Chapter 2



Giles savoured the moment as he wrapped himself in the affection of his surrogate children. Then breathing started to become a problem and he started to disentangle himself from them. “Girls, Girls please....I need to breathe”

“Oops sorry Giles” the girls giggled

“Perhaps we can go inside” Giles suggested

“Of course” Willow aid “Come in come in............why are you here?”

“It’s not another apocalypse is it” asked Dawn frowning as she hugged herself, suddenly not quite as excited.

“No not at all” assured Giles as he studied each of them, his eyes lingering on Buffy “But I do have something important to discuss with you all.”

“Scooby meeting” yelled Dawn “I’ll call Xander” she rushed towards the phone but stopped short in the hallway. “Um Giles....did you forget to tell us something” She turned to look at Giles raising an eyebrow.

“God she looks like Spike when she does that” he thought. He moved out into the hall and drew someone forward.

“Everyone I would like you to meet Rebecca.........the Vampire Slayer”

“Great Googly Moogly” everyone turned to stare at Xander who had been on his way to take Dawn to school and had just entered the hall as the last statement was made.

“What” he asked “I was watching evolution last night........It just popped out.”

“Vampire Slayer?” queried Willow

“What did she get activated when I .........well you know...........died again” mused Buffy

“Not exactly” Giles took of his glasses and began to clean them “perhaps we should all go into the living room so I can explain.”

Everyone made their way to their seats studying the girl while they waited for Giles to explain.

Buffy critically studied the new slayer; she looked to be about 18 or 19 ‘bit old to be activated’ thought Buffy before she continued her inspection. She was slightly taller than Buffy but not by much with long light brown hair that fell in soft curls to her waist, and clear blue eyes that peaked out from behind her long lush eyelashes. She wasn’t beautiful but there was something about her that was.

“So Giles what exactly did you mean when you said she wasn’t exactly activated when Buff died” asked Xander

Buffy snapped out of her contemplation of the new slayer and looked at Giles “Is Faith dead?”

“Not that I am aware of” Giles started to clean his glasses meticulously

“Then how......” began Willow confusion settling over the Scoobies.

Giles sighed before fixing his gaze upon Willow “She was ............ well.........it was more like .............. she was.” Giles tried to find the words to explain the current situation.

“I was reactivated” stated Rebecca, her voice holding a soft English accent.

All eyes turned to the new slayer “When you bought back Buffy you bought back me as well.” Rebecca turned to look at Buffy. “I was activated in 1871 at age 15, I died in 1875 a few months after I turned 19. I woke up about 4 months ago in a Coffin” she looked down at her hands then continued in a small voice “I had do dig myself out.”

Rebecca turned her eyes to Willow and fixed her with a hard stare “I was in heaven..............happy..............at peace..................my work was finished..............now I’m here...........care to explain why?”

“Oh my Goddess” gasped Willow covering her mouth “I....I....” the tears streamed down her face as she looked from Rebecca to Buffy “I’m so sorry...........so sorry”

“It’s ok Will” said Buffy she looked at Giles “How.......What..........Why?” she stopped frustrated, her mind racing.

“Yes well perhaps we should put the kettle on before we start with the rather long explanation.” suggested Giles.

“Yes of course......I’ll get right on that” said Willow as she dashed out of the room.

A short while latter everyone was settled into the chairs tea, or soda, in hand while they waited for the story to begin.

“Perhaps we should start with Rebecca’s story first and then I can fill you in on what we have discovered” suggested Giles

Rebecca took a deep breathe and began “My name is Rebecca Rachel Duncan I was born in 1857 to a wealthy family. My parents knew from an early age that I was a potential slayer so my whole life was centred on that. I was educated far beyond anything a girl would have received in my time. My watcher came to live with us when I was 5 his name was Rupert Hoston and he was like an Uncle to me. When I was 9 my parents were killed in a carriage accident so my watcher became my only family. I loved him very much” Rebecca paused for a moment as she looked around the room.

“When I was 15 I became the slayer, but I was terribly lonely by myself all the time, I befriended a neighbour's son, he was my best friend and when I turned 18 he became my husband. The council would not have approved of my marriage but Uncle Rupert loved me and helped me keep it hidden from the council.......he also helped me keep my slayer activities hidden from my husband. I loved him and didn’t want to put him in danger.” Rebecca gave a soft smile as she remembered her lost husband.

“Why did your watcher allow you to marry” queried Dawn “I didn’t think slayers were supposed to have family and friends”

“Yes well remember that Uncle Rupert had helped to raise me, plus I had barely survived the Cruciamentum, I suppose he wanted me to have what little happiness I could.”

Rebecca took a deep breathe and continued “Everything seemed to be calm for a long time, just your usual vampires and demons then a few months before my 19th birthday something new arrived in London. A demoness that was trying to open a dimensional portal.”

Buffy gasped at this but didn’t interrupt.

“We battled for months; she was so strong that I thought that I would never beat her. I don’t think she knew exactly what she was doing because the portals would never stay open long enough for her to get through, although they did let through some very horrible demons.”

“The last time we battled the demoness had opened a portal and a large dragon type demon was attempting to come through, I rushed forward into battle and was pulled into the portal.”

Rebecca stood and began to pace around the living room “That was the last thing I remembered until I woke up in my coffin.”

Rebecca hugged herself as she went on “I remember clawing at the rotting wood above me, the earth falling in on me, the air was stale, suffocating” she shuddered as she remembered. “When.......when I made it out I was lost, confused, everything was dark and strange..........sounds were so loud. I wandered through the cemetery until I found an open crypt I went in and just huddled in a corner. I thought I was in hell.....I didn’t understand what was happening.

The tears were streaming down Rebecca’s face she glanced at Buffy who’s anguish seemed to mirror her own. “After a few days hunger drove me outside, I was searching for something to eat in an alley when a vampire came across me. We battled and I won. I didn’t know at the time but there was a watcher close by he had seen everything, he recognized me for a slayer.” Rebecca glanced towards Giles “He took me to his home and has been helping me try to piece together what happened.”

Rebecca seemed to deflate when she finished crumpling to the floor. Giles rushed forward “Willow..........tea” he snapped as he helped Rebecca onto the couch beside Buffy. He looked at Buffy “Better make that two” he stated as he gathered the distressed women into his arms.

Dawn stood from her place on the floor, when the tale had started she had scooted into a corner trying to be quiet so Buffy wouldn’t remember that she was supposed to be at school. She walked over to the group on the lounge and wrapped her own arms around them without saying a word.

In the kitchen Willow was making a fresh pot of tea, trying to function through the numbness that was filling her body. Xander sat staring at the counter “We did that to them. To her......to Buff.” He looked at Willow with beseeching eyes “How could we do that to them”

Willow broke down then sobbing her regrets into her friends shoulder.

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After a time Willow and Xander returned with the tea setting it in front of the now calm group.

Willow opened her mouth to speak, to apologize once again for her arrogance when Buffy cut her off.

“Not now Will ok, we need to get this finished” Buffy offered her friend a conciliatory smile.

Giles took over the story from here “After Rebecca had told me her story I started to research. I surmised that the demoness that she had encountered was in fact Glory. It must have been sometime after her attempts to open the portals in 1875 that she discovered that she needed the key to keep them open.”

“So Rebecca was bought back because both she and Buffy died the same way” Dawn tentatively questioned.

“In part” answered Giles “But there is more”

The Scoobies all sat looking at him expectantly

“After much searching I discovered that Rebecca’s watcher Rupert Hoston was a great great uncle of mine.”

“Wow G-man that’s weird, I take it that’s where the name came from” snickered Xander

“Yes well the origins of my name are not significant. What is significant is that I have spent the last few months tracing Rebecca’s line.”

“But she wouldn’t have a line would she? Her parents died and I assume she was an only child cause she said she was lonely.” Willow tried to make sense of all she was hearing.

“That is correct, however Rebecca did have an Aunt on her mother’s side, I followed that family line and found.............well frankly I’m quiet amazed at what I found.” Giles reached for his glasses once more.

“Giles if you clean those glasses one more time I will break them” ground out Buffy frustrated by the delay “what did you find out?”

“It seems Buffy .........that you are in fact related to Rebecca.........she is your ancestor.”

Buffy looked around her, she had heard the gasps from Willow and Dawn and a low whistle from Xander, but what was that strange ringing? The next moment everything went black as she fainted.

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“Xander grab her” shouted Giles as Buffy started to fall.

They gathered her up and lay her on the couch.

“Maybe it was too much all at once” whispered Rebecca

Giles looked at her “It needs to be finished though”

“There’s more!” exclaimed Xander and Willow

Dawn rushed in with a glass of water for Buffy who by now was awake and struggling to sit up.

“I’m ok really. Lets finish this now” Buffy seemed to think for a moment then continued. “Does this have anything to do with why Spike can hit me now?”

“It may very well do. I believe that you were in some way a reincarnation of Rebecca......... that some part of her essence resided within you and that when Willow and the others.....ummm.....performed the resurrection spell that part of Rebecca returned to her.”

“So it’s not a deep cellular suntan” Buffy looked at Giles “I’m missing a piece of myself”

“Yes in essence that is it. There is more to it though.”

“I don’t know how much more I can take Giles” Buffy glanced at Rebecca who seemed to be taking it all in her stride.

Rebecca gave Buffy a wane smile “I’ve heard all of this before”

Xander step forward “So what you’re saying is that Buffy and Rebecca are .....what........cousins of some sort?” he looked at Giles who nodded. “And that when Buffy was born she was the reincarnation of Rebecca”

“Not exactly a reincarnation” Giles started to explain

“More like a part of her” Willow broke in “Maybe the slayer part of Rebecca was reincarnated in Buffy”

“Exactly” Giles stood and walked up to Willow “when you did the spell to bring Buffy back you somehow separated her essence back into the two parts and they returned to their original vessels. Buffy back into Buffy but the small part of her that came from Rebecca.......”

“Returned to Rebecca” finished Buffy.

“Basically that is correct” They all turned to look at Rebecca who had a confused look on her face.

“Who’s Spike?” she asked.