Chapter 32

** Inmobiliaria Colonial is a real international company headquartered in Madrid. I don't mean to misrepresent them or infringe on their copyrights.

"I'm so nervous." Buffy muttered, wishing again that Dawn and Spike had been able to come with them. Unfortunately, no matter how much Tom tried to negotiate, Hank Summers' firm wouldn't allow anyone to accompany Buffy other than family members over the age of 18 and an attorney should she choose to have one. She'd only gotten Giles in due to a misunderstanding. Because he'd been listed along with Joyce as someone who might contact Hank about Buffy, the firm somehow had him down as her stepfather. Buffy wasn't about to disabuse them of the notion.

"I know, but this will all be over soon, and then at least you'll know what you're dealing with." Giles grabbed her left hand and squeezed it, and Buffy squeezed back.

The elevator door opened, and Tom led the way to the receptionist. "Buffy Summers to see Dana Garcia." Buffy waved sheepishly from behind his back, and the receptionist nodded, gesturing them towards a seating area and refreshment counter as she picked up the phone.

Before they had time to sit or get drinks, a tall blonde woman came around the corner. "Ms. Summers?" She asked, in a lisping accent Buffy couldn't identify.

"Yes, I'm Buffy. Pleased to meet you."

"Dana Garcia. This is your attorney, yes?" She asked, shaking Buffy's hand.

"I'm Thomas Paulson, we spoke on the phone. This is Rupert Giles." Tommy also shook, and directed her to the older man.

"Please, come this way, I have a room set up for us." Dana led them down a hall to a small conference room where two other people were waiting for them. "This is my assistant, Maria. Please give her your identification documents, she will validate them for us. Can I offer you some coffee or tea?"

"I thought you validated our documents before we got here?" Buffy asked, handing over her passport and shifting nervously. She wanted to know what the hell was going on, and wasn't interested in dragging this out any longer than was necessary.

"We did as much as we could ahead of time, but as I explained to your attorney, Ms. Summers, we have had several attempts to breach the security regarding your father's records, and Inmobiliaria Colonial is fully committed to maintaining the safety of our clients, employees, and their families." The HR woman moved toward the refreshment area. "Just let me know what I can get you. We have coffee, tea, hot water, cold water, soda pop?" She reached to pour herself a coffee. "Is this your first time in Spain?" She asked, generally.

Buffy blinked at the man in the corner she hadn't been introduced to yet, then back to the woman. "It is for me. I've been to England, Scotland, Germany, and I've been living in Italy, but I hadn't made it to Spain yet. Do you have a Diet Coke, by chance?"

Dana came back to the table with her coffee and Buffy's soda. "And what about the gentlemen? Drinks? How are you finding Spain?"

Giles cleared his throat. "I was in Pamplona almost thirty years ago, so it's not quite the same. I'll have some tea, if you don't mind."

She smiled. "Ah, Pamplona is not far from my home. I am from Ordizia."

"Ah, that name sounds familiar. Isn't there a professional bicycle race held there?"

"Si, si, that is so." She smiled and handed Giles his tea, just as the assistant came back and returned their passports, then handed a report to Ms. Garcia and left. Dana reviewed the pages in front of her quickly and nodded. "Everything with your documents is in order. So. I would like to introduce you to Señor Ortiz, from our legal department. He will be helping me go over everything and answer your questions." She waved at the formerly silent man, who rose and shook their hands gravely before sitting again and opening a folder in front of him.

Señor Ortiz spoke first. "I am very sorry that we had to delay the delivery of this news, Ms. Summers, but I regret to inform you that your father and step-mother are both deceased. They were attacked and killed in their home in September of 2002."

Buffy gasped. She'd sort of been expecting that this was the reason for the weird secrecy, had discussed it with Tommy, Giles, and Will, but somehow she still hadn't been prepared. She especially hadn't been prepared to discover that it had happened before they even left Sunnydale. Or that he'd had a wife.

"We did not want to risk telling you over the phone for the safety of your sister." The man continued. "His assistant spoke to a woman claiming to be you around Christmas of 2002, and foolishly revealed that Esmerelda was staying with her family. The next night their home was invaded and her husband was killed. She and the girl barely escaped. Since then we have enacted strict security protocols."

Sister? She had another sister? Buffy could feel her lungs tighten and her breathing speed up, but before she could frame a response Tommy motioned her into silence. "Señor Ortiz, I'm sorry but can we back up a moment so I can get some more information. I regret that I was not hired by Ms. Summers until fairly recently, so I do not know all of the family history."

The other attorney nodded. "Yes, of course. Mr. Summers was married to Ms. Eneko in January of 2000, at which point they transferred to the office here in Madrid so that Ms. Eneko could work in another department. They weren't intending to have children of course, her people forbid interbreeding with most other species, but when Sarabe got pregnant they risked the enmity of her people to keep the child."

"Right. And which people is she from, exactly?" Tommy blustered through, jotting down notes. He was pretty sure he was covering for Buffy right now, that her father had never told her any of this.

Señor Ortiz and Ms. Garcia exchanged a look, and Dana took over the explanation. "We have many employees who are only partially human, and a few who are not human at all. Sarabe Eneko was a member of the Jentil species. They have lived in the Basque country since the old ones walked the earth, long before christianity. There has been some inbreeding with human half-breeds or humanoid demons, but only those from our region. An American of British and Germanic extraction was not what their elders wanted for one of their brightest lights. But, they were understanding, to a point." She leaned forward. "What complicated the situation was the child. Unlike you Sineyans who consider the dilution of your bloodline a feature, allowing you to be absorbed into the population, the Jentil wanted to stay separate, fearing a loss of their traditions and unique abilities."

"The child must be quite young." Giles muttered, sounding vaguely horrified.

"She will be three in October." Ms. Garcia sniffed, obviously overcome with emotion. "She didn't even get to have her first birthday with her parents." She dabbed at her eyes. "I apologize, I just…Feel for the child, so much. The only family she has in the world are her mother's parents, who couldn't take her in if they wanted to, and her father's daughter whose job is too dangerous to allow her to care for a small child. It's been difficult, emotionally, to monitor her care in the orphanage. I wanted very much for someone to contact you," She raised her eyes to Buffy, "But after the scare that first year, we agreed that it wasn't safe. If the Slayer couldn't take time away to come here, then obviously you were needed to fulfill your duty. It did not seem like an acceptable risk to try to find you. So, we started telling anyone who called claiming to be you that they had to come here to prove their identity before we gave any information."

Buffy was still trying to grasp everything and make sense of it. "How do you know I'm me? I could be a shape-shifter or something."

Señor Ortiz chuckled. "No, no, we not only took fingerprints from your documents when we ran the numbers, we ran magical traces on them. You are all who you say you are, and none of you are under any compulsions."

Buffy nodded. "My job is…Different, than it used to be. There are many Slayers active now. I don't have to be on the front lines anymore, where I'd put anyone around me in danger. I can take over my sister's care. What would I need to do, to make that happen?"

Giles made a noise, perhaps intending to ask if Buffy was sure, but she waved her hand to silence him.

"Your father and step-mother did want you to assume care for the child if anything happened to them, and you are her only living relation with documentation in the human world, so legally there should be no trouble." Señor Ortiz assured her. "Mr. Paulson and I can put together the documents as soon as this afternoon."

"There is a supernatural snag, though." Ms. Garcia cut in. "The Jentils are a protected species in Spain, they will not allow a member of their population to leave the country without consent. Even to leave the Basque country, there are agreements to be made. Unless you plan to move here to care for your sister, you will have to petition them to remove her from the country."

"Wait, I thought you said they didn't accept the child, that they wouldn't let her grandparents take her in. Why do they know where she lives? Can they legally restrict her without actually providing her a place in their population?" Tommy asked.

"The issue is the Spanish government." Señor Ortiz said. "Even if the Jentils do not accept Esmeralda as a true member of their population, she was legally registered with the government as half-Jentil, half-Sineyan at birth. The elders receive a quarterly report of which members of their species live where, and since she is the only one of her kind in all of Spain, they know where she is. At least the town."

"That sounds like even if I get the elders or whatever to agree, I'm still not going to be able to raise her in another country." Buffy said. "I was planning to move back to the US."

"If you can get them to agree that she is best raised by you, regardless of where you live," Señor Ortiz stated, "they may be persuaded to contact the government and adjust her registration. We will be happy to assist your attorney if necessary."

"What happens if we can't persuade them?" Buffy asked.

"Then you will have to bring her back to Spain periodically, or you may be charged with kidnapping if she is not returned after a certain amount of time. If you can get her out of the country in the first place."

"How difficult is it to see the Jentil Council of Elders?" Giles asked. "I know very little about them, and you did say they generally stay in their native home. If we have to relocate our party to the Basque region, we'll need a few days at least."

Ms. Garcia cleared her throat. "Since I am Basque, I have been the point of contact with them. I took the liberty of letting them know that you would be coming to Spain, and finding out if they might be available to speak with you regarding Esme's fate."

"When?" Buffy asked anxiously. "Can I see her before the meeting? I want to meet her."

"I can take you to see the child tomorrow. The meeting with the Jentil cannot be scheduled before Saturday." Dana said.

"Can I bring other people to meet Esme?" Buffy rushed ahead, ignoring Tommy's attempt to gesture her into silence again. Now that she knew her father had left another daughter, she was desperate to meet her. "Our other sister, Dawn, will want to come. And my boyfriend is with us…"

"I don't mean to be rude, please forgive me my impertinence." Ms. Garcia looked determined, and Buffy tensed in response. "But, do you feel it is safe, to expose a small child to William the Bloody?"

Buffy blinked, tensing further. "You know a whole lot about me."

"It is our business, to know what will affect the wellbeing of our employees. Also, the firm has contacts within the Sineyan community in several countries. Your alliance with vampires is unsurprising in some sense, but your willingness to allow this one access to your friends and family is." Dana continued to stare determinedly at her.

"Your knowledge is somewhat out of date." Tommy spoke before Buffy could. "William is no longer a vampire."

"Even if he were," Buffy said, "he's spent years helping care for Dawn, I'd trust him implicitly regardless. He's more than proven himself. If I'm going to be caring for Esme…However we make that happen, he'll be living with me. He needs to meet her and get to know her, as much as I do."

Throughout the exchange, Señor Ortiz had been flipping through the documents in his folder. Having finally located what he was looking for, he slid a sealed envelope across the table to Buffy. "Ms. Summers, your father left this letter for you. Perhaps you will want to take a moment to read this, consider what we have said, and speak to your people. We will go to my office, it is just a few doors down, on the left as you leave the room. Mr. Paulson can retrieve us once you are ready to resume the meeting." Ms. Garcia looked like she was going to object, but the attorney coaxed her out of the room with a gentle hand on her shoulder, and the door closed behind them with a decisive click.

"Dear lord, a three year old! What on earth are we going to do with her? Perhaps if she's moved to Bath, to the orphan's home…" Tommy motioned Giles into silence, eyes fixed on Buffy's face.

Buffy sat staring at the envelope in front of her for a moment. All these years she'd been looking for some communication from her father, some acknowledgement that he'd thought of her, cared for her…Only to be handed an envelope after his death. There was no arguing or fighting what she found in there. Finally she opened the envelope, and began to read.

July 15, 2002

Dear Buffy,

I've written you dozens of letters over the years. Most I throw in the fire or the shredder, I can't bear the thought that you might read them. Some I save, hoping I have the courage to mail them, knowing that they'll sit in a drawer and you'll never see them. This letter, and a few older ones, I'm entrusting to an attorney, so that in the event of my death they find their way to you.

First, I want to apologize. Joyce and I argued about child support for Dawn because my memories of her were incomplete. At first I thought Joyce had some council witch give me fake memories to get you more money. She called me when she discovered the truth; that Dawn wasn't ours, that she'd been made from you and sent to you to protect. She appealed to me to think of Dawn as my grandchild, and give you some help.

I told her that if the Powers wanted you to have kids that badly, they could get you a job, too. And I filed a petition to have myself removed as Dawn's father on her birth certificate. Nothing came of it after Joyce's death, but I shouldn't have done that, I could have endangered her.

My confession makes what I'm about to ask ridiculous. My new wife and I have a nine-month-old daughter. Two days ago my uncle was killed, and according to his son there are bad portents. I don't know of what. If anything should happen to Sarabe and I, I want you to raise Esmerelda. We call her Esme. I already love her as much as I loved you, as much as you love Dawn. I know you don't owe me anything, but she's innocent. Protecting the innocent is what the Slayer does. So, please.

I know I don't have the right to ask anything of you after years of creating distance between us. I wouldn't bother you if it weren't important. Sarabe sees things sometimes, and she thinks Esme is going to be just as special as you are. We hope we'll be here for her ourselves, and this letter only finds you after she's turned 21, but you know nothing in this world is guaranteed.

Be well,

Dad