"Mom?"

"Yes?" Lorelai said, turning to Rory, her hand poised to ring the doorbell.

"They're still following us," she said waving towards the street where two, by now familiar, motorcycles were parked, their riders nowhere to be seen.

"I think they deserve a reward," Lorelai said, smirking.

"No," Rory said, turning pale. "You wouldn't."

"But it would be so much fun," Lorelai said, pouting.

"Grandma is being nice," Rory murmured.

"But?" Lorelai prompted. Solidarity was generally the rule when the Stars Hollow Gilmores dined with the Hartford Gilmores but Rory's relationship with her grandmother wasn't the same as Lorelai's.

"They don't seem the type," Rory reluctantly murmured.

"Type?"

Rory shrugged.

"No questions about the book if your grandfather is here," Lorelai said, returning her hand to the doorbell. "In fact, try not to ask any questions at all."

"Why?"

"All will be explained when we get home," Lorelai said, firmly pressing the bell. It was quickly opened by her grandmother's maid-of-the-week.

Holding the book tightly, Rory followed her mother into the foyer.

"Lorelai, Rory," Emily said, joining them and waving away the hovering maid.

"Mom," Lorelai said.

"Grandma," Rory said.

"Good. You have the book," Emily said.

"Is Dad home?" Lorelai asked.

"No, he had a late meeting."

"Oh," Lorelai murmured.

"Can I see it?" R asked, ignoring her mother's frantic arm waving and 'don't'.

"I don't see why not," Emily said, smiling at her. "Dinner won't be for another forty minutes."

"Mom!" Lorelai said.

"Let's take it into the sitting room."

[Emily shows Rory the shelf containing the "special collection" and tells her she'll inherit it since her mother (Lorelai) refused to have anything to do with it. Rory reaches out to touch it and both Lorelai & Emily try to stop her (for slightly different reasons - Lorelai: because she remembers what happened when SHE touched it years ago. Emily: because Rory shouldn't be able to touch it until Emily dies/passes it on to her.]

[Rory isn't shocked/hurt when she touches the cabinet. In fact, it opens. For her. And there's a flash of light/wave of energy/something.]

"Mom?" Lorelai said, still reaching out to Rory. "What just happened?"

"It's not possible," Emily murmured.

"What do you mean?" Rory said, turning around and staring at the two older women, one hand still on the cabinet.

"The cabinet is 'Protected'," Emily said. Rory could almost hear the capital letters. "Only certain people, as your mother can attest, can safely touch it."

"Mom?" Rory turned to her mother.

"Oh yeah," Lorelai said, wincing. "It has a kick a mule would be proud of. Like Francis without the talking."

"I touched it," Rory said, "and nothing happened."

"Yes," Emily said, staring at the cabinet.

"Rory isn't going to become one of them," Lorelai said.

"No," Emily said.

"You already knew this," Lorelai said, glaring at her.

"We haven't had one in the family since Asima el Rahman," Emily said. "It was extremely unlikely."

"Then why?" Lorelai asked, waving at the cabinet. Rory watched them, trying to understand but she knew she was missing some important piece of information.

['Slayer' is the Council term. What does Emily call them?]

"Only the head of the family and the [Protector?]'s chosen companion can open it," Emily said.

"What's a '[protector]'?" Rory asked.

"Someone like your blonde friend," Lorelai said, "and the groupies."

"Blonde friend?"

"The apparently not so mythical or mysterious blonde Rory shacked up with in Vegas," Lorelai said.

"Mom!"

"Well, it's true," Lorelai said.

"Blonde?"

"Buffy Summers."

"You met Miss Summers?" Emily asked eagerly.

"I met a Miss Summers when we picked up your book," Lorelai told her. "But apparently, Rory met a different Miss Summers. And slept with her."

"Lorelai, don't be crude," Emily said, glaring at her daughter before turning back to Rory for an explanation.

Rory wondered if it was possible for a blush to become permanent. "I don't really remember," she said.

"I bet the groupies know what happened," Lorelai said.

"Groupies?"

"Rory's Miss Summers has them following us to make sure Rory gets home safely," Lorelai said. "Not at all staulkerish."

"How do you know that?" Rory asked.

"I asked them, babe," Lorelai said.

"Oh."

"Groupies?" Emily repeated impatiently.

"They're out front, waiting for us," Lorelai said.

[Emily invites Vi and Jessy in for dinner/desert?]

Parking in front of a building on the main street that seemed to be both a hardware store and a diner, Buffy looked around, taking in her first sight of Star's Hollow. Even bathed in the golden glow of sunset, it looked like just another small town. One of many. For some reason, she'd expected there to be more to it when she decided to satisfy her curiosity about Rory Gilmore's home town.

And then, now that she was actually here, she was going to look around while she had the chance. Any day now she expected Willow to call her on the carpet for her erratic behavior for the past few weeks but she'd been surprisingly silent. That couldn't last. She'd managed to avoid giving Giles and Willow her report on the Vegas incident, as she'd come to call it, but eventually she was going to run out of reasons to stay on the road.

The most recent had been a sudden emergency up in Canada that had required her attention the day after she'd gotten back. The emergency had turned into a classic case of miscommunication between an excitable young slayer from Montreal, who thought she saw a sea serpent while on vacation in St. John's, and the Brazilian slayer manning the Council watch desk.

She'd been working her way home in a random fashion ever since, using her unexpected trip as an excuse to visit every slayer east of the Hudson. Buffy didn't expect Vegas to be completely forgotten by anyone by the time she made it back but the more time she had to process the incident the better.

Removing her helmet, Buffy shook out her hair before setting the kick-stand and dismounting. Brushing off the dust from the last couple hundred miles, she decided that the coffee cup over the door was a sign she couldn't ignore. And it wasn't as if she would run into Rory, another person on her avoid list. According to Vi's last text, Rory and her mother had stopped in Hartford.

[ Buffy sees Ethan Rayne in Stars Hollow]

Stepping inside, Buffy stared in shock at the unexpected sight that greeted her. Sitting at the counter was someone she'd never expected to see again. And surprisingly, he seemed to be ignoring her after the one quick glance she'd seem him give her as she entered. Looking around, with the exception of Ethan Rayne, it looked like a normal small town diner, one of many she'd eaten in, though the hardware store theme was different.

Steeling herself for the encounter, Buffy cautiously walked over, stopping just out of reach. "Ethan," she said, loud enough to get his attention but not attract attention from the other diners. Glancing at her again, he raised an eyebrow before going back to his coffee.

Frowning at the dismissal, Buffy open her mouth to say something, anything, but came up empty. He didn't seem to be in any hurry to escape. She looked around again hoping for inspiration.

"Does Giles know where you are?" she asked finally, deciding to ignore the all important question of how he'd escaped from whatever hole Riley's gang had thrown him in. For now anyway.

Before he could answer, Buffy felt something pass through her, leaving her feeling slightly nauseous. [happens at same time as Rory is opening the cabinet]

"Ethan? What did you do?" She asked, lowering her voice to the deadly growl she used to scare demons with.

"Nothing, my dear," he said, finally speaking.

"I don't believe you," she said, grabbing his shoulder and dragging him to his feet. Turning to the scruffy looking man behind the counter, she asked "How much does he owe you?"

"He's already paid," the man said, giving her a concerned look, his eyes seeming to focus on the grip she had on Ethan.

"I'm impressed," Buffy said. "Shall we go outside so we don't disturb these nice people while they eat?"

Visibly paling, Ethan nodded.

Nodding at the curious bystanders, Buffy, guided him to the door.

[Note: Ethan is a descendant of one of the shamen who created the original slayer. Don't tell anyone!]

"Ethan?"

"Yes?"

"What are you doing in Star's Hollow?"

"I'm just a simple shopkeeper," he said, shrugging.

"Shopkeeper?" Buffy echoed in surprise. "Where?" Ethan silently pointed at a shop next door. "The Emporium?" Buffy shook her head. "Don't go anywhere," she said, dragging him in front of his shop and letting go so she could get to her phone.

[Buffy calls Willow, tells Ethan to not leave town, gets a room at the Dragonfly Inn(?) and waits.]

[Willow makes a discovery. Dawn says something also.]

"Giles? Did you know about this?" Willow asked, barging into his office, waving a thin book.

"About what?" Dawn said, looking up from the manuscript she was reading.

Giles frowned, pushing his glasses against the bridge of his nose before taking the book from her.

"There were potential slayers that the Council's detection spells couldn't find?" Willow asked.

"Buffy was one of them," Giles said mildly.

"Oh," Willow said. "I thought you were making that up."

"No," Giles said. "It was extremely rare but it happened. The Council mages were able to detect them after they were activated."

"Detection spells?" Dawn asked. "I thought you could sense slayers because of the spell."

"That only lasted a couple months," Willow said. "I can tell if a slayer is in the same room but that's about it, unless I'm holding the scythe. I've been researching other ways to detect them since. The old detection spells seemed like a good place to start."

"Hmm..." Giles murmured, intently reading the passage Willow pointed out. "This other method for detecting potentials could be useful," he said, "have you found it yet?"

"No," Willow said, her excitement visibly draining away. "Have you had any luck with that ritual Buffy did in Vegas?" she asked.

"Definitely a bonding ritual," Dawn said. "I don't think it was meant to be used on a slayer or anyone human. In fact, it shouldn't have worked at all."

"Why not?"

"See these?" she pointed at several words. "If I'm reading it correctly, it only works as a true bonding ritual between relatives."

"How close?" Willow asked.

Dawn shrugged. "It's not an exact science, it's a demon magic thing. A common female ancestor several millennia ago might be enough of a connection."

"That's very distantly related."

Willow says that Rory comes from one of 5 families that, if there is a potential in the family, they are undetectable by Council magic. She thinks they all descended from the same tribe as the 1st slayer. Buffy too. That's why the COuncil didn't find her until she was a slayer. Their spell didn't work. Slayers in these families were often paired up with watchers from one of the other 5 families.

[A mention of Andy Sachs and Miranda (tying into the other stories even if they aren't finished)?]

"What was that?" Dawn asked, feeling like someone had stepped on her grave.

"I didn't feel anything," Willow said.

[Buffy calls Willow, gives her the 411 on Ethan. Willow doesn't tell Giles or Dawn. She tells Buffy she'll see her in the morning in Star's Hollow.]

---

[Next day]

[ The G's have Coffee at Luke's && Welcome home! They see the gang from the Council...]

[4] 4 motorcycles (1 with a side-car) in front of Luke's = 4 slayers (Buffy, Kennedy, Vi, Jess) and a witch (Willow) come to visit. Taylor freaks out? OR decides to welcome them (he sees money) to SH.

"I think you're safe, Taylor," Lorelai said. "I'll send out the virgin sacrifice.

"What are you really doing in Star's Hollow, Ethan?" Willow asked, trying to read him. IT was like he wasn't all there magically, like he was bound. She wondered who had the ability to bind his power. "And who bound you?" she added softly. No matter how much she disliked him, it was something she never would have agreed to. For a magic user of his level it would be like cutting out a part of his soul.

There was a slight disturbance in the flow of magic in the shop that even the slayers picked up. Before they could react, a short, male human-like figure appeared.

"You can't fix it, toots," he said, in an accent that she couldn't identify.

"Whistler!" Buffy growled, stepping between him and WIllow.

"Long time, no see," he said, smirking.

"Not long enough," Buffy said. "So, you're involved in this?" she waved at the store.

"Ethan Rayne now works for the Powers that Be, yes," he said. "So, leave him alone. You have more important things to worry about."

"And..." Buffy prompted, while the others watched. They'd all heard about Whistler.

"Your witch friend woke up the goddess who created the slayer line," he told them.

"That's a problem?" Willow asked nervously. "The slayers are the good guys."

"She's not happy."