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psubratHere is the sequel to Reset. Let me know what you think...thanks!
Author: PSUbrat
Rating: PG-13 Some language and violence
Disclaimer and spoiler warning: These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them to, I'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.
Update List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic
Summary: The Scoobies try to pick up the pieces of their lives after their confrontation with Warren…
Timeframe: A few weeks after the end of Reset.
Buffy woke to the high pitch ringing of her alarm clock. She looked at the time. It was seven thirty in the morning. "Too early for super heroes," she said aloud to her room. She turned off her alarm and put the pillow over her head hoping to catch a few more minutes of sleep. Unfortunately, sleep wasn’t coming. She had too many thoughts going through her head. After watching Warren die, she had been plagued by nightmares - of the non-slayer type - and a lot of "what ifs." What if she had made it to Xander in time? What if she hadn’t been careless and gone after Warren before Willow and Giles had finished draining his powers? What if she hadn’t hesitated before trying to save Warren?
"What if? What if? What if?" Buffy asked sighing. "Does it really matter anymore?" She pulled the pillow tighter around her head and tried to ignore the nagging sensation at the back of her mind. Things were finally supposed to be better, right?
"Buffy?" a small voice asked from the doorway.
Lifting the pillow from her head, Buffy stared at Dawn blankly. "Yeah," she asked.
"It’s time to get up," Dawn stated as she folded her arms across her chest. "Visiting hours begin at eight and I want to be there if Xander wakes up."
Buffy sat up and ran her fingers through her blonde hair. "Can Tara take you?" She asked.
"Tara stayed at the hospital again last night. Willow’s supposed to come home tomorrow though. Not that we really have a home at the moment," the young girl lamented.
They had been living in Xander’s apartment since their escape from Warren. He had pretty much trashed the Summers’ home. Buffy and the others couldn’t move back into the house until it was basically rebuilt, and on the pitiful excuse for a salary she got from Doublemeat Palace, that was going to take a long time. "Okay. Give me a few minutes. Why don’t you get something to eat while I get ready?"
She watched Dawn leave the room and heard her go into the kitchen. She laid her head back down on her pillow and grabbed Mr. Gordo. Looking at the stuffed pig she asked, "So, do you know where he is?"
Mr. Gordo silently looked back at his owner. Buffy sighed and pulled herself out of bed. She tossed the stuffed animal on the sheets and went to the closet looking for something to wear. She chose a simple sundress and pulled her hair back into a small ponytail. Dawn was right; they should be at the hospital in case Xander woke up; but they had been doing this ritual for three weeks now, and nothing new had happened. The doctors said that despite the internal injuries and loss of blood, Xander should have a full recovery once he came out of the coma. It would just take time. A lot of time.
Anya had never once left Xander’s side. She pretty much ate and slept at the hospital, if she ate and slept at all. Buffy wasn’t sure. She was moved by the demon’s devotion; it made her wish that someone loved her that much. She looked in the mirror and thought about Spike. Had he loved her that much? It didn’t really matter now, did it? He was gone. She missed him, despite the bathroom incident. There was no one there to drive her crazy like he did.
"Stop it," she chided herself still looking in the mirror. "He’s evil. He hurt you and you don’t belong together."
As she was finishing her makeup, the phone rang. "I’ll get it," she shouted so that Dawn could hear her. It was Giles. They made small talk for a few minutes as she caught him up on Xander and Willow’s conditions. She could sense that he wanted to tell her something so she paused long enough to give him the chance.
"Buffy, I’ll be coming back to Sunnydale early next month. There are a few things that we need to discuss."
She didn’t know why but her heart sank as she heard these words. "Is everything okay, Giles?" She asked hesitantly.
"Quite. I just wanted to discuss Dawn and her growing powers. Do you remember the prophecies that I told you about, the ones that the Council found? It turns out that these new prophecies could pertain to Dawn. We’ve been working day and night to translate them. I wanted to share the translations with you in person."
"What kind of prophecies, Giles? Is it bad?"
"No, no. Nothing bad. I also have a few other things I wish to speak to you about as well."
A feeling of dread lay in the pit of her stomach. Giles would only come to Sunnydale to talk to her if something was seriously wrong. "Are you sure nothing’s wrong, Giles?"
"Buffy, everything is fine. I will see you in a few weeks. Please do wish Willow and Xander my best."
They said their goodbyes and hung up. Giles was lying to her. Something was wrong. Buffy was convinced her day was going to get much worse before it got better.
Willow was slowly moving around her hospital room trying to get the feel for walking again. Anytime she wanted to go somewhere, they had made her use a wheel chair. She hated those things. She felt so helpless in them. The pain in her back from the stabbing had subsided some, but it still hurt to walk. Like right now; but she needed to feel human again. Rounding the corner of the bed, she moved too quickly and winced in pain.
"Sweetie, you have to take it easy," Tara said admonishingly as she ran over to help Willow. "Stop trying to over do it."
"I can’t help it," Willow gasped. "I just can’t sit in that bed a minute longer."
Tara gave Willow an understanding look. She knew she certainly couldn’t handle being confined to a bed inside of a small room for weeks either. "Will, please at least sit down in the chair. If you pull your stitches they aren’t going to send you home tomorrow."
Willow sighed and lowered herself into the visitor’s chair in her room. She certainly didn’t want to jeopardize her release from this place. The thought of going home brought a smile to her face.
Tara took a seat on the bed across from her. She didn’t want to have the conversation she was about to start with Willow, but she knew it had to be done. Willow’s injury had been severe and Tara hadn’t been sure if her lover was going to pull through, so her suspicions about the black majicks had waited. Now Willow was strong enough to go home, so she was strong enough to answer Tara’s questions.
"W-Willow," Tara stuttered. God, she didn’t want to have this conversation. "I was wondering..."
Willow looked over at Tara with a questioning expression on her face. Tara melted as her love for Willow overwhelmed her.
As Tara was about to continue with the conversation, Willow smiled brightly and said excitedly, "Dawnie!"
"Heya, Willow," Dawn said, enthusiastically bouncing into the room and heading for a seat on the bed next to Tara. "So the doctors are going to spring you from here tomorrow, huh?"
"Yep. I get to go home and be with everyone," Willow said happily, giving Tara a quick glance and squeezing her hand. She couldn’t wait to go home. It would be almost like starting over...again. These last three weeks she had concentrated on getting better and hadn’t even thought about her wish. The guilt that she had been dealing with prior to being kidnapped by Amy and Warren returned. She tried to push it out of her mind and concentrate on the moment at hand.
Tara smiled at Dawn and asked, "Is Buffy here with you?"
Dawn looked down at her feet and whispered, "Yeah, she’s down checking on Xander. I wanted to stop up here first."
Willow and Tara looked at each other. They had been so happy about Willow being able to go home that they had almost forgotten that Xander was still in a coma.
"Dawnie, why don’t you stay here with Willow," Tara said with a smile. "I’m gonna go downstairs and check in on Xander." She gave Willow’s hand a squeeze, got up off the bed, and walked out of the room.
"Hey Dawnie," Willow asked hoping to take Dawn’s mind off of Xander. "Wanna see my scar?"
Dawn’s face brightened and she giggled nervously. "Seriously?"
"Serious," Willow said nodding her head. Standing up slowly, she motioned for Dawn to come over. She turned her back to the girl and lifted up her pajama top.
"Whoa," Dawn gasped. "Does it hurt?"
"Not so much. It’s better than it was and the doctors say that it shouldn’t scar too badly when it’s totally done healing."
Dawn stopped herself as she reached out to touch the jagged wound that was held together by stitches. Hesitantly she asked, "Can I touch it?"
"Sure Dawnie," Willow said, hoping it would ease Dawn’s fears.
Dawn slowly traced the wound with her finger; the stitches felt funny, kind of like fishing line. She ran her finger over the wound a second time. Suddenly it disappeared. Stunned, she stammered, "Uhhm...Willow? What just happened?"
Willow had felt a tingling sensation and warmth cover her scab. She tried to turn to see what had happened. She expected the movement to bring on a great deal of pain but instead she was able to twist around to see in the mirror. Her stab wound was gone! She looked over at Dawn in shock.
Buffy had been sitting in the small hospital room for about twenty minutes now. She glanced over at the machines that were hooked up to Xander. There were tubes and wires everywhere. They monitored his heart and breathing. Everything seemed to be okay. Except for the fact that he wouldn’t wake up. She hated coming here. There was nothing that she could do to help her friend and she was starting to give up hope that he would ever return from the coma. She looked over at Anya who was sleeping uncomfortably in the chair next to Xander’s bed. The dark circles under the demon’s eyes told her how much sleep, or little in this case, Anya was getting.
Tara walked into the room and over to where Buffy was sitting. "Any change?" She asked hopefully.
"No. Everything is the same as the day before," Buffy said sadly. "The doctors say his wounds are getting better, and that the coma is just the body’s way of shutting him down so he can heal, but I dunno; I don’t think they’re telling us everything."
Tara put her arm around Buffy and gently hugged her in a reassuring manner. "Things will be okay, Buffy. He’ll be okay. Willow is."
Buffy looked at Tara’s smile and returned one of her own. Tara seemed to be the optimist through all of this. There were too many things on Buffy’s mind for her to even concentrate on the good for more than a minute at a time. Yeah, things had gotten better with Dawn and she was grateful that they were communicating again, but she felt like she was still missing a piece of herself.
Anya stirred in her chair. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Tara and Buffy watching over Xander. She got out of the chair and stretched her arms and legs. What she wouldn’t give to sleep in a soft, comfortable bed for ten minutes. She couldn’t understand why there wasn’t a bed in here for her; after all, they had given Xander a private room. If they were going to do that, they could at least bring a cot in here for her to sleep on. She walked over to Xander, put his hand in hers and stroked his face.
"Good morning Xander. It’s me, Anya. I’m here. Still. Buffy and Tara are here too." She smiled at the other two girls who were standing on the other side of the bed now. The doctors had told her that Xander could hear her even though he was in a coma. They told her that it would be good for him if she would talk to him, reassure him that he was going to be okay. She wasn’t sure that she believed in this stuff but she was going to try it anyway. She would do just about anything to bring Xander back to her.
Tara shifted uncomfortably on her feet and Buffy looked around the room while Anya stroked Xander’s face and hair. They felt like they were intruding as Anya whispered words of encouragement in their friend’s ear and kissed his lips softly.
Sensing that Buffy was just as uncomfortable as she was, Tara devised a way to leave the room. "Buffy, maybe we should go get some coffee and some breakfast for Anya."
"That sounds like a great idea," Buffy said, jumping at the chance to leave the room. "Anya," she continued. "Is there anything you really want? A jelly doughnut or something?"
Anya continued talking to Xander and didn’t hear any of the conversation. She was lost in her own thoughts. She didn’t even notice Buffy and Tara walk out of the room. She was too busy trying to will Xander to open his eyes. Why did he have to be so stubborn? Why couldn’t he just wake up? Didn’t he know how hard this was on her? Didn’t he know that being away from the money this long made her go crazy as well? She didn’t know what she would have done if Halfrek hadn’t agreed to watch the Magic Box while she tended to Xander. Hali hadn’t exactly been happy about it but she knew that Anya needed to be near her human.
The tears started coming again, as they did everyday. A tear dropped onto Xander’s face and she kissed it off his cheek. As she continued to stroke his face, Dawn and a flushed Willow burst into the room.
Buffy and Tara had taken their time at the cafeteria. Neither girl wanted to return to the hospital room, but both knew they owed it to their friends to be there. Even if nothing happened. They slowly made their way to the cashier and paid for their items. As they meandered the hallway toward the elevators, Buffy noticed that Tara was quieter than usual.
"Is everything okay, Tara?" Buffy asked her friend.
Tara smiled sadly at Buffy. She wasn’t sure what to say. How do you tell someone that you think they’re not living in the right world? That none of them were? Do you just come out and say it? Taking a deep breath she was about to tell Buffy her suspicions when the elevator door opened to reveal a crowded car. This certainly wasn’t the time to open up about her thoughts, especially in front of those that wouldn’t understand.
Buffy and Tara stepped into the elevator and pushed the button for floor three. The ride was silent. When the car stopped at their floor, Buffy dreaded taking the next few steps to the room and hated herself for feeling that way. As they rounded the corner, she heard a commotion coming from Xander’s room. She and Tara exchanged a quick, worried glance and picked up the pace.
When they got inside of the room neither of them could believe what they were seeing. Not only was Xander awake and talking but he was trying to sit up in bed as well! He still looked a little pale, but other than that you’d never know that he was a man that was sitting on death’s doorstep just days before.
"Xander?" Buffy asked incredulously.
"Hey Buff. Long time no see," he said with a wide smile.
‘How’ and ‘when’ were the only other two words Buffy was able to get out of her mouth. She was so stunned. Dawn giggled while Willow laughed and Anya cried. The first thought to cross Tara’s mind was that Willow had used magic to perform this miracle.
"Look!" Willow exclaimed as she pulled up her shirt to reveal her back. "No more ouchie!"
"Willow?" Tara asked with concern in her voice. "Did you use magic to do this?"
Willow shook her head and pointed at Dawn. "Dawnie did it. We’re not sure how, but she did."
Buffy walked over to her sister and looked at her. "Since when did you become a healer?"
Dawn shrugged her shoulders and laughed. "I’m not sure, but isn’t it cool?"
Anya stopped crying long enough to hug the teenage girl. She was so happy that Xander was awake. After the others left, she would make sure that he knew exactly how much pain this had caused her; but for right now, she was elated that he was with her again.
"Isn’t this wonderful?" She declared, beaming. "It’s like a whole new beginning!"
Author: PSUbrat
Rating: PG-13 Some language and violence
Disclaimer and spoiler warning: These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them to, I'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.
Update List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic
Summary: Giles returns to Sunnydale but will Buffy be able to handle his news; An old "friend" discovers that life will never be the same...
Timeframe: A few weeks after "Starting Anew"
Sitting at the island in the kitchen, Buffy sighed as she read the morning’s paper. She couldn’t concentrate with all the noise the workmen were making. Couldn’t they put silencers on that stuff? On the other hand, she was grateful that the work on the house had started, at last. The entire front of the house was gone and the estimate to get it fixed was staggering. For some reason, house insurance didn’t cover acts of demented men trying to rule the world. In order to keep the cost down, Xander had pulled a few strings and cashed in on some favors. He was able to get the supplies at cost. Some of his crew, including himself, were working for almost nothing. In return, she was supplying them with food and beer. She smiled to herself and thought how amazing it was that men would do anything for a hot meal and some alcohol...and the helpless doe eyes of a pretty girl. That last part made her laugh.
Despite the noise and not being able to live here yet, she was happy to be home. They were all still living at Xander’s place and since he had been released from the hospital last week, it was getting really crowded. Spending twenty-four and seven with her friends was nice, but it was starting to wear thin. Not only did she see them at night, but she saw them during the day at the Magic Box as well. At least Willow had recently moved into Tara’s dorm room on a temporary basis. That had made things a little more bearable in the Harris abode. Good thing Tara hadn’t given up the room when her and Willow had gotten back together.
The phone rang and she got up to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Buffy," Giles said. "Will you be coming to the Magic Box soon? We have a lot to go over today."
She had called Giles immediately after Dawn’s latest power development. He had stammered and stuttered a lot but promised to arrive in Sunnydale before the end of the week. He was concerned about putting his research on hold, of course, but there were others that could continue it for him. Not that he really trusted Council members, but that seemed to be his only choice at that moment.
True to his word, he had shown up at the Magic Box by the end of the week. Without even greeting the others, he went straight to Dawn, pulled her into the training room and asked her pointed questions that she didn’t have answers to. Dawn’s eyes had pleaded with her sister to intervene. Buffy wasn’t sure what Giles was trying to get at since nothing appeared to be out of place or different about Dawn. Not they could see...and they had checked.
Now that Giles was here, things had taken on a sense of normalcy. It was almost like old times. He would do the research, Anya would run the shop, and Buffy and the gang would do the slaying. The only difference now was that she would let Dawn help out. Her sister had become very good with slaying. Dawn wasn’t as strong as she was but she could hold her own. Giles had even suggested that Dawn begin training with her, just to give the younger Summers a sense of structure.
Suddenly, it occurred to her that Giles had been back in California for almost two weeks and hadn’t mentioned the prophecies or talked to her about anything other than Dawn, slaying, and how good it was to be back. She hadn’t even thought about asking why he was really there. Actually, she was too afraid to ask. She was afraid to hear the answers.
"Buffy?" The voice on the other end of the phone asked, bringing her back to the present.
"Sorry Giles, I spaced there for a minute. Must be the noise of all these power tools, can’t seem to concentrate." She could almost hear him roll his eyes at her. "I’ll be there in half an hour."
She hung up the phone and made her way to the front of the house to let Xander know she was leaving. This was going to be a long day.
The curly, brown haired man sat at a desk looking out the window. England was much different from what he remembered. Things had changed quite a bit, but all of the old buildings were still there. At least the important ones were anyway. He looked down at his notebook and sighed. They told him that writing things down would help him to get through this tough time, but he wasn’t convinced of that quite yet. There were too many things going through his mind for him to focus on just one.
He was tired. It had been a long day. The Watcher classes he was taking were exhausting, not to mention the grueling training schedule that they had him on. However, tonight was his night off from research. He had promised Rupert that he would continue with the translations of the prophecies while the elder Watcher was in the States. He couldn’t ever remember working this hard in his life. If he had known that becoming a Watcher was going to be this difficult, he might have thought twice about it. With that thought playing through his mind, he took a picture out of the desk drawer. He looked at it every night before he went to sleep and at times like this when his writing couldn’t console him. He could feel the tears begin to sting the back of his eyes. This is what frustrated him the most, the whole gamut of emotions that he went through every time he looked into those eyes.
There was a soft knocking at the door. He hadn’t been expecting any visitors.
"Come in," he said without much enthusiasm.
Two men in their mid to late twenties entered his room.
"Hey mate," the first greeted, it was Garrick a fellow Watcher in training. "We’re heading down to the pub in a few minutes. Want to come along for a pint?"
"Manchester United is on the telly tonight," Geoffrey added with a grin. "They’re going to make quick work of Liverpool for sure."
Sensing his friend’s hesitation, Garrick tried a different approach to get the man to leave the confines of his room. "Come on you stupid git. You can’t bloody well stay in here and write all night. Don’t be such a bore."
The curly, brown haired man looked at Garrick and smiled. "Think there’ll be some scrums at the pub what with it being Liverpool and all?"
Garrick and Geoffrey laughed at their friend. He was always up for a fight. Didn’t matter where or when. Each grabbed an arm and hurried him out the door.
The trees on the campus of UC Sunnydale swayed gently in the breeze. Willow sat under one of those trees waiting for Tara to finish her class so that the two of them could walk back to the dorm together. The campus was pretty quiet this time of year. Summer classes had just begun which meant the population of UCS was at about a third of its normal capacity. She didn’t care. It was a gorgeous day and it made her feel like nothing in the world could ever ruin it, not even her continued guilt. Most of the time she was able to forget about her wish and just enjoy her second chance; but then there were the times, mostly after she and Tara made love, when she would look into her lover’s eyes and feel such remorse that she just wanted to break down and tell Tara everything.
After the confrontation with Warren, she had expected everyone to question how she knew certain things, specifically how to drain Warren of his powers, but no one had asked, probably because she and Xander had been seriously injured and everyone had concentrated on that. She had been out of the hospital for almost three weeks now and still no one asked her anything about that day. There were times when she thought Tara was on the verge of discussing it, but they were always interrupted by someone or something. She was kind of hoping that they had forgotten about it by now.
"Is this a private party?" Tara asked with a smile. "Or can anyone join in?"
Willow looked up from her thoughts to see Tara standing over her. "Private party. Invitation only," she said, nodding her head and grinning.
"Oh," Tara pouted.
"But I’m extending the invitation to you cause you’re the only one I’d want at this party."
Tara smiled brightly, sat down next to Willow and took her lover’s hand in hers. She had noticed that Willow had been deep in thought again. Whenever Willow had that look on her face, Tara knew she must be thinking about ‘It’, and Tara was pretty sure she knew what ‘It’ was. Well today was as good as any to find out if her instincts were correct.
"Will," Tara said hesitantly. "Can we talk?"
Willow grinned. "Sure sweetie! We can talk about anything you want!"
Tara took a deep breath. This wasn’t going to be easy and she wanted to make sure that it didn’t come off sounding like she was accusing Willow of anything wrong. She wasn’t sure how she was going to do that. Probably best to just come out and say it and then deal with the repercussions.
"Will. Sweetie. Has Anya granted any wishes that you know of? Like maybe...yours?" There. She had finally asked it.
Willow sat in stunned silence. She should have known that Tara would figure it all out eventually. She was only fooling herself is she thought she could keep something like this from her. Tara had asked her point blank so now she would have to tell her the truth. The new and improved her just couldn’t lie to the one she loved the most. The old her probably would have, but not the new one.
She sighed and hung her head, answering in a whisper. "Yes, Tara. Anya granted my wish."
Giles was waiting impatiently for Buffy to arrive at the Magic Box. Why did she always have to be so difficult and tardy? There was much that had to be discussed today. He was dreading every minute of what was to come. The Council had called him earlier that morning. His request for a permanent transfer to England had been granted. He had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, his life was back in England with his new work for the Council; on the other hand, the thought of leaving Buffy in the hands of another angered him. He knew he couldn’t have it both ways. His life was in England now. He just hoped that he could make her understand that without too much difficulty.
The bell above the door clanged as Buffy walked into the shop. She noticed that it really was back to business as usual. Anya was chatting with a few customers while Dawn dusted the shelves. The younger Summers was working off her debt to Anya for all of the things she had stolen from the shop.
"Hey, Buffy," Dawn greeted.
Buffy smiled at her sister and asked, "Working hard?"
Dawn just looked at her and rolled her eyes in response to the question. Buffy chuckled to herself.
"Buffy," Giles stated heading towards the training room. "Please come with me. I need to talk to you."
Suddenly, she got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, just like the one she had gotten that day he called to tell her he was coming to Sunnydale. She braced herself for what was to come and followed her Watcher into the back room.
Giles motioned for her to sit down on the couch. Numbly, she complied. She felt like they had done this before, almost a lifetime ago, when she had come back from the dead. She studied his face, trying to find some kind of hint of what he was going to tell her, but she couldn’t read him.
"Buffy," Giles said as he took a seat next to her. "The Council called me this morning. My permanent transfer to England has been approved. In two months I will no longer be your Watcher." He hadn’t been able to look her in the eyes when he said the last bit so he wasn’t sure what her reaction had been.
Buffy tilted her head and looked at him. This was what he was so intent on telling her? She began to giggle. She had thought that he was going to tell her that Dawn was going to grow a second head or something, or that her sister was going to turn into the Big Bad.
She covered her mouth to contain her laughter and tried to compose herself after Giles had given her his patented "I’m serious" look.
"I’m sorry," she said innocently, waving her hand. "Please continue."
"Buffy, this is quite serious. Do you understand what I’m saying?"
"Uhm. Sure, Giles. You’re going back to England and you officially won’t be my Watcher."
"Yes, but Buffy," he continued in a somber tone. "Since I will no longer be your Watcher, the Council will be assigning you a new one."
Now he had her complete attention. She felt like he had just punched her in the stomach. "What do you mean I’ll be getting a new Watcher? They can’t do that. Can they?" The fear in her voice was evident. The only Watcher she would ever accept was Giles. She had made that pretty clear when they had tried to force Wesley on her and then again when they came with information about Glory. She wasn’t going to accept this. She would quit first. Again.
"Yes Buffy, they can. However, to ensure that you’re not assigned someone like Wesley again, I have hand picked my replacement."
She was really angry now. "You’ve known this was coming and you didn’t mention it to me? Giles, how could you?"
"I didn’t mention it because I wasn’t sure if the transfer would be granted. There was no need to upset you before anything happened for sure."
She glared at him. How could he betray her like this? How could he come back to California and then just leave her again? Standing up quickly, she said, "Giles, I think you better go back to England. Now."
Her words stung him but he understood her hurt. He stood up next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off and turned her back to him. This was not going well. Maybe his next words would soothe her. "Buffy, there is one other thing. I also asked that the Council pay you for your duties."
Buffy’s head whipped around and her eyes widened as she looked at the man she thought of as her father. Had he just said what she thought he said? "P-pay me?" She asked incredulously.
"Yes, and they have agreed to do so. They refused at first, of course, but I convinced them that paying you was in their best interest."
Despite the fact that he was leaving her, again, and that she was going to be assigned a new Watcher, she ran to him and threw her arms around him. "Thank you so much, Giles."
"Don’t thank me yet," he said while taking an envelope out of his breast pocket. "You may want to wait until you open this."
She took the envelope from him and ripped it open. Her eyes widened. She looked from the check to Giles and then back to the check. She felt like she was going to faint. "G-Giles," she stammered. "Is this for real?"
"It’s quite real. You have done an enormous job these last six years Buffy, and you’ve done it well. Therefore you should be compensated accordingly."
Her eyes welled up and she was sure she was going to start crying any minute now. She had never seen so many zeros on a check before. Usually the zeros were on the bank account statements. She looked at the check one last time, folded it and put it in her pocket. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear as she hugged him again.
Breaking off the hug and taking a step back, she cocked her head to the side and folder her arms across her chest. "Now," she demanded. "Tell me about this other Watcher."
Author: PSUbrat
Rating: PG-13 Some language and violence
Disclaimer and spoiler warning: These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them to, I'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.
Update List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic
Summary: The Scoobies try to pick up the pieces of their lives after their confrontation with Warren…
Timeframe: A few weeks after the end of Reset.
- 1 -
Starting Anew
Starting Anew
Buffy woke to the high pitch ringing of her alarm clock. She looked at the time. It was seven thirty in the morning. "Too early for super heroes," she said aloud to her room. She turned off her alarm and put the pillow over her head hoping to catch a few more minutes of sleep. Unfortunately, sleep wasn’t coming. She had too many thoughts going through her head. After watching Warren die, she had been plagued by nightmares - of the non-slayer type - and a lot of "what ifs." What if she had made it to Xander in time? What if she hadn’t been careless and gone after Warren before Willow and Giles had finished draining his powers? What if she hadn’t hesitated before trying to save Warren?
"What if? What if? What if?" Buffy asked sighing. "Does it really matter anymore?" She pulled the pillow tighter around her head and tried to ignore the nagging sensation at the back of her mind. Things were finally supposed to be better, right?
"Buffy?" a small voice asked from the doorway.
Lifting the pillow from her head, Buffy stared at Dawn blankly. "Yeah," she asked.
"It’s time to get up," Dawn stated as she folded her arms across her chest. "Visiting hours begin at eight and I want to be there if Xander wakes up."
Buffy sat up and ran her fingers through her blonde hair. "Can Tara take you?" She asked.
"Tara stayed at the hospital again last night. Willow’s supposed to come home tomorrow though. Not that we really have a home at the moment," the young girl lamented.
They had been living in Xander’s apartment since their escape from Warren. He had pretty much trashed the Summers’ home. Buffy and the others couldn’t move back into the house until it was basically rebuilt, and on the pitiful excuse for a salary she got from Doublemeat Palace, that was going to take a long time. "Okay. Give me a few minutes. Why don’t you get something to eat while I get ready?"
She watched Dawn leave the room and heard her go into the kitchen. She laid her head back down on her pillow and grabbed Mr. Gordo. Looking at the stuffed pig she asked, "So, do you know where he is?"
Mr. Gordo silently looked back at his owner. Buffy sighed and pulled herself out of bed. She tossed the stuffed animal on the sheets and went to the closet looking for something to wear. She chose a simple sundress and pulled her hair back into a small ponytail. Dawn was right; they should be at the hospital in case Xander woke up; but they had been doing this ritual for three weeks now, and nothing new had happened. The doctors said that despite the internal injuries and loss of blood, Xander should have a full recovery once he came out of the coma. It would just take time. A lot of time.
Anya had never once left Xander’s side. She pretty much ate and slept at the hospital, if she ate and slept at all. Buffy wasn’t sure. She was moved by the demon’s devotion; it made her wish that someone loved her that much. She looked in the mirror and thought about Spike. Had he loved her that much? It didn’t really matter now, did it? He was gone. She missed him, despite the bathroom incident. There was no one there to drive her crazy like he did.
"Stop it," she chided herself still looking in the mirror. "He’s evil. He hurt you and you don’t belong together."
As she was finishing her makeup, the phone rang. "I’ll get it," she shouted so that Dawn could hear her. It was Giles. They made small talk for a few minutes as she caught him up on Xander and Willow’s conditions. She could sense that he wanted to tell her something so she paused long enough to give him the chance.
"Buffy, I’ll be coming back to Sunnydale early next month. There are a few things that we need to discuss."
She didn’t know why but her heart sank as she heard these words. "Is everything okay, Giles?" She asked hesitantly.
"Quite. I just wanted to discuss Dawn and her growing powers. Do you remember the prophecies that I told you about, the ones that the Council found? It turns out that these new prophecies could pertain to Dawn. We’ve been working day and night to translate them. I wanted to share the translations with you in person."
"What kind of prophecies, Giles? Is it bad?"
"No, no. Nothing bad. I also have a few other things I wish to speak to you about as well."
A feeling of dread lay in the pit of her stomach. Giles would only come to Sunnydale to talk to her if something was seriously wrong. "Are you sure nothing’s wrong, Giles?"
"Buffy, everything is fine. I will see you in a few weeks. Please do wish Willow and Xander my best."
They said their goodbyes and hung up. Giles was lying to her. Something was wrong. Buffy was convinced her day was going to get much worse before it got better.
******
Willow was slowly moving around her hospital room trying to get the feel for walking again. Anytime she wanted to go somewhere, they had made her use a wheel chair. She hated those things. She felt so helpless in them. The pain in her back from the stabbing had subsided some, but it still hurt to walk. Like right now; but she needed to feel human again. Rounding the corner of the bed, she moved too quickly and winced in pain.
"Sweetie, you have to take it easy," Tara said admonishingly as she ran over to help Willow. "Stop trying to over do it."
"I can’t help it," Willow gasped. "I just can’t sit in that bed a minute longer."
Tara gave Willow an understanding look. She knew she certainly couldn’t handle being confined to a bed inside of a small room for weeks either. "Will, please at least sit down in the chair. If you pull your stitches they aren’t going to send you home tomorrow."
Willow sighed and lowered herself into the visitor’s chair in her room. She certainly didn’t want to jeopardize her release from this place. The thought of going home brought a smile to her face.
Tara took a seat on the bed across from her. She didn’t want to have the conversation she was about to start with Willow, but she knew it had to be done. Willow’s injury had been severe and Tara hadn’t been sure if her lover was going to pull through, so her suspicions about the black majicks had waited. Now Willow was strong enough to go home, so she was strong enough to answer Tara’s questions.
"W-Willow," Tara stuttered. God, she didn’t want to have this conversation. "I was wondering..."
Willow looked over at Tara with a questioning expression on her face. Tara melted as her love for Willow overwhelmed her.
As Tara was about to continue with the conversation, Willow smiled brightly and said excitedly, "Dawnie!"
"Heya, Willow," Dawn said, enthusiastically bouncing into the room and heading for a seat on the bed next to Tara. "So the doctors are going to spring you from here tomorrow, huh?"
"Yep. I get to go home and be with everyone," Willow said happily, giving Tara a quick glance and squeezing her hand. She couldn’t wait to go home. It would be almost like starting over...again. These last three weeks she had concentrated on getting better and hadn’t even thought about her wish. The guilt that she had been dealing with prior to being kidnapped by Amy and Warren returned. She tried to push it out of her mind and concentrate on the moment at hand.
Tara smiled at Dawn and asked, "Is Buffy here with you?"
Dawn looked down at her feet and whispered, "Yeah, she’s down checking on Xander. I wanted to stop up here first."
Willow and Tara looked at each other. They had been so happy about Willow being able to go home that they had almost forgotten that Xander was still in a coma.
"Dawnie, why don’t you stay here with Willow," Tara said with a smile. "I’m gonna go downstairs and check in on Xander." She gave Willow’s hand a squeeze, got up off the bed, and walked out of the room.
"Hey Dawnie," Willow asked hoping to take Dawn’s mind off of Xander. "Wanna see my scar?"
Dawn’s face brightened and she giggled nervously. "Seriously?"
"Serious," Willow said nodding her head. Standing up slowly, she motioned for Dawn to come over. She turned her back to the girl and lifted up her pajama top.
"Whoa," Dawn gasped. "Does it hurt?"
"Not so much. It’s better than it was and the doctors say that it shouldn’t scar too badly when it’s totally done healing."
Dawn stopped herself as she reached out to touch the jagged wound that was held together by stitches. Hesitantly she asked, "Can I touch it?"
"Sure Dawnie," Willow said, hoping it would ease Dawn’s fears.
Dawn slowly traced the wound with her finger; the stitches felt funny, kind of like fishing line. She ran her finger over the wound a second time. Suddenly it disappeared. Stunned, she stammered, "Uhhm...Willow? What just happened?"
Willow had felt a tingling sensation and warmth cover her scab. She tried to turn to see what had happened. She expected the movement to bring on a great deal of pain but instead she was able to twist around to see in the mirror. Her stab wound was gone! She looked over at Dawn in shock.
******
Buffy had been sitting in the small hospital room for about twenty minutes now. She glanced over at the machines that were hooked up to Xander. There were tubes and wires everywhere. They monitored his heart and breathing. Everything seemed to be okay. Except for the fact that he wouldn’t wake up. She hated coming here. There was nothing that she could do to help her friend and she was starting to give up hope that he would ever return from the coma. She looked over at Anya who was sleeping uncomfortably in the chair next to Xander’s bed. The dark circles under the demon’s eyes told her how much sleep, or little in this case, Anya was getting.
Tara walked into the room and over to where Buffy was sitting. "Any change?" She asked hopefully.
"No. Everything is the same as the day before," Buffy said sadly. "The doctors say his wounds are getting better, and that the coma is just the body’s way of shutting him down so he can heal, but I dunno; I don’t think they’re telling us everything."
Tara put her arm around Buffy and gently hugged her in a reassuring manner. "Things will be okay, Buffy. He’ll be okay. Willow is."
Buffy looked at Tara’s smile and returned one of her own. Tara seemed to be the optimist through all of this. There were too many things on Buffy’s mind for her to even concentrate on the good for more than a minute at a time. Yeah, things had gotten better with Dawn and she was grateful that they were communicating again, but she felt like she was still missing a piece of herself.
Anya stirred in her chair. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Tara and Buffy watching over Xander. She got out of the chair and stretched her arms and legs. What she wouldn’t give to sleep in a soft, comfortable bed for ten minutes. She couldn’t understand why there wasn’t a bed in here for her; after all, they had given Xander a private room. If they were going to do that, they could at least bring a cot in here for her to sleep on. She walked over to Xander, put his hand in hers and stroked his face.
"Good morning Xander. It’s me, Anya. I’m here. Still. Buffy and Tara are here too." She smiled at the other two girls who were standing on the other side of the bed now. The doctors had told her that Xander could hear her even though he was in a coma. They told her that it would be good for him if she would talk to him, reassure him that he was going to be okay. She wasn’t sure that she believed in this stuff but she was going to try it anyway. She would do just about anything to bring Xander back to her.
Tara shifted uncomfortably on her feet and Buffy looked around the room while Anya stroked Xander’s face and hair. They felt like they were intruding as Anya whispered words of encouragement in their friend’s ear and kissed his lips softly.
Sensing that Buffy was just as uncomfortable as she was, Tara devised a way to leave the room. "Buffy, maybe we should go get some coffee and some breakfast for Anya."
"That sounds like a great idea," Buffy said, jumping at the chance to leave the room. "Anya," she continued. "Is there anything you really want? A jelly doughnut or something?"
Anya continued talking to Xander and didn’t hear any of the conversation. She was lost in her own thoughts. She didn’t even notice Buffy and Tara walk out of the room. She was too busy trying to will Xander to open his eyes. Why did he have to be so stubborn? Why couldn’t he just wake up? Didn’t he know how hard this was on her? Didn’t he know that being away from the money this long made her go crazy as well? She didn’t know what she would have done if Halfrek hadn’t agreed to watch the Magic Box while she tended to Xander. Hali hadn’t exactly been happy about it but she knew that Anya needed to be near her human.
The tears started coming again, as they did everyday. A tear dropped onto Xander’s face and she kissed it off his cheek. As she continued to stroke his face, Dawn and a flushed Willow burst into the room.
******
Buffy and Tara had taken their time at the cafeteria. Neither girl wanted to return to the hospital room, but both knew they owed it to their friends to be there. Even if nothing happened. They slowly made their way to the cashier and paid for their items. As they meandered the hallway toward the elevators, Buffy noticed that Tara was quieter than usual.
"Is everything okay, Tara?" Buffy asked her friend.
Tara smiled sadly at Buffy. She wasn’t sure what to say. How do you tell someone that you think they’re not living in the right world? That none of them were? Do you just come out and say it? Taking a deep breath she was about to tell Buffy her suspicions when the elevator door opened to reveal a crowded car. This certainly wasn’t the time to open up about her thoughts, especially in front of those that wouldn’t understand.
Buffy and Tara stepped into the elevator and pushed the button for floor three. The ride was silent. When the car stopped at their floor, Buffy dreaded taking the next few steps to the room and hated herself for feeling that way. As they rounded the corner, she heard a commotion coming from Xander’s room. She and Tara exchanged a quick, worried glance and picked up the pace.
When they got inside of the room neither of them could believe what they were seeing. Not only was Xander awake and talking but he was trying to sit up in bed as well! He still looked a little pale, but other than that you’d never know that he was a man that was sitting on death’s doorstep just days before.
"Xander?" Buffy asked incredulously.
"Hey Buff. Long time no see," he said with a wide smile.
‘How’ and ‘when’ were the only other two words Buffy was able to get out of her mouth. She was so stunned. Dawn giggled while Willow laughed and Anya cried. The first thought to cross Tara’s mind was that Willow had used magic to perform this miracle.
"Look!" Willow exclaimed as she pulled up her shirt to reveal her back. "No more ouchie!"
"Willow?" Tara asked with concern in her voice. "Did you use magic to do this?"
Willow shook her head and pointed at Dawn. "Dawnie did it. We’re not sure how, but she did."
Buffy walked over to her sister and looked at her. "Since when did you become a healer?"
Dawn shrugged her shoulders and laughed. "I’m not sure, but isn’t it cool?"
Anya stopped crying long enough to hug the teenage girl. She was so happy that Xander was awake. After the others left, she would make sure that he knew exactly how much pain this had caused her; but for right now, she was elated that he was with her again.
"Isn’t this wonderful?" She declared, beaming. "It’s like a whole new beginning!"
Author: PSUbrat
Rating: PG-13 Some language and violence
Disclaimer and spoiler warning: These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them to, I'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.
Update List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic
Summary: Giles returns to Sunnydale but will Buffy be able to handle his news; An old "friend" discovers that life will never be the same...
Timeframe: A few weeks after "Starting Anew"
- 2 -
Revelations
Revelations
Sitting at the island in the kitchen, Buffy sighed as she read the morning’s paper. She couldn’t concentrate with all the noise the workmen were making. Couldn’t they put silencers on that stuff? On the other hand, she was grateful that the work on the house had started, at last. The entire front of the house was gone and the estimate to get it fixed was staggering. For some reason, house insurance didn’t cover acts of demented men trying to rule the world. In order to keep the cost down, Xander had pulled a few strings and cashed in on some favors. He was able to get the supplies at cost. Some of his crew, including himself, were working for almost nothing. In return, she was supplying them with food and beer. She smiled to herself and thought how amazing it was that men would do anything for a hot meal and some alcohol...and the helpless doe eyes of a pretty girl. That last part made her laugh.
Despite the noise and not being able to live here yet, she was happy to be home. They were all still living at Xander’s place and since he had been released from the hospital last week, it was getting really crowded. Spending twenty-four and seven with her friends was nice, but it was starting to wear thin. Not only did she see them at night, but she saw them during the day at the Magic Box as well. At least Willow had recently moved into Tara’s dorm room on a temporary basis. That had made things a little more bearable in the Harris abode. Good thing Tara hadn’t given up the room when her and Willow had gotten back together.
The phone rang and she got up to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Buffy," Giles said. "Will you be coming to the Magic Box soon? We have a lot to go over today."
She had called Giles immediately after Dawn’s latest power development. He had stammered and stuttered a lot but promised to arrive in Sunnydale before the end of the week. He was concerned about putting his research on hold, of course, but there were others that could continue it for him. Not that he really trusted Council members, but that seemed to be his only choice at that moment.
True to his word, he had shown up at the Magic Box by the end of the week. Without even greeting the others, he went straight to Dawn, pulled her into the training room and asked her pointed questions that she didn’t have answers to. Dawn’s eyes had pleaded with her sister to intervene. Buffy wasn’t sure what Giles was trying to get at since nothing appeared to be out of place or different about Dawn. Not they could see...and they had checked.
Now that Giles was here, things had taken on a sense of normalcy. It was almost like old times. He would do the research, Anya would run the shop, and Buffy and the gang would do the slaying. The only difference now was that she would let Dawn help out. Her sister had become very good with slaying. Dawn wasn’t as strong as she was but she could hold her own. Giles had even suggested that Dawn begin training with her, just to give the younger Summers a sense of structure.
Suddenly, it occurred to her that Giles had been back in California for almost two weeks and hadn’t mentioned the prophecies or talked to her about anything other than Dawn, slaying, and how good it was to be back. She hadn’t even thought about asking why he was really there. Actually, she was too afraid to ask. She was afraid to hear the answers.
"Buffy?" The voice on the other end of the phone asked, bringing her back to the present.
"Sorry Giles, I spaced there for a minute. Must be the noise of all these power tools, can’t seem to concentrate." She could almost hear him roll his eyes at her. "I’ll be there in half an hour."
She hung up the phone and made her way to the front of the house to let Xander know she was leaving. This was going to be a long day.
******
The curly, brown haired man sat at a desk looking out the window. England was much different from what he remembered. Things had changed quite a bit, but all of the old buildings were still there. At least the important ones were anyway. He looked down at his notebook and sighed. They told him that writing things down would help him to get through this tough time, but he wasn’t convinced of that quite yet. There were too many things going through his mind for him to focus on just one.
He was tired. It had been a long day. The Watcher classes he was taking were exhausting, not to mention the grueling training schedule that they had him on. However, tonight was his night off from research. He had promised Rupert that he would continue with the translations of the prophecies while the elder Watcher was in the States. He couldn’t ever remember working this hard in his life. If he had known that becoming a Watcher was going to be this difficult, he might have thought twice about it. With that thought playing through his mind, he took a picture out of the desk drawer. He looked at it every night before he went to sleep and at times like this when his writing couldn’t console him. He could feel the tears begin to sting the back of his eyes. This is what frustrated him the most, the whole gamut of emotions that he went through every time he looked into those eyes.
There was a soft knocking at the door. He hadn’t been expecting any visitors.
"Come in," he said without much enthusiasm.
Two men in their mid to late twenties entered his room.
"Hey mate," the first greeted, it was Garrick a fellow Watcher in training. "We’re heading down to the pub in a few minutes. Want to come along for a pint?"
"Manchester United is on the telly tonight," Geoffrey added with a grin. "They’re going to make quick work of Liverpool for sure."
Sensing his friend’s hesitation, Garrick tried a different approach to get the man to leave the confines of his room. "Come on you stupid git. You can’t bloody well stay in here and write all night. Don’t be such a bore."
The curly, brown haired man looked at Garrick and smiled. "Think there’ll be some scrums at the pub what with it being Liverpool and all?"
Garrick and Geoffrey laughed at their friend. He was always up for a fight. Didn’t matter where or when. Each grabbed an arm and hurried him out the door.
******
The trees on the campus of UC Sunnydale swayed gently in the breeze. Willow sat under one of those trees waiting for Tara to finish her class so that the two of them could walk back to the dorm together. The campus was pretty quiet this time of year. Summer classes had just begun which meant the population of UCS was at about a third of its normal capacity. She didn’t care. It was a gorgeous day and it made her feel like nothing in the world could ever ruin it, not even her continued guilt. Most of the time she was able to forget about her wish and just enjoy her second chance; but then there were the times, mostly after she and Tara made love, when she would look into her lover’s eyes and feel such remorse that she just wanted to break down and tell Tara everything.
After the confrontation with Warren, she had expected everyone to question how she knew certain things, specifically how to drain Warren of his powers, but no one had asked, probably because she and Xander had been seriously injured and everyone had concentrated on that. She had been out of the hospital for almost three weeks now and still no one asked her anything about that day. There were times when she thought Tara was on the verge of discussing it, but they were always interrupted by someone or something. She was kind of hoping that they had forgotten about it by now.
"Is this a private party?" Tara asked with a smile. "Or can anyone join in?"
Willow looked up from her thoughts to see Tara standing over her. "Private party. Invitation only," she said, nodding her head and grinning.
"Oh," Tara pouted.
"But I’m extending the invitation to you cause you’re the only one I’d want at this party."
Tara smiled brightly, sat down next to Willow and took her lover’s hand in hers. She had noticed that Willow had been deep in thought again. Whenever Willow had that look on her face, Tara knew she must be thinking about ‘It’, and Tara was pretty sure she knew what ‘It’ was. Well today was as good as any to find out if her instincts were correct.
"Will," Tara said hesitantly. "Can we talk?"
Willow grinned. "Sure sweetie! We can talk about anything you want!"
Tara took a deep breath. This wasn’t going to be easy and she wanted to make sure that it didn’t come off sounding like she was accusing Willow of anything wrong. She wasn’t sure how she was going to do that. Probably best to just come out and say it and then deal with the repercussions.
"Will. Sweetie. Has Anya granted any wishes that you know of? Like maybe...yours?" There. She had finally asked it.
Willow sat in stunned silence. She should have known that Tara would figure it all out eventually. She was only fooling herself is she thought she could keep something like this from her. Tara had asked her point blank so now she would have to tell her the truth. The new and improved her just couldn’t lie to the one she loved the most. The old her probably would have, but not the new one.
She sighed and hung her head, answering in a whisper. "Yes, Tara. Anya granted my wish."
******
Giles was waiting impatiently for Buffy to arrive at the Magic Box. Why did she always have to be so difficult and tardy? There was much that had to be discussed today. He was dreading every minute of what was to come. The Council had called him earlier that morning. His request for a permanent transfer to England had been granted. He had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, his life was back in England with his new work for the Council; on the other hand, the thought of leaving Buffy in the hands of another angered him. He knew he couldn’t have it both ways. His life was in England now. He just hoped that he could make her understand that without too much difficulty.
The bell above the door clanged as Buffy walked into the shop. She noticed that it really was back to business as usual. Anya was chatting with a few customers while Dawn dusted the shelves. The younger Summers was working off her debt to Anya for all of the things she had stolen from the shop.
"Hey, Buffy," Dawn greeted.
Buffy smiled at her sister and asked, "Working hard?"
Dawn just looked at her and rolled her eyes in response to the question. Buffy chuckled to herself.
"Buffy," Giles stated heading towards the training room. "Please come with me. I need to talk to you."
Suddenly, she got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, just like the one she had gotten that day he called to tell her he was coming to Sunnydale. She braced herself for what was to come and followed her Watcher into the back room.
******
Giles motioned for her to sit down on the couch. Numbly, she complied. She felt like they had done this before, almost a lifetime ago, when she had come back from the dead. She studied his face, trying to find some kind of hint of what he was going to tell her, but she couldn’t read him.
"Buffy," Giles said as he took a seat next to her. "The Council called me this morning. My permanent transfer to England has been approved. In two months I will no longer be your Watcher." He hadn’t been able to look her in the eyes when he said the last bit so he wasn’t sure what her reaction had been.
Buffy tilted her head and looked at him. This was what he was so intent on telling her? She began to giggle. She had thought that he was going to tell her that Dawn was going to grow a second head or something, or that her sister was going to turn into the Big Bad.
She covered her mouth to contain her laughter and tried to compose herself after Giles had given her his patented "I’m serious" look.
"I’m sorry," she said innocently, waving her hand. "Please continue."
"Buffy, this is quite serious. Do you understand what I’m saying?"
"Uhm. Sure, Giles. You’re going back to England and you officially won’t be my Watcher."
"Yes, but Buffy," he continued in a somber tone. "Since I will no longer be your Watcher, the Council will be assigning you a new one."
Now he had her complete attention. She felt like he had just punched her in the stomach. "What do you mean I’ll be getting a new Watcher? They can’t do that. Can they?" The fear in her voice was evident. The only Watcher she would ever accept was Giles. She had made that pretty clear when they had tried to force Wesley on her and then again when they came with information about Glory. She wasn’t going to accept this. She would quit first. Again.
"Yes Buffy, they can. However, to ensure that you’re not assigned someone like Wesley again, I have hand picked my replacement."
She was really angry now. "You’ve known this was coming and you didn’t mention it to me? Giles, how could you?"
"I didn’t mention it because I wasn’t sure if the transfer would be granted. There was no need to upset you before anything happened for sure."
She glared at him. How could he betray her like this? How could he come back to California and then just leave her again? Standing up quickly, she said, "Giles, I think you better go back to England. Now."
Her words stung him but he understood her hurt. He stood up next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off and turned her back to him. This was not going well. Maybe his next words would soothe her. "Buffy, there is one other thing. I also asked that the Council pay you for your duties."
Buffy’s head whipped around and her eyes widened as she looked at the man she thought of as her father. Had he just said what she thought he said? "P-pay me?" She asked incredulously.
"Yes, and they have agreed to do so. They refused at first, of course, but I convinced them that paying you was in their best interest."
Despite the fact that he was leaving her, again, and that she was going to be assigned a new Watcher, she ran to him and threw her arms around him. "Thank you so much, Giles."
"Don’t thank me yet," he said while taking an envelope out of his breast pocket. "You may want to wait until you open this."
She took the envelope from him and ripped it open. Her eyes widened. She looked from the check to Giles and then back to the check. She felt like she was going to faint. "G-Giles," she stammered. "Is this for real?"
"It’s quite real. You have done an enormous job these last six years Buffy, and you’ve done it well. Therefore you should be compensated accordingly."
Her eyes welled up and she was sure she was going to start crying any minute now. She had never seen so many zeros on a check before. Usually the zeros were on the bank account statements. She looked at the check one last time, folded it and put it in her pocket. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear as she hugged him again.
Breaking off the hug and taking a step back, she cocked her head to the side and folder her arms across her chest. "Now," she demanded. "Tell me about this other Watcher."
