Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

It was Saturday morning when I awoke.. I wasn't any less nervous now than I had been last night before falling asleep. The only thing that pleased me was the fact that it was indeed Saturday. My flying to Washington didn't interrupt school and even if it did, which I could of course end up being gone Monday, and Tuesday...hell, for the rest of the week; it wasn't like the Scoobies wouldn't cover for me.

I was all packed however and I remembered telling Mr. Cullen if he gave me a number to reach him at... he had. I dug around in the bed and found the piece of paper I'd wrote it on and grabbed my cell phone, only to find a voice-mail.

"Good morning, Buffy. This is Doctor Cullen, please forgive me for sounding haste and of course, having your personal cell number. I ended up calling the school back a few moments after you left last night and talked to your, watcher." He had paused, almost as if he didn't know what to call Giles. "I just wanted to let you know that I've got everything arranged for your coming up here. Just be at the airport by no less than ten and tell them my name and destination. All should be well. See you soon."

And of course by the time I got to the airport that morning, I was surprised to find everything was in order, indeed as he had said. "Miss Summers, yes, your ticket was bought by the receiving party in Port Angeles, Washington." The doctor most certainly had arranged this and I didn't mind; after all, it was he who had called in need of a Slayer. It was their duty to provide transportation...though I'd never traveled for slaying duties before. I found it to be proper.

It was a rather boring flight. First class, which I was somewhat happy about. I was way too nerve-wrecked for babies, antsy women on periods, etcetera. The list could simply go on for ages. I was alone though and that, I didn't care for all too much. Being the teenage girl I was, my nose was poked into a Seventeen magazine, appropriate for me, don't you think? It occupied me during the entire flight and honestly, I was rather surprised when they announced we'd be landing within ten minutes. The flight couldn't have been more than three hours, maybe three and a half at the absolute most.

No turbulence, no disturbance. If you'd have told me I was a Slayer and trouble found me wherever I went; I'd at least have been able to reply that it didn't find me on the plane. I got off the plane with ease and received my duffel bag at the check point and proceeded to walk through the airport, knowing nothing about where I was going.

Was I suppose to be meeting someone? That was the first thing that ran through my mind and as soon as that question was asked within my head, I saw a very pixie-like being waiting for me at the airport. She had the most palest of skins I'd ever seen, next to Willow of course, or compared to my Mother.. though Mom was much more olive toned.

She was too beautiful to not be a vampire, but her smile was inviting and her golden eyes... she had golden eyes, they were hypnotic but definitely unlike any other vampires I'd ever seen. I walked to her almost invitingly and she smiled, "You're Buffy, right?" She asked in a high, but not too high pitch of voice.

"Yes," I replied with a little nod, my duffel swung over my back.

"I'm Alice, I'm Carlisle's daughter, the one who has visions." She said softly, I suppose she'd heard mine and the doctor, Carlisle's, conversation. She walked me to a sleek black car and I heaved my duffel bag into the trunk, walking around and getting into the passenger, to see her already there.

I took a deep breath, it had surprised me, and she had noticed. I suppose my heart-rate had picked up. "You'll have to excuse me, Alice. I'm not new with vampires... I've staked too many to count down in Sunnydale, but.. you and your family are new to me. I've never heard of a vampire having a gift, unless you count my boyf---ex boyfriend, who has a soul. He was cursed with it," I began, surely she didn't want to hear my life story.

"We have souls, but we also have gifts and extremely good control over our blood-lust. A question I saw you asking me on our car ride," by now the car was moving and I'd barely had time to put on my seat belt and it already seemed we were miles away from the airport. This woman drove fast. Very fast.

"Our eyes are golden because we drink from animals, not humans. I'm not saying it's easy to cope with the blood. It's not. It is to Carlisle, but he's had a lot more practice with it than most of us. Edward is doing quite remarkable as well, my brother, he has a gift as well. He can read people's minds." Alice explained and I nodded a bit.

"What are the rest of the gifts...in the family, if it's not too much to divulge?" I asked and found myself rubbing my thighs to straighten out my jeans. It was colder here, of course.. California was extremely warm compared to Washington. I should have known.

"I'm a clairvoyant, Edward is a telepathic. Carlisle has extreme blood control, Esme, my Mother has an extreme compassion for anything and anyone. Rosalie, well, her gift more or less is vanity...she's snarkey, but we all put up with it. Emmett is the strongest, definitely. He comes very handy in fights. Jasper can control emotions. That's it, that's all of us." Alice finished and I noticed we had slowed; I had been taking in the surroundings as much as I could, most of them were a blur. I noticed we were thickly in woods now and we were approaching a large house.

"This is it," her pixie-sounding voice that matched her looks to a tee informed me.. I was gasping almost.. A vampire family, lived, here? These most certainly were vampires I'd never been around before. I was in for a rude awakening, I felt.

I got out of the car when it slowed and parked in the garage and again, the pixie took me by surprise by already having my luggage out of the trunk and was carrying it in for me. "You are much stronger than you look," I said softly and she let out a soft giggle. "Yes, well, that comes with being a vampire. Super strength to a certain extent. I hope you're stronger than you appear as well."

I took it as a..somewhat compliment. Maybe I didn't want to look bulky like a Slayer should. I looked, I don't know.. girly? But I wasn't, not really.. Not totally anyway. I made my way behind Alice into the main room of the Cullen household. But there were more people here, than I expected...