Chapter 12: Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, Watcher Once Again

A/N: Thought maybe we should check in on poor Wes over in LA.

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: defending Wes' actions concerning Connor a little.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AshDawnSoulmates and AerynSpeedleCaine.

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.

Wes' apartment

As the sun was rising…

Wes' first instinct was to grab his emergency overnight bag and race to Sunnydale when he got the call from Buffy. After all, somebody was requesting his help without reminding him that they didn't trust him – except for solving the problem they couldn't figure out on their own. Okay, so that was a not-so-subtle jab at Angel's team concerning the Sluks.

Not that he wanted Fred to die…certainly not! Giving Gunn the answer to saving her made him feel like he was making up for his mistake – even if they didn't happen to agree. Plus, he couldn't let her die if he knew how to save her.

Her words in the hospital hurt as much as being dismissed from the Council, but in a slightly different way. Being fired had stripped him of his identity, the one that his father had been drilling into him since birth. Fred saying that he wasn't welcome in the group anymore wounded him because of his infatuation with her.

Now Buffy was offering him a chance to redeem himself as a Watcher. Sure it was unofficial, but the past couple years had shown him that the organization he worked for wasn't as important as the work he did.

Wes knew that he failed Faith far worse than Buffy, however, it was Buffy he wanted to think of him with admiration. That probably was because Buffy never tortured him for hours – unless he counted her taste in music during her workouts, which Wes didn't. It wasn't his first choice, but Giles surely had listened to worse things during his rebellious days. Wes thought it was just one of their routines to show their closeness that bothered him so much back then.

With that in mind, he decided that if Buffy was requesting a Watcher, he should bring all of his resources with him. So he took the time to pack up all of his books and weapons, but didn't worry about the personal items as much.

If he allowed himself to think about it, Wes would have been sad that his personal items only took up one small filing box. Good thing he didn't let himself think about it. Instead, he decided to leave the extra clothes, dishes, bedding, etc. for Anne to take to the shelter. In fact…he might consider offering his apartment to Anne in case she wanted or needed a place away from the shelter. He'd get new stuff wherever he ended up – whether in Sunnydale or someplace else.

He knew that despite what Buffy said on the phone, there was a good chance that when she heard the details of his betrayal, she would try something else. Still, now that he wasn't the ponce he had been when he first got to Sunnydale, maybe the 'rogue demon hunting' plan wouldn't be such a bad idea. Of course, he wouldn't call himself that again – what a joke! No wonder he'd had a hard time getting anyone to take him seriously. It would have been different if he'd had the reputation to back up the name at the time.

But he would be honest with Buffy about what happened and take the consequences. Given how sore his throat still was, maybe it would be better to write it out so he could save his voice for her questions – which he was sure she'd have many of. A small part of him realized that she might try to finish the job Angel started in the hospital – despite the 'rule' about Slayers not killing humans.

If she didn't kill him, he might tell her…eventually, that the rule was a load of rubbish the Council came up with to keep the Slayers in line after one girl killed her Watcher when he performed the Cruciamentum on her. If a Slayer went crazy after killing a human, it was either because she thought she should – since that's what she was told would happen – or because she was already headed that way. In other words, it was just a coincidence.

Wes was just glad that Buffy's call gave him the excuse he needed to leave LA. He knew that even though they hated him, Angel and his group would come knocking on his door the next time they needed his knowledge to solve a case.

But next time he wasn't going to be here when they came begging for help.

A/N: Sorry if Wes seems angry and bitter, but…well…he is, and with good reason, in my opinion. I re-read the transcript, and while he was kidnaping Connor, I don't think he had any intention of handing him over to Holtz; he was gonna run on his own until he figured out how to stop the prophecy.