"Well, let me tell you," Cordelia Chase pontificated, "the look on that Harmony's face was almost as good as the extra spending money."
"Oh," Willow said, adjusting the hem of her dress, "Does that mean I can change back into my own clothes now? A week of this and people staring at me…"
"Including a certain Mr. Harris," Cordelia snorted, amused and to her confusion a little envious. "Listen," she asserted quietly, to avoid being overheard, "if you're seriously wanting Xander…you're going to have to pursue him…before any of the others do?"
"Others?" Willow gulped, her own fears preventing her from noticing the wistful look that quickly disappeared from Cordelia's face. "What others? Is he seeing someone already?"
"No, Willow, he hasn't," Cordelia assured her. "But look at him. He's attracting attention. Amy Yip and her little group…braiding his hair at the water park, the looks he's been getting, even from my sheep," Cordelia sighed, and this time Willow did notice.
"You like him too, don't you," Willow asked quietly. "I see it in your eyes."
"N--, maybe a little," Cordelia conceded. "But you have an inside track I can't hope to match. And for reasons I can't explain…better you than Buffy…Maybe I *can* explain it…she'll only want him because he's all that's left of Angel…and not for him."
"D-Do you love him?" Willow asked even quieter, meeker.
"I-I don't think so, but I'm*really* starting to notice him," Cordelia admitted. "But I haven't really minded hanging out with you for the last week…Buffy sometimes…with you I can carry on an intelligent conversation, and if the rumor leaked out I could *so*deny it…so I'd rather help than hinder until you've taken your chance. After that? Who knows?"
"So now what?" Willow asked, not hating Cordelia, this confusing her greatly.
"I'm thinking a trip to the salon for you," Cordelia mused. "give your hair a little bounce, might have to trim or thin it a bit…" Willow stared at her 'friend' and gave in as they headed for class.
"Xander!" Buffy called out as her friend headed in the direction of the parking lot. "What are you doing tonight?"
"Why Miss Summers," the young man responded with mock shock and a bad British accent. "One might believe that a lead in to asking me out."
The young blonde gaped like a fish and blushed, before rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "No, Xander," she finally responded as he smiled at her, "though you do still owe me a dinner. I was wondering if you'd patrol with me tonight?"
"Um, sure," he replied. "Hope about I pick you up around sevn, we'll swing back to get 'the majors' since we were going to practice 'stalking the enemy to the lair and dust it.' After that, you and I will do a sweep of the cemeteries?"
"Sounds good," she smiled back, glad for some normality returning to her life. "See you at seven."
"You're looking extra nice tonight," Joyce said, looking up from paying bills as her daughter entered the kitchen. "Who's the boy? Anybody I know?"
"No, Mom," Buffy replied, a little slowly, "Just Xander."
"Well, he seems nice," her mother added, smiling as she finished balancing the checkbook, "You could do worse."
"Mom, it's not a date, alright," Buffy responded, rolling her eyes as she knocked back a glass of juice."
"Oh, so what are you doing on this not-date?" Joyce smiled as she tortured her teenaged daughter. "Dinner? A romantic walk?"
"Mom!" Buffy whined. "Maybe dinner was mentioned, and maybe a walk later, but no romance. He's just a friend. And besides, Willow has the hots for him, not me."
"Alright, honey," Joyce smiled into her coffee, "If you say so."
"Thanks for dinner, Xan," Buffy smiled, glad that things seemed normal with her Xander-shaped friend. She'd been unable to figure out her feelings since Halloween; on one hand, she'd always liked Xander, and the few days before the costume disaster he'd looked good in black, while afterwards she couldn't tell if it was Xander she liked dressed as Angel, or she really just looked for something of Angel to carry over into her best male friend.
"Not a problem, Buff," her friend in tight black clothing replied, smiling. "Though a triple stack of blueberry pancakes, strawberry syrup with bananas and bacon smushed between them, and a dinner salad on the side, confuses even my food brain."
"Hey, I'm a growing slayer," she smirked. "I eat what and how much my body tells me as long as no other soul but Garbage Maw of Doom himself is around to witness it."
"Well, then maybe should eat more," he flirted back. 'Because you still seem a bit on the wee side for a growing slay-gal."
"Hey, watch it with the short jokes," Buffy admonished, lightly smacking him. She was surprised at just how muscular her friend had become. 'Hmmmm…' She came out of her reverie to find a bemused Xander holding the IHOP door for her as they left the restaurant.
KnockKnock-Rap-Knock-Knock-Rap Xander struck the door. Doyle opened, allowing them entrance.
"Hey, you two. Kinda early?" the Irishman asked. "You ready to head out already?"
"Nah," Xander replied. "Buffster wanted to join in the fun, and after grabbing a light dinner," he smirked at her, "figured we'd explain our way of doing things." He looked up to see Kowalsky coming out of the backroom, mostly ready.
"Pretty straightforward stalk and dust op for tonight," Kowalsky said. We're going to pick a single, or as Miss Summers is kindly joining us, a pair of vampires, practice stealth and shadow methods to its lair or until it finds a victim, then dust it. If a lair, we'll damage and interrogate it before dusting the demon and looting the place."
"Standard or anything special?" Xander asked, looking toward their gear room.
"Just standard dark clothes, combat vests and balaclavas," Doyle responded, opening a cabinet and appraising Buffy's form. "Soakers and balaclavas."
"What's a baklava-thing?" the girl asked as dark coveralls and dull-black squirt gun was handed to her.
"That's the ski mask thing, Buff," Xander laughed. "Didn't you know that as a super hero you're entitled to a mask to protect your normal identity?"
"Don't I need a cape to be a hero?" she mused, putting the coveralls on over her clothes.
"You get the cape when you get your driver's license," Xander joked, then only a little lightly added as he finished gearing up, "and you're always my hero, Buff."
It was really a fairly easy undertaking; since it was still pretty early in the evening, they'd simply tossed a holy water canister into Willy's bar, then followed three evacuees back to their apartment. Buffy was chomping at the bit to get in some hits, but a few amused looks from Kowalsky kept her quiet for the sake of Xander and Doyle's training. As they approached the apartment where a party was being held, Buffy came up close and whispered to Kowalsky that someone was tracking *them.* He signaled the other two to soaker twice then run back to catch the tail. They nodded, then as holy water caused the vamps to stumble and turn in shocked pain, Kowalsky used a silenced automatic to head shoot 'his' vamp as Buffy dusted hers traditionally, but with flair.
The young woman watched as two dark figures moved against their victims, and was about to dive in when the victims went 'game face' and were quickly dusted. Curious, but caution winning out, she started to back away and turn from the scene when a stream of water splashed her hair and face to distract her as a voice addressed her from beyond arms reach.
"Just remain a-calm, and no one a-here needs to be a-hurt," a young male voice told her in a very bad Zorro/Spaghetti Western accent. "Please, do not panic, and do not reach for weapons. We just want to know why you're following us."
"I saw follow de vam-pyres. I tought dat de were humans," the Caribbean teenager responded. "When de were not and your people had defeated dem, I was leavin'. So, who are you people?"
"We're the a-Hunters," Xander improvised, continuing the bad accent. "Who are you?"
"I am Kendra! De Vampire Slayer!"
"Okay, lass one more time," Doyle responded. "You're the who?!"
"I'm de Slayer," she replied cautiously.
"We've already made the, ah, acquaintance of the slayer here, and you're not her," Xander continued as Buffy and Kowalsky showed up. Xander waved them to hold off as she turned to look at them. "So, tell you a-what, Miss a-Kendra," he considered, I will take you to the Slayer and her Watcher, and they a-will sorta dis out. Fair enough?" At her nod he walked over to Kowalsky and Buffy.
"Drive ahead and warn Giles. Buff, you change clothes and leave them in the car. Go touch up a bit. That way she won't necessarily guess who you are. Best if you're seated and pretending to train or research when we arrive." Turning to the Major, Xander continued. "Soon as you drop her off, park around the corner from the school. Change clothes from the trunk and meet Doyle behind the library in case they need support. "I'll change in the car into my usual, braid out and stroll in as 'Happy Harris, cover boyfriend for the Slayer.' Okay?" They nodded and headed off.
Xander walked back to Doyle and Kendra, checking around for observers. Finding none, he indicated a direction, and handed her an extra balaclava.
"To protect your identity, Kendra," Xander assured her. "Certainly your beauty is a-nothing one would ever wish to a-cover, hmm?"
The mocha-skinned girl blushed and put on the cover as Xander smirked inside his own, then informed them, "I sent Raven and Dove ahead to let Watcher Giles know of your arrival, and to call Slayer Summers and her…companion…so they'll be there as well." Turning to Doyle, he gave semi-coded phrases, "they'll do a quick run and you'll meet up in the outback and do a recon from the vehicle. I drop off Kendra with-a de Watcher and leave for a while."
They walked to the Library, giving Kawlasky and Buffy sufficient time to prepare.
Xander, helping Kendra to remove her mask, also looks around at her hair and clothes as she actually looks uncomfortable at the attention.
"What are you doing, sir?" the girl asks, taking a step back.
"If, my a-beauty you are who and what you a-say," Xander plays, "Then it would not hurt to look unruffled, hmmm?"
"Tank you, then, sir," she replies, still quiet. Xander looks at her and nods, holding the door for her.
"My Lady?" he smiles under the mask. "Entre-vous?"
Xander strides in, pretending to own the place, finding Giles and Buffy pretending to train as Jenny, Willow and, to his surprise, Cordelia look up from books they're pretending to research.
"Senor Giles, Senoritas!" he manages to shout and then loudly purr as he makes it to the middle of the room. "Night Hawk is, how you say, here again!"
Giles looks pained as the girls exhibit amusement and physical appreciation as they laugh.
"Yes, er, Mr. Night Hawk," Giles begins, not really feigning confusion despite Buffy's warning. "I believe we were told to expect you and, er—"
"Kendra de Beautiful Vam-pyre Slayer, huh?" Xander introduces, then grabs Buffy, slings her into a dance-dip, and fake-whispers, "but only a-matching as moonlight to you're a-sunlight, Miss Soomers, eh?" Letting her up as she chokes out a laugh and a blush, he kisses her hand, and turns to Giles and Kendra. "Sad to say, Night hawk must go 'poof' some vampires, but not in the British a-meaning…" Winking, bowing to the girls, leaving on the table five of the half-dozen roses he'd planned to give Buffy before chickening out, and melodramatically sighing, he left, "Ladies, duty a-calls, and I…a-listen."
Xander in his school clothes and persona, enters the library to find Kendra standing at attention as Giles paces. Buffy's leaning on a chair with her left hand and has her right hand on her hip while the three others are gossiping about 'Night Hawk' and his visit as they each twirl a rose in hand.
"Hello, Giles, everyone," Xander greeted them. "I got a call from the Hunters telling me to drive over here in case you need something…er, uhm, who's this, if I may?"
"Oh, Xander," Giles responded. "This is Kendra…apparently a Vampire Slayer. Kendra, this is Mr. Harris, he pretends to be Buffy's errant boyfriend for her cover as Slayer here."
Xander looked blankly, then frowned at Giles as he offers his hand to the teenaged girl. "Hi, plese call me Xander. The others here tend to."
"I-It is a pleasure to m-meet you, sir?" the Girl responded, eyes downward but taking his hand. Giles continued as Xander sat on the corner of the table opposite of the three seated females, Kendra's back facing away from them so that the girls freely waved their flowers at him with smiles and rolling eyes.
"And your Watcher is, i-is Sam Zabuto, you say?" Giles asked, then continued at her affirmation, "We've never met, but he, he's, he's very well-respected."
"What, so he's a real guy?" Buffy asks seeking confirmation. "As in non-fictional?"
"Yes, Buffy," Giles confirms, "Uh, there's obviously some, some misunderstanding here. It, uh, seems somehow that, uh, another Slayer has been sent to Sunnydale."
"Is that even possible?" Willow queried. "I mean, two Slayers at the same time?"
"Not to my knowledge," Giles admitted, then realization shows on her face as he continues. "Um, th-the new Slayer is only called after the previous Slayer has died. Oh, good Lord! You were dead, Buffy."
"I was only gone for a minute," the blonde slayer protests.
"Three or four actually, until I revived you," Xander corrected.
"Clearly it doesn't matter how long you were gone," Giles exhaled. "You were physically dead! Thus causing the activation of the, the next Slayer, Kendra.
"She died?" Kendra asked, looking at the group, "And why do all dee people know she's de Slayer?"
"She drowned," Xander offered, placing a comforting hand on Buffy's shoulder. "But she got over pretty quick." Giles rolled his eyes and resumed control of the proceedings.
"Uh-uh, Kendra, uh, there are a-a-a few people, uh, ci-civilians if you like, who, who know Buffy's identity," the librarian conceded. "Those you see here provide research support and a general cover for her. A-a-and they also, um, spend time together, uh, socially."
"And you allow dis, sir?" Kendra pressed.
"He has to Kendra," Xander interrupts, pointing at the floor on which she's standing. "You're standing on top of the Hellmouth, under the floor there. Not all demons come out after dark, so Buffy goes to school during the day in case an evil attempts something, and we cover for her…different behavior. Our socializing is to the local clubs where the less-intelligent but more daring vampires new to town seek a quick meal on a teenager, so we cover for her while she stakes them in the alley or bathroom. But she's still the Slayer. When she patrols, she gets information from those Hunter guys, while we read books and do our and her homework with the Hellmouth under our study session. Make sense?"
"De Slayer must work in secret for security," Kendra stated, then splitting her attention between the two males, but mostly Giles, "But I understand your reasons and your tactics, Sir…Sirs."
Giles, Buffy and Kendra start talking Slayer stuff, leaving Xander to head back to the table to socialize with the girls. When Kendra's not looking, Xander waves a signal letting Doyle and Kowalsky know they can head back.
"So, Alexander," Ms. Calendar mock-purred as the youth sat down, "why'd you change out of those tight pants of yours… Willow was nearly blinded at your Zorro look." The red head blushed deeply, hand to her face. Xander then noticed her different hair style, which with the clothes she'd been wearing gave him thoughts not commonly thought by a Xander to a Willow.
"Hey, Wills, nice hair," he smiled at her, earning a smile as her hand moved to adjust it. "I like it, is there a certain someone whose attention you're seeking?"
"Uh, uh, no," she stammered and froze, turning to face Cordelia with pleading eyes. This left her open to humor on Xander's part.
"You and Cordelia?!" Xander deadpanned, and in jest allowed his eyes to glaze over at the thought as Willow choked and Cordelia gasped, for once unprepared for a come-back. "Wow, I mean, I'd actually hoped to ask both of you out but if you'd rather it be just the two of you…"
"No!" they both choked out, blushing and looking to Ms. Calendar for helped, only to have her catch Xander's eye and play along with him. She stood up and started to the Slayers and Rupert.
"Your personal matters, I'll leave you three to discuss," the gypsy winked at the girls, "Later."
"No?" Xander straight-faced the reply, gesturing between the tow well-dressed young women. "So you'd both be willing to have dinner with me? Even with what you have between you?"
"Yes! No! Ahhh!" they struggled against the tide of his words, and gave up, both shell-shocked at what he was thinking.
"Okay, I gotta go, then." Xander smiled, taking one of their hands each into his and kissing them. "I'll pick you two up at Cordelia's house at 6:30 tomorrow night. I'll make reservations, and we'll dine at an Italian place I hear is good in Santa Barbara. Let's go semi-formal. Cordelia please give Buffy a ride home. Bye." And he left them speechless as he snickered his way to the car. 'How the hell did I get away with that…must be the Angelus skills.'
"Xander! Wait up!" Buffy Summers called after her friend as he was about to enter the halls of the school. Xander paused, and stepped out of the way f scurrying students.
"Hey, Buff," Xander greeted with an easy smile, "Everything work out with Kendra last night?"
"Yeah, sure," she replied, then scrunched her brow into a slight frown, "Though it's still kinda weird having a second slayer around. It reminds me of the fact that I died."
"Ah, but you're her, and that's of the good, Buffy," Xander assured her. "Oh, was there anything you wanted me for, or just a chat before class?"
"Yeah, 'Boyfriend,'" she smiled accusingly. "What's this I hear of you 'cheating' on me with both Willow and Cordelia?"
"Oh, that," Xander smirked. "Those two just kept tripping over there own words, now we'll see if they're actually around or if I'll be dining alone tonight at Antonio's"
"What's gotten into you, Xan" Buffy laughed. "You're more…"
"Outgoing, confident, daring, devil-may-care?" Xander asked with a smirk but slightly saddened eyes. "A certain Demon was as good at luring the ladies as I am at swapping jibes and insults; a certain broody guy read a lot of books, many of which include wooing, flirting and such. And I always acted the goof to cover my own unhappiness, or to make others more at ease. Combine them together with a Xander that will probably never have a successful relationship, and you have…me."
"Wow, Xan," Buffy stepped back in consideration. "How'd that all piece together? It sounds complicated."
"Nah," Xander replied, holding the school door for her, and they walked to her nearby class, "When you suddenly have all that literature become memories all at once you get the big theme of it all…if the characters in the stories talked to each other, the great works of literature would be two very short pages, since they wouldn't run around misinterpreting things like idiots."
"Hmmmm," Buffy acknowledged, as he held the door for her class, "I guess you, not Willow, will be helping me with my next English assignment."
"Only if you let me help you with your Frenching assignment, Buff," the Jokester quipped as he headed to class leaving a scored-upon and blushing slayer to her studies, her fellow classmates snickering.
Coach Harrold continued his recruitment pitch regarding the advantages to the school and for Xander if he signed up for the wrestling, martial arts and other teams.
Xander, enjoying the sensation of the Amy Yip and Amy Madison braiding his hair again, sighed, and decided to turn things to Scooby advantage.
"Hey Coach," Xander interrupted. "I have a couple of trainers that have been getting me into shape for Special Forces after graduation, and I'm also helping a few students with self-defense and muscle-building. If you get them access and permission to public areas outside of school hours and during free periods, I'll join the martial arts, weightlifting and wrestling teams."
"Oh," the coach replied, not really expecting easy compliance. He watched enviously as the girls kept running their hands through Xander's hair. "Well, I'll need their names and such, for students and non-students, and I'll run it by Snyder. You'd also need at least one faculty member on campus for liability reasons."
"Mr. Giles is always around, and so is Ms. Calendar," Xander assured him. "And access is for the school year, not the season. So anything else?"
"Well, Harris," Coach Harrold responded, "It'll probably mean cutting your hair so it won't affect your performance." The girls stopped for a moment, not happy about the hair issue.
"Well, *my* performance has nothing to do with *hair* length," Xander quipped, the girls giggling and rolling their eyes, "but if the hair becomes a *real* problem in competition, I'll cut it to mid-shoulder and try that. Also, I'm allowed to take my own transportation to meets and such. Deal?"
"I'll see what Snyder says, but yeah," the coach happily concluded, with visions "Deal!"
Turning to the two non-Slayerettes. "It looks like I'm gonna be too busy until Winter Break for anything fun. How about the three of us head out to LA for dinner and dancing to mourn the possible loss of my hair? I just got the car detailed."
They rolled their eyes, but knew he was a fun date that wouldn't try anything.
"Ms. Drusilla?" the well-dressed woman asked as the vampiress glided into the office. The lawyer looked through the files on her desk, especially the Boston referent in the matter. "I'm Lilah Morgan, Mr. Holland's representative. He has informed me that given new circumstances from this past weekend, we'll indeed accept payment and contract to…reintroduce…your family to the world."