22:16 - Chapter 4/6
Two and a half hours after he left, Ethan walked back into the house - however, he wasn’t alone. Willow and Xander had insisted on coming with him. And by ‘insisted’…they had climbed into Giles’ car, buckled in, and locked the doors.
“Coat rack is over there…” Ethan gestured towards the corner with a nod of his head, his arms full of books and documents. “We’re in the study - down the hall, second room on the right.”
He didn’t wait for them to reply before hurrying towards the hallway.
His eyes narrowed as he walked into the room to find them sitting exactly how they were when he left. “Have you moved at all?”
They both looked up at him, but Giles was the one to speak.
“Were we supposed to?”
“Supposed to? I guess not. I just…expected you’d take advantage of the time alone.” He said with a grin.
Giles rolled his eyes. Buffy shook her head, reaching for a green binder from the pile that Ethan dropped onto the table.
“Did you get everything?” She asked, looking back up at him.
Her eyes widened slightly as Xander and Willow cautiously walked into the room.
Ethan sighed. “And a little more.”
Giles stood up slowly, slipping his right hand into his pocket. “Willow…Xander…”
“I, uh…I don’t know why, but I think I was expecting you to look…different.” Xander said, scratching the side of his head.
“That’s one of the dangerous aspects of a vampire, their ability to blend in with the human race.”
Xander giggled nervously, then cleared his throat. “Still sound like Giles though.”
Willow nudged by Xander and stepped towards Giles, then hesitated. Giles smiled softly at her. She rushed over to him, wrapping her arms around him. He looked at Buffy as he curled his left arm around Willow. He felt her stiffen for a brief moment when she rested her head against his chest. When he heard her sniffle, his tightened his hold on her.
“It sounds…wrong.” She mumbled.
Giles closed his eyes. “It feels wrong as well.”
“This isn’t something we can fix, is it?” Xander asked, emotion thick in his voice.
Giles opened his eyes and looked at him as he loosened his hold on Willow. “The best we can hope for is to find answers to how this happened, why this happened, and will I be able to maintain control of my soul - or will it be taken at some point.”
Willow looked up at him, wiping the tears from her face. “How did this happen?”
“I fucked up.” Buffy said bluntly.
Giles’ eyes snapped to hers. “Buffy…”
Buffy’s eyes darted between Xander and Willow. “Should’ve been a simple staking. But…I mistimed it.”
Hearing the tremble in her voice, Giles quickly knelt next to her chair. “Please, love…don’t. We talked about this.”
She looked at him and shook her head. “Talking doesn’t change the fact that you died to save me.”
“I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” He said, chuckling as her eyes widened. “Poor choice of words, but you know my meaning. And you know it’s the truth.”
The room was silent for a long few seconds before Ethan tapped his fingers against the table. When everyone looked at him, he gestured towards the pile of books, papers…stuff.
“Where do we start? Because you two rehashing what happened isn’t going to answer any fucking questions.”
Xander glared at him. “What the hell?”
“Xander, don’t.” Willow whispered, pulling out a chair and sitting down. “He’s right. Sit down.”
As Xander plopped down into a chair, Giles’ jaw tensed.
“You okay?” Buffy asked in concern.
As his eyes changed color, she breathed a soft ‘oh’. He cleared his throat and stood up. She took hold of his hand and looked up into his eyes.
“Do you want me to come with you?”
“Would you?” He whispered, his tone tinged with uncertainty.
She pushed herself up, glancing at Ethan. “Start with Watcher protocols, beginning with conditions of entry to the Academy.”
Ethan nodded and pulled a volume out of the stack. Buffy and Giles left the room, Xander and Willow staring after them.
“How should we divvy this up? Entry to graduation, training - the early years, and training - later years until the assignment of a Slayer?” Xander asked after a moment.
Ethan thought for a second and then shrugged a shoulder. “Sounds good.”
“I wasn’t prepared to not hear a heartbeat.” Willow whispered, pulling a Council volume towards her. She suddenly looked up at Ethan. “Are you okay?”
Ethan looked up from the text he was reading. “Me?”
“You lost your sister and then someone important to you was turned by your sister. That’s pretty full on and terrifying. Are you okay?”
Ethan shook his head slowly. “No. But, thank you for asking.”
Xander opened his book and then furrowed his brow. “I’m sorry for being kind of a dick earlier.”
“You were a complete dick earlier.” Ethan said and then smiled at him. “It’s understandable. We can sort out this shit later…let’s focus on what’s important at the moment, yeah?”
“Yeah…” Xander agreed, exhaling a slow breath as he returned his focus to the book in front of him.
* * *
Buffy watched as Giles poured himself a mug of warmed pig’s blood. He licked a drop of errant blood from his thumb and closed his eyes. She placed her hand on his chest, gently rubbing her thumb against the material of his shirt.
“Giles?”
“Hm?” He murmured, covering her hand with his.
“Let me see.”
He licked his lips - her brow furrowed when she saw the fangs briefly. And then he opened his eyes - she noted that they were more golden than Angel’s had been, warmer than Spike’s had been. She reached up with her free hand and tenderly ran her fingertips along his brow - no large, protruding ridges. There was nothing terrifying about his countenance. In all of her years as a Slayer, she had never witnessed anything such as this.
In fact, if his teeth were hidden behind his lips…the only giveaway would be his eyes. And she wasn’t sure if that was dangerous or not.
“This is…bizarre.” She whispered, moving her hand to caress his cheek. “On so many levels.”
He merely stared at her silently, allowing her to continue with her thoughts.
“Obviously, you’re a vampire - no heartbeat, the teeth, the eyes. But, that’s where the physical traits seem to stop. And your eyes…”
He tilted his head slightly as she trailed off. “What about them?”
“There’s no evil in them. Like…at all. Even with Angel, I’d always see the demon lurking in there. And I wonder if that’s because his soul was forced back in. His eyes always had this darkness to them - it kind of muddied his eyes when he…changed. But, you…there’s light, they’re clear and bright and…beautiful.”
“Beautiful?” He asked softly.
“Yeah.” She nodded, gently gliding her thumb over his bottom lip. “Warm. Golden and warm…the color of that honey you brought back from your trip that time.”
“I want to kiss you.” He whispered, an intensity in his voice that caused her to smile.
“Then kiss me.”
He thought about it for a long moment and then shook his head. “Not like this. Not until we know what’s going on. Because…what if I nick you or…god forbid…bite you?”
“Do you want to bite me?”
He stared into her eyes. “I didn’t need to be a vampire to enjoy some hard-core nibbling with you, love. We’ve tasted one another’s blood more than once in the heat of passion.”
“Mm-hm. Yeah, we have.” She inhaled sharply, allowing her fingers to slide down the side of his neck.
His brow furrowed as he glanced down. She followed his gaze and licked her lips.
“How is that even possible?” He asked, genuinely curious. “I have no blood flow, no body heat of my own. How can I…”
“Have a hard cock?” She finished for him, pressing closer to him. “That is a vampire mystery amongst all vampires.”
“Buffy…” He whispered in a slight warning tone.
“When we get confirmation that everything is safe…” She sighed deeply and took a step back, glancing at the mug on the counter. “You should drink that before it gets cold.”
“You’d…want to?” He asked in obvious disbelief.
“For better or worse, sickness or health, vampire or human…”
“We’re not married, Buffy. We’re not even living together.”
“Might as well be. I can’t actually remember the last time I slept alone in a bed.” She replied with a smile of adoration. “Granted, this isn’t the turn I expected our lives to take - but, it’s been taken. And…guess what, Rupert Giles?”
“What, Buffy Summers?”
“I’m still hopelessly in love with you.” She paused for a second and her smile faded. “If this turns out to be a temporary thing…I don’t know how I’m going to deal with that.”
“You were prepared to stake me before.” He offered, lifting the mug to his lips.
“I’m not sure ‘prepared’ is the correct word to use.” She leaned up and pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek. “Finish up, we have research to do.”
He nodded wordlessly…and then took a large drink as he watched her leave the room. Then he flicked the switch for the kettle and rinsed his now empty mug.
* * *
They had been researching for hours, breaking a few times for food. Buffy had refused to actually take a break - instead, choosing to eat while flipping through one of the Watcher’s journals. Willow had smiled when Giles pointedly reminded her to be careful.
Some things hadn’t changed.
Ethan watched as Giles stood, stretched, and then bent down to whisper something into Buffy’s ear. Buffy nodded with a whispered ‘thank you’ and then went back to reading. When Giles left the room, Ethan caught Buffy’s eye.
“Tea.” She said quietly. “Just tea.”
Ethan nodded, twirling the pen between his fingers before making a quick note on the pad of paper in front of him.
* *
Xander looked up when Giles walked in carrying two mugs. He handed one to Buffy and then sank down in the chair next to her.
“Vampires don’t research?” Xander asked teasingly.
Willow stared at Xander, Buffy took a sip of her tea, Ethan arched an eyebrow. Giles met Xander’s eyes, flashing amber for a split-second.
“Not when they’re hungry.” He stated bluntly.
When Xander started to back-pedal, Giles smiled.
“You’re far too easy, Xander.” He said, taking a sip from his mug.
“Funny. As always, charming and funny.” Xander smirked and glanced at the mug in Giles’ hand. “O pos?”
“Earl Grey.” He replied, narrowing his eyes when he looked at the text Buffy was reading. “You’re reading the transcript of my Academy admission ceremony?”
Buffy nodded with a sigh. “Yeah. This is full on, Giles.”
“Indeed. But, from memory there was nothing that dealt with soul retention from a possible turning…” He glanced at the ring on his pinky. “However, that was when I was presented with my ring.”
“That would be very Vampire Diaries.” Xander commented, shrugging his shoulder when everyone looked at him.
“You watch a tv show about vampires?” Willow asked, staring at him in disbelief. “We’re from Sunnydale.”
“It’s obviously not real. I like to laugh at everything that they get wrong.” Xander replied, then grinned. “And…Damon’s hot…even for a straight guy.”
Ethan shook his head in slight amusement. “True, on all accounts. However, it’s not connected to the ring.”
“How do you know?” Willow asked, looking at him attentively.
“Navid Telstrum.”
“Oh…yeah, that clears everything right up.” Xander muttered. “Navid Telstrum.”
Willow ignored Xander as she leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “Who’s Navid Telstrum?”
“He was a Watcher who was killed during my fourth year at the Academy.” Giles said, taking a sip of his tea.
“Second year.” Ethan said, looking at Giles.
Giles shook his head. “No, I remember the announcement very clearly. My father was extremely upset.”
“He was turned, then staked two years later.” Ethan said quietly, pushing the book towards Giles. “He was turned two years after you started at the Academy…which would have been two years after you were presented with your ring. Ergo…it’s not the ring.”
“Look, I’m happy to keep looking through Council shit…but, I really don’t think that they cared enough about Watchers to protect their souls in case of a vampire attack.” Xander said, leaning back in his chair. “I mean…the Council of old, obviously. I know that you care about the welfare of the current Watchers.”
Willow nodded in agreement. “I think he has a point, Giles. Maybe we need to look elsewhere?”
“Where next?” Buffy asked, running both hands through her hair.
“How long has it been since you slept?” Willow asked in concern.
“I’m fine. I’m not tired, I’m…jittery. Where do we look next?”
Willow looked at Giles and gave him a gentle smile. “I think maybe you should contact Lottie.”
“Lottie at the Coven?” Xander asked, narrowing his eyes. “How could she help?”
“Giles family history…” Willow answered.
At Xander’s expression of utter confusion, Giles cleared his throat.
“She’s my Godmother.”
Xander’s eyes widened. “Why did I not know that?”
“Because you are too focused on Sylvie.” Willow said, waggling her eyebrows at him.
“Sylvie? Lottie’s grand-daughter?” Ethan snorted, then smirked when Xander looked at him expectantly. “I dated Orla for awhile.”
“Dated is probably not the most accurate of terms.” Giles remarked pointedly.
“Probably not.” Ethan grinned. “I asked her once if Sylvie was mine.”
Xander’s eyes widened, Willow’s mouth dropped open, Buffy looked at Giles, and Giles rolled his eyes.
“She’s most definitely not.”
“Yeah, yeah…I know.” He gave Giles a wink, then gestured towards Xander. “But worth it for his reaction.”
Giles laughed softly and then looked at Willow, who had quickly regained her composure.
“I’ll call Lottie at a more respectable hour. Have we looked into atmospheric anomalies?”
Willow looked at him curiously. “Atmospheric anomalies?”
“Phases of the moon?” Xander asked in confusion. “You’re a vampire, not a werewolf.”
“I’m very aware of that, Xander.” Giles replied, his patience threshold dangerously close to being breached. “However, the moon is not the only thing in the atmosphere that could possibly have an anomaly - and I’m running out of ideas. If you have any earth shattering ideas, please…enfuckinglighten me.”
Xander nodded silently, lowering his eyes. Willow glanced at Ethan, who arched an eyebrow back at her. Buffy reached over and placed her hand on Giles’ thigh. He looked at her, relaxing slightly as she soothingly rubbed her hand over his jeans.
“Meteors?” Xander asked, tapping the end of his pen against his chin in thought. “Ooh…snot monsters from outer space?”
Giles closed his eyes and clenched his jaw.
Ethan leaned forward, catching Xander’s eye. “You do realise that he could rip your fucking throat out at any given moment, right?”
Xander’s eyes widened.
Giles snorted lightly and covered Buffy’s hand with his own as he shot a wink of appreciation to Ethan.
* * *
Giles looked up, narrowing his eyes when he saw the time on the clock. Willow noticed him and swallowed the bite of sandwich she had been chewing.
“You okay?”
“Hm?” He looked at her and then smiled. “Oh, yes. I was just thinking that I’d lost track of time. And I think we’ve exhausted most avenues.”
Hearing a soft snore, Willow laughed softly at Xander…who was currently using one of the books as a pillow as he napped. “Exhausted him too.”
Giles shook his head in amusement. Then he reached over and took hold of Buffy’s hand. “You should get some rest, love. I’ll give Lottie a call and see if - ”
“Not happening.” She interrupted quickly. “I’m with you. Unless, I mean…do you want to talk to her alone?”
“Not especially.”
With a quick nod, she stood up and tugged his hand, leading him out of the room. Xander jumped, startling himself awake. Ethan chortled as Xander wiped his mouth, looking around the room. He narrowed his eyes at Ethan.
“What?” Ethan asked, pulling a lighter out of his pocket.
“So, definitely no chance of you being Sylvie’s father?”
“What kind of dreams were you having, mate?” Ethan laughed loudly, pushing his chair back and standing.
He reached for the pack of cigarettes resting on the bookshelf behind him and gave Xander a wink before quickly leaving the room.
Xander huffed and then looked at Willow. “You don’t think, do you?”
Willow shook her head and chuckled.
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