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

I'm just passing by to update quickly because... I'm moving out!! After twenty-two years in the nest, I'm finally going to fly on my own and live by myself. (I have the impression that by the end of the month, I'll be dead by starvation...) So the next couple of weeks will be really busy.

Thank you for all your wonderful reviews, each time I receive one, it's brightened my day! So don't forget to let one after your reading! Enjoy!

Chapter Eleven

A Bad Feeling

Buffy limped into the Hub. It was late but the team was still there, watching the Rift as usual. Tosh glanced at her and yelped:

"Oh my god! What happened to you?"

The blonde didn't answer. The Asian woman's reaction had caught the attention of the others. Jack swore when he saw her but she ignored them all as she walked towards the medical bay. She heard Jack tell Ianto to call Owen. Gwen was already by her side. She tried to touch her but Buffy growled a warning and the ex-cop pulled back. It was a bad night.

Two months had passed since the family had been slaughtered and nothing had happened. No more sacrifices, no more strange supernatural activities. However, her bad premonition hadn't faded away. Lydia had left. After a while, they had all resumed their lives. But the feeling of dread was still there inside of Buffy.

And then that evening, Willow had called her and they fought. Things in Cleveland were in havoc and the witch wanted Buffy to give up everything and run there to help. Apparently Kennedy had been injured. Even if the two women weren't dating anymore, there were still really close. But Buffy had refused. It wasn't her job anymore. Willow hadn't understood and had said that she was neglecting her calling.

Buffy had snapped. Neglecting her calling? They were always criticizing and judging her. Maybe they weren't even aware of it but she couldn't take it anymore. She hadn't heard from Willow for two months, since she had asked for a witch. And then, she called, ordered her around, and told her how she should act. There had been yelling and Dawn had been brought into the mess—apparently she was also neglecting her duty as a sister—and Buffy had finally hung up, tired of all the shit.

She had grabbed her coat and her bag and had left like a hurricane. She had decided to patrol some places outside of Cardiff. For a few days, there had been reports of violence and animals being killed by other—wild—animals. She had wandered around nearly two hours before finding a really ugly, tall and strong demon. She hadn't known what it was but she hadn't really cared. It had been dark but she had seen horns, spikes along its arms and really big, sharp claws.

Buffy had quickly understood that she was a little out of shape. It hadn't been an easy fight. She had been thrown around like a puppet at first. She had had to let the Slayer out completely to win the fight and she had been close to passing out. Then, she had buried the demon and walked back into the city.

In the streets, people had looked at her funny. Someone had even proposed to take her to the hospital. She had refused. At the Hub, she knew that Owen could patch her up. She wasn't stupid and knew perfectly well that she was too hurt to do it herself. She had broken bones, a dislocated shoulder and some lacerations. She had been bleeding profusely from claws mark on her back.

"Bloody Hell!"

She grimaced and looked at Owen who was running towards her. He grabbed his white coat, put on gloves and went into full doctor mode. Even if she wasn't friend with him, she had to admit that he knew what he was doing. Pulling off her top was a difficult affair. So he cut them off. They were already ruined anyways. Jack was in the background, watching her. Gwen, Tosh and Ianto were on the platform, watching from upstairs. She didn't even try to tell them to leave or that it was nothing. She had tried and learnt that it was completely ineffective with them.

First, Owen put her shoulder back in place. Then he took x-rays to find the broken bones. She had three ribs broken—surely due to her meeting with a wall—and her hip was cracked. She cringed when he disinfected the claw marks on her back. He didn't joke about it: it was bad. The wounds were deep and she was lucky to have all her superpowers to keep her alive.

She ended up laying down on the infirmary bed (which, when you thought about it, was used as an autopsy table as well). Her Slayer healing was already fast at work on her injuries. She could feel her body burning, itching as the bones knitted together and the skin repaired itself. It would only be a few hours until she was up and running again.

"So, who beat you up?"

She kept her eyes closed but heard Jack move closer.

"A stupid demon."

"He doesn't seem so stupid to me. Look at what he did to you."

"But he's the dead one now."

"You get hurt a lot these days," Owen remarked while cleaning more wounds.

She didn't answer.

"Owen's right. Even if you heal fast, you end up here a lot. Why?" Jack asked.

"Because you have a good doc here?" Buffy replied.

The man couldn't help but smile a little at that. He watched his blonde patient, laid on the table. They had all noticed the change in her behavior. She wasn't as cheerful as before or as relaxed. They saw her less often. And each time she came to the Hub, it was only for Owen's particular skills. Something was wrong and it was worrying them. Jack sent a look at Owen and the doctor gave up his work and left them alone. When they had a semblance of privacy, Jack asked:

"What's wrong Buffy?"

She opened her eyes and lifted herself up onto her elbows.

"Can't you feel it?"

"What?"

She sat up turned towards him.

"It's been two months since the ritual. It was a big thing and nothing happened."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"No! A thing like that doesn't happen without consequences. There's something coming."

Jack crossed his arms on his chest:

"Maybe there's nothing."

"Come on! We're talking about witchcraft. That's ugly and messy. It was dark magic, very dark. But what's the point? Where are the results?"

She jumped on her feet, cringing when pain flared in her abused body.

"I know there's something out there. I can feel it in my gut! There's something wrong, something coming and this waiting is so frustrating!"

"Is it a reason to get the crap beat out of you every night?"

She glared at him, frustrated. They didn't know what she was, how she worked. If she could just sit and wait, she would. But it was more complicated. She threw her arms in the air:

"You don't understand! I'm the Slayer. I've got this thing inside of me, waiting, craving for action. The more frustrated it gets, the more it needs to kill. It's a vicious circle. Even if there's nothing indicating that something will happen, I KNOW something will. Call it instinct if you want. The Slayer essence is something primal. I can't explain it. But it's driving me insane."

"I can't say I understand."

Gwen interrupted them, telling them that she was going home. They wished her a good night and she disappeared. Jack turned towards Buffy again:

"What I don't understand is that this can't be the first time you've had to face something that big, right? So why are you reacting like this?"

She sat back on the metal bed and wrapped her arms around her chest. She didn't look at Jack.

"Before Sunnydale collapsed, bad things happened. It was a war and everyone was looking at me like a freaking general. They wanted me to make decisions. One day, I did it. I made a decision. It was a big move and a wrong one. People were killed or hurt. And it was all my fault."

"People die or get hurt during wars. It's no one's fault."

"But it was the real first big thing we had. It was a real war and it was our first. So, when things became bad, it was my fault. And they kicked me out of my own house. My friends, my own sister."

Jack couldn't help but stare at her with wide eyes. From the pictures, he thought they were closer than that. He could understand why they put the guilt on her. They were so young, even if they had been doing that for years. They were barely adults. He saw her eyes veil when she mentioned the last months of Sunnydale. A war, so young. It was so unfair. Of course they needed someone to make decisions. They also needed someone to blame. Young and immature. But kicking her out of the house? That was pretty drastic. He listened to the rest.

"I found a weapon, made a plan and we won that war. But we lost something. Since then, I can't trust them. I mean, they ganged on me at the worst moment. How can I trust them now? We've drifted apart. Now, we barely talk to each other and when we do, we argue. This is the first time I have to face something big without them. And I wonder if I could have solved the case quickly if they were here with me."

"And you wonder if they were only friends with you because you were the Slayer?"

"Of course I do! I mean, now, they have hundreds of Slayers. So maybe that's why we drifted apart. They don't need me anymore. I don't know."

The captain sat down beside her. He felt like an old man. He hadn't seen her so vulnerable. It was a first. He remembered she was younger than them. She was just a kid sent to fight a war. They had won. But there had been a price to pay. And now, she was alone, in a new city, on a new continent. He sighed:

"That's not easy."

She snickered. They were interrupted once again by Tosh who was going home. Alone again, Jack said:

"But we're here. Our life is dangerous, lonely and crazy. But we can rely on each other. If you want, you could have a place here."

She stared at him. "Are you offering me a job?"

He shrugged. "I could use a Slayer. You know what we do and if you're interested…"

Until now, she had helped with Weevils mostly because she was stronger and she needed to do something to use her energy. They saw each other on weird cases, waiting to be sure nothing happened before the right team was there. Most of the time, Buffy was bored. She hadn't convinced herself to go back to class. And there were few bad demons. Cardiff was alien territory, due to the Rift.

She could use a new job. She was good with weird things and she needed action. It could be her chance to quit the Council and really begin her life. She could still be a consultant for them.

"You know I could take this seriously," she said to Jack.

"I hope so."

"I'll think about it."

Owen appeared and announced he wanted to go home so he wanted to check on her one last time. Jack left them. The doctor didn't lose anytime and worked quickly and quietly. It was amazing how fast she was healing. The most superficial wounds had totally disappeared and the most important would be gone by the morning.

"Do you need a ride home?"

He didn't even realize he was going to ask her before the words were out. She looked at him, surprise evident on her face. She was always the one to ask for a ride. He quickly added:

"You're injured and I'm your doctor. I don't want to let you go home by yourself."

"Sure, whatever. I'd like that."

He grabbed his coat and they left, yelling at Jack who was in his office. He yelled back a goodnight. Buffy was still limping slightly and Owen was watching her out of the corner of his eye. He had been patching her up a lot the past few weeks. Tonight had been the worst so far. If she hadn't been a Slayer, she would have bled to death on the streets. Not that he was concerned. He didn't even like her. But since he seemed to have become her official doctor, she was nicer to him, keeping the Rude-Guy comments to a minimum.

"Shit!"

He turned towards Buffy:

"What?"

"I forgot my cell in the Hub."

"Go get it. I'll wait in the car."

"Thanks!"

Buffy ran back. Owen cringed when he thought of her injuries. She was still limping, why was she running? They had time! Stupid girl. He groaned and made his way to his car.

There was no one in view, so Buffy decided to run at top Slayer-speed. She could run through the Hub with her eyes closed now. The Hub had become like a second home. She was there almost every day! She got down to the infirmary and saw her cell on a cupboard. She looked around the empty Hub and thought of Jack's offer. She could get used to working with his team, be a part of it. And it would be her choice, not some duty crap.

Maybe she had been hallucinating about the offer? Owen had given her some painkillers and she was pretty high and a little depressed. He could have only said that to cheer her up. She had to be sure. She knew he lived in the Hub. It was late and everyone had gone home so she walked towards his office and barged in:

"Jack-"

She froze, mouth open and eyes wide. Decency would have made her looked down or up, in fact anywhere except at the scene in front of her. But she couldn't stop staring. There was too much sweaty naked skin. Perfect male skin with muscles rolling underneath it.

"Buffy?"

Jack's voice broke her daydreams and she blushed furiously. Bad, bad, Buffy! Ianto turned his back to her and was searching for something. She grabbed the dark shirt at her feet and innocently asked:

"Is that what you're searching for, Ianto?"

He faced her, cheeks red with embarrassment. She handed him the shirt and he practically snatched it out of her hands. Jack, on the other hand, wasn't as embarrassed as him. He didn't even try to cover his chest. His big, muscular, naked and sweaty chest…. She shook her head and tried hard to remember why she was here. She wanted to clarify something with him. What the Hell was it?

"Job!" she almost yelled when she remembered why she was here.

She blushed again and repeated:

"Hum, I wanted to talk to you about your offer, see if it wasn't some kind of painkillers-induced hallucination. But you're busy and Owen's waiting so I'll talk with you tomorrow when you're not busy. I'm sorry for interrupting. I'll leave you two alone. You can, you know, return to whatever you were doing. I'm leaving. Yeah, leaving now, Buffy. Bye! Have a fun night!"

She fled the Hub, her mind replaying the hot interlude between the captain and Ianto. Her cheeks were burning and she burst out laughing. How was she going to look at them without thinking of what she had just witnessed? That was so embarrassing! Maybe not for Jack who had this annoying little smile on his lips. But Ianto was so definitively embarrassed! He was completely red and was looking down. In her opinion, he had nothing to be embarrassed for. She groaned at her thoughts.

She sat in Owen's car and fastened her seatbelt. When she saw the car was not moving, she looked at the driver.

"Are you alright?" Rude-Guy asked.

"Yeah. Can we go home now?"

"What happened?" he asked, knowing that something had happened.

She sighed and explained:

"I wanted to ask Jack something. So I barged into his office. I thought everyone had gone home!"

Owen didn't understand why she would be so upset about… his eyes went wide. He hadn't seen Ianto left the Hub.

"No way!" he cried.

She crossed her arms on her chest and pouted:

"Let just say I've seen way too much, alright? Now, can we go home?"

Owen laughed, shook his head but obeyed and drove them home. They didn't talk and Buffy's cheeks were still pink when she left him in the lift. When he crashed on his bed half an hour later, he quickly fell asleep with one thought in mind: it had been an interesting evening.

¤ ¤ tbc ¤ ¤