Chapter 3

Buffy looked up at the tall apartment building and hesitated. Today was awkward confrontation day, Priscilla Scott this morning, and Emily’s teacher this afternoon. Diplomacy was not part of the Slayer job description, and Buffy was not looking forward to either meeting. A uniformed doorman greeted her as she walked in. A doorman! Giles hadn’t been paid that much when he was her watcher. And Tina went to a private school, too. Odd. She took the elevator to the fifth floor, trying to remember all of the points of her argument about why Tina should have a more normal life.

The apartment where Tina and her Watcher lived wasn’t large, only two bedrooms, but it was, to use William’s word, posh. Miss Scott greeted Buffy effusively, apparently trying to make up for her former coldness. "Oh please do come in Mrs. Giles. Would you like some tea? "

Buffy smiled. Watchers and their tea. "Thank you. This is a beautiful apartment." How do you afford it, I wonder.

"Oh, I forgot, you’ve never been here, just to the old place in Brooklyn." She pronounced Brooklyn as though the word were slightly distasteful.

Miss Scott returned a few minutes later with the tray of tea things. Buffy helped her arrange them on the coffee table and the process of pouring used up a few awkward moments. Finally, Miss Scott said, "Mrs. Giles, I am so grateful to you for finding Tina last night. I was beside myself. Especially when I found out that she had run away. "

"Please, call me Buffy. I’m not the Mrs. Type." She suddenly found herself warming up to this woman. She obviously cared about her charge. "I don’t think she would have actually gone anywhere. I think she was just acting out her frustration."

"Yes, I think that I may have been too restrictive with the girl. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since yesterday… Buffy."

"Is there any reason why she has to be in private school? I went to public school and, except for being expelled a couple of times, I was perfectly fine. The schools in this area have a good reputation. Not that I have anything against private schools," Buffy hastened to add. "My own daughter goes to one. It’s just that Tina doesn’t seem to like it, though that may be just loneliness."

Miss Scott sighed. "Yes… the whole friend issue. Surely you appreciate how difficult it is to keep one’s slayer calling a secret."

"Actually, it’s impossible. People are going to find out. As soon as I made friends they found out right away, I didn’t tell them. But they kept my secret… we became a secret society that met in the school library, with my Watcher, who was also the school librarian, presiding. And they helped me get though it, Miss Scott. I can’t tell you how much. Without their support and actual help, I never would have survived as long as I have."

"You are remarkably long lived for a slayer."

"I’ve been put in a rare position, Miss Scott... one unknown in history. I have known two other Slayers beside myself. Three counting Tina. Kendra was a perfect Slayer… textbook perfect. She had no life other than slaying. No friends, no family. And she was dead within a matter of weeks after she was called. Faith lasted longer, but most of that time was in prison, because she had no friends or family to help her stay on the right path. It seems like a contradiction, Miss Scott, but I honestly believe that a slayer can function much better if she is allowed to be an ordinary girl."

"I think I see your point, Buffy. And I will reconsider. It’s just that I wanted for Tina… everything that I would have wanted for my own daughter… had she lived." Miss Scott’s horse-like features had softened, and Buffy could see that in her youth she might have been at least attractive.

"You had a daughter, Miss Scott?"

"Yes. She would have been Tina’s age. I was married... though Scott is my maiden name. My family is quite wealthy actually." She smiled at Buffy, "you don’t think I pay for this flat and Tina’s school out of my Watcher’s salary, do you? Anyway my husband was a bit of a cad. Married me for my money, I suppose. I wasn’t exactly a beauty. At any rate he left after Elizabeth died. Decided that married life was more than he had bargained for."

"What happened to Elizabeth?" asked Buffy gently.

"Congenital heart problems. She only lived six months. I had always been interested in the supernatural. That increased after, when I was alone. My aunt was a Watcher; she got me into the Council. I went back to my maiden name. I suppose that the Council knows my history, but we have never discussed it."

"You know, my real name is Elizabeth. Buffy is a nickname I’ve been called since I was a child."

Miss Scott smiled. "I thought that Buffy was an odd name, even for an American."

Right, like Priscilla wasn’t? Still Buffy had grown to like this woman. They talked for a little while longer, but then Buffy had to leave. "Uh... one more thing, Miss Scott."

"Please call me Cilla. It’s marginally better than Priss. You can imagine how popular that was at school."

"Cilla... about this summer. Is there any program that you could get Tina into... a drama class, or sports, horseback riding? Just something so that she can meet other kids and have something to do that doesn’t involve pointy sticks?"

"I will look into it right away… and thank you Buffy."

Well, that hadn’t gone at all like she expected, Buffy thought as she left the building. I just hope that Emily’s teacher is that reasonable.

Buffy let herself back into her apartment. It was just past noon. Her meeting with Miss Cole wasn’t until two o’clock. Time for lunch and a little R & R. Buffy ate a sandwich and thought about last night’s Tina adventure. When William arrived, they had all gone out and bought her a burger and fries. Tina was quite taken by William and grilled him like a well-done steak, asking him all sorts of questions about being a vampire. William seemed amused by her intensity and answered her quite frankly. Buffy was fascinated. Most of this was stuff she didn’t know. It had never occurred to her to ask Spike these questions back in Sunnydale. She had known all she needed to know about vampires, which was how to kill them. Who cared what made them tick? Buffy shook her head, amazed, as always, by her own arrogance back then.

One odd thing had happened, however. All evening, Buffy had felt as though they were being watched. Tina and William felt it also, but when they looked around, they couldn’t see anybody suspicious. They could feel that at least a couple of the people in the crowded restaurant were vampires, but nowadays that was hardly unusual. Nobody harassed them, or bothered them in any way, so finally they all just shrugged it off, and went back to talking.

Buffy got up and put her plate in the dishwasher. So much for Rest, she thought, now for some Recreation. She went into the bedroom. William was there, asleep. She got undressed quietly and slipped into bed beside him. He woke up at her touch and pulled her close to him and kissed her, "Hi Love. How did your meeting go with dragon lady?"

"Surprisingly undragonish."

"Well, that’s good. She’s a nice kid, that Slayer. So what’s with the afternoon wake-up call? No rest for the wicked?"

"I, uh… just wanted to remind you about Emily’s birthday next week."

"Got it covered, pet. I’m goin’ shopping tonight, remember?"

"Oh, that’s right," Buffy laughed.

"And it was somehow necessary that you deliver this reminder… naked?"

"Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. But if you’d rather sleep... "

"Seems to me that sleep is a highly overrated commodity." He pulled her over on top of him.

Ah, thought Buffy some time later, as she lay happily in William’s arms… sweet William in the afternoon, and Bad Ass Spike at night. It just doesn’t get any better than this!

She awoke with a start and looked at her watch. 2:00! Oh my God… the meeting with Emily’s teacher! She was going to be so late! She leapt up and threw on her clothing. Great, she thought, now I’m going to look like I just fell out of bed, on top of being late. She made a face at herself in the mirror, as she hastily fixed her makeup. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"

Somewhat disheveled and flustered, Buffy was only a half an hour late. She felt guilty as soon as she walked, well ran really, into the school building. There was something about school meetings that brought out the worst in her. Must be the memories of Principal Snyder. She could have sued him for traumatizing her for life, if he hadn’t been eaten by a giant snake demon at Graduation.

"I am so sorry I’m late. I was... uh, detained... that cross-town traffic was…" Right! The school is five blocks away and you walked! "Uh…Sorry." She sat down.

"It’s okay, Mrs. Giles. I was just looking through Emily’s work here. But we’d better get started. The children come back from Art class in 15 minutes."

"Sure. How has Emily been doing?"

"Emily is a very bright little girl. She is reading already at the top of her class. And her number skills are very good. You’ve seen the papers she brings home?"

"Oh yes... they are all over the refrigerator."

"Well, what I wanted to discuss with you is the stories she tells in class, and some of her artwork. Mrs. Kaplan, the art teacher, dropped these off."

Buffy leafed through the paintings and drawings. Emily drew like a typical almost-6-year-old. She wasn’t especially talented but the drawings were decipherable at least. But it was her subject matter that was obviously the issue here. Along with the trees, flowers, and butterflies were vampires - Spike in particular - demons, Mommy holding a big stake killing said demons and lots of blood, and what was obviously green slime. Lovely. What could she say?

"Emily does have a lot of imagination, Miss Cole. But a lot of what she has drawn here is based on some hard fact. William, my, uh, business partner and I run a detective agency. Down on Broome Street," she handed Miss Cole one of their new BBI business cards. So far so good, no real lies as of yet.

"Oh... I see. Detectives, you say. How very unusual. Does that involve a lot of night work?"

"Yes, quite often. But of course we have a babysitter, or my sister, watch Emily. But anyway, that is why William often sleeps during the day. I also sleep while Emily is in school. I just don’t need a lot, so I am always up when she gets home." Also, more or less true.

"Is William quite, uh, all right?"

Well, actually he is a lot more than just all right. But you probably don’t mean that, you nosy bitch. She smiled, "Oh, William is great. I’ve known him for 10 years. He’s an old family friend. He and my late husband go way back." Sorry, Giles darling… please don’t roll over in your grave.

"Oh... I thought that…"

He was some lay-about drug-addicted loser that I just picked up?

"…He was someone you had just met here in New York," she finished lamely.

"Anyway, I guess she must have overheard us talking - some of our cases are rather gruesome - though we try not to discuss them in front of her. But you know how kids are."

"Yes, they do pick up quite a lot."

"I guess that some of what she hears frightens her, and she expresses those fears in the form of vampires and demons. It’s quite healthy, don’t you think? Anyway, we will be more careful in the future, about letting her overhear. I’m really sorry that her stories are upsetting the other children."

"I appreciate your candor, Mrs. Giles. One last item… Emily claims to have witnessed quite a disturbing incident the other night?"

"Oh… you mean the mugger?"

"Was that what it was?"

"William and I stopped a mugger the other night, on the way to the movies with Emily. He was after a little old lady. Can you believe it? Anyway... we subdued him and William phoned for the police." Are you buying this one at all?

"You wouldn’t believe the tale that Emily told about it." Yes I would.

"Well, that’s how writers are born, isn’t it, Miss Cole? Taking the mundane facts and turning them into something exciting? But I will speak to her about telling her stories to the other children. In fact, now that she is learning to write, why don’t you have Emily write her stories down, for your eyes only of course. It will be good practice for her and won’t bother the other children."

"Uh... yes that is a very good idea. Wouldn’t want to stifle creative minds, now would we?" Not to mention offend a tuition-paying parent.

The bustle of returning students meant the end of Buffy’s ordeal. She shook hands with Miss Cole and made her escape. She would be back in an hour to pick up Emily but for the moment she felt like it was the last day of school for the summer, and she had just aced the SATs!

Chapter 4

F.A.O. Schwartz was William’s favorite store. It was where he had bought most of Emily’s frogs, and he often stopped by for no particular reason, just to marvel at the magical clock that was the store’s centerpiece. Tonight, however, he was a vampire on a mission. Emily’s birthday was next week, and he wanted to buy her something special. He had already picked out a frog for her collection. The first time William had seen Emily’s room he had been shocked. It did look as though a plague of frogs had descended! William had a tendency to go a little overboard, and he realized that he had sent her over 20 frogs in one year. So, he decided to buy them only for special occasions, and her birthday was certainly a special occasion. This particular frog was made of a kind of soft slimy rubber that made it feel just like a real frog. It was kind of creepy and William loved it.

He wandered through the different departments. No guns or weapons, Buffy had made that quite clear. William kind of liked the model cars, but Emily wasn’t interested in that kind of thing… no trucks or… how about a model railroad? William loved the railroad display with its little houses and trees and tiny people. But where would they put such a thing? The little brownstone that Buffy rented was short on space for a model railroad, especially the one that William envisioned, which would have required about an acre.

Dolls were an obvious choice for a little girl, but dolls reminded William too much of Drusilla. He had trouble even looking at them, especially the Victorian ones, with their quaint lacy dresses and vacant eyes. He passed by the doll section without even looking in, so he didn’t see the Victorian dolls arranged so stiffly on their shelves. He didn’t see that some of them had been blindfolded.

Now doll houses… that was more like it. William loved anything in miniature, and the dollhouses here were beautifully done. He chose one that would be appropriate for a six-year-old girl. No point in getting her something that was too elaborate to play with. He paid cash for it and arranged to have it delivered to Buffy’s address.

He ordered a couple of rooms of furniture to start with and chose a miniature family. There was a blonde mother and a dark-haired father…no, that other father, the one with lighter hair. And a blonde little girl. There were little brother or sister figures too, but William knew that was never to be. Oh, there was a dark haired girl... the Aunt. Now the little family was complete. He had them wrapped and decided to bring them home with him. As he walked out of the store into the night, he was whistling.

William had left the store close to closing time, and as it was a beautiful spring night, he decided to walk for a bit before hitting the subway. As he walked down Fifth Avenue he thought about the little family figures that he had bought for Emily. They reminded him of the cheesy Bride and Groom figures Buffy had bought years ago when they had been briefly engaged, thanks to one of Willow’s spells. Buffy had planned to paint blood around the groom’s lips so that it would look more like him. He wondered if Buffy would marry him for real, if he asked her. So engrossed was he in these thoughts that he walked right into the back of a woman who had stopped right in front of him. She turned around. He opened his mouth to apologize when he saw to his horror, that the woman was Darla. He froze. Darla was not someone he wanted to see again in this millennium. They had never been close, even in the old days. She was Angelus’ sire and had been Angelus’ woman. She had loved Angelus as much as she had been capable of loving anyone other than herself. She and Angelus had been perfectly matched, in that regard. This situation had changed. He had heard something of her history from Dru, but that had been 7 years ago, and he had no idea what she had been up to since then, and had no desire to know. But here she was. What had been a lovely spring evening had grown cold.

"Well, well," William sneered. "Look who’s back from the dead… more or less."

"Spike," she gestured towards his bag, "have you reverted to childhood again? I heard that you had become a tame puppy, but now an infant?"

He ignored the barb. He didn’t even want to think about Emily in this situation. "You’re lookin’ well, Darla. The last time I saw you, you were dust in the wind. Amazin’ what modern science can do... or was that ancient witchcraft?"

"A little of both, I imagine. I wasn’t there for most of it."

"Well, they did a bang up job. Listen, Darla, it’s been a pleasure. Sorry I can’t hang about, and chat you up, but I’ve got a rather important…" His words were cut off as a searing pain tore through his skull, worse than any chip headache he had ever endured. He saw Darla aiming a small device at his head, then he saw no more.

The small F.A.O. Schwartz shopping bag lay forgotten on the sidewalk, trodden underfoot and kicked by the careless crowds, the wrapping paper shredded and the little family torn asunder; the parents, aunt, little girl and one fat frog were scattered and broken under the full May moon.