Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

'The gang is all here.' I thought to myself. Xander and Cordelia, holding hands secretly underneath the table. Willow and Oz, who weren't an official couple yet, not to my knowledge anyway. Jenny was here also, remaining quiet like she most usually does until something about computers comes up...then she'd chime in like a song bird. Then, of course, my ever faithful Watcher, Giles was also in the room.

Not to mention, The Slayer herself, me. The room was quiet, no one really intending to speak first. They didn't want to upset the Slayer at her most fragile of states. The night before last, I had went all the way for the first time with my on and off again vampyric boyfriend, Angel. It was a night to go down in the history books, in both mine and Angel's minds.

We were very much in love. Were, being the proper term here. When Angel got that one true moment of happiness, he lost his soul. The soul that, he was suppose to be damned with, though he enjoyed having because... he wasn't out there every night killing and torturing and maiming and the such like that.

I'm glad that I could make Angel that happy... but the fact remains that I caused him to lose his soul. My friends are right to not speak to me. I don't even know what I would say to me if I were them.

"I'll be alright you guys,"

I said at last, everyone taking a tense sigh, especially Giles. Sometimes, I think he's more like a Father than a Watcher. But I could tell there was more here than just my problems. I could tell the hurt behind Willow's eyes. I had told Giles what had happened between Angel and I and he had been the one to piece it together that Angel had lost his soul during our... love act. I knew he had lost his soul but not how, until Giles told me.

Then I suppose, Giles informed everyone else that Angelus was back. I hope he hadn't told them just how I'd brought Angelus back.

"What else is wrong here?"

I asked my group of friends, feeling as if I'd been kept out of the loop. Willow slowly stood up from the table and cut a rather furious look to Xander, walking over to me and taking my hand, leading me into Giles' office. Willow was a shy girl, most of the time; right now being one of those moments.

"Buffy, why didn't you come to me last night about all this?"

My redheaded best friend asked curiously, worriedly of course.

"I'm sorry, Will. I just didn't want to bother any of you guys with my romance problems."

I knew my friend understood, but nonetheless, I had to pressure her about the sadness I saw behind her eyes as well.

"Did something happen to you last night?"

I asked worriedly, but also rushing before she could prod me once more about Angel. I knew Will only had the best intentions, but I could hear her now telling me that when my romance problems turn into a serial killing vampire on the loose, they become everyone's problems... She looked towards the door, closing it slowly and lent against it, looking straight at me.

"I caught Xander and Cordelia kissing here in the library last night... I told him, that I was so surprised he'd rather kiss a girl he hates than kiss me.."

"Will that's not true,"

I said and walked to her, wrapping my arms around her consolingly. I felt her start to sob in my arms, clutching me back just as tightly. I felt so bad for her. Ever since day one, well, my first day here at Sunnydale High, I could tell Xander and Willow loved each other but Xander never admitted it. I suppose, Willow just wasn't the type of girl that Xander wanted to be "seen with".

Guys were such morons, sometimes.

If he wasn't chasing after random girls he couldn't have, he was chasing after me, another girl he couldn't have. I knew it hurt Willow, to see him go for the new girl at Sunnydale instead of going for her, his best friend since grade school. We had long since got past that though. We were a fantastic team, the three of us; not to mention our extra help.

But over the last few weeks, it was no secret to me that Xander and Cordelia had been secretly seeing each other. They just didn't know that I secretly knew. Wow, that doesn't even make too much sense in my head.

"I could see their relationship coming,"

I said softly to Willow as I pulled back and pushed her long red hair back from her face. I hated to say that, but maybe I hadn't been the only one to see it coming.

"I-I j-just wish Buffy that he'd... open his eyes and realize... I've been here all along."

Willow sniffled and wiped her nose on her sweater sleeve. I sighed and reached over on Giles' desk, grabbing a couple tissues and placing them in her hands,

"I know Will, but that doesn't allow you to use your clothing as a tissue. Come on, buck up."

again I tried to comfort my friend by holding her, stroking her hair like my Mother would mine when I was like this. Unfortunately last night after I'd found out about Angel being Angelus... I may have called Giles and ranted to him on the phone but... I had no one consoling me. I had went home and collapsed on my bed and mentally broke down. Will's right, I should have called her and talked to her, told her to come over, anything.

I can't even talk to my Mom about all this... The one person I know that would, honestly, never judge me for anything I've ever done. But I'm her little girl... but at the same time,

I'm Buffy, I'm the strong one. I'm meant to console them, not them console me.

My consoling Willow was interrupted by the telephone in Giles' office ringing. I didn't know really whether to answer it or not, so I suppose to get her mind off of being sad and weepy over Xander, Willow crossed the room quicker than I could and answered with her best 'I'm not crying right now' voice.

'Hello? Yes, this is the Sunnydale High library. I'll go get Mr. Giles then,'

Willow said as she laid the phone down upon the desk and looked to me, then opened the door to the office and walked out. I stood there, sort of wondering who was on the other end of the phone and what they wanted, when Willow came back into the office with Giles and he answered the phone,

'Yes, this is Rupert Giles, can I help you? Oh, oh, yes. I've heard about you and your family.'

I could tell by the sound in Giles' voice, it must be Slayer business.

'Help you say. Actually, I would prefer you to ask her. She's here, in the room just now.'

Giles said to the person on the other line of the phone and dropped it from his ear slowly, in a handing motion to give it to me. I raised a brow as if to ask who was it and he just nudged the phone closer towards me. I sighed with a bit of a glare towards him and took it,

"Hello?"

I answered, trying my best not to sound irritated.

"Thank you for taking my call. My name is Doctor Carlisle Cullen and I'm a vampire,"

'Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Doctor Cullen, I can tell by your voice.' I said within my head, but I wouldn't say it. I wasn't going to be so rude without a good reason to be that way.

"And why exactly are you getting in touch with, the Slayer, Doctor Cullen?"

I asked and I heard a soft chuckle, I had to admit his voice was one of the most velvety smooth, and might I even add, young sounding that I'd ever heard before. Though, I still would have preferred to hear the angelic voice of my now ex lover.

"I'm not sure how familiar you are with the state of Washington but my family and I have a permanent home here. We live around three hours from Seattle. There is a newborn army rampaging there. They're about to come here. They're after a particular member of the family, we believe at least, therefore, we must fight."

I was trying to grasp everything he said. A family? Didn't vampires have covens? Permanent home? Newborn army?

"Okay, whoa. I've been Slaying for a few years now but...what you're telling me, I've never heard a vampire say such things. A family? Don't you mean a coven? A permanent home? Newborn army? Are you saying there is an army of newly risen vampires?"

"Precisely,"

the gentleman on the other end of the phone said, but it sounded a little grave. The situation must truly be dire.

"How do you know they're coming after you?"

"I'm not too sure if you've heard of vampires with, supernatural powers, or not. But my daughter, Alice, can see the future. There was a local boy who disappeared about a year ago now. Alice focused in on him and was able to see his future. Now, her visions are subjective, they can change if the person, he or she changes their mind. For the last day or so the visions have been the same, he plans to bring his army here and try to destroy us. This same person is the one we believe, two nights ago, was in a family members bedroom... What he was doing there, we're unsure of. No one caught him in the act. We could smell his scent."

It was pretty neat, to me, that Alice could see the future. But it still sounded like too much for me to handle.

"Who would be after the member of your family? How many are in your family, Carlisle?"

"That's something we'll have to discuss when you get here. The story is much too long for a quick phone call."

The vampire quickly cleared his voice.

"There is myself and my wife, and our five children. We will all be fighting with you. We all have gifts."

There would be seven vampires fighting along with me. With supernatural gifts. What did I have to lose, other than my life? The life that I honestly didn't even care about anymore. I didn't have Angel now and I had no way of saving him, not that I knew of.

"If you can give me a number to reach you at, Mr. Cullen, I'll call you first thing in the morning to arrange my coming up there."

I said, trying to sound as professional as I could. Like I had actually traveled away from Sunnydale to slay before, something I'd never even thought would ever occur. The vampire gave me a number to reach him at and I wrote it down on a small piece of paper and slid it into my jeans pocket. He gave me his and his families thanks and we hung up.

Giles and Willow had been the only two to be in the office and hear the conversation. I had already made up my mind before I turned to them, that I wasn't going to let the Scooby Gang go with me.

I planned on getting killed, I wasn't going to let them be there to see that. I wasn't going to let the same fate happen to them.