Chapter 8  

Xander and Anya stepped out into the alley behind the Magic Box.

“How many butcher shops are there in Sunnydale?” Anya asked.  “I wish Buffy had given us some money.  I hate to use our own.”

Xander let out a huff.  “I don’t think Buffy has any money.  She’s actually thinking about applying at the Doublemeat Palace.”

Anya wrinkled her nose.  She hated the Doublemeat Palace burgers.  She thought they tasted funny, like burnt bunny rabbits.  “Ick.  We’ll think of something that doesn’t involve retail or construction.”

“Yeah, but what kind of job can a formerly dead vampire slayer do?” Xander wondered aloud.  He pulled Anya towards the end of the alley. “God knows, I adore the woman, but she can’t drive worth a hill of beans.  So, pizza delivery is out.  Her cooking is barely there.  I mean, she won’t poison you, but if she gets distracted you get to find out if the smoke alarm has a good battery.”

Anya hummed under her breath.  It was a quandary.  “You know, I could talk to Jim James and see if he has any job openings.”

“Buffy at a gym?  Are you sure about that?”  Xander blinked in surprise.  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Buffy at a real gym.”

“He’s really changed it since you were there last.”

“How much change can there be at a workout gym?”

Anya let out a bark of laughter.  “Okay, for one, he’s changed the name from Rocky’s Gym for Guys to the Sunnydale Spa and Health Club.  Then, he renovated the entire building from dark and dank to open and airy.”

“Oh man, he ruined it for all the self-respecting men of Sunnydale,” Xander groaned.

“I think he showed some good business acuity,” Anya replied primly.  She slipped their clasped hands into the pouch pocket of Xander’s pullover.  “What the heck is in your pocket?”

Xander blushed a little red.  “I forgot about that.  I found it on the floor of the Magic Box after the Halloween sale.  I forgot about it after we made our announcement.”

Anya let out a sigh of relief.  “Good thing one of us found it and not a customer.”

“It can’t be all that bad,” Xander said.  “The little tag says it’s for singing and dancing.  Doesn’t that mean a happy ending?”

“Yeah, probably not.  Those kinds of things always have a hidden clause.”  Anya shrugged.  “I bought it off a witch a few days before Halloween.  I’m gonna send it down to Pete in Los Angeles.  He has a better market than we do.”  She took the pendant from Xander, and she put it in her purse.  She looked up at the lit sign that said ‘Tenny’s Meat Market’.  “Well, here’s our first stop.”

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Buffy held the Desoto’s door open while Spike and Lawson helped Darla to her feet.  The female vampire groaned in protest.

“There was a reason I didn’t do this when I was alive,” Darla moaned.  She glanced up at the towering monstrosity that was her new home.  “Angelus picked this dump out, didn’t he?”

Spike snorted.  “You know the poofter so well.”  He peered towards the front door.  “Wonder if my wheelchair is still handy.”

“Wheelchair?”  Lawson glanced around Darla at the other male vampire.

Buffy let out an embarrassment-filled bark of laughter.  “We might have had a small fight where I dropped an organ on him.”  She gave a sheepish smile when she saw Lawson staring at her.  “It was a long time ago.  Years and years, in fact.”

“Good for you, Slayer,” Darla grunted.  She clutched her stomach as the baby inside visibly rolled over.   “William needs to be taken down a peg or two every once in a while.”

“Let’s get this party inside,” Spike muttered.

Buffy went to open the front door while Spike and Lawson helped Darla limp inside.  The Slayer wrinkled her nose when she entered the main room of the mansion.  “It could be worse, I suppose,” she said.

Darla nodded.  “It could be a dirty, dusty abandoned mine shaft.”

“Or a submarine under water,” Lawson commented.

Spike settled Darla on the couch.  “Burning warehouse?  That’s how we ended up here in the first place.”

“Never piss off a Watcher,” Buffy said in a knowing voice.

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Giles tapped his chin while he watched Dawn and Tara gather the books they planned on using for research.  He hadn’t talked to Wesley in ages.  So, he had no idea what was going on in Los Angeles.  Maybe it was time to ring up the younger Englishman to find out the lay of the land.

“You’re lost in thought there, Giles,” Dawn said.  She tugged on Giles’ arm.  “You okay?”

“I’m fine, my dear.  I was just thinking I should call Wesley.”

Tara nodded.  “I think that’s a good idea.”

Giles nodded his agreement while he handed Tara his keys.  “My car is parked in the alley.  Put the books in the trunk while I call Wesley.”

Tara grabbed one stack of books while Dawn grabbed another.  They went out through the workout room to the alley.

Giles went to the counter to pull out the phone book.  He found Wesley’s cell number, and he dialed it before he could change his mind.

“Wyndam-Pryce.”

“Can you talk?” Giles asked in lieu of a greeting.

“I’m alone at the moment.”  Wesley covered his surprise at hearing Rupert Giles’ voice on the other end of the line.

“We have an interesting visitor here in Sunnydale,” Giles said with caution.  “One that was dusted around five years ago.”

“Darla is in Sunnydale?”  Wesley was surprised when he heard the news.  “Is everyone all right?”

“Everyone is fine, but… Oh good Lord, there’s no easy way to say this.”

“Just spit it out, Rupert.  I’m sure I can handle it.  It can’t be any odder than anything else I’ve had to deal with around here.”  Wesley snorted at his words.

“You asked for it.  Darla is pregnant with Angel’s child.”  Giles let out his own snort when he heard Wesley drop the phone.

Finally, Wesley’s voice replied, “Can you repeat that, please?”

“Darla is here, and she’s pregnant with Angel’s child.  That’s not all.”  Giles looked up when Tara and Dawn entered the room from the back.  “We also have proof there are other Aurelian children.”

“Others?  Who?”

“I think it would be best if you came to Sunnydale to discuss this.”  Giles pulled off his glasses, and he gripped the bridge of his nose with the same hand.  “Alone.  We’d prefer that Angel didn’t know why.”

“I should be able to.”  Wesley nodded to himself.  “He’s preoccupied with Cordelia and her boyfriend, and I do need to get away from … things.”

“I’ll have Tara call in reservations at the new Sunnydale Bed and Breakfast.  I have it on a good authority that the roaches there are actually roaches and not demons,” Giles joked, just a little.  There had been an infestation of Detinu demons at the Sunnydale Inn over the summer while Buffy was in heaven. 

“Lovely,” Wesley commented.  “I’ll give you a ring when I get to Sunnydale.”  He hung up after saying good-bye.  Then, he dialed Angel’s number.

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Across town at the museum, three black clad figures snuck across the roof.  Two of them were giggling hysterically.

“Shut up, you two,” Warren growled at Andrew and Jonathan.  “If we get caught stealing this diamond, I’ll make you sorry if it’s the last thing I do.”