True to their word, the three teens had returned to school before their next lessons and Jenny had found herself with a large overnight bag and a box alongside her own bag, both of which Buffy was ecstatic to have- especially after the police had visited to interview her earlier that afternoon. That night she'd fallen asleep on the sofa while sorting through the clothes her friends had brought her, leaving the adults to share the bed. They'd taken it in turns to get up with Buffy when she awoke screaming, so when the alarm rang the next morning, it was met with minimal groaning.
Jenny had been more prepared for a sleepover this time and commandeered the bathroom while Rupert stumbled downstairs to boil the kettle and eat something, the pair seamlessly switching fifteen minutes later without waking Buffy.
"You still think she should go to school today?" Jenny asked quietly when Rupert reappeared fully dressed with damp hair. He nodded.
"Joyce Summers will have a hard time accusing us of kidnapping if Buffy is attending school as normal." He answered, pouring a cup of tea. "Not to mention I think seeing her friends will do her the world of good."
"I agree. I'm just not sure whether she's up for coping with the questions and stares…"
"Buffy is stronger than she appears. And we will, of course, be there to help."
Jenny nodded, draining her cup. "I'll wake her up then."
Giles remained where he was, finishing his breakfast and washing the dishes. Despite living alone for the majority of his adult life, he found he enjoyed being able to listen to the sounds of other people getting ready for the day. That was until ten minutes later, once the shower had switched off and he'd heard Buffy pad back into the living room.
"Rupert? We may have a problem…"
His stomach sank. "What is it?"
Buffy was sat on the sofa, Jenny standing in front of her but when he entered she stepped to the side, allowing him to see the young blonde.
"What?"
She sighed. "Her face, Rupert."
He looked again. "Ah." The bruising and purpling had almost vanished, her eye and jaw yellowed but with very little sign of swelling. Buffy looked at him helplessly.
"How am I going to explain this to the police?" she questioned. "Two weeks of healing in two days? They said they'd be back to ask more questions…"
"This is slightly problematic." He admitted.
"Make up." Jenny said suddenly.
"Make up?"
She nodded. "We darken the injuries artificially and gradually lighten it over the next couple of days. Then we can pass it off as just being really fast healing."
"Oh God, I'm going to look like a complete freak!" Buffy moaned.
"I'm afraid we don't have much of a choice- with the police involved we have to be careful." Giles looked sympathetic. "We'd better hurry- we need to leave in less than half an hour."
There were a few false starts and several redoes, but between the three of them they managed to make it look like Buffy had purple bruises covered in concealer, all within the half hour time limit. "Just don't rub your face!" Jenny reminded her as they walked into school. "Get Willow or Xander to check you haven't smeared it if necessary."
"I will." Buffy was already aware of the stares and whispers she was receiving.
"If you need anything, come and find me." Giles touched her arm gently, waiting for her nod before he smiled weakly at Jenny and peeled off towards the library.
"Are you okay?"
Buffy shook her head. "Why is my heart beating so fast? I shouldn't be scared of school."
"Honey, slayer or not you went through a terrible thing-"
"But it wasn't that bad!" Buffy hissed in frustration. Jenny pulled her to the side of the corridor.
"What? You had a serious head injury, remember?"
"But other people get beaten up, or put into comas or even killed!" the blonde argued. "I was hit once!"
"That doesn't negate the experience!" Jenny told her fiercely. "One hit, one hundred hits- it doesn't matter! You were placed in a dangerous situation with a dangerous person in the one place in the world you should feel safe. Frankly, you're coping very well."
Buffy was silent for a few moments. "She didn't believe me." She said eventually.
"Who?"
"My mother." Buffy looked up at her, tears in her eyes. "When I told her he'd threatened to slap me, she didn't believe me. Not even for a moment. I told her, I told her I didn't like him, that he wasn't what he seemed but she believed him over me! How could she-?"
She choked, falling silent as Jenny squeezed her hand "I'm sorry."
"What if he hurts her?"
Jenny bit her lip, not knowing what to say. As the crowd around them began to thin, an idea occurred to her. "Would you like me to check on her for you?" she ventured. Buffy blinked, then looked hopeful.
"Would you?"
Jenny nodded. "She doesn't know me- I'll go to the gallery after school."
"Thank you!" Buffy threw her arms around her. Just then, the bell rang and Jenny looked alarmed.
"Dammit, I can't be late again- I'm the teacher!" the pair dashed along the corridor, Jenny taking Buffy into her lesson so she didn't get into trouble before hurrying to her own class.
***BtVS***
Buffy ducked her head so that her hair hid her face as she scurried towards the library at lunchtime. The stares and whispers had been about as bad as she'd been expecting but so far no one had outright commented on the state of her face, something she was eager to avoid. A group of boys were swaggering down the corridor towards her and she drew to the side to let them pass her, so intent on keeping her face hidden that she didn't notice the footsteps coming up behind her.
A hand clamped down on her shoulder. "Miss Summers."
Buffy shrieked, throwing herself away from the man behind her and stumbling before she righted herself and brought her arms up, moments away from lashing out until someone caught her elbows, preventing her from striking
"It's Jenny, don't panic." Buffy exhaled the breath she'd been holding as she registered Miss Calendar's voice, not stepping away from the older woman while her heart pounded and her hands shook as she realised how close she'd come to attacking a human. "Principal Snyder, do you make it a habit to terrify your female students?"
Calmer, Buffy looked around to see them man in question with a slightly stunned look on his face. When he caught sight of her apparent bruises, his eyes widened. "It was not my intention to startle you." He said stiffly.
"Then might I suggest you use your words instead of your hands?" Jenny's tone was icy cold as she glared at him, slipping an arm around Buffy to guide her away. "Come on."
She let the teacher lead her away, fingers gripping her bag so tightly her knuckles were white. "Oh God, I almost hit him. What's wrong with me?" she asked weakly.
"Nothing." Miss Calendar answered firmly. "He shouldn't have grabbed you like that."
"It wouldn't have bothered me before. I didn't even think, I just got ready to fight…"
She glanced at the girl, at a loss of what to say and so settled for touching her shoulder supportively before she pushed the door to the library open, stepping sideways to allow Buffy to enter first. But she was barely inside herself when Buffy stopped dead and she stumbled into her.
"Buffy! What-?" she cut off when she saw the reason for the abrupt halt- the three adults they'd apparently interrupted mid-argument judging by the looks on Rupert's face. She didn't need to hear Buffy's breathing speed up or see her face go white to work out who the other two were and without thinking she'd stepped in front of Buffy, shielding her from them. "Rupert?"
"Jenny, would you take the children out of here please?" his voice was filled with barely restrained anger, his fists clenched at his side. It was only then that Jenny realised that Willow, Xander and Cordelia were stood behind the table, all of them wide-eyed and a little frightened.
"Come on, you three." She called to them, thankful when they didn't argue and simply picked up their bags and rounded the table.
"Buffy!" Mrs Summers stepped towards them. "Honey, please listen to me-"
"Joyce, let me deal with this." The man patted her on the shoulder and rounded on Jenny and Buffy, beginning to move towards them. "Now Buffy-"
He didn't get the chance to finish, because Buffy had gasped and immediately retreated backwards, grabbing hold of Jenny's sleeve to bring her along to. She tripped as she was pulled, remaining on her feet through sheer luck.
"Buffy, he is not going to get near you, I swear." She whispered, the girl still clinging to her sleeve. When she glanced up, she blinked in surprise to find the other three teenagers stood defensively in front of them.
"Mr Buchanan, you're not coming anywhere near her." Xander said firmly. Ted's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Now see here kids-" he began, but Cordelia cut him off.
"Tell me, how interested would the police be to know that you're here? I'm fairly certain you're not supposed to come near Buffy… Giles, perhaps we should call them to check?" she suggested sweetly.
"Now young lady-!"
"Oh for goodness sake, this is ridiculous!" Joyce exclaimed. "Buffy, honey please, Ted told me what happened- we can just go to the police and admit you exaggerated and all this can be over!"
"Exaggerated?" Buffy questioned in a low voice. Jenny glanced at her uncertainly as she stepped out, her fists clenched as she motioned for her friends to move aside. "Did I exaggerate this, mom?"
She raised her head at her defiantly, her hair pushed back to show the purpling that marred her face. "Did I exaggerate the eight stitches in my head? Or the fracture in my jaw? Or perhaps the bruises all down my side and back?"
Joyce was staring at her in horror, her own face chalk white as her hand flew to cover her mouth.
"Or perhaps I exaggerated all the times I've woken up screaming over the past two nights? Maybe I exaggerated the concussion that had me walking in circles! Perhaps the bloodstains on my clothes were paint and the possible bleed on the brain is was imaginary! Maybe I just exaggerated the x-ray and MRI results!" Buffy grew louder and louder, tears streaming down her face as her mother just stood there, hand still raised.
"Jenny!" Giles said sharply. She nodded, slipping an arm around Buffy's waist and gesturing for the other three to follow them out. At a loss of where else to take them, she steered them to her own classroom where Buffy collapsed into Willow's arms, sobbing. Xander was grinding his teeth, pacing up and down.
"Man, this is killing me! That bastard…" he muttered more obscenities under his breath, kicking a chair.
"Xander, don't take it out on my furniture." Miss Calendar reprimanded tiredly.
"I can't believe he's not in jail!"
"Xander, shut up!" Willow hissed.
"What Will? It's the truth! He belongs in jail… I can't believe the police haven't locked him away!"
Cordelia scoffed. "Because the Sunnydale police are just great." She said sarcastically.
"Stupid police. Stupid Ted. Stupid... ooh, cookies!"
He tore into the packet he'd found in his bag, not noticing Cordelia roll her eyes. "Boys." She muttered in disgust.
"He has a point though." Willow said quietly. "I can't believe nothing showed up on my search. No criminal record, not so much as a parking ticket. The guy's like, citizen of the year!"
Xander reached out to pat her shoulder. "Don't sweat it, Wills. Everything'll be fine."
She stared at him. "Don't sweat it?"
"We'll work it out." He shrugged, ruffling her hair. "No worries."
"Thanks for the support Xan." Buffy muttered from her place on Willow's shoulder. Cordelia had crossed her arms, looking at him quizzically.
"What happened to 'This is killing me?'"
"Worrying isn't gonna solve any problems." He tossed a cookie in the air, caught it in his mouth as the four others in the room gaped at him. Until Willow reached out and broke off part of the cookie. Cordelia stared.
"You don't think-?"
"Uh-huh." Willow nodded. Jenny looked confused.
"Okay, what am I missing?"
"Ted baked these." Willow explained, shooting out of her chair and knocking Buffy to the side. "Sorry!"
"You think he laced them with something?" Jenny questioned, then looked at Xander. "Never mind. We need to figure out with what." She grabbed her jacket, glancing at the kids. "Cordelia, can you tell Rupert what's going on? Be careful!" she called as the brunette rushed out the door. "You three with me."
"Where are we going?" Buffy inquired.
Jenny and Willow looked at each other. "Chemistry labs!"
***BtVS***
When Giles and Cordelia entered the labs, the group were sitting looking warily at a cookie which lay on the table.
"Willow, that infernal machine of yours turned something up." He said, holding up a piece of paper. Cordelia beamed.
"Got some personal records, marriage certificates and an address."
Xander rubbed his hands together gleefully. "Excellent! Between whatever we find and the cookies, we'll have some real evidence! Who's up for some snooping?"
"Cookies?" Giles questioned.
"I want to come too." Buffy said.
"That's a bad idea." Willow winced. "If you got caught…"
"It'd provide 'Uncle Ted' with ammunition against you." Xander agreed. Buffy looked unhappy.
"Cookies?" Giles repeated, looking between them all.
"I'll explain." Jenny volunteered. "Kids, you can go after school."
"But Miss Calendar-!"
"After." She said firmly.
Despite being unhappy about it the three did as she said and waited until their lessons had finished while Buffy and the two adults headed home to wait. But several hours went by and darkness fell, and there was still no word from the three.
Jenny was pacing up and down nervously. "They should be back by now." She whispered to Rupert, who nodded anxiously.
"I just hope they didn't get caught." He muttered, glancing over to where Buffy was sat at the dining table doing homework.
"What are you two whispering about?" she called.
"Nothing!" they answered in unison. She snorted.
"Oh right, that was convincing."
Jenny gave her a weak smile, retreating into the kitchen and flicking the kettle on. "They're good kids." She said softly when she heard Rupert enter behind her. "Amazing friends. They're so close… it's easy to forget they haven't all grown up together."
He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, studying her with worried eyes. She turned and leant into him with a small sigh, face buried in his chest.
"What's wrong? It's not just that they haven't returned yet, there's something else…"
She shook her head. "It can wait."
"Jenny…"
"Please Rupert." She tilted her head to look at him. "Not now."
"Why not?"
"Because… because when I tell you, I think you and Buffy are going to hate me. And right now… right now, Buffy can't deal with that. I can't deal with that." She swallowed the lump in her throat as he reached up to brush her hair back.
"I could never hate you." He told her, a little amused at the idea. She didn't smile back.
"You say that now." She murmured. He opened his mouth to argue back but was interrupted by a frantic knocking at the door. They both looked around hopefully, Giles crossing to it in a few short strides and wrenching it open.
"Oh thank God!" he exclaimed. He stepped sideways to allow Willow, Xander and Cordelia to enter.
"Where have you been?" exclaimed Jenny in relief. "We were worried!"
"You won't believe what we found!" Xander said excitedly. Willow rushed to Buffy, hugging her tightly.
"You won't have to worry about Ted again! There's no way he's staying out of jail!"
Giles sighed, cleaning his glasses before pinning the three with a pointed look. "What's going on?"
Talking over each other, they eventually managed to tell the story of the hidden rooms, the four wives and the dead bodies. "So then, we called the police from a phone box but we couldn't tell them who we were or how we knew so we had to lie… I wasn't very good at the part." Willow admitted sheepishly.
"Which is why it was a good thing I was there." Cordelia shot her a look. "We waited across the street to make sure the police found the room and the bodies."
"And then they cordoned the street off so we had to wait until dark to sneak out." Xander continued. Willow nodded vigorously.
"Ooh, but we saw the morgue van so they definitely found them! There was one weird thing though… his first marriage was in 1957."
Jenny frowned. "That's not possible… he wasn't old enough."
"Even if he looked younger than he is, that's a rather large discrepancy." Giles agreed, looking troubled at the thought.
"Um, excuse me? There is no way that man was in his sixties." Cordelia tossed her hair back. "Not one grey hair?"
"So what, he did something to make himself younger?" Buffy questioned in confusion.
Willow made a face. "Why would he only go back a few years?" she pointed out. "Wouldn't you go back to your twenties or thirties?"
Jenny looked thoughtful, leaning back against the arm of the soda. "Maybe he managed to stop himself ageing?"
"Does it even matter?" Xander pushed up from the wall he was leaning on. "The police will arrest him, he'll go to jail, problem solved."
Giles inclined his head. "It's possible you won't even have to testify, Buffy."
"I'm all for that." She smiled tentatively. "Shame though- might have gotten me out of algebra homework." She glared at the book in front of her. Willow laughed.
"Come on, i'll help you."
"Cordy have you done the English yet?"
"Oh my God Xander! Lazy much? It's due in tomorrow, didn't you think?"
"Then all the more reason to help me!"
"Fine, but you're not copying!"
Jenny chuckled as the four splayed themselves across the floor and buried themselves in schoolwork, bickering and joking at the same time. Rupert went to make tea, pulling her into his embrace once they'd both sat and Jenny allowed herself to relax into him as she cradled her cup, watching the kids.
"You want to tell me now?" he asked quietly. She shook her head.
"Not tonight."
For a little longer, she wanted to hold onto this. Every minute that passed convinced her that coming clean was the right thing- these past few days with Buffy had shown her the difference between what her family had been like and what it should be. All she'd ever known was expectations, disappointments and demands- these kids had shown her differently. She only hoped she wouldn't lose it all when they learnt the truth about her.