Pack and Something More

Pack and Something More
Word Count: 3,315
calikocat

A/N: ::dies:: Writing Spike is not easy. And brits have all sorts of weirdness in their English, but I’m trying. I actually had to look up some of the slang I used. If anyone else needs a reference to help them write ‘King’s English’ go to whatever search engine you use and put in ‘The very Best of British: The American's guide to speaking British’. It’s all kinds of help. Oh and Charmant means lovely in French…or at least the online dictionary said it did.

XXX

Spike carefully draped his duster over the back of his chair before sitting down. All the while keeping an eye on Xander and Jessica…not that he didn’t trust them...Don’t have much reason to trust them now do I? Whelp tied me to that chair one time. And his Mum…bloody hell, she’s a slayer and knows I’m the slayer of slayers. Bugger.

Upon ending his inner monologue he took the time to look at Mother and Son. Jessica, though she still looked like a mess, seemed to have regained a part of herself, some spark that had been missing before. Not that he could be sure as this was the first time he’d every really looked at her, before today he’d barely had a glimpse at her. But even with her messy and dull brown hair, the circles under her eyes, and her entire body doing an odd sort of slouch there was an energy that crackled. Only a slayer could pull something like that off. Though don’t think Buffy could do it. To young to understand the weight so many years could bring.

Xander looked calm on the outside, but he seemed to be filled with a nervous energy, it didn’t crackle like his mother’s, instead it seemed to shake and bounce though the boy was hardly moving. His brown eyes darted from his tired mother to Spike, back and forth, over and over. For a second Spike caught his gaze and held it, raising a brow in question. Xander gave him an unsure smile and shrugged as if to say: ‘Don’t look at me, I don’t have a clue what’s going on.’ Which was probably true, but Spike kept staring at him, briefly wondering at the unique shade of brown that was the boy’s eyes. They weren’t the same as that clot’s, also called Tony Harris. The elder Harris had almost septic eyes, the nastiest shade of brown imaginable. Whelp’s eyes are more like chocolate with the odd ring of caramel…and I did not just think that. Reverting back to a damn ponce I am. If I start spouting horrible poems I hope the whelp just stakes me…bleeding hell.

Xander returned his gaze with a confused expression and Spike tried not to compare the boy to a lost puppy. Bugger.

xxx

Jessica let out a sigh drawing both sets of eyes toward her. Her face was scrunched up in concentration as if trying to sort out the mess in her head. When she finally looked up at them her eyes were tired, though the green was still looking a bit lively. Should I be worried that the vampire and my son are partaking in non-verbal communication? Do they have a section on this in the parenting handbook?

“I’m trying to decide where to start, whether it should be my life in general or when I became a slayer.”

Xander gave her a soft smile, one she could only return, and grasped her hand lightly in his. “I’d kinda like to hear about our wolves.”

She nodded and decided to jump right in. “They’re not really separate entities, you know that right? It’s not like a spirit or a being with a mind of it’s own. It’s a part of us, always there. Like a Werewolf, but a bit more natural. Except…neither of us is full wolf, for some reason that makes us different. I’ve never…” She glanced at Spike, Xander had called him a reluctant ally before, but still it was unnerving to tell your life story to the ‘Slayer of Slayers’.

“Take your time ducks. Got no where to be.”

Jessica nodded at him and took a breath, sending a short heartfelt prayer to her old watcher before continuing. Come on Nathan, give me some guidance, this is new territory ahead of me. “My Dad, Eric, was a Biologist studying Wolf Behavior in Canada when he met my Mother. He described it as the most terrifying experience of his life, and one of the most curious. He was walking back to his cabin when he first saw her. She was large and nearly solid black, eyes a vivid yellow. Dad said he’d gotten rather close to other wolves, but never had one approached him, completely unwary, not a bit of caution in her steps. Suddenly the wolf was gone and a young woman was in her place, her hair the same shade of black the wolf’s fur had been, her eyes more of an amber color.” Jessica smiled then. “You can guess what happened next.”

“Wolf bint took a liking to your Da?”

Wonder if he always states the obvious like that. “Definitely, she stayed around during her pregnancy and after I was born seemed content with us. Her name was Charmant.” Her expression changed, shadows creeping into her eyes.

“Mom?”

Oh sweet pup, it was so long ago and you’re jumping in to take on my pain. Your vampire knows you quite well, you are a White Knight aren’t you. “When I was three she just disappeared. Dad looked for her but never found her. We never knew why she left, or why she didn’t take me with her. As I got older I decided it was just easier for her to travel alone.” She sighed again and shared a sad smile with her son. “When I was five Dad moved us back to the states to a small town in Northern California about an hour away from Redding. Things went well for years; neither of us spoke of Charmant much. But when I was eight he had to tell me what he knew of her. It’s when I learned I was half wolf.”

“Half wolf? Started getting furry?” Spike’s eyes narrowed at her and in turn Xander glared at him.

She held back a pleased grin at Xander’s protective streak. “As an expert Dad had read a lot of mythology surrounding wolves and had once come across a story that said humans were descended from wolves. There was a lot more to it than that, something about wolves searching for paradise at the end of the world. He didn’t really believe it, but he had to wonder since Charmant was a wolf that could blend in with humans. Maybe there was some small grain of truth to it. And well, even though I was only half wolf I discovered that I could do the same. When I was eight we were at the park in the evening and there was a game of tag going on with some other kids. I changed on accident…luckily Dad was a quick thinker and called me back. Most people had never seen a wolf so they just thought I was a dog. After that we had to be more careful and I had to learn to hold my form. There’s no shifting like with a werewolf. We can change in the blink of an eye.” She paused and looked at Xander. “I think because you’re mostly human it took you longer to…take on the wolf.”

For a moment her son couldn’t meet her eyes and he squirmed in his chair. “Um…actually there was an incident at the Zoo…”

“Catch some wolves mating did you?” Spike smirked.

Xander took the teasing in stride, and waved it off. “Nah, that was the Zebras, the heimlich maneuver with stripes. No I sorta went into the Hyena exhibit, and it was quarantined and there was magic and I ended up with a Hyena spirit and went all alpha and crazy. We got the spirit out though. But after having a pack…” Xander trailed off with a look of pain. “There were five of us, and I was pack leader. We…ran together, hunted. I’d never felt so alive. And then the hyena was gone…”

That actually makes an odd sort of sense…glad they got the hyena out though, Primals are not easy to deal with. Jessica nodded. “You’d had a taste of pack and lost it. That’s why you mourned. You called my wolf back for a night, I could hear you howling and I had to answer.”

Mother and son shared soft gazes while the vampire looked on in disbelief. He’d never in his un-life heard a human speak of hunting in such a way. It was strange to think that the Whelp knew what it was like to hunt with a partner, a pack, strange to even consider that the boy could understand something so animalistic.

“Well, that explains the wolves bit. Care to talk about the Slayer bit now?” Spike started to snarl his lip, he wasn’t fond of slayers, except when killing them, but it turned to a grimace and then a glare when Xander kicked him under the table. The boy glared back.

Oh god, they’re practically flirting!!? Another giggle came from Jessica and it tinged on hysteria because for a moment she thought it was cute, and a little insane, that her son was kicking a vampire in the shin for being rude. When she calmed down a little she continued. “We lived there in that small town until I was called at thirteen. That’s when I met Nathan Spiel.”

xxx

“Nathan?” Xander grinned slightly, his mild hostility at Spike forgotten at his mother’s fond smile.

“Watcher?” Spike asked, digging out his lighter to distract him from kicking Xander back and thus avoiding a migraine.

“Yes, a rather young Watcher, just out of the academy.”

Ick, brand new watcher fresh off the assembly line. “Oh god, was he all stuck up and tweed-wearing? We’ve finally got Giles to relax, he doesn’t wear tweed anymore. And when Wesley came over he was like Super Tweed-man.” Xander groaned in exaggerated false pain at the memory.

Jessica giggled a bit, her eyes livening up and Xander smiled, his mom needed to do that more. “Hardly, he was almost kicked out of the academy once or twice and wouldn’t be caught dead in tweed. He preferred Jeans and T’s and had a tattoo of England’s flag on his left shoulder.”

“Sounds like a right nice bloke.”

“He was the best.”

Xander rolled his eyes. “Sounds like someone had a crush.” When Jessica blushed Xander looked a little green. “Mom?” Oh god oh god oh god. Ewww! That’d be like…like…Buffy and Giles, or Buffy and Wesley…wonder how much Spike would laugh at me if I blew chunks right now.

“Ah…see he was my Watcher for a long time. I lasted longer than most. From thirteen to eighteen, that’s five years sweetie, most slayers only last a couple of years. The only reason I lasted so long was because of Nathan. He had a different idea of how things should be done, things that pissed the council off. He trained me, taught me how to use my gifts and went with me to watch my back.”

Huh, so maybe not like Giles or Wesley…guy sounds kind of like Spike…and isn’t that freaky, Mom and I have a similar taste in men…not that I have a taste in men or vamps like Spike…not that I like Spike…errr…Why do I babble in my head? Okay, back on track, must speak out loud and not about Spike…damn Spike thoughts in my head. Xander took a breath and concentrated on speaking of things not Spike related. “Buffy, you remember her, short blond and bubbly, she’s the slayer…or should I say a slayer?” Xander pondered that for about half a second before plowing on. “But her Watcher, Giles he went on patrol with her…well we did too, Willow, Oz and I that is. But Giles went into the cemeteries with her for training and stuff. Wesley did too…kind of. So what pissed the council off so much?”

Jessica smiled. “Nathan had a lot of friends who were demons and introduced me to them. Some were a little violent but wouldn’t attack a human unless provoked. Most were peaceful and wanted to be left alone, or looked human enough that they lived with and among humans. I learned not to just be a slayer, but to be a peacekeeper and a friend.”

“That was bold of him, lettin’ his Slayer play nice with the monsters.” Xander could help but agree with Spike, crap like that would piss off the Council of Poop-heads, to borrow a Willow phrase.

“I wouldn’t have had it any other way. There are a lot of good demons out there, many of them friend material.”

Spike gave her a pointed look. “What changed luv?”

“The council sent everything to hell. They didn’t want the slayer to settle things peacefully. They wanted all demons to be killed pretty much on sight. Nathan told them to ‘Sod off’ when a representative came to talk to him. And we paid for it.”

Oh damn that does not sound good. I bet the council wasn’t accepting visa. “You died didn’t you.” Xander’s comment made Jessica freeze and shoot a look at him. “Buffy…she died at the end of Sophomore year, the Master drowned her. I didn’t know where the Master’s lair was, so I had to go get Angel and force him to take me there at cross point. Deadboy swore up and down he loved her but he wasn’t going to do anything, jerk. Anyway, when we got to the cavern she was lying face down in the water, she’d stopped breathing and he was ready to give up. I did the CPR thing and well…she’s alive.”

“You revived a slayer?” Jessica could only stare at her boy in wonder.

Xander looked a little embarrassed. Aw come on Mom, don’t look at me like I’m a miracle worker. I’m just me.

Spike saw the faint blush and had to needle at him a bit. “Kind of odd how he did that when he’s the son of a slayer.”

Jessica nodded and smiled in obvious pride, it wavered though as she readied to continue her tale. “I was eighteen and Xander, I won’t lie to you…by that time I was in love with Nathan and well, being eighteen. Things took an intimate turn before all hell broke loose.” Her cheeks colored slightly and she cleared her throat. “There was a clan of Coritsai demons that was having some internal problems, a civil war between different families was about to break out and some bystanders, all human had gotten hurt in some skirmishes. Nathan and I arranged a meeting in a neutral area with the clan leaders. The building was abandoned and the perfect place for a trap.” Her eyes closed and she seemed to shrink in on herself. “When we got there the clan leaders were dead and not five minutes later the building exploded.” Her whole frame shook in remembered terror. “One moment I’m confirming the leaders are dead, angry because some of them had been friends, Nathan was being very vocal about the whole thing and then suddenly heat and fire was all I could feel and see. Then nothing, I blacked out. I woke up in the ER of a local hospital. And Nathan was dead, and apparently I’d died in the ER, only for a moment though.”

Aww crap. Talk about overkill. “Jesus.” Xander’s eyes looked watery as he gripped Jessica’s hand tightly. “I’m so sorry Mom.”

She squeezed his hand back and nodded. “The council assumed I was dead and located the next slayer. I stayed in the Hospital for a few days, the doctors wanted to keep an eye on us for a while.”

“Us?” Spike raised a brow at her, eyes slightly wide in curiosity, sometimes the vamp reminded Xander of a big bleached cat.

“I was pregnant.”

Xander’s eyes widened almost comically and Spike had to choke back a snicker. The boy coughed and spluttered before managing to spit anything out. “Me?” Omigod! Does that mean I’m half British? I don’t have to give up twinkies for scones do I? ‘Cause hell can freeze over before I give up twinkies.

Jessica nodded. “Nathan was your father. But…he was gone. The EMTs told me that a man had dragged me out of the rubble before collapsing and—and they couldn’t save him.” A single tear escaped a forest eye and made it’s way down her cheek. “After that I couldn’t go back to slaying. It was too hard, too many memories. I ran and ran and lost myself. That’s when I met Tony. He was nothing special, but he had a job and while I wasn’t showing yet I needed to think of you. But even then I couldn’t really fight the depression and all my instincts became buried. All that I was, was lost, both wolf and slayer forgotten.”

“But…the wolf…” Xander looked confused. “We hunted together.”

“Yes, that first time when you called out for pack…and then again during your graduation. There was so much power in the air that something called the wolf out again then.”

“Huh. Weird.” Stupid snakey mayor and his stupid ascension.

“What will you do now slayer?” Spike asked.

Jessica turned a glare on him. “My name is Jessica, and I am more than just a slayer.”

“Right. Fine, but what are you going to do? You going to tell your story to the Whelp’s mates, the Watcher?”

Stupid Spike, be nice to my Mom. Maybe I should say something helpful… “Giles would go all ‘hmm and bookman’ on us. Oh, and the council fired him. Buffy quit the council at the same time during senior year after that whole coming of age test. It nearly got her and her mom killed. So none of us like the council…you’d fit right in.”

“I’ll think about it.” Jessica looked at the clock. “But it can wait, as soon as the sun goes down—I want to run.” Her eyes landed on Xander again. “Feel like hunting with your Mom?”

Woohoo! A smile lit up Xander’s face. “That would be so cool.” He turned the smile on Spike who looked a little lost. “How about it evil undead; feel like hunting some fledges?”

“And you’re inviting me why?”

Mother and Son shrugged and said. “You smell like pack.”

“Right…don’t do that again, it’s creepy.” He looked thoughtful before nodding. “Could do with a spot of violence.”

xxx

Spike took a moment to wonder to wonder if the wolves/humans had gone barmy because you only invited someone you trusted to hunt with you. Even vampires had to have a sense of trust, no matter how small before hunting together. And what’s all that shite about me smellin’ like pack, I’m not a bleeding wolf. Shouldn’t smell like pack.

“You sure you want me along? Don’t want this to be just a Mother and Son outing?”

Xander shrugged. “Nah, you might as well run with us. Right Mom?”

Jessica nodded and suddenly gave them a wicked grin that nearly made his hair stand on end. “I don’t see why not…unless you two would rather run off on your own for a while.”

Here now, what’s the bird thinking…and why the hell is the Whelp blushing…oh…didn’t see that one coming. A trickle of pheromones hit his nose and he breathed them in and held Xander’s scent in his lungs. Didn’t see that one comin’ at all.

“MOM!”

“I’m kidding; can’t I tease you a little in front of your vampire?”

“He’s not my vampire!”

“The smell of pack says different sweetie.”

“Stupid Wolf sense of smell.”

What the bleeding hell have I gotten dragged into? He couldn’t help the snickers that escaped him as Jessica continued to tease Xander about his ‘relationship’ with Spike. With the snickers, he was not giggling thank you very much, an odd sense of belonging settled in him as he watched them interact as a mum and her boy should.

It wasn’t quite the same as coming home, but it was nice just the same.

XXX