willow_25 | Story: What If, Book 1 (Ch 5 of ?) (Reply)

So, here's the new stuff, and only a day late. That's gotta be a record for me; usually if I'm late, I'm LATE. Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

Also, I'm going to post the Prologue here, because it's 1) written, 2) funny, even if I do say so myself. You don't need to read it to understand this one, so if you're reading this don't freak, you didn't miss anything. But, for those of you reading FAA, there are some spoilers. Not plot-crippling ones, but if you don't want to find out who Angel and Giles end up with, or how Willow's relationship with Merry develops, skip it.

Chapter 5

Since the encounter with William the Bloody, and the revelation of her Slayer status to her Mom, Buffy was sticking close to home. She'd patrolled every night, and she stopped by the library to report to Giles, but her biggest priority was spending more time with her mother. She'd even been helping at the Summers Gallery, which was not quite as awful as she expected.

In an effort to understand her daughter better, Joyce in return had devoted her spare time to reading about the world of Slayers and demons, and asking Buffy questions. She'd gone out on patrol with Buffy once, but was so disturbed by the experience that she never wanted to go again. Seeing her baby girl get attacked, and watching Buffy fight back so violently, was simply too much for her.

Buffy hadn't realized how much guilt she felt for lying to her mom, or how desperately she'd needed to talk about all the things she'd seen and experienced. It was a surprisingly heavy weight off her shoulders, the being honest and open. She didn't totally trust Giles yet, and it was good to hear Mom's opinions on stuff.

Joyce and Buffy both read the stack of papers Jill had left, and Joyce was surprised to learn that some of the information was completely new to Buffy, while other things directly contradicted what she'd been told by her Watchers. For example, Buffy had a great fear of being turned, and the new information indicated turning a Slayer was not possible. The most surprising thing they learned, new information for both of them, was that being a Slayer had genetic links.

They began to spend their mother-daughter time together compiling genealogical information, and were surprised to find they worked well together, and that with the right incentive Buffy was a competent researcher. After they'd gone as far as they could, they confronted Buffy's father, Hank Summers; to see if he could shed some light on the history of his family. So far, they hadn't found anything in Joyce's family tree, although that wasn't surprising considering how little information there was on her ancestry.

During Hank's fortunately-brief visit to Sunnydale, Buffy and Joyce were both shocked to discover he'd known he carried the genes, and that if he had a daughter there was a chance she'd be Called, and had even been informed by a cousin when Buffy was Called. He'd never said anything about it before to either of them. Then, he told them he couldn't deal with watching his daughter die, and he wanted out of their lives. He thought of the Slayer genes as abnormal, and all he wanted was to be just like everyone else. Buffy could take her world saving, he didn't want to deal with it.

Buffy was inconsolable at first, though Joyce insisted Hank was a worthless coward and they were better off without him. After a few days Buffy calmed, but remained sullen and hurt.

"I just don't understand it." She told Willow and Xander at lunch on Wednesday. "He tried to have me institutionalized the first time I told him I was the Slayer. Why would he do that if he knew I was telling the truth?"

Willow rubbed her friend's shoulder soothingly. Buffy had been through a rough few weeks; it was a good thing she had her mom's support. "I think, it's like when the police say we have a gang problem, when we really have a vampire problem. People see what they want to see."

"So he'd rather see a daughter who was crazy, or a juvenile delinquent, instead of the Slayer?" Buffy pouted. "It's just not fair. It's not like this is my fault, or anything. His genes put me in the running, so really it's his fault I was Chosen, and he's totally blaming me for it!"

Xander shook his head sadly. He could sympathize with parents blaming you for stuff that wasn't your fault. "Sometimes parents are really stupid, Buff. But, you know, maybe your mom will meet a guy who's rich and does martial arts, and he'll totally love having the Slayer for a daughter, and buy you really nice weapons."

Buffy laughed. It was a nice fantasy, and she was grateful to Xander for trying to cheer her up, but reality didn't work like that. Hank had never given his approval easily, and then he bailed at the first opportunity. Her parents thought they'd hidden it from her, but she knew her dad had an affair with someone at work. Then she got Chosen, and he left for good. Her first Watcher had never made a secret of the fact that he disapproved of her, and although she won his grudging respect after a while, he'd never been kind or affectionate.

There was probably something about being the Slayer that made men unable to love her. Sure; Xander had a crush on her, and Giles had never exactly been mean, and William and Angel had both given her some help; but maybe they were exceptions. Or, and the thought made Buffy's insides clench, maybe they didn't know her well enough. Maybe if she let them see the real Buffy, they'd leave like Hank and Merrick had.

********

Angel paced his dark loft, wondering what to do about the Slayer. Whistler had been adamant; Angel should settle in Sunnydale and assist the Slayer with her mission. When he got to the Hellmouth and found his sire was in town, he'd backed off of his original plan to confess his history to the little blonde, fearing he would be asked to go after Darla. He might resent his sire, he was sickened by the memories of their years together, but that didn't mean he wanted to kill her. He'd contented himself with following the Slayer, and warning her of The Master's plans for the Harvest.

After Darla dusted (Angel suspected Spike was the culprit there) he'd gone back and forth about what to do next. Warning the Watcher about Spike seemed like the best idea. But now, Spike and his human friend were holed up in a house not far from the high school, and he hadn't seen either of them for days. Angel couldn't seem to find out if Drusilla was in town, and there had actually been a sharp decrease in the murder rate since Spike arrived. He had nothing to back up his wish to see Spike dusted, other than his demon's desire to avenge Darla.

The Watcher, Rupert Giles, had somehow blocked his ability to enter the high school library, although he could still enter the rest of the school. Angel had tried twice to speak to the man again, and both times he'd been rebuffed and threatened with staking. How the Englishman knew he was a vampire was anybody's guess.

Trying to talk to Buffy wasn't working out any better. The one night he'd caught up with her on patrol, she'd had her mother with her, of all things. She hadn't been at the Bronze in more than two weeks, and she'd kept the window in her bedroom that was accessible by tree locked at all times. He suspected it had been nailed shut.

So, what was he supposed to do to help, exactly? He thought if he caught Buffy and Mr. Giles together they would listen to him, but without access to the library he didn't know how to manage that. Buffy had left the school before sunset every night he'd been looking for her, her patrol pattern was erratic and unpredictable, and she never stayed out long. He'd gone to her house one night at sunset, thinking he'd convince her to talk with him, but Buffy had appeared with another girl and her mother in tow, and all three got in the car and drove off. None of them returned before sunrise.

The last thing he wanted was to approach Spike and ask about his meeting with the Slayer and the extra precautions Buffy was taking. Spike might know how to get to her, but the information was sure to come at a price. He could try camping out in Buffy's yard again, but it hadn't worked out well last time, and it was boring. He could patrol more often, and hope he ran into her; after all, killing demons would help, right? His only other options were to accost the Watcher forcefully, or to hide in the school basement so he could approach Buffy and Mr. Giles during the day. Both might get him dusted.

None of them were good choices, and Angel was getting frustrated. How was he supposed to help, when the Slayer wouldn't even talk to him?

And why wasn't Spike killing people like a normal vampire?