Fic: I Play My Part (You Play Your Game) PG-13 10/12
Okay. Just before midnight tonight, but my excuse is I didn't get home until 1045. But I did well at my poker game, so that's good! Also: comics. Awesome. I'm actually really enjoying this section of the Buffy comics (and I do think part of that is because Karl Moline is doing the art instead of Georges Jeanty). It's weird, but I'm liking Centaur!Dawn. Good times.
Okay, on to the fic. And it's a long one tonight! Also I'd like to reiterate, especially for this part, that there are spoilers for the end of season 7 of Smallville.
Part 1 is here
“I just don’t have the skill set,” Mel said. Buffy was seated next to the bed they had moved Dawn to, holding Dawn’s hand in her own. “I can’t even figure out what it is that’s wrong with her. It doesn’t seem to be magical.”
“So she’s actually in a coma?” Xander asked.
Mel shrugged. “I don’t know. All I do know is that there’s nothing I can do for her. Is Willow…?”
Buffy shook her head. “Not for a few days, at least. She’s dealing with some ancient evil cult in some catacombs outside of Moscow, or something like that.”
“It’s always something.”
Buffy, Xander and Mel looked up and saw Chloe standing at the door to the bedroom. “Hi,” she said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I just… wanted to see how she was doing.”
Mel shrugged. “No change as far as I can tell.”
“Do you mind… can I speak to Buffy and Xander alone?” she asked.
Mel looked at Buffy, who nodded shortly. Mel stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her as she went.
“What can we do for you?” Xander asked.
“Actually,” she said, “I’m thinking I might be able to do something for you. Clark told me you had a chat.”
“We did?” Xander asked.
“We did. Traveler?”
“Oh,” Xander said. He thought about it for a second. “Oh! Oh. Huh. Wow. Okay. Did you…?”
“We’re good,” said Buffy.
Xander nodded, and turned to Chloe. “So?”
Chloe wrung her hands in front of her. “I know Lucy trusts you guys. Basically, I mean. Current deceptions notwithstanding.”
“Understood,” said Buffy.
“That’s not really enough for me,” Chloe said. She was pacing back and forth between along the length of the bed. “It may be for Clark, and that’s fine. But I’m too invested in him, in his work, in his… life to let anybody endanger him.”
“Okay,” Buffy said. “We certainly understand the need for secrecy. And the desire to protect your loved ones. What did you have in mind?”
Chloe looked up at her, then reached out and laid her hand on Dawn’s chest. “Making sure you owe me.”
White light poured from Chloe’s hand, and emanated from Dawn’s chest, bathing the room in an eerie, ethereal glow. Buffy and Xander shielded their eyes. A moment later, the light was gone, and Chloe was slumped over Dawn.
Dawn, who was very slowly coming around to consciousness. Xander carefully pulled Chloe away from Dawn, and checked her pulse.
“Buffy?” Dawn asked, rubbing her eyes to wake up. “Where am I?”
“Uh, Buff,” Xander said, picking Chloe up in his arms. “She’s not breathing.”
“Come on,” Buffy said, pulling her sister up off of the bed. “You need to get up.” She turned to the door and yelled, “Clark!”
Dawn looked over and saw Xander holding Chloe. “Who’s that?”
“The girl who woke you up,” said Buffy. She held Dawn up as Xander put Chloe down on the bed. He listened at her chest again and shook his head at Buffy, who was helping her sister stand.
A second later, the door burst open and Clark came inside.
“What happened?” he asked.
“She healed Dawn, somehow,” Xander said. Clark looked at Dawn for a moment, and then checked on Chloe. “She’s not breathing,” Xander told him.
“Was… was there a white light?” Clark asked, feeling for Chloe’s pulse on his own.
“Yeah,” said Buffy. “It was really bright.”
“She needs to go back to her apartment,” Clark said. “She’s not dead, it just seems like she is. She… has this power, but it drains her. How long depends on what she heals.”
“Will she be okay alone at her apartment?” Xander asked.
“She won’t be alone,” Clark said, glancing at the clock. “Her boyfriend should be home. He knows about her power, he can take care of her. But Lois and Lucy don’t know.”
“We can get her there,” Xander said. He opened the window and whistled. A moment later, Patty appeared at the window.
“Yeah, boss,” she said.
Xander pointed to Chloe. “I need you and one other girl to take her car and drive her home,” he said. “Her boyfriend should be there. Tell him…”
Xander looked at Clark. “What should they tell him?”
“Tell him that Clark says Chloe helped out a friend, and needs to be looked after,” he said. “And that I’ll fill him in later.”
Patty nodded and waved over another girl. Between them, they got Chloe out of the bedroom and down to the ground.
“Don’t they need directions?” Clark asked.
Buffy shook her head. “Been here a month, remember?”
“Okay,” Dawn said when the girls were gone. “I think I’ve missed a lot.”
“Yeah,” said Buffy. “I’ll fill you in in a minute. For now, you need to know that the young woman who just healed you is Lucy’s cousin, Chloe. Lucy’s sister Lois, along with Ollie, Riley and Mel are downstairs. And this,” she said, pointing to Clark, “is Clark Kent. Our host.”
“Hi,” Dawn said, smiling at him.
Clark nodded. “Hi.”
“Well,” Xander said. “I’m gonna see if I can go do some more damage control.” He hugged Dawn. “Welcome back to the land of the waking.”
Dawn hugged him back and let him go.
“Damage control from what?” Dawn asked.
“We had to do the big reveal tonight,” Buffy said. She shook her head. “Lucy was not happy.”
Dawn bit her lower lip. “They going to be okay?”
“I don’t know, sweetie,” Buffy said.
“I hope they do,” Dawn said. “He’s so happy with her.”
“Yeah,” Buffy said, sighing. “I know.”
* * * * *
“You told your dad that you love me.”
“I did,” Lucy said. She and Xander were in the barn again, away from prying eyes and curious ears. “I do. But you lied to me. And not like a little, no consequences lie. This was a huge lie, Xander. You used me to get to my father. Everything… the whole foundation here is false.”
“I know,” he said. “Well, I know some of that. I don’t think that what we’ve built on is a lie.”
“How can you say that?” she asked. “Everything about how we met, about what you were doing there, that’s all a lie.”
“But that’s not what… that’s not what’s important, Lucy,” he said. “What’s important is that you know me. You know what kind of a man I am, you know what I do - all of it, now - and that I love you. You believe that much, right?”
Lucy nodded. “You know I do. But there has to be trust. And I can’t trust you right now.”
“I know,” he said.
They sat there, silent, for a minute.
“Did you get what you needed?”
“What?” he asked.
“From my dad. Did you get what you needed?”
“He’s going to show Chloe’s intel to his superiors,” Xander said. “Beyond that, he can’t promise anything.”
Lucy nodded, and they were silent again.
“So where does this leave us?” Xander asked, eventually.
Lucy shook her head. “I can’t go back with you. Not now. I need… I need time to figure things out.”
Xander nodded. “Are you going to stay here?”
“For a little while,” she said. “But I need you to give me space. And time. Don’t come looking for me.”
“Can I call?”
Lucy shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I just… I can’t deal with you right now.”
“Okay,” Xander said. “I understand. And I’m sorry, too. For all of it.”
Lucy said nothing.
“I really do love you,” he said.
“I know you do, Xander,” she replied, turning away from him. She wiped away a tear from her cheek. “Please go.”
Xander wanted to say something. Something that would fix it. He wanted to reach out to her, and hold her in his arms and assure her that nothing like this would ever happen again. To kiss her, and wipe away any doubts she might have about him.
He turned and walked out of the barn.
* * * * *
The Slayers had all packed up and left. Riley and Mel had taken off in the helicopter. Buffy, Dawn and Oliver were just waiting for Xander to pack up his things, and then they would take their leave of the Kent farm. Ollie was giving them a place to stay for the night.
“I hope those two kids work things out,” Ollie said. He, Buffy and Dawn were leaning against his limo.
“Me too,” said Dawn.
“Yeah,” said Buffy. “Me too.”
Ollie and Dawn both looked at her.
“What?”
Ollie shook his head, rolled his eyes and got into the limo.
“What?” Buffy asked Dawn.
“You’re not fooling anyone,” Dawn said. “Well, not anybody who isn’t named Xander Harris.”
“Fooling them with what?” Buffy asked.
“Buffy everybody other than Xander knows you like him. I know. Willow knows. Giles knows. Ollie knows. Hell, Lucy probably knows.”
Buffy opened her mouth, intent on denying everything.
“Jesus, Buffy,” Dawn said before Buffy could start. “I was there in Prague, you know.”
* * * * *
Prague, Czech Republic
Six Months Ago
“Here,” Buffy said. She was sitting on Xander’s bed, helping him with his clothes selection for impressing Lucy Lane. She held out a dark blue dress shirt. “I always liked you in the blue one. It’s very suave. You pull it off well.”
“Yeah?” Xander asked. He stepped out from the bathroom shirtless, and Buffy’s breath caught in her throat. He took the shirt from her. “Ah, and my undershirt,” he said.
He reached around behind her and tried to pick up his undershirt, and found Buffy was sitting on it. “Oh, okay,” he said. “Well, there’s only one cure for this.” He dropped his dress shirt, picked Buffy up by her waist and tossed her over his shoulder.
“Xander, put me down!” she said, grinning and laughing, slapping weakly at his back, and flailing her legs.
In the corner, Dawn eyed her sister suspiciously. That couldn’t be…. A voice chirped in her ear.
“Okay guys,” she said, calling an end to their antics. “Lucy’s on the approach. Five minutes.”
“Damn, I need to get dressed,” Xander said. He placed Buffy back on the bed, winked at her, then grabbed his shirts and stepped back into the bathroom.
“Yeah,” Buffy mumbled. “Damn.”
A few minutes later, Xander reappeared wearing his suit, the dark blue dress shirt, and a mahogany tie that made him look every inch the wealthy businessman. “How’s it play?” he asked, twirling for them.
Dawn and Buffy both made a show of whistling and making cat calls. Xander bowed with a flourish just as the telephone rang. Xander picked it up, and informed the desk clerk that he’d be down in a moment.
“Okay,” he said with a deep breath. “Off I go.”
“One second,” Buffy said. She walked up to him and straightened his tie, then leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.
He looked at her curiously.
“For luck,” she explained.
Xander laughed. “Ah, so you’re playing the sister now, and I’m about to swing us over a deep chasm that could either lead to safety, or our eventual doom. Well played, madam.”
Xander smiled at both of them, then walked out of the room, not noticing the slump in Buffy’s shoulders.
But Dawn did.
“The sister?” Buffy asked, turning to look at Dawn.
“Leia to his Luke,” Dawn explained. “She says that in Star Wars, when they’re about to -”
“Swing across the chasm in the Death Star, I remember now,” Buffy said. She sighed. “We better get this place cleaned up and head out the back. Can’t let her see us.”
Dawn nodded at her sister, and gathered her things, filing the information away for another day.
* * * * *
Smallville, Kansas
Now
“That wasn’t -” Buffy started.
“And then,” interrupted Dawn, “I was there in Rome.”
* * * * *
Rome, Italy
Three months ago
Xander and Lucy had flown in for a few meetings, and Dawn had managed to get some time off from her doctoral work as well. It was as good a time as any for her to actually meet Lucy, and spend some quality time with Buffy.
After a delicious dinner, during which Lucy was not only surprisingly intelligent, but also very charming, the four of them headed out to a club. Xander was immediately the envy of every other guy there.
The envy wore off a little - and only a little - when it became clear that his eyes were trained only on Lucy, and as far as he was concerned Dawn and Buffy barely registered. It was obvious to the other dancers, and to the bartenders, and to Dawn, and most especially to Buffy, that Xander Harris was head over heels for Lucy Lane.
It was equally obvious to most of them that Buffy was not happy about it.
“Come on, sis!” Dawn said, trying unsuccessfully to drag Buffy away from the bar. Buffy had turned down or merely ignored advances from almost a dozen gorgeous men, and spent most of the night staring at Xander and Lucy.
But, Dawn noted, it wasn’t the angry glare. The one Buffy got when she felt someone was coming in and taking her friends away. It wasn’t the look that said “You have what I want, and I’m going to do whatever I can to take it from you.”
Instead it was a mixture. Loneliness and sadness, regret and, unless Dawn was completely off, longing.
That was when Dawn realized that somewhere along the line, somewhere between Africa and Prague, Xander and Buffy had switched places. Xander had placed Buffy firmly in the ‘friend’ category (although, really, more like ‘chosen family’) while at the same time he had inspired her to knock down the doors she closed and locked years ago, and truly consider him as a partner.
She knew that Buffy wouldn’t say anything. Couldn’t say anything. The operation was too important, and Xander was not only falling in love with Lucy, he was introducing her to their work, letting her knew what they really did, and basically ensuring, if not her loyalty, then at least that she knew they were on the right side.
And anything Buffy might try with Xander would only mess that up.
Dawn waded out onto the dance floor and told Xander that she was feeling ill and that Buffy was going to take her home. Xander kissed her on the cheek and told her to feel better, then went back to dancing with his girl.
Dawn dragged her sister home, and proceeded to get the two of them very, very drunk.
* * * * *
Smallville, Kansas
Now
“That was just a bad night!” Buffy said. “I mean, I had been lonely, and it’s not like I’m getting any younger. I was just… mopey.”
“And then,” Dawn said, “Willow told me about London last month.”
* * * * *
London, England
Last month
Willow watched, smiling, from the balcony as Xander and Lucy strolled through the hallway, his arm firmly around her shoulders.
“Buffy!” Xander called. Buffy was checking in with the guy at the front desk, who handed her a key to one of the guest rooms. She glanced up, saw Xander and Lucy, then took a deep breath. She held up a hand at Xander, and asked the young man another question. He looked confused for a second before answering. Buffy nodded at him.
“Hey,” she said, approaching Xander and Lucy. She looked, Willow thought, very tired.
“Good flight?” Xander asked, unwrapping his arm from Lucy to give Buffy a welcoming hug.
“Not bad,” she said, ignoring the hug offer. “Listen, I haven’t been getting a lot of sleep lately, so I’m just gonna head up to my room. Nice to see you two.”
She nodded at both of them and then headed up the stairs.
“You okay?” Willow asked as Buffy brushed past her.
“Just freaking peachy,” Buffy muttered.
Willow turned back to the happy couple. Xander looked confused, and a little hurt, and Lucy wrapped her arm around his waist, telling him that Buffy was probably just tired. Xander looked up at Willow and sent a questioning look her way. Willow shrugged in ignorance, and then glanced back after Buffy, hoping her friend was just tired, but suspecting there was more to it than that.
* * * * *
Smallville, Kansas
Now
Buffy sighed. “Crappy timing, isn’t it?”
“The worst,” Dawn said.
“So how come you’re in her corner?” Buffy said. “I’m your sister, aren’t you supposed to root for me to get the guy?”
“I’m not in her corner,” Dawn said. They looked up as the screen door opened, and Xander stepped onto the porch. He turned and shook Clark’s hand, and handed him a set of keys, then pointed at the rental. Lois was there, standing close to Clark, as though she was drawing energy from him. She nodded at Xander in a way that was not quite cold, but not quite friendly either. Lucy was nowhere to be seen. “I’m in the corner of love and happiness. And he’s happy with Lucy, and he loves her. You know that. If he was happy and in love with you, I’d be all for it. At the moment, you’d just be the other woman.”
“I know,” she said. “That doesn’t make it suck less.”
“No,” Dawn said. “I know. But you’re going to get your shot, Buffy. Whether it’s with him, or someone else. You’re gonna have that one you can settle down with, and live with, and love for the rest of your life.”
Buffy turned to her sister. “You really believe that?”
“I do,” Dawn said, smiling at her. “I mean, unless you keep scaring them away, or having to kill them.”
“Hey,” Buffy said, offended.
“Not that it’s your fault you have to kill them. They do keep turning out to be evil.”
“Thank you,” she said. “Mostly.”
“We ready?” Xander asked as he walked up to the limo.
“You okay?” Buffy asked.
Xander shrugged. “Not really, no. This sucks to the highest levels of sucking, but it was necessary and I have to deal with it. So I’ll deal.”
Buffy and Dawn encircled him in a hug, and Xander wrapped his arms around them. They stepped back.
“Okay,” Xander said, smiling at both of them gratefully as he opened the limo door. “Let’s get back to work.”
* * * * *
“He gave you a way to get in touch?” Lois asked. She and Clark were sitting at his kitchen table, having a cup of coffee.
“Yeah,” Clark said, nodding. “I guess they thought, if I ever had some serious dealing with Lex…”
Lois nodded. “I figured if you did, Oliver would be your first call.”
“Oliver?” Clark asked. “Why him?”
Lois rolled her eyes. “Well, he certainly seems to enjoy being a thorn in Lex’s side. Plus, you know him pretty well.”
Clark shrugged. “I suppose. I don’t know, though, when a situation like that is likely to come up. I mean, Lex and I don’t get along anymore, but it’s not like we’re, I don’t know, archenemies or something.” He paused. “Still, you never know what may come in handy.”
Lois turned to look at Lucy, who was sitting on the couch, staring at, but not really watching, an infomercial about citrus-powered cleaners.
“What am I gonna do with her?” Lois asked.
“I don’t know,” Clark said. He got up and filled up both of their coffee mugs. “She seems pretty torn up.”
“I’ll say,” Lois said, smiling at Clark, whose back was turned as he put the pot back in the coffee maker. She shook her head. “I’ve never seen her like this. God, I don’t even know… with Jimmy and Chloe in the Talon with me, I have no idea how I’m going to take care of her.”
“Lois, don’t be silly,” Clark said. “You’re both welcome to stay here, as long as you need.”
Lois looked surprised for a moment, but then smirked at him. “You just want a couple of Lane sisters under your roof,” she said.
“What can I say? You have a way of making life more interesting.”
She smiled at him, blushing just a little, and Clark laughed. “What?” she asked.
“Nothing, it’s just… I think that maybe one of the first completely honest smiles I’ve ever seen from you.”
“What can I say, Smallville. Sometimes you know how to make a girl feel nice.”
“I’m going be outside for a bit,” Clark said. “Yell at me if you need anything.”
Lois nodded. “Will do,” she said, as he headed for outside. “And Clark?”
“Yeah?” he asked, pausing at the door.
“Thank you.”
Clark nodded at her once, and then headed up to his loft.
Lois stood up from the kitchen table and headed over to the living room, and sat next to her sister. Lucy looked over at her with tear-filled eyes and broke down.
“Oh, sweetie,” Lois said, sliding over and wrapping her sister up in a hug. “It’s okay, Lucy. It’s going to be okay.”
Lois held her sister close, and silently prayed that she could be there for Lucy now like Clark had been for her when she’d broken up with Oliver.
“It’s okay,” she repeated softly. “You’re going to be okay.”
Outside, Jimmy Olsen pulled up the house, and ran up to the loft looking for Clark.
“Clark!” he said. “Clark, it’s Chloe. She needs your help. Some guys from DDS came and took her away. She said that you could help her.”
“Domestic Security? What do they want with Chloe?”
“I made a deal,” Jimmy said. “With Lex. I helped him kill a couple of stories, and he kept Chloe’s name off of this… huge, secret wanted list. But I broke the deal, and now Chloe’s been arrested.
Clark looked at Jimmy. “How long ago was this?”
“Just a few minutes,” he said. “I came over here as fast as I could.”
Clark reached into his pocket and pulled out the card Xander had given him.
“Jim, I’m going to go try to help Chloe,” he said, handing the card to Jimmy. “If I’m not back in two days, call this man. Tell him I said you need help.”
“That will get him to help me?” Jimmy asked.
“If it doesn’t,” Clark said, “tell him it’s for the Traveler. He’ll know what that means.”
----------
End Chapter 10
Continue to Chapter 11
Okay, on to the fic. And it's a long one tonight! Also I'd like to reiterate, especially for this part, that there are spoilers for the end of season 7 of Smallville.
Part 1 is here
“I just don’t have the skill set,” Mel said. Buffy was seated next to the bed they had moved Dawn to, holding Dawn’s hand in her own. “I can’t even figure out what it is that’s wrong with her. It doesn’t seem to be magical.”
“So she’s actually in a coma?” Xander asked.
Mel shrugged. “I don’t know. All I do know is that there’s nothing I can do for her. Is Willow…?”
Buffy shook her head. “Not for a few days, at least. She’s dealing with some ancient evil cult in some catacombs outside of Moscow, or something like that.”
“It’s always something.”
Buffy, Xander and Mel looked up and saw Chloe standing at the door to the bedroom. “Hi,” she said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I just… wanted to see how she was doing.”
Mel shrugged. “No change as far as I can tell.”
“Do you mind… can I speak to Buffy and Xander alone?” she asked.
Mel looked at Buffy, who nodded shortly. Mel stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her as she went.
“What can we do for you?” Xander asked.
“Actually,” she said, “I’m thinking I might be able to do something for you. Clark told me you had a chat.”
“We did?” Xander asked.
“We did. Traveler?”
“Oh,” Xander said. He thought about it for a second. “Oh! Oh. Huh. Wow. Okay. Did you…?”
“We’re good,” said Buffy.
Xander nodded, and turned to Chloe. “So?”
Chloe wrung her hands in front of her. “I know Lucy trusts you guys. Basically, I mean. Current deceptions notwithstanding.”
“Understood,” said Buffy.
“That’s not really enough for me,” Chloe said. She was pacing back and forth between along the length of the bed. “It may be for Clark, and that’s fine. But I’m too invested in him, in his work, in his… life to let anybody endanger him.”
“Okay,” Buffy said. “We certainly understand the need for secrecy. And the desire to protect your loved ones. What did you have in mind?”
Chloe looked up at her, then reached out and laid her hand on Dawn’s chest. “Making sure you owe me.”
White light poured from Chloe’s hand, and emanated from Dawn’s chest, bathing the room in an eerie, ethereal glow. Buffy and Xander shielded their eyes. A moment later, the light was gone, and Chloe was slumped over Dawn.
Dawn, who was very slowly coming around to consciousness. Xander carefully pulled Chloe away from Dawn, and checked her pulse.
“Buffy?” Dawn asked, rubbing her eyes to wake up. “Where am I?”
“Uh, Buff,” Xander said, picking Chloe up in his arms. “She’s not breathing.”
“Come on,” Buffy said, pulling her sister up off of the bed. “You need to get up.” She turned to the door and yelled, “Clark!”
Dawn looked over and saw Xander holding Chloe. “Who’s that?”
“The girl who woke you up,” said Buffy. She held Dawn up as Xander put Chloe down on the bed. He listened at her chest again and shook his head at Buffy, who was helping her sister stand.
A second later, the door burst open and Clark came inside.
“What happened?” he asked.
“She healed Dawn, somehow,” Xander said. Clark looked at Dawn for a moment, and then checked on Chloe. “She’s not breathing,” Xander told him.
“Was… was there a white light?” Clark asked, feeling for Chloe’s pulse on his own.
“Yeah,” said Buffy. “It was really bright.”
“She needs to go back to her apartment,” Clark said. “She’s not dead, it just seems like she is. She… has this power, but it drains her. How long depends on what she heals.”
“Will she be okay alone at her apartment?” Xander asked.
“She won’t be alone,” Clark said, glancing at the clock. “Her boyfriend should be home. He knows about her power, he can take care of her. But Lois and Lucy don’t know.”
“We can get her there,” Xander said. He opened the window and whistled. A moment later, Patty appeared at the window.
“Yeah, boss,” she said.
Xander pointed to Chloe. “I need you and one other girl to take her car and drive her home,” he said. “Her boyfriend should be there. Tell him…”
Xander looked at Clark. “What should they tell him?”
“Tell him that Clark says Chloe helped out a friend, and needs to be looked after,” he said. “And that I’ll fill him in later.”
Patty nodded and waved over another girl. Between them, they got Chloe out of the bedroom and down to the ground.
“Don’t they need directions?” Clark asked.
Buffy shook her head. “Been here a month, remember?”
“Okay,” Dawn said when the girls were gone. “I think I’ve missed a lot.”
“Yeah,” said Buffy. “I’ll fill you in in a minute. For now, you need to know that the young woman who just healed you is Lucy’s cousin, Chloe. Lucy’s sister Lois, along with Ollie, Riley and Mel are downstairs. And this,” she said, pointing to Clark, “is Clark Kent. Our host.”
“Hi,” Dawn said, smiling at him.
Clark nodded. “Hi.”
“Well,” Xander said. “I’m gonna see if I can go do some more damage control.” He hugged Dawn. “Welcome back to the land of the waking.”
Dawn hugged him back and let him go.
“Damage control from what?” Dawn asked.
“We had to do the big reveal tonight,” Buffy said. She shook her head. “Lucy was not happy.”
Dawn bit her lower lip. “They going to be okay?”
“I don’t know, sweetie,” Buffy said.
“I hope they do,” Dawn said. “He’s so happy with her.”
“Yeah,” Buffy said, sighing. “I know.”
* * * * *
“You told your dad that you love me.”
“I did,” Lucy said. She and Xander were in the barn again, away from prying eyes and curious ears. “I do. But you lied to me. And not like a little, no consequences lie. This was a huge lie, Xander. You used me to get to my father. Everything… the whole foundation here is false.”
“I know,” he said. “Well, I know some of that. I don’t think that what we’ve built on is a lie.”
“How can you say that?” she asked. “Everything about how we met, about what you were doing there, that’s all a lie.”
“But that’s not what… that’s not what’s important, Lucy,” he said. “What’s important is that you know me. You know what kind of a man I am, you know what I do - all of it, now - and that I love you. You believe that much, right?”
Lucy nodded. “You know I do. But there has to be trust. And I can’t trust you right now.”
“I know,” he said.
They sat there, silent, for a minute.
“Did you get what you needed?”
“What?” he asked.
“From my dad. Did you get what you needed?”
“He’s going to show Chloe’s intel to his superiors,” Xander said. “Beyond that, he can’t promise anything.”
Lucy nodded, and they were silent again.
“So where does this leave us?” Xander asked, eventually.
Lucy shook her head. “I can’t go back with you. Not now. I need… I need time to figure things out.”
Xander nodded. “Are you going to stay here?”
“For a little while,” she said. “But I need you to give me space. And time. Don’t come looking for me.”
“Can I call?”
Lucy shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I just… I can’t deal with you right now.”
“Okay,” Xander said. “I understand. And I’m sorry, too. For all of it.”
Lucy said nothing.
“I really do love you,” he said.
“I know you do, Xander,” she replied, turning away from him. She wiped away a tear from her cheek. “Please go.”
Xander wanted to say something. Something that would fix it. He wanted to reach out to her, and hold her in his arms and assure her that nothing like this would ever happen again. To kiss her, and wipe away any doubts she might have about him.
He turned and walked out of the barn.
* * * * *
The Slayers had all packed up and left. Riley and Mel had taken off in the helicopter. Buffy, Dawn and Oliver were just waiting for Xander to pack up his things, and then they would take their leave of the Kent farm. Ollie was giving them a place to stay for the night.
“I hope those two kids work things out,” Ollie said. He, Buffy and Dawn were leaning against his limo.
“Me too,” said Dawn.
“Yeah,” said Buffy. “Me too.”
Ollie and Dawn both looked at her.
“What?”
Ollie shook his head, rolled his eyes and got into the limo.
“What?” Buffy asked Dawn.
“You’re not fooling anyone,” Dawn said. “Well, not anybody who isn’t named Xander Harris.”
“Fooling them with what?” Buffy asked.
“Buffy everybody other than Xander knows you like him. I know. Willow knows. Giles knows. Ollie knows. Hell, Lucy probably knows.”
Buffy opened her mouth, intent on denying everything.
“Jesus, Buffy,” Dawn said before Buffy could start. “I was there in Prague, you know.”
* * * * *
Prague, Czech Republic
Six Months Ago
“Here,” Buffy said. She was sitting on Xander’s bed, helping him with his clothes selection for impressing Lucy Lane. She held out a dark blue dress shirt. “I always liked you in the blue one. It’s very suave. You pull it off well.”
“Yeah?” Xander asked. He stepped out from the bathroom shirtless, and Buffy’s breath caught in her throat. He took the shirt from her. “Ah, and my undershirt,” he said.
He reached around behind her and tried to pick up his undershirt, and found Buffy was sitting on it. “Oh, okay,” he said. “Well, there’s only one cure for this.” He dropped his dress shirt, picked Buffy up by her waist and tossed her over his shoulder.
“Xander, put me down!” she said, grinning and laughing, slapping weakly at his back, and flailing her legs.
In the corner, Dawn eyed her sister suspiciously. That couldn’t be…. A voice chirped in her ear.
“Okay guys,” she said, calling an end to their antics. “Lucy’s on the approach. Five minutes.”
“Damn, I need to get dressed,” Xander said. He placed Buffy back on the bed, winked at her, then grabbed his shirts and stepped back into the bathroom.
“Yeah,” Buffy mumbled. “Damn.”
A few minutes later, Xander reappeared wearing his suit, the dark blue dress shirt, and a mahogany tie that made him look every inch the wealthy businessman. “How’s it play?” he asked, twirling for them.
Dawn and Buffy both made a show of whistling and making cat calls. Xander bowed with a flourish just as the telephone rang. Xander picked it up, and informed the desk clerk that he’d be down in a moment.
“Okay,” he said with a deep breath. “Off I go.”
“One second,” Buffy said. She walked up to him and straightened his tie, then leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.
He looked at her curiously.
“For luck,” she explained.
Xander laughed. “Ah, so you’re playing the sister now, and I’m about to swing us over a deep chasm that could either lead to safety, or our eventual doom. Well played, madam.”
Xander smiled at both of them, then walked out of the room, not noticing the slump in Buffy’s shoulders.
But Dawn did.
“The sister?” Buffy asked, turning to look at Dawn.
“Leia to his Luke,” Dawn explained. “She says that in Star Wars, when they’re about to -”
“Swing across the chasm in the Death Star, I remember now,” Buffy said. She sighed. “We better get this place cleaned up and head out the back. Can’t let her see us.”
Dawn nodded at her sister, and gathered her things, filing the information away for another day.
* * * * *
Smallville, Kansas
Now
“That wasn’t -” Buffy started.
“And then,” interrupted Dawn, “I was there in Rome.”
* * * * *
Rome, Italy
Three months ago
Xander and Lucy had flown in for a few meetings, and Dawn had managed to get some time off from her doctoral work as well. It was as good a time as any for her to actually meet Lucy, and spend some quality time with Buffy.
After a delicious dinner, during which Lucy was not only surprisingly intelligent, but also very charming, the four of them headed out to a club. Xander was immediately the envy of every other guy there.
The envy wore off a little - and only a little - when it became clear that his eyes were trained only on Lucy, and as far as he was concerned Dawn and Buffy barely registered. It was obvious to the other dancers, and to the bartenders, and to Dawn, and most especially to Buffy, that Xander Harris was head over heels for Lucy Lane.
It was equally obvious to most of them that Buffy was not happy about it.
“Come on, sis!” Dawn said, trying unsuccessfully to drag Buffy away from the bar. Buffy had turned down or merely ignored advances from almost a dozen gorgeous men, and spent most of the night staring at Xander and Lucy.
But, Dawn noted, it wasn’t the angry glare. The one Buffy got when she felt someone was coming in and taking her friends away. It wasn’t the look that said “You have what I want, and I’m going to do whatever I can to take it from you.”
Instead it was a mixture. Loneliness and sadness, regret and, unless Dawn was completely off, longing.
That was when Dawn realized that somewhere along the line, somewhere between Africa and Prague, Xander and Buffy had switched places. Xander had placed Buffy firmly in the ‘friend’ category (although, really, more like ‘chosen family’) while at the same time he had inspired her to knock down the doors she closed and locked years ago, and truly consider him as a partner.
She knew that Buffy wouldn’t say anything. Couldn’t say anything. The operation was too important, and Xander was not only falling in love with Lucy, he was introducing her to their work, letting her knew what they really did, and basically ensuring, if not her loyalty, then at least that she knew they were on the right side.
And anything Buffy might try with Xander would only mess that up.
Dawn waded out onto the dance floor and told Xander that she was feeling ill and that Buffy was going to take her home. Xander kissed her on the cheek and told her to feel better, then went back to dancing with his girl.
Dawn dragged her sister home, and proceeded to get the two of them very, very drunk.
* * * * *
Smallville, Kansas
Now
“That was just a bad night!” Buffy said. “I mean, I had been lonely, and it’s not like I’m getting any younger. I was just… mopey.”
“And then,” Dawn said, “Willow told me about London last month.”
* * * * *
London, England
Last month
Willow watched, smiling, from the balcony as Xander and Lucy strolled through the hallway, his arm firmly around her shoulders.
“Buffy!” Xander called. Buffy was checking in with the guy at the front desk, who handed her a key to one of the guest rooms. She glanced up, saw Xander and Lucy, then took a deep breath. She held up a hand at Xander, and asked the young man another question. He looked confused for a second before answering. Buffy nodded at him.
“Hey,” she said, approaching Xander and Lucy. She looked, Willow thought, very tired.
“Good flight?” Xander asked, unwrapping his arm from Lucy to give Buffy a welcoming hug.
“Not bad,” she said, ignoring the hug offer. “Listen, I haven’t been getting a lot of sleep lately, so I’m just gonna head up to my room. Nice to see you two.”
She nodded at both of them and then headed up the stairs.
“You okay?” Willow asked as Buffy brushed past her.
“Just freaking peachy,” Buffy muttered.
Willow turned back to the happy couple. Xander looked confused, and a little hurt, and Lucy wrapped her arm around his waist, telling him that Buffy was probably just tired. Xander looked up at Willow and sent a questioning look her way. Willow shrugged in ignorance, and then glanced back after Buffy, hoping her friend was just tired, but suspecting there was more to it than that.
* * * * *
Smallville, Kansas
Now
Buffy sighed. “Crappy timing, isn’t it?”
“The worst,” Dawn said.
“So how come you’re in her corner?” Buffy said. “I’m your sister, aren’t you supposed to root for me to get the guy?”
“I’m not in her corner,” Dawn said. They looked up as the screen door opened, and Xander stepped onto the porch. He turned and shook Clark’s hand, and handed him a set of keys, then pointed at the rental. Lois was there, standing close to Clark, as though she was drawing energy from him. She nodded at Xander in a way that was not quite cold, but not quite friendly either. Lucy was nowhere to be seen. “I’m in the corner of love and happiness. And he’s happy with Lucy, and he loves her. You know that. If he was happy and in love with you, I’d be all for it. At the moment, you’d just be the other woman.”
“I know,” she said. “That doesn’t make it suck less.”
“No,” Dawn said. “I know. But you’re going to get your shot, Buffy. Whether it’s with him, or someone else. You’re gonna have that one you can settle down with, and live with, and love for the rest of your life.”
Buffy turned to her sister. “You really believe that?”
“I do,” Dawn said, smiling at her. “I mean, unless you keep scaring them away, or having to kill them.”
“Hey,” Buffy said, offended.
“Not that it’s your fault you have to kill them. They do keep turning out to be evil.”
“Thank you,” she said. “Mostly.”
“We ready?” Xander asked as he walked up to the limo.
“You okay?” Buffy asked.
Xander shrugged. “Not really, no. This sucks to the highest levels of sucking, but it was necessary and I have to deal with it. So I’ll deal.”
Buffy and Dawn encircled him in a hug, and Xander wrapped his arms around them. They stepped back.
“Okay,” Xander said, smiling at both of them gratefully as he opened the limo door. “Let’s get back to work.”
* * * * *
“He gave you a way to get in touch?” Lois asked. She and Clark were sitting at his kitchen table, having a cup of coffee.
“Yeah,” Clark said, nodding. “I guess they thought, if I ever had some serious dealing with Lex…”
Lois nodded. “I figured if you did, Oliver would be your first call.”
“Oliver?” Clark asked. “Why him?”
Lois rolled her eyes. “Well, he certainly seems to enjoy being a thorn in Lex’s side. Plus, you know him pretty well.”
Clark shrugged. “I suppose. I don’t know, though, when a situation like that is likely to come up. I mean, Lex and I don’t get along anymore, but it’s not like we’re, I don’t know, archenemies or something.” He paused. “Still, you never know what may come in handy.”
Lois turned to look at Lucy, who was sitting on the couch, staring at, but not really watching, an infomercial about citrus-powered cleaners.
“What am I gonna do with her?” Lois asked.
“I don’t know,” Clark said. He got up and filled up both of their coffee mugs. “She seems pretty torn up.”
“I’ll say,” Lois said, smiling at Clark, whose back was turned as he put the pot back in the coffee maker. She shook her head. “I’ve never seen her like this. God, I don’t even know… with Jimmy and Chloe in the Talon with me, I have no idea how I’m going to take care of her.”
“Lois, don’t be silly,” Clark said. “You’re both welcome to stay here, as long as you need.”
Lois looked surprised for a moment, but then smirked at him. “You just want a couple of Lane sisters under your roof,” she said.
“What can I say? You have a way of making life more interesting.”
She smiled at him, blushing just a little, and Clark laughed. “What?” she asked.
“Nothing, it’s just… I think that maybe one of the first completely honest smiles I’ve ever seen from you.”
“What can I say, Smallville. Sometimes you know how to make a girl feel nice.”
“I’m going be outside for a bit,” Clark said. “Yell at me if you need anything.”
Lois nodded. “Will do,” she said, as he headed for outside. “And Clark?”
“Yeah?” he asked, pausing at the door.
“Thank you.”
Clark nodded at her once, and then headed up to his loft.
Lois stood up from the kitchen table and headed over to the living room, and sat next to her sister. Lucy looked over at her with tear-filled eyes and broke down.
“Oh, sweetie,” Lois said, sliding over and wrapping her sister up in a hug. “It’s okay, Lucy. It’s going to be okay.”
Lois held her sister close, and silently prayed that she could be there for Lucy now like Clark had been for her when she’d broken up with Oliver.
“It’s okay,” she repeated softly. “You’re going to be okay.”
Outside, Jimmy Olsen pulled up the house, and ran up to the loft looking for Clark.
“Clark!” he said. “Clark, it’s Chloe. She needs your help. Some guys from DDS came and took her away. She said that you could help her.”
“Domestic Security? What do they want with Chloe?”
“I made a deal,” Jimmy said. “With Lex. I helped him kill a couple of stories, and he kept Chloe’s name off of this… huge, secret wanted list. But I broke the deal, and now Chloe’s been arrested.
Clark looked at Jimmy. “How long ago was this?”
“Just a few minutes,” he said. “I came over here as fast as I could.”
Clark reached into his pocket and pulled out the card Xander had given him.
“Jim, I’m going to go try to help Chloe,” he said, handing the card to Jimmy. “If I’m not back in two days, call this man. Tell him I said you need help.”
“That will get him to help me?” Jimmy asked.
“If it doesn’t,” Clark said, “tell him it’s for the Traveler. He’ll know what that means.”
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End Chapter 10
Continue to Chapter 11