It's There In The Glare
Title: It's There In The Glare
Author: Beriaearwen
Crossover: Buffy The Vampire Slayer / The Magnificent Seven (TV series -fan fiction ATF AU by MOG)
Characters: Joyce, Buffy, Chris, other of the Seven and Scoobies as needed
Rating: Suitable for people over 13
Word Count: 1903
Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Mutant Enemy, etc. The characters of The Magnificent Seven belong to MGM, Trilogy, etc. All are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: A shortened version of a longer fic I was working on to answer a challenge at Twisting The Hellmouth. Not related to the Daddy stories, but another “Buffy's real father” story.
Summary: “Oh, my dear Heavenly Father,” Ezra murmured softly. “There are two of them.”
Chris signaled the or another drink. He was well beyond buzzed and headed toward drunk, but, thanks to his time with Ella, he knew not only how drunk he was, but also the fact that he didn't seem drunk to others. He only looked drunk when verging on alcohol poisoning; an experience he would rather not experience again.
As the bartender placed another drink before him, Chris felt and heard someone slide onto the seat beside him.
Turning, he couldn't help but appreciate the beauty of the woman beside him. There was something in her look that drew him, something fierce, something wild. Even in his inebriated state, he knew he wanted to get to know this woman. His eyes ran over her and he saw the engagement ring on her finger. Still, there was no fiance in sight, so she might be open to him.
Deliberately deciding this would be his last drink, he turned to the woman. “What's a beautiful, fiery lady like you doing in a place like this?”
The woman snorted, but still looked pleased by the attention. “Working to forget the sight of my fiance enjoying the affections of another, to be polite about it.”
“No need to be polite,” Chris gently teased before lowering his voice and leaning in, amusement, mischief and something else shining in his eyes. “I was in the navy, I know all the bad words already.”
Her laugh was musical and he couldn't help his smile.
Joyce was gone when he awoke the next morning. It was something he'd expected, but had hoped wouldn't happen. Still, he had no regrets and his time with Joyce showed him exactly why he and Ella would never have worked.
He only hoped he would find someone like Joyce for himself someday.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~
“What I'm saying, Orin, is that this is our jurisdiction. We're the ones who chased this down; we're the ones who developed the in with these people and it's in our city,” Chris argued with his boss, anger simmering just below his words.
“According to someone well above my pay grade, it is cross-jurisdictional and that is only because the other group is looking to promote a better working relationship with various government agencies,” Orin Travis replied.
“Oh, and who would these other people be?” demanded Chris.
“That would be us,” a young female voice responded.
Turning toward the door, Chris took in the person standing there. She was a good foot shorter than him, with blonde hair, hazel eyes and a petite frame, but something about her screamed predator to him. He couldn't help the reflexive glare he shot at her, but managed to hide his surprise when he received one just as fierce in return.
“Oh, my dear Heavenly Father,” Ezra murmured softly, “there are two of them.”
His words were forgotten a moment later when the man standing to the newcomer's left piped up in a cheerful voice, “Hey, look, Buff! He's got your glare.”
At that, both blonds turned to look at the dark-haired man who just shrugged and continued to smile. “So,” he continued, “Since no one else seems to be interested in introductions, I'm Xander. The lovely lady with the fierce glare is Buffy, the beautiful redhead behind me is Willow, the other beautiful redhead is Vi, the distinguished gentleman with the put upon air is Dr. Giles. We're here to take care of a little pest problem you have.”
“And we thank your for your assistance,” Director Travis inserted before any of his most troublesome team could say anything. “I'm Assistant Director Orin Travis. The gentleman to my right is Team Leader Chris Larabee.” None of the agents missed Willow's gasp or Buffy's momentary surprise before she looked back at Chris in a more evaluating manner. “Explosives expert Buck Wilmington, Sniper and weapons expert Vin Tanner.” No one on either side missed the warm smiles that overspread Buffy and Vin's face. It was very obvious they knew and liked each other. “Undercover Specialist Ezra Standish, Psychologist Josiah Sanchez, Medic and Chemist Nathan Jackson and Computer Expert J. D. Dunne. Collectively they are known as Team Seven. Now, why don't we take seats and start the briefing.”
There was general agreement and everyone took seats, more than one watching with curiosity or suspicion as Vin and Buffy chose to sit next to each other exchanging soft words that caused each of them to laugh softly. Oddly Vi also smiled and tried to cover her laugh with a cough. It drew the couple's attention to the matter at hand.
Chris had watched the exchange through narrowed eyes, feeling oddly protective, though he was thrown when he realized he couldn't tell if he felt protective of Vin or of Buffy. He shook it off and made a note to figure it out later.
“Right, the raid,” Buffy began. “Giles, why don't you start by giving them the background and then I'll go over our plan.”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~
“How do you know the lovely Buffy?” Ezra asked Vin over the coms as they were taking position, knowing the other team was not yet hooked into their frequency.
As sniper, Vin had gone in hours earlier in order to be there when their targets arrived to search the area. “Met her a while ago in a place that doesn't exist doing things I can't admit to. Ran into her again last night.”
“Weren't you home last night?” J. D. asked in confusion.
“Yep,” was the succinct reply.
“What was she doing in Purgatorio?” Chris demanded, referring to the run down, gang-riddled area of Denver in which his friend insisted on living no matter how much they all encouraged him to move.
“Working” Vin answered.
“Doing work you can't discuss?” Nathan asked, his suspicion evident in his voice.
“Joining now,” J. D. advised before there was a brief clicking on the line as the other team was brought onto their channel.
From that point everything was all business. The bust didn't go quite as cleanly as they would have liked, but the plan - which had been much more of an outline than a plan as Team Seven was used to seeing - worked and all of targets arrested and the goods recovered, though Team Seven wasn't exactly appreciative of the fact they had to wait for each box to be cleared by the other team before they were allowed to inventory them. It was even more annoying that there were crates they weren't allowed to view. Still, overall the bust was a success.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Chris sat at the table Team Seven usually occupied. A second table had been brought over to extend it as much as one could extend a circular table, but most of the occupants had drifted away. Ezra JD, Vi and Xander were playing pool. Dr. Giles, Josiah and Nathan were discussing something far too philosophical to be relaxing at the other end of the table. Buck was flirting with Inez up at the bar and, if he wasn't mistaken, Willow was also flirting with Inez up at the bar. Buffy and Vin were slow dancing on the small dance floor, deep in their own world and talking softly.
Chris felt the flare of protectiveness again and, once more, struggled to understand if it was for Vin - which would make sense given his best friend's previous poor choices in the world of romance - or for Buffy who was not nearly as helpless as she looked.
Had he not been watching, he would have missed Vin's glance toward him and Buffy's nod toward Willow. Chris watched as Willow crossed the bar and took over dancing with Vin while Buffy turned and headed over to the table, toward him.
After only so short a time together, he couldn't read her all that well, but something about he focus, ferocity and vulnerability he read in her struck a chord and brought to mind a musical laugh he couldn't quite place.
“Chris,” she greeted, taking the seat beside him and turning it to face him.
He did her the courtesy of doing the same. “Buffy,” he returned and waited. He watched her closely, the sense of familiarity that had begun as she walked over continued to grow, but the answer was just out of his reach. He noticed when the nervousness flared before she took a breath, squared her shoulders and met his eyes, all sign of nervousness and vulnerability gone.
“How good is your memory of events about twenty five, twenty six years ago?” she asked.
Chris was slightly taken aback by the question. “Remember some of it better than others.”
Buffy nodded, reached into her pocket and drew out a picture. She looked at it a moment, her face softening before she wiped that expression away and placed the picture on the table in front of him.
Chris' mind was immediately transported back to another time, almost another lifetime for him, a time before Sarah and Adam. “Joyce,” he whispered, her name, her voice, her smell, everything about her coming back to mind as he looked at the image.
“My mother,” Buffy offered.
Chris looked at her, studied her face, and saw the resemblance. That might be what was confusing him. She reminded him of Joyce. “I can see it,” he admitted.
Buffy offered a small smile before she stuck her hand in her pocket again and pulled out something else. It looked to be a piece of paper folded in half.
She looked up at him. “I'm glad you remember her and that it's a good memory. I didn't know about you until after she … after she died. But she left you something and... well, you don't have to accept it, there are no expectation or strings and it's totally up to you...”
Chris couldn't help his smile and soft chuckle at Buffy's rambling. “And what is this thing she left me?” he interrupted.
Buffy held out the piece of paper to him, which he took, immediately feeling the press of an official seal on it. He opened the paper just as Buffy replied, “Me.”
His breath caught as her answer registered just as he read the names on the birth certificate in his hands. His own name was named as father.
“I understand if you're not interested, I mean it's not like I'm a kid or even in the US all that much and I totally get you probably aren't looking for a complication like this -” Her words cut off abruptly as Chris stood, folding the certificate and tucking it in his pocket.
Looking down at the woman, at the miracle he and Joyce had created, he smiled at her. “If you'll excuse me for a moment, I think I need a word with a Texas sharpshooter about his intentions toward my daughter.” He stepped away from the table, a smile playing across his lips as he saw Buffy's shock turn to understanding and then joy. “I also think we'll need to discuss appropriate behavior,” he continued, taking another step away. “Chaperons might be a good idea.”
“Chri-is!” Buffy called sounding more like a whining teen than a full grown woman.
Chris just laughed and wrapped her in a hug when she caught up with him.
End
Author: Beriaearwen
Crossover: Buffy The Vampire Slayer / The Magnificent Seven (TV series -fan fiction ATF AU by MOG)
Characters: Joyce, Buffy, Chris, other of the Seven and Scoobies as needed
Rating: Suitable for people over 13
Word Count: 1903
Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Mutant Enemy, etc. The characters of The Magnificent Seven belong to MGM, Trilogy, etc. All are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: A shortened version of a longer fic I was working on to answer a challenge at Twisting The Hellmouth. Not related to the Daddy stories, but another “Buffy's real father” story.
Summary: “Oh, my dear Heavenly Father,” Ezra murmured softly. “There are two of them.”
Chris signaled the or another drink. He was well beyond buzzed and headed toward drunk, but, thanks to his time with Ella, he knew not only how drunk he was, but also the fact that he didn't seem drunk to others. He only looked drunk when verging on alcohol poisoning; an experience he would rather not experience again.
As the bartender placed another drink before him, Chris felt and heard someone slide onto the seat beside him.
Turning, he couldn't help but appreciate the beauty of the woman beside him. There was something in her look that drew him, something fierce, something wild. Even in his inebriated state, he knew he wanted to get to know this woman. His eyes ran over her and he saw the engagement ring on her finger. Still, there was no fiance in sight, so she might be open to him.
Deliberately deciding this would be his last drink, he turned to the woman. “What's a beautiful, fiery lady like you doing in a place like this?”
The woman snorted, but still looked pleased by the attention. “Working to forget the sight of my fiance enjoying the affections of another, to be polite about it.”
“No need to be polite,” Chris gently teased before lowering his voice and leaning in, amusement, mischief and something else shining in his eyes. “I was in the navy, I know all the bad words already.”
Her laugh was musical and he couldn't help his smile.
Joyce was gone when he awoke the next morning. It was something he'd expected, but had hoped wouldn't happen. Still, he had no regrets and his time with Joyce showed him exactly why he and Ella would never have worked.
He only hoped he would find someone like Joyce for himself someday.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~
“What I'm saying, Orin, is that this is our jurisdiction. We're the ones who chased this down; we're the ones who developed the in with these people and it's in our city,” Chris argued with his boss, anger simmering just below his words.
“According to someone well above my pay grade, it is cross-jurisdictional and that is only because the other group is looking to promote a better working relationship with various government agencies,” Orin Travis replied.
“Oh, and who would these other people be?” demanded Chris.
“That would be us,” a young female voice responded.
Turning toward the door, Chris took in the person standing there. She was a good foot shorter than him, with blonde hair, hazel eyes and a petite frame, but something about her screamed predator to him. He couldn't help the reflexive glare he shot at her, but managed to hide his surprise when he received one just as fierce in return.
“Oh, my dear Heavenly Father,” Ezra murmured softly, “there are two of them.”
His words were forgotten a moment later when the man standing to the newcomer's left piped up in a cheerful voice, “Hey, look, Buff! He's got your glare.”
At that, both blonds turned to look at the dark-haired man who just shrugged and continued to smile. “So,” he continued, “Since no one else seems to be interested in introductions, I'm Xander. The lovely lady with the fierce glare is Buffy, the beautiful redhead behind me is Willow, the other beautiful redhead is Vi, the distinguished gentleman with the put upon air is Dr. Giles. We're here to take care of a little pest problem you have.”
“And we thank your for your assistance,” Director Travis inserted before any of his most troublesome team could say anything. “I'm Assistant Director Orin Travis. The gentleman to my right is Team Leader Chris Larabee.” None of the agents missed Willow's gasp or Buffy's momentary surprise before she looked back at Chris in a more evaluating manner. “Explosives expert Buck Wilmington, Sniper and weapons expert Vin Tanner.” No one on either side missed the warm smiles that overspread Buffy and Vin's face. It was very obvious they knew and liked each other. “Undercover Specialist Ezra Standish, Psychologist Josiah Sanchez, Medic and Chemist Nathan Jackson and Computer Expert J. D. Dunne. Collectively they are known as Team Seven. Now, why don't we take seats and start the briefing.”
There was general agreement and everyone took seats, more than one watching with curiosity or suspicion as Vin and Buffy chose to sit next to each other exchanging soft words that caused each of them to laugh softly. Oddly Vi also smiled and tried to cover her laugh with a cough. It drew the couple's attention to the matter at hand.
Chris had watched the exchange through narrowed eyes, feeling oddly protective, though he was thrown when he realized he couldn't tell if he felt protective of Vin or of Buffy. He shook it off and made a note to figure it out later.
“Right, the raid,” Buffy began. “Giles, why don't you start by giving them the background and then I'll go over our plan.”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~
“How do you know the lovely Buffy?” Ezra asked Vin over the coms as they were taking position, knowing the other team was not yet hooked into their frequency.
As sniper, Vin had gone in hours earlier in order to be there when their targets arrived to search the area. “Met her a while ago in a place that doesn't exist doing things I can't admit to. Ran into her again last night.”
“Weren't you home last night?” J. D. asked in confusion.
“Yep,” was the succinct reply.
“What was she doing in Purgatorio?” Chris demanded, referring to the run down, gang-riddled area of Denver in which his friend insisted on living no matter how much they all encouraged him to move.
“Working” Vin answered.
“Doing work you can't discuss?” Nathan asked, his suspicion evident in his voice.
“Joining now,” J. D. advised before there was a brief clicking on the line as the other team was brought onto their channel.
From that point everything was all business. The bust didn't go quite as cleanly as they would have liked, but the plan - which had been much more of an outline than a plan as Team Seven was used to seeing - worked and all of targets arrested and the goods recovered, though Team Seven wasn't exactly appreciative of the fact they had to wait for each box to be cleared by the other team before they were allowed to inventory them. It was even more annoying that there were crates they weren't allowed to view. Still, overall the bust was a success.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Chris sat at the table Team Seven usually occupied. A second table had been brought over to extend it as much as one could extend a circular table, but most of the occupants had drifted away. Ezra JD, Vi and Xander were playing pool. Dr. Giles, Josiah and Nathan were discussing something far too philosophical to be relaxing at the other end of the table. Buck was flirting with Inez up at the bar and, if he wasn't mistaken, Willow was also flirting with Inez up at the bar. Buffy and Vin were slow dancing on the small dance floor, deep in their own world and talking softly.
Chris felt the flare of protectiveness again and, once more, struggled to understand if it was for Vin - which would make sense given his best friend's previous poor choices in the world of romance - or for Buffy who was not nearly as helpless as she looked.
Had he not been watching, he would have missed Vin's glance toward him and Buffy's nod toward Willow. Chris watched as Willow crossed the bar and took over dancing with Vin while Buffy turned and headed over to the table, toward him.
After only so short a time together, he couldn't read her all that well, but something about he focus, ferocity and vulnerability he read in her struck a chord and brought to mind a musical laugh he couldn't quite place.
“Chris,” she greeted, taking the seat beside him and turning it to face him.
He did her the courtesy of doing the same. “Buffy,” he returned and waited. He watched her closely, the sense of familiarity that had begun as she walked over continued to grow, but the answer was just out of his reach. He noticed when the nervousness flared before she took a breath, squared her shoulders and met his eyes, all sign of nervousness and vulnerability gone.
“How good is your memory of events about twenty five, twenty six years ago?” she asked.
Chris was slightly taken aback by the question. “Remember some of it better than others.”
Buffy nodded, reached into her pocket and drew out a picture. She looked at it a moment, her face softening before she wiped that expression away and placed the picture on the table in front of him.
Chris' mind was immediately transported back to another time, almost another lifetime for him, a time before Sarah and Adam. “Joyce,” he whispered, her name, her voice, her smell, everything about her coming back to mind as he looked at the image.
“My mother,” Buffy offered.
Chris looked at her, studied her face, and saw the resemblance. That might be what was confusing him. She reminded him of Joyce. “I can see it,” he admitted.
Buffy offered a small smile before she stuck her hand in her pocket again and pulled out something else. It looked to be a piece of paper folded in half.
She looked up at him. “I'm glad you remember her and that it's a good memory. I didn't know about you until after she … after she died. But she left you something and... well, you don't have to accept it, there are no expectation or strings and it's totally up to you...”
Chris couldn't help his smile and soft chuckle at Buffy's rambling. “And what is this thing she left me?” he interrupted.
Buffy held out the piece of paper to him, which he took, immediately feeling the press of an official seal on it. He opened the paper just as Buffy replied, “Me.”
His breath caught as her answer registered just as he read the names on the birth certificate in his hands. His own name was named as father.
“I understand if you're not interested, I mean it's not like I'm a kid or even in the US all that much and I totally get you probably aren't looking for a complication like this -” Her words cut off abruptly as Chris stood, folding the certificate and tucking it in his pocket.
Looking down at the woman, at the miracle he and Joyce had created, he smiled at her. “If you'll excuse me for a moment, I think I need a word with a Texas sharpshooter about his intentions toward my daughter.” He stepped away from the table, a smile playing across his lips as he saw Buffy's shock turn to understanding and then joy. “I also think we'll need to discuss appropriate behavior,” he continued, taking another step away. “Chaperons might be a good idea.”
“Chri-is!” Buffy called sounding more like a whining teen than a full grown woman.
Chris just laughed and wrapped her in a hug when she caught up with him.
End