FF: The Spiral Cage 11/?

[Carol.Clarke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Title: The Spiral Cage
Part Eleven: The Price of Salt.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Joss Whedon owns Buffy and Chris Carter owns the
X-Files. 
Rating: NC -17 
Pairing: Joyce/Dana the rest wait and see
Note: This story is in an alternate universe. It does not follow cannon
story lines. The people are different in places because they have lived
different lives. Dana Scully is a lot happier in this world. Dawn was there
from the beginning. And Buffy isn't the Buffy you know. Also there are many
kinds of vampires and demons, mixing them from the X-file world and BTVS,
and other myths. 
Thanks: I can't believe I forgot this: THANKS TO CHERYL HILL!

The Spiral Cage
The Price of Salt

Even Dana could sense the many vampires circling the cabin in the woods.
"How many are out there?" Dana asked Buffy as she checked her gun and put it
back in it holster with the safety off.

"I stopped counting at 14. Let's just say we are really out numbered." Buffy
said flopping down in a chair in the cabin's living room. Tara took a seat
on the couch. Dana looked out the window one last time and came over and sat
down next to Tara.

"Tell Willow to keep her magic under wraps, and to keep mom and Dawn calm."
Buffy instructed. 

Dana saw the crystal around Tara's neck glow for a second before the witch
answered, "Willow says she understands but she can put up a shield around
all of us in a few seconds."

"Good." Buffy said and stood up and opened the front door before returning
to her seat. Dana saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Then she felt
them enter the room. Five vampires, all men. All with eyes just like Buffy's
feral cat-like eyes. Buffy just sat in her chair and rocked, quietly humming
a rock tune Dana didn't recognize. 

"Don't you hate waiting tests?" Buffy said out of the blue before she
returned to humming. 

"Her father hasn't come into the cabin yet." Tara whispered to Dana.

"And that's the test?" Dana asked slightly confused. 

"Yes Dr. Scully, that is the test. A foolish one, but an effective one none
the less." Said a tall vampire coming into the cabin. He had Buffy's pale
hazel-blue eyes, and sandy blond hair. He was actually quite handsome, if
the feel of evil didn't permeate all around him. 

"Hi, dad!" Buffy said as the expression on her face totally changed. It sent
a chill down Dana's back. 

"And Ms McClay, and to think I have dozens of people looking for you all
over LA. Ms Calendar wouldn't be here as well?" Lothos said with a smirk
full of fangs. 

"May I speak freely, Prince Lothos?" Tara whispered eyes cast downward in
submission.

"Oh yes please, I long to hear why your apartment was filled with blood
soaked clothes and even a claw shaped murder weapon." Lothos said sitting
down in a chair next to Buffy. "You had no idea?"

"Not really, sir." Tara said still in a quiet whisper.

"The police came to our house looking for Buffy, but they also wanted to
question Tara. I thought it might be better if we took Tara with us on a
little outing." Dana said carefully watching Lothos and Tara. Tara was
hiding it well but she was scared to death. The girl was twice as pale as
normal and Dana could see that her hands were both shaking. 

"Don't try and defend me, Dana." Tara whispered again then looked up at
Lothos, "You said to protect Beth. So I have been with her. I don't really
understand what happened in LA."

"So my daughter didn't kill anyone?" Lothos asked amused. 

"NO, I DIDN"T KILL ANYONE, AND NEITHER DID TARA!" Buffy growled out between
clenched teeth. Then she did growl. 

"I wasn't asking you!" Lothos said letting his game face slip on and turning
back to Tara. 

"No, sir, Beth did not kill anyone. Her training is going very well." Tara
answered as she kept her eyes on the ground.

"And you?" Lothos asked echoing Buffy's growls. 

"I am a sworn healer, even my contract to you does not change this." Tara
said 

"You're lucky this time, I believe you. Now where is Jenny Calendar?" Lothos
said while moving so fast Dana could barely see him. Tara was knocked on the
floor as Lothos backhanded her, blood dripped from the corner of her mouth.
Buffy was on him in a second, slamming her whole body into him and knocking
him into the wall. Lothos rolled out and kicked Buffy through the outer wall
of the cabin. 

"No! Just observe." Lothos ordered his bodyguards as he stood up. He wasn't
up for very long. Buffy dove back through the living room window and pinned
him to the floor growling at him. Lothos easily tossed Buffy back into the
wall next to Tara. Buffy just stared at Lothos for a few seconds before she
grabbed Tara and bit into her neck. Tara tried to pull away as she moaned
out in pain.

Buffy then pulled out of the fight and looked at her father, "I don't like
to share my toys. MINE!" And then she growled and bit Tara again in the
shoulder. Lothos just burst out laughing. It was a long hard laugh; soon his
bodyguards were laughing with him.

"Well I was planing on giving you the girl for your high school graduation
present. I guess she is going to be an 18th birthday present instead. Now,
Ms. McClay, do you know where Jenna is?" Lothos took a seat, and this time
his tone was amused and friendly.

"Father, you do know she is carrying your child? My guess, she is hiding
from you." Buffy said pulling Tara up and putting her in her lap. Buffy was
licking the wounds closed.

"How do you...? You could sense this? Yes?" Lothos asked staring at his
child. 

"Just like you sense me now! Yeah I am sure. You did it without her consent,
which I guess is normal for you. I got the feeling she was totally wigged by
being raped. Some women are just really funny about that." Buffy said with
smirk before she returned to feeling Tara up and licking her wounds closed. 

"So you feel Jenny's disappearance has nothing to do with your legal
troubles?" Lothos asked carefully. Buffy's hands were under Tara's shirt
now.

"Do you honestly believe Jenny is that stupid? And by the end of the day,
what legal troubles, right?" Buffy asked as she began to purr really loudly.

"Your parents can return to their normal lives by tomorrow afternoon. I will
have someone call you but the evidence is being taken care. Dr Scully's
friends may need intervention, but I am guessing you can take care of them,
Dr. Scully?" Lothos asked looking at Dana.
"My friends will want to find the real killer. I know Buffy had nothing to
do with it, but people were murdered. I want to find out who and why? But I
get the feeling so do you. So we might be able to help each other." Dana
said quietly. She hated making deals with the devil, but sometimes the
'greater good' demanded it. 

"I need to mate. Is there anything else, father?" Buffy asked between a
tirade of cat like noises. She was clearly lost in lust. This was no longer
a show.

"No, I believe I have learned everything I needed to know." Lothos said
waving his hand in a gesture that give Buffy permission to leave. Buffy
picked Tara up in her arms and carried her into the small bedroom behind the
living room that Willow and Dawn were sharing. Seconds after the door shut
Dana heard Buffy order, "Strip."

"To be that young again." Lothos said with a smile.

"She couldn't just bluff, am I right?" Dana asked slowly.

"I would know if she were just bluffing. No, she is claiming the girl as her
property. She gave the girl her mark. She is mating with her. I will give
Buffy her contract on her eighteen birthday. Tara will still have to
complete her two years, but a mark like that doesn't just go away. Tara will
be hers forever, just as your wife is still mine. I feel her upstairs with
the other children. I normally don't like sharing my toys either, but I will
allow Joyce to live a happy life, for now." Lothos said with a leer.

Dana pulled out her gun and fired three times between Lothos legs. The shots
just missed him by millimeter. Lothos waved his bodyguards back and then
just smiled at Dana.

"So what I have heard about you is true?" Lothos said sitting back in the
chair.

"I move between the spaces, in the gray, and you can't see me coming. Joyce
is mine. And I will kill you myself if you ever hurt any of them. That
includes Buffy." Dana said and with that she turned and went upstairs to her
wife. Dana could hear Lothos laughing over the sound of Buffy's mating but
she didn't even turn to look back. She knew Lothos's bodyguards were already
pulling out of the cabin. 

&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&

"Well I have some interesting news." Kate said as she sat down at a booth in
the all-night diner that had become their office.

"So what do you have?" Liam asked as he waved the waitress over to get Kate
some coffee.

"All the charges were just dropped. Just like that." Kate said snapping her
fingers.

"Has the fake murder weapon disappeared yet?" Mulder asked with some
urgency. 

"I think everything disappeared. It's like nothing ever happened. No traces
anywhere. To be honest, if Dana were around I would ask her to look at the
bodies. The fake weapon is weird." Kate said taking a drink of much needed
coffee.

"Especially since Buffy is too young to shift. That's what Jenny and Tara
were working on, controlled shifts down the road. But the girl is about a
year too young to shift." Liam said looking over the notes they had managed
to put together. 

"So maybe the killer doesn't know she can't shift yet. That would mean the
killer doesn't know her type of vamp well." Kate asked.

"Or Buffy can shift and someone knows this. Could she be able to shift?"
Mulder asked Liam.

"She is from a slayer bloodline. Mix that with any type of Demon blood and
you get strange stuff. So yeah, she could be able to shift. But the less
people who know this the better. It would mean her slayer blood isn't
inactive." Liam said slowly thinking this over. 

"Oh, there is one more thing I managed to pick up, Lothos isn't looking for
Jenny Calendar. Which I believe translates into he was looking for her, but
he called off the contract." Kate said looking at Liam.

"Danny told me that last night. He heard it at a club they were playing at.
But the interesting thing is, Lothos is one, claiming Buffy as his
offspring, and two, Jenny's tribe is looking for another Dom to finish
Buffy's training. Or rather another Dom to complete the training of Lothos'
offspring. Lothos wanted it known he was protecting his child." Liam said
quietly. 

"So the killer is out for Lothos. That's not going to be a long list."
Mulder said with a laugh. They all knew Lothos was feared and hated by most
of the magical community. 

&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&

"So Lothos can't see you because you saw an angel once?" Dawn asked
completely confused.

"Not just Lothos, good or evil. One who walks in the gray can't be seen at
all. Not even seers can see their movements." Tara explained as she put a
cold pack on her neck.

"I am so sorry. I just did the totally wrong thing." Buffy said as she
hovered behind Tara trying to both hold the ice pack in place and not touch
Tara. 

"Let's talk about this again. And then we are all moving past this." Dana
announced pulling Buffy into a chair next to Tara at the kitchen table.
Since coming out of the bedroom after her mating she had been a mess.
Somewhere between panic and tears. 

"Dana's right, you did what you had to do. Ok it shocked me, but I
understand why you did it. You did it to protect me. Beth, I am grateful. If
your father really does give me to you. Well, I trust you. I don't trust
him." Tara said slowly 

"It's just...." Buffy said blushing bright red.

"Part of you likes the idea of owning me. At least you're honest about it."
Tara said with a sad laugh as she moved the cold pack on her neck. 

"Just stake me." Buffy said before she started to cry again. 

"We are not getting our security deposit back." Willow said as she moved out
of the kitchen into the living room to look at the trashed room. This was
about the 15th time she had said this. 

"Ok so about this walking between spaces thing. How do you know this?" Dawn
asked turning away from everyone else and looking at Dana.

"You're not gonna let this drop anytime soon." Dana said quietly.

"You'll need to teach Dawn how to shoot a gun. We can buy one for the house
and load it with the special silver wholepoints. Buffy and Willow can
protect themselves without weapons, but will need to learn to use as many as
possible. I know how to use a crossbow, so I can teach her that, if you'll
teach her guns." Joyce said looking up from notes she was making to herself.


"She is a little young to be learning about guns?" Dana said shocked.

"Mom, the Captain taught me to shoot when I was 6. Even Nanna made sure I
learned about guns when you joined the FBI. You know her whole 'if there is
a gun in the house you have to teach a child' speech." Willow said slowly. 

"Alright, I'll teach Dawn how to shoot." Dana said giving up. Willow had hit
her with full resolve face.

"Would you teach me too?" Tara asked just above a whisper. "My oath says I
can defend myself. I don't know if I can kill. But I can defend." 

"You not as upset with Buffy as you are with Lothos?" Dana asked, as she
looked Tara in the eye.

"I'm scared. And you're right, I am not scared of Beth. By claiming me so
publicly I think she saved my life. But I don't think you understand what
it means?" Tara said quietly as a single tear escaped her eye.

"It means you're moving in with us for a while. When we get back to LA, the
girls can help you pack up." Joyce said putting her hand over top of Tara.

"She has cats. Oz is watching them." Buffy explained with a huge smile. 

"Cool, I love cats." Dawn said excitedly before turning back to Dana. 

"What are their names, and Dawn let it go." Dana asked quietly.

"Sarah and Taz. They're both well behaved. Thanks Joyce." Tara said.

"When we get back, I'll give you a B-12 complex shot, and some iron." Dana
said slowly. She had cleaned Tara's wounds earlier; there wasn't a lot else
she could do for the girl. 

"She didn't actually take much blood. It was more about marking me. I'm fine
really. It looks worse than it is." Tara said.

&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&

Two of his bodyguards had just burst into flame by his own hand. It only
made him feel marginally better.

"What is it Rupert?" Lothos screamed as he tossed the silver knife into the
wall right beside his assistant. Rupert didn't even filch.

"Kaddish clan sent a messager. They will have a replacement trainer for
Jenna here by this evening. And they confirmed that Jenna is with child."
Rupert said waiting for his master to respond.

"So it is as my daughter said. Send a quiet observer to find out where Jenna
is hiding. I want her left alone for now. I will have plenty of time for
revenge after the child is born. Kill the replacement trainer and send her
back to the Kaddish in small pieces, three different parcels. They will not
send anyone of value but the message with get there."

"And do you want to replace Jenna?" Rupert asked slowly. 

"I think my daughters little whore should be able to find someone. Send
Tara the instruction at her office with money to hire someone. After our
message to the Kaddish, we may have trouble convincing someone without at
least money." Lothos ordered sitting down behind his desk.

"Now about my daughter's frame up? That I want to know about?" Lothos
growled letting his game face out.

"Still nothing. Dr. Scully's friends seem to know as much as anyone and they
know nothing yet. I have seen that the evidence is sent to them. The bodies
of the victims are waiting for Dr. Scully to autopsy. I believe that was an
excellent idea sir." Rupert said as he cleaned his glasses.

"And the Morgan woman?" Lothos asked.

"Oh the boys had a nice talk with her. She appears to know nothing, but I
thought maybe a quiet evening with you might make her remember something.
She is tied in your room." Rupert said with an evil gleam in his eye. 

"She is rather attractive. I think I will enjoy this." Lothos said smiling. 

"One more thing, the girl, I promised my daughter the girl for her 18th
birthday. I need you to have someone at Wolfram and Hart to transfer the
contract but in such a way that Tara not only has to spend at least 2 more
years with my daughter but that she has to bare a child by my daughter. They
both are of powerful slayer houses. My Daughter is so strong even now.
Amazing childe. Tara can do the correct spells, and carry a child to term.
It's only because I want a union between them that I didn't take the girl
myself. Still I should have taken Jenna later. After she was done training
my daughter. I will pay for my impatience. And after my daughter is done
with her. After I have a child by the two of them. Then I can take Ms McClay
for myself. I'll have to kill Beth, she did mark the girl, but I can live
that." Lothos said carefully. 



Carol Clarke

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