"Buffy!" Dawn stuck her head outside Buffy's window and tried to see which
way she had run, but her sister was already out of sight.
Tara was right behind Dawn, trying to catch a glimpse of the Slayer over her friend's shoulder, "Dawn! Did you see where she went?"
"No, but she probably headed over to Giles. Where else would she go?" Dawn stood staring out of the window, her stomach tied up in knots and her head spinning. She was alone.
Tara looked over at her girlfriend, "Should we call Mr. Giles and let him know she's coming over?"
Dawn turned around and headed for the hallway, "Yes, and make him bring her back here, right now!"
Willow moved in front of Dawn and gingerly touched her arms, "Dawnie, somehow, I don't think that will help things. We'll give her a couple of hours to come back; it'll be about one o'clock then and that gives us a couple of hours before the funeral. If she's not back by then, we call Giles."
"So, what do I do until she gets back? Am I just supposed to wait for her? If I ran away, you'd all be out looking for me; I wouldn't get to take my own time. Why does Buffy?" Dawn ran into her room and slammed the door. As she flung herself on the bed, her only thoughts were of how alone and shutout she had become in the last few days. Buffy had managed to find another relationship to exclude her from, another way to remind her that she wasn't really a part of Buffy's life, but instead an unwelcome burden.
Willow moved to follow Dawn but was stopped short by Tara, "She needs someone to talk to, I should go…"
"No, Willow." Tara stood motionless, shaking her head with a kind of resolve that Willow could only hope to imitate, "She doesn't need someone to talk to, she needs her mom." Willow started crying and Tara held her girl, soothing her the best way she knew how.
She smoothed the hair away from Willow's face, and kissed her gently at first, waiting to see if Willow would respond to this kind of comfort.
Willow pulled away and smiled at Tara, not sure if she would see lust or sadness there but comforted when she saw both swirling in her girlfriend's eyes. Tara turned and locked the door to Buffy's room, sure that she wanted no interruptions or reminders of the real world while she made love to Willow.
* * * * * *
Dawn lay sobbing on her bed, angry and hurt that neither Tara nor Willow had followed her. Everyone had left her alone. Hadn't Buffy promised her that she wouldn't be alone, that they would get through this together? Buffy had told her lies. Her sister always told the same stupid lies about everything. Dawn counted off all the things Buffy had lied about; She lied about slaying, about Angel, about dying, about me being The Key, about how sick Mom was, and now about Giles and staying a family.
Dawn threw her pillow across the room and groaned, "I'm sick off all of her lies!"
She sat up, determinedly wiping the tears from her face, her mouth set with a grim purpose. Buffy was right, Dawn couldn't keep a secret, but it wasn't natural. It made her feel yucky. Dawn was tired of feeling dirty and lonely with all of her secrets. Opening the drawer of her nightstand, Dawn pulled out her address book and flipped to the "D" section. It was time for the lies to stop, and the first thing was to call her dad and get him here, the best way to do that would be to tell him about Buffy and Giles.
Dawn picked up the phone and dialed, surprised when someone picked up after the first ring and her father's voice came clearly over the line, "Hello, Hank Summers."
"Daddy? It's Dawn."
"Dawn, sweetie, are you okay? Do you need anything?" Hank sounded genuinely concerned, not at all like he had just yesterday, when he had sounded angry and confused by his daughters' news.
"Dad, I need to tell you something …"
"Sure, sweetie. Shoot. But let me ask, how's Buffy? How'd she take it that I couldn't be there?"
"That's just it, what I need to tell you it's about Buffy…"
"Is she okay? She didn't do anything crazy did she?" The panic in Hank's voice reassured Dawn that she was doing the right thing.
"No! I mean, that's kind of what I need to talk to you about, but she didn't try and hurt herself or anything…"
"Dawn, what's going on? Is everything okay?"
"No, Dad, we've been keeping stuff from you for a long time. Secrets, and it's the time for the lies to stop..."
"Dawn, what lies? What are you talking about? Are you okay?" Even though he sounded concerned, her father's interruptions were starting to panic Dawn, she needed him to listen, and more importantly she needed him to believe.
"Dad, you're going to have to stop interrupting me and just listen, and just believe me, and we can sort it out when you get here."
"Dawn, I told you, I can't make it…" Dawn cut him off before he could excuse himself again.
"Dad, you'll come when I finish my story." The silence on the other scared Dawn, so she just launched into her story, and it started five years ago, when Buffy burned down the gym at Hemery High.
* * * * * *
Hank listened while Dawn, crying and gritting her teeth at times, told him everything that had happened since he and Joyce had divorced and the girls had relocated to Sunnydale. Or when Buffy and Joyce had relocated and Dawn was still a ball of energy. He was shocked and not quite convinced of Dawn's sanity when she finished. Within the hour, he had booked a flight to Sunnydale and confirmed his arrival for that night. If was Dawn having a psychotic break, he needed to be there. But one detail had stuck out as a distinct possibility of truth: Buffy was sleeping with a man who was the same age as he was, who had also slept with Joyce at some point.
And the thought that this man had taken advantage of two of the women in his family disturbed Hank Summers very much.
* * * * *
Buffy rolled over and looked across Giles' bedroom loft towards the clock on the nightstand. It was almost one o'clock. She had caught a few hours of sleep and managed to put more this day behind her with as little effort as possible. For a few moments, Buffy lay in Rupert's bed and listened to their heartbeat. It was relaxed, an easy lub-dub sound in the background, and it soothed Buffy. She let out an audible sigh as she stepped out of bed and began dressing, and was surprised to hear Giles' voice come from downstairs.
"So, you're awake, Buffy?"
"Yeah, I guess so." Buffy gathered her discarded black tank top from the stairs and pulled it on as she descended, "What'cha doin' down there, Watcher-mine?"
"Some more research on the attunement." Rupert looked up from the book- covered table and smiled at Buffy as she came over and kissed him hello.
"You mean you're not baking me cookies?" Buffy smiled at Giles' exasperated face, "Find anything?"
"Again, nothing specific, but lots of vague references and descriptions." Rupert removed his glasses and briefly considered his words before sharing his latest theory with Buffy. "I'm beginning to think that the spell we did to defeat Adam might be interfering with the natural progression of this phenomena."
"Explain in Buffy-speak please." Buffy walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water as Giles began his explanation.
"Well, from what I've been able to gather, we should be experiencing an emotional bond, a physical bond and a mental bond." He reached out to Buffy and pulled her onto his lap as he pointed out the relevant passages in his research texts even though she couldn't understand the languages they were in, "Empathy, cardiac synchronicity, and telepathy... We've experienced the first two, intermittently, admittedly, and not the third."
"Telepathy?" Buffy remembered her previous telepathy experience and shuddered, and Rupert instinctively held her a little tighter.
"Yes, Buffy. Telepathy."
"Wow."
"That's a succinct way of putting it." Buffy gave him a slight elbow in the ribs for his sarcasm, "I think this bond is unpredictable because of the bonding spell we did with Xander and Willow or even another spell that was cast on either one of us at some earlier date."
Buffy sat sipping her water, her eyes focused on the books that were spread out on the table.
"So, how do we get things normal? Well, not normal, but how do we make this bond work?"
"Do you really want to, Buffy?" She turned to look at him and he held her eyes, "If we reverse the effects of the previous spell, then this bond will become permanent. No spell or action aside from our deaths will end it."
"Rupert, I'm sure. I want this." He studied her face, not surprised to see determination there. Buffy had a mission on her mind and it was he. It made what he was about to say that much harder.
"Buffy, I'm not sure that I do. I couldn't stand it if, someday, you should stop loving me."
"I could never stop loving you…"
"Romantically?" He shushed her and took a deep breath before he continued, "Buffy, I wouldn't want that heartbreak; maybe I'm being selfish, or cautious, but I don't want to make this permanent on a whim."
Buffy got up and paced in front of Rupert. She was obviously considering options and trying to formulate a plan. She turned and faced him as she spoke. "But what if the spell we did with Willow and Xander wears off? Won't the attunement be permanent then?"
"I don't know yet, Buffy, I still need to research those aspects. I'm not even sure if that's the reason the attunement hasn't taken hold yet. I've been the subject of several spells myself. It could be that by strengthening the metaphysical bond with someone else will prevent this bond from becoming permanent."
"If that's the case, there are mucho possibilities."
"Indeed." Giles looked at Buffy, surprised that she met his eyes, he cleared his throat and glanced at his watch, "You should be getting home, don't you think?"
"I thought you could come with me and get ready there." She was pouting and he hadn't even said no to her, "We'll have to come up with a story…"
"I thought you said that everyone knew about us now?"
"I think so." Buffy had no idea if Willow, Tara and Dawn would tell Xander and Anya about their discovery, but she did know how bad they all were at keeping secrets. The thought of everyone sitting in her kitchen discussing her and Giles made her stomach flip.
"Wouldn't making up a story be foolish, then?"
"Well, yeah, I guess. Everything is so screwed up." Buffy set down her water glass and leaned against the dining table, "I just don't know how I'm supposed to act."
"Act however you feel, and everything will be fine. Just act naturally."
"Naturally? You mean like I'm The Vampire Slayer and you're my Watcher and we're experiencing this 'attunement,' which is the result of us…you know." Buffy nodded her head and rolled her eyes as a blush came over her face.
Rupert smiled at her and took her hands, "Buffy, just remember that I am, and always have been, here to support you. You can always rely on me."
* * * * * *
Buffy and Rupert walked in the front door of a surprisingly quiet Summers' house. Buffy walked into the hall, and called out a hello, and hearing no answer turned to face Giles, "Well, I guess everyone headed over to the funeral home early. Lucky us. Let's go upstairs and get ready."
Rupert looked around, a perplexed look on his face, "I'm surprised they left without you."
"Well, I didn't exactly let them know when I'd be back." Buffy shrugged and began walking up the stairs. Rupert followed, still working through theories about the empty house.
"The service isn't for three more hours, Buffy, maybe they're out looking for you."
"Well, it's not like I can page them, we're more of a signal flare kind of group." Buffy turned and flashed Giles a smile as they stopped at the top of the stairs.
He smiled back and held his garment bag aloft, "Where should I change?"
"Oh, you can take mom's," Buffy's eyes went blank as she corrected herself, "mom's room."
Rupert leaned over and kissed Buffy's cheek, "Very well."
As Giles shut the door to Joyce's room, Buffy turned the handle on her own bedroom door, only to find that it wouldn't open. She tried it again, and she was pretty sure that she hadn't taken the time to shut the door, let alone lock it when she bolted earlier. Frustrated, she put her shoulder into it and forced the door, just in time to see Willow pulling her shirt over her head.
"Hey, Will. In my room. With the door locked." Buffy and Willow both looked at each other expectantly, but Buffy spoke first, "What's up?"
"Oh, nothing's up, just getting dressed."
"That was my plan." Buffy nodded and looked around the room, took a deep breath and jumped in, "Listen, Will, I'm sorry I bolted earlier."
"No, Buffy, you don't have to be sorry, we should be sorry…"
"I just wasn't ready to talk."
Willow moved towards Buffy, while Tara stepped out of the closet, coming into Buffy's view, "You don't have to talk if you don't want to."
Tara avoided meeting Buffy's gaze and blushed when Buffy finally caught it. "Tara, hi."
"Hi, Buffy." All three girls stood about awkwardly, Willow and Tara blushed while Buffy sighed. Finally, Tara made a move for the hall, "Um, I'm gonna go downstairs."
Willow and Buffy continued in silence as they listened to Tara descend the stairs, then Willow started to giggle and roll her eyes, "Yeah, so talking is overrated."
"Definitely." Buffy walks towards closet, "Is Dawn here?"
"She's in her room. I think you should talk to her. She was really upset that you left."
"Well, when isn't she upset with me?" Buffy turned and caught the hurt look on Willow's face. "Sorry, I'll talk to her when I'm finished getting ready."
"Okay, that's good." Willow looked around and started walking out of the room, turning abruptly before she shut the door behind her, "And, Buffy, I know we're not talking about stuff, but if you and Giles are dong what I think you're doing, just be careful and," Willow clapped and got a big smile on her face, "'Yay!'"
"Thanks, Willow." Buffy flashed her a smile, and as Willow shut the door, she reflected on how strange it was to have this non-conversation with her best friend.
Buffy began pulling various clothes out of drawers and sighed when she realized that Xander was the only person out of the loop. One friend down, one to go.
* * * * *
The ringing of the phone woke Dawn. Hoping that it's her father, Dawn answered in a flash. She somehow managed to pick up before anyone else, which led her to believe that everyone had left her alone in the house. Her disappointment swells when Xander's voice comes over the line.
"Hi, Dawn? It's Xander."
"Hi, Xander. What's up?"
"Well, that's just it, Anya and I can't seem to get going…"
"Everyone's having that problem today. Are you coming over?" Dawn flopped back onto her bed, and looked up at the ceiling.
"We can, but we were thinking of just meeting everyone at the service. Do you need us to come over?"
"No, everything's cool." She wasn't surprised that they weren't coming over. Nobody wanted to be around. "I'll let everyone know we'll see you later."
"Thanks, Dawn. We'll see you later."
"Bye." Dawn hung up the phone and continued staring at the ceiling. Her tummy growled, and she began wishing that someone would breakdown and talk to her just so she could go downstairs and fix a snack.
There was a knock at her bedroom door, and expecting Willow or Tara, or even Buffy, Dawn said, "Come in."
The door opened slowly, revealing Giles's head. "Hello, Dawn. Do you mind if I talk to you for a bit?"
Dawn glanced over and rolled her eyes, "Whatever."
"May I sit?" Giles was pointing at her desk chair, and Dawn nodded.
Giles pulled the chair next to the foot of Dawn's bed, and cleared his throat.
"I'm sorry, Dawn. I owe you more apologies than I can think of."
His apology caught her attention, Dawn sat up and looked at Rupert, "Why are you apologizing to me?'
"Well, for one, you might think that my relationship with Buffy is taking her away from you when you need her most." Giles shrugged, and Dawn wondered if it was possible for someone wearing that much tweed had actually shrugged. "I don't expect forgiveness or sympathy, Dawn. I just want you to know I'm sorry. And that I'm here for you if you need anything."
Dawn rolled her eyes again and couldn't help but smile at him, "I'm not mad at you, you know."
Giles looked surprised at Dawn's announcement, "Just Buffy?"
"Yes. She's always lying and running away and she never has to deal with it. She doesn't care who it hurts."
"Buffy cares very much about you, Dawn. Never doubt that." The earnestness of Giles voice was shaking Dawn's certitude.
"She doesn't act like it." It was the best she could come up with.
"Dawn, you need to start telling her what you need. And Buffy needs to tell you what she needs. I suspect you two will be having a lot of talks in coming weeks."
Giles was right. Buffy wasn't her mom, and Dawn should have known better than to expect Buffy to suddenly become an adult over night. She had expected Buffy to be there for her, but she hadn't been there for Buffy. Dawn had run and tattled on Buffy just like when she was little, and now her dad would punish Buffy, just like Dawn had wanted.
"Giles, I need to tell you something." She paused guiltily, not sure of how to tell him about her transgression of confidence, so she just blurted it out, "I told my dad about you and Buffy."
Giles pulled his glasses off, and sighed. Dawn considered it a good sign that he hadn't started cleaning them, "Dawn, is that why you're father isn't coming?"
"No." Giles was cleaning his glasses now, but Dawn continued, buoyed by the fact he hadn't pinched the bridge of his nose, "I called him today, after Buffy ran away. I told him about her being a Slayer, and everything. He's coming. He'll be here tonight, after the funeral."
"If I may ask." Rupert leaned forward and pinched the bridge of his nose, he didn't see Dawn wincing, "What were you thinking?" He didn't look up at her, if he did, he'd lose his temper.
"I was tired of her lying... she said we'd take care of each other…"
"Dawn, you have complicated matters beyond the telling of it." Rupert took a deep breath and looked at Dawn. She was choking back tears and trying not to cry. He couldn't be angry with her, not after everything she'd been through. It was the same reason that he couldn't stay angry at Buffy: He knew too well what she had suffered, so he gave her lots of room to live. He'd take care of Dawn's mess; he'd mediate between the sisters. It was Hank that he was unsure about. "Don't mention this to Buffy. I'll take care of it. Just get ready for the service."
Giles rose to leave, and as he put the chair back in front of the desk, Dawn came behind him and embraced him as he turned to leave. She released him almost as abruptly, and after they smiled awkwardly at each other Rupert walked into the hall shutting the door behind him.
Rupert walked over to Buffy's door and knocked, pleased when Buffy called out, "Just a minute, Giles!"
She opened the door just enough for her to head to stick out, "What do you need?"
"I need to speak with you about something." He noticed how glassy and red- rimmed her eyes were, "Have you been crying?"
"Yes, but can it wait? I need to talk to Dawn."
"That's what I need to discuss with you. I've just finished speaking to Dawn."
"First, we're 'speaking' and now we're 'discussing.'" Buffy rolled her red- rimmed eyes, "Come in."
Rupert entered and sat down on the edge of Buffy's bed. Buffy was pulling on a beige sweater that matched her pants. "So, what did you and Dawn talk about?"
Buffy walked over to him and grabbed his hands as she stood in front of him. They smiled as they listened to their hearts beating in sync. The sound of their heartbeats began to grow louder and Rupert tried to disengage their hands but neither one of them could loosen the grip. The volume of their heartbeats continued to increase until it became almost deafening, and then they ceased without warning.
The first thought Rupert had was not his own, but it began in his head; the only difference was that it sounded exactly like Buffy. So, this is the telepathy.
No matter what meditation technique he employed, Buffy could skate past it and access his thoughts and he couldn't help but be flooded by the things she was projecting towards him. Suddenly, Buffy stopped.
Buffy began crying, and Rupert pulled her to him.
Buffy, please, it will be okay.
"I can't believe she told Dad about me, about us! It will not be okay!" Buffy looked at him, thoughts pouring out so quickly that Rupert couldn't tell them from the tears that fell from both their eyes.
This telepathy couldn't have happened at a worse time.
Buffy choked on a sob and looked up at Rupert, "Which one of us thought that?"
Tara was right behind Dawn, trying to catch a glimpse of the Slayer over her friend's shoulder, "Dawn! Did you see where she went?"
"No, but she probably headed over to Giles. Where else would she go?" Dawn stood staring out of the window, her stomach tied up in knots and her head spinning. She was alone.
Tara looked over at her girlfriend, "Should we call Mr. Giles and let him know she's coming over?"
Dawn turned around and headed for the hallway, "Yes, and make him bring her back here, right now!"
Willow moved in front of Dawn and gingerly touched her arms, "Dawnie, somehow, I don't think that will help things. We'll give her a couple of hours to come back; it'll be about one o'clock then and that gives us a couple of hours before the funeral. If she's not back by then, we call Giles."
"So, what do I do until she gets back? Am I just supposed to wait for her? If I ran away, you'd all be out looking for me; I wouldn't get to take my own time. Why does Buffy?" Dawn ran into her room and slammed the door. As she flung herself on the bed, her only thoughts were of how alone and shutout she had become in the last few days. Buffy had managed to find another relationship to exclude her from, another way to remind her that she wasn't really a part of Buffy's life, but instead an unwelcome burden.
Willow moved to follow Dawn but was stopped short by Tara, "She needs someone to talk to, I should go…"
"No, Willow." Tara stood motionless, shaking her head with a kind of resolve that Willow could only hope to imitate, "She doesn't need someone to talk to, she needs her mom." Willow started crying and Tara held her girl, soothing her the best way she knew how.
She smoothed the hair away from Willow's face, and kissed her gently at first, waiting to see if Willow would respond to this kind of comfort.
Willow pulled away and smiled at Tara, not sure if she would see lust or sadness there but comforted when she saw both swirling in her girlfriend's eyes. Tara turned and locked the door to Buffy's room, sure that she wanted no interruptions or reminders of the real world while she made love to Willow.
* * * * * *
Dawn lay sobbing on her bed, angry and hurt that neither Tara nor Willow had followed her. Everyone had left her alone. Hadn't Buffy promised her that she wouldn't be alone, that they would get through this together? Buffy had told her lies. Her sister always told the same stupid lies about everything. Dawn counted off all the things Buffy had lied about; She lied about slaying, about Angel, about dying, about me being The Key, about how sick Mom was, and now about Giles and staying a family.
Dawn threw her pillow across the room and groaned, "I'm sick off all of her lies!"
She sat up, determinedly wiping the tears from her face, her mouth set with a grim purpose. Buffy was right, Dawn couldn't keep a secret, but it wasn't natural. It made her feel yucky. Dawn was tired of feeling dirty and lonely with all of her secrets. Opening the drawer of her nightstand, Dawn pulled out her address book and flipped to the "D" section. It was time for the lies to stop, and the first thing was to call her dad and get him here, the best way to do that would be to tell him about Buffy and Giles.
Dawn picked up the phone and dialed, surprised when someone picked up after the first ring and her father's voice came clearly over the line, "Hello, Hank Summers."
"Daddy? It's Dawn."
"Dawn, sweetie, are you okay? Do you need anything?" Hank sounded genuinely concerned, not at all like he had just yesterday, when he had sounded angry and confused by his daughters' news.
"Dad, I need to tell you something …"
"Sure, sweetie. Shoot. But let me ask, how's Buffy? How'd she take it that I couldn't be there?"
"That's just it, what I need to tell you it's about Buffy…"
"Is she okay? She didn't do anything crazy did she?" The panic in Hank's voice reassured Dawn that she was doing the right thing.
"No! I mean, that's kind of what I need to talk to you about, but she didn't try and hurt herself or anything…"
"Dawn, what's going on? Is everything okay?"
"No, Dad, we've been keeping stuff from you for a long time. Secrets, and it's the time for the lies to stop..."
"Dawn, what lies? What are you talking about? Are you okay?" Even though he sounded concerned, her father's interruptions were starting to panic Dawn, she needed him to listen, and more importantly she needed him to believe.
"Dad, you're going to have to stop interrupting me and just listen, and just believe me, and we can sort it out when you get here."
"Dawn, I told you, I can't make it…" Dawn cut him off before he could excuse himself again.
"Dad, you'll come when I finish my story." The silence on the other scared Dawn, so she just launched into her story, and it started five years ago, when Buffy burned down the gym at Hemery High.
* * * * * *
Hank listened while Dawn, crying and gritting her teeth at times, told him everything that had happened since he and Joyce had divorced and the girls had relocated to Sunnydale. Or when Buffy and Joyce had relocated and Dawn was still a ball of energy. He was shocked and not quite convinced of Dawn's sanity when she finished. Within the hour, he had booked a flight to Sunnydale and confirmed his arrival for that night. If was Dawn having a psychotic break, he needed to be there. But one detail had stuck out as a distinct possibility of truth: Buffy was sleeping with a man who was the same age as he was, who had also slept with Joyce at some point.
And the thought that this man had taken advantage of two of the women in his family disturbed Hank Summers very much.
* * * * *
Buffy rolled over and looked across Giles' bedroom loft towards the clock on the nightstand. It was almost one o'clock. She had caught a few hours of sleep and managed to put more this day behind her with as little effort as possible. For a few moments, Buffy lay in Rupert's bed and listened to their heartbeat. It was relaxed, an easy lub-dub sound in the background, and it soothed Buffy. She let out an audible sigh as she stepped out of bed and began dressing, and was surprised to hear Giles' voice come from downstairs.
"So, you're awake, Buffy?"
"Yeah, I guess so." Buffy gathered her discarded black tank top from the stairs and pulled it on as she descended, "What'cha doin' down there, Watcher-mine?"
"Some more research on the attunement." Rupert looked up from the book- covered table and smiled at Buffy as she came over and kissed him hello.
"You mean you're not baking me cookies?" Buffy smiled at Giles' exasperated face, "Find anything?"
"Again, nothing specific, but lots of vague references and descriptions." Rupert removed his glasses and briefly considered his words before sharing his latest theory with Buffy. "I'm beginning to think that the spell we did to defeat Adam might be interfering with the natural progression of this phenomena."
"Explain in Buffy-speak please." Buffy walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water as Giles began his explanation.
"Well, from what I've been able to gather, we should be experiencing an emotional bond, a physical bond and a mental bond." He reached out to Buffy and pulled her onto his lap as he pointed out the relevant passages in his research texts even though she couldn't understand the languages they were in, "Empathy, cardiac synchronicity, and telepathy... We've experienced the first two, intermittently, admittedly, and not the third."
"Telepathy?" Buffy remembered her previous telepathy experience and shuddered, and Rupert instinctively held her a little tighter.
"Yes, Buffy. Telepathy."
"Wow."
"That's a succinct way of putting it." Buffy gave him a slight elbow in the ribs for his sarcasm, "I think this bond is unpredictable because of the bonding spell we did with Xander and Willow or even another spell that was cast on either one of us at some earlier date."
Buffy sat sipping her water, her eyes focused on the books that were spread out on the table.
"So, how do we get things normal? Well, not normal, but how do we make this bond work?"
"Do you really want to, Buffy?" She turned to look at him and he held her eyes, "If we reverse the effects of the previous spell, then this bond will become permanent. No spell or action aside from our deaths will end it."
"Rupert, I'm sure. I want this." He studied her face, not surprised to see determination there. Buffy had a mission on her mind and it was he. It made what he was about to say that much harder.
"Buffy, I'm not sure that I do. I couldn't stand it if, someday, you should stop loving me."
"I could never stop loving you…"
"Romantically?" He shushed her and took a deep breath before he continued, "Buffy, I wouldn't want that heartbreak; maybe I'm being selfish, or cautious, but I don't want to make this permanent on a whim."
Buffy got up and paced in front of Rupert. She was obviously considering options and trying to formulate a plan. She turned and faced him as she spoke. "But what if the spell we did with Willow and Xander wears off? Won't the attunement be permanent then?"
"I don't know yet, Buffy, I still need to research those aspects. I'm not even sure if that's the reason the attunement hasn't taken hold yet. I've been the subject of several spells myself. It could be that by strengthening the metaphysical bond with someone else will prevent this bond from becoming permanent."
"If that's the case, there are mucho possibilities."
"Indeed." Giles looked at Buffy, surprised that she met his eyes, he cleared his throat and glanced at his watch, "You should be getting home, don't you think?"
"I thought you could come with me and get ready there." She was pouting and he hadn't even said no to her, "We'll have to come up with a story…"
"I thought you said that everyone knew about us now?"
"I think so." Buffy had no idea if Willow, Tara and Dawn would tell Xander and Anya about their discovery, but she did know how bad they all were at keeping secrets. The thought of everyone sitting in her kitchen discussing her and Giles made her stomach flip.
"Wouldn't making up a story be foolish, then?"
"Well, yeah, I guess. Everything is so screwed up." Buffy set down her water glass and leaned against the dining table, "I just don't know how I'm supposed to act."
"Act however you feel, and everything will be fine. Just act naturally."
"Naturally? You mean like I'm The Vampire Slayer and you're my Watcher and we're experiencing this 'attunement,' which is the result of us…you know." Buffy nodded her head and rolled her eyes as a blush came over her face.
Rupert smiled at her and took her hands, "Buffy, just remember that I am, and always have been, here to support you. You can always rely on me."
* * * * * *
Buffy and Rupert walked in the front door of a surprisingly quiet Summers' house. Buffy walked into the hall, and called out a hello, and hearing no answer turned to face Giles, "Well, I guess everyone headed over to the funeral home early. Lucky us. Let's go upstairs and get ready."
Rupert looked around, a perplexed look on his face, "I'm surprised they left without you."
"Well, I didn't exactly let them know when I'd be back." Buffy shrugged and began walking up the stairs. Rupert followed, still working through theories about the empty house.
"The service isn't for three more hours, Buffy, maybe they're out looking for you."
"Well, it's not like I can page them, we're more of a signal flare kind of group." Buffy turned and flashed Giles a smile as they stopped at the top of the stairs.
He smiled back and held his garment bag aloft, "Where should I change?"
"Oh, you can take mom's," Buffy's eyes went blank as she corrected herself, "mom's room."
Rupert leaned over and kissed Buffy's cheek, "Very well."
As Giles shut the door to Joyce's room, Buffy turned the handle on her own bedroom door, only to find that it wouldn't open. She tried it again, and she was pretty sure that she hadn't taken the time to shut the door, let alone lock it when she bolted earlier. Frustrated, she put her shoulder into it and forced the door, just in time to see Willow pulling her shirt over her head.
"Hey, Will. In my room. With the door locked." Buffy and Willow both looked at each other expectantly, but Buffy spoke first, "What's up?"
"Oh, nothing's up, just getting dressed."
"That was my plan." Buffy nodded and looked around the room, took a deep breath and jumped in, "Listen, Will, I'm sorry I bolted earlier."
"No, Buffy, you don't have to be sorry, we should be sorry…"
"I just wasn't ready to talk."
Willow moved towards Buffy, while Tara stepped out of the closet, coming into Buffy's view, "You don't have to talk if you don't want to."
Tara avoided meeting Buffy's gaze and blushed when Buffy finally caught it. "Tara, hi."
"Hi, Buffy." All three girls stood about awkwardly, Willow and Tara blushed while Buffy sighed. Finally, Tara made a move for the hall, "Um, I'm gonna go downstairs."
Willow and Buffy continued in silence as they listened to Tara descend the stairs, then Willow started to giggle and roll her eyes, "Yeah, so talking is overrated."
"Definitely." Buffy walks towards closet, "Is Dawn here?"
"She's in her room. I think you should talk to her. She was really upset that you left."
"Well, when isn't she upset with me?" Buffy turned and caught the hurt look on Willow's face. "Sorry, I'll talk to her when I'm finished getting ready."
"Okay, that's good." Willow looked around and started walking out of the room, turning abruptly before she shut the door behind her, "And, Buffy, I know we're not talking about stuff, but if you and Giles are dong what I think you're doing, just be careful and," Willow clapped and got a big smile on her face, "'Yay!'"
"Thanks, Willow." Buffy flashed her a smile, and as Willow shut the door, she reflected on how strange it was to have this non-conversation with her best friend.
Buffy began pulling various clothes out of drawers and sighed when she realized that Xander was the only person out of the loop. One friend down, one to go.
* * * * *
The ringing of the phone woke Dawn. Hoping that it's her father, Dawn answered in a flash. She somehow managed to pick up before anyone else, which led her to believe that everyone had left her alone in the house. Her disappointment swells when Xander's voice comes over the line.
"Hi, Dawn? It's Xander."
"Hi, Xander. What's up?"
"Well, that's just it, Anya and I can't seem to get going…"
"Everyone's having that problem today. Are you coming over?" Dawn flopped back onto her bed, and looked up at the ceiling.
"We can, but we were thinking of just meeting everyone at the service. Do you need us to come over?"
"No, everything's cool." She wasn't surprised that they weren't coming over. Nobody wanted to be around. "I'll let everyone know we'll see you later."
"Thanks, Dawn. We'll see you later."
"Bye." Dawn hung up the phone and continued staring at the ceiling. Her tummy growled, and she began wishing that someone would breakdown and talk to her just so she could go downstairs and fix a snack.
There was a knock at her bedroom door, and expecting Willow or Tara, or even Buffy, Dawn said, "Come in."
The door opened slowly, revealing Giles's head. "Hello, Dawn. Do you mind if I talk to you for a bit?"
Dawn glanced over and rolled her eyes, "Whatever."
"May I sit?" Giles was pointing at her desk chair, and Dawn nodded.
Giles pulled the chair next to the foot of Dawn's bed, and cleared his throat.
"I'm sorry, Dawn. I owe you more apologies than I can think of."
His apology caught her attention, Dawn sat up and looked at Rupert, "Why are you apologizing to me?'
"Well, for one, you might think that my relationship with Buffy is taking her away from you when you need her most." Giles shrugged, and Dawn wondered if it was possible for someone wearing that much tweed had actually shrugged. "I don't expect forgiveness or sympathy, Dawn. I just want you to know I'm sorry. And that I'm here for you if you need anything."
Dawn rolled her eyes again and couldn't help but smile at him, "I'm not mad at you, you know."
Giles looked surprised at Dawn's announcement, "Just Buffy?"
"Yes. She's always lying and running away and she never has to deal with it. She doesn't care who it hurts."
"Buffy cares very much about you, Dawn. Never doubt that." The earnestness of Giles voice was shaking Dawn's certitude.
"She doesn't act like it." It was the best she could come up with.
"Dawn, you need to start telling her what you need. And Buffy needs to tell you what she needs. I suspect you two will be having a lot of talks in coming weeks."
Giles was right. Buffy wasn't her mom, and Dawn should have known better than to expect Buffy to suddenly become an adult over night. She had expected Buffy to be there for her, but she hadn't been there for Buffy. Dawn had run and tattled on Buffy just like when she was little, and now her dad would punish Buffy, just like Dawn had wanted.
"Giles, I need to tell you something." She paused guiltily, not sure of how to tell him about her transgression of confidence, so she just blurted it out, "I told my dad about you and Buffy."
Giles pulled his glasses off, and sighed. Dawn considered it a good sign that he hadn't started cleaning them, "Dawn, is that why you're father isn't coming?"
"No." Giles was cleaning his glasses now, but Dawn continued, buoyed by the fact he hadn't pinched the bridge of his nose, "I called him today, after Buffy ran away. I told him about her being a Slayer, and everything. He's coming. He'll be here tonight, after the funeral."
"If I may ask." Rupert leaned forward and pinched the bridge of his nose, he didn't see Dawn wincing, "What were you thinking?" He didn't look up at her, if he did, he'd lose his temper.
"I was tired of her lying... she said we'd take care of each other…"
"Dawn, you have complicated matters beyond the telling of it." Rupert took a deep breath and looked at Dawn. She was choking back tears and trying not to cry. He couldn't be angry with her, not after everything she'd been through. It was the same reason that he couldn't stay angry at Buffy: He knew too well what she had suffered, so he gave her lots of room to live. He'd take care of Dawn's mess; he'd mediate between the sisters. It was Hank that he was unsure about. "Don't mention this to Buffy. I'll take care of it. Just get ready for the service."
Giles rose to leave, and as he put the chair back in front of the desk, Dawn came behind him and embraced him as he turned to leave. She released him almost as abruptly, and after they smiled awkwardly at each other Rupert walked into the hall shutting the door behind him.
Rupert walked over to Buffy's door and knocked, pleased when Buffy called out, "Just a minute, Giles!"
She opened the door just enough for her to head to stick out, "What do you need?"
"I need to speak with you about something." He noticed how glassy and red- rimmed her eyes were, "Have you been crying?"
"Yes, but can it wait? I need to talk to Dawn."
"That's what I need to discuss with you. I've just finished speaking to Dawn."
"First, we're 'speaking' and now we're 'discussing.'" Buffy rolled her red- rimmed eyes, "Come in."
Rupert entered and sat down on the edge of Buffy's bed. Buffy was pulling on a beige sweater that matched her pants. "So, what did you and Dawn talk about?"
Buffy walked over to him and grabbed his hands as she stood in front of him. They smiled as they listened to their hearts beating in sync. The sound of their heartbeats began to grow louder and Rupert tried to disengage their hands but neither one of them could loosen the grip. The volume of their heartbeats continued to increase until it became almost deafening, and then they ceased without warning.
The first thought Rupert had was not his own, but it began in his head; the only difference was that it sounded exactly like Buffy. So, this is the telepathy.
No matter what meditation technique he employed, Buffy could skate past it and access his thoughts and he couldn't help but be flooded by the things she was projecting towards him. Suddenly, Buffy stopped.
Buffy began crying, and Rupert pulled her to him.
Buffy, please, it will be okay.
"I can't believe she told Dad about me, about us! It will not be okay!" Buffy looked at him, thoughts pouring out so quickly that Rupert couldn't tell them from the tears that fell from both their eyes.
This telepathy couldn't have happened at a worse time.
Buffy choked on a sob and looked up at Rupert, "Which one of us thought that?"