Through the Swirling Vortex

by Chanaenae17

What do you do when you fall through a vortex into a world of vampires, demons, magic, and high 'stakes' drama? No, seriously, Dee wanted to know because here she was in 1997 with no idea how to deal. At least she'd landed with her music so when something eventually kills her she'll have a good soundtrack. Oz/OC

1. She's a 90s Kid

Heeey~ I know I haven't updated my other story in forever but I've been so deep in my Buffy obsession all year that I couldn't not post this. It's also an OC insert, so hopefully people enjoy this as well. I know that Buffy fanfiction isn't as popular as Vampire Diaries but I love the universe so much(depiste the POS creator) that I had to explore it. I will be taking liberties with supernatural creatures and werewolves and everything in this story so sorry if it doesn't fit exactly within Canon. Also, yes, this is going to be an Oz/OC.

While I will be following the show, I'll also be changing things and making my own chapters up with different interactions and different monsters/demons/vampires/etc. I have a bunch of ideas for this story that I'm really excited for.

Please let me know what you think of Dee. I tried not to make her perfect or anything. But let me know what you think can be improved or further explored with her. Or is you have any suggestions for the story as a whole! I love people letting me know their thoughts.

---

She fell down a hole.

Well, not an actual hole. A vortex. And all Dee Carrington could think was she was going to fail her internship.

---

Dee wasn't sure how long she was falling…or floating, she was kinda sure she was floating now, but it was long enough she'd stopped screaming. Surrounding her on all sides were colors. Swirls and swirls or colors some she'd never even dreamt of. All around her felt as if she were in some kind of gel or thick water; as if she were the same buoyancy as what surrounded her. Instead of uselessly floating there instead she started looking around trying to figure out what the hell had happened. Though after a couple of moments her stomach flipped and she closed her eyes in an effort not to upchuck.

After what felt like both an eternity yet only seconds, she started hearing voices.

"Giles, if The Master is toast and the hellmouth closed…then what is that?" A males voice asked. Young, probably her age.

"I-I, um, well I do not know. But be on guard. It could be anything." Someone else answered. Also male, but older. Her dad's age? Maybe 30s?

Before she could hear anything else though, the weightlessness that had been surrounding Dee fell away. Along with her body. With a screaming yelp, the curly haired girl dropped from the vortex and onto tiled flooring. Hard. Air whooshing passed her lips as she did.

"What the?"

"Giles? Why did a teenage girl just drop out of the ceiling from a…rainbow swirling thing? Do I have to fight her?"

Groaning in pain, Dee raised her arm up at that question. "Please don't fight me. I'm not really in the mood and I'm pretty sure that fall bruised some ribs."

"Giles!?" The fighting voice questioned, panic now in her tone. Dee, realizing that laying on the ground wouldn't help her find anything out, pushed herself up instead sitting on the ground as she looked around.

All in front of her were broken chairs and tables and right in the middle of the messy room stood four teenagers and three adults surrounding a…skeleton? The seven of them were dressed as if they'd popped right out of a 90s tv show, complete with the rather dinosaur computer on what she assumed was the check out desk. Because this was obviously a library if the rows upon rows of books further back were to tell her anything.

The red head, tall brunette, and male teenager were staring at her wide eyed, pointed ends of broken furniture facing her while the blonde and the woman were staring at who she guessed was this 'Giles'. The only one that looked at her as if she were a real threat was the brooding man, standing a little in front of Blondie.

"Uh..I-I don't, don't know. The hellmouth closed and even if it didn't she didn't come from the hellmouth she came from something different." His British accent stuttered, eyes blinking in astonishment at her.

"So…you could just ask me…I mean I don't bite." Dee offered as they jumped at her voice. The impromptu furniture weapons raised even further at her rather pathetic attempt at a joke.

The boy took a step further in front of the others in the group. "Oh yeah? That's what you're gonna go with to get us to trust you? Try again, vampire!"

Dee's eyebrows rose at the venom in the dude's voice. Also…vampire? But the more she thought about it the less it seemed crazy. She had just fallen through a wormhole/vortex thing into some sort of 90s library set. "Vampire? I'm not a…a vampire. I'm just a girl. A girl that really really wants to know where the fuck she is."

"Language!" The English librarian looking guy said, looking as shocked as she was at his admonishment. "No…um no need for that kind of language."

"No-no need?" She sputtered, arms flapping animatedly in her indignation. "Are you kidding me? I just fell through a freaking wormhole vortex thingy into what looks like a bad 90s tv show set filled with broken furniture and teenagers that threaten me with violence and pointy objects while you all stand around a skeleton that looks way too real to be fake! I think I can get away with saying fuck in this situation!"

Brunette girl shrugged, lowering her own piece of furniture. "She has a point."

"No, no she doesn't Cordelia. Don't lower our defense, she could just be playing it up for sympathy. Remember, Hellmouth?" Boy Teenager hissed, eyes narrowing further at Dee.

Dee threw her hands into the air, exasperation written all over her body. " I don't care what you guys think of me, but can someone explain what the hell happened? One moment I was walking home and it was midday, next thing I'm falling out of a rainbow vortex into a trashed 90s library set at night! I'm not one for freaking out but…" She took a deep shuddering breath; fear she was trying to shove down suddenly on the surface. "I'm really scared right now."

Blondie furrowed her brows as she stared at her before glancing between the group of teenagers and the man they'd called Giles. Finally, after a few beats of silence, she sighed. "Lower your weapons guys, I think she's just a normal teenager that got dragged in by whatever the Hellmouth did."

Librarian, no Giles, they called him Giles, nodded. "Yes, I have to agree. Though I do wonder why she keeps mentioning things looking like the 90s. That's rather odd."

The only adult woman in the group, a pretty woman with short black hair, turned from Giles to contemplate the curly haired teenager who had moved to wrap her tan arms around herself. "Look at her, Rupert. Look at how she's dressed. While I'm not exactly in with what teenagers are wearing I don't believe emerald green corduroy pants, black tank tops and whatever that crocheted thing around her arms is are the go to for anyone currently."

"I have to agree with you. I've lived in many decades and that crochet thing isn't any style I've seen before." Broody said.

Dee, tired of being talked about especially about something as normal as a damn crocheted shrug, glared at her outstretched legs before huffing. If they wouldn't give her answers, she'd find them herself. Mind made up, she heaved herself to her feet, grunting in pain as her ribs twinged, ignoring the jumping of the three furniture wielding teenagers, she strode towards the doors labeled 'exit'. "Whatever. Clearly you aren't going to help me find answers, so I'll just find them myself. See ya."

Before she could even get halfway to the doors though, her wrist was snatched, stopping her in her tracks. Whirling around, Dee glared at Blondie who matched it with one of her own. "Hold it. After the way you appeared we can't just let you head outside. What if you're dangerous?" With strength Dee wouldn't have expected from a girl barely an inch taller than her, she was dragged back unwillingly to the group. "Sit. Giles and the rest of us will help figure everything out. Give us a chance."

Dee bit her lip as she watched the group grabbing unbroken chairs and a long table once they realized Blondie had made a decision to help her. The only one besides Blondie that still was watching her was Mr. Broody standing in the corner. "Fine. I'll stay…can I at least have y'all's names cause I really don't want to keep calling guys Broody and Blondie…let alone what names I've given the others."

Red head, who had just sat down on the last chair, perked up. "Oh! I'm Willow, the one that called you a vampire is Xander and Cordelia is next to him. Buffy is the one that grabbed you. Giles is the one that sounds like he came from England…because he did. Ms. Calendar is the other adult and lastly Angel is Broody." Willow glanced around the room not noticing the exasperated amusement that everyone had. "I think that's everyone…except for the skeleton but he doesn't matter anymore."

Face growing with disgust, Dee took a step away from the skeleton laid out to the left of her. "Wait…that was a real person? How long have they been dead?"

"Demon, not a person." Buffy corrected as she guided her over to the now righted desk area. "And he died, like, seconds before you arrived."

Xander nodded, sneering at the skeleton as he did. "And he deserved it. Evil dude wanted to evily end the world. And probably enslave and feed off humans for all eternity or something too."

Dee sat down, heavily, in an open chair next to Willow who smiled over at her. Normally the curly haired girl would appreciate the kindness but considering she had been somehow ripped away from her life by a vortex from the closest LGBTQ parade, had bruised or broken ribs, been confronted with an apparently freshly dead skeleton, and she was starting to realize this wasn't just some 90s TV show set, the girl's smile didn't really comfort like how she thought the redhead wanted it to.

Why didn't she listen to her brother and not do the nature conservation internship this summer? She could have waited until the summer after her junior year like everyone else but nooooo, she wanted to get a jump start. If she hadn't done the internship she wouldn't have been in California and wouldn't have been sucked into the vortex.

"Well, I don't want anything to do with this insanity, so I'll be leaving." Cordelia stated, flipping her hair as she did. "I would say it was nice to meet you but, well, it wasn't."

Dee silently watched the girl flounce out of the room before turning to everyone else. "Popular girl?"

"Yeah…and we're the losers." Willow sighed before perking up. "But at least we're all losers together!"

"I don't know you people."

She chuckled awkwardly. "I'm sure you'll get to know us though."

Giles at this point was back from the office he'd stepped into. Once everyone saw the librarian(?) back they soon found their own seat around the table minus Angel. He'd decided to live up to what she was now realizing was his true nature. Brooding in a little corner across from Dee. Probably keeping an eye on her since Buffy, who he had been staring at when he wasn't glaring suspiciously at Dee, had sat on the other side of her with Xander on Buffy's other side. And Ms. Calendar finished the table on Willow's right.

Slapping a dusty book on the table, Giles put on his glasses. "Right, well, I don't have many books on vortexes or wormholes, but this one I remember mentioning a swirling rainbow which doesn't sound dissimilar to what…" Giles blinked, surprised once he realized no one in the group had gotten the girl's name. "I'm sorry, I don't believe we got your name."

Dee had a small smile, amusement swimming in her eyes despite the panic and fear she was still feeling. "I was wondering when y'all would realize that." She chuckled. "I'm Dorothy Carrington, but call me Dee. Dorothy is a grandma's name."

"You look pretty good for a grandma…Not that I've been looking, of course. Just an observation. Like noticing you're kind of short…or you have green eyes or-" Xander rambled. "I'm going to shut up now."

"Probably best." Buffy muttered.

Giles side eyed Xander before turning back to Dee. "Xander's observations aside, I believe the phenomenon that this book describes is what happened here…The only bad thing is it only says what happens…not, um, not how to reverse it."

"What did happen?" Dee asked, leaning forwards, elbows on the table.

Giles sighed, taking his glasses off as he rubbed his eyes. "I'm…I'm sorry to say, Ms. Carrington, but you've traveled through space and time."

"Like 'Back to the Future? How does that work?" Xander asked.

Willow piped up. "And how can we help her get back home?" She turned to Dee. "I'm assuming you want to go back home."

Dee nodded as she digested the bomb the Englishman dropped. Time Travel. The thing most scientist agreed was either impossible or, at the least, centuries in the making. And she'd done it accidentally by being in the wrong place at the right time.

What if she couldn't go home? What if she was stuck in the 90's living her life while her friends and family worried and worried, never knowing where she was or if she was alive or dead? After a couple of years her mom and dad would probably pronounce her dead, neither of them ones to blind themselves to reality. No matter how horrible that reality was.

Wait.

"Time and Space? What do you mean by space?"

"I mean, you didn't just go back however many decades to 1997, you traversed universes." Giles gravely stated.

She nodded, mind blank. "Right. Great. Good…..Fuuuuck."

As Dee bit her lip in an effort not to cry, either out of frustration or sadness or whatever Big Feelings she was feeling, the rest of the group started questioning Giles about how her "travels" were possible and why it even happened. The only thing Giles could think to cause the vortex was the Hellmouth opening, sucked her universe closer than it ever should have been, causing them to touch. Something that shouldn't have happened obviously.

It was when they touched that the universes warped and time got distorted, popping Dee out in 1997 instead of 2023.

"Will her being here cause problems then? Since she's not from this universe?" Buffy asked, glancing at the now distracted girl.

Giles shook his head. "No, no, once she went through the vortex she ceased to exist in her universe and instead a place was created in our own."

Dee's head snapped up. "Ceased to exist? What about my family? My friends? Do they just live with me missing for the rest of their lives? There's no way for me to make it home?" Dee's eyes burned but she refused to cry. Not in front of strangers no matter how nice they've been. She'd wait until she had a semi safe place before she broke. Carrington's didn't cry in face of adversity. They spit in it.

"I-I'm sorry but when I-when I say cease to exist, I mean that, um, there will be no memory of you in that universe. At all." Giles explained softly to the distraught girl.

Dee nodded but stayed silent. There wasn't really anything you could say when you find out your friends and family wouldn't remember you existed.

Xander shot the girl a sympathetic look before speaking up. "But we can see her. Obviously she exists."

"Yes, well, in our universe she does. Now. Not in her own, not anymore. If she were to, somehow, traverse to another universe again we would lose our memories of her until she returned." Giles sighed again, sitting down next to Ms. Calendar. "But the color of the vortex tells us that our universes aren't parallel universes which can be traversed. No, these were so separated it required our own to almost end to even cause a slight rip. The same rip that pulled Ms. Carrington over."

"So it's impossible for her to go home?" Willow asked, voice dripping with sympathetic sadness.

"Yes, Willow, It's impossible."

It was silent in the room as they all realized that their fight with The Master hadn't just been hard on them, but it had genuinely ruined the life of someone so far away they were from a different universe. The magnitude of the consequences finally setting in.

After a couple of moments, Angel pushed off from where he was standing, heading towards the door. Now that they knew the girl wasn't a danger, there wasn't a reason for him to stay. Him and Buffy went over to the doors together, speaking softly between themselves before Buffy came back to the group sans Angel.

"Where will she stay? She's just a young girl, Rupert. I would invite her but all I have is a couch." Ms. Calendar said, worry in her eyes. The brunette had appeared with only a tote bag next to her and she doubted she was walking around with clothes and ID and everything.

"Me." Giles offered. "I will contact the Council and have them create her a new identity and place her as my ward. It was, after all, Slayer business that caused her to be…displaced."

While they made plans, Dee sat there, numb. She'd lost her whole life in seconds. There were stories of people's lives changing in seconds. Hell, some of her friends had their parents die, or house burn down, or siblings commit suicide and they always said how one second everything was great the next it was as if their life was over.

But she never really understood. She had been lucky in life. Her parents still loved each other and had since they were in high school. Her older brother was probably as good as you could get while still being an annoying older brother and her younger sister adored her. She was smart, and if she was being conceited, relatively pretty even if she wasn't as well endowed as her mom. Her curls were wild and freckles spotted her face and shoulder but Dee thought they added personality. She'd had a great life.

Now her family didn't even know she existed, and she was going to go live with a man she'd only just met…it terrified her, no matter how nice and respectful he'd seemed.

Ted Bundy had seemed nice and respectful too.

"Dee, Dee, Dee!" Willow's soft voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "I said that until you can go shopping for your own clothes and stuff, you can borrow some of mine. We look about the same size. You'll just have to roll the pants up some since you're a little shorter than me. And it's clearly not the same style."

Dee swallowed before smiling. "Thank you, Willow. That's really nice of you. I'm sure I can deal with a different style for a while." She tried to joke before turning to Giles. "Giles, how will I pay you for the clothes and everything? Cause I do want to pay you back. Teachers and school staff may not be as bad off in this time as they are in mine but y'all still aren't making bank."

"I get a rather generous supplement from the Council considering where I am stationed as well as being the current Slayer's Watcher." He shot Buffy an apologetic look at these words. She must be this 'Slayer' and probably didn't know about the payments he got from working with her. "And I'm sure once they hear that I am taking you in they will supply you with your own money to handle your needs."

Xander clapped his hands causing the six of them to jump. "Now that that's all settled, why don't we go celebrate the end of The Master at The Bronze?"

Dee leaned over towards Buffy. "The Bronze? The Master? What's all that about?"

"It's a long story. We'll explain it over some drinks and dancing." Buffy smiled before pulling the freckled girl up with her. "And we can ignore Mr. Skeleton Loser for now. Time to celebrate and welcome a newbie to our universe!"

---

Faster than Dee would ever think possible considering the upheave her life had had, summer came and went. Buffy stayed for a couple of weeks, her and the other's apparently needing to finish off their sophomore year. She'd landed a couple weeks shy of summer so her and Giles spent they were in class getting her new identity set up through the council and getting Dee her own income. Which was also through the council.

The group apparently had a full blown victim fund that they were quite generous with because very rarely do the supernatural victims live and if they do they don't know about the council. So for someone to require it the people in charge got a little money happy.

Not that she was complaining. Anything Dee didn't use, she put in the bank account Giles set up for her as her new guardian. And, in secret, she had set up her own little squirrel fund hidden in a book she'd hollowed out and placed in the bookshelf in her room. Rule one, always have a back up plan even if you didn't expect to use it.

Also during those weeks her, Buffy, and Willow(with the occasional Xander) built up Dee's wardrobe. Though she had to make some adjustments, it wasn't much. Luckily her style was already pretty 90s-esque with a taste of whimsical bookworm. She'd found some great maxi skirts, corduroy pants(because despite the ribbing she got from both Buffy and Xander of emulating Giles, Dee refused to give up her corduroy) and the shirts in this era are perfect for layering under corsets, knit cardigans and anything else she could want.

She'd actually been surprised by how many knit cardigans she found shopping considering this was California. It's not like the play was particularly cold. Dee had been expecting to knit herself some cardigans but instead all she'll have to do is crop a couple of them to make them more California weather acceptable. She had even scored a couple of pairs of used Doc Martens for cheap after tricking Buffy into going into a thrift store for the first time. The blonde was never one for used clothes or stuff despite having an even bigger shopping bug than Dee had. After finding some name brand shoes, Buffy was convinced over to the dark side.

Anything she couldn't find thrifting or at the malls(which was weird as hell to see malls at their prime. In her time they'd basically been embarrassing to hang out in. Now they were all the rage) Dee could just sew herself with the almost in perfect condition sewing machine she'd found. Which was exactly what she did to make the fashion corsets she liked to wear.

The whole group, even Xander and Giles, had been flummoxed on why she would wear a corset. None of them realized how comfortable an actual well-built corset could be, nor how much they helped with posture. After making one for Buffy, the blonde had agreed with her but still said she'd stick with her tank tops and leather jackets. Willow was still refusing Dee's offer to make her one on the principle of it not being her style.

Sadly, Buffy left not a month after Dee had arrived, leaving the three now friends to meander their way through summer all bored. She had been hoping that she would at least see a vampire, but despite everyone saying Sunnydale was vampire central, it had been four months yet not even a small rumor of a vampire.

Dee was devastated.

The least the universe could give her was vampire excitement after ripping her from her friends and family without even a 'by your leave'.

But no, she got placement tests and a too hot summer. At least Willow and Xander were fun to hang out with.

She'd even spent evenings talking books, mythology, laguaged, and even history with Giles. The two of them bonding over their shared bookworm-ness. Both of them could even speak and understand Latin, both modern and archaic. It had been an extra credit class at her old school and the language came easy to her since she had hyper focused on etymology back in middle school. That was why Giles was now teaching her ancient Greek. He said it was best to tackle the older languages before moving to newer ones. Dee wasn't going to complain. Though she did sort of think he also wanted someone else to talk Greek to. It was his favorite language.

Apparently, while studious and super smart, Willow was more a science nerd over mythology/language nerd like her and Giles were. Dee kept science to a purely work/school environment. Despite what people say, if you make your favorite thing your work, it won't be your favorite thing anymore.

Meaning, Dee kept mythology away from her career plans.

The Englishman had even got her drinking tea. Her, a coffee lover to her core. It was basically a requirement in her family growing up. Instead of an alcohol bar or something, her parents had a coffee bar. Complete with at least 10 different types of coffee and homemade syrups. But the more time she spent with Giles the more tea she was drinking.

It was also pretty nice to have things to bond over with Giles. He'd taken her in and not even complained once, even when she reorganized his medicine cabinet and pantry. She thought it was because he realized he needed friends…even if it was in the form of a universe hopping time traveling teenager.

But that was then. Tomorrow she was due to start her junior year with Willow, Xander, and Buffy. The blonde was due back in Sunnydale any minute. Two out of those three though, were currently walking around the park with her after a movie and ice cream.

Both Xander and Willow were playing some movie quote game. Something she was terrible at. Not only were the movies not any she'd seen having grown up in a different era, but she just wasn't a movie person in general. Dee enjoyed long thought out plots and lots of character growth that tended to show up more in TV shows or book series. Movies just felt too shallow to her.

Though Xander had worn her down along with Willow's help and had dragged her out to see some action movie that really was just one liners and bad CGI. So instead of playing the game, Dee was just walking next to the two of them, her own strawberry ice cream cone the focus of her attention.

It helped to also give Willow a chance to flirt with Xander. The redhead had spilled within a couple of days of them knowing each other that she had a giant crush on her childhood friend. Not that it wasn't already obvious to Dee.

So Dee kept quiet and walked on, even as the two of them stopped to complain about how boring summer had been. Or Xander did.

"Xander, summer wouldn't have been boring if you'd helped me~ Ask Willow. It was a hoot, thrifting and refurbishing furniture for my room." Dee teased. He'd flat out refused to help with any of the furniture shopping she'd had to do this summer.

He flapped his hand at her. "I told you, I'm not a 'shop for furniture' guy. I'm more of a 'hope the chair isn't broken' guy."

"Meaning you don't have taste, then?"

"Shut it!"

Willow piped up. "I think you have great taste, Xander."

He shot a triumphant look over at Dee before beaming at his childhood friend. "Thank you, Willow. It's nice to know you have my back."

"It was fun though; to go to all those flea markets. I didn't realize how cool some of the stuff in those places were!"

Dee laughed at the disgusted sigh Xander let out as she walked further along, yelling back to the pair of them that they could catch up whenever. She hadn't been walking more than five minutes when Xander let out a yell. Whirling around she saw him and Willow fighting off a guy. Dropping her cone, she ran back in time to rip the guy away from Xander's neck.

In front of her was a dude that looked like his face had too many layers of skin and it was melting off, with glowing eyes and large fangs.

"Is this a vampire or just a really ugly dude?" She asked, stumbling back away from the arms that had swung around to try and grab her not that Xander wasn't near.

"Vampire! He's a vampire!" Xander yelped, looking around for something sharp and wooden. "You two keep him occupied, I'll find-"

Before Xander could even finish, someone ran up to the vampire Dee was spinning around to keep out of reach of the guy, and after a couple of punches launched him into a branch.

And the vampire literally exploded into tiny tiny particles. Into dust. Like they said vampire did.

The only one left standing in the fight was a huffing Buffy, who looked at the three of them in wry amusement. "Did none of you bring a stake? Or even a cross?"

"Buffy!" Willow cried, running up to her friend to hug her. Xander right behind.

Dee hung back. Buffy and her were friends but not at the same level as the other two, not yet at least. "To answer your question, no. But to be fair it's been a completely vampire free summer…actually that was the first one I've seen."

After getting out of the hugs, Buffy and them started walking. "Really? Weird. Guess they could sense I was back or something." She shrugged. "How was your first vampire? You ready to run for the hills?"

"Honestly?" Dee snorted. "He just looked like he'd had a bad prosthetic attached to his face and it was coming off. I'm sure if they're more competent they'll be scarier but that dude kinda just followed me in a circle…not unlike a dog."

Xander sputtered in disbelief. "Bad prosthetics? Are you joking? We've almost died because of those things hundreds of times and you say they just look like bad prosthetics?" Xander moaned. "You suck, Dee. Be frightened like the rest of us plebeians."

Dee shrugged. There were scarier looking things on television in the future, so unless the vampires were attacking seriously, she doubted she would have any fear. She could be wrong, obviously. This was just a lone attack and by a rather pathetic vampire. Seriously, the dude followed her around in circles instead of going for Willow or Xander who were wide open.

Willow, who was in the middle of Dee and Buffy, bumped Buffy. "I bet it's nice to be back. When did you get in?"

"Just now. Thought I'd come find you guys and see what trouble you've gotten yourselves into. Seriously, do you guys even have a single cross between the three of you?"

Xander groaned. "There's been no trouble. It's been so boring and those two have been hanging out redoing furniture! I've been so lonely, Buffy. Thank goodness you're back."

Willow and Dee both rolled their eyes at Xander's whining. He'd been very adamant that they were choosing very boring and non-teenager things to do all summer and it made them lame. His words, not hers. Neither girl really cared. The two had a lot of fun, especially since Dee had been pulled through the vortex with both her phone and laptop…and their chargers. So on top of Willow helping her, Dee got to show Willow all kinds of new music and videos that she'd downloaded over the years.

Turns out she was a big fan of Girl in Red. Dee specifically did not tell the redhead what was implied by that in the future. She'd let her figure that one out herself.

It was only once he'd realized what he was missing out on that Xander decided to come along with Willow. Not that he helped with the refurbishing, no he just lazed around while listening to the music and making comments. Not that Dee really minded. The guy was good company. Their humor played off each other well and they both liked comics.

The only blip in their friendship so far had been when Dee had to sit Xander down and tell him in no uncertain terms to stop hitting on her, that she wasn't interested, and that it was making her uncomfortable. What followed was an awkward 2-3 weeks while he tried to find his footing after being so definite.

Willow later told her that Buffy was in a similar situation with him but instead of doing what Dee did, Buffy just sort of rebuffed him. She'd never sat him down and told him point blank to stop, so he didn't know how to handle Dee's bluntness.

But he got over it and now their friendship had shifted into something that resembled what Dee had had with her brother.

The four of them walked and talked for a bit, catching up. Buffy telling them about her summer in the big city of LA, while they caught her up on the goings on in Sunnydale. A grand total of nothing, really, except for the consecration of that Master dude's bones.

Dee did mention that she was now a full blown citizen with a social security number, driver's license, and income all at the hands of the Council. It had shocked Buffy just as much as the other two. None of them knew the council even helped with stuff like that, but according to Giles, with special cases like Dee's they would step in and help as long as a Watcher backs the victim up. It helped keep normal people out of the council's business.

Dee was just happy everything had worked out and she was back on track to go to college…even if it was almost 30 years before she was supposed to go.

After a bit Willow said she needed to get home. Her mom had said she wanted a family meeting to go over the coming school year; whatever that would entail. Xander offered to walk her home leaving Dee and Buffy to meander their way towards their own places. Dee and Giles' place was a bit further past Buffy's but in the same direction. So the two girls talked clothes and debated music before Buffy split off to go to her house and Dee promised to give Giles a 'hello' from the Slayer.

All in all, Dee thought it was a good last day to summer. Maybe that meant the coming year would be just as good.

---

The next morning Dee got dressed in a black corduroy mini skirt she'd made out of a pair of pants that had a ruined hem, a white tank top, and a cropped bright blue and black flannel she'd thrifted and hemmed. She completed the look with rolled down white socks and her best thrift find since being in the 90s; a near perfect condition pair of Doc Marten flats. Making sure her curls were fluffed and at least looked like she somewhat styled them, she grabbed her laptop bag that had traveled with her through time and space and plopped her binder and notebooks in it before walking downstairs where Giles was reading and drinking his morning tea.

"Hey Giles, you're driving me, right?" She asked, dropping her bag next to the door and grabbed her own mug but filled it with coffee that Giles had started for her. "Thanks for the coffee, by the way, you're a lifesaver. I didn't think I'd have time since I have to go in and talk to the principal. What's he like by the way?"

Giles marked his page before answering. "Yes, well, I'm not really one to talk bad about a coworker, particularly a higher up, so I shan't say much but I will let you know he doesn't like children."

"But he's a principal. At a school. With children."

"Yes."

Sighing Dee sat down across from Giles and, without asking, slid his now closed book closer to read the title. "Oh, you're starting on the Grecian Lore and Myth book I got you. Is it good?"

Deadpanning at her, he pulled the book back over and slid it into his own bag. "Yes, thank you once again. It was unnecessary for you to gift me anything. I became your guardian of my own accord." With a glance down at his watch, the Englishman finished his tea and stood up. "Now, I believe we should be going if you are wanting to stop by your locker before meeting with Mr. Snyder."

Throwing back the rest of her coffee like it was a shot, she put her mug in the sink next to Giles' to clean after school, picked her bag up again, and followed the Englishman out the door.

The drive was quick, not having hit back to school traffic with how early they'd left. Once in the school the two of them split up with Dee promising to find Giles and let him know how the meeting went. Apparently Giles had his own meeting later which he failed to mention until just then.

Dee dug through her bag trying and failing to find her class schedule Giles had given her. It had both her locker number and combination, neither of which she'd memorized yet.

"Oh, come on! Where are you, you piece of shit? I know you're in here." She growled, glancing up just in time to twirl around another teenager that was walking down the hall. Yelling out a sorry back to the dude, she continued to dig for a couple of seconds before she let out a triumphant 'ah-ha!' as she pulled out a crumpled paper. The exact page she was looking for.

After a couple of minutes and one wrong turn she finally found the correct locker. Quickly organizing her notebooks and binders, leaving enough space for any textbooks she'd get in class, she slammed the metal door. Flipping her paper over, Dee smiled at the directions to the principal's office Giles had written on the back of her schedule. The poor man had already experienced her horrendous sense of direction first hand too many times. He was now convinced if he didn't give her directions to everything, she'd get lost and never find her way home…

He wasn't really that far off.

Smiling at the secretary, Dee let her know her name and that she was meeting the principal before sitting down and waiting.

"Ms. Carrington, inside now, I don't have all day to wait for you." A weasel-y voice called from the office. And Dee felt her hope for a good meeting float away. Inside the office the walls had either plaques or picture frames still clearly filled with the stock photos they came with. She shut the door behind her before walking up to the large desk.

"Hello, sir, I'm Dee Carrington, it's nice to meet you." She held out her hand for a handshake but instead all she got was a long stare. "Nice strong handshake there. Very good." She joked before sitting down across from him. Snyder was a hardass, but hardassses were easy to deal with. As long as you cater to their fragile ego, you're golden.

Snyder snorted. "I was under the impression your name was Dorothy. Unless you've changed it in the past few weeks since your enrollment?"

"N-no, I just go by Dee so I tend to introduce myself that way. Dorothy is still my legal name." She smiled tightly. Just because she knew how to deal with Snyder doesn't mean she had to like it.

Silence was her reply as he looked down at the papers in front of him. Neither of them talked, each waiting for the other to break the silence. Most teenagers probably would have but considering Dee had spent weeks trying to get a picture of a rare bird, only able to make the smallest amount of noise less she scare the robin-like animal away, the silence wasn't the worse she'd endured. Nature conservation internships for the win in this standoff.

Putting the papers down finally, Snyder quietly contemplated her. "Everything in your file would suggest a well behaved, put together teenager." He stated. "But I don't believe it."

Dee blinked. "Sir? Is there something you would like me to answer for you?"

"No detentions, no unexplained absences, not even a tardy since you were twelve. It's like you are the perfect teenager." He said instead of answering her. "There is no such thing as the perfect teenager."

Dee felt her insides freeze. The council had turned her into a teacher's wet dream. If anything her file should be 10X's the size it was. She was a troublemaker with good grades. Protests, arrest because of said protests, talking back to teachers and other students, even skipping school occasionally for things; that's what her file in her old universe had.

But here she was with a squeaky clean slate…she was going to disappoint so many people. Dee didn't know how to keep her mouth shut for more than a day or two.

Go along with it, Carrington. Don't let weaselman know it's all fake. "I wouldn't say perfect, sir, just dedicated to my education. I promise you, I get up to the most horrendous stuff. Just not while school is in session."

Snyder leaned back and folded his arms across his chest. "Your guardian is that librarian, Mr. Giles, correct?"

She nodded.

"I'll be checking in periodically with him. Your file may point to you being a perfect student but you smell and look like a troublemaker if I've ever seen one." He sneered. "Your hair holds too many secrets."

Face scrunching in offense, she grabbed some of her curls and looked at it. Sure, her hair was wild and rather voluminous but that was just what curls did to hair. Her hair didn't hold secrets, just the scent of lavender.

"I suppose my hair and its secrets best keep an eye out then. Was there anything else you needed or were you just wanting to question my permanent record?".

Snyder's eyes narrowed before he leaned forward halfway across his desk. "I'll be watching you, Carrington, don't screw up. And welcome to Sunnydale High." He smiled a smile she could swear whispered the word 'expulsion' as it reached its peak. "Now get to your first class."

Not dignifying him with a response she grabbed her bag lying at her feet and strolled out of the office calm as can be, Snyder slamming the door behind her.

She rolled her eyes at the action as she walked down the hall, weaving between bodies as she did. It hadn't been a long meeting but in that time all the students had shown up. Keeping an eye out, she finally saw Willow's telltale hair.

Grinning mischievously, Dee snuck up behind Willow, shushing Xander who had noticed and was repressing his own grin at her creeping. Arms reached out, she quickly pinched Willow's sides right where she knew the girl was ticklish.

Willow spun around with a yelp, smacking the laughing teen's arm. "You don't sneak tickle! That's rude, Dee! What if I was holding something dangerous…like scissors or, or a bomb?"

"Come on, Red. I'm sure Xander would have said something if you were holding something dangerous." She explained, still giggling. "Plus you need to be more aware of your surroundings. What if I was a vampire hell bent on draining you?"

Xander walked over to the girls, hand held up for a high five. "Nice spooking, Deedee. You sure got her."

"Thanks. Don't ever call me that again."

"Tried something new, didn't work out."

As they walked they compared their schedules, all of them had Chemistry, english, and algebra. But that was it. Dee was also taking Psychology, Ancient History, Sociology, and German. Admittedly the absolute plethora of classes open to her really put her on edge, but Giles had explained that since this high school was on the Hellmouth, it made strange things like extra classes be normal and accepted. So she took the ones that she could. Besides her core classes, all the others went towards her college credits. Best get them out of the way early and in college she could take more fun classes.

Still, she really hated chemistry and unless it wasn't required to graduate she'd drop it immediately. Science…not her strong suit. Give her history or languages or even math.

"Giles!" Willow greeted, pulling Dee out of her head.

"Yo, G-man, what's up?"

Giles turned and smiled at the three of them coming down the stairs to him and Ms. Calendar. "Nice to see you. Xander, don't ever call me that again."

"Wow, either Dee has been spending too much time with you or vice versa because you're starting to sound like each other." Xander muttered.

Ignoring Xander, Giles turned to her. "How'd the meeting go?"

"Did you know the council made me a squeaky clean goody goody?" She complained. "Giles! I'm the furthest thing from a goody goody. I've literally been arrested! For protesting, but still."

"Ah, yes, well…I, uh, I did tell them you mentioned you had a bit of a record. Seems they took it upon themselves to wipe it clean." Giles said.

Shooting the other two a quick 'Hello, kids' Ms. Calendar side eyed her. "You've been arrested?"

Dee shrugged. "Yeah, I was protesting for stricter gun laws. Almost got expelled before the cops showed up and put everyone in zip ties. The organizers of the protest got frog marched down to the station to be booked and wait for our parents."

Ms. Calendar smiled uncertainly at her. Dee didn't really know how to feel about the older woman. She was plenty nice and very modern for the era and she made Giles all blushy and happy so that was three plusses, but Dee couldn't help but feel like she wasn't telling them something. It left her conflicted so the freckled girl kept out of the woman's way so as to not hurt Giles' feelings.

"Buffy! Hello, how are you?" Giles asked as said girl came walking up to them.

Buffy shrugged. "Live and kicking."

Willow perked up enthusiastically. "Buffy killed a vampire last night! And Dee said they weren't scary to her."

Everyone cringed at Willow's volume. Buffy's eyes narrowed a bit at her. "I think you can get a little more volume if you speak from the diaphragm."

"Maybe next time, Will, turn the dial down to a 5 instead of a 10. 5 is a good inside voice." Dee bumped Willow's hip to lessen the sting of her and Buffy's hips.

"Sorry"

Ms. Calendar glanced around before whispering. "We've got vampires? I thought the Hellmouth was closed?"

Giles nodded. "Well, it's, it's closed but not gone. I explained it to Dee before, the mystical energy that emanates from it is still concentrated in the area."

Dee coughed to cover up a laugh. He'd done more than explain when she asked one night. She got a whole 5 hour lecture on what a Hellmouth was and how it forms and everything in between. If power points were a thing Giles understood, she was certain he would have pulled one up.

"Which means we're still the undead's favorite party town." Xander griped.

"At least it won't be dull." Dee offered as a pale comfort.

Giles furrowed his brow in concern. "I wonder if they are here for any purpose in particular?"

Buffy gave a halfhearted smile. "You're the Watcher. I just work here."

"Yes, yes, I must consult my books."

Willow and Dee let out simultaneous groans.

"Yes! Pay up, suckers. Eight minutes and thirty-three seconds." Xander held out his hand towards Willow and Dee. They sent him twin scowls before each slapping a dollar into his awaiting hand.

Dee shot Giles a disappointed look. "Dammit Giles, you couldn't have waited like two more minutes? I had faith you'd last at least ten minutes. That's pathetic even for a bookworm."

"I supposed I'll remember that-"

Whatever Giles was going to remember was interrupted by the bell. With a quick goodbye they left Giles and Ms. Calendar in the hall, Buffy following after a couple of seconds.

---

Giles had found Dee at lunch and let her know he was going to train with Buffy and since Dee didn't really want to wait at the school for however many hours they were training, she decided to walk home with Willow coming along.

"Hey, did you notice Buffy seems…bleh today? Like just a shade of not right?" Willow asked, sitting on a chair in the living room, sipping on her drink.

Dee bit into her cookie and answered, cookie still in her mouth. "Well, she seemed somewhat normal to me." Swallowing, she explained more. " But I also only knew her a couple of weeks before she went on vacation, so I'd say you know her better than I do."

Willow sighed into her punch. "I just think that she's off. Like she felt normal and seemed normal but like she didn't want to be normal."

"So she's completely normal but you're having sixth sense wiggies and think she's not?"

"Yes! Exactly!"

"I always say trust your gut, and if Willow Gut is saying something's off then something is probably off." She winked. "How about me and you keep an eye on her this week and if you're still feeling the heebie jeebies from her, we can talk to her?"

Willow did her own version of a teasing smirk. "Or the illie willies?"

"Don't make fun of heebie jeebie. It's a very valid description. Especially if this is anything supernatural. Heebie Jeebie is now an official description in a Watcher Diary."

"Oh, god, you got Giles to use the words heebie jeebie in his journal?"

Dee giggled along with Willow as she remembered Giles sulkily walking into the kitchen one night this summer after a patrol, face in what she would describe a pout. He'd grouched and griped saying she was infecting him with her future teenager speak and now he had the words 'heebie jeebies' in his official watcher diary. Apparently the protocol is whatever you write has to stay written. No crossing it out, no white out. Just pure words.

She'd only gotten back into his good graces after making some chocolate scones from scratch. He was still getting shit from her and Xander about how British he was.

Walking through the door, Giles paused as the two started laughing even harder at his entrance. "I, I don't want to know, do I?"

They shook their heads, neither willing to explain and incur the Englishman's ire.

"Alright then. Do either of you want me to cook-"

Dee cut him off with a panicked 'No!'. Giles was a lot of things, but a good cook was not one of them. It wasn't even his fault. It was his Britishness. British people had terrible taste and terrible food. And that's all he knew how to make. Dee quickly took over cooking whenever they didn't order in. Not that she was the best, but at least she knew not to boil chicken.

Seriously, he'd tried to serve boiled chicken. He was a grown ass man that she knew had cooked before yet he thought that was how you made good chicken. Apparently before she had come the guy lived on restaurant take out.

"I'll cook. I think we have the stuff to make white people tacos." She said, "Will, you staying for dinner?"

"If you'll have me." Willow agreed. She didn't particularly like going home to an empty house and right now that's what it was. Both her parents were away on trips, separate trips at that. Dee had been asking her to stay more and more for dinner with her and Giles. She wouldn't lie, the conversations were weird but that was just Dee and Giles. The two of them were able to go on tangents about monsters, strange history, or even full on dinner long debates on their interpretations of Archaic Latin. But she always had fun. And she wasn't alone, which was nice.

She tilted her head in confusion as she actually thought about the food that was offered. "What's white people tacos?"

"Exactly what the name suggests. It's not real Mexican food, but just the fried tortilla, ground beef, and toppings that white people make for taco night." Dee explained, standing up to get started. Willow followed her into the kitchen, chatting about their classes while Giles went to his office to do Watcher things. Whatever those may be.

With Willow pitching in by frying the tortillas, dinner was ready quickly and even Giles admitted it wasn't the worst he'd had. High praise from him considering when she made freaking lamb a couple of weeks ago he had critiqued it before saying it was good. Meaning, to him, it was only a shade above edible to him.

Swot.

---

The next morning she groaned as her alarm went off. Only the second day of school and already she was done with the early mornings. Dee was a night owl. Waking up at 6 am was against her very being. Sighing, she sat up and glared at the mess that was her closet. She really needed to organize the things, but clothes were so cheap in this era, especially thrift clothes, that anytime she organized it the closet quickly became overrun again.

At least that was the only part of her room messy right now. She was rather proud of the transformation she'd given the room over the summer. After getting permission from Giles; her, Xander, and Willow had tackled painting her walls a pretty navy blue with golden stars dotting around randomly. Along the top of the walls were Christmas lights that she'd found in the attic that Giles said he never used. The computer desk, which yes included the absolute behemoth that passes as a 90s computer, had pens and pencils scattered across it. Right next to that was the corkboard Xander had given her as a 'Welcome to the Hellmouth' present earlier this summer. It already had a couple of pictures on it of her, Willow, Xander, and Buffy. She'd even talked Giles into taking the 90s equivalent of a selfie with an old polaroid camera she'd found at a flea market. Even her freshly refurbished dresser drawers were organized enough they closed completely.

All in all, it didn't scream 'time traveling teenager' not until you opened the lower drawers on the computer desk and were greeted with a skinny macbook, iphone, airpods, and some wireless beats. Said beats were dead as a doorknob. Turns out you really should travel with all the chargers to your electronics and not just your phone and laptop.

Willow had begged and begged to get her hands on the mac but it was one of the few things she had that had pictures of her friends and family. She wasn't about to let anyone touch it that had never touched a modern computer.

Dee had been lucky enough to have an old sim card in her laptop bag at the time of her travel so she transferred some of her pictures over to it in the hopes that she could print them off if not now, sometime in the future. Willow had taken the sim card to see if it worked with the older systems and ended up surprising her with a huge stack of pictures. All featuring her family and friends from her universe.

She had bawled ugly tears and ruined not only her shirt but Willow's as well. Now when her mac finally died and her phone kaputted, because they would one day especially with how much she was using them to listen to music, she wouldn't be forced to just forget what everyone looked like.

It had cemented Willow in Dee's own 'will kill someone for them' list.

"Dee, please do hurry. I am needing to look over some books this morning. If you are not down in the car in twenty minutes I'll assume you're riding the bus." Giles' voice came from outside her door.

Reminiscing done at the threat of bus riding, Dee went over to her closet and put on a button up jean skirt, thigh high tights with lace at the top, an emerald velvet tank top, and a long mesh cardigan. Finishing it off with her Docs, some rings and necklaces, and forcing her curls into a high top pony, which looked more like a puffball on top of her head, she grabbed her bag and ran down the stairs.

Grabbing the last piece of toast from the toaster, she skipped out and into the passenger seat next to her guardian. "Fast enough for ya?"

Giles, backing up and pulling out with only a little clunking from his ancient car, snorted. "Little too slow actually. Next time can we try to leave before 7AM?"

"Seriously?" Disgust colored her tone.

"Or you can, of course, ride the bus. Buffy does."

"7AM sounds great!"

"That's what I thought."

Giles parked behind the school with the rest of the faculty and they said their goodbyes before splitting up at the door. Walking in she was all smiles. Sunnydale was nice and, despite the high mortality rate, they didn't have metal detectors, no emptying bags when you got in, no security checks at all. It was refreshing to the 16 year old after having grown up with that stuff in all her schools; Elementary to high school.

Probably should be implemented here though, considering the amount of lethal weapons her friends had told her were smuggled in.

"Carrington! Hey, Carrington!" A voice called from behind. Dee turned to look and saw a stereotypical dark haired jock waving her down as he walked up to her. He sat behind her in Psych if she remembered correctly.

"Hey, uhhh-" She started before trailing off.

"Bradley. Bradley Brown, actually."

"Right, did you need something or were you just really Jonesin to walk me to class?" She smirked.

Bradley shook his head. "Naw, not that I wouldn't actually like to but I had a question about Psych. How the hell did you manage to pass the test Mr. Walsh assigned us? I asked around and literally no one has passed that test in the 7 years he's taught Psych."

Dee grinned but kept her mouth shut. She would bet money that others had actually passed but got the same note she'd gotten.

Keep your answer to yourself for the year and you won't have to take the final

No way was she going to fuck that deal up. Plus there wasn't anything in the note saying she couldn't say anything once the year was over. So she just shook her head with a teasing grin.

"Going the Fort Knox routine, huh? I'll get it out of you if it's the last thing I do, Carrington." Bradley said, pointing at her as he walked away.

Dee smiled as she turned. Bradley was cute. Not her type but cute none the less. Continuing through the halls, she came upon her friend in front of her along with…Cordelia? Yes, that was who that was. She had been with everyone the night Dee had fallen through.

"Good. You won't tell anyone I'm the slayer and I won't tell anyone you're a moron." She heard Buffy snap at the tall girl before pushing passed her towards Dee. Doing a quick eyebrow conversation with Xander and Willow, Dee followed behind the annoyed girl.

"I'm not going to explain what that was about, Dee." Buffy huffed as Dee finally caught up to her.

Dee shrugged. "Didn't ask you to. You got something going on and that's fine." Glancing up at the room numbers she found her excuse. "My class is this way so I figured I'd just walk with you."

Buffy scoffed as she glanced down at Dee's bulging bag. "With all your stuff? Have you even made it to your locker today?"

"Nope."

"Then why don't you go to your locker and let me worry about myself."

"Who said I was worried about you? Maybe I just don't want to go to my locker." She suggested. "It's right near this important basketball player and the team seems to group around him in the morning. Jocks aren't really the best smelling group around."

Buffy sighed but she did have a small smile on her face so Dee counted it as a win. Even if she did have to walk to calculus with three textbooks in her bag.

---

Dee was at home, macbook open with her music playing while she rewrote her messy in class notes into something color coordinated and studiable when Willow came walking in.

"Come on, we gotta go to The Bronze. Buffy agreed to show up and Xander is going to be there too." Willow grinned a slight blush on her face at the prospect of Xander.

"Ooh, Xander!" Dee moaned, mirth on her face. "Why ever would I miss hanging out with Xander?"

Willow playfully scowled at her before grabbing a pillow and throwing it at Dee's laughing face. "Shush it. I don't even sound like that, Dee. I'm a lot more…oh who am I kidding? I probably do sound like that."

"It's not a bad thing." Dee assured. "You have a crush. You're supposed to sound all gushy and pathetic. It's a core part of crushes."

"Guess I got that down then."

Dee shot a droll look at the now sheepish girl. They'd had one too many talks about Willow's self doubt, especially when it came to Xander. "The Bronze?"

"Yes, right, The Bronze. Come on!" Willow took the change of subject and, literally, ran with it. Grabbing her hand, the redhead pulled her down the stairs and out the front door.

Dee yelled back into the house to Giles about where she was going and that she promised to be back by midnight. She just managed to hear an affirmative before the door closed.

The two of them walked down the sidewalk for a bit before they came upon the nightclub that Sunnydale's teens converged on nightly. Dee had been there quite a few times already but still she felt a burst of happiness each time. The future didn't have the dingy, grungy nightclubs for both under 18 and over that they had in this time. It was all LED and minimalist decor in 2023. She liked a bit of dinge.

Willow and her found a table quickly and just in time for Xander to walk up with a grin.

"Hey, how's it going, gang?" He asked, slinging his arms around both girls. "Music's not too bad, soda is all carbonated, and Buffy should be showing up."

"Is Buffy all you think about?"

"No, I also think of you, Dee." Xander shot her a teasing smile.

Dee pursed her lips. She knew he said that just to get under her skin, and it worked. She liked Xander, hell he was probably one of her best friends now, but she could tell he was a 'nice guy' and if she didn't set clear boundaries, he'd try to jump right over the line.

Wincing, Willow changed the subject to her worries about Buffy. Xander, of course, thought nothing of her being a bit meaner but he was as observant as a lemming when it came to Buffy or any girl really, so Dee didn't put much stock in it. She kept quiet though; even she could tell something was up with the blonde and she'd only known her a couple of weeks before Buffy went on vacation.

After Xander's less than enthusiastic participation in the conversation, Dee saw out of the corner of her eye Willow go to dip her nose in her ice cream. Before she could though, she shot her arm out and covered the top of the cup with her hand. She shook her head as Willow blushed and lowered her eyes to the table.

The redhead had explained that Xander and her had almost kissed the night Buffy showed back up when she got ice cream on her nose then. But doing it again would just make it pathetic and Dee wasn't going to let her friend be pathetic over anyone. Even if he was their friend.

"Look, Buffy!" Xander said, sitting up straighter at the sight of their friend.

Buffy was walking to them before the vampire that had brooded and glared at Dee the night she appeared stepped in front of Buffy. Angel. She had gotten the low down from both Willow and Buffy on the guy over the summer so she knew he was also Buffy's maybe, kind of boyfriend. She knew he'd shown back up since at lunch today, Buffy had explained he'd shown up in her window to warn her of a new evil thing coming for her.

But, despite the warning, it looked like that maybe, kind of had transitioned into ex, if Buffy's glare and foot tapping was anything to go by. The two of them talked for a minute before Buffy whirled around and sauntered over to their table. Picking up Willow's drink, she finished it off as Willow asked about Angel. Buffy shrugged and blew the question off before turning to Xander.

"Let's dance." Buffy didn't wait for an answer before pulling the shocked boy onto the dance floor.

Willow and Dee were left at the table alone. Dee's eyebrows rose as she watched Buffy do the equivalent of sensual grinding on Xander. Glancing over at Willow she saw the same disbelief along with a boatload of hurt. After all, Buffy was the first one to know about Willow's massive crush on Xander.

As the song ended, Buffy, without saying a word, walked out of The Bronze leaving a rather worried group of friends. Xander included, no matter how much he enjoyed what just happened.

Xander made his way back to them slowly, eyes still wide. "That was amazing, right?"

"Amazingly weird."

Willow swallowed her hurt before nodding. "Something is definitely wrong with Buffy. Normal Buffy would have never done that."

"Or," He started. "She could have actually realized she's attracted to me."

Dee reached up on her tiptoes and gave the back of Xander's head a slap. "Don't be an idiot. You know she's not. Something is wrong."

Xander slumped in his seat. "You're right. But a man can dream."

"Xander! There's more important things than your obsession with Buffy. Mainly the thing wrong with Buffy." Willow reprimanded.

"Fine. But if something is wrong, what do you guys think it is?" He asked.

Dee bit her lip as she thought. "Something personality altering, but subtle enough that it only becomes obvious the longer it's in action."

"Possession." Willow suggested.

"Huh-uh," Dee shook her head. "Possession is sudden, abrupt, we would all notice the change immediately. Maybe something altering her memories? Making her act different."

Willow frowned at her now empty cup. "Should we talk to Giles tomorrow?"

"That'd be best. I can give him the rundown in the morning." Dee said. "We'll meet you at the student lounge. That sound good to you two?"

They agreed before the three of them slipped out of the club and walked home. Dee was the furthest away so she had the fun part of walking alone after dark in Sunnydale. After that first encounter she had decided to start carrying holy water in a little water gun and a tiny stake. Not that she thought she'd be able to take a vampire on, but maybe she could at least get away before being killed. Just because they didn't look scary to her, didn't mean they couldn't kill her.

---

Giles and her walked into school together the next morning. She was still going on about how weird Buffy was acting as they made their way to the student lounge area. Xander and Willow had already claimed a table that Dee quickly joined them at.

"Hey, I've filled him in." She said in way of a greeting.

"So, he knows she's got to be possessed or something." Willow exclaimed.

Giles raised his eyebrows. "Or something is right."

Dee rolled her eyes. Sure, Giles had somewhat convinced her that Buffy wasn't being slowly taken over by something, but that didn't mean he couldn't at least listen to their concerns. "Giles is convinced it's nothing preternatural but just a normal teenage girl breakdown."

"What? But she's acting like such a-a-a B-I-T-C-H!" Willow said, whispering the letters she spelled out.

"Will, while adorable, please just say bitch, I beg you."

Giles grabbed a pop from the vending machine and took a drink, grimacing at the taste, before answering. "Willow, we're all old enough we don't need to spell out our curses."

"A bitka?" Xander guessed, wincing as Dee kicked him under the table. "Damn, you should be in soccer with a kick like that."

Mouth twitching, Giles took a seat in front of the kids, sitting the drink he'd opened and hated in front of Dee to drink as he did. "As, um, as I explained to Dee earlier, I'm of the mind that a perfectly reasonable explanation for her behavior is what you Americans call 'issues'. Her experiences with the Master must have been extremely traumatic. She was, as you well remember, technically dead for a few moments."

Dee cleared her throat as she saw Buffy come around the corner but Giles continued on like a battering ram.

"I-I don't believe she's dealt with that trauma in a way that is productive to her life. She seems to have convinced herself she's invulnerable-"

Xander and Dee, simultaneously, jumped in to cover up their topic. "What an interesting point about trout!/So they are invulnerable-"

As their words settled over the group, the two of them closed their eyes and just lowered their heads onto the table.

"What are…" Giles switched gears as Buffy's reflection showed in the window in front of him. "Ye-yes, the, um invulnerable trout from…Indonesia." Giles cut himself off to look up at Buffy who by now had approached the table. "Good morning, did you sleep well?"

"Like a rock." Buffy looked at him straight faced. "Master's gone."

"I'm sorry?"

"The Master. I went by his grace last night. And they have a vacancy."

Dee lifted her head to stare at Buffy. "You sure?"

"Yeah, why would someone want Master bones?" Willow agreed.

"A trophy? A horrible conversation piece?" Xander suggested.

Buffy tightened her hold on her books as she shot daggers at Giles. "They're gonna bring him back. They're gonna bring the Master back to life and I seem to recall you telling me he was history."

"Buffy, I-I-I've never heard of a, a revivification ritual being successful." Giles stuttered.

She shook her head in disbelief. "But you've heard of them? Thanks for the warning."

Dee frowned at the words. Sure the Master coming back would be bad but it wasn't any reason to blame Giles. He couldn't predict someone trying to steal the bones. "Don't go jumping on people when they're trying to help you. Giles did what he could."

Willow nodded. "Yeah, Buffy, Giles did bury him and-"

"Look, this is slayer stuff, okay? Could we have a little less from the civilians, please?" Buffy snapped.

"They're not civilians when you need someone to do the grunt work, though, are they?" Dee shot back.

Xander lurched forward, hands flying up between the two girls, trying to keep the two separated. "Okay! I think that's enough."

Before anything else could be said, the school bell reverberated through the area. The two girls kept their eyes on each other, neither willing to back down. Dee knew it would be the smart thing. She couldn't fight, even if Buffy was a normal girl, but she didn't like how the blonde had jumped on their friends. They had been nothing but kind and helpful since Dee appeared so she wasn't about to let anyone, even a traumatized slayer, just jump on them without a good reason.

From behind Giles came Snyder, who cleared his throat grabbing all their attention. "I believe some of us here have class? And some of us have jobs?"

Giles nodded, worryingly packing his stuff. "Y-yes, well, I'll see you all in the library later. We'll, uh, have to continue this discussion then."

"About trout." Willow added as all four of them turned and headed to their classes.

---

Dee was the first of them to make it to the library and Giles immediately put her to work. She was the only one of them besides himself that could read both modern and archaic Latin so he set her on the older tomes that mentioned the Master. Taking up half the table in books and papers for translation work, she was halfway through skimming the first one when Xander and Willow came bounding in. Buffy not far behind them at a more leisured pace.

All three of them paused at the sight of Dee, pen behind her ear with three books and a notebook open around her. While they knew she was into similar things that Giles was, they hadn't realized how much she enjoyed it. But there she was, the headphones she bought once she'd found the little adapter thing she said she needed to make them work with her modern phone, playing what they assumed was music from said phone. Pen scribbling across the paper before she'd pause and cross reference something in another book.

So far the freckled girl hadn't found anything worth telling anyone. The most interesting thing was the accounts of who the Master was when he was human and not an evil vampire determined to have world domination. But that didn't help with what they needed so it was pushed aside.

To be fair to her searching abilities, she was having to do on the fly translations in a language that was considered dead. The fact she'd translated as much as she had and in such a short amount of time was why her friends and family called her a genius…and the fact she had a good memory when it came to anything but fucking chemistry. Seriously, that subject kicked her ass no matter the time period.

Sighing, she slammed the book she was working on closed. Another dead end. It talked about the Master but only in warning not to cross him for blah, blah, blah, unspeakable horror, blah. Before she could grab another one of the books in front of her, a hand came down on her shoulder.

Jerking away and out of her chair, Dee yanked her headphones off to glare at a laughing Xander. "That wasn't funny, Ass-ander. I wanna see you not get spooked while reading about ancient torture."

"No, thank you. I'll stick with my fluffy bunnies."

Willow smiled as she looked over Dee's notebook. "Wow, you really are good with languages. Really good. I've watched Giles try to translate stuff like this and it takes him double the time you could have been in here."

Dee blushed as she grinned. No matter how many times people compliment her language abilities it still made her happy. Her ability to pick up languages was probably her favorite skill she had. Before she could reply, she noticed Giles making his way over with a stack of books for the others to research. Xander turned to see what she was looking at and let out a groan at the sight of the many leather bound books heading his way.

Buffy, who so far had been silent, grabbed a couple off the top of the stack and sat down on the other side of the table. "Let me know if you guys find anything." She said before burying her nose in the book.

All of them glanced at each other at the very Un-Buffy like actions, but figured they needed the information on revivification so they went on with their own research. Dee put her headphones back on and grabbed another book, this time from the 15th century and started translating.

It wasn't long before Willow was tapping on her shoulder and pointing at Giles coming down the stairs. Dee pulled her headphones off to hear.

"Alright, alright, I-I've got something. It's Latin so Dee I need you to look it over too, but bear with me." He said waving Dee over to his side to double check his translations. "Uh, to revive the vampire they need his bones-"

"Which they have." Dee muttered.

Giles shot her a look before continuing. "They also need the blood of…oh shoot. Dee double check this in a moment. I'm unclear on this but I think it's the closest person. Someone connected to the vampire." Once he was done he handed the book over to Dee so she could translate it herself.

Buffy spoke up. "That would be me."

"Perhaps."

"We were close. We killed each other. Really promotes togetherness."

Xander then asked the question they were all wondering. "Is there anything in the book about when the ceremony might take-"

Before he could even finish, a rock half the size of Dee's head smashed through the window and into Buffy's hands. Even from where she was sitting, she could see the paper wrapped around it being held there by a bracelet.

Looking at the bracelet holding the paper, Buffy frowned. "This is Cordelia's," She unwrapped the bracelet and sat it next to her as she began to read. "Come to the Bronze before it opens, or else we make her a meal."

"They're gonna cook her dinner?" Xander asked, astonished before wincing at the looks he got. "Pretend I didn't say that."

Willow bit her lip, looking down at the note before glancing at everyone. "What do we do?"

Buffy shrugged. "I go to the Bronze and save the day."

Dee shot her hand up before anyone could continue. "Hold up. I got the passage translated and while most of what Giles said was correct, the closeness isn't based on emotional or personal, it's nearness. Like whoever was looking at him as he died."

Giles hurried over and picked up her notebook with her work. "Are you certain?"

"Yeah, whoever translated this from the original language did it rather sloppily so it's easy to get wrong, but it definitely means nearness."

Giles nodded before turning to Buffy. "With, uh, with the new meaning, I-I really don't think you should just go."

Buffy scoffed. "Because one teenager said your translation was off? No offense, Dee, but I think I'll stick with Giles' interpretation considering he's studied the language longer."

"Or is it because it makes you the woman of the hour again?" Dee muttered but kept it low enough that only Giles heard. Despite sending her a reprimanding look, he kept quiet.

"I'm with Giles and Dee. I don't like this." Xander said.

Buffy grabbed her coat off the chair before turning to the four of them. "Well, you guys aren't coming so it doesn't matter if you guys like it or not."

"What do you mean?" Willow asked.

"I mean I can't do it anymore with guys. I can't look after you while I'm fighting."

Willow took a step back at the angry words before glaring at her friend. "Well, what about the rest of the note?"

Buffy furrowed her eyebrows. "What rest of the note?"

"The 'PS, This is a trap'!"

Dee watched Buffy frown at the arguments but could see none of the three were getting through to her. "You know this is a trap and you think it's for you, but what if it's for someone else?"

Buffy turned back to her. "What do you mean?"

Dee gestured to the notebook still in Giles' hand. "You may not believe my translation but it's right. Meaning they'll be going after the people nearest to the Master at his death. We have two of the four in this very room. Maybe the trap is yours to spring but Giles and Willow to get stuck in."

"I don't believe that. This is my fight." She stated before spinning and stalking from the room.

Willow let out a frustrated groan as she glared at the closed door. "God! What is wrong with her? You literally said what she thought was wrong but will she listen to you? No! Buffy has to be right."

No one really said anything after Willow's outburst but the four of them started packing the books away, besides the one with the passage, before gathering around the table. Giles was still frowning at the books but Dee had convinced Xander and Willow to at least grab a couple of crosses and stakes they kept in tbe office, just on the chance it really had been a trap for Giles and Willow.

"I still think we should have gone with her." Willow muttered, playing with the cross in front of her.

Dee shrugged. "I don't think, in her current temperament, she would have let anyone walk out those doors with her. She's getting ready to blow. Which way she does depends on what happens today."

"Meaning we should all keep a very safe distance from the angry slayer." Xander said.

Dee leaned back in her chair, head falling behind her to stare up at the stacks. She wouldn't lie, she was a bit hurt that Buffy had completely disregarded her words. The two of them were obviously not as close as the others but she considered the blonde a friend and thought it was the same on Buffy's side. Hopefully nothing happened and Dee was wrong, but she felt in her gut they would be coming after everyone that was there at the Master's death. Not after Buffy.

Dee, head still upside down, squinted up at the rows of books. It looked like something was moving up there in the shadows. "Hey, Giles, is there a back entrance to the library?"

"Hmm?" Giles looked over at her. "Yes, why?"

Eyes widening at the now people shaped shadows appearing, she stood up and spun around, taking time to grab a cross and stake as she did. "Because we have company."

The others jumped up and grabbed their own weapons. Not that any of them thought it would do them good. The four of them versus what looked like ten vampires? No chance, but at least they could say they fought.

Eight of the ten vampires jumped down, two going for each of them while the last two stayed upstairs. Dee, despite feeling foolish, raised the cross up between the two that went for her. Her back was to the table with Xander to her left and Willow to her right. Behind her on the other side of the table was Giles, his back also to the table.

"Do you really think you can take us, Tiny?" Ugly on the left asked her.

Dee shook her head. "Nope! But I can try."

Her words seemed to set off all the vampires in the room as they each went for their targets. Unlike Xander and her, who aren't needed for the ritual, Willow and Giles were quickly knocked out with a first to the temple from one or two of their assailants and was carted off before she could even attempt to help them. Dee wished she could help, but the vampire on the right had grabbed her and went for her neck until she'd shoved the end of the cross right in her eye.

Yelling in pain, the vampire pushed her away and over the table. Dee took the table with her sideways as she slid off it. Xander stumbled back as his leverage was suddenly gone and took a fist to the face but didn't go down. Before she could see exactly what happened, the vampire that was now missing an eye jumped at her, face full of fury.

With a scream, Dee scrambled back away from the being. As she hit the wall she used it to get herself back to her feet just in time for a vampire she hadn't seen to smash her head into the wall. She had enough awareness to hear Xander yell her name before into darkness she went.

---

Pain was the first thing Dee was aware of, centered around her temple, then voices.

"She got one of them in the eye, so from what I could see three of them converged on her and slammed her head through the wall." Xander's voice felt like it pierced her brain even at its low volume. It came from right above her so she had to be in his lap. "I didn't last much longer but I genuinely thought she was dead."

"No, she's breathing." She could hear the worry in Buffy's voice. "And the blood has stopped coming so that's a good sign."

Dee groaned. If Buffy was here, then she must have realized she was sent away to be distracted.

"Dee?" Xander said. "You waking up?"

"Can I get a new head? This one seems to have been broken." Dee muttered, hand going up to her temple where she felt the pain originate from. Sticky wetness met her fingertips. That must be the blood Buffy had mentioned. It felt like it went all the way down her face. Damn, she really liked the shirt she was wearing.

Her wrist was grabbed and pulled away from her head softly. "Don't touch. Who knows what's on your hand."

Dee opened her eyes, more like squinted if she was honest, to glare at Buffy. She knew the girl was going through shit, but that didn't excuse the bitchfit and disregarding good advice like she had. Now Dee most likely had a massive concussion and their friends were taken. All because Buffy had to be right. "I'm assuming you believe me about my translation now."

"Yes, I've already gotten a scolding from Xander." Buffy admitted, biting her lip. "But we need to go. I have an idea on how to get the location they're keeping everyone."

Dee nodded, wincing when the movement made her head throb, before Xander helped her up. "Alright, where are we going?"

"Dee, no offense, but your head looks like it took a hammer to it. Should you be coming with?" Xander asked, gesturing at the side of her head.

"You're one to talk. You also have blood coming out of your head."

Buffy rolled her eyes as she turned around. "You're both injured. Now either come on or stay here, but I'm leaving."

The two bleeding humans glanced at each other before hurrying out of the room. The walk/run wasn't long, only to the Bronze which was only a couple of blocks away from the school. Which was lucky for her since Dee had gotten a bit dizzy halfway there, but Buffy wasn't about to slow down so the curly haired girl kept her mouth shut and went on.

Buffy stormed into the club, door banging with the force. Dee paused at the door, grabbing onto the frame to keep the room from spinning a bit. Her head was killing her, but there wasn't any way she wasn't coming along so, with a deep breath, she pushed the pain away and stepped away from the door into the dark and quiet club. The place was odd without tables and people everywhere. It definitely felt more like where a murder would take place instead of the teenager hang out spot.

"Where are they?" Buffy demanded once they were all inside, speeding over to the vampire at Angel's feet. Grabbing the front of the Lady's shirt, Buffy hulled her up and pulled her close.

"Does it matter? Your friends are dead." The vampire laughed in Buffy's face.

Dee took a step forward but Xander held onto her wrist keeping her next to him and the door. It wasn't their job to get information from the vampire.

Buffy, equally unhappy with that answer, flipped the vampire over onto a pool table before ripping her necklace off. "Last chance to tell me."

"What are you going to do? Kill me? You'll never find the information then." She taunted.

"Yep," Buffy smirked. "But I never said how long that death would take."

Prying the vampire's mouth open, Buffy slid her cross necklace into her mouth and down her throat. Forcing her mouth closed, Dee could see smoke escaping beneath Buffy's hand even from across the room. Muffled screaming echoed through the empty club before Buffy took the necklace out.

"You gonna tell me what I want to know?"

Vamp Lady bitched out and immediately gave the address up after that to the amusement of everyone in the room. Buffy quickly staked the woman as they all set off to a warehouse.

Sunnydale had an insane amount of warehouses, cemeteries, churches, metaphysical shops, and antique stores for a city that Dee was certain didn't have a population bigger than 39,000 people. She blamed the Hellmouth. It just drew the craziness that those places required to bring people in.

During her first month she had asked Giles for a map on Sunnydale. Her dad always said if you knew your environment you were already a step ahead of your enemies. And if she was being honest, the idea of vampires, demons, ghouls, ghosts, and any other manner of preternatural beings scared her shitless. One too many horror movie nights spent with her brother to not immediately go to the worst case scenario for everything. It still made her heart race four months after arriving in the universe. No matter how unscary the vampires looked, they could kill her in seconds.

Thus, her need for a map. And the surprise she felt when she saw the amount of damn cemeteries? Ridiculous. It was overkill to have 12 but at least they'd never run out of area for their dead.

The four of them made good time and quickly, but silently, snuck into the warehouse through an upper window onto a catwalk. Buffy went first, needing a running jump to reach the ledge, before she turned around and helped Dee in after Angel had to pick her up for her to even reach the upper ledge. Xander, asshole that he was, had to muffle his laughter since she had to have help to reach. He went next then Angel.

Once all were in, they crouched down and tiptoed to the very edge to peer down at the group. In the center was a slab with the Master's bones on it surrounded by vampires and a…Little boy? Dee rubbed her eye in confusion, but, yes, that was a little boy with the vampires and he seemed very comfortable. Glancing around, she tensed at the sight of Willow, Giles, Cordelia, and Ms. Calendar chained upside down on a converter belt thing.

Next to the bones, one of the vampires started gesturing and giving a speech. Normally Dee would be all for listening in to satiate her curiosity, but considering she had no idea how long their friends had been hanging upside down, that took precedence.

Tapping Buffy on the shoulder, Dee gestured down to the group. "Can you distract them? Me, Xander, and Angel will go get the four new chandeliers off their chains."

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, I was about to suggest the same thing."

"How are you going to distract them?" Angel asked, grabbing her arm with a frown before she could leave.

"I'm going to kill them."

Buffy shrugged off Angel's hold then jumped down into the shadowed part of the warehouse before anyone could say another world. Making a 'what can you do' face at the other two before creeping to where she could see the chain holding their friends were on a pulley system. She grabbed hold of the chain while Xander got in position to get them down and waited for Buffy's signal.

And it wasn't a hard one to miss. One second a long haired vampire was there, the next second he was dust. Without waiting for the shock to settle, Dee pulled down, hard, on the chain. Their friends unconscious bodies lurched towards them. Within seconds, Cordelia had reached them and Xander was unhooking her. She waited for him to lay her unconscious on the ground before Dee pulled another of them closer.

"Stop her! Stop all of them!" The leader vampire screamed before he ran towards Buffy. Most of the vampires ran towards Buffy but two came towards them. Angel met them in a clash of fist and teeth. Dee, despite her instincts yelling at her, kept her back to Angel's fight. If Buffy and everyone else trusted him, she woult too. At least in keeping them from becoming vampire chow.

Soon all they had to get down was Willow. Ms. Calendar had even somewhat woken up and was attempting to get Giles awake as well. Dee glanced behind her as a gurgle echoed in their little hidden alcove. Angel had dusted the last vampire back here just in time for Buffy to do the same. At the same time, Xander was lifting Willow's hook off the chains and cradled her to himself while he tried to wake her up.

Dee, now that she wasn't pulling at steel chains for her friends' lives, stood up and stared down at her blonde friend with Angel on her other side. Buffy stood and stared at the Master's bones for a moment before her eyes tightened and she stalked over to a sledgehammer.

Xander walked in between the two of them, peering down. "She finally going to work through that stuff?"

"What's the best way to make sure someone won't come back and that you're safe from them?" Dee said. "Grind their bones into tiny calcium particles."

They stayed where they were for a moment before turning back around to continue helping their formerly unconscious friends back home. This was a moment for Buffy alone.

---

The next morning saw Dee sitting on Willow's bed already dressed for school in a pair of baggy jeans and a tight cropped top. Her hair was down though, to hide the bruising at her temple. The cut and everything was in her hair, but the bruise went all the way from the top of her head to the top of her cheek bone. She was lucky her hair was so curly that it easily hid the bruise. Now she was helping Willow figure out the same thing but for her ankle bruising.

"I think the skirt and pink shirt. You can pair that easily with some knee high socks scrunched down and it will cover the bruises easily." She offered. "By the way, are we meeting Buffy before school? Because I think Giles said he was going to talk to her."

Willow frowned but grabbed the suggested clothes before going back behind her room divider. "No, I called Xander last night and he suggested we wait in class then just invite her into the conversation. No mess, no awkwardness. You okay with that?"

Dee considered the plan. It wasn't bad and she was right. No awkwardness with them all apologizing to each other. "Yeah, I'm good with that. Now come on!"

Willow stepped out and spun around. "See any ankle bruisage?"

Eyes narrowing as she scrutinized her ankles before she smiled. "No bruising visible!" She grabbed both their bags off the floor before linking arms with Willow as they left the house. "And it's a cute outfit. You should wear that shirt more often. It's a good color on you."

They met up with Xander in the classroom. He gave his own approval of their hiding of the bruises before Willow sat next to him with Dee directly behind, leaving the seat next to the redhead open for Buffy.

Said girl walked sheepishly through the door, shoulders a bit slumped and eyes darting to the three of them. They all smiled as she came over.

"We saved you a seat." Willow offered.

Buffy looked at them all before grinning gratefully and sitting down. "Thanks, but Dee don't you want to be closer to the board?"

Dee chuckled. "Nope. This is Chemistry and any chance I can get to not be within the teacher's line of sight is a plus."

"You're not good at chemistry? But Willow and Giles and even Xander said you're like, genius levels smart. Apparently you give Will a run for her money in things."

"Only with certain subjects." Dee corrected. "Unlike Willow who is just plain genius, my smarts only pertain to subjects I find interesting."

Xander rolled his eyes as he changed the subject. "So I'm thinking the Bronze tonight. Since our first plan of grinding our enemies' bones into dust to bake bread with was taken last night."

Willow's eyes lit up at the prospect. "Ooh yes, there's a new band tonight and Dee was telling me this morning she even saw a cute guy last time we went." She wiggled her eyebrow at the embarrassed girl. "Maybe he'll be there again."

Xander huffed just as Buffy leaned forward, excited at the prospect of boy gossip. "A cute boy? Who? Did you talk to him? What'd he look like?"

Dee hid her face behind her hands to hide her growing blush. She had never had the 'gossip about boys' friends. It was always academic friends, or friends she made at protest. Even when she was dating her first girlfriend it just sort of happened one day, no talking or gushing with friends over her.

"He was shorter, kind of ginger-y, but had a confident air and dressed sort of grungy" She finally muttered into her hands before raising her head as the two girls started giggling. "Xander, please change the subject now."

"With pleasure." Xander agreed. "So, Bronze? Yes?"

Buffy smiled, happy her friends weren't holding a grudge about her actions. "Agreed."

---

Thank you for reading~