Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except for Kersey and a few other little add-ons. Buffy and Co. belong to Joss Whedon, the WB network, and Mutant Enemy.
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Part One
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She sighed, "This is ridiculous." With an impatient wave of her hand she began to walk back forth in front of the table barely aware of the fact that her friends and her mentor were watching her intently. Her blonde hair bounced up and down in a fluid motion indicating her irritation. Well, to be honest, she'd never exactly been a pro at hiding her feelings.
"Buffy?" Willow Rosenberg said softly, "Maybe you should..I mean..take a night off."
Buffy Summers spun quickly and fixed her friend with a frustrated frown,"I'm the Slayer..I'm fine. Would you guys relax already?"
"Uh huh, real fine so the part today where you nearly passed out in the cafeteria..that was just to get attention?" Alexander Harris asked. He was trying to be serious but just the same, a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
She gave him a dirty look and said simply, "The food bit..it made me nauseous."
Rupert Giles sighed loudly, "Buffy, even you are not invicible. The world will wait a night."
"Giles..I thought you of all people would back me up," Buffy said impatiently. "I got a little bump on my head and you guys are all of the sudden going hyper-protective on me."
"Look, Buffy..I've got this image in my head..bad guys..you..you dizzy and them well...biting you. Not pleasant." Xander said softly.
She smiled softly and crossed over to him. She squeezed his shoulder. "I promise you, I'm fine. I feel good, strong...ready to go."
"I must insist that you stay indoors tonight," Giles murmured. "Just tonight. B morning you should be fine..."
"I'm just fine now!" Buffy protested loudly. "I mean...what if..what if the vampire community decided that tonight would be a good night for an all-you-can-eat feast and I'm lying in bed at home? What good am I then?"
"Buffy." Giles said sternly. She frowned and glanced up at him. It was obvious that she had every intention of further arguing with the Watcher but his expression silenced her.
She sighed,"Fine..I'll go home."
"And not go out tonight?" Willow asked, lifting an eyebrow. She knew her friend far too well.
She flipped her hand back in acknowledgement. They weren't fooled.
"And not going out tonight, right?" Willow pushed.
"Fine..and not going out tonight." Buffy replied, not making eye contact.
"At all?" Xander asked.
She rolled her eyes, "At all."
"Excellent..er..then it's a promise?" Giles asked sweetly, gazing at his Slayer innocently.
Exasperated she nodded. "Whatever...well if you guys are going to suddenly became Ma and Pa Cleaver, then I'm going home. And to bed. Which means I won't be answering the phone." Still shaking her head she turned and moved towards the library doors.
"You promised," Giles reminded.
"Fine. Sure. Whatever." Buffy replied as she exited, placing a hand on the wall for balance. Once the doors swayed shut, Willow turned to the two men.
"Odds?"
"Of?" Giles asked, picking up a book.
"Oh of her acutually staying in bed tonight and not going out." Xander said.
"She promised," Giles said. Then he stopped and gazed at the book he was holding. With a small almost impercitable shrug he said, "Not like that's ever stopped her."
"Well, she is really tired..maybe she'll lay down and sleep until morning."Willow suggested.
"We can hope," Giles replied, "We can hope."
* * *
"Buffy!"
The Slayer looked up frantically and to her horror saw Willow lying flat on her back on the grass of the park. Only she wasn't alone. On top of her was just about the ugliest vampire she'd ever seen.
"Will!" Buffy screamed, rushing towards her friend. She moved with such speed that the shield of resistance she met less than five feet from where the vampire was holding Willow threw her backwards. She landed flat on her back gasping. Wide-eyed she stared up at the invisible shield. "No.."
The vampire looked up at her and a smile spread slowly across his face. "Sorry, Slayer," he hissed, "Guess she's dinner." Opening his mouth and revealing his fangs the vampire moved forward and pressed down against Willow's neck. The frightened hacker thrashed and continued to scream Buffy's name.
"No..."
* * *
Buffy woke with a start. Persperation poured down her face and her chest heaved heavily as she gasping attempted to regain her composure. "Will," she murmured. Her eyes hardened. Pushing herself upwards she shoved herself out of bed. Almost immediately a wave of nausea overtook her. Placing a hand against the wall, she steadied herself for a long drawn out moment. After a few deep breaths she let go of the wall and crossed over to her closet.
She stripped off her bed clothes swiftly and re-dressed in jeans and a white v-neck. After a moment of thought she reached up and grabbed Angel's jacket from the hanger and put it on. It hadn't been cold when she'd come home but now could be entirely different. Besides, the truth of the matter was that she felt luckier when she wore the jacket.
She glanced at the clock. 10:30. It was still incredibly early. Her mother was at a show and wouldn't be home until midnight. So an hour and a half of slaying and she'd called it a night. So it wasn't like she was gonna stay out 'til morning so it wasn't really a lie.
"Good, Buffy..argue semantics," she muttered knowing full well that she was going to hear it from Giles in the morning. Well maybe, if she was lucky it'd be an uneventful night and she could just forget to mention to him that she'd gone out slaying.
Sighing, she picked up two stakes on the way out of her room. Within moments she was standing outside of her house. As it was, the jacket was perfect. As always.
* * *
"She said she wasn't going to answer," Xander said from the table. He, Willow and Giles were still seated in the library going over texts. Well, more accurately, Willow and Giles were going over them and Xander was contributing conmmentary.
"Maybe she's sleeping." Willow suggested hopefully.
Giles nodded and placed the phone back down."Perhaps." He chewed his lip thoughtfully.
"What's the matter?" Willow asked, now concerned.
He shook his head, 'I..I don't know. It's a feeling, I suppose. Quite irrational..probably nothing."
"Ya want me to check on her?" Xander offered. "I mean, I'll breeze by her place.."
Willow shook her head, "She'd kill you."
"Um, yes, she probably would. No, no..we should trust her. Buffy's a smart girl. I'm sure she recognizes her own physical limitations."
Xander frowned,"Sure but does she recognize her mental limitations. She tends to allow herself to be guided by her emotions." He glanced up at his companions who were both staring at him with stunned expressions. Shrugging he said, "What? Can't Research Boy have insight sometimes?"
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