Buffy brought Will upstairs and left him in the bathroom to get ready for bed while she found his pajamas. She was still fuming about Giles' little speech at the Magic Box, but she decided to not let it show until Will was safe in bed.
Will came in from the bathroom, and sat down on the bed. "Why are you mad, Buffy? Did-did I do something wrong?"
"No! No, of course not. It's grownup stuff sweetie. Why don't you just lie down under the cover with Mr. Gordo here, and I'll head down to see what Dawn's doing, ok?"
"Ok," Will said with a small yet adorable yawn. "G'night."
Buffy moved to kiss Will on the forehead. She bent down and saw that he was already on his way to a deep slumber. Walking as quietly as she could she closed the door and headed for the stairs.
When she reached the living room she saw Dawn half sprawled on the couch, obviously waiting up for her to talk about the situation. "Hey, Dawnie. I guess you want to know what's going on, huh?"
"Well, now that you mention it, yes that would be nice."
"Ok, here goes. While you and Will were in the training room, Giles started to discuss the whole turning Spike back into himself thing. He said the only way to do it was to have the slime of the demon that caused this whole mess for some sort of spell. I was all ready to go out and find another one of these things, but then Giles made another suggestion. He, he wants to leave Spike like he is. Let Will grow up and lead a 'normal' life. I got pretty mad and then we left. So that's it."
"Wow. Giles said that? He wants Will to stay like he is?"
"Yea, but the Hellmouth isn't exactly the best place to raise a kid, especially one that has Victorian views."
"I see what you're saying, Buff. But ya gotta look at it from his point of view too. Isn't Giles related to Will? Maybe Giles wants some family, for once. Ever think of that?"
"No, I didn't. I did kinda blow up at him. Maybe I'll swing by the Magic Box after patrol. Can you stay here tonight with Will while I go do that? He's fast asleep right now, and if he has another nightmare, see if you can get him to talk about it. K?"
"Yea, Buff. Go kill some baddies."
Buffy went over to the weapons chest, pulled out a stake or two then set off to patrol as Dawn was turning the TV on. She made her way over to the same cemetery as the one she and Spike had fought the demon in the first time, in hopes that maybe she could find one despite what Giles had said.
After a few minutes of wandering through the graveyard, weaving her way between graves and crypts, Buffy came to a small clearing where five or so vamps were hanging out.
"Hey, boys. Mind if I play?"
"Slayer!"
"Yep, me Slayer. You vampire. Me kill vampire."
"Hey, if we catch her, maybe we can finally get to Spike!" Buffy felt her heart skip a beat in her chest. Did these vamps know about Spike's 'transformation'? Better play it cool.
"What would you want with that bleached moron? Come on. Let's just fight already."
"Rumor around the Hellmouth says Spike's been turned into a little kid. We're gonna find him, and kill him." Now Buffy knew for sure that these vamps meant business, nothing she couldn't handle though.
She lunged forward suddenly, catching the vamp who was making all the noise by surprise. She plunged her stake into his chest and without a word he turned to dust on the spot. She made her way over to the group and began punching and kicking random vamps here and there. A few minutes later and she was alone in the cemetery once more, surrounded by five piles of dust.
Buffy decided to make it a night after that, and started walking towards the Magic Box. A short walk later, and few more vamps along the way, Buffy was walking into the shop, the little bell heralding her arrival.
Giles looked up from the table where he was seated alone, various books strewn about its surface. "Buffy, how can I help you?"
"I wanted to apologize for earlier. I may have blown up a bit too soon. I'm ready to hear you out now."
"Alright, Buffy. Why don't you sit down? Tea?"
"No, thanks Giles. Just here for the talk."
"Very well." Giles got up, putting his glasses on as he went. He walked over to the small teapot he had set up and made himself busy making himself a cup.
"Why don't you start Buffy?"
"Ok. Well I talked to Dawn about what you think we should do with Will, and she brought up a good point."
"And that would be..?"
"Well, she said that since you two were related maybe that you wanted to keep Will for our own, to – to have a family," Buffy finished in a quiet voice. Giles could tell by her expression that she was afraid of losing both Spike and Will.
"Oh, Buffy. It's not that I'm trying to take either Will or Spike away from you, it's just that, wouldn't it be better for Will to grow up as a normal childhood and have a chance to live a full life rather than having to become a vampire?"
"I guess so. But what about Spike? Do we just forget about him? I don't know if I can do that," Buffy admitted. "Not to mention Dawn would miss him."
"Buffy. Look at me please." When Buffy looked up he continued, "I know that you and Spike have been spending a great deal of time together since your, return, but really you need to put him first in this situation. Ultimately I will leave this decision up to you, and if you really think its best I will try to track down the necessary spell ingredients, but I want you to think about this carefully."
"Ok, Giles. I'll think about it some more. But I better be getting home now. I left Will with Dawn while I went out patrolling."
"That's fine Buffy. I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yea, Giles. Tomorrow." With that Buffy left the shop once again and headed for Revello Drive. It was a short walk and she was home before she knew it. She crept quietly in the house, knowing that Will was asleep, and Dawn was probably dozing on the couch.
She walked in to see Dawn lying on the couch, infomercials running on the TV, and the remote about to slip from her fingers. Buffy moved forward and grabbed the remote, placing it on the table.
She gently shook Dawn awake. "Huh, what – what is it Buffy," Dawn replied sleepily.
"You fell asleep. Why don't you head up to bed."
"K. Did you talk with Giles?"
"Yea, I'll tell ya all about it tomorrow."
"K, night, Buff."
"Night."
Dawn trudged her way up the stairs to her bedroom. She stopped on the way to look in on Will, who was sleeping peacefully.
Meanwhile, Buffy was downstairs thinking about what Giles had said. Should she leave Will as he was and let him live his life out? Or should she try to get Spike back? 'Think about it later, Buff. Sleep now.'
She followed the path of her sister and checked on Will. Walked on to the bathroom but doubled back when her tired brain registered Will's tiny form tossing and turning in her bed. She rushed to his side and began to lightly rock him, making soothing sounds from the back of her throat.
Will calmed soon after that, and opened his eyes to see Buffy staring back at him. "Are you alright, Will?"
"I – I had another nightmare."
"Oh, it'll be ok sweetie. Why don't you tell me about it, then maybe it won't be so bad."
"Ok. There's a big building, and I'm inside. It's all white and really bright. There's a long hallway and there's a whole bunch of rooms. But you can see in the rooms. There's just a window. Inside the rooms, are, um you're gonna think I'm silly, but there's monsters."
Buffy could feel a thought forming. Will's dream sounded an awful lot like the Initiative. The labs were Spike had been held looked exactly like Will was describing. "I don't think it's sill, Will. Is there any more?"
"Yes. With all the monsters there's a man with really bright hair and a long coat. He's just lying there on the floor and then, then they open up the window and poke him with something. It looks like it really hurts, too. But then you usually come and wake me up."
"Oh, Will. They'll go away soon enough. I'm here to protect you. And you've got Mr. Gordo there too. He'll make sure you're safe. Would you like me to stay with you for awhile?"
"Could you please? You can stay here if you would like. My mum always stays in bed with me if I have bad dreams."
"Ok, let me just get my pajamas, then I'll be right back."
Buffy went over to her dresser and grabbed a pair of pajama pants and a tank top. Then left the room to go change in the bathroom. She changed quickly and made her way across the hall to her bedroom once again. When she came to the bed, she saw that Will was already asleep again, holding Mr. Gordo tightly.
"Sleep well, Will," Buffy whispered as she pressed a kiss to his forehead.
