Lions and Lambs

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Twilight. I own nothing. Except the Macbook which I am using to write this story, because I couldn't get out of my head.

Author's Note: IMPORTANT. PLEASE READ. This is a crossover/AU fanfiction. I know that the timeline is a little skewed, but this essentially before BtVS Season 4 and at the beginning of New Moon from the Twilight series. Buffy and Bella are the same age, although Buffy has already graduated and Bella is a senior in high school. Their interaction takes place in the time period a few months after Angel has left Buffy and not too long after Edward has left Bella. This fic will NOT follow S4 or New Moon, hence it being AU. Thanks and enjoy!

# # #

It had been exactly 4 months, 4 days, 19 hours, 27 minutes and 16 seconds since she saw him walk away, into the mist and out of her life.

They had just saved world yet again. It wouldn't have been a Sunnydale High graduation without an apocalypse, of course. They had destroyed the Mayor (and the high school in the process) and everything was right with the world.

Or at least, it was supposed to be.

It wasn't like she hadn't seen it coming. She knew he was leaving.

The fighting for their lives part did little to distract her from this fact.

She just didn't think he would go without say goodbye.

No kiss, no hug. Not even a, "Hey, glad you didn't die!".

All she got was a lingering glance from a distance before he disappeared into the shadows.

A glance that she had been replaying over and over again in her mind, trying to find answers to all the questions she never got to ask him.

She still cried at night. Not that any of her friends knew that.

It had been months and since she still walked and talked and laughed and smiled, they figured she was going to be alright. She was going to be just fine without him.

She was after all, the Slayer.

None of them knew how wrong they were.

Didn't know how she still saw him everywhere she looked. Didn't know how she sometimes stayed out on patrol until sunrise just so that exhaustion would take over before the grief could creep up and consume her. Even then, the nightmares were what woke her, the tears already streaming down her face.

She was still Buffy Summers. She was still the Slayer.

Monsters of any kind she could handle.

But she wasn't sure she would survive the love of her life leaving her.

Because there were days where she really thought she might be okay. And others were the sadness was almost too much to take.

# # #

Giles sat at his desk, frowning at the book set in front of him. His eyes read the same passage over and over again, trying to absorb the information in front of him.

He sighed and glanced at the figure standing quietly in the shadows of his apartment.

"Are you certain about this?" he asked.

"Positive. It's something she should look into."

Giles sighed and stood up. "It is still possible that this is just a myth."

"You should know by now that nothing in this world is ever a myth," the figure responded.

Giles nodded in resigned agreement. The realm of impossibility was a lot smaller these days.

"She's supposed to be starting college soon, you know," Giles commented. "I don't know how she'll feel about going off, looking for evidence of something we didn't know existed until now."

The figure sighed. "It's a solid lead. If it turns out to be nothing, she can come right back and not miss any classes."

Giles watched him. It wasn't that he bared his visitor any ill will despite all that had happened in the years he had known him; their friendship however, was always strained and formal at best.

"She doesn't know you're still in town," Giles said. It wasn't a question.

At that moment, Angel stepped out from shadows of Giles' apartment, a look of pain and sadness etched across his features.

"No, she doesn't," he said softly. "I would prefer that it stayed that way, if that's alright."

Giles nodded stiffly. "You never did mention your plans. Now that we've confirmed our research, where will you go?"

Angel began to pace, averting his eyes away from his love's Watcher. "Los Angeles was the original plan. Now I'm going with her, to help."

Giles could feel the frown form on his face, but tried to keep from sounding sharp or stern. "You haven't spoken to her once since the Ascension. You don't even want her to know that you never left. How much help can you provide from the shadows?"

Another flash of pain crossed Angel's face. "As much as possible. I'll keep her safe and still be on the outside, looking in."

This time Giles couldn't help answering back a bit sharply. "So you can see her but she can't see you? That's not exactly fair, is it?"

"Trust me when I say she's getting the better end of the deal," Angel said, a swell of sadness evident in his voice.

Giles sighed, feeling slightly sorry for the vampire with a soul.

"It's better this way, Giles," Angel continued. The statement almost sounded uncertain, like he was trying to convince himself that it was true.

A moment of silence passed between them.

"Then it's settled," Giles said. "I'll tell her first thing tomorrow."

Angel nodded quickly, heading for the door. "You know how to find me," he said before slipping out into the night.

# # #

When Giles opened his door the next day as Buffy arrived, his quick eyes caught a glimpse of a despondent girl, staring into nothing. But as soon as she was aware of him, she quickly forced a smile and what was once her usual attitude.

"Hey Giles, what's the haps? Gotta be important if I'm up this early," Buffy said as she walked past him and plopped down on his couch.

Giles sighed, wishing quietly that she didn't try so hard to be okay. Underneath the tough and rather smart-mouthed Slayer was a fragile girl who had just gotten her heart broken by her only love. While the likes of Xander and Willow assumed that she was already beginning to bounce back, Giles knew that she was still quite far from okay.

"It actually is rather important," Giles began as he scooped up some books and sat down next to her. "I began to do some research a few months ago after hearing what I initially thought was just a rumor."

He knew better than to mention Angel in front of her. Everyone had been careful to not so much as mention his name in her presence.

Buffy frowned, realizing that the situation might be a bit more serious than she had thought. "Okay, so spill."

Giles sighed and adjusted his glasses nervously. "Yes, well, it appears that solid evidence has come up, proving the existence of a different breed of vampire."

Buffy blinked. Once, twice. Her brain tried to process what her Watcher had just said.

"Wait. Different? As in, not the same as the usual bloodsuckers we get around here?"

Giles nodded, a grim look on his face. "Yes. It appears that we have only been dealing with a much more… generic breed of vampire, if you will. While my research has only provided me with the bare minimum of information, it can easily be said that these other vampires are of a rare variety and are unfortunately, extremely difficult to kill."

Buffy paled slightly. "Giles… how much more difficult?"

Giles frowned, sensing Buffy's concern. "The most I know is that their skin is next to impervious. Essentially impenetrable, which only leads me to believe that stakes are out of the question. I am unsure about this, but they might be able to tolerate sunlight. This only leads me to wonder if crosses and holy water have any effect. I'm not even certain if their strength outweighs that of an average vampire…"

"… Or me," Buffy finished, thoroughly shocked by the information Giles was passing on to her. She shook her head slightly, almost disbelieving it all. Could there possibly be a vampire, the one creature she was meant to fight, that she wouldn't be able to beat? She didn't think to voice her fear out loud.

"I don't get it, Giles. Why now? And if there's so little information on these super vamps, how can we really know they exist? How do we know they're more than a myth?"

Giles cleared his throat, carefully going over the beginnings of his research in his mind so that he could leave out the details that involved Angel.

But, at the root of all this, was Angel. He was the one who came to Giles with the initial information, just whispers among the vampire community at the time. These new vampires were apparently, quite keen on keeping their existence a secret. It was through Angel and his unknown but highly reliable sources that the research began, ultimately confirming that there was something out there that needed looking into.

"Buffy, I know that this sort of news is completely out of the blue and quite frankly, a bit overwhelming. But believe me when I say, that these creatures do exist."

Buffy looked at Giles, eyes completely somber. She knew this was the real deal. There was no way around it. "So, what's the next step?"

Giles hesitated before continuing. "We must do all we can to learn more. Now, I have it on good authority that a coven of these vampires is currently living in Washington. While their activity is barely traceable, I am certain they are there."

Buffy nodded. She remembered hearing of heavy vampire activity around the Seattle area. Those of course, had been the normal vampires she fought on a nightly basis.

She blinked and tried to refocus her attention as Giles kept on talking.

"… Which is why I believe that the best course of action is for you to go up to Washington and do some field research, in a sense. Do not engage them, simply do all you can to find out what we need to know. Once we have what we need, we can figure out what to do next."

"So, don't pick fights with the new, scary vampires. Gotcha."

Giles sighed before continuing. "They might have tried to pass themselves off as human if they can be out during the day, so interaction with those in the area might provide us some clues. From what we could find out about this coven, some of vampires might appear to be around your age, which is why I believe the best course of action is to have you infiltrate the high school and pose as a student."

Buffy laughed, although there was no humor in her voice. "Great. Back to high school."

Giles stood and frowned down at her. "Now Buffy, it's essential that we do this, and it's only temporary. You should be back in time to begin your classes at the university."

Buffy shrugged indifferently as she also stood. "Fine then. I'm guessing I should go home and pack. Where exactly am I headed?"

Giles walked over to his desk, searching before picking up a piece of paper with the name of the location.

"It appears you'll be heading to a town outside of Seattle. A place called Forks."

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That's it for now! Please let me know what you think. Feedback is greatly appreciated.