Years In, Year Out:
Old Flames
by KNS

You to the left and I to the right,
For the ways of men must sever-
And it well may be for a day and a night
And it well may be forever.
~ Richard Hovey - "At the Crossroads"

"So how bad do you think this is going to be?" Buffy asked, setting her glass of lemonade back on the table that separated her from Angel.

Angel made a face. "Hard to say. Even Giles didn't sound very optimistic, which doesn't bode well for any of us." He leaned back in his chair and adjusted his sunglasses.

It was the beginning of January, and in sunny Miami the weather was bright and beautiful. On this early Monday afternoon it was especially nice outside - the clear sky was a brilliant shade of blue, the sun was warm but not merciless, and a gentle wind was blowing in from the ocean, bringing with it that wonderful smell of the endless sea.

Buffy and Angel were seated on the deck of their house, enjoying the pleasant weather as they waited for the newest Slayer to arrive.

"Take a guess," Buffy urged. "On a scale of one to ten, what do you think?"

"Based on Giles' information, I'd say seven," he answered after a moment's thought.

"A seven," Buffy echoed. "That's not so bad. I mean, Faith was about a nine point nine, so if this girl's only a seven, it shouldn't be too hard to straighten her out."

Angel looked as if he were about to agree, but the car pulling into the driveway attracted his attention. "That's Giles with her now," he said instead.

Together they stood and went around the house to meet the new girl. As the pair approached Giles' rather dilapidated car, they saw that there were actually three people waiting there for them - an unknown man, a teenage girl, and a very unhappy looking Giles. Buffy glanced a question at Angel he shrugged, knowing no more than she did.

"Hey Giles," Buffy greeted the frowning council head. "I see you've brought visitors."

"Hello Buffy," Giles said, his voice calm and clipped as it always became when he was fiercely annoyed. "This is Arnold Simmons and Helen Taen. Helen, Mr. Summers - Angel and Buffy Summers."

The short, square bodied man with short-clipped brown hair shook hand with Buffy. "It's an honor to met you, Slayer. I was absolutely shocked when I heard of Wyndham-Price's actions against you."

He didn't sound ‘absolutely shocked' - he sounded snide and petty, Angel thought. He didn't like the way the man's eyes looked at Buffy as if she were an insect. This was the man who, for over a month, had neglected to inform Giles that a new Slayer had been called. Angel thought that this man had probably backed Wesley one hundred percent in all his actions.

Apparently Buffy was thinking something along the same lines because she gave the man one of her tight-lipped, I'm-smiling-only-because-I-have-to smiles. "It's a - pleasure - to meet you," she said, her voice full of implication.

The Watcher gave her a smile of the same calabur. "Charmed, I'm sure." He turned and gestured at the young woman standing beside him. "Helen, say hello to the Slayer."

Helen was a tall, slim female with dark hair and even darker eyes. She was dressed in the style common to the individuals of her generation - that is, in a mid-drift shirt that exposed more skin than it covered and jeans so tight it was a wonder she could walk at all. She turned her dark eyes on her Watcher and said calmly, "You're not my father, Lemons, and she's not the only damn Slayer standing here." Then she looked at Buffy, smiled brilliantly and said, "Nice to meet you. And you, too, handsome," she added to Angel.

Simmons rolled his eyes and sighed, as if to say ‘See what I put up with?' "Enjoy your stay, Helen. Ms. Summers, I leave her in your care." He started to turn towards the car, then remembered something at the last minute. "I almost forgot," he said, handing Buffy a large envelope. "Here's her contract."

Buffy and Angel exchanged glances. "What contract?" Angel asked, reaching for the envelope.

The Watcher snatched it back to his chest. "None of your affair, Angelus," he said stiffly.

There was a tense silence for a moment where nothing could be heard but the breaking of the waves on the shore behind them.

Buffy laughed shortly, and it was not from amusement. "I know you didn't just do what I think you did," she said, her voice laced with mockery. "I know you didn't just come to our home and insult us. I know you're smarter than that."

While Simmons was busy gaping at Buffy, Angel plucked the envelope from his hands. Opening it, he pulled out documents made of heavy paper and quickly scanned over them. "What is this?" he asked, glancing at the Watcher.

Simmons pressed his lips together and glared.

"It's a contract between the Watcher's Council and Helen," Giles explained. "Wesley decided at some point that Slayers should sign an agreement to work for the Council in exchange for care, assistance, and protection. It's completely legal and binding. Internationally."

"How long does it last?" Angel asked, knowing there was more.

Giles smiled humorlessly. "Only for as long as she's a Slayer."

Buffy took that papers from Angel's hands. "I assume this is the original?" she asked without looking up.

"Of course," Simmons sniffed.

"Good." Buffy abruptly ripped it in half, then in half again. She took the pieces and placed them in the envelope. "Have a nice trip home," she said, handing the envelope back to Simmons.

The Watcher gave her an ugly look. "There are copies on file, you know,' he sneered.

Angel smiled. "You know what you can do with those. Happy flying."

The Watcher glared at them both for a moment, then pushed past them to circle around the car, mumbling about what he was forced to endure.

Giles opened the trunk and unloaded Helen's two duffel bags. "I'll see you again tonight, Helen," he told the young woman warmly.

Helen smiled falsely. "I certainly hope not. I can't stand English accents."

The three adults exchanged glances.

"See you tonight," Buffy said firmly.

"Of course," Giles answered.

As he and the Watcher drove away, Buffy and Angel surveyed the new Slayer. "Giles is a very good friend of mine," Buffy said. "He could be yours too, if you're wise enough to take him up on it."

"I don't think so," Helen said smugly. "That old man's got more than one screw loose. So that's your place, huh? Not too bad. One of you two must be loaded," she added. Picking up her bags, she began to stroll towards the house.

Buffy looked at Angel.

"Okay, so she's not a seven," Angel admitted. "She's a nine."

"Damn straight," Buffy laughed.

"This isn't going to work, Angel," Buffy was saying by four o'clock. "She's been here four hours and already she's driving me nuts."

Angel nodded. "I know. It's going to take some time. But it's worth the fight, don't you think?"

She sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, it is. But - the only fighting I think she'll do is that which involves words. She's got this apathy - it's like she just doesn't care about anything. And according to her Watcher's reports, it shows in her fighting."

"Simmons didn't seem to like her much," Angel reminded her.

"I noticed," Buffy agreed wryly. "But his reports were very meticulous. I've read everything he turned in to Giles. She just doesn't give a damn about anything. I know there's a reason for that. God, she's a classic case - a psychiatrist would love to have a crack at her."

"Sounds right up your alley," Angel commented. He watched Buffy as she paced around the small library. He knew she could handle this girl. She had the training, skill, experience and patience to straighten the new Slayer out. What was making her so uneasy then? Only the memory of a long dead friend she'd never been able to help.

"She's not Faith, Buffy," Angel said quietly. "And you're not another teenager trying to help her out. You made it through the hard times. Now all you have to do is show her how you made it."

Buffy let out a breath of laughter. "I'm really hoping she doesn't use me as an example."

Angel stood up from the recliner and went to stand before her. "Don't ever put yourself down," he said sharply. "Maybe you feel like you've made some mistakes in your life - but no more than anyone else. You're *alive*. Despite all the odds, against all the rules - here you are. Alive. Sane." He smiled winningly at her. "Reasonably normal."

"Watch it," she said warningly, but she was smiling too.

"Don't worry so much," Angel encouraged. "She's not going to be another Faith."

"Who's Faith?"

They turned to find Helen casually leaning against the doorway, arms crossed loosely over her chest. She smiled at them with more than a touch of superiority, knowing that they had no idea how long she'd been standing there.

"She must be somebody that really scared you, if you're talking about her like this," the dark haired teenager said, stepping into the room. "From what I hear, that takes somebody pretty special - to scare the might Buffy, I mean. Tell me some more about her."

The girl doesn't realize how right she is, Angel reflected. He glanced at Buffy, but she was staring out the window, her eyes gazing at something only she could see.

The doorchime suddenly sounded, saving Angel from having to answer. "Company," he said shortly, then moved past Helen, who didn't give him an inch of extra room. "Thanks,' he grumbled.

"No problem," she laughed. Turning back to Buffy, she repeated, "So who's Faith?"

Buffy looked at the young woman watching her expectantly.

"Hey, ex-Dead Boy!" Xander's greeting echoed up the hallway and into the room.

"Faith was another Slayer," Buffy said quietly. "She was a good friend." She moved to slide past Helen, paused at the last minute. Meeting those dark, unreadable eyes, she added flatly, "I killed her." Then she moved past the girl, who stared after her with disbelief scrawled across her face.

"So, Helen, what do you think of sunny Miami?" Willow set the dish of salad on the table and stuck the silver tongs into it. "Must be a big change from Phoenix."

Slouched in a chair at the far end of the table, Helen started to answer, then paused and gazed at Willow suspiciously. "How'd you know I was from Phoenix?"

"Giles told me," Willow answered gently. The girl was suspicious of everything. Perhaps she had a reason to be, but such quick doubt sat oddly in the eyes of one so young.

"Oh," Helen said blankly. After a moment she asked, "Are you a Watcher, too?"

Willow made a face. "Well....not exactly. I spent a lot of time training to become a Watcher, but then I changed my mind. I still help Giles now and then though." She heard the knock on Buffy's door and smiled at the young woman. "I'll be right back."

"What was your name again?" Helen asked.

Willow called back her answer before pulling open the door to reveal Giles and Marianna. "Hi guys."

"Great, now we can eat," Buffy said brightly as she came around the corner.

"Is that Giles?" Xander shouted from the livingroom. "I really hope it is, 'cause I'm starving."

"You're always starving," Angel could be heard answering.

"It's nice to know we're wanted," Marianna laughed as she stepped past Willow.

"Yes, well, wait until you meet Helen," Giles returned, speaking low so that his voice wouldn't carry.

"I hear that, Mr. Four Eyes," Helen called from the kitchen. She didn't sound upset, but seemed rather pleased with his comment.

"I take it you haven't made much progress yet," Giles dryly said to Buffy.

Buffy threw up her hands. "Do I look like a magician to you? It's only been a few hours. Now come on, let's eat before Xander starts in on the furniture."

They settled around the oak table, Willow and the boys on one side, Giles and Mari and Helen on the other, Buffy and Angel each seated on separate ends. Marianna sat beside the new Slayer, and when she introduced herself to the young woman Helen was very civil (much to Giles' surprise.) In fact, throughout the meal Helen surprised the group - she answered questions posed to her politely if a little vaguely, and otherwise ate silently.

Buffy was just beginning to take a liking to the Slayer when, in the middle of finishing her baked potato, Helen looked across the table to Xander and said, "I remember you - you're the guy who blew away the last big-shot Council head, right?"

Shocked, Xander simply stared at the girl.

Buffy bolted to her feet. "Helen, would you help me bring out the desert?"

Helen rolled her eyes but stood and followed Buffy to the kitchen. "Did you really -"

"Shut up," Buffy snapped, turning on her. Her eyes fiercely bright, she told her, "You can say anything you want to me. You can say anything you want to Angel. But don't you dare even think about repeating what you just said to Xander - or anything else to do with that incident. If the fact that you don't know a single detail about the situation didn't make you watch your words, the two boys in that room certainly should have."

Helen toyed with her dark hair and gazed at Buffy sullenly. "Yeah, okay, whatever."

But when they returned to the table Helen asked no more careless questions, and after dinner she even volunteered to take the two boys out to play on the beach.

"I'm sorry she said that," Buffy told Willow as they loaded the dishwasher.

Willow shrugged. "She didn't say anything that wasn't true. I just wish she hadn't said it in front of the boys."

"It won't happen again," Buffy assured her grimly.

"Buffy, are you expecting company?" Mari asked as she brought more dishes from the table.

The blonde Slayer jammed a bowel between two plates. "Only you guys. Why?"

"They won't get clean if you do that," Willow warned.

"Yeah they will..."

"Because a black sedan just pulled up in your drive," Mari added.

As Willow pulled out the dishes to replace them properly, Buffy glanced out the window over the sink. "I don't know who that is," she said, grabbing the towel to dry her hands. "Probably has the wrong address."

She headed for the door as Will continued to pull out dishes. "Did you like the desert? I used an old recipe of my mom's. The mice had nibbled at the card a little so I had to guess how much sugar to add..."

Marianna was staring out the window. "Willow, I'm sorry to interrupt, but doesn't that car have government plates?"

Willow yanked out the last mug, then moved to the window. "Um, I think-" She abruptly fell silent. Looking out the window, she stared at something for a moment, then slammed the mug down on the counter and ran out of the room, calling for Angel as she went.

"What's going on?" Angel asked, appearing from the library.

Willow caught him by the arm and dragged him to the front door. "I can't believe this, it's been years..."

"What's wrong?" Xander asked Mari.

Mari shrugged. "I don't know. A black sedan with government plates is in the driveway, and Buffy's talking to the driver, but..."

They followed Willow and Angel outside. "Oh god," Xander groaned when he saw the man Buffy was facing.

Angel turned to him. "Do you know him? Should I be getting a weapon?"

"Not unless you want to be facing murder charges," Xander sighed, averting his eyes.

"What?" the ex-vampire asked, confused.

"Angel, that's Riley," Mari said gently. "Riley Finn. Buffy's husband."

When the man in the pin-striped suit climbed out of the car, she didn't recognize him. "Can I help you?" she called, moving closer, and then he slipped off his sunglasses and she froze.

The blue eyed man stared at her without moving, watching her as she watched him. His face was closed, and his eyes reflected nothing of what he thought or felt.

Nothing, that is, until he put his glasses into his breast pocket and smiled at her. "Hello, Buffy," he said gently.

Buffy stood very still. A voice in her head was telling her this wasn't happening, it couldn't be happening. She looked at his eyes, his beautiful blue eyes. They were still bright and keen, but there were little lines at their corners, and somehow they seemed a little colder than she remembered them. She wondered how much coldness and how many lines could be credited to her.

She didn't smile. Her world was about to fall apart - that was no cause to smile. "It's - good to see you," she said instead. Only half of her meant it, the half that wanted to throw herself into his arms.

He seemed relieved at her answer. "It's good to see you, too," he said warmly. "I wasn't sure...Would you mind if I hugged you?"

The question was almost absurd. "No," she answered, and awkwardly wrapped her arms around him. It felt both wrong and right at the same time. Pulling back from him, she shook her head and mumbled, "I'm sorry." She wasn't sure if she meant sorry for hugging him or sorry for pulling back or sorry for a billion other things for which she owed him an apology.

"It's all right," Riley answered, laying a hand on her cheek. "I'm sorry too."

"Riley!" Willow cried, appearing beside the pair. "How are you?"

Riley laughed and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Willow, hi. My god, you look wonderful. Still married to that bum of a businessman?"

"Of course," Xander answered. "And I'll have you know I make over six figures, thank you very much."

The two men warmly clasped hands. "How've you been, g-man?" Xander asked.

"Good, good," Riley answered. He turned and saw Marianna standing on the other side of Buffy. "Mari, you're as beautiful as ever," he said, bringing the back of her hand to his lips. "Where's Giles? Off researching demons somewhere?"

"No," Mari laughed. "He's gone to collect the boys and Helen. Goodness, Riley, why didn't you call first? We would have held dinner for you."

"Oh, I didn't want to be a bother," Riley answered easily.

"It's never a bother when an old friend of Buffy's stops by," Angel said, his voice unreadable. He offered his hand to Riley. "I'm Angel."

Riley accepted his hand. "Nice to meet you, Angel. I'm Riley Finn."

Willow could almost taste the animosity between the two men. Lord, this was not going to be pretty. "Well, Xander, we better get going. The boys have school tomorrow. It was nice to see you again, Riley."

"Wait, wait," Riley protested. "We haven't even had a chance to catch up yet. You have to let me take you to dinner, at least. How about tomorrow night?"

"Sure, we can do that," Xander agreed before Willow could stop him. "You're going to be in town for a while?"

Riley's eyes slid to a still silent Buffy. "As long as I have to," he said slowly, and even Xander understood what he meant.

"Call us," Willow said, and reeled off their number. "Boys, let's go!" she called, walking towards the car.

"Later, Riley," Xander said in a subdued voce. He followed Willow and added his call for the boys to hurry up.

"Riley, is that you?" Giles asked, walking up the beach with Helen beside him. "Good god, man, what are you doing here?"

"Thought I'd stop by for a visit." Riley briefly embraced the older man. "I'm glad you're still alive and kicking, old man."

"Good to see you haven't been locked in some foreign jail," Giles returned. "I see you've found Buffy and - Angel," the council head stumbled, as if just realizing the ramifications of the situation.

"I'm Helen," the dark haired Slayer announced, putting herself infront of Riley. "Helen Taen."

Riley smiled politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Heather."

Helen smiled. "I'm a pleasure to meet. And the name's Helen."

"My apologies," the tall man dutifully said. "Buffy, is there somewhere we could talk? Perhaps over a drink?"

Buffy's eyes widened. What was she suppose to do now? She couldn't really say no, but with Angel standing right there - But Riley deserved something from her, too. "Sure," she said slowly. Looking at Angel, she added, "I won't be gone long.. I'm just going to go wash my hands."

Angel nodded patiently, as if he wasn't at all bothered that she was going out with her ex-husband. He was her ex, right?

"Okay then," Buffy mumbled. She turned towards the house, still somewhat dazed. Helen tagged after her, asking questions that she ignored or answered in monosyllables.

"So, Riley," Angel said when Buffy had gone, "what do you do?"

Riley shrugged. "I'm with the government."

"I'm guessing not as a postal carrier," Angel said dryly. "FBI?"

"Very close," Giles interrupted. "Riley heads the CIA."

"‘Heads' is a strong word," Riley objected. "‘Assists' would be a better description."

Angel smiled slyly. "I knew a CIA agent once."

Giles knew exactly where he was going with that. "Look, here's Buffy," he said quickly.

Buffy stopped beside Angel. "Helen's inside. I'd watch her if I were you." She hesitated, then abruptly turned away. "Be back soon."

Angel resisted the urge to tell her to stay away from alcohol. She was an adult, she had the right to do whatever she wanted. But it hurt him a little that she hadn't even kissed him goodbye.

"Nice to meet you, Angel," Riley said, a touch of condescension in his voice. "I'll call you, Giles, Mari."

"Of course," Giles answered while Mari nodded.

"Nice to meet you too, Riley," Angel said civilly, although he was thinking something quite the opposite.

The three watched the black sedan back up and drive away.

"Alright," Angel said finally. "Who's going to tell me about Riley?"

Part Two

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