New Horizons: Chapter Forty-Nine
The Continuance
By Annie
06-07-2002
Buffy stared at him and then she smiled brightly, tears rising in her eyes as Spike helped her down from the table and she turned to run up to her Watcher. She threw her arms around him in a hard embrace and Giles smiled a little as well, holding her to him.
"Hello, Buffy," he said softly and she pulled back, tears slowly running down her cheeks as she laughed.
"Hello, yourself," she said and he smiled wider, letting her go as she took a step back, wiping her tears with one hand and still smiling she looked at him. "I can't believe that you're here!" she said and turned to Spike, who was standing back a little, not sure what he should do.
He met her eyes, they were beaming, and he realized that the time had come to at least try to burry the hatchet with the man, he did mean so much to the Slayer.
"Welcome back," Spike therefore said, voice a little strained despite his effort and Giles turned his eyes on him, calm as always, and smiled a little.
"Thank you, Spike," he said and Spike nodded, not sure what the hell to say next.
Buffy solved his problem by opening her mouth and saying:
"Do the others know you're here? Of course they do, that was why I had to come home, right? You're here! I have so much to tell you, SO much has happened I don't even know where to start, it's."
"I know most of it," he interrupted and she stopped herself, looking at him for a moment and then smiling again.
"Oh, the others already filled you in on the oh-so-important details, huh?" she asked and now he grew slightly serious.
She swallowed, feeling a stitch of sudden fear at that expression.
"Giles," she said. "What's the matter.?"
He looked at her for a moment and then he shook his head.
"It's not so much something that's 'the matter' as it is."
"Are you done fighting? Can we come down?" Willow called down to them from upstairs and Buffy smiled a little, shaking her head.
"Yes!" she called back. "All is well, come friends!" she added and Giles smiled a little at that.
Willow and Xander came down with Dawn not far behind. Dawn looked at Giles with a big smile and he smiled back. Feeling like he had been gone for ages seeing how grown up she looked.
"Are you back to stay?" Buffy now asked, Giles drawing a small breath at the question.
"I'm not sure," he answered and she raised her eyebrows a little. "But, I think I am," he added and she stared at him before taking a step forward to give him another hug.
"I hope you are," she said silently. "I've missed you so much."
He nodded, feeling tears rise in his eyes.
"I've missed you too, all of you," he then assured warmly as they pulled apart a little. "Spike," he then said and the vamp looked up, questioning. "It's good to see you," Giles added, voice as hesitant as Spike's had been before.
Spike's eyes grew considerably at that.
If only he knew my reason, Giles thought to himself and then he felt Buffy's arm around his waist as she began walking into the living room to sit down. Lord, if only they both knew.
***
Torah stared into the mirror in the bathroom. She sighed a little to herself before ruffling her hair and trying to look sleepy. She never slept, and so the concept of having to spend almost one third of a day in bed seemed quite ridiculous.
She had decided that she should try to make her move on the vamp tonight. It shouldn't take long and then she could start to work on the Slayer. She smiled a little at the thought of crushing that fragile heart of hers; oh, the joy of hearing it crack.
She turned off the light and opened the door, stepping outside and walking up to the stairs she could hear happy voices and laughter from seemingly a group of people.
Dammit, she thought to herself, but started the descent nonetheless.
Yes, they were all gathered in the living room. The Wicca, Brown-eyes, the Slayer, the Vamp, the Key and.hmh, interesting: a Watcher? This little assembly was truly remarkable. And they all co-existed. Well, the Slayer and the Watcher of course, naturally, but.
She decided not to go there again, she had been trying to figure out all the laws of nature and the Powers that these beings were breaking by living in the same house, but it had taken her too long to root out the un- important ones and she had gotten bored.
Everybody's eyes were turned to her and she could see the eyes of the Watcher, quite a handsome fellow too, and Brown-eyes grow a little at the sight of her, she guessed it was thanks to the light fabric of her long nightgown that let all the curves of her body show in all the right places.
The vampire was looking at her too, and she met his gaze for a moment and smiled a little. He only cocked an eyebrow and looked away. She almost frowned at that, but contained the expression and looked around at the others.
"Well," she said. "I'm sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to get a glass of water. Excuse me."
She turned to walk into the kitchen but Buffy - who had grown slightly uneasy at the sight of her new friend dressed in practically nothing, but then had met Spike's eyes who were resting firmly on herself with a small smile playing on his lips - got to her feet.
"Torah, wait. I'm sorry, eh, this is Mr. Rupert Giles, he's a good friend of mine from England, Giles, this is Torah," she introduced them and Torah, who had paused and turned back around at the sound of the Slayer's voice, now smiled and reached out a hand as Giles got to his feet to say hello.
"Mr. Giles," she said warmly, grabbing a firm hold of his hand and smiling a little. "I'm so pleased to meet you."
"Oh, call me Giles," he said with a smile back. "And the pleasure's all mine."
She smiled slightly at that.
"And you call me Torah," she confirmed and they let go.
She looked around the room and then she nodded, gesturing to the kitchen.
"Excuse me," she repeated with another smile at Giles and they all nodded.
The group were silent for a few moments, Giles taking his seat again and then Buffy started to explain what had happened and why the woman was staying at the house.
After that she and Spike continued to tell the tale of England and Giles listened with great interest, laughing and putting in a few remarks here and there. When they told him about what had happened with the lord he started asking questions that puzzled the group and finally Buffy asked:
"What's with the whole Sherlock Holmes theme? Are you planning on writing a book on the subject?"
He looked at her for a moment before reaching up and taking off his glasses, polishing them he answered:
"No, there are several on the subject already. That's why I'm here. I need to tell you the part of the prophecy that Sarah couldn't interpret."
***
Jonathan looked up at the ceiling of the van and sighed.
"What are we doing out here? We're not gonna find anything out just by sitting here anyway," he grumbled and Warren shuffled a little in his seat, yawning before replying:
"Mr. Giles is back, that means that something's up, and if Torah can figure out what it is then we need to know as soon as possible what the hell it is so we can plan on how to use it against the Slayer."
"But why are we sitting HERE? What if Buffy goes for a late night patrol and spots the van, or what if Spike uses his super-hearing and hears us talking, or what if."
"All the better reason to keep our mouths shut, isn't it?" Warren interrupted impatiently and Jonathan glared at him before sinking further down in his chair, staring at the now black screens where they used to have their surveillance system on twenty-four - seven.
In the house all sat stunned at Giles' revelation.
"You've interpreted it?" Buffy asked and Giles smiled a little.
"Parts of it, yes. I did a long time ago, when I was nothing but a young man, almost a boy. I had no idea what they could mean, and now." he looked up, trailing off and looking at Buffy who was growing more and more afraid of what he had to tell her.
"I'm not sure I want to hear this," she grumbled, standing up from the couch and walking over to the armchair, where Spike was seated, and then she sunk down on his lap, pulling her legs up and resting her head against his shoulder as she looked at her Watcher. "Is it something bad? If it is I don't wanna hear it."
"Well, as a matter of fact."
A loud scream interrupted him and Buffy and Spike both shot up and ran into the kitchen where it had come from, the others getting up as well, startled by the sudden sound.
Torah was pressed up against the fridge and she was shaking when the Slayer reached her.
"What? What's the matter?" she asked gently and Torah's eyes were filling with tears as she pointed towards the window.
"I saw him," she whispered. "I saw him, he was here."
"Tom?" Buffy asked, feeling her heart sink in her chest as she realized why Torah had screamed.
"Yes," she sobbed. "He's one of them," she then confirmed Buffy's suspicions and Buffy wrapped her arms around the woman, rocking her gently.
"I'm so sorry," she mumbled. "I'm so sorry."
Spike came up to them and Buffy looked up at him before nodding a little towards Torah and he nodded as well as she gently turned the woman out of her own arms and into his before walking up to the back door, grabbing a stake from its hook and then walking outside.
Torah cried against the vampire's chest, fighting hard for it not to turn into laughter as she felt his strong arms around her.
Who ever thought death could be so comforting? she thought to herself before reaching up her arms and wrapping them around his neck, burying her mouth against his throat and continuing to sob as she pressed herself against him.
Spike frowned slightly. If he hadn't seen her reaction to what just happened, if he couldn't hear and feel how hard she was crying, he would have been certain that what she was doing, her mouth against his skin and her body against his, was more than just searching for something to hold onto. It almost seemed like she was.rubbing herself against him?
He shrugged the thought off as Buffy came back inside.
"No sign of them.or him," she said as she hang the stake back up and closed the door. "Don't worry, they can't come in here," she then said as she walked up to Torah, who slowly had let go of Spike and now was standing sniffling a little.
"Thank you," she said, cheeks drenched in tears and Buffy smiled, shaking her head.
"It's what I'm here for, right?" she asked and Torah smiled a little back, stepping up and embracing her.
Spike crossed his arms over his chest, observing the two for a moment.
Something is going on that we don't know about.he thought to himself and slid up to the backdoor before opening it and stepping outside. Time to find out what the hell it is.
Buffy led Torah to the stairs, asking her if she wanted company and Torah looked at her for a moment before nodding a little.
"Please," she said and Buffy smiled slightly, understanding, and then she excused herself to go say goodnight to the others.
"Torah just had the scare of her life," she explained and the others nodded.
"Go," Willow said with a small smile. "We'll see each other tomorrow," she added and Buffy smiled to that, nodding, before turning to Giles.
"I really wanna know what is going on," she said and he smiled.
"It's nothing to worry yourself about, Buffy," he assured silently.
She frowned a little at that before giving him a hard hug.
"We'll talk tomorrow," she said and he nodded.
She turned and walked up to the stairs where Torah waited. They went up to Willow's room and Buffy made a quick stop in her own to change before she joined Torah.
"So," Buffy said and Torah smiled gratefully. "Let's talk about anything you want," the Slayer continued, smiling back. "Pick a topic."
***
When Buffy left Torah's room a few hours later Torah waited until she heard the Slayer's bedroom door close before she slid out of bed and went up to the window. She opened it and stepped up on the edge of the windowsill before looking around and then jumping out, changing form in mid air and landing softly on four black paws.
She twitched her ears a little, listening intently for any sound that might be a threat, not finding one she started running. She crossed the street quickly and took a left turn off of Revello Drive, stopping in front of the van and shaking her head a little to herself before she changed back to human form. Straightening her back and standing up she walked around to the back and tore open the two doors.
She stared in disgust at the sleeping humans, how could they be so sloppy?
"Oh, boys," she murmured in a singsong voice, they didn't react and she bent down, grabbed a hold of the edge of the van and lifted it up to her waist before dropping it hard.
THAT got them going and they all sat up straight, blinking in surprise and sudden dread that it was the Slayer. When they saw it was their ally they started to relax slightly, but the fear was still there.
"D-did you just lift the van up?" Andrew asked, eyes growing, and Torah turned a cold glare at him before answering:
"Yes, you little clatalach, I did."
"What did she just call me?" Andrew asked turned to Warren who didn't take his eyes off the demon and ignoring the question as he said:
"So, what did you find out?"
Torah sighed, shaking her head a little to herself.
"Nothing that I didn't already know. Except for this prophecy thing that seems to have had some in pact on her life," she answered and Warren straightened his back a little.
"What 'prophecy thing'?" he asked and Torah looked up at him.
"The Birth of Fire," she answered.
"Might be worth some digging into," Warren said with a small smile spreading on his lips. "This might be the weapon we've been searching for."
"Well, that's not the thing that made me come out here," she now stated and all three once more turned their heads to her.
"Why did you then?" Jonathan asked and Torah grumbled to herself before asking:
"Do you think I'm attractive; desirable?" she asked and the three stared at her before they all nodded.
"Well, do you think that if I made a move on you, even though it wasn't obvious, you would." she glanced at their crotches for a fraction of a second which was enough to make them all slightly uncomfortable, then she finished: ".react?"
Warren cleared his throat and Jonathan's eyes wandered around the van while Andrew's face simply started to turn red.
"Y-yes, I suppose we would," Warren answered finally and she threw her arms up in the air, shaking her head.
"So what the hell did I do wrong?" she asked and now they all stared at her again.
"What?" they asked and she crossed her arms over her chest.
"I tried to get to the vampire and he hardly looked at me, and there was NO 'reaction' what so ever. I suppose that damn love of his is stronger than I thought," she grumbled, growing impatient just by thinking about it. "Dammit, I'll need to put some actual work into this one," she added, exasperated and annoyed at the thought.
"Well, why don't you use some of that all powerful magic of yours, or perhaps even some of your super strength?" Andrew asked and she shook her head firmly.
"No, that would be cheating. I may be able to rule the forces of darkness, but that doesn't give me the right to cheat in my own game," she answered and three pairs of eyebrows rose at that statement. "Oh, boys, don't look so glum! I promise it's only a matter of time until I have that little demon wrapped around my finger, and then I'll make the Slayer suffer. All of them will suffer and then, at your command, they WILL be destroyed," she now added assuringly. "There's nothing that can stop this, nothing at all."
***
Giles rubbed his eyes tiredly as he tried to get some sleep.
He was jetlagged and exhausted, but he wasn't sleepy and so he threw the covers off and got out of bed.
He walked silently through the hallway and stopped by Buffy's door, carefully he opened it and looked inside. She was sleeping and he drew a small breath.
"My daughter," he grumbled, feeling yet again how much he had missed her and how he wished he could have been there for her through all her recent trials.
"She asleep?" Spike's voice sounded whispering from behind and Giles spun around, startled. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," Spike added, taking a step back.
Giles smiled slightly, closing the door behind him.
"That's all right," he said.
They stood quiet for a few moments and then Giles said:
"Quite the adventure you had back in good old England, eh?"
Spike smiled a little, nodding and feeling incredibly insecure, not liking it but unable to get rid of the feeling.
"And.you love her," Giles now stated silently and Spike's eyebrows shot up as he nodded.
"More than my life.eh, un-life," he answered and Giles nodded as well.
"Good," he said, reaching out a hand and placing it on Spike's shoulder.
The vamp stared at the Watcher, the surprise growing in his blue eyes at the gesture and Giles smiled a little again, squeezing his shoulder before saying:
"She loves you too, and she is happy, I can tell she is. That is all I could ever hope for her."
Spike smiled a little, grateful for that.
"Me too," he then said and Giles let his shoulder go, nodding slightly.
Spike walked past him to go into Buffy's room and then he paused, turning back to the man.
"The prophecy.you can tell me what it's about, I can take it," he grumbled and Giles looked up at him, then smiled weakly.
"I think I should tell you when you are both ready to hear it," he said and Spike sighed a little, then nodded.
"All right," he agreed and then opened the door silently, gliding into the room and closing it with another nod to the Watcher, who returned it.
Giles sighed a little, rubbing his eyes again.
Their love is so new, he thought wearily. Their love is just so new.
The Continuance
By Annie
06-07-2002
Buffy stared at him and then she smiled brightly, tears rising in her eyes as Spike helped her down from the table and she turned to run up to her Watcher. She threw her arms around him in a hard embrace and Giles smiled a little as well, holding her to him.
"Hello, Buffy," he said softly and she pulled back, tears slowly running down her cheeks as she laughed.
"Hello, yourself," she said and he smiled wider, letting her go as she took a step back, wiping her tears with one hand and still smiling she looked at him. "I can't believe that you're here!" she said and turned to Spike, who was standing back a little, not sure what he should do.
He met her eyes, they were beaming, and he realized that the time had come to at least try to burry the hatchet with the man, he did mean so much to the Slayer.
"Welcome back," Spike therefore said, voice a little strained despite his effort and Giles turned his eyes on him, calm as always, and smiled a little.
"Thank you, Spike," he said and Spike nodded, not sure what the hell to say next.
Buffy solved his problem by opening her mouth and saying:
"Do the others know you're here? Of course they do, that was why I had to come home, right? You're here! I have so much to tell you, SO much has happened I don't even know where to start, it's."
"I know most of it," he interrupted and she stopped herself, looking at him for a moment and then smiling again.
"Oh, the others already filled you in on the oh-so-important details, huh?" she asked and now he grew slightly serious.
She swallowed, feeling a stitch of sudden fear at that expression.
"Giles," she said. "What's the matter.?"
He looked at her for a moment and then he shook his head.
"It's not so much something that's 'the matter' as it is."
"Are you done fighting? Can we come down?" Willow called down to them from upstairs and Buffy smiled a little, shaking her head.
"Yes!" she called back. "All is well, come friends!" she added and Giles smiled a little at that.
Willow and Xander came down with Dawn not far behind. Dawn looked at Giles with a big smile and he smiled back. Feeling like he had been gone for ages seeing how grown up she looked.
"Are you back to stay?" Buffy now asked, Giles drawing a small breath at the question.
"I'm not sure," he answered and she raised her eyebrows a little. "But, I think I am," he added and she stared at him before taking a step forward to give him another hug.
"I hope you are," she said silently. "I've missed you so much."
He nodded, feeling tears rise in his eyes.
"I've missed you too, all of you," he then assured warmly as they pulled apart a little. "Spike," he then said and the vamp looked up, questioning. "It's good to see you," Giles added, voice as hesitant as Spike's had been before.
Spike's eyes grew considerably at that.
If only he knew my reason, Giles thought to himself and then he felt Buffy's arm around his waist as she began walking into the living room to sit down. Lord, if only they both knew.
***
Torah stared into the mirror in the bathroom. She sighed a little to herself before ruffling her hair and trying to look sleepy. She never slept, and so the concept of having to spend almost one third of a day in bed seemed quite ridiculous.
She had decided that she should try to make her move on the vamp tonight. It shouldn't take long and then she could start to work on the Slayer. She smiled a little at the thought of crushing that fragile heart of hers; oh, the joy of hearing it crack.
She turned off the light and opened the door, stepping outside and walking up to the stairs she could hear happy voices and laughter from seemingly a group of people.
Dammit, she thought to herself, but started the descent nonetheless.
Yes, they were all gathered in the living room. The Wicca, Brown-eyes, the Slayer, the Vamp, the Key and.hmh, interesting: a Watcher? This little assembly was truly remarkable. And they all co-existed. Well, the Slayer and the Watcher of course, naturally, but.
She decided not to go there again, she had been trying to figure out all the laws of nature and the Powers that these beings were breaking by living in the same house, but it had taken her too long to root out the un- important ones and she had gotten bored.
Everybody's eyes were turned to her and she could see the eyes of the Watcher, quite a handsome fellow too, and Brown-eyes grow a little at the sight of her, she guessed it was thanks to the light fabric of her long nightgown that let all the curves of her body show in all the right places.
The vampire was looking at her too, and she met his gaze for a moment and smiled a little. He only cocked an eyebrow and looked away. She almost frowned at that, but contained the expression and looked around at the others.
"Well," she said. "I'm sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to get a glass of water. Excuse me."
She turned to walk into the kitchen but Buffy - who had grown slightly uneasy at the sight of her new friend dressed in practically nothing, but then had met Spike's eyes who were resting firmly on herself with a small smile playing on his lips - got to her feet.
"Torah, wait. I'm sorry, eh, this is Mr. Rupert Giles, he's a good friend of mine from England, Giles, this is Torah," she introduced them and Torah, who had paused and turned back around at the sound of the Slayer's voice, now smiled and reached out a hand as Giles got to his feet to say hello.
"Mr. Giles," she said warmly, grabbing a firm hold of his hand and smiling a little. "I'm so pleased to meet you."
"Oh, call me Giles," he said with a smile back. "And the pleasure's all mine."
She smiled slightly at that.
"And you call me Torah," she confirmed and they let go.
She looked around the room and then she nodded, gesturing to the kitchen.
"Excuse me," she repeated with another smile at Giles and they all nodded.
The group were silent for a few moments, Giles taking his seat again and then Buffy started to explain what had happened and why the woman was staying at the house.
After that she and Spike continued to tell the tale of England and Giles listened with great interest, laughing and putting in a few remarks here and there. When they told him about what had happened with the lord he started asking questions that puzzled the group and finally Buffy asked:
"What's with the whole Sherlock Holmes theme? Are you planning on writing a book on the subject?"
He looked at her for a moment before reaching up and taking off his glasses, polishing them he answered:
"No, there are several on the subject already. That's why I'm here. I need to tell you the part of the prophecy that Sarah couldn't interpret."
***
Jonathan looked up at the ceiling of the van and sighed.
"What are we doing out here? We're not gonna find anything out just by sitting here anyway," he grumbled and Warren shuffled a little in his seat, yawning before replying:
"Mr. Giles is back, that means that something's up, and if Torah can figure out what it is then we need to know as soon as possible what the hell it is so we can plan on how to use it against the Slayer."
"But why are we sitting HERE? What if Buffy goes for a late night patrol and spots the van, or what if Spike uses his super-hearing and hears us talking, or what if."
"All the better reason to keep our mouths shut, isn't it?" Warren interrupted impatiently and Jonathan glared at him before sinking further down in his chair, staring at the now black screens where they used to have their surveillance system on twenty-four - seven.
In the house all sat stunned at Giles' revelation.
"You've interpreted it?" Buffy asked and Giles smiled a little.
"Parts of it, yes. I did a long time ago, when I was nothing but a young man, almost a boy. I had no idea what they could mean, and now." he looked up, trailing off and looking at Buffy who was growing more and more afraid of what he had to tell her.
"I'm not sure I want to hear this," she grumbled, standing up from the couch and walking over to the armchair, where Spike was seated, and then she sunk down on his lap, pulling her legs up and resting her head against his shoulder as she looked at her Watcher. "Is it something bad? If it is I don't wanna hear it."
"Well, as a matter of fact."
A loud scream interrupted him and Buffy and Spike both shot up and ran into the kitchen where it had come from, the others getting up as well, startled by the sudden sound.
Torah was pressed up against the fridge and she was shaking when the Slayer reached her.
"What? What's the matter?" she asked gently and Torah's eyes were filling with tears as she pointed towards the window.
"I saw him," she whispered. "I saw him, he was here."
"Tom?" Buffy asked, feeling her heart sink in her chest as she realized why Torah had screamed.
"Yes," she sobbed. "He's one of them," she then confirmed Buffy's suspicions and Buffy wrapped her arms around the woman, rocking her gently.
"I'm so sorry," she mumbled. "I'm so sorry."
Spike came up to them and Buffy looked up at him before nodding a little towards Torah and he nodded as well as she gently turned the woman out of her own arms and into his before walking up to the back door, grabbing a stake from its hook and then walking outside.
Torah cried against the vampire's chest, fighting hard for it not to turn into laughter as she felt his strong arms around her.
Who ever thought death could be so comforting? she thought to herself before reaching up her arms and wrapping them around his neck, burying her mouth against his throat and continuing to sob as she pressed herself against him.
Spike frowned slightly. If he hadn't seen her reaction to what just happened, if he couldn't hear and feel how hard she was crying, he would have been certain that what she was doing, her mouth against his skin and her body against his, was more than just searching for something to hold onto. It almost seemed like she was.rubbing herself against him?
He shrugged the thought off as Buffy came back inside.
"No sign of them.or him," she said as she hang the stake back up and closed the door. "Don't worry, they can't come in here," she then said as she walked up to Torah, who slowly had let go of Spike and now was standing sniffling a little.
"Thank you," she said, cheeks drenched in tears and Buffy smiled, shaking her head.
"It's what I'm here for, right?" she asked and Torah smiled a little back, stepping up and embracing her.
Spike crossed his arms over his chest, observing the two for a moment.
Something is going on that we don't know about.he thought to himself and slid up to the backdoor before opening it and stepping outside. Time to find out what the hell it is.
Buffy led Torah to the stairs, asking her if she wanted company and Torah looked at her for a moment before nodding a little.
"Please," she said and Buffy smiled slightly, understanding, and then she excused herself to go say goodnight to the others.
"Torah just had the scare of her life," she explained and the others nodded.
"Go," Willow said with a small smile. "We'll see each other tomorrow," she added and Buffy smiled to that, nodding, before turning to Giles.
"I really wanna know what is going on," she said and he smiled.
"It's nothing to worry yourself about, Buffy," he assured silently.
She frowned a little at that before giving him a hard hug.
"We'll talk tomorrow," she said and he nodded.
She turned and walked up to the stairs where Torah waited. They went up to Willow's room and Buffy made a quick stop in her own to change before she joined Torah.
"So," Buffy said and Torah smiled gratefully. "Let's talk about anything you want," the Slayer continued, smiling back. "Pick a topic."
***
When Buffy left Torah's room a few hours later Torah waited until she heard the Slayer's bedroom door close before she slid out of bed and went up to the window. She opened it and stepped up on the edge of the windowsill before looking around and then jumping out, changing form in mid air and landing softly on four black paws.
She twitched her ears a little, listening intently for any sound that might be a threat, not finding one she started running. She crossed the street quickly and took a left turn off of Revello Drive, stopping in front of the van and shaking her head a little to herself before she changed back to human form. Straightening her back and standing up she walked around to the back and tore open the two doors.
She stared in disgust at the sleeping humans, how could they be so sloppy?
"Oh, boys," she murmured in a singsong voice, they didn't react and she bent down, grabbed a hold of the edge of the van and lifted it up to her waist before dropping it hard.
THAT got them going and they all sat up straight, blinking in surprise and sudden dread that it was the Slayer. When they saw it was their ally they started to relax slightly, but the fear was still there.
"D-did you just lift the van up?" Andrew asked, eyes growing, and Torah turned a cold glare at him before answering:
"Yes, you little clatalach, I did."
"What did she just call me?" Andrew asked turned to Warren who didn't take his eyes off the demon and ignoring the question as he said:
"So, what did you find out?"
Torah sighed, shaking her head a little to herself.
"Nothing that I didn't already know. Except for this prophecy thing that seems to have had some in pact on her life," she answered and Warren straightened his back a little.
"What 'prophecy thing'?" he asked and Torah looked up at him.
"The Birth of Fire," she answered.
"Might be worth some digging into," Warren said with a small smile spreading on his lips. "This might be the weapon we've been searching for."
"Well, that's not the thing that made me come out here," she now stated and all three once more turned their heads to her.
"Why did you then?" Jonathan asked and Torah grumbled to herself before asking:
"Do you think I'm attractive; desirable?" she asked and the three stared at her before they all nodded.
"Well, do you think that if I made a move on you, even though it wasn't obvious, you would." she glanced at their crotches for a fraction of a second which was enough to make them all slightly uncomfortable, then she finished: ".react?"
Warren cleared his throat and Jonathan's eyes wandered around the van while Andrew's face simply started to turn red.
"Y-yes, I suppose we would," Warren answered finally and she threw her arms up in the air, shaking her head.
"So what the hell did I do wrong?" she asked and now they all stared at her again.
"What?" they asked and she crossed her arms over her chest.
"I tried to get to the vampire and he hardly looked at me, and there was NO 'reaction' what so ever. I suppose that damn love of his is stronger than I thought," she grumbled, growing impatient just by thinking about it. "Dammit, I'll need to put some actual work into this one," she added, exasperated and annoyed at the thought.
"Well, why don't you use some of that all powerful magic of yours, or perhaps even some of your super strength?" Andrew asked and she shook her head firmly.
"No, that would be cheating. I may be able to rule the forces of darkness, but that doesn't give me the right to cheat in my own game," she answered and three pairs of eyebrows rose at that statement. "Oh, boys, don't look so glum! I promise it's only a matter of time until I have that little demon wrapped around my finger, and then I'll make the Slayer suffer. All of them will suffer and then, at your command, they WILL be destroyed," she now added assuringly. "There's nothing that can stop this, nothing at all."
***
Giles rubbed his eyes tiredly as he tried to get some sleep.
He was jetlagged and exhausted, but he wasn't sleepy and so he threw the covers off and got out of bed.
He walked silently through the hallway and stopped by Buffy's door, carefully he opened it and looked inside. She was sleeping and he drew a small breath.
"My daughter," he grumbled, feeling yet again how much he had missed her and how he wished he could have been there for her through all her recent trials.
"She asleep?" Spike's voice sounded whispering from behind and Giles spun around, startled. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," Spike added, taking a step back.
Giles smiled slightly, closing the door behind him.
"That's all right," he said.
They stood quiet for a few moments and then Giles said:
"Quite the adventure you had back in good old England, eh?"
Spike smiled a little, nodding and feeling incredibly insecure, not liking it but unable to get rid of the feeling.
"And.you love her," Giles now stated silently and Spike's eyebrows shot up as he nodded.
"More than my life.eh, un-life," he answered and Giles nodded as well.
"Good," he said, reaching out a hand and placing it on Spike's shoulder.
The vamp stared at the Watcher, the surprise growing in his blue eyes at the gesture and Giles smiled a little again, squeezing his shoulder before saying:
"She loves you too, and she is happy, I can tell she is. That is all I could ever hope for her."
Spike smiled a little, grateful for that.
"Me too," he then said and Giles let his shoulder go, nodding slightly.
Spike walked past him to go into Buffy's room and then he paused, turning back to the man.
"The prophecy.you can tell me what it's about, I can take it," he grumbled and Giles looked up at him, then smiled weakly.
"I think I should tell you when you are both ready to hear it," he said and Spike sighed a little, then nodded.
"All right," he agreed and then opened the door silently, gliding into the room and closing it with another nod to the Watcher, who returned it.
Giles sighed a little, rubbing his eyes again.
Their love is so new, he thought wearily. Their love is just so new.