Mr. Howard turned the page on his notebook as Angel walked in and took the seat Buffy had been in, folding his hands across his lap and looking around the room curiously. There were several awards on the walls, Angel guessed they were some kind of Watcher Council thing to make their members feel more special. Also decorating the wall was a picture of Mr. Howard with his arm around a woman, presumably his wife.
"How would you like to begin this?" Mr. Howard asked. If he was at all nervous about speaking with a vampire it didn't show, and Angel found that very, very strange.
"You're the one doing the questioning," Angel said dryly.
"All right. We'll start simply. You obviously have a great deal of life experience, how do you view Miss Summers? Entirely professional; as the Slayer. How does she measure up against expectation?"
"There's no expectation involved," Angel answered dryly. "I have known other slayers; she's the best there has ever been."
Mr. Howard looked skeptical. "And I suppose your opinion has nothing to do with the fact that the two of you are involved?"
The blunt question made Angel pause for a moment. There was something very off about this entire thing, he could sense it somehow. Something about this just wasn't right. He tried to shake off the feeling, dismissing it as concern for Buffy and her position, but the feeling didn't leave. "No, it doesn't," he answered finally, his eyes narrowed as he watched Mr. Howard's every movement, cataloging it for future reference.
"Mhmm," Mr. Howard still sounded skeptical as he wrote something down on his notepad. "How many times have you saved Miss Summer's life?"
Angel blinked. "How many times?" he echoed, sounding confused.
Mr. Howard nodded. "Part of this whole hearing is an attempt to figure out just exactly how much of the work Miss Summers does is due to her, and how much of it is due to you and her other friends. How many times?"
Angel had to think about that one. "About four or five," he answered after a moment.
"Care to describe these occurrences?"
"Um . . . when she was attacked by the Three," Angel replied, "and when she was killed by the Master, although that was mostly Xander, I just showed him where the Master's lair was."
"That's two," the man noted, continuing to write. "Please, continue?"
"What's the point of this?" Angel asked.
Mr. Howard looked up. "I've already explained the point. We are trying to find out just how much of Miss Summer's accomplishments have anything at all to do with her. As we see it now, very few. Now please continue." There was a note of steel in his voice that again threw Angel off. The Watchers had been taught for their entire lives that vampires were the enemy and should be feared; so why the Hell was this guy so calm when talking to one? He knew his case was unique, but that didn't mean the head of the Watcher Council should be so very nonchalant.
Angel sighed. "I believe that's it," he replied.
Mr. Howard smirked. "Oh, really? The satanic cult that wanted to sacrifice her and her little friend Cordelia Chase. Did you save her life then?"
"No, she had the situation well in hand when I arrived."
"Halloween?"
"No, not really, I just found her when she ran from her house . . . "
"And if you hadn't?"
"She might have been hurt, but I didn't . . . "
"The Order of Taraka?"
"She would have beaten him without my help, I'm sure."
Mr. Howard made no comment, only continued. "The Chosen?"
"Yes, there's that, but she's . . . "
"Yes, she's the best Slayer you've ever known. Yet she would have died at least five times if it hadn't been for your interference. Yes, her skill is quite frankly shining through the paper," Mr. Howard said sarcastically, making yet another note in his notebook. Angel had the sudden strong desire to rip the man's heart from his chest and give it to Drusilla as another present. It took every ounce of his strength of will not to do so. "Quite frankly," Mr. Howard continued, "I find Miss Summers case quite fascinating. She has so many friends who are so loyal to her they put their lives on the line every night in her name. She's so busy being saved she's forgotten her duty."
"What's the point of this hearing if you've already decided to choose Kendra?" Angel asked, staring at the man and trying to figure out his secrets.
"I never said I had decided to choose Kendra," Mr. Howard answered. "All I'm saying is I find Miss Summers to be quite a fascinating case. Certainly the most unique slayer there has ever been, of that there's no doubt."
"She's the best," Angel repeated.
"Yes, you've said that," Mr. Howard said coolly. "I suppose it's to be expected that when you have all the time in the world you grow to be a little bit repetitive. Now are you willing to answer a few more questions?"
"Go right ahead and ask them," Angel said tightly, digging his nails into the palm of his hand in an effort to restrain himself from ripping the man's head off. He found, to his own amusement, that he did not have any desire to drink the man's blood. The demon inside him shuddered at the very thought. Mr. Howard was simply too irritating to taste at all good.
"How is she in a fight?" Mr. Howard asked. "What are her skills when it comes to hand to hand combat."
"She beat me twice," Angel replied simply, glad to have a question he could answer honestly, without thinking.
"Yet you are still here today," Mr. Howard commented. "Don't you find that at all noteworthy? That when you . . . reverted, as it were . . . she did not kill you?"
"She would have," Angel said defensively.
"Why didn't she?"
"She just wasn't ready."
"Oh. The Slayer wasn't ready to kill a vampire. Another interesting little fact, don't you agree?" Mr. Howard wrote again on his notepad, and Angel had the strong desire to rip the notepad from his hand and beat him to death with it. He smirkd slightly at the thought, it seemed such an appropriate way for the man to die. For the first time he found himself wishing he didn't have a soul, so he could give into these desires without regret. "What about yourself? If you had killed the Chosen when you had the chance, Miss Summers friend might not have died, yes?"
Angel's eyes widened fractionally as he stared at Mr. Howard in disbelief. "My actions aren't the ones in question, are they?" he replied icily. "Might I remind you that there's nothing you can do to me."
Mr. Howard stood and walked around the table, leaning against it to stare at Angel. "True. There is nothing I can do to you. But there's plenty I can do to your girlfriend. Will you be so kind as to ask Willow and Xander to please come in in ten minutes time? I'd like a few minutes to look over my notes thus far."
Angel stood and nodded curtly, reminding himself that Buffy's future depended on this man, and that killing him would not be the best way for Buffy to remain the Slayer. He walked out, slamming the door behind him. "How'd it go?" Buffy asked as he walked towards them.
"I want to kill that sniveling little bastard with my bare hands. Other than that it went quite well," Angel answered her, fighting to remain in control.
"Who does he want to interrogate now?" Buffy wondered.
Angel looked towards Xander and Willow. "The both of you," he told them, answering Buffy's question. "In ten minutes. He'd like to review his notes so far. I'm going to go back to the hotel. I should be back in a half hour at most," he added, desperately needing some blood to calm the demon's roaring desire to beat Mr. Howard to death.
"I'll go with you," Buffy said, standing. "I really need to get out of here for a while." Angel waited as she grabbed her coat off the back of the chair. "Good luck, you two," Buffy added to Xander and Willow before leaving.
* * *
"So, you think it's pretty definite that I'm losing majorly?" Buffy asked Angel as the two of them walked towards the hotel room.
"There's something wrong about that guy," Angel muttered. "I don't know what, but something about him just isn't right."
"I'm sure that has nothing to do with the fact that he's a moron," Buffy replied. "Nope, I'm sorry to say I'm pretty sure he's just one of those many humans roaming around the world who are total jerks with absolutely no sympathy."
"I don't think so," Angel answered. "I think it's something else. I just don't know what."
Buffy looked up at him, about to press him for answers and willing to do anything to save her job, unfortunately Angel looked rather thoughtful and not in the mood to answer her questions, so instead Buffy kept her mouth shut and walked beside him, wondering what questions her two best friends were being asked at that exact second.
* * *
"Miss Rosenberg, Mr. Harris, I'd like to thank you both for coming," Mr. Howard said, gesturing for the two of them to sit down. Xander sat in the chair both Buffy and Angel had been seated in, while Willow sat next to him. "I will try to make this as easy and painless as possible."
Xander and Willow exchanged amused glances. From both Buffy and Angel's reaction to Mr. Howard's questioning they had the feeling this interview would be far from painless and easy. "Well, shoot," Xander said, putting his feet up on Mr. Howard's desk for the sole purpose of annoying him.
"I just have a few questions for you both," Mr. Howard said. "I would like to know exactly what you've both done to help the Slayer."
They both shrugged, then Willow spoke. "We haven't done all that much," she replied. "Buffy's helped us both out many times . . . we only thought we should repay the favor. Mostly all we do is research, occasionally we help in the actual fighting if we think Buffy might be in a little too much danger."
"How many times have you helped her with fights and the like?" Mr. Howard queried.
Xander shrugged. "Once or twice, tops," he replied.
Mr. Howard smirked. "Why is it I find that hard to believe?" he asked. "Never mind. I won't ask you how you view her, because I understand that you're both her friends and both loyal to her. Mr. Harris, you saved her life, yes?"
Xander nodded. "Yeah, just that one time," he answered.
"Mhmm. And is it not true that your girlfriend died because she was unable to defeat the Chosen?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Xander retorted defensively.
Mr. Howard shrugged, the picture of innocence . "It was just a question," he answered. "I just wish to know why you risk your lives for her so often when she hasn't returned the favor."
"She has!" Willow protested angrily. "She's saved my life plenty of times, and Xander's too! Xander more than me! We're the ones returning a favor, not her!"
"And how many times would that danger not have been present had Miss Summers not been around in the first place?" Mr. Howard asked.
"Not one," Xander said angrily. "The only time the danger wouldn't have been present would be if we didn't live on top of a Hellmouth!"
"So you're saying she's never been the cause of any kind of problem?" Mr. Howard queried innocently, smiling slightly.
"No," Willow said firmly.
"Not once," Xander agreed.
"Let's discuss your vampire friend, then," Mr. Howard said slyly. "Are you saying he wasn't a danger?"
"Angel?" Willow asked, raising an eyebrow. "No, he wasn't."
"I'm not speaking of now," Mr. Howard replied somewhat testily. "Or before. When he reverted, so to speak. She couldn't kill him because she loved him, am I wrong? And what if the gypsy had not been able to restore his soul, hmm? One of you could very well have ended up dead, simply because she didn't have the strength to kill him. I find that very interesting, don't you? She cares more for him than she does the both of you, or her watcher, or anyone else, for that matter."
Xander stood angrily. "She would have killed him if she had to," Xander said firmly. "Thankfully, she didn't have to, because Ms. Calendar was able to restore his soul, or whatever."
"Now that I find very interesting," Mr. Howard said. "She did not attack Angel until after her mother was bitten by his sire, she would not go after the Master until after several people had been killed, and now you're claiming she only would have gone after Angel to try and kill him if he'd murdered someone she knew." He shook his head. "This girl is quite a puzzle, isn't she? She just has to wait until the last possible second to take action, until the worst thing that can happen has happened. Certainly not what I'd consider a good Slayer." Xander and Willow both glared at him and opened their mouths to retort, but he spoke before they could, "You are both excused, and thank you again for answering these questions. Please, ask Mr. Giles to come in, will you?"
Xander and Willow exchanged absolutely furious glances at one another, then turned their glare onto Mr. Howard. As one, they stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind them.
* * *
"Are you ready?" Angel asked, knocking on Buffy's hotel room door.
"Mhmm," Buffy moaned, opening the door. She looked physically ill, immediately causing Angel to be concerned.
"You okay?" he queried.
"Oh, I'm fine," Buffy muttered. "I might be denied my own destiny, but I'm just fine, thanks." She sniffed. "I - I always thought this was something I was good at," she said softly. "I always thought that no matter what else went on in my life, I would always be the Slayer, till the day I died. And now this whiny, annoying, balding man is trying to take that all away from me. I just don't know how to deal with that."
"He won't take anything away from you, Buffy," Angel vowed firmly. "Believe me. No one could ever think you aren't a wonderful Slayer."
"He does," Buffy said weakly. "You talked to him, you can't tell me it's not glaringly obvious that he hates me. I just don't understand it! Why - why does he hate me so much? I mean, what the hell did I ever do to this guy to make him despise me?"
"I told you, Buffy, there's something off about this entire thing, more than just the fact that Mr. Howard's a jerk."
Buffy sighed. "Even if there is," she said weakly, "he still holds my life in his hands. Angel . . . I - I don't know what to do. If I'm not the Slayer -- who am I? I - you were right when you said that sometimes what you are becomes a very big part of who you are."
"I never said that," Angel said, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, you said something like it!" Buffy protested, smiling slightly. "I mean, am I wrong?"
"No," Angel agreed. "No, you're not wrong at all."
"I just . . . I AM the Slayer. It's who I am, not just what I am. I . . . " Buffy sighed and shuddered slightly, causing Angel to put his arm around her.
"Buffy, it's okay," he said gently. "No matter what Mr. Howard says you are still the best Slayer I've ever known."
Buffy giggled slightly. "That's sweet," she said. "But I'm pretty sure we've had this conversation. You're not a very good liar."
"I'm not lying, Buffy. I've known quite a few slayers, both pre and post curse, and I can say with absolute honesty that you are the best of all of them. Believe that. If you never believe another word I say, believe that."
Buffy smiled. "Thanks," she said, pulling away from him. "I guess we'd better get back. Xander and Willow will be done with their interview soon."
Angel nodded. "Then let's go."
* * *
When they arrived at the watcher council's headquarters Willow and Xander were both leaving the private office, and Willow slammed the door behind her with all the force she could muster. "How'd it go?" Buffy asked, coming towards them.
"Angel," Xander said, ignoring Buffy, "if you go in there and kill him, I swear to God I will never call you 'Dead Boy' again. Deal?"
"Don't tempt me," Angel answered dryly.
"Giles, it's your turn," Willow said, looking towards him. Giles nodded, stood, straightened his suit and walked towards the door like a condemned man.
"Good luck!" Buffy called after his retreating form. "Remember, if it gets too tough, plead the fifth!"
* * *
Giles walked into the room and sat down, staring across the desk at Mr. Howard with narrowed eyes. "I have only one question for you," Mr. Howard began. "How in the world could you allow this to go on?" "Allow what to go on?" Giles asked.
Mr. Howard laughed. "Your Slayer is out of control!" he said, as though it were obvious. "Her friends know who she is, and help her out of danger all the time, she's dating a vampire, she goes to frat parties, she endangers those around her, she's . . . she should never have been the Slayer! I wish I could speak with whoever chose her for the job! This is absolutely the most ridiculous situation I've ever heard of!"
"What was she supposed to do?" Giles retorted. "Xander found out about her destiny entirely by accident, and as for Angel, she certainly had no reason to slay him when she found out about the curse."
"I'm not objecting to that!" Mr. Howard said. "I'm objecting to her involvement with him! Fine, don't kill him, that doesn't mean you go off and have sex with him! My GOD! As of right now you are officially no longer a member of this council. As for my decision, I'm ready to announce it. Now." Mr. Howard stood and strode out of the room.
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