Disclaimer: I own nothing. I would think by now we’d have that established! Quote borrowed from William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo & Juliet ~ Act II, Scene 2.’
Spoilers: None really, but just to be safe anything up to and including 5.11 ‘Damage’ of AtS
Summary: Sometimes there’s more in a name than you think.
Rating: R (Language, Mild Violence)

What’s in a name?

Well, if you were talking to William Shakespeare, he would probably reply by saying, ‘That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.’ But if you were asking me, I’d say there’s a whole hell of a lot in a name, especially around here, and especially after what happened a few days ago.

I guess I should go about giving you some background on myself, so you will be able to more fully appreciate my story. Until two years ago I had led a relatively normal and for all accounts, boring life. I had just finished up law school and was in the process of interviewing with several firms that had made the annual trip to the ‘graduating class corral’ in hopes of finding their next most promising associate. After a long day of being shuffled in and out of different rooms meeting with the lackeys from ten or so different firms around my area, I’d finally managed to make it to my last interview of the day.

To make a not so long story about that interview even shorter, let me just say I was hired on the spot by this firm. It was an exciting day for me. I not only walked away from ‘Interview Hell’ a survivor, I walked away with grand dreams of getting out of my one horse town and waltzing right into the City of Angels and taking everyone by storm. Okay, so maybe that dream was a little farfetched, but I certainly had grand desires of becoming an aspiring associate within the firm, and the o-so-sweet-talking Lilah Morgan had done everything in her power to convince me of the same. She said that her firm had big plans for me. That was a bit of an understatement.

I spent the first year and a half at the beck and call of Ms. Morgan. She said I needed to learn the ropes and there was no other mid-level associate better to take notes from than her. She was the perfect example of what working for bosses from Hell would do to you. And until the little zombie incident a few months back, I thought I was only using the term ‘bosses from Hell’ figuratively. Once again, I was way off base.

I’m guessing that if you’re reading this little essay about my life, you already know the basic history of Wolfram & Hart, so I’ll just skip the part about them being the Devil and move right on to me thankfully surviving the Zombie-Gate incident and on to me working for my new and improved boss.

Since I was one of only a handful of associates that survived ZG-Day, I was immediately put under the supervision of the new Head of the Legal Department, Mr. Charles Gunn. Gods, why couldn’t *that* man have recruited me? He certainly makes coming to work at an evil law firm every day a good thing! Okay, so maybe ‘good’ is reaching a little far. How ‘bout I say that he makes it tolerable. At least that way I don’t sound like a two bit whore who’d be the damn Devil’s personal assistant if he had a hottie like Mr. Gunn around to stare at every day.

*sigh*

Oh. Sorry.

Back to the story.

So a few days ago, Mr. Gunn buzzes me and says that he needs for me to go down to Records and retrieve the Kan-Hup Clan files. We dealt with that scary eye-eating demon clan last month and both he and I thought we’d reached an acceptable settlement agreement between them and their supplier. Apparently, the supplier was now threatening to back out, forcing us to head back to the negotiating table.

Mr. Gunn may be the big dog on most cases, but he knows that I kick ass at negotiations, so that’s why he called me in to help. Again. There was a huge smile on my face at that thought. With the hundreds of fish swimming in the Wolfram & Hart pond, it was nice to be singled out and made to feel important once in a while.

Anyway, I dutifully went down to Records and retrieved the requested files. And, as quickly as possible delivered them personally to Mr. Gunn. This was my first actual trip up to Mr. Gunn’s office. Normally, when we work jointly on a case, Mr. Gunn meets with the assisting associate on the fifth floor where all of the conference rooms are located. But on this day, he’d asked me to personally meet with him in *his* office.

As soon as I hung the phone back on the receiver I let out a loud squeal of excitement. This was my big chance to show how valuable I was to this firm. And, if I was really lucky, I might even be able to steal a glance at the new CEO, Mr. Angel. That vampire with a soul is so lickable he makes my mouth water just thinking about him.

Oh. Sorry again. I doubt any of you are interested in my fantasies. Although I just about lived one of them out while in Mr. Gunn’s office. Yeah, that’s the freaky incident I was alluding to earlier.

Okay, so I have the files in hand and I politely stop at Harmony’s desk, so she can alert Mr. Gunn that I am on my way in. She smiles and is polite, but for some reason I get the feeling that she doesn’t like me very much. Maybe I’m just being paranoid because I know she’s a vampire too, one *without* a soul, and therefore making her just a little more unstable in my book. Regardless, she tells me to go on in and so I do.

Mr. Gunn rises from his large and very comfortable looking leather chair and greets me with his usual friendly smile and ‘hello’. Although we have worked together on this case previously, he had never before been interested in addressing me by anything other than my surname, but today for some reason he asks for my given name instead.

The next sequence of events happened in rapid succession. Some simultaneously. So please, listen carefully.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I’ve ever caught your first name.”

“Buffy. I know it’s sort of a funny name, but it’s short for Elizabeth and if you’d prefer to use that, feel free.”

Mr. Gunn gives me a playful smile. He’s so cute when he smiles.

“I like Buffy. There’s just something about that name.” He pauses for a brief moment as if trying to recall something, but shrugs the thought away and continues,

“Anyway, Buffy…”

He trails off mid-sentence when his office door flies open. Or at least I believe he trailed mid-sentence. It was sort of hard for me to tell. The next thing I know I’m being tackled to the floor by two men, who in the flurry of fists and insults of which I’m desperately trying to avoid, I finally recognize as Mr. Angel and Mr. Spike.

“She came to see me you Wanker!”

“The day Hell freezes over she would!”

“Fuck you Angelus!”

“Go to Hell Spike!”

At this point I’m still pinned between two incredibly rock hard bodies, and on any other day I’d be extremely pleased with this situation, but having to duck flying fists and praying that neither vampire decides to go evil on me and drain the life force from my body in a fit of rage, this isn’t the most enticing situation to be in. For the first time in months, I’m really scared for my life.

I suddenly feel the weight of one of the vampires lift from my body and am thankfully pulled off the other. I’m only now aware that the room has filled with several other members of Mr. Gunn’s inner circle. Mr. Price was the thoughtful gent to pulled me to safety and has rather protectively hid me from sight behind his, larger than what I had thought, frame.

From what I can tell from my hiding spot behind Mr. Price it was the previously mentioned evil-look-giving Harmony that vamped out and went all Wonder Woman on Mr. Angel and Mr. Spike. Pulling their dueling asses off me, and hence doing something I would have never thought she’d be capable of… saving my life.

Mr. Gunn is now in between the two vamps yelling explicatives and trying to fight through his own fury at them for attacking one of his few NON-evil assistants. Even though I’m not a church goer and am fairly certain that the day I signed on the dotted Wolfram & Hart line the good Lord handed me over to Satan himself, I was still hovering behind Mr. Price praying that my life would be spared. I wasn’t yet ready to die.

“Why didn’t you tell me she was coming?” Angel spat at Gunn.

“What the hell are you talking about? She *works* here!” Gunn yelled back.

“Oh yeah, they definitely made you nutter when you let them tweek with the upstairs.” Spike added as he gestured towards his head.

The room was silent for a long moment. So silent in fact that a pin could have dropped onto the carpeted floor and it would have been heard loud and clear. Suddenly Mr. Price whirls around and faces me. He grabs me by the shoulders soundly and looks deep into my eyes.

“Dear Lord.”

“If you’ve hurt her, so help me Spike, I’ll rip your head right off that skinny body of yours!” Angel growled through gritted teeth.

“Oh shut up you Ponce! She’s the fucking Slayer for Christ sake! Can’t hurt her that easily. Trust me, I kn….”

The last word out of Mr. Spike’s mouth was strangled, and I guess that could have something to do with him actually being strangled by Mr. Angel. I know I don’t have all the back story on those two, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the history between them is somewhat strained. I’m sure as with everything else that has to do with my employment here, that was an understatement too!

At this point I was beginning to come unhinged. For everything that had taken place since I’d been at Wolfram & Hart, I can confidently say that up until this point I’d taken it all in stride. I have worked well under pressure, and escaped life-threatening situations with relative calm, but for all that I had previously going for me, I was ready to enter into a certifiable nervous breakdown. I mean how much can one girl possibly take before she looses it? All I had planned on doing with my invite to Mr. Gunn’s office was hopefully show him how useful I was to the firm and if all things went well, I was hoping that down the line somewhere he’d remember me and possibly consider me for a promotion.

I wiggle my way out of Mr. Price’s grip and back away. I’ve had enough of this screwed up game and I’m ready for it to end.

“I… I’m sorry. What ev… ever I did, I’m… I’m sorry. Ca… can…can I go now???”

“Hey! You’re not the Slayer!” Spike answers.

Can I just say that *wasn’t* the answer I was looking for! Not to mention it was a fact of life that *I* already knew.

“You… you’re not… your eyes…. and your scent…” Angel stutters dejectedly.

I look away at his words. Whatever I wasn’t to *him* was a lot more disappointing than whatever I wasn’t to Mr. Spike.

“Harmony, can you take this young lady to my office and stay with her.” Wesley instructs rather than asks the beautiful blonde.

“Sure.”

I’m led out of Mr. Gunn’s office and down the hallway to what is apparently Mr. Price’s office. Harmony’s features have now reverted back to her human visage and she leads me over to a soft brown leather couch and gestures for me to sit down. After everything that just happened, there’s no way I’m refusing her.

“Umm… sorry that they got all freaky back there.” Harmony offered.

I just look at her and force a smile. What else can I do? I mean I doubt saying, ‘fuck you, fuck them and I just want to get the fuck out of this place,’ probably wasn’t the politically correct comment at the moment. Not to say that it wasn’t the foremost on my mind, it’s just for once in my life I thought before I spoke.

“This doesn’t have anything to do with you… exactly.” The blonde vampire explains.

I continue my silence and refuse to look even in Harmony’s general vicinity. I guess she doesn’t take the hint of me wanting to just be left alone, because she moves closer and continues to talk.

“See, there was this girl named Buffy that I went to high school with, and she was the Slayer. You know… the Vampire Slayer? Anyway, she and Boss fell in love and then he broke her heart and left her and then my blondie bear fell in love with her. He even killed himself for her! Can you believe that?”

I remain quiet as I try to process Harmony’s slightly hard to follow story. And it was a good thing that I’m a quick learner, because she didn’t miss a beat and continued with her tale.

“Oh well, water under the bridge and all. I mean I forgive him… I guess. Ohh… sorry, got a little off track. Let’s see, Buffy-Angel, Buffy-Spike… Oh, I know what I was going to say! They thought you were her! Buffy I mean.”

“But I *am* Buffy.” I reply in an almost whisper.

“Oh. My. God! That is sooo funny! I mean really, you may be ‘a Buffy,’ but you’re not ‘The BUFFY,’ regardless of how much you look… like her and smell… like her, and… You aren’t really the Slayer in disguise or something are you?”

I timidly shake my head in the negative at her question. Thankfully, and to my great relief Mr. Price takes this moment to enter the room, looking almost as disheveled as I feel. He nods for Harmony to leave the office and she does so without incident.

“I’m afraid after speaking with Gunn, Angel and Spike, there seems to be a problem with you and your employment at Wolfram & Hart.” Wesley begins.

“I’ll have my stuff packed up and I’ll be out of here in an hour.” I volunteer eagerly as I rise to my feet and head towards to door. There was certainly no need to go through the nasty little ‘we like your work, but you’re services are no longer required’ speech.

“Ms. Sumner, I’m afraid it isn’t that simple.” Wesley says bluntly.

I stop in my tracks, waiting for the inevitable bad news to hit me like an 18-wheeler.

“Apparently the Senior Partners of Wolfram & Hart have had this scenario planned out for some time now. From what Gunn has been able to gather from your personnel file, they recruited your services straight out of law school. Obvious to us now, they had already planned the take over by Angel Investigations and was looking for the perfect nail to drive into not only Angel’s coffin, but Spike’s as well. I’m sorry to say this, but you are that nail.”

“I’m sorry Mr. Price, but I’m no nail. I’m resigning effective immediately.” I reply with indifference.

“I’m afraid you can’t do that Ms. Sumner.” Wesley retorts without missing a beat.

“Why? You can’t stop me.”

“I’m afraid the Senior Partners already have.” Wesley answers with eerie calm.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

So that was that day in a nutshell.

I look like *her*. I smell like *her*. I have the same name as *her*. But, I’m not *her*, and it wigs everyone out including me. Oh, and did I mention that when I signed on the Wolfram & Hart dotted line, I gave up all my rights to leave this employment. Yeah, that’s right… no matter how much I want to quit, I can’t. And no matter how much Mr. Angel wants to get rid of me because I remind him of her, he can’t.

The Senior Partners found a way to pretty much screw everyone. I’ve dreamt everyday since then that I could go back and change what I did. That some higher power would hear my plea and take me out of this world so Mr. Angel wouldn’t continue to look at me with those haunted eyes. Or so Mr. Spike wouldn’t keep looking at me like he’d love to fuck me into the wall if I’d let him.

I try as hard as I can to avoid everyone at all costs, but it isn’t easy. I’m constantly being given assignments that require me to be in contact with Mr. Gunn, therefore putting me in direct proximity of Mr. Angel or Mr. Spike. Most days the tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Guess I could try today, since I have one.

So, once more I ask you…

“What’s in a name?”

“Buffy! NO!!!”

Again, I tell you….

There’s a lot in a name… especially around here. As I sent the long blade through my chest cavity, he called out for her.

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