Chapter Eleven

Sam and Bobby got back to the motel room, having not been able to find Dean where he and Sam had been attacked. Bobby headed straight for the laptop as Sam pulled out his cell phone. Bobby brought the GPS website up as Sam dialed.

"Well, at least his phone's on," Sam said after no one answered. "You should be able to locate him."

Bobby typed on the keyboard as he watched Sam pace nervously. "Sam, he'll be fine. He can take care of himself…and half the town now."

Sam chuckled a little as Bobby waited for the website to load. Sam leaned over Bobby's chair, watching the screen in anticipation. Sam's phone rang, and he flipped it open as he watched the website.

"Yeah?" said Sam. He stood up straight, his eyes wide. "Dean?"

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Buffy and Dean rushed out of the building, finding themselves in the middle of downtown.

"Come on, my house is this way," Buffy told him.

"Fine, but we gotta hurry," Dean replied. "Even though we kicked ass back there, there's gonna be—"

"—more where they came from," Buffy finished. "There always is." She shot him an inquisitive look as they moved quickly past the cinema. "The question is how you know that."

"What do you mean, how do I know that?" said Dean. "I know that the same way you do."

"Okay, what does that mean—" began Buffy.

"Buffy!"

Buffy and Dean looked up to see Xander, Spike and Tara running towards them.

"Yeah, it's okay, Willow," Xander said into his cell phone. "She's right here."

"How'd you find me?" asked Buffy.

"Spike said you guys were attacked, so Willow tracked you down," Tara explained.

Xander was listening intently to the other line on his cell phone.

"So, where's the girl?" asked Willow.

"What do you mean?" asked Xander.

"The girl," said Willow. "The other Slayer is there with you guys right now."

"No, Will, there's no girl here," Xander told her. "Just Buffy and some guy."

"Some guy has a name, you know," Dean spoke up. He exchanged a confused look with Buffy as Xander ignored him.

"Well, I can clearly sense two essences there, and I know one is Buffy, so the other has to be that Slayer," Willow told him.

"Wait, you mean that essence thingy is here right now besides Buffy?" asked Xander. He looked up at Dean. "We better head back to your house, Buffy."

"What's the address?" asked Dean, pulling out his phone.

"1630 Revello Drive," Buffy told him as the five of them headed the way Xander and the others had come.

Dean dialed his phone and listened to it ring.

"Yeah?" Sam answered shortly.

"Sam, it's me," Dean told him.

"Dean?"

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"Hey," said Sam as Dean let him and Bobby into the Summers house. "You okay?"

"Yeah, me and Buffy made it out okay," Dean told him, leading them into the living room to introduce everyone. "This is Buffy Summers, her sister Dawn, Spike, Willow Rosenberg, Willow's girlfriend Tara Maclay, Xander Harris, and Xander's girlfriend Anya Jenkins. Guys, this is my brother Sam and our friend Bobby Singer."

"Nice to meet you," greeted Sam.

"Now, if we could clear the air about what the hell happened tonight…" said Bobby.

"Yeah, we'd like an explanation, too," said Buffy. She looked at Dean. "Who are you?"

Dean narrowed his eyes at her. "You first."

They just stared expectantly at him.

Dean rolled his eyes. "My name is Dean Winchester. I'm a hunter."

They all frowned at him in confusion.

Dean frowned right back. He didn't understand why they were confused. They were obviously all hunters; they knew all about it. "A hunter." He looked at Buffy. "Like you."

"I'm not a hunter," Buffy told him. "I'm the Slayer."

Dean exchanged shocked looks with Bobby and Sam before looking back at Buffy. "Wait a minute, you're a Slayer, too?"

Buffy's eyes widened. "You know what a Slayer is?"

"Know what a Slayer is?" said Dean. "I am a Slayer."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Nice try. Come up with a better cover."

"It's the truth," Dean told her. "I'm a Slayer."

"Slayers can only be girls," Buffy pointed out.

Dean frowned. "But the legend goes that one person is given the strength—"

"—and skill to fight the vampires, demons and forces of darkness, yada, yada, yada," Buffy recited in a bored tone. "I know the drill. And it's not one person; it's one girl. A girl with the—"

"—power of a demon, I know," Dean finished.

Buffy and the others frowned a little at that as Dean continued.

"That's where the first Slayer came from," Dean finished. "At least, that's how the legend went until it actually happened to me."

"That's impossible," said Buffy. "It's always a girl. One girl in every generation. When she dies, the next one's called. You can't be a Slayer."

"Well, Buff, there was that energy surge that happened the day you died, starting in Sunnydale and popping over to Illinois," Willow piped up. "Maybe it has something—"

"Wait, wait, Illinois?" Dean interrupted. "Pontiac, Illinois?"

Willow thought for a moment and shrugged back.

"Where I came back…" Dean mused.

"Came back?" asked Buffy.

"Uh, yeah, see…I kind of died…and four months later, an angel pulled me out of hell," Dean explained. "When I came back, there was this…presence, this strength I felt. All of a sudden, I was stronger, faster, a better fighter—"

"When did this happen?" asked Willow.

"About four months ago," Dean answered.

Buffy exchanged a serious look with Willow. "The day I died."

Dean's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Wait, you died, too?"

Buffy nodded slowly. Dean was about to ask her about it when Willow turned to him.

"You said you were pulled out of hell by an angel that day?" Willow asked. "September 18, right?"

Dean nodded.

"That explains it, Buffy," Willow began ranting. "He was being pulled out of hell by a powerful supernatural entity at the same time you were being killed by that portal to a hell dimension. With all those combining factors, it could have confused the Slayer essence. With Dean being pulled from hell—by an angel, no less—that might have attracted the Slayer essence to him, and—voila!—a guy Slayer. Or maybe it was some kind of exchange of power when you passed him on your way into hell."

"Whoa, whoa," Dean said in shock. "You were in hell?"

Buffy glanced uneasily at her friends before nodding. "Yeah…I was in hell."

"So, what, an angel pulled you out, too?" asked Sam.

"No, actually, you have us to thank for that," Xander joined in, sounding proud.

Bobby looked dubiously at them. "You guys raised Buffy from the dead?"

"Well, it was mostly Willow's spell," Anya said. "We just kinda helped."

"Spell?" asked Dean edgily. "Willow's a witch?"

Willow nodded. "Tara's a witch, too."

"Oh, I'm not even in the same league as you, Will," said Tara affectionately.

Dean narrowed his eyes into a glare, which was directed at the two girls. "A witch?"

Willow frowned at him. "Yeah. Although, I'm not too sure about that stink eye you're giving me."

"Oh, sorry," Dean apologized in mock concern. "It's just that every witch I've ever met has been evil!"

"Well, we're not, so get over it," Willow told him.

"Okay, can we get back on topic here?" said Buffy suddenly, not liking the look Dean and his friends were giving the two witches. She looked at Willow. "Will, you're saying you believe him about the whole Slayer thing?"

Willow shrugged. "Maybe."

"Well, if he's a Slayer, where's his Watcher?" Buffy pointed out.

Dean frowned over at Bobby, who gave him a shrug, and he looked back at the others. "Watcher? Is that some new term for stalker?"

"A Watcher is someone who trains the Slayer," Buffy explained. "Each Slayer has one. So, where's yours?"

The doorbell rang, and everyone looked in the direction of the door for a moment before Buffy went and answered it.

"Hello, Ms. Summers," came a British voice. "I'm with the Watchers' Council."

"Well, you have good timing, I'll give you that," said Buffy.

"The Council likes to keep an eye on things here in Sunnydale, and we have reason to believe a new Slayer has entered the picture," said the British man.

"Wow, nothing gets by you," Buffy muttered.

Dean exchanged a look with Sam. Clearly, Buffy did not like this guy and who he was with.

"Is Dean Winchester here?" the man asked.

"Sure," Buffy said.

There were footsteps as the door closed before a man Bobby's age in a suit entered the living room. Buffy walked in and went back over to her friends, but Dean didn't miss the annoyed look she was giving the man.

The man frowned at Dean and spoke in a British accent. "Are you Dean Winchester?"

Dean crossed his arms, looking the guy up and down. "Who wants you know?"

The man's face brightened at having found the right person. "My name is Edmund Gracie. I'm your new Watcher."

Dean stared at him for a moment before busting out in raucous laughter. "I'm sorry, my what?"

"Your new—" began Edmund seriously.

"I heard you the first time," Dean interrupted, all traces of laughter gone from his voice and face as he narrowed his eyes at the Watcher. "No, thank you."

Edmund blinked in confusion. "Mr. Winchester—"

"Look, no offense, but I don't need Jeeves the librarian following me around all day," Dean told him.

Xander and Willow started sniggering a little at Dean's attitude.

"Mr. Winchester, it is tradition for the Slayer to have a Watcher," Edmund explained.

Dean glanced at Buffy real quick. "I don't see Buffy with a Watcher."

Edmund glanced uneasily at Buffy out of the corner of his eye. "Buffy has regrettably quit the Watcher's Council."

Dean shrugged with a smirk. "Swanky. I quit, too."

"Mr. Winchester, you need a Watcher to train you to be able to fight the forces of darkness," Edmund tried to persuade him.

Dean stepped menacingly closer towards the man. "Alright, look, pal. I've been fighting monsters since I was six, long before I had these fancy new Slayer powers or a Watcher to help me. You know why I don't need a Watcher to train me? Because my father was a hero. He trained me to fight the forces of darkness. I think I'll be fine."

Edmund tried to stand his ground as Dean stared him down five feet in front of him. "Mr. Winchester—"

"No," Dean growled at him.

"But, Mr. Winchester, you—"

"You say 'Mr. Winchester' one more time, I will punch you in the face," Dean gritted out.

Buffy smiled, giving him an approving look, when he said that.

"I take it we can't convince you otherwise?" asked Edmund.

"That sounds about right," Dean nodded.

"Good day, then, Mr.—" Edmund caught himself, "Dean." He turned towards the foyer and closed the door behind him.

Dean looked incredulously at the Sunnydale gang. "Are they all like that?"

"Yes," the gang chorused at him.

Dean shuddered. "Dodged a bullet with that one."

"Well, Buffy's Watcher wasn't that bad," Dawn piped up. "Well, the second one, maybe, but her first Watcher…He even quit the Watcher's Council with Buffy."

"Well, you'll have to fill me in on how your gang works here," said Dean.

"I'd like to go back to the whole 'Dean's fought monsters since he was six' thing," said Xander. "Now, that sounds like a story."

Dean chuckled. "You have no idea."