Hank looked down into his now cold-cup of cocoa and realized how late it
was. Dawn had answered all of his questions with ease and Hank was getting
tired enough that he was starting to believe them. His oldest girl was The
Slayer and his baby was a mystical Key.
Dawn yawned and rubbed her eyes, "So, do you have anymore questions?"
"Just tell me if I've got it straight: The monsters under the bed are all real and they wanted to eat me for dinner."
"That's pretty much the deal, yeah."
"I'm very tired."
"Do you want some more cocoa? Or we can make up a bed for you on the couch."
"Do you think Buffy will be home tonight?"
Dawn looked at the clock and considered the time briefly, "I doubt it. If she's not home by now, it usually means she's pulling an all-nighter. Or she's at Giles'." The look on Hank's face at the mention of Mr. Giles made Dawn wince, "Sorry. Do you want me to make up the couch?"
"Maybe I should get a hotel. have Buffy call me in the morning, or whenever she's ready to talk. It looks like I'm going to have to fit into her schedule while I'm here."
"You can stay, y'know. I live here, too, and I want you to stay."
"I know, sweetie, but I think I'd prefer to see Buffy in neutral territory at this point."
"Well, I can call you a cab. Or call the hotel."
Hank got up and headed into the hall, "Nah, I saw a place just a few blocks away, I can walk."
Dawn gave him a look of incredulity, "Dad, it's dark out. Are you sure you wanna walk?"
Hank paused as he reached for his coat, "Oh, vampires. right. Well, I think I'll take the cab then."
While Dawn pulled out the phone book and called for a taxi, Hank looked at the photos in the hall, the pictures of his girls all together. He recognized some of the pictures; he had been behind the camera for them. To think that Dawn had not actually been there for them made him sad, she had always been his girl, more than Buffy.
"Well, the cab will be here in about ten minutes, they'll honk."
"Do you think it will be safe if I wait just outside? I could use the fresh air."
"Hold on just one minute." Dawn ran into the dining room and rummaged through a drawer, holding something in her hands.
Before he even had his coat on, Dawn had pressed a large cross and a vial of water into his hands. Tucking the implements into his coat pocket, Hank smiled and kissed her good night as he picked up his small suitcase and walked out the front door.
Just as Hank stepped out of the door, he felt something hit him on the back of the head. He dropped his suitcase and turned around. "Ow. What."
Hank ran his hand through his hair and it felt wet, and as he looked at his blood-covered hand another blow to the head knocked him out and he crumpled down the stairs and onto the front walk.
********
Buffy slowly opened the door and peered into the dim light of Giles' apartment. The light next to the couch was on and as she walked in and closed the door behind her, Buffy could see that he had fallen asleep on couch with a book on his chest and his glasses still on, Rupert hadn't bothered to change out of his suit and his shirt was severely rumpled. Buffy removed his glasses and the book and reached down to stroke his brow. Upon contact, Buffy was assaulted with images from Giles' subconscious: pastoral countryside, a delicate tea cup shattering against a stone floor, the library, Olivia smiling at him, Jenny smiling at him, Joyce yelling at him, Buffy yelling at him, then an image of herself crying, a man spread open and eviscerated on a kitchen table, then a younger version of herself crying and yelling at him. Buffy pulled away her hand to stop the flow of images and Giles eyes popped open. He sat up and reached for his glasses.
"Buffy? Is everything all right?"
"Fine. I just, I think I saw your dreams... I shouldn't have, I just didn't even think about touching you."
"Come here," Buffy sat next him and Giles put his arms around her, careful not to make skin-to-skin contact, "How are you? How was patrol? Have you been home yet?"
"Hold my hand and find out?" Buffy cautiously held out her hand to Giles, and in one of the only quiet moments they had shared in the last few days, Rupert didn't take Buffy's hand, but picked up one of his books from the table.
"I'd rather not, if you don't mind. I'm feeling a bit drained in that respect. I'd prefer a talk."
Buffy got up and began pacing the room, "I'm fine, really. Patrol was fine; Angel and I dusted 15 or so vamps. We got some sparring in, too, but I figured it was early enough to come see you before I went home. I didn't mean to wake you up."
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't glad you stopped by, but you should really have gone straight home to see about Dawn and your father."
"Please don't scold me. I needed to see you."
"And I'm glad you came, but really, Buffy. I don't have any new information to offer on the attunement."
"But Giles. Rupert." But he wouldn't let her finish, sleep still clouded his thoughts, and his dreams had reminded of what his place in Buffy's life had been, and should never have become.
"You [I]can[/I] stay, if you like." Looking up at Buffy, Rupert immediately realized that he had said the wrong thing. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have."
"So, why did you?" Buffy had squared her shoulders and she was giving him a cold stare. Rupert met it as he rose from his seat and walked over to her and gathered her face in his hands. He reached through the attunement, the swirl of thoughts and emotions, to say the thing that he had meant:
"I love you. You don't need my permission to stay."
Tears welled in Buffy's eyes, and she pulled Rupert's hands away from her face so that she could bury herself in his arms. As they stood there together, Giles gently stroked her back, hoping to offer some comfort, but the attunement told him that Buffy was beyond consoling. Her thoughts were unintelligible, overridden by fear and grief.
Buffy looked up at him, and in a voice stronger than she felt, said, "We put her in the ground, Giles. Don't [I]ever[/I] put me in the ground."
"I won't. I promise."
Buffy pulled him to her and kissed him, determined to feel anything but her grief. Understanding her intentions, Rupert moved toward the stairs but Buffy held him to her and uttered one clear word, "Here," and began undressing him. Buffy made desperate love to him that night, until she was numb in body and soul, all thoughts of her family pushed from her mind by exhaustion and ecstasy.
********
As Hank regained consciousness, he found himself tied to a chair, in a mostly non-descript, darkened room. His head hurt, and he could still feel some wetness on the back of his head and neck. If that blood hasn't dried, he supposed, it meant he hadn't been out that long.
Hank couldn't see a door, which made him guess that it was behind him, and the only window he could see was covered with thick red drapes. As he tried to twist around, the most hideous face he had ever seen popped in front of his own.
Hank screamed.
"He's awake, Most Creamy-Skinned One." The hideous face disappeared behind him, and Hank started to cry. He closed his eyes and thought of Dawn, and he hoped that she had really been telling the truth about Buffy.
"Now, now, Watcher, screaming and crying won't get us anywhere." It was a woman's voice, clear and lilting. "But if you tell me where my key is, I'll kill you quick, I promise."
He felt her grab his face, squeezing the soft flesh of his cheeks into his teeth. He tasted the blood before he felt it fill his mouth. She leaned into his ear and whispered, "C'mon, Watcher, tell me where to find my key. This isn't even the most painful thing I can do to you."
Hank struggled to open his eyes, and when he did he looked into a beautiful woman's face. She let go of him and stepped back as he tried to speak. Blood dribbled from his mouth; Hank took a breath through his nose, and tried to steady his breathing so that he could speak, "Please don't kill me. I'm not w-w-watcher."
"Don't lie to me! Tell me where my key is!" The woman was visibly agitated, Hank didn't see the blow coming, but he was sure his nose was broken. His chest felt warm and wet, the blood from his nose and mouth was soaking his shirt.
Hank felt sleepy, and his head dropped to his chest, but a terrible pain in his leg momentarily caused him to rear up and groan. Before he completely lost consciousness, Hank heard the woman say, "Damn it! I was just getting started!"
********
Giles and Buffy pulled up to her house in his red BMW. The both got out and began walking up to the house.
Buffy noticed the suitcase sitting on the front porch and gestured to it, "Are they kicking me out?"
Rupert looked at her, "What? Is that some sort of custom that I haven't been exposed to?"
"Not that I know of." Buffy shrugged and opened the door, "Hey, Dawn? You here?"
"Buffy!" Dawn came running in from the kitchen and hugged her sister tightly.
Buffy looked over Dawn towards the kitchen, "Where's Dad?"
"Oh, he stayed at a hotel last night."
"Dawn, is that his suitcase?"
A look of recognition, then fear spread over Dawn's face, "Oh, no."
"Dawn, did you tell him everything?" Buffy grabbed her sister and shook her, "Dawn?"
"Yes."
Buffy turned to Giles and spoke, "We have to find him."
Rupert prepared to speak, but Buffy cut him off, well aware of what he would say, that they didn't know where to begin, or if Glory actually had him. All the reassuring things he had to say to keep her calm and confident.
"Giles, what if Glory has him? She could already be on her way now. Take Dawn to your house, call everyone and get them over there. Tell them what's happened."
Dawn, still shocked, choked out the question Giles was thinking, "Where are you going?"
"To find Dad." Buffy was already walking out the front door, but Giles caught her arm.
"Where are you going to start?"
"Where I stopped that snake thingy. I'll just spiral out from there."
"Please, be careful." He wanted to tell her that he loved her, but Dawn's presence embarrassed him.
"I will. I'll be back soon, with Dad." Buffy ran out the door and up the street while Giles and Dawn walked out to his car.
"Do you think she'll find him?" Dawn wasn't crying, but she was obviously scared. Giles touched her shoulder reassuringly and then opened the door for Dawn to get into the car.
"I don't doubt it. She'll keep you safe, Dawn." As he shut the car door, Giles realized that he had no doubt that Buffy would keep Dawn safe, but he wasn't as certain that she would find Hank and bring him back safely.
********
Hot tears ran down Buffy's face, and the air burned her lungs, but she kept going. If she lost her father, it would be painful, but not nearly as much as if his death cost her Dawn as well.
[red2][I]CONTINUING[/I][/red2]
Dawn yawned and rubbed her eyes, "So, do you have anymore questions?"
"Just tell me if I've got it straight: The monsters under the bed are all real and they wanted to eat me for dinner."
"That's pretty much the deal, yeah."
"I'm very tired."
"Do you want some more cocoa? Or we can make up a bed for you on the couch."
"Do you think Buffy will be home tonight?"
Dawn looked at the clock and considered the time briefly, "I doubt it. If she's not home by now, it usually means she's pulling an all-nighter. Or she's at Giles'." The look on Hank's face at the mention of Mr. Giles made Dawn wince, "Sorry. Do you want me to make up the couch?"
"Maybe I should get a hotel. have Buffy call me in the morning, or whenever she's ready to talk. It looks like I'm going to have to fit into her schedule while I'm here."
"You can stay, y'know. I live here, too, and I want you to stay."
"I know, sweetie, but I think I'd prefer to see Buffy in neutral territory at this point."
"Well, I can call you a cab. Or call the hotel."
Hank got up and headed into the hall, "Nah, I saw a place just a few blocks away, I can walk."
Dawn gave him a look of incredulity, "Dad, it's dark out. Are you sure you wanna walk?"
Hank paused as he reached for his coat, "Oh, vampires. right. Well, I think I'll take the cab then."
While Dawn pulled out the phone book and called for a taxi, Hank looked at the photos in the hall, the pictures of his girls all together. He recognized some of the pictures; he had been behind the camera for them. To think that Dawn had not actually been there for them made him sad, she had always been his girl, more than Buffy.
"Well, the cab will be here in about ten minutes, they'll honk."
"Do you think it will be safe if I wait just outside? I could use the fresh air."
"Hold on just one minute." Dawn ran into the dining room and rummaged through a drawer, holding something in her hands.
Before he even had his coat on, Dawn had pressed a large cross and a vial of water into his hands. Tucking the implements into his coat pocket, Hank smiled and kissed her good night as he picked up his small suitcase and walked out the front door.
Just as Hank stepped out of the door, he felt something hit him on the back of the head. He dropped his suitcase and turned around. "Ow. What."
Hank ran his hand through his hair and it felt wet, and as he looked at his blood-covered hand another blow to the head knocked him out and he crumpled down the stairs and onto the front walk.
********
Buffy slowly opened the door and peered into the dim light of Giles' apartment. The light next to the couch was on and as she walked in and closed the door behind her, Buffy could see that he had fallen asleep on couch with a book on his chest and his glasses still on, Rupert hadn't bothered to change out of his suit and his shirt was severely rumpled. Buffy removed his glasses and the book and reached down to stroke his brow. Upon contact, Buffy was assaulted with images from Giles' subconscious: pastoral countryside, a delicate tea cup shattering against a stone floor, the library, Olivia smiling at him, Jenny smiling at him, Joyce yelling at him, Buffy yelling at him, then an image of herself crying, a man spread open and eviscerated on a kitchen table, then a younger version of herself crying and yelling at him. Buffy pulled away her hand to stop the flow of images and Giles eyes popped open. He sat up and reached for his glasses.
"Buffy? Is everything all right?"
"Fine. I just, I think I saw your dreams... I shouldn't have, I just didn't even think about touching you."
"Come here," Buffy sat next him and Giles put his arms around her, careful not to make skin-to-skin contact, "How are you? How was patrol? Have you been home yet?"
"Hold my hand and find out?" Buffy cautiously held out her hand to Giles, and in one of the only quiet moments they had shared in the last few days, Rupert didn't take Buffy's hand, but picked up one of his books from the table.
"I'd rather not, if you don't mind. I'm feeling a bit drained in that respect. I'd prefer a talk."
Buffy got up and began pacing the room, "I'm fine, really. Patrol was fine; Angel and I dusted 15 or so vamps. We got some sparring in, too, but I figured it was early enough to come see you before I went home. I didn't mean to wake you up."
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't glad you stopped by, but you should really have gone straight home to see about Dawn and your father."
"Please don't scold me. I needed to see you."
"And I'm glad you came, but really, Buffy. I don't have any new information to offer on the attunement."
"But Giles. Rupert." But he wouldn't let her finish, sleep still clouded his thoughts, and his dreams had reminded of what his place in Buffy's life had been, and should never have become.
"You [I]can[/I] stay, if you like." Looking up at Buffy, Rupert immediately realized that he had said the wrong thing. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have."
"So, why did you?" Buffy had squared her shoulders and she was giving him a cold stare. Rupert met it as he rose from his seat and walked over to her and gathered her face in his hands. He reached through the attunement, the swirl of thoughts and emotions, to say the thing that he had meant:
"I love you. You don't need my permission to stay."
Tears welled in Buffy's eyes, and she pulled Rupert's hands away from her face so that she could bury herself in his arms. As they stood there together, Giles gently stroked her back, hoping to offer some comfort, but the attunement told him that Buffy was beyond consoling. Her thoughts were unintelligible, overridden by fear and grief.
Buffy looked up at him, and in a voice stronger than she felt, said, "We put her in the ground, Giles. Don't [I]ever[/I] put me in the ground."
"I won't. I promise."
Buffy pulled him to her and kissed him, determined to feel anything but her grief. Understanding her intentions, Rupert moved toward the stairs but Buffy held him to her and uttered one clear word, "Here," and began undressing him. Buffy made desperate love to him that night, until she was numb in body and soul, all thoughts of her family pushed from her mind by exhaustion and ecstasy.
********
As Hank regained consciousness, he found himself tied to a chair, in a mostly non-descript, darkened room. His head hurt, and he could still feel some wetness on the back of his head and neck. If that blood hasn't dried, he supposed, it meant he hadn't been out that long.
Hank couldn't see a door, which made him guess that it was behind him, and the only window he could see was covered with thick red drapes. As he tried to twist around, the most hideous face he had ever seen popped in front of his own.
Hank screamed.
"He's awake, Most Creamy-Skinned One." The hideous face disappeared behind him, and Hank started to cry. He closed his eyes and thought of Dawn, and he hoped that she had really been telling the truth about Buffy.
"Now, now, Watcher, screaming and crying won't get us anywhere." It was a woman's voice, clear and lilting. "But if you tell me where my key is, I'll kill you quick, I promise."
He felt her grab his face, squeezing the soft flesh of his cheeks into his teeth. He tasted the blood before he felt it fill his mouth. She leaned into his ear and whispered, "C'mon, Watcher, tell me where to find my key. This isn't even the most painful thing I can do to you."
Hank struggled to open his eyes, and when he did he looked into a beautiful woman's face. She let go of him and stepped back as he tried to speak. Blood dribbled from his mouth; Hank took a breath through his nose, and tried to steady his breathing so that he could speak, "Please don't kill me. I'm not w-w-watcher."
"Don't lie to me! Tell me where my key is!" The woman was visibly agitated, Hank didn't see the blow coming, but he was sure his nose was broken. His chest felt warm and wet, the blood from his nose and mouth was soaking his shirt.
Hank felt sleepy, and his head dropped to his chest, but a terrible pain in his leg momentarily caused him to rear up and groan. Before he completely lost consciousness, Hank heard the woman say, "Damn it! I was just getting started!"
********
Giles and Buffy pulled up to her house in his red BMW. The both got out and began walking up to the house.
Buffy noticed the suitcase sitting on the front porch and gestured to it, "Are they kicking me out?"
Rupert looked at her, "What? Is that some sort of custom that I haven't been exposed to?"
"Not that I know of." Buffy shrugged and opened the door, "Hey, Dawn? You here?"
"Buffy!" Dawn came running in from the kitchen and hugged her sister tightly.
Buffy looked over Dawn towards the kitchen, "Where's Dad?"
"Oh, he stayed at a hotel last night."
"Dawn, is that his suitcase?"
A look of recognition, then fear spread over Dawn's face, "Oh, no."
"Dawn, did you tell him everything?" Buffy grabbed her sister and shook her, "Dawn?"
"Yes."
Buffy turned to Giles and spoke, "We have to find him."
Rupert prepared to speak, but Buffy cut him off, well aware of what he would say, that they didn't know where to begin, or if Glory actually had him. All the reassuring things he had to say to keep her calm and confident.
"Giles, what if Glory has him? She could already be on her way now. Take Dawn to your house, call everyone and get them over there. Tell them what's happened."
Dawn, still shocked, choked out the question Giles was thinking, "Where are you going?"
"To find Dad." Buffy was already walking out the front door, but Giles caught her arm.
"Where are you going to start?"
"Where I stopped that snake thingy. I'll just spiral out from there."
"Please, be careful." He wanted to tell her that he loved her, but Dawn's presence embarrassed him.
"I will. I'll be back soon, with Dad." Buffy ran out the door and up the street while Giles and Dawn walked out to his car.
"Do you think she'll find him?" Dawn wasn't crying, but she was obviously scared. Giles touched her shoulder reassuringly and then opened the door for Dawn to get into the car.
"I don't doubt it. She'll keep you safe, Dawn." As he shut the car door, Giles realized that he had no doubt that Buffy would keep Dawn safe, but he wasn't as certain that she would find Hank and bring him back safely.
********
Hot tears ran down Buffy's face, and the air burned her lungs, but she kept going. If she lost her father, it would be painful, but not nearly as much as if his death cost her Dawn as well.
[red2][I]CONTINUING[/I][/red2]