Giles could feel the sweat trickling down his back, and the ropes cutting into his wrists. Every muscle was screaming in pain, but that agony was nothing compared to the anxiety and fear he was lost in watching as Buffy became surrounded by ten of the Lossoga demons.

If not for the violent struggle, it would have been a beautiful setting, on a scorcher of an evening. The sun was beginning it's descent in a cloudless sky, and not even a hint of a breeze presented itself to cool Giles cut and burned skin. His every breath was torture as he strained to free himself from the ropes that lashed him to the tree, never taking his eyes off of Buffy and her battle in the middle of the gravel road before him. His jeans and denim shirt were in tatters, ripped and bloodied from the demons knifelike fingernails. He had been overpowered, then tied up to this tree, taunted, and told to watch as his slayer died.

It wasn't a fair fight, ten demons to one Slayer. So far, Buffy was holding her own, landing several roundhouse kicks to the head and chest of those surrounding her, at the same time acrobatically avoiding their vicious fingernails. But she was tiring in the heat of the desert, and the demon circle was closing in on her.

The sounds of the battle - skin hitting demon skin, grunts and moans, labored breathing, Giles anxious cries, Buffy's frustrated screams, and the demon growls - they were the only sounds...at first. Gradually, another sound pervaded the air. It was so faint and distant at first, that no one noticed. But then Giles's ears caught the sound. At first he thought it was just a buzzing in his ears, or an insect flying too close to his face. He tried to ignore it, absorbed as he was in Buffy's struggles, and his own battle with his bindings that only tightened on him more as he fought them. But as it got louder, and seemingly closer, Giles couldn't ignore it anymore. What was it? He strained to decipher it's source. A chainsaw perhaps? Were there more demons coming, with a chainsaw? His brain was foggy, and baking in the intense heat, but he struggled to recall his research. The Lossoga demons traveled in packs of a dozen. They had killed two before succumbing to this stage of the battle, and his research had found that this was the last pack, the last of the Lossogas that had gotten lost in this dimension. "Please...don't let there be more of them...Buffy!!!! Look out!" he screamed, as the demon behind Buffy grabbed her around the neck. They had her, and were coming in for the kill.

That's when he saw the source of the sound. It was a motorcycle, screeching and tearing at full speed, spitting up the gravel from the road. It was headed right at the circle of demons in front of Giles. The rider was clad in all black leather, boots, and a black helmet. And in the driver's right hand was a sword. Without slowing speed at all, the rider brandished the sword at the demons, first decapitating the one that held Buffy from behind, and following through it's path to take out two others on Buffy's right side. In the demon's confusion, Buffy stayed focused and pummeled her way through two others. The leather clad rider stopped the bike in front of Giles, pulled out a knife from the right boot, and tossed it at the slayer's feet. Buffy grabbed it, stabbed the demon in front of her in the heart, then backhanded the knife into another demon's chest. That left three Lossoga demons.

The biker dismounted and brought the sword down on the ropes that held Giles to the tree. Giles didn't know who it was, but he was grateful for the help. He rubbed his chaffed wrists momentarily and then took the knife handed to him from the biker's other boot. The two turned as one and stepped up to help Buffy fall the remaining three demons.

A Watcher, a Slayer, and a biker, were much better odds. Giles suppressed a smile at that thought as his knife found it's home in a demon's right eyeball.

When the battle was done, the three soldiers inspected themselves for damage. The biker was unscathed. Buffy was bruised, sweaty, and her face was dirt streaked. Giles was the worse for wear, but it was all superficial.

Buffy turned to the biker after reassuring herself that Giles was okay.

"Uhh...thanks...whoever you are?"

The biker removed the helmet to reveal long, curly chestnut hair that ringed down past her shoulders. Her brown eyes glanced at Buffy, closed off of emotion. She smiled crookedly at the Slayer. "You're welcome." Then she turned a hesitant, shy smile to Giles.

Giles rubbed his eyes, and looked at her face. "Deidra? Is it really you??? Deidra?"

"Hello Rupert. This must be Buffy."

Buffy turned to her Watcher and said, "You know her?"

"Yes...I do...I did...but it's been so long ago...How?" but before he could say anything more, or ask anything else, Deidra threw up her hand to wave off anything else Giles wanted to say. She walked over to the motorcycle and opened up the storage unit, taking out some bottled waters and dried fruit. Giles and Buffy silently joined her under the tree. Deidra handed them each a bottle of water, and they all drank deeply, washing the hot dust from their parched throats. Then Deidra took out a small first aid kit that was also stashed in the bike's inner depths. She handed it to Buffy, "Here, Buffy, clean yourself up and Rupert with this. Sit down in the shade of this tree, and both of you get some rest. I'm staying at a place not far from here. I'll bike over and grab the truck, and come back and pick you both up. You should be safe here until then. You'll stay with me tonight. When we're all rested, I'll answer some of your questions. And hopefully you can help me with some of mine."

With that Deidra picked up the knives that they had thrown on the ground, and put them back in her boots. She left them the sword, just in case, hopped on the motorcycle, and went back in the direction from which she had come.

Giles and Buffy sat down together under the tree, and tended to each others cuts and scrapes as best they could.

"Okay Giles, spill. Who is she? How do you know her? Can we trust her? I mean, she did seem to just save our lives and everything, which tends to make me like her a bit. And what a cool outfit and bike! So what's up?"

Giles took another long swallow from his water, sighed, and looked out into the desert.

"We grew up together."

"What? She's from England?"

"It's a long story.."

Buffy tipped her head at him. "Seems like we've got some time here. And I'd like to know what's up before she gets back. I don't know a lot about your past, besides Eygone and all that..."

"Well, Buffy, you've never really asked me. And my past never really mattered to you before."

Buffy saw the sadness in his eyes at that, and she squeezed his arm, "Giles, I'm sorry. You don't have to talk if you don't want to." It was obviously painful for him.

"No, I need to tell you now. It seems to be of some importance, at least Deidra's part in it." His eyes focused inward as he talked, reliving a past that had very little joy, but a lot of hard work and pain, and anguish, and darkness. A past he had tried hard to forget.

"I met Deidra when I was ten, after my father informed me that I would be a Watcher. Deidra moved in next door to us about the same time. She lived with foster parents, the Sestons, who never seemed to be around. They neglected her terribly, and my father took pity on her. Deidra and I would play together, and often she would be my Slayer, and I would be her Watcher. My father's Slayer, Louisa, had already past on years ago when I was just a baby. So Deidra and I would pretend to do battle with all the evil vampires of the world. At that time, it all wasn't real to me yet. It was all a game, make believe. I knew my father was a Watcher and had trained a Slayer, but I never really knew what that was. This was before I actually knew...what I came to know. Before I rebelled."

Buffy saw the pain in his face, the sadness. She took his hand in hers, and held it in her lap to give him some comfort. He looked down at her then, smiled a little, then looked back out at the setting sun, leaving his hand where she held it, but not really noticing it was there.

"Deidra's foster parents worked for the Council, so she had access to books and such. Since they rarely seemed to be home, she spent a lot of her time with their books. She became fascinated with Slayers, and Watchers. She became more and more excited for me, where as I was turning from my destiny more and more. Deidra had wanted to be the Slayer. My father thought it would be good for me to have someone to train with, so he trained both of us together, as if she truly was the Slayer. I think he missed his Slayer, and training her gave him some comfort. Of course, she didn't have your super strength or healing, and there were several times that I bruised and battered her. Yet, as far as I know, the Sestons never seemed to notice. Or perhaps they just didn't care. It was very sad for her. And it seemed like I was her only friend."

Buffy thought about the Scooby gang, and how lucky she was to have so many close friends, that cared so much about her. She thought about her mother, and how she had hated her meddling. and now she would give almost anything to have her mom alive again, to make her pancakes again, to annoy her again.

"It was good that she had you Giles. She must have been so lonely."

"Deidra never complained. She just would lose herself in the training, and in the books. We would study together, and she always seemed to be one step ahead of me, even though I was the older one by two years. I used to tell her that since she couldn't be a slayer, she should be the Watcher since she was better at it than me, and I could live the fancy and free life. She would punch me in the shoulder and lecture me about my destiny, and tell me how lucky I was to get to save the world, and fight evil. How she was nothing in comparison to that. I tried to tell her that she was so important, to not talk like that, but, well...I don't think she ever quite believed me."

"That must be one of the reasons you always get upset with me when I say negative things about myself. I'm sorry. That must bring up these kind of memories for you."

Giles squeezed her hand, "Buffy, you know by now how important you are to me, to your friends, and to the world. I always tried to support you, and make you believe in yourself. But ultimately a person can only find that within themselves."

Buffy nodded in agreement. "So, what happened to her?"

"To tell you the truth, I'm not sure. When I turned 17, and was accepted at Oxford, I couldn't wait to tell her. We had planned to go to Oxford together. I would be accepted first, and she would follow me in the next two years. I thought that perhaps I could accept my destiny with her at my side. I went over to her flat to show her my acceptance letter. I was so excited and couldn't wait to show it to her."

"Giles, is there something you aren't telling me? Were you and Deidra...ahhh, well...were you more than just friends?"

Giles frowned, and looked down at the road as if he was examining the gravel and it's make up. After a bit he sighed and said, "We were never intimate, if that is what you mean. We were best friends. She was like a baby sister to me. We loved each other, but it never grew past friendship. We were still young then, and so entrenched in the Council's ways and means...but, I'm getting ahead of myself here."

He turned and smiled at Buffy, then looked back at the sunset as if he couldn't stand to look at her while he bore his soul.

"When I went to the Seston's to talk with Deidra, no one answered the door. This happened at times when any of us were engrossed in our research and studies."

Buffy chuckled at that, knowing how even now Giles would be so in to a book, that a nuclear bomb could go off in his living room, and he would fail to notice.

"I knew where the spare key was, so I let myself in as I had done a million times before. I called out her name, but no one answered. I went into the library, and it was a mess. It looked like there had been a fight. The table was on it's side, chairs were broken, and the books and papers were scattered everywhere. I ran home and rang up my father. He was at the Council offices that morning for an emergency meeting, and they wouldn't let me talk to him. I tried getting a hold of the Sestons, but they wouldn't let me talk to anyone. I was about to call the police, or somebody, when my father walked in the door. I started to tell him what I had found, and tried to take him over to her house, but he just sat me down and said he had to tell me something. I remember the dread I felt at his words, and I knew then that I would be as lost as Deidra was.

My father told me that Deidra was gone, and that I should forget about her. He would not tell me where she was, what had happened to her. It was like she never existed. He told me not to look for her, not to do anything...to go to Oxford, fulfill my destiny, and forget about her. There was no avenue for me to pursue, he said, except for my destiny as a Watcher. He had been so cold.

I never saw Deidra, or even the Sestons, again. That night a truck pulled up to their home and hauled all their furnishings away. I tried to talk to my father about it, but was only greeted with silence, or instructions to go back to my studying. I left for Oxford that fall, vowing to never forget her, and to do what I could to find her."

The sun finally set, and Buffy shivered. She wasn't sure why she was shivering, because it was still blistering hot out. Giles didn't seem to notice. He wasn't there before her anymore. He was in Oxford, as he continued the story.

"When I got to Oxford, I met Ethan Rayne, as you know. I got swept up in black magic, and eventually dropped out of Oxford. My rebellion was full force by then. I had no way in which to pursue Deidra, and once I got lost in the darkness of the magic, I lost myself completely. Then my parents passed on, and I came around eventually to accept my destiny. The Council took me in and began to get me ready. I asked once about Deidra, but it was if indeed she never existed. No one even seemed to know who she was, or anything about her. I was told to focus on my future, my destiny, and then I was sent to you. I haven't even thought of Deidra in all this time. Once, when I first met Jenny, I thought of her for a moment. The way Jenny would tease me, and tilt her head and smile. Deidra would do that. But I had moved on. Deidra was just a part of my past that I had let go. A past that I had been instructed to forget, and that task I carried out."

Deidra pulled the motorcycle into the barn, and threw the tarp over it to hide it as best as she could. Then she ran into the house to change. The leather was great for biking in, and fighting in, but not the most comfortable ensemble in her wardrobe. She pulled on some old Levis and a blue flannel shirt, then headed quickly to the kitchen. Deidra was sure her two new companions were as famished as she was, so she made up some turkey sandwiches to take with her.

Her mind was a jumble as she drove back to them. After all this time, she had found them. She had found him. But once he knew the truth, would he look at her in friendship as he once had? Would Buffy understand the truth? Would they trust her? Could she make them listen, and understand? And ultimately, would they help her to understand so she could fight her own destiny?

She wouldn't hold it against them if they didn't. She knew all to well how dastardly the Council had treated them both. Especially at Buffy's eighteenth birthday, and then all the rigor moral they put Buffy through before Glory. Buffy had left the Council, and Giles had been fired. Her research had told her that Giles had been fired because he had gotten too close to his Slayer. He "had affection for her", is what the journals said. This affection and loyalty to Buffy had caused him to stay by her side, even after his termination. Deidra knew it was more than affection and loyalty on his part, however. It was his destiny. It was even Buffy's destiny. But what part did Deidra play in all of this? How could she come to gripes with her own destiny? She couldn't even come to gripes with herself, who she was…let alone what she would be. She prayed that Rupert and Buffy could help her. That is why she searched for them for so long. Knowing Rupert was out there, that he would help her, is all that kept Deidra going these last twenty years. She hoped it would all come to pass, but she had grave doubts.

Deidra's doubts mounted as she drove up towards the tree, and saw them holding hands. It was a fierce loyalty they had for each other. Would they fear that Deidra was trying to tear them apart?

Giles and Buffy stood up, and brushed themselves off. Giles picked up the sword, and carried it into the cab of the truck with them, placing it at his feet. Buffy squeezed into the middle, with Giles on the passenger side. It wasn't a big truck, just a little pickup, but it was better than riding three way on a motorcycle.

While Buffy and Giles had climbed into the truck, Deidra had gotten the ice chest out from the bed of the truck. "Here you are. I made some sandwiches. I ate mine on the way," she said with a small grin. "Eat up. You must be starving."

"Wow, thanks. I could eat a Lossoga demon!" Buffy teased, as she took a gigantic bite out of the turkey sandwich. Giles smiled and started in on his as well.

"So tell me about these demons. What are they? And how did this fierce battle come to pass today?"

Buffy looked too busy eating to answer, so Giles obliged. "The Lossoga demons are a mercenary species from another dimension. We aren't sure what brought them here to ours. Spike…er…well.."

Buffy chuckled and took over the discussion. "What Giles is trying to tell you is that a friend of ours, who just happens to be a vampire with a soul, heard a conversation in one of his local haunts in Sunnydale. Willy's bar, it's called. He was there having a pint of…well, just a pint. I'll leave it at that. Anyway, he heard these other two demons talking about this prophecy. We are big on prophecies in Sunnydale, so Spike perked up his vampish ears." Buffy stopped to take the last bite of her sandwich.

"When Spike learned all he could, he came to my flat to tell me about it," Giles continued. "I looked up the prophecy in one of my books, and it described these Lossoga demons."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you mean after making us all research for five days straight your books finally told us."

Giles scowled at her. "Nothing ever comes easy, and the discipline of the research brought us the answer, didn't it?"

"Sure, I guess. If you call telling us to track them into the desert so that they could surround us and almost kill us an answer."

The desert road started to develop more and more vegetation, until finally they traveled in a dense forest. The shade of the trees were cool, and the sun had completely set now. Deidra had the headlights on, and it was almost a peaceful drive, if not for the conversation.

Giles continued to scowl at Buffy as he went on with the story. "Yes, well. Back to the research. The Lossoga demons came to this dimension to find what the prophecy calls, 'The Forgotten One'. Once they had this 'Forgotten One' they could use it to bleed their dimension into ours, thus ending our world as we know it. However, we still aren't clear on whether they use it, or were just hunting it for someone or something else. Either way, we had to stop them before they found it."

Deidra remained calm on the outside, but her insides were churning. "Did your research tell you what or who this "Forgotten One" was?"

"No," said Buffy. "We just decided to kick some Lossoga ass before they could get it. In retrospect, Giles, perhaps we should have brought more of the gang with us. I know we needed them to stay in Sunnydale to protect the Hellmouth and all, but if not for your friend Deidra here, we would have all been toast!"

Deidra's heart had lurched at Buffy's phrasing of 'your friend'.

"Speaking of which, Deidra," Buffy went on, "Giles filled me in on…uh…everything. That you two grew up together. And then the mystery of your disappearance and all. I think it is your turn to tell a story. And by the way, Giles, this kind of research is much more interesting then your stuffy books."

"Books are not stuffy at all, Buffy." Said Deidra. "Books can open you up to an entirely new world. Their words can save your life. Their words can become your life. Their words can redeem you, and give you purpose. You, out of anyone, should know that."

Buffy and Giles just stared at her, both with wonderment, and knowledge of the truths of her words. Giles recognized his friend at last.

"Well, Deidra. You obviously know a lot about me. At least, you know who I am, and you most definitely know Giles. So tell us, what happened to you?"

Before she could answer, Deidra veered the truck off the road to the left towards a small but neat looking barn. "Here we are, at the ranch. Let's get settled. I'll make us all some tea, and we can sit comfortably in the living room. And then I'll tell you everything I can. I do want to. It's why I'm here, after all."

She pulled the truck into the barn, next to the covered motorcycle. She led them to the house and pointed out two of the spare bedrooms and bathroom. As they washed and settled, she put on the tea. The three of them then gathered in the living room. Giles and Buffy sat next to each other on the sofa, while Deidra took the lounge chair opposite them.

"Nice place you have here." Buffy commented, as she looked around at the small but comfortable little ranch house.

"Thanks," said Deidra. "It's not mine, really. I'm just renting it. As you might have figured out by now, I've been researching you two for some time now. I knew you were on your way to this area. Actually, I had been in Sunnydale right before you left. I just missed you. I tried to question this young girl at your store, Rupert…Anya I think her name was?"

"Yes, Anya. Didn't get much out of her I'll bet" Buffy snickered. "So you were looking for your old friend Giles here? After all these years you were just going to pop in and say howdy?"

Deidra and Giles looked at each other then. For the first time, Giles could see the pain and fear in her eyes. He tried to smile through his own pain. "Deidra, please…what happened? I tried to find you at first, but they wouldn't let me. You seemed to cease to exist. What happened to you?"

Deidra sipped her tea, and then settled back into her chair. She looked at both of them, swallowed her fear, and decided it was now or never. "I was kidnapped by the Council."

"Kidnapped?!" Gasped Giles. "But why?"

"You have to ask her why Giles? Because they're evil, that's why. Geesh." Buffy rolled her eyes at Giles and turned back to Deidra. The look on Deidra's face made Buffy pale, and she stilled herself.

"They kidnapped me because I found out who my real father was."

Giles leaned forward, intent. "And who was he?"

"Not 'was', Rupert. 'Is'. He is. He is someone you know."

Buffy looked at Giles, and then back at Deidra. "So, who is it then?" She asked.

"My father is Quentin Travers".