Chapter 2: Past Meets Present

A/N: The chapters will be short until I figure out what the hell I want to do with this story.

Challenge: partially to answer a forum request/challenge by DeepBlueJoy for a story with a 'person of color' as a main character – who doesn't die immediately.

Warning: Sorry Spike fans. He sorta deserved his fate though.

Thanks to my betas: flying solo so far.

Disclaimer: BtVS and AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

Summers living room

Staring at the sword pointed at him, Robin was almost certain now that he was looking at the Slayer. Her question confused him a little since he already explained who he was and why he was there, but then he remembered Serena.

Serena Jones was a girl who was a senior at his high school when he was a freshman. After she was 'sexually assaulted' – that's what the formal charges called her rape – by a couple local stoners, he and Bernie happened to find her in an alley. Her memory was sketchy for a good number of hours afterwards. The cops had to ask her several times for simple stuff, like her address and phone number.

Because of that event, Bernie insisted that they work at a crisis center for abused teens. So with that and other memories of assault victims in mind, he very gently reintroduced himself, "My name is Robin Wood; Nikki Wood was my mother before a vampire got her in New York when I was a young boy. Her Watcher's name was Bernard Crowley, and after her death, he retired from the Council so he could adopt me. If you want to call your Watcher to confirm my story, that's fine."

"Can't call him," she replied, sounding hurt and angry – which was to be expected under the circumstances. "He's in England, and we don't have the money to pay the long distance. Guess I could call Wes, though," she added thoughtfully.

He sat still while she made her call, all the time wondering why her Watcher was in England. Maybe there was a special shipment of books or weapons that required him to travel with them?

She didn't look happy while she waited for the person on the other end of the phone to pick up, and really didn't sound happy as she spoke to them, "Hey Cordy, I need to talk to Wes. …Well, where is he? …Listen, I don't give a rat's ass what he did to Angel. There's a situation here, and I need a Watcher. Since mine has decided to take after Hank and Angel, I need Wes! Thanks, oh…and tell Angel that I hope he gets his kid back soon. …Of course I heard about it. Demons tend to talk about news like that."

Before Robin could ask any questions – of which he had about a dozen – she immediately began dialing again. Her voice was slightly warmer as she greeted this person, "Wes? Hey, it's Buffy. I was wondering if you knew anything about Bernard Crowley and his Slayer, Nikki Wood," she looked at Robin to make sure she had the names right, and when he nodded, she continued, "…and her son, Robin? I'm guessing she was active about 20 years ago or so in New York."

He watched as a myriad of emotions crossed her face while she listened to whatever information this man gave her. It finally seemed to settle on a sort of resigned frustration. "Crap, I thought it sounded kind of familiar." She paused, appearing to build up her courage to ask him something.

Robin's guess was correct because the next words out of her mouth were, "Do you think you could come to Sunnydale, Wes? I'm not sure how much Giles has told you – if he's told you anything – but I think I could really use a Watcher right about now. I would have asked before this, but I thought you were happy with Angel. Cordy started to tell me, but I told her I didn't care what happened between you two. All that matters to me is whether you're evil or not."

It surprised Robin when she laughed softly at whatever Wes said to her. The way it changed her face was astounding and really made her look beautiful. "I wouldn't say no to a cookie or two," she replied, obviously referencing some private joke between them. "Thanks, Wes, I really appreciate this."

When she hung up, she looked back at him and demanded, "What was Crowley's favorite pet?"

The question was so out of the blue that it took Robin a second to answer, "His favorite pet was Chips, a cocker spaniel he named when he was three."

He must have answered correctly, because she put the sword down and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Buffy Summers. Just so you know, the vampire you just staked was the one who killed your mother. He's been sort of an ally since he was chipped by the government a couple years ago, but then he decided we were destined to be together."

Robin was glad he was sitting because he was sure he would have fainted from the news.

A/N: Next…Some more chit-chat, I think. I know it's really evil to make these chapters so short, but it's fun for me. I've got to get my jollies somewhere, right?