Graile - A Day at the Summer’s House
By: MacBeth and Oracle – Connor_MacBeth@yahoo.com
Rating: PG
Disclaimers: Again, What’s not mine I have borrowed. I had some help with this one; Oracle came up with the exercise scene. Zim is an old Vietnamese man and my neighbor; he also makes an excellent cup of tea.  
Warning: Some Alcohol consumption and deep intent towards a loving relationship between two girls. If this is a problem for you, then in all likelihood you are a small hearted, mean spirited, insecure person who cannot hold their liquor and are most likely in desperate need of a hug.  
Feedback: Please? Otherwise I’ll probably screw up the story and you’ll hate me forever.

* * *  

Los Angeles, 1996 Hemry High School  

The Gym fire outlined the short blonde as she thrust a short length of wood into the chest of a boy she sat next to in history class. He looked at her with utter hatred before he combusted in a cloud of dust and ash as she whirled around to face the other vampires. The remaining vampires circled her and her "partner" Pike. Elizabeth Anne Summers knew the police were not going to understand her need to burn the gym, again. She plunged the stake into the heart of the next vampire, a girl she had seen in the halls everyday.

Finally, it was down to her and a large, hulking side of beef, who played left tackle for the varsity football team. She had run out of stakes and Pike was going toe to toe with a chinese girl. Buffy looked around for anything to use when this tiny exacto knife clattered to the ground beside her. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, she bent down to pick it up and eyed the thug-vamps neck with a calculating eye. He had a look of shock on his face when she started towards him, brandishing the tool with a practiced hand.

A shadow moved slightly atop of Peabody's Wayback Fashions, a retro clothing shop across the street from the school. The dark figure turned his head away in disgust as Buffy hacked into the football player's neck. When he turned back he saw the L.A.P.D. guiding a handcuffed Buffy into the back of a squad car. Not concerned at all, he turned away and dropped off the building. * * *   Sunnydale, California 12:17am Sarducci Family Mausoleum  

Buffy leaned against a pillar and checked her nails again. The recently deceased priest was taking longer to raise than Buffy had anticipated. "God! Just rise already." Buffy puffed her cheeks out in a sigh. "That’s it." she yelled. Buffy stormed over to the marble sarcophagi and pushed aside the marble lid with ease. She then reached down to the newly placed casket and cracked open the lid, the coffin’s locks giving way beneath the Slayer’s supernatural strength. Buffy gripped the stake and waited, willing the damned corpse to wake up. Finally, Two minutes later, Father Guido opened his eyes and shifted to his new vampiric face. Buffy winked and slammed the stake home.

Giles poked his head into the Mausoleum door and clicked a stopwatch in his hand. "Buffy, someday, you’ll have to explain to me why it is you feel you have to wait for the vampire to rise." The older British gentleman said. He began writing while his Slayer charge dusted off the stake and slid it into the back of her belt. Buffy waited for Giles to finish his chronicle thing and brushed crypt dust from her black Levi’s. "Uh, Giles?" she asked, and her Watcher looked up from his notes. "Can we go?" Buffy restrained a tiny bit of impatience in her tone.

"Oh, right. Well, there were no other mysterious deaths reported, so a quick sweep and we can call it a night then." Giles gestured for her to exit ahead of him.

"Giles?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Buffy?" he turned his head in her direction.

"What do you think of Jack?" she asked, checking her bottles of Holy Water stuffed into the leather jacket Angel had given her and basically fidgeting.

"Well, he seems to be a smart and capable young man. You did say he helped Merrick and you with a vampire in Los Angeles." Giles stated with a subtle question in his voice.

"I’m not asking about him like I’m looking for approval. I’m asking because he gives me a minor wiggins." Giles grinned slightly and waited. "Giles, I knew he was there before I heard or saw him. But I don’t feel like he’s a bad guy. It’s kind of weird. I feel... Well, good. Like I can do almost anything. I just wanted you to do some digging on him. Call your tweed look-alikes in England, please?" She looked to her Watcher. "I trust him with my life, but I need to know more about him before I trust him with yours, or Xand’s or Will’s. Ok?"

Giles took a moment to think what this would entail. "Alright Buffy. I’ll trust your judgment and make a few phone calls." An odd and chilling feeling coursed down Buffy’s spine a second before a sound from behind them caused them to stop walking. Turning slowly, they saw a tall cloaked being standing under a light post fifty feet behind them. Giles sighed in disappointment, "Well, we should have both seen this coming."

Buffy smirked and nudged him in the stomach. "Hush. We’re supposed to be frightened, remember?" she stage whispered, taking a step closer to the rather mysterious person. "It’s a little late out for a midnight stroll, isn’t it?" she said, fingering the stake in the sleeve of her leather jacket. Buffy blinked, and suddenly the hooded man grabbed her throat and lifted her up two feet in the air. Giles shook his head in disbelief as the vampire pulled the Slayer close. Buffy pulled the stake out and made to plunge it into his chest when a gloved hand slapped the sharpened rod out of her hand.

"Slayer." a deep muffled voice sounded form the hood of the jet-black coat. "I have come for the Hunter known as Jack. Tell him to settle his affairs, I will wait for him below the Sanderson Mausoleum."

He pulled her closer and Buffy could nearly make out a face when suddenly the cowled vampire was staggered by a powerful blow from behind and a familiar voice growled, "Let her go!"

The vampire turned slightly and without looking, backhanded Angel thirty feet before turning back to a nearly blacked out Buffy. The grip around her throat loosened slightly and without thinking, she choked out a question. "Who...aw.. Are you?" she glared into the dark hood.

The powerful being pulled her close and whispered in her ear. Pulling back, the vampire casually tossed the Slayer back against the stunned Watcher, causing them to both tumble to the ground in a heap. When they got to their feet, the cowled vampire was nowhere to be seen. Angel stood on shaky legs and slowly made his way to Buffy. "It’s been a while since I’ve been hit that hard." he looked Buffy over, "Are you ok?" genuine concern evident in his voice.

Giles nodded, as did Buffy. "Yeah." she coughed out, rubbing her bruised and sore throat.

"Angel, Do you have any idea who that was?" Giles asked as he checked Buffy’s neck for permanent damage.

"No. But he’s old. Very old, and very powerful." Angel answered, a slight ounce of fear in his tone.

"Grill." Buffy managed in a passable imitation of Christopher Lambert.

"Excuse me Buffy?" Giles asked as Angel felt a stab of fear slide into his heart.

"He said his name was Grill." Buffy managed, as her voice slowly returned to normal.

Angel turned to look directly in Buffy’s eyes. "Buffy, was it Grill or... Graile?" he asked, completely serious.

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, that’s it. Graile. Why? What’s so big?" She asked, "Angel, you’re scaring me. Giles? Who’s this Graile vampy?" She turned to her Watcher in growing fear.

Angel turned to Giles. "Get her home, Now!" he finished, shifting into his Vampire face and turned away with a swoosh of his long leather coat. Buffy spent the remainder of the escape home arguing with Giles to either explain, or to let her go help Angel.

Giles closed the front door of his apartment and immediately headed for his Scotch cabinet. He filled a glass with three fingers of twelve-year-old single malt and downed it in one swallow. Buffy watched this with growing detachment. "Now will you explain what the HELL just happened?" Buffy demanded.

The British man nodded and sat down wearily in his chair. "I’m not quite sure how it is possible, but that Vampire you just met was Graile." he said as much to himself as to the Slayer. "Graile is a Very old Vampire. The Watcher’s Council has records that date him as far back as being a sorcerer in the court of Emperor Nero. Even then, he was considered old."

"Nero? as in Rome, Nero?" Buffy asked, as Giles nodded she took a second glass from the liquor cabinet, filled it with the amber liquor and drained it as quickly as Giles had. "Why is it impossible?"

Giles sighed and motioned for the bottle of scotch. Buffy handed over the bottle and waited as her Watcher filled and drained his glass again. "Buffy, Graile was reportedly killed in 1888, by a Watcher named Marcus Covington. Marcus was a legend among Watchers; He killed an Elder Vampire, single-handedly eliminated a tribe of Yautja Demons in Madagascar, and, with some help from civilians, much as you have done with Xander and Willow, defended the underground of London from an invasion of WereRats. I know these stories because Marcus was a very close friend of my Great Grandfather, Alexander. Furthermore, I believe your friend Jack is Marcus’ direct descendent and this may be why Graile is after him. You may want to keep an eye on him and I sincerely doubt you should tell him of Graile’s location." Giles refilled both glasses and hesitated. "Buffy..." he looked at her glass.

"Relax Giles. This never happened." Buffy winked and slowly sipped her scotch as though she had for decades. "This is good scotch. My uncle in Kansas lets me have a glass or two when I visit."

Giles looked at Buffy. "You have an uncle in Kansas?"

"Two, and both in this little Podunk called Smallville. One’s cool, the other is a complete ass though." she said with a conspiratorial smile. * * *   Below the Sanderson Crypt

Angel flew back ten feet to slam into the far wall of the cold crypt, and while upside down in mid air was struck with a thought. "This just isn’t my day." After tumbling to the ground, he looked up to see a pair of Italian leather shoes before him, as a gloved hand reached down and grabbed his neck. Pulling him upright and closer, Graile shook his head softly at the bruised and beaten vampire.

"Angelus. I know of your quest for redemption. Whether you succeed concerns me not. I will not, however, interfere. Leave this crypt and tell the spawn of my enemy that I wait for him here." Graile then gestured fluidly with his free hand and brushed frost from Angel’s silk shirt. A small portal appeared five feet from the pair. "Incidentally, if you hurt Buffy. I’ll hunt you to the ends of the earth and torture you beyond anything even you could possibly comprehend." he whispered in the battered vampire’s ear as he tossed him easily through the gate.

Angel tumbled out of the portal onto the floor of his apartment. He lay there in painful silence as his bruises flared. "If I hurt her..?" he asked the empty room in confusion.   * * * 1630 Revello Drive Sunnydale California  

Buffy stood outside the front door to her house and shook her head to clear the liquor induced fog. "That was Really good scotch..." she mumbled to herself as she opened the front door. Using every Slayer stealth skill she possessed, she snuck into the living room to check on Jack.

Buffy was taken aback to find him sitting bare-chested, on the couch with a black cloth over the coffee table, cleaning a multitude of assault weapons set neatly before him. Jack looked up from brush cleaning the barrel of an M4A1 to grin sheepishly at the Slayer. "Um... Hello."

"Hello to you too. Since when did you go all Rambo on me?" she asked, eyeing the variety of weapons in mid repair. Jack shrugged, and slid the barrel back into the assault weapon.

"Mere mortals need an advantage against Demons. Not everyone has the luxury of Slayer Strength." He finished with his trademark grin and without even looking, easily slid the pieces of metal together into an instrument of lethal power. "If you’d like, I can give you a crash course..." he hinted after setting aside the now complete M4A1.

"Jack, I REALLY dislike guns." she said with a wary glance.

"B, It’s better to maintain, and never utilize then to need and never possess. Lao Zim. Besides, I have a feeling you’d be a natural." he said as he picked up an already cleaned M9 pistol. By four a.m., they had finished cleaning and assembling the rest of Jack’s weaponry, and Buffy had a better understanding of a modern day arsenal.

"Jack…" She turned to him after setting aside a Glock 4. "Why didn’t you tell me Lucius was alive?"

Jack hesitated and sighed. "I was getting to it. Remember he was possessed by the Incarnation of War?" He asked, waiting for her nod. "After which, he pulled a Bruce Banner?" Another nod. "Well, the average human body contains nine pints of blood. I sense you know this. Lucius’ body contained eleven pints. Ordniconii only drank roughly eight pints, Leaving a little over three, which kept Lucius alive albeit barely. To keep him alive, the Incarnation was forced to bond with him faster to survive. So what normally would have taken decades occurred in mere hours. I remembered I had dropped my lighter in the tower and turned back to get it. It was on the same floor we fought the "Master" and I found Lucius. He was almost completely healed and I simply took him with me."

Buffy accepted this and stood. "OK, Jack. I’m going to bed; I can still get a couple of hours of sleep before Willow gets here. Oh, that reminds me, Giles and I want to talk to you during Lunch so, if you could drop by..." She ended with a yawn. Shuffling forward, she made it to her room and into bed before falling deeply asleep for the second time of the night. Buffy winced and stopped at the staircase before turning her head slightly. "Jack…?"

"Pike’s fine Buffy. He and Deanna are happy. Go to bed." He said as he stashed his weapons neatly in the duffle. As Buffy walked up the stairs, a memory kept flashing through her head, of her walking alongside Jack to his car, with him lighting a cigarette as they walked. Buffy resolved to get Willow to help her research her "old friend".

Jack grinned and pulled three steel rods from his duffle bag. He also grabbed a black cotton button shirt and headed towards the kitchen. The young Irishman pulled a bottle of water from the fridge and slipped out the back door.  

Three hours after their impromptu weapon lessons ended, Buffy walked from her bedroom dressed and ready for her day out on the town with her bestest bud, Willow. She leapt from the second floor and landed silently onto the bottom of the staircase. The Slayer whistled softly as she straightened her clothes from her leap and head bopped her way into the kitchen. Seeing her mother standing at the counter and staring obliviously out the window into the backyard. Buffy cocked an eyebrow at her mother’s vacant expression and slid up quietly beside her. Looking out the window in her Mother’s line of sight. Seeing Jack outside in black sweats and bare-chested save for a fine sheen of sweat, she grinned a little and trilled out a fox whistle. Joyce snapped her head to her daughter and blushed slightly. "Morning! Your friend uh, Jack is um, He’s certainly..."

"Limber?" Buffy supplied cheekily.

"Right... Limber" Joyce muttered as Jack, oblivious to his audience, placed his hands down on the ground and brought his right leg straight up before bring his other leg up in a perfect handstand. Mother and Daughter simultaneously tilted their heads to better view the display of muscled flesh.

Bending his arms slightly, Jack launched himself back overhead and landed in a crouch on the balls of his feet. Standing, he rolled, stretched his shoulders out and picked up three steel rods. Jack screwed the rods together to make one long staff and began an intricate kata, which he moved through with fluid grace.

Buffy watched in awe at his technique while her mother simply watched in awe. The doorbell rang and Buffy beat every land speed record by running to the door, flinging it open, pulling a very surprised Willow in, and closing the door before dragging the redhead with her back to the kitchen. Joyce never noticed her daughter’s absence as Jack finished the kata with a swift snap of the staff to the right leveled at the small of his back.

Willow, Buffy, and Joyce watched in silence as Jack set the staff onto two low branches of the oak tree in the backyard and began a set of chin-ups. Willow watched as beads of sweat slid down Jack’s chest before he dropped to the ground and walked to the porch. Stifling a grin, he took a deep pull off his bottle of water and swallowed. Jack sighed, then removed the cap and poured the bottle’s contents over his head and chest. Joyce inhaled sharply and Willow’s eyes bugged slightly while Buffy smiled and stifled deep laughter. She grabbed a towel, opened the back door, and walked slowly over to the now refreshed Irishman. "So how long before the "Lorenzo Lamas" moment have you known they were there?" she asked with a smirk.

Jack cracked an eyebrow. "They?"

"Fine. We. Happy? Now answer the question." Buffy sighed.

Jack chuckled, pulled on his black cotton button up shirt and walked into the kitchen and smiled at the two women trying to appear disinterested. "Morning Joyce. Willow." he said as he headed to the guest bathroom for a quick shower. Buffy watched him go with a grin.

Joyce watched him go out of the corner of her eye. "Um Buffy? When were you going to tell me he had tattoos? Just how old is Jack?" Joyce asked her daughter after finding her voice and shifting into Parent mode.

Buffy was stopped cold with the last question. "I actually don’t know how old he is Mom and I’ve never been in the position to see the uh tattoos. Do you think that one on the right bicep is a pigeon or sparrow?" she finished with a confused look in her eyes.

Willow was distracted by the curve of Buffy’s neck and answered automatically, "Kingfisher." she shook her head and thought of her rage of Cordelia to distract herself. Looking up she noticed her friend’s amazed look. "Uh, I saw one in a novel I read once. It was the symbol of a knighthood. Ready to go?" urgent to get some time alone with Buffy, she practically dragged the Slayer out the door.

Buffy smiled and matched Willow’s speed. "So where are we off to in such a hurry?"

"No hurry, just getting antsy to get this day started. So what did you wanna do today?" Willow asked as they crossed the street.

"Well, we need java first off, then I thought maybe a trip through the mall?" Buffy suggested and nodded at Willow’s grin. "But we have to swing by Giles’ apartment. He made some phone calls about our man Jack and I want all the info I can get before I tell him Graile’s message. This entire situation just feels off to me. You know?" Buffy turned to Willow with a wrinkle in her brow.

Willow nodded. "I know. I thought I was hallucinating. It’s like there’s a lot of things that he’s just not telling us. I trust him, but not completely. I hope Giles has something for us."

"Enough serious stuff, I need JAVA!" Buffy seethed. * * *  

Joyce closed the door after signing for the UPS man’s delivery. The long narrow wooden crate could be only one thing, her personal collection’s latest acquisition, a genuine Shinto katana dated to the Meiji Dynasty. The estate sale she had attended in LA had been relatively fruitful as the family for some reason had chose not to have most of the items appraised. Prying the lid open with a crowbar and pulling the sheathed sword from the crate, she looked around and slowly drew the blade. Joyce grinned as she hefted the ancient blade and gave a few light swings. "Hwaah…" she cried in a cheap Asian sound.

"You’re holding it wrong." Jack said from the doorway behind her, clutching a much too small towel around his very wet and very naked waist. Joyce startled and dropped the sword. Jack’s foot shot out and lightly kicked the handle upwards into his hand. Jack adjusted the hold on the towel around his waist and handed the sword back to its owner. "I came in to ask if you had any normal sized towels, " he asked, trying not to drip on the floor.

The very wet, very muscled, and nearly naked young man before her distracted Joyce and she barely managed a weak nod. "Sure, I uh, guess Buffy never put the linens away like I asked her to. I um, just got in a shipment yesterday, including this piece here. I believe it’s from the Meiji dynasty." She gushed, holding up the antique weapon, trying to distract herself from peeking below his navel.

Jack motioned for the sword and Joyce passed it to him with reverent care. Gripping the handle with ease, he examined the blade thoroughly. "It’s not Meiji." He muttered. Joyce sighed in disappointment while Jack continued. "It’s older. Momoyama period, maybe early Edo, and it was owned by either a disciple of the Master, or the Master himself." He looked up from the tsuba with a tone of awe.

Joyce turned from the blade to the young man before her. "What Master?"

"Musashi Miyamoto, The Japanese Swordsman. Joyce, this blade is priceless. There are laws against westerners even looking at it, let alone taking it out of the country. I highly suggest you take this to a bank and place it in a safety deposit box first thing tomorrow morning." Jack, in a moment of excitement, placed his other hand on Joyce’s shoulder to emphasize his point. The small towel, lacking a hand to hold it around his waist, fell around his ankles. Jack and Joyce simultaneously looked down, Jack at the towel, Joyce slightly higher. "Oh god, sorry." Jack mumbled as he kneeled to retrieve the towel. "Um, if you could tell me where I can find one slightly larger?"

"Hall closet beneath the staircase." Joyce uttered robotically, her mind still fixated on the flash. Jack focused his mind on finding a towel larger than a handkerchief and not thinking about how he had just accidentally flashed the Slayer’s mother.

* * *   6 Pm.  

Buffy stood watching for vamps as Willow knocked on Giles’ front door and subtly keeping an eye on the redhead’s bum. They had managed an entire day as simple teenagers in the mall. Trying on shoes, dresses, and listening to demos at a music store. The librarian of the girl’s high school opened his door and smiled. "Ah, good evening Willow, Buffy. Please." He finished with an enter gesture. "I called a few friends and some of the fringe members of the Watchers Council. Jack’s clean Buffy. Completely clean." He said as his Slayer charge and her friend moved to the breakfast bar and sat on the stools. Xander waved from the librarian’s couch.

"Well great! All that effort for nothing." Buffy seethed and slammed her fist onto the counter.

Willow was struck by a thought. "How clean Giles?"

Giles half bowed to the hacker. "Excellent question. He’s entirely too clean. No criminal record, nothing in Interpol, MI6, Every Dutch Authority, Scotland Yard, the American three letter groups, nothing!"

Xander nodded along with Giles’ statement. "It’s like this guy is a saint. The only thing G-man found was a law firm that seems to run in his family. Covington, Lafeyette, and Warriner."

Giles glared at Xander, "Please do not call me that." He sighed then removed his glasses and wiped them clean with a handkerchief. "I’ve called my grandfather, and he’s insisted that he come here to talk in person. He detests modern technology."

Buffy exchanged a glance with the others and three eyebrows rose in Giles’ direction. "Not that I blame him." Willow scoffed and Buffy was simply struck by the humorous glimmer in the redhead’s eyes. Willow turned to Buffy in a stage whisper, "Quick, break out the scones, Pappy Giles is coming to town!" Buffy burst out in giggles and Willow joined her. Giles glared at both girls before turning his back in false indignity and chuckled softly.

When Giles turned back, he was the very image of British stoicism; "My grandfather will be here tomorrow morning, hopefully at a decent hour. And for once, I won’t have to worry about running out of scones."

"He hopped the first flight?" Buffy asked, thinking over the timetable.

"No. He lives in Noe Valley in San Francisco." Giles finished with a frown. "At least it’s colder there."

"And here I thought that Giles was the first to visit "The Colonies", wow." Willow said with a mild jaw drop.

"Ha ha, yes very droll. Actually, My Great-Grandfather was the first Giles to come to America, during the Old West." He trailed off. "I believe that’s enough Genealogy for tonight. I should get the spare bedroom ready." He said more to himself then to any of his guests.

Willow frowned as a foggy and vague memory started pressing on her. "Covington, Lafeyette and Warriner?"  

Xander nodded and moved to his best friend as she scrunched up her nose in thought. "What’re you thinking Will?"

Willow turned to her oldest friend with a look of sudden comprehension. "Covington, Lafeyette and Warriner! Now I remember where I’ve seen those names! I was in my dad’s study looking for a calculator when I saw this intricate coat of arms on some papers. I looked a little closer, saw those names and a little lower I saw mine. I just wish I could remember what those papers said." She shrugged in slight embarrassment.

Buffy watched the two friends interact and suppressed a stab of jealousy. "Great," she thought to herself, "Now, I’m jealous of Xander… this is getting out of hand…" she shook her head. "Willow, tomorrow, I think you need to borrow your dad’s calculator again." She hinted.

Willow nodded with a slight grin. "I do have that Math homework…"

Giles stepped out of the spare bedroom carrying a bundle of sharpened stakes. "I no longer believe that my spare bedroom is a proper place to sharpen stakes, at least not without putting paper down. Xander, could you please give me a hand with the vacuum?" he asked in a slightly accusatory tone.

Xander hung his head. "I knew I forgot something…" Without complaint, he took the vacuum cleaner form the librarian and headed into the backroom. Giles suppressed a grin as he turned to his Slayer charge. "When is Jack due?" He asked seconds before there was a knock at the door. "Of course." He muttered as he headed for the door.   * * *   Thirty Minutes Earlier  

Jack sat at the wheel of his jet-black Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible and held his cell phone to his ear. "Jack." He announced in greeting.

Three hundred and ninety miles away, an elderly Scotsman held a cellular phone he cursed daily to his ear and spoke. "Jack? I just spoke to my Grandson Rupert. Can you hear me? I hate this bloody thing."

"Yes old man, I hear you, it’s good to know you’re still alive." Jack smiled while turning his convertible into a dark alley. You were right, he made the connection between you and… your "Grandfather". I’m riding down there tonight. I must say it will be a pleasure to see you and my grandson again."

Jack grinned. "It’ll be good to see your aging, disintegrating form too old man." He laughed.

"Jack…" The Scotsman’s voice took on a somber tone. "Is she there? Ok and everything?"

"Yes Vincent. Willow’s here, and It hurts to say that she’s an identical image of Alex. They don’t know much if anything and I’m beginning to doubt whether I should tell them. I remember how you and the old crew reacted to the news."

"Jack, you swore to Alexandra that you’d put everything right. If the Dark Bitch does come, having the infamous Scoobies together, and at their best may be the only chance we have." Vincent moved through his house at a brisk pace, packing an old set of saddlebags. "I’ll be in Sunnydale in six hours. I know you Jack; don’t act on whatever impulse you’ve got right now. Just wait." Vincent pleaded as he clicked off the phone and moved into the garage of his two-story house in Noe Valley. The Harley Davidson Dyna Glide was right where he’d left it this morning, polished lovingly and just waiting to be ridden. Vincent Macleod fastened the saddlebags to his precious motorcycle and settled his muscled seventy four year old frame onto the lovingly oiled leather seat. "Damn you Jack, I’m too damned old to ride that far…" he moaned out loud as he walked the bike out onto the street.

* * *   Now  

Giles opened the door to his apartment and smiled at the young Irishman. "Jack, please come in." Closing the door behind his newest guest, Giles removed his glasses and cleaned them with a kerchief. Jack set a leather briefcase down and leaned against the Watcher’s desk and grinned at the two girls seated on Giles’ barstools.

Buffy took the initiative, "Jack, Graile made an appearance last night." Buffy looked to willow for support and frowned when her friend’s attention seemed focused on the briefcase. "Graile wants to meet you beneath the Sanderson mausoleum. There’s a sewer access through a loose grating in the corner. I chased a Grillock demon down there about three weeks ago." She shuddered at the memory.

Jack nodded. " I expected as much, though I would have liked to have been told this a mite earlier…" Standing, Jack let out a heavy breath and looked at the others. "I’ve… I’ve named each of you beneficiaries should I not come out of that Tomb." He finished with a somber tone. He pulled a packet of papers from the leather case. "Giles, if you could hold onto these." The Watcher nodded and took the slim bundle.

Jack turned to the two girls as he picked up his attaché. "Buffy. I’m only going to ask you this once. I want you to stay here until I call you. Ok?" Buffy hesitated. "Elizabeth Anne Summers. I want you to swear to me that you’ll stay here until I call. You owe me that if nothing else." Jack’s eyes took on an almost inhuman amount of age and weariness.

Buffy choked down her protests and nodded, "I swear."

Jack stepped closer and hugged Buffy tightly and whispered so lightly only the blonde could hear him. "Either you tell her tonight, or I’ll come back from the dead and tell her myself." Without another word, he released her and walked out the door. As the door closed, Xander walked out of the bedroom with the vacuum cleaner in hand.

Xander set the vac down and looked at the clock. "So when does Jack get here?" Moments later, the four heard the Convertible’s engine start and slowly fade. "Oh." Buffy walked to Giles’ weapon chest, pulled out an axe, and headed for the door before Willow’s voice stopped her.

"Buffy, you swore you’d stay."

"I lied. You three stay here." She commanded as she closed the door behind her. The determined Slayer hadn’t reached the street before Xander, Giles and Willow had caught up with her. "I thought I told you three to stay behind."

"And when you see dog collars around our necks, we’ll stay." Xander retorted and adjusted his grip on one of Giles’ crossbows. "Now which cemetery is that Crypt in?"

Willow shifted the short sword belted to her waist. "Shady Field cemetery. That road construction that’s taking forever on 27th street will force him to take a detour and if we cut through Oaken Lanes, we’ll beat Jack there."

Giles moved a horseman’s pick to his left shoulder and nodded in agreement.

Buffy sighed and was about to argue when she spotted three vampires standing under a streetlight smoking. "Xander, Giles, you guys up to handling them and we’ll meet you at the Tomb?" hearing to affirmative answers, the group split up.

Buffy and Willow had barely exited one cemetery and were moving across the street into the other when the clouds overhead started to rumble with thunder. Willow tightened her yellow sweater around her neck and tried to move faster. Buffy stopped so her friend could catch her breath. As Willow bent over and grabbed her knees to slow her breathing, Buffy leaned against a headstone and took stock of her weaponry, three stakes tucked into the lining of her black leather jacket, a glass flask of holy water, and the double bladed axe she absconded with from Giles’ weapon chest.

The redhead stood up and wiped lightly falling rain from her eyes. "Ok, thanks for the breather."

Buffy was distracted by thoughts of the upcoming battle. "Anything for you Will." She said offhand as they started running.

"I wish" she mumbled to herself as she tried to keep up with the Slayer.

Giles and Xander meanwhile, were shocked with how easy their undead opponents had been to dispatch. Xander turned to Giles and grinned. "Hurry up G-man, We can still get there before Jack."

Giles sighed and followed his young American counterpoint. "I’ve asked you before to not call me that…"   * * *  

Buffy and Willow stopped in the Mausoleum’s archway after having made excellent time, apparently arriving at the Tomb long before Jack. By now the rain was falling heavily, causing the tomb to smell musty and leaving both girls soaked and nearly frozen. "Is it just… Just me or I iss it colder over here?" Willow whimpered.

Buffy shrugged off her leather jacket and without hesitating draped it over her best friend’s shoulders. Willow started to protest when Buffy placed her fingertip on her lips to silence her. "Hush." She was amazed at how soft those lips felt beneath her finger before whispering nervously. "It’s too cold to protest." Buffy began to rub her friends arms under the coat, gently squeezing the slim shoulders as Willow began to shudder in a way that was in no way related to the cold. The rubbing slowed down to a gentle caress as a very nervous Buffy moved closer to the chilled redhead.

"Oh, god… She’s moving closer… what’ll I do? I sure as hell won’t look in her eyes…" Then as if to make a liar of herself, she looked up and locked eyes with the blonde. Sapphire burned into Emerald as heartbeats raced.

"Oh God, What am I doing?" Buffy thought as she realized she could no longer control herself; she swallowed nervously and dragged her right hand up to brush her thumb along Willow’s cheek. The girl in the Slayer’s arms moved even closer and nuzzled the hand on her cheek. Time seemed to slow down as their lips met. The kiss started as a mere brushing of lips before it deepened. It grew more passionate and heated as arms encircled and bodies merged. As lips parted due to a need for oxygen, Buffy looked deep in her eyes, "I love you. More than Angel, more than Pike, I need you to know that." Buffy had slid her hand to the small of Willow’s back and pulled her tightly against her.

Willow nodded "I love you too, so much." She replied as she slipped a hand behind her love’s neck and pulled her down for another kiss. "I’ve wanted to do that for a very long time." She grinned and blushed at the same time.

Slayer hearing allowed Buffy to hear the footsteps well before they came within vision. "They’re here Will."

Giles and Xander walked up slowly, Xander, seeing the two in a very intimate position, promptly went into shock. Giles, being the epitome of British stoicism, stifled his knowing grin and ushered the now sputtering Harris into the mausoleum. "I trust you will let us know when Jack gets here?" he said, entering the mausoleum without waiting for an answer.

Buffy grinned into Willow’s shoulder, as the redhead bit back laughter. "I think Xander is having an aneurysm…" Buffy whispered into the nape of her neck.

"He is NOT going to let this go." Buffy answered. Willow squeaked in agreement and sighed.

The two stood in the entrance of the Sanderson Crypt and simply held each other, reveling in their newfound intimacy. "Well, I take it this isn’t a group hug?" Jack said from the bushes of a nearby mausoleum. The two girls snapped out of their reverie to look at the young Irishman who was lighting a cigarette with a flick of his lighter.

"Jack. How long have you been here?" Buffy accused. Willow released the Slayer but still kept close.

"About five minutes before you. I took 27th street." He said in between drags.

"But there was considerable road construction. That entire street was blocked off." Willow ventured and absently rested her hand on the pommel of the short sword. Jack saw this instinctual move and grinned.

"That’s what sidewalks are for." Jack stated simply and moved to the doorway. "Do you mind moving?" he asked as he drew twin Berettas from shoulder harnesses. "I have a seven thousand year old vampire to kill."

Buffy locked eyes and held a silent conversation with her old friend. "I told her." She said finally.

Jack nodded. "I saw. When I come out of here, we’re going to have a long talk." He said as he and the girls moved deeper into the Tomb. Shaking his head, he chuckled as he moved next to Giles.

The Watcher nodded to Jack until he saw the firearms. "I doubt those will do much good against a vampire of Graile Kaer Ti’Carrok’s age."

Jack turned in amazement to Giles at the full name. "Not many people know his true name, well done!" Jack holstered one handgun, dropped the clip from the other and thumb-flicked a shell out of the clip towards the Watcher. "Compressed wood tipped bullets filled with fulminated mercury. Those ARE effective if you can shoot direct heart shots." The Watcher tossed the bullet back and shouldered his pick. The Irishman racked the slide, slid in the bullet and snapped the clip into the berretta before he moved to the grating in the corner.

As Jack lifted the grate, Xander shouldered the crossbow and looked at the two girls in the doorway. "You guys owe me an explanation. But just so you know, I’m am so more than cool with this." He said with a soothing Xander Harris grin, and dropped down into the sewers behind the Irishman. Giles walked over to the two girls. "If you two are serious, relationship wise, you have my support." Giles smiled genuinely and moved to follow Xander downwards.

"You do realize this could have gone a whole lot worse?" Buffy said as she snuck a kiss. Willow wasn’t satisfied with the quick peck. She pulled the Slayer into a tight embrace and kissed her passionately.

To say that Buffy was surprised at Willow’s aggressiveness would be an understatement. "You have no idea what you do to me." The Slayer said, caressing her cheek and backing over to the grating, never breaking eye contact.

After Buffy dropped down, Willow looked upwards and closed her eyes. "Thank you." The redhead smiled happily and drew Giles’ short sword before dropping down into the sewers below.