Angel took Buffy in his arms and began to lead her off towards The Bronze, his apartment, his room. Willow watched with stars in her eyes, wishing Xander would do the same with her.

"Angel's a father four times over, Buffy and Tom are immortal, Tammy's a vampire, and Jackie's pregnant. Sounds like a typical day on the Hellmouth. What else was supposed to happen?" Xander was recapping the day's events.

Right on the mark, a low growl came from beneath the floorboards. People began to look around, scared. The windows started to shake and smoke began to rise. Putting two and two together, Giles simply pointed to the closet and said, "Tom, Tammy, weapons over there."

Maria was more to the point. "Willow, Xander, Giles, Damien, Jackie, we're leaving, Tammy, Tom, enjoy."

"Mom, wait."

"Tom, this one's yours. You always say you can kick anyone's ass. Here's your chance to prove it." Maria and co. headed quickly to the tunnels. Any vampires down there would not survive her. She'd never run from anything in her life, and it was pissing her off. Plus, she hated to eat and run. Right now she had a responsibility; she had to take care of everybody underneath her.

They exited the tunnels rapidly and headed for the hotel. The others were there, and there was strength in numbers.

Meanwhile, fear thickened the air, choking the new slayers. Tammy felt her heart race as her hands became cold and clammy. Her head spun, and her vision blurred. Tom, on the other hand, felt the excitement in the very core of his soul. He lived for battle. He had fought for everything his whole life, and he saw this as another challenge. He rummaged through the weapons cabinet like a prospector looking for gold. Finally, he hit paydirt: a crossbow for him and a stake for Tammy. "Here, catch," He threw her the stake and she caught it one-handed. Her fist slowly flexed around it, and suddenly she felt like a slayer-she was the chosen one!

The doors crashed in like they were struck by a car. Shards of wood flew like shrapnel and Tammy threw herself to the ground to protect herself. The creature before her was montrous. Easily seven and a half feet tall, he towered over her by at least two feet. Muscles she didn't even know existed bulged and flexed as he moved towards her. She thought Angel looked bad in his "game face," but this creature surpassed anything she could have imagined. His skin was the pale gray of the dead and his fangs were dripping with saliva. Before she could get her feet under her, he reached down and picked her up one-handed, holding her dangling in his grasp. "You call yourself a slayer? You're nothing but a little girl." The vampire began to undo his jeans, "And I'm going to change that."

A new kind of fear raced through Tammy as she felt her dress being pulled above her thighs. This dread coiled in her just as he did. She dropped the stake in her fear, as he shoved her against a wall and began riding her. Up and down, up and down, like some sort of perverted see-saw, she wept. A ray of hope lit into her as she saw Tom sneaking up behind the vamp. Renewed strength entered her as she figured out his plan. Staring straight into the vamp's eyes, she said, "You know, you really shouldn't play with your food." With that she pulled her leg back and kicked as hard as she could, hitting the vampire's crotch and falling to the ground. As the creature roared, the crossbow bolt was rammed home and the creature turned to dust.

Tammy stood up and dusted herself off. Tom came running up and they exchanged high fives. It was good to the the best!

Back at the hotel, the gang reunited. The story of the slaying was told and retold. Tammy kept part of it to herself for obvious reasons. Tom respected her silence. He knew she would survive, she was related to him after all. Angel and Buffy came to the hotel later on and the gang talked into the night. They all had had one of the strangest nights of their lives and now all that was left to be done was to turn off life for a while and relax. Needless to say, they did!

Did you like? Questions? Comments? E Mail me at MCAT781@aol.com No flamage please, I'm delicate.