FIC: Scoobies 2008 (1/?)

Title: Scoobies 2008 (1/?)
Rating: PG-13
Author: Pat Kelly
Summary: Future fic, that's not pairing focused. Yet. Though Willow and Tara; Xander and Anya are still together.

Spoilers: Not really. General Buffyand Angel, I guess. Vaguely mentions bits about the seasons.
Disclaimer: Allhail Joss and his army of Mutant Enemies. I don't own BTVS. I make no money.

SCOOBIES 2008

January 8 2008

5:27 P.M.

Detective Buffy Summers of the Los Angeles Police force. That's me. Beena cop now for four and a half years. Entered the law enforcement business right out of college, and worked my way up. Turns out that test on Career Day wasn't just a load of crap, after all. And you wanna know what the best part is? It pisses all the males in the department off that a chick has authority over them. We're in a new millennium, and guys still have that complex. Like I care.

Okay, here's the deal. My senior year of college, we (Giles, Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya, Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, even Spike and...Faith) managed to prevent Armageddon. Yes, it finally came, and we weren't really expecting it. Y2K. Yeah right. Dates like that should really be confirmed. So here we are, caught off guard, but we stopped the armies of Hell and the Hellmouth went bye-bye. Everything seemed great. We shut evil up (Not really. I'm gonna get to that).

Here's where things change. Oh, wait. Did I mention that somehow we all survived? You know, I may go down in history as the best slayer that ever lived or whatever, but really, I think I'm just damn lucky. Anyway, change. Get this. Angel and his crew went back to business as usual, and he became human a week after the huge battle. I get told about the prophecy, and my mind goes into overload.

Then Willow tells me she and Tara are thinking about moving (It took them a year of planning, but they ended up in Maine, and are slowly but steadily opening up a chain of "Magic Box" shops all over the country with Giles running the main one in Sunnydale. They're pretty stinkin' rich. Who knew magick was so profitable?) I really miss her.

Xander and Anya wanted to see the world, so they left (they eventually came back to the U.S. of A and got their own ranch in Montana. Xander runs his own small construction business, and Anya' his financial supervisor. Not even gonna get into that). It was all pretty quick.

I'm not making it sound like it was a big deal, but it was. I felt like I was on a roller coaster that was going Mach 5, and just when I saw the end of it, I was flying through another loop. My friends were vanishing. And there was alot that happened before we got through college too. What happened with Glory, and Dawn, and Riley...it's still hard for me to talk about. Or think about. Every year it was one thing after another. Almost losing my friends to the Council (that is now very much defunct), almost losing Giles, mistakes that were made...big sigh of relief now. Mom's still at home and I think there's something going on between her and Giles. Has been for awhile. I wish they'd just come out and tell me. It took me awhile to realize that the gang wasn't leaving me, just getting lives, and I thank the Higher Powers we're still all as close as we are.

I'm forgetting someone, aren't I? Faith. I knew I needed all the help I could get with the Armageddon thing, so Angel talked to a detective friend of his (Kate Lockley, she helped me get my badge) and they got Faith out. In a completely legal way, of course. Least that's what they tell me. By then, Faith had been in jail for about three years, and we'd spoken very little. So when she showed up on my doorstep with Angel, I didn't know what to say. I saw that the rage was gone, and my hatred slowly went away. I was wary, but I needed herto help us. To help me. And she came through big time. Saved my life. Well, after that, things got better. We got better. And things also got slightly...what's the word? Complicated. Can't somebody just give me one of those decoder rings so I can figure things out? You know, one that'll read my mind and make sense of it for me? She runs a dojo in LA now, and has a "no shirt" policy for her guy students during class. She's still Faith.

Mind if I skip over Spike? Ugh. I find out he loves me, and that will always creep me out. He can kiss th...I did not say that. Look, he lurks around still, all right? And the chip still works. Wish it didn't; cause then I could stake him. The Initiative mighta been evil, but their stuff is long lasting. Gotta give 'em credit there. Spike's not so much a bad guy anymore; it's just...that we're moving on. I've been trying to figure out what my stance is concerning him for a long time, and it's not worth the necessary brainpower.

With my world going crazy, lives being made and whatnot, I figured it was time for me to get in gear. Like I said, I went to LA, Kate helped me get into the academy, and now I'm detecting. Slaying dried up for awhile. Demons that weren't caught in the Hellmouth trapping migrated out of Sunnydale, and a lot of them ended up in LA. Occasionally I would go out and slay here and there, but it was nothing major. In the last two years though, demons have been popping up in larger numbers. The big hole was closed, so little holes started breaking through. All over the place. As in, different continents.

So I got together with Faith and Angel, and we started helpingeach other out. At the end of the day, I usually head over to Faith's dojo, and then we go to Angel's hotel and get any info. Recently, we started tracking downthe other slayers around the world who never got called up, and have been asking them if they can keep us posted on the demonic goings on where they live. They don't have the kind of strength and power Faith and I have (it got split between us) but they're still slayers. Faith's told me that she wants to get them all over here so we can train them and send them back out to fight. It's a great idea, but I don't have that kind of money. Neither does she or Angel, even though we all make pretty decent livings. We'll see, I guess.

And yes, I'm aware that I haven't mentioned Angel since the 'human' comment. The Powers gave him a gift. He's still pretty strong. Not vampire strength,but stronger than your average human. And...we're not together. It's not that we don't have feelings for one another, cause I know we both still do. That's never been the issue. We've just led different lives for so long now, and we're both independent. But we have been working together on a regular basis for a couple years, and the gap appears to be closing. We've gotten real good at being friends though, and he feels the same way. It's a great thing we've achieved, but again, the feelings of what we had once will always be there.

I get lonely, I admit it, but lately I've been pushing him to go out with Kate. He likes her, she likes him, and whatever badness happened between them is long past. I don't know why I want him to be with her, but...I do. He told me the reason he's resisting is because he's scared that if he does ask her and something happens, that he won't know if she's just a substitute for me or not. He's gotten very open, can you tell?

I can't really help him with that, but I don't think she will be. I like Kate. She's my partner on duty, and I'd be very happy for them. I'd probably be a little jealous for awhile, sure (who wouldn't?), but it'd fade. Oh well. Pushing all that out of the way and moving on to a happier topic, it's almost time for a Scooby reunion. We've been waiting for months for all of our schedules to match up, and everyone's coming here tomorrow. It'll be great.

Look at that. Time to go. What a shame. I get up from my desk and glanceover at Kate.

"I'm gonna run by the dojo. If we don't get a call later, I was planningon getting some Chinese and getting a movie. If Faith's in, you interested?" Iask her.

She smirks at me. "That's a change from my routine."

"Yeah, you stay here too late."

"I get work done, *Detective.*"

I gasp at the accusation that I'm a slacker. "Reading over old case files of people who are already locked up is real productive." She doesn't say anything, but I know she's surprised that I knew this. "Come on, you can wait for a scumbag to screw up so you can bust them, at my place."

"Fine." She sighs. "But no soy sauce. You know I hate it."

"No soy sauce." I repeat, and walk out with a smile.

***

Wicked Kick Dojo

6:33 P.M.

"Look straight at them, but watch the shoulder. As soon as you see the slightest movement, it tells you where the next strike is coming from. You look at the stick, you'll see it coming at your face before you can block it." Faith instructed her sparring students as Buffy walked through the door.

They were paired off, dueling with staffs. After a second, she saw her friend and smiled.

"Hold!" The brunette said. "We have a guest." Buffy watched as several sets of eyes stared at her. "Care to show them how it's done, B?"

"I dunno, I mean...long day and all..." The blonde was tossed a staff, and she grinned, kicking off her shoes. "I really don't want to embarrass you in front of your students, but you asked for it."

The class backed up to give the slayers room. It started immediately. One shot after the other, neither getting an edge. They knew each other's tactics too well by now. But it gave the students a good demonstration. Some were having a hard time following. Faith swiped at her partner's head, and Buffy leanedback avoiding it, then came right back with a shot to Faith's legs. The brunette jumped and did a back flip, getting out of the way.

They smiled at one another, and everyone clapped.

"Get outta here." Faith said. "See you on Saturday." The students grabbed their bags and took off. "And practice!"

When they were gone, Buffy spoke again. "Gonna thank me for making you look good?"

"I was holding back the whole time." Faith grinned. "Help me clean up?"

The blonde nodded, and began picking up the staffs while Faith rolled upthe mat.

"They're definitely improving." Buffy told her, putting the staffs in their holder that sat against the wall.

"I try." She shrugged. "How was badge patrol? Put anybody away?"

"Slow day. There were just some kids who robbed a couple 7-11's, got away...had to get descriptions and all that fun stuff. One of them vandalized the back wall. Pretty impressive for a spray paint drawing. I don't even know why we got called in for it."

"Cause you're the best on the force. The rest of 'em probably eat donuts." Buffy assisted her with lifting the mat and standing it in the corner. "Everyone still flyin' in tomorrow?"

Buffy smiled. "Far as I know."

"You know, we should ask Red and Tara to foot the bill so we can bring the other slayers here. They can spare some cash."

"Faith!"

"Buffy!" The brunette mocked. "It'd be for a good cause."

"We'll see." Buffy said. "Heading over to Angel's, right?"

"Yep. You walk here?" The other slayer nodded as she was getting her shoes back on. "Cool. We can take my ride then. I made a small purchase."

"Does it have leather seats?"

"A girl has to spoil herself sometimes." Faith said, grinning.

"Oh, hey. How do you feel about a night in with Chinese?"

"Long as you're paying, B."

***

Angel Investigations

6:48 P.M.

"Um...Angel?" Cordelia addressed her boss hesitantly.

"Yeah?" He answered, sitting on the couch.

"I had this..."

"Did you have a vision?"

"Uh...kinda." She whispered. "You with love handles."

"Huh?"

She handed him a slip of paper. "Might wanna look into it."

"Jenny Craig?"

"Just a suggestion." Cordelia held her hands up.

"Are you saying I'm fat?" He asked, then looked at Wesley. "Do you thinkI'm fat?"

"Not at all. You're as lean as you ever were." The Englishman answered.

"You never stop kissing up, do you?" Cordelia accused.

"I beg your pardon?"

She looked at Angel. "I'm not saying you're fat. But ever since you've been human, you and food have become best friends."

"I belong to that gym, don't I?" Angel defended himself.

"When was the last time you went?" She countered.

He got quiet for a second. "How's that guy you've been going out with? Been almost eight months, hasn't it? How serious?"

She looked nervous, then smacked herself on the head. "Silly me. I forgot to show you the comics that were in the paper this morning. That Jughead, whata moron!"

"I'm sure you have work to do." Angel smiled.

"You're probably right."

She vanished behind the counter, and Wesley grinned at his employer.

"Very nicely handled."

"Thank you." The ex-vampire then looked concerned. "But tell me the truth, am I putting on weight? Cause the one thing you don't realize when you only need blood to survive is that pounds aren't a problem. When you think about it, blood is just a liquid, and it passes right through the body..."

That's when Buffy and Faith walked through the doors.

"Yo, what's up, Angel? Wes. Cor, wherever you are." Faith greeted. "Mindif I use a shower? Great. Thanks." She hurried upstairs.

Buffy tried to smooth out her disheveled hair. "I could give Faith about fifty tickets, you know. She must have been going triple the speed limit. But giving tickets isn't my area. That's what officers are for. I'm a detective. Is it my fault none of the street cops seemed to be out doing their jobs?"

"Hi, Buffy." Angel said.

She took a deep breath. "Hey. How goes the evil fighting? The demonic kind, that is."

"No mind numbing visions so far." Cordelia called.

"I'm happy for you." She studied her ex-boyfriend, then walked up to him shyly. "Kate's coming by the house later. Girl's night in. You could...maybe...stop by unexpectedly...a rose would be good...then...take her out even. I wouldn't be offended if you took her away." Angel stayed silent, and adjusted his position on the couch. "Let's see...where could you go?"

"I don't need your help with Kate." He said.

"You need something, Angel."

"I will. Ask her. Eventually."

"She's ready and willing." Buffy sighed. "Help me out here, Cordy."

"Oh no. I've tried to help once today, and he couldn't handle it." The brunette said.

"With what?" Cordelia gave her a 'you know' look. "Oh. That."

"What?" Angel asked.

"Nothing." Buffy avoided. "Faith told me I should ask Willow to lend us some money to fly the other slayers over here. What do you think?"

"Willow already said she would." Wesley revealed

"She did? When was this?"

"Ah, a few weeks ago." He cringed. "She's been keeping up on everything,but she wanted to wait until she got here to offer anything to you. And I just ruined the secret." The once watcher sighed. "You will act surprised, won'tyou? For my sake?"

Buffy simply tapped her foot on the ground, for several minutes, until Faith came down the steps, clean and changed.

"Uh oh. What'd you do to gether pissed, Wes?"

"What makes you think it was me?"

Gunn walked through the door, saw Buffy's face, then looked at Wesley.

"I feel sorry for you, man. I'll come back when it's over. Might run by Mickey D's. Any takers?" He said.

"One burger, small fries, chocolate shake." Angel said. Cordelia glared."No cheese."

"What he's havin'." Faith said.

"Then I'm out. Go easy on him, Summers." Gunn said.

***

Bangor, Maine

10:49 P.M.

Willow and Tara were lying in bed, letting the music from their stereo system put them to sleep. The CD was called "Nature's Nocturnal Sounds." The red-haired wicca was resting her head on her life-partner's chest. Normally she'd be near slumber by now, but she was too excited about seeing everyone again to close her eyes. She made it a point to talk to Xander and Buffy whenever she could, but using the phone and seeing them in person were two completely different things.

"You can't wait, huh?" Tara asked her with a smile.

"Am I being obvious?"

"Just a little."

"I'm glad we're getting the earliest flight, aren't you?"

"Uh huh."

"They're all okay, right?"

"Of course they are." She played with Willow's hair.

"Good, cause I'd hate to go there and something bad...especially with Buffy..."

"Positive thoughts, remember?"

"Right." The redhead paused. "Hmm. I love this CD. It always makes me want to go to the rainforest and hike. Or just the country. Look at all the animals, you know?"

"Yeah, that'd be great." She hesitated. "Have you thought anymore about...uh...w-what I said?"

"Adopting?" Tara nodded slightly. "Yep. And I...I'd love to have a baby...be a mother and all...but...I'm not sure if I'm ready. I know we're not getting any younger, but we're so busy all the time. I'd hate to not be able to be around for him. Or her."

"O-oh. I-I mean, you're absolutely right. And you want to open your computer store too. On top of the magic shops, it'll be a-a lot. It w-wouldn't be fair."

"Tara?" Willow frowned. "Did you not want me too?"

"I want you to. You've been searching for the spot for months. No way doI want you to give it up. It's fine. I'm fine. I just wanna be...a mother someday."

"We both will. Real soon, promise."

They kissed. "We should sleep; it was a long day. Gotta make the flight tomorrow."

"Yay." Willow smiled and yawned. "Love you, Tara."

"I love you too, Willow. Good night."

That was comforting, even though Tara knew that's all it was meant to do. To comfort temporarily, nothing more. It was a pleasant lie that let her sleep.

***

Outside Great Falls, Montana

11:59 P.M.

Xander rubbed his soon to be wife's belly as they sat on the porch and looked at their property. It was so peaceful out here, and the calm atmosphere seemed to help Anya's mood swings. She was three months pregnant, but unless you ran your hand along her stomach like he was doing now, you couldn't tell.

Their friends didn't know they were having a baby, but they would soon enough. They planned to get married in Los Angeles with everyone there. It wouldn't be the same without them. Looking at Anya, he still couldn't believe they had lasted, and that she was carrying his child. But here they were, happy, in love, and "active."

"Hey, Xander Jr." He spoke softly.

"I'm telling you, honey," Anya shook her head, "it's a girl, and her name's Alexis."

"How can you be sure?"

"That maternal instinct thing."

"What about paternal instinct?"

Anya laughed. "Fathers don't have any instinct when it comes to children." Her eyes narrowed. "Is there a little thing moving around inside you? Don't think so."

Xander shrunk. "I can still play softball with her, right?"

"If she wears the proper padding to prevent serious injury."

"You got it." He kissed her. "Ready to see the gang?"

"I hope it'll be close to fun." She answered.

"Remember, small ceremony. We won't be staying long enough to make any huge plans, and I really wanna marry you where they can all see."

"So do I. And it's not like we have enough friends to get a caterer anyway." She yawned.

"Tired?" She nodded. "Then let's get you to bed."

They stood up, and Anya whistled. "Come, Harry!"

A brown and white beagle ran up to them, and when Xander opened the screen door, their dog went into the house. The couple followed.

***

January 10 2008

11:31 A.M.

Kate sped through the streets of LA the next morning, siren blaring. Buffy was in the passenger seat, hoping the aspirin would kick in soon. Angel hadn't shown, and she didn't think he would. A bottle of wine, eggrolls, and...she couldn't quite remember what else they had ordered, but it proved to be a dangerous combination. They finished off the whole bottle. She needed to focus.

Currently there were men "who could not be identified" looting and trashing a shopping center. Cops were already on the scene, shots had been fired, but the perpetrators wouldn't go down. It was assumed that they had vests on. Buffyknew better, and so did Kate. Good thing her friends weren't getting in until later.

"Better call him." Kate said. "Report is, there's a whole group."

The younger blonde reached for her cell phone, but it rang before she could dial.

"Um...hello?" She answered it.

"Are you on your way?" Angel's voice asked on the other end.

"Yeah. Vision?"

"Uh huh." She bet Cordelia needed aspirin more than she did at the moment. "Faith's closer, so she'll probably beat us there. She heard on her scanner."

"What are they?"

"Ashras."

"Please tell me they're not the fire breathers."

Kate heard that and spoke into the radio, first giving her name and badge number. "I need fire trucks at Tenth and Elm."

"Is there a fire?" The dispatcher asked.

"Not yet. And tell the units that are at the scene already to keep the media as far away as possible."

"See you soon." Angel told Buffy, and the line went dead.

***

Starlight Shopping Center

11:34 A.M.

I'm itchin' to go in there and kick some ass, but over the last couple years, I've learned the importance of back up. Just scoped the place out, and it ain't pretty. Damn, look at where I am. On the side of good, working with B daily, everything behind us, got my own place, and I'm a freaking entrepreneur. Guess I salvaged my life after all. For awhile after Angel and Kate got me released(all they told me was that everything was five by five and that was the end of that) the "I don't deserve crap" attitude and the "Damned if I do, damned if I don't" philosophy still hung around.

Yeah, I'm stubborn, but all I gotta do is remember that B is ten times more stubborn than I could ever be, and then I move on. I've gotten past the point where I think this is all some gigantic illusion, and that I'm gonna snap out of it eventually and wake up in an alley. I'm not screwing this up. Know why? Cause I'm a different person than I was. Yep. All that stuff about "it's not too late" and "you can change" that Buffy, Angel, and the rest of'em preached to me, turned out *not* to be total bullshit.

Cause I have changed. And it musta happened when I wasn't looking, causeI couldn't tell ya, "This is when things started looking up." But I can take a stab at it. I mean, a guess. I can take a guess. Still a little touchy about the past.

After we beat back Hell...what? Five years ago? Jesus. Hard to believe it's been that long. Anyway, during the fight, B had been two seconds away from getting her face crushed by this thing with goat legs or something. I yanked her out of the way, and shoved a knife through its back. It all ends at some point, the rebuilt high school trashed, and she hugs me. We're talkin' bone-crushing here. But I didn't care. I had made it better, and I'm not gonna lie. Bein'in her arms felt...well, there's nothing else like it.

I love her, see? Have since I met her, but hate got in the way. I don't think it's a big secret. She knows it, I know it, the Scooby group knows it, and...Angel knows it. When he got a heartbeat, I figured my chance was shotto hell. They were goddamn soul mates. Out the window. That's what I thought, but they didn't hook up then, and they still haven't. I don't know why, but I could care less.

So, everybody knows. It's just not talked about. It hasn't damaged us, though. We've built a pretty solid friendship. Started over and made sure we didn't make the same mistakes we did the first time around. And for now, I'm cool with friendship. I am. I've tried dating, yeah dating (both sides of the fence too), but nobody makes the cut. Most nights it's me and "Mr. Vibrato." B's waiting for something, and I have no clue what it is.

Let me get something straight. If I didn't think she hadn't thought about "us", believe me, I wouldn't be holding on. I've learned patience. That's why I'm not rushing in there and gettin' myself extra crispy. Hang on. Here they come. Time for some action.

***

Angel Investigations

1:13 P.M.

Gunn, Buffy, Faith, and Angel trudged into the hotel office, wiped out and aching. The three lighter-skinned people had seemingly changed races, as they were covered with black soot and ash. Gunn had taken a hard shot in the shoulder, and now had a good-sized gash there. They mechanically walked up to the counter, and waited for the concern to pour out from Wesley and Cordelia. The ex-cheerleader automatically went for the First-Aid kit, and two people walked down the stairs across the lobby.

"Why all sooty?" Willow asked when she reached the bottom, a little ahead of Tara.

The four fighters turned around, and Buffy spoke, not even registering at first. "It's a long story, Wil...Willow? Oh my God!" She rushed up to the two wiccas. "How much do you care about the dirty factor?"

Willow hugged her, and smiled. "Besides the dirty, you look good, Buffy."

"You too. Look at this. You let your hair grow. I like it." Buffy turnedto Tara. "Your turn."

"Hi, Buffy." The blonde witch said, and accepted the hug.

"Taking care of her?"

"Always."

"So? How come you're early?"

"We wanted to surprise you." The redhead answered. "Surprise!" She smiled sheepishly. "I shoulda said that earlier, probably."

"Now is just as good."

"Xander and Anya aren't here, are they?" Tara asked.

"Nope." Buffy answered. "Not till later." She coughed, and some of the soot went flying. "Getting clean time."

"Already ahead of you, B." Faith said, coming over with Angel. "Hey, Red. Tara."

"Hey, Faith." The smiled, speaking in unison. "Angel."

"Make yourselves at home." He smiled.

"We already did." Tara informed him.

"Picked out a room and everything." Willow added.

"We'll be right back." Buffy said, heading up the stairs with the other two. "They gave me and Kate the rest of the day off, but she went to her apartment. Faith and I were gonna drive to Sunnydale and pick up mom and Giles. Like to come? We have a lot of talking to do. So don't go *anywhere.*"

"Not moving a muscle."

"And we'd love to come." Tara said.

"Jetlag be damned." Willow smirked.