Disclaimer: Buffy and Torchwood universes are not mine. I'm just playing with them ^^

I can't believe I received such wonderfull review. I was so insecure but now I know that I made the right choice and it's thanks to you. So now, I let you with the next chapter.

I've finished the twentieth chapter last week. I have yet to send tenth to twentieth to my beta ^_^

These days, I'm busy with The Sims 3!! Such wonderful game...

On the fanfiction's side, for the ones who had read A Matter of Choice, I'm working on the plot for the second part. It was complicated because I have written maybe twenty pages but the story wasn't going where I wanted. So I erased everything and I'm starting again from the beginning.

Oh, and this month, Torchwood's team is back!! I'm so excited!

Ok, I stop the babbling here and let you read in peace!

Oh, and don't forget to review!!

*Leaving now*

Chapter Nine

Movies night

"So, do you do this often?" Buffy asked from her spot in Tosh's kitchen.

The Asian woman looked up from her preparations.

"No. This is the first time. But I thought of it for a long time. I mean, we're a team, we work together. We have no friends outside of work so now that we're all in on the secret, why not?"

So tonight was a first. Everyone was meeting at Tosh's for a nice relaxing evening. It was the first time they were doing anything of the sort. The team was used to going out for a drink together, but this time, Rhys and Andy were coming too. At first, Jack had wanted to Retcon the policeman but Buffy had refused, saying that she would tell him the truth. So, after much arguing, he had given up. The two men didn't know the details of Torchwood, they were only knew what they dealt with.

Buffy had arrived at Tosh's place early. She had offered to help but the Asian girl remembered what Buffy had said when they met and had declined the offer. The blonde had laughed and said "Wise choice." Tonight, it was Japanese food. The doorbell rang and Buffy hopped to her feet: "I'll get it!"

She greeted Gwen and Rhys with a smile. Andy arrived not long after. He was nervous. He didn't know the Torchwood team and was so used to hating them that it was really strange for him to come. In fact, without Buffy's harassment, he wouldn't have come at all. But she had begged, stomped her foot and pouted. She had thrown a real tantrum and he had given in. But he hoped that the evening would end quickly.

Jack, Ianto and Owen arrived together. The doctor was less than happy. When she greeted him with her usual "Rude-Guy" he sent her his best death glare. She ignored it, like always. The beginning of the evening was really awkward. None of them felt at ease. Andy didn't participate much. As for Rhys, he was glaring at Jack with everything he had. After a while, Buffy and Jack took matters into their own hands and started to compare the oddest cases they had gotten. Mixed with the high school universe, she had really strange things to tell. So she told them about the hyena possession and how the possessed teenagers ate the principal, about the giant praying mantis science teacher, about Amy's mother and what she had done to the other cheerleaders, about the swim team becoming monsters…

"And I thought my high school was Hell!" Rhys laughed.

"I don't understand how you continued going on with all that bad stuff happening," Andy said.

"It was normal for us. And we blew up the high school during Graduation so, we had our revenge."

"You what?" was heard from many of them. At first, they were shocked and disbelieving. Then, Andy and Rhys started to talk at once, congratulating her. Jack asked to know more and she explained to them about the Mayor's Ascension.

"So, we convinced the parents to not come and armed ourselves. We had crossbows, stakes, holy water, crosses and flame-throwers. It was the first really big battle we had to fight. The library was full of explosives. The students were supposed to keep the vampires at bay, protecting themselves from them and the Mayor who had become a giant snake-like demon. I attracted him in the school and got out just before we blew the building up with him in it. Not before he had eaten the principal though. The official version is a gas leak."

"I can't believe you blew up your high school!" Gwen exclaimed.

"How many died?"

Jack's question killed the mood instantly. Buffy's smile fell a little and she shrugged:

"Too many. But we saved the world."

The awkwardness was back. Quickly, they cleared the table and thanked Tosh for the dinner. Then, they set themselves in front of the TV. They had brought several DVDs, all centered around monsters or aliens. They watched Alien and The War of the Worlds. All the while, the real alien hunters criticize the technical elements and the realism. Finally, Rhys had had enough:

"You're ruining everything!"

"But it's stupid!" her fiancée replied.

"But we don't know that," Andy said. "For us, it could be real."

"So be glad to learn something," Owen snapped. "You'll go to sleep less stupid."

Rhys lost it and started yelling at the doctor for being such an asshole. Of course, Owen didn't take that well and yelled back. Gwen tried to separate them but without success. Ianto was smiling and whispering something in the captain's ear, making him laugh.

"Is it always like this?" Andy asked Buffy, eying the scene curiously.

"I don't know, but it's fun. It's like watching a soap opera in live."

After two minutes however, the Slayer watched Jack:

"Maybe you should intervene?"

He frowned: "And spoil the fun? Why?"

When the two men were both red and on their feet, yelling at each other, she had enough. She stood up and whistled. They stopped and glared at her. Her hands on the hips, she said:

"Are you going to force me to punish you?"

Rhys exhaled deeply, glared one last time at Owen and sat back down. Owen however looked at her and stepped closer, looking her right in the eyes:

"Go on, punish me!"

"You'd like it too much."

She didn't back away, never looking away either. Her smile fell. He was defying her, invading her personal space and the Slayer didn't like that. She was a dominant by nature. Everyone was watching them, tension palpable in the air. Owen bravely took another step forward:

"Maybe you're the one who'd like it too much. And that's why you're not going to do anything."

Gwen looked like she was going to say something but was stopped by one look from Jack. He was curious to see what would happen. He had watched the tension build between the two since they had met. It was time they handled their issues, whatever they were. She took another step, looking menacing. Then, her voice came out like sugar:

"You don't have what it takes Rude-Guy."

She pushed him and he fell onto the coach. She leaned towards him, her face inches from his and whispered:

"I like my men older, stronger and darker."

She stood up abruptly and turned towards the rest of the group:

"Monster movies?"

And it was like nothing happened. They went on with their evening and exchanged alien movies with monsters movies. Buffy laughed all through Underworld and Interview with a Vampire, explaining what wasn't true—essentially, the entirety of the movies. At last, Gwen saw the last DVD and asked:

"Dracula?"

They all shook their heads, not wanting to see another one with Buffy with them. What she said shocked them:

"Oh no! That's all bullshit. I met him and he's sooo not like that!"

They blinked. They found themselves doing that a lot since meeting her.

"You met Dracula?" Ianto couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah. He was quite interesting. He had more than one trick up his sleeve. He even did that resurrection trick. He really was an annoying one."

"Dracula the vampire?" Gwen insisted.

"Do you know someone else? I mean come on! What kind of name is Dracula anyway?"

She saw their smiles and put her hand up:

"If you say one thing about my name, I'll kick your asses!"

"So, tell us more about the real Dracula," Tosh asked curiously.

Buffy made herself comfortable and recounted her meeting with the dandy vampire. Her hand flew to her throat when she told them about the bite. Jack asked if he could see it closer and she let him. She shivered a little when she felt his fingers brushed her skin. Oh God, she hadn't been with a man since so long. She cleared her throat and moved away.

"He left a nasty scar," Jack said.

"It wasn't just him. I was bitten at sixteen years old by a six hundred year old vampire. And after, by a vampire friend of mine who needed Slayer blood to cure a poison."

"Sixteen years old," repeated Tosh. "I'd forgotten that you were so young."

"He could have killed you," Andy said.

"He did," the Slayer confessed. "He drowned me. My heart stop beating and I died for a few minutes. But my friend had followed me and he did CPR. He saved me."

A silence followed her confession. She never talked about the implications of her job and what she had lived through. In fact, with the tales of her Graduation, Dracula and her death, she had told them more about her than since they met her.

"Chill! Look, I'm alive and completely irresistible. And, while we are in the sharing mood, I'll show you a secret. It's a special ritual we used to do for celebrating our victory. It's called: the Scooby Dance!"

She jumped to her feet and started doing the most ridicules dance they had ever seen. She grabbed Andy's hand while saying:

"Come on! It's a sacred thing! Don't mock, just do it."

Then she dragged Rhys into it, who took hold of Gwen's hand. In a matter of minutes, they were dancing in the middle of Tosh's apartment. Except Owen who was standing up, arms crossed over his chest, a bored look on his face. Buffy saw it and rushed to him, grabbing his hands and pulling him to her.

"You know, you should relax a bit, enjoy life and smile a little. It would be good for you."

"Why? There's nothing funny or relaxing about my life."

"You don't look hard enough. How could you save the world if you didn't love it?"

"'Cause that's my job."

"What a sad person you are, Owen Harper!"

Who was she to tell him how to live his life? Maybe he liked who he was! He opened his mouth to tell her what he thought of her advice when a ringing rent the air. She let go of him, jumped over the coach and grabbed her ringing cellphone out of her bag. She picked up:

"Summers."

Her face hardened:

"How many?"

She rummaged through her bag and took out a notebook in which she wrote something.

"Don't touch anything! Tell your guys to stay out of the house. If something comes out, don't intercept it. I'll be there as soon as possible."

Then she hung up, grabbed her coat and her bag: "I have to go. Thanks for the evening Tosh."

She was out in no time with Jack running after her. She was in the hall when he stopped her:

"Do you need help?"

"No. This is definitely something supernatural."

"How are you getting to the crime scene?"

"Walking, running, grabbing a cab…"

"I have a car."

"And you came with Ianto and Owen."

"They can take a cab."

Buffy was in a hurry. The scene had seemed bad and the more time she wasted, the more the vibes would fade. She accepted and followed him towards his black car while he called Ianto to let him know he was going with her. She gave him the address and put her bag on her lap. It wasn't that large but Willow performed a neat trick, making it much bigger inside than outside. It was like Mary Poppins' bag! She had the essential weapons for slaying in it: stakes, a small crossbow, holy water, crosses and four silver daggers. She also had a little emergency kit.

The crime had been committed in the residential area. There were houses everywhere, with well-kept gardens, white fences and garden gnomes. The house was like the others. Two stores with a light sky blue façade, nice flower beds in the garden and bright green grass. There was even a wooden swing. The perfect picture. Or it would be without the police cars and ambulances all around, haloing the place in blue and red lights. Jack parked quickly and she cringed when she saw the expression of several cops when they saw her with him. Her sudden partnership with Torchwood hadn't been well received by them.

She didn't wait for Jack and rushed towards Cadogan who was waiting for her. He held up the yellow tape for her and she didn't wait for him to explain the situation. They had been called thirty minutes ago by a neighbor. He was taking out his dog before leaving for work. The pet escaped and had run into the house. The front door was half-opened. The man had called for someone. When he received no answer, he entered. His dog, a Labrador, was licking the blood on the floor. He got out and called the cops immediately. When the first ones arrived and saw the scene, they called in Cadogan and here she was. There were no witnesses. Nobody had heard or seen a thing. It was an uneventful day, they said. Except for the slaughter of their neighbors.

"Stay here," she told Cadogan.

She touched the silver dagger around her waist, making sure it was there and reassuring her. She wasn't even fully inside the house when the magical-leftovers caught up with her, making her sway on her feet. The Slayer rose inside of her and Buffy didn't push it back. Whatever happened wasn't pretty so she did as always: she let the human side of her fade to the back of her mind. In the hall, the blood's scent assaulted her and she wrinkled her nose. There were pictures on the walls and other surfaces. They told the story of a happy family. It was possible to see the three children growing up. It was impossible to not feel the love. Buffy tried to erase the smiling faces from her mind. They were dead now. All five of them. She went on, breathing deeply, preparing herself. The closer she went, the stronger the smell of blood and the feeling of magic was.

Jack watched her demeanor change. All expression left her face and her eyes became cold. He was sure she was noticing every detail, surely seeing things he couldn't. There was something dark, dangerous and powerful about her. She was a predator and he was really glad to not be the prey right now. Maybe Owen should see her like that more often? He would learn to keep a low profile around her if he wanted to live a little longer. But hey, he wasn't going to tell him that. He had fun every time they met. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the scene before him.

They had arrived in the living room. The furniture had been pushed against the wall. In the center of the room, a large circle—two meters in diameter—had been carved into the wood floor and there were symbols and runes, candles and other strange items. The air was saturated with incense, blood and electricity. He stayed on the doorstep while Buffy entered.

The bodies were piled in the back of the room. The bloody scent was coming from the center of the circle. The floor was hidden by the glistening substance. She moved closer to the bodies and tried not to run away. They looked like mummies or dried fruits. Their skin was like really old parchment, barely holding onto the bones. Their eyes had disappeared, leaving just black holes where they should have been.
Their hair was just like straw.

The pictures she had just seen flashed through her mind. Smiling, happy, full of life. Anger rose up in her chest and Buffy growled. Jack stared at her, surprised. She had actually growled! She was wrinkling her nose and her pupils were dilated. She was looking around and moaned:

"I need a witch."

"A witch?"

"Yeah. I don't know enough about witchcraft. This thing is way beyond me. I need to know who or what is behind it, what was the purpose of the ritual. So, I need help. Don't move."

She left and, strangely, he obeyed and stayed inside. He entered into the room a little. There was something creepy about this place. He wondered what happened here. Did they die quickly or did their murderers take their time? Did they have to witness the agony of their loved ones? Pain permeated the place. It was vicious. Buffy walked back in, a camera in her hand.

"I'm going to take as many photos as I can. Could you look around and tell me if you see something weird?"

"You mean weirder than all this?" he asked sarcastically.

She nodded at him then they began working. They moved fast, silent and efficient. Buffy's eyes weren't missing a thing, taking dozens of photographs. Jack was surprised by the cleanliness of the place. All the blood was concentrated in the center of the circle; there was not a drop outside of it. Even the incense weren't spilled on the floor. There were strange rocks, candles and other occult items he hadn't seen before.

He left Buffy to her work, to go exploring the others rooms. In the kitchen, a pan was on the gas cooker, full of water. On the worktop, there was a pack of pasta and some bolognaise sauce. The cutlery was on the kitchen table, ready to be dressed. It should have been a normal evening for this normal family. Instead of that, they had been slaughtered in the safety of their own home. He left the room and went upstairs.

The rooms were messy, full of life. Things had been frozen in the moment, toys scattered on the floor, pens still on the desk, computers opened to an Internet window. In the room of the oldest son, an instant messenger was still running, people were still talking to him, asking him where he was. Pictures were on every wall. More family moments surrounding by loving friends. The more Jack explored the house, the more he felt the anger boiling in his veins. How dare they! Finally, he went downstairs in time to see a bunch of people carrying body bags outside.

"Who are they?" he asked Buffy when he arrived in the room.

"People I work with. They're the scientific part. Don't touch that!"

A man jumped. He had been ready to take what? A rock?

"You have the bodies, now leave! And please don't touch a thing!"

They left without asking questions but Jack did:

"Why couldn't they touch that?"

"Witchcraft is a nasty thing. We don't know what happened here. Maybe they left traps. We have to be cautious."

"Are you going to be the one to recover everything?"

"No. I'll call a witch in for support. And I won't move a thing without her consent. I need to get out of here."

She left without waiting for him. He couldn't blame her. Cadogan was waiting for them outside.

"What happened Summers?"

"I don't know yet but it's bad. I can feel it."

"How bad?" Jack asked.

"I don't know yet but I have a really bad feeling. They sacrificed an entire family! But why? The whole place is giving me the jitters. A spell like that with so many ingredients is a huge thing. So what's the result? What was the goal of it? There's nothing! And that scares the crap out of me. Because it could mean only one thing: that was just the beginning or a part of something bigger. And that's not a good thing. In fact, that's a really really bad thing."

"Ok, now you're scaring me," the Captain said.

"Good, because you should be."

Buffy asked Cadogan to keep both eyes and ears open. Policemen were ordered to leave the house but she made sure a patrol stayed stationed, watching the house. Nobody was to go in. Absolutely nobody. Then, Jack and she went back to the car. It was nearly five in the morning. Getting into the car, she closed her eyes:

"I have call to make, searches to do. This is going to be a long day."

"You need to sleep."

"Maybe later. Don't worry, I'm a Slayer. I can go on with no sleep for a long time. And right now, I've too much work to do."

Her face was turned outside and her look was vacant. She was really worried.

"I want Torchwood to work with you."

She snapped her head towards him:

"You want?"

"We could offer you a lot of thing you need right now."

"I know. I was just teasing. Could you begin by compiling everything you found on this family? I have to go home and call some friends. I'll be at the Hub later this morning as soon as I can."

"Ok. Try to sleep a little."

They were in front of her building. She left the car:

"No time for that. Thanks for the ride."

"I'll call Owen, he'll give you a lift tomorrow."

"You don't have to."

"I know."

"He won't be pleased."

"I know that too. But I'm the boss. He'll do as I tell him."

"Bye Jack."

"Bye Buffy."

He watched her disappear into the building. The evening hadn't gone as planned. But you know what they say? The best way to make God laugh is to tell him about your plans. He tried to shake the dreadful feeling he had. Whatever had happened, it worried Buffy. And something told him that was a really bad thing.

¤ ¤ tbc ¤ ¤