For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1
Chapter 39: A Matter of Time
(Giles's POV)
I've never been so proud of Buffy in my life, though I know I still have a long way to go before things are back to normal between us... but at least now I have hope. I was, however, caught somewhat off-guard when Travers caved and walked out of the library without much of an argument after she told him off.
It was pretty apparent by then that he wasn't going to get anywhere by trying to strong-arm the slayers but still I would have expected him to put up more of a fight and the fact that he didn't fills me with dread.
I am not naive, I know this is far from over and I know he has something up his sleeve, just like I do, but for the time being I am relieved by the fact that the immediate threat is gone, that I can finally go home to my wife and daughters and that we no longer have to keep that aspect of our lives a secret. That's a small comfort as we prepare for what I know is about to come.
I look at my girls and I can see that Buffy's forehead is still bleeding, I catch her wince when she tries to clean up her own wound. I take the rag from her hand and focus my attention on the familiar task of taking care of her injuries. How many times have I done this for her before? How many times have I had to patch her up after a rough patrol? I've lost count but it's never been as relevant as it is right now... it's never meant quite this much before. I was all but ready to have her push my hand away and I was deeply relieved when she didn't.
The cut on her forehead is not really worse than what she's had dozens of times but seeing how I've robbed her of her healing it will be a couple of days before it disappears... that's how long it will take for the serum to be completely out of her system. Once I'm satisfied that the wound is clean I help her stand and I take her home where Joyce is waiting for us.
A few minutes later we find ourselves sitting in our own living room.
"So what happens now?" asks Buffy, sounding incredibly tired. I know the fear and the fight against Kralik took a lot out of her and I can see that the adrenaline has all but worn off but she is still determined to do this now.
"What do you mean, B? We won, the bastard's gone and I don't think he's going to be coming back any time soon."
"He fired Giles," she points out
"It's okay, Buffy, I say. I wish it could have been avoided but the truth is that I half expected that much... and the fact is that being free of the Council's shadow means I can focus instead on being the watcher the two of you need me to be. If nothing else it means I no longer have to worry about the Council's traditions and now you are both safe. The Council can no longer touch you."
"That's why you married mom, isn't it? she asks, finally putting the pieces together. That's why you were in such a hurry to adopt Faith, because you knew this was going to happen."
"It was part of the reason, yes. I'm sorry I couldn't say anything to you any sooner, I'm sorry I couldn't warn you but I needed the Council to believe that I was still one of them. I didn't want to take a chance that they would do something against us before we were ready. The thing is that by adopting Faith we effectively placed her out of their reach and they know it. They can't run the risk of coming after us now, not without being exposed themselves. We know too much and they know we know."
"He came after mom."
"I know but that was not supposed to happen... they made a mistake and the test spun out of control. Under normal circumstances they would never have come anywhere near Joyce. You see, when you have a secret that you must protect the first rule is to eliminate those who know it and if getting rid of them is not an option then you should at least try to avoid alienating them.
"Travers knew that he couldn't kill Joyce but he also knew that she was unlikely to reveal the existence of the Council unless she was pushed to the extreme. If Travers coming after your mother had been anywhere near the realm of possibility I would definitely have handled the whole situation differently. You have to believe me when I say I never meant to put her in any danger and, as for your own test, I knew you were going to have Faith watching your back and that meant that you'd be safe. I knew that was something they weren't expecting and I knew you were going to be fine, that's why I went along with them. In the end I knew you were going to be safer if I played along than if I had done anything to trigger a confrontation before the Cruciamentum. Right now they are gone and while they may not be happy about the way in which things turned out they are convinced it is over."
"So it's really over, right? I mean, they left. They are gone and we are still standing, right?" asks Faith who still seems a little taken aback by everything that has happened in these past few days.
"No it's not over," says Buffy, looking down sadly. "That man will never let us go."
"He may not like it, but what can he do?" asks Faith.
"He can wait."
"What?"
"Yes, he is gone. He left, for now, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's over, explains Buffy, turning to her sister. He may be arrogant but he is not that stupid and he wasn't willing to risk a confrontation he couldn't possibly win but that doesn't mean he is going to give up. You heard him, he is convinced that the slayer actually belongs to him, that the slayer is his tool. He thinks that we should be treated as his own personal property and he is not about to change his mind about that any time soon.
You never met Kendra, she died before you were called, but she was what he thinks a slayer should be. She had no life, she was her watcher's puppet and she lived for the slaying. She was uncomfortable even talking to Xander because she wasn't allowed to have any sort of social life and had never even talked to a boy before... she did what she was told and never questioned her orders. She basically accepted the fact that her life belonged to the Council."
"So, what does that have to do with him being able to wait? You really think he'll be back? We would kick his ass and he knows it," Faith insists, trying to convince herself more than anything else.
"No, I don't think he'll be back but the thing is that he can wait us out. That's all he has to do to regain control and he knows it. I mean, yes, we have an edge because there's two of us and that means that we are less likely to get ourselves killed tomorrow than we would be if there were just one of us but the fact is that as long as the Council keeps taking potential slayers away from their families and training them to be good little soldiers, sooner or later they'll be back in charge. As long as there's two of us we are reasonably safe but we are not immortal and as soon as one of us dies then the life expectancy of the other one will plummet... and when we are gone they'll just pick up where they left off with the next slayer. For Travers it makes no difference if we live one year, five or fifty... okay maybe fifty would be a bit of a problem but even if that were to happen I'm sure there'll be someone there to take his place when the time comes."
"So the bastard still wins?"
"Yes, he still wins says Buffy with a sad smile. We can't leave the hellmouth and he knows it... and sooner or later the hellmouth will win."
"In other words, we are stuck?"
"No, not really" I interrupt. I know Buffy is right, though I am a bit surprised that she's managed to see through Travers's apparent withdrawal as easily as she has.
"You have a plan?" she asks, looking at me.
"Just leave it in my hands. Travers thinks it's over but it's not, not by a long shot."
"That's why you went along with them, isn't it? That's why you agreed to go through with that stupid test."
"Yes, there was no other way, not if I didn't want to tip my hand. We may be stuck here on the hellmouth but we are not alone, far from it. I just needed Travers to let his guard down... and now he has. That means it is time for us to make our move."
