Jayde and Arrows, Jonathan and Cheesecake

Air Date: 24/10/2001

9 Sep 2000, Saturday 2:42am, Graveyard

Jayde gets some instruction from Faith on how to use the bow. She spikes a newbie vamp on the second or third shot, but more practice lets her peg the next one first shot! Yeah. She keeps spiking trees and her aim gets better and better.

Faith asks "Any plans for taking Orme?"

"None. Just roll up on the day."

"Fair enough. Its going to happen soon, you know. I had a dream. You have any?"

"Some. Mostly weird and freaky and I can make them out _after_ the event has happened."

"Really? I dont get them. Buffy was always dream girl. Well dont worry, we're there so you dont have to worry about missing it. Its going to happen soon too. 2, maybe 3 days."

"Monday or tuesday then? Tuesday.. gotta be. its a full moon."

"So, what about your dreams then?"

"Oh, this weird one with you with a knife and..."

"...you and Buffy and the primal chick?"

"Yeah. You had a knife..."

"... we all had knifes. You had your one, stuck in the ground. The primal had that black one. And Buffy had my knife and so did I.. err... hold on.. maybe she didnt have a knife. No Buffy was falling. Off the building."

"What building?"

"B and I were fighting. The primal was there as, like, the umpire and you were like the guy who owns the WWF."

"Like the commentator?"

"Yeah, I guess. Anyway, B and I fight and roll over to the edge, the umpire's saying something but I cant hear it. I win and B's off the building."

"But that was you last time."

"Yeah, B gets stabbed this time and falls off the roof."

"So..."

"Well I had this dream. I die in this rumble with Orme. Someone kills me. Someone I know."

"Really? But who?"

"I dunno. Im floating... in water I think. Its hard to tell. Got the bleeding gut wound and someone comes over and *splash* Im under the water and everything goes dark."

"But youve been stabbed before. And buffy drowned. Its probably a mix of that."

"Nice try psych girl. Atleast i know its not Conrad. I wasnt worried when whoever it was comes up and Conrad always makes me nervious, but this person didnt. Hey, well they will now, but...."

"Dont die! Leave! Run away."

"Yeah, and be hunted by the council? It boils down to run away and dissapear, being hunted by psychos or stay and die, but have a better life if I do make it."

"Hey, dont die..."

"Look, im going to split. Thrilling though shooting arrows into trees is...."

9 Sep 2000, Saturday 4:38am, Jayde's house

J comes home and gets ready for bed, only to see two people at the end of the bed. Leda nad the primal slayer.

The primal leans closer "Gift. The gift of the hunt. The slayer is being lost".

"Lost?!? Huh?"

"You are a hunter. It carries you with it. Do you know the hunt?"

"Maybe. Mum, what do you say."

Leda offers, "Thats not you! You arnt just the hunt! You have a life and so much more."

The primal continues. "You sense the hunt. What lese is there?"

"Clothes?"

"The slayer is the hunt! The kill."

"No, there is research and the patroling and stopping evil."

"Is now. There was just the hunt. The hunt is being lost. Embrace the hunt."

"Im, soooo, not losing the social life. Why not Buffy or Faith? Faith'd want this."

"You can be better... stronger... quicker. You are the one adn the others just wait to die. Buffy does not want it, and Faith will not listen."

"Mum!"

Leda buts in, "Yes, you have a life and so much more and such nice clothes."

"Yeah, and who asked you anyway?"

"Buffy asked me. She called me, used the gift and then said no."

"Well so can I. Im strong enough."

"A slayer is the best of everything. You can not be the best for 1/2 the time. You are the hunt or you are not. The gift can make you the best of all things."

"I want a life."

"The gift is a gift of strength. All those who have gone before."

"Thats a lot of people, but I am so not taking a gift with its own mind."

"It is the strength of an army."

"Army, eh? Ok. Im in."

9 Sep 2000, Saturday 2:01pm, Rose's house

Jonathan gets a call from Rose and so he goes over to check out the pictures. On the plus side, he does bring cheese cake.

Jonathan notices dirt on the front door mat. Odd.

He goes in and sits, waiting for Rose to make coffee. He hears a voice whisper "soon". Freaked out he looks around and digs out the vamp detecting camera. Nothing.

He's plenty freaked and starts checking out the house. There is a breeze. Its chilly. He asks rose if she said anything.

Rose pops out of the kitchen and asks if he's ok. No she didnt say anthing. Jonathan snaps her on the camera, but she seems fine. More than warm enough. Weird.

They look through the pictures and there are lots and lots. Some of the better ones are clear snaps of the fire spinning round, leaving a crisp circle of fire surrounding a blurry indistinct face. Jonathan gets a little unnerved. "I like this pic!" offers Rose.

"Errr." Jonathan suddenly feels very wrong.

Jonathan freaks out. "We should leave the city. You and I should go to the Grand Canyon."

"Huh?"

"We should go on a holiday for a couple of weeks."

"Err. Look, I appreciate you saving me and working on the photography thing too."

The whisper returns...."Sacrifice"

Jonathan continues, "Did you hear that?"

"What?"

"No then."

"Look, about us going away together, I have a job and everything, and Im not really looking for a relationship right now. Plus there is the age thing, not that Im all that worried about it, but...."

"Augh. Err. I didnt.. No. Neither am I. *sigh*" Jonathan digs out his headphones and listens to his camera for a bit. Which puzzles Rose no end. Then he SMS's Gemma with 'Please come to __ now -- Jonathan.'

"I want to know more about you."

"Like what?"

"Well why snap the fire pics?"

"Well it scares me. I mean I know its probably just me, but look at the contrast here and the.... etc... but you know all this."

"I mean why the fire? You should try fire twirling. Its fun." A SMS from Gemma comes back, 'is it tripple urgent with a cherry ontop?' Jonathan SMS's back 'yes' and gets a reply '40 mins'.

"Its the roar. Its just like a big fire. Like when the house burnt down...."

"You were trapped?"

"No. We got out, but my husband went back in... for our child. I just had to wait until the fire brigade came. Just wait and watch."

"That must have been bad."

Duh.

Keeping going, Jonathan continues. "You should fire twirl! Its a hoot."

"I dont think it will be a hoot, but ill give it a go. You're right. I should face my fear and just do it. Ill do it this weekend. Im busy saturday... maybe sunday night or monday."

"Its saturday now."

"Oh. Yeah. Monday or tuesday then. Those kids said they'd teach me."

"You have to call me when you do though. I want to take the pictures."

roll credits

Lawyers take note: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and Angel and all characters related belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and fox.