FIC: The Two - [4b/?] - R

[Andy Stoffel <see2go4me@xxxxxxxxx>]

TITLE:  The Two (4b/?)
AUTHOR: -Andy- (see2go4me@xxxxxxxxx)
RATING: This part: PG-13, R overall
STATUS: WiP
DISCLAIMER: This is a derivative work. All characters belong to
Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox Television, and others. I don't
own any of this, just the words gluing my story together.
SUMMARY: Buffy meets a different kind of Willow in an alternate
universe. (It's gonna be a B/W folks. Eventually. But not right
away.)
SPOILERS: All seasons of BtVS. AU after "Chosen" so no Angel
Season 5.
DISTRIBUTION: buffywantswillow and my blog fanfic pages. Anyone
else, e-mail me please. I probably won't say no.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: 
[1] Do I need to repeat the part about the possible posting
frequency of parts 6 thru X ?
[2] Apologies for the double/split posting. There were issues.
- - -

Part 4b - "Conversations with Slayers" continued.

After a quick breakfast at the diner near her motel, Buffy
resumed her clandestine observations of the slayer, following
her to school and staying just out of range of her enhanced
slayer senses.

Apartment hunting later that morning went better than she'd
hoped it would. Just down the street from the local coffee house
on Main Street she'd found a loft above a used books store. The
smell of old books permeating the walls gave it an almost
home-like feel to the lonely slayer. Next on her list was
finding a job. She'd been lucky enough to be able to pay two
months rent for the loft in advance but if she wanted to eat
real food, and pay for a phone she needed a steady income. But
that would have to wait until after she met with this Ms.
Rosenberg.

After moving her few possessions to her new apartment Buffy
headed for the school this Dawn attended. The school
receptionist had given her an odd look when she'd given her name
and had asked for directions to Ms. Rosenberg's office. Buffy
hoped she wasn't being mistaken for someone else. Her plans to
settle in quietly in Sunnydale didn't need that kind of
complication.

Ms. Rosenberg wasn't in her office or classroom when Buffy found
it in the unfamiliar school. After a quick look around, she made
herself comfortable  perching on the desk and meditating while
she waited.

She hadn't been there very long when she felt a slight tug in
her head. This was new. It wasn't the feeling she got around
other slayers or evil creatures like vampires. There was a
warmness to it, like the beginnings of a hug. But like so many
other things she was discovering about this world, investigating
its source would have to wait.

Looking towards the door she saw a young woman, looking the way
she remembered Willow looking before the fight with Glory.
Before everything had spiraled out of her control and she'd
permanently lost her aura of innocence. She stood fidgeting in
the door as if she were afraid to enter.

As she began to speak Buffy listened more to the tone of her
voice than to the words, the offer of help. There was a softness
in her voice. Just like the young slayer had been softer,
untried in real battle, this woman was not visibly hard and
tough like her Willow had become. Another tidbit to add to her
growing picture of a place that hadn't experienced much
conflict. It didn't help explain why she'd ended up here but she
was beginning to wonder.

- - -

Willow had stopped in the office to pick up some paperwork on
her way back from lunch with a friend when she was told she had
a visitor, a Miss Summers, waiting for her in her office. She
wondered about the comment from the receptionist that she hadn't
known that Dawn had another older sister as she hurried down the
hall. 

Pausing in the doorway of her classroom to catch her breath, she
could see several things she wasn't expecting. There was a woman
sitting on her desk, apparently meditating. From her resemblance
to Dawn's sister, and her clothing she seemed to fit the
description of the woman Dawn had run into at her house and
while patrolling. And there was definitely something odd about
her aura. Dawn hadn't been wrong about that. It seemed to fade
into her surroundings, allowing her to almost disappear
psychically. She hadn't even realized that it was possible to do
that.

And then there were her clothes. She could have been wearing a
uniform, an almost fashionable one to be sure but clearly
clothes with a purpose other than to look good. And she seemed
to subtly dominate the room she was in.

"Miss Summers?" she asked hesitantly. There were still the rare
times when she unintentionally fell back to her shy, pre-college
self and this seemed to be one of them. "Is there something I
can help you with?"

No longer meditating, the woman shifted slightly, looking at her
with a faint, almost friendly smile. "I believe you wanted to
see me, Ms. Rosenberg?"

"Yes..." She really hadn't thought about what she would do if
the woman actually showed up in response to her request. She
mentally shook her head. "Yes I did."

"I'm assuming you wanted to discuss Dawn?"

"Discuss what about her? Shouldn't you be talking with her
sister instead?" she said defensively.

"Not unless her sister is in charge of her late night
extracurricular activities. I believe she has said you help her
with those."

"Yes... but what does that have to do with you?" a wary Willow
asked. 

"If you expect her to make it to her next birthday, her training
seems a bit lacking. From what I've seen so far... if she had to
fight an experienced vampire or a powerful demon she wouldn't
survive the encounter. And I'm not the only one who knows that."

"What do you mean?" It wasn't clear to Willow whether this was
an offer of help or if a threat was being made. "And why would I
listen to you?"

"You don't have to listen to me. I won't try to make you." She
shrugged with feigned indifference. "But you might want to think
about why there were vampires watching your slayer last night
without her noticing them and what they wanted with her." Buffy
hopped off of her desk and placed her hand on Willow's left arm,
lightly squeezing it. "And this isn't really the place to
discuss such things. If you want to discuss it further you can
meet me at the 'Coffee Garten' on Main Street at 4pm." 

Holding her arm where the woman had touched it, Willow watched
in amazement as the petite woman strode out of the room without
looking back.

- - -

TBC in "Coffee and Two Wiccans to Go"

- - -

Hope y'all liked it.  

-Andy-

=====
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- http://radio.weblogs.com/0104508/
-


	
		
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Willow: "It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in."
Buffy:  "I kinda love you."
                     'Choices'

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