Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy. Joss Whedon does.
Author's note: Thanks to SeeingRed for all of your support, advice, and guidance!
Void
That summer was the worst and loneliest Rupert Giles had ever experienced. The summers after his parents had died had been awful, yes, and he had often spent the season almost entirely by himself before becoming a Watcher, but this one was a dreadful combination of the two.
The isolation and worry had been supplied by Buffy and her sudden departure from Sunnydale. The other children had stopped by fairly often, as they still continued to fight Sunnydale's demons and monsters together despite Buffy's absence, but they could not fill the void left by the once bright and happy young girl. None of them knew where she had gone, what exactly had happened during her fight with Angelus, or even if she was still alive. Willow insisted that she had restored Angel's soul, but, since neither he nor Buffy were around, they couldn't be sure. Every day, his fear and anxiety for his Slayer grew.
The element of grief had come from Jenny's death. Or rather, Jenny's murder. It had happened months ago, but he had never really gotten over the pain of losing her in such a brutal and shocking way. Sometimes, when he was alone in his house, the pressure would build up inside of him until it got to be too much to bear. He would toss whatever book or journal he had been reading to the side and flee before the haunting strains of "La Boheme" would start to echo in his ears. He would visit her grave, adding new flowers each time and replacing the old ones that had just begun to wilt.
He joined the "Scooby Gang", as they sometimes called themselves, on their midnight hunts every once and a while, but he spent the rest of his time on wild goose chases across the United States, searching for his missing slayer. Those responsible for the odd vampire staking reported to him always turned out to be people much like the group that had worked with Buffy, aware of the demons, aware of the monsters, aware that the world was not what most believed it to be. Not one of them was his Slayer, though one of them had happened to also be a greengrocer. They'd had an interesting conversation about how he had been lucky enough to obtain such a career, which, to be honest, had been one of the highlights of his summer.
But the three-month vacation was drawing to a close, and Rupert was desperately hoping that Buffy would return for the school year. Wouldn't it be wonderful if she just appeared in the library one morning, tearfully apologizing for leaving them, for making them suffer during her time away?
But wonderful things were scarce in the life of a Watcher, and in this one's in particular.