Ain't destiny's grand?: Chapter 21
by i_hate_mornings
Disclaimer: All Joss'
Chapter 21
Buffy settled back into patrol quickly, against everyone’s orders. She didn’t care. The demon population needed to know she wasn’t out for the count and that they did not have free reign of the Hellmouth. Besides, she felt much better, stronger even.
True, the event had scarred her, more deeply than she would ever admit, to anyone but she had to move on, get over it, just like a good little soldier. It was one of the many things Merrick had told her; never let anyone see you’re hurt. They‘ll use it against you. Wise words from a wise man. Sometimes, however, even the wisest of men can get it wrong.
Willow and Xander had been her pillar of strength the past couple of days, Angel too. They would never use anything against her, not without good reason anyway. She didn’t know what she ever would have done without them. Duh, I’d be dead. Any fallout from the fight between her and Xander had disappeared like it had never happened. She still sensed the resentment for Angel from the boy but she couldn’t change how he felt.
Buffy knelt on the damp ground in the graveyard, waiting for the newbie to rise. Things were still of the quiet and at the moment that was fine for the Slayer. She didn’t think, no, she knew she couldn’t handle a large attack right now.
She pulled a stake from the small bag she was carrying with her and twirled it around in her hand. Sure, quiet was good, but she was so bored right now. The apocalypse was coming, God knows when, and she had yet to face Spike and the remaining two teams of the Slayerfest which meant bad things were still coming her way. Angel was worried about leaving her but she knew he had to go, L.A needed protecting more than she did.
Buffy had no illusions of her mortality, she was a Slayer after all. A short lifespan kinda came with the package. She laughed wryly and shook her head. Super strength, super speed, enhanced senses, early death; great marketing strategy. Lucky being a Slayer was a calling not an volunteer job. Not many people would risk their lives like this for nothing. Just her and the girl who replaced her, then the girl who replaced her and so on. Would the line ever run out, she wondered. Could they possibly run out of potential girls and not have another Slayer ever?
For the first time she thought of the unlucky girl to replace Kendra. Who was she? Why had she never thought of her before now? Buffy scoffed, she knew the answer to that question. She didn’t like being reminded of how disposable she was. Would anyone? A Slayer’s life was fragile at best and who would want a daily reminder of a death that had happened or a death that would happen?
Movement from the grave broke her from her musings and she stood, watching carefully as the top soil on the grave began to move. A hand shot out and Buffy took a step forward. She reached out and clasped the dirty hand, helping the vampire to get free of the grave. It broke free and Buffy shook her head grimly; another life ended so early. The vamp seemed to have not even left his teens. Why were so many so young?
She didn’t even give the vamp time to realise what he was, or what she was. The moment its chest cleared the ground she put a stake in its heart.
The dust settled on the grave and Buffy smoothed the disrupted dirt with her foot. No sense in worrying his parents. Their son was already dead, they didn’t need to know he was turned, they didn’t need the extra worry. She remembered Angel’s speech about how he killed his parents almost immediately after he rose. No one deserved to go through that.
She brushed her hands on her jacket and flicked her hair over her shoulder. There probably wouldn’t be any thing else out tonight so she’d make a quick sweep of the rest of the cemeteries and then head home to say goodbye to Angel and his gang.
Restfield was the last one she hit. It seemed as quiet as all the rest and she fought the urge to just turn round and go home. It was the times she slacked off that people tended to die. She walked around the graveyard, not bothering to be quiet. If something was there, she’d rather it attack her than attack someone who wasn’t her later. It worked out better for the resident’s that way. Their ignorance and short memories were getting them killed. Well, that and the vamps helped, a little.
She was strolling past a mausoleum, one with a stone angel on top, when she heard a noise. Unable to identify the sound she crouched down and listened, waiting for it to come again. When nothing happened she began to think maybe she’d misheard and she relaxed back, dropping her guard slightly.
A roar came out of nowhere and Buffy instinctively dropped to the ground. The full moon illuminated the graveyard, lighting the way for the Slayer. For a moment there was nothing, the air was still, nothing moved but Buffy stayed down, waiting. A loud crash echoed around the gravestones and Buffy cursed herself for wanting a more busy night.
A dark shape moved across her line of vision and was gone before she could comprehend what she’d seen. Knowing it hadn’t left the vicinity, Buffy, remaining crouched, shuffled her way down the line of gravestones, keeping out of sight. When she reached the end, she ducked behind a tree and reached for her knife. She froze and peered around the trunk of the giant oak. Her bag still lied near the newbie’s grave. Damn.
The roar sounded again, startling Buffy and she jumped. Whatever it was, it didn’t seemed to want to leave the graveyard yet. She closed her eyes and made the decision, she needed that bag. Gathering her courage, something that seemed to have deserted her for the moment, she turned and ran for the bag, mindful of the creature prowling Restfield.
She reached the bag and drew out her knife just as the demon showed itself. The moonlight lit the area, giving the Slayer a perfect view of what she was seeing.
Holy shit.
****************************************
The beast stood on it’s back legs and howled. Buffy lifted her knife, breathing heavily. Her chest lifted and fell with each laboured breath, her gaze never left the beast in font of her, despite every atom in her body screaming at her to run. She backed away slowly, not looking to engage it and it sniffed the air testingly.
Buffy gulped back the urge to scream when it growled and took a step forward. She kept her gaze trained on it as she squatted down slowly to reach for her bag. It growled again, louder and Buffy watched, wide eyed as it gaping maw opened and it teeth shone in the full moonlight.
The moment she had her bag in her hand, she slowly stood back up. Her knife was still held at the ready and she cursed herself for not binging a silver one. Yeah, ‘cause you just knew you’d see a werewolf tonight, she thought sarcastically.
The werewolf took another step towards her and the Slayer kept her eyes on it warily, all the while trying to judge the distance between her and the entrance gates. She wouldn’t make it before it took her down. She had to somehow incapacitate the beast.
She ran. The beast immediately began to give chase. She vaulted over some headstones, the beast following close behind, slavering for some fresh meat. He only chance was to trap it in a crypt until the sun rose. It wasn’t something she could have killed, after all, essentially it was human. Three days a month it wasn’t, was that it’s fault? Three days a month she wasn’t the funnest person to be around either.
She ran past the crypt she’d first heard the sound at and blanched at the mauled carcass inside. The sound she’d heard had been the animal feeding. It was going to regret that tomorrow. If it remembered. Guess it’s not after fresh meat then.
She continued on dodging the beasts swipes as it mauled at her. She’d stopped for too long and now it was literally on top of her. She fell as a furry paw knocked her aside. It was playing with her, she realised. It didn’t want to kill her.
She winced in pain as she lied on the damp ground. It padded towards her and she lifted her hand to see she’d dropped the knife when she’d fallen. She frantically searched the area, locating it lying several feet away from her. It wasn’t a large distance between her and it but at the moment, it was the equivalent of the Grand Canyon.
Buffy knew her only chance was to get to her knife, wound the animal and lock it away for the night. Problem was, no weapon and no place to lock it. It was times like these she needed Willow’s brains. She’d know what to do.
She scrambled back wards, away from the beast as it stalked her. It was pushing her away from the weapon, she realised with dismay. It took only seconds more for the Slayer to realise that, yes, it was steering her away from her knife, but she getting closer to her bag. The bag still held a small crossbow and three stakes. Those weapons wouldn’t kill it but she could do some damage with them.
Her hand brushed the bag and she stopped her backwards movement. A move that seemed to confuse the beast. Please don’t eat me, she thought desperately. I’m not worth it. I’m too thin. Everyone says so.
She slowly moved her hand into the bag, stopping when it growled. She continued when it just stood there, seemingly watching her. She pulled out the first thing her hand touched which, to her relief, was the crossbow. This meant she didn’t have to get too close to hurt it. She just hoped whoever was in there was a forgiving person.
She rolled backwards and sprang to her feet. Not bothering to keep an eye on the werewolf, she sprinted towards the crypt she’d passed before, the one with the body, and launched herself on top of it. Immediately as she landed, she swang round and took aim. The werewolf pounced and she pulled the trigger. It yelped but kept coming. Shit.
The Slayer jumped off of the crypt as the beast crashed into it. She flipped onto a headstone and perched delicately as she took another shot. The werewolf fell to the ground and Buffy saw her chance.
She ran at the beast, her heart thundering in her chest and she leapt at it, feet first. She winced with the impact but nearly rejoiced as the action did what she’d wanted it to do. The werewolf fell into the open doorway of the crypt, right where Buffy wanted it.
Not wasting a moment she ran in behind it and latched onto the door handle. She pulled urgently with all her strength only succeeding in moving the door but inches. She threw all her weight against it, desperately trying to close it before the wolf regained its senses and it moved again, a bit further.
It started to get up while Buffy still had the doorway half open. It moved a great deal as she slammed her body against it again. The beast lunged for her but Buffy’s desperation and the fact that the beast was wounded, made her quicker. She dodged out of the doorway as the wolf slammed against it, closing it the rest of the way.
She collapsed on the grass where she landed, breathing heavily. She laughed at herself. One demon had given her, in one night, the same workout the five vamps had given her all week. She could see the posters now; Great way to keep in shape. Lots of exercise, chance of death. Watch the weight just fall off. Somehow she didn’t think anyone would go for it.
Buffy shook her head and dragged herself up from the ground. Time to go see Giles. She’d come back in the morning to free the person she’d trapped. There were no door handles on the inside of the crypts. After all, who’d need to get out, the dead? She had a few question for whoever it was. He or she had to know they were a werewolf. It wasn’t something you could miss.
**************************
By the time she reached the mansion, the severity of her injuries had let themselves be known. Her muscles hurt, she had a few scrapes on her back and knees and a nasty one on her elbow and there were a couple of deep gashes on her arm from when the werewolf had swiped at her. Funny how she hadn’t felt it at the time. Thank God for adrenaline.
Giles and Angel were the only ones awake when she entered the building. The both stood immediately when they saw her, Giles reaching for a first aid kit. Angel took hold of her arm and directed her to a seat. She sank gratefully into the soft couch.
‘What-’ Angel began, concern and guilt flooding his eyes. Buffy knew that even though he didn’t know what happened, he still blamed himself for her injuries. He hadn’t been there so it was his fault. He hadn’t been there because she hadn’t wanted him there. Tonight she was doing it on her own.
‘Werewolf,’ she cut across him and Giles stopped his ministrations.
‘Werewolf?’ he asked her and she nodded.
‘Big wolf, lots of fur, can walk on two legs and has big teeth. I’m gonna say yeah, werewolf,’ Buffy winced as he continued to apply the salve.
The moment the Watcher finished wrapping the wound, Angel pulled her into his lap and kissed her forehead while hugging her tightly. ‘Honey, I’m okay,’ she reassured him. ‘Quit with the death grip.’
He loosed his grip and smiled sheepishly at her. She couldn’t resist the urge to kiss him and he kissed her back with equal fervour. His hands snuck into her hair as the kiss wore on. They broke apart slowly when a embarrassed English voice broke though the lust filled haze around them.
‘Must you do that?’ Giles was polishing his glasses furiously.
Buffy smiled at her bumbling Watcher. She crawled off of Angels lap and concentrated on what she knew Giles wanted to hear. ‘I fought it and it swiped me, as you saw. It had already got somebody. I saw the body in the crypt as I passed it. I dropped my knife and had to go for my bag. I shot it twice with the crossbow which weakened it. While it was down, I slammed into it and knocked it into the crypt. I locked it in there. We have to go back in the morning to let him or her out,’ she abbreviated the story. He only needed the facts, why waste time?
‘Good, good,’ Giles muttered distractedly and Buffy rolled her eyes. ’I need to…’ he trailed off as he headed towards his pile of books.
Buffy took that as her cue to leave. ‘I’m going to bed, long day, you understand,’ she quickly talked her way out of researching.
It was a werewolf, it was a human being except for the three nights of the full moon. What else did she need to know? She took Angel’s hand and pulled him up with her. ‘Come on Angel,’ she dragged him out the door before Giles could get a hold of him.
*********************************
Angel seemed uncomfortable as they entered her room. She left him there as he got ready for bed. ‘You can sit down you know,’ she called from the bathroom, knowing he was still standing where she left him.
She smiled as she heard her bed creak. She just knew he was sitting on it feeling completely uncomfortable. She’d have to do something about that.
She walked into the room and stopped as Angel’s gaze lit upon her. God he’s gorgeous. She smiled and walked towards him. His gaze never left her and she stood in front of him watching him thoughtfully. She bent down and brushed his lips with hers. Finding the small contact wasn’t enough, she kissed him again, harder, longer, feeling him responding likewise.
The kiss deepened and Buffy found herself clawing at her vampire, desperate to get closer. He pulled her into his lap and hungrily attacked mouth. She felt want and need rise up in her, taking over her normal feelings and controls. Her hand found his hair and she made a fist, clutching him closer to her.
He pulled back suddenly and Buffy gasped for air. Angel unceremoniously pushed her off of his lap and stood up. She watched puzzled as he began to pace.
‘Angel, what’s wrong?’ she reached out a hand but he backed away.
The vampire shook his head. ‘Listen, if we date you and I both know one thing's gonna lead to another.’
Buffy stared at him puzzled. ’One thing already has led to another. You think it's a little late to be reading me a warning label?’ she said frowning. What was up with him? Why was he acting so weird?
‘I'm just trying to protect you. This could get out of control.’
He seemed really intense and Buffy was starting to freak out. Didn’t he want to be with her? ‘Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?’
He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her closer. She was a little frightened by the look in his eyes but she kept it together. If he was going to break up with her then she wasn’t going do the dishonourable thing and weep all over him. She couldn’t understand why he would want to break up. Things had been going so well. They’d been kissing moments ago. He’d seemed to be enjoying himself so what happened?
‘This isn't some fairy tale. When I kiss you, you don't wake up from a deep sleep and live happily ever after,’ he seemed to have done a lot of thinking while she’d been gone.
Buffy realised what was going on. She stood up and grabbed his arm, hauling him round to face her. His insecurities were controlling him, making him think he wasn’t good enough for her.
She decided to nip it in the bud before any other bad thoughts could take flight. ‘No. When you kiss me I wanna die.’
She turned from him and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. His distrust in their relationship hurt her. There would have to be some serious grovelling.
Ooh, a long one. Hope it sounds okay. Review and tell me.
This story archived at: The Slayer\'s Fanfic Archive
The Slayer\\\\\\\\'s FanFic Archive - http://www.slayerfanfic.com/viewstory.php?sid=12941