No pretenses. Just read. And review. Hope you enjoy! :) Chapter 12 will come after the weekend, since I'll be camping.

POV's: Willow, Anya, Spike.

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Chapter 11
Questions

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The sun was still burning brightly in the sky when I got off work. I dropped my keys on the floor as I slumped inside, exhausted. I had maybe two hours of sleep before being tortured back into working at the museum. Not to mention school.

Dawn was waiting for me, sitting on the bottom step, a sucker tucked into the inside of her mouth. She had been reading her homework for English but the moment I stepped in, she stood up and dropped her text aside. I could tell she had something on her mind. Something that she needed to talk about.

I gave her a tired smile and stood against the door. "Dawn."

She opened her mouth and then closed it. "I want to talk about Buffy," she finally said, looking down at her feet. I knew this face. It had been something I'd seen several times when Buffy had been incapacitated.

"What do you want to know?" I asked, feeling somewhat less than inadequate. I had no idea what she was on about, except for one thing, and it brought a trace of weariness.

Dawn followed me into the kitchen where I took a package of chicken from the fridge and handed it to her. "See if you can do something with this," I said gently as she unwrapped the package.

"Eww," she said, wrinkling her nose slightly against the slimy chicken breasts. Then her face sobered and she glanced up. "She told me about Giles."

I coughed. It was an involuntary reaction. She'd told Dawn about Giles? "What do you want to know?" I asked, gently taking the chicken breasts from her hands and putting them in a glass bowl with water.

"Is she romantically involved with him?"

I laughed. I couldn't help it. My laughter sounded silvery to my own ears, but Dawn looked so earnest and concerned my laughter died away. "No," I finally said. "She's not romantically linked with Giles."

Dawn sighed and stood up, going back into the fridge and taking out a head of lettuce, handing it to me. "We were talking this morning and she told me about her and Giles. About how much he cared for her, about how much he watched over her when she was out, things like that. She makes it sound like they're closer than just Slayer and Watcher, but... there's a different connection. Something deeper."

I shrugged as she handed me a bag of carrots and a bell pepper. "That's what I'm beginning to suspect. In the whole hour we spent talking last night, I asked her about it. She just told me I was asking too many questions."

"I wish she were here," Dawn replied, ducking back out of the fridge, an armload of vegetables and cheeses tucked carefully in her grasp. "I could ask her myself. Ever since she told me it was Giles, I kept asking myself, what?"

"Exactly," I said, rinsing off the lettuce as Dawn pulled out the chopping board and a long knife. My stomach turned as she flipped the knife carefully in her hands. Just over a year ago, she had pulled out the same weapon and had drawn it across her arm to prove that she wasn't the key. She pulled over the pepper and began chopping it.

"I'm not sure what her deal is," she said slowly. "She keeps acting like her life is one big soap opera. But as far as I can see, she's my sister and she's the Slayer."

"She proved last night she was in excellent form," I agreed, setting the lettuce aside and reaching for the tomato. "Did you take out the carrots?"

She pushed a bag toward me as she placed the chopped green pepper into a bowl and set it aside. "She fought again?"

"She saved our lives," I replied. "My magic was completely off. I was unprepared, even though we were on patrol. Had Spike just been there, most certainly Anya and I would have died."

Dawn looked impressed as she began peeling carrots. "That's my sister. Always doing the stupid thing."

"Hello all," a third voice said as Tara swept into the kitchen, setting her backpack aside. I'd forgotten she had late classes on Mondays. "Can I help with dinner?"

I nodded toward the cabinet. "The rice is in there."

She smiled and kissed my shoulder before turning back to the cabinet, humming slightly. Dawn glanced at me as she sliced the carrots, almost as though she were asking if Tara knew. I nodded slightly and she smiled, relieved as she swept the carrots off the cutting board into the salad.

"I'm not sure if Buffy knows what's been going on," I replied slowly, shredding the lettuce into the salad bowl. "She was unconscious for almost nine months. She probably doesn't know that Giles has been dedicated, staying there twenty four hours a day for almost nine months. Hell, he moved into her hospital room. He loves her more than just a Watcher would love his Slayer. He loves her as a person."

"That's Giles' point of view," Tara said, opening the bag of rice and carefully measuring out a cup. "What about Buffy's?"

"She's a strong woman," I said, trying to emphasize my point. "She knows what she's doing. She certainly did last night."

Dawn glanced at me a moment as I finished shredding the lettuce. I then moved my attention back to the chicken and placed it in a bowl, pouring marinade over it. "Maybe now is not the time to work on her love life," she finally said, reaching for the cucumber. She turned her attention toward Tara a moment. "Maybe all she needs is a break from love and all that stuff, and maybe she just needs to concentrate on slaying."

"Perfect assumption," Tara replied, setting the pan on the stove and turning the dial. "I would suggest it to her myself except I don't want to be beaten to a pulp."

"She wouldn't do that," I replied with a smirk, throwing away Dawn's garbage. "She'd kill you by lynching first."

"She really would," Dawn echoed, handing Tara an onion to slice. "I think this salad is almost done. It looks colorful."

"It'll look even better with these," I replied, holding out a bright yellow pepper. Dawn rolled her eyes and took it to rince it. I took over her job of chopping up the cucumber. "The point is, Buffy has enough to take care of now. She doesn't need us to ask questions about her love life. She wants to patrol. And read. And get caught up on her studies, especially if she plans on returning to college this fall. She's got more than enough to handle. I say we support her the best we can."

"I'm agreeing with the supporting," Tara said with a small smile as she poured the rice into the boiling water and gave it a vigorous stir. "This smells delicious."

"It really does," Dawn replied, slipping the chicken breasts onto a platter to grill outdoors. She took the knife from me and handed me the platter. "This has got to be the best dinner we've made for her since she's gotten home, right?"

"The first is always the best," Tara replied with a smile, mixing the vegetables in the salad bowl while the rice simmered behind her. "She's probably been dying for a home-cooked meal."

"One that speaks with love," Dawn replied enthusiastically, happily chopping at the second pepper. "Do we still have the peas from last week?"

"Yeah, we should," I replied, opening the back door. "I'm going to grill these."

Tara smiled at me as she wiped up Dawn's mess and brought down a total dining set for four.

Dawn reached behind Tara and pulled out a bag of peas and handed them to Tara, who rinsed them and poured them on top of the salad. "Salad looks yummy," she said, glancing at Dawn, who had just added the lighter peppers.

"It really does."

Behind them, the front door opened and closed. Buffy appeared a few moments later, a look of shock registering across her face. "It smells like a professional chef's television show in here."

"You didn't happen to dream you were on Emeril when you were sleeping, did you?" Dawn asked her sister curiously while Tara tossed the salad.

"No," Buffy said, her face screwing up in concentration. She shook her head. "Don't remember anything with food in it, except..." A strange look crossed her face as she glanced at the salad. "There were veggies involved. And it involved a food fight. With-"

"Stop!" Dawn cried, lifting up her hand. "Don't want to hear anymore."

Buffy looked slightly amused as she crossed her arms. "Fine. Don't ask about my dream with Colin Farrell."

"What?" Dawn gasped. "You had a dream involving Colin Farrell? No way!"

Buffy laughed and shook her head as she sat on a stool. Behind her, I came back into the kitchen, handing the platter to Tara, who was starting to wash the dishes we had used to make dinner.

"Why don't you try a better question?" she asked Dawn brightly as Dawn checked on the rice.

"I would, except I don't know what to ask without sounding completely stupid," she replied, sampling the salad. "That's pretty good."

"It's going to get even better," I replied, pulling out several bottles of salad dressing and salad toppings. "Dawnie, want to help me get this stuff into the dining room?"

She nodded and picked up the plates and silverwear, following me into the dining room. I could see her frustration from not having asked Buffy what had been first and foremost on her mind. "Why didn't you ask her?"

"Couldn't think of a way to ask," she replied, a disgusted look crossing her face as she set the table. "How do you ask: 'Do you dream of having sex with anyone?' really slightly offensive."

"We all do, Dawnie," I replied with a sad note to my voice. "We all do." Tara called out from the kitchen that the chicken was almost ready. "Why don't you bring in the salad and I'll get the rice? We'll let Buffy rest. Who knows. She might have actually been doing something fun today."

* * * * *

"She kept hasseling me," I complained, glancing as my employer quietly went through his filing. "She was walking around, asking me these stupid questions about patroling, about the demons we've killed, about vampires in general, everything! She was really annoying!"

He barely acknowledged me other than a brief look and hasty smile. Damn him. My patience was wearing thin.

"She kept walking around the store, Giles, touching things. She was touching the statues and the mummy purification device, even though it spoils after fingerprints touch it. Giles? Giles? Giles!"

He glanced at me, as though hoping I would go away. His eyes were drawn narrow and his mouth was pinched. So he was annoyed. Good. It kept me from getting even more pissed off. "What do you want me to do? Knock her out another nine months?"

"Please!" I begged him. He rolled his eyes and glanced back down at his files. "Giles... You refused to talk to her today. You refused to have anything to do with her. You told me to keep her entertained. I did. I put the boombox in the training room and she trained to her little heart's content. Then she wanted to take a tour of our new ancient Egypt line, so I took her through, and... Giles, are you even listening to me?"

"You were talking about entertaining Buffy," he replied, shuffling through papers. "And something about her heart. Did she say anything about that?"

"You're asking me a question?" I gasped, bringing a hand to my heart. "I don't know anything about her heart. All I know is that when we were out patroling, I almost got beheaded by an ugly one-horned demonoid again. I thought you said they weren't coming back!"

"There were bound to be a few left," he grumbled, stuffing the folders back into the cabinet and rising with a stretch. "Continue."

"Thanks," I replied sarcastically before continuing. "She came out and took out vampires and the demon. She totally saved Willow and I. And then she starts spewing at Spike about him finding her in your new shirt we bought yesterday and naturally assumed you two... well, had sexual intercourse."

Giles burst out laughing. "What. What! What?" He stopped at my impatient what's and sighed.

"Spike is a bloody git," he finally replied, taking off his glasses to wipe his eyes. "Buffy is the Slayer and as her official Watcher, it's not in my nature to take that kind of relationship up with her."

"You never said however," I replied, suddenly finding interest in my expensive Gucci shoes, "that you're not attracted to her."

"I'd be lying if I said I weren't," he replied softly. "Now, it's almost eight o'clock. Why don't you go and close the store."

I nodded and left the office, reaching for the sign to flip it to 'CLOSED'. As I did, I noticed a face on the other side of the glass and gasped.

Spike opened the door, his familiar smirk filling out his rugged face. Xander was right behind him, fighting with the zipper on his jacket. They were arguing loudly about patroling that night. Behind them was Buffy, with Willow, Tara and Dawn trailing. They all swept into the shop and I finally was able to close and lock the door. "Well, now, isn't this great?" I muttered to myself, turning around to face the scooby gang.

Buffy was standing alone, off to the side, a mischevious expression on her face. Her eyes were slightly narrowed and she wore a look of grim satisfaction. Spike stood behind her, off to the left, his own face twisted into a scowl. Willow, Tara, Dawn and Xander had taken their usual seats at the table and were passing around the coffee drinks Dawn had brought from the coffee shop she worked at.

Finally, as though he were being tortured by magic, Giles came from the back office, looking slightly surprised to see everyone there at sundown, even though we'd been gathering at sundown since we all started patroling together. "Buffy?" he asked in a gentle voice. "What are you doing here?"

The spell had been broken as she turned around, looking caught in the act. "Going on patrol," she replied in a measured voice. "Isn't that what slayers do?"

There was an unquestionable strand that refused to break, since they couldn't take their eyes off each other. "Fine," he said, his voice just as controlled. "You lead tonight. I'll be back at my place."

Her eyes finally broke and glanced down, shaking her head slightly. "I would really appreciate it if you could go out into the field with us..."

His eyes widened ever so slightly. She was looking at him, a slightly wounded look in her emerald eyes. He finally nodded, ever so slightly. "I'll come."

Spike, standing next to Giles, rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Anyone for breaking the stupid tension and going to kick some demon ass, follow me."

Almost everyone stood up. Giles nor Buffy moved, however, much to my surprise. And, apparently, to Spike's, as well.

* * * * *

What the hell was wrong with these people?

I glanced at Buffy, who was still staring at the Watcher, her eyes all full of puppy love, almost trying to break the thin layer of ice wedged between the two since I'd begun my accusations just a mere day before.

One. Bloody. Day. That was all it took for Buffy and the Watcher to completely avoid each other in broad daylight. But they had given themselves freely to the night. This I found curious. Too curious.

I stood just inside the door as the others filed outside. The Slayer and the Watcher were still standing there, looking at each other. The Watcher broke first and walked past me. But when she turned around, my heart, if it could still beat, would have stopped at the look on her face. She looked almost melancoly, dazed and distracted. A distracted Slayer was a careless one. I stepped aside as she walked past me. Her arm brushed against mine. To me, it was cold. And I didn't have any warmth to begin with.

I followed her out, pulling the door closed behind me, trapping all of the unanswered questions inside.

As soon as we got out of the civilized area, Giles divided us into two teams. He sent the witches with Dawn off in one direction, and asked Xander and Anya to go with them. Bloody hell. That left the three of us to enter the cemetary.

We did. Buffy walked slightly ahead of us, her head held high, the stake she'd pulled from her jacket clenched tightly in her hand.

I saw the first demon. It was another one of those annoying one-horned demons. It was glaring at us, almost beckoning us to come to it. Buffy was the first to jump.

She took a flying run at it, kicking its chest and bouncing uselessly off. It took her by the arm and twisted it behind her, before lifting her in the air and catapulting her fifty feet behind us, and we were still running at a quick pace. I snapped second, getting off two quick blows before it threw me against a headstone. I fell with a small cry of disgust. As I glanced up, I saw Buffy slowly getting up, while Giles let out a loud cry. The demon had a new toy.

The new toy was that it could throw darts. Giles had apparently caught one on the edge of his tweed coat, piercing his skin lightly. The demon saw that it had struck its prey and went in for the kill.

Buffy shot out of nowhere. She threw herself in front of the demon and tackled it backwards before it could kill Giles. I watched, stunned as it tossed her aside. By that time, Willow and Tara had arrived. Dawn was the first to come out, a crossbow aimed perfectly at the demon. Xander and Anya gasped and pulled back, trying to stay out of the fight.

I missed the end of the fight. Oh, I heard incantations and spells and growls of pain and suffering, but I wasn't in tune with it. My eyes were drawn to the slayer, writhing in agony on the ground. As I approached her, she pulled out the sharp dart that had been lodged into her stomach. I reached out with a trembling hand to help her, but she batted my hand away. "Don't touch it..." she gasped, struggling to stand up as another thud sounded, letting both of us know the demon was down. "Poison..."

She stumbled toward Giles. He was standing up and was trying to brush the residue from his jacket. He saw her. And his eyes widened as she collapsed, right in front of him. Dawn screamed and ran over to help her, but I quickly tugged the bit back, my own eyes wide as I saw Giles gently bend down over her, brushing her hair away from her face and telling her to hold on, that help was on the way. Behind me, Xander and Anya ran from the graveyard to call for help.

My eyes were entranced on the Watcher bending over his Slayer, gently talking to her, helping her to sit up weakly. As he put his arm around her and held her to him to keep her warm, I could see the look in both of their eyes.

Well. I'll be damned.