Title: Approaching Normal
Author: Restive Nature
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to BtVS or Supernatural. They are owned respectively by Whedon & Mutant Enemy and by Eric Kripke. No infringement is intended. This fiction is intended for private enjoyment only.
Rating: UNK
Genre: Crossover
Type: Friendship/ Romance
Pairing: Buffy/ Sam Winchester
Summary: At last they got the chance at a normal life that they thought they always wanted.
Spoilers/ Time line: Season 5 of Buffy (of sorts) and Pre Series for Supernatural.
Feedback: Always welcome!
Distribution: Ask first please.
A/N: This is written for the Jess? Who's Jess? challenge from the Twisting The Hellmouth site.
Chapter Six
Supporto Gal
“Giles?” Buffy strove to keep any sign of panic from her voice. As soon as she had changed and was reasonably sure that the immediate vicinity was clear, she put in the call to her Watcher.
“Buffy?” Giles sounded tired and she wondered if she had woken him up. She hadn't even checked the time before she had called. “Is something wrong?”
“Possibly yeah,” she answered, not wanting him to freak out and think it was the end of the world or something. “I had a run in with a Vamp tonight.”
“Well Buffy, we discussed that,” Giles sighed over the line and she could just imagine him rubbing at his eyes tiredly like he did sometimes. “Even though you are not actively protecting-!”
“No Giles,” she protested. “It wasn't a run of the mill dusting. It was... well,” she hesitated, worried for a moment that maybe she had really bought too much into the whole Dracula debuncle. But then, the monster had turned into a bat. Resolved, she went on. “I was cornered by Dracula tonight. The real deal.”
“Oh!” she could hear the surprise in his voice. “Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure,” she grunted and proceeded to relate that portion of her evening's entertainment to him. “I wasn't even aware that they could do that. I thought that was totally the bogus part of the myth.”
“Well,” Giles muttered. “Dracula is old. Perhaps he has more powers than we had assumed associated with modern Vampires.”
“Great,” Buffy sighed. “So not only did Count Famous make a special trip to Stanford to search me out, but he's got even more neato goodies up his sleeve than the average vamp.”
“You're quite certain that it was a special trip?” Giles questioned her. “It wasn't just happenstance that he was there?”
“No, he told me that he was looking for me, specifically,” Buffy muttered. “I mean, you'd think he'd go to the Hellmouth. That's where all the baddies go to get their fang on, you know.”
“I wonder why that is,” Giles mused and before Buffy could even form a quip, went on, “that he was after you?”
“I dunno,” Buffy shrugged, not caring that Giles couldn't see her. “Maybe 'cause I'm older. He did say that I'm famous in their world. Everyone knows my name. It was actually kinda flattering,” she grinned, knowing that would annoy. Ha, she could still get her kick remotely instead of not at all.
“Yes, well, let's not let that thought go to our heads, shall we?” Giles admonished. Buffy rolled her eyes ,wondering if Giles ever pictured her more predictable actions and facial gestures when they talked by phone and it kind of amused her to think that he might. But it was back to business.
“It wouldn't be that bad,” she sighed, “but in Sunnydale, I mean, I know people pretty much blank out the things that go bump in the night, but at least some of the population knows not to go roaming around at night. They don't have that here. I've gotta do something Giles.”
“Hmm, yes,” Giles spoke quickly. “I quite agree. Perhaps you could lure Dracula here. I can start researching a little more. I wonder if the Codex, or perhaps Zensharii's guide might have something useful in it.”
“Lure him back,” Buffy mused.
“If he was actively searching you out,” Giles decided, “then he will follow you. You'll just need to be sure that he overhears your plans.”
“Right, right,” Buffy nodded. “It'll have to be quick. I want to finish this as fast as possible.”
“I understand Buffy,” Giles sighed. Buffy pondered for a moment and then heard a door shutting close by. “Hang on Giles,” she offered quietly. Grabbing up her bag, she moved to the door and pulled it open, only slightly awkward. She saw Sam leaning across the hall on the wall, smiling when he saw her exit. “Sam?”
“After your run in tonight, I thought I'd offer to walk you home,” he told her quietly. Something in his earnest demeanor touched at her and then a sinking feeling rolled down in her stomach. Sam wasn't safe. None of the residents of Palo Alto were. She nodded. She could keep him safe if she had too. But at the same time, she didn't want him becoming a target because he knew her. But then his face crumpled a little and he grimaced. “Oh sorry, didn't realize you were on the phone.”
Reminded, Buffy smiled tightly and pulled the phone back up to her ear. She motioned for Sam to join her and after just a moment's hesitation he grabbed his duffel bag and followed after her. Buffy slung her bag over her shoulder and put the phone back to her ear.
“Sorry about that Giles,” she began. “Just tell Faith to hang tight. Make sure you give her plenty of ice cream and tissue and seriously, call Willow. As I recall, you're no good in the comforting a teenage girl after a bad break up,” she tried to force a little joviality into the dig.
“Am I to assume that someone is hearing this conversation now?” Giles sighed.
“Yeah, totally,” Buffy chuckled and then sighed. “I don't think the buses are running tonight, but I will hop the first one heading that way in the morning. I'll be there as soon as I can.”
“All right,” Giles agreed. “That sounds like a plan. Take care.”
“I will,” Buffy responded softly. “You too.”
She hung up her cell and stuffed it into her coat pocket before turning to Sam. “Sorry about that,” she apologized as they reached the door. Sam leaned forward to push the heavy bar on the door open and then held it for her, stepping back to allow her through. She stiffened only momentarily as she felt the sweep over her senses, the Slayer radar tingling. There was a Vamp in the area and she was hoping that it was the Count.
“Oh, no problem,” Sam smiled down at her. “I just hope everything's okay.”
“Eh, it's kind of not,” Buffy shrugged, keeping a slight distance between them.
The excuse she had come up with was on her mind and she hoped she was speaking loudly enough for Drac, if it was him and she was reasonably sure it was. “One of my friends is having a bit of a personal crisis. And I promised I would come help sort it out.”
“Yeah, I got that,” Sam nodded as they headed down the steps and onto the sidewalk. “It's not too serious, is it?” he asked carefully.
“Just in the sense that it'll require chick flicks, chocolate and massive amounts of ice cream and male bashing,” she teased, “and not necessarily in that order.”
“Ah, another one of those mysterious female bonding rituals,” Sam chuckled.
“Yeah,” she nodded. “So I'll go home and be moral supporto gal for the weekend and be back Monday. Oh thank god I don't have class until one.”
“How far is it you'll have to travel?” Sam asked. “Sunnydale right?”
“Yeah,” Buffy nodded. She was reaching out a little, with her senses and whatever baddie was tracking her was right on her tail. “It's a good drive, but not undoable.” She hoped that Sam wouldn't push too much, because there was a lot she couldn't say. But instead of waiting and seeing, she took the initiative and changed the subject herself. “So hey, did you get all that reading done for art class?”
“I did,” Sam sounded surprised that she asked. “It was interesting material.”
“Which?” she asked, “the text book or the treatise on photographic representations that was recommended?”
“Both actually,” he grinned. And she glanced up at him, arching her eyebrow. She'd glanced over the treatise and found it incredibly dry and boring.
“Okay,” she groaned. “Don't tell me you're one of those types that can read anything, no matter how dry and dusty and boring.”
That seemed to stun him for a moment and then he laughed. “Yeah, I guess I am. Well, that's not true, I've found a few books that put even me to sleep.”
“Uh huh,” Buffy muttered, her eyes constantly scanning the street. She wanted to look up, knowing that the buildings along this street could be good cover, but what excuse would she use. Maybe if she could get Sam rambling. And since they were already on the topic. “So what's your favorite book?”
“Oh, well,” he seemed taken aback again as he regarded her, but Buffy, resolving to prove Sam to be not a friend and therefore usable against her, just affected a polite, but slightly disinterested face. “I've read so much, you know, both for school and just to pass the time, it's hard to pick just one.” She made a little grimace and he frowned and then hurried to figure something out. “I've always liked To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee,” he offered hastily.
“Mmm,” Buffy shrugged. “I think we had to read that. Uh tenth grade English maybe? The movie was good.”
“Yeah, yeah it was,” he sounded a little relieved now. “You don't find that too often when they make movies out of books. Even if it's a classic or even the latest thriller on the market.”
“But at least it makes English assignments easier,” Buffy declared and could see how her slacker declaration took him aback.
“I guess,” Sam sighed. “So uh, what's your-!”
But before he could try and start digging for her likes and disses, Buffy cut him off. “Of course, teachers don't really like it, but hey, what they don't know, right?”
“Yeah,” Sam agreed slowly. “I guess. Depends on the teacher and how dedicated they are to their job, I would suppose.”
“Yup,” Buffy nodded, glancing away again. Sam fell silent beside her and the walk progressively became more awkward as they moved along. Buffy was glad when they reached her dorm, for more reasons than one. She really hated treating Sam this way and hoped he wouldn't take it the wrong way. But by the slightly miserable look in his eyes, she knew that was a pipe dream. But better slightly disappointed and not a midnight snack, in her mind. If Sam ever ran into a Vampire, well, she could only shudder at the thought of how horribly that would play out.
“Well, here we are,” she piped up, gesturing at the building, like she had earlier in the evening at the community center. “I guess I'll see you when I see you.” And without another word, she dashed up the steps, forcing herself not to take a peek at him. For one, she didn't want to see that kicked puppy look on his face.
She pulled the door open just as the breeze carried his obviously wounded words to her ears.
“Yeah, see you.”
She winced and kept her head down, biting at her lip. Reminding herself that she had a job to do, to keep Sam and the rest of the campus, and town safe, she turned away from going up the stairs to where her room was, instead ducking into the hallway that led to the rec room. She paused, knowing that she was out of sight of the door and reached out with her sense once more. She could still feel the Vamp. And waited and waited, but to her relief, there were no screams, no yells and the feeling stayed, powerful and dangerous. Most definitely dangerous.
*****
Sam watched as Buffy dashed up the steps and into her dorm room. Wondering if maybe her phone call back home had upset her more than she had let on. It was like she had gone into the bathroom to change and had changed more than just her clothes. She was standoffish and short with him the whole walk back. Staring for just a moment longer, Sam realized he was acting a little foolishly. Standing there like a lovesick swain, he could just imagine how Dean would laugh at him, if he ever saw him like this.
Turning to head towards his own room, Sam felt a prickle run up the back of his neck. He turned his head, but his eyes saw nothing out of the ordinary. With years of experience under his belt, he continued to slowly amble along the path to his dorm building, all the while analyzing everything he saw. Just because he was in the normal world didn't mean that the supernatural didn't bump into it. He knew from experience that it did all the time. He continued to walk, dealing with the uncomfortable sensation that he was being watched. But his surreptitious glances revealed nothing and after about a block, the feeling, the shivers, just abruptly stopped.
Using the excuse of dropping down to re-tie one of his sneakers, Sam glanced all around him. But he still saw nothing that would raise any more red flags and chuckling to himself, wrote it off to an overactive imagination. Best thing to do now was to head home, get some sleep and start fresh in the morning. When Buffy got home from her impromptu trip, he could assess if tonight was just an anomaly. For like many males in this world, he really had no clue how the female mind worked and he could only hope that this was a one off thing.
Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
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