Chapter 6: Striking a Match

Willow awoke late Sunday morning feeling like she had been hit by a truck.

She started to roll over, but the soreness across her back and shoulders made her grunt in pain. Thankfully her head only felt a little sore, so she was hopeful that she had escaped the concussion that she and Buffy had joked about, but she was still in rough shape. Bracing herself, she sat up, exhaling loudly. On the nightstand next to her, she saw a note.

Willow,

I stayed with you until sunrise, then left to have a shower and get clean clothes. I'll be at the shop by 8. Call me there when you awake. If I don't hear from you by noon, I'll come check on you. No one expects you to do anything today other than rest. You need to take care of yourself.

Love,

Giles

Willow couldn't help but smile as she read the note in Giles' tidy cursive loops. She would have killed to get a note like this from Giles in high school, something on paper – something that said "Love, Giles" – that she could keep forever. A talisman.

Although she convinced herself that she was grown up now and didn't need a note to obsess over, she still reread it four times before gently placing it back on the nightstand. She picked up her phone and dialed the number for the Magic Box.

"Hello, the Magic Box?"

"Oh, hi Anya, this is Willow."

"Hello, Willow. How is your recovery going? Have you slain anyone lately?"

"No, Anya, no slaying lately."

"Excellent, I am very happy to hear that. And you don't intend to cast a spell on me and use me for your evil plans, yes?"

"No evil plans, no spells on you, no nothing."

"Wonderful. You know, I was very glad when you didn't kill everyone."

Willow closed her eyes and shook her head a little, somehow still surprised by the things that came out of Anya's mouth. "Well, me too, Anya."

"Are you coming to the shop today?"

"Yeah, I was going to head there in a little bit. Will you tell Giles that I woke up and I'm fine, and I'll see him soon?"

"Sure thing. I look forward to seeing you again and also maybe selling you things! Bye!"

Willow didn't even get a chance to respond before the click let her know that Anya had already hung up. She put down the phone and slowly eased her way from her bedroom to the bathroom, hoping a hot shower would help get rid of some of the soreness.

An hour later, Willow felt marginally better. She was showered, dressed in one of her cutest skirts, and full of ibuprofen. She even felt as though she had gotten some good sleep, despite her rough night and the accompanying injuries. She walked over to the Magic Box feeling almost okay, and even stopped by the local bakery on the way.

When she entered the magic shop, the place was actually fairly busy. Three customers were crowding the jewelry rack, two more were browsing the Magic for Beginners books, and there was a line of three people at the counter where Anya, face framed with auburn curls, was deftly entering numbers into the register. Anya glanced over at Willow and smiled broadly, clearly pleased with her capitalistic endeavors, and then pointed towards the training room in the back. Willow nodded and smiled at Anya, happy that she was doing so well. Since Xander's callous rejection of Anya on their wedding day, Willow was worried that Anya was losing it, but she seemed to be getting through everything okay. Well, yes, she had agreed to become a vengeance demon again, but you could hardly blame her.

Willow poked a head into the training room. "Giles?" She stepped in and put her stuff down on the table just inside the door. "I brought pastries!" She heard what could only be described as a very English sound of intrigue and followed it to find Giles setting up a table of small objects on the other end of the room.

"Whatcha doin'?" she inquired as she looked down at the odd assortment of items. Giles had gathered a pencil, a match stick, and a penny on the table.

Giles turned to Willow. "When you were first learning how to do magic, what was the first thing you tried?"

Willow paused, then answered, "I practiced levitating things, small stuff."

"Precisely. My thought is that by starting at the beginning, we can practice safely and rebuild your confidence at the same time." Giles seemed rather chuffed, his eyes alight with energy.

Willow gave a doubtful expression, but agreed by way of a noncommittal shrug. The motion set her shoulders on fire and she winced.

"How are you feeling?" Giles asked. "Are you in much pain?"

"Only when I use any of my limbs or muscles or basically any part of my body."

Giles' lecture voice took over. "Well, you took a serious hit yesterday when that spell backfired, and you're lucky you're not hurt worse. Your injuries could have been quite serious."

"I know," Willow relented with a sigh, "I am lucky."

Apparently satisfied with her response, Giles crossed the room to rummage through the enticing pink box filled with assorted sugar bombs. Willow followed and selected a cinnamon roll for herself. Giles, through a mouthful of strudel, said, "I know we talked about waiting a while to practice, but if you're up for it, I thought we'd see what we could do today."

Willow choked on her pastry. "Today? Now?"

As he walked across the room, Giles said, "Well, we certainly don't have to, but I think that waiting might actually make things worse. Your self-doubt is really started to get the better of you." He said the last few words with great softness in his voice.

Willow put down the cinnamon roll and crossed her left arm in front of her stomach, her right hand up by her lips. She chewed on her thumbnail absentmindedly as she stared at the little items on the table.

Giles looked at her with his eyebrows raised, inclining his head and inviting her to give it a try. Willow put her arms by her sides and stood square in a ready position. She took a deep breath and reached one arm in front of her, her fingers delicately reaching toward the match stick.

The match stick rolled on the table, then one end of it lifted slightly. After a second, the match fell and stopped moving. Willow huffed and squirmed in her spot, clearly disappointed in the result.

Giles moved himself to be next to her. "Willow," he said lightly as he placed his right hand on the middle of her back, "when you first began toying with magics, you were excited with every spell you tried, every incantation you learned. You approached it with an open mind and an open heart. You weren't scared."

Willow exhaled in a snort and looked down at the ground, then planted her feet back into her ready stance.

"Your power comes from a place deep within you. If you're closed to it, you won't be able to access that power." Giles placed his left hand on Willow's upper chest, at the level of her collarbones. "Feel the magic here. Try again."

Willow closed her eyes and did her breathing exercise. She tried to remember what it felt like to approach magic without fear.

God, I was so naïve.

She pushed away her negativity and tried again. Remember how it felt to do magic with Tara at the dorms. A bloom of positive energy rose in Willow's chest. She opened her eyes, sighted the match stick, and lifted it off the table. It felt so easy that it was as though the match had lifted itself.

She felt a tiny moment of indulgent pride, grinning toothily and pressing her tongue between her teeth. Giles permitted himself a small smile. Giles and Willow locked eyes. Willow saw that Giles was looking at her with admiration, but there was something else. There was a desire there, something she hadn't seen before. She wasn't sure what it was, but it frightened and excited her. She could feel magical energy dancing on her skin.

With his hand still on her torso, Giles could feel her heartbeat speed up. He had an uncontrollable urge to lean in and kiss her. She was so close. The warmth of her body was radiating out into his hands. She was so close.

Dawn popped up behind them and asked, "Whatcha doin'?"

Willow and Giles both practically jumped out of their skins. A training dummy across the room spontaneously combusted. Dawn shrieked. Giles, keeping his cool, grabbed the nearest fire extinguisher and put out the flames before any real damage was done, at least beyond the dummy, which was still smoking a little.

Giles opened the windows in the training room. "Hello, Dawn," he said with and air of exasperation. "Not busy today, I take it?"

"Nope," she replied, "my friends are all doing stuff so I figured I'd see what you guys are up to. You doing magic?"

"Just a tiny bit, Dawnie," Willow answered. "I still have a lot of work to do before I could really do anything cool, but I did just levitate a match."

"You taught me how to do that years ago. What else is new?"

Giles shot a murderous look at Dawn that silenced her immediately. Willow didn't say anything, feeling neither proud enough to defend her modest achievement nor depressed enough to wallow in her lack of magical ability.

Buffy's voice called from the front of the shop. "Giles, Willow, you guys back there?"

Dawn replied, "Yeah, they're back here, Willow's practicing magic!"

Buffy and Xander entered the training room. "What's burning?" Buffy asked.

"Nothing," Willow and Giles replied in unison.

Buffy narrowed her eyes in suspicion, but noticed the pink box of breakfast foods. Her scrutiny was thoroughly subverted. "Ooh, bear claws!"


"So, we think the demon necromancer thing has to be close to those he's raising when he's performing the spell. Like, really close. We tracked down the names of some of the people that got…reanimated, and then we found their corresponding graves. They were all right near each other, sometimes next to each other. We figure that if this guy was just casting a wide net, the bodies would have been scattered throughout the cemetery. But since they're all right on top of each other, it probably means that the demon is on site, raising the bodies while he's there."

Buffy hoisted herself onto the counter of the Magic Box as Xander looked on and Giles, Dawn, and Willow processed the information Buffy had presented. The afternoon sun was slanting in through the windows of the shop. Business had slowed to a trickle, and Anya had left to embark on some vengeance work.

"That's quite clever, Buffy," Giles remarked, beaming more than just a little with pride at her work.

"I'd like it more if you didn't sound so surprised," Buffy replied scornfully, but couldn't help smiling anyway.

"Have you figured out a specific pattern for who he's raising, where they are, or even what time the events are happening?" Willow was in full investigation mode.

"Not yet," Xander chimed in. "We think he's doing the magic at night, just because no one has reported seeing anything weird happen in any of the cemeteries in Sunnydale. But that by itself isn't enough to establish a pattern or predict where and when he'll go next."

"Our plan," Buffy added, "is to pick one cemetery and stake it out each night until he rotates back to it. If we can spread ourselves out properly, we should be able to cover almost the whole grounds of the one on the east side of town. He's gone there at least twice, so we think it's likely he'll return eventually."

"For tonight," Giles suggested, "I think it's wisest if we all get some sleep and rest up. If we have multiple stake-outs in our future, we're going to want to be fresh." Willow glanced up at Giles' face and noticed for the first time that he looked totally exhausted. She realized that for the two nights they'd been back, he had slept in a chair in her room and beside her in bed, assuming he had slept at all. Both times he had woken up at dawn. And that didn't even factor in the jetlag. He must be a wreck. He was hiding it well.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Buffy nodded appreciatively. "Hey, Willow, did Dawn say you were practicing magic? I didn't expect you to be back at it so soon. Are you feeling better since last night?"

Willow nodded. "Yeah, I'm definitely achy, but not nearly as bad as I could have been. Giles had a good idea for me to start small, just like I did when I was first learning magic. I levitated a match."

Although she had been pleased with her accomplishment at the time, telling it to someone who hadn't been there made her feel kind of silly. What use would match-floating be in a fight with a demon necromancer?

Buffy saw her friend's face fall and knew that she had pressed Willow too hard the previous night. Xander was right. Willow needed a lot of time and support to heal, and the pressure of saving the world would not help. "Hey, baby steps. I'm proud of you," Buffy said as she hugged Willow tight.

Giles was impressed with Buffy in so many ways today. Her detective work with the demon had been extraordinary by itself, but her compassion and support of Willow was truly heartening. When Buffy disengaged from the hug, Xander caught her eye and gave her a warm smile of support and love. He knew how hard it was for Buffy to take the pressure off of Willow and leave the magic issue alone.

Dawn piped up for the first time in a while. "Well, this has all been fun, but if we're not going to go fight anything, I've got history homework." Buffy let out an involuntarily shudder remembering her high school history classes. Willow giggled.

"You good to get home, kiddo?" Buffy hugged Dawn.

"Sun's still out, it's a ten minute walk, my legs work…yup, I think I'm good."

"Alright, I'll be home later tonight. If you get hungry, no frozen pizzas. I'm still cleaning the oven from the last time," Buffy scolded her sister.

Dawn rolled her eyes as she gathered her stuff and made her way to the exit. "Yeah, yeah…" And with that, Dawn was out the door.

As Buffy, Giles, and Willow turned back from the door, they found Xander Harris with half a donut in his mouth and another whole one in his hand.

"What?!" he exclaimed with a full mouth.

Giles took off his glasses and began cleaning them as he shook his head and walked away. Buffy and Willow rolled their eyes in unison, resuming their earlier conversation about the demon. Willow hadn't had a chance to complete any research, but she did remember some bits about necromancers in her earlier studies. She and Buffy mulled over the possibilities as Willow pulled some reference texts off the shelf. Altogether, it took almost two hours to even make a dent in the research. Xander occasionally tried to join in, but his eyes kept glazing over. The only time he perked up was when they ordered a pizza, but afterward it was clear that he was ready to nod off.

Willow looked at Xander with pity and frustration. "Xander, how much sleep have you gotten this weekend?"

"It's not my fault," Xander cried defensively. "These work sites start opening up at sunrise, and I've been out prowling around with Buffy all night. It's not compatible with my delicate constitution!"

Buffy put her hand on top of Xander's. With just a pinch of scolding in her voice, Buffy looked Xander in the eyes. "Go home. We'll meet up again tomorrow after work to see about putting this cemetery recon plan into action. Go get some sleep."

Xander agreed and, offering a nod to Giles who was resetting a display before closing time, practically fled the shop to go get some much-needed rest. The last streaks of sun were disappearing behind the buildings as night fell on Sunnydale.

Buffy herself stifled a yawn, but promised Willow she would go to bed early tonight, too. "I just have to go check on Spike. I'm worried about him. Ever since he's been back, he's been…off. I don't know if I can help him, but I'm at least going to try to figure out what's wrong with him. Besides the having-a-soul thing, anyway."

Willow's natural empathy and helpfulness meant that she didn't take any issue with Buffy's concern for Spike, but Giles clucked disapprovingly.

"Buffy," he began, "I know that Spike doesn't pose a danger to you because of his chip, but it is still beyond me why you have poured so much of your time into him. I understand your history with Angel, but Spike is different."

For a second, Buffy blanched. She knew full well that Spike actually did pose a danger to her. She had never told Giles or Willow what Spike had tried to do to her in her own bathroom. Only Xander knew about it, and that was because he had found Buffy on the tile floor.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Buffy agreed with Giles for simplicity's sake. "I know. He probably doesn't deserve it. But he's fought alongside us and sacrificed for us. Maybe he's evil. I don't know. But he has a soul now. I'm going to try to help him if I can."

Willow reached out and squeezed Buffy's hand in support. Buffy returned the squeeze with a grateful smile.

"See you guys tomorrow for cemetery watch?" Buffy confirmed. Giles and Willow nodded, and Buffy grabbed her coat and headed for the door. "Night, you two."

"Night," Willow and Giles called.

Willow started to pack up as well, realizing that Giles probably needed sleep as bad as anyone right now. Even so, she found herself dawdling, hoping to take advantage of this time alone. To do what, she had no idea.

Giles himself was dragging his feet, too. He had finished the tasks necessary to prepare to close the store, but he didn't want Willow to leave. He had been mulling over his punishment idea since last night, and although he was terrified, he wanted to try it. Maybe it was insane, maybe it was totally selfish, maybe it was even dangerous, but the idea was like a virus. He couldn't get rid of it.

Willow stalked back to the training room to grab the bag she had left there earlier in the day. As she put her stuff back into the satchel, she heard the door close behind her. Then she heard the lock click.

She turned around, her voice uncertain. "Giles?"

Giles stood just inside the doorway. "Willow, did I ever tell you about what I was like after I dropped out of university?"

Willow grinned a little but became slightly uncomfortable by proxy. Giles had always been embarrassed of his rebellious days. The battle with Eyghon a few years ago had been really tough on him, and the gang had learned a lot more about the Watcher's lurid past than they had ever expected.

"You mentioned how you were pretty unruly. I mean, we found out about Eyghon and all that stuff. And we know you were called Ripper." She couldn't help but giggle at the nickname. It was just so ridiculous.

Giles stepped forward until he was just a few inches in front of her. "That's not everything." He walked around her in a slow circle, his hands clasped behind his back. His voice was low and smooth, betraying no emotion. He was a model of self-control.

"Oh?" Willow's question came out as a yelp.

"Indeed," Giles affirmed. He paused, committing to the path he had decided to take with Willow. "I spent a lot of time with women. Different women. They wanted someone to dominate them and I wanted someone to dominate. I told them what to do, when to do it, and they did it. Or else."

Willow was overwhelmed with this information. Why is Giles telling me this? Normally he would rather eat slugs than air his personal history in front of us. Why is he doing this?

"Or else?" Willow wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to that question, but she couldn't stop herself from asking it.

"Or else they would be punished." Giles came to stop in front of Willow, looking down into her face even though she refused to meet his eyes.

Willow's breath caught in her throat. She wasn't a total idiot. She knew about some of the things that people did in bed. But Giles?

"Punished?" She knew she sounded foolish asking these parroted questions, but her mind was spinning. It was all she could manage to get out.

"Oh, I would spank them or flog them or do other things to their bodies. Every mistake had a consequence."

"Why…" Willow asked as she began to find her voice, "why did they let you do these things to them? Why did they let you hit them? Are you telling me you used to beat up women?"

Giles shook his head emphatically. "I never laid a finger on any woman who didn't ask me to. It was never about anger. If a woman wanted me to stop, all she had to do was say so."

"So…why did they want you to hit them?"

Giles smiled a little. Willow's curiosity was kicking in. "Some of them simply liked the sensation. For some people, pain is very pleasurable, especially certain kinds of pain in certain circumstances. Although I don't have a particular love for doling out pain, it doesn't bother me to do so if the person enjoys it.

"But for some other people, it's the idea of giving up control that's alluring. They like to give their bodies to someone else. This was the arrangement that I always found most satisfying. There is nothing more precious than a woman's permission to do with her body what you want."

Willow's heart felt like it was going to pound out of her chest. Giles clearly had a motive for revealing this part of his past, but her mind was racing and she couldn't figure out how to respond.

Her breathing uneven, Willow asked, "Why are you telling me all of this?" She still kept her eyes cast down.

Giles slowly moved his hand up underneath Willow's chin, gently using his hooked forefinger to tilt her head up. She was trying not to meet his eyes, but he was patient. Eventually, she had nowhere else to look and made eye contact with him.

"Willow." Giles' voice was nearly a whisper. "I'm telling you because I think that you need to be punished. Not because you are bad and deserve it, but rather because you think you are bad and deserve it, and you can't get past these feelings unless you are actually punished." Giles pushed through his doubts, and said, "I am volunteering to be the one that does it."

Willow's eyes bulged as she understood what the Watcher was saying he wanted to do.

Giles paused, searching Willow's eyes to see if he could sense her feelings. She hadn't slapped him and called him disgusting. She hadn't run out the back door. She hadn't laughed in his face. Those were the reactions he had feared most. But he could feel the uncertainty coming off of her in waves.

"What would you do?" Willow asked, her voice barely audible.

Giles' voice rumbled, "I would tell you to walk over to that table, then I would tell you to bend over it. Then I would spank you." Having said the words, Giles knew it was up to Willow now. She would either assent or not.

"What happens if I don't want to do that?" Willow's familiar fear of getting in trouble was bubbling up now, mixed with fear of disappointing Giles. She had almost said, "Will you be mad if I don't?" but she stopped herself.

Giles moved his hand to cradle Willow's face fondly. "You can just tell me 'no', and I'll take you home, and we don't have to talk about it anymore. I will still help you practice your magic, if you want, and of course I will still be your friend." He had almost said, "If you can still stand to look at me after this," but he stopped himself.

Willow felt comforted by his words, but she still felt as though this decision, this single choice she was making right now, was a turning point in her life. She cared so deeply for Giles and she felt sick at the possibility of harming their friendship. At the same time, she found herself incredibly curious. The scientist in her wanted to try it to see if Giles' hypothesis was correct.

Without a word, Willow exhaled shakily and walked over to the table Giles had indicated. Looking down at its surface, Willow traced along the wood grain with her fingertip. Giles came to stand directly behind her.

"Willow, I need you to tell me that this is what you want to do. It needs to be very clear." Giles resisted the urge to reach out to her, stroke her hair, squeeze her waist, cup her breasts. He willed his hands to remain still.

Willow stared at the table in front of her, the battle continuing to rage in her mind. Mentally, she put her foot down. She was going to try it. She was tired of being scared.

"Giles, I would like to be punished." Remembering her manners, she added, "Please."

Giles felt as though his heart were going to beat out of his chest. He managed a soft, "Okay," and placed a tender hand on Willow's unbruised shoulder. Just as he had done a dozen times with Willow throughout her recovery, Giles breathed in and out slowly to remind Willow to do the same. She joined him, and together they completed the breathing exercise. Both felt clearer and calmer, despite the hum of excitement still buzzing between them.

"Place your feet half a meter apart. Bend forward and place your elbows on the table. Keep your legs straight. If at any point you wish me to stop, say the word 'stop'."

Willow did as she was told. She continued to breathe, hoping it would help her stay calm.

Giles reached out a shaking hand and paused. He needed to calm himself. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath. Opening his eyes, he could see his hand was steadier now. He grabbed the hem of Willow's skirt and hitched it up over her hips, revealing simple cotton underwear underneath.

Willow inhaled audibly and moved just a fraction of an inch before she stopped herself. She balled her hands up into fists and squeezed, trying to control her fear.

Giles gave Willow a moment to steady herself, a moment that he needed himself. Then, holding his breath, he delivered a blow to Willow's backside. She let out a tiny noise of surprise but didn't move. Giles' excitement threatened to overwhelm him, but he tamped it down and hit her again.

Willow pressed her lips together, trying to keep quiet. She had never been spanked before, not even when she was little, and the sensation was new and strange. The physical feeling, however, was secondary to the fact that Giles was the one administering it. Although they hadn't kissed or removed any clothing, this scene was unmistakably sexual. Willow had been dreaming of this for years, but she had neither expected it to happen in real life nor anticipated that it would take this form.

Giles struck her again, harder this time, and she let out an involuntary grunt. That sound, too, she thought, was unmistakably sexual. She could tell she was becoming aroused in spite of herself and wondered if Giles felt the same way. He let his hand fall again, then again, the blows coming in quicker succession. No single strike was particularly painful, but their cumulative effect was making Willow's ass sting uncomfortably.

When she realized that it was truly starting to hurt, she considered telling Giles to stop, but as soon as the thought occurred to her, a much louder voice inside her head nixed the idea. She didn't really want him to stop. She was no longer in control of the sounds she was making, and with each smack, she emitted a staccato moan. Her breathing was becoming irregular, her chest heaving.

Giles could see the skin on Willow's ass turning a darker and darker pink as he continued. He wanted to see her bare ass. He stopped striking her. The only sound was their ragged breathing.

"Willow, I want you to reach back and pull your underwear down."

Before she could stop herself, Willow asked shakily, "What?"

"You heard me."

Willow's eyes were wide, scanning side to side in sudden panic. Her body was frozen. She held her breath.

Giles' voice came to her, still very soft and calm, but with an edge to it this time. "I do not like to repeat myself."

Without giving a thought to what she was doing, Willow stood up, turned, and rushed past Giles. Tears began streaking down her face. Giles called her name but she didn't turn around. She pushed open the back door and practically ran away from the shop.

Once she had gotten a few blocks away, Willow burst into tears in earnest. She collapsed onto a park bench, wincing at the pain of sitting. She couldn't even identify what exactly was making her so upset. It's not that she was disinterested in Giles in that way. It wasn't even that she disliked the sensation of being spanked. She just felt overwhelmed. She panicked. She needed to leave.

Realizing that it probably wasn't smart to be out alone at night with a crazy necromancer demon running around, Willow stood up and started across the street. She felt a keen twinge of embarrassment at how hot her bottom felt and how it was already starting to feel sore as she walked home.

By the time she achieved the porch at the house, she had calmed down a little and at least wasn't crying anymore. She wiped her face to make sure she was presentable, then entered the house. Dawn's voice called groggily from the couch, "Buffy?"

"No, Dawnie, it's just me," Willow replied. "Buffy should be home soon, though. Why aren't you in bed? Don't you have to be up for school tomorrow?"

Willow heard the TV turn off and Dawn clomped into the front hall, draped in a blanket, her eyes barely open. "Fell asleep watching TV. Bed now." Dawn plodded up the stairs, and in a moment, was in her own bedroom.

Willow breathed a sigh of relief at being alone, making herself a cup of tea before retreating into her bedroom to mull over what had happened.


"Willow!" Giles called after the witch as she fled out the back door of the Magic Box. He took a few steps in pursuit of her, then stalked back, thinking better of it. After a moment, he started walking towards the door again, but again he changed course.

Leaning with his palms on the table on which Willow had been perched, he was rocked by a surge of disgust at himself and his actions. He shoved the table with all his might, sending it toppling into a weapons cabinet, shattering the glass doors.

"Giles, you're a bloody idiot!" he shouted at himself. He paced the room like a caged animal, so furious with himself that he could hardly think straight. All he could see was the look on Willow's face as she turned and ran away. Rage coursed through him. At that moment, he could have taken just about anyone in a fight, maybe even the Slayer.

He caught a glimpse of the clock and realized that it was getting late and Willow was walking home alone. She might not be safe. His rage blinked out of existence as he thought about Willow being in danger. Without hesitation, Giles grabbed his keys from his desk and prepared to go after her. The sight of Willow's bag and coat caught his eye. She hadn't grabbed them on her way out, obviously. He picked them up and locked up the shop as he left.

It only took Giles a minute or two to catch up with Willow, but he couldn't bring himself to approach her. I'll just stay close so that if anything should happen, I can look out for her. He kept his car at a distance, making sure he didn't attract her attention. Finally, she arrived home and went inside. Giles parked his car across from the house and breathed a sigh of relief.

He let his head fall forward and hid his face in his hands. He was certain, absolutely certain, that he had completely ruined his friendship with Willow. He had crossed a boundary by such a significant margin that he couldn't even see the line anymore. And he might have done real damage to her recovery. He could tell himself all he wanted that he was trying to help her, testing a theory, giving her what she needed, but those were excuses crafted by the most selfish and deviant parts of his brain. He felt physically ill.

He looked up at Willow's room and saw that her light was still on. He imagined she might not be very sleepy. He sighed pensively. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Buffy returning home. She looked to be in a foul mood and he hardly wanted to have to explain to her why he was sitting in his car outside her house in the middle of the night. He slunk down in the seat and hoped for the best. Fortunately, Buffy went straight in the house without even glancing his way.

After the hall light turned off, Giles grabbed Willow's things and brought them up to the porch. He neatly arranged them near the front door so that they would be easily discovered in the morning. When he got back in his car, he cast one last glance up at Willow's bedroom window, the light still shining, then started the car and drove away.