For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1

Chapter 38: A Fine Line
(Giles's POV)

Travers is fuming, he can't deny that Buffy has passed the test but he is clearly not happy about it. He is not happy that she survived, he is not happy that I broke the rules and he is certainly not happy with the role Faith had to play in the whole thing. He's just realizing his mistake in not issuing specific instructions for her but of course, by now it's too late. It is only because I am trying to make sense out of too many different emotions that I can keep myself from reacting, from either laughing or lashing out, when I hear him 'congratulate' Buffy and I'm incredibly proud of her when she asks him if she gets a gold star.

I can see that he is still underestimating her anger and I can also see that for the second time he's made the same mistake. He thinks he is safe, he thinks the slayer is weakened and at his mercy... and he hasn't noticed that there is a second slayer in the room, one I can tell is barely managing to contain her anger.

With a small shake of my head I gesture for Faith to stay put. I understand what she is feeling but now is not the time. Travers may think the game is over but the truth is that it's only just begun. I have a few choice words I'd like to say to him myself but for the time being my top priority is to get the girls to calm down so I try to put an end to this confrontation, at least for the time being, unfortunately the fool is not cooperating... and then he tells me I'm fired, that while Buffy has passed the test I have not.

As soon as I hear his words I realize that we are about to move into the next stage of the game, especially because the first thing the fool does after he tells me that I'm fired is to order Faith to go with him. She looks at me, I shake my head and then she says one word and one word only: 'no'.

Travers is totally taken aback by that unexpected turn of events. It is obvious that he has never thought of a slayer as a living person and this defiance, if it can be called that, comes as a total surprise to him. All of a sudden he is staring at Faith and I can see the hatred in his eyes.

"How dare you refuse me?" he demands, absolutely convinced that obedience is owed to him.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, if you have a problem with that tough shit. You just endangered B and Mrs. S with your stupid little test and no one fucks with them like that. B may not be in any shape to take you down right now but let me tell you that the only reason you are still standing is because you are hers to hunt. That means that you have one chance to walk out of here, and that is more than you deserve, but you are in no position to be giving me orders."

"By the authority of the Council, you will come with me."

"Sorry, you see, B is the one who was just jumping through your hoops because she turned eighteen, that means I'm a minor and somehow I don't think mom and dad will let me go anywhere with you."

"Your mother is in Boston and you have no contact with her whatsoever so don't you..."

"Actually, my mother and my father both live here in Sunnydale, if you want I could ask my dad if I can go with you, but somehow I get the feeling that he is not likely to agree."

"What game do you think you are playing, child? You will comply or..."

"It's no game, Travers. Faith is not going anywhere with you. I forbid it," I say with a grin, putting my hand on her shoulder and deeply relieved by the realization that the charade is finally over, that I am now free to go home and start working on rebuilding my relationship with my daughters.

"You forbid it?"

"I heard him, he didn't stutter and I thought he was clear enough, did you hear him, Faith?" asks Buffy.

"Yups, I heard him loud and clear. Sorry, you heard the man, can't go with you, now would you please leave us alone?"

"Do you think you can keep me from the slayer?" asks Travers, turning to me.

"I think I can keep you from my daughter."

"Boy, he really doesn't keep up with the news does he?" asks Faith.

"Not even with the old ones," confirms Buffy.

"What is going on here?" all but bellows Travers, seeing our amused expressions.

"What is going on is that you are about to leave Sunnydale and you will never return. You may have fired me but Faith will not go with you," I say.

"You will have no further contact with either slayer and that's an order. A new watcher will be appointed for Ms. Summers and you will not interfere, as for Ms. Lehane..."

"Actually, it's Ms. Giles," corrects Faith with a smile.

"What does this mean?" asks Travers, looking like a fish out of the water.

"It means that I legally adopted Faith months ago and as her father I am well within my right to refuse to allow her to go anywhere with you. You will not approach her again."

"You can't do that! She's a slayer and as such..."

"It is done," I say.

"I'll get her still, you can't keep her from me!"

"You better not try anything... not if you don't want to have the existence of the Council exposed."

"Would you betray us? Betray the fight we've been fighting for centuries? Betray everything your family has ever stood for?"

"I no longer work for you, you fired me, though I do find it ironic that you are now so quick to ask for my loyalty when it comes to demanding that I surrender my daughter to you."

"She is not your daughter!"

"She is and just as you were well within your right to fire me, I am well within my right when I forbid my daughter from having any further contact with your institution."

"Ms. Summers, I command you to..."

"You command me to? Sorry but I don't take orders from you. You think you can play your little games with my life? I will never work for you again. You don't own me and you don't control me. You have nothing left to do here so you might as well leave and I'd suggest you take advantage of this opportunity because it is the only one you will be given. I've warned you once not to come near me ever again once I regain my strength and right now the clock is ticking. If you are still here by the time the poison you injected into me is out of my system I will not be held responsible for my actions."

"You are a slayer and as such you must comply with the will of the Council."

"I quit."

"What? You will selfishly abandon the fight your predecessors gave their lives for?"

"No, I'm not abandoning the fight... but then again you don't really represent that fight, do you? Yes, it is my battle, it is a battle I share with my friends and family but it is most definitely not your battle. You are free to go now but if I were you I'd stay away from Sunnydale. This is my home and this is my fight... I am no longer a child you can hope to control and you are not welcome here. I will fight the good fight for as long as I live and so will Faith but neither you nor your people have any role to play in that battle... you are not the ones we are fighting for.

"You see there are some things I've learned along the way, things you never wanted me to know and one of the most important is the fact that the line between right and wrong, between good and evil, between man and monster, that line is not necessarily the same as the line that separates humans and demons... do you know on which side of the line you stand?"