Fairy Tales Do Come True: Part 1
by Jared Baierschmidt
"Buffy, time to get up."

The voice of her mother dragged Buffy away from her hazy dreams where little people with pointed ears danced and sang in a ring around her.

"I'm awake," Buffy slurred then wrapped her quilt tighter around her body and snuggled close to her pillow.

"Buffy," her mother's voice came to her again, this time with that rising intonation that Buffy knew was a dangerous warning sign. Still, after last night's tough slaying, Buffy's exhausted body was screaming for rest. Slowly, the dream began to creep back into her vision.

Her quilt was yanked unceremoniously from her body. Buffy groaned and tried to curl into a ball to escape the bright light and cool morning air that washed over her.

"Really, Buffy, sometimes I don't think you sleep at night. I'm not going to explain to the attendance office why you're late -- where did you get that bruise on your thigh?" Buffy's mother asked.

Buffy was suddenly wide awake.

"I, uh, bumped into my dresser last night on the way to the bathroom. It was dark, I was sleeply. Careless me," Buffy said, reaching for a pair of jeans on the floor to pull over the silk boxer shorts she was wearing. She winced as she moved and remembered the 2'x4' the vampire had smacked her with the night before.

"Buffy it looks like someone hit you with something," her mother continued, eyeing the bruise. Suddenly a look of understanding crossed her eye. "You're fighting again, aren't you."

"Mom, no --" Buffy began but her mother cut her off.

"It's not bad enough with your grades and cutting classes. You have to start this again? Look me in the eye and tell me you're not fighting anymore," Buffy's mother said, sitting down on the bed next to her.

Buffy swallowed and tried not to sweat under her mom's intense gaze. No matter how important being a Slayer was, she still hated having to lie to her mother about it.

"Mom, I swear, I haven't gotten into a fight at school all year," Buffy finally said, managing to keep eye contact. She held her breath as her mother stared her down. Her mother finally broke the gaze.

"I'm sorry Buffy," she said and let her shoulders slump. "I didn't mean to accuse you. It's just with everything that's happened since we've moved here...."

Buffy looked away from her mother, her gaze drawn to a silver crucifix that hung off her nightstand. She fought back a wave of tears and turned back to her mother.

"Do you know why I'm so hard on you?" her mother asked, a heaviness in her voice Buffy had never heard before.

"Because you love me?" Buffy asked tentatively. Her mother gave a weak laugh.

"Yes, because I love you. But that wasn't what I was thinking of right now. After the divorce, I really wasn't ready to be a single mom. You have no idea the responsibility and the pressure I had to face."

Buffy laid a sympathetic hand on her mother's shoulder.

"Buffy, I don't ever want you to be in the same position I was after the divorce. I never dreamed the day would come when I'd have to raise a daughter and support her by myself. I wasn't ready. I'm hard on you because I want you to be prepared for anything that happens. I want you to grow up to be a responsibile young woman."

"I'm doing the best I can, Mom," Buffy said.

"I know you are honey, but as a parent it's my job to guide you in the right direction."

Buffy suddenly didn't like where this conversation was going.

"That's why," her mother continued, "I got Mrs.Thrumman to agree to let you babysit her children tonight. I really think if you understand what it's like to be responsible for someone else, you might understand what it means to be an adult."

"The Thrumman children?" Buffy asked in horror, trying to take it all in. "You mean little Bobby ‘the Terrible' Thrumman and his sister ‘Nibbles'?"

Somehow Buffy felt she'd be safer tracking vampires.

"I need you to come home right after school so I can drop you off. Mrs. Thrumman will show you how to do everything before she leaves at 6:00," Buffy's mother said and stood to leave.

"Wait, what about school? I mean, I can't possibly study for my History test and babysit at the same time," Buffy said, trying to hide the hope in her voice.

"You mean to tell me you would have studied if I hadn't gotten this job for you?" her mother asked, raising her eyebrows.

Buffy fidgeted under her gaze.

"I'll see if I can get Mrs. Thrumman to let Willow come over to help you study after the kids are in bed. How's that?"

Buffy nodded her assent and watched her mother leave. With a sad sigh she got out of bed and hunted for some more clothes.

It was going to be a long day.

Xander pushed open the doors to the Sunnydale High library and glanced around. Sure enough, sitting at the rectangular wooden table in the center of the room was a red-haired girl, her head practically buried in a book that Xander guessed to be about as thick as his body. A tall brunette with long flowing hair sat next to her, idly examining her nails.

"Hey Wil. Where's your Siamese twin, Oz?" Xander asked as he strolled up and dropped his books on the table.

"Well hello to you too, Mr. Congeniality," Cordelia quipped, taking a moment to look up from her nails and give Xander a scathing glance.

"Can't you see we're talking here?" Xander replied then turned back to Willow. "So where is he? Did you guys break up or something?" He tried his best not to look too eager.

"Oz has band practice today," Willow said, wrinkling her forehead at her Xander's behavior. "And why are you so interested?"

"No reason," Xander said, turning pale. He was acutely aware of Cordelia smirking at him with an expression somewhere between disgust and pity. "I just thought a hairy chest and dog breath are big turn-offs for girls these days. Not to mention those rather painful hickey's from his canines. Get it? CANINES!"

"Oz is only a werewolf for three nights out of the month, Xander," Willow said. "And Giles worked out a lunar calendar for him so he can make sure he's chained up in the basement when the full moon comes out."

"Well, if you ask me --" Xander began.

"I didn't," Willow cut him off. Xander's jaw hung suspended for a moment at the icy stare from his former best friend.

"Right," he finally managed to wheeze and then coughed and turned away.

"Willow, I need your help," Buffy said as she entered the library. "My mom had me condemned to baby sitting patrol tonight and we have that History test tomorrow. Do you think you could come over to the Thrumman house around 8:00 and help me study?"

"Sounds like fun," Willow said. "We could make smores and tell scary stories -- though not too scary because then we'd be all freaked and alone and --"

"Willow, it's a baby-sitting job, not a camp out," Buffy said, but still smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. "Besides, I really have to prove to my mom that I'm a responsible young woman so I'm going to buckle down and study."

"Hey, why don't I drop by and give you guys moral support?" Xander said.

"Aren't we forgetting something?" Cordelia asked with a pointed look at Xander.

"No," Xander said to Cordelia then turned back to Buffy. "So how ‘bout it?"

"Xander!" Cordelia stood up from her chair. "We're supposed drive out to the deserted woods on the edge of town tonight remember?"

Realizing everyone was staring at her, she added, "To look for any signs of vampires, or dead bodies, or other icky things."

"Look, Cordelia, you can come along if you want," Xander said.

"And risk one of those little brats getting drool or worse on my new sweater? I think not!" Cordelia replied, her voice rising.

"Guys, calm down," Buffy shouted over their voices. "Mrs. Thrumman said I could bring ONE guest, not three."

"What on earth is going on in here?" Giles asked as he walked into the room.

"Buffy has to pull double duty baby-sitting and slaying tonight," Willow said.

"Is this true?" Giles asked Buffy.

"Afraid so," Buffy nodded. "I'll make my rounds after I get home from baby-sitting, probably around 1:00 AM. I better go, my mom's waiting for me right now."

"I have to go too. Cheerleading practice starts in a half-hour," Cordelia said and picked up her belongings.

"Wait, I'm leaving too," Willow said as she packed up her books.

"So are we still on for tonight Cordy?" Xander leaned in and asked the cheerleader in a hushed voice.

"Drop dead," Cordelia replied. She turned to go, then stopped in mid-stride and turned back to face him. Glancing around to make sure the others were preoccupied she said "I'll meet you at 8:00 in the usual place. And don't forget the breath mints this time."

Xander and Giles watched the three girls depart in silence. After they were gone, Giles turned to Xander.

"I have a mission for you," he said.

"A mission? My own mission?" Xander asked excited. "Wait a sec, this doesn't involve anything illegal or dirty does it?"

"No, of course not!" Giles replied.

"Well, a guy can always dream I guess," Xander sighed. "What do you need."

"It's been rather quiet around here and that probably means trouble," Giles said looking at Xander out of the corner of his eye. "I'm especially worried that we haven't seen Angel in a while. Tonight while you're traipsing about with Cordelia I want you to stop by wherever Buffy is baby-sitting and have a look around. I'd do it myself but Principal Snyder has called a faculty meeting tonight about school security so I won't be able to get away until later."

Xander saluted.

"You've go the best man for the job working on the case, chief," he said.

"Right," Giles said, rubbing his temples and looking for his teapot. "I feel so much more assured already."

"Dru, darling, what are you up to?" Spike asked as he pushed his wheelchair up to the pale girl's side. Drucilla sat on the edge of the rectangular wooden table that had been dragged to the center of the burnt out factory. She traced her finger across the rings of the cut wood and stared at the tabletop.

"Come on, luv, tell me what's wrong," Spike said as he patted the red velvet dress that covered her legs.

"I'm bored, Spike," Dru whined in a voice like a slow breeze whistling through the treetops. "This place isn't fun anymore. That Slayer makes everything go all wrong."

"Now that's no way to talk, is it?" Spike purred. "Pretty soon I'll be up and around again and it'll be just like old --"

"Dru!" Angelus called hopping down what was left of the half melted factory stairs towards the pair. "Just the woman I wanted to see. I have a present for you."

Spike growled under his breath and watched his former mentor walk towards them, hands held behind his back.

"A present for me?" Dru asked, her eyes lighting up. "Is it still breathing?"

"It's not that kind of present," Angelus smiled at her. He took his hands from behind his back.

"A book?" Spike guwaffed as he gazed at the leather bound tome inscribed with gold lettering. "Boy, you're taste sure hasn't improved in 200 years."

"Not just any book," Angelus said, his smile only twitching as he glanced at Spike. "A spellbook. And it will be the end for the Slayer. You think you can work some of that old craft of yours Dru?"

Dru slipped away from Spike's side, her eyes fixed on the book. She turned the first page and gasped.

"This is very old magic," she purred as she read the first of the archaic runes.

"Well I never thought I'd see the day when Angelus would have to have a woman fight his battles for him," Spike snorted.

A rumble filled Angelus' throat as he took a step toward Spike.

"Now boys," Dru interposed herself between them. "This is no time to be fighting. We have work to do."

"So what's Angelus' great gift do anyway, sweet," Spike asked, still glaring up at Angelus.

"The spell pulls those within the area of effect into a story," Dru said as she read the pages of the book.

"And I have the perfect story to use," Angelus replied, picking up another book.

"Medieval Times?" Spike read the title.

"Swords, maces, iron maidens... what more could any blood-thirsty vampire want?" Angel said.

"The Slayer dead," Spike replied. "This spell sounds great. Too bad you have to know where the Slayer is in order to cast it on her."

Angelus' face darkened into an evil grin.

"She's baby-sitting tonight. Alone, as far as my sources can tell."

"This is wonderful," Dru sighed and turned her eyes towards the ceiling. "Things will be fun again."

"You bet," Angel said and wrapped an arm around her.

"Before you both start celebrating our victory," Spike said, "let me get one of the other vamps to carry me up to the top of the stairs. I'd like to see if this thing really works."

"Ooooh, sorry Spike. No can do," Angelus said and leaned in towards the crippled vampire. "Did I forget to mention it takes two people to cast the spell? See, Dru and I have to leave right now to start our preparations. And if we have to wait around for you," Angel shrugged, "we might miss our chance."

"I'm going whether you want me to or not," Spike grated his teeth as he spoke.

"Suit yourself," Angelus smiled brightly and backed away. "Of course, you better hope you can wheel that toy of yours all the back here before sunrise or else you're going to get a little sunburnt."

"Spike, darling, please just stay here," Dru purred as she came up to his side. "I promise I'll be back by the morning. The Slayer will be dead and you and I can go wherever you please tomorrow night."

"I don't trust him, Dru," Spike said in low voice. "He hasn't been the same since the curse ended. He could turn on us again."

"Dru, let's go!" Angel commanded hopping up the stairs towards the entrance to the factory.

"I'll be careful," Dru whispered to Spike. She caressed his cheek once before gliding up the stairs after Angel. Spike watched the edges of her crimson dress disappear out the doorway. The metal door banged shut with a resounding thud.

Spike sat and watched the door for a moment, rubbing his lower lip, before finally pushing away from the wooden table and disappearing into the shadows of the factory machinery.

"Caroline, please put on your pajamas!" Buffy pleaded with the five year old girl who clutched at a Barbie doll and backed away from her. The sandy haired girl, her lower lip quivering, dashed off again, this time heading for the kitchen.

"She doesn't like the name Caroline," Bobby sang to her as he jumped up and down on the living room couch. "Only Mom calls her Caroline. Everyone else calls her Nibbles."

"Bobby, you stop that this instant and get ready for bed," Buffy yelled over her shoulder as she ran after Nibbles into the kitchen.

"You're not my Mommy!" Bobby shouted back jumping even higher off the springy cushions, his dark straight locks of hair flying wildly into the air. The sofa's frame groaned under his weight.

"Nibbles, please," Buffy begged, exasperated. The little girl ducked under the kitchen table and weaved through the chair legs out the other side.

"This is fun!" Nibbles squealed as she rounded a corner and headed back to the living room. Buffy entered the living room and stopped to catch her breath.

"Okay, you win," Buffy sighed in a mock dejected voice. "It's too bad you won't go to bed though. Now I can't read you your favorite bedtime story."

Nibbles froze in place.

"You'll read to me about the Faerie Queen?" she asked. Buffy smiled to herself and nodded in reply.

Nibbles took her Malibu Barbie doll and placed it on the couch.

"Now you be a good girl and watch TV, okay?" Nibbles said as she patted her doll on the head. Bobby grinned at her, his eyes narrowing.

"Don't worry, I'll take good real good care of her," he said. At that moment, the doorbell rang.

"Nibbles, you run upstairs and I'll be up in a minute," Buffy said as she hurried to the door.

"Hi Buffy," Willow smiled and she stepped into the house. "How's it going?"

"This isn't so tough. I've got everything under control," Buffy said confidently. "We can start studying just as soon as I read the kids a bedtime story."

"What's that noise?" Willow asked as a strange electric whir filled the air.

"I don't know, it's coming from the kitchen," Buffy replied, turning towards the sound. "Bobby, no!"

Buffy sprinted for the kitchen just as Barbie's head was being lowered by a gleeful Bobby into the mouth of the blender.


* * *
"What happened to my Barbie?" Nibbles asked from her bed as Buffy entered her bedroom.

"Nothing," Buffy replied, forcing a smile on her face and stroking the choppy remains of the doll's hair. "I just thought she might like a new hair cut. All the girls wear it this way these days," she continued with an exaggerated nod.

"Oh," Nibbles replied and tucked the doll underneath the covers with her. "Will you read me my story now?"

"I certainly will," Buffy said, taking a thin hardcovered book from Nibbles' nightstand and sitting on the edge of the bed. Nibbles wiggled down deeper under her blankets in anticipation.

"I wanna story too," Bobby's voice came from the doorway. He had changed into his X-Men pajamas and stood digging one foot into the carpet.

"After that stunt you pulled on Willow with the water gun, you don't deserve a story," Buffy said to the little boy. He lowered his puffy face to the floor.

"I'm sorry," Bobby sniffled and turned to go.

A vivid image of her mother scolding her that morning flashed into Buffy's head.

"All right," Buffy said. "Climb into bed next to your sister. And behave."

The boy quietly tucked himself under the covers.

"Once upon a time there lived a faerie queen..." Buffy began to read.


* * *
"Do you see her?" Dru asked as Angel peeked through the living room window of the Thrumman house.

"No," Angel replied and backed away from the sill. "But she must be here. I see the red-headed nerd friend of hers watching television."

"Then let's begin," Dru said with a wicked smile and opened a leather pouch that hung from her belt.


* * *
"Just what is your psychosis tonight, Xander?" Cordelia asked, turning the steering wheel of her father's sportscar as it rounded a bend.

"I've just got a bad feeling, that's all," Xander replied. "Can't a guy have a bad feeling and not get berated for it?"

"I know all about your ‘feelings,'" Cordelia whipped her head away from him and stared at the road. "Like your feelings for Willow and Buffy. The feelings you don't have for me."

"Cordy, are you jealous?" Xander half laughed.

Cordelia slammed on the brakes and turned off the lights as they made the next turn, throwing Xander's face against the cold glass of the window.

"Look at me Xander," Cordelia commanded. "Do you see anyone else in the car with us?"

Before he could answer she cut him off and continued.

"No. The only person here is me. You know why? Because I'm the only one that will have you," Cordelia said hotly. Then her voice turned pleading. "Xander, why can't you ever be happy with what's in front of you?"

Xander turned away and stared out the front window.

"Angel," he said suddenly.

"What's he got to do with it?" Cordelia asked in exasperation.

"No, look, it's Angel down at the end of the block in front of the Thrumman house!"

Cordelia looked and saw sure enough that Angel was indeed entering the golden glow of the street lights as he paced a slow circle around the house.

"What's he doing?" Cordelia asked.

"Whatever it is, it can't be good," Xander replied grimly. "Quick, floor it."

"What?"

"Run him over, before he finishes whatever it is he's doing! He's a vampire, it won't kill him."

"I don't care if he's Hitler, if I ding Daddy's car he'll never --"

Xander grabbed the wheel with one hand and reaching over with his foot slammed down the accelerator. The black sportscar's tires spun wildly against the damp pavement before the car lurched forward and raced down the road.


* * *
Angel hummed the chant of the spell as he emptied the rest of the silvery powder from the leather pouch onto the front lawn. He came back to stand next to Dru in front of the two-story house.

Dru read the spell from the book as if tasting each word. The incantation began to take a life of its own, ringing off the neighboring houses as she reached the climax of the spell.

"It's working," Angel whispered as the silver circle of dust that surrounded the house began to glow. Sparks wafted slowly into the air, dancing like fireflies along the circumference of the circle.

A loud screech made Angel's hair stand on the back of his neck.

"What in the hell?" Angel turned and stared at the car that was bearing down on both him and Dru.

Drucilla, lost in the spell casting, chanted the final verse from the book in ecstasy. Angel grabbed her around the waist and tackled her to the ground, knocking the two of them out of the way of the approaching car and into the silver circle.


* * *
"Whoa!" Xander yelled and covered his eyes as bright flash lit a circle around the Thrumman house. Cordelia spun the wheel hard, sending the car into a spin. The pair were both thrown against their seatbelts as the sportscar jumped the curb and came to a stop.

"You are the most -- " Cordelia began as soon as she found her breath. Xander, however, was already out the door.

"Buffy? Willow!" Xander yelled at the house. He didn't like how it had gotten all dark inside after that strange flash. Looking down, he noticed a trail of blackened smoking dust that wound its way around the house.

"Xander, you idiot, Angel might still be around!" Cordelia hissed as she got out of the car. "Hey, what's this?"

Xander looked back at the cheerleader. She picked up a hardcover book from the ground.

"Well, what is it?" Xander asked impatiently.

"I can't read it," Cordelia said, thumbing through the pages.

"Why am I not surprised. And you wonder where cheerleaders get their reputation from?"

"It's not in English, you jerk!" Cordelia fumed, throwing the book at Xander. The boy dodged aside and ran up to the front door of the house. He tapped the doorbell repeatedly. When no one answered, he backed away from the door, then squatted like a sprinter preparing to run.

"What are you doing?" Cordelia asked, folding her arms.

"I'm going to break down the door," Xander replied. He gave a loud battle-cry, then charged up the front steps, his shoulder colliding with the wooden door. Cordelia watched with a smirk as he bounced off the door and came rolling back down the steps to lay in a groaning jumble at her feet. Gritting his teeth, Xander got up again.

Cordelia walked around him and knelt down in front of the door.

"Get out of the way, Cordy, they could be in trouble!" Xander snapped.

Cordelia shrugged and stepped away from the door. Xander took three quick breaths, slapped his face, then ran at the door again. Once more he landed hard at Cordelia's feet.

"Before you damage what little brain you may possess," Cordelia said as she looked down on him, "why don't you try this?"

Xander watched as she produced a key from behind her back.

"Where'd you find that?"

"Under the doormat, right before you told me to get out of the way."

"Why, I ought to -- " Xander began angrily, but Cordelia extended a hand and helped him to his feet. "Look, could you get a flashlight from your car. Please?"


* * *
"No one on the first floor," Cordelia said as she shined her mag light through the living room.

"Let's try upstairs," Xander replied. An eerie silence oppressed the house, as if nothing living had ever passed its threshold. Cordelia's hand brushed against his. Without a word he took it as they made their way up the stairs.

"Shine the light over there," Xander said, making out a small object on the hallway floor. "Yeah, that's Willow's backpack all right."

Cordelia turned to the right and shined her light into a child's bedroom. The beam danced across dolls lining a dresser on the far wall. As she panned the light around the room, it fell on a small bed.

"That's weird," Xander said, squinting at the bed. "The covers look like someone was sleeping there and then they just..."

"Xander look at the book on the bed," Cordelia whispered, her eyes widening.

Xander followed her gaze and sucked in a breath.

Painted on the cover of the book was a picture of Buffy, Willow, and two small children. Even more bizarre, however, was the fact that when he looked close enough, Xander realized the pictures were moving.


* * *
"Do you want me to kill them?" the dark skinned vampire asked with a hiss of anticipation as he watched Xander and Cordelia hurry from the darkened house.

"No," Spike said from next to him and tried to get a better look through the shrubs. "We do nothing until we are sure the Slayer is not around. Where the bloody hell are Dru and Angelus?"

Spike watched carefully as Xander and Cordelia jumped into her car. Ignoring the completely flat rear tire, Cordelia drove the car back onto the road and sped down the street.

"Well they certainly were in a hurry, weren't they?" Spike mused aloud. "Hello, what's that?"

"Shall I retrieve it for you?" the other vampire asked eagerly. Spike nodded, silently cursing both his wheelchair and the Slayer who had put him in it. The vampire returned shortly and delivered the spellbook Angelus had brought as a gift for Dru.

"I found this also," the servant vampire stated and gave a paperback book to Spike.

The Medieval Times glimmered briefly in the streetlight. Spike's eyes opened wide as he stared at the cover.

Looking back at him was a picture of Angelus and Drucilla. Behind them there appeared to be a ring of faeries dancing in circle. Spike lowered the book into his lap and smiled as he realized the figure in the center of the ring was the Slayer.



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