chapter5

It was a day or two later that Angel was asked to assist with the new Slayer on her first rounds as a new Slayer at Stonehenge/London area. She was called when the prior slayer fell in the Demon Lord's Battle. Now the rebuilding of the Watcher/Slayer organization would begin.

She walked quietly. She had killed her first vampire that night and was both enthralled and appalled. She just recently answered the call to be a Slayer. It had always been the goal for her, now she wasn’t so sure. It was something she both looked forward to and feared. Raised by Watchers, her parents had been both proud and horrified when they had been told their daughter was to be a Slayer candidate. They knew the life of a Slayer was a hard one, and most often cruelly cut short.

She started slayer training while in grade school, and thought she would reach maturity before she was called. While part of her had dreaded being a Slayer, part of her craved the idea of being a “normal” girl, something she would never be again! Then came the Demon Lord and the final battle where so many died. She had felt the call during the battle and realized her predecessor had died.

Now here she was, stalking London’s Cemetery hunting vampires with her watcher Mike Robinson and the Cucularaine, Angel. She glanced over at Angel to think 'God was he gorgeous'. She envied the Slayer Prime for having such handsome vampire as a consort. She quickly glanced away and scanned her environment. Daydreaming over handsome male vampires on patrol didn't make for a long-lived Slayer.

She walked quietly thought the cold darkness and thought of how much her life changed since her calling. Her parents knew she had to move to London where she was to be stationed, and sent her ahead with her assigned Watcher while they finished business and moved to London. She had trained over 2 weeks at watcher control and now finally she hunted.

She felt so alone. Like many Slayer candidates she no friends, no local family. Hell, she didn’t even know the address and phone number of Watcher Central. She felt disconnected and abandoned from the world. Her world had been turned upside down when she was called from the light of teenage years into the perpetual darkness of a Slayer backup.

****
Angel walked along behind the new little Slayer. She was a falcon fledgling just spreading her wings, a bird of prey that would strike and kill. His job was to make sure she stayed functional long enough while she learned her first flights.

Something caught his eye and he saw a vampire that Angel recognized as Brian Radcliffe, a Night Watcher, followed them. Angel smiled. He was a Night Watcher. Night Watchers were ensouled vampires who guarded Slayers that went unnoticed by the Slayers and the Watchers. They had rules of non-contact with the Slayers that Angel had obviously broken all to hell, but he didn’t care.

Angel remembered back to 1918 when he had been cursed with his soul and had returned to London seeking to go to the New World.

He had been found by the Night Watchers and taken in. There were three of them. They had taken turns watching over the current Slayer from afar. Protecting her back and sending cryptic messages of warning to her Watcher when appropriate.

They had a very strict no-contact rule. No Night Watcher was *ever* to directly contact a Slayer. If she discovered the Night watcher, and he couldn’t escape without hurting the Slayer, they then allowed her to kill them.

Angel really blew it with Buffy. Not only did he have direct contact, he fell in love with her, and she him. Now he was her consort. You couldn't get anymore direct in your contact than that. He smiled. How the Night Watchers took him to task for that!

Angel noticed a trio of vampires coming into the cemetery and called the new Slayer’s attention to them. Small directions prior to the battle set her up for a quick multi-kill. Soon she would handle such situations on pure instinct.

Angel watched as she stalked her prey and then quickly struck. He smiled until all hell broke loose.

“Heads up,” Angel whispered. She quickly looked over, and noticed behind a mausoleum were 3 vampires. Two of them seemed to be dragging the third that did not seem pleased to be going where they wanted to take him. “Kill the two holding the first, while they’re occupied,” Angel commanded and she saw that her Watcher nodded.

She grabbed her two stakes and took a deep breath. She was a Slayer now and it was time to do what Slayer’s do: slay.

She walked quietly up behind the trio. The two that was holding the third were focused on their captive. She smiled a feral smile and quickly stepped forward and thrust the stakes into the pair.

They exploded into dust, the third fell on the ground and all hell broke loose! She looked up feeling the horrible cramping which heralded a vampire in demon mode to the Slayer.

She looked around and discovered 20 snarling vampires surrounded her. She realized she was going to die on her first night out!

Twenty vampires appeared from what appeared to be nowhere. Angel’s stomach turned. He realized that they had stumbled onto a vampire execution! He cursed him self for not picking them up, but living so close to watcher central, they probably stayed out of game face which would make them less detectable.

The vampires attacked the slayer and her mentors in mass. She was flung away and into the mausoleum and she felt one of them kick her leg. She heard her left lower leg snap as she dropped to the ground as the pain lanced through her leg. She looked up in fear as one of the vampires grabbed her hair.

“What have we here?” he snarled, his fangs flashing in the light from the distant lamppost. The ridges bringing a horrible look to his features in the harsh lamplight. “Why I think we have a new fledgling Slayer! Fresh meat!” She looked up at him, realizing he was going to bite her. Her first night out and she was going to die!

<THAWNG> A crossbow bolt was suddenly sticking out of his chest, and he exploded into dust. She felt herself picked up quickly. She looked up at who was lifting her and saw the Cucularaine in demon face out of the corner of her eye.

“GO TO GROUND!” Angel yelled and before she could ask anything she found herself airborne. Someone ungracefully caught her and she slipped into unconsciousness driven by the pain in her injured leg.

****
Brian ran from the scene until he was sure he was no longer followed. He took a moment and looked down carefully at his unexpected charge, the unconscious girl he cradled in his arms.

She was beautiful, as all Slayers were beautiful. Her long chocolate brown hair pulled was back into braids, wisps of hair sticking to her face. He remembered seeing her once up-close earlier and knew the closed eyelids hid gorgeous hazel eyes. Her full lips were parted and he could see her little pink tongue in her mouth teasing him. He could hear her heartbeat, as well he could smell her scent.

Duane, the leader of the Night Watchers was going to kill him! So much for the non-contact rule between Night Watcher's and Slayers, now he was carrying the Slayer like a teddy bear!

He found eventually that they were in the main part of the city and well away from the cemetery, far enough away that he felt he could sit down and assess the situation. He knew she didn't know he was a vampire, and if he handled it well, she would go back to the watcher center none the wiser. He sat on a bench at a bus stop and he tried to wake her. She aroused confused and disoriented. “Huh?”

“I’m a friend of Angel’s. He gave me charge to keep you safe,” Brian told her quickly. He didn't want to surprise her. A surprised Slayer was a cranky Slayer -- a cranky Slayer will kill you.

“Oh. Where is he?” she asked looking around. She didn’t feel any vampires near, but then she wasn’t good at that yet, not at all.

“I don’t know. He threw you to me and I ran.” Brian looked sheepish as he looked at her ankle. It was grossly deformed and swelling. I was obviously broken. How she could calmly sit there talking to him with it swelling was beyond him. “We need you to call your Watcher. You need to get that taken care of.”

She stared at him in shock as she realized that she didn’t know the phone number of the Watcher Central, or its address! “I can’t, I don’t know how, I don’t know the telephone number.”

Brian stared at her. He knew where Watcher central was, but no vampire in his right mind would walk up and knock on the damned door. They dusted first and asked no questions! He had the new Slayer, and had no way to get her back to her Watcher. *Now what the Hell and I going to do?*

****
After dusting what they could and escaping the rest, Angel and her Watcher started to return to Watcher control. “We’ll go back to Watcher Central and wait for her call.” Angel said slowly as they limped along together. “Brian will take good care of her.”

“She can’t,” Mike said softly. “She hasn’t learned the address or the number yet. We never got around to giving it to her.”

“You’re kidding.” Angel stopped short turned and stared art the younger man. "Brian has gone to ground *with* the Slayer, and has no way to give her back?" he felt a deep fear building. Brian was younger, and Angel wondered how good his control was around humans.

“Oh shit.” Brian stared at her. “Can you call your family or any friends?” He was getting desperate. He had no idea what to do long term with a mortal. He had never kept “pets”.

“I can try. When I came to London they were going to move. I don't know if they have yet or not.” She moaned. Her leg was really hurting. Tears began to leak down her cheeks. The stress and the reality of what she managed to escape were starting to sink in. What a horrible first night! At least she wasn’t dead!

“Well then. Let’s get your leg checked at the hospital.” Brian prayed they would be out before dawn. He didn't want to explain his inability to deal with sunlight to a slayer.

****
She was put on a gurney for the wait and Brian had waited with her at her bedside. She was a Slayer but she was also a 17 year old girl who was scared and in pain. They just said she was a victim of random violence. It was a sad state of the world that is was so readily accepted.

Brian sat at her side in the ER and held her warm hand in his cold one. He had felt an unusual satisfaction that she had gripped his hand with the ferocious grip of a Slayer when they had started her IV. She had continued to hold on lightly when they gave her the morphine she drifted off into the drugged sleep. She held onto him tightly as they cast the break. She didn’t want him out of her sight or reach at anytime. He found that he loved her need of him and did nothing to correct the nurse's assumption they were lovers.

He had been very surprised when he found out she was a virgin. He had found that out when they did her medical history. The Doctor had been a bit skeptical with the closeness of Brian and her refusal to have anything done unless he was present.

They sedated her and set the leg. He then spent a good part of the evening gazing at her sleeping, amazed she was so trusting and loving with him. He hadn't had any close contact with anyone since his death decades before. It was nice. It would be easy to get addicted to this.

“So, how do you know Angel?” she asked suddenly. She was still under the influence of the morphine and was drifting in and out.

“Mutual friends.” was all he said. He was at a loss exactly how much to tell her. She smiled at him unconcerned and drifted off again. She was obviously feeling secure in his presence, which was almost beyond his ability to accept..

The doctor came in after the post casting x-rays and smiled at the attentive boyfriend. “Her leg is set in place. She is fine and if you will be able to watch her, she can now go home.” He proceeded to tell Brian about the care of casted fractures and cast care and handed him a prescription for Vicodin for pain. “You can fill it in the morning when they open. Here are 4 to get her through the night.” Brian looked at the prescription. Damn unlikely he was going to go out in the daylight to fill that!

He nodded and carried her out to the waiting room and laid her on a waiting bench. “I need to run a small errand and then we’ll leave,” he whispered in her ear. She nodded dreamily, and he impulsively kissed her forehead. He walked away wondering what the hell was he doing? Was he starting to believe his own tale about being her boyfriend? She was a Slayer for God’s sake!

Brian returned to the ER with the backpack he stole from a staff locker room where he left the contents on the floor. He hated to steal, but he needed it to carry the blood that he got when he then went into the blood bank and took all the close to and expired blood he could find and filled the backpack. He needed to be supplied if they were going to ground. Getting hungry when he couldn't get out to the slaughterhouse would be a tragedy.

****
When they arrived at his small studio apartment that he used as a hideout, Brian carried her over the threshold as if she was his bride. It got him thinking about the things he lost when he had been turned, and he missed the possibilities more now than he ever did when he had been turned. She murmured and snuggled into his embrace more. He found that he liked it. He knew her trust in him was misplaced and he cherished it all the more.

He looked around the small apartment. It was his emergency lair. No one knew about it. It was perfect for their hiding until they could get in contact. They had to stay low. If any of the vampires had recognized him they would be watching for him, either to get her or punish him. He knew was now labeled as a turn-coat-slayer-lapdog. He would accept that, just to be near her.

The only problem was it was a studio apartment, and only had one double sized bed. Brian placed her gently on the bed and took the pillows off the small couch to elevate her left leg. She smiled up at him dazed. As he told her, “I’m going out for your medicine. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She smiled and nodded and drifted off as he left.

****
Brian walked back to his lair thinking how in one night he became the Slayer’s personal guardian and a thief. He held the large bottle in his hand “Vicodin 7.5/500 250 tablets” that he had stolen from the closed pharmacy he had broken into. He had also taken other items he thought a mortal girl might need: feminine supplies, deodorant, perfume, a little bit of makeup, a pair of crutches, a cane, a couple of romance novels, some teenage magazines, hair brush and comb, some hair elastics, toothbrush and toothpaste that he thought she would like. He was becoming quite a thief.

He let himself in and saw she was still sleeping. He placed many of the items on a table near her. She looked different and then he realized she was out of her clothes she had fought in and was laying in one of his T-shirts and a pair of silk pair of his boxers he had bought and hadn’t opened. She must have thought they were pajamas. He immediately was aroused by the thought she was laying in his bed, in *his* clothes, especially the boxers

“Brian?” she asked softly. He was at her side instantly. “Are you back or haven’t you gone?” she murmured. The meds were making her quite drugged, but at least she wasn't hurting.

“I’m back,” He smiled. She was so tired and drugged she forgot she changed.

“Come to bed,” she put her hand out. He looked at her in amazement. “It’s big enough to share,” she smiled. Her need for touch and closeness was almost palpable. Irreverently Brian remembered some of the tales of how the slayers were voracious sensual beings cramming a lifetime of sensuality in their few years. He shook his head in astonishment. She was amazing. But did she know just *what* she was offering to sleep next to?

“I don’t think that’s a great idea,” he said softly. She looked at him with big eyes. “I’d love to sleep next to you, but you hardly know me!” he kicked himself then for the heartbreak he saw in her eyes.

“I’m scared Brian." She told him slowly in a gentle soft voice that broke his heart. "I almost died tonight. If you hadn’t saved me, I would be a cooling corpse lying in the cemetery.” Tears streaked her face. Brian was heartbroken. She wasn’t a formidable Slayer. She was a scared 17-year-old girl, who was in pain, facing her mortality. Something no 17-year-old should have to do.

He slipped into the bed and she snuggled into his arms and sighed. He held her as she calmed with her fears and drifted off to sleep again held and kept safe by him. He looked at the ceiling. He couldn’t believe what happened. One minute he was shadowing the new Slayer, then look at him now, lying in bed with her in his arms.

****
“You did what?” Duane demanded of Angel. He had been leader of the Night watcher since before Angelus came to them and never have they had anything like this! This was horrible. He glared at the phone as if it was the phone’s fault.

“I threw the new Slayer to him and told him to go to ground. Now we get back to Watcher Central and I found out she doesn’t know how to get contact us or get back home. Do you know have any idea where he went to ground?" Angel asked not expecting much. Each vampire kept a lair known only to them to hide up in if there was a problem.

“You’re out of luck. I know he has an apartment somewhere. No one knows where. He went to ground; he’s gone until he decides to contact us. If he were in the fight he would be sure to be out of the general community until she is returned. He has quite a prize there.”

Angel snarled. Damn it! Somewhere a new Slayer was holed up in a vampire’s lair! “I know he is younger… Is he reliable?”

“He’s been 45 years off the bio-kill. He has been a loner. I don’t know what the proximity to the Slayer will do to him thought. You know first hand the attraction of a slayer to a vampire, and vice versa." Duane said slowly. He prayed Brian wouldn’t weaken and kill the girl!

“Call me if he contacts you,” Angel sighed. He then gave Watcher Central’s phone number. This whole thing was going to hell in a hand basket. Thank god Buffy had no idea what was going on, she would be ballistic and was in no condition to help.

****
She awoke and was confused. She soon realized her head was on Brian’s arm, his arm around her. She felt safe and loved, and she realized barely knew the man, but he had saved her life. She didn't care. He had shown her he was faithful, kind considerate and compassionate. She knew as a Slayer she would not live long, why play games with it?

She looked at him closely. He was a handsome one with dark wavy hair. She remembered brown eyes, and she loved his lashes she saw as he slept. He was not as handsome as Angel was, but he wasn’t far off.

His lips looked soft. She wondered what he kissed like? She wondered what it would feel like to have those lips on her body. She was keenly aware she almost died last night, and here was her savior. She reached out and stroked his face. She wasn't going to 'reward' him, but she wanted to feel him kiss her and hold her.

He was cold to the touch! She startled and started to get alarmed. She looked at his chest and saw that there was no rise and fall. A touch to his face near his nose and mouth, she found that there was no respiration. Panicking, she felt for his carotid pulse, there was none. Oh my God… He was dead!

Fear laced though her. He was dead. She realized that he must been injured and hid it from her. Oh God, he was lying there dead and she had been mooning over him! She started to cry. Now she really was all alone. She closed her eyes. She suddenly realized she had hoped so much for something more with him.

Brian awoke to hear her crying. He was a younger vampire, it was daylight and he was groggy. Thinking she was just scared and in pain he enclosed her into his embrace pulling her tighter into him and drifted off again.

She was surprised and shocked when he took her in his arms and hugged her. She looked at him and saw that for a minute his eyes were open, but unfocused. “It’s ok,” was all he said and he closed his eyes. And apparently went back to sleep while he continued to have no pulse or respiration.

She stared at him in shock. He moved. He talked. She checked again diligently, no respiration and no pulse again. Damn it. He was undead! She stared at him. He was a vampire like Angel. She remembered him saying he was a friend of angel's, she wondered for exactly how long?

She realized that he hadn’t fed on her and in her condition he had ample opportunity. He could have killed her easily. She had been at his mercy, and all he did was shower kindness on her!

She rolled over and saw the pain medicine. She took 3 tablets and swallowed them down with the water he left at the bedside not knowing she had taken a significant dose.

She smiled as she snuggled into his arms and he enclosed her. What do you know, Slayer Prime wasn’t the only one with her own “pet” vampire!

****
Brian felt something on his chest. It was warm and gentle and he liked it. He opened his eyes to look down at the new Slayer sleeping curled up into him her head on his chest, her soft breaths tickling his chest hairs.

Oh God she was beautiful. She obviously trusted him; otherwise she wouldn’t be sleeping in his arms. He liked the feel of her in his arms and her head on his chest. He drifted off back to sleep.

She was dreaming. She was held in the arms of the man who loved her more than life itself. She was loved. She was safe. She wanted him to make love to her and she ached for it.

She stroked him in her dream. She ran her hands down his chest across his abdomen. She could hear him purr. His body hard and firm and she loved the feel of it. He hand found his cock bulging in his silk boxers and she found it was hard and firm and cold. She loved it.

****
Brian awoke to her stroking and petting him. His arousal was rock hardness, and he just lay there as she slowly discovered his body with her hands. Her soft warm hands touched him lower on the abdomen. Did she plan to touch him *there*?

She did. Her soft warm hands slide inside his boxers and she stroked his manhood. He tried not to but he moaned. It had been decades since he had been so touched, with passion and love instead of a vampire’s raw animalistic lust. He realized he craved it almost as much as he craved blood. She had drifted off to sleep holding his cock in her hand and he just lay there holding her.

****
She awoke to find herself holding his hard erection and unconsciously stroking it gently. He was lost in the pleasure and was purring and twitching with the attention. He was thrusting little small thrusts of the hips into her hand in small gentle demands not to forget him. He was so responsive to her touch!

She turned her head slightly and took one of his nipples in her mouth tasting it and nibbling and then sucking on it delighted as the nipple harder in her mouth. He let out a low moan and she smiled.

“Brian,” she said his name softly and lustily. His eyes snapped open and he looked at her confused. “Brian, make love to me.” It wasn’t a request. It was a command.

“Ahhh,” was all that he said when she kissed him. Her mouth was warm and moist and her kiss innocent and sweet. He knew she was a virgin form her Physical in the hospital she was offering him everything! He melted into the kiss, sucking on her upper lip then lower until he slid his tongue into her mouth and tasted her. *What hell am I doing? I’m a 55 year-old vampire and she’s a 17 year old Slayer! * Brian pulled back “Wait a minute...you don’t know....” he tried to do the right thing…

“I know. Now make love to me before I dust your ass!” she growled into his mouth. She then grabbed him with full Slayer strength and pulled him to her and kissed him. “Make love to me Brian. I don’t know how...Please!" her plea was an ache voiced.

****
****
They lived in his apartment for a week while they learned all they could about one another.

Brian couldn’t believe what was really happening. He was *in love* with the Slayer and it was returned! It wasn't the fascination and attraction all Night Watchers had for the Slayer that they indulged in without the slayer knowing from afar. It was deep and abiding love.

He would watch her sleep for hours. She slept frequently because of the pain medicine and healing. He loved to just hold her and watch her sleep in his arms.

“I love you,” he whispered to her one night as she slept, her head on his chest. She was oblivious in sleep so he continued to speak his soul. “I don’t ever want to give you back. I want to keep you forever.” He held her gently and stroked her hair. “I never envied Angel’s love of Slayer Prime. I actually thought him insane.” He sighed. He didn’t have breath, but old habits die hard.

“I have to get you back to your Watcher, then I have to face my punishment for contacting you.” Brian had no idea what sort of punishment Duane would give him. Whatever it was, it would have been worth it.

“Will you come back with me?” she asked her eyes wide. He startled at her voice, and looked down into her wide eyes. She hadn't been asleep!

“I love you too.” she smiled as he realized she heard *everything*! *Oh God* he thought to himself.

“Will you come back with me? Will you love me and protect me like Angel does Slayer Prime?” Her eyes were hopeful. Her innocence broke his heart.

“I wasn’t supposed to ever even contact you. I wasn’t even supposed to *talk* to you, never mind bring you home, live with you and make love to you!” he looked at her as she looked at him with her large eyes, tears welling up, ready to brim over. “Yeah. I will,” he answered her need *To hell with Duane and the rules* She sighed and snuggled into his arms.

****
“Watcher Stonehenge. Phone call,” the secretary paged overhead at Watcher Central. Mike Robinson sighed as he took the phone. “Robinson here.”

“Mr. Robinson? It’s me Gayle.” He heard the voice of his missing and presumed dead Slayer. Relief washed through him. “What’s the address so I can come home?”

“Yeah. My left ankle was broken, but I’m ok,” she told him. He couldn’t believe how lucky they were to have survived that night. He told her the address of Watcher Central.

“We’ll see you tonight,” she told him. It wasn’t until she had hung up that he realized the wording. *We’ll?*

****
They drove up in the cab to Watcher Central. Brian was nervous. What if they hurt her? Would they kill him? What kind of reception could a 55 year old vampire expect from the Watcher of a 17 year old Slayer he stole and seduced?

“Come on. I want you to meet Mike Robinson, my Watcher!” Gayle was excited and bubbly. Brian paid the cab and followed the effervescent Slayer who was nearly skipping on her crutches up the long walk to the front door.

Gayle knocked and the housekeeper answered. “Mistress Sheldon!” she exclaimed as she gimped in on the crutches uninvited.. “Mr. Robinson!” the housekeeper called while Gayle maneuvered into the house.

“Gayle!” Mike strode into the hall and hugged her. She was smiling and seemed happy. Mike looked at the housekeeper who nodded. She had entered without an invitation. She wasn't a vampire. Mike looked over her shoulder at the young man who seemed very uncomfortable and was still standing on the porch. “Who are you?” Mike asked concerned but his presence and the fact he hadn't crossed the doorway.

“That’s Brian Radcliffe,” Angel’s voice told him from behind. Mike looked at Angel quickly. *Brian Radcliffe?* That was the name of a local vampire, rarely seen, but very influential in vampire politics.

Angel was livid and rounded on the younger vampire. “Damn it Brian. When I threw her to you and told you to go to ground, I *didn’t* mean for your to keep her!” Brian nodded in acceptance of the reprimand.

“Brian, do come in,” Gayle invited her lover in, to both Angel’s and Mike’s surprise. She held her hand out and he went up to her and she pulled him to her and kissed him. He was totally responsive to her and it was obvious to all they were very much lovers. Mike stared in shock. All Angel could say was “Oh shit!”