Disclaimer: Joss never let Oz meet Kennedy... I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing...
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Chapter 21: The ‘We hate Kennedy Club’

“So can we go now?” asked Kennedy the next afternoon.

Everyone except Dawn, Ariel and Oz slept in. Oz had driven them to school, in Angel’s convertible. Angel didn’t know that yet, but would find out the moment he got into his car again and found the radio stations changed.

“Driving through the Thanksgiving migration?” said Gunn, “I am not looking forward to that.”

Buffy looked anxiously at Xander and Spike. She knew it was polite to ask them to stay. But she really hated Kennedy. And Willow was coming for Thanksgiving too. Only bad things were going to happen if she let Kennedy stay.

The LA crew looked back at Buffy, half expecting her to provide a solution to their problem. If they stayed, that meant that Dru had more time to talk to Spike, it meant that Ariel and Cat would get to spend time with the crazy vampire. On the other side of the coin, there was Kennedy, Angel’s disapproving stares, and well Kennedy.

Buffy knew that Angel had been told by either Willow or Kennedy that Spike was back. At first she had been glad that when he had shown up that he didn’t make a big deal about it, but it irked her that he was staring or glaring at her and Spike all the time.

Buffy bit the bullet. “I guess you can stay here for Thanksgiving. But you are going to have to squish more, Anya and Willow are teleporting in.” Buffy glared at Kennedy as she said Willow’s name.

Say something bad about Willow, thought Buffy. I dare you
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They were packed in like sardines. Ariel had moved into Cat’s room, Fred with Dawn, Angel in the training room with Dru, Wes in Ariel’s room, Gunn in the office, Kennedy on the couch, cause Buffy didn’t like Kennedy, leaving the attic free for Willow and the guest room for Anya.

“Why do I have to sleep on the couch?” whined Kennedy. “Willow and Anya aren’t even gonna be using their rooms, they’ll be in the basement shacking up with their fuck buddies.”

“I’d put you in a room with someone else Kennedy,” said Buffy sickly sweet, “But then I’d probably find your dead body in the morning.”
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When Willow arrived Oz was there to catch her and carry her up to her room. Anya took one look at Xander and started yelling.

“Was that all I merited? Huh? You couldn’t be a little more excited about the fact that the woman you almost married was not dead? Did you even cry? Am I not worth mourning? I died Xander, I think that deserves something more than: Wow, that’s great, and then the hanging up of the phone.”

“I...I was in shock,” replied the stunned wannabe watcher.

“For two months? When does the shock wear off enough for you to talk to me?”

“Uh...”

“Grannie Anya!”

Xander made a small prayer to the powers that be for two year olds.

“Kitty Cat!” said Anya, immediately changing her tone of voice and demeanour, because Cat walked into the room. “Did you miss me?”

Cat nodded emphatically.

“I missed you too sweetie. But guess what? The next time I come back, I’ll be staying!”

“Huh?” said Xander.

“Willow and I are transferring here to complete our higher education,” said Anya matter of factly.

“Why?”

“To get away from Kennedy.” Kennedy walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. “And look, Kennedy’s here. Well isn’t that just wonderful. Did you note the sarcasm? Willow tells me I’m getting very good at it.”
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“I invited Gable for dinner,” said Xander coming into the kitchen.

“Ya, kinda expected that,” said Buffy as she stuffed the turkey. “I just hope we can find enough chairs to seat everyone around the table.”

There was something inherently gross about stuffing the inside of a dead bird with bread. The fact that this particular cook regularly had her hands covered in dead demon slime, made no difference to that statement.

“We might have to have a kiddies table,” said Dawn as she peeled potatoes. “Of course now that I’ve said that, I’m gonna be at the kiddies table...aren’t I?”

“Most likely. So will Ariel, Cat and Kennedy. Don’t envy you there,” snickered Buffy.

“We could have a demons table and a humans table,” offered Xander.

Buffy looked harshly at her friend.

“Kidding?” he backtracked.

“Would I be with the demons or the humans?” asked Dawn, “As a point of reference...”

“Would you want to be at the same table as Kennedy?” asked Buffy. “As a point of reference...”

“Are we considering Kennedy a human or a demon?” asked Xander.

“I think she’s in a category all by herself,” said Anya coming into the kitchen. “I’d much rather be seated at an all demons table,” continued the vengeance demon, “They are much more interesting people. Don’t you agree Buffy?”

“I’m so staying out of that argument right now,” said Buffy.

“But Buffy you’d be at the demon table,” said Dawn.

“Ya, and so would you...and Anya, and Spike, and Angel, and Willow, and Oz, and Ariel, and Cat, and Drusilla...”

“Please tell me we aren’t having the crazy vampire at the table,” said Xander.

“You try telling the two year old that her Grannie Dru can’t come to dinner,” explained Buffy. “Relax Xander, she’ll be tied up.”

“A tied up vamp at the table for thanksgiving...So strange, yet so familiar,” supplied Xander.

“At least this time you don’t have the funny syphilis,” said Anya happily.

“Thank you for pointing that out Ahn.”
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Sixteen people around the dinning room table was something that Buffy simply couldn’t accommodate, so a smaller table was set up in the living room, at the end of the dinning room table.

Truth be told Buffy just wanted to get the holiday over and done with. She wanted the LA crew to be gone. Especially Kennedy, who was currently in the back yard, practicing her slayer moves. She had been the only one who hadn’t offered to help with dinner and had been making a point of saying that she wanted to be anywhere but there.

Spike situated Dru, tied to a chair with one arm free at the end of the mammoth table.

“Are we going to have tea and takes?” asked Dru innocently.

“Maybe after dinner Dru,” said Spike.

“Has Mrs Graves made crumpets?”

In the kitchen, listening to the exchange, Buffy held her breath.

“Dru, I don’t know what you are bloody talking about.”

“You do! Mrs Graves knows too. Scared little Slayer, scared you’ll leave her.”

“Prattling on about Buffy as Mrs Graves isn’t gonna get you cut loose Dru.”

“Daddy’s taking me, Miss Edith and I, belong to Daddy. You don’t belong to me anymore. Mrs Darlington owns your heart.”

Spike sighed and crouched down beside his sire.

“Why don’t you just tell me what you are no doubt are going to be blathering on about the whole evening. Why are you calling the Slayer Mrs Graves?”

Dru giggled. “My boy’s not ready.”

“Not ready for what, Dru?”

“Nasty Pixies, Little Dru needs a Daddy and a Mummy. Pretty families in a row.”

“Gannie Dusilly!” cried a distraught Cat from upstairs.

Dru tried desperately to get out of her bindings, but merely upset her seat and ended up lying on her side. Unfortunately for her, Spike had run off to fetch his daughter.

Buffy had heard the thump, and knowing that Spike went after Cat, Buffy walk into the dining room to upright Dru.

“My boy’s not ready,” said Dru forlornly.

“You tried Dru,” said Buffy hoisting the vampire up from the floor.

“Bloody buggering poofter,” muttered Spike as he came into the room with his crying toddler cradled in his arms.

“What’s wrong?” asked Buffy.

“Stupid bloody poofter telling Kitty Cat that her Grannie Dru was a bad bad vampire who killed little girls like her,” said Spike.

“It was true,” said Drusilla sadly. “But Daddy won’t allow it now. Nasty Daddy.”

“Dry your tears, Pumpkin,” cooed Buffy, and wiping the tears from the toddler’s face. “Angel won’t let Dru hurt anyone else, ok?”

Cat nodded.

“I think Anya was waiting to get you all dressed up pretty for dinner...Where is Anya?” asked Buffy.

“Oh she’s fulfilling her vengeance duty on Xander,” came Willow’s voice from the kitchen.
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The look on Gable’s face when he was introduced to two more vampires with whom he was about to share dinner was priceless.

“So do they have souls too?” the vampire hunter asked.

“Angel does, but Dru, not so much with the soul having,” answered Buffy, passing the stuffing.

“So what’s stopping her from eating us all?”

“She’s tied to the chair, mate,” offered Spike.

It did little to allay Gable’s fears. There was a look of panic on the man’s face as he watched Dru feed Cat some peas. Dru turned to face the vampire hunter and gave him a sickly sweet smile.

“Don’t worry dear hunter,” said Dru. “I’m not destined to eat you, probably get stuck in my teeth.”

Spike and Angel chuckled.

“God, I wish I was in the Hamptons with my parents,” muttered Kennedy.

“Wish granted,” said Anya, between bites of mashed potatoes.

There was a flash of light and suddenly Kennedy’s chair was empty.

“Holy Shit!” screamed Gable.

“Anya...” sighed Buffy. “You’ve scared Gable.”

“Sorry, I just wanted her gone so much,” shrugged Anya.

Ariel started clapping. Oz joined her. Followed by Cat, cause she didn’t understand.

“You are going to bring her back, correct?” asked Wesley.

“Do I have to?” asked Anya.

“She is a member of our team,” continued the ex watcher.

Anya rolled her eyes. “Ok, but only after dinner. She was giving me a sour stomach.”
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Anya teleported to where she had sent Kennedy. Standing in an immense hallway, that echoed, Anya looked around for Kennedy.

“About time,” muttered the ex Slayer. “My parents aren’t here, they went to the Riviera for the Holiday.”

“I only came back because the scruffy watcher guy...”

“Wesley.”

“Yes, Wesley, he wants you back.”

“So teleport me back.”

“It doesn’t work that way. You have to make a wish.”

“Well I certainly don’t wish to go back to that house, ever.”

“You can find your own way back to LA then,” said Anya turning. “I certainly don’t relish giving you what you want. I’m just glad that it works up your vengeance credits.”

“Excuse me?”

“You feel wronged because your slayer powers were taken from you, that equals one vengeance wish. You feel wronged because Willow chose Buffy’s family over you, that equals another vengeance wish. Sending back will use up you vengeance credits.”

“You mean I actually had a vengeance demon coming to me to grant me wishes?”

“Perhaps, although, most vengeance demons have a well developed sense of self preservation, so maybe they were just going to ignore your desire for vengeance...”

“So I could wish anything? And you’d have to grant it? Fine, I wish I was the Slayer, Chosen one, the one girl in all the world...”

Anya started to laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“You think I have that kind of power?”

“You grant wishes!”

“I’m not a genie! Vengeance demon. I grant wishes that make people feel bad. I’m evil.”

“You sent me here!”

“Yes, but you didn’t see the look on Willow’s face when you left. It caused her pain, granted she’s getting over it.”

“Won’t making me the Slayer cause Buffy pain?”

“God no! Do you think she wants to live for like ever? She’d be ecstatic that she wasn’t the slayer anymore.”

“Oh, so how will me being back in Cleveland bring pain to any one?”

“Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy. Do you not realise that they all despise you?”
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Kennedy arrived back in the Pinehill street house seconds before Anya, only to have a dish towel thrust into her hand.

“We’ve decided that you need to help do the dishes,” said Wesley.

“Why?” protested Kennedy. “I didn’t get to eat dinner.”

“No, but you did the most moronic thing I have ever seen you do. You made a wish in front of a person you knew was a vengeance demon.”

Kennedy rolled her eyes.
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“I can’t believe you did that!“ shouted Xander. He was pacing her basement bedroom, waving his hands at his ex fiancée.

“I can’t believe you are yelling at me about it,“ said Anya.

“You granted a vengeance wish at the dinner table.”

“I’m a vengeance demon Xander Harris.”

“That’s no excuse to popping people away.”

“Why not, I have these powers, shouldn’t I use them?”

“No.”

“Oh, because you are all watcher boy now, you have the right to tell me what to do with my time? The righteous Xander Harris, telling everyone how to live their lives?”

“That’s not how it is and you know it!”

“You know what Xander, I’m glad that I don’t have to listen to your righteous humans are better talk anymore. I’m not engaged to you anymore. I’m my own demon now.”

“Demon...Anya”

“Yes, I’m demon. I’ve been a demon for a millennia. I don’t have to pretend that I’m human anymore. It’s quite liberating. And I don’t have to listen to you patronise me for not getting the whole human thing.”

“Anya...”

“Nope, not going to listen to you., she said sticking her fingers in her ears.

Anya thundered up the basement stairs.
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“Anya told me something fun, while we were at my parents place,” Kennedy said to Willow after she had finished drying the dishes.

“Is that right?” asked Willow.

“She said it caused you pain to see me teleported away,” whispered Kennedy, reaching out to touch Willow’s arm.

Willow flinched as Kennedy made contact with her skin.

“What are you talking about?”

“You know...”

“I know that I want you to leave me alone.”

“Oh you don’t want me to leave you alone. You didn’t want us to break up.”

“You were the one that did the breaking Kennedy.”

“Ya, I did. I had to make a stand. I wasn’t being appreciated enough.”

“Not everything is about you Kennedy.”

“And the fact that I was always the last person you thought about? It was always save Buffy, remember Tara, nothing for Kennedy.”

“That’s enough Kennedy!” shouted Willow.

“I don’t think it is.”

“I do,” said Oz, punching Kennedy in the jaw.

Oz shook his hand. “Ow,”

“I think it’s time you left, Kennedy,” said Buffy, with her arms crossed, coming from the kitchen, Angel right behind her.

“You can wait in the car,” said Angel.

Kennedy grabbed her bag from behind the couch and trudged outside.

“The problem with this house, is that you can’t have an argument without everyone knowing about it,” said Anya, “Buffy, didn’t you take that into consideration when you signed the lease?”

“Well the thing was Anya, I didn’t know I’d have this many people living with me.“
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tbc...