August 16 - A Conversation At the Top of the Golden Gate Bridge
Title: A Conversation At the Top of the Golden Gate Bridge (Part four of ‘The Slayer and the Witchlighter’)
Author: 3am_moonlight aka mirrored_illusions
Summary: Melinda’s provisional month is up and she decides she wants to have the conversation at the top of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Crossover: Charmed
Characters: Melinda Halliwell, Buffy Summers.
Rating: Gen.
Word count: 1184
Challenge: The 2016 August Fic-a-Day Challenge on the Twisted Shorts comm on LJ. Day 16.
Timeline: About a decade post-Chosen for BtVS, post-Forever Charmed.
Disclaimer: BtVS/AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, et al. Charmed belongs to someone with big, scary lawyers.
A/N: There’s no Wyatt in this ‘verse. Melinda is the oldest of Piper and Leo’s children. Prue is also alive. Actually, it’s pretty AU in general.
Melinda's trial month was officially over, and she was pacing in her bedroom trying not to be nervous while waiting for the clock to finally strike 22:00. It was the prearranged time for her to meet Buffy so they could have a long talk which would include the final answer to whether or not she would be able to keep her first charge, or not. The outcome of this discussion would also determine if she would be allowed to get a second charge next year, or if she had to wait longer.
21.42. She kept pacing. Back and forth across her bedroom, from one side to the other, and around the room along the walls in an attempt to curb the jittery feeling.
21:59. She stared at the clock and willed it to move forward another minute. When it finally did, seemingly an eternity later, she orbed out.
She reappeared in blue and white lights in yet another cemetery. It was something she could’ve done without seeing again for a long time, but as it was one of the haunts of the Slayers of the world that was unfortunately not an option if she wanted this to work. The Slayer herself was waiting patiently for her arrival while calmly scanning her surroundings for any threats.
“Hi. Do you mind if we have this conversation somewhere else?” It was risky, but she loved the view from the bridge and if she was completely honest with herself she wanted the comfort of something familiar to support her.
“Hi, and sure. Where are we going?”
“The Golden Gate Bridge. It’s sort of a popular thinking spot for those in the family with the orbing ability. There’s also a fantastic view of the San Francisco Bay from there.”
Buffy held out her hand and Melinda took it before they both vanished in the blue and white orbs. Seconds later they were standing at a high vantage point on the bridge, and Melinda released the hand she’d been holding. Beside her Buffy was looking curiously around her: first around the top of the bridge where they were standing, then down at the cars and the water far below them, and finally at San Francisco in the distance.
“Interesting and a very beautiful view. I can definitely see why your family like it up here.” She smiled at the Witchlighter.
Melinda smiled back, and incapable of waiting any longer she simply asked, “So what’s the verdict? Am I staying on as your personal Witchlighter or do I have to tell the Elders that you’re either not interested in me or possibly not interested at all in our kind of back-up after all?” Please, please, please, say I can continue. Please, please, please. She chanted mentally.
“If I say yes, will I be able to change my mind later if it turns out we’re not able to work together after all?” Buffy asked carefully.
“Normally a Witch or future Whitelighter doesn’t have a say in who they get, but you’re a special case. You’re not a Witch and as a Slayer you can’t become a Whitelighter, but you are a Champion of good and as such you theoretically have the right to one, even if there are extremely few Slayers who have been allowed their own guardian angel. Mainly, I think, because Slayers usually don’t make it past a year and it’s extremely upsetting for us to lose our charges.” She drew her breath and continued.
“There’s also something about the Elders not wanting the Watcher’s Council to know about us or our little corner of the magical world since they’re likely to try and take advantage of us.” Buffy frowned at this, and the implied warning to keep quiet about Whitelighters and the Halliwell kind of Witches, but wasn’t really surprised. The old Council had been cold and calculating, not caring one bit that their little chess players were living, breathing, human beings with feelings and a personality of their own. The new Council was better about it, but they were still much too willing to sacrifice people as long as whoever it was wasn’t part of the inner circle or their group of friends and acquaintances. It was one of many reasons why Buffy was traveling on her own rather than being in the midst of everything.
Unaware of her tentative friends thoughts, Melinda persisted in her little monologue. “The Elders have made it crystal clear that I’m not to boss you around like Whitelighters usually do with their charges, but if you need help then I’m to orb to you no matter what as you’re a top priority. Even if you’re not the one who’s hurt. In fact you can even call for my father, Leo, or Aunt Paige, Uncle Andy, Chris, Patience, or Peyton if you can’t get a hold of me. If all else fails then yell ‘WHITELIGHTER’ and whoever is closest will assist you.”
“Why do I get special treatment?” It seemed very odd. The Powers That Be had never taken this much interest in her other than to ensure that she kept on Slaying, and despite her unwillingness to work with her former friends and her former Watcher she still patrolled. She still dusted vampires and killed demons and what not. So as far as Buffy could tell, there was no reason for them to interfere.
“Actually I’m not sure, but I got the impression that there’s some kind of deal or arrangement or something involving you between your PTB and my Elders. Other than that, I don’t know.” She gave Buffy an apologetic look.
“Okay, I’m in.” Melinda’s relieved grin nearly split her face in excitement it was so wide. “But I reserve the right to change my mind at any time.” YES! She yelled mentally in her own mind, before she actually started to bounce a little on her toes, and then blushed lightly when she realized what was doing.
Still, she managed to get out, “Of course, this is up to you.”
“Also, I want to know why I’m getting the royal treatment all of a sudden. It isn’t like them, and I want to know what they’re planning and/or what they’re hoping to accomplish with this. If necessary I want a face-to-face conversation with one of the Elders so I can ask my own questions.”
Melinda promised to forward the message to the appropriate people and they continued their conversation. They tried to iron out the details of how everything would work between them, like how often Melinda should drop by and a few other things, or at least as far as anything could be planned in the unpredictability of their lives. They also went through what Buffy thought of Melinda’s various visits, and how she had handled the few emergencies that had cropped up during the trial month.
Around four in the morning Melinda orbed them back to the cemetery she had picked Buffy up from, and Buffy went back to her patrol of the small city she was in that day. It wasn’t like she slept much anymore.
Author: 3am_moonlight aka mirrored_illusions
Summary: Melinda’s provisional month is up and she decides she wants to have the conversation at the top of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Crossover: Charmed
Characters: Melinda Halliwell, Buffy Summers.
Rating: Gen.
Word count: 1184
Challenge: The 2016 August Fic-a-Day Challenge on the Twisted Shorts comm on LJ. Day 16.
Timeline: About a decade post-Chosen for BtVS, post-Forever Charmed.
Disclaimer: BtVS/AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, et al. Charmed belongs to someone with big, scary lawyers.
A/N: There’s no Wyatt in this ‘verse. Melinda is the oldest of Piper and Leo’s children. Prue is also alive. Actually, it’s pretty AU in general.
Melinda's trial month was officially over, and she was pacing in her bedroom trying not to be nervous while waiting for the clock to finally strike 22:00. It was the prearranged time for her to meet Buffy so they could have a long talk which would include the final answer to whether or not she would be able to keep her first charge, or not. The outcome of this discussion would also determine if she would be allowed to get a second charge next year, or if she had to wait longer.
21.42. She kept pacing. Back and forth across her bedroom, from one side to the other, and around the room along the walls in an attempt to curb the jittery feeling.
21:59. She stared at the clock and willed it to move forward another minute. When it finally did, seemingly an eternity later, she orbed out.
She reappeared in blue and white lights in yet another cemetery. It was something she could’ve done without seeing again for a long time, but as it was one of the haunts of the Slayers of the world that was unfortunately not an option if she wanted this to work. The Slayer herself was waiting patiently for her arrival while calmly scanning her surroundings for any threats.
“Hi. Do you mind if we have this conversation somewhere else?” It was risky, but she loved the view from the bridge and if she was completely honest with herself she wanted the comfort of something familiar to support her.
“Hi, and sure. Where are we going?”
“The Golden Gate Bridge. It’s sort of a popular thinking spot for those in the family with the orbing ability. There’s also a fantastic view of the San Francisco Bay from there.”
Buffy held out her hand and Melinda took it before they both vanished in the blue and white orbs. Seconds later they were standing at a high vantage point on the bridge, and Melinda released the hand she’d been holding. Beside her Buffy was looking curiously around her: first around the top of the bridge where they were standing, then down at the cars and the water far below them, and finally at San Francisco in the distance.
“Interesting and a very beautiful view. I can definitely see why your family like it up here.” She smiled at the Witchlighter.
Melinda smiled back, and incapable of waiting any longer she simply asked, “So what’s the verdict? Am I staying on as your personal Witchlighter or do I have to tell the Elders that you’re either not interested in me or possibly not interested at all in our kind of back-up after all?” Please, please, please, say I can continue. Please, please, please. She chanted mentally.
“If I say yes, will I be able to change my mind later if it turns out we’re not able to work together after all?” Buffy asked carefully.
“Normally a Witch or future Whitelighter doesn’t have a say in who they get, but you’re a special case. You’re not a Witch and as a Slayer you can’t become a Whitelighter, but you are a Champion of good and as such you theoretically have the right to one, even if there are extremely few Slayers who have been allowed their own guardian angel. Mainly, I think, because Slayers usually don’t make it past a year and it’s extremely upsetting for us to lose our charges.” She drew her breath and continued.
“There’s also something about the Elders not wanting the Watcher’s Council to know about us or our little corner of the magical world since they’re likely to try and take advantage of us.” Buffy frowned at this, and the implied warning to keep quiet about Whitelighters and the Halliwell kind of Witches, but wasn’t really surprised. The old Council had been cold and calculating, not caring one bit that their little chess players were living, breathing, human beings with feelings and a personality of their own. The new Council was better about it, but they were still much too willing to sacrifice people as long as whoever it was wasn’t part of the inner circle or their group of friends and acquaintances. It was one of many reasons why Buffy was traveling on her own rather than being in the midst of everything.
Unaware of her tentative friends thoughts, Melinda persisted in her little monologue. “The Elders have made it crystal clear that I’m not to boss you around like Whitelighters usually do with their charges, but if you need help then I’m to orb to you no matter what as you’re a top priority. Even if you’re not the one who’s hurt. In fact you can even call for my father, Leo, or Aunt Paige, Uncle Andy, Chris, Patience, or Peyton if you can’t get a hold of me. If all else fails then yell ‘WHITELIGHTER’ and whoever is closest will assist you.”
“Why do I get special treatment?” It seemed very odd. The Powers That Be had never taken this much interest in her other than to ensure that she kept on Slaying, and despite her unwillingness to work with her former friends and her former Watcher she still patrolled. She still dusted vampires and killed demons and what not. So as far as Buffy could tell, there was no reason for them to interfere.
“Actually I’m not sure, but I got the impression that there’s some kind of deal or arrangement or something involving you between your PTB and my Elders. Other than that, I don’t know.” She gave Buffy an apologetic look.
“Okay, I’m in.” Melinda’s relieved grin nearly split her face in excitement it was so wide. “But I reserve the right to change my mind at any time.” YES! She yelled mentally in her own mind, before she actually started to bounce a little on her toes, and then blushed lightly when she realized what was doing.
Still, she managed to get out, “Of course, this is up to you.”
“Also, I want to know why I’m getting the royal treatment all of a sudden. It isn’t like them, and I want to know what they’re planning and/or what they’re hoping to accomplish with this. If necessary I want a face-to-face conversation with one of the Elders so I can ask my own questions.”
Melinda promised to forward the message to the appropriate people and they continued their conversation. They tried to iron out the details of how everything would work between them, like how often Melinda should drop by and a few other things, or at least as far as anything could be planned in the unpredictability of their lives. They also went through what Buffy thought of Melinda’s various visits, and how she had handled the few emergencies that had cropped up during the trial month.
Around four in the morning Melinda orbed them back to the cemetery she had picked Buffy up from, and Buffy went back to her patrol of the small city she was in that day. It wasn’t like she slept much anymore.