This is a post-"Becoming" fic. I know, two seasons too late. What can I say? I'm a late bloomer.
Xander rushed out of the house, practically dragging Giles with him. He wasn't sure if Giles was still conscious, but he was sure that the Watcher was in a bad way. Giles's fingers were bloody and looked broken, his body seemed bruised and exhausted, and, from what he had said before being rescued, Xander thought that the librarian must have gone through some horrible ordeal.
But at the moment his attention was divided between his concern for Giles and his growing concern for Buffy, battling Angel alone in the old mansion. He desperately wanted to go back and check on her, but from the looks of Giles that would be impossible. Unless, of course, he left the librarian outside while checking inside, in which case Buffy would probably kill him if Giles sustained any further damage. Xander swore softly. He had no choice but to keep dragging Giles along.
"It's gonna be okay, Giles," Xander murmured. "I'm gonna get you to a hospital, okay?"
Giles gave a barely perceptible nod. Xander slowed down for a moment, feeling the Watcher's forehead with his broken arm. He pulled his hand back with a curse. Giles was feverish. Xander looked around desperately for a pay phone.
"Yes! Score one for the X-Man!" he cried as he spotted one on a nearby corner. He laughed in relief, painfully aware that he sounded half-hysterical. He gently leaned Giles against the walls of phone booth, quickly dialing 9-1-1.
"Hello? I've, uh, got a medical emergency here. I'm on the corner of Crawford street and Main....One of my teachers has been hurt pretty bad, he's got a fever and he's bleeding, too. He's gonna need an ambulance. Okay, thanks." Xander hung up the phone and turned to Giles.
"It's cool, Giles," Xander told him. "I've got an ambulance on its way."
"Good," Giles mumbled, obvious pain in his voice. "Now, get back to Buffy."
"No way. She told me to get you to safety, and that's what I'm going to do. Besides, I'd probably just get in the way, distract her." He realized suddenly that this was probably true. That didn't make it any easier.
The ambulance arrived about ten minutes later. Giles was lowered into a stretcher, given some medicine for his fever, and bandaged crudely as they loaded him into the ambulance. Xander was graciously allowed to ride up front.
"So what happened?" the driver asked. "To your teacher there. He looks like he's been pretty beat up."
"Yeah," Xander said. "He was. The--the guys who attacked me and my friends at the library earlier--who killed Kendra--they kidnapped him and...beat him up. I went out looking for him and found him lying in an alley."
"Really?" The driver arched and eyebrow but didn't question further. Xander glanced out the window, back towards the mansion.
(Buffy,) he thought miserably, (I hope you're okay.)
* * * *
Willow lay in her hospital bed, semi-exhausted after casting her spell. She glanced sideways at Oz, who was sitting in the chair beside her bed.
"Do you think it worked?" she asked him. Oz shrugged.
"Dunno. Hasn't been too long."
Willow nodded, tired enough to be satisfied with that. She looked up at Cordelia, who was pacing nervously by the door.
"What's taking Xander so long?" Cordy murmured, genuinely worried. She turned to Willow and Oz. "You don't think he got turned into something icky, do you? Or got hit on by some vampire girl? He likes dangerous, creepy things."
As if on cue, Xander burst into the room.
"Xander!" Willow exclaimed. "Where's Buffy? And Giles?"
"You mean she's not here?" Xander looked upset.
"We thought you were watching her," Willow replied.
"I had to get Giles out," Xander said. "So I--I had to leave her. I just got back here in the ambulance with Giles. He's in a room just down the hall."
"Is he okay?" Willow asked anxiously.
"I think so," Xander said. "He's a little out of it still, but that's because he was feverish and they gave him some drugs that conked him out. Some-some of his fingers have been broken, and he's got a bunch of bruises all over. I think the doctor said that one of his arms was nearly broken, and he's got some cuts on his back and chest. And..."
"And?" Willow pressed.
"When I saved him, he mentioned something about Drusilla getting inside his head," Xander said. "It had him kinda freaked."
"Can we see him?" Willow wanted to know.
"You'd better stay in bed, Will," Xander said. "You're still looking a little pale."
"But I want to see Giles!" Willow said. "I'm resolved. See my resolve face?"
"Oh no, not that again!" Xander said. "I'm falling for that one again!"
"I'll see if I can get a wheelchair." Oz kissed Willow's hand and walked off. Xander stared after him, pouting a little.
"So, when you last saw Buffy...was she okay?" Willow wondered. "Did Angel look different? 'Cause I cast the spell, and I think it worked and..."
"Last I saw, the Buffster was killing things with a big ol' sword," Xander said. "And Dead Boy was still lean and mean."
Just then, Oz came back in with a wheelchair. Smiling tenderly at Willow, his Willow, he wheeled to her bedside.
"The doctor said you can get out of bed to visit Giles."
"Yay!" Willow gave a Willowesque squeal of glee. Oz helped her into the wheelchair and turned to Xander.
"So, where's Giles?"
Xander led them down the hall, with Cordelia walking beside him. He stopped in front of the door to one room as a doctor came out.
"Um...hi," Xander said. "I'm the guy who called the ambulance for Giles. Can--can we see him?"
"Of course," the doctor said. "Maybe you can calm him down. Ever since the painkillers kicked in, he's been trying to get out of bed and leave the hospital. He keeps muttering about some old mansion."
"He'll feel better once he sees us," Willow promised. Oz wheeled her into the room.
Giles lay on a bed, looking decidedly uncomfortable in his hospital gown. He had finger braces on several of his fingers and a cut on his forehead, as well as several bruises on his arms. There was one deep cut on his arm that appeared to have been stitched up. He looked up as they entered.
"Willow?" He sounded pleased. "Cordelia. I'm glad to see that the two of you are...intact."
"We're fine," Willow said, though she was beginning to feel a little woozy. "It's you I'm worried about. Angel didn't hurt you too bad, did he?"
For a moment there was an expression of intense pain on Giles's face, an expression filled with nightmares and raw terror. But it was covered up a moment later by a much calmer one, one that kept fear at bay.
"No," Giles lied. "No, he didn't." Giles couldn't tell her about Angel's torture, both the physical tortures like breaking the Watcher's fingers and the mental torture of seeing Jenny alive again only to discover it all a trick. No need to worry her by telling her how he had been only half a moment shy of mad in that foul mansion, how he had nearly died alone in a darkened room because he was too stubborn to tell Angel about the ritual of Acathla. No need to tell her how he had failed Buffy by giving in to Drusilla's tricks.
"That's good," Willow said. "Because you look so-so-"
"Messed up?" Cordelia offered. Both Xander and Willow shot her a look. "What? I was just trying to help."
"I cast the spell, Giles," Willow said, changing the subject. "To restore Angel's soul. I think it worked, too, 'cause....because..." Willow's voice tapered off and she looked about to faint in the chair.
"I think Willow's ready to go back to bed," Oz said. "See you later, Giles. Nice to see you alive." With a calm, Oz-like smile, he wheeled his Willow out of the room.
"I'm gonna go call my parents," Cordelia said suddenly. "I just noticed how late it is. They're gonna wonder where I am."
"You can go home, Cordelia," Giles said. "It won't bother me."
"Yeah, but--" Cordelia broke off uncomfortably. "I want to help."
"You've done enough," Giles assured her. "There's nothing left to do."
"Well....okay," Cordelia assented. She turned to Xander. "Want a ride home?"
"I think Xander should stay here," Giles said before the boy could answer. "I want to ask him a few things about what happened while I was...with Angel."
"Um, okay," Xander said. He gave Cordelia a quick kiss. "I'll call you later," he promised. Cordelia gave a last good-bye and walked off.
"So, what do you want to know?" Xander asked. "'Cause there's not much to tell. Well, except...." Xander was silent for a moment. "Except...Kendra...she's dead."
"Kendra?" Giles's eyes were sad. "Dead?" He shook his head slowly, sadly, thinking of Buffy. "It is....normally an accepted fact that a Slayer may die in the line of duty...but that doesn't make it any easier. She wasn't even a Slayer for very long..." Giles's voice broke off as the Watcher silently grieved for the poor Slayer. He took a deep breath, composing himself. "I'll have to call her Watcher and inform him of Kendra's passing." (And will someone call me soon to tell me that my Slayer has made the ultimate sacrifice for her calling?)
"Yeah..." Xander didn't know what else to say. He glanced down at the floor, then back at Giles. The Watcher gazed back with an expression that reminded Xander ominously of Willow's resolve face.
"Get a doctor," Giles said, his voice tight. "I'm getting out of this bloody place."
"Uh...excuse me? Giles, no offense, but you don't exactly look like you're in top form."
"I don't care. I'm going back to that blasted mansion to check on my Slayer." He sat up with a quick grimace of pain and stared coldly at Xander. "Stop standing there and get a doctor!" he snapped, a bit of Ripper evident in his voice. Xander scurried out of the room and went to find a doctor.
When he returned with a very nervous and rather angry doctor, Giles was already fully clothed in the torn and bloodstained shirt that he been wearing while Angel had tortured him and had put on the glasses stuffed in the pocket.
"Mr.Giles," the doctor said angrily. "You can't possibly be thinking of leaving this hospital so soon after being injured like that and I am telling you that--"
"I am telling you that I'm leaving," Giles broke in. He gave the doctor a gaze that only Ripper could give, a gaze that Giles the librarian would never dream of giving. "You can't keep me here against my will if I'm intent on leaving."
The doctor argued with Giles for a few more minutes, but to no avail. Giles stalked out of the hospital with Xander rushing to keep up.
"The mansion's this way," Xander offered, leading Giles towards where he had left Buffy.
By the time they reached the mansion, it was dark outside, and Xander was thankful for the cross in his pocket, as well as the stake he still had in his other pocket. He glanced at Giles, and thought that the librarian looked a little pale. But it might just have been the streetlights.
The door to the mansion was open. Xander peered into the darkness.
"Hello?" he called. "Anybody home?"
There was no reply, so he entered with Giles at his heels. Giles seemed to be breathing a little quicker than before.
The Watcher followed Xander stiffly, assaulted by a sudden rush of memories.
<"Now...tell me when it hurts."
"How far do you think I can push this finger back before it snaps?"
"Somebody get the chainsaw!"
"I'm going to kill your Slayer...did that hurt?"
"Drusilla...Do you want to play a game?"
"Just tell me what to do...">
Giles shook his head, trying to banish the demons in his mind that surrounded him, stifling his cries and making him feel ill.
"Hey, look, it's demon-guy!" Xander's voice floated in from the main room. Giles peered in, saw Acathla standing in the middle of the room with a sword in his chest. Nothing surrounded the demon but dust.
"Yes, that's--that's Acathla," Giles confirmed. "He appears to be dormant."
"But if he isn't awake...then where's Buffy?" Xander looked to Giles for answers. The Watcher sighed.
"I can't say, Xander. But there's no body, so I suppose we must hope for the best."
"We could call her," Xander suggested. "See if she's home."
"Perhaps tomorrow morning," Giles agreed. He was feeling more nervous by the moment. He hated this place, and he wanted desperately to leave. But not until he was sure that his Slayer was not lying injured somewhere, waiting for his help. "But first, we'll search the rest of the mansion. There may be some clue as to where she's gone..."
"Gotcha." Xander rushed off to check around. Giles slowly walked towards one of the rooms, the room where he had been tortured. He peered inside.
Everything was just the way it had been when Xander had saved Giles. The chair where the Watcher had been tied up sat in the corner, with the ropes that had bound him lying on the floor beside it. Giles closed his eyes, trying to forget, more than anything else, Drusilla planting the image of Jenny in his mind. Dear, sweet Jenny, taken from him by the same demon that had nearly killed him earlier this day.
"Giles? Giles?" Xander's voice brought the Watcher back to reality. "I didn't find anything. No Buffy, no Angel."
"Yes, well, I suppose we'll have to wait and see if Buffy shows up later," Giles said, wishing fervently that she would. "There's nothing more we can do here. We'd best go. After all, we both have to get to school tomorrow and it's late."
"Oh yeah. School. You know, when the world's about to get sucked into Hell and all, you kinda forget about little details like school."
"Indeed." Giles turned to go, swaying slightly on his feet and wondering momentarily if it wouldn't have been better to stay in the hospital.
Xander, seeing Giles's sudden weakness, immediately went to the librarian's side and helped him outside, deciding that it wasn't time to joke.
As the two exited the mansion, Xander thought that perhaps he saw Buffy, watching him from the bushes near the mansion. But when he stepped towards them to check, there was nobody there.
* * * *
The next morning, Giles and Xander met up with Willow, Oz, and Cordelia in front of the school.
"Willow, are you sure you should be out of bed?" Giles asked Willow.
"Look who's talking," she replied. "Have you guys heard anything?" Xander's mind was still on the missing Buffy.
"No." Willow sounded worried.
"But we know the world didn't end 'cause...check it out," Oz added.
"We went back to the mansion," Giles informed them. "Acathla was dormant."
"I think the spell worked," Willow spoke up. "I felt something...go through me."
"Plus the orb did that cool glow thingy," Cordelia put in.
"Maybe it wasn't in time," Xander said. "Maybe she had to kill him before the cure could work."
"Then I guess she'd want to be alone," Oz said.
"Or maybe Angel was saved and they want to be alone together," Willow said with a smile.
Xander looked down. He hadn't told Buffy about the cure, and he hadn't told anyone that he had lied to her. He wondered if what he had done had been for the best. After all, if Buffy was so busy worrying about Angel's cure, she might have been off guard and gotten killed. But if the cure had somehow worked, and Buffy hadn't known... he tried not to think about that.
"Well, she's gotta show up sometime," Cordelia said. "We still have school."
"Yeah," Willow replied. "She'll be here." She looked as if she was trying to convince herself of this.
Then they all turned and headed inside.
* * * *
Giles was sitting in his office, flipping idly through a book while not really reading it, when he heard the door open. It slammed loudly and loud, angry footsteps sounded in the library. Giles poked his head out of the office door only to find himself face-to-face with none other than Mrs.Summers.
"Where's my daughter? What did you do to her?" Mrs.Summers's face was angry, and her eyes were red, as if she had been crying.
"Excuse me?" Giles wondered if she meant the vampires' attack on the library. "I--I can explain, I'm sure--"
"You've done something to her," Mrs.Summers continued. "Played with her mind somehow, made her think that she's some sort of vampire slayer--"
"She--she told you?" Giles asked.
"I don't know how you did it," Mrs.Summers continued, ignoring him. "It--it had to be mirrors, or-or something. People don't just burst into dust. You changed her, made her think that she had to save the world."
"Please, sit down, Mrs.Summers," Giles said calmly, leading her to a chair. She sat down numbly. "Now, I know that this is hard to believe. But your daughter, Buffy... she is a vampire slayer. You see, there are certain...evils here in Sunnydale. Vampires, demons. And one girl in all the world is the Chosen One, who will lead the fight against these evils. Your daughter is that One. She alone will stand against the demons and the monsters."
"She...she can't be." Mrs.Summers shook her head slowly. "She can't be. You're lying."
"You know I am not," Giles said gently. "Mrs.Summers, I know that this is hard to accept, but it's true."
"But--but why my daughter? Did I do something wrong? Did she? Is this some type of punishment?"
"I assure you, Mrs.Summers, Buffy has not done anything wrong," Giles said. "There is no reason why one girl is a Slayer and others are not. It's...destiny, I suppose. But being the Slayer is not punishment. In some places, it's considered to be quite an honor." He thought sadly of Kendra.
"It's--it's not fair," Mrs.Summers murmured. "Why did it have to be Buffy? Why couldn't it be some other person's daughter? It's not an honor! It made her run away!"
"Run away?" Giles said with a sudden feeling of dread.
"You mean--you didn't know?" Mrs.Summers pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and gave it to him with trembling hands. Giles slowly read the letter.
Dear Mom,
I know that you probably still don't understand the whole 'Slayer' thing. I wish I could explain it to you. I wish I could apologize for what I've done behind your back. But I can't. I have to go away...I can't stay here. Terrible things have happened, like you said. And I think I have to deal with them by myself. Go and see Mr.Giles, the librarian, and he'll explain the Slayer thing. I love you,
Buffy
Giles set the letter on the desk, disbelieving. He shook his head slowly. (Buffy ran away....It's my fault. I should have been there to help her. I shouldn't have told Angel about the ritual...I failed my Slayer. I failed her.)
* * * *
Willow and the other Slayerettes burst into the library just after school was over.
"Buffy wasn't in school!" Willow told Giles, deeply upset. "You don't think that-- she's--"
"Buffy is alive," Giles said, looking pale and tired. "I...heard from her mother this morning. Mrs.Summers now knows that Buffy is the Slayer."
"But if Buffy's alive, where is she?" Oz wondered.
"I don't know." Giles took off his glasses. "Buffy has run away from home. No one knows where she is. I've been on the phone with the Watchers Council for hours, trying to find any leads. None have turned up so far."
"But--she can't be gone!" Willow said desperately. "What about school, and--"
"She's also been expelled," Giles said. "Principal Snyder informed me of that not long ago."
"That little troll!" Xander burst out. "We got Buffy cleared of the murder charges! She's a free man--woman."
"Apparently Principal Snyder didn't see it that way." Giles looked very old all of the sudden.
"But without Buffy, who's going to protect Sunnydale?" Willow questioned.
"We are," Xander said immediately.
"Excuse me? What do you mean by 'we?'" Cordelia asked.
"Don't worry, Cordy," Xander said. "It'll be easy. We set you in front of the vampire, you open your mouth, and boom! He's outta there."
"I think Xander's right," Willow said before Cordelia could start flinging insults back at Xander. "We've watched Buffy slay enough evil things that we could do it."
"And we could get walkie-talkies and everything!" Xander said eagerly. "Just call me...Nighthawk."
"Nighthawk?" Cordelia and the others stared at him. Xander shrugged.
"What?"