Title: Old Friends
Author: Gaeriel Mallory
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine. Giles' is Joss's and Mutant Enemy's. Mina Harker is in public domain, I think, but just in case, this particular Mina is property of Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill.
Note: For TTH's Fic-for-all #225 Giles/Mina Harker
A/N: Not in the movie LXG universe but rather the much more well thought-out, written, and plotted comic books. Mina's not a vampire but rather just one of Dracula's victims.
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Giles looked up from his book with a frown. Sighing, he got up from his chair and crossed the room to answer the door. He had told everyone that he was taking the night off – he surely deserved one after finally getting the new Watchers Council up and running after a year of rebuilding. It was winter and demonic activity was relatively slow, leading him to leave the Council in the capable hands of others for one night. Even demons went inside to escape the cold, it seemed. "If that's you, Dawn," he called out, "No, I will not help you with your translation assignment. You wanted to learn ancient Egyptian and have no one to blame but yourself."
He opened the door and started with surprise. The woman on the other side smiled at him. "I'm afraid I'm not Dawn, Rupert."
He blinked. "Mina. This is a surprise."
"May I come in or will you just leave me out in the hallway for the rest of the night?" She adjusted the long scarf around her neck and peered at him expectantly.
"Right." Giles moved aside and let her enter. "I must say, I didn't expect to see you tonight."
"Or possibly ever?" She smirked at him over her shoulder as she shrugged out of her coat. "One of those Slayers of yours let me in. I don't think she quite believed me when I told her I wasn't a vampire." She hung her coat up on coat rack by the door and sat down on the sofa. "I had heard that you were back in town. How was California? As sunny as they all say?"
He walked into the kitchenette area of his flat and poured her a cup of tea from the kettle on the stove. She accepted it with a grateful nod. He settled back into his chair and winced as he felt something pop in his knee. Damn aging. Mina still looked exactly the same as she had twenty years before. "Depressingly so," he answered her question. "But it was worth it to watch those children grow up."
She shook her head. "Seven years." She tsked, studying her old friend. "I see Ripper's been retired."
"Merely hiding. I do let him out every so often when I'm provoked."
"Warning duly noted." She wrapped her hands around her tea and sniffed it appreciatively. "Though I must say that I'm glad that I'm no longer the only mature one in the room."
"I never did understand why you hung about us young louts anyway."
"Someone had to make sure you didn't kill yourselves. Though even I have to marvel that you're still alive sometimes with some of the stupid things you did." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Demon summoning? Even I thought you would have known better than that."
He shrugged with embarrassment. "Yes, well, you weren't exactly there to be the voice of reason for that particular episode. And I can assure you that the entire thing came to bite us all royally in the arse many years later."
"I'm sure."
"So why are you here, Mina? I haven't heard from you in so long that I wondered if even you were still alive."
She chuckled. "Still very much so, and I expect will be for the foreseeable future." She sat back and relaxed. "Did you see that horrible movie that they made a while back? I considered suing them for libel for a while but I realized that no one would believe the real Mina Harker was still alive—if she ever existed in the first place."
He grinned. "I had heard about it but never got a chance to see it. I think we were in the middle of one apocalypse or another at that point. I must admit, I can see why being portrayed as a vampire would make you less than happy."
"Oh, it wasn't that so much but the implication that I would ever have relations with such a character as Dorian." She shuddered distastefully. "And they totally disregarded my role as leader of the League. As if Allan ever could have led us out of a paper bag before we sobered him up." Sadness crossed her features. "I miss them, Rupert."
He moved over so that he was sitting next to her and took her hand. "It's understandable, Mina. They were with you for almost a decade. You become family in that long a time."
She squeezed his hand. "Which brings me to why I'm here. I heard you were hiring."
Giles blinked in surprise. "Well, it's true that the Council would benefit greatly from someone from your experience. But are you sure? It's a large commitment of your time, energy, and resources."
"As large a one as that demanded by the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen?" She grinned. "I know what I'm getting into. I want to be part of a group again, Rupert. I want to belong and feel like I'm doing something worthwhile." She loosened her scarf, revealing the bite mark on her neck. "Besides, I do have a bit of a vested interest in what your organization's doing."
He nodded in understanding. "I'll see about setting you up tomorrow with payroll and give you the grand tour then." He paused, looking at the vampire bite. "You know, we ran into him a few years back."
"I hope you gave him my regards."
"No, I'm afraid I didn't get the chance. Buffy, my Slayer, she did give him a sound thrashing though."
She laughed. "I would have paid money to see that. I feel that I should have gotten something out of all that whole affair than just eternal life." She paused and reconsidered. "Well, eternal life until someone finally does that bastard in once and for all."
He sighed. "I knew it was too much to hope for that Buffy really did get rid of him."
"He has a habit of sticking around despite all attempts to kill him. I wouldn't worry about it too much." She finished her tea and set the cup down. "I feel that I will enjoy working with you again, Rupert."
"Do you have anywhere to stay tonight?" he asked her. "You're welcome to stay here if you would like. We did make sure that the Council apartments were spacious and nice to live in when we rebuilt."
She smiled but shook her head. "I have my own house in London, remember?" She leaned over to kiss his cheek and then stood up. Readjusting her scarf so that Dracula's mark was covered again, she remarked, "But I'll be by first thing tomorrow morning."
"Do you want someone to drive you?" It was odd. After not seeing Mina since his 'Ripper' days, he was loathe to let her go.
She smirked. "I was going to walk home but you could join me if you'd like. It's snowing right now and it's always nicer walking in the snow when you're not by yourself."
Giles helped her into her coat and grabbed his. "Yes, and we do have much to catch up on."
--fin--