Things that go bump in the night

After nearly a year had went by Raya adjusted to life in daylight. When it had been a few short hours a night she had managed to fill her time well, slaying, cleaning, training or hogging Willow’s computer. She had been pretty successful at the hogging of the computer until Willow had figured out she just had to sit patiently for the sun to rise and Raya to be forced to change.





When the Moon Fever had set in, they had been ready. Moon Fever was the one time a year in a Skin-Walkers life that they were fertile and also in a twenty-four hour state of intense arousal. Only hang-up was once the Skin-Walker had done the impregnating bit it could happen again no matter when. Moon Fever lasted a month and when the fever peaked she had been nearly out of her mind with lust. She had spent nearly four days in shackles in the basement when the fever first set in because no one could explain was the fever would do. That is until Anya had come back from visiting some old friends. Raya had never been so happy to see Anya in her life. After that Faith had been more than willing to ‘help’ her through the worst of the fever. Luckily Faith hadn’t been showing any signs of being pregnant. And thank Ra for that because when she had found out that was a possibility she had nearly taken off Raya’s head.





But now as Raya carted yet another load of books up from the basement of the Magic Shop she realized she was fighting off feelings of restlessness more and more the fever wasn’t completely out of her system and so the gang had set her to do meaningless tasks to keep her busy, so here she was hauling boxes up and down the stairs to restock the shelves.. And seriously Giles must think a lot of his shop for making her cart this many boxes up stairs or he was just really old and weak…he is human after all. She would never voice these opinions because the “old” Englishman too great offenses to any off-handed comments like this. So instead she suppressed a growl as Anya was nice enough to point out she had grabbed the wrong box.



All the Scooby’s were huddled over the table. Discussing the latest ‘Big Bad’…something known as ‘The First’…Raya and Faith had had a brush with the little ‘Bringers’ earlier that week. They wouldn’t have been so distracted if Faith hadn’t been trying to convince Raya that having sex in a dirty smelly dark alley would be okay because they would be aware of any impending danger. She had been in the middle of explaining that Faith may have heightened sense of smell but they didn’t touch her own and she wasn’t about to have sex where she could smell nothing but urine and someone else’s sexual activates…call her crazy but she didn’t feel like marking her territory all over Sunnydale in that manner…then Faith got upset over her referring to public sex as “marking territory”… so when the Bringers had shown up they hadn’t been aware of there presence until Raya took a shovel to the back of the head.



Now as she decided to make herself scarce down in the basement she looked around. Noticing for the first time that there was a lot of room down here, enough that she could set up an apartment down here there was a little bathroom complete with a rundown shower and a small kitchenette. It wasn’t pretty but she had lived in worse conditions. Personally she didn’t want to leave the Summers residence but she knew Faith was getting restless.



Finding the correct box she reached for it and her eyes were drawn to something to the side. An old newspaper, on the front was a picture of a man in what was considered ‘formal wear’ and a woman in an oversized dress, she was grasping an arrangement of flowers in one hand and smiling broadly…Willow had been trying to teach Raya to read for quite some time and was slowing gaining ground in that area. It had been hard on all of them after Joyce’s death. And then when Buffy was killed and resurrected and then Tara’s death. Willow had slowly come back to the group and now everything was sorting itself out slowly. This made the belief that family was everything more concrete to Raya.

Thinking back to Joyce, she smiled at the memory of the woman teaching her how to work the oven. She hadn’t met the woman until after being in Sunnydale for nearly six months. Apparently the older woman had been on a cruise in Key West with her company or something like that.



Going back to study the picture she put it on top of the box and took it upstairs. At the top of the stairs she went next to Anya who was at the register and waited patiently for her to stop counting the green parchments known as ‘money’ …last time she had interrupted the ex-demon had broken into a tirade of interrupting her with the money counting and it had taken Raya threatening to slip a bunny into her bed to shut her up.



When Anya put the last of the money into the register she held out the paper and asked what the picture was of. Anya studied it before a flash of hurt went through her eyes.



“That’s a wedding. You know that one ceremony where all mine and Xanders family showed up and he turned into the cowardly lion?” Raising her voice at the last part she glared at Xander who seemed to suddenly enjoy whatever text it was he was reading.



Her heart went out to the boy. Though she would never admit this to anyone, she had been thoroughly pissed off at the boy and it had taken Faith and some overbearing demon to keep her from going off and ripping Xander a ‘new asshole’…the first time Faith had said this to her she had been confused at the purpose it would serve but in that moment had understood completely.



She looked up to her mate sitting at the table laughing with Buffy and Tara over something Dawn had done. This brief moment of peace and laughter was rare now that The First, whatever it was had been making its presence know more and more.



Sounding out the words of the article she read it silently and set it aside. Looking up she saw Faith looking at her with a look in her eyes only present for Raya. Smiling she left the article and went over to sit in the chair beside Faith and settled in for research, picking up the parchments and books that were set aside for her because they were written in languages that only someone from the time they were written could read. Sighing when she opened one of the large books she sat down and read.





Faith walked next to Buffy trying to listen to whatever it was her friend was talking about but she couldn’t seem to focus. She kept getting the nagging feeling that they were being followed. Only it wasn’t the following that had ‘evil vibes’ it was more that nagging feeling you get when you walk into a room and know everyone’s eyes are on you. And to be frank it was really beginning to bug the shit out of her.



She knew it wasn’t Raya because Raya was in another part of town with Willow and Xander. Turning around she stopped and concentrated on the tree line, there was something there she knew it. Buffy stopped and looked at her sister slayer.



“Faith what is it?” Buffy asked quietly, trying to see whatever it was that had distracted Faith.



“I don’t know B. Just feels like something out there ya know?” Faith turned and they continued on. Sensing vamps they turned and saw four slowly stalking towards them, upon being spotted the four broke out into a run straight for the slayers.



Breaking apart Faith rushed the guy in a business suit and the woman in a dancing dress. Launching through the air she caught the male by the neck and twisted him around staking him almost right away, coughing as the ash hit her face she went after the female as B was making quick work of the other two. Rounding a tomb she pulled to a halt when she saw the woman standing there idly fingering a dagger. Not just any dagger but THE dagger. The one that B had stabbed her with, ‘How the hell did she get that?’ coming out of her reverie she readied herself for an attack when the vampire just smiled.



“I’m not going to kill you slayer.”



“That’s right, I’m going to be doing the killing tonight.” Faith readied her stake. When the vampire just smiled and said something that confused the hell outa her.



“So…how’s our girl?” The vampire smiled as confusion crossed the slayers pretty features.



“What the hell are you talking about?” Faith was getting pissed. Which quickly turned into full on anger when the vampire smiled at her and threw something to the ground and red smoke burst all around her, the force of the blast threw Faith on t her back. Looking up dizzily the vampire was no where to be found. So when Faith heard Buffy scream her name she was on her feet like a light and rushing to her sister slayer as fast as her legs could carry her.



Buffy was bent over something as she got closer she could she it was a body, dropping beside her she found it was a young boy curled into a fetal position and unconscious.



“What happened? Where did he come from?” Faith looked frantically at B who looked as confused as she was.

“I don’t know I had just dusted that last vamp and I turned around because I thought I heard thunder and I saw him walk out of the trees and just fall down.” B looked at the boy, confused at what she had seen.



“Okay we can’t leave him here. Come on lets get him back to the house.” Carefully Faith picked up the kid. He was older than they had thought. Looking down at him she realized he must be close to twelve years old at least.



“Come on Faith lets get home and see if Willow can find anything on him.” Nodding in agreement they made there way back to the house.









Faith watched as Giles, Red and Buffy were speaking in hushed tones as what to do about the kid. She had been right; he looked closer to twelve years old. He was big that’s for sure. There was something familiar about the kid too. He hadn’t woken up yet. He was tall, with thick black hair; there was something so familiar about his face. She couldn’t put her finger on it though.



Faith looked up as she saw Raya walk in the door with Xander. They were covered in ash and Xander had a bloody lip and Raya was sporting the beginnings of a black eye. Turning toward Faith she smiled, Faith had grown to like the way Raya would always find her in a room no matter where they were, almost as if she wanted assurance of her presence.



Curiously Raya walked over to look down at the kid. When she stiffened Faith looked up and stared at her lover in confusion. The look on her face could only be called shock. When in a harsh whisper Raya whispered “Horus” Faith whipped her head back to the boy in shock.



Suddenly it was so obvious. The familiar things about him were because they came from her lover. ‘NO WAY’ her mind screamed. When Raya’s legs crumbled she gently brushed the boys face, the utter look of disbelief on her face brought tears to Faiths eyes.



At a knock on the door the entire room jumped. Everyone had been so focused on the sight of Raya with the boy. Giles went to open the door; standing in the doorway was a young man. He looked to be about six foot. Broad shouldered and lanky, dressed in jeans, boots and a worn shirt. In his hands was a short sword. But what seemed to draw Giles in were the golden eyes. Behind him stood a nervous looking Anya.



“Raya…I think there’s someone here for you.” Raya couldn't take her eyes of the child on the couch. Even when she stood up and went to the door, she thought she was going to die on the spot at the sign of the Skin-Walker standing next to Anya.



“Hey Raya…so guess who jumped a dimension to come visit.” Anya said with forced cheer. Finding the tension in the room suffocating.



“What?” Raya stared stupidly at the young man standing before her. Then it hit her. The boy on the couch wasn’t Horus. This young man was. He looked just like her. His hair was shorter than she remembered. The skins and furs he had been dressed in that day so long ago when she had handed him to the demon that swore to protect him.



“Hello mother.” Horus looked at the woman that was his mother. She wasn’t as tall as she used to be. She looked just like she did the day she had told him goodbye. He knew in the dimension he had been raised in it had been twenty-five years, but in this one it had been nearly a thousand years. He knew Skin-Walkers weren’t immortal but it wasn’t uncommon to find one that had lived for centuries.



“Oh god Horus.” Raya couldn’t stop herself from pulling the young man to her and grasping him. Crying softly she spoke in the native tongue of the tribe he had been born in. “I miss you so much my son” he tightened his hold on her.



Breaking apart they turned to the room. Everyone still seemed to be in a state of shock.

When Horus stepped away to go to the boy, he knelt. Looking him over to make sure there were no injuries, satisfied that the child was only sleeping he stood.



“Mother, I would like you to meet the son of your son. He is called Asher.” At that Giles muttered something that sounded like ‘bloody hell’ and cleaned his glasses. Xander playfully punched Raya in the arm. But Raya managed to pull herself out of the constant state of shock to look at Faith. Who had sat there quietly the entire time, when there eyes met Faith stood and walked up the stairs into the room and climbed onto the bed. And began to cry softly.





“Is there a problem with your woman?” Horus looked around the the room, determining quickly that the woman was her mate. She had been covered in his mothers scent and had been looking between his mother and his son with so much tenderness.



“I do not know. Will you sleep here tonight?” Raya asked. She wanted nothing more than to sit down and just talk with her son and grandchild whenever he woke up but she knew her mate hadn’t been herself lately. And she knew Faith was still insecure that she wasn’t good enough for Raya, a notion that she found utterly ridiculous.



“Yes if it okay we will stay here tonight.” Turning to the others in his mothers pack he looked for any protest. There was none. As everyone began to break away to go to bed Horus joined Anya at the table to ‘catch up.’



Taking one last look, praying that this wasn’t a dream Raya went upstairs to sleep with her mate.



TBC



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