Heinlein, January 2520

"Rachel?" Lacey didn't register the voice behind her until Spike bent to her ear, "Lace!"

Her head jerked up and she looked at Spike helplessly as he gently wiped away the tears she didn't realize were falling.

Spike nudged her aside and picked up the crumpled figure in front of her with ease, "Go get the doc, luv."

Lacey didn't move.

"Gāisǐ de, woman! Move! Now!" Spike used the commanding snarl that used to snap even the most fearsome vampires to attention. It did the job. Lacey still felt numb, but she was on her feet and running, full tilt, toward Serenity, heedless of the fact that the crew hadn't before now seen the speed she was truly capable of.

She started yelling the moment she hit the ramp, even though she was in the engine room in less than a minute, "Simon!"

Fortunately, he and Kaylee weren't in any sort of compromising position. He was on his feet immediately, "Zhè shì zěnme huí shì?"

"Infirmary, now." Lacey answered no nonsense.

Simon (and Kaylee) followed without question.

Spike had set Xander on the bed and was standing guard at the door, the rest of the crew gathered curiously in the common area just outside of it.

Lacey hesitated briefly, "Spike?" she asked, knowing he would understand the question.

He nodded, "It's him, luv."

Lacey couldn't describe what emotion ran through her at that point, but she couldn't do any more. The flood gates opened and she fell to her knees. Spike swiftly picked her up and sat quickly, settling Lacey on his lap and holding her close as the sobs racked her body.

She heard River's voice demanding, "Fix him." and she was grateful the girl could read her mind, because she wouldn't have been coherent enough to explain anything if she tried.

Lacey slowly came back to herself and vaguely became aware of her surroundings once again. The first thing she became aware of was Spike's arms around her, and she leaned into him gratefully, knowing, as always, he would understand. The next thing she became aware of was the curious, worried, and wary glances the crew was shooting between the couch and the infirmary. And finally, she became aware of Simon and River working furtively in the infirmary. The shock was passing at an excruciatingly slow pace, but Legacy managed to extricate herself from Spike's lap to move into the infirmary.

"What happened to him?" she managed in a raspy voice.

Simon's head snapped her direction, "I was hoping you might be able to tell me."

"Gone. Died. Been…" Lacey stopped and shook her head, trying to formulate a complete thought and finally managed, "As far as I was aware, he died over 500 years ago."

Simon's hands stilled.

River kept working, "512. Didn't die. Moved. Same as you. Just more space between."

Legacy's numb brain fought to make sense of River's words. "You mean whatever zapped me 2 years zapped him 512?"

River nodded and smacked Simon's arm, snapping his attention back to the task at hand. Legacy leaned back against the wall, never taking her eyes off Xander, and ignoring the questioning gazes she felt boring into her back.

It had taken Simon and River nearly two hours to stop all the bleeding and properly stitch up all the wounds. It had taken another hour to get the young man clean and into clean clothes pilfered from Spike. Simon collapsed onto the couch outside the infirmary, thoroughly exhausted and watched River drape a blanket over Lacey's shoulders where she sat gripping the young man's hand. River came out to join the rest of the crew, gently shutting the infirmary door behind her before perching on the couch directly behind Spike.

Everyone was silent and the air was tense.

After some amount of time, Mal cleared his throat and glared toward River and Spike, "Anyone care to explain what in the gorram hell is goin' on?"

"What would you like to know?" River asked primly.

Mal's glare intensified, "Let's start with who, or maybe what, he is?"

River smiled, "He is hers."

Mal's brows drew together in confusion, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Spike shrugged as he answered, "That's the best explanation you're like to get, Captain. Xander is L-Rachel's. Far as I know they never got married or anythin' like that, but they were attached at the bloody hip from the day they met. He's just hers."

Mal decided not to argue with the irritable looking vampire and turned back to River, "That still don't explain much."

River pursed her lips, considering an answer.

Book spoke up, "Captain, all due respect, I believe that's a question best answered by the woman herself."

"Shepherd has a point, Cap." Heads snapped toward Lacey coming out of the infirmary. Lacey chuckled tiredly as she sat on the end of the couch, near Spike and River, "'Fraid I have to admit I didn't quite tell you the whole story when you asked how I knew 'bout monsters and all that. I knew I'd have to tell you all eventually, but I wanted to protect you all from my world as much as I could for as long as I could."

Questioning gazes turned to her, Lacey let her head droop toward her knees a bit.

She was grateful when Book offered, "If I may?"

Lacey looked up at him and nodded, managing a small smile.

"Have any of you heard the legends of the Slayers from Earth-that-Was?"

He was met with blank stares.

"There is one Slayer born to every generation. She was gifted to fight the darkness and the evil of the world. She was given superior strength and speed, accelerated healing and extraordinary senses. It's not just what she does, it's who she is; it's a calling that cannot be denied. Until 300 years ago, my order aided the Slayer, until, apparently, one of the Shepherds tried to use a dark magic to bind the Slayer and her power to his own will." Book ended bitterly.

Before Lacey's hand could drift back to the scar at the base of her neck, Spike's hand was there, gently rubbing circles.

Lacey looked the Shepherd in the eye, "Like I told you before Shepherd, wasn't your doing. I don't hold it against you. You're a good man and you've earned my trust fair and square."

Mal's brows shot up, "You knew 'bout this, Preacher?"

Book nodded, "It was admitted in confidence."

Mal muttered something about secrets on his boat.

Zoe, ever the observant one, looked to Lacey, "You said you don't hold it against the Shepherd. But you say it like it was a personal affront."

Spike's hand stilled over her scar and Lacey sighed, "It was."

Book looked at her curiously, "The legends talk about the memories of the Slayers as a sort of collective. The essence of one being."

Lacey nodded, and pushed her hair over her shoulder, turning so the crew would see the scar on her neck, "True enough, the heritage of the Slayer is a powerful thing. But I also happen to be the Slayer that Shepherd tried to bind. Magic that dark requires blood and very specific rituals."

Zoe looked dubious, "You said that was 300 years ago."

Lacey sighed and turned back around, "It was."

Book now looked confused, "But every generation…" he trailed off.

"No more." River spoke up.

Lacey smiled at her before turning back to the crew, "On Earth-that-Was, there was only one Slayer until the late 1990's. Then there were two. It was the first thing that upset the balance. In the early 2000's, the balance was flipped on its axis. Since then, there have been hundreds, even thousands, of Slayers at a time."

"How?" Book asked.

Lacey's hands fisted, aching for the Scythe that was safely stowed in her bunk, "A spell. The Slayer's had to face a very powerful enemy, the First Evil, and had to quite literally destroy a gate to hell. Potential Slayer's were being tracked down and killed. So, they were tracked down by the two current Slayers in order to be protected and trained… at first. Eventually another option was found. A spell activated every potential Slayer – every girl who could be a Slayer, would be a Slayer. That Hellmouth was closed, along with two more in the following years before Earth was evacuated. And before anyone asks, no, demons didn't do that. Humans really were responsible."

It was silent for a few moments.

Simon spoke quietly, "You speak about it as if you were there."

"I was." Lacey answered calmly.

"How old are ya?" Jayne finally asked.

"Didn't your mama teach you not to ask a woman's age?" Lacey fired back good-naturedly.

Zoe chuckled while River and Kaylee giggled. But everyone continued to stare at her.

Eventually she sighed in defeat, "Around 530."

Jaws dropped.

"That shouldn't be possible." Book finally managed to get out.

"Took us a few years to realize it, but the spell did more than activate potentials. Every Slayer and Watcher that the spell touched directly stopped aging. Potentials born now are still gifted with the strengths of a Slayer, but only those of us that were already around when the spell was performed don't age. There aren't many of us from Earth left now, we can still be killed, but it's no easy feat."

"Immortal is not invulnerable." River intoned.

Lacey laughed, "And I've got the scars to prove it."

Translations:

Gāisǐ de – Damn it

Zhè shì zěnme huí shì – what's going on

gorram - damn