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By the time Ivory awoke the next morning, it was nearing ten o'clock. She sat up after a moment, stretching her arms above her head, then got to her feet and went for the nearby bathroom to shower. She washed up quickly, then donned a navy blue tanktop and plaid skirt and headed downstairs for a bite to eat.
Upon entering the breakfast nook, Ivory was hardly surprised to find her foster mother and Willow each occupying a corner waiting for her. Briefly, she looked around for Risa, then remembered that her "sister" had a violin lesson scheduled for this morning. Grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter, she said, "What is this, another meeting? I thought we covered it all last night."
Stefanie stood, taking a step closer. "Ivory... Honey, I know what you must be feeling after last night's events. If you'd like to talk about it...."
Ivory shrugged. "What's to talk about? I'm now an official superhero... I mean, it's actually fun knowing I have to go out nightly to fight supernatural monsters," she said in a surprisingly chipper voice. "Life couldn't be better!" Stefanie moved to voice a few more concerns, but Ivory stopped her. "Mom, don't worry. I'm dealing. Okay?"
Stefanie nodded, then looked to Willow to see if she would add anything. At this, Ivory's Watcher shifted her weight and said, "Well, I brought Hannah with me. She's waiting out on the porch if you'd like to go out with her... I thought the two of you might want to discuss last night..."
Ivory smiled brightly, nodding in agreement. "Sounds like fun," she said before stepping from the room with apple in hand, grabbing her purse and shades on the way out.
Stefanie sighed, going to the counter and leaning forward over the marble surface with both arms partially beneath her. Looking up at Willow, she said, "I'm worried about her. I expected so many things. Denial, fear, even anger... But not total acceptance of what she's seen and experienced."
Willow sighed. "Ivory's a remarkable girl," she replied. "She's not like you or Buffy. She has her own style and a lot of personal strength on her side. And from what I've been able to determine, slaying vampires comes naturally to her, almost as if her knowledge and instincts are in her blood."
Stefanie stood up straight, arms crossed. "Well, I hope it's enough, since not even the most deep-seated skills did an ounce of good for either me or Buffy." She paused, fighting tears. "I raised that girl for fifteen years, Willow. I know all her hopes, dreams, fears, and complaints! I do not want to lose her in the same way that Buffy and my chance at a normal life in the 1960s and beyond were lost! I wouldn't be able to take it."
Willow's smile faded, and she walked to Stefanie, reaching for one of her hands. "I know," the red-headed Watcher said, prepared to add more when the phone rang. With a loud sigh, Willow went to answer it, her expression going from annoyance to disbelief to amazement as the caller identified themselves.
MO Elsewhere in Sunnydale, Ivory walked into the coffee bar with Hannah trailing behind her. They both ordered quickly, then took their purchases over to a corner table and sat down. Then, rather than settle for idle conversation, Ivory leaned forward and said, "Are you okay, Hannah? Your mom told me you were attacked last night."
Hannah looked up, startled, as one hand instinctively went to the bandage on her throat. "She did? Why?"
Ivory sighed. "I've seen one of them too, Hannah. Another of the creatures that attacked you..."
"Oh, my God. Ivory... Well, I should be asking if you're okay then!" Hannah sputtered, unable to believe the events of the night before. "How did it happen? Where?"
"In the roller rink, around closing time. This thing chased me out of the building, but your mom, fortunately, was parked just outside." She paused, shuddering at the memory. "However, this thing came after us before we could escape, even tried to get at us through the windshield. But I managed to kill it."
Hannah stared at her older friend with wide eyes. "Whoa! This is big. You killed it?"
Ivory nodded. "Freaky, ain't it?" she said at a feeble attempt at humor.
"Freaky isn't even the word for it!" Hannah replied, taking a sip of her drink without taking her eyes off Ivory. "How the heck did you kill it?!"
Ivory bit her lip, looking up at Hannah. "Wooden stakes through the heart will do it. And the worst part is, it won't be the first nor the last of these things I have to kill.... Your mom told me that this is my destiny from now on. To kill these creatures, these... vampires." Ivory spoke haltingly on the last word, then watched the younger girl to gauge her reaction.
Hannah took a moment to absorb the concept, but didn't bother to argue it. Their could be no other solid explanation for what she'd seen. "Whoa, this is heavy! So, you mean, from now on, its your job to kill these things?"
The Slayer nodded again, painfully. "Hannah, what am I gonna do?v I didn't ask for this, and now that it's here, it scares me to death! These THINGS scare me to death."
Hannah patted her hand.v "Ivory, no matter what you decide to do, we're all with you. Risa, Jesse, everyone."
Ivory laughed. "That's the thing. I can't tell anyone except you, because you've seen it. And your mom and mine, because..."
Hannah grew confused. "My mom? How does my mom... how do either of my parents know?"
Ivory wrapped both her arms around herself, then launched into the story. She ran through it all, her true mother's status as a Vampire Slayer, how both Stefanie and Hannah's parents had been involved, the true nature of her mom's death. Hannah listened in bewilderment throughout it all, then said, "I can't believe this!"
"Yeah. Nothing like finding out one day that your whole life has been a lie," Ivory replied. "And my father... For all I know, he's probably dead too. I mean, your mom did kind of gloss over that aspect when I questioned her on it, so... Odds are there's some big dark secret pertaining to him."
Hannah moved to answer when a pair of large freezing hands settled onto her shoulders. With a loud gasp, she looked up into Kenyon's angry eyes. "So, there you are," Kenyon was saying gruffly. "Did you think you could hide from me, Hannah, after that stunt you and Risa pulled on me last night?"
Ivory snarled softly without rising from her seat. "Kenyon, get lost!" she said in a surprisingly cold voice.
"Stay out of it, Summers!" To Hannah, Kenyon added, "I'm going to get you and your friend back for that mace incident, one day when you least expect it..."
Ivory rose from her seat, taking one step towards Kenyon. However, much to her surprise, someone else beat her to the punch.
Ivory's mysterious friend, Chase, stepped in and grabbed Kenyon by one shirt sleeve, half pulling him away. "Maybe you didn't hear her," Chase said. "But I believe Ivory told you to get lost... So unless you want things to get more ugly than they already are, I'd suggest you listen!"
Kenyon was prepared to deliver an angry comeback, but something in Chase's intense black eyes told him it wouldn't be a good idea. Smoothing the lapels of his jacket, Kenyon absently said, "I'll see you girls in school on Monday then." And just like that, he was gone.
Chase hesitated a moment, then turned towards Ivory and Hannah. "Are you both okay?"
Hannah's mouth fell open as she realized how gorgeous this guy was. Before she could speak though, Ivory cut in with a partially angry retort. "Who invited you to fight my battles for me, Chase?" she challenged, the air between her and him charged with a kinetic tension.
Chase shifted his weight, contemplating this for a moment. "I invited myself. I realize I hardly know you and vice versa, but you can't blame me for caring, Ivory." With that, he turned, starting to walk away.
Ivory almost let him go save for Hannah's urgent look telling her to call him back. "Chase, wait," Ivory said abruptly, waiting until he turned before she added, "Would you like to join us?"
He hesitated, then said yes, going to the bar first to order an iced cappucino.v Once he sat down, Hannah was practically drooling on him.
"So," the young redhead said to Chase by way of conversation. "You're new here, huh? Where are you from? How did you and Ivory meet? Where do you live now?"
Hannah's questions spilled out in a rush, and when she finished, Chase answered all of them in perfect sequence. Then, he went on to question her in turn. "What happened to your neck?" he said, pointing towards the bandage.
Hannah thought quickly. "Oh, household accident," she said offhandedly, touching the patch of gauze. "So, you planning to enroll in Sunnydale High, or have you already graduated from high school?"
Chase's eyes met Ivory's briefly on this question. "Already graduated," he answered. "Which is too bad, cause I'd love to share a classroom with you two lovely ladies." Hannah didn't seem to notice anything odd about the statement, but Ivory couldn't help feeling that it applied more directly to her.
"Searching for work here in town then?" Ivory found herself asking.
"Oh, yeah," Chase answered. "I've applied to several stores over in the mall, as a matter of fact. Hope I get lucky with one of them."
Ivory smiled. "I hope you do as well." She drank the last of her amaretto-flavored coffee quickly, then added, "Well, I'm gonna split. Catch up with you later, Hannah?"
Hannah nodded, and Ivory thus got up to leave, starting to say goodbye. However, Chase didn't seem to want to let her get away that easily. He stood as well, holding the plastic cup of cappucino in one hand. "Mind if I join you?" he asked abruptly. "I mean... I'm sorry, I don't mean to come on too strong, but I was hoping to spend a few minutes more getting to know each other."
Ivory paused momentarily, wondering at the way the prospect made her feel. "Sure," she said finally. "I'd like that very much, Chase." And so it was that she and Chase happened to leave the coffee bar together, with Hannah giving Ivory a secret if not envious thumb's-up sign...
Upon ending her call with Jenny, the first thing Willow did was to give her husband a ring, telling him to come to Stefanie's house. Then, for the next forty-five minutes, all the trio could do was sit and wait for Jenny to arrive.
Stefanie quickly brewed a pot of mint tea, then served her guests during the wait. "So, she didn't say a word about Giles, whether or not he was here with her?" she asked Willow.
Willow shook her head. "It didn't come up, but I'd assume he would be... When's the last time they wrote you?"
Stefanie took a quick sip of her tea, then said, "I haven't heard from either Jenny or Giles in two years. One day, their letters just stopped coming. And no matter how many times I wrote afterwards, they never started again." She paused, setting down her cup, and crossing her hands in front of her mouth, her face a mask of worry. After a moment, she lowered her hands and added, "I hope they're both okay..."
Just then, there was a soft almost hesitant knock at the door. Immediately, the three seated friends rose as on, then marched in unison to the entryway, their anticipation growing as they did so. Stefanie only hesitated a moment before opening the door, and, for the first time in fifteen years, she laid eyes on her former guardian.
There was an awkward moment of silence, then Jenny hesitantly asked if she could come in, setting into motion a flurry of events. "I'm sorry," Stefanie said. "Where are my manners? Of course."
Jenny stepped over the threshold, gazing around the house and admiring the decor. "Wow," she said. "You sure know how to pick them, Steffi. This place looks nice."
"Thank you," Stefanie replied with a smile, walking around to stand behind Jenny. "Can I take your coat?"
Jenny nodded, shrugging off the big trenchcoat she wore into Stefanie's hands, and the former Slayer then went to hang it up. Xander and Willow, meanwhile, feasted their hungry eyes on their former friend.
Jenny moved to hug each of them in turn. "Man, it's good to see you guys," she said, a strained note in her voice. "It's been far too long... You'll have to get me caught up on everything. Starting with..." She turned to Willow. "...How your new star pupil is doing."
"Surprisingly well, considering," Willow replied. "She's handling it all in perfect stride... Of course, we have yet to tell her the news about her father, so..." The Watcher paused, then added, "So how long are you here for? Are you going to be moving back to the States?"
Jenny bit her lip. "Not long and not yet," she answered. "I'm currently teaching computers at a private school in England, so I'm only up for the weekend. As for moving back, the arrangements would have to be made next summer should I decide to... I'm surprisingly busy overseas these days, like you wouldn't believe!"
Xander was the next to speak after another moment of silence. "So, where's Giles? I thought he would have come with you... unless he's flying up separately."
Jenny's eyes dropped to the floor briefly, then she asked, in a slightly melancholy tone, if they could go to sit down. The others quickly complied, and it wasn't long before all four were settled comfortably in the living room.
Jenny took the cup of tea that Stefanie offered her with a slight smile, then said, "Giles... He died a few months ago. A massive stroke, the doctors said. There was nothing they could do, he was gone in an instant." The sad monologue spilled out quickly, and a third period of silence followed.
"Giles is dead?" Stefanie was almost afraid to say. "Oh, my God!"
Jenny nodded. "But it's okay. Up until then, he and I had quite a few idyllic years together. It almost makes the pain I feel now worth it," she admitted, one hand going to caress her stomach. "Well, that and... I recently found out that Giles did give me one last gift before he passed away." She paused momentarily. "I'm pregnant. About four and a half months now."
Stefanie, Willow, and Xander stared at her with a mixture of sadness and joy. Then, one by one, they stood to embrace her, and Jenny rose to be welcomed into their arms.
It wasn't the same as it had been prior to Buffy's death, but it was getting there with each passing day. Little by little, the old group was coming back to life, coming back together. All that was left was for the remaining two members to arrive, and the old bonds would reawaken, stronger than ever...