Title: Christmas Truths
Author: Chalgyr Vokel
Feedback: Always welcome
Summery: Giles comes home just in time for Christmas, Sunnydale style
Archive: Email and ask
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: It's obviously not mine
Authors Note: Christmas Truths was written in response to the Christmas Challenge found at Love's Bitch (http://gilly_bean2.tripod.com)
.~*~. .~*~. .~*~. .~*~. .~*~.
"What you call a lie is simply my version of the truth…"
"I don't understand you anymore," Samantha said in exasperation.
The large man in front of her shrugged and said, "What is there not to understand?"
"For one, why can't you give me a straight answer?"
Ryan shook his head and had begun to pace. "I thought I had."
"No, what you did was give me a line of bull," Samantha reiterated.
Ryan clenched and unclenched his fists. Everything had started innocently enough. He had never meant to let things escalate like this. It was a small white lie that would eventually snowball into something far larger. Now he was caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar and trying to make things right. "I'm sorry-" he began.
Samantha raised her open hand in his direction and asked, "What are you sorry about Ryan? The fact that you did not tell me the truth, or that you got caught doing it?"
"That I got caught," he said. Ryan paused as soon as the sounds escaped his lips. He had been ready to say that he was sorry for having been untruthful in the first place. It was the truth in fact. Still, the other words were the ones spoken.
Samantha scoffed and turned to leave. "I have had it with you and your bullshit lies." That was the one word that had yet to be spoken.
"My lies?" Ryan said incredulously. In fact the words being spoken seemed strange to him altogether. It seemed to himself as though he was drinking. His mouth and body seemed to me moving of their own accord. "What you call a lie is merely my version of the truth!"
The last was said with something of a strange smile on the young man's face. Samantha paused and turned back to look at her boyfriend. "You are such an ass," she said before turning her back to him again. She started down the hall but again paused and this time looked down. There was a white mist swirling around Samantha's ankles and growing thicker by the moment.
Turning back towards Ryan, Samantha gasped and stood motionless. Before her was an imposing figure, standing at least a foot taller than her, and Samantha was a tall woman. A pair of leathery wings unfolded from his back slowly, making the figure look even larger than he was. The wings were a dark shade somewhere between purple and navy. Its skin was a dark olive green that was smooth and stretched taught over a toned frame.
"Who are you?" she asked.
The figure smiled as the fog continued to grow more dense. The smile on its visage was identical to that of Ryan's moments before, who was now on the floor, no longer breathing. The creature's finger was long and narrow, the nail at the end long enough to give the impression of a claw.
Palm turned upward, the creature curled his index finger towards his palm, then extended it to the girl before closing it to his hand again. The motion to step forward was not lost on the woman, who wanted nothing more than to simply turn and run. She could not however, tear her eyes from the creature's strangely yellow ones.
Instead of backing away, Samantha felt one foot step in front of the other only to be followed by the second foot a moment later. "What are you?" she managed to stammer out in a hushed voice.
The creature opened its arms and wings as though awaiting a hug from the girl. As she continued forward and neared the demon, a snake-like tail wound around her ankle and the leathery wings slowly began to close around her.
"I am the truth."
Dawn was hanging ornaments on the Christmas tree one at a time. She frowned as the bulb she was attempting to hook continued to drag the branch down into a downward droop. The needles made a softly rustling sound as they scraped against one another, and to the carefully listening ear there was a slight ringing from the other ornaments bobbing upon the branches.
The corners of her mouth turned up into a small smile as Dawn found a sturdier limb to hang the glass orb on. Taking a step back, Dawn nearly stumbled as the back of her foot struck the cardboard box on the floor. It was filled with tissue paper and had been holding the ornaments about two hours before.
"It would be nice to get a real tree," she said with a slight sigh. "I bet it would smell a lot nicer than this one does."
"Yeah, but at least we don't have to clean up a bunch of pine needles when they dry up and fall off," Willow said.
"I would be willing to vacuum up the needles. Besides, it would be a nice surprise for Giles when he gets here."
Willow smiled at the librarian's name and nodded. "I can't wait for him to get here!"
Xander laughed as he walked in from the kitchen and asked, "Dare I even ask what everyone's going to get him for Christmas?"
Willow frowned slightly and said, "Well, I'm sure someone will get him a present besides a book."
Xander paused and tilted his head slightly. "Oh? What did you get him for Christmas, Will?"
She looked down somewhat sheepishly and said, "A first edition print."
Xander nodded and smiled, turning back to the kitchen so he could find something else to snack on. "When does Giles arrive?" Dawn asked.
"I think Buffy is picking him up tonight," Willow said.
"Is she going alone?"
"I think Spike's going with her," Willow said.
"Oh, that should be fun," Xander remarked as he entered the room again with a chuckle.
"You know blondie, if you drive any slower, I am going to be sitting in here come sunup," Spike remarked before tapping the glass with his knuckles. "Bloody greenhouse then." Of course he was being sarcastic, as it had only been sundown a couple of hours and they were nearly at the airport.
"Don't make me regret bringing you with me," Buffy said as she turned down the drive leading into the airport.
"You mean you don't already?" Spike asked.
"Starting to," she quipped back, but smiled as she glanced at the blonde vampire out of the corner of her eye. Spike chuckled once as he peered through the glass window again and watched the planes overhead flying past.
After battling an old woman for a parking spot, Buffy and Spike made their way from the lot to the port itself, waiting for Giles' arrival. Several long minutes passed as Buffy was shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Spike was far more relaxed, his shoulder propped against a wall.
"Giles!" Buffy exclaimed while waiving a hand at the librarian. She started over towards him at a jog and came close to sprinting as Spike pushed himself off of the wall and strolled after the Slayer.
Giles greeted the young woman with a hug, setting down his luggage so he could wrap both arms around her. Spike looked down at the suitcases with a smug grin. "Oh, what is it, Spike?" Giles asked as he was slowly unwinding his arms from around Buffy.
"I was expecting them to be tweed, that's all," the vampire replied.
Buffy stifled a giggle, especially when Giles cast her a sidelong glance. "Not everything I own is tweed," he replied. Spike looked the other man over, his eyes lingering on Giles' jacket. "I said not everything."
Even Giles cracked a smile and thanked Buffy for meeting him. Spike even offered to help with the luggage as the trio made their way back out to the parking lot, where the old woman they had cut off earlier was still scurrying from row to row, looking for a place to part.
Once the elder woman spied Buffy again, she lifted her fist and started to yell, though the words were lost on the glass of her windows. Giles shot the blonde girl an inquisitive glance, to which Spike merely waved 'back' at the woman and shouted, "Yes, yes, Merry Christmas to you too, old girl." Buffy covered her mouth with her hand as they piled into her car and prepared to leave.
"Xander!" Willow exclaimed as she looked through the fridge. The dark-haired man poked his head around the corner and looked at his friend with curiosity etched into his expression. Willow pulled out the empty carton of eggnog from the fridge. Well, not completely empty. When she turned it upside down, a few drops slid free of the cardboard.
"I was thirsty," he said defensively.
"You know Buffy wanted to have some eggnog here for Giles when he arrived."
"Then he can use the other carton," Xander said.
Willow slowly moved her gaze towards the table where the second empty carton was resting in the middle like some strange centerpiece. "Lunch?" she reminded him.
"Oh yeah. Lunch." Properly chided, Xander hung his head for a moment, and then glanced up at the kitchen clock. "Well, the three of them should be gone a bit longer. I'll run down to the Kwick-Mart and pick up a few more."
Willow glanced at the circular clock and nodded. "Okay, but you had better hurry. They close in about ten minutes."
"I'll be back in five," Xander boasted as he tugged on his jacket and went out the door.
"What you call a lie is merely my version of the truth…"Counting out change, the girl smiled at the customer. The elderly gentleman glanced at his change with a perplexed expression for a moment. "This is change for a ten," he said.
The girl nodded slowly and replied, "That is because you only gave me a ten." The man glanced at the girl and chuckled with a nod.
"Sorry, lass. The memory is not what it used to be."
"No worries," she said. "Have yourself a good holiday."
"You too, ma'am."
Watching the man leave, the girl waited until the bell over the door jangled, indicating that it had just been closed. She smiled and closed the cash register, giving the twenty-dollar bill on top only a cursory glance as the bells over the door jangled again.
Xander entered the store and cut a path straight back to the dairy section. Grabbing a couple of cartons of eggnog, the young man nudged the door shut with his knee. Starting towards the counter, Xander stopped and grabbed a couple of bags of chips as well. He plopped everything down on the counter and pulled out his wallet as he prepared to pay.
"Um, sir?"
Xander looked up at the girl with an arched brow. "Yes?"
"You left the back cooler open."
Xander took one look at the pretty girl and apologized, setting his wallet down without thinking. Once back by the dairy, the cooler door was closed snuggly, just as he had thought it was. Pausing for a moment and shaking his head, Xander went back to the counter. "It should be shut now," he said.
The girl nodded and started to ring up his groceries. Xander looked around for a moment, patting down his pant pockets as well as his jacket. He then remembered having set down his wallet on the counter. Glancing at the tabletop, Xander began to shuffle and slide the groceries around.
"That will be twelve sixty-seven," the girl chimed.
Xander paused and glanced at her nametag. "Um, Samantha? Did I set my wallet down here on the counter?"
The girl appeared genuinely surprised and looked around for a split moment. "Not that I recall," she said.
Xander nodded very slowly, his eyes darting around almost frantically. "Crap, I just got paid today too." The girl hid her smile well. Shuffling the food around again, Xander accidentally knocked one of the bags of chips off of the counter, causing it to plummet to the floor on Samantha's side of the counter.
The girl turned with a sweet smile on her face. "Let me get that for you," she offered. Bending down to pick up the bag, Xander's eyes could not resist moving down to her back, legs, hips and rear… pocket, which is where his wallet was poking out of.
"Hey!" he exclaimed. "You have it!"
The girl paused for a moment, her fingers grasping the top of the bag of chips as she sighed. Slowly she straightened, only to find Xander's eyes on her intensely. "I do not have anything," she said with an even tone of voice.
"Right there, in your back pocket!" Xander said, reaching over the counter.
"Don't go reaching down there on me!" Samantha squawked as she stepped back. "Now I am going to have to ask you to leave before I am forced to call the police."
Xander sputtered for a moment, then started to circle around the counter. "Go ahead and call them. Maybe then I can get my wallet back."
"For the last time, I do not have you wallet!" she virtually screamed.
"You are such a lying little bi-"
"What did you call me?" Samantha said in a strange voice that gave Xander pause. He glanced down at her hands, then back up into her yellow eyes.
Xander replied, "What I called you was…" The thought remained unfinished though as he considered the fact that the girl's eyes had been emerald green moments before. "Scary. I am calling you scary," Xander said as he took a step back with a nervous expression. He glanced down and noticed that fog was forming around his ankles. Then, he looked up and noticed Samantha on the floor, and something standing over her.
The chatter at the Summers' home was lighthearted for the most part. There was a fair amount of catching up being done, mostly with Willow, Buffy and Giles. Xander had yet to return and Dawn and Spike were discussing ornaments for the tree. Dawn felt something was lacking, but was uncertain what it was.
Spike gave a few of the boxes look-overs, nodding at one. Dawn squealed and ran over to it. She had forgotten about it, because of the crumpled up red and green tissue paper resting on top of the other smaller boxes. These smaller boxes were filled with various kinds of candy canes.
"These will be perfect!" Dawn said as she gathered some up and unwrapped their box. Taking them out one by one, the young girl began to hang them on the tree. Mostly she used the thinner branches for the light canes. Spike started to open one from its tight-fitting wrapper, but just before it reached his lips, Dawn said, "Spike, those are for the tree."
Glancing down at it, Spike shrugged and put the straight end in his mouth for a moment. He paused and looked down. "Cherry," he said in observation.
Dawn smiled to herself and watched Spike made a somewhat interesting face. "Those are not new candy canes, Spike."
Shrugging again, this time lifting his eyebrows a bit too, Spike said, "How old are these?"
"I think last Christmas," Dawn said. Spike paused and looked at it. Dawn furrowed her brow slightly and said, "Or perhaps the year before."
"Or before that?" Spike asked, starting to set it down now.
Giggling softly, Dawn replied, "Could be." She started to hang the candy canes a bit longer and added, "But who are you to pick on something for being older than it looks?"
Spike considered this and lifted the candy cane back up with a nod. "Good call, nibblet. I'll be back," he said while walking out the door. Dawn just shook her head slightly and went about hanging the rest of the candy canes.
A couple of minutes later, the front door opened. Xander was back, shutting the door and wiping his shoes off. Dawn saw him first and said, "There you are! What took you so long?"
It took a moment, but then Xander said, "The store was closed when I got there. Hit a couple of traffic lights."
Dawn chuckled and said off-handedly, "There's only one light at this end of town."
Xander replied, "Well, I hit it both times."
Dawn nodded and said, "Well, Giles and Buffy are back. They're in the kitchen."
As if on cue, Buffy came out of the kitchen and saw Xander. "Hey Xander. I hear you killed off our eggnog."
"Nah, not me," he said. Then pausing, Xander fessed up and replied, "Yeah, I finished it off. Was going to get more, but I left my wallet here and couldn't pay when I got there."
Dawn overheard that remark but kept her mouth shut, though she eyed Xander warily. Spike was the next to exit the kitchen and come out into the room. He was dipping his candy cane in a cup like an Oreo cookie in milk. Except this was not milk, and the cane came out red.
"Spike? What are you doing?" Dawn asked.
"Dancing an Irish jig. Couldn't tell?"
"And in the mug?" Buffy found herself compelled to ask, despite herself.
"Blood, blondie." Everyone in the room grimaced, to which Spike replied, "What? I have no stomach for caramel, but you don't hear me harping on you every time one of you Scoobies eats a candy apple."
Buffy rolled her eyes as she headed back into the kitchen where Giles and Willow were still talking. "That, is arguably the most disgusting thing I have seen all month," Dawn said with a slight grimace. Xander was the last to follow the gang back into the kitchen, catching a glance for Dawn jus beforehand.
The next morning came far too quickly for most of the gang, though Dawn seemed to be the perkiest. When asked, she simply said she loved the day before Christmas nearly as much as Christmas Day. "Half the time, the waiting and guessing is most fun," she said to Willow.
A bit later that day, someone asked where Xander was. "He had to work," Willow said.
Buffy seemed a bit confused and looked at the redhead curiously. "He told me he had to get some last minute things for tonight." Dawn was at the sink, washing a few dishes as she silently considered what she was hearing.
Not too long after this discussion had taken place, Anya arrived, asking about Xander. "He said he was going to be here all afternoon," she said. This brought about several exchanged glances, which is when Dawn finally spoke up on the prior evenings discrepancies in his stories.
"Okay, any ideas on this weirdness of Xander's?" Buffy asked.
Giles pushed his glasses back into place with the tip of his finger and closed his eyes for a moment. He was getting conflicting feelings over that simple question. It was nice to not be chasing demons and finding problems on a daily basis, but by the same token, the Watcher missed the feeling of being needed.
"I will consult-"
"Your books?" Willow asked while guessing the end of his sentence.
"My friend overseas," Giles said with a slight chuckle. Standing up, the Watcher then said, "Excuse me," as he left the room and went to look for a phone.
That left the others huddled around the table, leaving the unspoken question lingering in the air. Finally it was Dawn who spoke up. "So, where is Xander?"
So far, Xander's day had been pretty straightforward. He had set out to do an errand or two, but had walked away with a few holiday decorations, a box of candy canes, a full tank of gas and several other assorted things he never paid for. The few times questioned, Xander threw together one lie after another.
What was truly amazing was the convincing nature of Xander's lies. There was suspicion, but never confrontation. There was an air about the tall tales that pulled them threw all of the scrutiny.
Making matters worse for Xander, was that he could not remember one lie from the next. It was as if he was walking someone else's paces, speaking someone else's words and at the moment was himself, yet not. Xander seemed to know what he was doing, yet was more spectator than participant.
And it was only getting worse.
"It just wouldn't be Christmas without a good demonic experience," Buffy said wryly.
"This is no laughing matter, Buffy," Giles said in reprimand.
"So, what are we looking at, Giles?" Willow asked.
Giles was seated at the table with a mug of warm tea between his hands. "My resource thinks this is a demon. One who deal in lies."
"Thaflin," Anya said.
Giles nodded after a moment and replied, "Well, um, yes. That it precisely."
"So what is this thing?" Dawn asked.
"Well, it is referred to in some circles as the Lord of Lies. Apparently he possesses a person and begins the business of forcing them to lie repeatedly. At first it's just small things."
"Like why a person did not pick up eggnog?" Dawn offered.
"That's precisely it, yes," Giles said. "Problem is, the lies escalate. Often leading to theft, murder and overall mayhem."
"Okay, so how do we get it out of a person?" Buffy asked.
"Well, if it is Thaflin, then there are two ways to expulse him. One is when the demon is confronted."
Anya piped up at this point and said, "That's right. He is rather panicky. If you challenge him, and steadfastly catch Thaflin in a lie, he will leave the host body."
"So, we call Xander a liar to his face, and we get the demon out of him, right?"
"There is, um, one small problem," Giles said.
"What's that?" Buffy asked.
"The person he leaves in this fashion perishes. Destroyed by their own deceit," the Watcher added.
"Also, he will try to find a new host," Anya added.
"Okay, what's behind door number two?" Buffy asked.
"It sounds easy enough, but it won't be." Giles took another drink from his tea, which was rapidly growing cool. "You have to get the host to speak a truth. A great, important truth."
"So why is that so hard?" Willow asked.
"Because the person is enthralled. All they speak is what the demon wants them to."
"What should we do?" Dawn asked.
Giles looked over at Willow with a steady gaze. He did not say a word. He did not have to. "I might have an idea," the redhead said after a time.
Spike arrived at the Summers' home before Xander did. The group was supposed to be exchanging gifts tonight, because of some commitments tomorrow during the day. "So let me get this straight," Spike said. "Droopy-Boy is supposed to be here any time, and he is carrying a demon in him?"
"What's wrong with demons?" Anya asked.
"Nothing," Spike said in his thick accent. "Rather partial to them, actually." He looked over at the others and asked, "So, what's the plan?"
"Well, when he gets here, Dawnie, Anya and I will stay in the next room as I work a truth spell," Willow said.
"And the rest of us sit out here like merry little elves, waiting for the spell to happen?" Spike asked. Willow nodded. Spike shrugged and asked, "Bloody marvelous. When do we get started?"
Just then, Xander walked through the front door. "Merry Christmas Eve," Xander said. He had a brown paper bag filled with all of his ill-begotten goodies.
To answer Spike's prior question, Dawn said, "We get started right now. We'll just go and grab the presents." Willow nodded quickly as her and Anya followed Dawn down the hall and into the next room where they had already prepared the room for the spell.
The rest of the gang stood around, looking at one another but not saying anything at first. Then Spike asked, "So, how was work today?"
Xander replied, "I didn't work today."
That is when Buffy said, "But you said you had to work."
Xander smiled a little before stating, "Well, I thought I did have to. Once I got there, I realized I was mistaken."
Spike nodded for a moment, then cut himself short as he waited. He was not sure if the spell would be complete yet or not. Then Xander asked, "So, what were you up to this afternoon down at the crypt?"
"Not bloody much. Mostly just waiting to see Buffy tonight," he responded. The blonde vampire paused as everyone else looked at him in mild surprise. Not the nonchalant answer they expected.
"Do you think they did it?" Buffy asked.
Before Giles could answer, Xander asked, "Did what?"
"Cast a spell of truth-telling," Giles offered up very quickly.
"I would label that a 'yes'," Spike said.
Xander started to back away from the others as he glanced at the door. "A spell of truth?" he asked. Just as he started to bolt, Spike moved over to him and grabbed Xander, not allowing him to escape. "Good lord, he's a feisty little scrapper, isn't he?" Spike remarked as Xander tried to kick and wriggle his way free.
"Why are you doing this?" Xander asked.
"To get you to tell the truth," Buffy said.
Giles realized that Xander was attempting to keep them all so busy answering questions that they could not ask him one. Just as the Watcher began to ask a question, Xander asked another question. "So, Giles, are you glad to be back?"
"Of course I am," the Watcher replied quickly.
"And what of Buffy? You glad to be back to babysitting her? I mean, that is all you do, right? Baby sit her?"
"That's not all I do," Giles said. "I help watch over her. That's part of being her Watcher. I missed her greatly."
"And she drove you away because of her helplessness?" Xander demanded.
"Yes, she was too reliant on me," Giles said, frowning all the while. "But-"
"And what about Spike? How many times have you wanted to stake him?"
"A great many, but-"
"Even since you've been back?"
"Well, yes, the thought had occurred to me," Giles said in a frustrated tone.
"Yeah, and what about me, Rupert?" Xander's voice had taken on a tense tone, and a deeper quality as his eyes quickly shifted to a very yellow shade.
"I think you are irresponsible and make far too many wiseass remarks for anyone's own good. You feel inferior, but often get in the way more than you help," Giles said.
Having heard part of what was going on, Anya had stepped out into the room and blurted out a question, "Xander, do you still love me?"
There was only a moment's hesitation before the dark-haired man nodded and replied, "Yes, I do."
The room grew eerily silent for several moments as the floor began to fog up from nowhere. Anya turned and yelled down the hall to Dawn and Willow, "You can end the spell. Xander answered."
Turning back to face the others, Anya paused as she saw the Thaflin standing in the middle of the room. Beside him was Xander, but unlike the others whom the demon had possessed, Xander was on his knees and breathing. Slowly the demonic form began to fade out with a howling sound, leaving everyone else in relative silence in the room. "Merry Christmas," Giles said softly, averting his eyes from the others.
The exchange of presents went quickly and rather quietly. "Here you go," Buffy said as she handed a card to Spike.
"Season's greetings," Spike said while reading the front and opening the card. Inside was a pair of angels with trumpets. He looked at Buffy and rolled his eyes. "You're a feisty one, aren't you, plum?" Buffy chuckled and leaned over, giving him a hug.
"I… really did not bother to get anything," the vampire said at first. Spike considered the card for a moment, then looked at the floor and picked up a scrap of wrapping paper. He then found a pen on an end table and used the white side of the paper to scrawl something down. He handed it to Buffy and said, "Happy Holidays."
Buffy read the words out loud. "Given the events of today, here is a present you can use any time, anywhere. Ask me anything, and I promise to always be truthful to you."
The Slayer smiled as she looked over the words and then up into Spike's eyes. "Thank you. This may be one of the most well-thought-out, if least expensive, gifts I have ever gotten."
Dawn smiled as she watched the two of them from around the corner. She was watching everyone chatting between himself or herself and chuckled when she saw Spike set down the Christmas card he had gotten. Dawn made her way over to the paper sack long forgotten that was resting on the floor by the front door.
Sifting through Xander's bag of ill-begotten goodies, Dawn smiled to herself and picked out the box of candy canes. "Cherry," she said as she crept over to the table where Spike's card was resting. "Sugary goodness," she commented while walking away. The blonde vampire was busy talking to Buffy in hushed tones as Dawn crept off to leave the surprise present behind for Spike to find later.