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[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 22:43:14 02/09/03 Sun Author: Kristin Subject: Fic: Secrets (DotM 6/22) In reply to: Kristin 's message, "Fic: Grand Opening (DotM 5/22)" on 08:03:29 01/29/03 Wed Title: Secrets Author: Ripper's Girl Rating: PG-13 Timeline: Family Spoilers: No Place Like Home, Family Disclaimer: Buffy belongs to Joss, Mutant Enemy, FOX, etc. Daughters of the Moon taken from the series by Lynne Ewing. Feedback: Do I have to beg? Summary: Everyone has their secrets. Note: It's finally done! This part turned out to be longer than I originally thought it would be. It's mainly just a bunch of short little scenes. ********************************************************************** ** As soon as the monk was dead, Buffy took off at a run and she was at Giles' door before she knew it. Without bothering to knock, she entered and called out, "Giles!" Giles, who had been in the kitchen making tea, hurried into the living room, "Buffy, what's the matter?" He watched her as she began to pace around the living room. "You know that spell I did?" Buffy asked suddenly. "Yes," Giles replied, confused. "You told me on the phone that you didn't see anything." Buffy began absent-mindedly playing with the knick-knacks he had around the room. "Well that was only part of it. There was nothing around my mom, but Dawn…" she trailed off. "What about Dawn?" Giles asked concerned. "Is there something attacking her?" "No," Buffy began. "When I was in the trance Dawn kept flickering." "Flickering? Like she wasn't really there?" Giles asked horrified. "Yeah, but then you called and I went back to the warehouse where I found that orb thingy and there was this…" Buffy trailed off again, not sure how to describe what had happened. "What?" Giles asked, wondering at Buffy's apparent change of subject. Buffy flopped down onto his couch feeling totally drained after the day she had had. Giles sat down next to her and said softly. "Tell me what happened." Looking into his gentle, caring eyes, Buffy felt herself calm down. She told him all about the woman she had fought and the monk she had found. Then, she told him everything that the monk had told her about Dawn. When she was done talking, she started crying. The stress of the day had finally caught up with her. "Oh, Buffy," Giles said. Pulling her into a hug, he just held her while she cried. When she had pulled herself together, he offered her a handkerchief to dry her eyes. She gave a watery smile. "Thanks." He just flashed her one of his shy grins. "Does she know?" he asked seriously. "No, and we can't tell her," Buffy replied adamantly. "She'd freak and we don't need that. We need to keep her safe. She's still my sister." Giles thought about all of this for a moment before he replied, "Do you think we should send Dawn away?" "Where?" Buffy asked in despair. "Well…um…what about to your father?" he asked. "Yeah, well, he's in Spain with his secretary du jour," Buffy responded sardonically. "I called him when mom got sick and he hasn't even bothered…" "I'm sorry," Giles replied sympathetically, rubbing her arm. When he realized what he was doing, he quickly removed his hand. Taking off his glasses, he began to clean them. "Should we tell the others?" he asked. "No," Buffy replied loudly. "No," she repeated more softly. "They'd just act wigged around her. I can trust you not to do that." Giles was honored to have Buffy's trust, but he was also worried about this "woman" Buffy had encountered. He knew he probably wouldn't be sleeping much that night. He wanted to start researching as soon as possible. Buffy stood tiredly, "I better get back. I don't want to leave them alone for too long." "Be careful," Giles told her. Seeing the worry in his eyes she tried to smile her reassurance at him. "I will. Good night," she replied. She then surprised them both by leaning up and giving Giles a kiss on the cheek. Before he could say anything she was gone. Looking at the door, Giles put a hand to his cheek and smiled. *********************** Melody sat in the back seat of Riley's jeep with Dawn. Buffy and Riley were talking quietly in front. It sounded like they were having another argument. Melody was excited. Dawn had called her that morning and asked if she wanted to help pack up Buffy's dorm room since she had decided to move back home. It seemed silly to be so excited about helping someone move, but it just showed that she was being included as part of this group of people. Every day after school, she and Dawn would walk over to the Magic Box. They would sit and do their homework, Melody helping customers when needed. Buffy would get there after her classes and disappear in the back with Giles. Melody hadn't been allowed in back so she figured that it had something to do with being the Slayer. They hadn't shared that secret with her yet, so she was biding her time. Willow and Tara would come by too sometimes and give Melody magic lessons, under the watchful eye of Giles. Her mother had been right when she had told Melody that it was in her blood. Melody was quickly catching up with the two witches. Giles was impressed. Melody really liked Giles. He was always so nice to her. Though lately he had been asking her if he could meet her mother. Melody wasn't sure how many more excuses she could come up with before Giles became suspicious. They reached the dorm and went inside. The others showed up soon after and everyone was packing and fooling around. Melody stuck close to Dawn. She did notice, though, that Tara seemed to feel as out of place as she did. She liked Tara and thought that they actually had a lot in common. She had read Tara once and found out her secret. She had kept it to herself though. She had her own secrets. Willow entered the dorm room and got everyone's attention. "Okay, remember, you guys have to be at the Bronze by eight." Melody was glad that she didn't seem to be the only one who didn't know what Willow was talking about. Willow looked at them, frustrated. "Tomorrow night? Tara's birthday?" Everyone started making sounds of agreement that they would be there. Except for Melody. She looked away and started packing again, trying not to feel disappointed that she hadn't been invited. Willow looked around the room at her friends and noticed that Melody seemed to be avoiding her eyes. Willow realized immediately why and she could have kicked herself. She had forgotten to invite the poor girl. She walked over to Melody, "Hey, I forgot to tell you that you're invited too. If you can make it." "Really?" Melody squeaked. "Of course," Willow replied. "You're one of the gang now." Willow watched as Melody slowly started to grin. She reminded Willow of herself when she was in high school. She could tell that it meant a lot to Melody to be included in this group. Willow wondered how long it would be before Buffy told her about being the Slayer. She figured it couldn't be too much longer, this being the Hellmouth and all. Everyone changed the subject when Tara came back into the room. They finished packing up the room and headed over to Buffy's for lunch and then unpacking. Melody spent the rest of the afternoon trying to figure out what she could afford to get Tara. ********************** Melody decided to go out for a walk that night. She liked taking walks at night. She found it soothing to walk under the light of the moon and it made her feel closer to her mother. As always, she took a cross and a stake with her though she had never used them. Whenever she saw a vampire she simply turned invisible. It was easy to tell vampires apart from humans; when she looked a vampire in the eye, she couldn't read anything. She actually found it fun to float through the air, invisible. The only problem was, she couldn't always control it. Melody was just walking aimlessly when she saw a small blonde walking out of a cemetery. She quickly turned invisible, knowing that it was most likely Buffy. She didn't want to explain to Buffy why her mother would let her be out this late at night. She floated around Sunnydale for a while and had just decided to return to the motel when she heard a scream. Flying in the direction of the scream, Melody saw a girl being attacked by two vampires. She concentrated and forced herself to reappear. She swiftly pulled her stake out of her jacket pocket and staked one of the vampires. The other vampire, thinking it was the Slayer, quickly let go of the girl, who ran off into the night. The vampire turned towards Melody ready for a fight. When he realized it wasn't the Slayer, he grinned, "Well, I guess I'll get my dinner after all." Melody tried to stake him but he easily batted the stake from her hand. She tried to get the cross out of her pocket but the vampire was too fast for her. He grabbed her arms and pinned them to her side. He bit down slowly on her neck. Melody gasped in pain. She knew she had to get out of there immediately. She concentrated as hard as she could, trying to block out the pain, and managed to turn herself invisible. She flew back toward the motel, leaving the vampire in shock as to what had just happened. She made it back and became visible again. She looked at the twin holes in her neck and patched them up. She flopped down onto her bed and fell into an exhausted sleep. ***************** Buffy had just decided to head home when she heard the scream. She ran as fast as she could and saw two vampires attacking a girl. All of a sudden she saw Melody appear out of nowhere and stake one of the vampires. Buffy stopped in place and stared in shock. She vaguely noticed that the girl that the vampires had been attacking had run off. She saw Melody try to stake the other vampire, but the vampire grabbed her and bit her. Buffy was spurred into action. She ran towards them only to stop again when she saw Melody disappear. She was not the only one shocked by Melody's disappearance. The vampire looked around in confusion, "Where'd she go?" Buffy didn't take the time to answer him. She just staked the vampire and took off at a run. It was like déjà vu and she was soon at Giles' door. Again, she didn't bother knocking, but just entered. This time she found him sitting on the couch, reading. Giles looked up when the door opened and he saw Buffy trying to catch her breath. He started to rise from the couch, concerned, "Buffy, are you all right?" She could here the concern in his voice and motioned for him to sit down again. She went over and joined him on the couch. "You remember how I told you that I wasn't sure whether I trusted Melody or not?" she asked. "Yes. Did you find something out about her?" he asked seriously. Buffy proceeded to tell him what she had witnessed in the cemetery. Giles was thoughtful for a moment before he said, "She might have learned how to teleport." "But willow hasn't taught her that yet, right?" Buffy replied. "No," Giles answered, shaking his head, "but when someone with power like Melody's is in such an extreme situation, they are able to focus their power in order for them to get away." Buffy chewed on her bottom lip, considering this information, but then pointed out, "Okay, I can buy that, but what about when she just appeared? She wasn't in danger then." Giles sighed, he like the quiet girl and didn't want to believe that she was working against them. "True. I just don't know Buffy." What if she's in league with that demon chick?" Buffy asked, bordering on hysterical. "I mean, we don't really know anything about this girl. What if she's after Dawn?' Buffy was almost in tears so Giles pulled her into a hug. She latched on to him like she was drowning and he was the only thing keeping her afloat. He rubbed her back until she had calmed down. He pulled back and said, "We don't know anything for sure. So far she hasn't done anything that would to her being a threat. You did say that she took on those vampires and saved that girl." It was Buffy's turn to sigh, "True, but she does have a secret and I want to know what it is." "You have your own secret," Giles pointed out. Buffy pouted at him and Giles couldn't help but grin. Buffy sighed again, "All right. For now I will give her the benefit of the doubt but I'm going to try and do some checking up on her." "I will try to find out what I can while she's working," Giles added. "Thanks," Buffy replied, smiling softly. She gave him another quick hug and then left. Giles shot a worried glance at Buffy as she left and then went back to his research. ************************ The next morning, Melody woke up feeling groggy. Standing up caused the room to spin a little so Melody quickly sat back down. Looking at herself in the mirror, she realized that she didn't even own a turtleneck or anything to cover up the bite marks with. She decided to call in sick to school and get some more rest. She awoke later that day around lunchtime. She decided she'd better call in sick to work, and then she'd go shopping for a couple of new shirts. Picking up the phone she dialed the magic Box. Anya immediately picked up the phone. "Magic Box. Please come and buy something." "Anya, it's Melody." "Oh, hi little girl. Shouldn't you be in school?" she asked. "I'm sick," Melody replied. "That's why I'm home and I won't be able to work this afternoon." "Okay," Anya said. "I'll tell Giles. Feel better." Melody hung up the phone. She then went to her dwindling, money supply and pulled some out and went off in search of shirts. Remembering that she still needed to get Tara a birthday present, she grabbed a little extra money and made her way to the mall. ************************ Rushing into the Magic Box, Dawn looked quickly around. She saw Buffy and Xander sitting at the table, Anya was behind the register, and Giles was helping a customer. "Has anyone heard from Melody?" she asked. Buffy looked up sharply, "Wasn't she in school today?" "No," Dawn replied nervously. "And when I called her at lunch there was no answer." "You have her phone number?" Buffy replied. She was worried about what was going on with Melody but was excited to find out any piece of information about this girl that she could. "Yeah," Dawn answered, looking at Buffy like she had two heads. Who doesn't know their best friends phone number, she thought to herself but decided against saying anything. Buffy was about to ask for it when she saw Giles looking at her. She didn't know what he was planning, but she kept her mouth shut. "Dawn, may I have her number?" Giles asked. "Since I am her boss, it would be good if I had a way of getting in touch with her." Dawn nodded and began rummaging around in her backpack for the number. Buffy smiled at Giles. Now she wouldn't end up looking like a nosy older sister. She and Giles were always on the same wavelength. Anya finished with her customer and joined the rest of them, "Melody's sick." "How do you know that?" Dawn asked. "She called earlier and said she was sick and wasn't coming in," Anya replied. Cleaning his glasses, Giles asked patiently, "And why didn't you tell me?" Anya shrugged, "I was going to but then someone gave me money and I forgot." Giles sighed, "Well, at least we know she's all right." Conversation turned to other things while Giles and Buffy went in back to train. As soon as the door was shut Giles said, "Well at least we know her number now." "Yeah," Buffy replied. "I bet Willow could find out her address on the computer." Noticing Buffy's hesitation, Giles said, "You don't want to involve her do you?" Buffy sighed, "Not yet. Not if it has something to do with Dawn. I'd like to hold off as long as possible." Giles nodded and they began to train. ********************* Dawn stalked off and Buffy collapsed onto the couch, "She makes me crazy." Riley sat down nest to her, "That's kind of the word I was searching for." "What?" Buffy replied nervously. "She can't be running out whenever she'd like." "It's more than that," Riley pushed. "What do you mean?" Buffy asked, playing dumb. "You tell me," Riley continued, not letting it drop. "We all have to be careful. This demon chick is…" after Dawn "… exciting and new. I don't know what I'm up against," Buffy replied. "I could contract Graham," Riley offered. "Maybe the government…" "No!" Buffy cut him off. "I don't want them anywhere near this," "Fine," Riley replied shortly. "I've got to take off." "Riley, wait!" Buffy called after him, but her heart wasn't really in it. Riley turned to her, "You decide you want to let me know what's going on I'll come running." He left, slamming the door a little on his way. "Sorry, Riley" she whispered, leaning against the back of the door. "You're just not the one I can talk to. Somehow, you never are." ******************* Buffy sighed as she helped Giles clean up the Magic Box. It had been a busy couple of days. First finding out about Dawn, then seeing Melody appear and disappear. The day after Melody had called in sick, she had been back, but wearing a turtleneck. She had assured everyone that she was fine and that is had just been a touch of the flu. Buffy and Giles hadn't done anything with her phone number yet since Buffy was still reluctant to bring anyone else into this, in case it had something to do with Dawn. Then finally, there had been meeting Tara's family. It made Buffy angry that the people who were supposed to be her family were so horrible to such a sweet girl. She was glad that they had all come together to stand up for Tara. They may not be blood related but they were all family. She stopped what she was doing for a minute and thought about everyone who had been there tonight. As she thought, she realized that as usual, someone had been missing: Riley. He had never made an effort to join in with the rest of the gang, unlike Tara and Anya. In fact he often made fun of the others, thinking that he was better than them, when in truth they were better than he could ever be. Buffy sighed again. She was beginning to wonder why she was even still with him. She looked at her watch. It was almost eight. She had sent Dawn off with Xander and Anya to get ready for Tara's party. "Come on, Watcher-mine. It's time to party. Giles finished up what he was doing. Smiling at Buffy, he offered her his arm. Buffy grinned and took it, allowing him to escort her towards the Bronze. They ended up being a little late due to some unscheduled slayage and the party was all ready in full swing. "Where is Riley tonight? Giles asked as the music switched to a slower song. Buffy made a face. "I don't know. I think we had a fight earlier and he said he wasn't sure if he'd make it." "I'm sorry," Giles replied, calling the boy a pillock in his head. "I'm not," Buffy replied cheerily. "It's his loss. I'm with my best friends, what could be better?" Giles smiled back at her and decided to take a chance, "Would you like to dance?" Buffy's grin grew wider, "I'd love to." They made their way to the dance floor. Holding Buffy as close to him as he dared, they swayed to the music. Buffy sighed in contentment. Everything felt so right, so of course, it was then that Riley showed up. He stalked over to the dancing couple and tried to cut in. "Riley, what are you doing?" Buffy demanded. "I'm here now," Riley answered. "You don't have to dance with him anymore." Giles tried to slip away but Buffy grabbed hi arm. "Well, I want to dance with him," Buffy replied and turned back into Giles' arms, effectively giving Riley the cold shoulder. Riley glared at her back before storming out of the Bronze. "You could have danced with him," Giles said softly. "I wouldn't have minded." "I would have minded," Buffy retorted. "He was acting like a pig. Besides, I'd rather dance with you." She grinned up at him and he couldn't help but smile back. He pulled her close again and just enjoyed this opportunity to hold her. ******************* Melody was having a blast at the party. She and Dawn had even gotten to dance with some cute guys. Laughing together they made their way over to the birthday girl. When Melody had gone shopping she had spotted this beautiful locket that she thought Tara would love. She figured she could put a picture of her and Willow in it. Unfortunately, it was a little out of her price range. The next day though, she had talked to Dawn and the two girls had decided to go in on it together. "Happy birthday, Tara!" the two girls cried, handing her their present. Opening it, Tara smiled. It was very nice. "Thank you so much," she said shyly. "Open it up," Dawn ordered excitedly. Tara opened it and saw a picture of her and Willow. She gave each of the girls a hug and thanked them again. The two girls then began mingling again; keeping an eye out for the guys they had danced with earlier. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Replies:
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