An Antique Roman: Ethan Rayne Ficathon, Chapter 3/?
What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas
by spikeNdru
Written for for 47_trek_47, in antennapedia's An Antique Roman: Ethan Rayne Ficathon.
The request was for:
Ethan/Giles (slash, implied or explicit); Ethan tricking, coercing, and/or cajoling Giles into helping him with a less-than-ethical spell; present day, post-Chosen setting; some involvement of the rest of the Buffy ensemble.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter Three
Potential plans were discussed and discarded and became progressively wilder and less realistic as exhaustion set in.
“Oh, dear lord!” Giles exclaimed as he realized that he was actually considering the logistics of the most recent suggestion, which involved Willow's animation of Elmer Fudd to allow him to blast a hole through the wall so the Roadrunner could get in to find Ethan. “I believe we should call it a night, as we have clearly reached our limits of creative thinking and crossed over into implausibility.”
“Huh?” Xander-who had flown the farthest, and who had been yawning copiously for the past hour-looked at Willow for a translation. “Wha'd he say?”
“He said that's the stupidest plan he ever heard.”
Xander grinned. “And I didn't even get to the part where we pummel the Initiative with hummus.”
Buffy, Willow and Xander burst out laughing.
“What? Hummus? What could hummus possibly-”
“Relax, Giles,” Buffy said between giggles. “It's an Oz thing.”
Xander nodded. “The gold standard of stupid plans. I guess you had to be there. Oh, wait! You were there.”
Giles sighed in exasperation. “You do realize that I have absolutely no idea what any of you are talking about?”
Xander nodded sagely. “Having a wha'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis? moment, are you?”
Giles stared at him blankly.
“Pop culture reference,” Willow added helpfully.
Giles opened his mouth, but before he could frame a reply, his chest seemed to loudly burst into song. Whooooo are you?
Xander laughed so hard, he got a stitch in his side. Willow and Buffy clung to each other in an attempt to keep themselves upright.
Giles smiled sheepishly and pulled a cell phone from his breast pocket.
“Yes? Giles here.”
“Hey, Giles-what's up?”
“Faith? Is that you?”
“Good call! Got it in one.”
Giles felt he really couldn't take the credit for superior sleuthing, as nearly everyone else who had his private number was right here in this room. That left only Dawn and Faith, and their voices were very different.
“Er . . . yes. How are you, Faith?”
“I'm good. Y'know B's 'spider-sense' that tingles when something's up? Well, looks like I got it, too, 'cause I been tingling all day ev'ry time I thought of you.”
The others stared in fascination as a deep red blush suffused Giles' face.
“Whoa!” Faith laughed. “That came out a lot more double entendry than I planned. Really not hittin' on you, Giles, but I could tell something's up with you-oh, fuck! No, wait!”
Giles frantically attempted to change the subject.
“Yes, well . . . er . . . have you decided where you wish to settle now that you have requested a transfer from Cleveland?”
“I'm gettin' that you don't want to let me in on the sitch. Okay. That's cool. Five by five. Yeah, Robin's doin' okay with the two slayerettes you sent him, and I think I'm gonna base outta LA for awhile.”
“LA? That's. . . .”
“Yeah. I'm workin' with a kid-we got things under control here. Well, nice talkin' to ya, Giles.”
“Faith, wait. I . . . er . . . I hadn't wanted to involve you because I'm planning something . . . erm . . . it has nothing to do with the Council. It's . . . private, and not quite . . . aboveboard.”
Giles produced his handkerchief, but used it to wipe his face, rather than polish his glasses.
“Giles! I'm . . . well, kinda impressed, actually. Need any help?”
“I . . . may. I don't know at this point. I don't yet have an actual plan, but it's dangerous and may bring official notice . . . which you really can't afford.”
“Gotcha. Well, you know where to find me if you need me.”
“Faith. . . . Thank you.”
“No problem. Talk to ya later.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Xander was still chuckling as, a short time later, he climbed into one of the double beds and slid under the covers.
Giles sighed as he lay down on the other and turned out the light between them. He hoped Ethan would allow him a night of undisturbed rest; if they had any hopes of developing a workable plan, they needed much clearer heads than they had evidenced tonight.
Hummus, indeed!
~*~*~*~*~*~
Giles heard frantic whispering from close by, pulling him out of sleep, much before he was ready to wake. He squinted and grouped for his glasses on the nightstand. He raised himself on his elbows and discovered the source of the whispers was Willow and Xander, seated at the small table near the drawn drapes with their heads together. Since there was no source of natural light in the room, Giles had no idea of the time. He cleared his throat and two guilty faces turned to him.
“Sorry, Giles, did we wake you up? We didn't mean to,” Willow apologized.
“We tried to keep it down, but I figured you wouldn't be able to hear us whispering over the buzz-saw sound of your snoring,” Xander added.
Giles gave him The Look and Willow laughed.
“Now that you're up, you'll never guess what I found out!” Willow said excitedly.
“ 'Up' may be rather optimistic, but as I seen to be awake, I suppose you may as well tell me.”
“Geez, Giles, are you always this grouchy in the morning?”
“That depends upon the time of morning in question. Er . . . what is the time?”
Xander glanced at his watch. “Oops! It's, um, 5:09. Sorry. Different time zones and all. . . .”
Giles sighed, and reached for his dressing gown. Both Willow and Xander seemed to be concentrating furiously upon whatever papers they had spread out over the table, while Giles rose and paid a visit to the bathroom. He felt more human, although not necessarily more awake, when he had washed his face and brushed his teeth. Xander offered the chair in which he had been sitting to Giles and knelt down beside the small table.
Willow grinned. “I noticed you didn't say exactly where this Initiative facility was in Nevada, so when I woke up I decided to do a locater spell. You want the good news or the bad news first?”
“There is bad news?”
“Well, not according to Xander. Okay, I managed to locate the facility where they are holding Ethan-that's the good news-and you'll never guess where it is-”
Xander stabbed the map with his forefinger. “Smack dab in the middle of Area 51! How cool is that?”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
TBC
by spikeNdru
Written for for 47_trek_47, in antennapedia's An Antique Roman: Ethan Rayne Ficathon.
The request was for:
Ethan/Giles (slash, implied or explicit); Ethan tricking, coercing, and/or cajoling Giles into helping him with a less-than-ethical spell; present day, post-Chosen setting; some involvement of the rest of the Buffy ensemble.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter Three
Potential plans were discussed and discarded and became progressively wilder and less realistic as exhaustion set in.
“Oh, dear lord!” Giles exclaimed as he realized that he was actually considering the logistics of the most recent suggestion, which involved Willow's animation of Elmer Fudd to allow him to blast a hole through the wall so the Roadrunner could get in to find Ethan. “I believe we should call it a night, as we have clearly reached our limits of creative thinking and crossed over into implausibility.”
“Huh?” Xander-who had flown the farthest, and who had been yawning copiously for the past hour-looked at Willow for a translation. “Wha'd he say?”
“He said that's the stupidest plan he ever heard.”
Xander grinned. “And I didn't even get to the part where we pummel the Initiative with hummus.”
Buffy, Willow and Xander burst out laughing.
“What? Hummus? What could hummus possibly-”
“Relax, Giles,” Buffy said between giggles. “It's an Oz thing.”
Xander nodded. “The gold standard of stupid plans. I guess you had to be there. Oh, wait! You were there.”
Giles sighed in exasperation. “You do realize that I have absolutely no idea what any of you are talking about?”
Xander nodded sagely. “Having a wha'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis? moment, are you?”
Giles stared at him blankly.
“Pop culture reference,” Willow added helpfully.
Giles opened his mouth, but before he could frame a reply, his chest seemed to loudly burst into song. Whooooo are you?
Xander laughed so hard, he got a stitch in his side. Willow and Buffy clung to each other in an attempt to keep themselves upright.
Giles smiled sheepishly and pulled a cell phone from his breast pocket.
“Yes? Giles here.”
“Hey, Giles-what's up?”
“Faith? Is that you?”
“Good call! Got it in one.”
Giles felt he really couldn't take the credit for superior sleuthing, as nearly everyone else who had his private number was right here in this room. That left only Dawn and Faith, and their voices were very different.
“Er . . . yes. How are you, Faith?”
“I'm good. Y'know B's 'spider-sense' that tingles when something's up? Well, looks like I got it, too, 'cause I been tingling all day ev'ry time I thought of you.”
The others stared in fascination as a deep red blush suffused Giles' face.
“Whoa!” Faith laughed. “That came out a lot more double entendry than I planned. Really not hittin' on you, Giles, but I could tell something's up with you-oh, fuck! No, wait!”
Giles frantically attempted to change the subject.
“Yes, well . . . er . . . have you decided where you wish to settle now that you have requested a transfer from Cleveland?”
“I'm gettin' that you don't want to let me in on the sitch. Okay. That's cool. Five by five. Yeah, Robin's doin' okay with the two slayerettes you sent him, and I think I'm gonna base outta LA for awhile.”
“LA? That's. . . .”
“Yeah. I'm workin' with a kid-we got things under control here. Well, nice talkin' to ya, Giles.”
“Faith, wait. I . . . er . . . I hadn't wanted to involve you because I'm planning something . . . erm . . . it has nothing to do with the Council. It's . . . private, and not quite . . . aboveboard.”
Giles produced his handkerchief, but used it to wipe his face, rather than polish his glasses.
“Giles! I'm . . . well, kinda impressed, actually. Need any help?”
“I . . . may. I don't know at this point. I don't yet have an actual plan, but it's dangerous and may bring official notice . . . which you really can't afford.”
“Gotcha. Well, you know where to find me if you need me.”
“Faith. . . . Thank you.”
“No problem. Talk to ya later.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Xander was still chuckling as, a short time later, he climbed into one of the double beds and slid under the covers.
Giles sighed as he lay down on the other and turned out the light between them. He hoped Ethan would allow him a night of undisturbed rest; if they had any hopes of developing a workable plan, they needed much clearer heads than they had evidenced tonight.
Hummus, indeed!
~*~*~*~*~*~
Giles heard frantic whispering from close by, pulling him out of sleep, much before he was ready to wake. He squinted and grouped for his glasses on the nightstand. He raised himself on his elbows and discovered the source of the whispers was Willow and Xander, seated at the small table near the drawn drapes with their heads together. Since there was no source of natural light in the room, Giles had no idea of the time. He cleared his throat and two guilty faces turned to him.
“Sorry, Giles, did we wake you up? We didn't mean to,” Willow apologized.
“We tried to keep it down, but I figured you wouldn't be able to hear us whispering over the buzz-saw sound of your snoring,” Xander added.
Giles gave him The Look and Willow laughed.
“Now that you're up, you'll never guess what I found out!” Willow said excitedly.
“ 'Up' may be rather optimistic, but as I seen to be awake, I suppose you may as well tell me.”
“Geez, Giles, are you always this grouchy in the morning?”
“That depends upon the time of morning in question. Er . . . what is the time?”
Xander glanced at his watch. “Oops! It's, um, 5:09. Sorry. Different time zones and all. . . .”
Giles sighed, and reached for his dressing gown. Both Willow and Xander seemed to be concentrating furiously upon whatever papers they had spread out over the table, while Giles rose and paid a visit to the bathroom. He felt more human, although not necessarily more awake, when he had washed his face and brushed his teeth. Xander offered the chair in which he had been sitting to Giles and knelt down beside the small table.
Willow grinned. “I noticed you didn't say exactly where this Initiative facility was in Nevada, so when I woke up I decided to do a locater spell. You want the good news or the bad news first?”
“There is bad news?”
“Well, not according to Xander. Okay, I managed to locate the facility where they are holding Ethan-that's the good news-and you'll never guess where it is-”
Xander stabbed the map with his forefinger. “Smack dab in the middle of Area 51! How cool is that?”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
TBC