22:16 - Chapter 5/6
Buffy placed her hand on Giles’ thigh as he stared at the telephone. He shook his head slowly and then gave a soft chuckle.
“I haven’t been this nervous since I asked you for a date.” He said, running his thumb over the keypad.
“We’ll work through whatever she says. If she has anything to say.” She replied with a sigh. “She may not know anything.”
“If she doesn’t, that closes down Council and family. And I don’t know where to go from there.”
Buffy nodded solemnly. Giles shook his head and quickly punched in the numbers before he changed his mind. He closed his eyes and listened to the line ring. And on the fourth ring, the line was connected and Giles opened his eyes.
* *
“Hello, Lottie.”
“Rupert, love! I was just thinking about you - about how it’s been far too long since I’ve seen you.”
“It has been a while.” He smiled warmly. “And I would love to see you.”
“Ah…business call, eh?” She laughed heartily. “Spell, supplies, lore…”
“Me.” He replied. “I need to talk to you about me. Something happened…”
Lottie was quiet for a long moment and then sighed heavily.
“Oh dear Lord.” She whispered.
“I haven’t even told you what happened.”
“You’re a Watcher, Rupert. You are the Watcher for the most successful Slayer in history. It’s not a hard leap to take.” She exhaled a deep breath. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
“I…can’t.” He whispered in response. “And I need your help.”
“It worked then?” She asked tentatively. “You…haven’t hurt anyone?”
“No, I haven’t.” He furrowed his brow.
“Your soul is safe? It…wasn’t expelled?”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“Oh thank heavens!”
“You…knew…about this?” He asked in disbelief.
“Of course, my boy. I’m responsible.”
“What?”
“This isn’t a conversation that we should have over the phone, love.”
He could hear a rustling over the line and a whispered incantation.
“Found you…I’ll be there in a mo, alright?”
Before he could say anything, the line was disconnected. As he lowered the phone from his ear, a shimmering portal opened in the corner of the room.
“What the hell?” Buffy stood up quickly.
Giles took hold her of her wrist. “It’s Lottie.”
Buffy looked down at him, her brow furrowed. “Seriously, Giles…what the hell?”
“I don’t know, but apparently she does.” He replied, clearing his throat as he stood up beside of her.
The shimmering grew. Giles squeezed Buffy’s hand.
* *
Lottie stared at Giles through glistening eyes. She shook her head sadly as she walked over to him.
“I had so hoped that this would never happen.” She whispered, gently stroking his cheek. “But, then…I’m also very glad that it worked.”
“That what worked? What did you do? And…when?” He asked, looking into her eyes.
She sighed and moved her hand to his chest. “You were just a little thing - three years old. Your father had seen far too many people die at the fangs of a vampire, but when he had to stake a fellow Watcher…a friend…he vowed that he would do whatever he possibly could do to protect you.”
She wiped the tears from her eyes and gestured towards the sofa. “Come…let’s sit and talk.”
“Lottie…” Giles started as he and Buffy sat down on the sofa.
Lottie sat across from them and collected her thoughts.
“When a vampire infects a victim with their blood, the victim’s heart…explodes - expelling the soul at tremendous force.”
“Well, that explains the pain.” Giles said softly.
Buffy wordlessly took hold of his hand and moved closer to him.
“Yes, unfortunately so. Nothing I tried seemed to stop that process.” Lottie said before continuing. “The thought was…if the soul was actually unable to be forced out, then perhaps it could co-exist with the demon. So, the first step was to find a way for that to happen.”
She paused for a brief moment and then exhaled slowly. “A barrier spell was etched into your ribcage - preventing the soul from being forced out.”
Giles stared at her, not knowing what to say - so he said nothing.
“Then we came across the problem of what happens to the soul if it’s trapped with no protection. The essence of the vampire could possibly destroy…or corrupt…the soul. So, step two was giving the soul a new home that the vampire couldn’t access. That was more difficult that you’d think.”
Giles’ mind was racing. Buffy was already making a mental list of questions.
“The third step was the one that took the longest to get right - which is why you were three before we were able to apply the process to you.” She paused for a just a second, her eyes darting around his face. “Blending in. A person who is unable to be in the daylight is going to raise a lot of flags. A vampire’s visage - ridges, facial structure, eyes, teeth…those needed to be softened as much as possible.”
She tilted her head slightly and rubbed her palms against her thighs. “Are you able to show me?”
Giles lowered his eyes and squeezed Buffy’s hand. Buffy squeezed back and turned her eyes to him.
“It’s okay, Ru. I’m here.” She whispered.
He gave a soft nod and then lifted his now amber eyes to his Godmother. Her eyes widened as she moved closer, pulling her chair across the floor to sit directly in front of him. She scanned his face and smiled softly.
“No eyebrow ridges, no elongated cheekbones, the color of your skin hasn’t changed. Your eyes still look very human, though the color of burnt butter.”
“A dark honey, I thought.” Buffy said quietly, earning her a bright nod from Lottie.
“Why food stuffs?” Giles asked absently. “Why not ‘the color of the autumn leaves of a liquid amber’?”
Lottie chuckled quietly then gestured towards his mouth. “May I see?”
He looked at her for a long moment and then slowly parted his lips. She examined his teeth and then looked back into his eyes.
“There wasn’t much I could do about that. Fangs being the most important aspect of vampirism and such.” She sat back in her chair, a thoughtful expression on her face. “How do you feel?”
“Confused, concerned, incredibly sad.” He answered honestly. “But, not homicidal - so that’s a plus.”
“Have you fed?”
“Pig’s blood.” He replied, relaxing slightly. “Ethan has a blood fridge in his pantry.”
Lottie’s brow furrowed. “Why does Ethan have a blood fridge? And furthermore…why are you at Ethan’s home?”
“Ah…see, that’s how all of this…” He gestured to himself with a wave of his hand. “…happened. Ethan called asking for our help - specifically, Buffy’s help. Because, Clara…his younger sister...had been turned. And, as it turns out, he had kept her chained in a locked cell in a locked room in his basement for a year while he researched possible cures for vampirism. Having been unsuccessful, he called me. So, here we are…at Ethan’s house, to kill his sister.”
He paused for a moment, feeling a wave of anger pass through him.
“Obviously, things didn’t go to plan - and I gave myself to Clara in order to save Buffy. And when I woke up…colors were more vibrant, sounds were…everything was heightened. And I could smell Buffy’s blood, hear her heartbeat. It didn’t take much to realise what had happened. But, I knew instantly that things were not…as I would have expected them to be.”
“And Clara?” Lottie asked gently.
“Dust.” Buffy replied. “That was the first thing I did when I woke up. The second thing I did was to hold my dead love’s body in my arms…and pray that he wouldn’t wake up. But, he did - and I stood up to stake him…and then he looked into my eyes and said ‘Hello, Buffy’ and I knew this was…different.”
“Things are very different.” Lottie agreed, sounding quite relieved. “Any questions?”
Buffy nodded instantly. Giles barked out a laugh, startling Buffy. Lottie smiled, her eyes sparkling. Buffy slowly turned her head towards Giles.
“You think this is funny?”
“If I don’t start laughing…” He shrugged a shoulder. “Love, I have my soul…it’s not going anywhere. That’s pretty much the best I can ask for right now.”
Buffy thought about what he said and then sighed heavily. “Yeah, I get that, but…there are so many questions.”
Lottie nodded in understanding. “Ask away, sweetheart.”
“Can this spell be broken? Like…if he breaks a rib, does that break a seal? Because, let’s be honest - it could happen.”
“No - it can’t be broken. His soul will remain intact…and safe.”
“But, he still has…well, there’s a demon in there, right?”
“Yes, love. And there will be times when the vampire will come to the forefront - but, Rupert will be there too. And his strength will help him keep the demon in check.”
“You mentioned sunlight - are you saying he’ll be able to go into the sun?”
“Obviously, it’ll need to be tested - but, prior tests were successful. His eyes will most likely be fairly sensitive - sunglasses will be a necessity.”
Buffy’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, that brings me to a question that popped into my head earlier. How the hell was all of this figured out? I mean…prior tests? Tests on…?”
Lottie was quiet for a moment and then glanced at Giles. “There were research subjects.”
Giles stared at her incredulously. “You experimented on people? What did you do, grab random people no one would miss?”
Lottie looked horrified at the question. “What? God no! We recruited willing subjects.”
“Willing? Who the hell would be willing to be a fucking guinea pig?” Buffy asked, shaking her head furiously.
“Buffy.” Giles looked at her sharply. “Give her a chance to explain.”
Lottie lowered her gaze and took a deep breath. “All subjects were terminal patients. They were all within the last few weeks of their lives. Some had families, some did not.”
“And…that makes it all okay?”
Giles’ eyes blazed for a moment as he stared at Buffy. Lottie shook her head, her eyes softening and allowing her sadness to show through.
“No, positively not. But, every step needed to be tested before we could protect Rupert. As such…we did what was necessary. Am I proud of that? No. But, sitting here…knowing that my Godson is now a vampire…I’m grateful. Because he is too much of an asset to this world…and having him lose his soul would have been a devastating blow.”
“A devastating blow?” Giles’ eyes shifted back to green as he looked at Lottie. “This wasn’t just about protecting me because of people my father had lost, was it?”
Lottie became uncomfortably quiet and sat back in her chair.
“Lottie?” Giles whispered, ducking his head to catch her eyes. “Please tell me.”
Lottie stood up and quickly reopened the portal that she had come through. “I’ll be back in a moment.”
Buffy and Giles watched as she slipped into the portal. Buffy turned to look up at Giles.
“What the hell is going on, Giles? Are you thinking…prophecy?”
“I’m sure I’ve no idea. But, it’s something much more than friends being turned. I’ve had friends who were turned…and not once did I consider finding a way to protect any future children against being turned.”
Buffy’s eyes filled with tears and she quickly averted her gaze. Giles reached over and placed his hand on her thigh.
“Love…”
“We were going to have a family.” She whispered, her voice trembling.
“That was something we couldn’t figure out.” Lottie said gently, holding a book in her hand as the portal closed behind her once more. “I’m very sorry.”
She sat down, cradling the book against her chest as Giles cradled Buffy against his. Her sobs hurt Lottie’s heart more than she could put into words. She thought, not for the first time, that they would have made amazing parents. To find out that they’d never be able to fulfil that wish…was heartbreaking, to say the least.
Giles closed his eyes, holding Buffy tightly and whispering softly to her.
Lottie wiped her eye as she watched a single tear slip from the corner of his.
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