Nighttime
Cordy kept giving Jessie covert glances in the car. "So... who are you? And how can you be a slayer?"
Jessie exhaled slowly and shrugged. "Long story."
Buffy entered the apartment slowly. She wasn't surprised Ethan and his daughter weren't around yet, they were probably in some hotel. Oz was playing a guitar softly. "Giles?"
Rupert came down the stairs with a book in hand, reading the passage on transdimensional jumps. He shut it when he heard Buffy's voice. "Hello," he said quietly.
Cordy turned so sharp Jessie grabbed for the dash, but she kept on talking. "Sure, sure... but you do have a name, right? I love your boots, by the way."
Jessie couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Jessie. I'm Jessie."
"Where's Jessie James?" Buffy asked. "I called Mom, she'd like to see me. Hey, Oz man."
"She went out." Rupert watched Buffy carefully. It was good she'd go talk to her mother. "Shortly after you did."
"And then Giles' old boyfriend and daughter showed up," Oz said with a grin. "She split after that."
"B-boyfriend?" Buffy stammered. "Okay.... gay is good. Sex is good."
"Buffy!" Rupert blurted, shocked. "T-t-that - y-you-" he cleared his throat and took his glasses off, cleaning them furiously.
"Jessie? Your accent... Southern belle are you?"
Jessie rubbed at her face, flinching at the gash on her head and in her shoulder. God, she was filthy. "Originally from Texas." She was actually relieved to see the house up ahead.
Buffy laughed and sat down next to Oz. "So when do I get to meet boyfriend? Is he a fighter?"
"He i-isn't my...yes, well, he's an old friend." Rupert glared slightly at Oz. "We are not dating."
Cordelia made another sharp turn and pulled to a stop in front of the house. "Here we go." As Jessie got out of the car Cordelia inspected her seat for any blood stains.
Oz shrugged. "That kiss wasn't a brotherly kiss."
"Kiss? You got to see Giles kiss someone? Not just sneak his girlfriends in under cover of darkness?"
Rupert felt his cheeks flaming. He cleared his throat. "I think I heard a car," he said, going over to the door and grabbing the sword beside it.
Jessie hung back while Cordelia took the lead. She pounded on the front door. "Giles? Hurry up, it's dark out here!"
Rupert pulled the door open sharply, and stepped back out of her way.
Buffy grabbed up a crossbow and aimed at the doorway. It was after dark, anything coming in could be a vampire or demon.
Cordelia stepped inside and rolled her eyes at Buffy. "Geeze, do I look like a vampire?" She nodded at Jessie. "Although Larry might have had dinner if Jessie here hadn't happened by."
"Damn, I liked him. He didn't pick on me," Oz said softly, setting the guitar aside. "I'll make coffee."
"I brought some stuff for Jessie, clothes and stuff," Buffy said, losing her smile.
"You know her? She needs some clothes, that's for sure," Cordelia nodded at Jessie.
Jessie finally emerged into the house, warily looking around. "And she could use some first aid," Cordy muttered. "She got blood on my seat!"
"There are Shout wipes in that drawer," Rupert sighed. "Mrs- er. Jessie, please sit on the chair in the kitchen, the lighting's better." He pulled the big first-aid kit out from under a table.
Cordelia grabbed the wipes but put them in her purse for later. She knew better than to go outside now.
"I'm alright," Jessie said. "I'll just go upstairs and shower. I don't want to interrupt."
"Kitchen," Rupert said firmly, in his most British/Watcher/Teacher voice. "I'm going to look at that shoulder."
"You better do what he says before he growls," Cordy said.
Jessie blinked. Giles and growling. Her heart hurt. Without another word she turned and went into the kitchen.
Rupert sighed, following her. He set the kit on the counter and opened it up. "Now, how are you hurt?" he asked. The bloody shoulder and the head wound were obvious, but there could be more.
Buffy sighed and double checked the locks on the door. "Hey, Giles, your friend coming by tonight? The male one, not the waitress."
Jessie glanced up at Giles. "Are your friends constant insensitivity in front of me due in spite or are they just that clueless all the time?" Her anger was beginning to rise once again. God, she wanted out of here!
Rupert sighed. "I would say it's cluelessness," he said. "And I apologize."
"So Buffy, give me the scoop about Jessie." Cordelia flopped down next to Oz. "And how can she be a slayer too?"
"We haven't figured that out yet because she talked like I was alive in her universe but she's also a Slayer," Buffy said with a shrug. "Hey, JJ, no offense. Forgot you got a case for Giles."
Cordelia gasped. "What? Her universe? And... she's got a crush on Giles? Get out!"
Jessie stood up. "I'm fine. I need... god... I need..." She curled her hands into fists. "Please get me out of here."
"Please, sit down," Rupert said gently. He turned and glared out at everyone in the living room. "And the rest of you, do shut up!"
Cordelia gulped and looked at Buffy and whispered. "He's got Watcher glare."
"Come on, guys, give it a rest," Oz said, picking up his guitar. "In her universe they're married. Somehow she's here."
Rupert turned back to Jessie, and wet a piece of gauze with betadine to clean her shoulder. "I am very sorry," he said quietly. "They're...thoughtless children, a good portion of the time." Personally, he thought that they dove whole-heartedly into their 'easier' banter, because what they faced night after night was so dark. And if it led to them all being a little...cruel, well...
Buffy sighed. "I need food. I brought more groceries since Jeeves has a full house now."
Cordelia grabbed her purse and pulled out a little bag of chips, tossing it at Buffy. "Here you go."
Jessie sat back down and let Giles tend to her wounds. Nothing was really that serious. She'd be healed by morning, at least she would be physically.
"I've been looking through the books Ethan brought," Rupert said quietly. "Hopefully I'll have an answer by tomorrow."
"Cordelia, save your chips, I said I brought groceries," Buffy said with a shake of her head. "I got some of those bake pizzas. I'll pop one in. Hey, JJ, you save any vamps for me?"
"Apparently I left you Larry," Jessie mumbled.
"How many did you take out? And where, I should mark it on our map," Rupert said, cleaning the head wound gently.
Jessie frowned. "Sorry, I don't know the area and I wasn't really paying attention." She winced again. "One building still had a sign though. Espresso Pump? Took out a nest there."
"An entire nest?" Rupert asked, his eyebrows going up. "Alone?"
Jessie shrugged. "More than one. I don't remember. Sorry. I was... I needed.... a release."
"Of course." Rupert sighed. "I don't think you need stitches, but you should be careful until you’ve healed."
"I know that one," Buffy said softly. "I found a couple of demons and snapped them before killing them. Don't worry, Giles is smart, he'll find an answer."
"I know," Jessie whispered.
Cordelia leaned back in the sofa. "Man, I'm gone for one day and missed all this? And my date was sooooo boring too!"
Rupert rolled his eyes, though he wasn't facing Cordelia when he did so. "Buffy, you said that you'd brought some clothes for Jessie? I'm sure she'd like to get out of these."
"Yeah, green bag by the door," Buffy said. "Some shirts, pants, girlie things. Hair brush and stuff. Cordelia, since we're stuck with you tonight, zip it."
Jessie stood up from the chair again. Her clothes were filthy and tattered. "Thank you," she said softly.
"You're welcome," Rupert said, looking her over once more with a medic's eye and - paled when a rip in her jeans exposed her inner thigh, and the mark there. He immediately looked away, castigating himself for even glancing.
At first Jessie didn't realize what his look meant, but then she glanced down at herself.
She could just make out the G tattoo on her thigh in the light. She ran her finger over the mark, proof that she was his. "You have mine," she whispered.
Buffy's sharp ears and eyes had caught the interchange and frowned. If she got attached to him.... that could be complicated in sending JJ back.
Rupert licked his lips. "No," he said, very softly. "He has yours."
Jessie flinched as if she'd been shot. She swallowed and nodded. "Ye...yes...sorry." She snagged the bag and hurried upstairs to change.
Rupert sagged against the kitchen counter, feeling exhausted. After a moment, he pushed off and went to the living room. The watcher retrieved his book, and walked into his own bedroom, shutting the door behind him.