And Then There Were Three: Look At Their Necks
by DiabloVixen
----------------------Chapter 5 ----------------------------------------------------------------
(We find Paige, the new slayer, awakening in the Summers' home, lying on the couch, apparently the removed the bullets and patched her up. It’s now daytime. Paige doesn’t see or hear anyone in the house)
She sat up quickly; she winched in pain and grabbed her stomach. She lifted up her shirt to see bandages covering her wound. Paige looked around confused *Where am I?*
She slowly got up off the couch, still holding her stomach and moved in the direction of the Summers’ kitchen. Normally she would have made a run for it, but her curiosity got the best of her.
She saw newspapers laid out on the counter in the kitchen, nothing important, she lifted up the newspaper and saw several large pictures of herself. She studied it *Why would they have this?* She remembered when she took that picture, school pictures last year, a rush of memories hit her and she looked down, holding back her tears.
Her attention went back to the picture; there was writing on the back, her name, her old address, physical description, what she had done to her family. She skimmed to the bottom, ‘Wanted-Dead’. She laughed “Watcher’s Council, never really liked them.”
“They apparently don’t like you very much either.” A familiar voice said from behind her, she turned around, too quickly and felt intense pain, she went to grab her stomach, but stopped herself. She didn’t like showing people when she was in pain, it was a slayer weakness thing.
“Oh you, um” Paige thought aloud, she drew a blank for her name.
“Dawn.” Dawn informed her.
“O, yeah Dawn. Sorry crazy night. You live here?” Paige asked wanting to know what the hell is going on. She remembered hearing Dawn’s story they wanted her dead, for her families’ death. But what did Dawn have to do with the situation?
“Yes, With my sister, Buffy, you saw her last night in the graveyard. If you remember…” Dawn said then looking at her now bandaged wounds.
“Yea wait, Buffy? Buffy Summers?” Paige said with hesitation.
“How did you know that?” Dawn asked looking at her confused.
“My old Watcher…” Even saying the word watcher made her cringe. “He told me about Buffy, and Sunnydale… what’s going on here.” Paige replied.
“O, Ya thirsty?” Dawn asked heading towards the Fridge. “You’re probably hungry, too. I’m not much of a cook, but I make a mean cereal, it’s all about the combination of milk sugar and of course cereal.”
She took out two boxes of cereal, milk, bowls, spoons, and glasses filled with orange juice. Paige liked Dawn she was kind and sincere, she reminded her of Lauren, her friend from New York. She and Lauren had been friends ever since they were 8; they have been through everything together. The thought of Lauren made Paige look down again. Dawn noticed her looking down.
“You alright?” Dawn asked inching over in her seat to look at her.
Paige didn’t want to lie to her new ally; she changed the subject, “Where is everyone? They wouldn’t leave you alone with me.”
Dawn looked at her and smiled, “No they didn’t, Buffy’s upstairs, sleeping, I’m suppose to wake her up when you, did. Everyone else is at the Magic shop, researching, well you actually…”
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(At the Magic Shop, Willow’s on her computer, with Tara sitting right next to her. Giles is sorting through the paper The Council brought, and Anya is working the cash register, Xander is standing next to her whispering in her ear.)
“January 5, 1989.” Giles announced. Looking at a piece of paper shocked.
“What’s that?” Xander asked from behind Anya.
“He-her birth date.” Giles answered taking off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
Willow took the paper and looked at it. “That makes her, 14…” Willow was going to continue but Xander interrupted.
“Oh, God I shot a 14 year old girl, oh God.” Xander said now joining everyone at the table.
“How is that possible, She’s so young, how can someone so young be a slayer.” Tara asked.
“Yeah seriously, I mean she’s barely getting over the fear of killer cooties and things under her bed.” Xander replied half-jokingly.
Willow was still typing at her computer, picking up the same piece of paper they were looking at, then looking at the screen, then back at the piece of paper, then back at the screen. Everyone watched her do this.
“Will, you okay there?” Xander asked moving so he could stand behind her.
“Look at this!” Willow said in frustration. “January 5, 2000, Quentin said that’s when the murders happened right?” The whole group shook their heads in agreement.
“Look at this information I go from the New York Police files… Time of Death…” The group read it. It confirmed what Quentin told them about the murders.
“January 5, 2000.” Giles read not understand what Willow was meaning.
“She was called…” Willow was saying as she sorted through the papers. When she apparently found the one she wanted she took it out and handed it to Giles and said “Read this paragraph.” Giles read it… then he replied with an “oh.”
“What everyone else wants to know what’s going on?” Xander said.
Giles looked up. “Well it says here that, Paige was called on January 4, 2000 and on January 5, 2000 her parents were murdered…” Giles said his sentence drifting away.
“That’s a mighty short period of time for someone to go crazy from the pressures of vampire slaying.” Willow went back to her computer. “I think the Watchers council forgot to tell us something…” Typing away again and looking at the computer. Xander walked over and looked at the screen.
“Morgue?.... That’s some sick hobby Will.” Xander said looking away from the screen totally grossed out.
“The bodies...” Willow said, too concentrated on her computer to create sentences. “Here!” She said with achievement.
“Look at their necks.” Willow said showing the computer to the group. Xander was still holding his face from the computer.
“Vampires.” Giles said angry that he didn’t think of it himself.
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