Masks
S J Smith
Summary: Maybe a career change was in order.
Disclaimer: Trust me, I'm not. Really. For either of these fandoms.
Rating: Teen? Maybe?
A.N.: Written for D. M. Evans, who gave me the prompts of "Egyptology" and Giles.
There were times when Giles wondered if he wouldn't have been better served being an archeologist. Surely, there was the use somewhere for an Indiana Jones type, though the idea of carrying a whip around brought completely different ideas to mind than swinging across gorges. And Giles decided to go no further down that little mind trip, afraid of what associating with Xander Harris might have done to his brain.
Still, would it serve Buffy any better if her Watcher was able to truly assist in the field, rather than be mired down behind a bunch of books? He understood that the Watcher truly 'watched', sending the Slayer out into battle, the general, as it were, commanding the soldier. But there was something in him that rebelled at that, some part of him that felt that Buffy - the Slayers - might have had a better chance had they had the friends that his Slayer had.
"G-man, make with the books, we need to know." Xander's impatient voice cut through his musings and Giles adjusted his glasses, returning to Tobin's Spirit Guide.
"Got it." He couldn't help the triumph in his voice. "Wepwawet. His name means 'Opener of the way to the Underworld'." Peering over the rims of his glasses, he caught the kids in his stare. "The invocation was made out to him, to open the gateway between the dimensions."
"Got it." Buffy stood up, Willow and Xander moving to join her. "Let's go send Aweemoway back to wherever he came from before anyone else gets hurt." The trio headed for the doorway to the library, Buffy glancing back over her shoulder with a grin. "Thanks, Giles."
And that, he thought, was what kept him here, with the books, the understanding that his knowledge, more than his presence, might be paramount to her continued existence.