Sister? Hardly!
Jessie was mortified. For a second there, it was as if she forgot where she was, and that this Giles wasn't... her Giles. His eyes had seen the marking on her leg, claiming her... and she'd just blurted out her first thought.
After changing her clothes and cleaning up, she could hear the others downstairs eating pizza and being loud and laughing. They all sure seemed to like to talk about Giles' sex life, to her chagrin. It was unbearable. Not caring it was dark out, and still with the Bowie knife in hand, Jessie decided to hop out the window. She could take care of herself.
Ari stared while she walked down the deserted streets. Wow. Even though San Fran was falling, there were still people out at night in groups, people refusing to accept what was happening. And in groups, in public, it was still mostly safe. Here...everything was dead.
"What the fuck are they thinking?" she muttered, kicking at an abandoned tire. "What's the point, if there's no life around?"
Jessie was wary, keeping her eyes, ears, and senses open. She forced thoughts and emotions away. It was too painful. That wasn't easier for her though. She kept having flashes, but she'd shake her head and force them away.
"Where's a vamp when I need one!" she shouted, itching for a fight.
Ari frowned at the echo, jumping slightly. Was someone trying to commit suicide? She'd heard of that - humans who suddenly seemed to understand what was coming, and who just gave up.
Something went down Jessie's spine. She clutched the knife in her hand, jumped up on a nearby fire escape, crossed the roof, and looked down the side of the building. "Ari," she whispered.
Ari turned around, trying to figure out where the shout had come from. Fucked if she wanted to see some suicidal human torn apart by vampires.
Jessie jumped down, landing right behind Ari. "Looking for a... meal? Probably won't find one out here. All the humans are tucked away in their beds, eating pizza, forgetting about... death and violence for awhile."
Ari jumped backwards, startled. "Who - oh, it's you," She relaxed slightly. "And not in this town...I doubt any of them are forgetting." She looked around and shook her head. "It's a damn shame."
"Yes, it is." There was much Jessie didn't understand about this place.
Ari sighed, and shrugged, before turning her gaze to Jessie. "What are you doing out now? It's late...and dangerous."
Jessie shifted the knife in her hands. "I can take care of myself. I just... can't stay there. But I have nowhere else to go."
Ari looked at the knife, and her eyes raked over the woman. "Maybe you can take care of yourself," she mused.
If Ari knew the half of it. Slowly Jessie began to walk, hoping Ari would join her. "Giles... he said that perhaps tomorrow he'll find an answer in his book to send me back home. I have to hold onto that hope. That or... my family will somehow find me, and come for me."
Ari nodded. "That's why we brought the books. And they were fucking heavy, let me tell you. I had to carry all of them out to the car." Ari made a face.
Jessie smiled a little at that. "Yes, Ethan's always been quite the gentleman."
Ari looked at Jessie, her eyebrow going up. "Either that's sarcastic, or he's way different in your world."
Jessie actually laughed a little at that. "It was sarcastic, trust me."
"Well, he does take some getting used to," Ari said, before she smiled fondly.
Jessie shifted the knife again and decided to change the subject. "So, do you need to... you know, feed?"
"I fed before we left," Ari said, with a shrug. "So I can go a few days, until I get a feel for everything...why?" then the demon did a double-take. "Wait, and - how do you know to ask that?"
Jessie kicked a bottle out of their way and stopped when Ari did. "First question, because I'd help you if you needed it. I know you don't kill anyone, and second question... I know you in my time. We're... we're sort of like family."
The demon looked skeptical. "We're family?" she asked. "But...you don't like Ethan."
Jessie's face tightened. "I hate Ethan."
Ari took a step away from Jessie, involuntarily, and stared at her. "Then...how can we be family?" she asked cautiously.
Jessie saw a bench and nodded at it. She sat down and waited for Ari to join her. "It's hard to explain everything. Ethan... in my world, he hurt everyone. Even you. Terribly. But you and I... we were like sisters. We had bad times, don't get me wrong, and sometimes we fought or had huge misunderstandings, but... I always had a part of you in my heart," she said softly.
Ari tipped her head to the side, looking Jessie over. "Sisters?" she asked, skeptically. "I dunno. You're kinda hot to have sisterly feelings about."
Jessie blinked, then started to blush. She bent her head. "Well, we... it wasn't quite like sisters. Like I said, it was very complicated."
Ari watched the flicker of lust through Jessie's body, and smirked. "See, now that's more like it." The demon walked slowly over to the Slayer - almost prowling - and sat down beside her.
Jessie propped her elbows onto her knees and rested her chin on her hands. "I have to believe that in my time, you and Giles are doing everything you can to find me, and bring me home."
Ari inhaled slightly, taking in Jessie's scent. "Are we lovers?" she purred, leaning in a bit too close to Jessie's ear.
Jessie jumped back and stood up. She held her hands out to Ari. "Ari, like I said, things are very complicated. I'm married. We both respected that Giles is mine, and I am his. But you... you and Giles..." she stammered and went quiet, too upset and confused to put it all into words.
"Giles?" Ari wrinkled her nose slightly. She wasn't entirely sure what Ethan saw in him. He seemed tired and...boring. Ari shrugged, and stood up again. "What about you and me?" she purred.
Jessie's shoulders slumped. She grabbed up her knife again. "Where the hell are all the vampires, for godsakes!"
"Probably enjoying the humans they rounded up earlier," Ari said, with a shrug. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to piss you off," she offered.
"You didn't. You... you don't," Jessie said softly. "It just... hurts. I miss you, and I miss my son, and... I miss my husband. And I have to look at his face here, but he doesn't see me. He doesn't know me. He can't feel me... I just feel so alone."
Ari thought about that for a second, and nodded. "Being alone sucks, doesn't it?"
"It hurts worse than anything," Jessie said softly. "That's one thing I've learned. That connection... that love... it's all that matters. This Giles, he's so sad and lonely, and has no real connections... I think if he did, he'd understand what he's fighting for. I... I have to go home."
Ari nodded. "Well, he's working on it. And Ethan says he's really smart."
"He is," Jessie said softly. "Where are you and Ethan staying? And, you and he, you aren't... uh... he's just your father, right?"
Ari gave Jessie a really confused look. "What?" she asked.
Jessie blushed again. "Uh, nevermind. Let me make sure you get back safely."
"You're kinda confusing," Ari said, pointing back towards their rental. "You know that?"
"If you were me right now, you'd be confused too," she said softly. "Everyone here is... some are just like I knew. Ethan is similar. You are younger but... the same. Willow and Xander are vampires, but Oz is still a werewolf. It's like this world is a puzzle, with all the pieces mixed up. They don't fit together like they should."
"Well...if it's a parallel world, you have to figure out what the difference is," Ari said, thoughtfully. "Like...the land of Perpetual Wednesday... or the World Without Shrimp."
Jessie chuckled. "What is it with you and the world without shrimp?"
"Well, I went there on vacation a couple times," Ari said defensively. "I thought it was cool...I even had a t-shirt."
Jessie laughed. "I'm glad I ran into you tonight. I'm sorry I'm so confusing. But... thank you. Thank you for... making me smile."
"Glad to," Ari said with a smile. She hesitated for a second, and then gave Jessie a quick kiss.
Jessie swallowed. She patted Ari's shoulder and then turned and walked away, back to Giles' place.
"If you reconsider," Ari called.
Jessie closed her eyes for a moment and gripped at her knife. Why was Ari so much like the Ari she knew, only not as hardened by life? But Giles... Giles was so different? She tucked the knife into her pants and jumped up to the window of the guest room.