CHAPTER NINETEEN: RIPPER
Monday: 5pm
12th January 1998
California: Sunnydale
Giles grabbed his jacket off the hook near the door and turned to his Slayer who sat on the couch in their small house, curled up on the couch reading.
"I'll be back as soon as I can. I'd prefer if you didn't leave for patrol before I get home," he said.
She nodded and gave him a smile. "Works for me."
He just rolled his eyes and grabbed his car keys.
"Try not to break anything."
"Would I do something like that?" she asked, the picture of perfect innocence.
He laughed and left her to her book.
Five minutes later, she heard something trying to jimmy the lock. She tensed and grabbed a dagger and a crossbow, her eyes not leaving the door. She aimed the crossbow so that it would hit the heart of whatever came through the door.
The door opened, and she went to pull the trigger. She gasped in shock and quickly put the weapon down, running towards the familiar figure and throwing her arms around his neck.
"Ethan!" she cried happily.
"Hey luv," he replied, a smile on his face. She kissed his cheek and stayed for a long moment in his arms.
"It's so good to see you," she said enthusiastically.
"You too," he said. "I've got a gift for you."
She gave him a small scowl. "Ethan, you know you don't have to buy me anything."
"I know, but…I like spoiling you," he admitted.
He handed her a small box which she took from him. She opened it slowly, half expecting it to explode. He had bought her several gag gifts when she was younger, and she had always grown wary of his gifts.
Inside the box was a silver watch, an engraving on the inside. 'B - I wish I could watch you all the time - E'
She grinned and hugged him again. "It's beautiful, thank you."
He smiled sheepishly and helped her put it on. "Perfect fit. It suits you, luv."
She smiled and took his hand, leading him over to the couches.
"My Watcher just left, so I don't know when he'll be back," she told him.
He gave her a grin, something that she had missed seeing. "I know, I saw him. Never thought I'd see the day when old Ripper had himself a Slayer."
Beth's eyes widened. "Wait…Giles is…Giles is Ripper?" She began laughing, remembering all the stories that Ethan had told her about what he and Ripper used to get up to.
"Mmm, he was…very different back then," Ethan said.
Beth laughed and sat beside her 'dad', curling up next to him, her head on his shoulder.
"Tell me," she whispered.
He put an arm around her and kissed the top of her head.
"I wasn't very nice back then," he said.
"Doesn't matter what you used to be like," she replied. "What you're like now is all that counts."
"You've made me go soft," he said gruffly.
She grinned and took hold of one of his hands. "And you love me for it anyway."
"Bloody right, I do."
She giggled and sighed in contentment. She really had missed him.
"So…tell me about my Watcher," she said.
"Well, we met when I was twenty. He was twenty-one. He'd just dropped out of Oxford. He never really wanted to be a Watcher," he told her.
"He told me that too," she said, thinking back to the first conversation she'd had with her Watcher on the plane from London to Ireland. "I never realised that he got mixed up with you."
He poked her in the sides, making her yelp a little.
"He was horribly unhappy about his destiny," Ethan continued. "He was good at the magicks and so was I. We took to each other immediately. We got a group together to practise some darker stuff."
"Eyghon?" she asked.
He nodded and rolled up his sleeve, letting her touch the tattoo that she had always been so fascinated by. He had explained that to her so many years ago. He was surprised that she remembered it. Then again, he was always being surprised by the young girl.
"After what happened with Randall, he went back to the Council," he said. "I tried to get him to stay, but he said that he'd strayed from what he had been born to do."
"It was his destiny too," Beth replied.
Ethan nodded sadly. "Trust me to get mixed up with two people who were destined to not only be a Watcher and Slayer, but to be each others Watcher and Slayer. Ironic when you think about it."
"He's a good man," she said quietly.
"He always was," Ethan agreed. "Far better than me."
Beth shook her head. "No one can be better than you Ethan."
"Flatterer," he whispered.
"So then what? After he went back to the Council?" Beth asked.
"After that, I only saw him a few times. He was avoiding me something fierce," he explained. "He wanted to forget about what had happened, but he couldn't. He devoted himself to studying to be a Watcher."
"You tried to get him to stop didn't you?" she asked quietly.
He nodded. Beth swallowed hard. She couldn't imagine anyone beside Giles being her Watcher. She didn't know why she'd been assigned to a Watcher who was nothing but gentle to her. She had thought that Travers would have assigned her one of his lackeys so that he could terrorise her even outside of Council walls.
"I did," he admitted. "I didn't want him to live the life of a Watcher."
"And now?"
"Now, I'm glad that he's your Watcher Buffy. You couldn't have got a more decent man to look after you," he said.
She nodded, grateful that Ethan didn't really mind that Giles had finally come into being a Watcher. In a way, she felt slightly guilty for taking Giles away from Ethan.
"So, what happened between you guys?" she asked.
"Well, he ordered me to stay away from him. I wouldn't of course," he said with a smile.
She giggled a little. "Persistence, thy name is Ethan."
"Insolence, thy name is Buffy," he retorted.
She grinned and waited for him to continue.
"So, like I was saying, I didn't want to give him up. At first, I didn't know why I was so stubborn about it. There were five others in this gang of ours, but I didn't give a toss whether they stayed or not. I wanted Ripper to stay though," he said.
"You loved him," she said simply.
"It took me a long time to work that out though," he said sadly.
"Did you two ever…"
He looked at her, surprised that she would ask such a question.
"No. We didn't. Besides which, he's about as straight as they come," he said.
Beth nodded, remembering the way that Giles had looked at Janna when they had been in Romania. It wasn't fair. She loved Ethan and she wanted him to be happy.
"He doesn't know that you're here, does he?" Beth asked suddenly.
"Not a bit. And I plan on having a ball when he realises it," he answered.
She rolled her eyes, wondering whether or not Ethan would ever grow up. She hoped that he wouldn't. The playful nature within the older man had always drawn her to him.
"You're not planning anything too horrible are you?" she asked.
"Oh, just a bit of mischief," he replied. "Make him think that I've done something horrible to his precious Slayer."
"Ethan, that's cruel," she said.
He grinned at her. "At least we'll be able to see that he does really care about you," he said.
"I already know that Ethan," she said. She did know that, but honestly, she wouldn't mind hearing it from her Watcher.
Ethan grinned, recognising the look in the young girls eyes. "Ahh, the Slayer will let me do it. Excellent. You just go into the next room when he comes home luv, and we can have a bit of fun."
"He's meant to be able to trust me though," she said hesitantly. "I don't want to lie to him."
Ethan too hesitated at that. "Well, you can go to the bathroom or something when he comes home. Nature calling and all that."
Beth rolled her eyes but agreed to it.
"So, where's my favourite ex-Potential?" Ethan eventually asked.
"She said she was getting a motel room," Beth explained. "I wanted her to stay here, but Giles would chuck a fit. I'm not meant to have friends or anything like that, so…I kinda can't blame him."
Ethan nodded. He knew that by the sounds of her letters, her Watcher was being incredibly lenient with her.
"Well, Faith should be alright," Ethan said. "She's always been incredibly independent. I asked her if she wanted to wait until I came over here, and she told me that she didn't want to wait another second before seeing you. She was lucky that the Council had set her up with some money and a passport."
Beth smiled, thankful that Faith had been so quick about it. Janna had been right about Beth slowly losing her focus. Having Faith and Ethan in town was going to do wonders for her as well. And she knew that if she, Willow and Xander could work things out, they would be two more reasons to keep fighting the good fight.
Beth went to ask him something else, but she heard keys jingling in the lock. She stood up and smiled at Ethan. "Bathroom," she said.
Ethan winked at her and stood up, facing the front door, unable to suppress the grin on his face. It had been years sine he'd seen his old friend, and he couldn't wait to see what would come about.
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Giles tried to unlock the door, holding a book under his arms, struggling to balance properly. He finally opened the door and stepped inside, coming to a dead stop as he saw a familiar grinning face standing in his living room. Giles' eyes darted around the room, looking for his young Slayer.
"What? No hug?" Ethan asked with a grin.
"Where's Beth?" Giles asked coldly.
"She won't be causing us any problems, old chum," Ethan said.
Giles glared at Ethan, feeling his heart speeding up at the thought of Ethan having done something to Beth.
"What did you do to her?" he asked.
"What makes you think I've done anything to her, mate?" Ethan retorted.
"Because I know you, mate. And if you've hurt one hair on her head, I swear to you, I will rip out your throat," Giles threatened.
Beth stood in the bathroom, listening from the doorway. She'd never heard Giles that angry. She felt her heart swell with affection for her Watcher. She'd never heard him be protective over her, and she knew that he really did like her. She wasn't just some charge that he had been forced to look after.
"She's safe," Ethan assured him.
Beth flushed the toilet to alert Giles of her presence in the house. She left the bathroom, drying her hands for show and looked between Ethan and Giles.
"Hey, you're back. Did you get what you were after?" she asked her Watcher casually.
Giles looked dumbfounded as he watched Beth take a seat on the couch. His gaze went back to Ethan.
"What did you do to her?" he asked.
"Maybe you guys should sit down and we could talk. All of us," she suggested.
Giles looked confused, but Ethan was quick to sit down beside Beth.
"Actually, that's a good idea," Ethan said, shooting a look towards Giles. "I have some information that your girl might want to hear."
Beth looked at him curiously and he winked at her, giving her a comforting smile. He hadn't mentioned anything like that to her when Giles hadn't been there.
Giles approached with caution and sat himself down opposite Ethan, not letting his eyes tray from his old friend. It was making him nervous to have Ethan so close to Beth, and Beth was seemingly oblivious to the power that Ethan had.
"What brings you to Sunnydale anyway, Ethan?" Giles asked.
"My daughter," Ethan replied quickly.
Beth's face lit up in a smile and she quickly hid it. He'd never called her that before but it sounded right coming from him.
"Your daughter?" Giles asked incredulously. "Someone was actually unfortunate enough to have to carry your child."
Ethan winced at that. "Harsh Ripper."
"Don't call me that," Giles snapped.
"Why not? Afraid your Slayer might find out a few things about you?" Ethan asked.
Giles cast a look towards Beth who was being strangely quiet. Beth was sitting there trying to picture her Watcher as the man that Ethan had described in so many of his letters. The infamous Ripper. The fact that she knew what her Watcher was capable of didn't make any difference to her. Like she had told Ethan, it didn't matter what sort of a person he had been before. Only the present person that he was counted.
"I'm not the same man you knew," Giles said.
"No," Ethan replied sadly. "You're not. You turned out alright Ripp."
Giles' eyes narrowed in confusion. He let go of his anger when he saw the desolate look on Ethan's face.
"Why are you really here?" he asked.
Ethan gave him a small and genuine smile, something that Giles hadn't ever seen before. It startled the Watcher and he couldn't help but wonder what had changed Ethan so much.
"I told you why I was here," Ethan said.
"You really have a daughter?" Giles asked.
Ethan nodded.
"Best kid a bloke could ever have," he said proudly. "Real spunky little girl, full of fire and mischief."
"I'll bet," Giles said, a hint of a smile on his face. "Who's her mum?"
"That's what I've come to tell her actually," Ethan said, looking at Beth.
Beth sat up straighter in her chair, listening intently.
"My girl, she thinks her mum's dead, but…she's not," Ethan said.
Beth went pale and Ethan could see that her hands were shaking. Beth hadn't ever considered the fact that Travers could have lied to her about her parents.
"I'm still trying to find her. Her mum thinks that her littlun disappeared twelve years ago," Ethan explained. "Poor little chit was snatched out of a hospital in New York and taken to London."
"What are you talking about Ethan?" Giles asked.
Ethan just looked at his old friend. "I'm talking about your Slayer, and I'm talking about her mum still being very much alive."
Giles looked at Beth who was shaking horribly.
"You are Beth's father?" Giles asked incredulously.
Ethan shook his head. "I wish to God I was, but…she's not really my daughter."
"How do you know her then?" Giles asked.
"You know how I said that she was snatched out of the hospital?" Ethan said. "Well, that was me doing the snatching."
"For the Council, I assume?" Giles asked. He had heard that Travers was working for the Council on occasion, doing the dirty work that no one else wanted to do.
"For the Council," Ethan said. "And not a day goes by that I don't wish I hadda just turned around and taken 'er back home."
Beth finally found her voice.
"My mom…she's alive?" she asked.
Ethan turned to her and took one of her hands in his. "She is. I'm trying to track her down. I didn't wanna say anything, but…I had to tell you luv."
Giles could only watch with incredulity on his face. He'd never seen Ethan be gentle before. And the obvious affection between Ethan and Beth was strange to see. But, he could also see that Beth trusted Ethan with her life.
"And my dad?" she asked.
Ethan shook his head. "He died in the crash Buffy. I'm sorry."
She nodded and swallowed hard.
"S'okay. You've been a dad to me," she said.
He smiled softly and pulled her closer to him, ignoring the look that he knew he was getting from Ripper.
"I'll find her for you luv," he assured her. "I swear it."
She nodded and leant into him, closing her eyes. She had never dared to hope to see anyone from her family ever again, and Ethan had just given her hope for meeting her mom. She couldn't have been more grateful to him.
"Why don't you go patrol, pet?" he asked. "Me and Ripp have a bit to talk about."
Beth nodded and stood up, giving him a final smile. She bent down and kissed his cheek. "Thank you Ethan."
"It's the least I can do for you, Buffy," he said. "I took you away from her…I owe this to you."
She smiled again and picked up the crossbow she had dropped earlier. She bypassed the weapons chest and packed a few more items away. She waved goodbye to her Watcher and left the two men to sit and catch up.
(Lotsa the stuff about Ethan and Ripper was taken from the eps 'Halloween' and 'The Dark Age'. In no way do I own those ideas…)