What's My Line Part 1

Libby looked around the hallways with all the career week decorations and booths and could not believe that this would be her fourth career fair. She had one in third grade (more of a game but she still counted it), sixth grade (her first real one) and ninth grade (her first serious one). Every single time she got a different result. In third grade she was going to be a pop star, then a graphic designer and then a media buyer. Libby could only imagine what her results were going to be here. But no matter how curious she was…she was also bored.

"'Are you a people person or do you prefer keeping your own company?'" Xander read. He was enjoying this even less than Libby. "Well, what if I'm a people person who keeps his own company by default?"

"People person." Libby answered as she bubbled in another answer.

"You sure? Because you, Buffy and Willow are kind of my only friends," Xander half mocked himself with a genuinely nervous smile as he looked back down at his test.

"That's not true," Libby looked up and thoughtfully smiled at him. "Trust me Xand, you're one of the friendliest people I know and that makes you a people person. So don't stress over this stupid thing."

"Good point, I mean these people can't tell from one multiple choice test what we're gonna do for the rest of our lives."

"Of course not, I mean we can't even do that and our lives are in our own hands."

"I'm actually kinda curious to find out what sort of career I could have." Willow joined in with a smile as she sat down with her friends.

"Do I like shrubs?" Buffy randomly said, getting frustrated.

"That's between you and your God." Xander answered and then looked up to see Cordelia walking their way.

"Say nothing and let her walk passed you," Libby ordered in a low tone after she turned back around from spotting Cordy. "I'm not in the mood for you two to argue and suppress your sexual tension today."

"Our what?" Xander burst out, accidently breaking the tip of his pencil.

"Yeah, what?" Buffy asked as Willow stared at Libby with her eyes popping with confusion.

"No, you don't like shrubs." Libby responded to Buffy, ignoring all three of them.

The rest of the group all shook the thought out of their minds and tried to get passed the strange awkwardness that Libby decided to share with no warning. Willow, however, remained quiet and stayed deep in solemn thought.

"Uh, okay, I don't?" Buffy said, getting back on track.

"Not unless you want to go into landscaping."

"I hate shrubs," Buffy concluded, but stayed upset. "I shouldn't even be bothering with this. It's all mootville for me. No matter what my test says, we already know my deal."

"Yep! High-risk. Sub-minimum wage." Xander commented.

"Pointy wooden things." Buffy finished for him.

"That's not exactly true." Libby rebutted as she finished her test.

"Yes it is. You of all people should know it is." Buffy snapped back.

"Just because you're the slayer doesn't mean you're not allowed to have a career. In fact, you're gonna need one if you want to support yourself."

"And just what am I supposed to do about getting and then keeping a job? Especially one that's good?"

"Want it bad enough." Libby finished in a challenging voice.

"Sorry, I'm just –"

"I know, you just have to keep an open mind about stuff like this, that's all."

"So, you really think I could have a real job someday?"

"If that's what you want, I have no doubt."

The factory was as dark as ever, but it was so quiet you would think every voice would echo but it was the dead kind of silence. Spike was doing everything he could to save his beloved, but his educated minion wasn't doing his job and Drusilla was only getting worse. The estranged vampire flipped her teller cards as she always did but her mind was drifting in and out of thoughts she herself sometimes didn't understand.

"Read it again." Spike demanded as he towered over Dalton.

"I'm not sure. It could be, uh…" Dalton replied nervously, "deprimere ille bubula linter."

As he looked up at his master with hope, Spike read, "Debase the beef…canoe." Angry and irritated, Spike back handed the vampire and replied, "Why does that strike me as not right?"

"Spike, come dance?" Dru asked her lover with a faded voice.

"Give us some peace, would you pet? Can't you see I'm workin'?"

His voice was harsh and scolding and it hit Drusilla's feelings like a fist to the face. She pouted and whined, making Spike feel terrible guilty.

"I'm sorry, kitten," Spike apologized as he walked over to her. "It's just this manuscript. It's supposed to hold your cure, but it reads like gibberish. Even Dalton here, the big brain, can't make heads or tails of it."

Drusilla rubbed her head as the voices inside spun and spun and hurt the waves of her mind as she turned away from her sired. "I – I…I need to change Miss Edith." Suddenly, she keeled over in a silent sob like the idea of Edith was a blasphemy.

Spike immediately went over and held her from behind to be able to affectionately lift her up and face him. "Oh, forgive me," Spike sighed with grief as he led her over to sit back down on her chair and rest. "You know I can't stand to see you like this. We're runnin' out of time. It's that bloody protector. Whenever I turn around, she's muckin' up the works. A slayer I could've handled, but this girl…she knows every move I'm gonna make! I don't know how I can save you if she already knows how to stop me."

"Sh, sh," Drusilla comforted. "You'll make it right. I know. She knows too."

"She knows I'll cure you? Does she stop me?"

"No, she knows you'll make it right."

"I don't understand, love?" Spike urged in a soft tone as he caressed her cheek.

Drusilla closed her eyes and shook her head. "You'll see her soon. She won't know it. The shadows on her wall hide the truth."

Spike smiled, interpreting this as a good confrontation with his enemy, but Drusilla's eyes were full of sadness.

"What is it, love? Isn't this a good thing?"

"Your stars will fall from my sky…" Drusilla replied in a dazed whisper. She barely spoke the words and they were lost on her breath.

Spike had no idea what that meant, but the fact that it upset her meant it was a bad thing. "Never." He sweetly stated and then leaned up to kiss her with all the love he possessed. She kissed him back and when they parted, she was back to her normal self again. Spike then got to his feet and said to Dalton, "Well, come on now…Enlighten me."

"Uh…" Dalton muttered as he looked up at the terrifying vampire. "Well, it looks like Latin, but it's not. I'm not even sure it's a language –"

"Then make it a language!" Spike roared down at him. "Isn't that what a transcriber does?"

"Well, not exactly,"

Now impatient and desperate, Spike grabbed Dalton by the collar and violently lifted him out of the chair growling, "I want the cure."

"Find…" Drusilla began as she raised a hand and glanced over her cards.

"Why not? Some people find pain," Spike said as he slammed his fist into Dalton's gut, "Very inspirational."

"He can't help you. Not without…the key."

"The key?" Spike dropped the vamp and walked over to Dru. "You mean this book is in some kind of code?

"Yeah."

"Is that where we'll find this key?" Spike asked as he saw the tomb on one of the cards.

"Yeah." Drusilla confirmed with a distant smile.

"I'll send the boys pronto."

"Now will you dance?" Drusilla asked sweetly as if she was a young girl asking for a special treat before dinner.

"I'll dance with you, pet, on the slayer and protector's graves."

Spike lifted his girl into his arms like she weighed less than a feather and spun her around in circles, as they laughed, genuinely happy.

Buffy and Libby walked through the cemetery as usual but conversation was seriously lacking.

"I'm bored." Libby admitted as she kicked a rock into a headstone. "We've been walking around out here for an hour and nothing."

"Sometimes that happens."

"I guess, it's just something is supposed to happen tonight and I was hoping that it wouldn't take this long to get to so I feel like all I'm doing is waiting and that –"

"Shh," Buffy interrupted as she lifted a hand to Libby, "Do you hear that?"

Libby listened and replied, "Chipping…finally."

The girls snuck over to the door of the tomb and slowly crept the door open. Buffy looked in on top and Libby looked in about an inch below the slayer's chin. Inside, they saw Dalton breaking down a piece of the stone wall to get to the key.

Buffy stealthily moved backward and Libby followed her to the bench.

When the vampire came out, Buffy said, "Does "rest in peace" have no sanctity to you people? Oh. I forgot. You're not a people."

As if she had eyes on the back of her head, Buffy spun around and kicked the second vampire in the face. As the slayer fought the big one, Libby went after Dalton. The protector telekinetically tripped him to the ground and kicked him in the face so he rolled away from the cross. She picked it up and left the cloth it was lying in on the ground.

"Wow, Du Lac's cross…the key to reading his book and discovering Drusilla's cure. Spike's gonna be really pissed with you for losing this."

Dalton spent no time waiting to hear more out of fear of being staked and ran into the darkness. Libby didn't bother following him since he wasn't a threat. She held the cross up and examined it, not knowing how the hell that was a key.

"Libby?" Buffy called.

"Over here!"

The slayer ran up to her and asked, "Did you get the other one? What's that?"

"He ran off and this is the key to finding out how Spike can cure Drusilla."

Buffy touched the ancient looking, gold cross and sighed, "Wow, big find."

"Yeah, Giles is gonna go nuts."

"We should probably get it out of here, before more of Spike's goons show up."

The slayer and protector walked home talking about random subjects and having a real laugh together. It was nice, not talking about what was gonna happen or what was going on at school, just taking a walk back home with fun sister talk.

When they reached the house, Buffy started to head towards her window when Libby reminded, "Your mom's in LA remember? You can use the door."

"Right! Old habits really do die hard."

"But, Angel's in your room and if you climb up you'll scare him." Libby grinned mischievously.

"Oooh, I like it," Buffy giggled. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Night, don't have too much fun."

"I'll try." Buffy smirked. "You sure you don't want me to walk you to Giles?"

"No, I need to test this telekinetic bubble shield theory. And Giles I've perfected the short cut to Giles so if anything does happen I can handle it." Libby walked into the night as she ran her hand over the cross. It was actually quite impressive and the protector smiled to herself. It was a big find.

Drusilla sat upright in the lavish bed on the lower level of the factory while Spike sat on the edge trying to make her eyes sparkle with life again. "Once you're well again, we'll have a coronation down main street. And invite everyone. And drink for seven days and seven nights."

"Um…sir?" Dalton's voice trembled.

"Brainiac! Did you get the key?" Spike inquired as he stalked over to the vampire.

"I had it, b-but the – uh – protector…she –"

"No…" Spike's enraged blue eyes pierced into the petrified vampire's like needles. "Don't tell me she took it from you, don't tell me you lost it to her!"

Dalton only shook his head and pleaded, "She came right at me and tossed me away from it like I was nothing! She knew all about it so I ran to make sure I could tell you and be able to find it again for you. Please don't kill me."

For a moment, it seemed like Spike was going to rip the Giles vampire counterpart's heart out of his chest, but instead he turned away with great disdain. "That protector! She's the gnat in my ear. The gristle in my teeth. She's the bloody thorn in my bloody side!" He kicked an object – he didn't know what – and it shattered under his foot.

"Spike?" Drusilla called to him with concern.

"We've gotta do something," Spike stated, trying to think rationally. "We'll never complete your cure with those bitches breathing down our necks." And there it was. The brilliant little idea that Spike needed. His eyes began to glisten as he announced, "I need to bring in the big guns. They'll take care of them once and for all."

"Big guns?" Dalton asked.

"The Order of Taraka." Spike answered.

"The bounty hunters?" Dalton was aghast.

"They're coming to my party," Drusilla shared, "Three of them."

"Yes, but…the Order of Taraka. I mean…isn't that overkill?"

"No," Spike responded as he went back over to Drusilla. "I think it's just enough kill. But first, I need to pay the protector a little visit."

Giles sat at his desk as he examined the cross. "Oh dear, it does appear to be Du Lac's cross."

"Why does that merit an oh dear?"

"A book that was stolen from the library a few weeks ago was written by Du Lac. The book was said to contain rituals and spells that reap unspeakable evil. However, it was written in archaic Latin so that only select members could understand it. This cross appears to be the key in order to read the book."

Libby scrunched her nose and said, "Research time…tomorrow?"

Giles removed his glasses and rose from his chair saying, "Yes, though if you could tell me why Spike is after this it will narrow down the books."

"Spike wants to cure Drusilla and the cross is the only way he can read the spell on how to do it."

The watcher looked down at the cross and nodded. "Then you must get some much needed rest and we shall continue tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Giles."

"Goodnight, Libby."

Libby lay on her bed thinking of how changing the episode could cause a domino effect on the whole series. Generally, she could say that she has no idea what is exactly going to happen now and that in itself was the most dangerous thing. Libby quietly rolled until her feet hit the floor and she tip toed into the living room to get the cross. She gently picked it up and scurried back to her room where she sat on the bed and held a piece of paper on top of the cross and rubbed a pencil over it to capture the engravings and designs. Once she was done, Libby carefully put the sketching in the storage container and the cross itself on the trunk at the foot of her bed. As she lifted the comforter, Libby saw a glowering figure at her window.

Libby had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from shrieking at the sight of Spike staring at her through the half concealed glass. The last thing she needed was for Giles to barge in, kill Spike and disrupt the future he had in their lives…as that would be difficult to explain.

Libby crawled to the window, opened it and snarled, "May I help you?"

"Give me the key." Spike demanded with a deep rumble in his throat.

"I'm sorry, the only keys I have are to the apartment."

Spike rolled his eyes and smacked his hands on the pane in fury, which made Libby stifle a giggle. Somehow she truly drove him crazy. "The key from the tomb. The one you stole from me. I know you have it and I want it back."

"Oh! That key!" Libby over exaggerated her fake realization. "I don't think you want that."

"And why not?"

The protector went over to her trunk and lifted the cross. The moment Spike laid eyes on it his dead heart filled with hope but Libby could also see slight annoyance in the fact that it was something he couldn't touch.

"Protector…" Spike growled, "Hand it over."

"Now why would I do that? So you can cure Drusilla? Because that would be the right thing to do?"

"Why do you always make everything so bloody difficult?" Spike hissed, clawing at the roof.

"Because you're so much fun to screw with." Libby honestly answered with a mocking grin.

"Come outside and say that." Spike threatened.

Libby leaned out the window and hit Spike in the face with the cross. He screamed into the sizzling gold as his skin burned but he was fortunately able to grab one of Libby's wrists. The protector had used one hand to balance herself on the windowsill, but she was able to bring the cross back inside with her other hand.

"Now, give me the cross and I won't hurt you."

"Let go of my wrist and I won't hurt you."

Spike's face was so close to hers that Libby could smell his leather jacket as if her nose was buried in it. In all the years she spent watching the show, she never got so much detail of Spike's features as she did right then. His eyes were bluer than the sea and deadlier than a gun. He was pale, but his complexion was perfect. His cheekbones were so defined and sharp Libby swore they could cut butter and his jaw was slender but strong. His image was ridiculously handsome and frightening at the same time.

On the other side, Spike couldn't help but notice how good she smelled after he yanked her out the window. He could practically taste her blood flowing through her veins and feel her heart pounding through her wrist to his hand. It took all he had not to bite her right there instead of going through with his plan to get the key. But there was also something else surrounding her…an aroma that Spike had never smelled before. He surmised it was her distinct smell as the protector and growled since she should have given in by now. Libby was much braver than he thought and Spike didn't like it. The vampire glared into her brown eyes and turned his own into the animalistic yellow of his demon self. Libby's breath hitched and Spike knew he had his power back.

"Give it to me and I'll let you go. No more screwing around."

Libby knew her mistake once she felt the light touch of fangs threatening her throat. Spike was real and unleashed. It was not the time to fan girl, it would never be the time to fan girl. It wasn't amusement that made her catty with Captain Peroxide; it was stupidity because he was William the Bloody not a harmless little bunny thanks to a government chip. Libby knew there were parts of herself that still didn't grasp she was in a fictional world that was now as real as the one she grew up in, but to place that part onto Spike was a dangerous thing. Libby gulped and tried to slow her breathing as Spike applied breaking pressure to her wrist and his fangs. Lesson learned.

Regardless of whether or not she could beat him at that moment, Libby figured it was a safer choice to give up the cross. If the lesson was learned than she had to act on it and remedy the mistake. The protector slowly placed the cross in Spike's sleeve-covered hand and the vampire lived up to his word and released Libby. For the first time, Spike didn't offer up any sarcastic comment before he left; he slipped into the trees and disappeared into the night.

As Libby closed and locked her window, she mumbled, "Okay, Libby, time to fully adapt or you're gonna get yourself killed. Or worse someone else."

As Libby readied herself for a good scolding from Giles, she looked over the sketch of the cross. It was very bold in capturing the detail so she hoped that her watcher would be able to get what he needed from it.

"Oh good, you're ready." Giles stopped at the table and saw it empty. "Where's the cross?"

"About that…I couldn't sleep last night so I took it to make a sketch," she handed it to Giles who did not take his eyes off her, even as he accepted the paper. "And, um, Spike kinda showed up at my window."

"What? Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I mean I almost got bitten, but that was my own fault. Bottom line, Spike got the cross back and I'm so, so sorry. I should've just stuck with my initial decision and –"

Giles put the sketch down and stepped closer to hug his ward. Despite Libby's attempt at confessing with strength, he could clearly see that she was fearful. Of her encounter with Spike or of his reaction or of something else, he did not care. "You are all right and that's what matters."

"I'll make up for it, I promise," Libby's voice wavered as she held onto her watcher. "I'll do better with informing you of what will happen and I won't put myself in danger anymore. I'll be prudent and safe and considerate."

Giles released her and held her delicate chin with fatherly fingers. "I don't expect you to be right in everything you do, Libby. You are still a teenager, a teenager from another reality. There is no need to be perfect, but there is a need to be vigilant in your powers and therefore your decisions." Libby nodded at his smile. "I'm glad to hear you're still willing learn."

"Yeah, my mom always said that just because I'm fifteen doesn't mean I have to be careless and headstrong. I gotta say I never took that too seriously until now. I mean, yes those are some of my character flaws, but it's not all the time. Right?"

Giles chuckled as he led them to his car. "No, I dare say not all the time."

Libby decided to break the news to Buffy in the library as to not cause a scene of her losing the cross to Spike. She merely walked down the halls with Buffy and Willow as if nothing was wrong and ended up enjoying the conversation too.

"You and Angel are going skating? Alone?" Willow brightly asked.

"Unless some unforeseen evil by Libby pops up. But I'm in full see-no-evil mode." Buffy answered with a glance over at Libby. Buffy was desperate to not have anything happen on her date. She wanted, no she needed, an escape and ice-skating with Angel was beyond perfect.

"Angel ice-skating?" Willow absorbed.

"I know. Two worlds collide."

"Except he'll probably end up watching you skate." Libby giggled.

"I suspect so." Buffy smiled back.

"Wouldn't you three say you know me about as well as anyone else?" Xander asked after appearing from out of nowhere. "Maybe even better than I know myself?"

"What's this about?" Willow asked.

"When you look at me, do you think prison guard?"

The girls burst out laughing and couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces. If Xander was a prison guard, the prisoners would beat him to death, which shouldn't be funny, and yet they couldn't stop laughing.

"Um…crossing guard maybe, but prison guard?" Buffy answered as she shook her head.

"They just put up the assignments for the career fair and according to my test results I can look forward to being gainfully employed in the growing field of corrections."

"Well, at least you'll be on the right side of the bars." Buffy teased.

"I see you as a construction worker." Libby added, to the surprise of the three.

"How is that better?" Xander demanded in confusion and distaste.

"For one, you don't have to be worried about being killed with a sharpened toothbrush or something else ingenious. Two, it's hard labor which means muscles. Three, it's building things that people need, which I think needs as much intelligence as it does creativity. Four, it's useful and practical, which means you can also move up the ladder of success with it. And five, it could be the foundation to other careers like architecture or engineering or your own business. You have the talent for all of it, Xand. Sky's the limit."

"Huh, when you say it like that…" Xander now had a gawky smile on his face, but Willow and Buffy were still giggling at the thought of him wearing a prison guard uniform.

"No wonder your results were psychiatrist and archaeologist," Xander continued and complimented, "You give great advice and have crazy insight into pretty much everything past and present."

"I don't know about all that, but thank you," Libby replied in a giggle, "Psychiatrist and archaeologist huh? Cool. I guess I can see myself doing that."

"Yup and you, Buffy, have been assigned to the booth for law enforcement professionals."

The slayer's smile instantly faded as she slurred, "As in police?"

"As in polyester, doughnuts and brutality."

"But…doughnuts!" Willow tried to cheer Buffy up but she only groaned louder.

"Well, I'll just jump off that bridge when I come to it," The slayer decided, "First I have to deal with Giles. He's on this Tony Robbins hyper-efficiency kick. Expects me and Libby to check in every day after homeroom. Police?"

As Libby walked off with her sister, she tried to comfort, "Maybe the other one's better."

Buffy perked up and asked, "Do you know what it is?"

"No, I saved you from having the option of environmental design or something like that so I don't know what you have now."

"Oh, well, thank you," they giggled. "I hope it's a good one."

Giles made it to the library with around twenty books piled high against his chest before they began to fall over. Thankfully, Libby held out her hand and stopped them in midair. With a smile, she lifted them off the table, evened them out and placed them back down on the table.

"Thank you!" Giles cheered at the protector, "Rather impressive as well."

"I've been practicing on my own," Libby explained as she and Buffy took their seats. "Making my bed, getting things from my cabinets,"

"Stealing my make-up." Buffy smirked.

"One time!" Libby laughed.

"Sure." The slayer smiled.

"Sounds like you girls are still getting along quite splendidly together," Giles observed, "More splendid times than I of late. I've been indexing the watcher diaries covering the last couple centuries. You'd be amazed at how numbingly pompous and long-winded some of these watchers were."

"Color me stunned." Buffy teased, a little serious.

"So Libby tells me last night's patrol was fruitful," Giles inquired, eyeing Libby to continue the conversation.

"Yeah. I caught one out of two vamps after they stole a big gold cross from this jumbo mausoleum. Libby showed you the cross right?" Buffy informed.

"Yes, she did. I still can't picture what it must have looked like seeing a vampire steal such a thing." the watcher stalled for his protector.

"Yeah they had tools, flashlights. Whole nine yards." Buffy continued.

She was so used to it that she couldn't help but take over even though Libby was sitting next to her ready to contribute. Libby didn't mind though. She was willing to prolong the discussion of letting the cross slip through her fingers and into Spike's for as long as possible.

"What does that mean anyway?" Buffy asked. "Whole nine yards. Nine yards of what?"

"Lots of theories. No one really knows." Libby answered.

"Huh."

"It was quite impressive." Giles stated over to the brunette. "Wasn't it Libby?"

"Uh, about that…" Libby began.

"What? You got it last night, brought it to Giles." Buffy insisted. "I saw it."

"I have a sketch of it, so you can still study it." The protector tried to make it better as she placed the paper on the table.

"What happened to it?" Buffy anxiously asked.

"Spike kinda took it from me." Libby mumbled under her breath.

"WHAT?" Buffy shouted. "How? He can't get in the house!"

"He popped by my window and pissed me off so I hit him with the cross and he grabbed me."

"Did he bite you?" the slayer nearly screamed in anger.

"Threatened to, so I was kinda forced to give him the cross. I'm not hurt, just shamed."

"That's the important thing." Giles said. "Not being hurt."

"Yeah, not hurt is good and it's a good thing that you made a sketch of it. But still, Libby! He could've killed you!" Buffy added.

"I know! I'm sorry. I learned my lesson. Believe me."

"Good."

"Now," Giles sighed across from them. "As I told Libby last night, this is Du Lac's cross and a book that was stolen from the library a few weeks ago was written by Du Lac. This cross is the key in order to read the book, which contains rituals and spells that reap unspeakable evil." He looked at the girls very worried. "Libby, would you care to tell the rest?"

"Remember when I said it wasn't time yet to worry about Spike?"

"Yeah…" Buffy groaned in anticipation of bad news.

"It's time to worry about Spike." She looked at her watcher and slayer as they gave her their full attention. "The book contains all of the information that Spike needs to cure Drusilla."

"And you lost the cross to him!" Buffy yelled.

"He threatened her life, Buffy!"

"Which wouldn't have happened if she didn't mess with him every chance she gets!"

"Something I won't do again! I get it, I messed up and I'm sorry, but there's more," Libby declared. "I figured out that Spike needs to think that he's in control so I know what his next moves will be. He proved that by his surprise visit to my window last night. I didn't even think of it until the adrenaline wore off. If Spike has the cross, he'll go back to his plan and the biggest part of his plan is Angel."

"Angel?" Buffy fearfully questioned.

"The sick vampire needs their sire to die in order to be restored. That makes Angel more important than the cross. As long as we watch Angel, Spike can't cure Drusilla, he'll miss his deadline and Drusilla will…I don't know…fade away into nothingness or something."

"How will he perform this ritual?" Giles pries for more.

"He needs a church, the cross, a moon doing something special and Angel. He needs to do it really soon so keeping Angel away shouldn't be hard. In theory at least."

"Good. Problem solved." Buffy leaned back in her chair as her fingernails picked at the wooden arms.

"There's one more thing," Libby began again. "Someone's come to town and she's very significant."

"Who?"

"Kendra, the second vampire slayer."

"I'm sorry, who?" Buffy asked again in shock.

"There's only ever one slayer." Giles stated.

"Yes, until Buffy died for about two minutes."

After a moment or two, Giles exclaimed, "Of course!"

"No! No "of course!" There's only one. Me. I'm the vampire slayer."

Libby scrunched her face as she scooted a couple inches away from Buffy. "Technically yes, just not the only one anymore."

"This could be a tremendous help, Buffy," Giles suggested.

"I have a tremendous help, Giles," Buffy rebutted. "Her name is Libby. I don't want another slayer. It's too weird."

"Sorry, she's here and ready to kill. Kill you and Angel actually because she sees you with him and thinks you're a vampire too, so it might be a good idea to confront her."

"You bet your butt I will." Buffy grumbled.

"Anything else?" Giles inquired to Libby as he studied the sketch of the cross.

"Yeah, we should probably tell the others everything except for Kendra. It'd be easier to tell them about her when she's actually here."

"Agreed." Buffy said.

"So Giles is sure the vampire who stole his book is connected to the one you slayed last night?" Willow asked. "Or is it slew?"

"Both are correct," Giles answered. "And yes. I'm sure. Libby saw to that."

"It's a shame Spike had to steal the cross back." Willow said with a sympathetic smile for Libby.

"I still can't believe he got the drop on you." Xander shook his head sarcastically at Libby.

"How bout next time you can hold onto the sacred artifact that he needs to save his vampire mate and see how well you do. Because let's face it, you egg on more than me." The protector punched him in the arm with a lighthearted jeer.

"Du Lac was both a theologian and a mathematician," Giles continued, ignoring them. "This article describes an invention of his which he called the de Lac Cross, the one Libby found and made a sketch of for me."

"So why go through all the trouble of inventing something and then giving it a weak name like that?" Xander rambled. "I mean I'd have gone with the Cross-o-matic or the Amazing Mr. Cross."

Everyone stared and said nothing. So Xander went back to his snack.

"The Cross was more than mere a symbol. It was used to understand certain mystical texts. To decipher hidden meanings and so forth. From what I studied of the sketch and the photo in this book, it appears that everything Libby said of Spike's plan is correct and fairly accurate."

"Go Libs!" Xander smiled.

"I'll continue to do my best. So, Buffy you should probably go and get ready to meet up with Angel so you can make sure that he doesn't get captured."

"Right! I'll see you guys in the morning!"

Buffy skated across the ice as if she had never taken off her skates. It was as though she were flying, gliding above the ice instead of on top of it. The world froze beneath the cold and she was at peace. It brought back so many feelings of normalcy and happiness. Love filled her heart and nothing else mattered at the moment.

Then she tripped and slid into a wall.

Laughing, Buffy prepared to lift herself up, but a giant and fierce arm wrapped around her neck, hurled her upward and slammed her down on her back. The large man with wildly unkempt hair and dead eyes attempted to choke the life out of her. The slayer tried to fight back, but to no avail.

"Buffy!" Angel yelled as he ran up, vamp face on, and attacked the assassin.

Buffy fell back into the rink and Angel tackled the man to the ground. They soon jumped to their feet and brutally fought throwing punches anywhere they could. The slayer didn't waste much time getting back on her feet in order skate toward a net to fling herself up and slit the man's throat with her skates. The assassin choked, stumbled onto the ice and died.

"The Hellmouth presents…Dead Guys on Ice. Not exactly the evening we were aiming for." Buffy said as she regained her strength. "Thanks so much Libby for giving me a heads up."

"Your in danger," Angel said. "You know what the ring means?"

"I just killed a Super Bowl champ?" Buffy tried to be funny.

"I'm serious!" Angel yelled, scaring Buffy a little. "Just go home and wait till you hear from me."

"You know I can't do that! Spike is after you!"

"Your life is more important than mine! Besides, I can handle Spike if he finds me."

"That's not the point." Buffy skated over to him but winced at the movement.

"Buffy, are you okay?" He asked once she reached him.

"What about you? That cut –"

"Forget about me. I told you I'll be fine. This is bad, Buffy. We gotta get you out."

"I don't wanna hide."

"Let's just get you someplace safe and then we can talk."

"Not until we at least help your eye!" Angel pulled away from her but Buffy wouldn't let him. "Hey! Don't be a baby. I'm not gonna hurt you."

"It's not that." Angel tried to explain.

"What?"

"You shouldn't have to touch me when I'm like this."

"Oh." Buffy saw how ashamed and disgusted he was with himself. Not caring, never caring about his vampire self, she removed one of her gloves and caressed his face. "I didn't even notice."

As she traced her fingers over his lips, they kissed. Buffy loved being kissed by Angel. They were passionate and tender at the same time. Whenever he held her she felt safe and important, the way a normal girlfriend would. It was always a perfect moment. Angel forgot about his demon side showing and embraced the woman he loved. Everyday he grew happier and felt luckier. After so many long bitter years, he found someone who was perfect for him.

Suddenly, Buffy remembered what Libby said. The new slayer will see her with Angel, think she's a vampire and try to kill her…and try to kill Angel.

The slayer ended the kiss and searched for Kendra. When she spotted the dark beauty on the other side of the rink, Buffy shouted, "Hey! Kendra! I hear you're a slayer too!"

"I am the only!" Kendra declared in her heavy Jamaican accent.

"Not according to my protector!" Buffy stated defiantly, getting ready for a fight if Kendra didn't listen.

"Protector?" Kendra pondered to herself as she slowed down on the ice. "As in slayer's protector?"

"Yes."

"You called a protector? That is forbidden!" Kendra shouted with a sneer. "You cannot be a slayer!"

"She is!" Angel defended from behind Buffy, his face back to normal.

"I am and it's not forbidden or my watcher wouldn't have told me."

"My people say that a slayer may only condemn herself to death for a cause if it is just, never another person in her place."

"Buffy?" Angel inquired softly, not knowing what the other slayer was meaning.

"That's not what it's like with us nor will it ever be. Which is why she doesn't know. I didn't want her to worry over nothing."

"Considerate." Kendra spat harshly.

"Look, obviously you believe that we're both slayers. So how about we go back to my watcher and protector and sort this whole thing out."

"Fine."

"Buffy, I need to find out more about the assassins after you." Angel informed her privately.

"We can do that together." Buffy insisted.

"There's no time, I promise I'll be careful."

Reluctantly, Buffy let him go and her stealthy vampire disappeared into the shadows.

"A slayer kissing a vampire." Kendra said disapprovingly.

"Oh, you're gonna be buckets of fun aren't ya?"