Chapter 2
Giles savoured the moment as he wrapped himself in the affection of his
surrogate children. Then breathing started to become a problem and he started
to disentangle himself from them. “Girls, Girls please....I need to breathe”
“Oops sorry Giles” the girls giggled
“Perhaps we can go inside” Giles suggested
“Of course” Willow aid “Come in come in............why are you here?”
“It’s not another apocalypse is it” asked Dawn frowning as she hugged herself,
suddenly not quite as excited.
“No not at all” assured Giles as he studied each of them, his eyes lingering on
Buffy “But I do have something important to discuss with you all.”
“Scooby meeting” yelled Dawn “I’ll call Xander” she rushed towards the phone
but stopped short in the hallway. “Um Giles....did you forget to tell us
something” She turned to look at Giles raising an eyebrow.
“God she looks like Spike when she does that” he thought. He moved out into the
hall and drew someone forward.
“Everyone I would like you to meet Rebecca.........the Vampire Slayer”
“Great Googly Moogly” everyone turned to stare at Xander who had been on his
way to take Dawn to school and had just entered the hall as the last statement
was made.
“What” he asked “I was watching evolution last night........It just popped out.”
“Vampire Slayer?” queried Willow
“What did she get activated when I .........well you know...........died again”
mused Buffy
“Not exactly” Giles took of his glasses and began to clean them “perhaps we
should all go into the living room so I can explain.”
Everyone made their way to their seats studying the girl while they waited for
Giles to explain.
Buffy critically studied the new slayer; she looked to be about 18 or 19 ‘bit old to be activated’ thought Buffy
before she continued her inspection. She was slightly taller than Buffy but not
by much with long light brown hair that fell in soft curls to her waist, and
clear blue eyes that peaked out from behind her long lush eyelashes. She wasn’t
beautiful but there was something about her that was.
“So Giles what exactly did you mean when you said she wasn’t exactly activated
when Buff died” asked Xander
Buffy snapped out of her contemplation of the new slayer and looked at Giles
“Is Faith dead?”
“Not that I am aware of” Giles started to clean his glasses meticulously
“Then how......” began
Giles sighed before fixing his gaze upon
“I was reactivated” stated Rebecca, her voice holding a soft English accent.
All eyes turned to the new slayer “When you bought back Buffy you bought back
me as well.” Rebecca turned to look at Buffy. “I was activated in 1871 at age 15,
I died in 1875 a few months after I turned 19. I woke up about 4 months ago in
a Coffin” she looked down at her hands then continued in a small voice “I had
do dig myself out.”
Rebecca turned her eyes to
“Oh my Goddess” gasped Willow covering her mouth “I....I....” the tears
streamed down her face as she looked from Rebecca to Buffy “I’m so
sorry...........so sorry”
“It’s ok Will” said Buffy she looked at Giles “How.......What..........Why?”
she stopped frustrated, her mind racing.
“Yes well perhaps we should put the kettle on before we start with the rather
long explanation.” suggested Giles.
“Yes of course......I’ll get right on that” said
A short while latter everyone was settled into the chairs tea, or soda, in hand
while they waited for the story to begin.
“Perhaps we should start with Rebecca’s story first and then I can fill you in
on what we have discovered” suggested Giles
Rebecca took a deep breathe and began “My name is Rebecca Rachel Duncan I was
born in 1857 to a wealthy family. My parents knew from an early age that I was
a potential slayer so my whole life was centred on that. I was educated far
beyond anything a girl would have received in my time. My watcher came to live
with us when I was 5 his name was Rupert Hoston and he was like an Uncle to me.
When I was 9 my parents were killed in a carriage accident so my watcher became
my only family. I loved him very much” Rebecca paused for a moment as she
looked around the room.
“When I was 15 I became the slayer, but I was terribly lonely by myself all the
time, I befriended a neighbour's son, he was my best friend and when I turned 18
he became my husband. The council would not have approved of my marriage but
Uncle Rupert loved me and helped me keep it hidden from the council.......he
also helped me keep my slayer activities hidden from my husband. I loved him
and didn’t want to put him in danger.” Rebecca gave a soft smile as she
remembered her lost husband.
“Why did your watcher allow you to marry” queried Dawn “I didn’t think slayers
were supposed to have family and friends”
“Yes well remember that Uncle Rupert had helped to raise me, plus I had barely
survived the Cruciamentum, I suppose he wanted me to have what little happiness
I could.”
Rebecca took a deep breathe and continued “Everything seemed to be calm for a
long time, just your usual vampires and demons then a few months before my 19th
birthday something new arrived in London. A demoness that was trying to open a
dimensional portal.”
Buffy gasped at this but didn’t interrupt.
“We battled for months; she was so strong that I thought that I would never
beat her. I don’t think she knew exactly what she was doing because the portals
would never stay open long enough for her to get through, although they did let
through some very horrible demons.”
“The last time we battled the demoness had opened a portal and a large dragon
type demon was attempting to come through, I rushed forward into battle and was
pulled into the portal.”
Rebecca stood and began to pace around the living room “That was the last thing
I remembered until I woke up in my coffin.”
Rebecca hugged herself as she went on “I remember clawing at the rotting wood
above me, the earth falling in on me, the air was stale, suffocating” she
shuddered as she remembered. “When.......when I made it out I was lost,
confused, everything was dark and strange..........sounds were so loud. I
wandered through the cemetery until I found an open crypt I went in and just
huddled in a corner. I thought I was in hell.....I didn’t understand what was
happening.
The tears were streaming down Rebecca’s face she glanced at Buffy who’s anguish
seemed to mirror her own. “After a few days hunger drove me outside, I was
searching for something to eat in an alley when a vampire came across me. We
battled and I won. I didn’t know at the time but there was a watcher close by
he had seen everything, he recognized me for a slayer.” Rebecca glanced towards
Giles “He took me to his home and has been helping me try to piece together
what happened.”
Rebecca seemed to deflate when she finished crumpling to the floor. Giles
rushed forward “Willow..........tea” he snapped as he helped Rebecca onto the
couch beside Buffy. He looked at Buffy “Better make that two” he stated as he
gathered the distressed women into his arms.
Dawn stood from her place on the floor, when the tale had started she had
scooted into a corner trying to be quiet so Buffy wouldn’t remember that she
was supposed to be at school. She walked over to the group on the lounge and
wrapped her own arms around them without saying a word.
In the kitchen
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After a time
“Not now Will ok, we need to get this finished” Buffy offered her friend a
conciliatory smile.
Giles took over the story from here “After Rebecca had told me her story I
started to research. I surmised that the demoness that she had encountered was
in fact Glory. It must have been sometime after her attempts to open the
portals in 1875 that she discovered that she needed the key to keep them open.”
“So Rebecca was bought back because both she and Buffy died the same way” Dawn
tentatively questioned.
“In part” answered Giles “But there is more”
The Scoobies all sat looking at him expectantly
“After much searching I discovered that Rebecca’s watcher Rupert Hoston was a
great great uncle of mine.”
“Wow G-man that’s weird, I take it that’s where the name came from” snickered
Xander
“Yes well the origins of my name are not significant. What is significant is
that I have spent the last few months tracing Rebecca’s line.”
“But she wouldn’t have a line would she? Her parents died and I assume she was
an only child cause she said she was lonely.”
“That is correct, however Rebecca did have an Aunt on her mother’s side, I
followed that family line and found.............well frankly I’m quiet amazed
at what I found.” Giles reached for his glasses once more.
“Giles if you clean those glasses one more time I will break them” ground out
Buffy frustrated by the delay “what did you find out?”
“It seems Buffy .........that you are in fact related to Rebecca.........she is
your ancestor.”
Buffy looked around her, she had heard the gasps from
*********************************************************************
“Xander grab her” shouted Giles as Buffy started to fall.
They gathered her up and lay her on the couch.
“Maybe it was too much all at once” whispered Rebecca
Giles looked at her “It needs to be finished though”
“There’s more!” exclaimed Xander and Willow
Dawn rushed in with a glass of water for Buffy who by now was awake and
struggling to sit up.
“I’m ok really. Lets finish this now” Buffy seemed to think for a moment then
continued. “Does this have anything to do with why Spike can hit me now?”
“It may very well do. I believe that you were in some way a reincarnation of
Rebecca......... that some part of her essence resided within you and that when
Willow and the others.....ummm.....performed the resurrection spell that part
of Rebecca returned to her.”
“So it’s not a deep cellular suntan” Buffy looked at Giles “I’m missing a piece
of myself”
“Yes in essence that is it. There is more to it though.”
“I don’t know how much more I can take Giles” Buffy glanced at Rebecca who
seemed to be taking it all in her stride.
Rebecca gave Buffy a wane smile “I’ve heard all of this before”
Xander step forward “So what you’re saying is that Buffy and Rebecca are
.....what........cousins of some sort?” he looked at Giles who nodded. “And
that when Buffy was born she was the reincarnation of Rebecca”
“Not exactly a reincarnation” Giles started to explain
“More like a part of her” Willow broke in “Maybe the slayer part of Rebecca was
reincarnated in Buffy”
“Exactly” Giles stood and walked up to Willow “when you did the spell to bring
Buffy back you somehow separated her essence back into the two parts and they
returned to their original vessels. Buffy back into Buffy but the small part of
her that came from Rebecca.......”
“Returned to Rebecca” finished Buffy.
“Basically that is correct” They all turned to look at Rebecca who had a
confused look on her face.
“Who’s Spike?” she asked.