FIC: The red headed Slayer 1/?

["jend1205" <jend1205@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hey everyone. I kind of got stuck with `Coming home' so I dusted this 
on off and fixed it up. I started this one like six months ago but 
never really had my heart on it but now it feels better. I have the 
first two parts done so they should come pretty quick if you like 
this one. Jen


Author: Jen D
Disclaimer: I don't own just like it. 
Rating: G-R and all points between mostly language and violence
Pairing: Willow/Buffy eventually I promise.
Spoilers: I guess all of the shows this is A/U but some of it might 
come up.


Rupert Giles hung up the phone and sat down beside his wife. Joyce 
looked at the middle aged English man, as he seemed to lose himself 
in his thoughts. He was staring into his cup of tea.

"Rupert, who was that on the phone?" Joyce Summers asked her 
distracted husband.

Giles shook his head and looked at her, "Simon Simmons. He is with 
watcher council. The council is sending me the Slayer." 

"You're getting the Slayer? Rupert, this is a big deal isn't it?" 
Joyce said getting up and hugging him.

"Yes, it is. In my wildest dreams I never expected to get a Slayer 
this soon in my life. I really don't know want to say."

"So what is she like?"

"He really didn't tell me much. Her name is Willow. She's sixteen and 
has been a slayer for three years. That was all he said. He told me 
he wanted to surprise me. The man has a strange sense of humor."

"Three years is a pretty long time isn't it. I thought you said two 
was the usual life span for a slayer?"

"That's about average but Simon says this girl is far from usual."

"Well that's a good thing then maybe Buffy won't be called," Joyce 
shuddered at the thought of her only daughyer being called to fight.

"Yes I think that is why the council gave her to me. I have a vested 
interest in keeping her alive," Rupert said and thought about his 
blonde stepdaughter, thinking back to when they had found out that 
she was a potential Slayer.

As if knowing they were talking about her she came in the kitchen 
door. "Hey what's with the serious faces", Buffy asked her parents. 
Buffy studied the face of the man who she had thought of as her 
father for ten years.

"Your father is getting a slayer", Joyce told her daughter.

"Dad, that's so cool. When does she get here?"

"She is supposed to check in with me tonight."

"Cool, mom can Xander and Cordy come over tonight for movies?"

"If it's ok with your dad I don't see why not." Buffy looked at Giles 
and he nodded his head. He liked the girl's friends and would rather 
see them under his care then not knowing what they were up to. Buffy 
hugged them and took off to call her friends.



The Giles family and friends had just finished one movie and where 
starting on the second when the doorbell rang. Buffy jumped up and 
ran for the door before anyone could even say anything. She opened 
the door to the most beautiful red haired girl, `no woman' Buffy 
thought, she had ever seen, holding a small child in her arms.

"Um, I'm looking for Rupert Giles?" The small red head asked.

"Um?uh?oh?", was all Buffy could get out as she lost herself in the 
green eyes staring back at her. 

The girl raised an eyebrow, "Do I have the right house?" 

Giles finally came to her rescue, "Miss Rosenberg, please come in." 

Willow walked in and looked at the group in front of her.

"Why don't we go out to the kitchen so we don't disturb the young 
people", Giles told the slayer. Giles was unsure who the child was 
but he knew he had to get to the bottom of it and didn't want to get 
into it in front of Buffy and her friends. Joyce and Giles sat down 
at the island in the kitchen. 

Joyce studied the young women, "Have a seat. You met Rupert and I'm 
Joyce his wife."

"It's nice to meet you both. Mr. Simmons told me to check in with you 
tonight, Mr. Giles."

"Yes, he called me earlier. Willow, who is the little girl?" 

The little girl stirred in Willow arms and looked around, "Ma-ma, 
tired."

"I know baby-girl. We'll be going in a few minutes. Just rest your 
head," Willow told her and snuggled her closer. 

Joyce thought Giles' eyes where going to pop out of his head when the 
child called his Slayer mom. "Willow I think might have hurt Rupert. 
He wasn't aware that you had a child," Joyce told her, laughing at 
her distraught husband.

"I'm sorry that Mr. Simmons didn't tell you about this before hand. 
This is Dawn and technically she isn't my child, she is my sister. 
Our mother died when she was six months old. My mom found out she had 
a brain tumor when she was pregnant. She didn't want to hurt Dawn so 
she didn't do anything for it. When she died I was awarded custody."

"How did you manage to get them to give a child to you, what you were 
fourteen, at the most," Joyce asked surprised.

"The courts think that I was eighteen. When my mom got sick I knew 
that if she didn't make it there was no way the council was going to 
let me live in a foster home and I couldn't stand the thought of 
losing Dawn. I'm somewhat of a computer nerd and a pretty good 
hacker, so I changed my age. It was a lot of work but it was worth it 
to not lose her."

"Why does she call you mama? Who takes care of her when you slay?" 
Giles asked.

"I had a neighbor in LA who watched her or Merrick until he died last 
week. Here I don't know yet. That's the thing we need to talk about. 
Mr. Giles, I need a week to get settled in. I have to find a sitter 
and the movers are coming tomorrow to bring our stuff. I have to 
unpack and set up the house," Willow said sighing as she went over in 
her head everything she needed to do in the short amount of time she 
was asking for. Her mind and if she would actually take the time to 
think about things she would realize, her heart where reeling at the 
events that had happened in her life in the last week. Merrick had 
been more like a father to her then just her Watcher. To have to deal 
with his death and then find out that she was going to have to leave 
the only home she had ever known had been a shock. She knew that 
being the Slayer was going to make her life difficult but for the 
first time since her mother's death she was beginning to doubt her 
decision to drag Dawn into her crazy life, that maybe she had been 
selfish to deny the child the chance to have a normal life and 
family. Shaking her head at things she couldn't change, she returned 
her attention to her new Watcher. 

Giles watched as the emotions flew through across his Slayers face 
and couldn't help but feel empathy for the young girl's life. They 
were called to fight the evil of the night so young, before they had 
even had a chance to experience life and his Slayer had been called 
much younger then most. Add the parental resposabilties, on top of 
all of that must be very difficult task for the red head to 
juggle. "Yes of course I understand and if there is anything that 
Joyce and I can do please don't hesitate to ask. Where are you 
staying?"

"How is across the street for you? Merrick always told me to stay 
close to my watcher, so I bought the house across the street."

"Bought?" Joyce asked curious as to how Willow could afford to buy a 
house.

"Yes I promise that I will explain things later but for now I need to 
get Dawn some place to bed," Willow said pulling her sister closer to 
her and Dawn responding by hugging her tightly.


Buffy, Xander and Cordy where hiding behind the kitchen door.

"Can you here anything, Buff", Xander asked.

"Shh, they'll here us and no I can't".

"Damn she's cute", he said as Cordy slapped her boyfriend's 
arm. "What"?

"Yeah she is", Buffy muttered. 

Cordy looked at her blonde friend, "Uh oh, Buffy got a crush on the 
new slayer."

"Shut up, I do not."

"Do too"

"Do not."

"Ladies, as much as I hate to interrupt a good cat fight, you might 
want to be a little quieter."
   

"Mr. Giles are you aware that we're being listened too?" Willow 
asked, her slayer hearing picking up the conversation from behind the 
door. Giles crept over to the door and pulled it open.

"Guys I think?" Buffy started but before she could finish she found 
herself face flat on the floor with Xander and Cordy on top of her.

"Willow, I would like you to meet the eavesdroppers or otherwise 
known as Buffy Summers, my stepdaughter and her friends Xander Harris 
and Cordy Chase. Guys this is Willow," Giles said with just a hint of 
amusement in his voice looking at his stepdaughters smiling, looking 
up at him from her spot on the floor.

Willow nodded her head in their direction and turned to Giles, "Here 
is my cell phone number and my pager number, if you need me. I will 
check in again tomorrow. It was nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Giles, 
Buffy, Xander, Cordy", Willow said and headed for the front door.