Chapter 8
"Oh my God," Dawn breathed out as she walked out of the hotel to get some fresh air. She hadn't thought that it would be so cold. And from what she'd heard it would get worse. Shaking she sat down on a bench close to the wall and rubbed her hands against her arms to get some warmth.
"That never helps," someone said next to her. Surprised she turned around and saw a guy walking towards her.
"Who are you?" she asked. "And how did you know that I don't speak Swedish?"
He smiled and she couldn't help but stare at the lean brunette with clear blue eyes. Something about his smile made her stomach do flips.
"I'm Simon. My dad owns the hotel, and I've seen you a couple of times."
He smiled even wider, and Dawn was thankful that she was already sitting.
"So, what do you want?" She grimaced and blushed. "That came out wrong, I just mean. Well, what do you want?"
Simon laughed and sat down on the bench next to her.
"I saw you sitting her and you seemed to be upset. I was just curious, and also I thought I could maybe cheer you up." he said softly.
Dawn blushed again, and she had no doubt that her face looked like a tomato.
"I'm not upset," she said, not very convincing. "I just wanted some fresh air."
He looked at her jacket that wasn't even close to as warm as it should be and then at her bare hands.
"Here," he said, giving her his gloves. "Take these, it's far to cold to be without."
Dawn took them thankfully.
"Thanks, that's really sweet of you. But won't you get cold now?"
"No, I'm used to it, I barely even feel the cold anymore," he said in a tough voice, before shuddering. "Okay, yes I will. That's why I'm about to suggest that we should go inside. But I'm afraid that you will say no, and that you don't want to hang out with me. I'm a little shy, you see," he said, totally trying to charm her. And it was working.
"You, shy?" Dawn asked laughing. "I'm sorry, but nothing you've done so far makes me think you're shy, more like the opposite."
Simon chuckled and got up.
"Okay, you got me. I'm not shy at all, but don't tell anyone, since I might have to kill you if you do," he joked.
This made Dawns smile fade away. This guy seemed to be perfectly normal, but on the Hellmouth you can never be too careful. A joke like that could turn out not being a joke at all.
"Right, I wont," she said uncertainly. "And yes, I will go with you inside," she added after some hesitation.
"Great, 'cause shy or not, I was getting nervous that you would say no," he said while getting up.
Dawn giggled and took his outstretched arm. None of them saw Giles standing next to one of the trees watching them. As they'd disappeared into the house, he took the bag that was beside him and walked up to the house.
"I'm terribly sorry that I'll have to do this to you, Dawn," he whispered out in the cold air, making an old woman stare at him oddly. Ignoring her he walked into the hotel and made his way up to his room to hide away the things he'd bought during his time out.
~*~
After trying to ignore Buffy's stares since they'd arrived at he café half an hour earlier Willow finally gave up.
"Okay, Buffy, what's it about? I have something between my teeth?"
Buffy made her best innocent expression and shrugged.
"I don't know what your talking about, and no, you're teeth are fine," she said, not really meeting Willows gaze.
Willow rolled her eyes and started to get up.
"What are you doing?" her friend asked. "You're leaving? Why?"
Willow did her best to look grim.
"Well, since you don't want to talk to me, I think I might just do that," she said.
Buffy sighed.
"All right, all right. I was just wondering about. I mean, I was curious. You and Alex seemed to really, you know. hit it off?"
Willow laughed and sat down again.
"I thought that was it. And what's with the not just asking me? Since when don't we tell each other everything about who we are interested in?" She smiled softly at her friend, really meaning her words. But Buffy cringed unhappily.
"Since like, always. Remember, me not telling you about Angel being back, and me not telling you about the whole thing between Spike and me? And I wasn't sure about how you would react if I suggested anything about you and Alex, 'cause of the Tara thing." Buffy looked around uncomfortable.
Willow sighed and took her best friends hand.
"You know that you can tell me anything, and I feel like I can tell you anything too. And yes, I do miss Tara, very much. But I have to move on-- she would have wanted me to do that. I can't just sit up in my room crying all day, I've tried that, and I promise you, not fun."
Buffy giggled, relieved that the tension had gone away.
"So, then I ask again, what's up with you and Alex?"
Willow blushed slightly and smiled in a way she hadn't smiled since Tara died.
"Ohm I don't know. It's just. Well, when she's near me, it's almost like when I was with Tara-almost. I will always miss Tara, and no one can ever take her place, but Alexandra gives me these vibes. It's like." Willow started playing with her cup nervously and looked down shyly. "I don't know, I barely even know her, I'm probably just going crazy or something."
Buffy couldn't help but laugh happily and give her best friend a hug.
"God, I can't believe it. This is just great, Will. You meeting someone new, Xander and Anya actually talking again, even though I've heard some things about Anya and a military guy, and Dawn don't seem to be as unhappy as before."
Willow nodded enthusiastically, but then her positive-ness faded.
"But what about what Anna said, about one of us dying? And the whole pain thing, not of the good," she said sadly.
"No!" Buffy said determinedly. "That's not going to happen, I'm going to make sure of it we'll find a way to stop it."
Willow nodded and hoped silently that she was right.
~*~
"You're not going to survive this, you brown thing-y! I'm going to eat you whole, and I'm going to enjoy it."
Dawn giggled and reached for her hamburger.
"So you're just going to eat the brown part? What you're gonna do with the rest. I mean, the tomatoes might be easy to remove, but the cheese. tricky."
Xander rolled his eyes and took a big bite of his hamburger. As he did so all of the stuff in it fell out, most of it on the plate, but some on his shirt. Annoyed he tried to get it off with a napkin, ignoring the laughter that he got from the two teenagers sitting next to him.
"You're just spreading it out," Simon observed. "That's never going to work."
"What he said," Dawn said, doing her best just to breath between giggles.
Xander sighed and got up from his chair.
"I better go clean up, and get a new shirt. See you later, kids," he said while walking away.
"You think he got mad at us?" Simon asked curiously.
Dawn smiled and moved her chair closer to his.
"Nah, he's just cranky 'cause his ex met another guy, I think he's jealous."
Simon smiled back and moved closer to her too.
"Yeah? Too bad for him then."
Dawn was still smiling widely, not really interested in their conversation, just him.
"Yeah."
~*~~*~
Buffy smiled as she watched her little sister eating lunch with the young guy in the cafeteria. She had of course heard around, trying to find out if it was something suspicious about the boy, but she hadn't found a thing. That was a relief.
Suddenly she felt the tingling feeling she got every time a vampire was nearby, and she had no doubt of whom it was. Quickly she stepped into the shadows and watched him. She really didn't want to talk with him until she'd figured out what she felt for him.
Spike was standing at the same spot she had been at only moments ago, watching Dawn and her date pensively. She couldn't help but smile at his obvious concern for her sister.
"You're gonna stand there and stare at me all day or what?" he suddenly asked, not taking his eyes away from Dawn.
Buffy blushed slightly and walked out into the light again.
"I should have realized that you could see me," she said, feeling a little silly for doing what she'd done.
Then he finally turned his head towards her and smiled affectionately.
"Didn't see you, I felt you," he said softly.
Buffy didn't know what to answer to that. When she didn't say anything he sighed and walked up to her.
"So what's the story about this kid with the niblet?" he asked curiously, with a hint of concern.
Buffy shrugged.
"He seems okay. I talked to one of the woman that works here, she told me that he is a very nice and responsible young man." She smiled. "That was her words, not mine. Actually, she said more, but telling you all the positive things she told me about Simon would take all day. It felt more like she was trying to sell me something then tell me about someone."
Spike chuckled and leaned closer to her.
"It feels good to see you smiling again," he said softly. "I couldn't bare it if you where as unhappy as you where before, when you'd just been brought back."
This made Buffy back away.
"What, you think I should have been all happy and thankful for being back?" she asked offensively.
Spike rolled his eyes and sat down on the couch that was standing by the wall.
"That wasn't what I meant, and you know it. I was just saying that I'm glad that you're finally happy."
"I wouldn't really call me happy," she murmured, to quiet even for Spike to her with his vampire hearing.
"What?" he asked confusedly.
She sighed and started walking towards the stairs and her room.
"Nothing," she said with her back turned. "I'm going up to see Giles now, I see you later."
Spike didn't say anything and turned back so that he could see what Dawn and Simon where doing. No matter what Buffy said about the boy, he had a gut feeling that there was something odd about him.
~*~
"No, I guarantee that everything will o according to plan," Giles said impatiently to someone. "Yes I know there has been some delays, but you can't expect me to be able to do this without them suspecting anything in just one or two days." He paused for a while to listen to what the person on the other end of the line was saying. "That's ridiculous. You know very well that I can do this, and anyone saying I can't really don't know me at all." He sighed and listened once more. "Yes, that's going just as planned, nothing to worry about there, I saw them together only ten minutes ago eating lunch. The boy is doing his job very well." Giles paused again when he heard something outside his door. "I have to go, there is someone here. I'll call you if there is any progress. Good bye."
He hung up the phone and walked to the door. As he opened it he saw Buffy quickly walking away.
"Buffy!" he called out after her before running down the hall in the direction she'd gone.
~*~
She didn't know what to think. One moment she'd been trying to push Spike out of her thoughts by going to see Giles, and then she'd heard her former Watcher speak to someone about some kind of plan. Some plan that seemed to involve Dawn and Simon. She barely even noticed it when Giles caught up with her.
"Buffy," he pleaded. "Stop for a moment and talk to me."
She stopped and turned towards him. For some reason she couldn't explain her eyes was filled with tears threatening to fall and she was shaking.
"Talk about what? This secret plan that you haven't told me about, or the strange things I heard you say about my sister and Simon?"
Giles sighed and took her hand and lead her to a couch.
"I know that it might have sounded strange to hear all that, but I can assure you that I was going to tell you about the plan when the time was right," he said, while desperately trying to come up with a good explanation for what she had heard.
Luckily Buffy seemed to have calmed down and she was now looking up at him with the same trust he'd gotten used to seeing in her eyes. The thought that this might be one of the last times really grieved him.
"Tell me now, Giles," she said resolutely.
"All right," he said with a sigh. "Look, things really aren't as they seemed when you heard me on the phone. There is no big secret plan really, I just wanted you all to get settled in before I filled you in on the whole situation."
Buffy stared at him, not sure what to think.
"But what was that thing about my sister and Simon?" she asked sternly, not wanting to drop it yet.
After a moment of fast thinking Giles gave her his answer.
"I'm sorry Buffy, but I thought that Dawn might be lonely here and I talked to the hotel owner if he knew any nice young people around here. And luckily, he had a son in Dawn's age. I just pushed the boy into the right direction."
He looked at Buffy, not sure if she'd bought his explanation. To his chagrin she seemed to be having trouble believing him.
"But who was it on the phone just now that was wondering about them? I can't believe that my sister's love life can be of anyone else's interest?"
"It was a member of the council," Giles quickly responded. "I'd told him about Dawn before we left, and he was just wondering how'd it gone."
Finally Buffy seemed to relax and he exhaled in relief.
"Okay, but I still think it's a little strange that you discuss things like that with a stranger," she said hesitantly. "I better go, I promised Willow I'd meet her before dinner."
Giles nodded and followed her down the hall towards the stairs.
"Yes of course. I'll see you at dinner then."
"Yes," Buffy said with a smile before disappearing down the stairs.
~*~
Willow was sitting by a computer in the library as she saw Buffy approaching. She looked like she was deep in thought, so Willow turned off the computer to be able to give her friend her whole attention.
"What's up?" she asked curiously, getting worried.
Buffy slowly sat down beside the witch and started toying with a pen nervously.
"I think something's wrong with Giles," she finally said. "He was acting all weird before."
Willow straightened in her seat and looked at her friend curiously.
"Weird? How? Did he like, burst on fire or something?" she asked.
Buffy gave her a surprised look.
"What? Where did you get that idea? No, he did not burst on fire, but he had a very strange discussion with someone on the phone. I overheard him talking to someone about some plan that they had for us, and that we were running late. And then they started talking about Dawn and Simon."
"Simon, who?" Willow asked.
Buffy suddenly recalled that Willow hadn't heard about Dawn's date yet. Which was kind of remarkable since Dawn hadn't been able to stop talking about him since that morning.
"Dawn met a guy this morning, while we where at that café. He seems really nice, at least I thought so until I heard Giles talk about him doing a good job, eating lunch with Dawn. It was like someone had ordered Simon to talk to her. But Giles said that he had just encouraged him because he wanted Dawn to meet new friends, but something about it just isn't right. I don't know for sure, but I think Giles is doing something that he doesn't want me to know about."
Willow stared at Buffy in disbelief. Giles being up to something bad? Was this like another dimension or something?
"You sure?" she asked uncertainly.
Buffy shook her head and sighed.
"No, but it's just a feeling I got. The explanation he gave me wasn't entirely convincing. I hate to say this, but I think we should keep an eye on him."
Willow didn't know what to think. This was Giles for God's sake. He was like the most responsible person ever, and he never did anything bad.
"You think he's the traitor, don't you?" she asked uneasily, hoping no to get the answer she was expecting.
After taking a deep breath, Buffy nodded slowly.
"I'm starting to think so, yes. Anna told us that there would be a traitor. But I'm hoping I'm wrong. I really am."
~*~
Willow couldn't believe what Buffy had told her. There was no way. She glanced at Giles, the man she had looked up to since the first time she met him in the high school library. He man who had all the answers, or at least was able to find them for you. The man that would do anything for Buffy, and who loved Dawn like a daughter. He would never betray them, NEVER. He was sitting there opposite her, eating his dinner while listening to Dawn talking about her date. He seemed to feel her looking at him, because he turned and gave her a smile. He chuckled slightly as Dawn said something funny that Willow didn't really catch, and all Willow could see was a nice, trustworthy man who wanted to make sure that everyone was okay.
When suddenly someone placed a hand on her shoulder Willow was so surprised that she almost jumped of the chair. Turning quickly she saw Alexandra standing there with a bag over her shoulder and a friendly smile.
"Hi everyone," she said. "I'm sorry to interrupt you're dinner, but I have to tell you about some things that might happen tonight."
They all gave her their full attention and waited eagerly to find out what was up. They'd been there for days and they still hadn't seen any trace of vampires or demons, and they where starting to grow bored.
"Anna had a vision with a lot of vampires earlier today, but that was all she told me. So I've done some research myself and I found out that there is rumours about a large group is planning to attack the hospital tonight. A man I know who supplies me with magic books told me that they are gathering as much blood as they can. I think something big is coming, and soon." She looked around the table to make sure her news had gone through.
"When?" Buffy asked. "When is this going to happen?"
Alex considered this for a moment.
"Just after sunset, I think. From what I heard, they're in a hurry."
"All right then, I say we have a night of slaying ahead of us," Xander said cheerfully, gaining odd looks from the others. "What? I'm positive, that's all. I didn't know that was a crime here."
Everyone ignored him and returned to the important stuff.
"So we should be going soon, then?" Dawn asked curiously.
Buffy nodded and got up from her seat. Alexandra gave her a surprised look.
"She's coming too? I'm sorry, but isn't she a little young for this?" she asked nervously, clearly not wanting to upset the slayer.
"She's coming," was all Buffy said, before disappearing up the stairs.
Soon the only ones left at the table were Alexandra and Willow.
"So your a witch?" Willow asked. "Don't take this the wrong way but.. What kind of witch are you?"
At first she looked a little upset, but soon her expression changed to the calm and kind front that Willow had started to get used to seeing.
"You mean if I'm in to white or black magic, huh? I'm not going to lie to you, I've had some periods when my spells haven't been entirely good, but I wish to think I'm only doing white magic. What about you? My ant told me you had some problems before?" Alexandra gave her a tense look, seeming to be a little unsettled by her own question.
What made Willow feel uncomfortable was not so much the question, but how she'd gotten the idea to ask from the beginning. The thought that a stranger, Anna, knew everything that had ever happened in her life was frightening. She swallowed hard and tried to remain calm. It wasn't Alex's fault.
"I, uhm, had some problems before yes. My girlfriend, Tara, died." Willow didn't know how to continue. Just talking about Tara still made her eyes fill with tears.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. What happened, was she in an accident?" Alex asked sympathetically.
Willow swallowed again and blinked away the tears,
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," she said bitterly. "A guy, Warren, was trying to kill Buffy. He had a gun, and he was shooting around. He hit Buffy in the shoulder, but she survived. But a stray bullet went through mine and Tara's bedroom window, and she got hit. She died in my arms."
The blond girl yelped in surprise and Willow could see how her eyes were also starting to become filled with tears, but not from sorrow, from compassion. Of course this girl didn't feel sorrow for Tara, she hadn't even met her, she had never heard her laugh, or felt the warm feeling you got every time she smiled, Willow told herself. Still she felt angry with Alexandra, who was able to sit there and talk about Tara without almost falling apart from grief.
"I think I should go and get ready," Willow said, her voice unsteady. "Buffy is probably wondering where I am."
"Yes, of course," Alexandra mumbled. As Willow started to walk away, she called out after her. "But thank you for telling me this, I know it was hard. It's good talking about it, you shouldn't hold it bottled up inside."
Willow nodded and continued walking away.
TBC
"Oh my God," Dawn breathed out as she walked out of the hotel to get some fresh air. She hadn't thought that it would be so cold. And from what she'd heard it would get worse. Shaking she sat down on a bench close to the wall and rubbed her hands against her arms to get some warmth.
"That never helps," someone said next to her. Surprised she turned around and saw a guy walking towards her.
"Who are you?" she asked. "And how did you know that I don't speak Swedish?"
He smiled and she couldn't help but stare at the lean brunette with clear blue eyes. Something about his smile made her stomach do flips.
"I'm Simon. My dad owns the hotel, and I've seen you a couple of times."
He smiled even wider, and Dawn was thankful that she was already sitting.
"So, what do you want?" She grimaced and blushed. "That came out wrong, I just mean. Well, what do you want?"
Simon laughed and sat down on the bench next to her.
"I saw you sitting her and you seemed to be upset. I was just curious, and also I thought I could maybe cheer you up." he said softly.
Dawn blushed again, and she had no doubt that her face looked like a tomato.
"I'm not upset," she said, not very convincing. "I just wanted some fresh air."
He looked at her jacket that wasn't even close to as warm as it should be and then at her bare hands.
"Here," he said, giving her his gloves. "Take these, it's far to cold to be without."
Dawn took them thankfully.
"Thanks, that's really sweet of you. But won't you get cold now?"
"No, I'm used to it, I barely even feel the cold anymore," he said in a tough voice, before shuddering. "Okay, yes I will. That's why I'm about to suggest that we should go inside. But I'm afraid that you will say no, and that you don't want to hang out with me. I'm a little shy, you see," he said, totally trying to charm her. And it was working.
"You, shy?" Dawn asked laughing. "I'm sorry, but nothing you've done so far makes me think you're shy, more like the opposite."
Simon chuckled and got up.
"Okay, you got me. I'm not shy at all, but don't tell anyone, since I might have to kill you if you do," he joked.
This made Dawns smile fade away. This guy seemed to be perfectly normal, but on the Hellmouth you can never be too careful. A joke like that could turn out not being a joke at all.
"Right, I wont," she said uncertainly. "And yes, I will go with you inside," she added after some hesitation.
"Great, 'cause shy or not, I was getting nervous that you would say no," he said while getting up.
Dawn giggled and took his outstretched arm. None of them saw Giles standing next to one of the trees watching them. As they'd disappeared into the house, he took the bag that was beside him and walked up to the house.
"I'm terribly sorry that I'll have to do this to you, Dawn," he whispered out in the cold air, making an old woman stare at him oddly. Ignoring her he walked into the hotel and made his way up to his room to hide away the things he'd bought during his time out.
~*~
After trying to ignore Buffy's stares since they'd arrived at he café half an hour earlier Willow finally gave up.
"Okay, Buffy, what's it about? I have something between my teeth?"
Buffy made her best innocent expression and shrugged.
"I don't know what your talking about, and no, you're teeth are fine," she said, not really meeting Willows gaze.
Willow rolled her eyes and started to get up.
"What are you doing?" her friend asked. "You're leaving? Why?"
Willow did her best to look grim.
"Well, since you don't want to talk to me, I think I might just do that," she said.
Buffy sighed.
"All right, all right. I was just wondering about. I mean, I was curious. You and Alex seemed to really, you know. hit it off?"
Willow laughed and sat down again.
"I thought that was it. And what's with the not just asking me? Since when don't we tell each other everything about who we are interested in?" She smiled softly at her friend, really meaning her words. But Buffy cringed unhappily.
"Since like, always. Remember, me not telling you about Angel being back, and me not telling you about the whole thing between Spike and me? And I wasn't sure about how you would react if I suggested anything about you and Alex, 'cause of the Tara thing." Buffy looked around uncomfortable.
Willow sighed and took her best friends hand.
"You know that you can tell me anything, and I feel like I can tell you anything too. And yes, I do miss Tara, very much. But I have to move on-- she would have wanted me to do that. I can't just sit up in my room crying all day, I've tried that, and I promise you, not fun."
Buffy giggled, relieved that the tension had gone away.
"So, then I ask again, what's up with you and Alex?"
Willow blushed slightly and smiled in a way she hadn't smiled since Tara died.
"Ohm I don't know. It's just. Well, when she's near me, it's almost like when I was with Tara-almost. I will always miss Tara, and no one can ever take her place, but Alexandra gives me these vibes. It's like." Willow started playing with her cup nervously and looked down shyly. "I don't know, I barely even know her, I'm probably just going crazy or something."
Buffy couldn't help but laugh happily and give her best friend a hug.
"God, I can't believe it. This is just great, Will. You meeting someone new, Xander and Anya actually talking again, even though I've heard some things about Anya and a military guy, and Dawn don't seem to be as unhappy as before."
Willow nodded enthusiastically, but then her positive-ness faded.
"But what about what Anna said, about one of us dying? And the whole pain thing, not of the good," she said sadly.
"No!" Buffy said determinedly. "That's not going to happen, I'm going to make sure of it we'll find a way to stop it."
Willow nodded and hoped silently that she was right.
~*~
"You're not going to survive this, you brown thing-y! I'm going to eat you whole, and I'm going to enjoy it."
Dawn giggled and reached for her hamburger.
"So you're just going to eat the brown part? What you're gonna do with the rest. I mean, the tomatoes might be easy to remove, but the cheese. tricky."
Xander rolled his eyes and took a big bite of his hamburger. As he did so all of the stuff in it fell out, most of it on the plate, but some on his shirt. Annoyed he tried to get it off with a napkin, ignoring the laughter that he got from the two teenagers sitting next to him.
"You're just spreading it out," Simon observed. "That's never going to work."
"What he said," Dawn said, doing her best just to breath between giggles.
Xander sighed and got up from his chair.
"I better go clean up, and get a new shirt. See you later, kids," he said while walking away.
"You think he got mad at us?" Simon asked curiously.
Dawn smiled and moved her chair closer to his.
"Nah, he's just cranky 'cause his ex met another guy, I think he's jealous."
Simon smiled back and moved closer to her too.
"Yeah? Too bad for him then."
Dawn was still smiling widely, not really interested in their conversation, just him.
"Yeah."
~*~~*~
Buffy smiled as she watched her little sister eating lunch with the young guy in the cafeteria. She had of course heard around, trying to find out if it was something suspicious about the boy, but she hadn't found a thing. That was a relief.
Suddenly she felt the tingling feeling she got every time a vampire was nearby, and she had no doubt of whom it was. Quickly she stepped into the shadows and watched him. She really didn't want to talk with him until she'd figured out what she felt for him.
Spike was standing at the same spot she had been at only moments ago, watching Dawn and her date pensively. She couldn't help but smile at his obvious concern for her sister.
"You're gonna stand there and stare at me all day or what?" he suddenly asked, not taking his eyes away from Dawn.
Buffy blushed slightly and walked out into the light again.
"I should have realized that you could see me," she said, feeling a little silly for doing what she'd done.
Then he finally turned his head towards her and smiled affectionately.
"Didn't see you, I felt you," he said softly.
Buffy didn't know what to answer to that. When she didn't say anything he sighed and walked up to her.
"So what's the story about this kid with the niblet?" he asked curiously, with a hint of concern.
Buffy shrugged.
"He seems okay. I talked to one of the woman that works here, she told me that he is a very nice and responsible young man." She smiled. "That was her words, not mine. Actually, she said more, but telling you all the positive things she told me about Simon would take all day. It felt more like she was trying to sell me something then tell me about someone."
Spike chuckled and leaned closer to her.
"It feels good to see you smiling again," he said softly. "I couldn't bare it if you where as unhappy as you where before, when you'd just been brought back."
This made Buffy back away.
"What, you think I should have been all happy and thankful for being back?" she asked offensively.
Spike rolled his eyes and sat down on the couch that was standing by the wall.
"That wasn't what I meant, and you know it. I was just saying that I'm glad that you're finally happy."
"I wouldn't really call me happy," she murmured, to quiet even for Spike to her with his vampire hearing.
"What?" he asked confusedly.
She sighed and started walking towards the stairs and her room.
"Nothing," she said with her back turned. "I'm going up to see Giles now, I see you later."
Spike didn't say anything and turned back so that he could see what Dawn and Simon where doing. No matter what Buffy said about the boy, he had a gut feeling that there was something odd about him.
~*~
"No, I guarantee that everything will o according to plan," Giles said impatiently to someone. "Yes I know there has been some delays, but you can't expect me to be able to do this without them suspecting anything in just one or two days." He paused for a while to listen to what the person on the other end of the line was saying. "That's ridiculous. You know very well that I can do this, and anyone saying I can't really don't know me at all." He sighed and listened once more. "Yes, that's going just as planned, nothing to worry about there, I saw them together only ten minutes ago eating lunch. The boy is doing his job very well." Giles paused again when he heard something outside his door. "I have to go, there is someone here. I'll call you if there is any progress. Good bye."
He hung up the phone and walked to the door. As he opened it he saw Buffy quickly walking away.
"Buffy!" he called out after her before running down the hall in the direction she'd gone.
~*~
She didn't know what to think. One moment she'd been trying to push Spike out of her thoughts by going to see Giles, and then she'd heard her former Watcher speak to someone about some kind of plan. Some plan that seemed to involve Dawn and Simon. She barely even noticed it when Giles caught up with her.
"Buffy," he pleaded. "Stop for a moment and talk to me."
She stopped and turned towards him. For some reason she couldn't explain her eyes was filled with tears threatening to fall and she was shaking.
"Talk about what? This secret plan that you haven't told me about, or the strange things I heard you say about my sister and Simon?"
Giles sighed and took her hand and lead her to a couch.
"I know that it might have sounded strange to hear all that, but I can assure you that I was going to tell you about the plan when the time was right," he said, while desperately trying to come up with a good explanation for what she had heard.
Luckily Buffy seemed to have calmed down and she was now looking up at him with the same trust he'd gotten used to seeing in her eyes. The thought that this might be one of the last times really grieved him.
"Tell me now, Giles," she said resolutely.
"All right," he said with a sigh. "Look, things really aren't as they seemed when you heard me on the phone. There is no big secret plan really, I just wanted you all to get settled in before I filled you in on the whole situation."
Buffy stared at him, not sure what to think.
"But what was that thing about my sister and Simon?" she asked sternly, not wanting to drop it yet.
After a moment of fast thinking Giles gave her his answer.
"I'm sorry Buffy, but I thought that Dawn might be lonely here and I talked to the hotel owner if he knew any nice young people around here. And luckily, he had a son in Dawn's age. I just pushed the boy into the right direction."
He looked at Buffy, not sure if she'd bought his explanation. To his chagrin she seemed to be having trouble believing him.
"But who was it on the phone just now that was wondering about them? I can't believe that my sister's love life can be of anyone else's interest?"
"It was a member of the council," Giles quickly responded. "I'd told him about Dawn before we left, and he was just wondering how'd it gone."
Finally Buffy seemed to relax and he exhaled in relief.
"Okay, but I still think it's a little strange that you discuss things like that with a stranger," she said hesitantly. "I better go, I promised Willow I'd meet her before dinner."
Giles nodded and followed her down the hall towards the stairs.
"Yes of course. I'll see you at dinner then."
"Yes," Buffy said with a smile before disappearing down the stairs.
~*~
Willow was sitting by a computer in the library as she saw Buffy approaching. She looked like she was deep in thought, so Willow turned off the computer to be able to give her friend her whole attention.
"What's up?" she asked curiously, getting worried.
Buffy slowly sat down beside the witch and started toying with a pen nervously.
"I think something's wrong with Giles," she finally said. "He was acting all weird before."
Willow straightened in her seat and looked at her friend curiously.
"Weird? How? Did he like, burst on fire or something?" she asked.
Buffy gave her a surprised look.
"What? Where did you get that idea? No, he did not burst on fire, but he had a very strange discussion with someone on the phone. I overheard him talking to someone about some plan that they had for us, and that we were running late. And then they started talking about Dawn and Simon."
"Simon, who?" Willow asked.
Buffy suddenly recalled that Willow hadn't heard about Dawn's date yet. Which was kind of remarkable since Dawn hadn't been able to stop talking about him since that morning.
"Dawn met a guy this morning, while we where at that café. He seems really nice, at least I thought so until I heard Giles talk about him doing a good job, eating lunch with Dawn. It was like someone had ordered Simon to talk to her. But Giles said that he had just encouraged him because he wanted Dawn to meet new friends, but something about it just isn't right. I don't know for sure, but I think Giles is doing something that he doesn't want me to know about."
Willow stared at Buffy in disbelief. Giles being up to something bad? Was this like another dimension or something?
"You sure?" she asked uncertainly.
Buffy shook her head and sighed.
"No, but it's just a feeling I got. The explanation he gave me wasn't entirely convincing. I hate to say this, but I think we should keep an eye on him."
Willow didn't know what to think. This was Giles for God's sake. He was like the most responsible person ever, and he never did anything bad.
"You think he's the traitor, don't you?" she asked uneasily, hoping no to get the answer she was expecting.
After taking a deep breath, Buffy nodded slowly.
"I'm starting to think so, yes. Anna told us that there would be a traitor. But I'm hoping I'm wrong. I really am."
~*~
Willow couldn't believe what Buffy had told her. There was no way. She glanced at Giles, the man she had looked up to since the first time she met him in the high school library. He man who had all the answers, or at least was able to find them for you. The man that would do anything for Buffy, and who loved Dawn like a daughter. He would never betray them, NEVER. He was sitting there opposite her, eating his dinner while listening to Dawn talking about her date. He seemed to feel her looking at him, because he turned and gave her a smile. He chuckled slightly as Dawn said something funny that Willow didn't really catch, and all Willow could see was a nice, trustworthy man who wanted to make sure that everyone was okay.
When suddenly someone placed a hand on her shoulder Willow was so surprised that she almost jumped of the chair. Turning quickly she saw Alexandra standing there with a bag over her shoulder and a friendly smile.
"Hi everyone," she said. "I'm sorry to interrupt you're dinner, but I have to tell you about some things that might happen tonight."
They all gave her their full attention and waited eagerly to find out what was up. They'd been there for days and they still hadn't seen any trace of vampires or demons, and they where starting to grow bored.
"Anna had a vision with a lot of vampires earlier today, but that was all she told me. So I've done some research myself and I found out that there is rumours about a large group is planning to attack the hospital tonight. A man I know who supplies me with magic books told me that they are gathering as much blood as they can. I think something big is coming, and soon." She looked around the table to make sure her news had gone through.
"When?" Buffy asked. "When is this going to happen?"
Alex considered this for a moment.
"Just after sunset, I think. From what I heard, they're in a hurry."
"All right then, I say we have a night of slaying ahead of us," Xander said cheerfully, gaining odd looks from the others. "What? I'm positive, that's all. I didn't know that was a crime here."
Everyone ignored him and returned to the important stuff.
"So we should be going soon, then?" Dawn asked curiously.
Buffy nodded and got up from her seat. Alexandra gave her a surprised look.
"She's coming too? I'm sorry, but isn't she a little young for this?" she asked nervously, clearly not wanting to upset the slayer.
"She's coming," was all Buffy said, before disappearing up the stairs.
Soon the only ones left at the table were Alexandra and Willow.
"So your a witch?" Willow asked. "Don't take this the wrong way but.. What kind of witch are you?"
At first she looked a little upset, but soon her expression changed to the calm and kind front that Willow had started to get used to seeing.
"You mean if I'm in to white or black magic, huh? I'm not going to lie to you, I've had some periods when my spells haven't been entirely good, but I wish to think I'm only doing white magic. What about you? My ant told me you had some problems before?" Alexandra gave her a tense look, seeming to be a little unsettled by her own question.
What made Willow feel uncomfortable was not so much the question, but how she'd gotten the idea to ask from the beginning. The thought that a stranger, Anna, knew everything that had ever happened in her life was frightening. She swallowed hard and tried to remain calm. It wasn't Alex's fault.
"I, uhm, had some problems before yes. My girlfriend, Tara, died." Willow didn't know how to continue. Just talking about Tara still made her eyes fill with tears.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. What happened, was she in an accident?" Alex asked sympathetically.
Willow swallowed again and blinked away the tears,
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," she said bitterly. "A guy, Warren, was trying to kill Buffy. He had a gun, and he was shooting around. He hit Buffy in the shoulder, but she survived. But a stray bullet went through mine and Tara's bedroom window, and she got hit. She died in my arms."
The blond girl yelped in surprise and Willow could see how her eyes were also starting to become filled with tears, but not from sorrow, from compassion. Of course this girl didn't feel sorrow for Tara, she hadn't even met her, she had never heard her laugh, or felt the warm feeling you got every time she smiled, Willow told herself. Still she felt angry with Alexandra, who was able to sit there and talk about Tara without almost falling apart from grief.
"I think I should go and get ready," Willow said, her voice unsteady. "Buffy is probably wondering where I am."
"Yes, of course," Alexandra mumbled. As Willow started to walk away, she called out after her. "But thank you for telling me this, I know it was hard. It's good talking about it, you shouldn't hold it bottled up inside."
Willow nodded and continued walking away.
TBC