Title: Another Chance

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, Joss (the love doomsayer yet entirely amazing producer) Whedon does and all those other people…

Author's note: This is an alternate timeline as a reward for everything that Buffy and Angel did for the world.

Giles sighed as he realized that he'd been staring at the same page for the past hour. Even though it had been a few years since he had vowed to take up the Watchers mantle, he could still see his motivation playing before his eyes whenever they shut out the world around him. He could still see the look in his friends' eyes as the grim realization of what they had done turned to fear of the rising demon. He could still smell Eyghon's rancid breath as it grinned maliciously at him from under the long lashes of his now dead friend. It's your fault. You wanted to play your stupid games. You wanted to feel the rush of the forbidden. You wanted the world to know and fear you, Ripper. Giles shuddered, trying to dislodge his train of thought. He wasn't Ripper anymore. He was a Watcher now. He worked on the side of good. He would use his intimate knowledge of the demon world to bring it to its knees. He would never be Ripper again…Ripper was dead! Right? No, don't be weak. You are a Watcher. One day you may even be charged with the responsibility of training the Slayer and you must be strong for her. You must teach her everything so that she can fight. "I will be strong." Giles whispered, afraid that if his words were any louder that he would be able to here the uncertainty in his voice.

There was a knock at the door and Giles snapped out of his musings and looked through the peephole. It was late, the sun was low on the horizon, streaking the sky with ribbons of crimson and gold…enough light that it wasn't a vampire at his door, but still, he should be cautious. Through the tiny hole in the door Giles could see what appeared to be a beautiful woman standing on his doorstep with a very candid look on her face as she waited for the door to open. A woman? What could a woman be doing here at this late hour, and at his of all houses? For the last few years he had hardly left his new home, intent on learning everything possible about the demon world. He blinked his eyes to clear his vision but the woman remained, looking slightly annoyed now at the long wait. He took in a slight breath as he opened the door.

The distorted view from his peephole had not done the lady justice. Unconsciously, Giles gaped at her as his eyes looked her over from head to toe. He noted her long, flowing ivory dress as she shifted slightly to the side and brought her emerald eyes sharply up to meet his. Her dark hair seemed to be blowing slightly in the breeze but Giles couldn't feel any draft. In fact, he felt quite warm. "Can I help you madam?" Giles asked.

"Perhaps," the woman stated simply. "I have a proposition for you. You may choose to take the responsibility or not, it is of no interest to me which you pick but your decision will affect your world greatly."

Giles stared at the woman. She had said your world. Slightly uneasy, Giles was suddenly glad that he had not invited the woman inside. "You are a demon?" He's meant it as a statement but it was difficult to imagine that this beauty was a monster.

A slight smile crossed her lips but her eyes remained locked on his with a slightly measuring look behind them. "I am not, as you believe, a monster. I am simply a messenger," she paused, resuming her measuring look, "and perhaps a little more." Giles stared, slightly shocked at her obvious ability to read his thoughts but also noting that she had not denied being a demon. As he was contemplating her words she made a quick scan of his living room before sweeping inside. Giles was now raking his brain for information. Was there a demon that could walk into a house without being invited? The mysterious woman nodded to his confusion and worried face, "Don't worry. I am not here to hurt you."

Giles thought for a moment about asking how she had come inside without an invitation but her earlier words struck him and he was filled with curiosity, "What message do you have for me?"

"What makes you think the message is for you? I merely said I was a messenger. You humans are so egocentric."

"Who is the message for then?" Giles was confused but his curiosity pushed him forward.

"You," the woman smiled a little wider this time, pleased with her little game.

Giles' eyes widened in anger as impatience washed over him. He briefly considered leafing through his spell book and finding a particularly nasty curse before she stopped his thoughts and started shaking. You were weak again. You ARE Ripper. You can't run from who you are. Monster. Giles shuddered again as he tried to stop his thoughts in vain. Do you really think the Council will trust you with a Slayer? They'll find out what you did. You're a disgrace. They'll get rid of you quietly. Maybe they've sent out the retrieval team already. Maybe Ripper could hold them off…if you just let him out.

"Not that your internal torment isn't fascinating but I do have other things to do." Giles once again snapped out of his thoughts and was momentarily disoriented by the woman's presence. As he looked up he saw that she was trying to stave off utter boredom.

Giles tried a different tactic this time. "Please," he bowed his head slightly, "what is the message."

A delighted spark lit in her eye at his subservient attitude, "I have a proposition for you." Giles slightly gritted his teeth as she repeated the same words she had first said to him but he did not move, hoping she would go on this time. She stared at him for a long while before continuing, "You may choose to take on the responsibility or not." Was that it? Was that the whole message? Had she been toying with him for no reason at all? The fury was growing deep inside his chest now but he kept his head bent and his eyes lowered, waiting for her to continue. "Do you accept the responsibility that you have been offered?" Giles wanted to attack her. With all of his being he wanted to yell at her, tell her that he had no idea what she was talking about, shake her until she made sense of everything that was happening, make her eyes well up with tears as she apologized profusely for bothering him. Ripper. He didn't move. He couldn't move. "Do you accept the responsibility that you have been offered?" Her voice was impatient and growing angry and he knew there was no point in arguing with her that he couldn't accept or refuse without knowing what he was doing.

"I won't ask you again!" her voice was cold and bit through him harshly. What was this responsibility? She said it would greatly affect his world. What if it was a great evil and he accepted? Would he bring the apocalypse? What if not accepting brought a great evil? Giles was weary from trying to decide and his mind began to wander again. You are Ripper. If the Watchers Council ever found out what you did you would be hunted down like an animal. You've already done so much evil in your life, what's a little more huh? Your life means nothing. It doesn't even matter what you choose. You're damned anyway. Giles sighed. It was all too much. He wanted to refuse the proposal. He wanted to go on with his life as though nothing had happened. But that wasn't an option anymore. He did need to take on responsibility. He needed to make a difference.

Without thinking, Giles opened his mouth and a single word escaped his lips, "Yes." That one word seemed to take a great deal of energy out of him. He felt drained. His eyes closed and he slumped down onto the floor. Unable to move he heard the woman moving about. She was mumbling something but he didn't have the energy to listen to her words. There was a flash of light that made his closed lids burn bright for a moment and then there was silence. Giles lay there on the floor wondering what he had done. Part of him didn't care. That part of him let his weariness draw him into sleep, a fitful slumber but sleep nonetheless.

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Giles awoke with a start. He was sprawled out on the ground and there was a distant ache throughout his body. With a groan he sat up and looked at the clock: less than two hours had gone by since that strange visit. It had seemed like a lifetime ago. Giles took off his glasses to rub his eyes, trying desperately to remember what had happened with that woman…demon…thing. She had made him angry, she wanted him to make a choice, he didn't know what she was talking about but he had agreed to…something. Giles took in a sharp breath. What had he agreed to? He remembered her saying something after he said yes, what was it? Her tone of voice had suggested boredom and her words were monotone as though she had been hurrying through a bland notice of changing postage charges. She had said something about a Slayer and a vampire. She had spoken of a bond and difficulties and sacrifices and a reward, something to do with time and beginning again. Everything was so jumbled in his mind. Perhaps a good book and a hot cup of tea would bring him the relaxation that he so desperately needed.

As Giles stood up to put the kettle on he stopped cold in his tracks as he heard a muffled sound from the next room. Was it what he had accepted? Was it the vampire the woman had talked about? Would he die? Would he be turned? Coward. A few years ago you would have run into that room. Ripper could take out whatever lay in wait. Giles laughed with derision. Ripper would join forces with whatever lay in wait. As silently as he could, Giles crept toward the closet and grabbed a crossbow before crossing breathlessly over to the offending room. If some demon had needed a human's acceptance in order to cross into this world then it must be a powerful one. Never, not as Ripper or as Watcher, had he ever heard about a summoning ritual that went anything like the strange events of earlier that evening. Whatever was behind that door was probably something completely new and absolutely terrifying.

With a swift kick the door flew open and Giles swung inside with raised crossbow. Another sound came from the center of the room and, without thought, Giles shot off an arrow. Time seemed to stop for a second. Giles felt the pressure of his finger on the trigger, he saw the bolt in mid-air as it travelled toward its destination and, with horror, he saw the swaddled infant lying peacefully on the floor. Giles couldn't breathe. He watched helplessly as time went on in the slowest and most painful way possible. He tried to reach out and grab the bolt but he couldn't move…he could only watch as the baby came inches more toward death. The small boy opened his eyes in a flutter as the small arrow made its way toward him and with preternatural reflexes he grasped onto the wooden object as though it were a toy. A soft gurgling sound emanated from his mouth as a smile spread across his face. Giles stared in shock as, time running smoothly again, the baby drooled on the crossbow bolt. And then a small part of the woman's words came crashing back to him, "Their bodies will remember what their minds have forgotten."

Giles stood still, mouth slightly agape as he tried to make sense of what he had just seen. Taking his glasses off and cleaning them slowly, Giles considered what he could remember of the strange woman's speech. What was this creature? No normal baby could have achieved such a feat. However strange it seemed, he was nevertheless relieved that the swaddled infant was unharmed. Giles smiled unconsciously as he replaced the lethal bolt with a far less pointy object. Suddenly a deep frown crossed his face. He had just handed the baby an Orb of Barbus. You're getting attached to the little mutant baby. You gave it Ripper's favorite toy. Giles shook his head to remove the thoughts, "My name is Rupert Giles. I am a Watcher. I am not Ripper…not anymore." Now if only he could convince himself.

The orb wasn't a dangerous object in and of itself. Sure it could call forth demons from their home dimensions, but there was a great deal of training involved and natural magical talent before the Orb of Barbus could be used to any effect. Giles eyed it cautiously. The deep crimson sphere had flecks of burgundy swirling lazily about inside that mesmerized him. He couldn't tear his gaze away. The baby's eyes began to droop as he drifted off to sleep. Giles took the small orb back, cupping it delicately in the palm of his hand. It heated slightly at his touch and the swirling specks sped up in a hypnotizing pattern. It would be so easy to just chant a few words to bring forth an obedient minion. No more weakness. The demon would follow his every whim. He could bring the world to its knees with a thought. That's it. Just a whisper and you can be powerful once more. No more hiding. No more complying with the rules of society. No more guilt over your failures. You know the words. Randall was weak. You could have controlled Eyghon. The burgundy flecks were now spinning with dizzying speed. A murmur escaped Giles' lips, a barely audible stream of Latin. The orb turned blood red and began to glow faintly as a hazy cloud began to engulf the room. Yes! Bring forth Eyghon and show him that you and you alone are master. He will know and fear the name of Ripper. Giles continued his whispered chanting with glazed eyes. He could already feel the power and euphoria flood his senses. Eyghon would take him and then nothing would stand in his way. The tiniest sound escaped the sleeping baby and Giles turned with rapt attention to the noise. Snapped out of his trance, Giles smashed the orb in an attempt to stop the summoning. But he was too late. The fog had already swirled into the tiny, yawning mouth.