Slayer In The City
By JodithGrace
I don’t own these characters…they belong to Joss Whedon and the WB. I merely toy with them for my own amusement.
Tina O’Brien sat slumped on the hard wooden bench staring off into space. She paid no attention to the people milling around her, except to be amazed that Grand Central Station was still crowded, even at this hour. She looked down at the train schedule in her hand. The problem with running away was that she knew what she was escaping, but had no idea where she was heading. She had hardly any family that she knew of. Her mother had died when Tina was 12. Her mom had loved her and they had been happy in their tiny Brooklyn apartment, although, as a single parent, she was forced to work double shifts as a waitress. When she died of breast cancer, Tina became a ward of the state. The foster family who took her in was kind but impersonal, and when the Council of Watchers sent Priscilla Scott to her when she was 13, she was happy enough to leave.
Miss Scott had let her remain in Brooklyn, in a small apartment, so that she could still attend her old school, and her life had been more or less normal, except for the Slayer training and lessons in the supernatural aspects of her calling. All that changed when Faith had been killed, and Tina had become the new Slayer. Miss Scott had moved them to Manhattan, to a much nicer apartment, and put her in private school. Tina hated it. The uniform made her look six feet tall, and skinny, and the other girls were snobs. She wasn’t allowed to participate in extra curricular activities, and was not encouraged to make friends, even if she could have. Worst of all, Buffy Giles, who Tina had met for one week last year, had moved to the City, but Tina was hardly allowed to talk to her. There were so many questions that she wanted to ask Buffy, but Miss Scott was always hovering. Buffy, according to Miss Scott, had broken all the Slayer rules. She had put her friend’s lives in danger by allowing them to patrol with her; she had fraternized with vampires, demons, and lesbians; and worst of all, she had seduced her Watcher, and actually married the man!
Tina looked at the train schedule. There weren’t any trains leaving until morning, even if she could decide where to go. Her Maternal grandmother lived somewhere in Florida, but had no contact with her daughter and granddaughter, and Tina had no idea how to reach her. She could go to California. Buffy came from there and had said it was really nice. Tina figured that at 5’10" she could pass for 18, easily and get a job that didn’t involved sticking pointy pieces of wood into the hearts of vampires. Even working at McDonald’s would be a treat compared to that
"You look lost." The soft voice broke her reverie. Tina looked up. A pretty blonde girl in her early 20s or so, stood there holding a pamphlet. "I know how you feel. When I first came here, I was lost too."
"So what? What’s it to you?" she challenged the blonde.
"Don’t worry, I’m not the police or anything. We run a shelter for runaways. "She held up the brochure. Oh this was rich...this girl thought that she had run away TO New York! "I’ll bet you’re hungry."
Actually that was the first smart thing the girl said ...Tina was hungry. She had grabbed a granola bar when she left straight from school today, but that was long gone. She had planned to buy some food at the station, but the train tickets were so expensive that she was afraid to spend money until she decided where she was going, and had paid for her ticket.
"Why don’t you come with me, and we’ll get you some dinner? I think tonight is meatloaf night, but it’s pretty good." The girl came closer and put out her hand to help Tina up. Their eyes met for a long moment.
"Bug off!" Tina said suddenly.
Something flashed in the girl’s eyes, and she smiled. "Okay...no problem…if you change your mind…"
Tina reached for her purse. When she looked up, the girl was gone.
The blonde walked into the main terminal where a dark haired girl waited by the main information booth. She was twirling gracefully, like a dancer, her eyes on the ceiling, lost in her own thoughts. The blonde came up to her and the brunette said, "The stars are twinkling at me. They have sung me a song."
The blonde sighed, "Dru, there aren’t any stars…" She looked up at the ceiling where Dru’s eyes were fixed. Oh. There were stars. A whole ceiling of them in constellations. Darla was so used to Dru’s insanity that when she did make sense it was a bit of a shock.
"What do they say, dear?" She asked patiently.
"That girl with her hair on fire...she is a worm in the beautiful apple."
"The redhead? I had a feeling about her…A Slayer, huh?"
"A Slayer like the one who stole my Spike…a very naughty girl to take away my poor Spike."
"Wait! If this girl is a Slayer, Dru...that means the Buffy bitch is dead! "
Dru sighed dramatically, "No…this beautiful apple has two worms. Worms that bite, like snakes."
"Shit. Buffy is here too? That’s just perfect. Two slayers...no waiting. Let’s leave, Dru. We can get on the next train out of here."
Dru looked stricken. "Without giving Spike his birthday present? Nooo...We’ve come such a long way, and it’s taken such a long time to get it. And it’s something that he really wants. We have to give Spiky his present."
"Dru…we’ve been in this town an hour, and we’ve already run into the Slayer. Doesn’t that tell you something? And Buffy is here too? Is she with Spike?"
"She has my Spike in prison, but I can set him free."
"I’ll take that as a yes."
"I’m hungry, Darla. I haven’t had my tea today. That train was too crowded; it didn’t have a dining car, like the Sunnydale train did."
"I know, Dru. I haven’t eaten either. You stay here. I’ll be right back." As Darla read the signs, she realized that where she had found the Slayer was actually the Departures gate. Was the slayer leaving town for some reason? Wouldn’t that be nice? Darla headed for the Arrivals gate, pamphlet in hand, ready to take a lost runaway out to dinner.
Buffy and William had been looking for Tina for an hour. Nobody had seen her since school let out. Miss Scott said that when she left for school that day, she had her backpack, and was wearing her school uniform. "Did she bring any clothing to change into?" Buffy asked, talking on her cell phone, as she and William looked into every dark alley between Tina’s school and apartment.
Miss Scott’s voice was very upset when she phoned Buffy back. "Apparently, she has take several changes of clothing, her toothbrush and sponge bag…even her pajamas."
Buffy thanked Miss Scott, and told her not to worry. It was evident that they were dealing with a runaway rather than foul play. She and William decided to split up. He would take the Port Authority bus station; she would take Grand Central. They had their cell phones for keeping in touch. They headed for the subway.
When Tina looked up and saw Buffy coming towards her, her eyes filled with tears. She felt totally lost and alone, and that run in with the blonde vampire hadn’t helped. As soon as the pretty blonde had looked into her eyes, she had known; they both had. So now, the blonde knew that there was a slayer in town. Good…maybe she would leave and be one less vampire to deal with.
"Tina! Thank goodness. We’ve all been so worried about you."
"Hi Buffy. I guess I look like a total idiot, sitting her in a train station like I have someplace to go."
Buffy sat down next to the unhappy teen. "Are things really that bad?"
"I hate being a Slayer!"
"Yep. Been there done that. It’s the pits isn’t it?"
"It’s like my whole life. I have to go to this dorky school and wear this dorky uniform and the kids all hate me because I’m 17 feet tall and have funny hair, and if they knew the truth about me, they would think I was crazy too!"
"Oh, Tina. I know just how you feel. When I first came to Sunnydale High School, I had been expelled from my previous school for burning down the gymnasium! I was lucky not to spend my high school years in prison! So you can imagine that I was Miss Popularity!"
"But did you have to wear a uniform?"
"No...You’re right…a mere gym burning pales in comparison with having to wear a uniform."
Tina almost smiled, but caught herself in time.
"So, did something awful happen that caused you to run for the hills?" Buffy asked.
"No. Not really. It’s just that all the girls have been talking all week about what they were going to do for their summer vacations. Marie is going to Tuscany. Lizzie is going sailing on her father’s yacht. Blah blah blah! School is bad enough. But now summer vacation is coming up, and I just can’t stand the thought of spending all summer doing nothing but slaying!"
"How about Prunella…is she kind to you?" Buffy asked.
"Prunella?" Tina giggled in spite of herself, "Oh My God. She does look like a Prunella, doesn’t she!" Tina sobered, "She’s all right. She’s just so strict, and no fun at all."
"Yeah, Watchers can be like that. It took me years to get mine tamed. But they do come around eventually. The problem is that they don’t have children of their own, and apparently were never children themselves."
"Yeah...I think Miss Scott was born 40 years old."
"They’ve also got these ideas about how slayers should be and what they should do. As you have no doubt heard, I was not very good at following the rules."
"I’ve heard."
"I was so dying to really talk to you that week we spent together. But ‘you know who’ was always breathing down our necks. I guess she was afraid I was going to tell you to disregard all the rules."
"What were you going to tell me?"
"To disregard all the rules! Tina...look at me. What do you see?"
"Huh? Uh...a Slayer, I guess."
"A very, very old slayer! And do you know how I got to be 27 years old?"
"How?"
"By disregarding the rules. I had friends and a family. They kept me alive in more ways than one. They are the best things that ever happened to me. The other thing is to not be too quick to believe everything that you read."
"What do you mean?"
"Fact. All vampires and demons aren’t evil. Just like all humans aren’t good. It took me a long time to learn that lesson because of what I had been taught. "
"But doesn’t that make it tough to kill them if there’s a chance that one might be good?"
"Well, the way I’ve learned to deal with it is this...if it’s attacking me, or somebody else...I just assume it’s evil. Call me judgmental, but..."
Tina laughed. "Yeah...that makes sense."
"But if you happen to meet a vampire or a demon walking down the street minding his own business, there’s probably no reason to kill him. "
"What if a vampire comes up to you in a train station and offers you a free meal?"
"Well, in that case I would remember that old saying...’there’s no such thing as a free lunch.’"
"Yeah, well, I was almost hungry enough to take her up on it."
"Well, if you have your heart set on dining with a vampire, why don’t I call William who is busy looking for you at Port Authority, and we’ll get you some dinner?"
Tina shook her head in wonder. She had heard and read all sorts of awful things about Spike, AKA William the Bloody. And here was Buffy inviting her to dinner with him like it was no big deal. I guess this gets filed under...don’t believe everything you read.
"What about Prunella? Do you have to call her? "
"Well, she is very worried about you… I swear, I could hear actual concern in her voice. Besides, I want to arrange a little talk with her. See if we can’t fix some of your woes. I honestly didn’t realize that things were that bad for you."
"Miss Scott means well, I know she does…when I had the flu she sat up with me all night, just like my mother used to."
"Well, see, she is practically tamed already! You’ll have her eating out of your hand before you know it."
"Well, I don’t want to marry her!"
At this, Buffy started to laugh and Tina joined her, and they laughed until their sides ached. They were so busy laughing that they didn’t see the two pairs of eyes, watching them from behind a bank of telephones.
"Perfect. Just perfect," said Darla sarcastically, "they’re friends…I was hoping that they would be at each other’s throats. Would have made things just a little bit easier. Two worms in one apple...once again, Dru my crazy darling, you have hit the nail right on the head."