CrossingShadowRiver 23,
by dutchbuffy2305
Rating: R
Timeline: About ten years after season 5 of AtS; sequel of sorts to Crossing into UnchippedTerritory
Author's note: Thanks to my dear betas, ayinhara & mommanerd.
Author's website: http:home.planet.nl/dutchbuffy2305
Feedback: Yes, please, to
"Giles!"
"Buffy, my dear girl, I'm so happy for you. Let me have a look at you. You look radiant!"
"Fat, you mean I look fat! I know that's what guys mean by radiant," Buffy says with a pout, but it's pretend, a little dance she and Giles play whenever they meet, which isn't that often. Playing at still being teenage Slayer and all knowing all seeing Watcher. Neither has been true for a long time."
Giles smiles at her, looking grayer, but otherwise not that much different from when he was her Watcher. These past years have been kind to him; he's doing something he enjoys with a willing and eager pupil, Andrew. He shakes Spike's hand cordially. It's good he doesn't know everything.
"Sorry to impose at this godawful hour, but I just got off the phone with Andrew. He's hurrying back from Down Under even as we speak."
"That's okay, Giles, we were awake anyway."
Buffy touches her hair self-consciously; there wasn't exactly time for brushing and make-up, and she's wearing saggy old sweats. It doesn't really matter because it's Giles, but still, a girl likes to look pretty. She vows to go in for a major primping session when Giles is gone and wow Spike into quivering submission.
Giles presses a large colorful present into her hand. "For my godson," he says. "Where is he? Can I admire him?"
"Huh, you really think you were gonna get a chance to not have him shoved in your face at least twenty times? Here. Isn't he beautiful?"
Buffy drags him over to the baby carriage where Phoenix is lying in all his rosy glory, fast asleep.
"He always sleeps so deeply during the day. Must be the vampire genes," Buffy says proudly.
"I thought all new babies did that," Giles says. "He's lovely, Buffy. And you know, I think I actually detect a resemblance to Spike. Definitely."
"Really? He had hair before, I swear he did, but now he's bald, so it's hard to say. But of course he'll looks like Spike. Spike's the father."
"Certainly," Giles says hastily. "I didn't mean to dispute that at all. I meant something about the brows and nose, rather. But it's nice, isn't it, that the baby looks a little bit like Spike?"
This would be the perfect moment to tell Giles that Spike is the father not only in name but in fact, but Buffy isn't going to tell. None of his business, really. Although it might be hard to leave out if they're gonna talk about Willow.
Giles' present is a rough burlap sack with unvarnished natural wooden blocks. Buffy doesn't quite know what to say.
"I know he's a bit young yet," Giles says, "but this is the kind of basic toy that's very important to develop his imagination. Real handcrafted wood, according to anthroposophist principles."
"Wow, thanks Giles," Buffy says. "I had no idea you were into child development and stuff like that."
"Well, it's amazing what a little research will do," Giles says proudly.
Spike comes in with coffee and tea.
"Is that your prezzie, Rupes? Great, really great. I had a set just like it. Played with it hours on end," Spike says.
Buffy shivers internally. Because you had no other toys, she thinks, and there was no TV yet. The boredom.
"Tea, Rupert?" Spike asks.
"Marvelous," Giles says. "One lump, lots of milk, please."
It's kind of odd to have Giles as a real visitor; it reminds her of the few times that Giles visited the old house on Revello Drive with Joyce still there.
Spike sits down after a possessive check on Phoenix. Buffy watches Giles watching Spike. It must be strange for him to see a vampire taking responsibilities outside of Slaying and Watchering, areas where Giles has long handed over his responsibilities to Spike.
Giles puts down his tea and coughs. "I hope you two don't find me utterly rude, but I'd like to get to business straight away. I'm very concerned about Willow after Spike's phone call. Since it was imperative, in my opinion, to take immediate action, I took the liberty of handling matters with the Council. I hope you don't mind, Buffy?"
"Geez, no, Giles," Buffy says. "I have other things on my mind, as you may have noticed. What did they say?"
Giles gets out his glasses and starts polishing. Buffy feels a pang of nostalgia. It's like old times. Only it's not the Monster of the week, but Willow they're talking about, which is deeply sad mixed in with the happy feelings brought on by an old friend rubbing at his glasses. Being grown up sucks as much as she suspected back then.
"I talked to Smythe. It may surprise you, but the Council has procedures for Heads going astray, so to speak, as something like this has happened before, and normally Smythe would have been acting Head immediately. Unfortunately, he resigned on the spot, as he felt he would be held responsible for not keeping Willow in check, leaving me holding the bag. I'm again Head of Council. I'll seek to find a replacement immediately, because I've really left this job behind me, but for now it gives me quite some leeway to deal with the Willow matter."
"That's good," Buffy says uncertainly. "Leeway's good. So now what?"
"Andrew is coming back from Australia to help me with this…"
"Are you grooming Andrew to take over from you?" Spike asks.
Giles puts his glasses on and throws Spike a quelling look over them. "Perhaps I have someone else in mind entirely. On topic, Spike. We will take Willow from her flat and eliminate the threat she presents."
Buffy feels the word 'eliminate' in the pit of her stomach. "I feel so bad about Willow. Is eliminating her all we can do? Is that the only option left? It's like, it's like it's all my fault. Look at what happened to all the Scoobies. Willow's a power-hungry magic maniac, Xander drinks and divorces."
"He's a dipsomaniac," Spike says.
"What? Never mind. The real Tara's dead. Dawn is…" Buffy takes a deep breath.
"Buffy, how can you think these things are your fault? Besides, I'm fine. Spike's fine and you are fine. And as far as I know, Dawn's career seems to be taking off really well. It's only Willow and Xander who aren't quite so…stable." Giles leans forward. "Willow's own flaws are what made her do this, Buffy. Not you."
"But without me she never would have discovered magic."
"True. I'm sure she would have found another way to abuse power," Giles says dryly.
"How can you write her off so glibly, Giles? She used to be my friend."
Giles pinches the bridge of his nose. "I think writing off is not quite where we are yet, Buffy, although we're close. Spike's plan is to capture her and give her another chance to redeem herself. I think I've found the perfect place for her."
"Spike has a plan?"
The words escape her lips like the proverbial nagging wife and she shoots Spike a guilty look. She is a little miffed he didn't discuss it with her first, but then again she thinks the breastfeeding is messing with her memory and sense of time. Maybe he did.
"I'm more than just a pretty face, Buffy," Spike says with fake modesty and she's relieved that he's not offended. They're both a little touchier than usual these days.
Spike leans forward to Giles. "You think we will be able to neutralize her powers? She's strong enough to almost destroy the Earth, remember."
"I hardly need reminding, Spike. You weren't there, as I recall."
"Well, yeah. But you haven't seen the look in Willow's eyes, Rupert. Enough to shrink a man's goolies down the size of Smints."
Giles coughs. "Yes, well, quite."
"Okay, and how about Tara? Will she be able to stay in this dimension?" Spike asks.
"Smythe and I spoke to the Gatekeepers' emissary and the gate's debts are fully paid. They'll get back to us with the full record of all Willow's transactions."
"So then we'll know what happened to the other Taras."
"Spike," Buffy says, frowning, "why doesn't this Tara, who is really wonderful Giles, you'd like her so much if you met her. Where was I? Why wouldn't she want to go back to her family and friends?"
Spike shrugs. "I don't exactly know, but I got the impression from her that her home life had been a hard one. I thinks she had a child at one point. I don't know what happened, but I don't think any Tara would ever leave a child, so …".
Tears well in Buffy's eyes. Something happened to a child. That's so awful. She gets up mindlessly to check on Phoenix and bumps into Spike. His arm around her shoulders and the quick kiss on top of her head are very welcome and suddenly she wants them to make love tonight. It's time.
Giles is coughing and polishing his spectacles again and it irritates Buffy that after all these years he still isn't used to Spike and her showing affection. Giles should just get over it already.
Giles gets up fussily, making a big show of putting away hanky and glasses and tucking in his tie, but Buffy sees him take his weight on his wrists and realizes he's getting old. Of course he doesn't want to take on the Council again for anything longer than an interim period. He should be home in Devon and yeah, what would a pensioned-off Watcher do? Paint watercolors or knit, maybe.
Giles walks to the hallway with his upright measured pace where he's stashed another package in sturdy brown paper. He gives a small grunt when he stoops to pick it up and Buffy hopes she'll never get that old and stiff. But she will, if the Slaying doesn't kill her. She turns to the stroller, where Spike is staring in slack-jawed adoration at his son. Spike won't. Spike's so old that the time they have known each other is no more than an inch or two in the measuring tape of his long years. Phoenix might make up a foot of it, and her grandchildren another foot, but then? What will Spike do? He'll go on and she won't. He'll need something to keep himself from going insane, a purpose. And possibly, after a century or two of mourning, he might find someone new to love. Or maybe not. His love could be eternal.
"Did you bring it, Rupert?" Spike cuts through her dreamy spell.
Bring what? Spike unwraps the package and it's a nicely crafted, but otherwise unremarkable wooden box. Great, a nice plain box to keep the nice educational wooden blocks in, she bets.
Spike is oddly silent and caresses the black-brown sides absent-mindedly. "This is him, then? How do I set him free?"
Giles shoves a stack of papers in his hands. "Sign here. That'll make you the official owner, and then all you have to do is to tell him you release him."
"Right."
Spike swallows visibly and Buffy still has no clue what they're talking about. That is so male, to just assume the new mother will have no interest in anything besides her baby.
"Giles, what is it? Who's gonna be set free?"
"Shh," Giles says. "Watch."
Spike coughs and straightens his spine. In an official tone of voice he says, "Activate Emergency Wesley Hologram."
Wesley? Wesley's ghost in there? She's heard plenty of stories of how Spike and Angel's gang were chums, as Spike calls it, mates, but she's never been able to match her mental picture of Wesley with the new guy she briefly met.
A cloud forms above the box and the fuzzy shape of Wesley Wyndam-Pryce materializes. His midriff disappears into the box like Aladdin's genie from the bottle. Poor Wesley.
"Emergency Wesley Hologram reporting. How may I help you?"
"I'm sorry about all this, mate," Spike says, all choked up. "If I could I'd have set you free years ago."
The ghost's expression doesn't change.
"I release you," Spike says.
The ghost closes his eyes in very human relief and nods gravely to Spike. "Thank you, Spike. Goodbye."
And he's gone. Buffy thinks it's very anticlimactic, but Spike sags down in the nearest chair and blows out a long breath.
"God, I'm so glad I could do that. Thanks, Rupes, really appreciate it."
"Don't mention it, Spike. Would have done the same myself. A disgrace to use a former Watcher so."
Giles takes his leave soon after. Spike and Buffy return to the sitting room and Buffy feels awkward and shy all of a sudden. That is so silly, this is Spike, the guy against whose back she's slept these past ten years, who she's known even longer than that. She's not gonna be deterred by the British awkwardness Giles has infected the room with. She pushes Spike down on the couch and clambers on his lap.
"So. You happy about the plan, honey?"
Spike slides his hands over her back with a thoughtful expression on his face, one she doesn't see very often. "I think so. If everything works out as I've planned, we'll be good. Those dodgy wankers at the Magic Department shouldn't take all week about it, is all. God knows what Willow's capable of right now if Tara lets her out of the bedroom. Smythe's tactical sense is absolute pants, but I'm not leaving you right now."
Buffy's s lightly shocked he's even considered it, but she decides to let it pass. The mission, huh?
"Okay. But please keep me posted on the Willow thing? She used to be my friend, and I care about her. I wanna know everything. And what do you mean, let her out of the bedroom? You think Tara is holding her under some sexual spell?"
Spike shrugs. "Best way to keep a girl like Willow good 'n occupied, I should say."
"If you say so. How would you keep a girl like me occupied?"
Thank god, Spike grins and takes her challenge. "Well, for a start, how about like so?"
"I love you, Spike. You know that, don't you? I make mistakes, I know that, but I never stop loving you."
"I know, sweetheart. Shh. Everything will be alright, you'll see."
TBC