August 20: Convincing
Title: Convincing
Author: koohii_cafe
Rating: FR7
Crossover: BtVS/Stargate SG-1
Disclaimer: Since I am a poor chickadee with no wealth to speak of, I think it's safe to say that neither BtVS nor Stargate SG-1 are mine. ^^;
Written for: TtH August Fic A Day Challenge
Summary: The mother of a new Slayer needs a little convincing concerning the existence of vampires.
~*~*~*~*~
“You’ll forgive me if I say I don’t believe in vampires.”
Buffy squirmed a little at the stern look from the woman across her desk; she was rather small actually, around Buffy’s size, but like the golden slayer herself, tough things came in small packages. Her short brown hair was a no-nonsense cut, arms crossed over her chest in a long white doctor’s jacket, and her steely gaze was fixed on the younger woman, hence the squirming. She’d never been fully comfortable with this side of things anyway- give her a battle and a battalion of girls to give a rousing speech to and lead, and she could deal. Playing the role of one of headmistress of the Jenkins-McClay School for Gifted Girls? Not so much.
“So tell me why, exactly, I should allow my daughter to attend your school.”
“Dr. Fraiser, letting Cassie attend our school is a decision that’s entirely up to you; we don’t force new slayers to join us.” See, she could so sound professional. Giles and Robin had both drilled it into her head how to do so- which begged the question of why her, and why not Giles or Robin, but they’d felt that an all girl’s school needed a woman in charge for concerned parents to talk to. That and, of course, the fact that even with their close ties to slayers, neither man knew exactly what it felt like to be in the position their students were potentially facing. Pushing the thought away, Buffy pushed on with her answer. “We contacted you because we wanted you to know the option was available to you, and because your daughter’s new- abilities- come with a heavy burden. I know, trust me- I’ve carried the same burden since I was sixteen. Whether or not you and your daughter act on that burden is in your hands, but at least now you know why this is happening.”
“It bears repeating that I’m extremely skeptical about the existence of anything as superstitious as ‘vampires,’ Ms. Summers. I-”
“Tell you what.” Obviously, the ‘professional’ talk was getting them both nowhere, so Buffy interjected quickly, opting for something a little more her style. “You want proof, right?” She waited for the doctor to nod before pushing up from the desk and walking around it. “Come back tonight, around nine o’clock. Wear something you don’t mind getting a little dirty, and you can move easily in. If you want to bring Cassie, go for it, if not, she can always stay here where it’s safe. You’ll get your proof then.” And then she was walking past the doctor to open the door that lead out to the main hall.
“Here? Ma’am, we have a hotel not far from the school, Cassie can stay there.”
“Trust me, the hotels around here are deathtraps for out of towners. You can both stay here for the night, we’ve got several rooms reserved for guests. If after tonight you still don’t believe me, fine, you can stay wherever you want, but we invited you here, and I wanna make sure you guys don’t get chomped on my watch, okay?”
The doctor gave Buffy a searching look, as if she could see right through the Californian, and could see whether or not she was telling the truth, before she nodded slowly. “For now, that will be fine. Where should I meet you are nine?”
“Go to the main hall, that big hall where you first came in. I’ll find you there,” she answered as she opened the door and motioned the doctor out. “For now, wait here. Someone will be here in a couple minutes, and they’ll take you to Cassie, then to your room. Don’t wander too far.”
When the door finally closed behind the woman, Buffy finally let loose a frustrated sigh. Even Willow would have been better at doing the headmaster thing than Buffy was, but the Wiccan was in Cleveland, bolstering Faith and the Slayer headquarters set up to deal with the Hellmouth there. And the next best choice, Dawn, was off at Stanford, doing the college thing. After a moment of banging her head lightly against the door, the blonde pushed up and moved over to the phone on the desk, dialing the number for the front office.
“Andrew, it’s Buffy… Yeah, everything went just peachy. The new girl’s with Amanda, right? … Okay, get ahold of Amanda and tell her to pick up the mom outside my office and show them to one of the guest rooms… Right. Oh, and hey, Andrew? What’s the slowest active cemetery in town right now? … Got it. Thanks, Andrew, I’ll talk to you later.”
Then the phone clicked back onto the handset and she glanced at the clock. Noon, which left plenty of time to get other things taken care of before she took the new mom out on an easy patrol. At least, it sounded like plenty of time on paper, until she actually began to work. Even as efficient as Andrew was, surprisingly, at helping run the school, there was still a lot that needed done by either Giles- who was currently on a brief leave to reorganize Council headquarters in the land of tweed- or Buffy herself, which meant she spent most of the time going from task to task, whether it was renewing their contract with the caterers who provided lunch and dinner for the school, checking in on a training session for the newer slayers, or, most importantly, taking a well earned nap. After all, she hadn’t been this tired since back in Sunnydale, before the last battle with the First.
That’s where she was when a careful knock on her bedroom door woke her. She groaned softly and rolled out from under her pillows where she’d burrowed in her sleep, giving the door an evil eye. Her first thought, who dared interrupt the hibernating slayer, was overrun by the lack of light shining through her window, and that was enough to coax a response from her.
“Who is it?” she croaked, and scowled at the sound of her own voice.
“B- Buffy?” Oh god. The hesitant voice ploughed ahead as Buffy resisted the urge to burrow back into her pillows. “It’s eight thirty, and nobody’s seen you for awhile. You’ve got that patrol scheduled with Dr. Fraiser at nine, remember? If you’re going, you- you probably need to get up. I mean, if you wanna sleep, I can probably send Amanda out with her, she’s kinda bonded with Cassie, but-”
Crap. Thunking her head down on her mattress, Buffy groaned once more and forced herself to get up. “I’m fine, Andrew. Just- do me a favor and go keep Dr. Fraiser occupied until I get down there, okay?”
“Sure thing, Buff! See you when you get down there!” And off he went, hyper bundle as he usually was. Taking a brief moment to imagine the stiff doctor from this afternoon dealing with Andrew at his best put something of a smile on her face as she began to get ready. Since it was a simple patrol with a mom, she settled on an easy, comfortable outfit, a pair of easy moving black slacks below a warm chocolate cowl necked sweater with a set of low pumps. Her replica of the Scythe remained hooked on the wall, the original in Cleveland with Faith, and she opted instead for several stakes she could hide on her form, with a couple extras for her guests. Then, grabbing a short sword with a spine sheath for just in case, she headed out the door and down towards the main hall.
She found Dr. Fraiser, surprisingly, getting along with Andrew. Gone was the firm eyed, scientifically founded, disbelieving doctor from before, and in her place was a younger looking woman with a warm smile and shining eyes- decked out in full BDUs with a handgun at her side. It was a distinct reminder that the woman was not just any doctor, but a military doctor, for a division of the United States Air Force that was shrouded in almost as much secrecy as the Initiative had been. Filing the thought into the back of her mind to worry about later, Buffy stepped forward to interrupt the easy flow of conversation.
“You ready to see your first vampire, doctor?”
“Oh, Buffy! I was just telling Dr. Fraiser what she needs to watch out for on patrol! I mean, Restfield’s a pretty tame cemetery, but you never know when something’ll pop up, like a runaway demon, or a master vamp, or a Mandalorian spy, or a-”
“Thanks- Andrew.” Buffy held up a hand quickly, stopping the ramble in its tracks, something of an amused look on her face. “I’ll take it from here.”
“Alright. Dr. Fraiser, it was really good talking with you.” Andrew grinned brightly at the doctor, who returned the smile warmly. “Just remember what I said- if it’s a vampire, only a stake, fire, or beheading will work. Anything else, let Buffy take care of it. She’s the head Slayer and all, so it’s really cool to watch her in action- she’s so graceful and strong. I’ll bet even Yoda would have a tough time fighting her! In the prequels I mean, cause even though they kinda suck, he totally fights like a-”
“Andrew.”
“Oh, right. Patrol. Sorry.”
“It’s was nice to talk with you as well, Andrew.” Fraiser’s eyes twinkled warmly, merriment in her gaze. “Remind me to introduce you to my friend Murray sometime. He’s almost as big a Star Wars fan as you are.”
“I would l-”
“Goodbye, Andrew.” Without waiting for him to leave, Buffy motioned to the doctor and started toward the door herself. Fraiser fell into step beside her easily, and followed her out of the school and into the cool night air outside. “Like Andrew said, we’re going to Restfield Cemetery. It should be pretty slow, but I want you to carry this just in case.” She offered the older woman a polished stake as they walked, which Fraiser examined with interest. “Your gun won’t do you any good. All guns do is tick supernatural creatures off. Andrew told you the only ways to kill a vampire; stake through the heart, fire, and beheading. I should be able to handle anything that shows up, but be careful anyway. The usual vamp indicators are bumpy foreheads, flashy gold eyes, fangs, and completely outdated sense of fashion.”
“Fashion?” Fraiser raised an eyebrow at that, and Buffy gave her half a grin.
“Yup. Most of them never caught up with fashion after they died. So if you see somebody running around with flower-print bell bottoms, watch out.”
“Of course.” The reply was matter of fact, if amused, and as if she was taking the advice perfectly in stride, something that surprised Buffy a little, after the disagreement in her office that afternoon. Maybe Andrew had really been that convincing? If so, she’d have to find a way to thank him later- maybe a cookie?
“Alright, here we go.” The slayer stopped before the gates to the cemetery. “Just remember- if anything comes after you, run. It you can’t run, aim for the heart. It’s-”
“Thank you, Ms. Summers, I know where the heart is,” Fraiser interrupted, arched an eyebrow at the younger woman. Buffy flushed a little.
“Right. Doctor. Sorry. Right this way then.” With a sheepish smile, she let Fraiser through the gates and headed down the winding paths of the cemetery. She had a specific destination in mind, an example to show the good doctor; one thing the school kept detailed records on was deaths in the city, and specifically those that could be vampire related. It made vampire population control a breeze, as well as providing easy training opportunities for new slayers and families. Anthony Parks, buried near the back of the cemetery, was due to rise tonight, so she started off in that direction.
As stakings went, it was an average one. Anthony Parks rose at a nice and early eleven o’clock, and Buffy made sure Fraiser saw the malformed, vampiric features before she neatly dusted the man. Then, after a quick check in with the school, she led the doctor to the second grave of the night, where Jamie Newman had recently been buried. When the woman rose at seventeen after midnight, Fraiser did an excellent job of staking her, better than Buffy’s own first slaying had gone, to be honest. And after seeing the evidence with her own eyes, Fraiser didn’t seem disconcerted at all, but took it all in stride. When they returned to the school afterward, the older woman said she would think about their offer, and headed off to the guest room that had been prepared for she and her daughter.
For Buffy’s part, she took the rest of the night off. There were no apocalypses scheduled for that evening, no prophecies, and it had been a rather long day. There was time for only a mental note to ask Willow to check the new Slayer and her mom out before the blonde slipped into bed and back into a well earned slumber.
Author: koohii_cafe
Rating: FR7
Crossover: BtVS/Stargate SG-1
Disclaimer: Since I am a poor chickadee with no wealth to speak of, I think it's safe to say that neither BtVS nor Stargate SG-1 are mine. ^^;
Written for: TtH August Fic A Day Challenge
Summary: The mother of a new Slayer needs a little convincing concerning the existence of vampires.
~*~*~*~*~
“You’ll forgive me if I say I don’t believe in vampires.”
Buffy squirmed a little at the stern look from the woman across her desk; she was rather small actually, around Buffy’s size, but like the golden slayer herself, tough things came in small packages. Her short brown hair was a no-nonsense cut, arms crossed over her chest in a long white doctor’s jacket, and her steely gaze was fixed on the younger woman, hence the squirming. She’d never been fully comfortable with this side of things anyway- give her a battle and a battalion of girls to give a rousing speech to and lead, and she could deal. Playing the role of one of headmistress of the Jenkins-McClay School for Gifted Girls? Not so much.
“So tell me why, exactly, I should allow my daughter to attend your school.”
“Dr. Fraiser, letting Cassie attend our school is a decision that’s entirely up to you; we don’t force new slayers to join us.” See, she could so sound professional. Giles and Robin had both drilled it into her head how to do so- which begged the question of why her, and why not Giles or Robin, but they’d felt that an all girl’s school needed a woman in charge for concerned parents to talk to. That and, of course, the fact that even with their close ties to slayers, neither man knew exactly what it felt like to be in the position their students were potentially facing. Pushing the thought away, Buffy pushed on with her answer. “We contacted you because we wanted you to know the option was available to you, and because your daughter’s new- abilities- come with a heavy burden. I know, trust me- I’ve carried the same burden since I was sixteen. Whether or not you and your daughter act on that burden is in your hands, but at least now you know why this is happening.”
“It bears repeating that I’m extremely skeptical about the existence of anything as superstitious as ‘vampires,’ Ms. Summers. I-”
“Tell you what.” Obviously, the ‘professional’ talk was getting them both nowhere, so Buffy interjected quickly, opting for something a little more her style. “You want proof, right?” She waited for the doctor to nod before pushing up from the desk and walking around it. “Come back tonight, around nine o’clock. Wear something you don’t mind getting a little dirty, and you can move easily in. If you want to bring Cassie, go for it, if not, she can always stay here where it’s safe. You’ll get your proof then.” And then she was walking past the doctor to open the door that lead out to the main hall.
“Here? Ma’am, we have a hotel not far from the school, Cassie can stay there.”
“Trust me, the hotels around here are deathtraps for out of towners. You can both stay here for the night, we’ve got several rooms reserved for guests. If after tonight you still don’t believe me, fine, you can stay wherever you want, but we invited you here, and I wanna make sure you guys don’t get chomped on my watch, okay?”
The doctor gave Buffy a searching look, as if she could see right through the Californian, and could see whether or not she was telling the truth, before she nodded slowly. “For now, that will be fine. Where should I meet you are nine?”
“Go to the main hall, that big hall where you first came in. I’ll find you there,” she answered as she opened the door and motioned the doctor out. “For now, wait here. Someone will be here in a couple minutes, and they’ll take you to Cassie, then to your room. Don’t wander too far.”
When the door finally closed behind the woman, Buffy finally let loose a frustrated sigh. Even Willow would have been better at doing the headmaster thing than Buffy was, but the Wiccan was in Cleveland, bolstering Faith and the Slayer headquarters set up to deal with the Hellmouth there. And the next best choice, Dawn, was off at Stanford, doing the college thing. After a moment of banging her head lightly against the door, the blonde pushed up and moved over to the phone on the desk, dialing the number for the front office.
“Andrew, it’s Buffy… Yeah, everything went just peachy. The new girl’s with Amanda, right? … Okay, get ahold of Amanda and tell her to pick up the mom outside my office and show them to one of the guest rooms… Right. Oh, and hey, Andrew? What’s the slowest active cemetery in town right now? … Got it. Thanks, Andrew, I’ll talk to you later.”
Then the phone clicked back onto the handset and she glanced at the clock. Noon, which left plenty of time to get other things taken care of before she took the new mom out on an easy patrol. At least, it sounded like plenty of time on paper, until she actually began to work. Even as efficient as Andrew was, surprisingly, at helping run the school, there was still a lot that needed done by either Giles- who was currently on a brief leave to reorganize Council headquarters in the land of tweed- or Buffy herself, which meant she spent most of the time going from task to task, whether it was renewing their contract with the caterers who provided lunch and dinner for the school, checking in on a training session for the newer slayers, or, most importantly, taking a well earned nap. After all, she hadn’t been this tired since back in Sunnydale, before the last battle with the First.
That’s where she was when a careful knock on her bedroom door woke her. She groaned softly and rolled out from under her pillows where she’d burrowed in her sleep, giving the door an evil eye. Her first thought, who dared interrupt the hibernating slayer, was overrun by the lack of light shining through her window, and that was enough to coax a response from her.
“Who is it?” she croaked, and scowled at the sound of her own voice.
“B- Buffy?” Oh god. The hesitant voice ploughed ahead as Buffy resisted the urge to burrow back into her pillows. “It’s eight thirty, and nobody’s seen you for awhile. You’ve got that patrol scheduled with Dr. Fraiser at nine, remember? If you’re going, you- you probably need to get up. I mean, if you wanna sleep, I can probably send Amanda out with her, she’s kinda bonded with Cassie, but-”
Crap. Thunking her head down on her mattress, Buffy groaned once more and forced herself to get up. “I’m fine, Andrew. Just- do me a favor and go keep Dr. Fraiser occupied until I get down there, okay?”
“Sure thing, Buff! See you when you get down there!” And off he went, hyper bundle as he usually was. Taking a brief moment to imagine the stiff doctor from this afternoon dealing with Andrew at his best put something of a smile on her face as she began to get ready. Since it was a simple patrol with a mom, she settled on an easy, comfortable outfit, a pair of easy moving black slacks below a warm chocolate cowl necked sweater with a set of low pumps. Her replica of the Scythe remained hooked on the wall, the original in Cleveland with Faith, and she opted instead for several stakes she could hide on her form, with a couple extras for her guests. Then, grabbing a short sword with a spine sheath for just in case, she headed out the door and down towards the main hall.
She found Dr. Fraiser, surprisingly, getting along with Andrew. Gone was the firm eyed, scientifically founded, disbelieving doctor from before, and in her place was a younger looking woman with a warm smile and shining eyes- decked out in full BDUs with a handgun at her side. It was a distinct reminder that the woman was not just any doctor, but a military doctor, for a division of the United States Air Force that was shrouded in almost as much secrecy as the Initiative had been. Filing the thought into the back of her mind to worry about later, Buffy stepped forward to interrupt the easy flow of conversation.
“You ready to see your first vampire, doctor?”
“Oh, Buffy! I was just telling Dr. Fraiser what she needs to watch out for on patrol! I mean, Restfield’s a pretty tame cemetery, but you never know when something’ll pop up, like a runaway demon, or a master vamp, or a Mandalorian spy, or a-”
“Thanks- Andrew.” Buffy held up a hand quickly, stopping the ramble in its tracks, something of an amused look on her face. “I’ll take it from here.”
“Alright. Dr. Fraiser, it was really good talking with you.” Andrew grinned brightly at the doctor, who returned the smile warmly. “Just remember what I said- if it’s a vampire, only a stake, fire, or beheading will work. Anything else, let Buffy take care of it. She’s the head Slayer and all, so it’s really cool to watch her in action- she’s so graceful and strong. I’ll bet even Yoda would have a tough time fighting her! In the prequels I mean, cause even though they kinda suck, he totally fights like a-”
“Andrew.”
“Oh, right. Patrol. Sorry.”
“It’s was nice to talk with you as well, Andrew.” Fraiser’s eyes twinkled warmly, merriment in her gaze. “Remind me to introduce you to my friend Murray sometime. He’s almost as big a Star Wars fan as you are.”
“I would l-”
“Goodbye, Andrew.” Without waiting for him to leave, Buffy motioned to the doctor and started toward the door herself. Fraiser fell into step beside her easily, and followed her out of the school and into the cool night air outside. “Like Andrew said, we’re going to Restfield Cemetery. It should be pretty slow, but I want you to carry this just in case.” She offered the older woman a polished stake as they walked, which Fraiser examined with interest. “Your gun won’t do you any good. All guns do is tick supernatural creatures off. Andrew told you the only ways to kill a vampire; stake through the heart, fire, and beheading. I should be able to handle anything that shows up, but be careful anyway. The usual vamp indicators are bumpy foreheads, flashy gold eyes, fangs, and completely outdated sense of fashion.”
“Fashion?” Fraiser raised an eyebrow at that, and Buffy gave her half a grin.
“Yup. Most of them never caught up with fashion after they died. So if you see somebody running around with flower-print bell bottoms, watch out.”
“Of course.” The reply was matter of fact, if amused, and as if she was taking the advice perfectly in stride, something that surprised Buffy a little, after the disagreement in her office that afternoon. Maybe Andrew had really been that convincing? If so, she’d have to find a way to thank him later- maybe a cookie?
“Alright, here we go.” The slayer stopped before the gates to the cemetery. “Just remember- if anything comes after you, run. It you can’t run, aim for the heart. It’s-”
“Thank you, Ms. Summers, I know where the heart is,” Fraiser interrupted, arched an eyebrow at the younger woman. Buffy flushed a little.
“Right. Doctor. Sorry. Right this way then.” With a sheepish smile, she let Fraiser through the gates and headed down the winding paths of the cemetery. She had a specific destination in mind, an example to show the good doctor; one thing the school kept detailed records on was deaths in the city, and specifically those that could be vampire related. It made vampire population control a breeze, as well as providing easy training opportunities for new slayers and families. Anthony Parks, buried near the back of the cemetery, was due to rise tonight, so she started off in that direction.
As stakings went, it was an average one. Anthony Parks rose at a nice and early eleven o’clock, and Buffy made sure Fraiser saw the malformed, vampiric features before she neatly dusted the man. Then, after a quick check in with the school, she led the doctor to the second grave of the night, where Jamie Newman had recently been buried. When the woman rose at seventeen after midnight, Fraiser did an excellent job of staking her, better than Buffy’s own first slaying had gone, to be honest. And after seeing the evidence with her own eyes, Fraiser didn’t seem disconcerted at all, but took it all in stride. When they returned to the school afterward, the older woman said she would think about their offer, and headed off to the guest room that had been prepared for she and her daughter.
For Buffy’s part, she took the rest of the night off. There were no apocalypses scheduled for that evening, no prophecies, and it had been a rather long day. There was time for only a mental note to ask Willow to check the new Slayer and her mom out before the blonde slipped into bed and back into a well earned slumber.