Categories: Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4, Season 5, Alternate Reality, Episode Rewrite
Characters: Angel, Buffy, Ensemble, Giles, Jenny Calendar, Spike
Summary:
I've always been baffled that Jenny's solution to keeping an eye on Angel and making sure that the curse stayed in effect was to stand back, flirt with Giles, and watch Buffy and Angel date while not saying a word. How was that at all a good plan?
So what I want to see is Jenny revealing who she is to the Scoobies right from the start. She was already getting involved anyway by helping them take out Moloch. After the gang has defeated Moloch (and maybe it's the next day sometime after Buffy, Willow, and Xander have their "None of us are ever going to have a happy, normal relationship!" moment), Jenny shows up in the library and tells them that she was already planning on telling them who she was and she figures now is a good time. (Add to that - did Jenny already know Buffy was the Slayer or did she just think Buffy was a girl that Angel was getting close to? That exchange where she's so surprised at Buffy being the Slayer because "She's just so little." always makes me wonder. So was she acting or was she surprised?)
She tells them that she's there to be sure that the curse on Angel's soul doesn't break and that there's actually a clause to it. When she reveals what the clause is, she adds that she wanted to tell them now before he and Buffy got too close.
How does this change things from here on out? Do Jenny and Giles still fall for each other? Faster or slower now that the truth - on Jenny's side of things at least - is fully out there? Does she get more involved with the Scoobies than she originally did in canon? Now that Buffy knows what could happen if she and Angel get involved, does she risk it? Does she consider getting involved with him anyway only for Giles to find out and have her read about what Angel's like without a soul? It's something they glossed over a number of times - like her stopping Giles from finishing with "I don't have a puppy. Let's skip it." Or does she back away romantically right off the bat because there's no way she's risking it? And how does Angel take it if Buffy decides to just treat him like an ally rather than falling for him?
Personally, I'd like to see her consider it only for Giles to make her face up to what Angelus is like but whatever direction you decide to go will work for me.
How does this lead to Spuffy? If Angel doesn't lose his soul, how do things play out for the second half of season 2? How would Lover's Walk go? Heck, how does season 3 play out without the Bangel drama? How does season 4 play out without Buffy dealing with the baggage from her relationship with Angel? Does she still give Riley a chance or does she realize they have nothing in common? Without everything with Angel, does she start to fall for Spike once she sees how he's starting to change? Does it make her accept his feelings for her more readily in season 5?
Feel free to make this as long or short as you like. I just want to see how everyone knowing about the happiness clause and who Jenny is right from the start changes things and how it leads to a happy Spuffy ending.