Merry Old England
Giles sighed as he left the larger building for his smaller quarters located just behind. He glanced back to make sure all the windows were dark. It had been a good day for the most part. Wood was doing an excellent job with a very unusual situation. He had managed to hire a staff with just the right balance to keep the Poten-, er Slayers, in check. It was still difficult for him to think of all the girls as Slayers. To him, it would always be THE Slayer as opposed to A Slayer. And Faith had surprised them all by the way she had stepped so easily into the role of martial arts trainer. She was giving the girls an excellent foundation in both structured fighting and street fighting. The girls were coming along quite well.
And Wesley -- my goodness, how far that boy had come. It had never occurred to any of them when Buffy presented them with the concept of awakening the powers in all the Potentials that all the potential Watchers would be awakened as well. Wesley was now spearheading the effort to get them trained.
Things were going to be different this time. Better. With the help of a database, they were going to make Slayer/Watcher matches that would bolster the weaknesses and make the most of the strengths of both members of the teams. No more random pairings. Buffy had certainly taught him as much as he had taught her through the years. Not the least of which was that a Slayer didn't have to be set apart, isolated from friends. Buffy's friends had always been her strength. Even Spike. Who would have imagined that a vampire could be part of a Slayer's strength? And yet, some part of that strength seemed to have been left behind at the bottom of the crater with him.
He glanced at his watch as he entered his quarters. Ah, yes, perfect timing. He was so looking forward to hearing her voice. She had been out with Dawn when he'd called Friday. Xander said they had gone to the library and had plans for movie night. It sounded so normal. But then Xander had said she was still having the dreams and looked tired all the time. She didn't really seem to care about much of anything anymore. He'd so hoped the journal would help.
Giles took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose wearily after hanging up the phone. This was the second of his calls in a row that Buffy had missed -- avoided, he was now sure. He rang her up twice a week religiously. And for the first year, it seemed she had been waiting by the phone to pounce as soon as it rang. Ever since the anniversary, and the beginning of the dreams, however, more often than not there were excuses when Xander answered.
He flipped open his schedule minder to review his commitments for the next several days. The summer they had lost her he had felt so very old. Almost relieved, in a sense, that he could go home and just wait until it was his time. And hope he would see her again. And then they brought her back. He remembered coming through the door of the Magic Box and seeing her again. Remembered not quite knowing how to feel, flooded with emotions. Relief, confusion, fear, love, all overshadowed by the despair and emptiness of the last four and a half months. Then she turned to look into his eyes and all he could feel was her. The daughter of his heart was hugging him -- very tightly. Was that a rib that had just cracked? He tried to pull away.
"You're alive. You're here. And you're still... remarkably strong."
"Huh? Oh. Sorry."
"Willow told me, but I didn't really let myself believe..."
"I take a little getting used to. I'm still getting used to me."
"It's, uh... you're..." He ran out of words.
"A miracle?"
"Yes. But then, I always thought so."
The Watcher blinked, glanced over at the clock and realized he had been sitting motionless for quite some time. He brought his attention back to the page open before him. Flipping several days ahead, he nodded decisively and picked the phone up to book a flight back to the States. She wan't really in need of a Watcher any longer, but perhaps he could be more helpful to her if he were in closer proximity. He wouldn't be able to stay for long, but he needed to try. For his own sake as much as hers.
Giles sighed as he left the larger building for his smaller quarters located just behind. He glanced back to make sure all the windows were dark. It had been a good day for the most part. Wood was doing an excellent job with a very unusual situation. He had managed to hire a staff with just the right balance to keep the Poten-, er Slayers, in check. It was still difficult for him to think of all the girls as Slayers. To him, it would always be THE Slayer as opposed to A Slayer. And Faith had surprised them all by the way she had stepped so easily into the role of martial arts trainer. She was giving the girls an excellent foundation in both structured fighting and street fighting. The girls were coming along quite well.
And Wesley -- my goodness, how far that boy had come. It had never occurred to any of them when Buffy presented them with the concept of awakening the powers in all the Potentials that all the potential Watchers would be awakened as well. Wesley was now spearheading the effort to get them trained.
Things were going to be different this time. Better. With the help of a database, they were going to make Slayer/Watcher matches that would bolster the weaknesses and make the most of the strengths of both members of the teams. No more random pairings. Buffy had certainly taught him as much as he had taught her through the years. Not the least of which was that a Slayer didn't have to be set apart, isolated from friends. Buffy's friends had always been her strength. Even Spike. Who would have imagined that a vampire could be part of a Slayer's strength? And yet, some part of that strength seemed to have been left behind at the bottom of the crater with him.
He glanced at his watch as he entered his quarters. Ah, yes, perfect timing. He was so looking forward to hearing her voice. She had been out with Dawn when he'd called Friday. Xander said they had gone to the library and had plans for movie night. It sounded so normal. But then Xander had said she was still having the dreams and looked tired all the time. She didn't really seem to care about much of anything anymore. He'd so hoped the journal would help.
Giles took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose wearily after hanging up the phone. This was the second of his calls in a row that Buffy had missed -- avoided, he was now sure. He rang her up twice a week religiously. And for the first year, it seemed she had been waiting by the phone to pounce as soon as it rang. Ever since the anniversary, and the beginning of the dreams, however, more often than not there were excuses when Xander answered.
He flipped open his schedule minder to review his commitments for the next several days. The summer they had lost her he had felt so very old. Almost relieved, in a sense, that he could go home and just wait until it was his time. And hope he would see her again. And then they brought her back. He remembered coming through the door of the Magic Box and seeing her again. Remembered not quite knowing how to feel, flooded with emotions. Relief, confusion, fear, love, all overshadowed by the despair and emptiness of the last four and a half months. Then she turned to look into his eyes and all he could feel was her. The daughter of his heart was hugging him -- very tightly. Was that a rib that had just cracked? He tried to pull away.
"You're alive. You're here. And you're still... remarkably strong."
"Huh? Oh. Sorry."
"Willow told me, but I didn't really let myself believe..."
"I take a little getting used to. I'm still getting used to me."
"It's, uh... you're..." He ran out of words.
"A miracle?"
"Yes. But then, I always thought so."
The Watcher blinked, glanced over at the clock and realized he had been sitting motionless for quite some time. He brought his attention back to the page open before him. Flipping several days ahead, he nodded decisively and picked the phone up to book a flight back to the States. She wan't really in need of a Watcher any longer, but perhaps he could be more helpful to her if he were in closer proximity. He wouldn't be able to stay for long, but he needed to try. For his own sake as much as hers.