The Gift of a Family chapter 5. Yack Saliva.

A.N. ok I know Daniel should be older than I am making him out to be in this story. Just go with it ok? I will explain later.

Cheers to my beta reader dharkcharlotte from thank you again.

Buffy sat looking at her phone, and wondered again what was going on in England. She had been calling all night and left Giles and Willow many messages. Jack was in another room calling his superior officers. She had tried to talk Jack out of it, the last thing she wanted was the military in town again, but he was insistent. He was as stubborn as she was and she realized that she was not going to win that argument. At least he listened to her. She could tell that he was absorbing every detail of what she had to say about the vampires. She was very surprised how calmly he took it all. It was almost like he dealt with the strange and unusual on a regular basis. He seemed the most surprised that vampires have been around for a long time. He was also very curious about the initiative. Buffy could have kicked herself for bringing that up.

Looking over at the man next to her was her only distraction from worrying about Giles, Willow and the coming apocalypse. He was certainly easy on the eyes she guessed that he was about ten years older than she was. He still seemed familiar to her but she knew she had never met him before. (Not in this life anyway.) She wouldn't have met him anywhere else so she knew it was just her mind playing tricks on her.

There was something about him that reminded her of Giles, only a yummy younger version of Giles.

I feel like I've been pummeled by an Unas. Daniel thought miserably, recognizing the familiar stale scent of an infirmary or hospital.

"What is an Unas?" A young feminine voice asked him.

His eyes flying open (not realizing that he had spoken aloud) he turned to the source of the voice. There he saw the most startling green eyes he had ever seen. Time seemed to stop when he looked into the lovely emerald pools. There was a kindred soul before him one he felt an instant connection to. Her eyes seemed to look straight into his soul.

He was struck, sensing a burden of sorrow and responsibility. He could see the mark of darkness and misery and yet . . . yet there was something else as well. Hidden beneath the cares and worries was a spark of light and love. Looking at it, Daniel could only think of one other time in his life when he had felt anything like it. (That had been when he was ascended.)

"How are you feeling?" She asked waking him from his thoughts. Shaking his head mentally he turned to look at her again but once again was shocked. The owner of those ageless eyes of darkness and light was a young woman. An incredibly beautiful young woman.

"Hello." He stated dumbly.

Buffy couldn't help laughing. "Hello." She replied and decided to give him a moment for his brain to start working. She knew it could be disorienting to wake up in a hospital bed.

"What happened?"

"Officially you were bitten by a snake named Slinky." She stated with a completely straight face. "Unofficially you probably wouldn't believe it, but judging from the conversation I had with Jack earlier you will probably still want to know what happened right?"

"A snake named Slinky?" He asked laughing. Who in their right mind is going to buy that cover story? "Please continue with the unofficial version." Daniel stated.

"You were attacked by a group of vampires who were planning to use you and Jack for a blood sacrifice."

"Vampires?" Daniel asked calmly as he blinked in surprise. "That's a new one."

"That's what Jack said. It's true though."

"How did we get away?" Daniel asked.

"With a little help from a friend." Buffy stated.

Daniel nodded. Jack must have gotten us out of there somehow. He thought.

A while later a ringing interrupted their conversing and Buffy excused herself to answer her phone.

"Giles how goes the land of tea and scones?"

"I'm afraid that things have been a little crazed here. Willow and I have been trying to take care of some council problems. I am sorry I missed your calls. What is wrong dear girl?"

"Oh you know the usual."

"Oh no not another apocalypse!"

"I'm, afraid so. Dawnie says that this one should be lower on the apocalypse scale then the others."

Daniel arched his brow hearing this one-sided conversation.

"Um...what did you say Buffy?" Giles asked sincerely worried that perhaps his slayer was suffering from hallucinations again. Absently he took off his glasses and started cleaning them.

"I know what you're thinking and stop cleaning your glasses! She came to me in a vision and warned me about the big bad and gave me a few other vague and not so vague predictions about a big change in my future. I need help with the research. You know that is my bad heel."

"That's 'Achilles-heel.' What do we have to go on?"

"A large group of out of town vamps has moved in and they are trying to gather a blood sacrifice together and need battle blood."

"Battle blood?"

"You know people who have lived through battles, their blood. Jack said one of the vamps called the ritual a Hor-toss ritual."

Giles eyebrows furrowed. "Are you sure? Was it maybe a Horcoth Ritual?"

"Hortoss, Horcoth what's the diff.?"

"Well. A Hortoss ritual involves bathing in the saliva of a yack to repel werewolves. It's a disgusting ritual practiced in South America that doesn't even work."

"Eew gross!" Buffy stated. "How do you know that it doesn't work? I wouldn't want to go near anybody after that and werewolves have an even better sense of smell than I do."

Daniel filed away the werewolf statement to ask about later.

Giles sighed. "Because a watcher once observed one before the village was attacked by a pack of werewolves. Can we stick to the issue please?"

"Ok, fine what about the other ritual thingie."

"I'm not sure. I need to look into it. It sounds familiar and oddly menacing."

"Like bathing in yack saliva doesn't sound menacing enough." Daniel arched his eyebrow at this. It sounded like the night in Abydose when the local women had cleaned him up for his marriage with Sharae.

"Is there anything else you can tell me? What about the vampire in charge?"

"One of them was named Dagger and the one I fought (with) last night said that a dragon was going to kill me before he staked himself. Giles they don't have a real dragon, do they? Cuz, I don't have a firebolt or a wand. I might have scars on my body but none of them are in the shape of a lightening bolt . . . well except for that one . . . but it isn't on my head and I am sure that it won't protect me from anything."

"Buffy. It isn't a real dragon." Giles stated hesitantly.

"Oh, good."

"He is a very dangerous and bloodthirsty Master Vampire with twin tattoos of oriental dragons on each arm. It is rumored that he has metal claws. Buffy, he and Spike go way back. The Dragon has a number of fanatic vampire loyalists who worship him like a god."

"Great I get to fight Freddy Kruger who is masquerading as a god." Buffy sensed Daniel's twitch as she mentioned this and turned to look at his whitening expression.

I probably shouldn't be talking about this right in front of him. She thought to herself.

"This is no laughing matter Buffy."

"I'm not laughing."

"I'll get you the info we have on the Dragon and have Willow fax it to your house. Then we will start researching the Horcoth. Buffy there is one more thing and you aren't going to like it."

"What?" Buffy asked dreading what his next words would be.

"Remember the books I left you to use for research that I am sure you haven't even touched."

"Oh, no Giles you can't be thinking what I think you are thinking."

Daniel blinked as Buffy's face turned a ghostly white. After being calm and collected about everything else I wonder what could be making her that worried? He thought curiously.

"It's possible that the book that has the info on the Horcoth ritual is at your place. You are going to have to go through them there while we go through things here."

"Hold on what about the council? Why don't they tell us about this blood ritual thing? That is what they are supposed to be there for right?"

"I'm afraid that there was a bit of an explosion and most of the council is dead. It looks like it was set up by the Dragon." Buffy blanched.

"Giles I am sorry. Did you lose any friends in the explosion?" She was sorry about it. She hated it when people died. "Travers probably deserved to be blown up but not everyone else." Buffy stated not realizing that she was talking aloud. "Did I say that out loud? I'm sorry Giles after the Cruciamentum and how he almost let my mother get killed . . . " Buffy trailed off she was really revealing too much to the handsome man beside her but she didn't want to leave until she was certain he was in the clear.

"Yes Buffy, You did say that out loud." Giles sounded cold for a moment but sighed. "Actually, for the record, I agree with you." The Ripper within him forced him to admit.

"Even if you do agree with me, I shouldn't have said that. Bad Buffy!"

"My dear you need to get to work as do we. Stop punishing yourself."

"I still have finish up here at the hospital before I can do anything else." Buffy stated. It was a last ditch effort to get out of the research.

"Hospital! Are you wounded?" Giles was ready to freak. Buffy never went willingly to the hospital. She had to be very badly off.

"No, I'm here with some of the aforementioned battle blood making sure it wasn't turned to something . . . completely different." She was about to say dark and evil but realized that the aforementioned battle blood was sitting next to her and listening.

"It is doubtful that the battle bl . . . er . . . the victim was changed if he really is someone they wanted for the ritual. It is good to be certain before you go. But as soon as you know you have got to get back to the house and get with the research."

"You are loving this aren't you? Alright you win Mr. Fascist Dictatorial Librarian. As soon as it's dawn, I will go pull the books you left and start going through them. But they had better be written in English!"

"Er . . . right . . . Well it was lovely talking to you Buffy. We'll call you as soon as we have any news."

"Giles," Buffy sounded panicked now. "They are in English right? You only left me books in English. Right?" But Giles had already gone leaving Buffy fuming and frightened. "No, please don't let the books be in some strange language." Buffy prayed aloud as she hung up her phone and ran her fingers through her hair. She had a headache just thinking about looking through all of those books.

"Sorry to have listened in but, what other languages would these books be in?" Daniel asked his professional curiosity sparking.

"They had better be in English or this world may be in big trouble. I am so not good with the whole other language thing. They might be in anything from an ancient form of Latin to Fyarl demon." Buffy griped but stopped speaking when she noticed a strange look of desire in Daniels eyes. Great he gets that way when I talk about other old books in ancient languages and not when we are looking into each other's eyes. Buffy thought peevishly. I must be losing the magic touch.