Raising the shutter on the window by his seat, Wesley looked out over the darkened countryside below, dotted with lights. He craned his neck slightly and saw a wash of light in the distance.
London.
He was finally coming home.
Next to him, Regan was curled up in her seat, sleeping. After Illyria and Spike had arrived in New Haven, he had gone to see them - facing the demon in his wife's body for the first time in months. Seeing it again, he had felt both fresh grief and, stangely enough, elation. Probably because he could feel how close he was to having Fred back. He truly believed it would work.
Illyria had wanted to know why Spike had insisted they come to New Haven, and Wesley had been weary about saying why. Finally, Spike had just come out and said it, telling Illyria in no uncertain terms that it didn't belong there and that Wesley needed his wife back, Regan needed her mother. Illyria had tried to leave, but Spike had forced it to stay...and listen as Wesley explained what he and Regan had found.
And...miraculously...in the end, Illyria had finally agreed, having "grown weary of the emotions" it was forced to endure. It had looked directly at Wesley with glittering blue eyes as it had said this, causing him to feel a slight chill.
And yet, in that moment, Illyria was giving him his life back.
So they had called Rupert to tell him that they were coming to England - but they needed a way there, especially for Spike. A week on a freighter seemed too long. So Rupert had arranged for a private jet to get them and bring them to England, scheduling it to arrive in the evening.
Wesley just prayed that this worked.
"Regan," he said softly, reaching over to tap his daughter. "Sweetheart, wake up...we're coming into London. Do you want to see the lights?"
Regan had never been on a plane for this long before. When they moved to New Haven, they had drove from LA to Texas and then to their new home. A year before, they'd taken one of the firm's jets to Denver so her mom could attend a conference. But, the plane ride to England was long, and it took her dad reading from his laptop's owner manual for Regan to finally fall asleep.
"Hmm?" she muttered as she opened her eyes.
Rubbing her eyes, Regan pulled herself up and looked out the window. She saw the lights of London, and smiled a little. They were a step closer to getting her mother back. "It's beautiful," she said, just as the pilot asked them to fasten their seatbelts. Regan sat back down and clicked hers into place.
Soon the plane touched down and when it stopped, Regan and the rest of them went to the door and walked down the metal steps. Giles, Willow, Faith, and a few teenage girls were waiting for them. Regan smiled and ran over to Giles. "I missed you," she said, flinging her arms around him.
She could hear Illyria protesting behind her and Giles released her from his grip. "Illyria and Spike will be riding with Faith, Brittany, and Susan," he said, motioning toward the Slayers. "It's best you leave now."
Faith and Illyria had a brief stare down before Illyria went to the van. Giles gave Faith some instructions before you pulled out of the airport.
"Sorry about that," Giles said, turning to look at Wesley. "Your father has been causing some trouble as of late. He was rather curious as to why I sent a jet to the states. I was afraid he'd show up, and he seems to be afraid of Faith so I brought her along. We'll be driving out to my estate in Bath tonight." He turned and opened up the trunk of the car as Regan slipped into the backseat with Willow.
When Rupert mentioned that his father had been sniffing around, Wesley found himself stiffening and glanced over as Illyria climbed into the van with Spike. The last thing he wanted was him sticking his nose into this and trying to stop this. His father had a very...strict viewpoint when it came to resurrection. In short, one didn't do it. Ever. No matter the circumstances.
And he wasn't going to let anyone stop him from getting his wife back.
"Thank you for everything you've done to help so far," Wesley told his friend, giving him a grateful smile.
"You can thank me if this works," Rupert told him before closing the boot of the car. He looked around as the van drove off and the motioned to the car. "Looks like we're safe for the moment. I would guess your father definitely didn't want to deal with Faith."
Wesley nodded and then circled around to the front of the car, getting into the passenger side while Rupert got behind the wheel. It was a bit strange to be in a British car again after so long. Wesley almost felt like he should have been driving. Turning around slightly in the seat once he had strapped himself in, he gave his daughter a smile.
"Welcome to England, love," he told her. "We're going straight to Rupert's estate tonight, so it's going to be a few hours more."
Giles started the car and headed for the motorway as Wesley sat back, taking a few deep breaths. It was a bit strange to be home after so long. His home had been with Regan and Fred for so long. And then he had lost that.
Regan had always wanted to come to England. She asked her parents about it all the time, and finally stopped when her mom told her that her dad wasn't ready to go home just yet. Regan never understood why that was, and her mom had said it was her dad's place to tell her. Maybe now that they were in England, she could ask him.
When they arrived at Giles' estate, Evelyn came out to greet them. Regan had only bet her once and kept close to her dad as they went inside the house. "It's rather late so I thought I'd let you two sleep and we can discuss things in the morning," Giles said.
"I have a couple of rooms ready for you," Evelyn said.
Regan moved closer to her dad. She didn't like sleeping in strange rooms by herself. "Can we share a room?" she quietly asked.
"Oh! Of course, sweetheart. One of the rooms has two beds," Evelyn said before leading them upstairs.
While Giles and her dad briefly spoke, Regan went into the room and changed into her pajamas. She noticed a wardrobe in the corner and raised her eyebrows. She'd never seen one before so she went over to it and opened the door. Sticking her hand inside, she felt the back of it and shrugged before closing the door.
When she noticed her dad still wasn't in the room, she went over to the door and peeked out, wondering where he was.
The drive to Bath felt almost as long as the flight over had been, maybe because Wesley was tired after the long day, maybe because now that they had arrived, he felt his anxiety rising. It was enough that they still had to work with Regan on using the scythe before they could even attempt this. Knowing that his father was around just added to that.
He could see Rupert glancing over him during the drive, but he didn't say anything. He was glad for that. He was fairly sure what he was going to say, and he wasn't didn't want to have that conversation in front of Regan. Not yet at least.
When they finally reaching the estate, Wesley let out a small sigh of relief, knowing that they were safe here for the time being. If his father was around, he wouldn't dare come uninvited onto the estate of another Council member. It wasn't considered proper etiquette, and his father was nothing if proper.
It was good to see Evelyn again though he could tell that Regan was a bit overwhelmed by everything, the way she clung to him. He protectively wrapped an arm around her and let Evelyn take them up to one of the bedrooms. He could see, though, that Rupert wanted to speak to him, so he finally let go of his daughter and joined him.
"Are you sure you're going to be able to handle all this?" his friend asked. "If your father decides to intervene..."
"I'll handle it," Wesley told him. "I'm not going to let him stop me from getting Fred back."
"Have you told Regan? About him?"
Sighing, he looked toward the bedroom door. "She met him...well, a cyborg version of him. She saw me shoot it when it threatened Fred. But she doesn't know...I never told her why I never spoke of him before or why she had never met him before that thing showed up. How could I explain something like that to her?"
"She's asked me quite a few times why you would never agree to visiting here before," Rupert told him. "And if he shows up..."
"He always did have an...unflinching view on resurrection," he agreed softly.
"She should probably know."
"We'll...we'll see," he finally said. It was same answer he had always given to Regan, he knew. But part of him didn't want to burden his daughter with the knowledge of what his own father had done to him. Would she look at him the same way, wondering if he would ever turn into that man? "Training Regan in the morning?"
Rupert nodded. "First thing after breakfast. Got some rest."
"Goodnight, Rupert." Giving his friend's arm a squeeze, he went back down the hall toward the bedroom, where he found Regan standing by the door. Ushering her inside, he closed it behind her. "Are you getting yourself settled? What do you think of your Uncle Rupert's home?"
Regan started to nervously pull on her pajama top as she waited for her dad to come back in. When he finally showed up, she smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist as they went into the room. "It's nice but too big. I never want to live in a house this big. There's too many weird noises," she said as she sat on her bed.
She pointed toward the bathroom, knowing her dad would want to change into his pajamas. Now that she knew where he was, Regan relaxed and laid on the bed. A few moments later she was fast asleep, tired from the long plane ride and all the emotions of being there.
The following morning, Regan woke up and saw her dad was still sleeping. She was hungry and wanted something to eat. She was tempted to wake him up but decided against it. She could take care of herself so she got out of bed and went downstairs.
She could hear people in the kitchen so she followed the sounds but stopped when she came across a huge dog. "Um," Regan muttered as she stared at the animal. The dog moved toward her and she stepped back. "Uncle Giles?! I think you have a demon in your house!" she yelled.
Giles came running out of the kitchen and looked at Regan and the dog. "Radley? He's just a dog, love. Good lord, does your father keep you inside all the time? It's just a dog." He said, giving him a soft smile.
"A pretty big dog," she said as Radley came over to her and licked her hand. "He seems nice though."
"He is, sweetheart. Is your dad still sleeping?" Giles asked. Regan nodded and he smiled. "Radley? Go wake up the guest!"
The Irish wolfhound barked and started up the stairs.
"Is he really going to wake up my dad?" Regan asked with a smile.
"Yes," Giles said with a grin. "Come on. Lets get you some breakfast."
It had taken Wesley a while to fall asleep after he had come out of the bathroom to find that Regan already had. He found his mind going over and over everything - whether this would work, what they would do when Fred came back, how he would deal with his father if he dared showed his face...and whether he should tell Regan everything.
Finally, though, he had drifted off to sleep, his dreams no less unsettled than his waking thoughts. In some of them, he would see Fred in the distance and reach for her, only to have her disappear and Illyria reappear. And his father would be there, laughing and telling him he was useless. Once, he was the one to pull Fred away and allow Illyria to take her place.
Then a demon came running at him and jumped on his chest. With a strangled yelp, he felt his breath pushed out of his and started to fight against it, but the demon wouldn't move and instead began...
Licking him?
Blinking, Wesley suddenly realized that he was awake...and a rather large...was that a dog or a horse? Whatever it was, it was on his chest, woofing and licking his face. Groaning, he finally managed to get it off of him and sat up, looking over at the bed next his as it went running out of the room. Regan wasn't there.
Getting up, he changed into a pair of jeans and a shirt and headed downstairs, following the sounds of talking until he reached the kitchen. The dog - he could see clearly that it was dog, a very big dog, now that it wasn't trying to slobber on his face - was sitting there and thumping his tail on the floor while Regan and Rupert appeared to be getting something together for breakfast.
"I...erm...take it that you sent this wake-up alarm?" he asked as the dog came over and started nudging his hand for a pet. He looked down and then started to scratch it behind its ears.
Regan broke another egg into the bowl and shook her head. "I fell asleep pretty early," she said as she picked up the metal wisk and started to stir. "Why? What was he supposed to talk to me about?"
"That's for your dad to tell," Giles pointed out. He took the bowl and poured the mixture into a pan.
Regan sighed and rolled her eyes. "Why doesn't anyone ever tell me anything? All of you are acting like my dad murdered someone and he's wanted by the police or something!" she said as she crossed her arms. She was getting tired of not knowing about what happened. It seemed everyone else knew.
"Regan," Giles said in a calming voice as Radley came into the kitchen and sniffed the air. "Your dad has to be the one to tell you."
"Yeah," she muttered just as her dad walked into the room. She went over to the table and plopped down.
Giles gave Wesley a look before putting two plates of eggs and toast down on the table. "I have a meeting to go to. Maybe the two of you should talk while I'm gone. I'll be back in an hour or so," he said before squeezing Wesley's shoulder and walking out of the kitchen.
Wesley looked from Rupert to Regan, seeing that his daughter was obviously upset about something. And from the look in his friend's eyes, he could see that it must have something to do with what they had spoken about the night before. As Rupert squeezed his shoulder, he nodded at him then watched as he left the kitchen.
Once he was gone, he walked over, sitting down next to Regan and looking at the plates of food before turning to look at her. He swallowed before speaking, "Rupert...he told me last night that you've asked him a few times why we never came her before. And your mother...mentioned the same thing a few times. At the time, I wasn't--I couldn't talk about it. Being in America, it was easy to ignore it. Then your grandfather...well, the cyborg pretending to be your grandfather showed up, and I just..."
He stopped and rubbed his eyes for a moment before sighing deeply. "I don't even know where to start with this. You know how Harry Potter...how his uncle used to lock him under the stairs...?" He paused again, realizing that probably wasn't the best way to start really. "Sweetheart, I always said I left England because I was thrown off the Watchers Council, but that's not completely true. I...I left England to get away from your grandfather."
Opening his hand, he stretched out his fingers for a moment, a ghost pain he hadn't felt in a long time suddenly shooting through them. "After your aunt died, your grandfather was so upset with her Watcher that he had him thrown off the Council. Then he turned on me, swearing that I wasn't going to end up the same kind of Watcher. He...if I didn't do something right, he'd lock me under the stairs. At least to start with. It--as time went on, the punishments became worse. When I was accepted to the Watchers Academy, it was actually a relief.
"What your grandfather did to me wound me up so tight, though, that I thought I had to everything by the book, and as a result, I screwed up badly in Sunnydale. When I was thrown off the Council, after watching him throw me over and call me a disappointment, I...realized that I had to get away, so I returned to America." He shrugged and took a deep breath. "It was hard to think about coming back without thinking about what he did to me, but for your mother...I'd face any hell. Including him."
Regan continued to sit at the table, her arms crossed, and her lip out. She hated it when the adults kept things from her. She was much more mature than they gave her credit for. Even if she was currently pouting. When her dad sat down next to her, Regan tried her best to ignore him. But, when he started to take about Harry Potter, she raised an eyebrow and looked at him. Was he trying to tell her that he lived under the stairs and was a wizard?
Her mouth opened to say something but snapped shut when her dad started to talk about her aunt. And the more he spoke, the more horrified Regan became. Her - Roger - had abused her dad when he was younger. He had forced the person she loved more than anything to live under the stairs, and then he had cast him aside when he made a mistake. Regan knew her dad, and she knew he was good at everything he did.
"Roger - I refuse to call him grandfather - is a wanker," she said before she stood and wrapped her arms around her dad. Everything was starting to make sense. She remembered when the cyborg had showed up, and how her dad when from being relaxed to stumbling over everything. He was afraid, and trying to win Roger's approval.
Pulling away, Regan cupped her hands to her dad's face. "He's wrong, you know. You're brilliant at everything you do. Why do you think mom fell in love with you and married you? Come on, she's really brilliant too and she wouldn't just settle for anyone. And she knew you would take good care of me, and that you were a good dad. She said so herself when she got sick. She told me I'd be okay because you were here and you would never let anything bad happen to me," she said.
With a small smile, she kissed her dad's face and sat back down. "Thank you for telling me. And if Roger tries to ruin our trip here, I'll kick his ass for you," she said, grinning.
When Regan called his father - her grandfather - a wanker, Wesley's eyes opened wide as part of him wanted to reprimand her for saying such a word and part of him wanted to laugh. He embraced his daughter tightly, glad that they had a better relationship than he had with his own father. He had always tried so hard to get his approval; he should have realized that he would never get it.
"Your mother really said that?" he asked softly, a smile pulling at his lips as he looked into his daughter's blue eyes. Where she favored Fred in so many ways, her eyes were the one thing that definitely showed everyone that he was her father.
In the end, Regan was absolutely right. Roger Wyndam-Pryce's approval didn't matter one jot. What mattered was the girl in his arms, his own flesh and blood, and his wife, who was somewhere out there, waiting for them to bring her back. It was their view of him that he cared about, and if they thought he was good enough, then he knew he was.
"You may have to get in line, love. I think I might want first crack at him. Besides, you have a more important job. You have to kill Illyria. And I know you'll be able to do that because you're smart and quick, and you can do anything."
Looking over at the food sitting on the table, Wesley tilted his head toward it. "We should probably eat. If we're going to spend the day training, we're going to need our strength."
Regan nodded when her dad told her they needed to eat. Training for her always made her tired because she wasn’t only using her body, but her mind also. The nights following her mother’s death, Regan often used her powers to make her tired just so she could sleep. She had never told her dad that, and probably never would.
After breakfast, Giles showed back up and took them to his study. The scythe was under a protection spell so he muttered a few words and field around it dropped. He picked it up and motioned for Regan and Wesley to follow him. “I called Jacobson. He is in charge of placing demons in the Deeper Well. He’ll be there to capture Illyria and put it back so it doesn’t infect anyone else,” he explained as he walked them into a training room. “Now, Regan, this is rather heavy so your father and I are going to teach you how to use your powers to hold it, and use it.”
“Okay,” Regan said as she wiped her sweaty hands off on her jeans. Giles handed her the weapon and she dropped it. “Sorry.” She bent down to pick it up, using her powers to do so. She got it half-way up before it dropped to the floor again. “I can’t.”
“You can. You just need to clear your mind, love,” Giles said as he rubbed her back.
Regan bent over again and tried to pick it up. This time she couldn’t even get it off the ground and threw her hands up in frustration. “I can’t do it!” she said, looking over at her dad with tears in her eyes.
Wesley watched Regan trying to pick up the scythe, getting more and more agitated because it was too heavy and she couldn't seem to focus her power enough. When she looked over at him with tears in her eyes, he walked over. He knew that this had to be hard - the return of her mother rested on her shoulders. She had been so much for someone so young, but this...this had to be the hardest thing she ever had to go through.
"Regan, sweetheart," he said, reaching over to wipe her tears away with his thumb. "Sit back for a moment and breath. I know this hard for you. But you're not alone. I'm here, and your Uncle Rupert is here, and we're going to be there for you. We know you can this."
He had her kneel down and took her hands in his to rest them on the scythe. "Remember how I taught you to focus?" he asked. "I want you take this a step at a time. Take a deep breath first, and don't worry about anything but just picking up the scythe. Focus on getting it up off the ground, then focus on standing with it."
He looked into her eyes. "Once you get it up, we'll work on the next step, all right?"
London.
He was finally coming home.
Next to him, Regan was curled up in her seat, sleeping. After Illyria and Spike had arrived in New Haven, he had gone to see them - facing the demon in his wife's body for the first time in months. Seeing it again, he had felt both fresh grief and, stangely enough, elation. Probably because he could feel how close he was to having Fred back. He truly believed it would work.
Illyria had wanted to know why Spike had insisted they come to New Haven, and Wesley had been weary about saying why. Finally, Spike had just come out and said it, telling Illyria in no uncertain terms that it didn't belong there and that Wesley needed his wife back, Regan needed her mother. Illyria had tried to leave, but Spike had forced it to stay...and listen as Wesley explained what he and Regan had found.
And...miraculously...in the end, Illyria had finally agreed, having "grown weary of the emotions" it was forced to endure. It had looked directly at Wesley with glittering blue eyes as it had said this, causing him to feel a slight chill.
And yet, in that moment, Illyria was giving him his life back.
So they had called Rupert to tell him that they were coming to England - but they needed a way there, especially for Spike. A week on a freighter seemed too long. So Rupert had arranged for a private jet to get them and bring them to England, scheduling it to arrive in the evening.
Wesley just prayed that this worked.
"Regan," he said softly, reaching over to tap his daughter. "Sweetheart, wake up...we're coming into London. Do you want to see the lights?"
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"Hmm?" she muttered as she opened her eyes.
Rubbing her eyes, Regan pulled herself up and looked out the window. She saw the lights of London, and smiled a little. They were a step closer to getting her mother back. "It's beautiful," she said, just as the pilot asked them to fasten their seatbelts. Regan sat back down and clicked hers into place.
Soon the plane touched down and when it stopped, Regan and the rest of them went to the door and walked down the metal steps. Giles, Willow, Faith, and a few teenage girls were waiting for them. Regan smiled and ran over to Giles. "I missed you," she said, flinging her arms around him.
She could hear Illyria protesting behind her and Giles released her from his grip. "Illyria and Spike will be riding with Faith, Brittany, and Susan," he said, motioning toward the Slayers. "It's best you leave now."
Faith and Illyria had a brief stare down before Illyria went to the van. Giles gave Faith some instructions before you pulled out of the airport.
"Sorry about that," Giles said, turning to look at Wesley. "Your father has been causing some trouble as of late. He was rather curious as to why I sent a jet to the states. I was afraid he'd show up, and he seems to be afraid of Faith so I brought her along. We'll be driving out to my estate in Bath tonight." He turned and opened up the trunk of the car as Regan slipped into the backseat with Willow.
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And he wasn't going to let anyone stop him from getting his wife back.
"Thank you for everything you've done to help so far," Wesley told his friend, giving him a grateful smile.
"You can thank me if this works," Rupert told him before closing the boot of the car. He looked around as the van drove off and the motioned to the car. "Looks like we're safe for the moment. I would guess your father definitely didn't want to deal with Faith."
Wesley nodded and then circled around to the front of the car, getting into the passenger side while Rupert got behind the wheel. It was a bit strange to be in a British car again after so long. Wesley almost felt like he should have been driving. Turning around slightly in the seat once he had strapped himself in, he gave his daughter a smile.
"Welcome to England, love," he told her. "We're going straight to Rupert's estate tonight, so it's going to be a few hours more."
Giles started the car and headed for the motorway as Wesley sat back, taking a few deep breaths. It was a bit strange to be home after so long. His home had been with Regan and Fred for so long. And then he had lost that.
But now, he was going to get it back.
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When they arrived at Giles' estate, Evelyn came out to greet them. Regan had only bet her once and kept close to her dad as they went inside the house. "It's rather late so I thought I'd let you two sleep and we can discuss things in the morning," Giles said.
"I have a couple of rooms ready for you," Evelyn said.
Regan moved closer to her dad. She didn't like sleeping in strange rooms by herself. "Can we share a room?" she quietly asked.
"Oh! Of course, sweetheart. One of the rooms has two beds," Evelyn said before leading them upstairs.
While Giles and her dad briefly spoke, Regan went into the room and changed into her pajamas. She noticed a wardrobe in the corner and raised her eyebrows. She'd never seen one before so she went over to it and opened the door. Sticking her hand inside, she felt the back of it and shrugged before closing the door.
When she noticed her dad still wasn't in the room, she went over to the door and peeked out, wondering where he was.
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He could see Rupert glancing over him during the drive, but he didn't say anything. He was glad for that. He was fairly sure what he was going to say, and he wasn't didn't want to have that conversation in front of Regan. Not yet at least.
When they finally reaching the estate, Wesley let out a small sigh of relief, knowing that they were safe here for the time being. If his father was around, he wouldn't dare come uninvited onto the estate of another Council member. It wasn't considered proper etiquette, and his father was nothing if proper.
It was good to see Evelyn again though he could tell that Regan was a bit overwhelmed by everything, the way she clung to him. He protectively wrapped an arm around her and let Evelyn take them up to one of the bedrooms. He could see, though, that Rupert wanted to speak to him, so he finally let go of his daughter and joined him.
"Are you sure you're going to be able to handle all this?" his friend asked. "If your father decides to intervene..."
"I'll handle it," Wesley told him. "I'm not going to let him stop me from getting Fred back."
"Have you told Regan? About him?"
Sighing, he looked toward the bedroom door. "She met him...well, a cyborg version of him. She saw me shoot it when it threatened Fred. But she doesn't know...I never told her why I never spoke of him before or why she had never met him before that thing showed up. How could I explain something like that to her?"
"She's asked me quite a few times why you would never agree to visiting here before," Rupert told him. "And if he shows up..."
"He always did have an...unflinching view on resurrection," he agreed softly.
"She should probably know."
"We'll...we'll see," he finally said. It was same answer he had always given to Regan, he knew. But part of him didn't want to burden his daughter with the knowledge of what his own father had done to him. Would she look at him the same way, wondering if he would ever turn into that man? "Training Regan in the morning?"
Rupert nodded. "First thing after breakfast. Got some rest."
"Goodnight, Rupert." Giving his friend's arm a squeeze, he went back down the hall toward the bedroom, where he found Regan standing by the door. Ushering her inside, he closed it behind her. "Are you getting yourself settled? What do you think of your Uncle Rupert's home?"
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She pointed toward the bathroom, knowing her dad would want to change into his pajamas. Now that she knew where he was, Regan relaxed and laid on the bed. A few moments later she was fast asleep, tired from the long plane ride and all the emotions of being there.
The following morning, Regan woke up and saw her dad was still sleeping. She was hungry and wanted something to eat. She was tempted to wake him up but decided against it. She could take care of herself so she got out of bed and went downstairs.
She could hear people in the kitchen so she followed the sounds but stopped when she came across a huge dog. "Um," Regan muttered as she stared at the animal. The dog moved toward her and she stepped back. "Uncle Giles?! I think you have a demon in your house!" she yelled.
Giles came running out of the kitchen and looked at Regan and the dog. "Radley? He's just a dog, love. Good lord, does your father keep you inside all the time? It's just a dog." He said, giving him a soft smile.
"A pretty big dog," she said as Radley came over to her and licked her hand. "He seems nice though."
"He is, sweetheart. Is your dad still sleeping?" Giles asked. Regan nodded and he smiled. "Radley? Go wake up the guest!"
The Irish wolfhound barked and started up the stairs.
"Is he really going to wake up my dad?" Regan asked with a smile.
"Yes," Giles said with a grin. "Come on. Lets get you some breakfast."
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Finally, though, he had drifted off to sleep, his dreams no less unsettled than his waking thoughts. In some of them, he would see Fred in the distance and reach for her, only to have her disappear and Illyria reappear. And his father would be there, laughing and telling him he was useless. Once, he was the one to pull Fred away and allow Illyria to take her place.
Then a demon came running at him and jumped on his chest. With a strangled yelp, he felt his breath pushed out of his and started to fight against it, but the demon wouldn't move and instead began...
Licking him?
Blinking, Wesley suddenly realized that he was awake...and a rather large...was that a dog or a horse? Whatever it was, it was on his chest, woofing and licking his face. Groaning, he finally managed to get it off of him and sat up, looking over at the bed next his as it went running out of the room. Regan wasn't there.
Getting up, he changed into a pair of jeans and a shirt and headed downstairs, following the sounds of talking until he reached the kitchen. The dog - he could see clearly that it was dog, a very big dog, now that it wasn't trying to slobber on his face - was sitting there and thumping his tail on the floor while Regan and Rupert appeared to be getting something together for breakfast.
"I...erm...take it that you sent this wake-up alarm?" he asked as the dog came over and started nudging his hand for a pet. He looked down and then started to scratch it behind its ears.
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Regan broke another egg into the bowl and shook her head. "I fell asleep pretty early," she said as she picked up the metal wisk and started to stir. "Why? What was he supposed to talk to me about?"
"That's for your dad to tell," Giles pointed out. He took the bowl and poured the mixture into a pan.
Regan sighed and rolled her eyes. "Why doesn't anyone ever tell me anything? All of you are acting like my dad murdered someone and he's wanted by the police or something!" she said as she crossed her arms. She was getting tired of not knowing about what happened. It seemed everyone else knew.
"Regan," Giles said in a calming voice as Radley came into the kitchen and sniffed the air. "Your dad has to be the one to tell you."
"Yeah," she muttered just as her dad walked into the room. She went over to the table and plopped down.
Giles gave Wesley a look before putting two plates of eggs and toast down on the table. "I have a meeting to go to. Maybe the two of you should talk while I'm gone. I'll be back in an hour or so," he said before squeezing Wesley's shoulder and walking out of the kitchen.
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Once he was gone, he walked over, sitting down next to Regan and looking at the plates of food before turning to look at her. He swallowed before speaking, "Rupert...he told me last night that you've asked him a few times why we never came her before. And your mother...mentioned the same thing a few times. At the time, I wasn't--I couldn't talk about it. Being in America, it was easy to ignore it. Then your grandfather...well, the cyborg pretending to be your grandfather showed up, and I just..."
He stopped and rubbed his eyes for a moment before sighing deeply. "I don't even know where to start with this. You know how Harry Potter...how his uncle used to lock him under the stairs...?" He paused again, realizing that probably wasn't the best way to start really. "Sweetheart, I always said I left England because I was thrown off the Watchers Council, but that's not completely true. I...I left England to get away from your grandfather."
Opening his hand, he stretched out his fingers for a moment, a ghost pain he hadn't felt in a long time suddenly shooting through them. "After your aunt died, your grandfather was so upset with her Watcher that he had him thrown off the Council. Then he turned on me, swearing that I wasn't going to end up the same kind of Watcher. He...if I didn't do something right, he'd lock me under the stairs. At least to start with. It--as time went on, the punishments became worse. When I was accepted to the Watchers Academy, it was actually a relief.
"What your grandfather did to me wound me up so tight, though, that I thought I had to everything by the book, and as a result, I screwed up badly in Sunnydale. When I was thrown off the Council, after watching him throw me over and call me a disappointment, I...realized that I had to get away, so I returned to America." He shrugged and took a deep breath. "It was hard to think about coming back without thinking about what he did to me, but for your mother...I'd face any hell. Including him."
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Her mouth opened to say something but snapped shut when her dad started to talk about her aunt. And the more he spoke, the more horrified Regan became. Her - Roger - had abused her dad when he was younger. He had forced the person she loved more than anything to live under the stairs, and then he had cast him aside when he made a mistake. Regan knew her dad, and she knew he was good at everything he did.
"Roger - I refuse to call him grandfather - is a wanker," she said before she stood and wrapped her arms around her dad. Everything was starting to make sense. She remembered when the cyborg had showed up, and how her dad when from being relaxed to stumbling over everything. He was afraid, and trying to win Roger's approval.
Pulling away, Regan cupped her hands to her dad's face. "He's wrong, you know. You're brilliant at everything you do. Why do you think mom fell in love with you and married you? Come on, she's really brilliant too and she wouldn't just settle for anyone. And she knew you would take good care of me, and that you were a good dad. She said so herself when she got sick. She told me I'd be okay because you were here and you would never let anything bad happen to me," she said.
With a small smile, she kissed her dad's face and sat back down. "Thank you for telling me. And if Roger tries to ruin our trip here, I'll kick his ass for you," she said, grinning.
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"Your mother really said that?" he asked softly, a smile pulling at his lips as he looked into his daughter's blue eyes. Where she favored Fred in so many ways, her eyes were the one thing that definitely showed everyone that he was her father.
In the end, Regan was absolutely right. Roger Wyndam-Pryce's approval didn't matter one jot. What mattered was the girl in his arms, his own flesh and blood, and his wife, who was somewhere out there, waiting for them to bring her back. It was their view of him that he cared about, and if they thought he was good enough, then he knew he was.
"You may have to get in line, love. I think I might want first crack at him. Besides, you have a more important job. You have to kill Illyria. And I know you'll be able to do that because you're smart and quick, and you can do anything."
Looking over at the food sitting on the table, Wesley tilted his head toward it. "We should probably eat. If we're going to spend the day training, we're going to need our strength."
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After breakfast, Giles showed back up and took them to his study. The scythe was under a protection spell so he muttered a few words and field around it dropped. He picked it up and motioned for Regan and Wesley to follow him. “I called Jacobson. He is in charge of placing demons in the Deeper Well. He’ll be there to capture Illyria and put it back so it doesn’t infect anyone else,” he explained as he walked them into a training room. “Now, Regan, this is rather heavy so your father and I are going to teach you how to use your powers to hold it, and use it.”
“Okay,” Regan said as she wiped her sweaty hands off on her jeans. Giles handed her the weapon and she dropped it. “Sorry.” She bent down to pick it up, using her powers to do so. She got it half-way up before it dropped to the floor again. “I can’t.”
“You can. You just need to clear your mind, love,” Giles said as he rubbed her back.
Regan bent over again and tried to pick it up. This time she couldn’t even get it off the ground and threw her hands up in frustration. “I can’t do it!” she said, looking over at her dad with tears in her eyes.
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"Regan, sweetheart," he said, reaching over to wipe her tears away with his thumb. "Sit back for a moment and breath. I know this hard for you. But you're not alone. I'm here, and your Uncle Rupert is here, and we're going to be there for you. We know you can this."
He had her kneel down and took her hands in his to rest them on the scythe. "Remember how I taught you to focus?" he asked. "I want you take this a step at a time. Take a deep breath first, and don't worry about anything but just picking up the scythe. Focus on getting it up off the ground, then focus on standing with it."
He looked into her eyes. "Once you get it up, we'll work on the next step, all right?"
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