Back at Giles' place, everyone had now left and Giles was cleaning up. He put the empty cups and mugs in the kitchen and thought about the evening. The memories brought up by the photos were not all pleasant, but he was glad he had finally shared this with the gang. He had never talked about it in the five years he knew them and he was almost relieved that he had now. He returned to the living and put the box away after taking the pictures of Sarah and Emma out of it. He went to sit as his desk and studied the pictures for a long time, reminiscing about the two happy years with Emma and the month with the three of them.
When he finally stood up to go to bed, he left the pictures lying on the desk, stroking the picture a last time.
The next day, he got to the Magic Box early, as he had been awake for most of the night. Last night had brought back more feelings than he had realised then. The pain in his heart, always present, seemed even stronger now.
Giles entered the shop and relocked the doors behind him, since it was only eight. He sat down in the back and started work on the sales register. Suddenly, somebody knocked at the door. Giles looked up and headed for the door.
"Sorry, we're closed," he said through the glass as he saw it was a young girl.
She looked at him and her eyes opened wider and she knocked some more on the door.
"Open up," she said, "please."
Surprised, Giles opened the door and as the girl stepped in, he got a clear view at her and his breath halted. It was like Emma was back, but she wasn't, this girl was too young… was it? Could it be?
"Sarah?" he said.
"Yeah," the girl replied, smiling shortly, "Can I…?" she motioned to the inside.
"Eh… yes, come in…"
"Thanks."
As Sarah stepped inside, thoughts raced through Giles mind.
Could it be? Such coincidence! Oh dear lord! Eh… sit, yes, sit.
"You want to… eh… sit down?" Giles asked, indicating the back table.
"Yes, thank you, I've been travelling since yesterday afternoon so…"
He led her to it and as she put her bag down and sat, he looked at her. She was like a copy of Emma, the same hair, posture, face; even her voice looked like Emma's.
"Are you okay?" she asked, looking worried at Giles.
"Yes, I'm fine… it's just… you look so much like your mother."
"I do?"
"Yes, like a copy."
"That saves some convincing," she softly said.
"Oh, you have no idea how glad I am that you're here. I never stopped thinking of you, and your mother. For twenty years, I've never known were you were, how you were, if you were at all."
"Oh dear," she said, in an imitation of Giles' classic sentence, "then you don't know."
"Don't know what?"
"Mom, she… she died."
Giles face, already pale, turned even paler.
"D-died?" Sarah nodded.
"When I was thirteen."
"Would you like something to drink?" Giles said, escaping the thought that Emma was dead and suddenly remembering his manners.
"Tea, please." She smiled at his pleasantly surprised look.
"I'm still very much British."
"Still?"
"Yeah, I've been living in Holland for the last two years."
"With family?"
"No, with David," she replied, "I'll give you the complete story, that'll make things easier to understand."
"Yes, indeed."
When Giles returned with two cups of tea, she sipped it and breathed deeply, bracing herself.
"Off course I don't remember a lot of my early childhood, so what I'll tell you is puzzled together from my own experience, mom's diaries, which I found not so long ago and Council documentation.
When you two had fought and you had left to sleep somewhere else for the night, mom was approached, the next morning, by Quinten Travers, all too familiar I think."
Giles nodded.
"He told mom you had been killed by a strong enemy. Mom never specified what he had meant with that, but he convinced her that she and I were next on the list and that the council would protect us. She wrote that it all went very fast because; according to Quinten, the enemy was coming. So, an hour later she and I were at the Council's headquarters. Causing you to find the house empty."
"But…"
"Hold on, let me finish first, please."
"Go ahead."
"The council relocated us to a small place in the country side and David went to live with us. David Adams is a council member; and he was assigned to protect us. When I was old enough to go to school for the first time, we relocated again. There I finished primary school and it was also in this period that mom married David.
"Married!?"
"Yes. I was nine when they married and by now she had sort of gotten over you I guess and she liked David. She wrote she didn't love him, she liked him as a close friend, possibly a brother. But it would make things easier. The council supported it very much and were also the first to bring it up. Anyway, three years later we relocated again. By then I was twelve and asking questions about my father; you; and I learned some stuff about you. They told me you were a Watcher and had been killed by the enemy. They never specified to me who the enemy was, all they said was that I was too young. A year later, when mom died; they told me she had been killed by the enemy too and they relocated me again. There I finished secondary school.
When I was fifteen or so, I started researching about you and mom. It was difficult and often I didn't find anything.
At eighteen, I choose to go to university and very specifically in Holland. I had learned mom came from Holland and I wanted to get to know the country. I started studying Sumerian languages to better understand the ancient texts I was working with. I had been assisting the council in research since I was fifteen. They assigned me to stop my flow of questions.
Once I was in Holland, I kept on searching but I didn't get a breakthrough on you two until a few months ago. I then discovered mom wasn't killed by 'the enemy' but had been in a car crash. I also found out that you weren't dead at all. And finally, I found they wanted me because I my father and grandmother had been watchers and third-generation watchers are not only rare but also they seem too possess some kind of sixth sense for the supernatural or something.
After that, I'd had it. All I wanted was get away from the council and find you. I discovered you were the Watcher of the Slayer and lived in Sunnydale and had a shop. So, I figured I'd go to Sunnydale and see my dad. Mom had left me a bit of money and I bought a plane ticket and all I had to do was wait for David to leave me alone.
David had moved too, he had been taking care of me since mom died, and in Holland he hardly let me out of sight. But finally, he left to do something, which would take about an hour, giving me time to get away. Then: bus, train, plane; and here I am."
"I'm quite speechless," Giles said, "I really don't know what to say…" Then he suddenly jumped up.
"The shop! I have to open it, it's nine."
"Need a hand?" Sarah asked, "I could… you know… Then we could… spend some more time…"
"Yes, that would be nice…" Giles said.
Sarah got up and looked around.
"Impressive collection you have." She turned around and walked to the back end.
"And not only innocent ones…"
Giles smiled and checked the money in the cash-register.
"Those are for research only," he said. At that moment, the door opened and Anya entered.
"Hello!" she called out.
Giles stood up from behind the counter at the same time as Sarah emerged from behind a bookcase.
"Anya, good to see you." Anya stared at Sarah.
"Eh… hi," Sarah said.
"Hello," Anya said, "Those books are not for sale."
"This is not a customer Anya," Giles said, "Sarah, this is Anya, Anya this is Sarah, my… daughter."
"The one you told about?" Anya asked, seeming not too surprised.
"Yes," Giles said, and suddenly became enthusiastic, "We have to call a meeting, I want to tell everyone, I have to tell everyone." Giles smiled at Sarah who stepped nearer. When she stood next to him, he carefully extended his arm and at her smile he pulled her close to him. Father and daughter shared a hug after nearly twenty years of being apart.
When he finally stood up to go to bed, he left the pictures lying on the desk, stroking the picture a last time.
The next day, he got to the Magic Box early, as he had been awake for most of the night. Last night had brought back more feelings than he had realised then. The pain in his heart, always present, seemed even stronger now.
Giles entered the shop and relocked the doors behind him, since it was only eight. He sat down in the back and started work on the sales register. Suddenly, somebody knocked at the door. Giles looked up and headed for the door.
"Sorry, we're closed," he said through the glass as he saw it was a young girl.
She looked at him and her eyes opened wider and she knocked some more on the door.
"Open up," she said, "please."
Surprised, Giles opened the door and as the girl stepped in, he got a clear view at her and his breath halted. It was like Emma was back, but she wasn't, this girl was too young… was it? Could it be?
"Sarah?" he said.
"Yeah," the girl replied, smiling shortly, "Can I…?" she motioned to the inside.
"Eh… yes, come in…"
"Thanks."
As Sarah stepped inside, thoughts raced through Giles mind.
Could it be? Such coincidence! Oh dear lord! Eh… sit, yes, sit.
"You want to… eh… sit down?" Giles asked, indicating the back table.
"Yes, thank you, I've been travelling since yesterday afternoon so…"
He led her to it and as she put her bag down and sat, he looked at her. She was like a copy of Emma, the same hair, posture, face; even her voice looked like Emma's.
"Are you okay?" she asked, looking worried at Giles.
"Yes, I'm fine… it's just… you look so much like your mother."
"I do?"
"Yes, like a copy."
"That saves some convincing," she softly said.
"Oh, you have no idea how glad I am that you're here. I never stopped thinking of you, and your mother. For twenty years, I've never known were you were, how you were, if you were at all."
"Oh dear," she said, in an imitation of Giles' classic sentence, "then you don't know."
"Don't know what?"
"Mom, she… she died."
Giles face, already pale, turned even paler.
"D-died?" Sarah nodded.
"When I was thirteen."
"Would you like something to drink?" Giles said, escaping the thought that Emma was dead and suddenly remembering his manners.
"Tea, please." She smiled at his pleasantly surprised look.
"I'm still very much British."
"Still?"
"Yeah, I've been living in Holland for the last two years."
"With family?"
"No, with David," she replied, "I'll give you the complete story, that'll make things easier to understand."
"Yes, indeed."
When Giles returned with two cups of tea, she sipped it and breathed deeply, bracing herself.
"Off course I don't remember a lot of my early childhood, so what I'll tell you is puzzled together from my own experience, mom's diaries, which I found not so long ago and Council documentation.
When you two had fought and you had left to sleep somewhere else for the night, mom was approached, the next morning, by Quinten Travers, all too familiar I think."
Giles nodded.
"He told mom you had been killed by a strong enemy. Mom never specified what he had meant with that, but he convinced her that she and I were next on the list and that the council would protect us. She wrote that it all went very fast because; according to Quinten, the enemy was coming. So, an hour later she and I were at the Council's headquarters. Causing you to find the house empty."
"But…"
"Hold on, let me finish first, please."
"Go ahead."
"The council relocated us to a small place in the country side and David went to live with us. David Adams is a council member; and he was assigned to protect us. When I was old enough to go to school for the first time, we relocated again. There I finished primary school and it was also in this period that mom married David.
"Married!?"
"Yes. I was nine when they married and by now she had sort of gotten over you I guess and she liked David. She wrote she didn't love him, she liked him as a close friend, possibly a brother. But it would make things easier. The council supported it very much and were also the first to bring it up. Anyway, three years later we relocated again. By then I was twelve and asking questions about my father; you; and I learned some stuff about you. They told me you were a Watcher and had been killed by the enemy. They never specified to me who the enemy was, all they said was that I was too young. A year later, when mom died; they told me she had been killed by the enemy too and they relocated me again. There I finished secondary school.
When I was fifteen or so, I started researching about you and mom. It was difficult and often I didn't find anything.
At eighteen, I choose to go to university and very specifically in Holland. I had learned mom came from Holland and I wanted to get to know the country. I started studying Sumerian languages to better understand the ancient texts I was working with. I had been assisting the council in research since I was fifteen. They assigned me to stop my flow of questions.
Once I was in Holland, I kept on searching but I didn't get a breakthrough on you two until a few months ago. I then discovered mom wasn't killed by 'the enemy' but had been in a car crash. I also found out that you weren't dead at all. And finally, I found they wanted me because I my father and grandmother had been watchers and third-generation watchers are not only rare but also they seem too possess some kind of sixth sense for the supernatural or something.
After that, I'd had it. All I wanted was get away from the council and find you. I discovered you were the Watcher of the Slayer and lived in Sunnydale and had a shop. So, I figured I'd go to Sunnydale and see my dad. Mom had left me a bit of money and I bought a plane ticket and all I had to do was wait for David to leave me alone.
David had moved too, he had been taking care of me since mom died, and in Holland he hardly let me out of sight. But finally, he left to do something, which would take about an hour, giving me time to get away. Then: bus, train, plane; and here I am."
"I'm quite speechless," Giles said, "I really don't know what to say…" Then he suddenly jumped up.
"The shop! I have to open it, it's nine."
"Need a hand?" Sarah asked, "I could… you know… Then we could… spend some more time…"
"Yes, that would be nice…" Giles said.
Sarah got up and looked around.
"Impressive collection you have." She turned around and walked to the back end.
"And not only innocent ones…"
Giles smiled and checked the money in the cash-register.
"Those are for research only," he said. At that moment, the door opened and Anya entered.
"Hello!" she called out.
Giles stood up from behind the counter at the same time as Sarah emerged from behind a bookcase.
"Anya, good to see you." Anya stared at Sarah.
"Eh… hi," Sarah said.
"Hello," Anya said, "Those books are not for sale."
"This is not a customer Anya," Giles said, "Sarah, this is Anya, Anya this is Sarah, my… daughter."
"The one you told about?" Anya asked, seeming not too surprised.
"Yes," Giles said, and suddenly became enthusiastic, "We have to call a meeting, I want to tell everyone, I have to tell everyone." Giles smiled at Sarah who stepped nearer. When she stood next to him, he carefully extended his arm and at her smile he pulled her close to him. Father and daughter shared a hug after nearly twenty years of being apart.
