Queen Bee
by cathy nort
chapter 3
[reviews]
"How can that be Giles? She's not one of the Slayer who went AWOL you now
tell me. Last night I knocked Willow unconscious because of what you told me."
What concerned Buffy even more was how Willow would react to learning that
Dusty was not any where near as dangerous as Buffy had led her to believe.
Willow had been very forgiving about last night's incident which now was now
totally unjustified. What frightened Buffy even further was the propect of
Willow wanting to make amends to the attractive Dusty for snubbing her on
several other occasions beside last nights.
"I wish I could explain what happened but I can't. When I forwarded
her name to the Counsel's data base it sent back a red alert which means a
person with dangerous capabilities. A red flag as it were. Yesterday when I sent
in the picture we scanned from your cell picture it registered 'no photo
recognition of subject'. I made the unprecedented step of going to the data base
of ALL Slayers in the Counsel's network and she just was not ever, past or
present, been a Slayer."
Giles paused to shift through the papers on his desk. He found what
he was looking for, a photo which he handed over to Buffy. "These are the three
missing Slayers. Do you recognize any of them, Buffy?"
Buffy studied the photo. It was a composite of three different
shots superimposed on one photo. Under of the Slayers names, Jaunita,
Emily and Muriel, were their photos. Buffy handed the photo back gloomily
to Giles. "Never saw any of them before."
"Giles, do you think their is another Dusty Laurent? Is that what
triggered the red alert. And that is the reason you were mislead?" Buffy
asked.
"I wish I knew," was all Giles could mutter.
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Buffy avoided calling Willow that evening prefering to wait until
the morning before telling her about Dusty. Buffy felt horrible. She wished she
had waited longer, found out more before having warned Willow about Dusty. Why,
she asked herself, had she been so hasty? It was not typical of Buffy to be this
careless and she had to wonder if it was a jealous Buffy that had trumped a
rational Buffy. In the morning she would have the task of trying to make it up
for deceiving Willow.
Usually Buffy went home before going out on patrol but she had the
need to be alone with her thoughts. After calling Joyce and telling her she
wouldn't be home until after patrol she idled the time away window shopping in
the mall.
And Buffy really needed to go on patrol since she had not the night
before. Love making with Willow had erased one patrol and seldom did Buffy not
go out two nights in a row.
So she took the usual routes expecting to have a busy night.
Vampires usually grew bolder when they learned a Slayer hadn't been around the
previous night. First Buffy patroled Casey's Lagoon behind Cedar Park. There she
found not a single vampire which surprised her since it seemed to draw the
undead with great frequency. The only thing she found was evidence that one of
them had been staked the previous evening. A pile of dust, the remains of a
staked vamp that only a Slayer could tell was not a harmless clod of
soil.
She then went over to the cemetary. Always a sure thing. Nothing.
Nothing except the remains of two more stakings. What is going on here, she
wondered? Was Faith about? No. she was still in Cleveland.
With the lack of action Buffy's mind wandered back to
Willow. She quickly put them out of her head. Too sad. Stay alert Buff, she told
herself. As she stepped around a fallen tombstone she heard a comotion ahead. A
girl screamed. Buffy ran immediately to the sound. As Buffy came into a small
clearing she saw three vamps circling menacingly around a blondish girl. The
blond seemed more wary then frightened as she threatened the trio of undead with
something she was holding in her hand. Just as Buffy was about to jump into the
forray one of the vampires, his face distorted with rage, rushed the girl. She
tossed herself deftly to one side and sent a kick into the face of the charging
vampire sending it into a honeysuckle bush with a crash.
The blond turned just in time to drive what was in her hand into
the chest of a second vampire. He exploded, screaming in pain, into a pile of
dust. Buffy saw the third vampire being joined by the first who had crawled out
of the bush. Buffy reached him before he could attack once again driving her
stake deep into his chest killing him. Buffy turned to face the last vamp but
all she saw was the blond dispatching him with a thrust of her stake.
"How about that?" Buffy said walking up to the blond. Their eyes
meet for a moment.
Suddenly the blond yelled out. "LOOK OUT!!"
Buffy turned, the stake in her hand at ready. She found herself
facing nothing but the darkness of the night. Puzzled, she turned back to where
the blond should have been. She was gone. Vanished. Ther was another Slayer in
Sunnydale Buffy realized. But where had she come from? And why?
Buffy continued on her patrol, what else was she to do?
Earlier, even before Buffy came upon the murderous vampires and the blond
Slayer, Willow was in the library with Dusty. Dusty was wearing a orange tank
top and a pair of white shorts. She had taken pains to not overdo her make-up
but she wanted to look nice to Willow. A dab of 'It's Magic' perfume was behind
each ear and on her shoulder. She hoped the night would advance far enough so
Willow would be able to taste and smell the aroma.
Willow herself was wearing a denim mini and a blue tank top. She had always
been vain about her hair but tonight she had been less particular since Willow
was torn between wanting to impress Dusty and reluctant, at the same time, to
being too enticing.
Very little studying got done Willow discovered. Dusty asked tons of
questions, not about chemistry but about Willow, about Buffy, her likes, what
her skills were and about their relations to each other. Willow tried to
redirect the conversation back to chemistry but soon found it hopeless. Even
Willow found it surprising how when she spoke of Buffy it was in terms of deep
affection. It was as if as she talked it clarified in her own mind just how much
Buffy meant to her. Finally Dusty did what Willow had expected her to do all
along. She flirted unashamedly and was always finding a reason to touch the
red haired witch. Willow, who blushed easily, spent much of the latter part of
the night in crimson. Willow also discovered the attention was flattering and
she grew more and more comfortable with Dusty.
When the library closed Dusty insisted on walking Willow to her door which
was nearly a half mile out of her way.
Willow didn't forget her promise to Buffy about not being alone with Dusty
but she found she was unable to discourage Dusty who insisted.
As they walked Dusty's hand kept 'accidentally' brushing Willow's. Dusty
and Willow stopped at the top of the walkway that led to the Rosenberg
house.
"Well, thank you, Willow, for the chemistry lesson. And for the wonderful
evening."
"Oh gosh Dusty, if you learned anything tonight about chemistry it was pure
accident." Willow noticed how close Dusty was standing to her. And she was
looking at Willow in a way that left no doubt as to what was on her mind. "I
enjoyed tonight too Dusty. You're easy to be with."
"Really," Dusty said placing a hand on Willow's hip. "I'm glad to hear
that." Dusty's mouth was coming closer to Willow's.
Willow knew she should step back. That would end the moment. Maybe. Dusty
was going to kiss her if she didn't. But Dusty's hand pulled Willow closer and
it was too late. Her mouth found Willow's and the kiss started off soft, so very
soft. The intensity of it grew as their bodies touched the whole length. You're
a hopeless slut, Willow told herself as she kissed Dusty back. It was Willow who
broke it off. "I need to get in, Dusty."
"Why?" Dusty asked reaching toward Willow as the Wiccan retreated.
The best reason Willow could come up with was, 'Because." But it was
enough. She went into the house feeling she had somehow betrayed Buffy. She had
betrayed her but not because she had allowed Dusty to kiss her. It was something
else that bothered her but she couldn't identify what it was.