TITLE: Best of Breed
AUTHOR: clarrie
DISCLAIMER: Obviously don't own Giles, Wesley, Buffy, Anya and the Scooby gang. Alice Boston and others are mine, most of the info about watchers and the watchers council was made up by me and is based on my interpretation of it as an institution.
All witchy stuff made up by me and bares little resemblance to say, Wicca or any of the other old faiths.
SPOILERS: mild up to mid season 3, but as if faith and the mayor had not existed and Anya and Xander had got together earlier. Does include Wesley character though.
At the time of story Oz had ginger hair.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
This is the Fourth Fic in the 'Observance' series, which deals with what happens when a old friend of Giles leaps, two footed and with a cry of Geronimo!, into the scoobie's lives.
It's worth pointing out that, due to the timeline in this fic series, anything referred to that actually happened on the show, is assumed to have happened before October, regardless of when it actually did happen.
You can read other fic by clarrie at http://www.geocities.com/priiti/fanfic.html
'BASTARD!'
'Yes!' Giles blocked the blow from Buffy's staff with his forearm. 'Yes, use your emotion.'
'Bastard!' Buffy swung down hard with the staff. 'Bastard!'
'Good girl Buffy!' Giles dodged and swerved beneath the staff. 'Come on!'
'BASTARD! UTTER COMPLETE BASTARD!' Buffy began to increase the ferocity of her blows in time with the rough staccato of her curses. 'JERK WEED!'
'Yes…' Giles shot a nervous glance towards Buffy as he narrowly escaped her staff. 'Yes, um, do you think perhaps…'
'Bastard.' Buffy muttered through gritted teeth with each swing of her staff. 'Bastard, bastard, bastard, bastard…'
'Buffy?' Giles stumbled winded beneath his padding. 'Yes, quite. Um, B-Buffy…'
Buffy swung the staff high above her head once more.
'Bastard! Bastard! Bastard! Bastard! Bastard! Bastard!
'FOR GOD'S SAKE BUFFY I'M NOT A BLOODY VAMPIRE!'
Buffy dropped her staff and glared darkly at Giles.
'I-I shouldn't have yelled.' Gile's pulled himself to his feet and rubbed his aching limbs. 'That, that is of course it can be easy for a Slayer to forget her strength in the heat of…The library.'
Buffy drew the back of her hand across her face and kicked her staff away from her.
'Buffy I…' Giles watched as his charge began to beat an innocent punching bag with an awesome savagery . 'I-I-I realise that anger is, is a very healthy emotion and of course…'
The end of his sentence went unsaid, drowned out by the animal grunt issued by Buffy as her fist penetrated the bag's skin in a cloud of sawdust.
Giles swallowed wide eyed and backed away slightly. 'Willow! Xander!' He yelped as he spotted the two students over Buffy's shoulder.
'Willow, Xander.' He repeated calming himself. 'Tea?'
Giles frowned into his teacup. 'You-you see, although-of course- anger is a very healthy, um, emotion, I just…'
'You think that she should stop behaving like such a big sissy baby.' Interrupted Anya bluntly.
'Well…' Giles paused thoughtfully. 'No! No…I-I just think that she needs to, um, she needs to move on.' He sighed and wiped his eyes wearily. 'I don't know, couldn't one of you have a word with her?'
'And tell her what?' Asked Willow, not unreasonably.
'I-I don't know.' Giles frowned and sipped his tea. 'Plenty more fish in the sea? That, um, although anger is a very…'
'Healthy emotion.' Interrupted Xander. 'Yeah, you mentioned that.'
'I don't know.' Oz perched on the table and began to tune his guitar. 'She's pretty wigged. No closure.'
'Men are evil.' Anya frowned briefly and placed her arm around Xander's waist. 'Mostly.'
'Awww.' Xander paused in confusion. 'I think…'
Alice sat across the desk from Cordelia, She sighed heavily and scratched her head with the end of her pen. 'And how would you say Mr Wyndham-Price reacted during, say, Buffy's experience of telepathic ability?'
Cordelia stared blankly. 'Uh, good?' She smiled brightly. 'Really, uh, Watchery.'
Alice sighed wearily and began to clean her glasses. 'Wonderful, But I rather think that the Council will require more than that. Willow? Willow dear would you like to help me now?'
Willow sat down with a grin.
'How versatile would you say Wesley has been in fulfilling his duties as a Watcher?'
'Uh,' Willow nibbled on her lower lip thoughtfully. 'He, uh, he did that protection spell with us, and he isn't a witch even.'
Alice swept her hair back from her face and let out her breath slowly. 'Yes, I, um, actually I was there if you remember.' Alice gave a tired smile as Willow giggled to herself. 'Yes, well, maybe we should continue this another time.' Alice gathered together her papers and made as if to rise. 'Is Buffy back with the lunch yet?'
'No.' Giles paced across the floor from his office and placed a tray of tea things onto the table. 'Here, tea.' He said as he prevented Alice from rising by placing a slight hand on her shoulder.
'So.' Remarked Alice taking a custard cream and a sip of tea. 'Willow.'
Giles took his hand from her shoulder and, pausing to gather his own teacup, removed himself wordlessly to his desk.
Alice began again. 'So, Willow.' She smiled. 'Is there a reason for all of this distracted behaviour? Or is it simply that the giddy joys of youth have finally permeated the library walls?'
Willow giggled. 'We're dizzy with them.'
'She's dizzy.' Oz placed one foot on a chair and balanced his guitar on his knee. 'I'm more…Accepting.'
Willow giggled once more as Alice rolled her eyes. 'We're going to the Bronze tonight.' She chirped happily.
'Oh, oh of course.' Alice began to wipe her glasses on her jacket. 'That caveman thing, what is it called again? The Primeval?'
'We get to prove our worth in front of the womenfolk.' Oz tested the newly attached E string and began tune it more to his liking. 'And sometimes there's pudding wrestling.'
Alice blinked. 'Pudding wrestling?'
'The great leveller.'
'It's not just for couples though!' Cordelia slammed her books down on the table top and craned her neck around the group.
Alice raised an eyebrow. 'Pudding wrestling?'
'Guh.' Cordelia snorted and rolled her eyes heavenwards. 'The Primeval. I mean, if Buffy's going to be hanging round like a big fun sucking loser…' Her words trickled away as she continued to crane her neck wildly.
'He's in the office marking up textbooks dear.' Murmured Alice distractedly as she began to write up the results of her interviews.
'I-I-I.' Cordelia crossed her arms across her chest. 'Why should I care where Wesley is?'
'A question to which I for one have no answer.' Giles lifted the empty tea cups from the tabletop. 'Nor any great desire to contemplate.'
Cordelia pursed her lips. 'I don't care, he-he could be on…'
'Mr Giles I think perhaps this is the maths masters personal property…' Wesley dropped a copy of 'Women of the Amazon' across which he had partially stencilled the words 'property of Sunnydale high'. He coughed, and began to blush as he fumbled on the floor for the glossy hardcover. 'I, that is Miss Chase I…'
Cordelia sniffed haughtily and turned back towards the older Watchers. 'I just think there should be a Watcher there.' She stated loudly, affecting ignorance of Wesley's presence. 'A big group of teenagers like that, and…I mean with pudding! It's like a vampire snack bar that's what it is. Anything could happen, you…'Cordelia placed her hands on her hips. 'You'd be failing in your duties as Watchers if you didn't post someone.'
Alice grinned. 'I'm game.'
'NO!' Wesley cleared his throat.' That, that is…Being closer to the age group,' he stuttered,
'and with your current…And of course…That is with the….I am her Watcher you know!'
Wesley blushed as all eyes fell on him. 'I'd, um, I'd be failing in my duty if I didn't go.'
Willow grinned. 'Oh, yeah, with the duty.'
Alice inspected her fingernails and suppressed a smile.
'Well, I think that, a-a-as long as….'Giles was interrupted as the flailing form of Xander came running into the library, clutching at the tabletop as he skidded breathlessly to a halt.
'Watcher!' Breathed Xander. 'Watcher in the building!' Xander stared up at the people gathered around him. 'Ok, another Watcher in the building is what I meant…I, uh…In the…Woman, British accent, dark hair, asking for, uh, Buffy Summers or Mr Wyndham-Price, so I thought, Watcher?' He paused and looked around him at the group. 'Not that I think all Watchers bode evil or anything…'
'But they're not a good sign.' Oz turned back to his guitar and stretched the string a little tighter. 'And they very rarely bring gifts.'
Giles pinched the bridge of his nose wearily. 'I-I think that…Gifts?' Oz shrugged. 'Alice.' Giles turned to the two Watchers at the table. 'Are you aware of any visiting representatives?'
'Nope.' Alice shrugged. 'Not that I know of. Wesley?'
'I-I…That is… No.' Wesley frowned quizzically. 'Perhaps the…'
The library doors swung wide open, leaving the end of Wesley's sentence to hang in the air.
'Alice?'
Giles and Wesley unconsciously drew themselves up to their full height, chests were puffed out and throats were cleared in an intelligent manner.
'Martha?'
The group stared at the intruder. A vinegary woman towards the end of middle age, she wore the crucifix and grey tailored suit which had so alarmed Xander, black eyes burned in a dour un-made up face set against a severe bob cut of still dark hair. Clasping a rosary in a pale weathered hand she paced straight-backed into their midst, and stared back.
'Martha I…' Alice stuttered. 'Sit down.'
'Celia. Celia is dead.'