Title: First Rain
Series: Leave it Behind
Author: Autumn
Email: autumnleaves@autumnpenguins.com
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon owns everything. I just wish that I did.
Summary: Giles and Buffy hash out their differences, and the connection between Spike and Dawn is discovered.
Author's Notes:
Story Order: Equilibrium, The Lesser, Of Two Evils, Lost, You Can't Go Home Again, Warning Signs, Soul to Squeeze, Hearts Speak, First Rain
Thank you to PGQ and Mojo 1 from fanfiction.net. Your continued support is invaluable
to me.
I would really appreciate input from people on ideas where to take this series.
Picks up right where 'Hearts Speak' left off.
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Giles had gotten incredibly lonely in the past few days. He'd been completely isolated from the Scooby gang. Xander had retrieved his things from Buffy's house while Anya had settled him in his apartment to recover from his injury. He's resumed his duties at the Magic Shop this morning, only to find that the forces of evil had been messing with Sunnydale yet again.
The two dozen or so customers that had walked through the store had all asked for the things they desired in rhyme, and he'd found himself patterning their behavior. Giles eventually closed up shop and locked the doors. He called over at Buffy's house, but got no answer. He figured the gang would be over later, and rather than think about the wrath of Buffy, Giles began pulling volumes off of the shelves and researching the occurrence.
He'd only been at it a short while before he'd heard the tentative knock on the door. Stealing himself he resolutely opened the door to find the gang carefully avoiding his gaze. "Have you got a heads up or what?" Buffy asked harshly.
"Or what indeed, or what." Giles said automatically.
"Where's Dawn? Is she alright?"
"Yeah, she's at Spike's." Buffy glared at her watcher.
"We'll get the books," Xander said. Grabbing books from the table.
"And take a look." Willow finished, and ushered the group into the training room.
Giles and Buffy just stood in the center of the room. Anger was rolling off of her in waves. There was no need to ask why, but there was a very real reason to air grievances.
"I could kill you for what you did to her.
All that pain, what the hell for?
"Selfishness mostly. I thought Dawn was the key
To bring you back to us-to me."
Buffy could read the earnestness in his face and she felt some of her anger dissipate. But what he had done was still wrong, and she couldn't abide by it
"You violated Dawn. You took her from the grave.
What if that was me? Would you have done the same?"
"I must confess, I must regret.
I would do it again, yes."
"Was she in hell?
Is there any way to tell?" Buffy's voice shook with her need to answer the question.
Giles considered her face and had no idea if he should lie to her or not. He felt that the truth would only serve to pile on more quilt than she needed. Knowing he could only speak the truth in his heart, he fumbled around for some dicey semantics.
"In several mythologies, as the consequences lie
Hell awaits those who take their own life." Giles explained.
'But she did it to save us. She did what I could not
What I was destined to die for, she made it stop." An impassioned Buffy crowed.
"Dawn saved the world of that we can be sure
but we don't know the consequences of her soul
"Hell swallowed her whole
and we pulled her from the ground. Giles said/
Her soul is here, it did not die
Instead it's shared with Spike.
"Buffy? Can you forgive me for what I have done?"
"I don't know. The real question is, can Dawn?" Buffy asked quietly.
"Sorry to interrupt the share-fest" Tara started.
"Cause it's been so fun, and not at all a pest!" Anya chimed in.
"We think we have a lead!" Tara announced.
"And that it will succeed" Willow added.
"In cracking these bleeding things," Giles said hopefully.
"And our rhyming will recede," Anya said with glee.
"What's the plan to cure what ails us?" Buffy asked.
"Just tell me it doesn't involve a bus." Xander added.
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"Let the spell be ended." Willow said a few minutes later.
"Okay, someone try to not rhyme."
"It worked!" Anya proclaimed.
"I don't understand, what happened. That just seemed to be way too easy." Buffy said suspiciously.
"A resolution between disputing souls has to be reached."
"So you and Giles made up, and everything's golden then." Xander explained.
"Hasn't living on the Hellmouth taught you anything? You can't just read into things and have it all be hearts and flowers. There's always something far more complicated below the surface." Giles admonished.
"Besides, Giles and I haven't made up. Miles to go with that one."
"Two souls?" Does that mean anything to you?
"You want me too field this one Buff?" Tara asked.
"Yeah."
"When Giles and the council brought Dawn back, it fragmented her soul."
"So its what we thought, she has no soul."
"No. Just, not all of it. Basically it means that Spike and Dawn share the same soul."
"Okay. Major weirdness, but again why aren't we rhyming anymore?"
When Tara explained the fragmented soul, Giles' face went absolutely ashen. "Dear Lord."
"Giles, share. You look like you went to hell and a ghost came back with you." Buffy said.
"This is what Travers was talking about." Giles said to himself.
"Giles!" Buffy repeated.
"The rest of you, get Dawn and Spike here immediately. Buffy I have to tell you something."
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