The Wheel
Disclaimers: I don't own them. You did know that, right? Oh, and I borrowed the concept of the ghostroads from The Gatekeeper Trilogy of Buffy books by Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder…but then I sort of adapted them to fit my story… The tarot images and definitions are from the "Ancestral Path Tarot" by Julie Cuccia-Watts, with text by Tracey Hoover. All are used without permission. I think I own everything else, but I could be wrong.
Spoilers: IWRY somewhat. Aside from that, general season 4/season 1.
Content: *Major* character death, angst, and B/A fluff. NutMeg called it "sad fluff." Isn't that an odd combination?
Notes: Another dream inspired fic. Feel free to run and hide now. Special thanks to NutMeg for beta reading this for me! You really helped my confidence with this story.
A note on the format of this story: Since this is a rather long fic, or will be eventually, and the parts are very short, it is divided into sections. Think like a novel that is divided into books and then into chapters. So, "The Wheel" is one story. Don't let the "book" titles confuse you.
Part Two
It was a new moon, and Sunnydale was incredibly dark without its light. It was a perfect night for demons to prey on the unwary. And there were always plenty of ‘unwary’ in this town.
Katherine wasn’t one of them, though. She was the Slayer.
One hand in the pocket of her jacket, the young Slayer ran her fingers over the rough wood of a stake. She was wandering the edge of one of Sunnydale’s cemeteries, weaving in and out of the cover of the trees. There was a vampire nearby; she’d sensed it on and off for the last several minutes. There weren’t many vampires in Sunnydale anymore, so Katherine was even more determined to do her job with this one. After tonight, there’d be one less vampire walking the earth.
Walking a bit deeper into the cemetery, she thought she caught a glimpse of another figure. It was hard to make him or her out, as they stayed hidden in the shadows. Definitely a vampire.
As quiet as possible, Katherine quickly closed in on the creature. It was male, wearing a long dark coat. Beyond that was impossible to tell in the darkness.
Removing the stake from her pocket, she prepared to slay the vampire before it was even aware of her presence. She hurried the last couple of steps, raised the stake and-
The vampire turned quickly, avoiding the stake and catching her wrist in mid strike. “Katherine!”
Katherine dropped her stake in surprise. “Dad!” she blurted. “What are you doing here?”
Angel showed her his own stake calmly before putting it back in his pocket. “The same thing as you, apparently,” he said easily. He leaned down and picked up the stake she had dropped. “If I give this back to you, do you promise not to try and stake me again?”
Katherine turned bright red in embarrassment. With a touch of chagrin, she knew her father could see her blush, even without any helpful moonlight. “I am *so* sorry,” she choked out.
Her father looked more amused than angry, though. “It’s okay,” he said, handing her back her stake. “You were only doing your job.”
“So…you’re not mad at me?” Katherine asked, chewing her lip. Funny how nearly staking her father turned her from confident Slayer to embarrassed little girl…
“No, I’m not mad at you,” Angel said calmly. He put an arm around her shoulder and began to walk with her along the edge of the cemetery. “Katherine?” he asked gently.
“Yes?”
He sighed. “When were you called?”
Katherine looked at her father in surprise. “Two weeks ago. How did you…?” She stopped herself quickly. Of course he’d know about Slayers. She’d known from a very young age that her family wasn’t like other families. Her father’s vampirism had never been kept secret from her or her younger brother. She’d known since she was very young that her father wasn’t a normal vampire, either. “I wasn’t supposed to let anyone know,” Katherine said at last, apologetically.
“That’s how it always is,” Angel said in understanding.
Katherine swallowed. “You’re not going to tell Mom, are you?”
“Of course I’m going to tell your mother!” Angel said quickly.
“Dad!”
Angel stopped and turned to face his daughter seriously. “Do you think she wouldn’t understand? That she’d freak out or something?”
“To put it bluntly?” Katherine asked. “I think freaking out would be the *least* of what she’d do.”
Angel couldn’t help but chuckle. “Your mother just might surprise you,” he said.
“Huh?” Okay, so Katherine wasn’t especially eloquent tonight….
“I’m guessing you didn’t mention your parents’ names to your Watcher,” Angel said in amusement.
Katherine smiled back. “Yeah, well, I didn’t think it would be the best idea considering my father’s ‘only good, aging vampire’ status.”
“Your mother was a Slayer, Katherine.”
Katherine’s shock must have shown on her face, for Angel wrapped his arm around her shoulders once again. “Come on, pumpkin. Let’s go home. Your mother and I have quite a story to tell you.”
Katherine happily walked on with her father. What a weird night.
“Oh, and Katherine?”
“Yeah, Dad?”
The good vampire smiled at his daughter; a Slayer, and the daughter of a Slayer. “Invite your Watcher over for dinner. Your mom and I are going to have a long talk with him…to see if he’s good enough to train our daughter.”
Katherine just laughed and leaned into her father’s shoulder. “Yes, Dad.”
The End
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