A Portal in Sunnydale
Title: A Portal in Sunnydale
Author: Froxyn
Show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Doctor Who crossover
Pairing: Buffy/Giles, Rose/Ten
Rating: FRT
Timeline: AU, completely AU. Post S5 of Buffy and following Voyage of the Damned from Doctor Who.
Synopsis: Buffy befriends a strange man while on patrol. Giles runs into a lost woman on his way home. Two worlds are getting ready to collide.
Author’s Note: Thanks to wyvernwolf for the beta.
Buffy sighed, twirling a stake in her hand as she walked through the cemetery. Be careful, he’d said. As if she was never careful. Reaching up, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and bit her bottom lip.
There was something different about how he had said it though. He always told her to be careful, but tonight…it was more like he was…
She shook her head to stop that thought. Thinking those particular thoughts, the ones that had been in her head for well over a month now, were going to get her nowhere. Except maybe killed or hurt because she was too caught up in thinking what her Watcher’s lips tasted like instead of focusing on the task at hand.
She looked around the cemetery, somewhat disappointed that it was apparently going to be a quiet night in Sunnydale.
The thought had barely had the opportunity to complete itself in her mind before she heard it. A loud whoosh in the sky, accompanied by a largish fireball. Her first thought was a meteorite. But, then she remembered what had happened the last time a fireball had lit up the Sunnydale skyline at night.
A Queller demon.
And she really didn’t want to have to deal with another one of those.
She shoved her stake into her pocket and took off at a run, jumping over the fence of the cemetery. She glanced down the road that led to Giles’ apartment and considered heading down to ask him to come with her. Until she remembered that it was Wednesday.
Late night inventory at the Magic Box.
“It’s just to have a look…” She told herself before heading towards Miller’s Woods. “If it’s anything weird, I’ll go get him. I’ll just be…careful.”
She chuckled at herself and broke into a sprint.
* * *
Giles had planned on his usual inventory of stock, but…after Buffy had left for patrol, he decided it could wait until the following night. He knew that she’d be by after patrol, as usual. But, he wanted tonight to be something different…something unusual.
He rolled his eyes at his thoughts as he walked towards the car, shifting the brown grocery bag from his left arm to his right. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and exhaled a deep breath.
Unusual. He supposed that what he had planned could be considered unusual. Especially considering that he had planned to have a nice dinner waiting for Buffy when she came by to give her report. Dinner.
Very unusual.
He cursed himself under his breath, berating himself for the umpteenth time. It was bad enough that he had recognized the feelings that had been growing for her. It was even worse that he had allowed himself to nurture those feelings into something more.
It was nearly apocalyptic that he was going to create a nice dinner for his Slayer.
He was almost at his car when a blue light flashed in front of him. He jumped back, clearly startled, and dropped the keys to the ground. His arm tightened around the bag, his eyes widening as a woman ran out of the blue light and bumped into him before she could stop running.
Fortunately, he was able to stifle his not-so-manly shriek.
“Um…hello.” He offered, looking at her cautiously.
“Hi.” She responded before narrowing her eyes at him. “You’re English.”
Giles nodded as he continued to study her. He was briefly concerned about the fact that he was seemingly feeling at ease, under the adrenaline rush that came with the fact that a woman had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. But, there was something in her eyes. She reminded him of someone who had been lost for so very long. She was scared…so very scared and so very determined not to show it.
So he found himself shifting the bag of groceries and offering her a gentle smile. “As are you, Miss…”
“Rose. Rose Tyler.” Her eyes took in their surroundings. “But…this isn’t England.”
“No, it’s not.” Giles responded, unable to stop the wistful tone in his voice. “You’re in California…Sunnydale, California. And, my name is Rupert Giles.”
Rose looked into his eyes, relaxing somewhat as his smile made its way to his eyes. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Giles.”
Giles chuckled and bent down to retrieve his keys from the warm asphalt. “No need for ‘mister’. Most people simply call me Giles.”
“Um…Giles…this is going to sound like a really strange question, but…are zeppelins a normal way of getting around?”
Giles met her eyes as he stood back up. “Considering you just ran out of a portal, I don’t think it’s a strange question at all. I, uh…I actually can’t remember the last time I saw a zeppelin in flight. It was probably at an air show when I was a child…”
A brilliant grin took over Rose’s features as she exhaled deeply. “We did it! Oh God, I can’t believe it!”
Giles furrowed his brow curiously. “Would you mind if I asked where you came from?”
“Pete’s World.” She answered without hesitation, laughing softly at the look of confusion on his face. “Um…it’s a parallel universe…”
Giles’ eyes brightened. “Interesting…”
Rose tilted her head, realizing that this man believed her. He believed her and she hadn’t even had to try to convince him.
“You’re not nearly as surprised as I thought you would be.”
Giles chuckled and shrugged a shoulder. “My life isn’t exactly mundane…”
Before she could question him further, he continued…stammering slightly as he spoke.
“You, um…are you hungry? Travelling through a portal from a parallel universe…how did you…it’s just that I was under the assumption that crossing parallels was…impossible. Unless, of course, you’re dealing with a vengeance…”
She smiled warmly as he trailed off, his rambling reminding her of her Doctor. “I don’t believe in impossible anymore. And, yeah…I’m starving. Could definitely go for some chips right about now.”
“Chips…right. There’s a shop around the corner that has hot chips. They’re not proper English hot chips, not like you’d be used to, at any rate. But, for Sunnydale, they’re not bad.”
“Thanks.” Rose replied cheerfully, turning towards the direction in which he had just pointed. “Glad I ran into you! You have no idea what I was expecting to run into!”
Almost as if he suddenly remembered that he was a Watcher and this was Sunnydale, the Hellmouth, he reached out and gently grabbed her wrist. She stopped and turned her eyes to his, silently questioning him.
“Sunnydale’s not exactly a safe place to be after dark. I, uh…”
Rose’s eyes sparkled, understanding that he was honestly just trying to be nice. “Fancy some hot chips?”
* * *
Buffy skidded to a stop, her tennis shoe slipping on a patch of moss. She caught herself before she fell…however, she also caught the attention of the man standing next to a piece of rock in a crater.
“Um…what are you doing?” She asked as nonchalantly as she possibly could, wiping the dirt from her palm onto her jeans.
The man offered her a smile and then gestured at the rock. “This landed here…thought I’d see what it’s all about.”
Buffy narrowed her eyes. “You’re English.” Her first thought was ‘another Watcher’, but as she took in his appearance, she shook her head. “Not stuffy enough to be a Watcher…”
“What?” The man asked, pulling an object out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket.
“Nothing.” Buffy waved a hand at him. “I have a…friend…who’s English…”
The man grinned. “I’m not English. Picked the accent up from a friend of my own.”
“Who are you?” Buffy asked after a moment, narrowing her eyes as he pointed the tool at the rock. “And what is that?”
“I’m the Doctor.” He stated, as if it should’ve been the most obvious thing in the world. “And this is a screwdriver.”
“Uh-huh…Phillips or flathead?”
“Sonic.”
“Sonic?” Buffy stared at him and then rolled her eyes and motioned to him. “Come on, get away from it. It could be dangerous…last time I saw one, it was…”
The humming of the screwdriver stopped as he lifted his dark eyes to hers. “It was…what?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. So, could you just get away from it?”
“I’d believe you…” He tilted his head slightly in thought. “What’s your name?”
“Buffy.”
He smiled warmly at her. “I’d believe you, Buffy.”
Buffy rolled her eyes again and heaved a heavy sigh, not really sure why she was continuing. There was something about him…
“It was a Queller demon. And it was here to hurt people.”
The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her. “Quellers are alien, not demonic. How do you know about Quellers anyway?”
“How do you know about Quellers?” Buffy countered, crossing her arms over her chest.
“They’re alien.” He answered, turning his attention back to the rock in front of him. “And this isn’t a Queller ship. I think it’s a Zocci ship.”
“Zocci?”
“Yep.” He replied, popping the ‘p’ as he smiled at her. “Harmless, but figured since I was here I’d check. Just to make sure. You never know when some alien race is going to come down here and try to conquer Earth. Not sure why they keep trying. Well, I do actually. You make it easy for them. As brilliant as you humans are, you’re still - ”
“Who are you?” Buffy asked, confusion on her face as she interrupted him.
“I’m the Doctor.” He repeated, pointing his screwdriver at the rock one last time. He smiled as a door in the side slid open. “Ooh…a door! See?”
“The Doctor?” Buffy asked as the man ducked his head inside of the now open rock. “The Doctor of what?”
“Just the Doctor.” He said, pulling his head out of the ship and grinning at her. “And it is a Zocci ship. Probably just here on shore leave. So, if you see a short little red-skinned alien running about…don’t worry about it.”
“What?” Buffy asked incredulously.
“Chances are you won’t see it. They’re good at hiding…even with the red skin.” He turned to look at her quickly. “The Queller though…what did you do about that one?”
“Killed it.” When the Doctor arched an eyebrow at her again, she sighed. “It attacked me…and my family. Giles identified it as a Queller, and his books said it was evil. So…I took care of it.”
“Quellers are evil. You did the right thing.” The Doctor slipped the screwdriver back into his pocket. “What kind of books does this Giles person have? And…who’s he?”
“He’s my Watcher.” Her eyes narrowed suddenly as she looked at a point over his shoulder. “Duck!”
He ducked immediately, eyes widening as she pulled the stake from her pocket and hurled it over his head. He turned to watch it land directly in the heart of a vampire who had just stepped into the clearing.
He stood slowly and ran his hand through his hair as the dust fell to the ground where the demon once stood. “That was a vampire.”
“Yeah…” Buffy muttered, eyes darting around them. “Probably more on the way too. We should go.”
“A real vampire!” The Doctor exclaimed, his excitement showing clearly on his face. “I’ve never seen a real vampire before. Came across a werewolf once. Years ago.”
“Yeah, we’ve had werewolves too.” Buffy said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder. “Come on.”
“Rose was so excited about the werewolf…asked if we could see a vampire one time.” The Doctor’s exuberance disappeared, a sadness slipping into his voice. “Never got the chance, though…”
“Okay…sad stories later, for now…you’re coming with me, Doctor.”
“Where are we going?” The Doctor questioned, walking towards her while looking around for more vampires.
“Giles’ apartment. You know about Quellers…he’s going to want to know about you.” She glanced at his pocket. “And I want to know more about that screwdriver. Sonic or not, it took us ages to break into the Queller’s rock…”
The Doctor offered her a small smile, not answering her but following her out of the woods. He glanced over at the TARDIS, obscured in the trees, and smiled as she continued to hum softly.
She’d be safe. He reassured himself, allowing his eyes to wander back to Buffy. And he had a feeling that he’d be safe as well.
“Where am I anyway?” He asked, shoving his hands into his pockets as he slipped into step next to her.
“Sunnydale, California.” She looked up at him curiously.
“California! Sun, palm trees, oranges…Disneyland! I’ve never been to Disneyland, always wondered why that’s the first place people want to go when they win something though. Everyone’s all ‘Disneyland! Allons-y!’. I’ve never understood that…must be a human thing.”
Buffy chuckled and shook her head in amusement. “Yeah…Disneyland? Not so much here, but…same state. Where’re you from? You said you’re not English, but you sound English. A different English than Giles, but still…”
She paused when she noticed him grinning at her. “What?”
“You ramble.” He replied, his dark eyes sparkling. “I like rambling. Used to drive Rose crazy sometimes, but…there’s nothing like a good ramble.”
“Who’s Rose?”
The Doctor’s grin faltered. He exhaled deeply as they exited the woods, concrete under his shoes for the first time since landing in California.
“She’s my friend. My best friend. I, uh…we got separated a while back.”
Buffy heard that sadness in his voice again. “More than a friend?”
He met her eyes, but didn’t answer her question. Instead, he smiled brightly at her and kicked a loose gravel on the sidewalk.
“I could go for a good cuppa right now…”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “You sure you’re not English? Evasive, confusing, and a love for tea…sounds English to me.”
The Doctor smiled and looked up at the sky. “So…tell me about Sunnydale, California.”
* * *
“So, what’s the deal with the screwdriver thingy?” Buffy asked, dropping two sugars into a cup of tea. “I mean…I’ve never had a screwdriver that glows…or opens things that a screwdriver shouldn’t open…or, um…get money from an ATM with one.”
The Doctor looked over at her, disrupting his perusal of the books that had obviously been meticulously placed in one of the three bookshelves in the living room. “Well, it’s a sonic screwdriver.”
Buffy snorted softly as she carried the mug into the room and handed it to him. “And does that non-explanation work on everyone else?”
“Most of the time.” He admitted, taking a small sip of the tea. “So, this Giles…he doesn’t mind if you’re here when he’s not?”
Buffy shook her head and perched herself on the arm of the couch. “Nope…we’re friends. I mean, he’s my Watcher, but…we have a friendship now. It’s definitely of the good.”
The Doctor leaned against the bookshelf, slightly narrowing his eyes at her in a playful manner. “More than friends?”
“Uh…no…” Buffy stammered, her cheeks turning a dark shade of pink. Scrambling to change the subject, she asked the first question that popped into her mind. “So, are you from Mars or something?”
“I’m not…no, I’m not from Mars.” He answered with a grin. “But, something…yes.”
Buffy waited expectantly, and then groaned when she realized that he wasn’t going to offer any more information about himself. “My God…you remind me so much of Giles…if he was younger, with brown eyes, and…skinny…do you eat?”
“A vampire Slayer…what does that entail?” He asked in lieu of an answer. “Besides the obvious slaying of vampires, that is. Vampires! I still can’t believe I just saw a vampire!”
She regarded him closely, smiling as he giggled at the memory of seeing a vampire. “What are you? Honestly?”
He paused for a moment and then gave her a shrug. “I’m a Time Lord.”
Buffy’s smile grew. “Okay, you tell me what a Time Lord is...and more about that TARDIS thing you told me about earlier…and I’ll recite Giles’ favourite speech…which will tell you what a Slayer is.”
The Doctor pulled his screwdriver out of his pocket and twirled it between his fingers. “Well, that sounds fair enough, I suppose. I travel through space and time in a - ”
He was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. He and Buffy both looked over, Buffy smiling as Giles walked in.
“Hey, Giles!” She offered him a wave, to which he chuckled and pulled his keys from the lock.
The Doctor inhaled sharply, sure that he could smell the distinctive aroma of hot chips.
“Hello, Buffy…” He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the man leaning against one of his bookshelves. “Um…”
“This is - ” Buffy started to explain.
“The Doctor.” A surprised voice finished for her.
The screwdriver fell from the Doctor’s hands and rolled under the couch as a familiar face appeared from behind the other man. Buffy raised an eyebrow at the young blonde woman, feeling a stab of jealousy rush through her as she immediately wanted to know why she was with Giles. Her Giles.
“Rose?” The Doctor asked in an almost inaudible whisper, taking a long step away from the bookshelf.
He stared at Rose, oblivious to both Buffy and Giles, as she took another step into the room. Rose stared back at him, not really believing that she’d actually stumbled upon him here…even though she’d used a piece of the TARDIS key to make the portal.
“Doctor?” She sniffled, eyes filling with tears. “Is it really you?”
Giles and Buffy exchanged a glance. Buffy shrugged a shoulder as Giles placed the bag of groceries on the desk and made his way to her side. She took an involuntary step back as the Doctor raced across the room, jumping over a stack of books and landing directly in front of Rose.
Buffy looked up at Giles as the Doctor pulled Rose into his arms. “Make a friend tonight?”
He gave her a crooked grin and tilted his head towards the Doctor. “As did you.”
The Doctor ran his hands through Rose’s hair, his eyes wide with excitement. “How did you…it should’ve been impossible. The bridge was closed. I…you can’t be here, but…you are. You’re here…you’re here…and not there. And…it’s impossible!”
Rose shook her head softly, reaching up to gently stroke the side of his face with her fingertips. “Nothing’s impossible. You taught me that, Doctor. We built a Vortex Shaper…created a portal.”
“What?” He whispered, beaming proudly at her.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a key. A key that was squarer than it had been when he’d given it to her. But, it was a key he’d recognize anywhere.
“Rose…”
“I used part of the key in the Shaper…I was hoping it’d lead me to you. If the travel through the void was even successful…” She bit her bottom lip and dropped the key onto his palm. “She brought me back, Doctor. The TARDIS helped me find you.”
“Um…TARDIS?” Giles asked softly.
“The Doctor’s ship.” Buffy explained, smiling as Giles looked down at her with even wider eyes.
“His…ship?”
She took his hand into hers without thinking about it, her thumb gently stroking the back of his hand as her smile grew. “I’ll explain what I know later, okay?”
Giles nodded numbly, confused by what seemed to be a reunion between two people who apparently hadn’t seen each other for a while. And then it hit him.
“Parallel universe…” He tilted his head questioningly as Rose looked over at him and nodded.
“Vampires!” The Doctor suddenly exclaimed, grinning broadly as Rose turned her eyes back to him. “I saw a real vampire…and I thought of you. How you would’ve…I’ve missed you, Rose.”
Rose laughed and pulled him into another hug. “Well, we’ll always have the werewolf in Scotland.”
“Never did make it to the Dury concert, did we?” Before she could answer, the Doctor turned his dark eyes to the man standing next to Buffy. “I’m the Doctor. And this…this is Rose.”
Rose merely rolled her eyes, not bothering to comment on the fact that Giles already knew Rose’s name. Giles shot Rose a grin and stepped forward, extending his hand to the Doctor.
“Giles…Rupert. Um…you’re a time traveller…”
The Doctor slipped his hand into Rose’s, lacing their fingers together. “Something like that. You’re a Watcher.”
“The Watcher.” Buffy corrected, looking down and realizing that she was still holding Giles’ hand.
Giles’ fingers tightened around hers, reassuring her that the contact was not making him uncomfortable. She exhaled a slow breath and looked up at him.
“Quellers are alien…not demonic.”
“I’m sorry?”
Their gazes met and she saw a flicker in his eyes. A flicker that he didn’t have the chance to hide. She gave him a warm smile as she saw the flicker turn from love to panic.
“I think we have a lot to talk about, huh?”
Realizing that she was anything but disgusted by the knowledge of his feelings, he returned her smile and swallowed nervously. “Seems as such.”
“We should go.” The Doctor blurted, rubbing his thumb along Rose’s.
Rose looked up at him and merely raised an eyebrow. The Doctor smiled and looked over at Buffy and Giles, lifting his free hand and scratching the back of his head.
“Sorry, that was a bit rude. I can be rude sometimes. It’s not intentional…it’s just the sort of man I am. Rude and not ginger. Sometimes…not all the time. Well, not ginger all the time…sometimes rude.”
“Talkative though.” Buffy mused, a smile brightening her eyes.
“Always talkative.” Rose confirmed with a chuckle. “Even though he can be rude, he’s right…we do need to go.”
Giles nodded slowly. “We should walk you back to your, um…Tartan?”
“TARDIS.” Buffy corrected, grinning up at him. “Hey…I got to correct you for once. Write it down in the calendar!”
Giles blushed lightly.
Rose chuckled and shook her head. “We’ll be fine. He never strays too far from the TARDIS.”
Giles considered arguing the point, but a quick look from the Doctor stopped him. He pulled his hand from Buffy’s and rushed over to a chest in the corner of the room. He pulled out a couple of objects and made his way back to the others.
“Very well…but, at least take these.” He handed two large crosses to the Doctor. “Should you run into a vampire…”
“A cross…of course!” The Doctor exclaimed, handing one of the crosses to Rose. “A cross will kill it then?”
Giles smiled softly and shook his head. “No. But, it will stun it long enough for you to run. Providing you’ve not far to go.”
The Doctor nodded and looked at Rose, grinning boyishly. “Stun and run…we’ve been there.”
Rose laughed and rolled her eyes at him before making her way over to Giles. She looked up at him and then gave him a hug. Startled, Giles took a moment to respond before returning the embrace.
Rose looked up at him, her eyes brimming with happiness. “Thank you so much.”
Before he had a chance to say anything, Rose darted her eyes over to Buffy…who was currently caught up in one of the Doctor’s ‘squeeze you ‘til you can’t breathe’ hugs. She smiled and then whispered quickly to Giles.
“She looks at you like I look at the Doctor. Tell her how you feel, okay?”
Giles smiled nervously, but gave her a nod.
“Right!” The Doctor had finally released Buffy and was digging in his pocket with his right hand. He pulled out a key and tossed it Rose. “Time to go then, Rose Tyler.”
Rose caught the key and gave him a wink. “Forwards or backwards?”
“Your choice.” He replied, patting his jacket pockets with the palm of his hand.
“Forwards or backwards?” Giles questioned.
“Yep. The TARDIS is also a time machine. We can go anywhere in time or space that we want. And…I seem to have lost my screwdriver.”
“You dropped it when I came in.” Rose offered, taking the cross from the Doctor’s hand before he took off.
He jumped over the same stack of books sitting next to the couch and spun around in a circle, eyes searching the floor. Rose watched him in amusement as he dropped to his knees.
“Is he always like that?” Buffy asked, laughing softly.
Rose nodded, her smile beaming. “Yeah. He’s a complete nutter. But…he’s my Doctor.”
“Ah-HA!!” The Doctor reached under the couch and wrapped his fingers around the screwdriver. He smiled as he noticed a piece of wadded up paper as well. “What do we have here?”
He pulled up one corner of the wad, grinning as he read three words. Buffy, my love.
Standing up, he proudly held up the screwdriver as if it were the most long-awaited presentation in the history of the world. “Found it!”
Rose smiled adoringly at him, gesturing towards the door. “Come on, then.”
The Doctor slipped the screwdriver into his jacket pocket and tossed the wad of paper to Giles. He gave Giles a wink and pulled the front door open.
Before ushering Rose out the door, the Doctor turned to Buffy. He stared at her for a moment and then spoke softly, but quickly.
“There’s one rule I have that I’ve never broken. Always give one chance. I’m not the sort of man to give second chances, but I believe that death should be the final option. Well, that and guns are - ”
“Doctor.” Rose interrupted him, a slight warning held in her tone.
“Always give them one chance, Buffy. Except for vampires.” He turned quickly to Rose and grinned boyishly. “Vampires! You should’ve seen it, Rose!”
“Better than the werewolf?” Rose asked, pulling the Doctor out of Giles’ apartment before giving Buffy and Giles a friendly goodbye wave.
“Nah…not sure much will ever top the wolf. That was…fantastic!”
Giles continued staring at the door for a while after the Doctor had closed it. Hearing the distinct sound of someone rummaging through a paper bag, he turned towards the noise.
“Um…”
Buffy looked up at him, a white tapered candle held in her hand. “What’s for dinner, Giles?”
So many questions…most of which could wait until later.
“It’s a surprise.” Giles answered, with a smile playing at his lips.
~ End
There will be two follow ups to this story...one Buffy/Giles and one Doctor/Rose. One has been written, the other will be written this weekend.
Author: Froxyn
Show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Doctor Who crossover
Pairing: Buffy/Giles, Rose/Ten
Rating: FRT
Timeline: AU, completely AU. Post S5 of Buffy and following Voyage of the Damned from Doctor Who.
Synopsis: Buffy befriends a strange man while on patrol. Giles runs into a lost woman on his way home. Two worlds are getting ready to collide.
Author’s Note: Thanks to wyvernwolf for the beta.
Buffy sighed, twirling a stake in her hand as she walked through the cemetery. Be careful, he’d said. As if she was never careful. Reaching up, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and bit her bottom lip.
There was something different about how he had said it though. He always told her to be careful, but tonight…it was more like he was…
She shook her head to stop that thought. Thinking those particular thoughts, the ones that had been in her head for well over a month now, were going to get her nowhere. Except maybe killed or hurt because she was too caught up in thinking what her Watcher’s lips tasted like instead of focusing on the task at hand.
She looked around the cemetery, somewhat disappointed that it was apparently going to be a quiet night in Sunnydale.
The thought had barely had the opportunity to complete itself in her mind before she heard it. A loud whoosh in the sky, accompanied by a largish fireball. Her first thought was a meteorite. But, then she remembered what had happened the last time a fireball had lit up the Sunnydale skyline at night.
A Queller demon.
And she really didn’t want to have to deal with another one of those.
She shoved her stake into her pocket and took off at a run, jumping over the fence of the cemetery. She glanced down the road that led to Giles’ apartment and considered heading down to ask him to come with her. Until she remembered that it was Wednesday.
Late night inventory at the Magic Box.
“It’s just to have a look…” She told herself before heading towards Miller’s Woods. “If it’s anything weird, I’ll go get him. I’ll just be…careful.”
She chuckled at herself and broke into a sprint.
* * *
Giles had planned on his usual inventory of stock, but…after Buffy had left for patrol, he decided it could wait until the following night. He knew that she’d be by after patrol, as usual. But, he wanted tonight to be something different…something unusual.
He rolled his eyes at his thoughts as he walked towards the car, shifting the brown grocery bag from his left arm to his right. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and exhaled a deep breath.
Unusual. He supposed that what he had planned could be considered unusual. Especially considering that he had planned to have a nice dinner waiting for Buffy when she came by to give her report. Dinner.
Very unusual.
He cursed himself under his breath, berating himself for the umpteenth time. It was bad enough that he had recognized the feelings that had been growing for her. It was even worse that he had allowed himself to nurture those feelings into something more.
It was nearly apocalyptic that he was going to create a nice dinner for his Slayer.
He was almost at his car when a blue light flashed in front of him. He jumped back, clearly startled, and dropped the keys to the ground. His arm tightened around the bag, his eyes widening as a woman ran out of the blue light and bumped into him before she could stop running.
Fortunately, he was able to stifle his not-so-manly shriek.
“Um…hello.” He offered, looking at her cautiously.
“Hi.” She responded before narrowing her eyes at him. “You’re English.”
Giles nodded as he continued to study her. He was briefly concerned about the fact that he was seemingly feeling at ease, under the adrenaline rush that came with the fact that a woman had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. But, there was something in her eyes. She reminded him of someone who had been lost for so very long. She was scared…so very scared and so very determined not to show it.
So he found himself shifting the bag of groceries and offering her a gentle smile. “As are you, Miss…”
“Rose. Rose Tyler.” Her eyes took in their surroundings. “But…this isn’t England.”
“No, it’s not.” Giles responded, unable to stop the wistful tone in his voice. “You’re in California…Sunnydale, California. And, my name is Rupert Giles.”
Rose looked into his eyes, relaxing somewhat as his smile made its way to his eyes. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Giles.”
Giles chuckled and bent down to retrieve his keys from the warm asphalt. “No need for ‘mister’. Most people simply call me Giles.”
“Um…Giles…this is going to sound like a really strange question, but…are zeppelins a normal way of getting around?”
Giles met her eyes as he stood back up. “Considering you just ran out of a portal, I don’t think it’s a strange question at all. I, uh…I actually can’t remember the last time I saw a zeppelin in flight. It was probably at an air show when I was a child…”
A brilliant grin took over Rose’s features as she exhaled deeply. “We did it! Oh God, I can’t believe it!”
Giles furrowed his brow curiously. “Would you mind if I asked where you came from?”
“Pete’s World.” She answered without hesitation, laughing softly at the look of confusion on his face. “Um…it’s a parallel universe…”
Giles’ eyes brightened. “Interesting…”
Rose tilted her head, realizing that this man believed her. He believed her and she hadn’t even had to try to convince him.
“You’re not nearly as surprised as I thought you would be.”
Giles chuckled and shrugged a shoulder. “My life isn’t exactly mundane…”
Before she could question him further, he continued…stammering slightly as he spoke.
“You, um…are you hungry? Travelling through a portal from a parallel universe…how did you…it’s just that I was under the assumption that crossing parallels was…impossible. Unless, of course, you’re dealing with a vengeance…”
She smiled warmly as he trailed off, his rambling reminding her of her Doctor. “I don’t believe in impossible anymore. And, yeah…I’m starving. Could definitely go for some chips right about now.”
“Chips…right. There’s a shop around the corner that has hot chips. They’re not proper English hot chips, not like you’d be used to, at any rate. But, for Sunnydale, they’re not bad.”
“Thanks.” Rose replied cheerfully, turning towards the direction in which he had just pointed. “Glad I ran into you! You have no idea what I was expecting to run into!”
Almost as if he suddenly remembered that he was a Watcher and this was Sunnydale, the Hellmouth, he reached out and gently grabbed her wrist. She stopped and turned her eyes to his, silently questioning him.
“Sunnydale’s not exactly a safe place to be after dark. I, uh…”
Rose’s eyes sparkled, understanding that he was honestly just trying to be nice. “Fancy some hot chips?”
* * *
Buffy skidded to a stop, her tennis shoe slipping on a patch of moss. She caught herself before she fell…however, she also caught the attention of the man standing next to a piece of rock in a crater.
“Um…what are you doing?” She asked as nonchalantly as she possibly could, wiping the dirt from her palm onto her jeans.
The man offered her a smile and then gestured at the rock. “This landed here…thought I’d see what it’s all about.”
Buffy narrowed her eyes. “You’re English.” Her first thought was ‘another Watcher’, but as she took in his appearance, she shook her head. “Not stuffy enough to be a Watcher…”
“What?” The man asked, pulling an object out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket.
“Nothing.” Buffy waved a hand at him. “I have a…friend…who’s English…”
The man grinned. “I’m not English. Picked the accent up from a friend of my own.”
“Who are you?” Buffy asked after a moment, narrowing her eyes as he pointed the tool at the rock. “And what is that?”
“I’m the Doctor.” He stated, as if it should’ve been the most obvious thing in the world. “And this is a screwdriver.”
“Uh-huh…Phillips or flathead?”
“Sonic.”
“Sonic?” Buffy stared at him and then rolled her eyes and motioned to him. “Come on, get away from it. It could be dangerous…last time I saw one, it was…”
The humming of the screwdriver stopped as he lifted his dark eyes to hers. “It was…what?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. So, could you just get away from it?”
“I’d believe you…” He tilted his head slightly in thought. “What’s your name?”
“Buffy.”
He smiled warmly at her. “I’d believe you, Buffy.”
Buffy rolled her eyes again and heaved a heavy sigh, not really sure why she was continuing. There was something about him…
“It was a Queller demon. And it was here to hurt people.”
The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her. “Quellers are alien, not demonic. How do you know about Quellers anyway?”
“How do you know about Quellers?” Buffy countered, crossing her arms over her chest.
“They’re alien.” He answered, turning his attention back to the rock in front of him. “And this isn’t a Queller ship. I think it’s a Zocci ship.”
“Zocci?”
“Yep.” He replied, popping the ‘p’ as he smiled at her. “Harmless, but figured since I was here I’d check. Just to make sure. You never know when some alien race is going to come down here and try to conquer Earth. Not sure why they keep trying. Well, I do actually. You make it easy for them. As brilliant as you humans are, you’re still - ”
“Who are you?” Buffy asked, confusion on her face as she interrupted him.
“I’m the Doctor.” He repeated, pointing his screwdriver at the rock one last time. He smiled as a door in the side slid open. “Ooh…a door! See?”
“The Doctor?” Buffy asked as the man ducked his head inside of the now open rock. “The Doctor of what?”
“Just the Doctor.” He said, pulling his head out of the ship and grinning at her. “And it is a Zocci ship. Probably just here on shore leave. So, if you see a short little red-skinned alien running about…don’t worry about it.”
“What?” Buffy asked incredulously.
“Chances are you won’t see it. They’re good at hiding…even with the red skin.” He turned to look at her quickly. “The Queller though…what did you do about that one?”
“Killed it.” When the Doctor arched an eyebrow at her again, she sighed. “It attacked me…and my family. Giles identified it as a Queller, and his books said it was evil. So…I took care of it.”
“Quellers are evil. You did the right thing.” The Doctor slipped the screwdriver back into his pocket. “What kind of books does this Giles person have? And…who’s he?”
“He’s my Watcher.” Her eyes narrowed suddenly as she looked at a point over his shoulder. “Duck!”
He ducked immediately, eyes widening as she pulled the stake from her pocket and hurled it over his head. He turned to watch it land directly in the heart of a vampire who had just stepped into the clearing.
He stood slowly and ran his hand through his hair as the dust fell to the ground where the demon once stood. “That was a vampire.”
“Yeah…” Buffy muttered, eyes darting around them. “Probably more on the way too. We should go.”
“A real vampire!” The Doctor exclaimed, his excitement showing clearly on his face. “I’ve never seen a real vampire before. Came across a werewolf once. Years ago.”
“Yeah, we’ve had werewolves too.” Buffy said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder. “Come on.”
“Rose was so excited about the werewolf…asked if we could see a vampire one time.” The Doctor’s exuberance disappeared, a sadness slipping into his voice. “Never got the chance, though…”
“Okay…sad stories later, for now…you’re coming with me, Doctor.”
“Where are we going?” The Doctor questioned, walking towards her while looking around for more vampires.
“Giles’ apartment. You know about Quellers…he’s going to want to know about you.” She glanced at his pocket. “And I want to know more about that screwdriver. Sonic or not, it took us ages to break into the Queller’s rock…”
The Doctor offered her a small smile, not answering her but following her out of the woods. He glanced over at the TARDIS, obscured in the trees, and smiled as she continued to hum softly.
She’d be safe. He reassured himself, allowing his eyes to wander back to Buffy. And he had a feeling that he’d be safe as well.
“Where am I anyway?” He asked, shoving his hands into his pockets as he slipped into step next to her.
“Sunnydale, California.” She looked up at him curiously.
“California! Sun, palm trees, oranges…Disneyland! I’ve never been to Disneyland, always wondered why that’s the first place people want to go when they win something though. Everyone’s all ‘Disneyland! Allons-y!’. I’ve never understood that…must be a human thing.”
Buffy chuckled and shook her head in amusement. “Yeah…Disneyland? Not so much here, but…same state. Where’re you from? You said you’re not English, but you sound English. A different English than Giles, but still…”
She paused when she noticed him grinning at her. “What?”
“You ramble.” He replied, his dark eyes sparkling. “I like rambling. Used to drive Rose crazy sometimes, but…there’s nothing like a good ramble.”
“Who’s Rose?”
The Doctor’s grin faltered. He exhaled deeply as they exited the woods, concrete under his shoes for the first time since landing in California.
“She’s my friend. My best friend. I, uh…we got separated a while back.”
Buffy heard that sadness in his voice again. “More than a friend?”
He met her eyes, but didn’t answer her question. Instead, he smiled brightly at her and kicked a loose gravel on the sidewalk.
“I could go for a good cuppa right now…”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “You sure you’re not English? Evasive, confusing, and a love for tea…sounds English to me.”
The Doctor smiled and looked up at the sky. “So…tell me about Sunnydale, California.”
* * *
“So, what’s the deal with the screwdriver thingy?” Buffy asked, dropping two sugars into a cup of tea. “I mean…I’ve never had a screwdriver that glows…or opens things that a screwdriver shouldn’t open…or, um…get money from an ATM with one.”
The Doctor looked over at her, disrupting his perusal of the books that had obviously been meticulously placed in one of the three bookshelves in the living room. “Well, it’s a sonic screwdriver.”
Buffy snorted softly as she carried the mug into the room and handed it to him. “And does that non-explanation work on everyone else?”
“Most of the time.” He admitted, taking a small sip of the tea. “So, this Giles…he doesn’t mind if you’re here when he’s not?”
Buffy shook her head and perched herself on the arm of the couch. “Nope…we’re friends. I mean, he’s my Watcher, but…we have a friendship now. It’s definitely of the good.”
The Doctor leaned against the bookshelf, slightly narrowing his eyes at her in a playful manner. “More than friends?”
“Uh…no…” Buffy stammered, her cheeks turning a dark shade of pink. Scrambling to change the subject, she asked the first question that popped into her mind. “So, are you from Mars or something?”
“I’m not…no, I’m not from Mars.” He answered with a grin. “But, something…yes.”
Buffy waited expectantly, and then groaned when she realized that he wasn’t going to offer any more information about himself. “My God…you remind me so much of Giles…if he was younger, with brown eyes, and…skinny…do you eat?”
“A vampire Slayer…what does that entail?” He asked in lieu of an answer. “Besides the obvious slaying of vampires, that is. Vampires! I still can’t believe I just saw a vampire!”
She regarded him closely, smiling as he giggled at the memory of seeing a vampire. “What are you? Honestly?”
He paused for a moment and then gave her a shrug. “I’m a Time Lord.”
Buffy’s smile grew. “Okay, you tell me what a Time Lord is...and more about that TARDIS thing you told me about earlier…and I’ll recite Giles’ favourite speech…which will tell you what a Slayer is.”
The Doctor pulled his screwdriver out of his pocket and twirled it between his fingers. “Well, that sounds fair enough, I suppose. I travel through space and time in a - ”
He was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. He and Buffy both looked over, Buffy smiling as Giles walked in.
“Hey, Giles!” She offered him a wave, to which he chuckled and pulled his keys from the lock.
The Doctor inhaled sharply, sure that he could smell the distinctive aroma of hot chips.
“Hello, Buffy…” He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the man leaning against one of his bookshelves. “Um…”
“This is - ” Buffy started to explain.
“The Doctor.” A surprised voice finished for her.
The screwdriver fell from the Doctor’s hands and rolled under the couch as a familiar face appeared from behind the other man. Buffy raised an eyebrow at the young blonde woman, feeling a stab of jealousy rush through her as she immediately wanted to know why she was with Giles. Her Giles.
“Rose?” The Doctor asked in an almost inaudible whisper, taking a long step away from the bookshelf.
He stared at Rose, oblivious to both Buffy and Giles, as she took another step into the room. Rose stared back at him, not really believing that she’d actually stumbled upon him here…even though she’d used a piece of the TARDIS key to make the portal.
“Doctor?” She sniffled, eyes filling with tears. “Is it really you?”
Giles and Buffy exchanged a glance. Buffy shrugged a shoulder as Giles placed the bag of groceries on the desk and made his way to her side. She took an involuntary step back as the Doctor raced across the room, jumping over a stack of books and landing directly in front of Rose.
Buffy looked up at Giles as the Doctor pulled Rose into his arms. “Make a friend tonight?”
He gave her a crooked grin and tilted his head towards the Doctor. “As did you.”
The Doctor ran his hands through Rose’s hair, his eyes wide with excitement. “How did you…it should’ve been impossible. The bridge was closed. I…you can’t be here, but…you are. You’re here…you’re here…and not there. And…it’s impossible!”
Rose shook her head softly, reaching up to gently stroke the side of his face with her fingertips. “Nothing’s impossible. You taught me that, Doctor. We built a Vortex Shaper…created a portal.”
“What?” He whispered, beaming proudly at her.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a key. A key that was squarer than it had been when he’d given it to her. But, it was a key he’d recognize anywhere.
“Rose…”
“I used part of the key in the Shaper…I was hoping it’d lead me to you. If the travel through the void was even successful…” She bit her bottom lip and dropped the key onto his palm. “She brought me back, Doctor. The TARDIS helped me find you.”
“Um…TARDIS?” Giles asked softly.
“The Doctor’s ship.” Buffy explained, smiling as Giles looked down at her with even wider eyes.
“His…ship?”
She took his hand into hers without thinking about it, her thumb gently stroking the back of his hand as her smile grew. “I’ll explain what I know later, okay?”
Giles nodded numbly, confused by what seemed to be a reunion between two people who apparently hadn’t seen each other for a while. And then it hit him.
“Parallel universe…” He tilted his head questioningly as Rose looked over at him and nodded.
“Vampires!” The Doctor suddenly exclaimed, grinning broadly as Rose turned her eyes back to him. “I saw a real vampire…and I thought of you. How you would’ve…I’ve missed you, Rose.”
Rose laughed and pulled him into another hug. “Well, we’ll always have the werewolf in Scotland.”
“Never did make it to the Dury concert, did we?” Before she could answer, the Doctor turned his dark eyes to the man standing next to Buffy. “I’m the Doctor. And this…this is Rose.”
Rose merely rolled her eyes, not bothering to comment on the fact that Giles already knew Rose’s name. Giles shot Rose a grin and stepped forward, extending his hand to the Doctor.
“Giles…Rupert. Um…you’re a time traveller…”
The Doctor slipped his hand into Rose’s, lacing their fingers together. “Something like that. You’re a Watcher.”
“The Watcher.” Buffy corrected, looking down and realizing that she was still holding Giles’ hand.
Giles’ fingers tightened around hers, reassuring her that the contact was not making him uncomfortable. She exhaled a slow breath and looked up at him.
“Quellers are alien…not demonic.”
“I’m sorry?”
Their gazes met and she saw a flicker in his eyes. A flicker that he didn’t have the chance to hide. She gave him a warm smile as she saw the flicker turn from love to panic.
“I think we have a lot to talk about, huh?”
Realizing that she was anything but disgusted by the knowledge of his feelings, he returned her smile and swallowed nervously. “Seems as such.”
“We should go.” The Doctor blurted, rubbing his thumb along Rose’s.
Rose looked up at him and merely raised an eyebrow. The Doctor smiled and looked over at Buffy and Giles, lifting his free hand and scratching the back of his head.
“Sorry, that was a bit rude. I can be rude sometimes. It’s not intentional…it’s just the sort of man I am. Rude and not ginger. Sometimes…not all the time. Well, not ginger all the time…sometimes rude.”
“Talkative though.” Buffy mused, a smile brightening her eyes.
“Always talkative.” Rose confirmed with a chuckle. “Even though he can be rude, he’s right…we do need to go.”
Giles nodded slowly. “We should walk you back to your, um…Tartan?”
“TARDIS.” Buffy corrected, grinning up at him. “Hey…I got to correct you for once. Write it down in the calendar!”
Giles blushed lightly.
Rose chuckled and shook her head. “We’ll be fine. He never strays too far from the TARDIS.”
Giles considered arguing the point, but a quick look from the Doctor stopped him. He pulled his hand from Buffy’s and rushed over to a chest in the corner of the room. He pulled out a couple of objects and made his way back to the others.
“Very well…but, at least take these.” He handed two large crosses to the Doctor. “Should you run into a vampire…”
“A cross…of course!” The Doctor exclaimed, handing one of the crosses to Rose. “A cross will kill it then?”
Giles smiled softly and shook his head. “No. But, it will stun it long enough for you to run. Providing you’ve not far to go.”
The Doctor nodded and looked at Rose, grinning boyishly. “Stun and run…we’ve been there.”
Rose laughed and rolled her eyes at him before making her way over to Giles. She looked up at him and then gave him a hug. Startled, Giles took a moment to respond before returning the embrace.
Rose looked up at him, her eyes brimming with happiness. “Thank you so much.”
Before he had a chance to say anything, Rose darted her eyes over to Buffy…who was currently caught up in one of the Doctor’s ‘squeeze you ‘til you can’t breathe’ hugs. She smiled and then whispered quickly to Giles.
“She looks at you like I look at the Doctor. Tell her how you feel, okay?”
Giles smiled nervously, but gave her a nod.
“Right!” The Doctor had finally released Buffy and was digging in his pocket with his right hand. He pulled out a key and tossed it Rose. “Time to go then, Rose Tyler.”
Rose caught the key and gave him a wink. “Forwards or backwards?”
“Your choice.” He replied, patting his jacket pockets with the palm of his hand.
“Forwards or backwards?” Giles questioned.
“Yep. The TARDIS is also a time machine. We can go anywhere in time or space that we want. And…I seem to have lost my screwdriver.”
“You dropped it when I came in.” Rose offered, taking the cross from the Doctor’s hand before he took off.
He jumped over the same stack of books sitting next to the couch and spun around in a circle, eyes searching the floor. Rose watched him in amusement as he dropped to his knees.
“Is he always like that?” Buffy asked, laughing softly.
Rose nodded, her smile beaming. “Yeah. He’s a complete nutter. But…he’s my Doctor.”
“Ah-HA!!” The Doctor reached under the couch and wrapped his fingers around the screwdriver. He smiled as he noticed a piece of wadded up paper as well. “What do we have here?”
He pulled up one corner of the wad, grinning as he read three words. Buffy, my love.
Standing up, he proudly held up the screwdriver as if it were the most long-awaited presentation in the history of the world. “Found it!”
Rose smiled adoringly at him, gesturing towards the door. “Come on, then.”
The Doctor slipped the screwdriver into his jacket pocket and tossed the wad of paper to Giles. He gave Giles a wink and pulled the front door open.
Before ushering Rose out the door, the Doctor turned to Buffy. He stared at her for a moment and then spoke softly, but quickly.
“There’s one rule I have that I’ve never broken. Always give one chance. I’m not the sort of man to give second chances, but I believe that death should be the final option. Well, that and guns are - ”
“Doctor.” Rose interrupted him, a slight warning held in her tone.
“Always give them one chance, Buffy. Except for vampires.” He turned quickly to Rose and grinned boyishly. “Vampires! You should’ve seen it, Rose!”
“Better than the werewolf?” Rose asked, pulling the Doctor out of Giles’ apartment before giving Buffy and Giles a friendly goodbye wave.
“Nah…not sure much will ever top the wolf. That was…fantastic!”
Giles continued staring at the door for a while after the Doctor had closed it. Hearing the distinct sound of someone rummaging through a paper bag, he turned towards the noise.
“Um…”
Buffy looked up at him, a white tapered candle held in her hand. “What’s for dinner, Giles?”
So many questions…most of which could wait until later.
“It’s a surprise.” Giles answered, with a smile playing at his lips.
~ End
There will be two follow ups to this story...one Buffy/Giles and one Doctor/Rose. One has been written, the other will be written this weekend.