Chapter Two: Pirates

Lounge

Sunnydale High School

"How was your date last night?" Willow asked Buffy as she lent her elbows on the table.

"Misfire. I was late due to unscheduled slayage. Showed up looking trashed." Buffy answered sadly.

"Was he mad?" Willow asked.

"Actually he was pretty unmad. Which probably had something to do with the fact that Cordelia was drooling in his cappuccino." Buffy answered in annoyance.

"Oh, Buffy. Angel would never fall for her act." Willow said supportively.

"You mean that 'actually showing up, wearing a stunning outfit, embracing personal hygiene' act?" Buffy asked sarcastically.

"You know what I mean. Uh, she's not his type." Willow said.

Buffy raised an eyebrow at Willow and said. "Are you sure? I mean, I don't know what his type is. I've known him less than a year, and if you haven't noticed, he's not exactly one to over share."

"True. It's too bad we can't sneak a look at the Watcher diaries and read up on Angel. I'm sure it's full of fun facts to know and tell." Willow said Sympathetically.

"Yeah. It's too bad. That stuff is private." Buffy said.

"Also Giles keeps them in his office. In his personal files." Willow said.

"Most importantly, it would be wrong." Buffy said, looking at Willow.

After a silent pause, they both shared a grin.

**********

High School Library

Sunnydale

Willow and Buffy peered in through the round door window and scanned the library. When they failed to spot anyone they shared a look and Buffy, being as quiet as possible, opened the door and entered. Looking back over her shoulder at Willow, who gave her an expression of encouragement, Buffy entered further into the library. Reaching the counter, Buffy looked around again. Satisfied that the library was empty, she headed towards Giles office.

"Buffy!" A voice exclaimed from behind her. Spinning around Buffy saw Giles in the cage getting some old books. "Excellent! " He added as he left the cage and walked towards her.

"Nothing! Hi!" Buffy said with a start.

Giles looked at Buffy with a baffled expression before saying. "Yes, I-I just wanted to talk to you about tomorrow night. As it should be, uh, calm, you might work on some new battle techniques."

"You're beginning to scare me, Giles. You need to have some fun." Buffy said as she waved to Willow to come in as he looked down at his books. Willow shook her head and mouthed 'no'. As Giles looked up, Buffy pulled her hand back and pretended she was scratching her head.

As Giles returned his gaze back to his books, Buffy made a face at Willow and said "You know, there's this place you can go, right, and you sit in the dark, and there are these moving pictures, right, and the pictures tell a story."

"Yes, yes, ha, ha, very droll." Giles said sarcastically as Willow slowly crept into the room.

"I'll have you know that I have very, uh, many relaxing hobbies." Giles said in a slightly indignant tone.

"Such as?" Buffy asked.

"Well, um..." Giles said as Buffy mouthed something to Willow in an effort to goad her on.

"I enjoy cross-referencing." Giles finally answered.

With a small grin Buffy leant back slightly and said "Do you stuff your own shirts, or do you send them out?"

As Giles opened his mouth to make an indignant reply, Buffy attempted to grab a book from the stack he was about to take to his office and inadvertently knocked it to the floor in her haste.

As Giles bent over to pick up the book from the floor he spotted Willow out the corner of one eye and turned to her as he rose. "Hello Willow." He said. "I didn't hear you come in." he added.

Buffy's quickly changed her annoyed expression to a smile of welcome for Willow as Giles turned back to her.

"Can I help you with anything?" He asked.

Willow had a panicked expression on her face as she tried to find a reason for being there. "I-I need a book on historical fashions in the late 17 hundreds." She said finally.

Giles looked up at the ceiling briefly as he thought, before moving to a shelf and pulling a large book from it. "This should help you." He said, placing the book on the table.

Willow pulled the book towards her as she seated herself at the table. Quickly flipping through the pages as Buffy sat besides her, Willow stopped and looked at full colour plate, before grinning at Buffy. As Buffy looked at her with a baffled expression, Willow looked at the drawing of a noble woman with a tiny waist wearing a billowy gown and began to speak to Buffy in a loud voice. "Look at that Buffy, She's got a funny... uh, waist. Look how tiny that is. I wonder if she sort of glided in that gown."

Buffy looked at the picture and snorted. "You got to be kidding! One sneeze and she'd break off at the waist." She said. "And that gliding stuff is just in the movies. No way could you move like that in real life."

Glancing at Giles, out of the corner of one eye, Willow put on a fake expression of disappointment and said. "We'll never really know. If only there were some eyewitnesses we could ask."

A sudden look of realization flashed across Buffy's face as she looked up from the drawing. Buffy grinned slightly before making a thoughtful face and said. "Well there is one eyewitness we could ask. Angel."

Giles, who had been listening to them absentmindedly as he checked the condition of the book that Buffy had knocked to the floor, looked up at the mention of Angel and moved besides Willow. Looking down at the drawing he snorted. "I hardly think Angel would be a reliable witness for that."

"Why not Giles?" Willow asked.

"Only a noble woman would dress like that. Angel would be unlikely to see someone dressed like that." He explained. Pointing to the date 1775 written at the top of the page, he continued. "Angel would be 18 at the time and still mortal."

As Buffy's face fell in disappointment, Willow quickly asked. "What sort of dress would Angel see women dress in then?"

Giles lent over the book and flicked on a few pages before stopping at a new page. "That's what he would be more likely to see." He said, pointing to a woman dressed in white blouse and a thick woollen skirt. Pointing to man dressed in dark blue frock coat and cotton breaches, he added as an after thought. "He probably saw one woman dressed like that quite often at the time as well."

As Buffy looked at the drawing of the man with thoughtfully, Willow looked at Giles and exclaimed. "I don't think that's funny Giles. No woman would dare to wear men's cloths back then." Muttering under her breath, Willow added. "Those male chauvinist pigs would burn her at the stake"

With a smug look on his face, Giles began speak in his lecturing voice. "Normally you would be right Willow. However there are always exceptions to the rule and Angel was acquainted with one of those exception. Quite well in fact." Pausing in his lecture, Giles looked at Willow and Buffy. Noting their avid expressions, he continued. "The name of the woman in question was Captain Colleen McCaffrey. She was a notorious pirate at the time. In fact she was the only female pirate that I've ever heard of."

"Wow!" Buffy exclaimed. "A pirate! Did she capture Spanish galleons and make the crew walk the plank?" She asked.

Giles blinked at Buffy's bloodthirsty question and answered. "Possibly. The records of her battles are quite fragmentary. Though there are rumours that she preferred to attack French ships."

"Why French ships?" Willow asked in fascination.

Taking off his glasses and polishing them, Giles answered Willows question. "There are reports that Captain McCaffrey...rescued...a French woman named Aimee LeFaye from a ship early on in her career." Replacing his glasses, Giles said. "Apparently, Aimee had been the...um... personal slave...of the French ships captain."

As Willow blushed with realization at what Giles meant by personal slave, he hurriedly continued. "After her rescue, Aimee and Captain McCaffrey became...best friends "

Buffy glanced at Willow and noted that she had obviously missed the pause Giles made before saying 'best friend'. "Is that why she went after French ships? Because they had been nasty to her new friend?" She asked Giles.

Giles nodded and said. "Yes. The captain of the French ship had very high connections in the French government and could do practically anything he wanted on his own ship."

As Buffy and Willow made a sour face and nodded at Giles answer, he concluded. "Aimee and Captain McCaffrey stayed together for the next 15 years until they disappeared in the Caribbean on their last voyage."

After a few moment silence, Willow looked up suddenly and said. "That's a great story Giles, but what's it got to do with Angel?"

"Oh, did I forget that part?" Giles said with a slight grin on his face.

Buffy glared at Giles and said annoyed tone of voice. "Yes, you did!"

"Yes, well...Captain Colleen McCaffrey was his aunt on his mother's side of the family. He's recorded as saying that she was his favourite relative." Giles explained as to them. "He liked her so much that after he was turned he never attacked them...even though he had plenty of chances to do so." He added as both girls gasped.

"Now if you will excuse me, I have to finish sorting these books." Giles said as he picked up the small pile of books from the table.

"Goodbye Giles." Willow said as Buffy waved to Giles.

Buffy paused as Willow went through the library doors and turned around. "Aimee and Colleen were...Best friends?" She asked Giles.

Giles blushed a bright red and stammered. "Yes...that is...umm."

Buffy smirked at Giles. "Give! Were they or weren't they?" She asked.

Blushing even more, Giles finally answered Buffy's question before he hurried into his office. "They were...ah...lovers..."

Laughing at Giles's embarrassment, Buffy hurried after Willow.