Salutations

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: All is owned by the Great Joss. I am not the Great Joss.

Pairings: Spuffy is mentioned, but they aren't here.

Summary: Seven year old Giles Summers encounters Angel for the first time.


There was bad, then there was very, very, very bad. This situation was definitely the latter. For a moment, all seven year old Giles Summers could do was stand there, frozen to the ground, and contemplate the many ways his parents were going to punish him. It took him less than a minute to decide that he would never be able to play outside again. Ever.

Jeremy Tucker, the only thing Giles had that was even close to a friend, leaned closer, shook his head in sympathy, and made the situation worse. "You are so incredibly dead."

"I-i-it's j-just a window," Giles tried to snap. It was difficult to snap when you stuttered, and even more difficult when you were frightened. Thus, his angry retort came out as more of a whimper.

"Yeah, but it's that house," Jeremy argued, gesturing towards the very large, and very dark Victorian across the street. Giles had heard his mother's friend Willow use the word imposing once, and he decided that, if the word could apply to the tarantula they had seen at the zoo, it could definitely apply to the house in front of him.

"I-I d-don't see what's s-so s-special 'bout t-that house," Giles lied.

Jeremy laughed softly to himself while he leaned down and picked up a handful of the snow off the Cleveland sidewalk. "That's cuz you haven't been here that long."

"W-well, w-why won't you j-just tell me?"

Jeremy was still expertly packing the snow in his small hands when he answered. "That house belongs to a monster," he explained.

"M-monsters aren't real!" Giles protested. Madeline believed they were, and talked about "slaying" them a lot. Giles didn't particularly like talking about monsters, or witches, or any of the scary things Maddy liked. Those things mostly led to wet sheets, and wet sheets mostly led to a disappointed Mommy and Daddy.

"They are too real."

"F-fine then. W-what type of m-monster l-lives there?"

Jeremy scoped down to pick up more snow to add to his snowball. "Well, nobody really knows. Charlie thinks it's a werewolf, but Francis swears to have seen it once, and says it isn't furry at all, but that he does have a bumpy head and pointed teeth. I think it's probably a Frankenstein."

At that, Giles could almost laugh. "Frankenstein d-definitely isn't r-real." His Daddy had said so, after all, and had laughed when he had said so.

Jeremy shrugged. "Whatever. But it is a monster, take my word for it, kid."

Giles scowled. "Y-you're only t-two years older 'an me, and I-I-I'm n-not a k-kid!" Not for the first time, Giles hated his stutter, and wondered why he had to be cursed with it.

Jeremy laughed again, taking delight in the poor kid's pain. "Whatever, again. Hmm. . . I wonder what he'll do to you when he finds out what you did to his window?"

Giles shivered, and pulled his coat around him.

Jeremy rubbed the snowball between his hands thoughtfully as he considered Giles' fate. "I don't think he'll eat you right away. You're kind of skinny. Maybe he'll lock you up in his dungeon and fatten you up first."

"L-like Hansel?"

"Dunno. Which one was the girl?"

"G-gretel."

"Well, more like Gretel, then."

Giles glared at Jeremy, and wondered why he didn't have as many friends as Maddy seemed to have. "I-I'm not a g-girl, and I'm going h-home."

Jeremy grinned. "Do you really think that's a good idea? I mean, if you don't go 'fess up to Monster Man, he'll probably use his monster senses to come find you and your family. He'll probably eat Maddy first, 'cuz she's pretty."

Anger swelled through Giles. He was scared, sure, but no one was going to mess with his Mommy, his Daddy, or his Maddy. Squaring his shoulders, he carefully looked both ways before crossing the street.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"I'm g-g-going to t-tell t-the m-monster the t-t-truth." That made Giles feel a little better. After all, his Mommy always told him to tell the truth, and that lying would just make bad things worse. So, now he'd tell the truth, even if it did get him eaten. At least this way, his family would be safe.

Giles was halfway up the sidewalk when Jeremy's snowball hit him square in the back of the head.

Angel was picking up the last piece of shattered glass when he heard the knock. It took him by surprise for two reasons. Firstly, no one ever came to visit him, with the exception of Connor, and those visits he knew about months in advance. Secondly, the knock sounded like it was coming from a child.

Throwing the last shard of glass in the trash can, Angel gave his den one last irritated look. Unexpectedly, a feeling of nostalgia washed over him as he remembered when his workspace had been littered with friends. Images of Doyle, Cordelia, Gunn, Wesley, Fred, Lorne, and even Spike flashed through his memory.

Shutting the door quietly behind him, Angel willed those decade old memories away. They were all gone –Doyle and Cordelia had been the first to go, followed Fred. . . Gunn and Wesley had fallen in the final battle. Lorne had walked away, as had a newly human Spike, once the battle had been over. He'd gone back to Buffy, of course, finally feeling that he'd had something to offer her.

Angel had ignored the wedding invitation when it had come. Instead, he had decided on a change in scenery, and decided another Hellmouth would do.

But he'd never involve friends again. Never.

Four more tiny knocks had sounded by the time Angel reached the front door. Opening it, he was surprised to see a tiny blonde haired, blue eyed boy standing on his step.

"Can I help you?" he asked, trying to sound gentle.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry f-f-for th-th-throwing my b-ball th-th-through y-your w-w-window."

"That was you?"

"Y-yes."

"You really shouldn't play ball so close to someone's house."

"I. . . I know. M-m-mommy and D-daddy told m-me, but I-I didn't listen. Actually, Jeremy . . . " the boy's voice trailed off and he shifted his feet uncomfortably. Angel could smell the scent of the child's fear, and that disturbed him, more than it should.

"Well, sounds to me like your Mommy and Daddy know what they're talking about. Maybe you should listen to them in the future."

The child nodded, and shivered again, making Angel inwardly wince. Briefly, he wondered what Connor would have looked at this age, but pushed that thought away. Nostalgia was bad for you, and didn't serve any productive purpose.

Still, the kid being scared of him hurt, even if it shouldn't. Feeling awkward, Angel knelt down in front of the child so that they were closer to being eye-level. "I know you're scared, but you don't have to be."

The child sighed. "I-I'm pretty much s-scared all the time. N-not b-brave l-like M-Maddy."

"Maddy?"

"M-my sister."

"Well, I don't know Maddy, but I do think it was very brave of you to confess to what you did. Most people would just run away."

The little boy cocked his head thoughtfully and seemed to consider that information. "M-Mom says i-it's important to t-tell the t-truth. D-Dad says i-it makes t-things l-less complicated."

In spite of himself, Angel smiled. "That's certainly true."

"S-so, I f-figured that i-if I told y-you w-what happened, then m-maybe y-you'd j-just lock m-me in y-your dungeon, and n-not eat me. Or m-my f-family."

The smile fell from Angel's face, and he just stared at the child for a minute. "Eat you?"

A timid nod came from the child. "A-and y-you c-can. But not my f-family."

"Why would you think I'd do something like that?"

The child's shoulders loosened, and he smelled less terrified. "J-Jeremy s-says y-you. . . " Suddenly the child began to frown. When he spoke again, his voice was so soft that Angel wouldn't have been able to hear him, if he hadn't been a vampire. "J-Jeremy s-says y-you're a m-monster."

"Well, Jeremy's right, kiddo, I am a monster."

"Y-you are?"

"Yes. But I'm a good monster, and I don't eat people. I especially don't eat little kids."

"Oh. D-do you eat other m-monsters?"

The smile returned to Angel's face as he contemplated the answer to that question. "Nah, they don't taste very good. I do, however, beat up the bad monsters."

For the first time, the little boy smiled. "Th-that s-sounds like fun."

"It is, kinda."

A small, warm hand reached out towards him. "M-my name is G-Giles."

Angel took the little hand in his own and shook it. "Giles, huh? I knew a Giles once. Well, actually, that was his last name. My name is Angel."

"D-daddy knows s-someone n-named A-Angel. At least I-I think he does. H-he says that Angel was a b-bloody p-ponce for n-not c-coming t-to the w-wedding."

A bloody ponce? The phrasing screamed Spike, but Angel pushed that thought away. Besides, it was probably only because the child in front of him reminded the vampire so much of William. "Speaking of your parents, you'd better be getting home. It's getting pretty late."

"Y-yeah. Um, A-Angel, are there a lot of m-monsters in C-Cleveland?"

Standing, Angel took a step outside and shut the door behind him. "Yes there are. Which is why I'm going to walk with you, to make sure you get home okay."

The little boy smiled again, and Angel felt some of the loneliness leave him that had sat there for the past decade.

Spying another child standing across the street, Angel asked, "Is that Jeremy? Is he your friend?"

"N-no, n-not really. H-he makes fun of me a lot, b-but he k-kinda hangs out w-with me."

Angel glanced down at the child sympathetically. Then he turned back to face Jeremy, and morphed into vamp face. The older child looked horrified, then turned and ran in the opposite direction, screaming his head off as he did so.

Hearing a soft chuckle beside him, Angel morphed back into human face and looked down at Giles.

"T-that w-was pretty f-funny, Angel. A-and t-the thing y-you d-do w-with your face w-was p-pretty c-cool."

"You think so?"

"Y-yeah."

The child's hand sneaked up and wrapped around Angel's, and again, Angel thought of Connor.

"H-hey, A-Angel, c-can I ask a q-question?"

"Sure."

"D-do y-you live all b-by yourself?"

"Yes."

"Why? D-don't you have any f-family?"

"Well, I used to. Would you like me to tell you about them?"

"Y-yep."

"Okay. I think I'll start with Doyle."

With Giles listening patiently, Angel allowed himself to remember his long since gone friends.


A/N: If there's any interest at all, I'll add a follow up chapter where A/S/B and Maddy all converse. Otherwise, this seemed a good stopping point.