Title: Love, Loneliness and Vampires.

Author: TheDBoyLover.

Summary: Winifred Burkle is a teacher on Sunnydale high, and what would happen if she met Wesley when he was Buffy and Faith’s watcher, and if they met… What would happen?

Rating: T, but still can have some mild references to sex. It’s stuff that I actually think they would have with on the show.

Pairing: Except from the normal Buffy season three pairings, Fred/Wesley.

Spoilers: Buffy season Three, mostly those episodes/Scenes with Wesley in them.

“I want you to look into this. Find out everything you can about the murder of the Deputy Mayor.” Wesley said. He was standing in the high-school library, pacing. Buffy was sitting on the study table; Faith was sitting on a chair next to the table and Giles was sitting on the far end.

“But that's... I-I mean, that's... That's not really our jurisdiction, is it?” Buffy asked nervous and confused.

“It's no big, B. We'll get into it if he wants.” Faith said to her eerily calm.

“No, Buffy's right. The Deputy Mayor's murder was the result of human malice. There's nothing supernatural about it.” Giles interfered.

“We don't know that for certain.” Wesley said and then adds brightly “I say it merits investigation.”

“Which I'm sure the police are doing. Meantime, if you ask me, there are better uses for the Slayers' time.” Giles stood up and walked around the table.

“Ah. But I don't believe I did.” He said to him snootily. “Ask you.” He held up the daily paper to him.

“Considering the success of your previous adventure...” Giles yanked the paper away but still got interrupted by a woman walking in. Giles looked over at her.

“Hi.” She said to them and waved with her hand a little bit.

“You need anything?” Giles asked the woman and walked over to her.

Wesley tuned around to see who had spoken; his gaze fell upon a young and very beautiful woman. She had her brown hair tied up in a ponytail; she wore a pair of jeans, a white tank top and a jeans jacket.

“Modern science, volume 6, forgot mine at home.” She said with a smile. “You have that book?”

“Yes I think I do.”

As she waited for Giles to get the book she noticed Wesley looking at her. “Feeling old?” she asked Giles.

“Why do you ask?” He answered.

“Isn’t he your replacement for next year?” she asked.

“Uh, I, uh... Well...” Wesley started to stammer nervously. “I'm a...”

Faith, who was quite amused, leaned forward. “Yes, in matter of fact, he is.”

“Oh, nice to meet you.” She said to him, smiling.

“Wesley Wyndam-Pryce” he said and held out his hand.

“Winifred Burkle.” She said and took his hand.

“And you take science.” He stated.

“I teach science.” She said.

“She’s one of the teachers here.” Giles said and came with the book.

“Oh.” Wesley said and dropped her hand, and smiled at the fact.

“What’s so funny about it?” Winifred asked.

“What?” he stopped smiling.

“You smiled when he told you that I was a teacher.” She looked at him.

“Oh, it’s just that… just that… um.” He was getting nervous. “I usually associate teachers with… grey hair and being around 50.” He said nervous.

“Oh, I’ll tell you a secret.” She leaned forward. “I only have five years left to fifty.” She joked.

“You have?” He was totally buying her joke.

“I’m just joking.” She smiled, leaning back. “I’m actually just 26.”

“But that is still very young for being a Teacher.”

“I graduated from high school when I was 16, have been working here for the past four years.” She smiled.

She looked over to Giles that stood behind the checkout counter where Giles stamped in the do date in the book.

“Here you go Ms. Burkle.” He gave her the book.

“Thank you Mr. Giles.” She took the book and turned over to Wesley. “Welcome to Sunnydale High, the school were everything can happen.” She gave him one last smile before walking out.

“My. She is cheeky, isn't she?” He said as he watched her back as she walked out.

Faith, who was still amused, said to him; “Six words; she’s… totally… out… of… you… league.”

“That is seven words Faith” He said still looking after Ms. Burkle and then pulled out his handkerchief. “Well, uh...” he dabbed his mouth. “Where were we?” he turned around to them and asked.

“Done. I mean, we were done, right?” Buffy slipped of the table.

“Uh, yep. Off to patrol. So we'll see ya.” Faith stood up next to Buffy.

“One moment, girls.” Wesley drawled himself up. “I'm your commander now, and on the matter of this murder, I am resolved. Natural or super, I want to know.”

“Fine by me. Always ready to kick a little bad guy butt.” Faith touched Buffy’s shoulder and the two of them left the library.

---

Next evening they all were in the library, this time all of them; Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow and Xander. They were discussing the problem they have with Faith when Wesley walked in.

“That’s no longer an issue.” He told them as he walked in.

“You let her get away?” Giles said accusing to him.

“'Let' wouldn't be the way I'd phrase it, but... Yes, she escaped.” He said tired.

Giles rolled his eyes and took off his glasses.

“That's good work.” Angel said to him and walked across the room. “First, you terrorize her, and then you put her back in the streets.” He sat down on the table.

“That was hardly my plan. I was trying to save her.” He defends himself.

“But you didn't! You probably destroyed her.” Buffy accused him.

“Buffy, that's enough.” Giles told her and put his glasses on.

“I better find her before she does any more damage.” Buffy continues, standing up. “We're gonna need to split up. I'll check the docks. That's probably where she is. Giles, why don't you go to her motel? Xander, Willow, her haunts and be careful.”

They all get up to leave.

“I'll try the airport.” Angel said and walked out.

“What can I do? I want to help.” Wesley said when everybody walked out past him.

“You still got your ticket back to the mother country?” she said resentfully to him and also walked past him and left him standing there all alone.

“I was just trying to do the right thing.” He said low to himself after everybody had walked out. He sighed low to himself and walked out. As he walked down the corridor he thought that it was better if he just stayed back for a week or so, not saying so much. Yes, that was probably the best thing to do.

When he rounded the corner, he saw that it came light from one of the classrooms, the light was pretty dim, but still drew his attention to it. He walked closer to the light and saw that it was coming from a small table light, and by the table was the woman he met in the library yesterday.

He stood out in the hall watching her. She had her legs up on the desk and appeared to be reading through some tests. She yawned once and continued to read, she wore a knee long shirt, and the position she sat in made so her skirt had fallen halfway down her thighs, revealing the most of her long, slender legs. He tried not to look but couldn’t somehow.

She’s beautiful, very beautiful, Wesley thought to himself. And Faith was right, a beautiful woman like her would probably never look in his direction, and the thing in the library was probably because she wanted to be kind to him.

He continued to look at her, but she suddenly looked up and saw him. He took away his gaze from her and started to walk down the hall, embarrassed by being caught looking at her.

“Hey.” She called out to him, he stopped and turned around to face her, she walked up to him. She didn’t say anything and he expected her to slap him on the cheek, just like one of the girls had done when he was fifteen and looked at her for too long.

“You don’t have to go away.” She told him, not angry at all. “It would be nice with some company.” She smiled and he followed her back to the classroom. He really didn’t understand what that just happened.

“What are you doing here so late?” he asked her, breaking the silence. “It’s ten past eight.”

“I’m just correction some tests.” She answered. “I concentrate better here.” She sat down on her chair behind the desk.

“You shouldn’t be out so late, it can be very dangerous to be out so late.” He told her a little bit nervous and leaned towards the bench closest to the desk.

“Are you offering yourself to walk me home?” she said and smiled again.

He thought about it for two seconds and thought that that would be the best way to get her home safe. “Yes, wouldn’t like to see you get hurt.” He said to her.

“Let me just grab my things.” She smiled.

---

“You are not really from around here are you?” Wesley asked her as they just left the school grounds.

“No, I’m actually Texas, came up here to study.” She answered. “And I feel in love with California, or you can say that it was a Californian boy that kept me here. You know, you fall in love with guy and he makes you move up here and settle down, get a job and the whole crap. He made me move up here to Sunnydale, we even got an apartment together.” She sighed and the continued. “And all that for coming home early one day to find him in bed with a person you call friend.” She rambled on a little bit angry, she was quiet for a minute. “I’m sorry; I have a curse that makes me talk too much.”

“Don’t worry about that Ms. Burkle.”

“Call me Fred. Everybody does.” She interrupted him.

“Fred.” He continued. “At least you don’t have a curse that makes you don’t talk at all sometimes.” He answered.

“You are a really nice guy.” She smiled. “It’s nice to talk to a guy that doesn’t want to bed me.”

“Bed you?” He didn’t quite understand what she meant with that word. “What do you mean?”

She smiled. “The most men I meet is always this nice to me because they think with their dumbstick.” She answered him and frowned at the word dumbstick.

“Yet another word I don’t understand…” Wesley said. “Dumbstick?”

“It’s a metaphor for… um, penis.” She looked up at him to see how he reacted to the word.

“Oh, I see.” He said and felt his face turned red, by the sound of the word.

“Could that sentence have sounded anymore English?” She laughed at his reaction of the word. “I see.” She repeated after him, but didn’t get it as English as he did because of the laughing.

“Are you mocking me?” He asked her and looked dead serious at her.

But she just laughed more. “What would you do if I said I did?” She asked him when she had toned down her laughing.

“Absolutely no idea.” He answered to her honestly.

“You just sounded so cute.” She smiled looking at him. “Oh, here’s my apartment building.” She pointed out the building.

“Already here?” He asked and tried not to sound disappointed.

“Afraid so.” She gave him a sigh. “Thank you for walking me home. See ‘ya tomorrow.” She gave him a soft smile.

“Yes, let’s meet again tomorrow.”

“Yeah.” She said nodding. By this time had they reached the front of the building.

“I’d better be going then.” He nodded and turned around.

“Wesley.” She called out after him; he turned around, curious about what she wanted. “You wanna… come up for some coffee or something?” She asked.

“I… um, I.” He stammered. “Don’t think that is such a good idea.”

“Okey.” She gave him a nod and disappointed turned around and walked up to her apartment.

When she reached her apartment she took her keys out, unlocked the door and stepped inside. The apartment was small. There was one room, a kitchen and a small bathroom. She walked into the kitchen and turned on the TV, just too make the silence to go away. Then she walked over to the fridge and pulled out a one-portion dinner and put it in the microwave.

She took of her jacket and put on her bed, which took up the most of her bedroom, in the rest of the bedroom was there a bookshelf, a desk full of papers and a closet. She walked over to the bookshelf and pulled out a book she had read so many times and went to the kitchen to eat her food and read a book. Trying to oppress her feeling that made her feel sick of loneliness.

Me Note: Hope you like it… even if you didn’t, please write a review…