FIC: The Two - [7/24] - R

[Andy Stoffel <see2go4me@xxxxxxxxx>]

TITLE: The Two (7/24)
AUTHOR: -Andy- (see2go4me@xxxxxxxxx)
RATING: R (For future violence and Adult situations) 
STATUS: A 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. I
would like to think the plot was original but I'm sure it isn't.
SUMMARY: Buffy meets a different kind of Willow in an alternate
universe. (It really is gonna be a B/W folks. Eventually. But
not right away.)
SPOILERS: All seasons of BtVS. Let's pretend Season 5 of ANgel
didn't happen.
DISTRIBUTION: buffywantswillow, ikoly,  and my blog fanfic
pages. Anyone else, e-mail me please.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: 
[1] Reminder - I write slowly. The next installment of this fic
will probably be posted in late June.
[2] Feedback welcome/desired. Especially the kind that helps me
write better.
[3] The previous 6 parts can be found in the archives for this
list, on Ikoly, and my blog.

- - -

Part VII Title: "Smoothing the Edges"

- - -

Two weeks into her stay in Sunnydale and Buffy's days had
settled down into a simple routine. After her morning run, she
would spend at least an hour taking advantage of her open
invitation to use the coven's smaller training room. When she'd
finished there she would take a few minutes to browse through
the books in the coven's small public library, hoping for some
clue that would tell her how far from home she really was and
looking for some idea on how to get back. So far she'd found
nothing.

Afternoons were spent working at the bookshop where she manned
the counter and did odd jobs; the musty smell of the used books
oddly soothing. Madeline had given her free reign to browse
through the small collection of occult books she kept in the
back for special customers. But so far she'd found nothing there
either. She'd always had help in the past and it was starting to
look like she just wasn't familiar enough with the things she
needed to know to figure it out on her own. She wasn't quite
ready to ask anyone for help but it was starting to feel like
she would have to eventually.

- - -

With only a radio to keep her company in the evenings, Buffy
found herself spending several hours a night at Tony's Blues
Pub, the bar she'd discovered when she'd first arrived. The
music and the presence of other people filled a need she hadn't
known she'd had. 

And even though the music wasn't something you could really
dance to and the energy in the room was a lot more subtle than
what she'd become familiar with when she'd been younger, she
found herself spending a lot of time there basking in the
calmness it made her feel.

Her brief interactions with the slayer and her Guide, and the
bookshop's occasional customer weren't enough to make her really
feel part of the world she was now living in. There were still
times when she felt like she was observing things from a
distance. But more often than not, the sounds of people talking
over the backdrop of music that seemed to echo in her heart,
sometimes raw and other times soft and soothing, gave Buffy a
feeling of being grounded.

She still felt the same desire to burn as much energy as
possible that had driven her when she first became a slayer, but
there was something about the bar that smoothed the tattered
edges of her control over it.

- - -

It was becoming a regular part of her day; Dawn spending lunch
in her office complaining about Buffy Summers. First it had been
about her use of Dawn's training room, now she was upset at
being followed around while patrolling. Willow wasn't sure why
the woman was taking a personal interest in her slayer when
she'd claimed to have no desire to get involved but it was
swiftly becoming an annoying situation.

"I know she's following me around!" Dawn said. "I can feel her.
It's freaky!"

"Why don't you ask her to stop if it bothers you?" Willow asked
curiously. 

"Because I never see her! If I could I would!" she whined. "I
don't want a babysitter. I can take care of myself."

"She isn't doing it just to annoy you." Willow said lightly.

"How do you know? She isn't stalking you!"

"No she isn't." Willow frowned. "There must be a reason. Why
don't you ask her how she's doing it? Maybe you could learn
something from her?"

"How do I do that? She's using my training room when I'm in
school. In fact she's probably there right now!" Dawn grumbled.
"And then she disappears until I go patrolling."

"She isn't disappearing." Willow tried to reassure her. "She
must have found a job somewhere."

"You don't know that. She's probably rich and spends her days
shopping while she waits until she can follow me around."

"No, I don't really know what she spends her days doing. But I'm
sure it's something harmless." 

"There's nothing harmless about that woman!" Dawn said.
"Harmless people don't stalk slayers!"

Any further discussion was interrupted by the school bell.

"Why don't you head to your next class. We can talk about this
more tonight."
Willow said. "And Dawn..."

"Yes, Ms. Rosenberg?"

"I'll be late getting to the house after school today. I have to
run a few errands. You can get started without me."

"Okay. See you later."

Willow watched her bounce out of the room, once more an almost
normal teenager, relieved that all it took most days to calm
Dawn down was a sympathetic ear. At least her slayer didn't
require physical activity to do that like some past slayers. 

- - -

Tony's was quickly becoming her preferred place to spend her
evenings. She could just sit there and listen to the music and
think about her day and contemplate the future as she sipped a
glass of whatever was on tap that night.

It was the color that first caught her eye. She didn't much like
beer and she was looking for something new to drink that didn't
remind her of her past. Gazing at the top shelf she saw a bottle
of some yellow liquid, almost amber like. Catching the
bartender's eye she pointed it out, asking for a shot. He
brought the bottle over, set a small glass filled with ice in
front over her, and poured a shot into it while she watched. She
raised an eyebrow at this and asked the simple "Why?"

"This isn't something you can drink quickly. It needs to be
savored. To be enjoyed slowly. Like the blues and all other good
things in life."

"Is there really ever time to savor life?" She asked, not
expecting an answer.

"Of course." He smiled at her. "And you must think so also or
you would be down the street at one of those places where the
music doesn't have a heart."

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes. The people who come in here need something they can't get
'out there'" He gestured towards the door. "Even if they don't
know it." After saying this he wandered away, leaving her to her
thoughts.

That was her introduction to both Tony Denova, blues fanatic and
bar owner; and Yukon Jack, a liqueur that temporarily smoothed
the aches in her heart, giving her a brief warm inner feeling
without reminding her of the past.

- - -

She'd been waiting for the books for almost two months. While
they weren't exactly rare they also weren't something she could
get from her usual sources. Books of this type almost never
showed up on any of the online auction sites like eBay, even the
ones that specialized in hard to find mystical objects.

Willow wasn't sure why she was hurrying. Madeline had found the
books specifically for her so it wasn't as if she would turn
around and sell them to someone else.

She rushed into the bookshop. Finding the counter empty, she
called out loudly "Madeline?"

"She's not here this afternoon." an almost familiar female voice
quietly answered. "Can I help you?"

Turning around towards the voice, Willow found herself facing
one of the last people she would have expected to see in a
bookstore. Standing between several shelves, holding several
large books and looking at her curiously, was Buffy Summers.

"Yes..." she said hesitantly. "Madeline left me a message this
morning about some books I'd ordered."

"She didn't say anything before she left. Let me check in the
back."

"Thanks." Willow watched her closely as she went around the
counter into the back. The way Buffy seemed to move with silent
precision reminded her of something but she couldn't quite place
it.

After a few minutes she returned, carrying three books and
reading a note. Placing the books on the counter, Buffy asked
her "I just need to know if this is a personal purchase or if
you wanted to put them on the coven's account? Madeline said
it's your choice." she said waving the note.

"They can go on the account." Willow smiled at her. "Thanks."

"Great." 

Willow watched her look at the titles and write something in a
small book she'd taken out of a small drawer. 

"Does the coven have a private library?" Buffy asked curiously.
"These aren't the kinds of books I've seen in the coven's public
library."

"No. Not really. I have a small collection of books in my
apartment that Dawn uses." she shrugged. "Other than that, what
you see is what we have."

"Oh."

"Have you been working for Madeline for long?"

"Just over a week." Buffy answer. "She needed help in the
afternoon and I needed a job."

"So you know a lot about books?" Willow asked curiously, trying
to watch her without appearing to stare.

"I spent a lot of time around old books when I was growing up.
But mostly just reading them. This is a completely different
thing but I'm learning." She smiled at Willow.

"Oh." she said, watching Buffy wrap up the books in the brown
paper Madeline preferred to plastic bags, insisting they were
better for the books.

"Here you go." Buffy smiled at Willow again as she handed her
the books.

"Thanks." Willow hesitated for a moment before continuing. "When
do you finish for the day?"

"Usually around seven? Why?"

"Would you be interested in joining me for a drink some
evening?" Willow asked nervously. "Not a date or anything. Just
to talk?"

"Sure. Though if you want to talk you don't have to do anything
special. I usually grab something to eat right after work and
then most nights I'm at Tony's down on Wilson Street." She
shrugged indifferently. "You're welcome to join me any time."

"Oh... okay. I might do that." Not sure what else to say, Willow
looked at her watch, staring in surprise at the time. "Yikes!
I've got to go. Bye!"

Buffy called out a goodbye to her as she hurried out the door.

- - -

Several days after her appearance in the bookshop Buffy was
slightly surprised when she caught sight of an obviously nervous
Willow in the mirror behind the bar at Tony's as she walked in
the door. She really hadn't expected her to show up. Especially
on a Friday. While Tony's clientele never seemed to change, no
matter what the day, she was sure Willow would rather spend a
Friday night somewhere else. Somewhere with dancing or other
people her age. 

"Shouldn't you be out dancing or something?" Buffy asked her as
Willow slipped quietly onto the empty bar stool next to her.
"There must be dozens of people who aren't having fun because
you are here and not there." The dim light in the bar did little
to hide Willow's slight blush at the comment from her enhanced
eyesight.

"I can't sit here and enjoy the live music on a Friday night?"
Willow asked her after a minute of silence.

"Sure." Buffy replied. "I'm just surprised. Let me get you
something to drink." She raised an eyebrow in question.

"Thanks. A glass of whatever Chablis Tony has this week."

"You know Tony?" Buffy asked her before waving him over.

"Not real well, but his sister is one of the original members of
the coven." she shrugged. "I think he came to Sunnydale when she
did."

"Really? Are there a lot of families in Sunnydale related to
someone in the coven?"

"No, just a few. Families that have had something to do with one
of the covens in the past do seem to gravitate to one of the
towns they are in but it's nothing intentional."

"You've checked into it." Buffy smiled as she stated this,
amused at finding something shared by her old friend and this
Willow. Curiosity was apparently a multi-dimensional Willow
trait. And a willingness to share what she'd learned was
another.

Before she could answer, Tony was standing there looking at
Buffy expectantly. "What can I get you and Miss Rosenberg?"

"Tony, if you could get me another," she gestured to her glass,
"and Willow would like a glass of Chablis. Thanks." She then
motioned for Willow to continue.

"I was curious. When I first began working with Dawn I checked
the coven records. I knew that her family had some connection to
the covens, her mother mentioned it once." Buffy nodded. "I just
had to dig for it. But I was surprised at what I found."

Tony once again interrupted their conversation. "Here you go
Buffy, Miss Rosenberg." 

"How'd you do that?" Willow asked her in surprise.

"Do what?"

"Get him to call you by your first name? I've known him for
almost ten years and he still won't do that." Willow sighed.

"Oh, that." She grinned. "He's been trying to convince me to
work for him. Someone told him he'd attract more business if he
had young women tending bar and I'm the only person to come in
here on a regular basis who fits that qualification. So he asked
me. I said I would think about it."

"Oh." Willow took a sip of her drink. "Where was I?"

"You were going to tell me something about Dawn's family tree
and the coven." Buffy encouraged her. She wasn't sure how long
Willow would be so free with such information but she was
willing to take advantage of it.

"Well," she took another sip from her glass, "a long time ago
someone decided to start keeping track of not just slayers but
their families as well. Magical ability is usually hereditary so
the covens have kept track of coven families for as long as
anyone can remember. If you look at both sets of records...
there have been a dozen slayers in the last five hundred years
from families with ties to the covens. It seems to skip a
generation or two but there is a connection."

"How does that relate to Dawn?" Buffy asked curiously, wondering
if the Council in her world had ever noticed such a connection.

"She's one of the rare ones. I haven't figured out what it is
but there's something special about her family. She's the fourth
known slayer in her family since we started keeping records. And
there have been a half dozen slayer Guides from her family also,
something none of the other slayers with coven ties have."

"Does she know this?"

"No. She's still adjusting to being a slayer." Willow stared at
her glass for a minute in thought. "I don't think she's ready to
know something like that. I'll tell her when she's settled down
a bit."

"What about the other thing you mentioned." Buffy thought for a
moment. "People in the town having ties to the coven?"

"That? That was the curious part. I wondered how Dawn's family
ended up in Sunnydale and I also noticed a few uncommon surnames
in coven records that matched the names of a few families in the
area. Ones that had no direct ties to the coven." Noticing
Buffy's obvious interest she continued. "So I started tracking
them down and noticed that there are seven families that seem to
end up in the same towns as covens with active slayers. And
someone from one of those families usually ends up joining the
coven once it has settled in a town."

"Do you think it is intentional?" Buffy asked. "Are they
following the covens around?"

"I think something is influencing these families to move around
like that. But as far as I can tell they aren't aware of it."

"How did you reach that conclusion?"

"Well..." she shifted nervously. "The families normally move to
one of these towns a decade or so before the coven. And one of
those families is mine. If it was intentional I think someone in
my family would have mentioned it." 

"Oh." Buffy looked at her in surprise. "Does the coven know
about this?"

"They know I'm working on a more reliable way to find potential
slayers. They don't know the details yet."

"Really? How do you find them now?" Buffy asked. She'd always
wondered how the Council had done it.

"There's a spell used by the oldest coven that they do every
year the day after the Summer Solstice. But it doesn't tell us
exactly where to find the person who will become the slayer."
Willow frowned. "We can narrow it down to three places where
there's a potential slayer."

"What happens then?"

"If there isn't a coven already nearby the closest established
covens get together and select people to start a coven in the
town nearest to where the spells say there is a potential
slayer. It doesn't happen very often. There never seems to be
more than three out there at a time."

"Huh." Buffy thought about this for a moment. "Probably because
your slayers live so long. You don't need to replace them that
often."

"It's a thought. But the whole thing is still a mystery." She
noticed she'd finished her glass of wine while they'd been
talking. "I should probably get going. I have to get up early
tomorrow."

"Just a minute. I'll walk you home." Buffy waved at Tony and put
some money down next to her glass before getting down off of her
bar stool.

"You don't have to do that." Willow protested.

"I'll walk you home." Buffy insisted with a smile and guided her
out of the door.

- - -

Willow noticed that Buffy seemed to be really deep in thought as
they stopped in front of the coven house. "What are you thinking
about?"

"Nothing much. I really enjoyed talking with you tonight."

"So did I. Talking with you I mean." Willow blushed. "We should
do it again."

"Great!" Buffy smiled at her. She looked at her watch. "I'll let
you get inside."

> From the porch Willow watched her stroll away, wishing she'd had
the courage to invite her in. 

- - -

TBC in "Training Day"

=====
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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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