CHAPTER TWO
"Giles!" Spike called, barging through the front door to Giles' apartment. He quickly went further into the apartment, gently placing Buffy on the couch. He knelt down next to her, holding her hand gently, stroking it to stop her from whimpering.
Giles bounded down the stairs, surprised to see Spike there.
"What do you want?" Giles asked, annoyed.
Spike stood up and pointed to the bleeding Slayer. "She needs help and I don't have the supplies in my crypt to patch her up," he explained.
Giles stepped forward, his eyes widening as he saw his Slayer lying on the couch, bleeding and unconscious.
He raced towards the bathroom, grabbing his first aid kit. He knelt down next to Buffy and gently wiped off the blood, glad that it had stopped bleeding so abundantly.
"What did this to her?" Giles asked.
"Demon. Nasty bugger. I haven't seen one like that before," Spike said.
"What did it look like?" Giles asked, still trying to concentrate on tending to Buffy's wounds.
"Tall, slimy. Couple of claws. No horns. It was attacking some young bloke, but Buffy pounced on him and the guy got away. I'd say the demon was pretty pissed about losing his supper, so he went for the next best thing," Spike said.
"Would you recognise it if you saw it again?" Giles asked.
Spike nodded and stood up, walking towards where Giles kept his books on demons.
"I'll look, see if I can find anything."
Giles nodded and held a wet washcloth to his Slayer's forehead. He closed his eyes, painfully remembering the night he had been fired from the Council for loving this girl too much. If they thought that his love was a hindrance, they were severely wrong. His love was the only thing keeping their Slayer alive.
________________________
Spike had been looking through books for over six hours, finding no demon that even vaguely resembled the one that had attacked Buffy earlier. Giles was still sitting beside Buffy, trying to keep her rising temperature down.
"I don't understand this," Giles commented. "She's got a fever. She shouldn't.there's no reason for her to be sick after facing a demon."
Spike looked up, paler than usual.
"What?" Giles asked.
"There is reason if this is the demon that attacked her," Spike said, bringing the book towards the Watcher.
Giles took the book from him and began reading.
"Miedstayne," Giles read. "Good lord. But her blood would have had to have mixed with hers for it to have any effect."
"She wasn't the only one to get hurt Rupert. He had a big ole hole in his chest too," Spike said.
"The blood of a Miedstayne flows with ephemeral blood," Giles read. "Ephemeral."
"Short-lived," Spike whispered.
"The demon defends itself with its spilled blood," Giles continued. "That would mean that anytime someone tried to kill this demon, by making it weaker, they're making themselves weaker as well. It's practically impervious to harm."
"I'd say he planned this entire thing. They're smart, those demons," Spike said. "If he knew the Slayer was near, he'd find a person to lure her into his trap."
"He's weakening her defences," Giles said, reading further down the page.
"Leaving her open to everything," Spike said.
Giles rubbed his eyes and tried to calm his thoughts down. All he could think was that he was going to lose his Slayer again.
"So we find a way to stop it. Some protective barrier. A spell," Giles rambled.
"No!" Spike cried.
Giles shot him a look of hatred until Spike began explaining.
"You do some sort of mojo on her, you're likely to kill her. This demon's got power that we can't even begin to conceive. One little word wrong in an incantation and you'll have a dead Slayer on your hands," Spike said. "Again."
Giles nodded and tried to comprehend what was being said.
"What's the cure then?" Giles asked, scanning down the page for more information.
"Killing the demon. The blood would stop having an effect on her. Or else, mixing her blood with a demon that has healing qualities," Spike said.
"Healing qualities?" Giles asked.
"There's a book marked page toward the back that I was looking at. A mohra demon. It's blood flows with eternity. I'm guessing that it would help her," Spike said.
"Which is easier to kill?" Giles asked, his face showing the resolve he had to seek revenge on whatever had hurt his Slayer.
"Your best bet would be the injured Miedstayne. But that one's a bit tricky. If he cuts you, you and the Slayer will be sharing that couch," Spike said.
"Right now, I just want her back," Giles said.
~*~
Buffy groaned and rolled over, opening her eyes to see Giles sitting beside her.
She tried to take in her surroundings, but could only tell that she was lying in a bed in a place that looked vaguely familiar.
"Giles?" she whispered tiredly, reaching a hand out to him.
He looked up, a smile springing to his face. "You're awake."
"You're observant," she replied tiredly.
He took her outstretched hand and held it to his cheek, a single tear falling onto one of her knuckles. "You must be feeling better if you're making jokes," he said.
Buffy yawned tiredly and let her eyes fall shut. "What happened? I don't.I don't remember."
"You were attacked last night. Spike saved you," Giles said.
"Spike?" Buffy repeated.
"He brought you here."
She nodded and opened her eyes. "Tell him.tell him I said thanks."
She leant back against the pillow and let herself drift back into oblivion.
Giles stood up and walked down the stairs to see Spike grabbing whatever weapons he could.
"What do you think you're doing?" Giles asked.
"I'm going to find this thing and kill it. We can't waste time here Rupert, if you don't want her dead, then I suggest you get out of my way and let me hack this Miedstayne to pieces," Spike said.
Giles stood aside, unwilling to stand in Spike's way even though the chip in his head wouldn't allow Spike to injure him without causing some pain. Right now, Giles knew that Spike didn't care about any pain that was inflicted on himself.
Spike went to walk out the door but stopped at Giles voice. "She needs you, you know."
Spike turned to look at the Watcher, confusion in his eyes.
"She doesn't need me."
"She doesn't realise it, but she needs you more than she needs the rest of us. Why do you think she's been coming to you, of all people?" Giles asked. "You're the only one who understands her. If she were to lose you now." he trailed off, not even wanting to think of what would happen to his Slayer.
"You can't get rid of ole Spikey that easily, mate," Spike said. "I'll go, I'll slay, I'll come back. Simple as that."
Giles nodded and let Spike leave. He quickly took the book about the Miedstayne demon upstairs, sat beside Buffy and began to read further about the demons.
________________________
Spike walked quickly through the cemetery where Buffy had been hurt earlier. Spike was trying to track the Miedstayne's blood but all he could smell was the Slayer. Her blood was still on his clothing, and the cemetery was covered in it as well.
He heard something moving in the bushes behind him and quickly went into a fighting stance, his battle axe at the ready.
He ducked into the shadows as he saw the demon that had attacked the Slayer walking slowly out of the bushes. Through the darkness, Spike tried to see if the demon was still hurt. From the way the demon was walking, Spike could tell that it was still sore, but not incapable of inflicting some pain on the blonde vampire.
Spike quickly changed his plans and began following the demon to wherever it was going. It seemed to be returning to where he had defeated the Slayer earlier that night.
He followed silently, curious as to what the demon was doing.
He watched as the Miedstayne bent down to the ground, beneath the tree he had thrown the Slayer against and touch the bloodied earth. Spike could smell the Slayer's blood, and watched in disgust as the Miedstayne touched its fingers to its mouth, taking in the spilt blood.
Suddenly, without warning, the demon turned and stared directly at Spike. Spike froze in his position, the battle axe at the ready. The Miedstayne jumped through the air, landing a few inches in front of Spike.
Spike held up the axe, ready to take the creatures head off, but his wrist was caught by the demon.
"Leave this place," it growled deeply.
"Not bloody likely," Spike replied, grimacing as the pain from his wrist shot through to the rest of his body.
The Miedstayne swiftly lifted Spike off the ground by his wrist, leaving Spike's feet dangling in mid-air.
"You think you can defeat me, vampire? You think you can defeat me when I am almost at full strength?" the demon asked, a sick grin coming across his face. "She will die."
"Not if I can stop that happening," Spike said, his teeth clenched.
The Miedstayne suddenly dropped Spike, sending him sprawling to the ground. The Miedstayne stood over the fallen vampire and spat onto the ground.
"I give her two days. Tops."
With that, the demon walked away, leaving Spike clutching at his wrist.
Resolutely, Spike stood up and slowly made his way back to Giles' hoping that Giles had found something that could be of use.
~*~
"Spike!" Giles yelled as Spike stumbled through the doorway.
Spike nodded and headed straight to the kitchen, opening the freezer and removing whatever ice he could find. He quickly wrapped the ice in a teatowel and placed it gently on his wrist.
"You found the Miedstayne?" Giles asked.
"Found 'im. Didn't quite slay 'im though," Spike said.
Giles placed the book he had been reading in front of Spike and pointed to a passage about halfway down the page.
"No offence, but I'm too buggered to even think about reading something with that many words," Spike said tiredly.
"Well, I'll give you the short version then. The Miedstayne feeds off the blood of the Slayer," Giles explained.
"That's all it feeds off?" Spike asked.
"Only Slayer's blood can sustain the demon. That's why you've probably never seen one like it before. They're a dying breed because not many Slayer's are taken down by the demons. Most Slayers who have fought the Miedstayne were able to defeat the demon before their blood mixed. They killed the demon before it got away," Giles said.
"So why just Slayer's blood? I mean, I know it's extraordinary stuff and all, but.there are a lot more fish in the sea," Spike said.
"It's their blood," Giles said. "They're blood is basically the same. A Slayer has ephemeral blood. They never usually live past twenty, and if they do.Slayer's weren't designed to live past their twenty-fifth birthday- " he trailed off, not wanting to continue his explanation.
"Are you telling me that once a Slayer gets to twenty-five, she just croaks?"
Giles nodded. "I wouldn't have said it so vulgarly, but yes. Slayers die at twenty five."
"How? I mean.why?" Spike stuttered, disgusted that a Slayer could be killed off just because she had survived.
"It's only ever happened a few times," Giles said. "Their bodies just give up. A lot of Slayer's lose their will to live, and.some of them have killed themselves. Gone out to fight without a weapon and let the demons just take them. But, even if they wanted to live.a Slayer's body wasn't meant to last that long. It shuts down and.they eventually die. It acts like a cancer, but.there's no stopping it."
Spike looked at Giles in disgust. "These girls save the bloody world more times than anyone knows and their thanks is being bloody killed off. The Powers certainly have a sick sense of justice."
Giles nodded and looked towards the sleeping Slayer.
"I wish Willow had just left her where she was," Giles admitted softly.
Spike looked up sharply and saw that Giles was looking older than his years, more tired than anyone should look. He glanced towards the Slayer who was tossing fitfully in her sleep and nodded.
"She deserves better than this. She doesn't deserve to be killed by some bloody demon. Her death was.it was noble and brave and.as much as I'd like to say I hate Willow for bringing her back, at the same time I've never been happier in my life," Spike said.
Giles nodded and put his book down, wishing that the answers would just come to him without the effort of research.
"When I lost her the first time, I was so bloody scared that she would just give up, but.she didn't. And now she's back again, I don't know how much longer she can take."
"The first time?" Spike asked.
Giles looked at the blonde vampire, a little distracted by his own thoughts to register that the vampire had asked him a question.
"Hmm? Oh, she uh.she was killed by the Master five years ago. He drowned her, but.luckily Xander was there and.he was able to revive her."
"Which is why there's two Slayers. That makes sense."
Giles nodded and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "You should probably get home, get some sleep. If you could come by tomorrow, hopefully we'll have something a little more conclusive."
Spike nodded and stood up. "I should head to the Summer's home, the Nibblet's there by herself. I know she's worried about the Slayer not coming back."
Giles nodded gratefully, having completely forgotten about Dawn being at home by herself. "Yes.thank you."
Spike went to the door and looked back at Buffy who was whimpering a little as she slept. "Call if there's any change."
~*~
Buffy opened her eyes tiredly and looked up at Giles.
"Giles?"
Giles looked at her and smiled through his worry.
"Do you want something? Water, food?"
She shook her head and looked at him, her eyes looking as though she were trying to remember something that had escaped her memory.
"What is it?" Giles whispered, kneeling beside her. He took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Is Dawn safe?" she whispered.
"Spike's taking care of her."
Buffy smiled with relief and closed her eyes. "Good.he promised me.earlier tonight. Til the end of the world."
Giles looked at her in confusion. Had Spike been patrolling with her? Had she made him promise when she had fallen?
"Not a monster," Buffy whispered, Giles only just making out the words that made little sense to him.
He shook his head and reached for a notepad, writing down what she had said.
Giles could only watch helplessly as his Slayer fell back into a restless sleep, whimpering occasionally. It wasn't until she woke up in fright that Giles raced to her side, his arms going around her small body.
"What is it?" he whispered, pushing a strand of sweat soaked hair from her face.
"I have to go to her, she's got my sister!" Buffy cried, struggling to get away from Giles.
She pushed him aside and tried to stand, but her legs collapsed from underneath her, sending her sprawling to the ground. She tried to scramble to her feet, but Giles held her back, helping her onto the couch.
"Who's got Dawn?"
"Glory!" Buffy yelled. "She's got her, I have to save her!"
Giles shook his head, holding Buffy's hands together with one of his own, surprised by how weak his Slayer was.
"Your sister's safe, Spike's with her. Glory's gone, she's dead. We defeated her," Giles said.
Buffy refused to listen and struggled against him. Giles sighed and reached for the glass of water on the coffee table, trying to force Buffy to take small sips. Reluctantly, she swallowed, knowing that Giles wouldn't let go until he was satisfied.
She felt her eyes beginning to droop and she looked at him hatefully.
"If you hurt her, I'll kill you," she whispered before falling back into a dream-filled sleep.
Giles stood up, running a tired hand through his hair, wondering what was happening to her. He reached for his notebook and jotted down everything she had said, reminded painfully of the threat she had issued him when he had said he would willingly sacrifice Dawn if it meant that the world would be saved.
He sighed and took a seat on the couch opposite Buffy, his eyes closing to rest for a moment before sleep overtook his body.
________________________
He awoke with a start and looked to where Buffy was curled in a ball on the floor, rocking back and forth.
He raced to her, hugging her body to his, letting her rock them both back and forth. "Buffy what is it?"
She looked at him blankly, tears streaming down her face. "My mom.Giles, my mom."
She turned her head inwards and cried openly into her Watcher's shirt, feeling the weight of the world falling on her shoulders. He couldn't understand what was happening. He hadn't heard her mention her mother in the longest time, but.he supposed that being taken care of in the manner that he was caring for her was reminding her of the mother that had been so cruelly ripped away from her.
"It's okay Buffy.it'll be okay," he whispered.
She shook her head and gripped him tightly. "Have to.tell Dawn.she's at school.she has to know."
Giles felt his heart tighten. She wasn't upset that her mother wasn't here. She was upset because she believed her mother had just died.
"She knows.Buffy, she knows."
All he could do was rock her back and forth until his Slayer drifted back to sleep once more.
He sighed and rubbed his eyes, wishing that he knew what was happening to her.
"Giles!" Spike called, barging through the front door to Giles' apartment. He quickly went further into the apartment, gently placing Buffy on the couch. He knelt down next to her, holding her hand gently, stroking it to stop her from whimpering.
Giles bounded down the stairs, surprised to see Spike there.
"What do you want?" Giles asked, annoyed.
Spike stood up and pointed to the bleeding Slayer. "She needs help and I don't have the supplies in my crypt to patch her up," he explained.
Giles stepped forward, his eyes widening as he saw his Slayer lying on the couch, bleeding and unconscious.
He raced towards the bathroom, grabbing his first aid kit. He knelt down next to Buffy and gently wiped off the blood, glad that it had stopped bleeding so abundantly.
"What did this to her?" Giles asked.
"Demon. Nasty bugger. I haven't seen one like that before," Spike said.
"What did it look like?" Giles asked, still trying to concentrate on tending to Buffy's wounds.
"Tall, slimy. Couple of claws. No horns. It was attacking some young bloke, but Buffy pounced on him and the guy got away. I'd say the demon was pretty pissed about losing his supper, so he went for the next best thing," Spike said.
"Would you recognise it if you saw it again?" Giles asked.
Spike nodded and stood up, walking towards where Giles kept his books on demons.
"I'll look, see if I can find anything."
Giles nodded and held a wet washcloth to his Slayer's forehead. He closed his eyes, painfully remembering the night he had been fired from the Council for loving this girl too much. If they thought that his love was a hindrance, they were severely wrong. His love was the only thing keeping their Slayer alive.
________________________
Spike had been looking through books for over six hours, finding no demon that even vaguely resembled the one that had attacked Buffy earlier. Giles was still sitting beside Buffy, trying to keep her rising temperature down.
"I don't understand this," Giles commented. "She's got a fever. She shouldn't.there's no reason for her to be sick after facing a demon."
Spike looked up, paler than usual.
"What?" Giles asked.
"There is reason if this is the demon that attacked her," Spike said, bringing the book towards the Watcher.
Giles took the book from him and began reading.
"Miedstayne," Giles read. "Good lord. But her blood would have had to have mixed with hers for it to have any effect."
"She wasn't the only one to get hurt Rupert. He had a big ole hole in his chest too," Spike said.
"The blood of a Miedstayne flows with ephemeral blood," Giles read. "Ephemeral."
"Short-lived," Spike whispered.
"The demon defends itself with its spilled blood," Giles continued. "That would mean that anytime someone tried to kill this demon, by making it weaker, they're making themselves weaker as well. It's practically impervious to harm."
"I'd say he planned this entire thing. They're smart, those demons," Spike said. "If he knew the Slayer was near, he'd find a person to lure her into his trap."
"He's weakening her defences," Giles said, reading further down the page.
"Leaving her open to everything," Spike said.
Giles rubbed his eyes and tried to calm his thoughts down. All he could think was that he was going to lose his Slayer again.
"So we find a way to stop it. Some protective barrier. A spell," Giles rambled.
"No!" Spike cried.
Giles shot him a look of hatred until Spike began explaining.
"You do some sort of mojo on her, you're likely to kill her. This demon's got power that we can't even begin to conceive. One little word wrong in an incantation and you'll have a dead Slayer on your hands," Spike said. "Again."
Giles nodded and tried to comprehend what was being said.
"What's the cure then?" Giles asked, scanning down the page for more information.
"Killing the demon. The blood would stop having an effect on her. Or else, mixing her blood with a demon that has healing qualities," Spike said.
"Healing qualities?" Giles asked.
"There's a book marked page toward the back that I was looking at. A mohra demon. It's blood flows with eternity. I'm guessing that it would help her," Spike said.
"Which is easier to kill?" Giles asked, his face showing the resolve he had to seek revenge on whatever had hurt his Slayer.
"Your best bet would be the injured Miedstayne. But that one's a bit tricky. If he cuts you, you and the Slayer will be sharing that couch," Spike said.
"Right now, I just want her back," Giles said.
~*~
Buffy groaned and rolled over, opening her eyes to see Giles sitting beside her.
She tried to take in her surroundings, but could only tell that she was lying in a bed in a place that looked vaguely familiar.
"Giles?" she whispered tiredly, reaching a hand out to him.
He looked up, a smile springing to his face. "You're awake."
"You're observant," she replied tiredly.
He took her outstretched hand and held it to his cheek, a single tear falling onto one of her knuckles. "You must be feeling better if you're making jokes," he said.
Buffy yawned tiredly and let her eyes fall shut. "What happened? I don't.I don't remember."
"You were attacked last night. Spike saved you," Giles said.
"Spike?" Buffy repeated.
"He brought you here."
She nodded and opened her eyes. "Tell him.tell him I said thanks."
She leant back against the pillow and let herself drift back into oblivion.
Giles stood up and walked down the stairs to see Spike grabbing whatever weapons he could.
"What do you think you're doing?" Giles asked.
"I'm going to find this thing and kill it. We can't waste time here Rupert, if you don't want her dead, then I suggest you get out of my way and let me hack this Miedstayne to pieces," Spike said.
Giles stood aside, unwilling to stand in Spike's way even though the chip in his head wouldn't allow Spike to injure him without causing some pain. Right now, Giles knew that Spike didn't care about any pain that was inflicted on himself.
Spike went to walk out the door but stopped at Giles voice. "She needs you, you know."
Spike turned to look at the Watcher, confusion in his eyes.
"She doesn't need me."
"She doesn't realise it, but she needs you more than she needs the rest of us. Why do you think she's been coming to you, of all people?" Giles asked. "You're the only one who understands her. If she were to lose you now." he trailed off, not even wanting to think of what would happen to his Slayer.
"You can't get rid of ole Spikey that easily, mate," Spike said. "I'll go, I'll slay, I'll come back. Simple as that."
Giles nodded and let Spike leave. He quickly took the book about the Miedstayne demon upstairs, sat beside Buffy and began to read further about the demons.
________________________
Spike walked quickly through the cemetery where Buffy had been hurt earlier. Spike was trying to track the Miedstayne's blood but all he could smell was the Slayer. Her blood was still on his clothing, and the cemetery was covered in it as well.
He heard something moving in the bushes behind him and quickly went into a fighting stance, his battle axe at the ready.
He ducked into the shadows as he saw the demon that had attacked the Slayer walking slowly out of the bushes. Through the darkness, Spike tried to see if the demon was still hurt. From the way the demon was walking, Spike could tell that it was still sore, but not incapable of inflicting some pain on the blonde vampire.
Spike quickly changed his plans and began following the demon to wherever it was going. It seemed to be returning to where he had defeated the Slayer earlier that night.
He followed silently, curious as to what the demon was doing.
He watched as the Miedstayne bent down to the ground, beneath the tree he had thrown the Slayer against and touch the bloodied earth. Spike could smell the Slayer's blood, and watched in disgust as the Miedstayne touched its fingers to its mouth, taking in the spilt blood.
Suddenly, without warning, the demon turned and stared directly at Spike. Spike froze in his position, the battle axe at the ready. The Miedstayne jumped through the air, landing a few inches in front of Spike.
Spike held up the axe, ready to take the creatures head off, but his wrist was caught by the demon.
"Leave this place," it growled deeply.
"Not bloody likely," Spike replied, grimacing as the pain from his wrist shot through to the rest of his body.
The Miedstayne swiftly lifted Spike off the ground by his wrist, leaving Spike's feet dangling in mid-air.
"You think you can defeat me, vampire? You think you can defeat me when I am almost at full strength?" the demon asked, a sick grin coming across his face. "She will die."
"Not if I can stop that happening," Spike said, his teeth clenched.
The Miedstayne suddenly dropped Spike, sending him sprawling to the ground. The Miedstayne stood over the fallen vampire and spat onto the ground.
"I give her two days. Tops."
With that, the demon walked away, leaving Spike clutching at his wrist.
Resolutely, Spike stood up and slowly made his way back to Giles' hoping that Giles had found something that could be of use.
~*~
"Spike!" Giles yelled as Spike stumbled through the doorway.
Spike nodded and headed straight to the kitchen, opening the freezer and removing whatever ice he could find. He quickly wrapped the ice in a teatowel and placed it gently on his wrist.
"You found the Miedstayne?" Giles asked.
"Found 'im. Didn't quite slay 'im though," Spike said.
Giles placed the book he had been reading in front of Spike and pointed to a passage about halfway down the page.
"No offence, but I'm too buggered to even think about reading something with that many words," Spike said tiredly.
"Well, I'll give you the short version then. The Miedstayne feeds off the blood of the Slayer," Giles explained.
"That's all it feeds off?" Spike asked.
"Only Slayer's blood can sustain the demon. That's why you've probably never seen one like it before. They're a dying breed because not many Slayer's are taken down by the demons. Most Slayers who have fought the Miedstayne were able to defeat the demon before their blood mixed. They killed the demon before it got away," Giles said.
"So why just Slayer's blood? I mean, I know it's extraordinary stuff and all, but.there are a lot more fish in the sea," Spike said.
"It's their blood," Giles said. "They're blood is basically the same. A Slayer has ephemeral blood. They never usually live past twenty, and if they do.Slayer's weren't designed to live past their twenty-fifth birthday- " he trailed off, not wanting to continue his explanation.
"Are you telling me that once a Slayer gets to twenty-five, she just croaks?"
Giles nodded. "I wouldn't have said it so vulgarly, but yes. Slayers die at twenty five."
"How? I mean.why?" Spike stuttered, disgusted that a Slayer could be killed off just because she had survived.
"It's only ever happened a few times," Giles said. "Their bodies just give up. A lot of Slayer's lose their will to live, and.some of them have killed themselves. Gone out to fight without a weapon and let the demons just take them. But, even if they wanted to live.a Slayer's body wasn't meant to last that long. It shuts down and.they eventually die. It acts like a cancer, but.there's no stopping it."
Spike looked at Giles in disgust. "These girls save the bloody world more times than anyone knows and their thanks is being bloody killed off. The Powers certainly have a sick sense of justice."
Giles nodded and looked towards the sleeping Slayer.
"I wish Willow had just left her where she was," Giles admitted softly.
Spike looked up sharply and saw that Giles was looking older than his years, more tired than anyone should look. He glanced towards the Slayer who was tossing fitfully in her sleep and nodded.
"She deserves better than this. She doesn't deserve to be killed by some bloody demon. Her death was.it was noble and brave and.as much as I'd like to say I hate Willow for bringing her back, at the same time I've never been happier in my life," Spike said.
Giles nodded and put his book down, wishing that the answers would just come to him without the effort of research.
"When I lost her the first time, I was so bloody scared that she would just give up, but.she didn't. And now she's back again, I don't know how much longer she can take."
"The first time?" Spike asked.
Giles looked at the blonde vampire, a little distracted by his own thoughts to register that the vampire had asked him a question.
"Hmm? Oh, she uh.she was killed by the Master five years ago. He drowned her, but.luckily Xander was there and.he was able to revive her."
"Which is why there's two Slayers. That makes sense."
Giles nodded and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "You should probably get home, get some sleep. If you could come by tomorrow, hopefully we'll have something a little more conclusive."
Spike nodded and stood up. "I should head to the Summer's home, the Nibblet's there by herself. I know she's worried about the Slayer not coming back."
Giles nodded gratefully, having completely forgotten about Dawn being at home by herself. "Yes.thank you."
Spike went to the door and looked back at Buffy who was whimpering a little as she slept. "Call if there's any change."
~*~
Buffy opened her eyes tiredly and looked up at Giles.
"Giles?"
Giles looked at her and smiled through his worry.
"Do you want something? Water, food?"
She shook her head and looked at him, her eyes looking as though she were trying to remember something that had escaped her memory.
"What is it?" Giles whispered, kneeling beside her. He took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Is Dawn safe?" she whispered.
"Spike's taking care of her."
Buffy smiled with relief and closed her eyes. "Good.he promised me.earlier tonight. Til the end of the world."
Giles looked at her in confusion. Had Spike been patrolling with her? Had she made him promise when she had fallen?
"Not a monster," Buffy whispered, Giles only just making out the words that made little sense to him.
He shook his head and reached for a notepad, writing down what she had said.
Giles could only watch helplessly as his Slayer fell back into a restless sleep, whimpering occasionally. It wasn't until she woke up in fright that Giles raced to her side, his arms going around her small body.
"What is it?" he whispered, pushing a strand of sweat soaked hair from her face.
"I have to go to her, she's got my sister!" Buffy cried, struggling to get away from Giles.
She pushed him aside and tried to stand, but her legs collapsed from underneath her, sending her sprawling to the ground. She tried to scramble to her feet, but Giles held her back, helping her onto the couch.
"Who's got Dawn?"
"Glory!" Buffy yelled. "She's got her, I have to save her!"
Giles shook his head, holding Buffy's hands together with one of his own, surprised by how weak his Slayer was.
"Your sister's safe, Spike's with her. Glory's gone, she's dead. We defeated her," Giles said.
Buffy refused to listen and struggled against him. Giles sighed and reached for the glass of water on the coffee table, trying to force Buffy to take small sips. Reluctantly, she swallowed, knowing that Giles wouldn't let go until he was satisfied.
She felt her eyes beginning to droop and she looked at him hatefully.
"If you hurt her, I'll kill you," she whispered before falling back into a dream-filled sleep.
Giles stood up, running a tired hand through his hair, wondering what was happening to her. He reached for his notebook and jotted down everything she had said, reminded painfully of the threat she had issued him when he had said he would willingly sacrifice Dawn if it meant that the world would be saved.
He sighed and took a seat on the couch opposite Buffy, his eyes closing to rest for a moment before sleep overtook his body.
________________________
He awoke with a start and looked to where Buffy was curled in a ball on the floor, rocking back and forth.
He raced to her, hugging her body to his, letting her rock them both back and forth. "Buffy what is it?"
She looked at him blankly, tears streaming down her face. "My mom.Giles, my mom."
She turned her head inwards and cried openly into her Watcher's shirt, feeling the weight of the world falling on her shoulders. He couldn't understand what was happening. He hadn't heard her mention her mother in the longest time, but.he supposed that being taken care of in the manner that he was caring for her was reminding her of the mother that had been so cruelly ripped away from her.
"It's okay Buffy.it'll be okay," he whispered.
She shook her head and gripped him tightly. "Have to.tell Dawn.she's at school.she has to know."
Giles felt his heart tighten. She wasn't upset that her mother wasn't here. She was upset because she believed her mother had just died.
"She knows.Buffy, she knows."
All he could do was rock her back and forth until his Slayer drifted back to sleep once more.
He sighed and rubbed his eyes, wishing that he knew what was happening to her.
