Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire

Chp.56

Reaching for Answers

Giles still sits in thought on the edge of the conference table. Slowly he gets to his feet, shaking each one vigorously to relieve the tingling from where they'd fallen asleep on him. He makes his way over to the door, and down the hall to the office of one Wesley Wyndham-Pryce. He'd noticed that the other ex-watcher had left mid-way through the telling of Buffy and Spike's debacle.

As he comes to the door with the golden nameplate announcing that it is in deed the right office, he knocks on it. Upon hearing the ascent to come in , he enters the darkened room. There's a few small table lamps glowing, softly and one bright one over the huge, antique desk that Wesley sits behind.

It seems that the Watcher, come Rogue Demon Hunter, come Private Detective, come Lawyer or what ever the hell he was these days, had left to start researching a bit early.

Giles steps, quietly up to the desk, taking in the books and ancient scrolls that are strewn across the dark wood.

Wesley takes a moment to give him an acknowledgeing, and cursory glance.

The actual watcher takes a deep, sighing breath. Looking down at the text that Wes is so interested in. "The Amulet?"

Wes pushes the book back slightly, looking directly at the man in front of him. "It seemed to be the only catalyst," he replies in short.

"I do have to admit that was my first conclusion, also."

"But?" Wes's eyes look questioningly at Giles.

"But, what if there were another conducive reason?"

"What other occurence could have possibly done what has happened. It's completely unpresidented and might I say undocumented. None of the information I've come across has mentioned anything like this ever happening."

"Lets look at this from another perspective," Giles requests.

With a nod of his head, Wesley consents.

"Maybe it was a sure force of will. Buffy had grown quiet attached to Spike before the occurence."

"Buffy?" Wes is shocked at the revelation. "The same Buffy that would have rather seen the vampire dust, than look at his face? That Buffy?"

Giles hangs his head in defeat. "You've seen them together, Wesley. Does that look like hate to you? I don't like it one bit that my slayer has taken up with yet another vampire, but it seems to have happened." He turns to sit on the corner of the desk, dropping the journal he'd been writing in before on it. "This is the journal I've had over the last year, everything is written in it, from when I showed up with all of the potentials, to the occurence with Spike, and Buffy.

"Yes, I've seen the dynamic of the two. I just can't seem to believe that her feelings for the vampire could change so quickly. Last time I recall, they were out for each others blood." Wesley explains, as he palms the book that Giles had set in front of him.

Giles whips his head around to glare at the clueless man seated behind him. "I had thought so too, but after taking the time to go through the journal I saw a pattern forming. I do wish I had the journals from earlier, but this and one other is the only ones to have survived the collapse."

Wesley gently opens the cover of the book.

"The problem is that this started before I even realized what was happening. A long time before they even knew."

At the explanation, Wes lifts his head up from the book, and gives Giles a puzzled look.

Taking a long, and deep breath the older Englishman starts to give his theory.

"I believe it started the first they met. The way Buffy had described him, there was just something in her voice. I couldn't place the tone, but she still has it in her voice as she talks about him. I knew I'd heard disdain for him, and from what I gathered it was the same on the other side, also. Then, and I didn't learn this for almost another year, but when Angelus opened Acathla, Spike had helped Buffy to rid the world of him." His glasses seem to float to his hand, and he begins to polish them fervently. "Then a few years later he shows up on my doorstep, asking for help. Seems the Initiative had placed a microchip in his brain to prevent him from harming people.

"Initiative? Microchip?" Wesley asks in astonishment.

"Yes, well that's another story entirely, now isn't it." Giles replies, indignantly. "Otherwise, Willow and Oz had a falling out, about a week after Spike had shown up Willow cast a 'Will be Done' spell. And as always in that time the spell went awry. Willow walked around flippantly changing things to her will. I went blind, Xander became a demon magnet, And Buffy and Spike ended up engaged."

"But the spell was broken without consequences, I assume."

"Not quiet, after Willow had broken the spell and we'd all consumed absurd amounts of what Willow would refer to as 'guilt cookies', I took her aside. It was then that I ask her what specific things she'd said to get the results that had occured."

Wesley places his elbow on the desk, and his hand finds his chin.

Giles glances over his shoulder. "It seems that she only said that the two of them should get married. From what I witnessed the two of them were in love."

He couldn't see as what any of this has to do with the problem at hand. "What does this have to do with anything, Rupert. I truthfully can't see any connection."

Giles could feel the anger rising at the insolence of the man. "I'm getting to that, if you'd let me finish."

"Well, by all means."

"Point to this part of their story is they were supposed to be getting married. To get married you don't have to be in love with the person you are betrothed to. Buffy and Spike had love. The love part wasn't in the equation. Since this incident, I've had a secret theory, that in some way or form they've loved each other."

Wesley nods his head in understanding, forming his own theory.

Giles turns, placing a knee over the edge of the desk so he can properly look upon Wesley for the next part. "The next year, that horrible year that Buffy jumped from the tower, and died." He takes a moment to straighten himself. "Spike approached Buffy with a revelation. He'd fallen in love with her."

Wesley sits up straighter, and looks at Giles. "This is before he got his soul?"

"I'm getting to that! Anyway, Buffy jumped from the tower, Spike crumbled before our eyes, in a heap of rubble from the fight he sat on his knees as tears streamed down his face. It was then that I realized he could feel, when others of his kind would have rejoiced at the slayer broken, and bleeding in front of them. He mourned her, longer than any of the rest of us did. Although, Willow was already planning how to get the slayer back. Spike knew nothing of it, from what I gathered he mourned for the entire length of the time she lay in the ground. He told me once that he didn't really have anything to unlive for, since she was gone, and buried. The only reason he didn't lay down in the sun that day, was because he'd promised to take care of Dawn."

"Did he even try?"

"Indeed, he did. He even took it upon himself to patrol in her stead. Even though he'd have to put up with the Scoobies and myself."

"I wasn't aware that any demon could have feelings without the moral compass of a soul, or the equivalent of one."

"I always thought so, also, but Spike seems to be the exception to the rule, as with many other things.

Wesley grunts, respectively as he leans back in the leather of his chair. "Could the chip you spoke of have anything to do with the feelings he harboured?"

"That was my first conclusion, too, but it doesn't connect. The chip didn't make him less evil or soulless. He just had the desire and will to do good things. His will is extraordinary, if he wants it, it'll occur. A little piece of plastic with wiring isn't going to be able to make him change his nature. Another thing is that he didn't have the chip when he showed up in Sunnydale, yet he seemed to be completely in love with his once paramour, Drusilla. He's an anomaly from any other vampire or demon I've ever encountered."

Getting up from his seat, Wesley makes his way over to a bookcase directly behind him. He flips a panel down, revealing a number pad, and presses in the numbers for the code. The case slowly, receeds in behind the bookcase beside of it, to reveal a huge, hidden room.

Off of Giles' impressed look, he explains, "this is where we keep all of the artifacts that could possibly end the world, and important documents." Walking in the room, he instinctively grabs a book from a shelf just inside of the doorway. He speaks quietly against the binding of the book. "Soul transference, and the amulet of Genkar." He'd finally found a vague reference in another book, and found the name of the amulet. He opens the book, as it starts to reveal words over the pages.

(Oh looky another update, go me. I want to thank everyone that reviewed the last chapter. It brightened up my day. I'm going to try and get the last few chapters out every other day, I can't promise it'll happen, but I will try. The puppy that eat everything has stopped, but we have another one, and she hasn't. At least she hasn't eaten anything that was important. Like the next chapter. Which by the way is already written.I've also been working on a few other stories. One of which is a Buffy/Sliders crossover. I'm just wondering if anyone would want to read it, if I posted it. Before you ask, yes it will be B/S. I'm also looking for a new beta, so if anyone knows of one, it'd be greatly appreciated.)