Chapter2: Settling into Sunnydale

Challenge: for the livejournal 2020 August Fic-a-Day Challenge.

Timeline: pre-series BtVS and SG1; storywise, it starts about 4 months or so after 'XX Origins of Buffy', Chapters 21-24

A/N: Just so y'all are aware, the twins are around six months shy of their 16th birthday which is why I had to edit what I wrote to take out them having a vehicle at this point. Wow, makes it even weirder that Jacob left them on their own…even if he was right about them running away if he tried to force them to move with him.

Disclaimer: BtVS/AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy. Stargate SG-1 character belongs to Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright / SyFy Channel. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale

June 1996

Mark let out a relieved sigh as he watched his father drive away from the house. Not only because it hurt Buffy to be around him, but also due to the true nature of Sunnydale. The longer he stayed in town, the longer he was in danger from the vampires that plagued the area.

When their dad mentioned the safety factor of the town as a reason he was agreeing to this 'experiment', the twins shared a look of bemusement. Clearly, somebody was changing the stats somewhere. She wouldn't have been having the dreams leading her to this place if it was truly safe.

It should have made their father suspicious that he could buy this house for such a low price. Granted, it would be nicer if it had more bathrooms, but that could be changed when they found the right place to add another one – or maybe two. Another change Mark would like to make was a door leading directly to the basement, so Buffy could change out of her slaying clothes without tracking a mess throughout the house. At least the backyard had a privacy fence for training. None of the rooms inside had enough space for that.

Going back inside, he put his arm around Buffy and remarked, "I'm surprised he bought us a house rather than renting an apartment. I appreciate having our own space, but it still surprised me."

"He's trying," Buffy answered quietly. Seeing the look on her brother's face, she added, "I'm not forgiving him; not sure I ever can, really. But he could have made this a lot harder on us. It's a step in the right direction at least."

Not wanting to think about the man who broke her heart any longer than necessary, he bumped her hip with his and asked, "So, what's the set up going to be?"

"Clearly, I get the big bedroom," she started with a teasing smile. "You can use the two other bedrooms; maybe keep one as an office or something? We'll store the slaying stuff in there, as well as Merrick's ashes."

Once they found out Merrick was considered a John Doe by the county, Mark and Buffy used some of their savings to claim his body and have it cremated. It just felt wrong for him to be buried in an unmarked grave without anyone to mourn him. Then they went to his place and packed up all his belongings; gave the clothing to charity – except for his hat, which Buffy wanted as a memento – and brought the rest with them to Sunnydale.

Mark squeezed her in comfort, then suggested, "I was thinking of using this room as the office." He pointed to the room called the formal dining room. "We can make the dining room in the area across from the kitchen instead."

"I'd like more pantry space, so let's use the sitting room as sort of a butler's pantry. Maybe an upright freezer in there as well?" Buffy added. "It would be nice to only shop for food once or twice a month." She had wanted to do that in LA, but they didn't have the space there either.

Mark nodded in agreement. It would also help if they could cook some meals ahead of time in case something happened, and they weren't up to cooking and didn't want take-out meals. "I was thinking it would be nice to access the basement, so maybe we should get an estimate to see how much it would be…and to add a bathroom down there, too. We can use that third bedroom as a guest room – or maybe storage – for now."

"We can train in the basement or backyard," Buffy continued. "We'll want some equipment downstairs, and maybe a shed for the stuff we use outside?"

The costs were starting to add up, so Mark warned her, "We'll have to prioritize stuff since Dad isn't giving us a whole lot for extra household expenses. At least the monthly bills are on auto-pay, so we won't have to worry about those."

"We should also set aside as much as we can to replace or fix stuff that gets broken because of slaying. The stuff we got from Merrick won't last forever," she said.

Mark got a faraway look in his eyes, then suggested, "Maybe we should get some tools so we can do small repairs ourselves…sharpen the blades, that sort of thing. I'd love to get a woodworking lathe and see if I can mass-produce some stakes for you. Or at least get them into the rough shape and do the finer details by hand."

Buffy hugged him and exclaimed, "I'm going to love having my brother as my Watcher! Okay, let's start unpacking this stuff!"

"I'll order the pizza," he offered with a smile, knowing they'd need sustenance while they worked.

Sunnydale

July 1996

It took a special request for extra money to their father, but they were able to pay for all the projects they wanted, plus have a little left over in case something else popped up.

Jacob knew he was over-compensating, but since they made a good case for most of the things they wanted, he couldn't deny them. The basement access wasn't that much of an added cost, and if they learned to so some of the repairs themselves – which the tools were supposed to help with – it could offset the cost. The second bathroom would eventually help with the house's resale value, so that wasn't an issue.

Shortly after they were fully settled in, they went to the teen hangout, The Bronze. They figured if they got to know some of the kids before school started, they wouldn't be such outcasts right away.

The first friends they made were due to Mark. He went to talk to the band members of a local group called "Dingoes Ate My Baby" about one of their songs. Buffy joined him with their drinks, then had to gently shoot down Devon's attempts at seduction.

"So, who are the rest of you?" she asked, hoping to avoid further attempts.

The lead guitarist introduced the group, "I'm Oz, play lead guitar. Sam there plays bass, and the other Sam plays the drums."

Buffy smiled, "Two Sams? Doesn't it get confusing?"

Drummer Sam grinned back and shook his head. "Nah, they call me Sticks…for obvious reasons?"

Feeling the urge to tease him, she shot back with a laugh, "Because you're a big fan of KFC chicken?"

He laughed, "Exactly! And see, most people think it's because of the wooden kind of drumsticks. I can tell you're a very smart girl…" he trailed off when he realized he didn't know her name.

"Buffy…Summers." She hesitated a second before giving her last name. It hadn't been pretty when they told their father they were changing their name to their mother's maiden name. It was the first time he looked hurt by their distancing themselves from the Carter family. In the end, he gave in, knowing they'd just do it themselves in a couple years when they turned 18 anyway.

"Nice to meet you, Buffy Summers," the band answered almost in unison.

"Do that often?" she asked with a slight shudder.

Oz replied, "Once in a while…when girls aren't drooling over Devon."

For the rest of the band's break, Buffy got the 411 on the different school cliques, surprising the guys when she admitted that she had been one of the queen bee types in LA. When they asked why she wasn't anymore, she explained, "I grew out of it. I'll try not to piss them off for the sake of my high school social life, but that isn't for me anymore."

Sounded like there was a story to that, Oz thought, wondering if she'd ever tell them.

Apparently hanging out with the band gave Mark and Buffy immediate popularity. They didn't have a moment to themselves for the rest of the night, and barely left the dance floor.

"You two want to hit Gower's with us?" Sticks invited the twins to hang out when they were done for the night. "We usually grab a bite before we head home. Devon will join us if he doesn't hook up with a groupie-type."

Mark looked at Buffy who shrugged. "Sure, that'd be cool," he responded. Buffy would have to patrol a little later than normal, but it wasn't as if they had something planned early the next morning, just grocery shopping, cleaning and some meal prep stuff.

Buffy ended up doing some slaying while they waited for their food to arrive. She excused herself and snuck out the back to take care of a vamp who was trying to get takeout in the form of a waitress getting off work.

The guys were pretty cool, including Devon when he realized that Buffy wouldn't succumb to his charms, and they stayed for a couple hours just chatting about Sunnydale and LA. It seemed like Mark had met some good friends…hopefully.

A/N: I think one more summer chapter before school starts.