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Part 1 of The Giles Saga
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2020-11-05
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The Giles Saga - Arrivals

Summary:

DISTRIBUTION: Sure, just tell me!
DISCLAIMER: Everything except what comes out of my pretty little head belongs to Joss and Mutant Enemy.
RATING: PG-13
SPOILERS: None, unless I miraculously get hired to write for the show.
FEEDBACK: Wanted. Needed. SEND IT!
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is the first story in a series. This is about Alex's past, and is important for reading the stories later.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

 

Arrivals
by Ragna (Obsessive-Compulsive Spike)


It was a little over a week until Christmas, and the majority of London was quiet. Alexandra Giles wasn't, however. She was asleep, but moaning and groaning. She was also tossing and turning.

Those weird dreams were happening, the prescient dreams that all Slayers have.

But Alex isn't a Slayer. She's a Watcher.

She sees her uncle and some unfamiliar faces: two guys, one with dark hair and one with funky blond hair, and two females, one with blond hair and Willow, her e-mail pen pal.

Using what she learned from Willow, she guessed the blond girl was Buffy, the Slayer. The dark haired boy had to be Xander, and the blond was Oz, Willow's boyfriend.

She sees books, demons and stakes mixed together, but an important figure stands in the shadows. His blond hair and Billy Idol likeness are jarringly apparent.

She wakes up, screaming.

***

"Uncle Rupert, do you ignore every memo the council sends you?" Alex asked her uncle, via a late night phone call.

"I don't ignore them. I just misplace them."

"Well, you shouldn't. But I won't lecture you. We're having a meeting tomorrow night."

"About?"

"You, what else?"

"What does that mean?"

"Every other meeting we have deals with either your infrequent reports or your independent way of dealing with your Slayer."

"And who speaks on my behalf?"

"I do. I am family. Besides, if they have any questions, I just pull out my laptop and e-mail Willow."

"You mean that idiotic thing you constantly use?"

"It is not idiotic. It keeps me rich." Alex sighed. "Is Willow there?"

"Yes." Giles moved away from the phone and called for Willow. A few seconds later, she picked up. "Alex?"

"Hey. Look, I have a problem, and I don't want Rupert to know about it, but you can help."

"What is it?"

"Is there a vampire in Sunnydale that is blond, has a British accent and looks like that guy Neil from 'The Real World'? I have to know. He goes by the name of Spike."

Willow gasped. "How'd you know?"

"Dreams. I dreamt about him last night. Let's just say we've met before." Alex really didn't want to go into the details.

"Okay. Do you want to talk to Giles again?"

"Sure." She waited for her uncle to get the phone.

"What are you doing for Christmas, Alexandra?"

"Nothing. I'm doing my Yule ritual this year, and treating myself to a shopping spree, and then I'm going to listen to some techno music. Prodigy's doing a live concert a few days before Christmas."

"What's Prodigy?"

"It's a band, but you'd just think their music was noise. Look, I have to get some sleep. Tomorrow's meeting will probably take all evening, plus I need to buy your present. Love ya, Uncle Rupert."

"I love you too. Good-bye." The connection went dead, and Alex hung up.

She had to get to Sunnydale.

After the Prodigy concert, of course.

 

***

"This meeting of the Watcher's Council will now come to order," a stodgy man in his late 50's said. That man was Arthur Stewart, a respected Watcher and Druid.

"My God and Goddess, this is going to be boring," Alex muttered. She sat on the table. She was dressed in JNCOs and a black and white camouflage tank top, wearing a black leather jacket over it. Her shoulder length red hair was pulled up into a loose bun, and she wore all six earrings in each ear. Her three silver bands, all on her left middle finger, gleamed. One was from her ,other, one was from her father, and one was from her uncle. They connected her to them, even though her parents were dead.

The whispers from the stands jarred her out of her thoughts. They always whispered. Everyone in the stand was dressed in nice suits or dresses. Or native garb, depending on where they came from. She was the youngest Watcher on the council ever, and even then, it was a punishment. Still...

"Miss Giles, could I please have your attention?"

"Yes, Arthur."

She looked at him as he droned on about inconsequential matters. She was waiting for the open forum, or the many accusations towards her uncle. Either way, she'd filibuster for a while. It always pissed them off for some reason.

Probably because she knew what she was talking about. And that scared them.

"And now," Arthur said, "we have come once again to the matter of Rupert Giles, one of two Watchers of an active Slayer. Miss Giles, since we know you want to speak, why don't you get it out of the way?"

She stood up and shook off her jacket. Her muscular arms were pale, since there was little sunshine there. She took the headphone speakers off from around her neck and placed her Walkman in her bookbag, a green plaid bag with patches all over it. "Thanks." She went up to the podium and looked up at all the Watchers gathered. There were over 500 of them, and they were waiting for her to speak.

"Ladies and gentleman, I know you hate me. You have made it rather evident since you appointed me to the Council. What do you expect from a 21 year old?" She started to pace, facing the audience the entire time. I really should have majored in drama or law instead of business, English and web programming.

"Myself, my uncle, my grandfather, and my great-grandmother have all been considered renegade Watchers, even though we aren't. You've hated all of us. I think it's a curse." Nervous laughter ran through the crowd. Alex smiled.

"Look at it this way: my uncle's Slayer has outlived the majority of them all, and has gone up against the Master, Kakistos and William the Bloody, and has managed to kill two of them." She paused to breathe.

"If my uncle wasn't doing something right, she'd be dead."

"What about Kendra? And Faith?" a voice boomed from the stands.

"Kendra was killed by Drusilla during a fight which left one civilian in a coma, another with a broken wrist, and my uncle kidnapped. I notice many of you did not shed a tear when he was held captive. There was nothing anyone could do. And Faith, must I remind all of you, is still alive."

"But she works with that vampire Angelus!" another voice said.

"And I have an agreement with Spike, as did Buffy. Do you persecute us?" She got no response. "Angelus has his soul, and knows he must avoid Buffy to keep it. That's why he left. I have met him twice, and I consider him an ally."

"But it goes against everything a Watcher stands for," Arthur said.

"Look people. Times are changing. There are more Slayers like Buffy than there are Slayers like Kendra. Slayers like Buffy must not only handle slaying, but social lives and family and school as well. To keep their identity a secret, they must be as normal as possible. You aren't teenagers now, like they are."

The confused looks on their faces told her they didn't get her joke. "That means we need more Watchers like my uncle."

A gasp rose from the room. The whispers started again, and soon Alex got tired of it.

"SHUT UP!!!!" she screamed, and the room fell silent. "Now, in old days, Arthur here would have pounded his gavel for about an hour, and we would have gotten even less work done than usual. I did something called improvising. Do you all know what that means?" Alex asked pointedly.

"Miss Giles, do you think you can get away with belittling our intelligence?" a whiny nasal voice said. It belonged to Gwenyth Highwater.

"Well, Gwen, I just did. Listen, people, I have some news. Spike is back in Sunnydale."

Another gasp ran through the crowd. Alex screamed again, and heard someone whisper, "I wonder how she can yell so loud and still talk as long and loud as she does."

She turned to the man who said it. "I'm a singer. I have training for that sort of thing." She looked back to the rest of the council.

"We need someone to go to Sunnydale, and since I hate all of you as much as you hate me, and since I don't have a Slayer to watch, I volunteer myself."

The crowd grumbled, and Alex sighed. They wanted to make it harder. Fine.

"Okay, I have all night, and I don't need much sleep. There are three main reasons I should go. One is that Spike can't hurt me. As much as he'd probably want to, he can't. Two, I understand my uncle better. All you guys would do is make him hang himself, and then I'd be royally pissed, pardon her Majesty. Finally, I'm younger and more open to change, unlike many of you old geezers."

She received a lot of glares for that last comment. "I hope you all noticed I'm trying to piss you off, cuz it seems to be working. I just thought of a few more reasons. I'm American; many of you are English or some other nationality. I can probably get along better with his Slayers support system better than anyone else. I have no real life set up in London that would crumble if I left. Besides, I have a few bones to pick with Spike." Like why he left in the middle of the night, she added silently.

"Anyone want to hear more? I thought not. I need the approval of the council, and if you don't agree, I'll make your lives even more of a living hell." She hoped all the American Watchers she represented were proud of her when they got their copies of the minutes, verbatim. That was one thing she hoped her uncle didn't ignore.

Arthur stood up. "How badly do you want to go, Miss Giles?"

She looked at him. "Do you need to ask? I don't fit in here, and I hate this cold, rainy weather. I hate living in England, and I'd rather deal with the Bill Clinton scandal over the Prince Charles one. I miss my uncle, and I really can't stand the way you all act more superior than me. While there will always be someone either better than me, wiser than me, older than me, or ready to take everything I own, I can still be a royal pain in the ass."

She faced her fellow Council members. "And one other thing. When I leave, with or without your permission, I will be keeping my Council seat. So don't think of trying to take it, Gwen. I represent the US, and I don't want a stuffy witch like you to try. We Americans are so out of your perception, you'd never be able to deal with us."

Gwenyth glared at Alex. "You have no right to air our problems at this meeting."

"Oh, but I do. Every meeting I've attended in the last two years have consisted of bashing my family and droning on about very unimportant things, especially considering that my uncle has gone to Hell and back for his Slayer, which is more than any of you would do. It's my turn to tell you how I feel. The Giles family, though unconventional, has always gotten the job done. And done well, I might add. Since this will hopefully be my last meeting for a few years, I'm going to defend my family for what should be the last time."

"What if we don't forgive you?"

"You want to talk about forgiveness? Angel, when he was Angelus, killed my uncle's love, yet he forgave him for the sake of his Slayer. Would any of you do that? COULD any of you do that?" There was silence in the room.

"I call for a vote; simple majority wins. Who wants me to go back to America and work with my uncle?"

Everyone, including Alex, raised their hands.

"Fine. The Prodigy concert is in a week, and it should take me about that long to take care of my affairs. Then I'll leave and go back home to sunny California."

She sat down, and the silence in the room was deafening. "Anyone have anything they want to say?" Arthur asked.

A man stood up. He was American, and Alex recognized him as James Hunt. He was a friend of hers from Beaufort, South Carolina. They'd met when his daughter was cast in a movie that her parents were producing there.

"Yes, Mister Hunt?"

"Alex, you did your uncle, and the United States Watchers, proud. He should have been here today." He walked down from the stands and faced the audience. "I also have some news. Alex, your half-sister, Gabriella, is moving to Sunnydale. She's another Slayer, and she needs a Watcher. I would like to ask the council if they would allow Alexandra Giles to watch this girl. I call for a simple majority vote."

Once again, everyone raised their hands.

"It'll be nice to see Gaby again. When's she moving?"

"At the end of the next school year."

"Tell her she'll have to live with our uncle, but I'll watch her." She got up and hugged James. "Thanks."

James walked back up the stairs, and Alex sat through the rest of the meeting with a grin on her face.

 

***

Alex continued to have bad dreams. Every once in a while, she'd see herself in them, and it got to the point she dreaded going to sleep.

She had to tell her uncle.

***

Giles had received a rather thick manila envelope from the Watchers Council. It was the dreaded transcript from the huge monthly Council meeting.

Normally, he threw it away, or recycled it, but as he turned the envelope around, he saw a handwritten message:

"You have to read this. Start on page 22. Love, Alex."

He opened it up and pulled out the bound pile of papers, Flipping to page 22, he started to read. Soon, he was laughing so hard tears were rolling down his face.

"What's up?" Buffy asked.

"I'm reading the transcript from the last Council meeting."

"But what's so funny?"

"My niece."

Ears perked up around the room. "You have a niece?" Willow asked.

"Yes," Giles replied. "Her name is Alexandra. In fact, she's the Alex that you chat with all the time. I asked her if she'd wait on revealing we're related until I was ready."

"Why?" Xander asked

"Well, it's a sad story. Actually, I must be totally truthful. I have two nieces."

"Start from the beginning, Giles," Buffy said.

"Well, then. Alexandra is my niece by my brother and my sister-in-law. When she was about two, her father had an affair. Unfortunately, the woman became pregnant. She gave birth to my other niece, Gabriella. Both have the family's last name."

They stared at him.

"All right. Alexandra was born in a small town called Vista. It's in San Diego County. She was raised in an adjoining town, Oceanside, except for the six years she spent here in Sunnydale."

"Why was she here?" Oz asked.

"Her parents were movie producers, and were constantly traveling. Alex lived with me from when she was in third grade until her freshman year of high school."

"Wait a second. Did you say were?" Xander asked.

"Yes. Her parents died in a car accident when she was 16, towards the end of her senior year in high school. They got to see her graduate from high school, and they were on the way to San Diego State University when they got blind sided."

"She graduated at 16?" Willow asked. "Wow."

"Well, she was already a year ahead. She finished two years worth of official college classes while in high school. She started at 12. She's always been a genius. She decided to stay in San Diego until she graduated from college. I was her legal guardian."

"That girl really was smart," Oz said.

"Precisely. She met a wonderful man, and was engaged to him. They were to be married a few days after her 19th birthday. But suddenly, he disappeared. At least, that's what everyone thinks. I shant go into specifics, only because I don't know them. All I know is that a vampire helped."

"Wow," Willow said again.

"She inherited her mothers' shrewd business skills as well. She owns a multimillion dollar corporation that provides software and designs webpages. In fact, she provides software to all the schools in Sunnydale at a 75% discount. I'm rather proud of her."

"What about Gabriella?" Xander asked.

"I don't know as much about her, only because he mother hated me. Gaby, as she prefers to be called, is a Slayer. She lives in South Carolina, in a tiny town called Beaufort. My brother met her mother while filming a movie there. Basically, she is also brilliant. She'll be graduating next year at 17. According to this, she'll be here at the end of the next year, presumably to attend college."

"Wow." Willow couldn't stop saying that.

"Why were you laughing?" Buffy asked.

"Well, our family has been the laughingstock of the Watchers Council for many, many years. Alexandra was the first in our family to get put on the council. It was her punishment for helping a vampire. Spike, to be exact."

"Stop the presses. Alex helped Spike? When?" Buffy asked.

"A few years ago, in Prague. Though he takes credit, it was Alex that saved him and Dru. The Council was dismayed, and knowing how much she hated the council, they forced her to be a member. That was a major mistake, on their part."

"Why?" Willow asked.

"Alexandra is a rambler, but most brilliant people are. Anyway, she has perfected the art of filibustering, or talking meaninglessly. Council meeting only are allowed to last for four hours. She talks for quite a bit about pertinent issues, which the Council hates to deal with."

Xander starts to read the transcript. "They described what she was wearing?"

"She's at least 10 years younger than most Watchers, and they penalize her for her eccentricity by describing her. Actually, she's gone to meeting in full Gothic outfits before. Once she showed up in rave clothing."

"She makes a lot of good points, and she seems to stick up for all of us. Hey, she even mentioned me and Will!" Xander showed Willow the passage.

"She really doesn't like the other council members, does she? I mean, do they really hate her?"

"Yes," Giles said, "I'm afraid they do. She scares them, and scary things tend to be the object of hatred."

"I love this part," Xander said. "'I need the approval of the council, and if you don't agree, I'll make your lives even more of a living hell.' That was cool."

Willow shook her head. "I like this part. 'While there will always be someone either better than me, wiser than me, older than me, or ready to take everything I own, I can still be a royal pain in the ass.' Sounds wise."

Giles nodded. "Actually, my favorite part was when she said, 'If my uncle wasn't doing something right, she'd be dead.' That's true, and at least I know I have one supporter on the council."

Buffy had picked it up and scanned it. "I could get to like her."

Giles took the packet back. "I'm going to put this away for safe keeping." He wandered to his office and put it in the safe. He came back out of the office just as the phone rang.

"Hello?" Oz asked, being the nearest to the phone. He looked at Giles. "It's Alex."

He grabbed the phone. "Yes, Alexandra?"

"Uncle Rupert, I'm having visions. I'm scared."

 

 

***
PART 2
***

After talking to her uncle and his friends for a while, Alex felt better. Most of the items in her apartment were packed up and shipped overnight to Giles, and she was already slated to move into her mom's old house upon her arrival. It cost her a lot of money, but it would get there sooner.

Alex curled up under the covers and just lay there. She thought about all the changes in her life, and the changes that were coming. Now, at least, she had an idea of what to expect. She went to sleep and had no dreams.

The concert was the next night, and she had scored front row seats, which meant great access to the mosh pits. The concert was great, and afterward, her friends drug her to their favorite club for a going away party.

The Chemical Brothers were DJing that evening, and Alex was full of life. When her few friends in London had found out she would be working as a librarian's assistant, they got her a lot of books, as well as English gifts.

The following morning, Alex headed to Heathrow airport. But first, she made one quick stop.

It was a magic shop, but she was friends with the owners, and they knew she'd be leaving. They told her to save some room in her bags for going away gifts.

As she walked in, Regina and Sam Weaver stood waiting.

"We hope you enjoy going Stateside," Regina said.

"I will. I miss California. Why'd you ask me here?"

"Well," Sam said, "we thought you'd be needing some things. He motioned over to a huge box and two smaller ones.

"Wow. What's in them?"

Regina walked over to the boxes. "In this huge one is books. Magical books that will help in your fight. Plus an extremely old copy of Shakespearean plays. This box is full of herbs and such that are only grown in England and other parts of Europe. The third box has some altar supplies and a special gift from us. It's the only wrapped one."

Sam hugged Alex. "We'll miss you."

Regina walked over and hugged her as well. "Remember to write, and let the Watchers Council know how you're faring."

Alex started to cry. Regina and Sam had become surrogate parents to her, and she would miss them a lot. "I will. I have to go or I'll miss my flight."

Alex hugged them both again and walked out the door to the awaiting cab. She asked him if he'd get the boxes. As soon as they were in the trunk, the cabbie drove off, with Alex waving at her friends as she left.

***

The plane ride was long, but she had a direct flight to Los Angeles, no stops, with a transfer to Sunnydale Airport, where her uncle would meet her.

She walked off the plane, wearing a pair of soft, old jeans, a white button down shirt, tied at the waist, and her trusty leather jacket. Giles almost didn't recognize her.

He hugged her hard when he got to her. "Did customs give you any problems?" he asked.

"Only with one of my boxes, but when I said it was a gift, they understood."

"What was in it?"

"Herbs, for spells."

"Exactly how much stuff came with you on the plane?"

"Only three boxes, two duffel bags, my backpack, and a garment bag."

"I don't think it will all fit."

"Then I'll call a cab."

"Do you have enough money?"

Alex laughed. "I had all my ready cash converted before I left, with the exception of a few pounds."

"Smart girl."

"I know."

Alex checked her digital watch. She needed to reset it. "What time is it?" she asked.

"It's noon."

She changed it. "What's the date?"

"December 24th."

Alex looked up. "Wow. It's Christmas Eve."

"That it is."

"Guess I will be doing something this year after all."

"Really? What?"

"Having a nice dinner with my uncle, if he remembers how to cook."

Giles laughed. "I do."

"Good. Let's go." She walked out of the airport. Suddenly, she turned around and looked at her uncle.

"It's nice to be home again."

***

She got to her new home, and started to decorate. By eight o'clock, her room was finished, and a majority of the den was set up, as well as the kitchen.

She finally got to the three boxes that Regina and Sam had given her. The box of books was full of prophecies and spellbooks, including a copy of Regina's Book of Shadows. She put the herbs in mason jars and stored them in her pantry. She opened the third box.

Inside, as promised, were altar supplies. There was a lot of inscence, each wrapped separately. A goblet was wrapped in newspaper, as well as a glass incense holder. A collection of oils were in small bottles, hard to find oils at that, and there was also a wand and robes. All of it was inside a huge black cauldron.

Sitting on top of it was a small wrapped package with a letter on top.

The letter read, "Dear Alexandra, Take care of all of this. It cost us a small fortune. We love you a lot and hope that your uncle loves you as much as we do. We know how important your destiny is and we thought these might help you. Love, Regina and Sam."

She unwrapped the package. Inside was a velvet box. Alex opened the box and gasped. Inside was two necklaces: a silver pentacle and a replica of the Titanic necklace. Alex laughed as she remembered how she cried when she saw that movie, and Regina pointed out the necklace to her. She had stopped crying.

Also in the box was a gold ring with an R on it and a silver Claddaugh ring with a green stone. She put both rings on, knowing that the gold ring was Regina's gift from her father when she got married. It was an heirloom, and Alex would treasure it, as well as the other gifts.

She put them on, and a surge of energy surrounded her. Her aura glowed silver for a moment, then faded. The magical energy had been sent.

Alex shut the box and got up, changing into a white dress and heading towards her uncle's.

It was time to live her destiny.

***

Christmas went and passed without much trouble. Alex began to wonder if Spike really was in Sunnydale.

Buffy and the others were friendly, especially Willow, but she missed Regina and Sam. She did, however, not miss Jeremy.

Jeremy had been her on-again, off-again boyfriend in London. He had accepted her for who she was. A Watcher. Someone who couldn't live a normal life. He was a dear, but he had a violent temper. And he had an unhealthy fascination with vampires, having asked Spike and Dru to turn him a few weeks ago in Sunnydale.

She had deliberately neglected to tell him where she was going, but she knew he'd find out.

He always did. And now he knew.

***

"Alex? Aren't you paying attention?" Buffy stood with her hands on her hips, looking at the young Watcher.

"Yeah. Where are we now?"

"This is The Bronze. It's a club, and vampires occasionally do hang out here. How old are you?"

"21."

"Then you'll get your hand stamped. Do you have any ID?"

"Just my passport. I'm working on getting my California drivers license."

"That should do."

They walked up, and the bouncer glared at them. Alex wore her usual jeans, tank top and leather jacket. Buffy was dressed up pretty well, but both would be able to fight if necessary. And Alex had stashed a small crossbow in her bookbag, complete with bolts.

The music was loud. Dingoes Ate My Baby weren't playing that night, and a DJ was playing alternative music. Alex perked up when she heard her favorite song, "Zero" by The Smashing Pumpkins, being played.

"I hate this band," Buffy said.

"Why?" Alex asked. She loved the band, and was rather impressed by Billy Corgan, who she'd met backstage at one of their concerts in London a few years back.

"They're cheesy. They keep changing their sound every album."

"But isn't that a good thing?"

Buffy thought about that. "It might be, but I just don't--"

Alex poked her. "There's a vampire." She was pointing at a man dressed as though he belonged in the early 90's. He looked up at the Slayer and the Watcher, and ran out of The Bronze.

Let's go!" Buffy and Alex ran down the stairs and out the door, wading through teenagers to get there. Alex looked wistfully at the pool table and the refreshment area. Maybe if I'd been normal, she thought. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and walked out into the alley.

There were four vampires and the two of them. The girls immediately started attacking. Alex managed to slay one, but the vampire kicked her in the knee, and she went down to the ground. The other three were ganging up on Buffy.

Alex pulled out her collapsable crossbow. She unfolded it and loaded a bolt. Aiming carefully, she let it fly.

The vampire in front of Buffy turned to dust.

She reloaded and aimed at a vamp that was advancing on her. She shot off the bolt and hit him in the heart. He exploded into dust as the other vampire met a similar fate.

Buffy was about to turn around when a bleached blond vampire attacked. He looks familiar, Alex thought. Then it hit her.

It was Spike.

Spike was holding the Slayer up a foot off the ground with one hand. Alex stood up and loaded her crossbow.

"Spike, let her go." She watched as he turned around, slowly, and his game face turned into his normal face.

"Alexandra?"

"Yeah. Let my friend go or this bolt goes through the heart in less than a minute."

Spike dropped Buffy, who started gasping for breath. He walked towards her, but she kept the bolt focused on his heart. "Now, Alex, why would you hurt me?" he said with mock sincerity.

"Because you left in the middle of the night," she said simply. "We had a deal, and you broke your end of it. It took me over three years to track you down again, partly because my uncle never reads his memos."

"Your...uncle? Giles?"

"The very one."

"Oh God." He looked up at the sky as a realization hit him. "YOU LIED TO ME! You NEVER said that you were related to another Watcher!"

She sighed. It was going to one of *those* fights. "You never asked." He was still livid, screaming and ranting. She sighed, and looked at him. "SHUT UP!!!" she screamed, and he did.

"That's better. Go home, Spike, and leave me alone." Spike was about to say something more, but he realized she'd win the fight. He muttered, "Why me?" and walked away.

"What in the hell?" Buffy asked.

***

"And that's basically what happened. I'm surprised my uncle hadn't told you. That's why I'm on the Watcher's Council."

"Because you made a deal with a vampire?" Willow asked. The gang was sitting at a table inside The Bronze. Oz, Willow and Xander arrived just the fight had ended.

"Not that. Because I made a deal with a vampire and SAVED him. That was the part that really pissed the council off. They said I had no regard for ethics, and the only way I could learn was to become a member of the council."

"Wow," Xander said, shaking his head. "That's harsh, especially after we know what it's been like for you."

Alex was about to reply when she looked up. There was a familiar figure coming towards their table. She'd hoped he'd think she wasn't there, but she didn't have enough time to construct a glamory. And he'd already seen her.

He looked pissed, and came right to the table.

"Hello, Jeremy," Alex said calmly.

***

He walked up to her and grabbed her arm. "We're leaving." He started to drag her out of The Bronze.

"What do you think you're doing?" Buffy asked him.

"Getting my girlfriend out of here, and that's none of your business."

"I'm making it my business," she said.

Alex looked at him. "I'm not your girlfriend anymore. Let me go!" she screamed, and kneed him in the groin. She ran past him, and her new friends followed.

"Was that creep for real?" Oz asked.

"Unfortunately yes. Let's get out of here." She headed towards the street.

"I have my van," Oz suggested. He steered them towards it and they climbed in.

"Interesting," Alex said as she stepped inside. "Can we get to the library?"

"Sure," Oz said, he drove out of the lot, and suddenly Alex could hear Jeremy screaming at her. Soon, the screams became silent.

***

Jeremy walked the entire parking lot, and looked in every car there. Where the hell was Alex?, he thought.

"I can help you find her," a beautiful girl said. She had dark black hair and violet eyes. "I know where everything is."

"Where is she?" he asked.

"Look into my eyes, and you'll see." He stared at those gorgeous violet eyes, and became mesmerized.

***

A few minutes later, he woke up, feeling different. Feeling...evil. He knew exactly what he had to do.

Kill Alexandra. And Spike, whoever he was.

***

Spike sulked the entire way back to the car, and then all the way to the mansion. Why did she have to show up?, he thought. Not that she wasn't pretty or smart.

Bloody hell, she was beautiful! That's why he didn't kill her the first time he'd seen her in Prague. And she was brilliant. She always had a book with her, or she was on the computer. She didn't know he'd gone to London while looking for Dru and had followed her.

She was so different from other humans. She had more compassion, more warmth, more passion for life than most, even when her world was falling apart.

He didn't realize he was being followed until the car behind him rear-ended him and drove him into a ditch.

***

Alex arrived at the library in one piece, though upset over the latest turn of events. Jeremy had followed her, Spike really was in Sunnydale, and her knee was aching. She limped into the main room of the library and was surprised to see her uncle sitting at a computer, actually using it.

"Kodak moment, Uncle Rupert!" she said brightly. She went over to him and kissed him on the cheek. "I ran into two people I wanted to avoid."

Giles looked up. "Who?"

"Resident British vamp Spike and new resident British ass Jeremy," she said, sighing as she sat down.

"Yeah, but I don't know who was worse," Buffy said, pulling up another chair. "At least Spike left peacefully. More or less."

Giles looked at his niece. "You didn't...bait him again, did you, Alexandra?"

Alex laughed. "No, I just let him know how pissed I was at him. All the while holding a crossbow on him. And what do you mean bait him *again*? I never baited him at all."

"Yes, you did. When you upset him enough in London so that he left and came back to Sunnydale with Dru. They would have stayed there, you know."

Alex looked indignant, then smiled. "I guess I did. Anyways, I'll leave him and Dru alone unless they bother me or any of you. How is crazy girl these days, anyway?"

"Crazy," everyone else in the room replied.

"I'll take that to mean that I should avoid her," Alex said, starting to laugh again.

Giles smiled. "Good girl." He turned the computer off and stood up, stretching. A loud sound was heard outside of the library, and then silence.

Until Jeremy came crashing through one of the library windows.

***

Spike got out and looked at the damage. Not much, thank goodness. But there was no way to get the car out of the ditch. He walked out towards the street and realized he was near the library. Sprinting over there, he saw the car that rear-ended him.

He got pissed as he realized that whoever was driving was after someone in the Scooby Gang. It never occurred to him he or she might be after Alex.

Storming into the library, the one thought in his head was "If anyone's going to kill any of them tonight, it'll be me."

***

Alexandra looked up, her face white. "What?" Jeremy had gone through glass and was bleeding dreadfully, yet he didn't appear to be in pain.

He walked up to her and proceeded to choke her. Her friends tried to get him off, but nothing worked. The door slammed behind her as Alex started to pass out.

"Let her go, wanker!" Spike said loudly and clearly. For some reason, Jeremy let her go. Alex gasped for breath and scrambled towards the weapons cabinet.

"What? Me, a wanker? I thought you were dead!" Jeremy said, his eyes glowing a dark purple.

Spike stood right up to Jeremy. "You can't kill a vampire by rear-ending them, idiot." He took a good look at Jeremy and backed off towards Alex and the weapons cabinet. Whispering, he said, "He's possessed. You need to chop off his head."

Alex nodded. She still loved him, though. Quickly, Spike opened the cabinet and tossed her a sword. She held it as though she'd been trained for many years, which she had, being a fencing expert. She parried to keep Jeremy's attention away from her friends.

Spike crept up behind Jeremy, undetected as Jeremy was deflection the parries and thrusts. "Now!" he yelled as he stepped behind the demon.

Jeremy turned around and hit Spike. He started to advance on Giles' office, where her friends had escaped to. Alex raised the sword, but couldn't cut his head off. Spike was starting to stir in the corner.

"I...I can't," she whispered. Jeremy heard and, grinning evilly, advanced on her. As he was about to grab her sword, Spike stood up behind him and broke his neck.

Jeremy fell down, dead. Alex picked up the sword, lopped off his head, and sank to her knees, sobbing. Spike went to her. "Get up," he said.

She shook her head, and her friends came out of the office. Spike pulled her too her feet and forced her to look at him. She shouldn't be crying, he thought, and wiped the tears from her eyes. He then lead her to a chair and told her uncle, "I'll be watching her." With that, he turned and left.

***

Later that night, after everything had been taken care of with the body, Giles drove Alex home. She curled up on her couch and let MTV lull her to sleep.

The dreams came again, but they weren't evil. She saw other visions. Visions of her and Spike together, laughing and kissing. She saw her half-sister, happy and in love. She saw her friends, with smile on their faces and doing what they loved. She also saw danger, but it didn't scare her this time. She saw two slayers and two watchers, all of them living long lives.

When she woke up the next morning, she smelled something awful. She walked over to her kitchen. One of the blood bags she kept in her refrigerator for the vampires that helped the Watchers and Slayers had exploded inside her brand new microwave, and Spike was standing over it with a dumbfounded look on his face.

Just what I need, she thought, and proceeded to clean up her kitchen.

After hitting Spike a few times, of course.

 

end

Notes:

This orphaned work was originally on Pejas WWOMB posted by author Ragna.
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