Title: Tea and Cookies
Author: Gaeriel Mallory
Rating: K+
Fandoms: BtVS/Batman (comics)
Continuity: Set sometime after the Officer Down storyline.
Disclaimer: All characters are the property of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy, Inc. or DC Comics and Warner Brothers.
Note: Written in response to TTH's Fic-for-all #2266 – Buffy/Barbara Gordon

Buffy gave Jim her business card and told him that she'd be in touch. He left soon after, a bemused look on his face. Barbara laughed as the door closed. "Poor Dad. He'll never know what hit him."

"You took the fact that I offered your Dad a job pretty well. Considering what you know about the Council, I would think you'd do anything to keep him away from it." Buffy sat back down on the couch and looked across the coffee table at Barbara. "Just how much did Giles tell you anyway?"

The other woman sipped her iced tea. "Not too much actually. He was being necessarily vague and circumspect. Not one mention of vampires, demons, or magic."

Buffy frowned. "But how did—" She got up. "You're not evil are you? Because Giles swore to me that you weren't evil but he could be wrong. There's a first time for everything."

Barbara grinned and motioned for Buffy to sit back down. "I'm not evil. I'm just good friends with somebody who used to be in your line of work. He helped me out of a pretty bad spell. I figured I'd return the favor, which is why I returned your calls."

"That must be some friend. Does he have a name? I might know him. It's a pretty close group in the demon fighting world." Possible names and faces ran through Buffy's mind.

Barbara shook her head. "You probably do know him, but I won't tell you his name. He has his own secrets and if he wants to, he'll let you know when he's ready who he is."

Buffy pouted a bit but let it pass. "So will you help us?" she asked, changing the subject.

Barbara nodded. "I'll see what I can do. My other job keeps me pretty busy, though, so I can't give you a definite date for when I'll be done. From what I've seen, your systems can really use help. I hacked through them like they were tissue paper."

"Don't tell Willow that!" Buffy grinned ruefully. "She was so proud that she'd designed them all by herself. She got a job offer from a major company when she was still in high school, did you know that?"

"No offense to your friend. The protections and encryptions were good. They're better than what the government has on some of their secure files. But," Barbara smirked, "mine are better."

"So if you're such a computer whiz, why aren't you doing this as a full-time job and not just when someone comes along who catches your eye?" Buffy snagged a cookie and took a bite. Yum. Oreo.

"I like my day—well, night actually—job. And I can't exactly give it up because too many people count on me."

"What did you say you were again?"

"Computer research librarian." Barbara's face was innocent but Buffy looked at her suspiciously anyway.

"Why do I get the feeling you're a 'research librarian' the same way I work in 'international security'?" Buffy sighed and got up. "Well, it's been fun but I have to get going. Giles gave me a list of bookshops to look up and hunt through. We're still working to replace our library. The old one went boom a few years back."

"Let me know if you need any help," Barbara offered as she rolled her chair towards the door.

Buffy followed. "I'll e-mail you the list of books Giles would practically kill to get his hands on. Maybe you'll have more luck than me. Dusty old books and I don't really get along very well. Too many bad memories of high school."

Barbara laughed.

As soon as the door shut, a voice said softly, "Thank you."

Barbara looked over her shoulder at Wesley. "I know how important secrets are, Wes." She steered towards the coffee table and gathered the remnants of the iced tea and cookies onto the tray.

Wesley reached across her wheelchair and lifted it and started walking towards the kitchen. "Nevertheless, thank you. It means a lot to me." He set the tray down next to the sink and turned towards Barbara. "I'm not ready to face them yet. There's too many questions they'd ask and I—I wouldn't be able to bear it."

She placed a hand on his arm. "You're stronger than you know."

He smiled weakly at her. "So are you."

Down the hallway, her computer beeped. She sighed and leaned back. "Well, duty calls."

"Yes, it does." He poured out the lukewarm tea and closed the bag of cookies. Barbara reminded herself to buy more for when J'onn next stopped by. He paused over the dishwasher. "Oh, when Buffy e-mails you, tell her that there's a copy of Greymalkin's Bestiary in the secondhand bookshop on Somerset Boulevard. It's the ancient Greek translation."

She smiled and headed towards her workroom. "Will do." She lifted her headset and pressed a key on her keyboard. "Oracle here," she greeted whoever had sent her the S.O.S.

--fin--