If you are a Drusilla or Darla fan you may not like this chapter. There are also some references to torture.
Chapter 12
The Terror in Your Eyes
"Buffy no" yelled Giles from the doorway of his bedroom.
The sound of Giles' voice snapped me out of my daze and I pivoted my head to see him standing in the doorway, terror and fear written across his anxious face. It was only than that I really looked down at the vampire beneath me. What I saw made me shudder. Dropping my stake I slowly removed my weight from him not wanting to injure him any more than I already had. By throwing herself on him I must have hurt him internally because a stream of blood was oozing from his open mouth. Silent tears fell from the eyes of his bruised and battered face, while his quivering lips appeared to be trying to form words that were never made audible. When he was unable to communicate he painfully turned his head in shame and self-disgust.
I pressed my hands over my mouth to keep from screaming out loud. My body was shaking so bad I was surprised I was able to keep standing. Giles raced over to Spike to make sure he was ok. What was I thinking of course he wasn't ok. Someone or something had hurt him and I had just made it worse. I'm not sure how many times Giles called my name before I heard him. He told me to wait downstairs. I didn't want to leave, but he insisted. On unsteady legs I made my way to the living room.
How many times I dreamed that I would get the chance to see him again. There were so many things I wanted to say and so many things I wanted to ask. However at this moment all that went through my addled brain was that he is hurt and what if he doesn't make it. What if I never get to sit and talk with him again? What is taking Giles so long? Looking back I didn't even cry. I may have been in shock, because I sat on the edge of the sofa rocking back and forth staring at an open book on the coffee table.
I could have waited for fifteen minutes or hours for Giles to return. I'm not sure. I only know that when he came down the stairs I hurried to him crying out "What happened to him? Is he going to be ok? Please tell me he is going to be fine?" I needed to hear it even if it was a lie.
Giles removed his glasses and nervously began to clean them and motioned for me to sit. Wordlessly I followed his instructions. It seemed like an eternity before he began to speak and when he did his words were not reassuring "He was badly injured, but I believe with time he will make a full physical recovery. That is the good news. The bad news is I'm not so sure about his emotional recovery."
"Who, Who did this to him?" I demanded vengeance racing through my vains.
"Buffy it is his story to tell and I don't think he is ready for you to hear it. I'm not sure he told me everything. Nevertheless, there are some things you must know. First, that he was tortured and left for dead by a group of vampires. This torture lasted 22 days and they did a great deal of physical and emotional damage to him. I've had him under my care for 6 days. No one knows he's here but you and I. He didn't want you to know" Giles told me apologetically.
"How could this happen? He had the Gem of Amara. It was suppose to protect him" I begged for answers. "I need answers and I'm not letting this go until I get them" I looked at him sternly.
"Buffy if I tell you, you must promise not to say anything about it to him. Let him tell you in his own way when he's ready" Giles urged me. I wordlessly shook my head and he continued. "When he used The Master to restore Drusilla he made enemies of a group of the Master's followers. The most dangerous one is a vampire named Darla. However, the threat she and her group posed was not as deadly as the one from within his own ranks. You see Drusilla decided that he must be punished for his betrayal."
Knowing immediately what betrayal she referred too I howled "Oh God, I was the betrayal wasn't I? Tell me. Did this happened because of me." Now I really was crying.
Giles put his arm around me and when he thought I was ready he proceeded. "She tricked him by letting him believe everything was fine. She set him up with the help of Darla. While they were on what he thought was a simple boat ride they initiated their plan and turned it into his worst nightmare. First Drusilla pulled the ring from his finger and tossed it overboard leaving him defenseless against Darla and her minions. He thinks they would have continued the torture, but Drusilla had a vision that was more important than her revenge, so after weeks of torture they tied him up and left him in the desert to die. He would have died, but one of the minions slipped a small sharp piece of metal to him. He used it to cut himself free. It is hard to believe but he had enough determination to walk and sometimes crawl miles to an abandoned gas station. There was a pay phone and he called me for help." Giles seemed physically exhausted. I knew the whole ordeal had him disturbed.
"Giles can I see him?" I asked. I didn't want to hear anymore. I only wanted to hold and comfort him.
"Buffy try not to get upset if he doesn't want to see you. He has a great deal of pride and it has taken a terrible beating" Giles said giving me that I'm older and wiser than you look.
I headed up the stairs to try to comfort the man I loved. I know some people may think I'm a hypocrite, but part of me knows that there is some good in him, because I can feel in my soul.
TBC
