pouch and dug his hand in, in search of his iPhone.
Using the thumb print reader to unlock the device, Nick felt nauseous when he didn't have any bars of coverage in the top right hand corner of the screen. In a panic, Nick clicked the 'setting's' application, desperate to check the Wi-Fi connection. Nothing.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" He held up the iPhone in hopes of getting some sort of connection and still nothing. "Bloody hell! Fuck." He cursed.
Wherever he was there was no iPhone coverage or Wi-Fi. Luckily, his location was not completely leaving him destitute. He just needed to wait until morning and locate an EE store.
Noticing a telephone pull filled with old neon flyers stapled into the wooden beam, Nick walked over to it and ripped off a neon green flyer which read:
The Bronze XMAS Party
Saturday Night (starting at 9 P.M.)
Located 'the bad part of Sunnydale'
No Cover Charge!
Nick's eyes widened, swallowing his shock. "Sunnydale?" He rubbed a hand over his face. "I'm in so much trouble."
Far up the quiet street, walking together side-by-side was Buffy and Giles.
Giles had recently returned to Sunnydale bringing a handful of potential Slayer's that had been saved by high priests known as Harbingers of Death or Bringers. Bringers are the foot soldiers of the non-corporeal and latest threat to the world, The First.
Having been confronted by The First before, Buffy led the way to the old Christmas tree lot. It had been the last place she had seen The First years after Angel returned from Hell.
"This place you originally saw The First—you say it was in a Christmas tree lot?" Giles asked, raising the arch of his brow sceptically.
"Under it." Buffy said. "There was a hidden cavern. Just happened to be under a tree lot. The Bringers were doing some kind of ritual." She lifted her gaze to the former Watcher. "Giles, this is bad, isn't it? A new kind of bad."
Giles exhaled a breath, holding his hands inside the pockets of his coat as he eyed the Christmas display in the storefront windows. "Just in time for Christmas."
Looking around at the stores, Buffy hadn't realised the month. "You know, I didn't even realise it was December. Maybe when we get home, we should decorate the rubble."
Giles softly smiled.
The pair continued down the empty street, walking in step together when Buffy broke the comfortable silence. "You never called."
Giles turned his green eyes to Buffy and felt sick with guilt by the look of hurt on her face. He had broken his promise that he had made to her the last time he was in town. Giles didn't know what sickened him more, the look of disappointment on her face or the fact he hadn't remembered his promise until now.
"Six months and not a word." She lifted her eyes to his face.
"I'm sorry, Buffy." He replied and genuinely meant it.
Hating the guilt stricken look on his face, Buffy shoved her disappointment far back down and nonchalantly waved her hand. "Nah, don't sweat it. You were busy helping Willow and running around saving innocent lives."
Giles stopped walking and faced her, holding his hand around her arm. "No, Buffy, I am truly sorry. I told you I would call and I haven't and for that, I apologise." He said, taking her hand.
Looking down at their joined hands, Buffy exhaled a breath and took a step back, leaning against a store front. "I don't know what happened. How everything just fell apart so… dramatically. And me! God, I've been awful. I've completely neglected Dawn and I hardly noticed anything wrong happening with my friends and Spike…" Buffy looked at Giles' face, in search of disappointment or revolution, but never saw anything in his eyes but her own reflection. "I've never felt so… disgusted."
Having nearly forgotten Buffy's passionate and sordid affair with Spike, Giles forced his expression to remain neutral. "Is it, ahem," he cleared his throat and removed the glasses from his face, "over?"
"Oh yeah." Buffy fell back into step with him. "I can hardly believe that was me. I mean, I'm a smart person… What the hell was I thinking? You must be so disappointed in me." She lifted her eyes to his face to see a small smile dancing across his face.
"I can never be disappointed in you." He told her, only to receive a 'knowing' look from her. "Or, well, I haven't been in a long time." Giles softly smiled. "You did the best that you could. You mustn't beat yourself up over it."
"I'm not—Or I won't anymore." Buffy took a deep breath, calming the nervous shake in her voice. "I've been trying to make things right with Dawn. She needs me."
Giles nodded in agreement.
"And I've been trying to make things right with my friends, they also need me." She stopped walking and faced the former Watcher. "And you…" Buffy wrapped her fingers around his hand, giving it a squeeze, "... I just need you. I'm in desperate need of Slayer-Watcher bonding."
Giles offered her a small smile, holding his other hand over top of their already joined hands. "I can provide that."
"I'm really glad that you're here, Giles. I just wish it was under better circumstances." She caught his gaze and felt herself falling into a peculiar trance, unable to look away or even blink.
The frown on Giles' face deepened, unsure what was happening, but he felt drawn to her—mesmerised even. His gaze dropped to her mouth, watching her heart-shaped lips gently part. He felt a yearning desire to kiss them and feel their softness.
Without either realising it, their heads drew closer, dangerously close to fulfilling their sudden desire. Their minds shut off, not at all thinking about what they were doing, which would cross a number of boundaries, neither had considered crossing.
Before their mouths could touch, in the distance down the street, a black figure darted across the street, catching Buffy's attention.
She pulled back her head, eyes staring down the street. "What was that?"
Giles didn't have time to think about how very close he was to kissing his former charge. His focus was on whatever Buffy had seen in the corner of her eye. "Could be a Bringer."
Buffy looked at him. "Let's go chase it."
Sprinting down the street, Nick looked over his shoulder to see a man and a woman also chasing after him. He determined that they could be vampires and continued to run through the unknown town.
He searched his surroundings needing an escape plan.
Looking back on his shoulder, Nick saw the dark figures coming closer. "Shit." He muttered and made a sharp left turn, sprinting through an old Christmas tree lot.
Climbing up a stack of wooden crates in his way, Nick is suddenly and violently pulled down to the ground.
In an inhuman flash, he was spun around, pinned against the crates, and face-to-face with his attackers.
Under the street lights surrounding the Christmas tree lot, Nick made out his attackers features. It was a blonde haired woman, dressed in a brown double breasted jacket, light blue jeans, and a pair of black boots.
Nick's eyes were wide saucers staring into the familiar green eyes of his mother. "Mu—whoa. It's you." He said in total disbelief.
Buffy stared at him hard, not at all recognising him.
"Not a Bringer. He's human." She said over her shoulder to a man with greying short hair catching up behind her. The man breathed heavily and held a hand to his side, trying to subside the cramp. "What are you doing here?" Buffy asked, her attention firmly on the teenager.
Stuck in a stupor of shock and awe, Nick stared unblinkingly at his mother only except she wasn't—at least not yet. She looked younger, but that's not to say that she was old or anything, she's only forty-years-old in 2021. But here, wherever he was, she looked to be only in her early twenties. "I was just…" Nick stammered and turned his gaze over Buffy's shoulder to see his father approach.
Running his green eyes over the man that would someday be his father, Nick noted that he looked very much the same except rougher as in hardened and tired. He looked very tired.
"You were just…" Buffy impatiently folded her arms across her chest. "Why were you running?"
Nick swallowed fearfully. His mother—or 'future' mother—was just as intimidating and impatient in this time as she was in his own time. "I was being chased." He answered.
"Yeah, because you were running." Buffy argued.
"Buffy, stop interrogating the boy." Giles rolled his eyes, removing his glasses to clean.
Standing up straight, Nick frowned at his 'future' father. "I'm not a boy. I'm sixteen."
"Precisely." Giles put the lens cleaning cloth back into his coat pocket and turned to Buffy walking away. "Can we keep looking for—"
A crunch of wooden slats snapping in half turned Giles and Nick's attention, no longer seeing Buffy. "Oof! Found it." Buffy called from the bottom of the hole.
Giles and Nick knelt down at the edge of the hole looking down.
"Good Lord, are you all right?" Giles asked, squinting his eyes trying to see her.
"Peachy, except my knees bend backwards now." She muttered under her breath. "Okay, Giles and, uh, kid, stay up there. I'm gonna check it out." Buffy headed deeper into the dark cavern, remaining on high alert.
On the surface, Giles searched his surroundings for a rope or something to pull Buffy out from the hole. "Let's find something to help get her out." He got to his feet, spotting a loose rope.
A demonic roar turned Giles and Nick's attention back to the hole. They rushed to free the rope from its entanglement.
Nick followed Giles back to the edge of the hole, sliding down onto his knees. He saw glimpses of Buffy being thrown around like a rag doll but it was too dark to truly make out the fight or whatever demon she was fighting.
"Buffy!" Giles dropped the rope into the hole. "Take this!" He tightened his grip around the hole when he heard it snap and an 'oof' when Buffy fell back down into the cavern.
"Shit." Nick cursed, looking around for another rope. Surrounding the perimeter of the tree lot were a string of lights. With an idea in his mind, Nick sprinted to the wooden crates, climbing them in and used his strength to pull loose the lights.
"Buffy, hang on!" Giles called down into the hole.
Running back to his father and endangered mother, Nick held out the string of lights. "I found this. Will it work?"
Giles took the string of lights and dropped it down into the hole. "Buffy!" He tightened his grip around the wire, keeping it steady.
Wiping the sweat across his brow, Nick looked over Giles' shoulder in fear when a hand appeared from the thick darkness of the hole.
Giles grabbed Buffy by her arm, pulling her out of the hole. Whatever was in the hole with her, tugged at the pant leg.
Nick jumped into action and helped Giles pull Buffy out.
Looking over her shoulder, Buffy gritted her teeth and stomped the teeth of her boot into the demon's head, forcing its grip to loosen enough to free her ankle.
Reaching the surface, Buffy collapsed onto the ground between Giles and Nick. Their eyes were wide as a grotesque humanoid demon with pronounced brow ridges, black slit pupils, a flat bat-like nose, sharp fanged teeth, pointed elvish ears, and long sharp nails emerged to the surface, just as the rising morning sun forced it retreat back into the darkness.
"That was…" breathing heavily, Nick stared wide-eyed at the hole. "What the hell kind of vampire was that?"
Removing his glasses, Giles rubbed his eyes. "Well, actually—You know about vampires?" He frowned, looking at the sixteen-year-old.
"Yeah, um, who doesn't?" Nick answered, getting back up onto his feet.
Exchanging a look with Giles, Buffy turned her gaze back to the teenger, looking him up and down for a minute. "Suspicious. Do we kill him?" Buffy turned back to Giles.
Nick's eyes widened, now terrified.
Rolling his eyes, Giles remained unamused. "Buffy, you can't kill everything that you deem suspicious."
"Most suspicious things usually turn out to be evil." Buffy eyed the teenager sceptically. "Are you evil?"
Perplexed by this entire situation, Nick's brows furrowed together. "No?"
After a few tense minutes of silence, Buffy stared at him, coming to a decision. "Hm. Let's go." She walked forward with Giles.
Nick hesitated, staying behind. He stared at his 'future' parents in shock and awe, not sure what exactly to do.
"You coming?" Buffy asked, looking over her shoulder.
"Really?" Nick picked up the backpack at his feet and slung the strap over one shoulder.
Buffy held her hands on her hips. "I'm not letting you outta my sight, suspicious boy." She turned away and looked at Giles with an amused smile.
Excited and curious, Nick quickly caught up with his 'future' parents, falling into step with them. For as long as he could remember, he wanted to patrol with the Slayers-in-training at the Council, but his mother repeatedly refused, telling him that it was too dangerous.
A part of him was so happy they didn't know who he was. Maybe now, they'll treat him like an adult, instead of their son.
Looking at Buffy, Nick noticed a cut on her forehead, hidden partially under her swept bangs. "You okay?" He asked.
For the first time, Buffy noticed the cut on her forehead. She touched it with a hiss and eyed her fingers for blood. "I'll live." She said, figuring it was only a cosmetic scratch and nothing more.
1630 Revello Drive
The sun had risen fully into the cloudless sky the time Buffy, Giles, and Nick arrived back at the house.
Nick stopped mid-step staring up at the moderately sized craftsman style house. It was nowhere near as big as his home in London, but this address was legendary. Never having seen photographs of the home, but Nick knew of its significance.
From the sidewalk, Nick took the first step onto the green grass of the front lawn. He lifted his eyes, following the tall height of palm trees and a low hedge that fronted the porch.
He followed Buffy and Giles up a short flight of steps that led up to the front door, on either side of which were picture windows flanked by tall, narrower windows. The porch, spanning the width of the house, was overhung by part of the residence's roof, which was supported by four pillars, the two beside the steps having brick pedestals.
Turning back around, Nick looked at the 1993 Jeep Cherokee in the driveway to the right which led alongside the house.
Nick whirled around to the sound of the front door opening. Buffy faced him, waiting for him to enter as she continued her conversation with Giles that Nick had not at all been listening to.
Swallowing his anticipation, Nick stepped through the threshold of the house he'd had only ever heard stories about and stood in the foyer.
Closing his eyes, Nick breathed in the familiar scent of his mother's perfume that seemed to be everywhere. He smiled a little knowing that she hadn't changed her perfume in eighteen years.
He looked into the living room to the left of him. Sleeping bags and opened duffle bags mostly covered the wooden floor. He turned around to see his parents disappear around the corner of the dining room, following them, Nick paused at the dining room table.
The dining room table was filled with open-faced books taken from the library of the now destroyed Watchers Council.
"... the others just yet. It'll give us a chance to—" Buffy's words hung in the air as she entered the kitchen through the swinging door, not expecting it to be entirely filled with the potential Slayers, raiding her cabinets and refrigerator.
Potential Slayer, Kennedy turned on the stool at the counter island. "Sorry about the British invasion." She said, taking a bite from the cereal in front of her.
"We've been up for hours." Potential Slayer, Molly spread jelly onto a partially burnt piece of toast.
Potential Slayer, Anabelle leaned against the counter holding a coffee mug in her hand. "4 P.M. London time."
Kennedy ran her eyes over the Vampire Slayer noticing the superficial cut on her forehead. "Are you all right?"
Entering into the kitchen from the small hallway from the living room, Willow, Xander, Dawn, Anya, and Andrew filed into the kitchen, now partaking in the morning breakfast scramble.
Nick's eyes widened at the younger versions of his aunts and uncle. His gaze followed them as they moved around the potentials. He remained unnoticed until Xander stood beside him, realising that he didn't know the sixteen-year-old.
His dark eyes scaled over the dark haired man standing behind Buffy and Giles appearing quite overwhelmed. "Who are you?" He asked, pointing his cereal spoon at the teenager.
Buffy unbuttoned the front of her coat and slowly shrugged it off, now feeling the effects of the fight. "You want to tell me with what?" She continued the conversation with Giles.
"Yes," Giles hesitated, removing his glasses, "Buffy, but don't you think we should, uh, discuss this privately?"
"You mean, not in front of the next generation? No time to coddle them, Giles. Welcome to the war room, guys." Buffy said, folding her coat and placing it aside on the armoire.
The frown on Nick's face deepened, watching his 'future' mother carefully sit down on a stool, trying hard not to wince. He felt her pain and realised that he had never seen his mother bruised up before. She was always dressed elegantly in expensive designer clothes or trendy casual fashions like with sweaters, fitted jeans, long jackets that blew in the wind as she walked. He had never seen scrape or bruise on her.
"Uh, what you fought was a vampire, but it was, um, something more than that." Giles explained, cleaning the lenses of his glasses with a cloth. "It was a Turok-Han. As Neanderthals are to human beings, the Turok-Han are to vampires. Primordial, ferociously powerful killing machines, as single-minded as animals."
"They're like the vamps that vampires fear." Nick had not realised he spoke aloud until all eyes were on him.
Giles looked at the teen and nodded. "Uh, precisely. An ancient and entirely different race and, until this morning, I thought they were a myth." He said, putting the cloth back into his pocket and putting on his glasses.
"So, The First shows up, and now this? You think it's a coincidence?" Buffy asked, pursing her lips thoughtfully.
Nick frowned. The First sounded vaguely familiar having heard about it being talked about around the Council. He's even heard it mentioned in his mother's speeches when she practised addressing world leaders in front of his father in private.
"I think it's more likely that the Turok-Han is here as an agent of The First," said Giles.
"Um, did you slay it?" Annabelle asked hesitantly to Buffy.
Shaking her head, Buffy lowered her gaze to her hands. "No, it's still out there, somewhere."
"What's it want?" Molly finished the last bite of the toast in her hand.
Buffy exhaled a sigh, standing from the stool. "All of us dead. But for now it looks like sunlight is keeping this UberVamp away." Her eyes turned from looking out the window to focusing on Nick. "Onto our next mystery."
Nick swallowed as she slowly approached him.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"My name's Nick." Nick felt relief that he had found his voice and it did not shake or squeak.
"Nick…" Buffy's hands were on her hips.
Nick shifted uncomfortably under scrutinising Buffy's gaze. "Um, just Nick." He decided to forgo in telling the entire truth until he knew his parents could trust him and wouldn't completely freak out.
"Okay, Nick with no last name, where do you live? Do you have family?" She asked.
"Ye-yeah." You, is what he wanted to say but refrained and instead replied, "I have family. They, um, don't live around here. I mean, I'm not from here." He nervously stammered.
Folding her arms across her chest, Buffy eyed the teenager suspiciously. "Yes, well, you're a long way from the mother country."
The sarcasm in her voice aggravated him. "I don't mean it like that." Nick scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I mean, I'm not from this time. I did a spell and somehow ended up here. I'm from the year 2021."
For what felt like hours, Buffy stared unblinkingly at Nick until she suddenly spun around on the heel of her boot, looking at Giles. "You wanna handle this one?"
Taking a deep breath, Giles shook his head and leaned a hand on the counter island. "Um, what sort of spell did you do?"
"Uh, I found it in a book… in my father's collection." Nick explained, feeling as if he was going to be grounded and sent to his room.
Remaining patient, but slightly annoyed, Giles removed his glasses. "Yes, but what kind of spell was it?"
"I'm not sure, I just repeated a few words in Latin and presto." Nick shrugged, stuffing his hands into his jeans pockets.
Giles turned to Willow, leaning back against the sink. Her mind is already formulating a plan to figure out Nick's mystery spell.
"Perhaps we should start with the Book of Chronos." Giles said.
Nodding her head, Willow stood straight from her leaning position. "Retrace Nick's magical steps? Do you remember what you said?"
"Uh…" Nick stammered when he felt a piece of paper inside his pocket. Pulling it out, Nick was relieved that it was the folded piece of paper he'd ripped out of the spellbook. He unfolded the paper and handed it to Giles.
Frowning at the spell, Giles quickly translated it. "Hear these words, send me where I wish in time." He put his glasses back on and handed the piece of paper across the counter island to Willow. "Sounds vaguely familiar."
Unfolding her arms from their crossed position, Buffy adjusted the hem of her shirt. "Okay, well, you guys get cracking on that. You." Buffy pointed at Nick. "Are staying put."
"Where are you going?" Giles frowned.
"Work." Buffy answered, stepping into the dining room.
Giles followed her. "Buffy, a few hours of sleep will do a world of difference."
Turning back to him, Buffy shrugged, exhaustion heavy in her eyes. "No sleep today. Can't."
"Oh, come on, you're exhausted." He took a step closer, acutely aware of the audience peering into the dining room from the kitchen.
"Ah, it comes with the gig. Somehow I don't think taking on prehistoric evil comes with nap time." Buffy looked around Giles' arm to the room of potential Slayers. "Sorry, potential guys. I know you came a long way, and you wanna get into it, but the best thing you can do right now is just sit tight, wait it out. I'm gonna go to work, see what I can find out. I'll be back before sunset." She began to turn away again when Giles' voice stopped her.
"How do you plan to research something as ill-defined as The First?" He asked, not at all convinced that this was a good idea.
"I have the best plan ever." She assured the former Watcher and turned her gaze to Nick standing against the wall pretending not to notice Buffy's eyes on him. "Keep an eye on him." She quietly told Giles before turning away to head up the stairs.
Nick entered the dining room, standing beside his 'future' father. "She doesn't rest much, does she?"
Frustrated with Buffy, Giles exhaled a heavy sigh, taking off his glasses once more. "No. No, she does not." He said, turning back into the kitchen leaving Nick alone in the dining room.
Hours passed since arriving in Sunnydale and coming face to face with his 'future' family. It was surreal to see everyone—especially his 'future' parents in this environment. He had never seen his usually vibrant, stylled, self-assured mother bruised and exhausted before. His father wasn't any better. He appeared just as tired and stressed.
What was even more peculiar was that in this time, they weren't yet married—or even dating. Nick never thought much about his parents past or how their relationship even began. For all he knew, they've been together since forever.
His mind began to race with the sinking revelation. What if they never get together? They're not together now, so what happens if it never happens? His entire existence would be erased.
What was it in their past that finally brought them together and made them fall in love? Nick racked brain. He didn't have a clue. In fact, Nick quickly realised he knew nothing about his parents or their pasts beyond the typical bullet points. This was his chance and probably the only chance to really get to know them.
They didn't know about his run-ins with the law nor that they're yet fed up with him because of his antics. It was a clean slate. Nick figured, if he asked them questions then they'd tell him, right?
He's only ever heard stories about Sunnydale, this house, the Scooby's, but he didn't really understand nor at the time care.
Seated on the couch, looking up from the iPhone game he had downloaded ages ago, Nick tossed his eyes around the living room and felt uneasy. Huddled in the corner whispering and looking at him with smiles on their faces were a group of teenage potential Slayers.
Nick was no stranger to 'the ladies'. He wasn't exactly a 'ladies man' but he's had a few girlfriends in the past and even had a girl back in London that he's been flirting with named Rosie. Nick knew that he was a pretty good-looking guy with high cheekbones, a bright ivory smile, and piercing green eyes. But being stared and gawked at by these girls was making him uncomfortable.
Desperate for an escape, Nick peered into the dining room to see his father at the table with his aunts and uncle talking amongst themselves, not at all paying attention to anything else around but what was in front of them.
His eyes then went to the stairs. Tucking the cell phone into the front pocket of his jeans, Nick stood from the couch and casually made his way out of the living room, across the foyer to the stairs without being detected by either one of the Scooby's. He carefully snuck up the stairs, constantly looking over his shoulder for anyone catching onto him.
Reaching the top of the stairs, Nick poked his head into the first bedroom on the left. He tossed his gaze around and quickly knew that this wasn't his mother's room. The fact that there were spellbooks, incense, and crystals on the table was a dead give away.
Closing the door, Nick opened the next door adjacent to the first bedroom and found that it was only the bathroom.
Turning around to the next bedroom, Nick twisted the doorknob, cracking the door open. The bedroom was a bit scattered with clothes thrown on the floor but it was neat enough. Nick sighed in disappointment, realising that this room was also not his mother's. He couldn't imagine her having boy band posters on the walls.
Walking a bit further down the hallway, Nick eyed the framed photographs hung on the wall. There were a few baby photos; one of his mother and the other of his aunt Dawn. His gaze shifted to the next series of photos of his mother as a toddler. A small smile tugged at his lips at the sight of her blonde pigtails, frilly nineteen-eighties dress, and wide toothy grin on her little face. He'd never seen pictures of her this young before. When Sunnydale was destroyed, so was every reminisce of her childhood.
The next frame photograph was a beautiful woman with short curly light brown—almost blond-ish hair, bright hazel eyes, a pointed nose, and a comforting smile.
Gran? Nick exhaled a soft sigh. He's only ever heard stories about his beloved grandmother. None of the photos of his grandmother Joyce survived the destruction.
Taking the picture frame down, Nick unlocked the series of latches on the back and took out the photo of his grandmother. He looked down at the picture, tracing the tip of his fingers over her beautiful features. Softly smiling to himself, Nick tucked the picture into his back pocket, careful not to bend its corners.
Continuing down the hallway, Nick stood in front of the last closed door on the upper floor. He wrapped his hand around the doorknob and pushed it open.
He was struck immediately with the familiar scent of his mother's perfume. Closing his eyes, Nick took a moment to feel comforted by the scent.
Entering inside the bedroom, it was not as big as he anticipated, but his mother's essence was everywhere. Opening one side of the armoire closet, Nick touched the clothing hanging on the hangers and noted that her love for leather jackets had never changed.
He turned to a tall dresser and eyed the jewellery box and the T-bar stand holding her series of necklaces. One necklace caught his interest. He held the silver crucifix necklace in his palm when his attention turned to a sharp whittled stake.
Nick smiled, picking up the infamous Mister Pointy and jabbed it's pointed end into the air as if to stake a vampire.
"Tits." He put the stake down and noticed a familiar stuffed pig placed on a wicker chair in the corner. "No way." Nick walked over to the stuffed animal. "Mister Gordo." Smiling, Nick studied the pinkish pig in his hands. He hadn't thought about his beloved nighttime buddy in a long time. After he turned the ripe old age of eleven, Nick decided that he was entirely too old for stuffed animals and got rid of them all—except for Mister Gordo, who now lived in his underwear drawer.
It surprised Nick that out of everything to save from the ill-fated town, his mother made sure to save her childhood stuffed piglet.
Taking a seat on the neatly made bed, Nick pressed a hand into the pillow, testing its softness. He eyed the nightstand beside the bed and rummaged through the stack of old fashion magazines on top.
Sliding open the nightstand drawer, Nick rummaged through it. Finding another stake, Holy water, an open box of condoms that made him want to vomit, and a thick leather bound book stuffed with loose papers and pictures.
Carefully opening the book as if it were an ancient artefact, Nick's eyes widened realising that he was holding a diary—his mother's diary.
Thumbing through the pages, Nick recognised her handwriting. Some of it was printed, other entries were in script, or just completely unintelligible. He figured she must've written those entries during a hasty emotional meltdown. Nick stared at the diary in disbelief. In his hands, he held his mother's entire history. Her most inner and personal thoughts and emotions.
Going back to the front of the diary, Nick opened to the first page. He gently touched over the date written on the top of the page: March 3, 1997
Running the math in his head, Nick determined that she was his age, sixteen-year-old back then. Nick swallowed. His heart pounded fervently in his chest.
He carefully read the passage:
Into every generation a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world—blah, blah… It's followed me here. I thought I was finished with this Slayer stuff after what happened at Hemery and… that stint at the institution… I thought I was done.
Why me? Why is this happening to me?
I don't know if I can do this again. Dad's M.I.A. and mom's on her last nerve with me...
I don't want this. I don't want to be the Slayer. I just want to be nor—
"You shouldn't be in here."
Nick slammed the diary closed and looked up to see Giles standing in the doorway.
Entering into the bedroom, Giles eyed the teenager, deciding that he was not evil. He did know about vampires and in all likelihood Nick and his parents are hunters.
Giles entered the bedroom, with his hands inside his trouser pockets. "Nor should you be reading that." He dropped his eyes down to the diary in Nick's hands. "I know a certain someone that will be very cross if she found you in here."
Wearing a wry smile on his face, Nick put the diary back into the open drawer and closed. "She's, um, kind of scary."
Giles smiled and took a seat beside the sixteen-year-old on the bed. "Buffy doesn't trust very easily. Especially now that there's a new evil threatening everyone's lives. And you…"
"Came out of nowhere?" Nick slowly nodded his head with understanding. "I get it." Buffy's scepticism towards him made complete sense, especially with how intense everything seemed to be around here.
"Give her time." Giles told the teen. "I promise she's much nicer, once you get to know her."
I know her already, Dad, is what Nick wanted to say but instead asked, "Is she less intense?"
Removing the glasses from his face in his typical fashion, Giles began to methodically clean the spotless lens. "There's a lot happening right now which is making us all on edge. In time you'll see that Buffy is one to have on your side."
Nick stared at his father thoughtfully, now wondering what his relationship was actually like with his mother. He quickly figured out they weren't yet together, but were they close? Nick noticed that Giles never called her 'love' or 'darling' in his usual way. Nick never realised the pet names until they were absent altogether.
"Can I ask you something?"
"I suspect you will regardless." The sarcasm in Giles' voice made Nick smile.
Hesitantly, Nick tried to find the words to properly ask what he wanted. "Are you and, um, Buffy… you know…"
Shocked, Giles' eyes widened as he looked at the teen. "Pardon me? Buffy and I? No—"
"But you are pretty sweet on her, right? I mean, your concern—"
"Was purely from a 'friend-to-friend' standpoint." Giles said, absolutely thrown by the question he had been asking himself since their 'almost kiss' on Maple Court. At least, he was positive it was an 'almost kiss', it happened so quickly. One minute he and Buffy were talking and the next, they were leaning in, their gaze latched to their mouths when a figure (Nick) darted from the darkness. "Buffy and I have never… I mean, we would never… We're friends."
Amused by Giles' embarrassed stammering, Nick began to laugh, much to Giles' annoyance. "Jeez, Rupert, don't get your knickers in a twist."
Giles opened his mouth to respond when the sound of the front door closing and Buffy's voice turned their attention.
"Hello?" Buffy called out from below the stairs.
Shaking his head, Giles stood from the bed and nodded to Nick to follow him out of the bedroom. "Let's go. Buffy's home."
Nick did as told and stood from the bed, following Giles out of the bedroom, still chuckling at Giles' embarrassment. It was so easy to get his father flustered and it astonished him that Giles had enough game to end up with someone like his mother in the first place.
The sound of two sets of feet hopping down the stairs, Buffy turned from the dining room to the stairs, surprised to see Giles and Nick together.
Her eyes narrowed on the teenager, still not yet sure about the young man. He seemed harmless enough, but he knew about magic and vampires, and she ran into him in the middle of the night. With everything going on with The First, Buffy remained distrustful until she was absolutely certain.
Nick stepped around Giles and locked eyes with Buffy as he went into the dining room. He felt a bit of defeat that her thoughts about him hadn't yet changed. The piercing look in her eyes made him uneasy and he desperately needed Giles to talk to her.
"Any new info on our new friend?" Buffy asked, folding her arms across her chest when she remembered the gash on her forearm.
"Um, no." Giles frowned, noticing Buffy wince. "Willow is trying to retrace Nick's steps by using whatever essence is left on that piece of paper. How about for you?"
Buffy pursed her lips and shook her head. "Not so much." She spent most of the day dodging the new principal who was equally as suspicious as Nick or trying to decipher the message said to her by her mother in a dream.
Lifting her arm, Giles unzipped the sleeve and inspected the irritated injury. "Buffy, you really should—"
"It'll be sundown soon." Buffy removed her arm from his grasp and zippered the sleeve closed. "I want to get out there before this Neader-vamp hurts anyone." Buffy started to head up the stairs when Giles gently grabbed her uninjured arm. She turned back to him, understanding his concern, and found it unnecessary. "Really, Giles, I'm fine."
Removing his hand from her arm, Giles nodded for her, allowing her to run up the stairs to change from her work clothes to a pair of jeans and charcoal knit sweater.
Looking up from the book Nick had been pretending to be interested in, he frowned, noticing the look of disappointment on Giles' face.
Early Evening
Peeking through the blinds out the dining room window into the front law, Giles looked up at the colourful sky as it grew darker. Looking down at the watch around his wrist, he stepped into the living room to see Dawn and Willow sitting on the couch with weapons to their chests and Xander finishing up nailing a wooden board over the living room window.
The potential Slayers sat around the living room appearing afraid and uncertain.
"The sun will go down in 17 minutes," said Giles, lifting his gaze to Buffy standing with Nick at the weapons chest.
"Hey, junior Slayers," Xander turned from the window, "don't look so worried. I mean, sure, we don't know how to fight The First, or if and when the super style vampire is gonna attack us all. However, house—" he tapped the hammer on the boarded up window, "boarded up. No, all we gotta do is trap this UberVamp in a pantry, and it's game over."
"Xander," Willow rolled her eyes, "newbies. Let's ease them into the whole 'jokes in the face of death' thing."
Nick snorted into laughter, happy that his uncle's morbid sense of humour hadn't changed, but it was weird to see him two both eyes. For as long as he could remembered his uncle Xander told him an epic story about a summer he spent on a pirate ship. As Nick thought about this, he was six when Xander told him the incredibly false story.
"Who's joking?" Xander frowned. "That pantry thing could work. Are you saying M. Night Shamalayan lied to us?"
Buffy stood up straight from the weapons chest, looking at the frightened teenage girls. "You'll be okay." She held a sword in her hand and passed it to Xander.
Leaning back against the fireplace mantel with his arms folded, Nick wanted a weapon like the others. "Don't I get a weapon?" He asked.
Buffy turned her gaze to the sixteen-year-old, eyeing him up and down for a minute and said, "No."
Although he had expected that response, it still annoyed him. Exhaling a whining breath, Nick stood straight. "Oh, c'mon, I can fight."
"The answer is no." Buffy told him firmly, much to his dismay.
"We'll be armed when the Slayer feels we're ready." Annabelle interjected.
Molly's frown snuck deeper, her eyes on the weapons chest. "I feel ready."
"You're frightened. You must learn to control your fear." Annabelle held her chin upwards.
Kennedy refrained from rolling her eyes as she looked at Annabelle. "Hey, you know what would help with that?" She turned to Buffy. "Weapons."
Nick caught Buffy's eye and shrugged in an aggravating 'I told you so' sort of way that instantly irritated the Vampire Slayer.
"We're sitting ducks without them." Kennedy complained.
"We're with the Slayer. Safe as houses." Annabelle argued, having the utmost confidence in the Slayer.
Buffy turned her eyes to Giles, standing in the french doorway. Buffy put the crossbow back into the chest and shot Nick a silent warning look, 'daring' him to touch the weapons.
Nick held up his hands and took a step back from the chest. On his face, he wore a dancing, yet taunting smile.
Buffy and Giles stepped into the foyer.
"Should we give them weapons?" She asked.
"It's up to you." Giles answered, not wanting to interfere in Buffy's commandship.
Buffy sighed with uncertainty, turning her eyes into the living room to see Nick staring at them. "What about him? Can we trust him?"
"I can hear you." Nick intervened, much to everyone's surprise. He quickly crossed the living room. "If you're gonna talk about me, at least say it to my face."
Pursing her lips together, Buffy shooed Nick away. "Go over there."
"But—"
"Go." Buffy commanded, pointing her finger behind him.
Angrily, Nick groaned and stomped back to where he was standing by the fireplace mantel. He scowled, holding his arms across his chest.
Giles nodded his head for Buffy to follow him so they could talk without any prying listeners. Buffy tossed Nick another warning gaze then followed Giles out of the foyer, through the dining room, into the kitchen and out the backdoor.
Without anyone noticing him, Nick sidestepped towards the back of the living room, taking the shortcut through the sitting room and into the kitchen to spy on his 'future' parents talking in private in the backyard.
Outside in the backyard, Buffy stood at the top step of the porch with her arms folded across her chest as Giles stood on the green grass, looking up at the beautiful fiery sky.
"He's going to drive me crazy." Buffy rolled her neck, already exhausted with this teenager that was certainly driving her up a wall in a way Dawn never did.
"He's not so bad, although he does have a very imaginative mind." Giles looked over his shoulder at her.
"There's something about him though…" she began to say, stepping down the steps to stand beside the former Watcher. "I can't shake this feeling that…"
"Ah, yes," Giles agreed, taking off his glasses. "It's as if you've always known him."
"It's weird, right?" Buffy frowned, looking up at Giles.
Giles shrugged, sliding the glasses up the bridge of his nose. "He did say he's from the future. Maybe we've crossed paths along the way, I don't know." He lowered his gaze to the grass and noticed the weeds at his boots. "Buffy, this yard is a mess." Giles said, picking the abundance of weeds from the grass and tossing them aside.
"Sorry," Buffy rolled her eyes, "I've been a little preoccupied with… I dunno, an apocalypse."
Giles tossed her an arched brow look that made her breakout into a small smile. He continued to pull the weeds from the grass as Buffy sat down in the adirondack chair.
As Buffy sat back in the wooden chair, she crossed a leg over her knee watching Giles putter around in the yard.
Her mind wandered back to their 'almost kiss' early this morning. She didn't know what came over her, but she wanted to kiss him. It was a strange gravitational pull that she perhaps always felt but never quite noticed it before.
Since he came back into town after the drama with Willow, Buffy didn't know why or how it happened, but she felt that familiar tugging pull towards the former Watcher. It was that same pull she felt towards Angel, Riley, and even Spike.
After he left with Willow for England, Buffy missed him. She missed him in a way she had never felt before.
It had been so long since she viewed Giles as a paternal figure in her life. She didn't want another father, it was not what she needed. Buffy didn't quite know what she needed or even what she wanted, except for Giles to stay. Stay with her, wherever she goes, stay with her forever.
But how did she want him? As a friend? Lover? Boyfriend? Husband? Was she even really attracted to Giles?
Her eyes thoughtfully scanned over him. She did like the way he popped the collar of his coat and how he wore the button-up shirt partially opened revealing the dark t-shirt underneath. Buffy's gaze dropped to his backside, noting how firm his butt looked in his jeans.
She had the strangest urge to run her fingers through his short greying hair and kiss his mouth… oh, how she wanted to kiss those soft-looking lips and taste his tongue, and also, feel his hands touching her all over.
It's taken her awhile, but Buffy finally understood Willow's crush on him. His intelligence was attractive and his velvet English-accented voice made weak at the knees.
Was she attracted to him?
Yes.
From inside the house, Nick watched his 'future' parents. They were too far away to even attempt to read their lips, but he didn't really need to since they'd stop talking.
Giles quietly moved around the yard, picking up an old pot planter and the tossed pulled out weeds inside, while Buffy sat in an adirondack chair watching him.
She held her head in her hand and by the looks of the partial expression he could see from his location, she was checking her 'future' husband out.
The corners of Nick's mouth tugged into a smile, hopeful that there was a chance for his existence yet. He took out the cell phone from his pocket and began to snap a series of candid photos of them. Nick didn't know why he wanted the photos, maybe as some sort of proof or something.
Entering the kitchen from the dining room, Xander and Andrew paused in the doorway, looking at the mysterious time walker. "So what's the future like?"
Xander's voice nearly startled Nick right out of his skin. He turned his 'future' uncle with a frown.
"Flying cars? Smart glasses? Hoverboards? Cyborg assassin's?" Andrew asked, opening a box of cereal and dug his hand inside.
"Do they, um, put chips in your brains?" Xander stepped forward, standing in front of Nick, eye his head for any peculiar scarring.
Andrew stood beside Xander, nodding his head in agreement. "Ooh, yes, like the Matrix."
"I wasn't really thinking the Matrix," Xander looked at the former villain, "more along the lines of The Outer Limits."
"Ah, yes. 'We can shape your vision to anything our imagination can conceive.'" Andrew quoted much to Xander's delight.
The two dorky nerds turned their attention back to Nick.
Speechless, Nick stared at the two men with wide eyes, not at all sure what to stay except, "Yikes."
Luckily, Buffy and Giles returned from the backyard, opened the door and paused in the doorway, not expecting people to be in the kitchen.
The four men followed Buffy back into the living room where she stood in the front of the group to address them as a whole.
"Okay, guys, change of plans." Buffy said, turning her gaze to the potential Slayers, waiting with baited breath. "All of you are staying put. I'll head out on patrol and track down that UberVamp."
Giles frowned. "Buffy, you shouldn't go by yourself."
"I'll be fine." She assured him.
"I can go." Nick stepped forward, holding up his hand volunteering himself.
In unison, Buffy and Giles looked at the sixteen-year-old and said, "No."
Rolling his eyes in aggravation, Nick argued, "Why not? I can fight. I'm really good. Use me."
"You can fight?" Buffy asked him with scepticism.
"Yes, I can bloody fight." Nick felt like he was arguing with his mother from his own time, the aggravating back and forth felt so familiar.
Buffy glared at the teenager, holding up a finger at him. "Watch your language, buddy."
Taking a deep breath, Nick unfolded his arms, dropping them to his sides. "Yes, I can fight. I've been training since I was in nappies. And I was trained by the absolute best." He told Buffy, trying hard to convince her. "Just give me a chance. If I get hurt then that's on me. It was my decision to join you. Please."
Pursing her lips, Buffy narrowed her gaze on the teenager as she came to a final decision. "Fine. But you better keep up." Buffy turned towards the coats by the front door hanging on a hook.
Trying hard to fight the smile forming across his face. "Yes, General." He salute, earning an eye roll from Buffy.