Author: Restive Nature (aka Bavite)
Disclaimer: The characters and fictional placings of either of these shows do not belong to me. They belong to Cameron/ Eglee (Dark Angel), Joss Whedon (BtVS) and Whedon/ Greenwalt (AtS). Only the story belongs to me.
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Genre: Crossover of DA/ BtVS
Type: WiP
Timeline/ Spoilers: Post Season 5 for Buffy. Up to LAtR for DA. Story set in DA time.
Summary: BtVS/ DA crossover. Life brings about so many changes. Especially when one has just risen from the dead.
Chapter Fourteen
May 29th, 2021
7:30 p.m.
Seattle, WA
Sector Checkpoint
“Uh huh?” The statement was cold, quick and told the occupants of the vehicle that despite the reputed mental prowess of his compadres, not all sector cops were idiots. He obviously didn’t care that Buffy had a visitor’s pass issued in Los Angeles. That was a long way away from Seattle and information transfers could take some time. The other explanation, that she’d lost her identification papers in a house fire was accepted. But Logan’s cock and bull story about being Buffy’s only living relative, while true in his mind was being mulled over by the officer in question. He could see with his own eyes that Buffy wasn’t a child and therefore should have been able to provide for herself and not depend entirely on an older cousin. But at that moment, the woman he was studying glanced up.
The complete blankness of emotion on her face was enough to convince him that indeed, a tragedy had befallen her. And that perhaps she wasn’t in a state to care for herself. But orders were orders the officer supposed. The other occupants in the car noticed the byplay of his face and Alec quickly nudged Logan’s arm.
‘Give him money,’ he mouthed silently. Logan nodded, having been thinking along those very lines himself. His wallet was already in his lap, to provide his own identification. The officer still held that, as well as Max and Alec’s Jam Pony sector passes. As unobtrusively as possible, Logan removed the last of his billfolds, folding them over. With a hopeful smile he leaned a little further towards the officer.
“I was wondering sir, if you could tell us where we could get the information needed to get my cousin new identification papers?” he asked softly. It didn’t matter what he asked, he just needed to make the transaction not so obvious. The officer, while clearly not stupid, seemed just as willing to be bribed as many of the others of his ilk. He’d caught the gesture and with practiced ease, switched the money for the identifications he held. He glanced quickly at the bills and nodded.
“Just a moment sir,” he gruffly answered. He stepped away from the vehicle, though his rifle was still at the ready. Logan raised an eyebrow at the manners the officer showed. Mostly, when one was bribed, there was a sneering undertone to the words thrown his way. As if he’d just proven that all humans were the same. Like it put them all on the same level. He supposed that people reasoned that if someone was slimy enough to take a bribe, the person offering the bribe was just as repugnant. But now of course, wasn’t the time to get into those thoughts again.
It only took a few minutes for the sector cop to return, more papers in his hand. Logan listened in slight relief as the officer explained that until Buffy received her ID from an approved government source, Logan would be held responsible for her actions and behavior. Logan agreed, signed the proffered paper and the officer handed him a temporary visitor’s pass issued in Buffy’s name. Once she received her ID, Logan could then bring her to a police station and they would remove her name from their list.
It wasn’t exactly what Logan hoped for, but it was better than nothing. Slipping the paper into the clip on his driver’s side visor, he smiled his thanks and rolled up his window. The guard returned to his hut to open the gate to allow them entrance to the city proper. Logan put the car into motion and heard the sighs of relief from all around. All but one. He glanced up in his rearview mirror to see that Buffy had once again returned to staring morosely out her window. He sighed and put his mind to heading home at last.
May 29th, 2021
8:02 p.m.
Seattle WA
Fogle Towers
Logan pulled into the underground parking lot of his apartment building, sighing as he shut the car off. It hadn’t taken long to drop off Max and Alec, seeing how Alec was just going to walk home from Max’s place. They figured it was smarter to let Buffy be and give her a chance to acclimate to her new surroundings. Logan wasn’t so sure about that. He was nervous about this. And really, he had good reason to be. He just didn’t know how he was going to fit another person into his life, his surroundings. He didn’t mind people visiting or staying with him. But generally, those people went elsewhere after a while. How was he going to handle being responsible for another person and an adult no less?
Logan shoved these thoughts to the back of his mind. He’d never know unless he got started. He turned in his seat to see his cousin with her head resting against the window. “We’re here Buffy,” he announced softly, wondering if the words would penetrate the fog she was in. “We’re home.”
Well that certainly got her attention. Her head popped up and she blinked, looking around. The confusion marring her features made Logan hastily backpedal.
“What I meant was, my home, your new home,” he offered. He opened the door and clambered out. Despite not having feeling in the lower half of his body, he found that the rest of his body still suffered from traveler’s fatigue. His back was aching and his arms were sore from steering for over eight hours today. He was pleased to see that Buffy was getting out of the car as well. He waited until she shut her door and hit the automatic lock on his car. He made sure that his keys were in his hand before shutting his own door. It wouldn’t do to lock all your keys, car and apartment away when you needed them.
He moved around to the trunk, to get his bag, wondering what he was going to do for Buffy. They could do a little shopping, he was sure. His mind absently ran through some of the artwork he still possessed that he could sell to augment the small amount of funds left in his bank account. Again he put the thoughts out of his mind as he shut the trunk and turned to his cousin. “Well, let’s go.”
Buffy trailed after him as he led her to the internal elevator. She seemed to take note as he pressed the button for the corner penthouse. The ride up was swift and smooth, a blessing these days when so many simple things that used to be taken for granted seem to breakdown these days more and more. Again more thoughts crept in as he wondered how he’d explain more about the Pulse to her. And the after effects.
Logan unlocked the door to his apartment and silently moved out of the way to let Buffy in. She stepped in hesitantly, glancing around. Logan was reminded of how she’d behaved at the motels. Well, he wasn’t so sure that he wanted her rummaging through all his possessions. Perhaps it was a good idea to lay some boundaries. He didn’t think she was quite in the frame of mind to remember proper guest etiquette.
“I’ll show you to your bedroom,” he offered as he began to move towards the hallway. “Feel free to check the place out. But just be careful, a lot of this art is really fragile.”
“It’s pretty,” Buffy offered quietly. The first thing she’d said in many, many hours. Logan was stunned momentarily, but then a huge grin covered his face.
“Thanks,” he shrugged. He gestured then towards the kitchen. “Food’s that way. I usually have something you can snack on. So you don’t have to worry about cooking.”
“Okay,” she nodded. She wasn’t inclined to comment on her cookery skills. And neither was Logan. As they continued on, they passed Logan’s office and a sudden thought occurred to him. What about Eyes Only? How on earth would he explain that to his cousin? Did he even care to tell her about it yet? As he recalled, she wasn’t big on keeping secrets for long. Things tended to get blurted out at inopportune times. What could he-?
“This is my office,” he told her, tapping on the closed door. “I don’t want to be rude, but I’ll ask you to kind of leave it alone.” She raised a single eyebrow at that and Logan hastily continued. “It’s just that I have everything the way I want it and there’s a lot of expensive, sensitive equipment in there.”
“What do you do?” she asked, waving off his concern. He seemed a little surprised as she took an interest.
“Oh, I’m a cyber journalist,” he announced proudly. He saw her look of confusion. “Instead of writing articles for a local newspaper, I publish in the internet,” he clarified. Understanding dawned and she nodded.
“I… remember,” she stumbled a little, her face features scrunching together. “You liked to write, right?”
“I sure did,” Logan grinned. At last, here she was, making an attempt to reconnect with him. He felt his heart swell. He had been sure this would happen. Just as he’d thought, she’d just needed a little time. “But as I was saying, I have some material of a sensitive nature in there, so I’d appreciate it-.”
“I got it,” Buffy nodded tiredly. “The office is off limits.”
“Okay then,” Logan breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t seem offended. And maybe one day, as they got to know each other a little more, they could share some of these secrets they each had locked away. After a few more steps, they arrived at the guest room. Like he’d been taught, it was all made up, just awaiting its next occupant. Logan opened the door and Buffy stepped through the threshold. She took a seat on the bed, not even bothering to glance around.
Logan sighed as she seemed to slip back into that silent fog where nothing existed but her own mind. “I’ll uh; I’ll just go fix us something to eat.” No response there. “And maybe find you something to sleep in.” Again no response. “Well, I’ll just let you get settled in then.” He pulled the door shut, his hand resting on the doorknob. What on earth was he getting himself into?
May 29th, 2021
8:20 p.m.
Seattle, WA
Max’s Apartment
“Well I’m just glad you made it back in one piece,” Original Cindy stated as she hugged her best friend briefly. Max and Alec had arrived at her apartment building and waved Logan and Buffy away, only to be greeted by Max’s roommate, who looked as if she were about to head out for a night on the town. But taking in their tired, resigned faces, she had decided it could wait.
She’d made coffee and they’d taken turns relating the tale to the stunned woman. Yeah, knowing Max and Alec was to know some freaky things went on in this world. But what they’d told her in the last half hour was beyond anything she’d ever imagined. Even discovering that her best female friend was a genetically revved up killing machine didn’t compare. Because at least back then, she’d known that there was something up with her friend. So that little bit of warning had, in the end, made everything easy to accept.
But Logan’s cousin magically being resurrected after twenty years. That was weird in like, a Twilight Zone type of weird. She noticed Alec yawning and smiled. She was so used to her Boo’s non-sleeping ways that she forgot often that not all X-5’s were programmed the same way. But even by that token, Max wasn’t looking perky fresh either.
“I should probably head home,” Alec announced after his jaw decided to stop cracking against the tremendous pressure his tiredness evidenced. “After all, Normal will be expecting us bright and early.”
“Which means noon,” Max joked.
“Yep,” Alec agreed fervently. “Though at least I can get away with it.”
“Uh sugar,” Cindy interrupted with a small smile. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that.” At their inquisitive glances, she explained. “Normal blew up at work the other day and fired three more kids, so we’re runnin’ shorthanded again.”
“Ah crap,” Alec moaned. He glanced over at Max. “Want to pretend we’re still on vacation and grab an extra day.”
Max pretended to think it over. “It’d be nice, but I’m actually looking forward to doin’ something ordinary, you know. This last week has just been too freaky.” She rolled her eyes, and then chuckled. “So says the freak.”
“You took the words out of my mouth,” he chuckled along with her. Cindy smiled again. It was nice to see the two of them getting along. Maybe a relaxed evening with friends was just the tonic they all needed. She settled back in her chair.
“But anyway,” she continued the thread of the conversation, “yo’ friend Biggs has some ‘friends’ lined up for interviews.” Both transgenics could hear the stress she put on that word, knowing immediately what she meant. “But Normal’s waitin’ on yo’ ass to get back before he hires more reprobates.”
It was Alec’s turn to roll his eyes. “Probably wants me to give them the golden boy stamp of approval.” He smirked. “You know, sometimes being perfect really has its drawbacks.”
Max scoffed and pulled the throw cushion she was leaning against and smacked him with it. “Oh shut up! You’re far from perfect. If anyone is perfect here, it’d be me. You know, the DNA says it all.”
“Then perfect includes snoring?” Cindy demanded with a twinkle in her eye. To both her and Alec’s enjoyment, Max snorted.
“I don’t snore!” she protested. “I don’t even sleep.”
“Oh I could argue that,” Alec taunted. “You may not sleep a lot, but you do sleep.” He glanced at Cindy.
“And then bring on the chainsaws,” the black woman whooped. Max stared incredulously at her friend for a moment before she gleefully turned the pillow attack towards the other woman.
Ten minutes of frenzied laughing, pillows flying and even some tickling passed before things settled down again. Alec dropped the pillow he’d snatched from Max back onto the sofa, and then heaved himself to his feet. “As fun as this is, I’m gonna head off.”
“You need a ride?” Max asked quickly, thinking as to how they could balance his bag on her motorcycle, but Alec was shaking his head.
“Nah,” he frowned, planning. “I think I’ll walk. Maybe give Biggs a call. Get caught up on some stuff.” The women knew he was referring to the transgenic situation, both in Terminal City and in Seattle at large.
“Okay then,” Max nodded. She followed after him to the door. “We’ll see you tomorrow.” Cindy nodded and waved, a gesture that Alec returned. He slipped out of the apartment on quiet feet and Max shut the door. “It’s good to be home,” she whispered to herself.
May 29th, 2021
10:46 p.m.
Somewhere on the highway
“So when do you think we’ll get there?” Tara asked softly, not wanting to wake the other occupant of the vehicle.
Angel glanced at his watch, then back at the road. He thought for a moment before answering. “Should be sometime tomorrow night.”
“And then we’ll see Buffy,” Tara concluded. Her emotions, just as she were sure was the same for the other two, were running rampant on the subject.
Angel glanced in the rearview mirror as Cordelia mumbled something in her sleep. “Yeah,” he agreed softly. “Buffy.”
Chapter Fifteen
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