Disclaimer: The characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer are owned by Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and Fox studios. This story is not meant to infringe upon anyone's rights, only to entertain.

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CHAPTER 7 – Meeting Buffy

A/N: Some dialogue taken from BTVS the Movie…
Oh and last chapter Niko said ragazza which means girl in Italian.



… the next day …

Merrick waited patiently for Buffy to finish her cheerleading practice. Thankfully she had stayed behind doing some extra stretches as the other cheerleaders left the field. He approached her.

Buffy groaned as she glanced to her left and saw the middle-aged man walking towards her. “Look, I don’t really like need this. Like, I have enough problems already you know. Find some other girl and leave me alone.”

“I’m sorry Buffy. This is out of my hands. You are the Slayer.”

“No. I’m a teenager. I’m a cheerleader. I don’t need to be worrying about vampires or saving the world.”

Merrick sighed softly as he knew that perhaps there would be only one way to convince her. He pulled a knife from his coat discreetly. “Buffy!” he called out to her as he threw the knife at her face.

Buffy didn’t know what happened but instinct took over and she caught the knife just inches from her nose. “What the … ?! What in the world is wrong with you? You threw a knife at my head!”

“And you caught it.” Merrick said proudly.

“You. Threw. A. Knife. At. My. Head!” she said, taking a step forward with each word.

“It was necessary for you to accept your fate.”

Exasperated at the older man’s reply, Buffy curled her right hand into a fist and punched him in the nose, sending the Watcher a few feet back.

“Did I just do that?” She asked in awe. “And look, I didn’t even break a nail.”

Merrick gingerly picked himself up, grabbing a handkerchief from his coat pocket to stop his nose from bleeding.

“You’re the Chosen One. You have powers that you’ve only begun to tap.”


**

… two days later …

Spike knew he wasn’t supposed to be here. Merrick had advised the four of them that they should make themselves scarce while he brought the Slayer to train in the abandoned factory. The Watcher thought that Buffy still wasn’t ready to meet any of them. This wasn’t something new. There had been more than a dozen Slayers through the years that had outright rejected the Vampire Guard. They had stayed in the shadows nonetheless, helping where they could. Of course those Slayers rarely lived passed a year.

Spike was curious though and it had taken over all his reasoning that it was wiser to just do as the Watcher had asked. So he was up in the rafters of the building, watching with quiet fascination at this young Slayer. Her blond hair bounced seductively as she moved and though this was only her second day of training with the Watcher, her moves were surprising crisp and powerful. He found himself wanting to see just how good she was for himself. There was that confidence in her as well that made her seem like she was glowing as she practiced her attacks.

Sweat was making her body glisten in the dying sunlight which made her look all the more lovely in his eyes. Perhaps he was being daft but he just couldn’t tear his eyes away. More than once she would look up as if searching for something and he could have sworn that she was looking right at him.

“Buffy!” Merrick called out. “Concentrate.” He said as he looked at where the stake had landed on the dummy when she threw it.

Buffy giggled when she saw that the stake was planted right where the dummy’s legs met. “Sorry!”

Spike winced in pain and almost lost his balance when he saw what Buffy just did. “Bloody ‘ell!” As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted it.

“I thought you told me we were alone?” Buffy asked crossing her arms across her chest.

Merrick sighed and looked up. “That was what I was led to believe. SPIKE!”

Spike climbed down the rafters and when he was about eight feet from the floor, did a flip and landed on his feet flawlessly. His leather duster gave the landing an added flare. He gave Buffy a once over and he thought to himself that she was definitely a pretty bird. It wouldn’t be so bad fighting alongside this one. He gave her his signature devilish grin, but her reaction wasn’t what he was expecting.

“Please! What’s with the leather? … And like the Billy Idol hair?!” She said taking a step forward. She stretched her hand wanting to touch his hair wondering if it was even real.

Spike instinctively avoided her hand. “Watch it, Slayer.”

“Slayer? How did you?” She thought about it for a second and then mentally slapped herself for being stupid. Merrick obviously knew this 1970’s reject. But wait. He came from the rafters. She knew her senses were picking up something but she couldn’t see anything. If her senses were picking up something then that meant… She quickly took a step back. “You’re … You’re a vampire!”

“Really?! That explains a lot.” Spike said sarcastically.

Buffy grew nervous and took another step back. She bent down and armed herself with a stake.

Spike watched her carefully. “Wouldn’t do that if I were you, pet. Believe it or not I’m on your side.”

“But you’re a vampire. Don’t you like want to eat me?”

Spike restrained himself from agreeing as a lascivious thought entered his mind. “Uhm.. No of course not. Why in the world would I want to sink my teeth into your bloody neck?”

Before Buffy could respond with her own retort Merrick decided to interject. “I guess explanations are in order.” He said giving Spike an icy glare. The bleached blond vampire just shrugged his shoulder and fished for a cigarette and his Zippo.

“Buffy I would like you to meet Spike. As you surmised he is a vampire -- a somewhat annoying vampire at that. He is a Vampire Guard.”

“A what?!”

“A Vampire Guard … a vampire who has sworn his allegiance to the Council to ensure the safety of the Chosen One so that she can fulfill her destiny, yada yada yada…” Spike said with the cigarette still in his mouth.

“Okay. ... So you’re trying to tell me that I’m destined to kill vampires but that I’m suppose to have a vampire following me around on purpose? That so doesn’t make any sense.”

“I know it sounds quite unorthodox but they have been around for over a century and have helped Slayer after Slayer avert numerous disasters.”

“They? You mean they are more of them?”

Merrick let out a sigh and resigned himself to the fact that she was taking this in a whole lot better than he thought. “Yes. There are three more in fact.”

Buffy pouted slightly as she thought about things over. Things have gotten from weird to worse and she was surprised she wasn’t wigging out more about this. She gave Spike another once over. He did seem sort of familiar. Could she have seen him before? … In her dreams maybe? That would make sense if what Merrick told her was true and that the guards have been around for years. If the previous Slayers trusted this vampire and if her Watcher did too, what did she have to lose? She could always stake him later if he became too annoying. “So three more guards, huh? When do I get to meet them?”

“Tomorrow if you like. I was hoping to further your training before introducing them to you, but since you know about them now. … ” He paused and gave Spike an irritated look. “Perhaps you might as well train with them if you think you’re up to it.”

Buffy smiled. “I can take him on.”

“You sure about that, pet?” Spike said before taking another drag of his cigarette.



**
… the next day …

Buffy took in a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves before she opened the door to the abandoned factory. She wasn’t sure why shy was feeling nervous. This shouldn’t be a big deal. She was just meeting her bodyguards. So why did it feel like her stomach was doing back flips over and over again? What if they didn’t like her? What if they thought she wasn’t any good? And then she realized what had been bothering her. All her life she strove to be the best -- to be the most popular. But if you put things into perspective, that was just school. What she was facing now was life or death and these guys have seen a hundred and plus years worth of Slayers. She felt small and insignificant in the scheme of things.

She shook her head trying to clear it. She was the Slayer and they were going to fight by her side. Maybe this wasn’t going to be bad after all. When Merrick told her that she was the Chosen One, it took a while for the notion to really sink in. Then she heard her parents fighting again and it didn’t help that aside from possibly losing a father, fate had decided that she needed to shoulder a bigger responsibility. At least now she knew she wasn’t going to be alone in this.

Taking another deep breath she finally opened the door and stepped inside. But something seemed wrong. The place was pitch black except for the few windows that let some of the late afternoon sun in because they weren’t blacked out. She tried to listen for some kind of movement but there was only silence. Her heart started beating faster at not knowing what lay ahead of her. Could she have made a mistake and gone into the wrong building? Then her senses started picking something and when she turned to her left to figure out what had triggered her inner alarm system, something rammed into her. She felt the wind knocked out of her as her butt and back hit concrete. She quickly stood up and cursed herself for not having a stake in her hand. She made a mental note to start caring one with her at all times.

She could feel something or someone else moving in the shadows and her senses tried to keep up as she moved to make sure she put some distance between herself and her now two opponents. They were coming closer and she knew that she needed to do something instead of just backing up. She let lessons and instincts guide her as she readied herself for the impending attack.

Sure enough, there were fists coming at her and after the initial shock of being hit in the jaw, she retaliated with her own slew of punches and kicks. She felt something from behind her and instinctively she turned around, reached out to grab her attacker’s arm then twisted her body to throw him a few feet away.

She smiled with satisfaction as she heard the thud and groan that followed. The first attacker came back with a vengeance. They traded a few more blows before a well placed kick sent the other one against the nearby wall. Buffy was relishing in her victory that she didn’t notice someone else approaching her until it was too late. She felt cold arms wrap around her and a faint breath tickle her neck.

“You’re dead luv. Impressive form but always expect that there could be some other nasty just waiting for ‘is or ‘er chance when your bloody guard is down.”

She knew that voice. It was the vampire she met yesterday.

“That’s enough Spike.” She heard Merrick calling from somewhere across the room. A few seconds later, the lights were turned on and Buffy squinted a little at the sudden brightness. She was right. Spike had her imprisoned in his arms while two men were gingerly picking themselves up from the floor.

“You know you can let go now Spike.” Buffy said somewhat annoyed that he was still holding her.

The blond vampire smirked and then released her.

“So care to tell me what’s going on Merrick? You had me worried that something happened to you.”

Merrick smiled at his ward’s concern for his safety. “Well we did say you were to meet the rest of your guards today. I just thought it would be more, uhm … interesting if we did it this way.”

Buffy just crossed her arms across her chest and glared at her Watcher.

“I guess introductions are in order. Spike you already know. We have Caden. ” Merrick gestured to the fairly tall brown haired man to Buffy’s right.

The Slayer looked him over. He was smartly dressed. He looked more like a lawyer or businessman with his slacks, white long sleeved shirt, tie and matching vest. He looked nothing like Spike who was still sporting his pure black ensemble of boots, jeans, tight shirt and leather duster.

“The one beside Caden is Nikolai.” Merrick continued.

Nikolai ran his slender fingers through his loose black curls as he stretched his muscles. If Buffy didn’t know any better, she could have easily mistaken Nikolai as one of the seniors that went to her high school. He had on a pair of jeans and a polo shirt and a pair of black Doc Martins.

“And last but not least we have Angel.” Merrick said shifting his gaze towards the stairs that led to the second floor.

Buffy looked up and couldn’t help the grin that was forming on her face. He was like the picture perfect leading man – tall dark and had that mysterious air to him. He smiled at her warmly when he reached the first floor.

“Hi. So you’re Buffy Summers.” Angel said extending his hand.

“Uhm … yeah ... uhm … That’s my name. … That’s me.” She said sweetly though internally she was cursing herself for sounding stupid.

Spike fished around in his pockets for a smoke as he watched the interaction between Angel and Buffy. She was practically drooling over the bloody ponce. Leave it to a bloody teenager to go bonkers over tall, dark and broody.

Niko made his way towards Spike. “You were right. The regazza’s got some moves.”

“Yeah, and an apparent taste for poofters.”

Niko looked over to see a fairly animated conversation between Angel and Buffy. “No accounting for taste I guess.”