Title: The Second Storm
Author: 4ever
Disclaimer: If they were mine do you think this would be happening?
Feedback: I don't want to beg, but I'm begging you...
AN: I took a little liberty with ages here. Let's say that at the end of Season Five Buffy was 20 and Giles was 50. I know he's probably not that old, but I need him to make him ancient enough to be senile and 70 doesn't really qualify. Also I put Wesley in the 30s around the end of Angel's second season. There is absolutely no way he is that much younger than Giles, but let's pretend.
AN2: For those interested in writing detailed feedback. This fic was originally supposed to be a standard B/A run summarized by my own line ," Did she want eternal rest or was this life supposed to give her something more?" and the issue of age well summarized by the line from "The Bachelor" "Your wife is someone who looks into your face and still sees what you think you look like" or something like that. After I started writing I realized that I had a lot more issues to get through and so I started exploring the older relationship between Buffy and Giles and Buffy's interaction with the new slayer. The end result is that if it seems like there's no action with Angel and Buffy going on in the beginning be patient.
Chapter One: Forget the Storm
Buffy yawned and rubbed her eyes sleepily. Slowly, her buzzing alarm clock came into focus. The red numbers told her brain it was 6 o'clock, time to get up. Wearily, she reached for her sweats and hoped that the park would be deserted as she took her morning run.
Grabbing a quick breakfast, she was out the door in seconds. The sound of her feet hitting the pavement felt good. She let her breath out slowly and then changed her pace from a relaxep lope to a quick run. Had Xander seen it, no doubt, he would have made some comment about rocket boosters.
After a while the beat of her shoes against the pavement became regular and Buffy allowed herself to think. A quick shower, before she went off to buy some produce and visit Giles... Buffy let herself smile when thinking of him. He must be pushing 80 now. She went to visit him everyday as if he was one more part of the slayer inside her that slipped away as she grew older. He had always been a guiding force, her father figure. The years hadn't managed to change that, although they had altered his mind a little.
Sometimes she would go and his thinking would be clear as a bell. They would talk and laugh, even, telling each other about their lives. Buffy's students at the karate dojo were a constant amusement to Giles and Buffy loved to hearing him rant about the weaknesses and follies that were funny in the other inhabitants of the old age home.
Buffy shivered slightly to think of the day that she would be in one of those. At 50 she was still in shape and she often reminded herself that chinese masters got better as they grew older, like fine wine...
The day that Giles had announced he was moving into an old age home Buffy had felt as if the world was going to end. It had been ten years ago and Buffy had pleaded with him to come stay with her, but at that point she had been in a relationship with another Riley Finn and they had all expected the engagement to be anounced anyday. Giles had gone to the home, so as not to intercede. By the time the relationship had flopped Giles had his cronies and British friends and was really quite happy making fun of them to Buffy. She visited often, almost everyday. Call it guilt.
Sometimes she would go and his mind would be somewhere else. He would rattle on about the Codex and how he had mistranslated it and they had to figure out some way to get around the prophecy that she would die and stop the master. Buffy always tried to reassure him. She told him it was over and Xander had saved her and he would mutter something about mistranslation and rising again.
Buffy ducked into her apartment and casually flipped the switch of her blinking answering machine. The light was now streaming through her wall of windows. She listened to Dawn's voice play on the message machine as she pulled her sweaty clothes off to take a shower. Dawn babbled on about having a great time in Europe with her husband and two kids and how she would call back later. Buffy smiled as she stepped out of her cool shower. The water hung in tiny droplets on her skin and she grabbed a towel to dry off.
The white cotton blouse that she put on was simple and elegant even, with sleeves that went out as they journeyed to her wrists and a small white flower pattern around the modest neck. The skirt she put on was equally suited to a woman pushing 50, who didn't want to look like a Grandma. The entire outfit was ruined of course when she pulled out her cart, a metal thing with wheels that she took with her to go grocery shopping.
She had to pick some things up for a dinner she was having with Willow and Xander that night. Earlier in his life Xander had been married to the ex-demon Anya. They had, had one child, a small boy with Xander's eyes and hair. Tragically, soon after the baby was born Anya had been killed in a car accident. Xander had gone to pieces and Willow had been the only one able to pick them up. They had moved in together, Willow helping to take care of Todd, the little boy, while Xander tried to reconstruct his life. The three of them, Buffy, Willow, and Xander, had falled into their old camraderie. Todd had long since grown up and was in Pittsburg, trying to make a name for himself in the steel bussiness, but Willow and Xander still shared an apartment.
Buffy moved through her day with lightness and sprite. At the dojo she was a favorite among the students. When she put on her loose fitting uniform nothing on Earth could convince her that she wasn't 17 again.
After a grueling class she ducked into the office for a drink of water.
"Have you seen this storm they're having in LA?" Charlene, her partner in crime, asked her. Buffy looked up towards the blaring TV and suddenly flashed back to a night a long time ago when there had also been a storm...
Buffy remembered the thunder and lightning as she had gracefully jumped off the platform. Also there was the sickening dread when she realized she was going to die and never see her life again, for real this time. Then there was the old conflict raging inside of her. Did she want eternal rest of was this life supposed to give her something more?
Buffy shook her head to clear the morbid thoughts. "Forget the storm," she said, half to herself and half to Charlene.
Author: 4ever
Disclaimer: If they were mine do you think this would be happening?
Feedback: I don't want to beg, but I'm begging you...
AN: I took a little liberty with ages here. Let's say that at the end of Season Five Buffy was 20 and Giles was 50. I know he's probably not that old, but I need him to make him ancient enough to be senile and 70 doesn't really qualify. Also I put Wesley in the 30s around the end of Angel's second season. There is absolutely no way he is that much younger than Giles, but let's pretend.
AN2: For those interested in writing detailed feedback. This fic was originally supposed to be a standard B/A run summarized by my own line ," Did she want eternal rest or was this life supposed to give her something more?" and the issue of age well summarized by the line from "The Bachelor" "Your wife is someone who looks into your face and still sees what you think you look like" or something like that. After I started writing I realized that I had a lot more issues to get through and so I started exploring the older relationship between Buffy and Giles and Buffy's interaction with the new slayer. The end result is that if it seems like there's no action with Angel and Buffy going on in the beginning be patient.
Chapter One: Forget the Storm
Buffy yawned and rubbed her eyes sleepily. Slowly, her buzzing alarm clock came into focus. The red numbers told her brain it was 6 o'clock, time to get up. Wearily, she reached for her sweats and hoped that the park would be deserted as she took her morning run.
Grabbing a quick breakfast, she was out the door in seconds. The sound of her feet hitting the pavement felt good. She let her breath out slowly and then changed her pace from a relaxep lope to a quick run. Had Xander seen it, no doubt, he would have made some comment about rocket boosters.
After a while the beat of her shoes against the pavement became regular and Buffy allowed herself to think. A quick shower, before she went off to buy some produce and visit Giles... Buffy let herself smile when thinking of him. He must be pushing 80 now. She went to visit him everyday as if he was one more part of the slayer inside her that slipped away as she grew older. He had always been a guiding force, her father figure. The years hadn't managed to change that, although they had altered his mind a little.
Sometimes she would go and his thinking would be clear as a bell. They would talk and laugh, even, telling each other about their lives. Buffy's students at the karate dojo were a constant amusement to Giles and Buffy loved to hearing him rant about the weaknesses and follies that were funny in the other inhabitants of the old age home.
Buffy shivered slightly to think of the day that she would be in one of those. At 50 she was still in shape and she often reminded herself that chinese masters got better as they grew older, like fine wine...
The day that Giles had announced he was moving into an old age home Buffy had felt as if the world was going to end. It had been ten years ago and Buffy had pleaded with him to come stay with her, but at that point she had been in a relationship with another Riley Finn and they had all expected the engagement to be anounced anyday. Giles had gone to the home, so as not to intercede. By the time the relationship had flopped Giles had his cronies and British friends and was really quite happy making fun of them to Buffy. She visited often, almost everyday. Call it guilt.
Sometimes she would go and his mind would be somewhere else. He would rattle on about the Codex and how he had mistranslated it and they had to figure out some way to get around the prophecy that she would die and stop the master. Buffy always tried to reassure him. She told him it was over and Xander had saved her and he would mutter something about mistranslation and rising again.
Buffy ducked into her apartment and casually flipped the switch of her blinking answering machine. The light was now streaming through her wall of windows. She listened to Dawn's voice play on the message machine as she pulled her sweaty clothes off to take a shower. Dawn babbled on about having a great time in Europe with her husband and two kids and how she would call back later. Buffy smiled as she stepped out of her cool shower. The water hung in tiny droplets on her skin and she grabbed a towel to dry off.
The white cotton blouse that she put on was simple and elegant even, with sleeves that went out as they journeyed to her wrists and a small white flower pattern around the modest neck. The skirt she put on was equally suited to a woman pushing 50, who didn't want to look like a Grandma. The entire outfit was ruined of course when she pulled out her cart, a metal thing with wheels that she took with her to go grocery shopping.
She had to pick some things up for a dinner she was having with Willow and Xander that night. Earlier in his life Xander had been married to the ex-demon Anya. They had, had one child, a small boy with Xander's eyes and hair. Tragically, soon after the baby was born Anya had been killed in a car accident. Xander had gone to pieces and Willow had been the only one able to pick them up. They had moved in together, Willow helping to take care of Todd, the little boy, while Xander tried to reconstruct his life. The three of them, Buffy, Willow, and Xander, had falled into their old camraderie. Todd had long since grown up and was in Pittsburg, trying to make a name for himself in the steel bussiness, but Willow and Xander still shared an apartment.
Buffy moved through her day with lightness and sprite. At the dojo she was a favorite among the students. When she put on her loose fitting uniform nothing on Earth could convince her that she wasn't 17 again.
After a grueling class she ducked into the office for a drink of water.
"Have you seen this storm they're having in LA?" Charlene, her partner in crime, asked her. Buffy looked up towards the blaring TV and suddenly flashed back to a night a long time ago when there had also been a storm...
Buffy remembered the thunder and lightning as she had gracefully jumped off the platform. Also there was the sickening dread when she realized she was going to die and never see her life again, for real this time. Then there was the old conflict raging inside of her. Did she want eternal rest of was this life supposed to give her something more?
Buffy shook her head to clear the morbid thoughts. "Forget the storm," she said, half to herself and half to Charlene.