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Author's Chapter Notes:
If anyone read this when I first posted, I had an author's note up that was supposed to be just on another site, and I forgot it was on the file and uploaded it here, too. The reviews on this site have been very good so far, and I thank you all. :)
Buffy looked up at the two story house that the Slayer had indicated was hers. "Well, this is quaint. Looks all…homey."

"I live here with my Watcher," Nancy said, going up on the front porch with Buffy close behind. "He also works in the library of the local high school. That's how I met Willow and Xander."

Buffy frowned. "What is a Watcher doing playing high school librarian?"

"The opening of the Hellmouth is there. This way, he can keep an eye on it," Nancy said as she fished her keys out of her pocket.

"Ah. How convenient."

"Giles!" Nancy called as soon as they walked into the house. "Giles, are you here?"

A middle-aged man walked into the foyer, frowning when he saw Buffy beside Nancy. "Hello, Nancy. You've brought a guest?"

"Sort of. I told her she could stay with us tonight. Her name is Buffy, and…"

"Buffy? Buffy Summers?"

When her Watcher's glasses came off as he said the girl's name, Nancy knew that things were more serious than she'd thought. "I didn't ask her last name…" Nancy said.

"Yeah, well, I'm right here, so I can tell you that's who I am."

Giles replaced his glasses and cleared his throat. "The Council has been looking for you. Ever since…"

"Howard's death, I know. But I had things to do, and I didn't much feel like being shuffled off to Merry Ol' England." Buffy gave Giles a warning glare. "And don't even bother calling Travers, because I'll be out of here by tomorrow evening anyway."

"I don't understand," Giles replied with a frown. "You've been missing for over a year, now you show up in the home of the active Slayer and say you'll be gone tomorrow? The Council…"

"I don't care about the Council," Buffy snapped. "I'm here for William the Bloody."

Giles's glasses came off again. "Spike? You've come to Sunnydale to… Miss Summers, this is, well, frankly it's insanity. For whatever your family history may be, you yourself are not a Slayer. To go up against a master vampire that strong would be nothing short of suicide for you."

Buffy stood as tall as she could. "I faced him tonight."

"Yeah, and he would've killed you if I hadn't intervened," Nancy said with a snort.

Buffy turned, her hand on the door. "It was a mistake coming here. I should be searching for him right now."

Giles moved quickly, grabbing Buffy's hand and taking it away from the door. "It would be in your best interest, Miss Summers, to stay here, at least for the evening. You look as if you could use some rest. And if you do not want me to contact Quentin Travers, then I will respect your wishes. But do stay here. Would you like something to eat?"

Buffy eyed him warily. Why did people keep using food to convince her to stay? She admitted to herself reluctantly that it was probably those bones of hers that were so clearly protruding. She didn't spend a lot of time in front of a mirror, but she knew all too well that she was sporting that starving street orphan look. She backed away from the door. "I'm only agreeing to stay so I can gather my strength to fight the vampire tomorrow night," she said.

"Yes, of course," Giles replied, guiding her towards the kitchen. "Nancy, I believe there's an air mattress in the closet in my study. Would you please set it up for our guest? And perhaps take her things upstairs?"

"Of course, Giles," Nancy replied. She reached for Buffy's bag, and the blonde girl hesitated for a moment before handing it over.

Buffy followed Giles, taking a seat at the island in the kitchen once they got there. "I'm afraid we don't have much at the moment," Giles said. "I've been needing to go to the store. Would soup and a sandwich be sufficient?"

"It'll be fine," Buffy said. Compared to what she had been eating, it sounded like manna from Heaven…

"So what brings you to Sunnydale?" Giles asked as he began preparing her meal, trying to keep his tone conversational.

"Killing William the Bloody," Buffy answered simply.

"I had gathered that much. May I inquire as to why?"

"He murdered my mother."

Giles blinked. "I thought the Council never discerned what vampire had been the one to kill your mother."

"They didn't," Buffy replied. "I did."

"And you're certain it was Spike?"

"Yes. Especially after I saw him tonight. He was the one who was with my mother before she died. She left with him, and she never came home."

"She…left with him?" Giles asked with a frown. "Where did she leave from?"

"Our apartment," Buffy said. "He came when she was reading me a story before bedtime. They…they talked, and then she said she had to leave. She told me she'd be back soon to finish the story, and to stay with Howard until then. But she never came home."

Giles noted the lack of emotion Buffy tried to convey as she spoke, as if she were simply reciting facts, not remembering the last time she'd ever seen her mother. But he could see the pain in her eyes, pain that ran too deep for her to ever make no longer a part of her. "The Council's report of your mother's death never spoke of her willingly accompanying a vampire. It merely stated that she was found with the mark of a vampire on her neck."

"I was four years old," Buffy said. "I don't know what was going on. All I know is that William the Bloody was with my mother that night, and the word on the street is he's the one that did her in. He is the Slayer of Slayers after all."

"Well, yes, that he is. Two documented cases on the Council books. Xuang Li in 1900 and Nikki Wood in 1977."

"Add Joyce Summers in 1985 to that list," Buffy said. "I don't know why he was there that night, or why she went with him, but I do know he killed her. He'd been trying to months, and I guess he somehow tricked her into giving him his chance. All my sources have given me the same information. He is the thing that murdered my mother, and I will get my revenge."

"Going toe to toe with a vampire is no simple thing, Buffy. You didn't inherit your mother's powers," Giles told her.

"No, but I can still fight. I've been training for this for years. And I've killed many vampires, Giles. I know how to do it," Buffy insisted, her head raised high.

"Be that as it may, Spike is very powerful. He has bested more than one Slayer. The odds are more than good that should you face him, he will kill you."

"Then my last act will be to plunge my stake into his cold, dead heart," Buffy said, her eyes dark with an angry determination that made Giles shudder involuntarily.

"Would you at least consider going about this differently? I can understand your need to avenge your mother, but I sincerely doubt that she would've wished for you to get yourself killed like you most likely will should you rush headlong into a battle with Spike. Can you accept help from Nancy?" Giles watched as Buffy seemed to ponder what he'd said. Honestly, he'd just as soon the girl return to the safety of the Council. Perhaps they could finally track down her wayward father. But he recognized the look in her eyes and knew that she would not rest until the vampire that had taken her mother from her was dust—or she was in the ground herself. Perhaps he could convince her to make a decision that would help her stay alive. He certainly hoped so. If for nothing else, then for Joyce…

"I'm not going to deal with any procrastination," Buffy informed Giles. "If I accept Nancy's help, then she better help me now. I know she's got other problems, like that bloodsucking boyfriend of hers I've heard about, but I'm in no mood to wait for her to deal with them. I want Spike to pay for what he did. I won't be able to rest until it's done."

Giles regarded the dark circles under Buffy's eyes, and wondered if that last statement was a literal one. How long had this child suffered, haunted by what had happened to her mother? "He will, Buffy. Spike has already done enough evil in this world, and if what you say about him being Joyce's murderer is true, well… I will do everything in my power to help you, Buffy. But it is important to me that you stay as safe as possible."

Buffy looked at Giles askance for a moment. "You…you knew my mother, didn't you? As more than just another page in the Watcher's Diaries."

"Yes. Briefly, before her death." Before Buffy could ask any more questions, Giles set her dinner in front of her. "Would you like something to drink? Milk, perhaps?"

Buffy nodded. "Please."

Giles retrieved the carton from the fridge and began to pour a glass for the small young woman in his kitchen. He watched as she virtually attacked her food, manners being forgotten in the face of the first real meal she'd had in weeks. His heart clenched as he thought of what Joyce would feel if she could see her little girl now, and he hoped he could convince Buffy to let him make things a little easier for her…

*** *** ***

Buffy lay awake on the air mattress the Slayer had placed on the floor of her bedroom. She could hear Nancy snoring lightly, and the sound was just enough to distract her too much to allow her to fall asleep.

Not that she was sure she'd be able to sleep anyway with the freight train of thoughts roaring through her mind…

She had failed. No matter what she'd tried to convince the Slayer and her companions of, Buffy had faced the monster who had murdered her mother and she'd failed. The creature had bested her with ease, and if Nancy hadn't arrived when she had, Buffy knew she'd already be dead.

In her mind, she played the moment that her crossbow bolt had lodged itself centimeters away from his heart over and over again. Such a slip was inexcusable. Had she merely forced herself to gain total focus on the moment, to concentrate the way she should have, she would've hit her mark, and her mother would already be avenged. She would be able to rest easy now, knowing she had done what needed to be done.

"I'm sorry, Mommy," Buffy whispered, almost silently, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

*** *** ***

Rupert Giles stared into his almost-empty glass of brandy, his mind already made up to call in sick to work the next morning. That rat-faced principal he was forced to work with could shove it up his arse if he managed to unclench enough first. Rupert had more important things to worry about than his sham job of high school librarian.

Joyce's daughter was there, sleeping in his house. It brought back memories he didn't realize how unprepared he was to deal with. The girl looked so much like her mother it made him ache. And though they were a different color, Rupert could swear those had been Joyce's eyes staring up at him.

He had been quietly searching for the girl ever since he'd heard that Harold Rimes had died and that Buffy had gone missing. Truth be told, he had wanted to become her guardian after he mother's death, though the Council had decreed that she should stay with Joyce's Watcher, Harold, as opposed to being handed over to a man she had not truly known.

Even if that man had held foolish hopes of someday becoming the girl's father…

Rupert had wished even more after Harold's death that Joyce had let him become a part of Buffy's life instead of keeping them separated due to her fear of Buffy becoming "attached" to someone who may not be a permanent part of her life. Even when he'd assured Joyce that he had no intention of leaving, she'd cited that all the books said that you shouldn't introduce your child to your post-divorce significant other too soon.

It had always amazed Rupert how someone with a life as unconventional as Joyce's had been would be concerned with what could be found in some parenting how-to guide.

But Joyce had always tried so hard to be normal for her daughter. Tried so hard to give Buffy a life that she could never really have. It was what had driven her to marry that oaf Hank Summers when she'd discovered she was pregnant, even when Giles was certain Joyce knew in her heart that Hank would never make her happy—or stick around when things got too difficult for that matter.

And now Buffy's life was anything but textbook normal. She'd obviously been living on the streets for quite some time, hunting down a vampire Giles knew she'd never be able to face and live to tell the tale. She was so small, so frail. Maybe if he'd been able to raise her, given her a father's love and care, she wouldn't be so lost now.

He was sure Harold had tried. Harold Rimes had been a good man, one who had cared deeply for his charge and her child. But he was also a firm believer in the famed "British stiff upper lip," and had most likely taught Buffy to hold her anguish over her mother's death deep inside. Furthermore, the elderly man's waning health had to have been a strain on the young girl. The Council's report had briefly mentioned that Buffy had discovered Harold's body, and Rupert hated to think of that trauma being piled on top of the burden the girl already carried.

He wanted to go to her now, to comfort her, but he didn't know how. He was hurting himself, the recent loss of Jenny Calendar both forming new wounds on his heart as well as reopening old ones. He was beginning to wonder if he was cursed, if every woman he loved was doomed to die so tragically.

Rupert drank the last of the brandy in his glass before pouring himself another.

*** *** ***

No, not Nancy from "Beneath You." I actually forgot that woman's name was even Nancy… I went back further than that…someone who actually had a tie to fighting vampires, even if she wasn't around very long… So congrats to the two or three of you who correctly guessed Nancy from "The Wish."





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