TITLE: While strolling through the park.
AUTHOR: Sam (Lestrade42@aol.com)
RATING: G
FEEDBACK: Is the Pope Catholic?
DISCLAIMER: Don't own. Joss does. Takes place 3rd season.
Sometimes you just wonder what goes through his head...
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Rupert Giles dropped his tired, battered body unceremoniously onto the park bench. His watch told him that it was 10:00 am on a Tuesday morning. His mind told him that just 5 hours ago he was fighting a pair of demons that tried to bring about the end of civilization as he knew it. And he hadn't even gotten the worst of it. Xander had to practically carry Buffy home. Willow, as far as he knew, was still asleep in his office. Cordelia had driven Oz to the clinic to get a few stitches. But they had all made it out with their lives. Barely.
Giles dropped his head into his hands. Why? Why did they do it? Day after day Buffy and her friends made decisions that, literally, changed the world. And hardly anyone knew about it. He wondered sometimes how they kept it up. Buffy was a strong girl. He knew that. They all were. But, even after all this time, he didn't know what had kept them going. How many times did he wander through those Library doors with some news of impending doom and they took it with a smile and a grain of salt. How many times did he look his office window, tired, bleary and ready to throw in the towel and found Buffy and Xander joking around a stack of musty books that hadn't seen the light of day in centuries. Or how many times had he spent the entire night in research mode only to find Willow asleep at her computer. And each time he felt ashamed of himself. I mean here were a group of teenagers who 5 minutes ago were thinking about make-up and dates and now are trying to save the world on a daily basis. And he wanted to give up. How did they do it?
A slight tugging on his sleeve brought Giles out of his daydream. A little girl stood before him. She had long brown hair down up in two pig-tails. She wore a yellow and white sundress and was barefoot.
"Are you okay mister?"
Giles sighed. "Yes. I'm just a little tired. Why do you ask?"
"Well, you look sad. But you shouldn't be you know."
Giles feigned interest. "And why is that?"
She jumped up next to him on the bench, glad to have an audience. "Well, my Mommy's says that it's supposed to be sunny all day today which means that we can have our picnic. We were supposed to have it yesterday but it was all dark and yucky outside."
Giles laughed to himself. A solar eclipse was what had started that whole nightmare.
"Plus all the flowers are blooming and Mommy says that the robins will be coming back to our house soon. We have a bird house in our yard and that same family of robins come back every year. And then later on Daddy's gonna come home and he's gonna teach me to ride a bike and... Mister? Did I say something wrong?"
Giles brushed a hand across his face. It came back wet. Tears. He had been crying. "Yes. Yes I'm fine."
How could he tell this little girl that if friends of his hadn't put their lives on the line, she wouldn't be having her picnic?
"Elizabeth! Where are you?"
The young girl jumped down from the bench. "Coming Mama!" She turned to Giles. "I gotta go now. Are you sure you're gonna be all right?"
Giles nodded. "Yes. You've helped me out a great deal."
Elizabeth smiled a gap-toothed smile and pressed something into Giles hand. Then she turned on her heel and disappeared as fast as she had appeared. Giles looked down into his hand. In it was a small, half tattered Dandelion.
So, he thought to himself, that's how they do it.
______________________________________________________________________
Winner of the Drama Award on Tender Hearts and Ravished Souls, www.emiliekitten.com
Sam might have been here, but you can't prove it.
AUTHOR: Sam (Lestrade42@aol.com)
RATING: G
FEEDBACK: Is the Pope Catholic?
DISCLAIMER: Don't own. Joss does. Takes place 3rd season.
Sometimes you just wonder what goes through his head...
______________________________________________________________________
Rupert Giles dropped his tired, battered body unceremoniously onto the park bench. His watch told him that it was 10:00 am on a Tuesday morning. His mind told him that just 5 hours ago he was fighting a pair of demons that tried to bring about the end of civilization as he knew it. And he hadn't even gotten the worst of it. Xander had to practically carry Buffy home. Willow, as far as he knew, was still asleep in his office. Cordelia had driven Oz to the clinic to get a few stitches. But they had all made it out with their lives. Barely.
Giles dropped his head into his hands. Why? Why did they do it? Day after day Buffy and her friends made decisions that, literally, changed the world. And hardly anyone knew about it. He wondered sometimes how they kept it up. Buffy was a strong girl. He knew that. They all were. But, even after all this time, he didn't know what had kept them going. How many times did he wander through those Library doors with some news of impending doom and they took it with a smile and a grain of salt. How many times did he look his office window, tired, bleary and ready to throw in the towel and found Buffy and Xander joking around a stack of musty books that hadn't seen the light of day in centuries. Or how many times had he spent the entire night in research mode only to find Willow asleep at her computer. And each time he felt ashamed of himself. I mean here were a group of teenagers who 5 minutes ago were thinking about make-up and dates and now are trying to save the world on a daily basis. And he wanted to give up. How did they do it?
A slight tugging on his sleeve brought Giles out of his daydream. A little girl stood before him. She had long brown hair down up in two pig-tails. She wore a yellow and white sundress and was barefoot.
"Are you okay mister?"
Giles sighed. "Yes. I'm just a little tired. Why do you ask?"
"Well, you look sad. But you shouldn't be you know."
Giles feigned interest. "And why is that?"
She jumped up next to him on the bench, glad to have an audience. "Well, my Mommy's says that it's supposed to be sunny all day today which means that we can have our picnic. We were supposed to have it yesterday but it was all dark and yucky outside."
Giles laughed to himself. A solar eclipse was what had started that whole nightmare.
"Plus all the flowers are blooming and Mommy says that the robins will be coming back to our house soon. We have a bird house in our yard and that same family of robins come back every year. And then later on Daddy's gonna come home and he's gonna teach me to ride a bike and... Mister? Did I say something wrong?"
Giles brushed a hand across his face. It came back wet. Tears. He had been crying. "Yes. Yes I'm fine."
How could he tell this little girl that if friends of his hadn't put their lives on the line, she wouldn't be having her picnic?
"Elizabeth! Where are you?"
The young girl jumped down from the bench. "Coming Mama!" She turned to Giles. "I gotta go now. Are you sure you're gonna be all right?"
Giles nodded. "Yes. You've helped me out a great deal."
Elizabeth smiled a gap-toothed smile and pressed something into Giles hand. Then she turned on her heel and disappeared as fast as she had appeared. Giles looked down into his hand. In it was a small, half tattered Dandelion.
So, he thought to himself, that's how they do it.
______________________________________________________________________
Winner of the Drama Award on Tender Hearts and Ravished Souls, www.emiliekitten.com
Sam might have been here, but you can't prove it.