More or Less-- Method

It was all horrid. Giles's life was in shambles. He most likely had a son that was now dead. Giles had known Reginald all his life but never thought he could be his son. Perhaps he had suspected once, but not for thirty years. Now Giles could not help but think he had been a terrible father to him. He had given him Pink Floyd records and sent him American footballs and patted himself on the back thinking he was something of a good uncle-type. Yet, that wasn't what sickened Giles. Sometimes Giles wished Reginald had been visibly part demon. He usually wished that before his eyes shut with exhaustion. Reg was most likely conceived out of an orgy with a chaos demon during some unfortunate times in the 1970s and if the boy had showed signs of being part demon Giles would know he had not just lost a son. Giles was sickened by the selfish ridiculous thought of his, but still this paled in comparison to his self-loathing as he lay over the restless body of the amazing grown child he had tried to be a father to. It was almost comically tragic that Buffy and Reginald had been lovers; Giles had only thought they would enjoy knowing each other, being the same age and having common interests...Perhaps he had hoped something would happen between them. He honestly couldn't remember. It seemed an inappropriate circumstance to have ever hoped for now, and that wasn't because a god-witch had killed Reg and put this death spell on Buffy. It simply seemed wrong to have wished Buffy to couple with anyone as she looked more child-like to him now then the first time he had ever seen her; with her round teenaged face, and fashioned crooked ponytail, blowing bubbles with bubble gum, saying she didn't care. If only he could have left her to that. If only she could have continued being that brat. If only he could have left right then and not discovered only hours later how she may've been a brat but she was also kind and resourceful. Then she would not lay here like this, her eyes round and wide with the sea greenish blue pupils dulling with pain and fear, her no longer round face looking gaunt, her body looking frail—a child of almost 25.

"It's all my fault," Buffy whispered to the ghosts inside her head, her demons, whatever the god-witch had put upon her to kill her.

"Stop this, Buffy," Olivia said gently as she was drying Buffy's golden hair that she had insisted on washing.

"I never should have been born," Buffy continued to no one.

Giles let out his breath with pained relief as Buffy was again silent. She said few things, but Giles realized whenever she spoke it was usually two lines and then no more for hours. He wouldn't have to hear her audibly suffer for a while now. He relished the silence. Until Olivia broke it.

"Buffy, don't you—" Olivia began sternly as Giles's could see furious darker lines grove into her normally smooth dark oak forehead.

"Olivia!" Giles barked at his girlfriend, "For the last time, she cannot hear you. Neither shouting at her nor fussing over her is going to get you what you want. She's not your bloody doll!"

Giles grabbed the brush out of Olivia's hand and felt satisfied when it hit the wall and dropped with a loud echo. Olivia rose from Buffy's bed-side, her lips trembling. Giles was so relieved when he realized she was trembling out of anger and not despair that he could have pulled her in for a rough kiss, but Buffy still was here, even if she wasn't.

"And she's not your bloody Slayer!" Olivia shouted, "You told me you left that place, that bloody ivory tower of Watchers, because you'd never sit by with resolve as she died, and that's just what you're doin—"

"Don't talk to me about things you know nothing about. I should have left you the minute I saw on Whitworth street-- a brainless Hacienda groupie who spend more time on her hair then she did lying to me about how old she was."

Giles heard his voice come out quietly, but fiercely as he did pull his girlfriend to him now, but he was no longer thinking of sex, merely of how stupid she was.

"You did leave, Ripper," Olivia said as she pulled away from him, but never stopped matching his glare, "You left for a long time and then you came back and while I may've gained some brains I never stopped caring about the importance of caring for hair. I know Buffy hasn't either and when she wakes up she'll be happy it's been well kept. You might as well leave us both again if blustering is all you're going to do."

Giles knew Olivia would stay here with Buffy whether he became the grand hero or ran off like some boiling hot-headed git. He knew also Olivia would keep caring for Buffy's appearance even if he threatened her with death. He had thought his devotion to Buffy would be the death of he and Olivia's rekindling. When would he stop underestimating fashionable women?

"I'm doing all I can, 'Liv," he said as her heard the softness of his voice it made his throat want to close and he remembered why being a hot-headed git had seemed a good idea.

He'd rather truly become the fool he had been again when he had been raging through Manchester than to experience what he was going through now. It wasn't just his worse fear-- Buffy dying. He could laugh at himself for thinking he had gone through such pain to experience her death before. Now he had to watch her die, painfully, slowly and yet still with no awareness so she could find her resolve and come to acceptance as she had before. He longed for the time she simply jumped in knowing what lay before her—a hero's death. Instead of this. It had to be anything but this. He had to do something. If only he could twist some bones or go through torture, but this was all he could do. Pulling out all the players carefully like a tired old coach coming out of retirement. He longed for the voice of Buffy or Xander or—hell—even Spike to throw in a 'Rocky' joke.

"If you're doing all you can then where's your witch? Where's your vampire?" Olivia demanded softly as she held his face, "Charlotte said they are the only chance Buffy has--"

"They're coming," Giles said and he had to pull away from her, "I told Willow we needed her here and she'll tell the vamp—"

"Then where is she? You didn't tell her everything. I heard you. You really told her nothing. She thinks she's coming here to—"

"You don't know Willow, and the way I speak to her isn't any of your—"

"I didn't have much chance to speak to the girl --no; I only know how much time you spent with her to get her out of some darkness after she tried to end the world. If you don't trust her how--"

"It has nothing to do with that. I completely trust Willow. I trust her all too well. That's the problem," Giles smiled bitterly as he found his glasses on the desk and put them on, "Willow used to be-- You really never saw a girl so eager to learn and so pure, so naïve. Now, now she's a bit older and far more battle scarred, far more powerful. But sometimes power isn't enough. Sometimes it's dangerous, even with the purest of intentions. It can be especially dangerous when mixed with pure emotion. There is nothing she wouldn't do for Buffy as Buffy would do anything for her—and there's nothing I wouldn't do for either of them, which includes making sure that Willow does not enter into battle with this spell and Buffy's psyche impulsively fraught with emotion."

"That would kill them both," Olivia confirmed this more to herself, "But, she has no idea how dire the situation is and the sooner she arrives here-

"It's only safe for her to teleport across the world when the temporal planes are in alignment regardless as to whether she knows about the danger Buffy is facing, and what she'll chose to face. It might comfort you to know that she'll be here four hours earlier than if she took a plane, not to mention she can bring him with her."

"Him, you mean the vampire. Have you spoke to him? He's off with that doxy, 'Faith' is it? Bloody ironic name for a girl who tried to kill Buffy. What if she--"

"Faith is on our side and so is—so is the vampire."

"But you don't trust him, do you? It's blindingly obvious from your face. Doesn't he need to be closer than anyone to Buffy for this bloody spell to work?"

"Closer to her darkness; closer to her. I suppose they go hand in hand," Charlotte said entering the bedroom of her dead son with a decanter of incense.

She glanced at Giles as she moved around Buffy's bed. He glanced back at Charlotte in her mint green flowing blouse and long skirt. She looked as a Mother-Earth/academic/powerful middle-aged witch should as she waived the decanter around the bed where Buffy lay. They had to leave her in Reginald's bed as it wasn't safe to bring her out of the dwelling of the spell that bound her psyche. The incense looked like a ridiculous new-age ritual, but Giles new that it was a very powerful spell that was keeping Buffy from feeling any physical pain. He welcomed Charlotte's intrusion, not only for her spell, but for her mere presence of being a living breathing person that would interrupt whatever dance he and Olivia were doing.

"Well, what if he's forgotten about Buffy now due to that—Faith," Olivia flustered as she struggle to not insult a girl she had never met.

She demanded to know this from Charlotte, who was now a woman few people dared demand this from. Olivia looked as fiery and engaged as Charlotte did distant now. Giles became aware of the age difference between him and Olivia again. He almost wanted to smile at it.

"He seems too bloody fickle if you ask me. I don't think he's good enough. There has to be someone else that knows Buffy like this. I know you said that the only way he could possibly survive the spell was because he is not human, but there has to be someone else that--"

"Actually--" Giles began.

"He'll come," Charlotte said with resolve of the vampire she never met.

"How do you know? Did you put a spell on him?" Olivia asked.

Giles had to consciously make sure he did not share a glance with Charlotte on his girlfriend's naivety of witchcraft.

"I know because I know what it's like to know someone's darkness and their light and if you have any kind of a soul in your being you can't deny that person when they ask for help. The vampire will come, and as torn as he may be he won't be reluctant," the witch said as she smiled at Olivia briefly as then looked at Giles with distant grief and then turned away and left the room.

"She's not always that abrupt. She's just grieving Reg," Giles told Olivia.

"Poor Buffy, I think she was falling in love with him. Poor, Reg," Olivia sighed, "I don't care if she's abrupt, Rip. I care if she's right. You do think she's right. He will come?"

"It was never Spike's attendance I worried about. It was his methods.

TBC….very soon…(Not only did Spike and Willow hide the fact that Buffy's been back in this world, but now they're being asked to risk themselves to save her. Some people react to this news better than others. How far away has Spike moved from Buffy? Can she be saved? What the heck is a god-witch anyway?)