Memoirs (Part 1)

Jamie

Ms. Rosenburg called me to her place for a reason I am not sure of. I had received a mysterious phone call a few days before requesting that I meet with her. They said that I had been chosen... Whatever that means.

I knew a little about her. As a student, I have heard of her, from my studies of Watcher history. She was a companion of Buffy Summers and was the Watcher of the Slayer that replaced Buffy. Later, after that Slayer died and she was about to be placed on a different assignment, she was kicked out of the council for *having difficulties with taking orders.* I have it on authority that that is not how it happened. It seems she had some opinions that differentiated her from a doormat and the entirely male board of directors couldn't handle her... Who knows?

When I first saw the house, I thought it was a fortress. The place was huge! It could rival Windsor Palace. ( Being British, you have to realize that that is about as big of a compliment as I can give a place, even though I believe the monarchy has overstayed its welcome. ) I must have stood for at least ten minutes gaping. Even the fact that I knew that I looked like a cow with my mouth open, didn't help.

When I was allowed in the house, I was escorted by a guard that was the largest man I'd ever seen. We climbed up a magnificent staircase, then went down the hall and stopped outside a door. The guard softly rapped on it. "Madam, your appointment is here," he said softly.

The door opened to reveal a rather large bedroom. The bedroom was very splendidly decorated, as was the rest of the house I'd seen, while I was hurrying through it, trying to keep in stride with the guard. A small figure was lying on the bed.

When I first saw the body, I thought that the person was dead. It was so small and aged. But when I looked at the eyes, I knew that it was indeed alive. The eyes sparkled with so much life, that it was shocking.

I sat down in a chair the guard offered me. He left us after that. The person began to talk:

"I guess you have wondered why I called you here..." Ms. Rosenburg began.

"Yes," I interrupted. "Your representative was very vague."

Ms. Rosenburg laughed. "I ordered that she was to act that way. I wasn't sure if you would come if she wasn't that way. I have heard much about you. I know about your ideas about how demons can help the Slayer..." she stopped talking when she saw the look on my face.

It was my turn to laugh. "I think everybody knows about my *radical ideas*. I don't think anyone believes me that there are actually documented cases of good demons." I snorted.

"But you see that is not true," Ms. Rosenburg told me. "I believe you. I've met a few."

"Really?" I asked. I had heard so many times that I was foolish in my beliefs, that I had begun to doubt myself.

She replied: "Let me tell you a story..."
*****

"It has been many years since my days fighting demons in Sunnydale. It has been many years since Buffy, Giles, Cordelia, Oz and even my best friend Xander have died. You have to love the irony of the fact that the *frailest* one of the group lived the longest, well except Angel of course, if he is still alive," The woman laughed silently. "Perhaps, I am not as unsubstantial as everyone, even I, thought I was."

"Oz was the first of us to die. Soon after we graduated high school, his band got signed by some record label. I didn't see him much after that. He went on several promotional tours and we decided to just be friends.

"About a year later, they made it really big. Dingoes Ate My Baby were on every magazine cover, late-night talk show and teenaged girls walls, in the country and out of it, too. They had everything every struggling musician dreams about.

"Oz always managed to keep in contact despite his huge successes. He never failed to send birthday cards or to call once a month. He always asked how everyone was and complained about how hard in was to contain his werewolf secret." Ms. Rosenburg's eyes had glazed over and she smiled. It was obviously a good memory, but the smile quickly faded.

"Oz always seemed so happy. That was why, when I received the news of his death, I was so shocked. Oz had committed suicide, at the age of twenty-five, by overdosing on antidepressants. More irony. The very things that were supposed to save him, took his life away. He became just another artist that burned brightly and died young." The woman sighed. I had a feeling I was in for a very sad story; damn, they always make me cry.

"Let's move on, shall we? The next person to die was, of course, Buffy. Buffy lived to be thirty-two. She was and still is the longest-lived slayer on record. Kendra's successor, Faith, died a couple of years before Buffy and is second on the record. I believe that the reason she lived so long was because of what she learned from Buffy..." I had to agree with that. Since the council had started using some of Ms. Summer's techniques, the slayer life span has gone up.

"Anyway, back to Buffy. Buffy remained a successful slayer, first in Sunnydale, then in New York City. She finally found a career that wasn't law enforcement -- She became an occult shop owner. It worked out for the best. She made lots of money from all the weird people in New York and acquired several books for Giles, which pleased him to no end.

"She was very happy during this time. She had finally found some semblance of a normal life. A job, an apartment and some peace of mind. All the things she ever wanted.

"Buffy's death wasn't a surprise. We always knew it was right around the corner. A vampire bested her... But not in the way you think. The vampire hired a human hit man, who broke into her house when she was sleeping and shot her. Not a fitting way for the best Slayer on record to die."

I knew all of this, but hearing it come from a friend of Ms. Summer's made it all seem more emotional. My eyes began to fill. I silently willed them to go away, unsuccessfully. I hated crying. Men always think it's a sign of weakness and in a male dominated field I didn't need to show any weakness.

"The next to die was Giles. I'm not to sure what eventually happened to him, being that we didn't get along after our argument. I tell you more about it when we talk about my life." We? She was doing all the talking. I wasn't going to interrupt her. It seemed like it was very hard for her to talk about it.

"Anyway, I believe he died of natural causes and was seventy-five. I picked that much up from Xander and Cordelia, even though we avoided the subject as much as possible. I didn't like talking about him. Still don't, but the story needs to be told, doesn't it?"

I waited for her to continue, but after a few moments it was clear she expected that I answer. "It depends on how much you want to tell it. If you don't want to we don't have to keep talking."

"That's all right. It's not as painful as it used to be. I've forgiven Giles and myself a long time ago. I need to tell you this," she told me with a look of grim determination. No matter how painful it got, she planed to go on. Goody! More crying.

"I'll do Xander and Cordelia together since much of their lives coincide. After high school they went their separate ways. They thought it was best to get away from each other and move on with their lives.

"Xander, believe it or not, managed to make it to college. He graduated we remarkably high grades. It turned out that he wasn't weak academically, but that he was just a slacker. He majored in film.

"After college, he went into comedy. He was surprisingly very successful. He was invited to perform at all the famous clubs. Not long after all his club success, he broke into movies, as you probably know." I nodded an affirmant.

"During this time Cordelia went to college, too. Or fashion school -- Whatever you want to call it. After she graduated, she became a costume designer for Sony Pictures™. Her superb fashion sense soon landed her a top position.

"They met up with each other in the way you are thinking. Cordelia was assigned to pick the wardrobe for one of Xander's movies. At first, they tried their best to avoid each other. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff they did to get out of meeting." Ms. Rosenburg grinned.

"But the enviable happened. Cordelia eventually had to work with Xander. When, they saw each other it was like time had never passed. The spark was ignited, once again, between them. They couldn't seem to get enough of each other.

"A year later, they got married. It was a very lovely ceremony. It wasn't packed with the hottest celebrities dressed to the nines, like you would expect. Only close family members and Buffy, Giles and I were in attendance." Ms. Rosenburg looked at me. "Of course, that was probably because Cordelia didn't want anyone to see her pregnancy. Don't get me wrong... Xander and Cordy had a very loving relationship, but they probably would not have gotten married at that time, if not for the baby.

"They ended up being married happily for fifty-three years. They had two children; a boy, Alexander Lavell Harris Jr., and a girl, Willow Buffy Harris. They were very wealthy in love and money. Xander died a month after their anniversary and Cordelia followed two weeks later. May they rest eternally in peace." It was obvious from Ms. Rosenburg's tears, that their deaths were a more recent and still festering wound.

"Have I left anyone out?" she asked me, after she composed herself.

"Angelus," I answered. The story of the cursed vampire had always fascinated me and I wished to hear what Ms. Rosenburg had to say about him.

"Ah, yes Angel. I have no idea what happened to him after he came back from Hell. Hell messed him up pretty badly and he felt really guilty about what the demon did. He left and nobody to my knowledge has ever heard from him since. I suspect he walked into the sun a long time ago."

I was a little disappointed that Ms. Rosenburg didn't know more about him. But that feeling was soon replaced with curiosity. "What about your life?"
*****

"My life?" Ms. Rosenburg repeated.

"Yes, your life," I responded. "Unless I'm mistaken, and I apologize if I am, I believe that ultimately that's what you asked me here for."

"How perceptive of you," Ms. Rosenburg commented. "I requested that you came here so I could tell you about me and the events that led up to my ideas about demons. But it is ultimately what you do with the information I give you. That will make the difference."

"How so? What difference?" I asked. I was just a lowly Watcher in training, at the time. How on Earth could *I* make a difference?
"You can make the Watcher's Council change it's policy," Ms. Rosenburg told me.

"Me?" I squeaked. Like I said before I could not imagine myself making difference... A change such as that and believe me when I say I'm not modest.

"Yes, you," Ms. Rosenburg confirmed. "You have a much better chance than I ever did. You are going to be a watcher for a much more open minded council. You are descended for one of the most prestigious line of watchers. You are at the top of your watcher classes. Do I have to go on? Make friends, over rule enemies. You will be the reformer."

Ms. Rosenburg waited a few moments while I digested what she had told me. "Now I will tell you of my life...

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