Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, Xander damnit, Willow, Giles, Snyder, Drusilla, Spike damnit, damnit or Angel damnit, damnit, DAMNIT! Joss Whedon does and until he gives them to me I will irregularly borrow them to suit my own twisted needs. On the other hand Oriona, Ariel, Declan, Celestia and Cobya are mine, all mine! Oh and the expression 'Daywalker' was borrowed from Marvel Comics.
Dedication: Special thanx as always to Chavez. Thank you for persevering with me and my many phone calls of "ARRRRRGGGGGGHHHH! WHAT THE HELL DO I DO NOW??" Also big thanx for helping me with the 'name game.' However on the same note I am not going to make Buffy a vampire. Xander is not gay. Willow will not use her powers for evil. Spike will not get together with Buffy. And Dru was not a Slayer before she became a vampire. Give it up girl. Keep pestering me and I may kill you.
Before school one morning Buffy, Xander and Willow are sitting on a bench talking about Snyder.
"He has it in for me. It's that simple." Buffy moans. Xander raises his eyebrows at her. "And as the most disruptive student in the school why do you think that would be?"
Buffy gives him a look.
"If you bothered paying attention to some of the gossip and the way he treats us like dirt while he treats the other students like, like..." Willow trails off, unable to think of a word. Xander jumps in. "Soil?"
"Willow, I'm too busy to listen to gossip or notice body language." Buffy defends herself, ignoring Xander. "Every time I see him, I automatically go into 'defense' mode and try to avoid being expelled".
"He's not gonna expel you." Xander reassures her. Willow agrees "No, he won't."
"He's just going to give you hell until you drop out. But he won't expel you. Why would he?" Xander continues. Buffy answers quietly. "As you said Xander, I'm the school's most disruptive student. Why wouldn't he?"
"Because you've saved the - oh wow, look at that." Xander breaks off in the middle of the sentence. The girls to turn to where he's looking. A girl is climbing the stairs. Her long black hair is in thousands of miniscule plaits. She is wearing a long flowing black dress with a long black velvet cape with a hood over the top. Snyder walks out of the building and looks around. When he sees the girl he hurries over to her, his face breaking into a smile.
"Damn."
"What now Xander?" Willow asks. Xander pouts. "His face didn't crack. I owe Giles five dollars."
Snyder and Oriona talk animatedly for a moment, before Snyder escorts the girl inside. Buffy shrugs "That was weird."
But pretty." He points out, adding as an afterthought. " In a morbid way."
Jeez Xander-" The bell rings and cuts Willow off. The trio wander off to homeroom. Meanwhile in Snyder's office, the new girl is sitting comfortably, while Snyder treats her as another human being.
"We are pleased to have you here Oriona. I'm almost at the end of my tether with that girl and I'm running out of options." Snyder greases, trying to hide his nervousness. Oriona looks at him coldly and speaks in an icy tone. "Are you saying you can't handle this? We were reassured that you'd know what to do. How to solve the problem."
"She's calculating. Careful. Only takes a chance if it makes no difference to the outcome. As the uh, well, the," he is unable to say the word. Oriona smirks and says it for him. "Slayer?"
"As that she has no faults whatsoever. It's as a student that the problems arise." He finishes. Oriona yawns. "I assume you've been ignoring them? I've noticed you've made special exceptions for other students. I remember hearing of you telling someone to ignore a students failing grade so he could remain a member of the swim team."
"Yes, well, uh,..." Snyder stammers. Oriona leans forward in her seat. "Principal Snyder, I have been sent here to ensure that the Slayer is brought under control. The death of the Master threw the Council into disarray. We have only just brought things back under control and then we get a call telling us that back up is required. Would you care to explain your leniency with this girl? You were recommended as the best man for the job, having removed several other Slayers from their posts. Now we find you can't hack it?"
"She's not like the others." He offers as a weak explanation. Oriona sneers at him. "No she's someone special." Her voice turns serious. "Snyder I have seen many, many Slayers in my lifetime and from of I've seen and heard, this one is no different from the rest although she does have more self confidence."
"You're telling me." Snyder replies with a bitter laugh. Oriona looks at him with interest. "Why is she still here?"
Snyder looks straight at Oriona. "She's saved this damned school - and my ass with the Mayor - more times than I care to think about." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buffy, Xander, Willow and Cordelia are sitting around the table in the library talking to Giles. Ariel, wearing a white sundress, with closely cropped white -blonde hair walks in. She looks around her before looking at Giles. "Uh hi. I just transferred here and I need to borrow out some text books." "Oh yes, of course, I have them right here. I was told to expect you." He gets up and leaves the table. The other four look Ariel up and down with interest. Nobody ever comes into the library especially for books. Buffy speaks first. "Is that your natural hair colour?"
"Yeah. Why?" Ariel runs her fingers through her hair making it spike up. Buffy shrugs and shakes her head. "No reason."
Giles comes back with the books and hands them to Ariel. “Here you go. These are spares, don't worry about returning them for a while. You have quite a bit to catch up on.”
“Sadly. Unfortunately that means no social life for a while.” Ariel glances at Buffy. “The burden of duty right?”
She leaves. Buffy and the others look at each other in confusion and then at Giles, who seems preoccupied. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the Bronze that night, Xander and Willow dance, cheerfully talking, while Buffy sits at a table, looking around in a bored way. Oriona appears and walks close behind Buffy's seat. She's wearing a short black leather dress, black knee high boots and a black cape with out a hood. Behind her Ariel follows closely. Ariel wears a short white skirt, a white tank top and white Doc Martens. Oriona is happily unaware of her twins presence. Oriona head upstairs while Ariel walks over to the bar for a drink. She turns around to look behind her at something and crashes into someone coming away from the with a drink. The drink spills all over the white top.
“Oh shit. I'm sorry, I wasn't looking. I'll buy you another-” Ariel looks up sees who it is and her voice goes high. “drink.”
“Over my dead body.” Angel replies softly. Ariel grins. “Too late.”
“Ariel!!” exclaims Angel in surprise. “It is you.”
“Who were you expecting?” Ariel’s voice is soft and she doesn’t look that pleased to see him. Angel reads the look on her face. “What's wrong?”
“This isn't exactly a social call.” Ariel confesses. Angel takes Ariel's arm and leads her through the crowd. Angel asks “Have you met her yet?”
Ariel shakes her head. “No. That's part of the reason I came here. I thought you'd be here so I could wrangle an introduction.”
Angel stops in surprise. “Good Lord, your sources are on the ball.”
“It's something we pride ourselves on. Unfortunately a lot of them are also under the employment of sister dearest, we just can't figure out which ones. We can't tell how much information is true or if it's been over estimated or what.” Ariel explained. Angel thought for a minute. “Well what have you heard?”
Ariel smiled. “That she's amazing. That the fact that she wasn't trained from birth or an early age means she has experienced a normal life which she can remember and longs to have back. That the memories and longing help her out in a way training from an early age wouldn’t. That her skill and surpasses every Slayer that we've got record of.”
“That's true.” Angel confirms, his voice full of pride. Ariel teases him. “Not biased by any chance are we?” Angel looks at her in surprise. Ariel shakes her head. “Oh please. You think we'd miss that fact? Even if I found everything else we've ever discovered about the girl is false, I'd know that the reports of your love for her were true. I know you too well.”
Angel has no answer for that, which is lucky as they have arrived back with the others. Xander and Willow are sitting with Buffy who looks pissed, but his trying not to show it.
“There you are. I thought you'd vanished on me.” Buffy notices Ariel. “Who's this?”
“Not likely.” Angel reassured her. “This is Ariel, she's an old friend. Buffy, can I talk to you for a minute? Alone.”
“Fine.” Buffy flounces off. Angel and Ariel exchange a look, before he goes after Buffy. Willow tries to figure out exactly who Ariel is. “So you and Angel are old friends.” She frowns. “You're not a vampire are you?”
“No! Thank Christ.” Replies Ariel fervently. Xander has a question. “How old exactly?”
“About 250 years.” Ariel waits for their reactions. She is disappointed. There is none. Willow nods thoughtfully. “Really old friends then.”
Ariel nods silently. Xander’s turn to be thoughtful. “ So you knew Deadboy before he was Deadboy.”
“Yeah.” She answers quietly and bows her head sadly. “I knew him before he became a vampire.”
“Sit down.” Willow invites. “Tell us your basic history.”
“We don't have time for 250 years.” Xander makes a point. Willow makes a point of her own. “Actually Xander, she only said that she's known Angel for 250 years.”
“So how old are you?”
“I was born in the Middle Ages. When I-” she interrupts herself. “It's a long boring story. Giles would tell it better than I. The basic reason I'm here is to stop my sister. You've probably seen her around. Face like mine, dresses like a Goth?”
“Uh -huh.” Xander nods. “Why?”
Buffy and Angel return. Buffy collects her stuff together. Willow notices the look on Buffy’s face. “Buff, what's that matter?”
“We're leaving.” She replies tensely. Nobody moves, wondering what’s going on. “NOW!”
Willow and Xander exchange looks, but do as they're told and start to leave. Ariel stands still and looks around the Bronze. Buffy grabs her arm. “Come on!”
“I need to ensure that Oriona is distracted and doesn't see us leaving.” Ariel explains. Buffy points to the top level where Oriona is passionately kissing someone. They break off for a second and they see it is Spike.. Oriona runs her fingers through his hair and then pulls his mouth back down to hers. “Believe me, she's distracted.”
Buffy drags Ariel out of there. Up on the second level, Oriona breaks off the kiss and looks down at the door, just as her sister walks out of it. Buffy, Angel, Willow, Xander and Ariel walk back to the library.
What's going on?” Willow asks, feeling confused. Buffy answers her question. “We'll get Giles to explain it when we get to the library.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When they reach the library, Giles has no trouble recognizing what the problem is and begins to explain as they seat themselves. “Ariel is the good side of the Ying Yang Twins. Oriona is the evil sister.” He looks at Ariel. “Tell me if any of the details are wrong or you wish to clarify things.”
Ariel jumps up onto the counter and shakes her head. “I'm sure you'll do perfectly. Our reports of you as a Watcher are exceptional.”
“Well thank you.” Giles is flattered, but begins the story. “The twins were born in England, in the Middle Ages. At the age of 19, Ariel and Oriona both fell in love with Declan, a warlock who was involved in some weird kind of cult.”
“Which I didn't know at the time.” Interrupts Ariel. Everyone looks at her. “Sorry. Just wanted to clear that up.”
“Anyway Declan 'blessed' the twins with immortality while deciding which sister he was in love with. When he chose Ariel, Oriona was upset, but accepted it. Unfortunately when Ariel found out about the cult and refused to be a part of it, Oriona was angry enough to kill her. She swore to destroy anything and everything her sister ever cared about in revenge. Would you like to take over Ariel?”
“During the 1700s, I fell in love with a young Irishman. A child was conceived. Oriona, who had befriended some of the worst types ever to get loose from Hell, arranged to have him turned into a vampire. He was turned the day after our daughter was born.” Ariel stops, for a second to get her emotions under control. Willow and Buffy look at each other in concern. Angel gets up and begins to pace. Ariel continues her story. “I spent the next couple of decades researching vampires and discovered Slayers. Often I helped them out when the occasion needed it, which was quite a bit back then. I soon found there were others - both mortal and immortal - who wished to help Slayers as I did and after a few decades we formed a Committee. Sort of a sister thing to the Watchers Council.”
“In retaliation Oriona began a committee of her own, but this one was on the side of the vampires. If a Slayer is causing too much damage to the vampire population of her region then Oriona will either send someone or herself to that area to eliminate the Slayer. Ariel can pick up Oriona's intentions and will always head off to protect the Slayer from, as she herself has said, 'Twisted Sister.'” Giles finishes up.
The story is met with silence. There are no sounds except for Angel’s footsteps. Willow speaks first. “So how do you know when Oriona's planning an attack?”
“Twin instinct.” Replies Ariel easily. “Plus the fact that she enjoys to fight me and will send a psychic message to let me know when and where.”
“What do you do when you're not protecting the current Slayer from your evil twin?” Xander queries. Ariel glanced at Buffy before answering. “Well, we collect information on the current Slayer and her Watcher, their strengths, their weaknesses, training before being called as a Slayer, obstructions to be overcome, the usual.”
“How do you gather this information?” Buffy questions with a set jaw. Angel looks quickly at Ariel. “Buffy, do you really need to know?”
“No, it's okay. We have, well, basically they're spies. Please don't hit me.” Xander starts to smile when he hears this, but it quickly disappears when he realizes she's serious.
“Uh, so how does Oriona know if a Slayers been causing problems?” Willow wonders. Ariel shrugs. “Same way I do. It could be anyone. Teachers, work-mates, friends, and in extreme cases, family.”
“So who in the school works for you?” Buffy’s question is met with silence. She looks around. “Well? Anyone I know? Any of you guys?”
Angel stops pacing and goes to Buffy, putting his hands on her shoulders.
“It's better you don't know.” He tells her. Buffy gives him an evil look. “Please trust me on this one.”
“No one in this room works for either me or Oriona. I've noticed a few of Oriona's employees around town thought. None of them are worth worrying about, with one exception.”
“Who is it?” demands Xander. Willow is worried about a confrontation. “Xander...”
“No damnit Will, someone's been spying on us and I want to know who the hell it is.” He protests. Ariel sighs. “You won't be able to touch them without the truth coming out.”
“Then so be it.” Xander remains stubborn. Giles stands and walks around the table to sit near Buffy. “They'll deny the whole thing. They've been doing so for, well, years.”
“You know who it is?” Willow exclaims in surprise. Buffy is getting madder. “Damnit why didn't you say anything?”
“Well, I, uh, I wasn't sure till now.”
“Who is it?” Xander presses on. Ariel and Giles exchange an uncomfortable look. Buffy realizes. “Oh my god. She hops up on the bench next to Willow. She looks at Ariel. “Snyder.”
“That would explain a lot.” Willow takes the news without surprise. Xander nods. “It all makes sense.”
“So what do I do now?” Buffy hops off the bench and paces around. “When will she attack?”
“At night. That's all I can say for certain.” Ariel’s voice has a helpless quality to it. Giles remembers something he read. “She won't attack alone though will she?”
“She usually stays with the most dangerous vampire in town and enlists their help.” Ariel confirms. Willow frowns. “Who's that?”
“Well I have a theory about that, but I doubt anyone will agree with me.” Xander comments. Angel gives Xander a look of annoyance. Buffy and Willow exchange a grin. Willow waits for an answer. “Well?”
“Spike.” Buffy looks at Ariel with certainty. “She'll attack with Spike.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That night at the factory the trio talks, Spike sitting in a throne-like chair, Drusilla is curled up on his lap. Oriona is rocking back and forth in a rocking chair.
“No your reports are all correct. She's bloody amazing. I can't get to 'er to kill 'er.” Spike confirms. Oriona answers coldly. “Or maybe you're slipping. And could someone explain this photo to me?
She hands a photograph of Angel and Buffy kissing to Spike.
“Wasn't that bit in your reports Oriona?” Drusilla asks sweetly. Oriona ignores her. “Is it true?”
“Oh of course, Huntress. Angel and the Slayer 'ave bin involved in smoochies for a while.” Spike answers a little bitterly. Drusilla twirls a lock of hair around her finger absently. “Wouldn't it be nice if...”
“If what pet?” Spike coaxes. Drusilla’s voice is dreamy. “If he turned 'er into a vampire?”
“That's one of the things I love about you Dru. You're full of ridiculous optimism.” Oriona rolls her eyes.
“Be nice.” Spike warns her. Oriona laughs coldly. “Oh I was.”
Spike hides a smile and winks at Oriona as Drusilla whines and buries her face in Spikes neck.
“Angelus and the Slayer.” Muses Oriona thoughtfully. “How long will this last?”
“Oh it ain't a fling.” Spike warns her. “He knows that she's a Slayer. She knows 'is sordid past as a vampire.”
“Oh shit the 'L' word.” Oriona gets up and helps herself to one of Spike's cigarettes. He lights it for her. “The thing is” she exhales smoke “Ariel still has a slight thing for Angel. We'll have to use that to our advantage somehow.
“Would his death break Ariel?” Spike asks. She thinks for a second then shrugs. “Possibly. What about the Slayer? How would his death affect her?”
Spike stands with Drusilla in his arms. She is fast asleep. He places her on a couch and covers her lightly with a blanket. He turns back to Oriona. “I like the way you think Huntress.”
“Oh really?” She teases. Spike heads back towards Oriona. When he reaches her his places his hands on her waist. Spike grins at her. “Oh yeah.”
Oriona slides her hands up his chest and around his neck. “What other thought of mine have you liked?”
Spike pulls her closer “I especially like the one where I get to feed off you.” Oriona runs her fingers through Spikes hair and cradles his head in her hands. “Oh that one. That's one I quite enjoy myself.”
She pulls his head down to her neck and holds it there as he drinks from her. The look on her face in one of pure rapture. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buffy swings back and forth while on patrol a few nights later. She looks across at Ariel swinging next to her.
“You don't have to be here you know.” Buffy tells her irritably. “Giles said that she wouldn't strike this soon.”
“I know. I just wanted to see your patrolling methods. Buffy, I know you don't like me, but please, please trust me on this one. I've been protecting Slayer's for over 200 years. I know my sister better than I know myself. Twin thing.” Ariel shrugs self-consciously. Buffy rolls her eyes and answers sarcastically. “Oh wonderful.”
They swing in silence for a few minutes, before either of them speaks. When the silence is broken it is by Buffy. “If you don't mind my asking... how well did you know Angel?”
“I loved him.” Ariel looks at the ground sheepishly. “I loved him more than life itself. I would have happily given up immortality to live a natural life with him.”
“That much huh?” Buffy pauses and looks at the ground also. “What was he like?”
“He was.. he was just Angelus. Not the monster, but a wonderful, amazing person. I can't really explain it. He was cheerful, happy almost all the time. Had a smile that could make me melt. That's one of the things I miss most about him.” Ariel fills her in. Buffy smiles sadly. “He rarely smiles now. He has no reason to.”
“He has you.” Ariel tells her. Buffy looks up, surprised. “That should bring a smile to his face. He obviously loves you, anyone can notice it. The last time I saw him smile - even briefly - was when he last saw Celestia. That was many years ago.”
“Who's Celestia?” Buffy asks. Ariel opens her mouth to answer but the deep and meaningful is interrupted by a Vampire. Big fight scene. At one stage Ariel, offers her help, Buffy refuses. Just as she kills the vampire, a teenage girl runs up to Ariel. “Ma!”
Ariel spins around, her jaw drops and she holds out her arms. “Oh baby!”
They hug happily. Buffy watches in confusion. Ariel stops hugging Celestia and holds her at arms length. “By Christ what are you doing here?”
“Came to see the parental units while they were in the same town. That hasn't happened for a few centuries.” Celestia teases good –naturedly. Ariel frowns. “Celestia...”
“Sorry Ma.” Celestia doesn’t sound the least bit sorry. “I know it's not your fault. Or his.” She sees Buffy. “Who are you?”
“Who are you?” Buffy replies sounding annoyed. Celestia grins. “I’m Celestia. That fussy old bitch is my mother.”
Celestia and Buffy shake hands. Buffy looks completely bamboozled. Buffy introduces herself. “I'm Buffy. The Slayer.”
“Oh cool.” Celestia replies, looking Buffy up and down. “Yeah, you're about what I expected, based on the reports. A little small though.”
Buffy's jaw drops in surprise, before her face takes on a look of anger. “Hey, what the hell give you the right to judge me? Just because your aunt is trying to kill me and your mother is trying to save my ass it doesn't give you any right to-”
“Whoa, Buffy settle down a little.” Ariel steps in. “She didn't mean any harm. As a single mother I tend to spoil her a little and as a result she can be a real brat. Besides she's 243 years old and she still acts like a teenager. Celestia. Apologize.”
“Ma, do I have-”
“YES!”
Celestia heaves a big theatrical sigh. “I'm sorry Buffy. It's just that I've heard a lot about you from various reports and I kinda read you files in the Council House and every time I've heard from Da, he's raved on about you.
Ariel grabs Celestia's arm. “When have you been in contact with your father?”
“Very sporadically. The last letter was about four months ago.” Celestia replies. Ariel drops her arm. “Do you plan on seeing him?”
“I'd like to.” Celestia answers. Buffy joins in the conversation again. “How long will you be staying? Either of you?”
“Until Oriona attacks.” Ariel confirms. “She'll only attack the Slayer once herself and if she loses she'll leave you alone. But she'll put a price on your head -not the Order of Taruka, she's had numerous troubles with them - and anyone who wants to can kill you and claim the reward.”
“When will the attack be?” Buffy asks. Ariel shrugs and put her arm around her daughter. “I don't know, but I'm staying in Sunnydale till she does. Sorry about that.”
Mother and daughter walk off, talking animatedly. Buffy stomps her foot in frustration and leaves. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buffy, Xander and Willow are sitting in the student lounge several days later, talking about Ariel and Celestia.
“What I can't get over is the fact that they only look like sisters. Ariel was nineteen when she became completely immortal and she mentioned once that Celestia was a woman trapped in a sixteen year olds body. They look more like sisters than mother and daughter.” Willow points out. Xander grins conspiratorially. “I wanna know about Celestia's father. All I've been able to wrangle out of her is that she sees him rarely, he is also immortal and his current residence is somewhere around the Hellmouth.”
“I just wish that Ariel wasn't my shadow constantly. She's been a big help on patrol and it's great knowing I have back up when I need it, but I’m just a little....” Buffy trails off as Ariel leans the upper half of her body over the back of the couch and finishes Buffy’s sentence. “sick of us. Celestia's a little brat and I'm little miss paranoia.”
“Don't finish my sentences. So you're stalking me at school now?” Buffy stands up and turns around ready for an argument. Xander holds up his hand. “Whoa. Down girl. Ariel's *not* here to kill you.”
“I'm sorry. It's just that it's been a week.” Buffy sounds frustrated. Ariel sighs. “I know exactly what you mean. Usually by now you'd be either dead or have a price on your head so high that you'd be living in fear of your life.”
“Well that's good news.” Willow reassures Buffy.
“Sorry, the purpose of my visit is to give you this” Ariel hands Buffy an envelope. “and to ask if you guys mind if Celestia comes to The Bronze with you tonight?”
“Thanks.” Buffy accepts the envelope. “Uh tonight.. Celestia.. The Bronze...”
“If you don't want her there just say so. It won't worry me.” Ariel tells her bluntly. Xander jumps in. “It's no problem.” Buffy turns to look at him in shock. “Is it Buffy?” He continues pointedly.
Buffy shoots Xander daggers, before turning back to Ariel. “You heard him. Tell her we'll see her there.”
“Will Angel be there?” Ariel enquires. Buffy holds up crossed fingers. “I'm hoping.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the Bronze that night, Buffy is sitting at a table waiting with Xander and Willow. As they look around Angel approaches their tables slowly,. As he sees Buffy his face breaks into a little smile. He is almost at the table when he glances behind them. His jaw drops and he hurries past them. Celestia walks slowly towards him.
“Celestia?” Angel asks in amazement. She looks over at him and her face lights up. Buffy, Willow and Xander are watching in confusion. Buffy is decidedly unhappy. Angel and Celestia push their way towards each other.
“Angel?” Celestia can’t believe it either.
The finally reach each other. Angel touches Celestia's face and hair. Celestia is lightly running her fingers across Angel's face. Slowly their foreheads touch. Buffy, Willow and Xander watch opened mouthed. Buffy looks furious.
“Uh, Buffy? What's going on?” Willow sounds confused. Buffy shakes her head. “I have no idea.” They keep watching.
Angel and Celestia are holding each other tightly, cheeks touching. Angel is crying. “My god Celestia.. it feels like forever.”
“I know. Believe me I know.” She reaches up and brushes away the tears. He captures her hand in his and starts to lead her away. “I'd better get back to the others.”
They get back to the table, but Buffy's gone and Willow and Xander look mad. Angel mutters something under his breath. “How long has she been gone?”
“She just left.” Xander answers tightly. Angel hits the table. “Shit.” He turns to Celestia. “Wait here ok?”
Celestia nods and sits down as Angel runs after Buffy. Xander and Willow face her accusingly Xander is the first to break the silence. “What's going on?”
Celestia looks up in surprise. “You mean you don't know?”
“Know what?” Willow asks. Celestia swears under her breath and get out of her seat. “I'll be back in a minute.”
She runs outside. Willow and Xander look at each other and follow. Outside The Bronze, Angel is running after Buffy.
“Buffy! Wait! Please, Buffy wait I need to talk to you.” He catches up to her and grabs her arm, spinning her around, forcing her to stop and face him. Buffy looks at him furiously. “What the *fuck* was all that about?”
“You haven't figured it out?” Angel answers in surprise. Celestia reaches them at this point, followed quickly by Willow and Xander. Celestia starts yelling at Angel. “Godamnit Angel didn't you tell her? Jesus Christ you really amaze me sometimes and I do *NOT* mean that in a *nice* way.”
Angel yells back at her. “Listen Celestia you stay *out* of this.” He turns to Xander and Willow. “You two as well. The three of you just *go*. This is something we need to sort out ourselves.”
“No.” Buffy interjects coldly. “They'll hear about it anyway, so why not first hand?”
“Celestia do as you're told.” Angel insists. “Go back to your mother.”
“Oh right after 20 years of nothing, you write to me raving on about your new girlfriend, telling me to come visit sometime *soon.* So I visit and the first chance you get you want me to piss off so you can spend time with her.” She yells at him in blind anger.
“Celestia...”
“Don't 'Celestia' me. It's been at least seventy -five years since we last saw each other. Don't pull the 'I'm your father and you'll do as I tell you' act now.” Celestia wipes tears from her face. Buffy is looking wildly from Angel to Celestia. “Father? Father?”
“Celestia is my daughter.” Angel confirms.
“But I thought vampires couldn't have children.” Willow comments, even more confused then she was previously. Xander sees a logical explanation. “So Angel's your sire?”
“That would be worst case scenario.” Buffy answers bluntly. Angel and Celestia look at her. “No offence intended to you two, but we've had a little trouble with some of your children before.”
“Buffy hadn't you figured it out?” Celestia asks her. “Ma fell in love with an Irishman who was turned into a vampire? The fact that Ma's known Da for 244 years ? The fact that I, myself am 243 years old? A vampire from Ireland living in Sunnydale? Me coming to the Hellmouth to see both my parents? Bloody Hell.”
She turns and runs off. Angel runs his fingers through his hair. “Shit.”
Xander and Willow look at each other and quietly leave. Buffy and Angel start to walk in the direction Celestia ran off in. Buffy looks at Angel. “Tell me.”
Angel smiles sadly. “Ariel was magical. I didn't love her, but I cared about her more than you could believe. Oriona found out and tried to entice me away. I was almost killed in the process. That night Celestia was conceived and nine months to the day later, Darla came along.”
“So you were changed the day Celestia was born? That's tragic.” Buffy feels sick at the thought. Angel puts his arm around her. “I only see Celestia when it suits her. She's immortal, probably more so than I. I've missed her so much...”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“I was scared.”
“Of my reaction? What I'd say? In case it changed my feelings towards you?”
“All of the above.” They stop walking. Buffy turns to face him. “I was worried you'd be....”
“Jealous? I am. Not enough to do anything stupid though. And why isn't there any mention of you having a daughter?” Buffy told him softly. Angel shrugged in answer to the question. “Celestia's parenthood was never proved. When Ariel found out I'd been changed, she told me that Celestia had died. It was only years later, after I was cursed, that she admitted the truth to either of us. She told Celestia her father had been killed. It wasn't exactly a lie.”
“Why is there no record of Celestia in Giles' books?”
Angel laughed. “Cause Ariel threatened to become close to them so they'd come under Oriona's attack. She said it had nothing to do with Celestia and it wasn't fair for the poor kid to be written about.”
“Good on her. I can see Ariel doing that too.” Buffy replied soberly. She smiles at him. He smiles back tentatively. They kiss briefly before being interrupted. Ariel laughs at the look on their faces when they see her. “OK kids, this is a public place, save it for when you get home.”
“Ariel.” Angel replies rigidly. “You really gotta work on your sense of timing.”
“You gotta work on your parental skills.” Ariel puts her hands on her hips and puts on a little girl voice. “What'd you do to my baby?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile at the factory, things are quiet. Oriona is laying on the table. Spike is hanging upside down from a pipe near the roof. He's right over the part of the table the Oriona is laying on. Drusilla is doing a Tarot reading. “There is animosity amongst the others.”
“Minor or major?” yawns Oriona raising her head. Drusilla smiles. “Minor right now. But it 'as potential to be major. And with the right circumstances it could give us what we want.”
“Which is what exactly pet?” asks Spike. Dru answers slowly. “To separate the Slayer from those who protect her. Angel. The Watcher. Ariel. Even... Angel's daughter.”
Oriona sits up suddenly banging her forehead against Spike.
“Ow! That 'urt”! Spike and Oriona simultaneously complain. They grin at each other and Oriona jumps off the table. “Celestia's in town? Interesting.”
“How long as Angel been a paternal unit?” Spike asks with interest. Oriona looks at him in surprise. “You didn't know? Shit where've you been?”
“Don't push it Huntress.” He warns affectionately. Oriona shrugs. “It's no common knowledge. Only a few people know. Celestia, Ariel, Cobya, Ariel's son, Angel, myself and now you two.”
She shrugs and lights a cigarette
“And the Slayer.” Adds Dru. Spike raises his eyebrows. “She knows?”
“And she's not 'appy.” Confirms Drusilla. Spike reaches down and lights a match along the top of the table. He lights his cigarette and begins swinging back and forth.
“What about Snyder?” He asks, still swinging, gaining momentum. Oriona throws her hands in the air. “They know. Ariel, How else?”
Spike swings off the pipe and somersaults onto the table, crouching there. “You'll 'ave to get rid of him. Get 'im out of the school, out of this fuckin' town before one of the good guys snaps and causes him serious bodily harm.”
“What if they already have?” Dru wonders. Oriona shrugs. “We'll send his family a sympathy card and a cheque.”
“You worry too much. He'll be right.” Predicts Spike confidently. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spike is wrong. The next day Buffy has Snyder by the throat and up against the wall. Angel and Ariel are sitting on his desk watching dispassionately. Ariel is using a pin to clean her fingernails and is clearly bored. “Did anyone bring any popcorn?”
“Oh I knew I forgot to pack something when I left my flat this evening.” Angel replies sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Ariel misses the sarcasm. “Damn.”
She hops off the desk and heads for the filing cabinet. She starts trying to jimmy it open. The action gets Snyders attention. “That contains confidential information.”
Ariel looks up. “No fucking kidding. What’s your point?” And goes back to the cabinet
Buffy pushes Snyder hard against the wall. “Who’s your boss?”
“The Board of Education.” Snyder answers quickly. Too quickly. Buffy makes a buzzer noise “EEEEH! Wrong answer.”
Ariel finally gets the filing cabinet open. “Gotcha!”
“I don’t know what you mean.” Protests Snyder. Angel looks at him emotionlessly. “Who secured your position in *this* school and why?”
“Seriously.” Snyder insists. “I have no idea what you mean.”
“Don’t bullshit me.” Warns Buffy. Without looking up, still flicking through the filing cabinet. Ariel starts to talk. “Don’t bother. Oriona makes her employees swear allegiance and to silence. You won’t get anything out of him.” She finds what she’s looking for. “Summers, Buffy. Here we go.”
“Angel, move.” Buffy instructs. He sighs and hops off the desk. Buffy pulls Snyder away from the wall and throws him on the desk. He hits his head on a paperweight. “Oh. What do you want from me?”
“The truth would be nice. Oh have a look at this.” Ariel reads from a piece of paper in Buffy's file. “Memo from Ana Hunter to Principal Snyder of Sunnydale High. ‘You must move soon. We have had several complaints on the lack of actions concerning one Slayer who is currently enrolled in your school. Please move quickly to avoid serious consequences, the least of which would be your termination as Principal. You were sent to Sunnydale with a purpose, which you will have to fulfill within the next few months. If you fail to do so, I will have to intervene myself and your employed position will become open to other applicants.’” Ariel looks at him. “Have you been lying to us?”
Snyder remains silent. Angel thinks of something that may get a reaction. “I wonder what Oriona and Spike are planning?”
“What do you know of Oriona?” whispers Snyder. Ariel grins at Angel. “I'm in a position to about quite a lot of things.”
“Can I stake him?” Buffy asks eagerly. Snyder looks around anxiously. “I’m not a vampire.”
“No, but a stake through the heart will cause death. Or very serious bleeding.” Angel reminds him. Snyder considers this for a second. Willow and Xander burst through the door.
“Giles said you were-” Willow starts, before seeing the scene before her. “Oh shit.”
“Well this should be interesting.” Xander states, hopping onto a table and reaching into his bag. “Popcorn anyone?”
Ariel sits next to Xander on the table and has some popcorn. Buffy and Willow exchange a look. “Where's Celestia?” asks Ariel around a mouthful of popcorn. Willow answers. “With Giles. Don't worry, she'll be perfectly safe in the library.”
“I know. But Celestia's -”
“Your baby.” finishes Angel. “Do you ever worry about Cobya like this?”
“Who's Cobya?” asks Willow, sounding interested. Ariel grins with pride. “My son.”
Xander looks at Angel thoughtfully and opens his mouth. Angel sees the look. “No. He isn't.”
“Just checking.” Xander shrugs and turns his attention back to the popcorn. Willow is still interested in the topic of Cobya. “How old is he?” She considers that question for a second. “How old does he look?” She amends.
“Can we get back to the topic at hand?” Buffy asks as she holds a stake above Snyder's head “What is being planned?”
“Your death.” Answers Snyder, giving them the first honest answer all day. Everyone looks at him in mock surprise. Xander rolls his eyes. “Can we say 'Duh?'”
“Why?” Angel asks Snyder. Xander shakes his head. “As I said before, can we say Duh?”
Everyone ignores him.
“You've caused more trouble for the vampire population than any Slayer ever recorded.” Snyder tells Buffy. “In 200 years, you alone have killed more vampires, battled more demons than any of the other Slayers before you.”
“Whoa.” Buffy is pretty much at a loss for words. A voice speaks from the doorway. “I'd take that as a compliment if I were you.”
Everyone looks at the figure leaning against the office door. Ariel’s face lights up. “Cobya!”
She runs and hugs him. Xander looks from Cobya to Angel and asks “Are you sure? The eyes, the stance, the nose?”
“Shut up Xander.” Angel is not in the mood for this. Cobya looks around, confused. “What's wrong with my nose?”
“Nothing baby. It's perfect.” Ariel sooths. Cobya grins. “Thanks Ma.” He sees Buffy. “Hey, you must be Oriona's latest target. Congratulations, everyone other Slayer has been killed before now.” She gives a big fake smile, dropping it and rolling her eyes. Cobya sees Snyder. “Why is this piece of shit still alive?”
“Buffy's trying to get information out of him.” Willow volunteers. Xander adds “And we're enjoying the show. Want some popcorn?”
Cobya ignores Xander, goes up to Buffy and puts his hand on her arm. “Oriona is staying with Spike and Dru. They're hoping Celestia's arrival will cause problems and isolate you from those who will protect you. You and Angel and you and Ma.”
“How would that work?” Willow wonders. Ariel replies softly. “Cause Angel didn't tell Buffy about his daughter.”
“And Ariel has done what I never can - give Angel a child.” Buffy says quietly. Everyone lapses into silence. Buffy buries her face in her hands, letting go of Snyder and dropping the stake, Angel steps over to her and holds her. Now free to move, Snyder rolls off the table and starts to move towards the door. Cobya spins around, throwing a stake at Snyder as he does. The stake hits Snyder in the heart and bursts into ashes.
“I think I'm hallucinating.” Xander comments. Ariel looks at him. “Me too. What's in the popcorn?”
They look warily at each other and then at the popcorn. Cobya picks up his knife and puts his arm around his mother.
“Daywalker?” Angel asks. Cobya nods. “Yep”
“I shoulda known.” Angel mutters, disgusted with himself for not picking up on it himself. Cobya looks at him. “Before everyone freaks, let's head off to the library. I wanna see Celestia and Giles will wanna hear about it too.”
They head into the library and sit down. Everyone is looking at Giles, who explains. “A daywalker is a vampire that can go out in the sun. Only a few have been blessed - or cursed - with this power. There were only a few left who can bestow this 'honour' he uses his fingers to make quotation marks as he says honour, indicating sarcasm and to the best of my knowledge they are all dead.”
“You called it a curse. Why would it be a curse?” Willow wants to know. Angel answers her. “You'd have to do the daytime jobs, most of which are really shitty. That's why I turned it down. But there is a sense of power that comes with it. Other vampires automatically treat you with respect.”
“Ever regret it?” Celestia asks, looking at him with concern. Angel shakes his head. “Never.”
She smiles at him proudly.
“What do we do now?” Xander enquires. Cobya shrugs and sits next to his mother. “United she lives, divided she dies.”
“You really have a talent for boiling things down to the bluntest form don't you?” Angel comments, sounding annoyed. Cobya ignores this. Ariel puts her arm around Cobya. “So we unite. Any objections?”
“Niente.” Willow.
“Nada.” Xander.
“Nien.” Celestia
“None.” Angel.
“Not bloody likely.” Giles.
Cobya shrugs halfheartedly as everyone fixes their gazes at him. Angel’s voice is dripping with false sweetness. “Cobya? You'd rather let down your mother and sister than side with me?”
“I'm in.” He affirms. “But *only* for Ma and Celestia. *You* are incidental.”
“Well as long we're all in agreement.” Ariel ignores the animosity between Angel and Cobya. “Oriona's planning to attack next time Buffy patrols alone.”
“This may not be the obvious answer to everyone else, but I figure we keep someone with her at all times and she'll be right.” Suggests Celestia. Xander smiles at her. “My sentiments exactly.”
“It's a little more complicated than that, sweetheart.” Sighs Angel. Xander looks worried. “Sweetheart? Celestia your fathers hitting on me! Make him stop!”
Cobya ignores him. “I think what we should is –“
“How do you know?” Giles interrupts. Cobya looks guiltily at Giles and then at Ariel. “Well remember that phase I went through? When I was dabbling in Oriona's side of things? When I told you that I wanted to weigh up both sides before committing myself?”
“If anyone needs to be committed it would be you.” Mutters Angel under his breath. Ariel hits his left shoulder, Buffy hits his right shoulder and Celestia elbows him in the ribs.
“Shut up Angel.” Warns Ariel. Cobya smirks at Angel. “Thank you Ma. I never told Oriona that I chose your side. She just thinks I'm very indecisive.”
“You stupid fool!!” Angel exclaims. Cobya stands up. “I'm older than you. I could kick your ass if I wanted to.”
“Yeah and I could probably kick yours.” Buffy defends her boyfriend.
“Probably.” He agrees candidly “But, for my sister sake I'll let you be.” Turns away from Angel and looks at Buffy. “You forget little girl, I'm immortal. You ain't.”
Ariel has had enough. “Can we quit the macho bullshit please son?” Cobya looks at Ariel and nods, stepping away from Angel. “Angel could you not insult your daughter’s brother?” Angel rolls his eyes and nod reluctantly. “Thank you both. Oh and Buffy?” Buffy looks at Ariel “Before you kick my son's ass, let me teach a few tricks that never fail to beat him”.
Buffy grins. Willow, Xander and Giles are exchanging amused looks.
“I'd forgotten about her temper.” Murmurs Giles. Xander looks surprised. “I’ve never seen anyone tell him off like that. Not even Buffy.”
“It could just be me, but does anyone else get the impression that Angel and Cobya aren't exactly close?” asks Willow, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.
“You know Will, your powers of observation astound me. They really do.” Xander retorts. Willow looks at him in exasperation. “Kiss my ass.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the factory, Spike and Dru are arguing. Again.
“What do you mean it didn't work?” asks Spike in frustration. Dru shrugs. “They're getting along fine. Only a small disagreement, but not enough for us to safely attack.”
Oriona walks in with a can of drink. She sips from it and puts it on the table. “Cobya's in town.”
“How can you tell?” Spike asks with interest. Oriona smiles. “Cobya and I share a bond. He and Angel can't stand each other. Cobya feels that Angel took his mother away from him, and Angel knows that Cobya came to me and asked me to turn Angel into a vampire.”
“Not exactly a close family.” Observes Spike. Oriona gives him a look of disgust. Spike returns it, ruining the effect with a smile. “So united they stand?”
“I can't take much more of this town.” Moans Oriona. “ It's taking longer than ever before.”
“Not enjoying your time spent on the Hellmouth?” Drusilla asks snidely. Oriona just looks at her. Dru returns the look with a smirk and Oriona lunges and grabs her by the throat. She shakes Dru and reaches behind her for a stake.
“NO!” Spike grabs the stake out off Oriona's hand and forces her away from Drusilla. He takes her by the shoulders and shakes her. “No. You'll have to go through me first.”
“Then so be it.” Sneers Oriona.
They fight coldly and calmly, neither getting the upper hand. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Suddenly, at the library, Cobya stops what he's doing and cocks his head. “Oriona and Spike are fighting.”
“I'm surprised they haven't killed each other by now.” Ariel barely raises her head. Cobya pushes further saying. “I'm serious. Oriona and I have a bond. We used to be very close. She's calling for me to help.”
“It could be a trap.” Giles stops and looks at him. Cobya shakes his head. “It's not. Oriona and I may have been close once and I may think that the only thing lower than *him*” indicating Angel “is a rat with syphilis, but Ariel is my mother, Celestia is my sister and this is a matter of family honour. Let's go.”
He storms out of the library, leaving Celestia, Angel, Giles, Buffy, Xander and Willow no choice, but to follow. Oriona and Spike are still fighting, with Dru standing nearby whimpering when Buffy and the others come in and watch for a second.
“Is this fight private or can anyone join in?” Buffy interrupts. They stop fighting and look at the others. Oriona breaks into a smile. “Cobya! You came!”
“I did. It's over Oriona.” Cobya refuses to return the smile. Willow throws a vase at Oriona, hitting her in the head. Ariel pushes through and follows up with a kick to the head. The twins start to fight each other. Spike is left alone with the others. Xander looks at Spike and then at the others. “Who wants to fight this one?”
“I will.” Volunteers Cobya. He attacks Spike. There is no one left for the others to fight. Angel watches Cobya in amazement. “Who taught Cobya to fight?”
“Ariel and his father. Incredible isn't it?” Giles is also studying Cobya’s fighting technique. Angel nods. After a few seconds Oriona karate chops Ariel in the throat. Ariel goes down, gasping for breath.
“Ma!” cries Celestia, simultaneous with Angel’s cry of “Ariel!”
They run over to her. Willow looks worried. “Buffy, can you fight Oriona?”
“I'd love to.” Buffy assents. She steps in and they begin to fight. Ariel is helped up by Angel and Celestia. Ariel protests feebly. “I'm okay.”
“Sit and relax for a while.” Directs Celestia. She looks at Oriona and Buffy fighting. Buffy is holding her own, but just barely. She realizes something. “Oh my god.”
Not far away, Spike stops and looks at Cobya. “You can't win this. The Slayer will die.”
“Not while I'm here.” Cobya promises. They face off for a few seconds, then Drusilla comes to the door. “Spike?” He looks at her “I brought help.”
There is a large group of vampires behind her. Cobya uses the opportunity to pick up a plank of wood and as Spike turns back to him, Cobya hits Spike across the face with it. Spike goes down and when the vampires see this they turn and run, Drusilla among them. Back where Buffy and Oriona are fighting, Buffy spies the plank Cobya used to knock out Spike and calls for help. “Willow! Plank!”
Willow nods and pushes the plank over to Buffy. Xander sees that Oriona will need to be distracted so Buffy can pick up the plank. He ducks behind Oriona to the opposite side of the plank.
“Hey! Evil twin! Over here!” calls Xander. Oriona turns toward him, giving Buffy the chance to attack Oriona. She swings the plank and it connects with the back of her skull. Oriona drops across the table. Giles looks at Ariel. “How do we kill her?”
“However you want to.” She shrugs. Xander puts his hand in the air. “Uh, correct me if I'm wrong, but the immortality means you can't die. Opposite of mortal.”
“In this case she can. Oriona isn't completely immortal. Her body stays the same as it was when she was made immortal, but she can be killed.” Celestia clarifies. Willow looks at Celestia and Ariel. “What about you?”
“Celestia and I are completely immortal. When I was engaged to Declan I was granted complete immortality. Family lines were handed down through the women of the family as no man can be one hundred per cent certain of the child's paternity. I was given complete immortality and any heiresses born to me would remain in a sixteen year olds form. But any sons of mine would be forever young and immune to disease, but could be mortally wounded. I have lost two sons that way.” Explains Ariel. Giles asks a question of his own. “How many children do you have?”
“About 17.” Ariel hides a smile. Giles and Xander raise their eyebrows at each other. Angel hides a grin. Buffy is still looking at Oriona’s body. “Anyone got a fatal weapon?”
“Here you go.” Willow hands her an axe. Cobya ponders cause of death. “Decapitation, dismemberment of body parts, laying into her like a psycho from a horror movie?”
“All of the above?” Xander suggests. Buffy raises the axe to decapitate Oriona. Angel intervenes. “Wait! Celestia's had a thought.”
Ariel grins at her daughter. “Congratulations hon. It's like sex. Hurts like hell the first time, but each time after that gets a little easier.”
Celestia cringes. “Thank you for sharing Ma, but that was definitely a 'too much information' moment.” She pauses and looks around “Oriona's a daywalker.”
“You sure?” Willow is skeptical. Celestia’s voice is certain. “Positive. And if I'm wrong it should kill her anyway.”
Giles gives Buffy a stake, she slams it into Oriona's heart and she bursts into ashes. Giles looks at the ashes for a second before turning to Buffy. “Well that's that.”
“So it is.” Ariel agrees. “I could go into retirement now.” She thinks about what the means and she considers her options. Angel notices that Celestia is holding her wrist and biting her bottom lip. He goes to her.
“Let me see.” After a quick inspection, he smiles. “It's only a slight sprain. It should be okay in a few days.” She looks up at him and nods, her eyes full of tears. “It's okay Cel. Everything's okay.” He wraps her in his arms and hugs her as she cries. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next at the library, Ariel and Cobya are saying goodbye to everyone and waiting for Celestia to show up. Cobya checks his watch. “Where is she? I know she and her old man had a lot to catch up on, but Jesus Christ if she misses this plane –“
“I'll stay in Sunnydale and spend more time with Da.” Celestia finishes as she walks in the door. Cobya picks up his bag. “Great. You're staying, we're going, nice to meet you all, it's been fun must do it again soon. Hey Willow, I have your address here, I’ll write to you soon.” Willow smiles happily. Cobya looks at Ariel. “Ma?”
“Are you sure?” Ariel asks Celestia. Celestia nods. “Yeah. Da suggested it.”
“It's no trouble. I've only just realized how much I've missed out on.” Angel says as he puts his arm around Celestia's shoulders. “Ariel, you've had claim to her for over 200 years It's my turn.”
“Oh Christ no, I wasn’t disputing that.” Ariel disregards that suggestion and looks at her watch “We'd better go. Cel - behave, don't annoy your father too much and be nice to Buffy, Xander and Willow. And especially Giles.”
“The, uh, school thing?” Giles reminds her. Ariel flinches. “Can you take care of it?”
“Sure.” Giles agrees. Xander smiles at Ariel. “Don't worry we'll keep her under control while those two nods at Buffy and Angel are preoccupied.”
“Don't tell her that. She won't let me stay.” Warns Celestia in an urgent whisper. Ariel laughs at her. “Yeah I will. Just look after my baby all right?”
“If my little sister gets into any trouble because of you guys, especially *you*” Cobya points at Xander. “But namely *you*” turns to point at Angel “I will come back and rip you apart.”
“We get your point. Don't you have a plane to catch?” Angel replies pointedly. Celestia giggles. Ariel makes a face at Angel. “Was that a hint?” She smiles at him “Godamnit it's been good seeing you again. Take care all of you. And if you need any help just give me a yell.”
“Ma. Plane.” Reminds Cobya. He starts to drag her out the door. Ariel sticks her head around the door frame. “Keep in touch all of you.”
“Ma!” Cobya drags her out the door. Everyone laughs and Celestia wipes a tear away. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The beach at night. A small fire burns . Angel and Buffy sit close together. Willow is curled up watching the fire dreamily. Xander and Celestia are roasting marshmallows and laughing. Close up of Angel and Buffy.
“Are you sure you don't mind Celestia staying with me?” Angel asks for the umpteenth time.
“NO!!” Buffy exclaims in exasperation. “I think it's great that you have a daughter, now that I'm over the jealousy bit.”
“Look at it this way-“ Angel starts to say something and then glances across the fire. “What the hell?”
Xander and Celestia are kissing. Angel jumps up, goes around the fire and taps Xander on the shoulder.
“Xander?”
Xander breaks off the kiss unwillingly. “Not now Fangs, I'm busy.”
“With my daughter.” Angel reminds him. Celestia interjects. “Now Da, I'm quite old enough to take care of myself. Don't go wiggy on me.”
“All right, you can make your own decisions, but *you*” Angel turns to Xander in game face “hurt my little girl and....” he snarls
“He's so cute when he gets protective.” Buffy whispers to Willow. Xander gulps. “Uh... okay.”
“It's an idle threat. He wouldn't. He hasn't in decades.” Celestia reassures him.
“Yes, but I haven't found anyone sleazing onto my daughter in decades.” Angel reminds Celestia.
“I wasn't sleazing,” protests Xander. “I was...”
“You were what?? Angel growls at Xander again. Xander holds his hands up in surrender. “Nothing.”
Willow, Celestia and Buffy laugh. Angel smirks and rejoins Buffy. Willow tries to lighten the mood. “I have a question. Who wants to answer a question?”
“Tell us your question Will.” Encourages Buffy. Willow pulls a five dollar note out of her pocket. “Here's a five dollar note. Look carefully and you'll find a hitchhiker. See him?”
Xander takes the note off her and examines it closely. After a few minutes he gives up. “I can't find him.”
Willow smiles. “Oh well. He must have gotten a lift then.”
Everyone laughs, enjoying the moment, content in each others company and banishing all thoughts of demons and the Hellmouth from their minds.
