Chapter 22: New Meets Old

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: none this time…in my opinion.

Thanks to my beta: 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.

Hospital waiting room

Walking into the waiting room, Robin headed towards the two females he met the night before, hoping they would handle the introductions. Sure enough, Willow's eyes grew wide when she saw him and she leapt out of her chair. "Robin!" she exclaimed before switching into babble mode, "Everyone, this is Robin Wood; his mom was a Slayer, and he was the one who saved Buffy last night, but don't you dare hold it against him, Dawnie, because Spike was the one who made all the bad stuff happen, and I don't know if Robin even knew at the time that Spike was the one to kill his mother, or if he even knew until just now and-"

Her babble was cut off by Tara's hand a few seconds too late. "Sorry about that," Tara apologized, looking at Robin and the man with him. "We had hoped to ease into the issue of your mother and Spike, not just blurt it out. Guess today's the day for blurting things, though."

Robin smiled slightly, not pleased with everything he had heard, but finding himself amused at Buffy's friends' behavior despite that fact. Life certainly wouldn't be dull around them. "Buffy told me last night," he explained. "Thought I deserved to know that my mother's killer was gone."

Feeling Bernie's eyes boring into the back of his head, Robin cleared his throat and started the introductions, "This was her Watcher and is my adoptive father, Bernie Crowley. Bernie, these are Buffy's friends and family. Willow, Tara…" he pointed to each woman, then trailed off when he realized he couldn't introduce the rest of the group.

Xander stood up and finished for him, "I'm Xander. The girl scowling at Robin is Buffy's sister, Dawn, and the other guy is one of Buffy's ex-Watchers, Wesley."

"Did you have to kill him?" Dawn demanded.

Surprised at the venom in her voice on behalf of a vampire, Robin answered honestly, setting aside his anger at the monster who took his mother from him, "It was instinct. I saw a vampire trying to- attacking somebody, and I did what I was trained to do since I was your age." Even though Tara had let the 'attempted rape' cat out of the bag, he didn't think it was appropriate to keep bringing it up – especially without talking to Buffy first. It was doubtful she wanted her little sister to be told that over and over again.

"I can't say I understand how my mother's killer got to be friends with another Slayer, and I hope that somebody can explain that to me at some point, but obviously he meant a lot to you, so I'm sorry for your loss," Robin choked out, hating that he had to say the words, but knowing he had to be the adult in this situation. "I can't apologize for what I did, though. The scene I walked in on didn't leave me any choice…not if I wanted to be able to live with myself. I would have done something different had he been human, but I could see he wasn't. In my book, a vampire attacking a woman – especially an injured one – doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt."

Dawn desperately tried to cling to her anger at the man. She knew things weren't so black and white. If Angel had been attacking somebody who looked human, that didn't mean he was a bad guy. 'He tried to rape her!' Tara's voice echoed in her brain, reminding her that Spike's 'attack' wasn't just hitting Buffy; he had been about to- She herself might have tried to stake him if she saw him doing that.

As much as she loved Spike, she didn't think she could forgive him for hurting Buffy that way. And if this incident made her sister withdraw even more from life, Dawn might want to bring him back so she could stake him all over again.

Sensing the need to change the subject, Bernie spoke up, "How is Buffy doing? We heard the police talking about a shoot-out in her backyard."

Wes nodded gratefully to the man for defusing the situation. "She was hit in the stomach, but the doctors seem confident that she'll recover. The man that shot her is dead; my aim was better than his," he finished coldly.

At the vending machines…

The two Watchers thought some food and drinks would be a welcome distraction to the others until they could visit Buffy, so they walked to the machines together. It would also give them a chance to compare notes.

"I've heard a lot about you," Wes began in a conversational tone.

Bernie snorted, "Yeah, I can just imagine. None of it good, right?"

Shaking his head, Wes replied, "Quite the contrary. We were taught that you were one of the best Watchers of your generation."

"'Were'?"

"Then you made the mistake of becoming too attached to your Slayer and her son," Wes finished his earlier comment. "There were many of our instructors who believed you should never have allowed her to keep her child once he was born."

"And what's your opinion of me?" Bernie asked, wondering if there was going to be a problem with the younger man. If Buffy trusted him, it would make getting her to trust him and Robin that much harder.

Wes shrugged, "It depends on whether you're asking me as Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, appointed Watcher to Buffy Summers and Faith Lehane or Wes, requested Watcher of Buffy. The first one – a pompous git who thought he knew everything when he arrived in Sunnydale a few years ago – would be appalled by your lack of judgment and that you gave up a sacred duty for the bastard child of your dead Slayer."

"And the second one?" Bernie growled, angered at the man calling Robin a bastard, even if it was technically accurate. Nikki never married Robin's father.

"The second one – who was tested on the front lines, made many mistakes, but hopefully came out a wiser and more useful man – would be proud to call you a friend. I learned too late that the Council's ideas of how a Watcher should behave don't always work too well in the real world…and certainly not with Slayers like Buffy and Faith. While I can't understand why Giles left, I'm grateful for the opportunity to make amends with Buffy. I doubt I'll be able to do the same with Faith – even if she wanted it. Too much has happened between us now," Wes finished desolately.

"If it makes you feel any better, I think she might have gone off the rails even with the best Watcher on her side," Bernie replied. Funny thing was, he wasn't just trying to make the man feel better about himself. The girl really did seem like she was on the cusp before she even got to Sunnydale.

A/N: Next…Not sure what Musie will think of next. Maybe some visits in Buffy's hospital room?