Commentary for Lingering: Chapter Two
Okay, for something a bit lighter, here's Chapter Two of my commentary on Lingering. It's a story about Buffy and William...and yet, they don't actually interact in this chapter. 'Tis a shame.
Chapter Two: Take Me Past This Lonely Truth
From Falling Farther In, another excellent song.
Dawn crashed through the door, skidding to a halt partway into the room. Willow froze in mid-sentence at the interruption.
"Hi, guys," Dawn tucked a strand of hair behind her ear in a casual manner. Giles could tell by her red face and lack of breath that she'd been running for a while. "I heard that Spike's here."
Okay, I made this difficult for myself. Because this scene is written from Giles' POV, but I opened it with Dawn entering and don't even mention Giles until the second paragraph. This is either somewhat clever or just bad writing. I'm leaning towards the latter.
I did want to introduce Dawn, though, who was also going to have a larger role, but then I scaled back.
She looked at William who was sitting nervously at the edge of the sofa. They were in Giles' office, and Willow had just gone over the details of what she'd found. William had been very quiet throughout, though Giles supposed that this was probably all very overwhelming for him.
This was a ploy to avoid having to do a scene with William trying to process everything explained to him. Instead, they've explained everything to him already, and now they're just recapping for Dawn.
"Heard from whom?" Giles asked.
"Uh...Kennedy. Some of the girls were talking about it," Dawn hadn't taken her eyes off William. "That's not him, though."
"No," Willow's brow was furrowed in annoyance. "No, it's not Spike. It's William. And Kennedy shouldn't be all talky about this anyway."
"Well, it's going round the rumor mill now," Dawn entered the room fully and sat down. "So, fill me in. How'd he get here?"
MAGICAL PLOT DEVICE
"We actually just went over this, Dawn. I'm not sure if William wants to hear it again or -" Giles said.
William glanced at him sharply at that. "I...I'm afraid I didn't understand most of it, so..."
I am glad I only showed the recap and not the initial exposition to William. For one, I can't imagine William not having to hear the explanation a couple times, and that would be needless repetition of information that the reader already knows. Boring. For another, it's quite honestly outside my ability to imagine what it must be like for William to attempt to process all this. I hit a limit as a writer.
Willow looked at Giles who nodded at her to review what she'd learned. It hadn't taken long for her to do the necessary research. It was barely lunchtime before she had met with them to explain her findings.
I could have shown Willow looking all this stuff up. But...yeah, not important.
"Well," Willow sat up straight. "You know Buffy got that amulet thingy yesterday, right?"
Dawn just nodded.
"See, nobody really knew much about it or what it does or...anything, really. And we didn't have time to find out before using it so we just kinda didn't. But now we do and it's actually a pretty ancient magical artifact. Kinda like a Swiss army knife of artifacts. It can do a buncha different things. One of them was to, you know, burn up Spike. But last night Buffy used it, inadvertently, to make a wish."
Behold, my fanwank for use of this plot device. Fortunately, it works well because it does symbolize Spike's sacrifice and redemption, which I'm able to use later in the fic. But, honestly, I could have managed to make up some random wish-granting artifact if need be.
Dawn blinked. "She wished for William?"
"No," Giles interjected. "She wished for Spike the way he was before he died."
"Leave it to Buffy to muck up a wish," Dawn frowned while rolling her eyes.
Dawn immediately sees how Buffy's wish backfired. She's a smart chica.
"Yeah," Willow said. "So then, boom! William!" Willow motioned to William then with her hands.
"And how do we send him back?" Dawn asked.
Willow looked at Giles again, but this time he could tell that she was begging for him to take over. He complied. "We don't," he answered.
I had to establish this early on. If I didn't, then this fic would end up being, "How does William get home?" as opposed to "How does William adjust to this new time?" There's no point adjusting if they can send him back. But I needed William to be cut off so as to lead to his gradual acclimation to his new environment.
"Why not?"
Willow spoke up again. "Because there's nowhere to send him back to, Dawn. What the wish did was duplicate William at that point and send the copy here. If we send him back, then there'd be two Williams and that would be completely not good."
Well, it may not be good, but it would be a hell of a lot of fun!
Giles kept an eye on William who was being very muted in his reaction. He wondered if the man were even following the conversation. "William," Giles prompted him to look up. "Do you understand what this means? We can't send you back to your time."
William nodded, though it was the nod of a person who understood without accepting.
And William's in shock mode.
"So," Dawn spoke quietly. "What's gonna happen to him?"
"He'll stay with me," Giles said. "Until he adjusts to this time. It'll take some effort, but he will adapt. Once he is settled, he'll be free to do as he pleases."
"Do you have any questions?" Willow asked William in full teacher-mode.
There was a very long awkward silence as everybody's eyes turned to William. The young man looked as if he weren't accustomed to being the center of attention.
"Who is Spike?" He asked hesitantly.
No!!!!! They don't want to answer that question!!!
"What?" Willow was obviously blind-sided by the question.
"People keep referring to me as 'Spike'. I had assumed that I must bear some resemblance to this person, however your fantastic explanation for my travel suggests something more that I don't understand."
It was the most he'd spoken so far. Giles was pleased to hear him speak without stuttering, as well. He had tried to carry on a conversation with William in the morning hours, but the man had been reticent to engage him in any sort of dialogue.
Giles had been hoping, however, that this subject wouldn't come up. It wasn't pleasant to have to tell William about what had lain ahead of him had he progressed along his natural time. There was no avoiding it, though, and neither of the girls looked eager to launch into an explanation.
I can see how they would want to tiptoe around the subject, but considering that Spike's been brought up numerous times by numerous people....well...William isn't stupid.
"Spike was a vampire," Giles said.
"There's no such thing, Mr. Giles," William said as if reciting some dogmatic belief.
I reject your reality and substitute my own. /mythbusters
"Just as there's no such thing as magical time travel?" Giles replied. William fell silent. "William, within the normal timeline, you would have died the night you were brought here. You would have been killed, and then a vampire demon would have entered your corpse. This demon would come to call himself 'Spike' and would live for over a century."
William paled to the complexion of his vampire counterpart at that explanation. "A demon..."
"Yes," Giles continued. "Not a very nice one, either."
Giles' explanation is really more in line with the old Council way of thinking. Once you're turned, the human dies and the demon wholly takes over. I don't think Giles really believes this anymore given the vampires he's personally met that retain a significant part of their human selves' personalities. However, he most likely presents this as it would be the easiest explanation for William to process.
"Then why would Miss Summers wish for his return?"
That was something Giles didn't want to think about, in all honesty. He'd never adjusted to Buffy's attachment to the vampire. While he could freely admit that Spike had proven his worth in destroying the Hellmouth, he couldn't give him the blind admiration that he seemed to garner from some of the others. Even with a soul. This man sitting before him was just one reason for that. William Pratt had died so that Spike could live. And William was just the first in a long line of Spike's victims.
Course, after I say that Giles isn't really presenting his own view, there's this. Which is to say, I think Giles does see more shades of gray in the vampire's make-up than he is telling William. However, he also does see William as dying when he was turned. And William did die then. Spike, while an extension of William, would never have come into being had supernatural forces not intervened.
Willow spoke up, obviously sensing Giles' reluctance to provide an answer. "See, Spike did some good things for us. It's kinda complicated. But he got his soul so he was all with the good-making for a while. And he died averting an apocalypse so big plusses there. That's why everybody's like 'Oh, Spike!' when they see you."
William shook his head. "There is no good in a demon. No doubt this creature of evil must have had some darker purpose for his actions."
And William is likely to have a black and white view on the subject of demons. Having lived a mundane life, he's only ever heard of demons as evil. It is outside his thinking that a demon could do good things or seek to better his or her self. And...he never really gets past this by the end of the story. Because sometimes, you just don't break out of this stuff.
"I don't think he did," Dawn said.
William ignored her, however. "Is this commonplace in this time? Battling the demonic forces of the world? Such things are told as superstitious stories in my time, and yet they seem readily accepted by you."
Giles was happy that the conversation had moved away from Spike. "Actually, no, William," he answered. "We're involved for various reasons, but most people in the world know nothing about the demons or our work to fight it. This actually may be a good time to start getting you adjusted to this time."
Giles stood, motioning to William to do the same.
"What are you gonna do?" Dawn asked.
"I will use the time-honored tradition of getting him accustomed to the culture of the time by showing him some television."
Obvious solution is obvious.
***
After some brief questioning, Dawn found out that Buffy had taken a group of new Slayers out to train and wouldn't be back till late. She had wanted to talk to Buffy about Spike. Well, about William. Because Spike was dead. And William was here now.
Again, Dawn was originally gonna have a larger part. Really, this fic was planned to be more of an ensemble piece where I tried to interweave several characters' issues together. Yeah, then I realized it was necessary to limit the focus to Buffy and William/Spike with a good dose of peripheral Xander and Giles. So there are several scenes at the beginning that I'm not sure I should have kept in. I like this scene. I think it's cute, and it's good to finally give us a peek of William's personality. But considering I didn't actually go anywhere with the William/Dawn interactions...yeah...
It was confusing. Not least of which because she and Spike had never really reconciled after that one year. She didn't regret it, actually. Her Spike had died when he went to get his soul. Her Spike of the rebellious snark and big brother affection had betrayed her trust and then died. The vampire who'd came back ensouled wasn't that Spike. Wasn't her Spike. He was Buffy's Spike. And Dawn hadn't wanted anything to do with him.
She paused at Giles' door. She could hear the TV blaring from inside, and she knew William was watching, probably confused. This man was different. He wasn't her Spike, but he wasn't Buffy's Spike either. But he hadn't betrayed her like her Spike had, and he hadn't taken the place of her Spike like Buffy's had so she didn't feel any resentment towards him. She felt sympathy for him, instead, being thrust into a completely new world.
I've always been disappointed by how the Dawn/Spike relationship was handled in S7. I loved their friendship in S5 and S6. And I understand why Dawn felt so betrayed. And I think the scene in Beneath You where she threatens to set him on fire in his sleep is awesome. But then...nothing. It's like that ends their relationship.
So I tried to figure out why. And this is what I came up with. Dawn stopped recognizing souled!Spike as her Spike. And...he really wasn't. He didn't have the snarky attributes that attracted Dawn to him (though he gets them back in AtS S5, but she didn't see that). So I can see her mentally making this distinction.
She pushed the door open. William was sitting on the sofa watching the news. He had the face of a man that...well, that had been sent a century into the future. He stood up quickly when she entered.
Gentlemen are supposed to stand when a lady enters the room. Duh.
"Hey," she said, looking around. Giles wasn't to be seen so he was probably back in his office.
William shuffled his feet. No, this man definitely wasn't Spike. Spike projected an image that he was taller and bigger than he actually was. His personality exceeded his physical presence. William hunched in on himself as if trying to make himself disappear. He seemed much smaller than Dawn remembered. She was almost as tall as he was.
I...actually didn't check the heights on this. Dawn is mighty tall, though.
"Mind if I join you?" She asked when he didn't say anything.
His eyes flicked to the TV quickly, then moved back to her feet. "We...we haven't been introduced."
In polite society, a third party would introduce them to each other. William's not sure what to do in absence of a third party.
"Oh, yeah," she said. She'd forgotten that. She put her hand out to try to match him in his formality. "I'm Dawn. Buffy's my sister."
He looked startled at her outstretched hand and bowed slightly instead of taking it. "William Pratt. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Gentlemen do not shake hands with ladies. It's improper.
"Cool," she said, putting her hand down before it offended him further. Introductions out of the way, she walked over and plunked herself down on the sofa. William carefully sat on the edge of the sofa as far away from her as possible. He was obviously uncomfortable with her presence. "Where's Giles?"
"He had some work to attend to so he's left me here to watch this...television. He will return at dinnertime." William's attention was back on the TV and the weather report that was currently showing.
So no Giles. Too bad. He could have been helpful in defusing some of the awkwardness. "Don't you have any other clothes?" she asked, taking in his slept-in suit.
William looked down, blushing. A hand went up to smooth a wrinkle in his jacket. "No. Mr. Giles is taking me out this evening to find suitable clothing for me."
This would be very embarrassing for William. Hell, even by modern standards, it would embarrass some people to have that pointed out.
"Oh," she replied. "Lucky you. Giles never takes me clothes shopping."
William didn't seem to know how to respond to that. Instead, he turned back towards the TV just in time for the sportscaster to start going over the latest soccer matches. No, football matches. She still wasn't used to this British stuff.
I used to play soccer liek whoa. Since I was 8, played varsity in high school. I know the rest of the world calls it "football" but I just can't get my brain to think of it as such.
"Am I making you nervous?" she asked.
He almost jumped at the question, swallowing in a nervous gesture. "I...well...I...yes," he said. He looked at her directly then as he finally gave her a definite answer.
"Why? Cause I'm being friendly and trying to talk to you?"
"Well, yes." At her look, he continued. "It's not...you and I alone together would surely cause people to talk. It's not proper."
BIG SOCIAL OOPSIE!!!
She laughed. "You need to watch more of that TV, William."
He flinched, glancing at the mentioned object. "Things do seem...looser in this time."
"Way looser. You know what people would think if they heard that you and I watched TV together? They'd think 'So?' Cause nobody cares about that sort of stuff now."
Yes, we are far from Victorian standards of etiquette now. Yay.
"So," he said. "People do not care about standards of decorum anymore?"
"We have standards. I mean, it's kinda gross if people are making out in public or something. But it's not as strict as your time. Not that I know much about your time except that you were all gentlemen and corsets and stuff."
They both fell silent as they watched a commercial for McDonald's.
See my subtle set up there? Didja see it? Didja??
"Actually," William said. "Most gentlemen in my time don't wear corsets."
She frowned as she tried to work out what he meant. It wasn't until she looked at him and saw the slight smile accompanied by another blush that she realized he was making a joke. She laughed.
Okay, a dumb joke. But it does show that William has a sense of humor.
****
Giles regretted his choice of shopping venue almost as soon as they'd entered the store. He'd been thinking about the Council's budget when he had chosen Tesco, and he hadn't given much consideration to William's reaction.
If I could rewrite any scene in the story, it would be this one. I love it. Giles and William shopping and going to McDonald's. How can you not love it?
But, dammit, I sucked at writing it. They're out at the British Walmart and there's no people. Seriously, it's like Giles and William in a vacuum. No mention of other shoppers or cashiers or anything. I mean, wouldn't William be stealing glances at all the strange fashions? And wouldn't William be drawing some attention by his old-style clothes and odd hair? Not to mention the bizarre conversations Giles and William would be having. It would be awesome if someone overhead that.
So...my scene-setting sucked. I forgot the people. Meh.
The young man froze as they entered the large supermart. It was William's first trip out of the castle, and he'd already been amazed by the car ride here. Now he stood rooted to the dirty floor, blinking and looking overwhelmed by the sheer massiveness of the store.
William jumped as Giles gently took his elbow. "I know it's different from what you're used to, William, but it's not as bad once you get inside." He smiled in what he hoped was a comforting manner. Giles hadn't had much chance to be of comfort to anyone recently.
It worked, apparently, as William seemed to resolve himself. He nodded and allowed himself to be led to the clothing section with Giles. Giles quickly grabbed a trolley since they would be picking up a good amount.
A trolley is a British shopping cart. *nods sagely*
"I think three changes of clothing for now will be sufficient until we can find some work to have you start earning your own wages," Giles said on the way. "Also, some pajamas are necessary as are...er...undergarments."
He wasn't sure how much William was actually listening or even understanding him, but Giles continued to talk anyway. "Also, we should get some toiletries for you. Deodorant, toothbrush, and such." He turned to look at his charge, but William's eyes were scanning the women's clothing section they were currently walking through.
Hee. William's taking in the women's fashions.
Giles thought back to this morning where William had been baffled by his suggestion that he take a shower. To his chagrin, Giles had forgotten the different standards of hygiene during Victorian times. William probably was accustomed to a weekly bath and perhaps a cool dip in the morning.
I did a lot of research on Victorian hygiene. Yeah, bathing? Kinda a luxury.
They reached the men's section, and Giles quickly moved to the trouser rack. He had already decided that jeans were out of the question for now. Instead, he was browsing through the casual trousers for William when he realized that he didn't know William's size. He glanced up at the man.
William stood off to the side looking at the rack with a look of skepticism. "This is..."
William probably didn't know his size. Giles would have to guess and have him try it on. "A clothing rack," he explained before turning back to the trousers. "We mass produce our clothing now. You come to a store such as this and look through the rack for something in your size."
My sister was helpful in pointing out that William would be unfamiliar with mass produced clothing, clothing racks, new fabric materials, and unfitted clothing. Thanks, Neesa (she's likely too busy with school to read this but it's the thought that counts!).
Giles took advantage of the puzzled silence to grab several different pairs of trousers of different sizes for William to try on.
"And then where do you go to get them fitted?" William asked.
Giles turned to William, trousers slung over his arm. "You don't. Now let's have you try these on. Once we have some trousers for you we can pick out some shirts. Those will be easier."
Giles was not looking forward to shopping for boxers for William.
Why boxers? Why not briefs? Actually, I don't know. While I suspect that men shopping together for boxers would be awkward, shopping for briefs together would probably be out of the question. Just my thought.
A quick glance around led them to the dressing rooms. Giles instructed William on proper dressing room procedure and sent him inside. He took a seat on one of the benches to wait for William to finish.
See, there's nobody else around! What the hell?!
It would have been more appropriate to take William to a better establishment to purchase clothing. However, Giles had trouble justifying spending much of the Council's money on William. Besides, he would have to adjust to these modern shops eventually.
Giles is cheap!
"Mr. Giles?" There was a tentative call from inside the dressing room.
"Yes?"
"None of these trousers fit."
Giles blinked. He'd been fairly certain that at least one of them would have fit the young man. "Are they too big or too small?" He stood up, prepared to go gather some more sizes.
"Actually, they are too short. That is, they don't fully cover my waist. And the legs are also very long."
My sister also pointed out that the cut of the clothing would be different. I am very thankful for that bit of trivia because it led to this part. :)
Giles had a sudden epiphany as to why men didn't go clothes shopping together.
Very true.
"Are you decent? I'll come in and take a look." Giles said.
The door opened and Giles quickly entered, hoping nobody would see him joining another man in the dressing room. It was bad enough that an observant person would notice the two pairs of legs under the door.
See, it's fairly routine to have a friend pull me into the dressing room with her. Not my preference, honestly, but some of my homegirls like me in there to chat with or so I can help do up zippers and such (and so they don't have to leave the dressing room to show me what the outfit looks like). So two girls in a dressing room together? Wouldn't be odd to me.
Two guys in a dressing room together, though...yeah, I'd think they were doing it.
William was wearing the mid-sized trousers that Giles had picked out for him. He had discarded his jacket onto the bench behind him and was tugging at the waistline. A cursory look told Giles that the trousers fitted fine.
He told William as such.
"But the cut is completely wrong, Mr. Giles." William continued to attempt to pull up the waist.
"It's the style now, unfortunately. You'll get used to the trousers...er...hanging low."
William didn't seem happy with that answer, so Giles continued. "Nothing to worry about, actually. Just give it another decade and the style will have changed completely."
Giles is a very wise man.
Giles quickly left to pick out two more pairs of trousers. He also grabbed some shirts for William to try on.
It was easily the longest shopping trip of Giles' life. William had been fascinated by the material that was being used. He'd been distraught over the tags that irritated his neck. And he'd been shocked at how little clothing was required to be considered "decent" nowadays. It had taken a couple hours for Giles to provide a modest wardrobe for him, complete with socks, shoes, and boxers. As if that hadn't been bad enough, the trip to the bath aisle had prompted a long conversation about modern personal hygiene that William seemed alternately curious and embarrassed about.
Look at me, showing off my shallow knowledge of Victorian dress and hygiene!
As Fate obviously wasn't on his side that day, there was a tremendous line at the checkout, and William's current state of dress drew a good amount of attention. William was obviously the sort of man who didn't like receiving attention.
Ah, there are some people vaguely mentioned. Should have made them actual characters instead of this undefined mob.
So they waited in line for 30 minutes. William fidgeted and read the magazine headlines, and Giles began to wish that he'd let Dawn take him shopping.
Finally, though, they were back at the car, loading bags into the boot. William had gaped at the cost of everything, and Giles had had to reassure him that £170 was a lot less money than what he was accustomed to.
Yes, I did the math on this one. I even went to the Tesco website and added up the cost of what they were buying. And then got a rough estimate of how much that would have been in Victorian times. Very interesting.
"I imagine you're hungry," Giles said as he got into the car. "We can stop somewhere on the way back to the castle to eat."
William nodded, struggling with his seat belt. "There was an ad on the television this afternoon for a Scottish restaurant. Might we go there?"
Giles frowned. "What was it called?"
"McDonald's."
I am certain I got this gag from somewhere else. I don't know where. But I'm absolutely positive I didn't make up the "McDonald's as the Scottish restaurant" thing.
Giles laughed. "That's not really a restaurant, William. They serve food, but it won't be anything near what you're used to."
There was a snap as William finally clicked his seat belt into place. "It must be good, though. Everybody in the ad looked quite happy with the food."
"Yes, I'm sure they did," Giles said while starting the car. "Very well. Let's go to McDonald's."
Why not? He'd taken William to Tesco, after all. Capping the trip off with a dinner at McDonald's seemed wholly appropriate.
Giles seems determined to make William's transition as painful as possible.
As Giles expected, William was dumbfounded when they actually arrived at the "restaurant". He had stared blankly at the menu behind the counter for a few minutes before Giles ordered a standard hamburger meal for him. Once they got their food, Giles led them to a booth at the back. William sat uncomfortably at the edge of his seat. He was careful to keep his elbows off the table and was staring at his hamburger as if disbelieving it were really food.
See? No cashier! No other people? WTF??? Dammit, gabs!
"The advertisement you watched did show people eating, did it not?" Giles asked while salting his chips.
Chips are British french fries. Fun fact.
"Yes, but I presumed there would be more on the menu. Are all restaurants like this?" William followed Giles' lead and picked up a chip.
"This is a fast food restaurant. It specializes in getting you your food...fast. We can take you out to a more traditional restaurant tomorrow. Perhaps Dawn could come. You two seemed to get on well."
William choked as he swallowed the chip. He coughed, tears forming at his eyes. Giles pushed his drink towards him to prompt him to drink. "That is very greasy," William commented.
lol. Greasy, fried fast food for the Victorian guy. Yeah, I imagine he probably had some tummy aches while adjusting to the new diet (more processed foods, more fast food, etc).
"That's what McDonald's specializes in."
William nodded and pushed the chips to the side, focusing on the hamburger instead.
"You did get along with Dawn, didn't you?" Giles asked again.
William looked up, "Yes, she's a very charming young woman." He took a small bite from his burger. This seemed more acceptable to William as there was no coughing fit this time.
"I'm glad you think so. Would you be agreeable to her helping out with your transition to this time? I will have to ask her, of course, but I'm certain she'd be eager to assist."
Ack. Yeah, see...I was expecting Dawn to have a larger part. Oddly enough, I had the story finished before I started posting so I could have fixed this once it didn't pan out. Obviously, I'm a poor editor.
"I don't wish to be a bother to anyone," William said when he had finished chewing.
Ah, this desire of William's to not be a bother will become one of the major themes for his character in this story. Finding his place in his new world.
"And you're not. In a way, it's sort of our business to help those who fall victim to the supernatural. This would include you." Giles didn't want to mention that Dawn had been very fond of his vampire counterpart and that she may wish to be close to William simply to keep the memory of Spike alive. It was best not to burden William with uncomfortable talk about what fate he would have met had he remained in his time.
"Very well. Then if she is agreeable, I'd be happy to have her help," William said. "Also, would it be expected for me to give some form of condolence to her sister, Miss Summers, for her loss? It might help to alleviate her grief at my presence." This last suggestion was spoken in a hush tone as if William were unsure of asking it.
William's testing the etiquette of the time by asking Giles if a gift of some sort might be appropriate for Buffy.
Giles shook his head. "Buffy grieves in her own way. I think it would be best if you keep your distance from her for the time being. What she's going through is in no way your fault, of course."
The younger man nodded. "I suppose I'm just unaccustomed to young women being so distraught in my presence."
This is actually more meaningful when considering that the last memory of his own time was his disastrous confession of love to Cecily, whom he upset quite a bit. There might be a bit of transference there between Cecily and Buffy, both of whom he visibly upset.
Giles smiled.
****
"You're wrong," Buffy declared. Willow sat across from her. As this morning, they were in Buffy's cubby, and Willow was filling her in on what had been found out. Buffy had been out all day training and keeping her mind off this whole William thing, confident that her best friend wouldn't let her down. But she had.
And...another Buffy/Willow scene. Yay!
"I don't think I am," Willow said. "This amulet thing. It's called the Amulet of Taylieah. It's got some wonky powers. Even if I could do a time travel spell to send him back, it would just muck things up more. He has to stay." Buffy didn't reply. "Or, we could, you know, kill him." Willow joked.
I made up the most random fantasy name in the world. Taylieah? Yeah, let me just string a bunch of vowels together for kicks.
Buffy didn't crack a smile, though. She stood, going into her bedroom and coming back out again before Willow could call after her. In her hand she held the Amulet of Screw Her Life Up. "So, this thing has some special powers, right? Why can't it undo its own wish?"
I love the Amulet of Screw Her Life Up. So Buffy.
Willow shook her head, "I don't think it works like that. What I was able to find were some transcriptions of some scrolls on the thing. It just laid out some of its powers. It didn't really specify the how or why on them."
See, Willow's working from incomplete information. Later in the story, they'll get the full instruction manual for the amulet.
The chain rattled as Buffy violently shook the amulet. "It grants wishes, right? We know that? So if I wish for William to go back, it would just send him back, right? If I wish for Spike - the real Spike - to be here, now, it could do that, right? So why doesn't it, Willow? Why the hell doesn't it?"
She knew she was coming dangerously close to throwing a tantrum and she didn't care. Already she could feel tears prickling her eyes, but she didn't want to cry. Not in front of Willow.
Emotional Buffy. I always have trouble writing scenes where a character is overcome by their emotion. It can so easily be overdone and unrealistic for the character. By the same token, sometimes these upsets go beyond subtlety.
In the early hours of the morning before Willow had stopped by, Buffy had tried some of those wishes on the amulet. It hadn't obliged her.
"Buffy," Willow stood and rushed forward to her friend. She held up her hand as if she were about to grab the amulet but stopped at the last second. "I'm so sorry, Buffy. I don't know. I can look some more for you. It's old. It may just not be working right. Like magical Alzheimer's or something."
Willow's gonna keep on with the research. That's Willow.
Her cheeks were burning and her jaw hurt from biting back her tears. She nodded, clasping the amulet and turning to face away from Willow. She wanted to tell her to leave, but she was pretty sure that only sobs would come out if she opened her mouth. She didn't want that to happen.
Willow seemed to get the message, though. "I'll see what else I can find, Buffy. Really, I will. And Xander comes back from Cleveland tomorrow so we'll get him to help, too." There was a tentative pat on her shoulder. Then she felt Willow's presence disappear as the door shut.
Ah, setting up for Xander's arrival.
It wasn't fair. She stared down at the stupid glittery amulet in her hand. So she'd gotten one wish on it, and she'd screwed it up. If she'd changed her wording, just slightly, Spike would be with her now. Instead, she had the man who was not Spike walking around with his face. She hated him. She didn't care if he's what Spike started as. She wanted Spike. Not that impostor.
Look at me! I'm explicitly laying out the main conflict of the story! Yay!
Tears began to fall against her will. She threw the amulet against the wall, hoping it would shatter. It clattered against the stone with a loud racket and fell to the ground.
She had wanted to throw it against the wall the first night she got it but didn't. Now she does.
Buffy furiously wiped her eyes. Crying wasn't helping. Crying never helped. Instead, she opened her chest and grabbed a stake. Tonight, she'd hunt.
This is actually set up. It's setting up the fact that Buffy's going out patrolling to distract her from her problems. In fact, she's "hunting", much like she was doing in the beginning of S5. It's setting this up in anticipation of the William/Buffy confrontation while she's out patrolling. So it serves the dual-purpose of establishing Buffy's mental state, while also making it more than coincidental that she and William will meet in the future while outside after dark.
TBC...
Close of chapter two. Next chapter has Xander!
Chapter Two: Take Me Past This Lonely Truth
From Falling Farther In, another excellent song.
Dawn crashed through the door, skidding to a halt partway into the room. Willow froze in mid-sentence at the interruption.
"Hi, guys," Dawn tucked a strand of hair behind her ear in a casual manner. Giles could tell by her red face and lack of breath that she'd been running for a while. "I heard that Spike's here."
Okay, I made this difficult for myself. Because this scene is written from Giles' POV, but I opened it with Dawn entering and don't even mention Giles until the second paragraph. This is either somewhat clever or just bad writing. I'm leaning towards the latter.
I did want to introduce Dawn, though, who was also going to have a larger role, but then I scaled back.
She looked at William who was sitting nervously at the edge of the sofa. They were in Giles' office, and Willow had just gone over the details of what she'd found. William had been very quiet throughout, though Giles supposed that this was probably all very overwhelming for him.
This was a ploy to avoid having to do a scene with William trying to process everything explained to him. Instead, they've explained everything to him already, and now they're just recapping for Dawn.
"Heard from whom?" Giles asked.
"Uh...Kennedy. Some of the girls were talking about it," Dawn hadn't taken her eyes off William. "That's not him, though."
"No," Willow's brow was furrowed in annoyance. "No, it's not Spike. It's William. And Kennedy shouldn't be all talky about this anyway."
"Well, it's going round the rumor mill now," Dawn entered the room fully and sat down. "So, fill me in. How'd he get here?"
MAGICAL PLOT DEVICE
"We actually just went over this, Dawn. I'm not sure if William wants to hear it again or -" Giles said.
William glanced at him sharply at that. "I...I'm afraid I didn't understand most of it, so..."
I am glad I only showed the recap and not the initial exposition to William. For one, I can't imagine William not having to hear the explanation a couple times, and that would be needless repetition of information that the reader already knows. Boring. For another, it's quite honestly outside my ability to imagine what it must be like for William to attempt to process all this. I hit a limit as a writer.
Willow looked at Giles who nodded at her to review what she'd learned. It hadn't taken long for her to do the necessary research. It was barely lunchtime before she had met with them to explain her findings.
I could have shown Willow looking all this stuff up. But...yeah, not important.
"Well," Willow sat up straight. "You know Buffy got that amulet thingy yesterday, right?"
Dawn just nodded.
"See, nobody really knew much about it or what it does or...anything, really. And we didn't have time to find out before using it so we just kinda didn't. But now we do and it's actually a pretty ancient magical artifact. Kinda like a Swiss army knife of artifacts. It can do a buncha different things. One of them was to, you know, burn up Spike. But last night Buffy used it, inadvertently, to make a wish."
Behold, my fanwank for use of this plot device. Fortunately, it works well because it does symbolize Spike's sacrifice and redemption, which I'm able to use later in the fic. But, honestly, I could have managed to make up some random wish-granting artifact if need be.
Dawn blinked. "She wished for William?"
"No," Giles interjected. "She wished for Spike the way he was before he died."
"Leave it to Buffy to muck up a wish," Dawn frowned while rolling her eyes.
Dawn immediately sees how Buffy's wish backfired. She's a smart chica.
"Yeah," Willow said. "So then, boom! William!" Willow motioned to William then with her hands.
"And how do we send him back?" Dawn asked.
Willow looked at Giles again, but this time he could tell that she was begging for him to take over. He complied. "We don't," he answered.
I had to establish this early on. If I didn't, then this fic would end up being, "How does William get home?" as opposed to "How does William adjust to this new time?" There's no point adjusting if they can send him back. But I needed William to be cut off so as to lead to his gradual acclimation to his new environment.
"Why not?"
Willow spoke up again. "Because there's nowhere to send him back to, Dawn. What the wish did was duplicate William at that point and send the copy here. If we send him back, then there'd be two Williams and that would be completely not good."
Well, it may not be good, but it would be a hell of a lot of fun!
Giles kept an eye on William who was being very muted in his reaction. He wondered if the man were even following the conversation. "William," Giles prompted him to look up. "Do you understand what this means? We can't send you back to your time."
William nodded, though it was the nod of a person who understood without accepting.
And William's in shock mode.
"So," Dawn spoke quietly. "What's gonna happen to him?"
"He'll stay with me," Giles said. "Until he adjusts to this time. It'll take some effort, but he will adapt. Once he is settled, he'll be free to do as he pleases."
"Do you have any questions?" Willow asked William in full teacher-mode.
There was a very long awkward silence as everybody's eyes turned to William. The young man looked as if he weren't accustomed to being the center of attention.
"Who is Spike?" He asked hesitantly.
No!!!!! They don't want to answer that question!!!
"What?" Willow was obviously blind-sided by the question.
"People keep referring to me as 'Spike'. I had assumed that I must bear some resemblance to this person, however your fantastic explanation for my travel suggests something more that I don't understand."
It was the most he'd spoken so far. Giles was pleased to hear him speak without stuttering, as well. He had tried to carry on a conversation with William in the morning hours, but the man had been reticent to engage him in any sort of dialogue.
Giles had been hoping, however, that this subject wouldn't come up. It wasn't pleasant to have to tell William about what had lain ahead of him had he progressed along his natural time. There was no avoiding it, though, and neither of the girls looked eager to launch into an explanation.
I can see how they would want to tiptoe around the subject, but considering that Spike's been brought up numerous times by numerous people....well...William isn't stupid.
"Spike was a vampire," Giles said.
"There's no such thing, Mr. Giles," William said as if reciting some dogmatic belief.
I reject your reality and substitute my own. /mythbusters
"Just as there's no such thing as magical time travel?" Giles replied. William fell silent. "William, within the normal timeline, you would have died the night you were brought here. You would have been killed, and then a vampire demon would have entered your corpse. This demon would come to call himself 'Spike' and would live for over a century."
William paled to the complexion of his vampire counterpart at that explanation. "A demon..."
"Yes," Giles continued. "Not a very nice one, either."
Giles' explanation is really more in line with the old Council way of thinking. Once you're turned, the human dies and the demon wholly takes over. I don't think Giles really believes this anymore given the vampires he's personally met that retain a significant part of their human selves' personalities. However, he most likely presents this as it would be the easiest explanation for William to process.
"Then why would Miss Summers wish for his return?"
That was something Giles didn't want to think about, in all honesty. He'd never adjusted to Buffy's attachment to the vampire. While he could freely admit that Spike had proven his worth in destroying the Hellmouth, he couldn't give him the blind admiration that he seemed to garner from some of the others. Even with a soul. This man sitting before him was just one reason for that. William Pratt had died so that Spike could live. And William was just the first in a long line of Spike's victims.
Course, after I say that Giles isn't really presenting his own view, there's this. Which is to say, I think Giles does see more shades of gray in the vampire's make-up than he is telling William. However, he also does see William as dying when he was turned. And William did die then. Spike, while an extension of William, would never have come into being had supernatural forces not intervened.
Willow spoke up, obviously sensing Giles' reluctance to provide an answer. "See, Spike did some good things for us. It's kinda complicated. But he got his soul so he was all with the good-making for a while. And he died averting an apocalypse so big plusses there. That's why everybody's like 'Oh, Spike!' when they see you."
William shook his head. "There is no good in a demon. No doubt this creature of evil must have had some darker purpose for his actions."
And William is likely to have a black and white view on the subject of demons. Having lived a mundane life, he's only ever heard of demons as evil. It is outside his thinking that a demon could do good things or seek to better his or her self. And...he never really gets past this by the end of the story. Because sometimes, you just don't break out of this stuff.
"I don't think he did," Dawn said.
William ignored her, however. "Is this commonplace in this time? Battling the demonic forces of the world? Such things are told as superstitious stories in my time, and yet they seem readily accepted by you."
Giles was happy that the conversation had moved away from Spike. "Actually, no, William," he answered. "We're involved for various reasons, but most people in the world know nothing about the demons or our work to fight it. This actually may be a good time to start getting you adjusted to this time."
Giles stood, motioning to William to do the same.
"What are you gonna do?" Dawn asked.
"I will use the time-honored tradition of getting him accustomed to the culture of the time by showing him some television."
Obvious solution is obvious.
***
After some brief questioning, Dawn found out that Buffy had taken a group of new Slayers out to train and wouldn't be back till late. She had wanted to talk to Buffy about Spike. Well, about William. Because Spike was dead. And William was here now.
Again, Dawn was originally gonna have a larger part. Really, this fic was planned to be more of an ensemble piece where I tried to interweave several characters' issues together. Yeah, then I realized it was necessary to limit the focus to Buffy and William/Spike with a good dose of peripheral Xander and Giles. So there are several scenes at the beginning that I'm not sure I should have kept in. I like this scene. I think it's cute, and it's good to finally give us a peek of William's personality. But considering I didn't actually go anywhere with the William/Dawn interactions...yeah...
It was confusing. Not least of which because she and Spike had never really reconciled after that one year. She didn't regret it, actually. Her Spike had died when he went to get his soul. Her Spike of the rebellious snark and big brother affection had betrayed her trust and then died. The vampire who'd came back ensouled wasn't that Spike. Wasn't her Spike. He was Buffy's Spike. And Dawn hadn't wanted anything to do with him.
She paused at Giles' door. She could hear the TV blaring from inside, and she knew William was watching, probably confused. This man was different. He wasn't her Spike, but he wasn't Buffy's Spike either. But he hadn't betrayed her like her Spike had, and he hadn't taken the place of her Spike like Buffy's had so she didn't feel any resentment towards him. She felt sympathy for him, instead, being thrust into a completely new world.
I've always been disappointed by how the Dawn/Spike relationship was handled in S7. I loved their friendship in S5 and S6. And I understand why Dawn felt so betrayed. And I think the scene in Beneath You where she threatens to set him on fire in his sleep is awesome. But then...nothing. It's like that ends their relationship.
So I tried to figure out why. And this is what I came up with. Dawn stopped recognizing souled!Spike as her Spike. And...he really wasn't. He didn't have the snarky attributes that attracted Dawn to him (though he gets them back in AtS S5, but she didn't see that). So I can see her mentally making this distinction.
She pushed the door open. William was sitting on the sofa watching the news. He had the face of a man that...well, that had been sent a century into the future. He stood up quickly when she entered.
Gentlemen are supposed to stand when a lady enters the room. Duh.
"Hey," she said, looking around. Giles wasn't to be seen so he was probably back in his office.
William shuffled his feet. No, this man definitely wasn't Spike. Spike projected an image that he was taller and bigger than he actually was. His personality exceeded his physical presence. William hunched in on himself as if trying to make himself disappear. He seemed much smaller than Dawn remembered. She was almost as tall as he was.
I...actually didn't check the heights on this. Dawn is mighty tall, though.
"Mind if I join you?" She asked when he didn't say anything.
His eyes flicked to the TV quickly, then moved back to her feet. "We...we haven't been introduced."
In polite society, a third party would introduce them to each other. William's not sure what to do in absence of a third party.
"Oh, yeah," she said. She'd forgotten that. She put her hand out to try to match him in his formality. "I'm Dawn. Buffy's my sister."
He looked startled at her outstretched hand and bowed slightly instead of taking it. "William Pratt. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Gentlemen do not shake hands with ladies. It's improper.
"Cool," she said, putting her hand down before it offended him further. Introductions out of the way, she walked over and plunked herself down on the sofa. William carefully sat on the edge of the sofa as far away from her as possible. He was obviously uncomfortable with her presence. "Where's Giles?"
"He had some work to attend to so he's left me here to watch this...television. He will return at dinnertime." William's attention was back on the TV and the weather report that was currently showing.
So no Giles. Too bad. He could have been helpful in defusing some of the awkwardness. "Don't you have any other clothes?" she asked, taking in his slept-in suit.
William looked down, blushing. A hand went up to smooth a wrinkle in his jacket. "No. Mr. Giles is taking me out this evening to find suitable clothing for me."
This would be very embarrassing for William. Hell, even by modern standards, it would embarrass some people to have that pointed out.
"Oh," she replied. "Lucky you. Giles never takes me clothes shopping."
William didn't seem to know how to respond to that. Instead, he turned back towards the TV just in time for the sportscaster to start going over the latest soccer matches. No, football matches. She still wasn't used to this British stuff.
I used to play soccer liek whoa. Since I was 8, played varsity in high school. I know the rest of the world calls it "football" but I just can't get my brain to think of it as such.
"Am I making you nervous?" she asked.
He almost jumped at the question, swallowing in a nervous gesture. "I...well...I...yes," he said. He looked at her directly then as he finally gave her a definite answer.
"Why? Cause I'm being friendly and trying to talk to you?"
"Well, yes." At her look, he continued. "It's not...you and I alone together would surely cause people to talk. It's not proper."
BIG SOCIAL OOPSIE!!!
She laughed. "You need to watch more of that TV, William."
He flinched, glancing at the mentioned object. "Things do seem...looser in this time."
"Way looser. You know what people would think if they heard that you and I watched TV together? They'd think 'So?' Cause nobody cares about that sort of stuff now."
Yes, we are far from Victorian standards of etiquette now. Yay.
"So," he said. "People do not care about standards of decorum anymore?"
"We have standards. I mean, it's kinda gross if people are making out in public or something. But it's not as strict as your time. Not that I know much about your time except that you were all gentlemen and corsets and stuff."
They both fell silent as they watched a commercial for McDonald's.
See my subtle set up there? Didja see it? Didja??
"Actually," William said. "Most gentlemen in my time don't wear corsets."
She frowned as she tried to work out what he meant. It wasn't until she looked at him and saw the slight smile accompanied by another blush that she realized he was making a joke. She laughed.
Okay, a dumb joke. But it does show that William has a sense of humor.
****
Giles regretted his choice of shopping venue almost as soon as they'd entered the store. He'd been thinking about the Council's budget when he had chosen Tesco, and he hadn't given much consideration to William's reaction.
If I could rewrite any scene in the story, it would be this one. I love it. Giles and William shopping and going to McDonald's. How can you not love it?
But, dammit, I sucked at writing it. They're out at the British Walmart and there's no people. Seriously, it's like Giles and William in a vacuum. No mention of other shoppers or cashiers or anything. I mean, wouldn't William be stealing glances at all the strange fashions? And wouldn't William be drawing some attention by his old-style clothes and odd hair? Not to mention the bizarre conversations Giles and William would be having. It would be awesome if someone overhead that.
So...my scene-setting sucked. I forgot the people. Meh.
The young man froze as they entered the large supermart. It was William's first trip out of the castle, and he'd already been amazed by the car ride here. Now he stood rooted to the dirty floor, blinking and looking overwhelmed by the sheer massiveness of the store.
William jumped as Giles gently took his elbow. "I know it's different from what you're used to, William, but it's not as bad once you get inside." He smiled in what he hoped was a comforting manner. Giles hadn't had much chance to be of comfort to anyone recently.
It worked, apparently, as William seemed to resolve himself. He nodded and allowed himself to be led to the clothing section with Giles. Giles quickly grabbed a trolley since they would be picking up a good amount.
A trolley is a British shopping cart. *nods sagely*
"I think three changes of clothing for now will be sufficient until we can find some work to have you start earning your own wages," Giles said on the way. "Also, some pajamas are necessary as are...er...undergarments."
He wasn't sure how much William was actually listening or even understanding him, but Giles continued to talk anyway. "Also, we should get some toiletries for you. Deodorant, toothbrush, and such." He turned to look at his charge, but William's eyes were scanning the women's clothing section they were currently walking through.
Hee. William's taking in the women's fashions.
Giles thought back to this morning where William had been baffled by his suggestion that he take a shower. To his chagrin, Giles had forgotten the different standards of hygiene during Victorian times. William probably was accustomed to a weekly bath and perhaps a cool dip in the morning.
I did a lot of research on Victorian hygiene. Yeah, bathing? Kinda a luxury.
They reached the men's section, and Giles quickly moved to the trouser rack. He had already decided that jeans were out of the question for now. Instead, he was browsing through the casual trousers for William when he realized that he didn't know William's size. He glanced up at the man.
William stood off to the side looking at the rack with a look of skepticism. "This is..."
William probably didn't know his size. Giles would have to guess and have him try it on. "A clothing rack," he explained before turning back to the trousers. "We mass produce our clothing now. You come to a store such as this and look through the rack for something in your size."
My sister was helpful in pointing out that William would be unfamiliar with mass produced clothing, clothing racks, new fabric materials, and unfitted clothing. Thanks, Neesa (she's likely too busy with school to read this but it's the thought that counts!).
Giles took advantage of the puzzled silence to grab several different pairs of trousers of different sizes for William to try on.
"And then where do you go to get them fitted?" William asked.
Giles turned to William, trousers slung over his arm. "You don't. Now let's have you try these on. Once we have some trousers for you we can pick out some shirts. Those will be easier."
Giles was not looking forward to shopping for boxers for William.
Why boxers? Why not briefs? Actually, I don't know. While I suspect that men shopping together for boxers would be awkward, shopping for briefs together would probably be out of the question. Just my thought.
A quick glance around led them to the dressing rooms. Giles instructed William on proper dressing room procedure and sent him inside. He took a seat on one of the benches to wait for William to finish.
See, there's nobody else around! What the hell?!
It would have been more appropriate to take William to a better establishment to purchase clothing. However, Giles had trouble justifying spending much of the Council's money on William. Besides, he would have to adjust to these modern shops eventually.
Giles is cheap!
"Mr. Giles?" There was a tentative call from inside the dressing room.
"Yes?"
"None of these trousers fit."
Giles blinked. He'd been fairly certain that at least one of them would have fit the young man. "Are they too big or too small?" He stood up, prepared to go gather some more sizes.
"Actually, they are too short. That is, they don't fully cover my waist. And the legs are also very long."
My sister also pointed out that the cut of the clothing would be different. I am very thankful for that bit of trivia because it led to this part. :)
Giles had a sudden epiphany as to why men didn't go clothes shopping together.
Very true.
"Are you decent? I'll come in and take a look." Giles said.
The door opened and Giles quickly entered, hoping nobody would see him joining another man in the dressing room. It was bad enough that an observant person would notice the two pairs of legs under the door.
See, it's fairly routine to have a friend pull me into the dressing room with her. Not my preference, honestly, but some of my homegirls like me in there to chat with or so I can help do up zippers and such (and so they don't have to leave the dressing room to show me what the outfit looks like). So two girls in a dressing room together? Wouldn't be odd to me.
Two guys in a dressing room together, though...yeah, I'd think they were doing it.
William was wearing the mid-sized trousers that Giles had picked out for him. He had discarded his jacket onto the bench behind him and was tugging at the waistline. A cursory look told Giles that the trousers fitted fine.
He told William as such.
"But the cut is completely wrong, Mr. Giles." William continued to attempt to pull up the waist.
"It's the style now, unfortunately. You'll get used to the trousers...er...hanging low."
William didn't seem happy with that answer, so Giles continued. "Nothing to worry about, actually. Just give it another decade and the style will have changed completely."
Giles is a very wise man.
Giles quickly left to pick out two more pairs of trousers. He also grabbed some shirts for William to try on.
It was easily the longest shopping trip of Giles' life. William had been fascinated by the material that was being used. He'd been distraught over the tags that irritated his neck. And he'd been shocked at how little clothing was required to be considered "decent" nowadays. It had taken a couple hours for Giles to provide a modest wardrobe for him, complete with socks, shoes, and boxers. As if that hadn't been bad enough, the trip to the bath aisle had prompted a long conversation about modern personal hygiene that William seemed alternately curious and embarrassed about.
Look at me, showing off my shallow knowledge of Victorian dress and hygiene!
As Fate obviously wasn't on his side that day, there was a tremendous line at the checkout, and William's current state of dress drew a good amount of attention. William was obviously the sort of man who didn't like receiving attention.
Ah, there are some people vaguely mentioned. Should have made them actual characters instead of this undefined mob.
So they waited in line for 30 minutes. William fidgeted and read the magazine headlines, and Giles began to wish that he'd let Dawn take him shopping.
Finally, though, they were back at the car, loading bags into the boot. William had gaped at the cost of everything, and Giles had had to reassure him that £170 was a lot less money than what he was accustomed to.
Yes, I did the math on this one. I even went to the Tesco website and added up the cost of what they were buying. And then got a rough estimate of how much that would have been in Victorian times. Very interesting.
"I imagine you're hungry," Giles said as he got into the car. "We can stop somewhere on the way back to the castle to eat."
William nodded, struggling with his seat belt. "There was an ad on the television this afternoon for a Scottish restaurant. Might we go there?"
Giles frowned. "What was it called?"
"McDonald's."
I am certain I got this gag from somewhere else. I don't know where. But I'm absolutely positive I didn't make up the "McDonald's as the Scottish restaurant" thing.
Giles laughed. "That's not really a restaurant, William. They serve food, but it won't be anything near what you're used to."
There was a snap as William finally clicked his seat belt into place. "It must be good, though. Everybody in the ad looked quite happy with the food."
"Yes, I'm sure they did," Giles said while starting the car. "Very well. Let's go to McDonald's."
Why not? He'd taken William to Tesco, after all. Capping the trip off with a dinner at McDonald's seemed wholly appropriate.
Giles seems determined to make William's transition as painful as possible.
As Giles expected, William was dumbfounded when they actually arrived at the "restaurant". He had stared blankly at the menu behind the counter for a few minutes before Giles ordered a standard hamburger meal for him. Once they got their food, Giles led them to a booth at the back. William sat uncomfortably at the edge of his seat. He was careful to keep his elbows off the table and was staring at his hamburger as if disbelieving it were really food.
See? No cashier! No other people? WTF??? Dammit, gabs!
"The advertisement you watched did show people eating, did it not?" Giles asked while salting his chips.
Chips are British french fries. Fun fact.
"Yes, but I presumed there would be more on the menu. Are all restaurants like this?" William followed Giles' lead and picked up a chip.
"This is a fast food restaurant. It specializes in getting you your food...fast. We can take you out to a more traditional restaurant tomorrow. Perhaps Dawn could come. You two seemed to get on well."
William choked as he swallowed the chip. He coughed, tears forming at his eyes. Giles pushed his drink towards him to prompt him to drink. "That is very greasy," William commented.
lol. Greasy, fried fast food for the Victorian guy. Yeah, I imagine he probably had some tummy aches while adjusting to the new diet (more processed foods, more fast food, etc).
"That's what McDonald's specializes in."
William nodded and pushed the chips to the side, focusing on the hamburger instead.
"You did get along with Dawn, didn't you?" Giles asked again.
William looked up, "Yes, she's a very charming young woman." He took a small bite from his burger. This seemed more acceptable to William as there was no coughing fit this time.
"I'm glad you think so. Would you be agreeable to her helping out with your transition to this time? I will have to ask her, of course, but I'm certain she'd be eager to assist."
Ack. Yeah, see...I was expecting Dawn to have a larger part. Oddly enough, I had the story finished before I started posting so I could have fixed this once it didn't pan out. Obviously, I'm a poor editor.
"I don't wish to be a bother to anyone," William said when he had finished chewing.
Ah, this desire of William's to not be a bother will become one of the major themes for his character in this story. Finding his place in his new world.
"And you're not. In a way, it's sort of our business to help those who fall victim to the supernatural. This would include you." Giles didn't want to mention that Dawn had been very fond of his vampire counterpart and that she may wish to be close to William simply to keep the memory of Spike alive. It was best not to burden William with uncomfortable talk about what fate he would have met had he remained in his time.
"Very well. Then if she is agreeable, I'd be happy to have her help," William said. "Also, would it be expected for me to give some form of condolence to her sister, Miss Summers, for her loss? It might help to alleviate her grief at my presence." This last suggestion was spoken in a hush tone as if William were unsure of asking it.
William's testing the etiquette of the time by asking Giles if a gift of some sort might be appropriate for Buffy.
Giles shook his head. "Buffy grieves in her own way. I think it would be best if you keep your distance from her for the time being. What she's going through is in no way your fault, of course."
The younger man nodded. "I suppose I'm just unaccustomed to young women being so distraught in my presence."
This is actually more meaningful when considering that the last memory of his own time was his disastrous confession of love to Cecily, whom he upset quite a bit. There might be a bit of transference there between Cecily and Buffy, both of whom he visibly upset.
Giles smiled.
****
"You're wrong," Buffy declared. Willow sat across from her. As this morning, they were in Buffy's cubby, and Willow was filling her in on what had been found out. Buffy had been out all day training and keeping her mind off this whole William thing, confident that her best friend wouldn't let her down. But she had.
And...another Buffy/Willow scene. Yay!
"I don't think I am," Willow said. "This amulet thing. It's called the Amulet of Taylieah. It's got some wonky powers. Even if I could do a time travel spell to send him back, it would just muck things up more. He has to stay." Buffy didn't reply. "Or, we could, you know, kill him." Willow joked.
I made up the most random fantasy name in the world. Taylieah? Yeah, let me just string a bunch of vowels together for kicks.
Buffy didn't crack a smile, though. She stood, going into her bedroom and coming back out again before Willow could call after her. In her hand she held the Amulet of Screw Her Life Up. "So, this thing has some special powers, right? Why can't it undo its own wish?"
I love the Amulet of Screw Her Life Up. So Buffy.
Willow shook her head, "I don't think it works like that. What I was able to find were some transcriptions of some scrolls on the thing. It just laid out some of its powers. It didn't really specify the how or why on them."
See, Willow's working from incomplete information. Later in the story, they'll get the full instruction manual for the amulet.
The chain rattled as Buffy violently shook the amulet. "It grants wishes, right? We know that? So if I wish for William to go back, it would just send him back, right? If I wish for Spike - the real Spike - to be here, now, it could do that, right? So why doesn't it, Willow? Why the hell doesn't it?"
She knew she was coming dangerously close to throwing a tantrum and she didn't care. Already she could feel tears prickling her eyes, but she didn't want to cry. Not in front of Willow.
Emotional Buffy. I always have trouble writing scenes where a character is overcome by their emotion. It can so easily be overdone and unrealistic for the character. By the same token, sometimes these upsets go beyond subtlety.
In the early hours of the morning before Willow had stopped by, Buffy had tried some of those wishes on the amulet. It hadn't obliged her.
"Buffy," Willow stood and rushed forward to her friend. She held up her hand as if she were about to grab the amulet but stopped at the last second. "I'm so sorry, Buffy. I don't know. I can look some more for you. It's old. It may just not be working right. Like magical Alzheimer's or something."
Willow's gonna keep on with the research. That's Willow.
Her cheeks were burning and her jaw hurt from biting back her tears. She nodded, clasping the amulet and turning to face away from Willow. She wanted to tell her to leave, but she was pretty sure that only sobs would come out if she opened her mouth. She didn't want that to happen.
Willow seemed to get the message, though. "I'll see what else I can find, Buffy. Really, I will. And Xander comes back from Cleveland tomorrow so we'll get him to help, too." There was a tentative pat on her shoulder. Then she felt Willow's presence disappear as the door shut.
Ah, setting up for Xander's arrival.
It wasn't fair. She stared down at the stupid glittery amulet in her hand. So she'd gotten one wish on it, and she'd screwed it up. If she'd changed her wording, just slightly, Spike would be with her now. Instead, she had the man who was not Spike walking around with his face. She hated him. She didn't care if he's what Spike started as. She wanted Spike. Not that impostor.
Look at me! I'm explicitly laying out the main conflict of the story! Yay!
Tears began to fall against her will. She threw the amulet against the wall, hoping it would shatter. It clattered against the stone with a loud racket and fell to the ground.
She had wanted to throw it against the wall the first night she got it but didn't. Now she does.
Buffy furiously wiped her eyes. Crying wasn't helping. Crying never helped. Instead, she opened her chest and grabbed a stake. Tonight, she'd hunt.
This is actually set up. It's setting up the fact that Buffy's going out patrolling to distract her from her problems. In fact, she's "hunting", much like she was doing in the beginning of S5. It's setting this up in anticipation of the William/Buffy confrontation while she's out patrolling. So it serves the dual-purpose of establishing Buffy's mental state, while also making it more than coincidental that she and William will meet in the future while outside after dark.
TBC...
Close of chapter two. Next chapter has Xander!