Fic: Cold 5/5
5.
Beep…beep…beep…beep…
The even, familiar sound that pierced the darkness was strangely soothing. A machine’s echo of his own heartbeat. It sounded steady and strong, somewhat reassuring. The sound was soon joined by other noises of a hospital. People rushing by the open door, muffled speaker announcements, the buzz of more machinery. Then a voice, young, sweet, very much loved.
“I think he’s waking up,” Giles could hear Dawn’s excited whisper. “Finally! Go get the others.”
“Give him a minute,” Willow’s voice came from his other side. “He’s been through a lot. Let him get his bearings.”
“I know. But when he’s better, I’m still gonna whap him upside the head for trying to croak on us again.”
Giles felt his own smile grow. The damaged skin of his lips burned as it stretched. He could feel the warmth of their soft hands curling around his almost painfully oversensitive fingers. Carefully, he attempted to squeeze both hands.
“You’ll have to get in line,” Willow was saying. Then, “Giles? I felt him squeeze my… Giles, we’re here. Can you hear me?”
He slowly let his eyes flutter open, the bright lights of the stark, white room overwhelming them for a moment. When they came into focus, two lovely and worried young faces were staring intently back at him.
Dawn lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. “God, that was so not cool,” she let out in a rush of breath beside his ear. “Don’t you ever make me worry like that again!”
All Giles could manage was a soft grunt as the weight of her hug made breathing difficult. With a sheepish grin, Dawn pulled back, returning to her place at his side. Her hands never left his face, chest, arm, until they again took his hand, as if she was afraid he might vanish without the physical contact.
A ragged gurgle bubbled from his throat, and Willow reached for a plastic hospital cup while beaming a bright smile at him. “I know… water,” she chuckled softly, bringing the straw carefully to his lips as Dawn found the button to help him sit up a little.
When he had had enough, Giles nodded then attempted to speak again. His voice ground out in a hoarse whisper. “How long?”
“Since the last time I saw those pretty greens?” Willow grinned. “Another day and a half here in the hospital. Before that, we still haven’t worked out how long you were unconscious. At least you’ve been more restful since we got you off the mountain.”
“Where?” Giles whispered.
“We’re in Rio,” Dawn answered happily. “At the Our Lady of something hospital.”
“I know there’s a hospital back at Slayer Headquarters. I guess, when I could finally get you out of there, all I could think of was home and hospital. This is where the magick brought us.” Willow shrugged, a little embarrassed at her lack of control.
The patient nodded his understanding and smiled reassuringly at her. He shifted a bit, trying to find the most comfortable position.
“Just as well,” the teenager blinked a tear from her eye. “I was here waiting for you anyway.”
Carefully lifting his left hand, he wiped the tear from her cheek with his thumb. “I’m all right,” he told her, his voice growing stronger as he used it. Dawn closed her eyes and nodded against his palm, fighting the urge to start crying again.
“Hey,” there was a soft knock on the open door to accompany Xander’s voice. “We heard there was a Watcher in here who’s finally decided not to check out on us yet. Mind if we come in and make sure for ourselves?”
Willow nodded just as a short, stern looking nurse pushed past the young man and went straight for Giles. She checked his vitals on the monitor and made sure the various tubes attached to him were undisturbed. When she looked around the room, her face scrunched in agitation.
“Señor must rest. There are too many here.”
Giles looked up and gave her his most charming smile while whispering in fluent Portuguese. The nurse visibly melted under his charms and smiled back. She gently removed the oxygen tube from under his nose and hung it by the bed side.
“All right. But if he tires, you go. Let him rest,” she ordered, pointing her finger around the room sharply. Then, as briskly as she appeared, she was gone.
“Wow,” Xander whispered, “I haven’t been able to get so much as a twitch from her for hours. Haven’t lost your touch with the ladies of a certain age, have you, G-man? What’d you tell her?”
Dawn looked back at the gathering and smiled. “He said that some time to see his family was the best remedy she could give him.”
“You’ve been studying your languages,” Giles squeezed her hand to express his pride. He glanced around at the strange band that had straggled into his room. Xander was followed by Kennedy, and behind them Andrew shyly attempted to be unobtrusive. The Watcher’s eyes leapt to the door as more footsteps approached.
“Gotta tell ya, G. You’re lookin’ like hell,” Faith announced as she strolled to the foot of the bed.
“Thank you, Faith,” the patient said dryly. “How did you all…?”
“What, you didn’t think oceans or wanted posters could stop any us, did you?” Faith answered. “Can’t just stand by when the big man goes down.” At his questioning gaze she continued, “Robin and the girls you sent me have the Hellmouth handled. It’ll be fine until our resident witch can be pried away from your side long enough to zap me back.” Willow turned and stuck her tongue out at the teasing.
“And your studies?” he whispered to Dawn.
The teenager smiled at him. “You know how we were talking about how great it would be to get everyone back together for the Holidays? You didn’t have to go to such extremes for me but, happy Christmas Eve! We’re together.”
Giles smiled, but glanced to the open door again. A flurry of concerned looks were passed around the room. “She’s not here,” Xander worked up the courage to tell him. “Sorry, Big Guy.”
“I, um, I did make all the travel arrangements for her,” Andrew spoke up. “And I left several messages with updates and itineraries. She never called for anyone to get her at the airport.” He continued quickly at Giles’ frown, “She’s been running the Council in your absence, Mr. Giles, trying to fill some big shoes if you ask me. Maybe something came up and she couldn’t get away. Of course, I would know if that was…” he trailed off in a mumble.
“I’m,” Giles cleared his throat, “I’m sure she’s merely swamped, as I always am. Nonetheless, I’m truly blessed to have so many of you here.”
“So,” Xander chirped, needing to lighten the mood, “Do you think you can fill us in on what was worth trying to get yourself killed over? I mean, this time…”
“Um…” Giles brought a hand up to rub his eyes and forehead and Willow gave him some more water. After a few moments he managed, “I, I’m not sure I can shed any… I remember finding the demons and being taken to their village. The elders seemed intrigued by my explanations for seeking them out. There was talk of letting my heart speak. Something, something happened, but I can’t… right now.”
Kennedy walked up beside Willow. “Maybe this will help. One of those demons gave it to me when they were helping us move you. We’ve all had a look at it, but it’s got us buggered.”
She handed him what looked like a small, black pyramid shaped stone. There were strange symbols carved into one face.
“Wil and I even worked on it for a while,” Dawn said softly. “Neither of us remember seeing any language that comes close to that.”
Giles turned it in his hands a few times and mumbled, “I don’t suppose you managed to rescue my glasses?”
Kennedy shrugged, “Slipped off the priority list for saving your life.”
This won an amused snort from the Watcher as Andrew stepped forward. “I brought a spare pair, Mr. Giles, along with some clothes and everything else I thought you might require.” The glasses were passed along until they reached their owner. “Can’t have Obi-wan without his lightsaber. If you strike him down he becomes stronger than the bad guys ever imagined.” The others only smiled, recognizing Andrew’s way of dealing with the near loss of the man who had become a roll-model to him.
“Well,” Giles slipped the glasses on, “They haven’t managed to strike me down just yet.” He studied the symbols for a few moments. “I suspect I’m one of only a very few humans to have even seen this language in written form during the last millennia. There was no way for you to even begin translating it.” He smiled reassuringly at Dawn and Willow.
“Do you know what is says?” the teen whispered in anticipation.
“Roughly translated, it says ‘speak your name’. They meant this for me, correct?” he asked Kennedy.
“They were only in Willow’s head, but that’s the impression I got.”
“Cool,” Xander closed in a little. “Then all we had to do was say Rupert Giles.” He pronounced the name very clearly and stared at the stone expectantly. Nothing happened.
Giles chuckled at his disappointed look. “That would have been a poor security spell indeed.”
“Well, that’s your name. Unless you have one I don’t know about.” The young man glared accusingly at Giles, but the crinkles around his good eye betrayed his amusement.
“Several,” Giles answered matter-of-factly. “But I suspect this requires the most recent addition to that list.” He took a deep breath and let a progression of guttural noises roll from deep within his chest. At this, the small stone opened up like a flower and kept unfolding until it formed into a long, flat rectangle in his hands. Glowing symbols then appeared along its surface. “It’s a letter,” he gave an amused sigh.
“And that was a name?” Xander asked. “I don’t think I could repeat that with a vamp hangin’ off my neck.”
“Geez,” Faith laughed. “Makes me wonder what kinda other sounds I could squeeze out of the old man… Joke,” she responded to several raised eyebrows.
Willow laid a hand on his upper arm. “What does it mean?” she whispered.
Giles let a small blush creep onto his cheeks, the color an improvement to the sickly pale of his face. “The, um, the word means… Thoughtful Warrior.”
“That’s what they called you?” Andrew breathed. “Wow, it’s like an awesome code name to fight an evil empire with.”
“Very cool,” Dawn laughed, as the others shook their heads.
“So, what did they say?” Willow asked excitedly.
Giles stared at the page for a bit, then rubbed his eyes under his glasses. “It’s… No. Even if my head would clear enough to let me focus, I don’t think my throat would hold up.” He held it out. “Dawn, would you please do the honors?”
She took the thin material apprehensively. “Giles, I couldn’t even guess at the instructions. There’s no way I can make out a whole letter.”
“Look at the symbols,” the Watcher instructed with a small smile.
Dawn gasped, “It’s in English! They wrote it in English for you. But Willow said they were having a hard time communicating in our language.”
Giles chuckled for a moment. “True, their communication seems to be based on complete ideas rather than a language of set words. I suspect all human languages give them trouble. However,” he turned his focus to Dawn, “Maintenant examiner de nouveau.”
The teenager squeaked, “Now it‘s all in French!”
“Und noch einmal.”
“German,” Dawn laughed.
“Whatever language your mind is focused on while you are touching the page, that is what you will see. It’s a type of magick that has been lost for… Well, I would say since the fall of Babylon.”
“But these demons have been in hiding for so long they remember,” Willow said, almost to herself. “If they could teach us that spell…”
“Yes. It would make our work that much easier. Instant translations.” Giles followed her thought. “Not to mention the multitude of other magicks and histories long forgotten.”
“Awesome,” Andrew whispered, stretching a hand to examine the thin, black surface. “It’s like a universal translator.” Dawn let him take a look. “bIjatlh ‘e’ yImev! It knows Klingon, too!” He quickly passed it back as if it would bite him.
Giles sighed patiently while the rest of the room laughed. “It knows whatever language you know. The magick works directly on the brain. Very powerful and dangerous magicks when used incorrectly. That is also why these kinds of spells have never been successfully replicated. The human mind is much too complicated.”
“Wow,” Willow got excited. “And will they share this with us.”
“I don’t know,” Giles pulled his glasses off and shut his eyes to rest them. “I seem to remember a test of some kind that I was to undertake. I have no idea if I passed, or even preformed the ritual.” Willow moved to make sure his head was cradled comfortably on the pillows as he laid it back.
“Maybe the answers are in there,” Kennedy pointed. “Let’s hear it, Dawnie. Read it out.”
The girl squeezed Giles’ hand and asked softly, “Are you up for this? If you need to rest we can leave you alone for a while.”
Giles squeezed back, but didn’t lift his head or open his eyes. “I’ll be fine. I’ll rest while you read it to me, Luv. I’d like to know what they have to say.”
Dawn cleared her throat as the others settled around the room. She took a breath and began by repeating perfectly the sounds Giles had made earlier. A smile spread on his lips, hearing her read the greeting as the name they had given him.
“We are pleased to greet you as friend, for you have proven your intentions in seeking us out. As you stood before our elders, you expressed your purpose as to ask our aid in the war you now wage against the evils of the world. We have grown wary of those who seek us. Most are not truthful, craving the secrets we guard for their own gain. So, we have devised ways of finding the truth deep in the hearts of those who come. You agreed to let us see into your heart, and we have found that your words did not hold the truth you claimed.
Fear not, Thoughtful Warrior, many times the heart hides even within itself. You did not come to us for aid in your fight against evil. You, as a man, came out of love for your children. For we have seen that, though you have none of your body, there are many of your heart.”
Dawn brushed a tear from her cheek and reached up to gently rub Giles’ arm.
“Of all the reasons that men have sought us through the centuries, this is the one we understand fully. The love of our children crosses all boundaries between us. We have looked into the memories of your heart and have seen it break time and time again, yet you persist. The scale of your love impresses us, and so you have earned the right to seek our assistance. If together we save just one of your children, our partnership will be fruitful.
Now, you must be confused by the events that unfolded when you left us. It is sad that we must tell you of the death of your friend and ours. There was no aid we could give Mountain Walker. We hope it eases some of your suffering to know that he now rests with our honored dead.”
“Paulo, my guide and friend,” Giles whispered. “I was afraid to ask…”
Kennedy placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Mr. Giles. We only found you.”
Dawn tried to clear the lump in her throat and continued. “Once the ritual was begun, he was to take you to the protected cave to watch over and anchor you. One of our young ones watched from the other side of the chasm as the path gave from beneath his feet and he fell. Though there was nothing you could do, the young one also saw you secure a rope around yourself and scale the cliff-face after him. Near the bottom your test had begun, causing you to fall as well.”
“That must be where the strange bruises came from,” Willow thought aloud. Giles squeezed her hand.
“When our young one reached you, you had already fallen into the deep sleep and lay in a snow-bank. The child placed you in your sleep cocoon and took you to the cave. Unfortunately, not having spent time with a human, the efforts made to care for you proved unsuccessful. Rightly, the child chose to leave you to fetch an elder.
“By the time we returned, you were being well cared for. Time passes slower with us, so they must have been searching for you long before you would have considered yourself missing. And so we watched. We watched the pains of your heart at the same time we watched the tender love of the children who came for you. They did not know it, but they performed the duties to anchor you as if they had been trained by a high priest.
“This is how we grew to understand, Thoughtful Warrior. And as with you, we tested them. We found your children to be as exceptional as you believe. Each has their strengths and faults, but together they acted with great courage and wisdom. Stopping to consider the consequences for strangers before harnessing magick to aid themselves, and choosing to look closer at a moment when most would strike blindly. Please know, if you choose to return, not only are you welcome among us, but so are Fire’s Sister and Steel’s Daughter.”
“Hey,” Andrew interrupted. “You guys got cool new names, too!”
Giles couldn’t keep a proud smile from his tired face.
“Our answer to your request for aid is yes, friend. Your name will be known by the clans around the world. Ask and we are at your service. We wish you well with all your children, but hope that The One will soon see you for the love you bear her and mend the wounds she has left on your heart.”
There was silence in the room for several long moments as each tried to compose their own thoughts at the meanings of what the demons had said. At last, the spell was lifted as Faith spoke up with a bright, “Aww, we love you too, Daddy!”
Giles opened his eyes and fixed her with a mock glare. “I would be grateful if you’d let me go the rest of my life without hearing you call me that again.” The room bubbled with laughter and Faith responded with a flirty wink. Andrew opened his mouth, but was cut off when the Watcher pointed at him. “That goes doubly for you. All I need is for that to spread until I have a thousand slayers calling me,” he shuddered, “daddy.”
“It’s okay,” Dawn giggled. “We all know that’s what the name Giles really means anyway.”
He sighed in defeat. “It appears my expedition was a success after all. Let’s hope it was worth the price.” Giles closed he eyes and silently thanked Paulo for his sacrifice. He turned to Willow, all business in his voice. “I think the prudent course of action would be to place you and Kennedy at the forefront of liaising this new alliance, seeing as how you’ve already earned the respect of this tribe. The sooner we can convince them to teach us-”
“Giles,” Willow whispered with a soft smile, “it’s Christmas... or, in my case, Chanukah.”
He looked around at everyone together and sighed, “You’re right. The fight will still be there in a couple of days.”
“Can I ask you something,” the witch lowered her eyes shyly. “When we saw them, the demons, they looked like… Well, Ken saw a monster and I, um, I…”
The Watcher lifted her chin with a soft touch. “You saw the darkness in yourself.”
She swallowed hard and nodded. “I was just wondering, I mean you don’t have the answer, but I wanted to know…”
“What I saw,” he finished for her. Willow nodded as he looked around the room into curious but worried eyes. “I suppose there are many fears in my psyche they could have chosen, but to me they appeared as vampires, ordinary vampires.”
“But, of all the things you’ve faced…” Andrew began, but Xander shook his head at the other boy.
“Make perfect sense, Big Guy.”
“Yeah,” Faith nodded soberly. “When you think about it, it’s the ordinary that’ll take us out before we see it coming.”
“Us, or the girls we send out to fight it,” Kennedy added, seeing the truth of the Watcher’s fear.
Giles gave a slight nod, then stifled a yawn. “Hey,” Dawn said brightly, “we should get out of here before ‘nurse ratchet’ comes back to read us the riot act.” She stood, placing the letter on a bedside table. “Get some sleep, and we’ll be back tomorrow. And we’ll smuggle in a tree, and all your presents, and candy, and everything!”
“Dawn, I don’t need anything more than your smiling face. And besides, I don’t have anything for-”
Andrew cleared his throat. “Don’t worry, Mr. Giles, I made all the purchases you had written on your secret list before you left, and wrapped everything, and brought them with me.”
“See,” Dawn grinned, “It’ll be a perfect Christmas.” She slowly bent and kissed him on the cheek.
“Dawn’s right,” Willow laughed. “You rest up, and we’ll have lots of fun tomorrow.” The redhead leaned up and kissed his other cheek before standing.
Kennedy bent over him and whispered. “I hope you know how very much they love you.” Before he could reply, she dropped a kiss on his forehead and walked away.
Faith took the vacated spot, “Don’t worry, I’ll smuggle in the booze. But, since it seems the party’s started…” The dark slayer dove down and took his lips in an aggressive, but truly tender kiss that lasted a little longer than it should have. Leaving him breathless, she joined the other girls giggling by the door.
Andrew shrugged and started forward, but Giles regained himself in time the hold a hand up and say, “Don’t you dare.”
With a sheepish grin, the boy shook the outstretch hand. “I’m glad you’re all right, Sir,” he whispered, then joined the others.
Xander stood for a moment with his hands in his pockets. He noticed Giles’ curious glance at a tent-like structure the blankets formed over the foot of the bed. “No worries, Big Guy. You haven’t joined the pirate club just yet. They said your toes would be super sensitive for a while, but they’re all still there.”
The Watcher looked up into Xander’s good eye. “Too bad,” he murmured affectionately. “With your eye-patch and my peg leg, we’d make quite a pair.”
“Nah, it’d be too much for the ladies of the world to handle.” Xander grinned as Giles chuckled at that. “Hey, do me a favor, will ya’. Next time you do something stupidly dangerous, give me a call so I can do it with you.”
Giles nodded at the young man’s expression of worry and protectiveness. “I promise,” he whispered simply. When Xander took his hand, he pulled the boy down into a quick hug.
Xander stood, wiping some moisture from his eye, and bounced off to join the others. Wrapping his arms around as many of the girls as he could, he led them down the hallway saying, “Wonder if we can still make the Santa surfing contest at the beach?”
Giles shook his head with a chuckle before dropping back into a peaceful sleep.
+++++
“Why don’t the others know you’re here?” Giles murmured without opening his eyes, sensing the presence at the foot of his bed.
“Probably because I’m a coward,” Buffy answered as she moved into a chair at the bedside. “I just couldn’t face them all yet. It’s been bad enough, ever since I ran you off both Dawn and Andrew look at me like they actually saw me put my hands around your neck and squeeze.”
Giles opened his eyes and rolled his head the look at her. “It’s not your fault. And you didn’t run me off,” he whispered.
“I think you’ve already been overruled on that charge.” She patted his arm like one would when correcting a child, but her smile took any sting out of the mild teasing.
He placed his hand on hers. “No one could have foreseen…”
“I should have. That’s the way things go for us, isn’t it? Things were once again sucking in my natural disaster of a love life, so I went looking for a good fight. And I went looking for the one man in the world who could always hold his own against me. But he’d only ever do that if I pushed him to his limits, so that’s what I set out to do. And whala, Buffy insanity for all.”
To her surprise, Giles’ only answer to these revelations was to laugh. His slayer couldn’t help but laugh, too. “Perhaps, next time, if you’d just warn me before hand…” he chuckled.
“And what would be the fun in that,” Buffy sniggered. When the giggles subsided, she sighed, “How are you?”
“The doctor was in here a while back. He said some of my extremities got a little more chilled then he liked to see. I still have all my bits, but he’s keeping me here to make sure I don’t cause any extra damage. He’s also a bit worried that he can’t find a reason for the coma I seem to have suffered. I guess he didn’t have a test for the mystically induced.”
Buffy smiled, “We do tend to challenge the medical community at times.” She then lowered her gaze and mumbled, “I’m sorry.”
“It was an accident,” her Watcher tried to sooth. “No one is at fault.”
“Not for that. I mean for getting on your case about things I shouldn’t have.” When she glanced up, she met confused eyes. “When you left, you told me to try my hand at your job, so I did.”
“I’m sure you did fi-”
“Giles, I ended up never sleeping, taking half the patrols myself because they were too dangerous, and almost causing a brand new Watcher’s rebellion.”
“All in a couple weeks,” Giles nodded with a barely surprised grin.
Then she added in a tiny whisper, “And I lost three girls.”
“Oh, Buffy, I’m so sorry.” He turned onto his side so he could pull her against his chest. “I should never have-”
“How do you do it, Giles?” Her voice was so small it broke his heart. “How do you just keep going?’
“It, um, it’s what needs to be done,” he answered softly, rocking her against him. After a few moments he ventured, “Buffy, if you could… Do you remember their names?”
She sniffed, and whispered softly, “Tawana…”
Giles cleared his throat. “Tawana Childs. 17. Found in Zimbabwe. Orphaned by the wars. She loved being a slayer. Being able to help others in trouble.”
“Her team said she saved them… There was one they called JoJo.”
“Johanna Fishbaeck. 19. She was Swedish. Raised by her grandmother, who died a short time ago.”
“And Laura.”
Giles nodded, “Laura King. 14. From Watertown, Massachusetts, I believe. Her parents will have to be notified.”
“Andrew took care of it,” Buffy whispered before pulling out of his arms to stare intently into his eyes. “Do you know all their names?”
He smiled sadly at her as he lay back. “It’s hard, with new slayers being discovered all the time. But, the girls in my care, yes I do.”
“And that’s why you’re the Watcher,” Buffy shook her head.
“I, ah, I-I don’t mean to cause any more t-tears, but was there any word from team five?”
To his surprise, an approving smile met his question. “Mr. Giles’ Avengers made it back all present and accounted for.” Giles sank into his pillows with a relieved sigh. “Apparently, they had this hard-ass, taskmaster of an instructor, who made sure they trained for anything they might face. That demon cult never had a chance.” Buffy chuckled, “When they came back, I tried to train with them and teach them a few things. Turns out, that’s hard to do ‘cause they had the same teacher I did.”
“They’re the ones who worked so hard. Thank the Lord, they made it home,” Giles murmured with his eyes drifting closed.
“I figured they earned a break for Christmas. A few of them went to see family, and the others stayed at the compound to help keep training the other girls.” She ducked her head again. “I think they’re just as worried about the old man as he is about them.”
Giles smiled, “I shall have to make a call tomorrow.”
Buffy watched for a while as his breathing slowed. When he slightly jerked himself awake again, she slid her hand into his and whispered, “Sleep now, Watcher-mine. If I know the gang, they have some big plans for you tomorrow.”
“Buffy…” Giles murmured.
“Shh… I’ll be here when you wake up. I promise.” Giles’ slayer stayed and watched him sleep in the warmth of the hospital room.