Dr Jackson peered at Giles over the rapidly growing pile of books between them. They had returned to his office after Giles had checked on Willow. Anya had settled herself at Daniel's desk, her long legs tucked underneath her. She was deeply into a book and did not even look up when Giles and Daniel returned.
Willow intrigued him. She was shaken after using her magic but seemed OK. Daniel's heart went out to her, she seemed so fragile and yet, from his brief whispered conversation with Carter, she was incredibly powerful. He longed to ask Giles about her but sensed that it was a sore subject with the Englishman. Giles had held Willow with obvious familiarity but it was paternal, there was no sign of a concerned lover. He longed to know what was going on - it was obvious there was undercurrents within the group. No doubt Jack had questioned the young blonde girl on this. Whether he had found anything out was another story.
"Is there a problem?" Giles enquired, without looking up. Daniel almost blushed at being caught out. Giles glanced up and met his eyes. There was polite interest but also a guarded look in his eyes.
"I was just wondering how you all ended up together. I mean, it's a group of such varied skills and people."
Giles leaned back in his chair, took his glasses off and cleaned them. He looked down and caught himself in the act and gave a wry smile.
"They always laugh when I do this. Clean my glasses I mean." He polished each lens carefully and then put them back on his nose, tucking the cloth back into his pocket.
"When Buffy was called her original Watcher was a chap called Merrick. Nice enough bloke. A little intense I suppose but ideal for a Slayer. She was very young. Not just age wise, but maturity wise. I think her biggest problem at the time was what to wear at school each day. A bit of a shock to her as you can imagine when faced with all the demons of hell on a regular basis."
Daniel nodded. "I can imagine."
Giles stood up and began to pace restlessly as he spoke.
"Merrick was killed and when we discovered that Buffy would be moving, I was sent to Sunnydale. I was employed by the local school as the librarian, a bit of difference from the British Museum but challenging nevertheless. Buffy, to be begin with, was flippant about her calling. She fought hard against all the traditions of the Slayer."
"Traditions?"
"Slayers, traditionally, are lone creatures. They do not have contact with family or friends. They train relentlessly, studying hard during the day to learn more about the creatures they fight and then they patrol at night, slaying. Their identity should be shrouded in secret, both for their safety and to give them a greater chance to survive. Buffy is one of the oldest although, unlike Riley says, she is not the oldest. The situation is a little clouded at the moment."
Daniel nodded "Agent Finn has brought us up to date on the situation with the other two Slayers."
Giles didn't show his surprise and carried on "Buffy has grown up immensely over the last few years and has also come up against some of the more terrifying foes. The Master was only the first. Spike of course, was a formidable foe until circumstances rendered him incapable of injuring a human. A vampire by the name of Angelus, Buffy's ex lover, turned upon her. She sent him to hell. She gained quite a reputation and the kudos for killing her rose rapidly. Various other enemies even Dracula attempted to kill her but somehow she always triumphed. Until last year."
Daniel watched as the pain became evident on Giles' face. He wasn't sure how to ease this, how to make the telling of this story any easier.
"A hell god named Glorificus, Glory, was aiming to open all the dimensions and return to her own hell dimension. Unfortunately for this she needed Dawn.
"Little Dawn?" Daniel asked "What does she have to do with it? She's human isn't she?"
"She is now. But at the time her blood would bring down all the barriers between the dimensions. The barriers would only go up again when the blood stopped flowing.
"But, she's here now. And to my knowledge, there were no hell dimensions." Daniel couldn't quite grasp where Giles was going with this "You would have had to have killed her to for the blood to stop."
"Or for someone of the same family. So Buffy jumped from the tower that Glory had built, straight into the dimensional rip. She died." His voice was flat and expressionless.
"She died?" Daniel was incredulous.
"The dimensional rip closed and all was right with the world again. At least as right as it could be."
"But she's here. And so is Dawn."
"Dr Jackson, you have to understand that there are forces at work in this world that you are not aware of, that you cannot possibly comprehend. The Stargate, all your wonderful technology, even the different races that you encounter - this is all scientific, practical. The forces we deal with are mystical, magical. And the people who wield these forces are the most unlikely people."
"You're talking about Buffy?"
"I'm talking about Willow."
"Willow?"
"It was Willow who brought Buffy back. That's what you were wondering about wasn't it?" Giles grinned at Daniel who gave a sheepish smile. "Willow is a very unusual young woman. When I first met her she was a shy, innocent child, sweet natured, generous, intelligent."
"And now?"
"Willow chose. This is something you have to understand. Out of the group of young people you have just met, the most remarkable of them all are Willow and Xander. They have fought alongside Buffy since she came to Sunnydale. They choose to do this every night. Initially I was concerned about this but they have proved themselves time and time again. But their involvement with Buffy has cost them dearly and personally. And out of everyone, I believe Willow has changed the most. The shy child that I first met at school blossomed into a powerful young woman. Her knowledge will rival mine one day, I thought perhaps she might train to be a Watcher some day, perhaps she still will. She is a very powerful witch, a Wicca. Her partner, Tara was accidentally shot and Willow, devastated by grief, went what can only be described as completely insane."
"Insane?"
"In your terms. She took her revenge on Warren, Tara's murderer and then opened herself up to the magic. But once the magic started flowing she couldn't stop it. And things…." Giles hesitated trying to put into words what had happened, what had scarred Willow so deeply "things got out of hand. Fortunately Xander and I managed to bring the situation back under control." Giles' thoughts dwelled for a moment on the sight of Willow beating the hell of out his Slayer, Willow's hand delving deeply into his chest and ripping all the magic out of him.
"Once Willow regained her reason I took her back to England with me. We've trained her in the use of her magic, in the control of her mind and thoughts. She's still learning of course. And when the magic flows when she's not expecting it, it scares her a little."
"And that was what happened just now?" Daniel asked. Giles nodded simply.
"Unless Willow mentions any of this to you, please don't talk to her about it. She's still dealing with her grief at Tara's death and combined with the magic she has enough to worry about."
"I won't say a word" Daniel promised and then something else occurred to him "Willow, did you say she was… well?
"Gay? You mean Tara? I get the impression with Willow that the gender does not matter, it's the soul that counts."
Something else occurred to Daniel.
"You said that Willow was incredibly powerful. Exactly how powerful is she? You said things got out of hand."
"I should not have allowed things to get so far." Giles now sounded angry with himself. "I dosed Willow with some incredibly strong magic, good magic. It gave Xander the chance to talk her down."
"She was suicidal?"
"Suicidal and intent on taking the rest of the world with her." Anya's voice sounded suddenly from the corner. She had put the book down ages ago and was sitting uncharacteristically quiet for her, listening to them. Giles and Daniel had forgotten she was there and both jumped at the sound of her voice.
"She could do that?" Daniel whispered.
"She almost did. The world will never know how close she came."
"Fuck."
Willow intrigued him. She was shaken after using her magic but seemed OK. Daniel's heart went out to her, she seemed so fragile and yet, from his brief whispered conversation with Carter, she was incredibly powerful. He longed to ask Giles about her but sensed that it was a sore subject with the Englishman. Giles had held Willow with obvious familiarity but it was paternal, there was no sign of a concerned lover. He longed to know what was going on - it was obvious there was undercurrents within the group. No doubt Jack had questioned the young blonde girl on this. Whether he had found anything out was another story.
"Is there a problem?" Giles enquired, without looking up. Daniel almost blushed at being caught out. Giles glanced up and met his eyes. There was polite interest but also a guarded look in his eyes.
"I was just wondering how you all ended up together. I mean, it's a group of such varied skills and people."
Giles leaned back in his chair, took his glasses off and cleaned them. He looked down and caught himself in the act and gave a wry smile.
"They always laugh when I do this. Clean my glasses I mean." He polished each lens carefully and then put them back on his nose, tucking the cloth back into his pocket.
"When Buffy was called her original Watcher was a chap called Merrick. Nice enough bloke. A little intense I suppose but ideal for a Slayer. She was very young. Not just age wise, but maturity wise. I think her biggest problem at the time was what to wear at school each day. A bit of a shock to her as you can imagine when faced with all the demons of hell on a regular basis."
Daniel nodded. "I can imagine."
Giles stood up and began to pace restlessly as he spoke.
"Merrick was killed and when we discovered that Buffy would be moving, I was sent to Sunnydale. I was employed by the local school as the librarian, a bit of difference from the British Museum but challenging nevertheless. Buffy, to be begin with, was flippant about her calling. She fought hard against all the traditions of the Slayer."
"Traditions?"
"Slayers, traditionally, are lone creatures. They do not have contact with family or friends. They train relentlessly, studying hard during the day to learn more about the creatures they fight and then they patrol at night, slaying. Their identity should be shrouded in secret, both for their safety and to give them a greater chance to survive. Buffy is one of the oldest although, unlike Riley says, she is not the oldest. The situation is a little clouded at the moment."
Daniel nodded "Agent Finn has brought us up to date on the situation with the other two Slayers."
Giles didn't show his surprise and carried on "Buffy has grown up immensely over the last few years and has also come up against some of the more terrifying foes. The Master was only the first. Spike of course, was a formidable foe until circumstances rendered him incapable of injuring a human. A vampire by the name of Angelus, Buffy's ex lover, turned upon her. She sent him to hell. She gained quite a reputation and the kudos for killing her rose rapidly. Various other enemies even Dracula attempted to kill her but somehow she always triumphed. Until last year."
Daniel watched as the pain became evident on Giles' face. He wasn't sure how to ease this, how to make the telling of this story any easier.
"A hell god named Glorificus, Glory, was aiming to open all the dimensions and return to her own hell dimension. Unfortunately for this she needed Dawn.
"Little Dawn?" Daniel asked "What does she have to do with it? She's human isn't she?"
"She is now. But at the time her blood would bring down all the barriers between the dimensions. The barriers would only go up again when the blood stopped flowing.
"But, she's here now. And to my knowledge, there were no hell dimensions." Daniel couldn't quite grasp where Giles was going with this "You would have had to have killed her to for the blood to stop."
"Or for someone of the same family. So Buffy jumped from the tower that Glory had built, straight into the dimensional rip. She died." His voice was flat and expressionless.
"She died?" Daniel was incredulous.
"The dimensional rip closed and all was right with the world again. At least as right as it could be."
"But she's here. And so is Dawn."
"Dr Jackson, you have to understand that there are forces at work in this world that you are not aware of, that you cannot possibly comprehend. The Stargate, all your wonderful technology, even the different races that you encounter - this is all scientific, practical. The forces we deal with are mystical, magical. And the people who wield these forces are the most unlikely people."
"You're talking about Buffy?"
"I'm talking about Willow."
"Willow?"
"It was Willow who brought Buffy back. That's what you were wondering about wasn't it?" Giles grinned at Daniel who gave a sheepish smile. "Willow is a very unusual young woman. When I first met her she was a shy, innocent child, sweet natured, generous, intelligent."
"And now?"
"Willow chose. This is something you have to understand. Out of the group of young people you have just met, the most remarkable of them all are Willow and Xander. They have fought alongside Buffy since she came to Sunnydale. They choose to do this every night. Initially I was concerned about this but they have proved themselves time and time again. But their involvement with Buffy has cost them dearly and personally. And out of everyone, I believe Willow has changed the most. The shy child that I first met at school blossomed into a powerful young woman. Her knowledge will rival mine one day, I thought perhaps she might train to be a Watcher some day, perhaps she still will. She is a very powerful witch, a Wicca. Her partner, Tara was accidentally shot and Willow, devastated by grief, went what can only be described as completely insane."
"Insane?"
"In your terms. She took her revenge on Warren, Tara's murderer and then opened herself up to the magic. But once the magic started flowing she couldn't stop it. And things…." Giles hesitated trying to put into words what had happened, what had scarred Willow so deeply "things got out of hand. Fortunately Xander and I managed to bring the situation back under control." Giles' thoughts dwelled for a moment on the sight of Willow beating the hell of out his Slayer, Willow's hand delving deeply into his chest and ripping all the magic out of him.
"Once Willow regained her reason I took her back to England with me. We've trained her in the use of her magic, in the control of her mind and thoughts. She's still learning of course. And when the magic flows when she's not expecting it, it scares her a little."
"And that was what happened just now?" Daniel asked. Giles nodded simply.
"Unless Willow mentions any of this to you, please don't talk to her about it. She's still dealing with her grief at Tara's death and combined with the magic she has enough to worry about."
"I won't say a word" Daniel promised and then something else occurred to him "Willow, did you say she was… well?
"Gay? You mean Tara? I get the impression with Willow that the gender does not matter, it's the soul that counts."
Something else occurred to Daniel.
"You said that Willow was incredibly powerful. Exactly how powerful is she? You said things got out of hand."
"I should not have allowed things to get so far." Giles now sounded angry with himself. "I dosed Willow with some incredibly strong magic, good magic. It gave Xander the chance to talk her down."
"She was suicidal?"
"Suicidal and intent on taking the rest of the world with her." Anya's voice sounded suddenly from the corner. She had put the book down ages ago and was sitting uncharacteristically quiet for her, listening to them. Giles and Daniel had forgotten she was there and both jumped at the sound of her voice.
"She could do that?" Daniel whispered.
"She almost did. The world will never know how close she came."
"Fuck."