A/N On an earlier story a reviewer pointed out the fact that there's also a Hellmouth under Wolfram and Hart's L.A. branch, but this doesn't become known until season five of Angel. But the reviewer pointed out that even though it led to the Hell that was the home of the Senior Partners, like the one in Sunnydale it could and probably did, affect reality and perceptions somewhat. L.A. had a lot of vampires and demons of its own, maybe like the one in Sunnydale, they were drawn to it. It may possibly have also affected any attempt to locate Slayers and Potentials in the area. After all, Dana in the asylum was missed and so was Amanda, found in season 7, in Sunnydale.
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"Tell me about Merrick, unless it's too painful a subject." Sam said the Buffy. "He was sent to find the Slayer who had been Called after India Cohen died."
"Was that her name? I've never thought about her. It's morbid, knowing someone died for me to be Called as the Slayer."
"Yes, it is." Sam agreed quietly. "She was 18, her father was in the Navy. I could tell you more if you want."
"No." Buffy said decisively. "It's hard enough having Kendra here, she's living proof I've died, I don't need proof someone died before me."
"Death is very much a part of your life, I can understand trying to shut some of the death out." Sam said sympathetically. He'd raised Kendra since she was three and the vast majority of Watchers buried their Slayers, not the other way round. Buffy Summers was an exception, she'd literally and figuratively buried her first Watcher after he'd sacrificed himself to protect her. "Do you feel comfortable talking about Merrick?"
"I thought he was a creepy and crazy old guy and that never changed." Buffy told him. "Even though I kinda came to like him before the end. He told me we'd reincarnated specifically to fight Lothos, he told me I'd been the Slayer many times."
"While many people do believe in reincarnation and there are spells that can help you discover your past lives, he never put anything in his reports that indicated he'd done any such checks." Sam told her. "And I have no idea why he'd believe it or tell you that without some sort of proof. The Council also has no idea why he didn't notify the Council that he'd found you and not telling you how to contact the Council somehow fit into whatever his agenda was. With him dead and not having any documentation, it is unfortunately, a mystery."
"So, he kept things from you too, just like Giles." Buffy sighed. "I don't know why either of them chose to do that. I mean, I get that Giles hid the fact that I was interested in Angel and I fell in love with him. I get that he kept it a secret from you guys. I wanted friends and I wanted Angel in my life and he let me have them, he said it made me more willing to do my job and I guess it did. But I wasn't just the Slayer to him, Giles cares about me, I'm sure of that. Maybe he let me have Angel because he thought it made me happy and he wanted me to be happy."
"Were you happy? You could only see him at night, every night?" Sam asked.
"No, we had our first date, coffee and conversation, a week before Halloween. I didn't see him again until Halloween. I saw him once a week after that. No date on Halloween and the week after was when Kendra was in town. Spike kidnapped Angel to use him in some ritual to cure Drusilla of something and Angel was hurt. I went to see him every day while he was healing. I didn't see him again until a week before my birthday because I spent Christmas vacation with my Dad in L.A. I had a dream that Drusilla killed him and then it was my birthday and Angel was gone and all there was, was Angelus. But I kept looking for Angel." Buffy confessed. "And that was our relationship."
"In retrospect it's not much of a relationship." Sam pointed out. "You hardly saw him, how much did you talk about each others lives? Your likes and dislikes? Favorite books? Mr. Harris said he was reading when he went to ask him for help in finding you the night you faced the Master. Did he ever tell what he was reading?"
"No." Buffy shook her head. "Neither one of them ever told me what happened that night, in fact Xander still hasn't talked about it. I was under the impression Angel came looking for me and Xander tagged along for some reason. Giles later told me Xander had been determined to find a way to help me and I guess he found it. Giles said happiness broke the curse. I realized, if happiness broke the curse, why wouldn't me being revived not be enough to break it? Wasn't he happy I was alive after finding me dead?"
"An excellent question." Sam agreed, eyeing the distraught girl in front of him. "I think we've talked enough for now, why don't you go home, get some rest and tomorrow we'll evaluate your training and see if there's any areas you need improvement in. I'd like to talk to your mother soon as well, arrange a schedule that works for you."
"Mom doesn't know about me being the Slayer." Buffy told him. "Giles wouldn't let me tell her."
Sam had been shocked several times since arriving in Sunnydale, but that revelation shocked him the most. Why allow friends to know Buffy was the Slayer, but not her own mother?