Chapter 10: Penetrated

"Giles?" Buffy called. The Slayer walked in the door of the Magic Box but found the store empty. The sign said "closed" but the front door was open. She stepped down from the front display area down onto the main floor but she still didn't spot her Watcher. "Giles?"

In the training room, Willow's whole body stiffened and her breath caught in her throat. Giles stood behind her, his left arm wrapped around her torso with his hand gripping her throat, while his right hand was thrust down the front of her unbuttoned pants. He was gently teasing her, stroking her everywhere but her clit.

"Shh," Giles whispered in her ear. "Say nothing. Make no sound. Do you understand?"

Willow almost responded aloud, then thought better of it. She nodded emphatically, twisting her head to make sure Giles understood her extreme discomfort at this situation. She expected him to pull away so that they could collect themselves and join Buffy in the main room of the shop. Instead, Giles acted like nothing was happening.

"I'm with Willow in the training room, Buffy," Giles called loudly. "We're practicing a dangerous spell so I've sequestered us back here as a precautionary measure. We'll be out momentarily, I assure you."

In the front of the shop, Buffy shrugged and called, "Okey dokey." She planted herself at the main table and took out her phone to kill some time.

After Giles and Willow were certain that Buffy wasn't going to try to come back there or inquire further, Giles began working on Willow in earnest. He kissed her neck softly, pressing his face into her hair to enjoy the scent of her shampoo. Willow's hands were bound behind her back, her palms pressed up against Giles' obvious erection. She had no room to maneuver, but was still doing her best to stimulate him as he teased her.

Finally, sensing that Willow's tension was reaching its high point, Giles directed his attention to her clit, his hand moving rapidly inside her jeans. Willow very nearly cried out, but a gentle squeeze from Giles' left hand reminded her to be quiet. Her body trembled, but her voice remained silent.

Soon, Willow's legs were shaking and Giles knew that she was close to orgasm. He took his fingers off her clit and pressed his mouth right up next to her ear.

"My dearest Willow, know that your orgasms belong to me. They are mine to give to you or mine to withhold. If you come, it is because I wish it." He moved his left hand from her throat up to caress her face. He turned her slightly towards him and kissed her heatedly. After a moment, he resumed his stimulation and brought Willow to a devastating orgasm. Her knees gave way, but he held her up. She had somehow managed to remain totally silent, an effort that pleased Giles immensely.

When she had recovered enough to stand, she turned to him and rubbed against the stiffness still evident in his pants. She met his eyes, desire and pity in her face, and mouthed, "You?"

Giles shook his head. Willow raised her eyebrows in a doubtful expression and cast a glance over toward the front of the shop where Buffy was waiting for them. With a sly smile, Willow dropped to her knees on the padded training room floor. Her hands were still bound behind her back. She looked up at Giles with her round eyes pleading. "Please?" she mouthed. She bit her lower lip.

That was more than Giles could stand. He undid his pants and freed his rigid cock. Willow immediately began tonguing it, taking the head into her mouth and working moisture down the shaft. She may not have played the field, but she knew how to make this feel good. She took more and more of his length into her mouth, swirling her tongue along the underside of the head to stimulate the most sensitive areas.

Giles' fingers found their way into Willow's hair and became tangled in her red tresses. He resisted the urge to fuck her mouth, but it was a challenge to contain himself. Regardless, he knew he would reach orgasm any second. Seeing how readily she got to her knees, how she didn't hesitate even for a second before swallowing his cock, how she begged him to let her get him off…he felt a building pressure and he knew he was going to come. He let out a hoarse whisper, hardly even audible in the silent room. "Willow, I'm –" Before he could even finish his sentence, he was shooting cum down her throat, an incredible orgasm that left him completely breathless.

Willow swallowed every drop and, when he was done, did her best to clean him off. Then she, too, was left breathing heavy, kneeling on the floor and trying to recover from the encounter. After Giles collected his faculties, he buttoned his pants back up and helped Willow to her feet. Freeing her hands, he also buttoned her jeans and did his best to smooth out her hair, which he had rather mussed up during their tryst. She smiled warmly, enjoying his attentive care. Reaching up with her hands on his face, she pulled him into a sweet kiss. Then, loud enough for the whole city block to hear, she said, "Thanks, Giles. I feel much better about that spell now."

As she turned, Giles gave her bottom a single light smack, causing her to yelp as she opened the door to the main room of The Magic Box.

"You alright, Wil?" Buffy asked, worried.

Willow coughed. "Oh, yeah, just got a static zap from that doorknob. Eek!" Willow grinned foolishly and hoped Buffy couldn't tell that anything untoward had happened. "No Dawn?"

"Sleepover," Buffy replied. "The best free babysitting is the one that she thinks is a treat."

Keeping his distance behind the witch, Giles exited the training room and went straight to the counter to make some tea. His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest, and he needed to calm down before he spoke to Buffy.

"So," Willow segued, "are we going after big beastie tonight?"

"That's the plan," Buffy confirmed, then added hastily, "that is, if you're up for it."

Willow smiled, "You bet. I've been working on my spells and I think I have something for us tonight."

The bell at the storefront jingled and Xander strode in. He took a seat at the table next to Willow and nodded to her and Buffy, not wanting to interrupt the conversation. He noticed Willow seemed calm and content, the first time he'd seen her like that since she got back. In his head, he did the Snoopy dance.

"See, the Gaarvoth demon isn't that physically strong," Willow explained, "or, at least not super-duper strong like a lot of other demons. His power is magical, and he uses it to raise the dead."

"So if I was fighting this guy one-on-one, I could take him," Buffy concluded.

"Yeah, at least, that's what the books say," Willow agreed. "The problem is, you never get him one-on-one. His strategy is to surround himself with dead guys-"

"And dead girls," Xander offered, remembering his zombie battle from two nights prior.

Willow rolled her eyes and amended her statement, "Yes, dead guys and dead girls. So he's not going to let you fight him solo."

Buffy huffed. "Alright, so what's the play? You said you have a spell in mind?"

Xander leaned in with both curiosity and concern.

"Yeah, so I'm not exactly battle-ready, and I know that," Willow admitted, "but I think I can disrupt the Gaarvoth's ability to make more dead minions. If I can make it so he can't bring zombies into the fight, you might be able to take him out."

Giles walked over and placed a tray of tea cups on the table, then sat across from Willow. Xander asked, "Wil, you're sure that this is a good idea? That locator spell didn't exactly seem dangerous until you were one with the wall over there."

"I know," Willow replied, "and I still have the bruises. Trust me, I'm aware that this could go really wrong. Any spell could go really wrong. But I've been practicing and meditating and I even saw my therapist today. I feel good, really." She reached over and squeezed Xander's hand in reassurance.

Giles added, "Willow has been training with me for the last few days as well. She's really quite the remarkable student." Giles held Willow's gaze for an instant, a moment of heat passing between them unseen by the others.

"Well yeah," Xander exclaimed, "Willow's been the best student in California since, I don't know, birth. I'm not worried about her knowledge or her skills. I'm worried that it's too early."

Buffy, wanting to show a united front, joined in. "Yeah, Wil, I'm with Xander. If this is too soon, if it's too much, then don't do it."

Willow's mouth quirked into a lopsided grin. "Guys, I appreciate the concern. Seriously, I do. But I really think I can do it. Let me try."

All three of them looked at Giles as the arbiter of the plan. He raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "If Willow says she's ready, we should trust her."

Buffy nodded decisively. "Okay, let's get this guy. What do you need?"


An hour later, the gang was tromping through the cemetery on the eastern side of town, hoping that the Gaarvoth would appear there as he had several nights over the past week or two.

Buffy, armed with a battle-axe, led the team, followed by Xander with a baseball bat and Giles with his trusty mace. Willow, unarmed except for her magic accoutrements, stood in the middle of the three others, trying to feel for any magical activity in the area.

"Buffy," she said, "head a little left. There's…something. It might not be our guy, but this is the best I can do without blowing myself up with a locator spell."

"Got it," Buffy acknowledged, and shifted her path accordingly.

If they hadn't been hunting for a demon, the night might have actually qualified as peaceful. The full moon cast a bright white glow over everything, and the trees had just started shedding some of their leaves in anticipation of true autumn. There was hardly any wind, and the temperatures were cool but not unpleasantly so. Willow idly wondered if Oz had changed tonight or not, then pushed the musings out of her head so she could focus on the task at hand.

Buffy stopped suddenly, and the others followed suit. She turned around to make eye contact with the rest of the gang, then tilted her head to indicate a direction. Buffy led the crew to a large sarcophagus that they could duck behind, which they did.

In a whisper, Buffy laid out the plan. "Okay, I think I see our guy on the other side of the path over there. He has a zombie or two with him already and looks like he's in the middle of doing another ritual. Xander, Giles, and I are going to surround him and the zombies. Giles and Xander, you keep the zombies off me. I'm going to take out the necromancer. Willow, can you disrupt his magic from this distance?"

Willow scrunched up her mouth. "I don't know. I might have to be closer."

Buffy nodded. "Okay, try from here, but move in only if you need to. Try to stay hidden."

Willow nodded. Buffy looked around her to make sure everyone understood the plan, then said, "Let's go."

Buffy and Xander crept from behind the sarcophagus and split up to flank the demon. Giles, after he was sure they were gone, leaned over and kissed Willow passionately. "Don't get hurt," he whispered to her.

"You either," she said, her expression serious. And with that, Giles snuck away to join the other two.

Willow began the spell to interfere with the demon's magic. She kept her voice to a whisper and chanted. The magic was working fine, but the affected area wasn't large enough. She needed to move closer for her spell to reach the demon. The Gaarvoth was standing in a circle of candles, wearing a hooded robe and chanting. He was already trying to raise another body.

Sneaking around the sarcophagus, Willow crept over to a large oak tree only ten or so yards from the fight that was now in progress. She would have to work quickly to prevent the necromancer from raising any additional help. Resuming her chanting and drawing power from within, Willow cast the disruption spell to immediate effect.

The Gaarvoth bellowed in rage, casting off his hood and revealing a horrifying bovine-human hybrid. Horns curved forward from his enormous cow-like head. He looked vaguely minotaur-esque, but it wasn't just a bull head on a human body; the torso wasn't quite human, and his legs didn't look right. The overall impression was deeply unsettling, and the Gaarvoth's rage only added to the effect. The narrow nostrils flared as he reeled to face Buffy. Xander and Giles were holding their own with the zombies, who were slow and stupid, but they had their hands full. Buffy was facing the demon alone. The Gaarvoth may not have super strength, but he was nearly seven feet tall and unbelievably creepy-looking.

Willow continued to chant, doing her best to focus on the spell rather than the fight. The Gaarvoth was taking a beating from the Slayer, but managed to land a serious blow that sent Buffy backwards into a headstone. She landed with her spine bent up over the gravestone, then rolled over onto her knees, clearly dazed. The Gaarvoth turned around and started walking towards the tree where Willow was hiding.

Caught up in her magic, Willow didn't see the demon coming. Buffy, still trying to stand after getting the wind knocked out of her, managed to groan, "Wil!" which got the witch's attention. Willow peered around the tree to find the Gaarvoth only feet away and closing fast. She stood and faced the demon, backing up as quickly as she could while still chanting.

"Face me, you cloven-hooved pillock!" Giles stepped between the Gaarvoth and Willow. The demon glanced from Willow to Giles, then dove for Giles. The Watcher dodged, but the demon was fast. As Giles brought his mace up to strike a blow, the necromancer fell to all fours and lunged at him, spearing him in the abdomen with a horn.

Giles cried out, crumpling to the ground as the Gaarvoth again stood and resumed his pursuit of Willow. The witch screamed, "Giles!" and wanted more than anything to run to him, but the Gaarvoth was coming for her. Instinctively, she raised a barrier spell as she had with the zombies the night before. The Gaarvoth walked right through it.

"Oh, shit," Willow uttered. She was out of ideas and the demon was here.

"Hey, dickhead," the Slayer called.

The demon whirled, and as he did so, Buffy parted him from his giant head. The head landed with a deep thud on the ground, and Buffy nodded as if she were checking an item off of her to-do list.

Together, Buffy and Willow said, "Giles."

They ran over to where the Watcher lay, his abdomen bleeding freely. Willow took out her phone and called for an ambulance. Xander trotted over, calling "Hey, did you guys see how I killed two zombies by myself? Two of 'em!" When he got closer, he saw Giles bleeding on the ground. "Oh, Jesus," he muttered.

Buffy tore off the sleeve of her sweatshirt and pressed it into Giles' stomach. He groaned loudly, writhing in pain. "Giles," the Slayer told him sternly, "you are going to be okay. I know it hurts. But we're going to get you to the hospital and you're going to be okay."

"Xander," Willow called, "the ambulance crew is on their way but they will need someone to guide them from the entrance of the cemetery to where we are."

"On it." And with that, Xander was sprinting to the cemetery gates.

Willow dropped to her knees in anguish, kneeling at Giles' side. She grabbed his hand in both of hers. She wanted to admonish him for getting hurt when she told him not to. She wanted to tell him that he wasn't allowed to die because they had just started something brand new so he couldn't leave yet. She wanted to tell him she had loved him every day that she had known him. But the words wouldn't come, so she held his hand and silently pleaded with any higher being that might be listening.

The approaching wail of sirens shook Willow out of her prayer. She stood up and waved her arms in the air frantically, signaling the paramedics. Buffy made up a story about them being mugged which was entirely implausible, but thankfully, first responders in Sunnydale had seen just about everything and they chose not to question it. After assessing Giles' condition, they put him on a stretcher and loaded him into the ambulance.

"I'm coming," Buffy asserted.

"Are you family?" one of the paramedics asked.

Buffy stared him down with fire in her eyes.

"Get in," the EMT assented.

"Meet us at the hospital!" Buffy called to Willow and Xander.

The pair ran to Xander's car and began the drive across town to Sunnydale Memorial. Driving ten miles per hour over the speed limit, Xander's nervous chatter filled the air in the car.

"And you know, Giles is a fighter. I know he's basically ancient and he doesn't have Slayer healing powers, but he's tough. You remember how he bounced back from that time Angelus tortured him a bunch, and all the other times he's gotten hurt. He can take it. They're going to patch him up and have him back to not laughing at my jokes in no time." Xander's knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel.

Willow, having tried and failed at affecting stoicism, burst into tears. She collapsed against the passenger door and wept.

Xander urged, "Oh god, Willow, please don't fall apart, it's going to be okay, really, it is. Giles is going to be okay."

Through her sobs, Willow cried, "How do you know that? How do you know that he'll even make it to the hospital? How do you know he's not dead already in the ambulance?" Her bawling was making her wheeze and cough.

"Wil," Xander soothed her, "we can't think like that. I know this is scary but we have to be positive."

Willow buried her face in her hands and whimpered, "Why is this happening now? Why…we just…he finally…why is this happening?"

Xander furrowed his brow. "He finally what?"

Willow lifted her head up. "Huh?" She sniffled loudly.

"Just now, you started to say that 'he finally' did something."

"Nothing, Xander. Forget it. Please just get us to the hospital."

Xander sighed but said nothing. He wondered if something was going on that he didn't understand, but now was not the time for investigations. He sped up, determined to get to the hospital as the ambulance arrived.