A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Becks89: You updated, now I'm updating, so that means you need to update, right? *lol*

Chapter 3

There was a quiet knock on her door. Buffy didn't look away from the window, saying, "Come in."

The door opened and light from the hall spilled into the dark room. Buffy still didn't bother to look over, comfortable staring out the window.

A soft voice with a British accent said, "Buffy?"

Buffy stiffened slightly, finally turning, and whispered, "Giles?"

Giles stood in the doorway, a stunned but relieved look on his face. He took a few steps into the room. Buffy rose, not moving, just looking.

Giles made the first move, pulling the Slayer into a tight hug, murmuring, "You're really back."

"Yeah," Buffy said, hugging him back. "I really am."

Giles released her and resettled his glasses, a tad embarrassed about his emotional display. Then he looked at her. "How are you?" he asked. "You look tired."

Buffy shrugged. "Not sleeping well…or maybe it's the waking up thing that's the problem."

Giles nodded, casting a glance around. "Perhaps. Would you like a light on?"

"Huh? Oh—yeah, go ahead. Sorry." Buffy sat back down on her bed. Giles flicked on the overhead light and joined her, sitting down beside her Buffy glanced at him. "How was England?"

"England was—England, I suppose," Giles said.

"All full of English-y goodness huh," Buffy remarked.

"Yes."

Buffy nodded. "How'd you know?"

Giles glanced at her. "Willow called me."

"Good ole' Willow," Buffy murmured. Giles cast her a sharp glance, not sure what she meant by that, but he did not pursue it, saying instead, "I was actually sent to come and get you for dinner."

Buffy stood up. "Well then I guess it's dinner time."

~*~

A few days later, after Giles had settled in and had been caught up on the goings on, Buffy waited for a time to ask him about the papers. It wasn't hard—he and Willow had gotten into an argument a few nights ago, probably about the spell Buffy figured, and Willow and Tara had been spending a little more time out of the house than usual while Willow cooled off and stopped being irritated with Giles.

Buffy got her chance after dinner one night, and as the others were leaving the table, she said, "Uh—Giles? Could—I talk to you for a sec?"

Xander, in the middle of following Willow, Tara, Dawn, and Anya out, glanced at Buffy when she said this. She had asked him earlier in the day where the papers were, so he had guessed that she was going to talk to Giles about it. He lingered, wondering if she wanted him to stay, but she shook her head at his questioning look as Giles said, "Of course."

Xander left.

Buffy bit her lip and picked the folder up off of the table she had left them on, setting them down in front of her. "Um…last year—a little before the battle with Glory, I was going through Mom's things and I found this."

Giles adjusted his glasses. "May I see?"

Buffy nodded, pushing the folder towards him. He opened it and read through the papers silently. When he was through, he looked at Buffy. "You didn't know about this?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, I didn't."

"Well, I suppose we could call this—Cathy Kinsington, the woman who oversaw the adoption, and ask her about it."

"Could you do that?" Buffy asked. "Will she give out that information?"

"I don't see why not," Giles said, briefly scanning the papers again. "It seems to have been an open adoption—that means that the birth parents aren't shut out like with a closed adoption," he added at her confused look. "I'll give them a call tomorrow if you'd like."

Buffy nodded.

~*~

London, England.

Buffy looked around the hotel room with a sigh. Giles had called the social services office but had been told that they needed proof of identity before information could be released. Therefore, London. They were going to the social services office this afternoon, as soon as Giles was ready.

The office was not large, but it wasn't small either. Slayer and Watcher entered the building and went to the front desk, Giles saying, "We're here to speak with Cathy Kinsington."

"Just one moment," the woman said. She called, then said to the pair, "Down the hall, third door to your right."

"Thank you," Giles said. He led the way, and knocked on the door. At the called, "Come in," he opened it and ushered Buffy inside.

Cathy Kinsington looked at the girl carefully as she and the slightly older man she was with sat down. "Mr. Giles and Miss Summers, I take it."

"Yes," Giles said.

Cathy looked at Buffy. "Do you have any identification?"

Buffy handed her her ID, which she studied before handing it back and folding her hands on her desk. "The truth is, Buffy, we never received all the information we usually ask for from your parents. What we did get was that they were young, only 16—still in school, and that they did not want to give you up."

"Do you have a way to contact them?" Giles asked.

"They gave us two telephone numbers, in case of an emergency," Cathy agreed. "One that they said was only in case of a dire emergency. Here."

She wrote the two numbers down and handed them to Buffy. Giles asked as she took the paper, "They didn't leave an address of some sort? Perhaps the school they went to?"

"Mmm…let me check," Cathy said. She went to a file cabinet and found a file, flipping through it, then shook her head. "No, they wouldn't say what school they went to. They wanted to keep it quiet, was the impression I got."

"Of course," Giles said softly. He looked at Buffy, who shrugged, and rose. Buffy stood up too as Giles said, "Thank you for your time and your help."

"Of course." Cathy smiled. "Good luck."

The pair walked out and went back to the hotel. Once inside, Giles looked at Buffy. "Well? What would you like to do now?"

Buffy shrugged. "I dunno."

Giles inspected the numbers. "We could call these people, see if they know where to find them."

Buffy nodded. "Sounds good."

Giles reached for the phone and dialed the first number.

"Hello?"

"Hello," Giles said. "My name is Rupert Giles. I'm calling on behalf of a friend. I was wondering—do you know a Lily Evans or a James Potter?"

There was silence on the other end, then, "Yes."

"Oh, thank you," Giles murmured.

"Why do you ask?" the person on the other end asked curiously.

"Er—well, it's a bit complicated. Do you know how to get in touch with them?"

There was another silence, then the person said, "I would rather we meet in person than doing this over the telephone. Are you in London?"

"Uh—yes, I am."

"What would you say to meeting this afternoon in, say, two hours? There's a lovely little restaurant we could meet at."

"O-of course," Giles said, a little startled by the turn of events. He took the address and directions and, with a sense of foreboding, hung up. He looked at Buffy. "We're meeting someone in a few hours. Perhaps we'll find out more then."

"This is turning into a whole lot of work," Buffy grumbled. "When do we leave?"

A/N: Tee-hee. If anyone can guess who it was Giles was talking to, they get a cookie!