A/N: Thank you to my beta Tametiger!

Chapter 3

Sam Breaks a Rule

Sam had a restless night in the Sunnydale Motor Inn, the kind of impossible sleep that happened when your mind refused to shut down and, when you added in the discomfort of motel beds that were too short, sleep was bound to be elusive.

When the numbers of the alarm clock glowed 4:45, Sam gave up, got out of bed and went into the bathroom. After he flipped on the light switch, he pushed the handle on the bathtub faucet over to the left side labeled HOT. Sam took his time, having learned a few days ago that the water heater in the Sunnydale Motor Inn was bottom of the line.

After a few minutes, the water temperature barely rose above tepid.

Sam was in and out of the shower in five minutes, longer than his morning routine usually allowed, but since his father and brother were not around to complain, he took his time. He toweled himself dry and put on some clothes.

At 5 AM, when the phone in his room rang, Sam picked up the phone before it finished its first ring, he expected the call.

"Checking in." his father's gruff voice said.

"I'm here Dad. How is the hunt going?" Sam replied.

"We were close on its trail, but it is a sneaky sonofabitch and it got away from us." John Winchester's voice sounded weary.

"You both coming back today?" Sam asked. His missed his Dad and his brother, Dean, but he also enjoyed the quiet. When his family was around, everything was always a flurry of activity; neither his father nor his brother could sit still for long, always with an eye on the next move, the next town, the next job. Subsequently, when these moments of solitude were available, Sam took advantage. He read books, studied for school or just sat still – things that he would be hard pressed to do with his brother around – and the added freedom of being able to go out at night without the Winchester "Sammy what are you doing?" knee jerk reaction. Seriously, it was any wonder that they left him alone at times.

"I hoped we could, but we seemed to have had a bit of a...malfunction with the car and we won't be back as soon as we thought."

In the background, Sam could hear Dean talking "Damn Gremlins are going to pay for what they did to my Baby!"

"Go to sleep Dean, we will get to work fixing the Impala in a few hours. Right now, I don't think I could tell a torsion rod from a dipstick." John Winchester told his son.

Sam knew it was time to let his father go.

"Okay Dad. Talk to you later."

"Yep. In twelve. And Kid," John's voice softened, "You doing good? With money and all? You have food?"

"I will be fine Dad."

"Okay…but just in case, I left an emergency card taped under the sink in the bathroom."

"Already found it. But I am good." Sam smiled.

"Night Kid - or, morning I guess. Enjoy school."

"Always do." Sam said.

John chuckled. "Kid, you get more like your mom every day. Checking out."

His dad hung up.

Bemused, Sam held the receiver in his hand for a moment and looked at it. It was a rare moment when his dad spoke about Mary Winchester. Sam knew so little about his mother and as always, whenever he learned a small nugget of information about her, it left him craving more.

His memories of his Mom came from photos and Dean. He knew that they couldn't really be called memories, but they were all Sam had.

"I remember, this one time, Mom took us on a picnic. I got to mix the juice and she made the sandwiches and, because she knew I didn't like them, she cut the crusts off then cut them into little triangles. We didn't have a picnic basket, like the kind you see on those tv shows. Instead we put the juice and the sandwiches into a paper bag. We only made two sandwiches and when I asked her what you would eat, she just laughed and told me that you didn't have teeth yet, so you couldn't eat sandwiches. Instead, she showed me your bottle and promised that I would get to feed you. On the way to the park, she let me push your stroller and she sang her favorite song. Something about an angel in the morning. God Sammy, she couldn't sing at all! She was tone deaf!" The brothers laughed as Dean said this, "But to me, it was the most beautiful voice in the world..."

With every story, Sam's image of his mother became less fractured and he likened it to an unfinished puzzle. He knew the color of her eyes, the color of her hair. She loved to sing (badly) and dance. And now, Sam added this new puzzle piece to his portrait of his mom. She had liked school! He put on his shirt and a jacket. Grabbing his school bag, Sam headed out the door.

Of course he was at the school before the doors were unlocked. Sam sat down in front of the school doors and leaned back against the wall. He thought about last night - talking to Buffy outside of the graveyard and the moment when she touched him when he swore it felt as if - he shook his head. It was nothing.

Absently, he rubbed his palm.

He had been so pleased when she answered his questions about Slayers and Watchers. He had enjoyed his conversation with her, enjoyed sitting beside her. He wondered about her life in Sunnydale.

He saw how focused his Dad and Dean were about Hunting. They lived and breathed it. Was Buffy like that? Did she have friends or was her life all about the Slaying?

He wondered what her reaction would be if he told her about his family. As soon as he had that thought, he pushed it away. He couldn't tell, it went against everything his Dad taught him. Yet, for the first time, Sam wanted to open up to someone and he wanted that someone to be a tiny, blonde tornado.

Sam regarded the sky. Although the sun should be rising, there was little sunlight, the sky was a flat gray color and a milky fog permeated the school grounds. Sam closed his eyes and waited for the Slayer to arrive at school.

"A bit early for school, aren't you?" A British voice asked him.

Sam opened his eyes and saw the school librarian in front of him. Sam hadn't heard him come up to him and imagined his brother's reaction. ("Damnit Sammy…you can't keep going off into your own world like that. You need to be more aware of what is around you, I can't be with you all the time to protect you!")

"Couldn't sleep." Sam thought his explanation was inadequate, but the Librarian simply nodded as if finding teens dozing in front of the school doors was an everyday occurrence.

Giles fumbled for the door key and a few books that he held in one arm dropped to the ground and Sam bent forward and scooped up the books while Giles opened the door.

"Do you mind if I come in with you? I don't mind sitting outside, but I would like to find something to read even more."

Giles laughed softly. "I know the feeling, young man. Yes, come along. I am sure we can find something for you."

The pair walked down the corridors to the library. Sam looked down at the books in his hand and read the spine of one book.

The Slayer's Quarry: Gems of Power and Enhancement

Quickly, Sam's mind ran through several scenarios as they walked into the Library and with a deep breath, Sam decided to be blunt.

"Mr. Giles," he began, "How did you know you wanted to be a Watcher?"

Giles looked at Sam.

"Watcher?" he queried.

Removing his glasses, Giles tilted them up to the ceiling and looked through them; although they were clean, he polished them anyway. It was a great stalling tactic-something he did when he needed to think or when he needed to stop himself from banging his head against the wall. Then he put the glasses on again.

"Yes. I am sorry. I have questions, but I don't know any other way to ask them. I know you are a Watcher. You see, there were these books in the library yesterday that I noticed…" Sam said.

"Oh drat that girl!" Giles exclaimed, whipping off his glasses, he polished them again.

Sam started talking. First he told him about the books and his curiosity and about his conversation with Buffy. (He left out the parts about Merrick-he wasn't sure why).

"And you weren't shocked? When you found out about Vampires?" Giles asked.

Sam laughed.

"Vampires? Nah. A little alarming maybe, but there are definitely worse things out there," he titled his head toward the window in a gesture that indicated the world at large. "We fought this demon once that I was sure was going to incinerate my brother, Dean, when he pissed it off, but my Dad was able to complete the exorcism bef..." Appalled, Sam stopped, the fond smile slipping from his lips.

He had just made a colossal error. He knew better, he knew better! His mind raced as he tried to think of a thousand different ways to change his words, but his mind went numb. Sam just stood there.

Giles regarded the Sam and sensed how uncomfortable the tall youth had just become. The young man looked as though he hoped a hole would open up in the floor and Giles was reminded of himself as a teenager. He searched for a way to make Sam feel more at ease.

"Sit!" Giles told Sam, pointing to the nearest table.

Sam walked to the table and sunk down into the closest chair. He wished he could rewind the last hour. He wished he knew what to do, wished his Dad was here and, wistfully, wished Dean hadn't graduated from school.

Giles sat across from Sam. Instinctively, he knew what to do. He answered Sam's question.

"I come from a long line of Watchers. I can't remember a time when I didn't know what was expected of me. From the time I could read, I was trained in the ways of a Watcher. As I grew older, I questioned whether or not I wanted this life and, believing it wasn't the right choice for me, I even ran away from it. However, I discovered that destiny has a way of finding you, whether you want it to or not."

He watched as the tension in Sam's shoulders began to dissipate. Sam opened his mouth to ask another question. Giles held up his hand.

"I gather that you know Buffy is the Slayer and you have some understanding of what this means?"

Sam nodded.

"If I trust you, I will not find my confidence misplaced?" Again Sam nodded.

"Sam, I will answer any question you have. But, you will have to trust me as well." Giles sat back in his chair and waited for Sam to speak.

Sam was quiet. He folded his hands in his lap and looked down at them. He shouldn't even consider spilling his family's secrets like this. It was a major Winchester rule. ("It's a family business Sam," his father would say, "and it stays in the family.") Sam thought about the Giles' words , understanding that the Watcher would only trust Sam with his secrets if Sam returned that trust. Trust no one –except family. Trust no one…

It took Sam another minute or two to come to a decision. He looked at Giles, who was still sitting patiently, waiting for Sam to come to a decision. He gave the impression that he would wait as long as Sam needed.

Somewhat shakily, Sam took a breath and broke Winchester Rule Number One.

"Have you ever heard the term 'Hunter'?" he began?

Giles listened to Sam's story. The pair took turns asking questions of each other for the next 20 minutes. Out in the corridors of the school, the school began to come to life, doors opened and closed as teachers arrived and greeted each other in the halls.

"Gremlins? Mischievous little buggers. They will take anything mechanical apart and put it back together in the most inconvenient ways. My father discovered one in our house once. He tried to catch it, but it ran out an open window. For weeks, every time someone flushed the toilet, our doorbell would ring!"

Sam laughed. "Yeah? Well, my Dad didn't say what happened to his car, but my brother seemed pretty upset."

"You know, I have a few books that mention Gremlins. Let me see if I can find them." Giles got up and walked over to the front desk.

Sam couldn't believe the conversation they had just finished. It felt so good to tell someone about his life. He walked as Giles walked back to him with a short stack of books. For a moment, Sam wondered what Buffy would say if…

The doors to the library opened and the girl who occupied his thoughts appeared. Although her legs were short, her stride was long and confident.

"Giles," she burst out, "what do you know about Hun-"

She paused when she saw Sam, eyes wide with surprise.

For Buffy, the dawn had come slowly after a restless night of tossing and turning.

The rising sun's light was dulled by the gray sky and dense fog. It was different from a normal day in Sunnydale "The land of perpetual sun" - so unusual, in fact, that had Buffy not been so occupied with thoughts of jealous Vampire (not) boyfriends and (possible) Hunters, she might have remarked on the unusual weather to Giles and mused about the mystical meanings of such an occurrence.

It had been Buffy's experience that unusual events that happened near the mouth of hell pointed to mystical, magical or demonic activity.

Preoccupied, Buffy paid little attention to the weather and left home earlier than usual. Passing through the kitchen, she had picked up an apple, gave her mom a distracted kiss on the cheek and declined her mom's offer of a ride to school.

Joyce Summers had wondered briefly about Buffy's uncharacteristic desire to head to school early because, normally, Buffy delayed getting ready for school until the last possible moment. Watching her daughter head out of the back door, she decided that it must be about a boy.

Buffy walked to school and absently munched on her snack, the juicy apple gave a satisfying crunch when she bit into it, and contemplated the events of the night before.

Since heeding the call to become The Slayer, Buffy had thought she had seen it all: vampires, witches, a giant praying mantis, hyena people…it was par for the course in the life of the Slayer. However, until last night, she had never heard of a Hunter.

Hunters.

She wanted to know more.

According to Angel, a Hunter was like a Slayer, but minus the super strength. This tidbit of information gave her pause; if she didn't have super strength, would she still be able to seek out the things that went bump in the night? Would she still walk the graveyards at night, killing vampires?

Buffy doubted that she would be that brave. Yet, from what Angel had said, this was Sam's life.

She was bursting with questions and she knew just the Librarian to ask.

As she reached the school, Buffy's eyes searched the teacher's parking lot until she spied Giles' car and, as usual, the 1963 Citroen was lightly coated with dust. A smirk on her face, Buffy walked up to the car and wrote "WASH ME" with her forefinger on the driver's side window. For a moment, she studied her words and then etched the word "TODAY" underneath.

Satisfied, she turned away from the car and walked toward the school. Once inside the school, Buffy quietly made her way to the library and pushed though the double doors.

"Giles, what do you know about Hun-"she began, only to be stopped by the sight of Sam Winchester, seated at a table, long legs stretched out and surrounded by books. Giles carried a short stack of books obviously intended for the teen and paused.

Both males stared at Buffy. Giles peered at her over the top of the glasses that had slid down to the tip of his nose while Sam placed his finger on a page (presumably to hold his place in the book) and looked up alertly.

"About the…" Giles prompted.

Buffy looked from Sam to Giles and then back to Sam, who smiled at her, his eyes friendly. Naturally, she smiled back – it was always hard to resist a set of dimples – although she felt somewhat awkward, filled with indecision. While she wanted to know more about Sam, she didn't think this was a conversation she wanted to have in front of him, even if he did know more about her than most people. Her mind raced.

"Hun-dred Years War!" she said quickly. "What do you know about the 'Hundred Years War'?" She repeated.

Giles continued towards Sam's table, placed the books beside him and tapped the book on the top.

"Begin with this one, I think." He said to Sam. Sam nodded and pulled the book off of the top of the stack.

Giles walked back to his desk.

"'Hundred Years War' you say? For a history paper one would assume? Well, it all began with..."

Inattentively, she nodded at her Watcher while she watched Sam, who had quickly opened the book Giles had given him.

Head bent down, he opened the book and a smile played around the corner of his mouth as he read. Clearly, he enjoyed whatever he was reading and was not the kind of guy to skim a book.

Willow would like this guy, she thought to herself and in a flash, she had a picture of Willow and Sam walking hand-in-hand around the school hallways. She frowned when her gut gave a slight twist.

Giles eagerly pulled books to sort from a stack on his des his desk as he continued with his history lesson.

"… nice to actually see you take an interest in history…" he remarked and smiled fondly at Buffy. She suppressed a twinge of guilt and vaguely listened, her gaze still on Sam.

She watched as Sam absently began chewing on his thumb as he read until a sudden noise pulled her attention away.

"Blast it," Giles said.

He had walked into a cart, causing it to crash into the desk and a few books to topple on to the floor. Buffy walked over to help Giles. She glanced over at Sam and shook her head in amazement – he was still reading and hadn't been distracted by the disturbance.

Quickly, she helped Giles pick up the books from the floor.

"Giles, I need to talk to you," She whispered, "Alone. Can we go into your office?"

Giles stood up and placed the books on his desk. Giving Buffy an inquisitive look, he nodded.

"Excuse us for a moment, Sam." He said, walking into his office. Buffy followed, not allowing her eyes to stray toward Sam.

Once they were in the office, Buffy closed the door. Giles looked at her expectantly.

"Buffy, is everything okay? What is wrong with your hand?"

Confused, Buffy looked at Giles. He nodded at her hand. "You have been rubbing it ever since you arrived. Is your hand okay?"

Buffy gazed down at her palm, suddenly conscious of the tingle.

"The hand is fine, Giles." she put her hand in her pocket.

"Giles, I ran into Sam last night while I was on patrol." She began, and then paused. Reluctantly, she turned her head and looked through the office window where she could see Sam, completely absorbed in the thick volume in his hands.

"Giles…have you ever heard of a Hunter? Not a hunter-hunter," she mimed holding a rifle and closed one eye. "but a Hunter? Like me, but minus the super powers? A Demon Hunter?"

Slowly, Giles nodded.

Buffy waited for the inevitable exposition. Finally, she would get answers to her questions! She knew that Giles would know!

Giles looked at Buffy, saying nothing.

"Giles," Buffy prompted.

Giles still looked at Buffy

"I need some tea." He said abruptly. Buffy looked at Giles, confused. It was unlike Giles to withhold information.

Walking over to the small table in his office, Giles removed the electric kettle and carried it out the door.

"I am getting some water, I will be back" he said.

Sighing, Buffy sunk down in Giles' office chair and waited for him to return. Using her foot, she swiveled around slightly, until she could see Sam again. His hair was a little too long in the front and kept falling over his eyes and she wondered what he would do if she…whoa…Buffy stopped herself.

She could not have those thoughts.

She had a…she and Angel were a…something, which meant Buffy no-lookey at other cute boys no matter how floppy the hair or how adorable the dimples.

Buffy leaned her head back in the chair and closed her eyes. What was wrong with her? Angel, he was the one she thought about, dreamed about. When she was with him, the dark came alive, every scent, every sound was amplified; when he kissed her, she wanted the kiss to go on for forever. His kisses were so nice.

She frowned when she realized that she was rubbing her palm again. It had been tingling ever since...

Carrying his kettle, Giles come back into the office. She opened one eye and watched him as he plugged in his kettle and pulled out a small teapot and a strainer from a small cabinet beside the table. Carefully, he measured out a teaspoon of loose, fragrant tea, put it into the strainer and clipped it closed. The small sphere had a little chain which he draped over the rim of his cup when he placed the strainer inside.

Giles turned to Buffy. As if deciding something, he nodded, pivoted and walked out of the office. He walked up to Sam and said something to boy that Buffy could not quite hear. Sam stood up and both of them walked into Giles' office.

"OK. What is going on?" Buffy asked, irked. Somehow there was a loop and she felt left out.

Giles opened his mouth, but Sam started talking.

"Nothing is going on. It-"

"Nothing?" Buffy interrupted.

"It's my fault, I asked him not to tell you anything which wasn't fair of me." Sam looked at Giles, "I'm sorry." He said to him.

"So it is acceptable for you to know about me being The Slayer, answering all of your questions, but I can't ask about Hunters?" Buffy was getting really irked now. In fact, she was beyond irked and moving into seriously annoyed.

"Well, when you put it that way…" Sam said, looked uncomfortable.

Buffy looked at Sam, crossed her arms and raised her brows meaningfully.

Sam sighed.

"I am not a Hunter." Sam said. Skeptically, Buffy stared at Sam.

"I'm not…not really. My dad and my brother are Hunters and I just…help. Mostly, I just get left behind, do research and stuff, but my Dad and Dean take care of the actual hunting."

Buffy looked at Giles. "And you couldn't tell me this because…"

"It wasn't my secret to tell, Buffy, it is Sam's. I respect that, just like I don't go around town telling everyone you are The Slayer."

"Look, I will answer all of your questions, don't be mad at Giles." Hazel eyes looked at her with such remorse, Buffy softened.

"How many Hunters are there?"

"I don't know." Sam said. At Buffy's look, he repeated his answer, "I don't. Hunters don't associate with each other very much, I have met a few others that are friends of my father, but they generally work alone or in pairs."

The kettle whistled as steam rushed out of the spout and Giles unplugged the kettle. He filled his cup with water and left the tea to steep.

"What do you hunt?"

"Ummm…demons mostly, but, sometimes we get an urban legend that is real - you know local ghosts, mud monsters, Wendigo…that sort of stuff."

"Where do you live?"

Sam stopped, and something flashed in his eyes until he looked away. Buffy felt she had kicked a puppy and wondered why her question seemed to evoke such a response from him.

"We don't." Sam said softly. "We move. We locate the demon/monster or whatever, do research if we have to, kill it and we move."

"But when you are not moving, not on a-a hunt- where do you and your family live?" The question was out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

Eyes down, Sam shook his head, slowly and then he looked at Giles.

"Buffy, a Hunter's life is nomadic, always on the move. The only hunters that stay in one place are retired or-" Giles hesitated.

"Injured." Sam finished. "Permanently."

The night before, he had glimpsed the boy.

It was night and the boy was out for a run, which only reinforced his certainty…he was sure about this one. Sure, there were others, but he was confident that Sam would outshine all of the others. The kid was tall, ran with long, strong strides and although he was slender, his form was beginning to fill out.

Now that he was closer, the link between strengthened and he wondered if he imagined the weakness in their link earlier, when he was in the Amazon.

He knew he should leave and go to Africa, he was supposed to be meeting the mystic soon yet he couldn't help his urge to linger, to reassure himself that his boy was fine. There had been no reason for the disquiet that had been plaguing him.

He watched as Sam continued his run through the street. Once out of sight, he released his essence once more and the meat-suit crumpled into a faint when it was abandoned.

His first stop was with his friend, Mayor Wilkins. Like him, Wilkins was patient and knew the value of planning and follow-through. Wilkins was Phase Two for Sunnydale, still a few years off. Wilkins was aware of The Slayer too and felt confident that the Master would succeed as well.

They reminisced about old times and discussed the future – of Sunnydale, the earth, Father.

He couldn't stay long. Next, he would visit with The Master before taking a quick trip to Africa. He needed to see a mystic about a Hell-God. It could wait though. Phase three was still a ways away…

Feedback? Good? Awful? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

Anyone?

Stay Tuned…