maevebran

Title: The Dance of Sorrow: Part 3

Author: Maeve Bran

Rating: K+

Summary: Glory adjusts to her new situation.

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or Angel or Bones or the movie "These Girls". No harm intended and no profit made.

Prompt: #44 - Red

Notes: Part One is here and Part Two is here. Also, I'm going off the Canadian version of the movie which has younger ages for the girls.

The Wolfram and Hart jet flew from Shediac, New Brunswick, Canada to Washington D.C, carrying a quartet of women. Willow Rosenberg spent the time conversing with Glory Lorraine, the newest member of the group.

"Mind if I ask you a question?" Willow asked.

"Go ahead." Glory replied.

"Not that I mind, but why were you so willing to come with us? I mean we are three complete strangers. How did you know you could trust us?" Willow queried.

Glory thought for a moment, then replied. "I'm seventeen and pregnant. The baby's father is a married man who wants to get rid of me. My only other choice is to get together with Donny and let him take care of me. At least your offer came with a job and people to help raise my baby. It wasn't much of a choice for me."

"That makes sense. I just bet your baby will be incredibly spoiled in Vegas," Willow assured her.

Minutes later, the jet touched down at a private airport. When they deplaned, the group was met by a sight that nearly had Glory fainting. Fortunately, Buffy was prepared and caught her as she began to sag.

"That can't be," Glory whispered to Buffy after she regained her composure.

"Yes, it can be. I must admit I had nearly the same reaction to Keith," Buffy replied.

"What's wrong with her?" Special Agent Seeley Booth asked. "Is she sick or something?"

"It's a long story . . ." Buffy started.

"It can wait until we get back to the Jeffersonian or somewhere," Angel said. "Clearly this will be best explained in privacy."

"Yes, it will. But let me just say that two of you isn't enough for the universe," Willow chimed in.

"You mean . . .?" Booth exclaimed. "This definitely needs a private place to be explained."

An hour later Willow, Booth, Angel, Buffy, Dawn, and Glory were all ensconced in the living room of Willow's apartment. The room was done in cream with red accents. It was different, but suited the redheaded witch perfectly. Geeky clean with hints of the historical in the plush red velvety tapestry of the throw pillows and curtains, which were drawn to save Angel from a fiery death. The group had gathered there for explanations both about Glory and about Numfar.

Willow was busy getting things together for tea and coffee. Buffy was sitting in one corner of the couch with her feet tucked up under her, clutching a pillow to her chest. Glory was mirroring her in the other corner. Both were uncomfortable in the presence of Angel and Booth, for different reasons-- Buffy because of her past with both men, Glory because of their resemblance to Keith and because she was alone with these very strange people. Dawn was sitting on the floor in front of the couch. Angel was sitting in a straight-backed chair taken from the nearby kitchen table. He seemed genuinely puzzled. Booth was restlessly pacing in front of the coffee table.

Willow moved from the kitchen area and set a tray with the coffee and tea down on the table. Everyone soon had a red earthenware mug with their beverage of choice doctored they way they liked it. Then they settled down to the business at hand.

"First, why did she faint upon meeting Angel and I? Second, who is she?" Booth started the conversation when no one else seemed willing to.

"This is Glory Lorraine. She is the newest vampire slayer to be found." Buffy introduced the girl. Then she turned to Glory, "Glory, I'd like you to meet Special Agent Seeley Booth of the FBI and . . ."

"I'm Angel." Angel said, "And you should know I'm a vampire, but I have a soul." Glory looked confused and horrified at this news. "I've fought by Buffy's side for years."

"That he has." Buffy agreed.

"You didn't answer the question about why we were so shocking." Booth pointed out.

"Well, Glory's, uh, boyfriend was your and Angel's triplet." Dawn spoke up for the first time. "When we got there, he broke up with her in a scene that made any scene between you and Buffy, Angel, look like a walk in the park."

Dawn stared daggers at Angel, who at least had the grace to appear ashamed of his past behavior. Then she pulled out the picture Glory had brought with her and handed it to Angel, who handed it to Booth. "You can see the resemblance," she said.

"I haven't seen myself in a mirror since Pylea, three years ago, but yeah, I can see the resemblance. How about you, Seeley?" Angel asked.

"Yeah, I see it," Booth agreed.

"Well, the shock of your appearance combined with her condition, naturally made Glory nearly faint." Willow explained.

"Her condition?" Angel asked puzzled.

""She's pregnant, then," Booth stated. Glory nodded miserably. "Admittedly, I don't know them that well, but Buffy and Dawn will take good care of you."

Glory appeared relieved to hear someone else confirm her opinion of the Summers women. Granted, she didn't know this stranger, who looked like Keith but was acting his total opposite, but if you couldn't trust an FBI Agent, who could you trust?

"I thought so too, that's why I came with them," Glory finally spoke up. "Enough about me. You said you were a vampire?" Glory turned to Angel. "I don't know much about being a slayer but aren't you supposed to be the enemy?"

"Normally a vampire would be dust if he got close to Buffy, but I have a soul," Angel tried to explain.

"You mentioned that before, but what does that mean?" she asked.

"Yeah, I would like the full explanation on that one. Back in LA you gave Bones and I a brief explanation, but I've never been really clear on the whole vampire with a soul thing. Both you and Spike have souls, but what does that mean?" Booth asked, seeing an opportunity to fill in the gaps he had in the story.

Angel was silent for a moment. The guilt of the past was almost palpable to the three ladies from Sunnydale. They knew the story Angel was about to tell.

"I was one of the most renowned vampires ever. The Watcher's diaries record my acts as some of the most gruesome acts of violence in their histories. I'm not bragging, but telling you this so you know what Buffy, Dawn, and Willow know. That is, as Angelus I was the worst mass murderer you could ever meet. Then one day my sire, Darla, brought me a gift. A young Gypsy girl, not too bright but pretty and loved by her clan. I killed her like I had killed many others. Her clan elders conjured the perfect revenge. They gave me back my soul. You have no idea what it is like to have done the things I did and then suddenly to care. In one instant, all the guilt and remorse I hadn't felt, because I'd had no soul, for a hundred and fifty-six years fell on me. A century and a half of slaughter and in an instant the guilt came. It nearly killed me."

Booth and Glory appeared to be stunned and then shocked as Angel explained. "After I got a soul, I spent a hundred years searching for a way to be with Darla, but since I felt remorse for killing I would only kill the occasional murderer to live. But Darla wouldn't take me like that, she demanded I kill innocents still and I couldn't. Then I met Buffy and decided to try to seek redemption and make up for my past, only I don't think I ever will be able to."

"There are just some things you can never make up for," Booth agreed. His face spoke of a guilt that nearly mirrored Angel's, and an understanding passed between the doppelgangers. The rest of the group was silent for a moment, as they observed the man and vampire.

"What is a sire?" Glory broke the silence.

"A vampire who turns a human into another vampire is said to have sired the new vampire. The new vampire is the childe of the sire," Dawn explained as pompously as either Giles or Wesley would have, when they were new Watchers and hadn't had to be in the field. "Although the term can also be applied to any senior vampire in the line."

"Thank you, Dawn," Buffy said, giving her sister a look. "Any other pressing questions, Glory? Or are you regretting your choice in a new life? Once you learn all of what goes bump in the night you'll never be able to go back."

"It is a lot to absorb, but what do I have to go back to? Keith doesn't love me. My best friends have moved on to their schools. I have made my choice," Glory stated flatly. "But I do have a question."

"Go ahead." Buffy said soothingly.

"My fuzzy understanding of being a Slayer is to kill vampires. So how do I do that?" Glory asked.

"Yes, that is the job," Buffy answered as she looked at Angel. She wasn't used to explaining how to kill vampires in front of Angel. She seemed to be uncomfortable at the idea.

"Buffy, don't worry." Angel sensed the reason for discomfort. "I'm used to explaining how to kill me. If I revert to Angelus, I'd like to know that those that I care about will be able to do something about it." Then he turned to Glory. "We can be killed by a wooden stake to the heart, decapitation, sunlight, or by being set on fire. A vampire turns to dust when killed."

'I think that covers all the basics," Buffy said as a way to end the conversation that was making her more and more uncomfortable. "So, Booth, how is the investigation into the Numfar thing coming?"

"We have made some progress, but all the information is at the Jeffersonian. Why don't we meet there tomorrow, and Dr. Brennan, Angela, Angel, and I can bring you up to speed," Booth answered.

"Sounds like a plan," Buffy agreed. "It's been a day, and I think we all could use a good night's rest."

Booth and Angel left the women at Willow's apartment after making firmer plans for the next day.

(tbc)

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