Working Holiday: Chapter 4 - Welcome to England
by Kali
They got through customs without a hitch, found all their luggage, and popped into Duty Free. When they finally emerged in the arrivals lounge Willow spotted a tall, thin man dressed in tweed holding a cardboard sign with 'Rupert Giles' written across it.

"Obviously a Watcher's Uniform." Xander whispered to Willow. She giggled.

"Wait here," Giles said to the three of them and went over to speak to the tweed-suited stranger. As Giles approached the stranger he smiled. It looked as if they knew each other. They shook hands and then began to talk intently. Every so often the stranger would look up and stare at Buffy and her friends. At one point he seemed quite cross about something. Buffy could make out the words "that's not the way" but she didn't understand what he meant. Giles replied with sometime that seemed to calm him down. Giles turned and gestured to the others to come over.

"This is David Thomas. David this is Buffy Summers, Willow Rosenberg and Alexander Harris." He introduced each of them in turn.

"Hello," said David. There's a lot you can learn from the way someone greets you and Buffy could tell straight away that this David didn't like them much. "We'll talk in the car."

He led them from the arrivals lounge and across the road over the car park. David's car was a plain, dull blue estate that had obviously seen better days. They loaded their luggage into the boot and drove off.

They didn't talk. They waited for David to speak. Eventually he did.

"My name is David Thomas, as Giles told you and I am what you could call - a supervisor - of this area. I'm not strictly a Watcher but I do monitor any paranormal activities that might happen in this area. You might find the way we work very - different," he pointedly looked at Giles, " - to how you go about things back in America. We have a Slayer, she is a nineteen year old girl who was called only three months ago. In the past two weeks we have had increased activity in this area, mainly hauntings and poltergeist activity. But two days ago a 37 year old was attacked by a masked assailant. Her only injuries were two puncture marks to the neck and severe anaemia. As you can understand the Guild are quite worried about this and wish to get to the bottom of it. That's were you come in. Well the Slayer anyway. The others were not part of the equation."

Xander and Willow glanced at each other. They could tell when they were not wanted. David pulled onto the motorway and gradually the car picked up speed.

"I am taking you to a Guild 'safehouse' that is just down the road from this portal. You call it a - Hellmouth?"

"That's right," Giles replied.

They all lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Buffy stared out of the window they were driving down a hill and Buffy could see a huge city spread before her. On the very horizon was a angular, squat hill. Her sharp eyes could pick out a dome-shaped monument on the plateau top of the hill and a small copse of trees. The city of Birmingham itself spread from horizon to horizon. Tall tower blocks dotted the landscape and towards the centre of the city there were tall skyscrapers and more old fashioned buildings. The sky was cris-crossed by planes and the white trails they left behind.

Buffy noticed the silence was getting uncomfortable again.

"I have a question," said Buffy to David.

"Go on." He replied.

"How come more Slayers are being called? What's happened to the 'there can be only one'?" if David realised she was quoting from Highlander her didn't acknowledge it.

"A new time - era - is approaching. As the Millennium nears the seals on the portals grows weaker. More demons are able to get into the mortal world and a single Slayer would not be able to fight them. She would be overwhelmed and the world would be lost. Therefore more Slayers are being born to combat them. However, we do not know what knock-on effects - if any - will occur after the Millennium is over."

"Oh," said Buffy. "OK."

David took the next exit off the motorway and turned down a busy road through a suburban district, a town centre and another suburban district. David named the places they drove through - Whilenhall, Walsall town centre - Walsall. Buffy absorbed all the information, just in case she needed it later.

When they stopped at a set of traffic lights, Buffy realised that they were next to the hill she had seen from the motorway. Her Slayer-sense tingled faintly. There was something about that hill. She couldn't tell whether it was good or evil, but it was a definite feeling. At a roundabout just after the traffic lights, David entered another suburban district. He said it was called Streetly, named after the Roman Road that went through it. He pulled up outside a house that had a huge tree in its front garden. The house itself was made from red bricks and had a round window on either side of its red front door.

"Perfect tree-house tree," stated Xander.

David got out of the car. The others followed. He let them into the house and showed them into the living room. Buffy noticed there was a round window on either side of the fireplace. "This is where you will be staying for the duration of your trip. The new Slayer and her Watcher will be arriving later on tonight. They are travelling up from Cornwall. I will be leaving you for a short while, I have to check in with my superiors. You have a TV with satellite, PC with internet access and plenty of food. So make yourselves comfortable, and I'll be back later." With that he left.

"Friendly sorta guy," Willow observed.

"Humm," Buffy agreed.

"Well we still don't know why we're here, but I know for certain that me and Will are not wanted." Xander said.

"You must understand," said Giles. "The way we work is totally different from tradition. The Slayer's identity is secret. No-one knows other than her Watcher. As far I know Buffy is the only Slayer to have her own -" he paused as he searched for a suitable word.

"Slayerettes?" suggested Willow.

"Yes, Slayerettes. It's something that has never been done before, and the more traditionalist Watchers do not like the idea."

"I thought you were a traditional Watcher," Xander frowned, confused.

"No I'm quite liberal compared to some." Giles smiled. "I think that was why Merrick chose me, a more traditional Watcher would have sent Buffy insane."

"I'm only clinging on as it is." Buffy grinned.

Xander went over to the TV and switched it on. Children's programmes dominated the channels, Xander carried on flicking until he found MTV and then settled down. Buffy and Willow got their cases from out the hall and went upstairs to pick a room. They settled on a large room at the front of the house that had a bay window and loads of wardrobe space.

Giles picked the front room on the opposite side of the house, and Xander had the room behind Giles which left two free for the British Slayer and her Watcher.

Once they had got unpacked Xander and Willow made dinner. Buffy was quite impressed with Xander's attempt at pasta bolognese - "Maybe we can get you housetrained after all" and Willow made fudge brownies for afterwards.

They sat in the living room playing couch potatoes after dinner, all to full to do anything. The setting sun was shining in through the French windows at the back of the house.

"I could almost imagine this as a real holiday," Buffy sighed and closed her eyes.

A kind of summer doziness washed over them, and one by one they fell asleep.


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