Want, take, have: A Buffy season three AU game

I've a very great dislike for airports. Heathrow was at least orderly if crowded. At least there they knew how to handle one with the descent respect one deserves as one of their clients. The flight was pure horror. I ended up between two rather large American ladies who were obviously friends and had visited London for a short vacation. It all ended up with them rather over enthusiastically telling me all about their trip, showing me photographs, which for some reason I cannot fathom, also involved showing me photographs for their entire bloody family. I smiled and nodded politely, because they obviously meant well. But really, they were quite annoying. If that was to be an indication of American people...

I was never more happier when we finally landed at LAX. Saying my goodbyes to the ladies, I made my way over to collect my luggage. I had half expected it to still be in London or somewhere on a desert Island in the middle of the pacific with my luck. But wonder of wonders it was just where it should be. Collecting them I made my way over to my next line of business. Getting a car to drive to this Sunnydale. And a map, a map would be very useful as well, I guess.

"There ya go, Mister Wyndam-Pryce," The charming young lady smiled at me. She handed over the keys to the car the Council had rented for me. "And don't forget," she continued with a giggle. "We drive on the right side of the road here."

"I shall endeavor to remember that, Miss," I smile at her. Twit. As if I'm not aware of the fact that most of the rest of the world is driving on the wrong side of the road. Dragging my luggage after me I make my way over to the car and sigh when I finally get behind the wheel. I need to calm down and focus here. I can't make my father proud or the council if I go around as a bloody nervous wreck. The letter for Mister Giles is burning in my pocket. I wonder if he got the official one yet. Add that job and the one I came here to do, that's quite a lot for someone who just came from the academy. But I can do it, they have chosen me, no matter my fathers objections.

It's going to be difficult but the job needs to be done. And I shall prove to everyone once and for all that I'm the right man for the job. Staring the car I peer at the map I've purchased and blink. Sunnydale is quite some distance from Los Angeles. Dear lord, I do hope I don't get lost. This is America after all. Bloody hell I'm nervous, I really hope I will calm down during the drive. I cannot muck this up.

There was tension, yep definitely tension. No one seemed all that happy, I for one was nearly miserable. I guess I should have been happy, back in school, soon to be reunited with my friends and loved ones as well as Cordelia. However that offered me little comfort, in fact I was feeling a little scared. What if something went wrong again and I would not be able to handle it. What if I was really expelled this time, maybe I would have been better off sticking with my waitressing job and never coming back. No, no that was not an option and I knew that, but all the same something worried me.

Eventually Mom left and the lovely awkward conversation was over. Not to say being alone with Giles was a box of cookies (cookies god I was hungry) but it was a little bit easier to deal with him alone than it was when mom was here. Anyway, it was still not easy; I kept wanting to both apologize to him and demand he apologized to me and I think those too emotions canceled each other out so I said nothing, or at least very little.

I think Giles just wanted everything to go back to normal. He was not really one for talking about our feelings, or discussing what had happened, and working through it. I think such things made him uncomfortable, all the messy emotion; It must be an uptight British thing. Anyway instead of sitting down over tea and scones (British people eat scones right? Or am I thinking of the Irish) Giles wanted to go right to the training; specifically the type of training that involved him putting a blindfold on me.

“So you aren’t going to drug me or anything?” I asked as I felt the soft material of the blindfold cover my eyes.

"I suppose I deserved that. No, Buffy. This is about building trust, not taking it away." I nod as he gives the blindfold an extra tug to make sure it was good and tight.

“Ouch Giles, my hair.” I moan as he rips a few strands of hair out. “God this is not really making me what to trust you.”

I was so lost in the fight, I didn't even hear her scream out to me. Didn't hear her call my name and beg me to save her. I hadn't heard anything but my foot connecting solidly with one of Ycul's pals' face.

"Whatcha got to say now?" A wicked smirk spread across my face as I sauntered up towards his fallen form, stake in hand.

The vampire only sat up and matched my smirk, his eyes darting behind me. "Your watcher's about to be toast, slayer."

I turned around just in time to see Ycul holding Kate up by her throat, I could already see her legs. They were crushed and hung at an awkward angle, in fact she hardly moved at all as she dangled in the air.

"Kate!" I yelled, starting to move towards Ycul. But he only pulled her closer to him, shaking his head.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Faith." He shook his head at me and I stopped short. Looking around I realized there were more vampires, filling up the warehouse, surrounding me completely.

"Faith!" Kate squeeked out at me. "Get out of here, get help!"

"You should listen to your watcher." Ycul smiled at me as he quickly turned his wrist, snapping Kate's neck back. Her body dropped to the floor with a loud thud and all I could do was watch. "I have a feeling your going to need all the help you can get."

I lashed out as I felt someone's hand on my arm. Snapping my eyes open I realized I had the bus driver's wrist in a death grip. She gave me a startled look and I instantly let go of her.

"Sorry." I mumbled.

"That's okay." She rubbed her raw wrist and took a tentative step away from me. "I didn't want to wake you, but we've arrived in Sunnydale."

Sittin' up and looking around I realized the bus was empty, and the bus was parked in some ghetto lookin' parking lot. The Sunnydale Bus Depot, classy joint for a classy chick like me. Standing up, I barely glanced at the bus driver as I slung my duffel bag over one shoulder and stepped off the bus.

Welcome to Sunnyd. Home sweet home.

"Sit, Pryce," Quintin Travers looks from the corners of his eyes at me.

I can see him measuring me up, wondering if they had made the right choice. Slowly sitting down I make sure to use the correct decorum. Though my back was starting to ache from standing so ramrod straight while I waited for Mister Travers to arrive. I am still stunned that they have chosen me. My father had led me to believe that I'd never make an active watcher, even though I was on the top of my class in nearly everything. It was of course never enough. But wonders of all wonders the news I received yesterday, by message of my father no less, proven him wrong.

I can't help but still be a little smug about it.

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"Congratulations, Pryce," Travers says from behind his desk.

While he folds his hands together he gives me a once over and I try very hard not to squirm in my seat. "Thank you, Sir."

"Of course I won't have to tell you what the job entails. You have after all been trained for it." He waved a hand around vaguely.

"That is correct, Sir."

"There is however a second task that you will be given." Pulling open his drawer he pulls out a file.

A second task? What could that be? I wreck my brain trying to come up with anything that might be given as a second task but come up blank.

"Rupert Giles," Travers begins, and I do believe I detect a note of disgust in his voice. "Is getting far too attached to the Slayer he's supposed to watch."

"Appalling," I nod, though I still don't particularly see why this is such a bad thing. But it is against council rules and therefor must be obeyed.

"I'm glad you agree, Pryce." Opening a file he pulls out a letter. One almost similar to one I received yesterday. With official stamp. "This letter was send to Mister Giles yesterday by courier. It informs him that he is put on probation as a Watcher to the Summers girl awaiting assessment." He looks awfully pleased at that.

"Sir?"

"As a second task you will be observing them, mostly Rupert Giles of course. You are to report back to The Council via myself. You shall determine if Mister Giles is suitable to remain as Miss Summers Watcher or not." He steeples his fingers together and looks at me over the rim of his glasses. "If he's found unsuitable, Pryce, you will become the first Watcher in history with two Slayers. And that at such a young age, wouldn't that make your father proud."

I look at him with wide eyes. I do believe that I've just been informed in a round about way to make sure Mister Giles is not to be found suitable. "Yes, Sir." I can't do that. I don't even know the man. But two Slayers. That should make even my father proud shouldn't it?

"I'm glad we understand each other. That will be all, Pryce. You have two days to get your things here in order. After that you shall be on your way to the Hellmouth in California. Your Slayer has already been send there. I shall be awaiting reports every week." We both stand up and shakes hands. He gives me the letter and throws a pointed look at me. "We do understand each other don't we, boy?"

"Yes, Sir," I nod. Clutching the letter I walk out of the office in a bit of a daze, managing not to walk into the door this time. I'm the official watcher to The Slayer. Perhaps even both. I still can't believe it. But I can do this. I must, I know what to do. It's been ingrained since childhood. And I shall make a fair assessment of Mister Giles as I see fit.

I shall make my father proud.

School again, I swear summers are never freakin' long enough. It should be split, six months of school and six months of summer. That'd be long enough for me to blow through Daddy's money and get me some kicking outfits. Not that I don't already have the kicking outfits to go along with the body, but... school, yeah. Sucks. Cheer leading, my only savior on the face of this earth.

Even cheer leading couldn't save me from the vision now walking down the hallway toward the library I'm assuming. Not like she ever goes anywhere else, her and Giles have that little thingy of theirs going on. Still, why the heck did Snyder let that little freako back in here? I mean c'mon she does nothing but start fights and is a constant nuisance. Sure she does her Slayer thing yeah yeah. I think the whole weird little group of geeks needs to be kicked out of this school. At least things would seem normal. Ah, who am I fooling, nothing in this cracked out little town known as Sunnydale is ever normal.

I stroll and watch Mrs. Summers and Buffy disappear into the library, thank god for small favors and not having to pretend to be polite around her mother. As if. I see my girls up the hall and I wave out to them, heading toward them.

"This school year is gonna rock the cheer leading world ladies." I smile and submerge myself into the middle of the group, rambling off my awesome ideas.

I tried not to eye the clock on the wall too frequently. It would not do to get myself in a tither over something so paltry. Instead, I focussed on sorting the returns, checking for any dog-ears, defacing, and making note of any late fees I would have to charge for those errant pupils who'd kept my books out too long. Technically they weren't my books per se, but sometimes I felt proprietorial about them. After all, they were in my charge.

As was Buffy Summers.

Really, there was no need for me to be nervous for her. I was confident that the meeting with Principal Snyder would go well and that she would be redmitted to school without much further ado. And yet I couldn't help fretting a little. When I'd confronted Snyder in his office recently, he'd seemed so stubbornly set on preventing Buffy from ever stepping onto school grounds again. Even my threats to make life difficult for him had seemingly done little to sway him. It was needless worry though, I told myself. Buffy was resilient and plucky, I was sure she would be facing down Snyder like a trooper. And with her mother at her side, and the school board backing her request, what could go wrong?

Perhaps a calming cup of earl grey was in order. Settle the nerves a little. I glanced up at the clock again. Perhaps they were done now. I wondered if Willow had relayed my message to Buffy about wanting to see her. She was probably still feeling odd about being back. I'd tried not to push her to resume her training so soon after her return, but at the same time, I knew we had to get back to a routine. Move past the last few hellish months. I was so relieved to have her back safe and sound though that I'd let things slide.

And there was more to it. I saw it in her eyes. Some deeper malaise, for want of a better word. Her friends wanted to think she was better, healing from her ordeal at Angelus' hands and yet, I knew that she was not. Call it a watcher's instinct. I would have to get to the bottom of it, if I truly wanted to help Buffy move on and rebuild her life again.

But first, some tea.

[open to Snyder, Buffy and anyone else wanting to visit the school library]

Sometimes when I wake up I just want to scream. I dream of him often, Angel, I dream about killing him, I always dream about killing him. I do not kill him the same way in every dream, sometimes I do stab him and watch him get sucked into hell, another time I just pushed him into the sun, and once I accidentally stabbed him with a pencil. The circumstances always vary and some are happy and others are sad, but they all end the same way, they all ended with me killing angel.

Angel… I missed him so much. I had loved him; really loved him and I had sent him to hell. It had not been his fault, not really, it was Angelus who tortured Giles and killed Jenny, it was never Angel. So if I know this to be true why do I still blame him? I do blame him; I can’t help but resent him a little even as I defend him to everyone, especially when I defend him to Giles. I love Giles, I mean he is the closer to me in everyway than even my own Father and when he looks at me with that pained look I often find myself faltering. I want Giles to forgive him because that would be the permission I need to completely forgive Angel myself. After all I can’t resent him, I can’t bear to resent the man I sent to hell.

“Buffy?” Mom was sitting next to me as we waited to see Snyder about the terms of my admittance back into Sunnydale. I smiled at her; she smiles back and gives my hand a small squeeze. “You seemed a little stressed, don’t worry hon. Snyder has no choice but to let you back in.” I nodded, actually getting back into school had been the farthest thing from my mind right now and I am sure mom knew that.

“I know.” I say and squeeze her hand back. I was a little worried about school, at least the getting back in aspect of it. I knew Willow and Xander where worried about me and would be there to give me moral support no matter what happened. Thinking of them made me feel a little better. They of course could not understand the whole story of Angel’s death, after all Willow still did not know that her spell had actually worked. I had no desire to tell her though. I mean part of me wanted to tell her, give her the satisfaction of knowing her spell had worked, but I just can’t bring myself to tell her.

“The Principal is ready to see you.” The secretary says this in the most pleasant way possible but you can tell by the way she says Principal that she does not much care for the man, but than again who in their right mind would.

“Alright, think happy thoughts and we can get through this.” My mom says as we stand up and the secretary leads us to Snyder’s office. “I would say imagine him naked if you get nervous, but really I don’t think that would be wise.” I smile at my mom and shake my head.

“Yeah probably not for the best.” I say and we enter his office.