Giles had noticed the men long before they had moved toward them. He wasn't going to upset Fred by pointing them out since he knew they were from the Council. When they approached him, he merely nodded. "As soon as I'm sure my wife has a way home," he said, before looking around for Willow. When he finally spotted her, he waved her over.
"Sorry. They said I wasn't supposed to come over," Willow said as she eyed the man.
"Could you make sure Fred gets home all right? And stay with her?" He asked Willow. She nodded and Giles turned to Fred and hugged her before whispering in her ear. "Don't tell anyone about what happened. I'll be home soon." He pulled back and softly kissed her before following the men out of the airport.
Thirty minutes later, Giles was standing in the board room as the board stared him down. "Where's Illyria?" one of them asked.
"I rather not tell you that information," Giles answered.
The board members looked at each other because Travers' nephew stood. "If you refuse to help us, then we have no other choice than to terminate your position," he said.
"I second the notion," another member stated.
"All in favor?" Travers asked. Everyone, except for Peter and another member, raised their hands. "All in favor of terminating Mister Giles' wife?" Once again everyone, except for two members, raised their hands as Giles' fist clenched at his side.
"What about the rest of them? Like the witch and Slayers?" someone asked.
Giles stood and watched as the board fired Willow, Xander, Buffy, Martin, Lorne, and Charlotte. He wanted to hit the smug look off Travers' face but stood completely still. He wasn't about to give the prat the satisfaction. "Am I free to go?" he asked.
"Yes. All of you can come in tomorrow and collect you things from your offices. Then you are not to set foot in this building again," Travers said.
Giles didn't acknowledge him. Instead, he turned on his heel and stalked out of the board room. He pulled out his mobile and rang for a taxi to pick him up. Once he rang off, he stepped outside the building and dialed Willow's number. "Willow," he said when she answered. "I need you to get everyone there."
"Everyone's here already. We were waiting for Fred and you to come home," she said.
"Good. Keep them there. I'll be home in about ten minutes," he said before ringing off. And when his taxi showed up, he slipped into it and headed for home.
Fred didn't want to leave Rupert with the people the Board had sent. She didn't trust them, not after everything that had happened, and she didn't like the idea of her husband going to face them alone. She wasn't going to make a scene, though, not there in the middle of Heathrow, so when Rupert told her to go with Willow, she nodded, holding him close. If any of them hurt him, she was going to hurt them, she swore to herself.
Watching them walk out of the airport, she felt her heart pounding in her chest and felt her stomach flipping. Willow came over and put an arm around her.
"He's going to be okay," she told her.
Fred bit her lip and took a deep, shuddering breath. They had already been through enough; they didn't need this as well. "He'd better. Otherwise the Board are going to find out what I'm like when I'm really pissed off."
"Come on. Let's go back to the house. Everyone else is there, even Buffy and Dawn. They caught the first flight in when I called them," she told her.
Nodding, Fred went out with Willow to her car with their bags, and soon they were arriving back at her and Rupert's house. Inside, everyone was indeed waiting. Molly came running up to her, barking and jumping up.
"Fred!" Martin said, standing up from the couch. "Where's Rupert?"
"The Board grabbed him at the airport. Said they wanted a meeting," Fred told them as she joined them in the parlor, sitting down in the loveseat. Molly jumped up next to her, resing her head on Fred's lap and whining a little, so she started to scratch behind her ears.
"What exactly happened in California?" Buffy asked softly. "Andrew's really gone?"
Fred nodded. "Rupert wants to be here when we explain everything, though."
An uncertain silence fell over the room as they all looked at each other, Fred still worrying about her husband. Part of her wanted to go out to her car and drive over to the Council to find out what was going on. But she knew that Rupert wouldn't have wanted her there.
"How's the baby?" Charlotte finally asked.
"She's fine," Fred told her, giving her a soft smile. "Moving a bit now."
Suddenly, Willow's cell phone rang, and she answered, speaking to who was obviously Rupert. Fred looked at her when she hung up, feeling her heart pound again.
"Is he okay? Did he say what happened?"
Willow shook her head. "He just wanted us all here. I think he's okay, though. He didn't sound too happy, though."
"I wouldn't be either after talking to the Board," Buffy said, crossing her arms.
"I don't think any of us are going to like what he has to say," Charlotte said softly as they waited for him to get back.
When the taxi pulled up in front of the house, Giles gave the driver some money and get out. He went up to the door and walked in. Molly came out to greet him and he picked the dog up before walking into the parlor. Willow was right, and everyone was there. He nodded and then went over to the loveseat to sit down by Fred.
"What's going on?" Buffy asked. "What happened to Andrew?"
Giles took a deep breath, trying to decide what to tell them first. He slowly told all of them what happened to Andrew, and why. When he was finished with that, he took another deep breath. "As all of you know, I wasn't supposed to go to Los Angeles. The board forbid me from doing so," he said, looking at all of them. "They want to know where Illyria is, but I refuse to tell them. And they fired me."
"What? They can't do that!" Dawn suddenly said.
"They did. And they've fired all of you also," Giles quietly said as he looked down at his lap. He'd let all of them down, and gotten them fired because he didn't want to listen to the board.
Molly started to whine and Giles picked her up. "I should let her out. I'm sorry this happened. You can pick up your things from your offices in the morning," he said before walking out of the parlor and to the back door.
Fred felt her throat tighten when Rupert told everyone that he had been fired from the Council. She knew how much work he had put into that place, trying to rebuild it and make sure that the girls were taken care of and trained properly. Oh, god, the girls. What was the Board going to try to do to them now that Giles wasn't there to run interference for them and fight for them?
Then he told them that all of them had been fired. Her eyes widening, Fred looked over at everyone before turning to her husband. "Rupert..." she started to say before he got up and walked to the back of the house.
"He thinks its his fault," Buffy said softly, her hands clenched down by her sides. "Stupid, selfish bastards..."
Without a word, Fred pushed herself up from the couch just as Lorne put a hand out to stay her for a moment. "Are you going to be all right, Freddles?" he asked. "If you need one of--."
She shook her head. "No. He's my husband. I should be there for him."
She walked out of the parlor and headed to the back of the house to find Rupert by the back door. "Hey," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault, you know. No one in there blames you. We all supported you in this because it was the right thing to do, and if the Council is so stuck up its own ass that it can't see the harm it's doing, then we're better off fighting this on our own.
She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her cheek to her arm, closing her eyes for a moment. "You and the others have said before that you had to go it on your own. We'll do it again."
Giles sighed when his wife walked into the kitchen. He was hoping to have a few minutes to himself but knew he wouldn't send her away. She was only trying to help him. "I'm not..." he started but stopped. There was part of him that blamed himself for this. If only he'd left Andrew and Fred in England instead of taking them with him.
"I just...I'm tired, Fred. I don't want to talk about this right now. Besides, there's nothing else to say. We've been through this before, and in the morning we'll go and get our things and decide what to do. I just can't do it now," Giles quietly said before he opened the door open. Molly came in and he picked her up.
Turning, he walked down the foyer and went to the foyer. Everyone turned and looked at him. "We can finish discussing this tomorrow morning, after we've cleaned out our offices. Right now, I want to spend some time with my wife, and dog," he said before walking out.
He went up the stairs and to the bedroom he shared with Fred.
Fred bit her lip and nodded when Rupert said he was tired. She hadn't actually been suggesting they do anything right then - they needed time to deal with this and with Andrew's death before they even started thinking about what they were going to do next. She just wanted to assure him that she knew they could do it.
Before she could explain that to him, though, he had let Molly in and then turned to go back to the parlor. She trailed behind, watching him tell the others they'd talk more tomorrow before he headed upstairs.
"He's going to be all right? Isn't he?" Willow asked softly.
"He needs time, you guys," Fred told them. She knew how much all of them depended on her husband, but right now he needed to work his own feelings on this. "Just..."
"You don't need to explain," Xander said, giving her a hug. "We'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
She nodded and waited in the foyer while everyone get their coats and headed out. Lorne gave her a hug as well, promising her that everything would be okay in the long run. Once they had all left, she closed the front door and locked it before heading upstairs to the bedroom.
"Rupert?" she said softly when she walked in. Not knowing what to say, she just opened her arms to him. "We don't have to talk."
"Sorry. They said I wasn't supposed to come over," Willow said as she eyed the man.
"Could you make sure Fred gets home all right? And stay with her?" He asked Willow. She nodded and Giles turned to Fred and hugged her before whispering in her ear. "Don't tell anyone about what happened. I'll be home soon." He pulled back and softly kissed her before following the men out of the airport.
Thirty minutes later, Giles was standing in the board room as the board stared him down. "Where's Illyria?" one of them asked.
"I rather not tell you that information," Giles answered.
The board members looked at each other because Travers' nephew stood. "If you refuse to help us, then we have no other choice than to terminate your position," he said.
"I second the notion," another member stated.
"All in favor?" Travers asked. Everyone, except for Peter and another member, raised their hands. "All in favor of terminating Mister Giles' wife?" Once again everyone, except for two members, raised their hands as Giles' fist clenched at his side.
"What about the rest of them? Like the witch and Slayers?" someone asked.
Giles stood and watched as the board fired Willow, Xander, Buffy, Martin, Lorne, and Charlotte. He wanted to hit the smug look off Travers' face but stood completely still. He wasn't about to give the prat the satisfaction. "Am I free to go?" he asked.
"Yes. All of you can come in tomorrow and collect you things from your offices. Then you are not to set foot in this building again," Travers said.
Giles didn't acknowledge him. Instead, he turned on his heel and stalked out of the board room. He pulled out his mobile and rang for a taxi to pick him up. Once he rang off, he stepped outside the building and dialed Willow's number. "Willow," he said when she answered. "I need you to get everyone there."
"Everyone's here already. We were waiting for Fred and you to come home," she said.
"Good. Keep them there. I'll be home in about ten minutes," he said before ringing off. And when his taxi showed up, he slipped into it and headed for home.
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Watching them walk out of the airport, she felt her heart pounding in her chest and felt her stomach flipping. Willow came over and put an arm around her.
"He's going to be okay," she told her.
Fred bit her lip and took a deep, shuddering breath. They had already been through enough; they didn't need this as well. "He'd better. Otherwise the Board are going to find out what I'm like when I'm really pissed off."
"Come on. Let's go back to the house. Everyone else is there, even Buffy and Dawn. They caught the first flight in when I called them," she told her.
Nodding, Fred went out with Willow to her car with their bags, and soon they were arriving back at her and Rupert's house. Inside, everyone was indeed waiting. Molly came running up to her, barking and jumping up.
"Fred!" Martin said, standing up from the couch. "Where's Rupert?"
"The Board grabbed him at the airport. Said they wanted a meeting," Fred told them as she joined them in the parlor, sitting down in the loveseat. Molly jumped up next to her, resing her head on Fred's lap and whining a little, so she started to scratch behind her ears.
"What exactly happened in California?" Buffy asked softly. "Andrew's really gone?"
Fred nodded. "Rupert wants to be here when we explain everything, though."
An uncertain silence fell over the room as they all looked at each other, Fred still worrying about her husband. Part of her wanted to go out to her car and drive over to the Council to find out what was going on. But she knew that Rupert wouldn't have wanted her there.
"How's the baby?" Charlotte finally asked.
"She's fine," Fred told her, giving her a soft smile. "Moving a bit now."
Suddenly, Willow's cell phone rang, and she answered, speaking to who was obviously Rupert. Fred looked at her when she hung up, feeling her heart pound again.
"Is he okay? Did he say what happened?"
Willow shook her head. "He just wanted us all here. I think he's okay, though. He didn't sound too happy, though."
"I wouldn't be either after talking to the Board," Buffy said, crossing her arms.
"I don't think any of us are going to like what he has to say," Charlotte said softly as they waited for him to get back.
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"What's going on?" Buffy asked. "What happened to Andrew?"
Giles took a deep breath, trying to decide what to tell them first. He slowly told all of them what happened to Andrew, and why. When he was finished with that, he took another deep breath. "As all of you know, I wasn't supposed to go to Los Angeles. The board forbid me from doing so," he said, looking at all of them. "They want to know where Illyria is, but I refuse to tell them. And they fired me."
"What? They can't do that!" Dawn suddenly said.
"They did. And they've fired all of you also," Giles quietly said as he looked down at his lap. He'd let all of them down, and gotten them fired because he didn't want to listen to the board.
Molly started to whine and Giles picked her up. "I should let her out. I'm sorry this happened. You can pick up your things from your offices in the morning," he said before walking out of the parlor and to the back door.
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Then he told them that all of them had been fired. Her eyes widening, Fred looked over at everyone before turning to her husband. "Rupert..." she started to say before he got up and walked to the back of the house.
"He thinks its his fault," Buffy said softly, her hands clenched down by her sides. "Stupid, selfish bastards..."
Without a word, Fred pushed herself up from the couch just as Lorne put a hand out to stay her for a moment. "Are you going to be all right, Freddles?" he asked. "If you need one of--."
She shook her head. "No. He's my husband. I should be there for him."
She walked out of the parlor and headed to the back of the house to find Rupert by the back door. "Hey," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault, you know. No one in there blames you. We all supported you in this because it was the right thing to do, and if the Council is so stuck up its own ass that it can't see the harm it's doing, then we're better off fighting this on our own.
She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her cheek to her arm, closing her eyes for a moment. "You and the others have said before that you had to go it on your own. We'll do it again."
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"I just...I'm tired, Fred. I don't want to talk about this right now. Besides, there's nothing else to say. We've been through this before, and in the morning we'll go and get our things and decide what to do. I just can't do it now," Giles quietly said before he opened the door open. Molly came in and he picked her up.
Turning, he walked down the foyer and went to the foyer. Everyone turned and looked at him. "We can finish discussing this tomorrow morning, after we've cleaned out our offices. Right now, I want to spend some time with my wife, and dog," he said before walking out.
He went up the stairs and to the bedroom he shared with Fred.
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Before she could explain that to him, though, he had let Molly in and then turned to go back to the parlor. She trailed behind, watching him tell the others they'd talk more tomorrow before he headed upstairs.
"He's going to be all right? Isn't he?" Willow asked softly.
"He needs time, you guys," Fred told them. She knew how much all of them depended on her husband, but right now he needed to work his own feelings on this. "Just..."
"You don't need to explain," Xander said, giving her a hug. "We'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
She nodded and waited in the foyer while everyone get their coats and headed out. Lorne gave her a hug as well, promising her that everything would be okay in the long run. Once they had all left, she closed the front door and locked it before heading upstairs to the bedroom.
"Rupert?" she said softly when she walked in. Not knowing what to say, she just opened her arms to him. "We don't have to talk."
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