Title: Unforeseen Circumstances 6/27
Author: Jadedragon
Rating: R
Spoilers: Season 4 up until Bad Beer, Angel Season 1, in my verse, Doyle didn't die!
Paring: B/G, B/P mentioned
Summary: Buffy has to face the consequences of her night with Parker
Notes: <> denotes thoughts
Thanks: To Wyrmbath for such a quick and through beta. Great work, Wyrmie!
Colin was worried about Ria; she had been very quiet ever since they had checked into the Sunnydale Motel. When they had returned to the room after eating supper and she had immediately disappeared. Colin was just standing up to go search for her when Timothy stopped him.
"Colin, I think she needs some time alone to sort out her thoughts," he told her father.
"I know that, I just want to protect her."
"You're her father, of course you want to protect her, but she has questions that you can't answer and I can," he informed the man in front of him. "I'll give her a few minutes alone and follow her. We must spend time together the two of us, getting to know each other. Ria must come to trust me as much as she trusts you, Colin. Her life will depend upon that trust.
Colin looked at Timothy and nodded his agreement. This man knew about the vampires and demons his daughter would be facing and he must trust him to do what was necessary for her survival. He felt like he was giving his daughter away; in many ways, realized that he was.
**********
Travers' couldn't believe it. He'd been sacked! His family had been Watchers for over 500 years! How could that namby pamby new Chairman dare to fire him?
Travers had tried to contact his `friends' in the Council, but the ones who would speak to him had been demoted. He soon discovered that the Council was being totally restructured and he now had no one in authority that he could turn to.
Travers would make his plans. He would be back on the Council and he would have his revenge. If they had been still alive, he would have blamed Rupert Giles and Buffy Summers, but they were already dead! He would focus his energies on getting control of the new Slayer. Riahannon McCallahan would regret the day that she hadn't come with him. She would be the focus of his wrath!
**********
Ria looked out over the pool at the motel where she, her Dad and Mr. Wainwright were staying. As she sat, she thought about Xander's reaction to the news of his friend's death. Buffy had been the Slayer before her and she had been killed by some horror in the night, just like Ria, herself, would be someday. Ria hadn't really thought about that until she had seen Xander's reaction. Buffy had just been a name in the journals she had read, but now she was a person, with friends and a mother who would miss her. She wasn't sure how she felt; her emotions were very confused.
"May I sit down?" Timothy asked his Slayer. They hadn't spent much time together and he could guess what was bothering her.
Ria motioned for him to sit and he joined her. They sat in silence for about five minutes before Ria spoke to him.
"Mr. Wainwright, how long do most Slayers live?" she asked in a soft voice.
"Ria, that depends on the Slayer, her training. Buffy was the Slayer for almost five years, lasting longer than any Slayer in over a century. Rupert was another reason for her longevity. I never met anyone who was more knowledgeable about the occult and he was very devoted to her."
"I realized that when I read the journals. He cared a lot for her." she commented to her Watcher.
"You're very perceptive for your age," Timothy told her, pausing before continuing. "Yes, I believe that Rupert loved her and gave his life trying to save hers. Ria, your calling is not an easy one, but I will stand beside you and help you in every possible way. I never got to study under my cousin, but he did influence me and the way I have trained to be a Watcher."
"How do you train to be a Watcher? What exactly is a Watcher?" she asked, not really understanding his role or hers for that matter, even after having read all the journals he given them.
"I was trained from my tenth birthday in knowledge of the occult, demons and fighting techniques, but a Watcher is more that just his training. When a Watcher truly bonds with his Slayer, as Rupert and Buffy did, they become much more than two individuals fighting vampires and demons. They become a cohesive unit and become stronger for it," Timothy told her. "I know that's not a very good definition, but I don't know how else to explain it. I've never been assigned a Slayer before, I know what the Council has taught, but I also know that Rupert threw most of that out."
"Why would he do that?" she asked in amazement.
"He felt that the Council's ways had become antiquated. They hadn't been in the field and didn't know what it was like to be on the front lines fighting vampires and demons every night. Rupert felt they were too complacent, too involved with their own self-importance to be concerned about the true purpose of the Council."
"What is the true purpose of the Council?" Ria asked, wondering just what she had gotten into.
"The original purpose of the Council was to be a repository for knowledge of the occult and demons. A unit to help the Slayer and her Watcher in their fight," he told her as he looked within himself and realized a truth that Rupert must have seen when he became Buffy's Watcher. < Travers wanted power over the Slayer and must have been responsible for tarnishing Rupert's standing with the other watchers. > He continued slowly as the magnitude of what he had just comprehended hit him. "When Rupert became Buffy's Watcher, his superior was Quentin Travers, the man who accosted you and Lara. Rupert's views were much different from Travers', he felt that the Slayer was more than just a tool for the Council, and this was radical thinking. Many thought Rupert would get himself and his slayer killed by allowing her to have a somewhat `normal' life. The members of the Council who sided with Travers were of some of the older families and he was given free reign with his supervision of Rupert. That was until the Chairman and some of the other senior members started questioning his methods. When it was discovered that he had ordered Rupert to administer the Cruciamentum to Ms. Summers, it was the proof that the Chairman needed to remove him. Travers wanted Buffy to be killed and Rupert disgraced," he finished.
"Why?" Ria asked in horror.
"Travers wanted power over the Slayer. He had been considered as Watcher to Buffy, but the Mages of the Council chose Rupert instead. Travers has always felt animosity toward our family." He looked at his Slayer before continuing. "Before you ask, I don't know why."
"So, this Travers, will he be your Supervisor?"
"No, I'll be reporting directly to the Chairman for the time being. A supervisor will be assigned once they get the Council restructured. The Chairman is making changes based on the research he did before he was elevated to the position."
"So he's new?" she questioned.
"He's the new Chairman. He's been with the Council for over 45 years and was Watcher to an active Slayer for three years. He understands what it's like to be in the field."
"And we're in the field?" she confirmed.
"Yes."
"So where do we start?" she asked, understanding a tiny bit more.
"In the morning, we start looking for a place to train and set up my library. Also I need to find a place to live, since Xander is staying at Rupert's. But, now I think we both need some sleep," he told her as he led her back to the hotel.
**********
Joyce was overjoyed with Willow's news. She missed Buffy so much and wanted to be with her to answer all her questions during her pregnancy. She trusted Rupert and Mr. Wyndham-Pryce to take care of her child, but it wasn't the same thing as being there with her. As she read the email, she thought of her daughter and was glad she was safe.
"Willow when do you expect to hear from her again?" Joyce asked the young witch.
"If she follows the schedule we set up, I should hear from her again in two weeks," she informed Buffy's Mom.
**********
Wesley was watching the moon as it rose over the trees, casting its illuminating rays over the flowing stream at his feet. The crickets were singing, adding their voices to the croaking of the frogs. The wind was whispering through the trees surrounding the winding flow of the water on its journey past where he was standing. Wesley was enjoying the sounds of the night, its peacefulness reminding him of the stream near his childhood home in England.
Black Raven watched the Englishman as he stood beside the stream under the moonlight. He sensed the fear in his friend and knew that it was from the danger the Slayer was in. Demon Hunter had been the assigned Watcher for this Slayer for a brief time, but had never been her Watcher, in truth.
"Demon Hunter, I feel the turmoil in your soul tonight," Black Raven said as he approached Wesley.
"Yes, Black Raven, I just heard from Angel, my boss. Rupert's cousin, Timothy has been assigned as Watcher to the new Slayer and they are now in Sunnydale," Wesley told his friend.
"Have you told Rupert and Buffy about this?"
"No, they were…occupied when I went by their room a few minutes ago," he said, glad that the darkness hid his blush. Buffy and Giles had been intimately involved when he had stopped by their room. He had clearly heard them through the door before he could knock.
"Does their relationship bother you?" the medicine man asked.
"No, not really. It's just frowned upon by the Council. There are rumors of such relationships in the past, but they are never discussed. It's as if such relationships were forgotten by the Council," Wesley slowly commented as he thought. "Now that I think of what Branson LeFoy wrote, it makes sense. The Council doesn't want the prophecy to come true so they discourage relationships between Watchers and their Slayers."
"I thought the prophecy said the Watcher would accept the Slayer's child as his own."
"It does."
"But doesn't that mean that the child is not the child of the Watcher?"
"Yes, but that wouldn't necessarily mean a relationship existed between the Watcher and the Slayer," Wesley stated.
"Ah, my friend, but I believe that it does. Why would it matter if a man accepted a child? It would only matter if he accepted the child as his own, and he would only do that if he were deeply in love with the mother of that child. That is how I read the prophecy."
"And he would raise that child as his own."
"Yes, and such a man, is rare that could accept another's child and truly raise it as his own. Rupert is such a man."
"Yes he is," Wesley agreed.
"But, I feel there is more bothering you. What's wrong?"
"I just spoke to Willow and the man who was Rupert's supervisor in the Council, Quentin Travers, has been dismissed for his actions. I'm afraid that he might try to cause trouble for the new Slayer and her Watcher."
"And this causes you concern?" Black Raven asked.
"Yes. It's well known in the Council that Travers feels great animosity towards the Giles Family. I don't know why, but I feel that he will find some way to take that hatred out on the new Slayer and Timothy."
"You want to return to Sunnydale to help them. Rupert would understand."
"I know, but I feel that I would be abandoning them."
"Wesley, you must look within your heart and follow it. The Slayer and her Watcher will be well protected here, if you need to return to Sunnydale," he assured the younger man. "You can research there just as well as you could here."
Wesley listened to Black Raven and as always was amazed at how he could see any problem in its simplest form. The man was amazing and Wesley had learned so much from him.
"You're right. I knew Timothy when we studied together at the Council. I might be able to help Giles and Buffy even more if I were helping him and the new Slayer," he concluded. "I'll talk with them in the morning and get their opinions."
**********
The Chairman sat in his office the morning after he had terminated Quentin Travers. He had thought about the situation all night and had made his decision. He didn't trust Quentin Travers and suspected that the former Council member would indeed try to make trouble for him, the new Slayer and her Watcher. He had several ideas of how to resolve the situation, but first he needed to check with Smyth and McTavish, who had Travers under observation.
The Chairman had discussed the situation in great detail with Smyth and McTavish, wanting to be assured of their loyalty to him and the Council before assigning them to watch the former councilman. Once he discovered that both disliked Travers and felt assured of their loyalty, he gave them carte blanc to follow Travers wherever he went and to report back to him on Travers' actions.
He was brought out of his musings by a knock on his door. Suspecting who was there, he told them to come in. It was McTavish, as he suspected.
"Good morning, McTavish. How is our Mr. Travers this morning?" the Chairman asked.
"Just as you suspected, Sir, he has contacted some of the other former council members and has purchased plane tickets to Sunnydale. As a bonus, he has asked Smyth and me to join them," he informed his boss.
"Very good and unexpected. You'll be able to keep a very close eye on him. When do you leave?"
"In three days. I'll get the information to you as soon as possible, but we'll call with any further information."
"Yes, that will be best. If you need anything, let me know immediately," he stated.
"I will, Chairman," McTavish assured him, as he left the office.
Once McTavish had left, the Chairman turned to page his secretary. He asked her to have the Senior Mage to contact him as soon as possible. He wanted to assure himself that he knew every move that Travers made. The Mages would be able to see and confirm everything that Smyth and McTavish reported to him, plus whatever Travers did that those two had no way of knowing.
"Even I have to have backup sometimes," he said to himself, as he hung up the phone.
**********
Cordelia hung the phone up and immediately called Angel and Doyle to her desk.
"Willow just called from the cell phone I left with her. Timothy Wainwright, the new Watcher and Riahannon McCallahan, the new Slayer and her dad are in Sunnydale. She also discovered, that Travers has been dismissed by the Watchers Council. Angel do you think he would try to cause trouble?"
"Cordelia, I don't know. Wesley would know that, not me."
"Who is this Travers fellow?" Doyle asked.
"He's the man that ordered Giles to give the test to Buffy that almost got her and her mother killed," Angel told the demi demon. "I don't think that we should rush to Sunnydale without more information. I'll try to reach Wesley and talk with him about the situation and see what he suggests."
They all agreed with that plan and returned to what they had been doing before Cordelia interrupted them. Angel reentered his office and called the cell phone that had been given to Wesley. When there was no answer, he left a message and hung up. Angel then returned to the map of the sewers looking for possible locations for the nest of Chaster Demons that had attacked several people near the waterfront over the last week.
**********
Wesley met with Giles and Buffy the next morning and soon was making plans for returning to Sunnydale. Giles was glad that his cousin had been given a Slayer. Timothy would be a good Watcher for her. With Wesley in Sunnydale, he and Buffy would have another contact in there and would be better able to judge what was happening and the Council's reaction. From what Willow had discovered it appeared that the changes in the Council had already begun.
**********
Sergeant Williams looked at the report that had come from the Sheriff in Dunsmuir. The burned out shell of a Citroen had been found at the bottom of a cliff near Mount Shasta. The car had been stripped before it had been set on fire and there had been no evidence of either of the two missing people.