The blonde's head perked up, 'Foundation' (?!). How much more was there to know? ...

At completion of these cautious words, Giles, leaned forward and looked deep into the Slayers blue eyes. "Your life and Faith's were very much different, Buffy. But you both still carried the baggage of betrayal, lost trust and inner pain. Now I do not know much about your life prior to you being Called. But I know this beyond any shadow of doubt; your mother loved you very much. And whatever alienation you felt from her at the time was not so. She loved you and Dawn with all her heart, and in her eyes there was little to nothing either of you could have done that she would ever be ashamed of. When you became a Slayer, she was dealing with a lot of personal stress. She had just discovered her husband, your father, had been having a four year affair with his legal secretary. And as a result she herself was quite possibly feeling unloved and unappreciated. It is likely, given how close your relationship to her was, that you picked up on these queues and replicated these same emotions upon yourself. But do not think for a single moment, Buffy, that even at her lowest point she wouldn't have taken a thousand bullet's for you or your sister."

Buffy sombrely shook her head against her Mentor's reassurances, grateful that he had just addressed the 'elephant in the room'. Even though a tiny part of her was resenting the fact that Giles was commenting upon her mother's supposed history and state-of-mind. She was, after all, *her* mother. But ever since Lady Croft had told her about how the Spirit chose its Host's, she had been thinking a lot about her own mental and emotional state back then. And as easy as it would have been to accept Giles kind gesture and not hold either her mother, or for that matter herself accountable, she knew this would be nothing but self-delusion.

"Thanks for saying all that, Giles. But what I was feeling back then wasn't either fake or imagined. Yeah, my mom and dad were fighting a lot. And yeah, Mom discovering that Dad had been having an Affair with 'Cindy' was more then a pretty big deal for both her and me at the time. Their Marriage Councillor had told them about the importance of getting these things out in the open, and boy did they do just that. I remember coming home early one day to hear my dad shout at her, not knowing I was already home from my Cheer Practice yet, that ever since mom had me she hadn't wanted to fool around with him as much any more. He had yelled out that I had made her … frigid. Can you believe that crap? My creepo-dad was trying to justify his Affair by blaming it all on her and me. That we … that *I* had forced him into it!

"The fact that Cindy was 24, a red-head, a yoga fanatic with a sugar-daddy-complex was just an unbelievable coincidence. But by his slanted justification, he said he would never have even looked at Cindy twice if mom had been givin'-him-some in the bedroom. Sure, I can now look back on that shouting-match and cut holes in his argument every which way. But back then? I was 16 going on 4, Giles. What the hell did I know? I was just a self-absorbed kid. In my mind all that he was saying all made a bit of sense to me. But then again, dad being a Lawyer and all, he was used to making argument's and presenting the most outlandish theories and having it all sound plausible. My mom and dad were heading to Divorce Court and it was my fault. All because I happened to have been born. Any self-pity, Giles, wasn't delusional. It was very much real."

Giles remained silent for a moment, allowing these words and the emotional weight they carried to settle. The ticking of the Grandfather Clock in the corner of the room seemingly increasing in volume with every drawn out second. Eventually the Englishman drew himself back to the original topic of their side-line as he didn't feel comfortable pursuing Buffy traumatic childhood any further. "Yes, well, at any rate, Buffy, the Spirit would have probably exposed you to a lot of personal memories that would have made you a little bit more pliable and in a better frame of mind to say 'yes' to it's proposal of co-habitation."

Softly and with a sad-chuckle she offered her former-Watcher a reply. "Are you saying that on top of everything I was *tricked* into an agreement? Conned by something that wouldn't have had the IQ to figure out how to use a hair dryer?"

Giles shock his head. "I wouldn't exactly say 'tricked or conned', Buffy. The images and pro-arguments would have all been yours. It was *your* mind after all. Not hers. The First Slayer would have had no authority within its realm. As you well know from your past dealing with her whenever you have had to retreat into your own consciousness, she is only a presence. Not an influence."

As much as she hated to admit it, especially now, Buffy had to agree to this point. "So basically, what you're saying is I ended up talking myself into ruining my own life?"

Giles drew his tea cup to his lips and took a small sip before he answered her question. "I wouldn't have used the word 'ruined' either. But yes. Your 16-year-old-mind would have argued the pros and the cons towards accepting such an arrangement. And obviously, you did. But who could really blame you? At the time you were feeling … powerless, and here you were being offered power. Not only power but also a purpose in this life. What youngster that age hasn't wished for such a thing at one time or another? Superior Strength. Speed. Agility. Fighting ability. Rapid Healing. A sixth sense to detect the unnatural. Plus being part of a grand destiny. One that singled you out from a mass of other girl's your age. I'm sure it would have been all very flattering. The pluses of this deal, Buffy, would have easily outweighed the few negatives that accompanied it. It just so happened that these negatives, though less in number, also carried with them a greater burden. But then again that's 16 for you. At that age you have a tendency of living solely in the 'now'. Not for tomorrow or the next day, or the day after the next day. The whole fighting until you get killed or dying some horrid death wouldn't even have factored into your decision process. Why? Because when you're that age, people always have a belief that they are invulnerable to harm. And that if anything bad was to happen, then it would happen to the other person, not to you."

"Well that kinda sucks."

A wry and sad smile graced the male's lips. "I never said it was fair, Buffy. Just that you would have agreed to it all."

The Slayer raked her fingers through her long golden hair. "But this … this Slayer thing is a Curse. Not a Contract."

Giles returned his teacup to its saucer. "I'm curious; do you call it a curse because Lady Croft says as much? Now do not misunderstand me, her background and various experiences make her quite the formidable resource, I mean she is not some rich-crack-pot-eccentric. But I have dedicated the earlier part of my life into trying to unravel the mysteries of the Slayer Line. Identifying and justifying the bond that exists between both Slayer and Host and Host and Lover. So understand, Buffy, I am not some inept simpleton on this subject. And I was also *your* Watcher for several years."

The Head Watcher leaned back in his chair and made an appraising look at his former charge, offering her the impression that he was a Headmaster of some distinguished School and he was now in the midst of explaining to her why he was about to expel her from said school. "A Curse, Buffy, is a punishment for a perceived wrong that is committed. Prior to you becoming the Slayer, what wrong did you ever do to make you think you 'deserved' what you have experienced over the last ten years? Shoplift a few gaudy bracelets when you were 11 or 12? Make amusing jokes at the expense of your School's Cafeteria Staff or maybe its Substitute Teacher's?"

The Slayer steeled herself, struggling to hold onto what small part of her anger that still existed. Over the past week she had discovered that not only her 'family' been keeping secrets from her about Xander, but she had discovered that the pseudo father-figure in that family had been keeping the biggest secret of all from her. One that centred on her not being able to live a normal-life. Her indignation was a righteous one and she refused to have it lessened due to any sense of embarrassment. "I wasn't the one Cursed, Giles. That was the First Slayer, not me. At least … at least that's what Croft believed. And you know what? I believe her."

Giles closed his eyes for a moment and pondered her reply. "Yes, I suppose in that regard you might believe her words given the cruelty of the spell's invocation. The First Slayer was undoubtedly mistreated by those who had cast the Original Enchantment. But again, I ask you, what wrong did she perpetrate on them for her to be 'Cursed'?"

Giles allowed his question to linger in silence in order for it to gain its full effect before continuing. "In their unenlightened minds she was probably seen as just a weapon, a tool to be used at their convenience. The First Slayer wasn't a person, Buffy, just some 'thing'. An object. A female with the freakish ability to be able to fight these assorted creatures on equal footing. To these … 'Holy Men', she was nothing more then a resource. Just as *you* were seen as a resource by the earlier Council. To them, the First Slayer … a wild-woman … she would be considered not even worthy of the negativity that casting a curse would entail.

"You and Lady Croft call it a curse because of the harsh and often disastrous impact it has had on many girl's lives. But as you have seen with other girl's … other Slayer's … Faith, Kendra, Sara, Michelle, Kennedy, and so on … they have all revelled in their calling. Looking at the Slayer Destiny as something they felt blessed to participate in. There are always two-sides to every story, and each side has a hundred different perspectives."

The Blonde-Slayer remained silent so the Watcher pushed his point. "Buffy you recall your last month in Sunnydale don't you? You remember when your consciousness got sent back to the moment this … Curse of yours was enacted?"

"Of coarse I do. The First Slayer was being held against her will and these creepy guys were doing a ritual around her."

"I remember you telling me of this in great detail. I also remember you stating that these 'creepy-guys' were presenting themselves to you with a very calm demeanour."

"Yeah. To them the First … she … she was less then nothing. She was *only* a female and therefore they thought that she, as well as her future vessels, would be able to be controlled by the male population."

Giles knew that in reminding Buffy of this brief encounter that he had just crossed a dangerous line with his ex-Slayer. But he saw an opportunity. One that in subjecting her to this unpopular mode of previous 'controllers' of the Slayer that it would better establish his own credibility later on as being a Watcher who had set himself apart from the usual Dogma of the Establishment. "That is right. But there was no malice on their part, was there? This was a simple a means to an end. One life for thousands, or presently, one life for several billion."

Buffy looked to the thick carpeted floor. Not out of embarrassment or anger, but because once more Giles was right. And he had used her own past words against her.

"It is like if I was to enchant this … this disposable pen lying before me." Giles then picked up the ink pen in question, one Buffy had been twirling around her fingers fifteen minutes earlier. "I don't care about it one way or another. It isn't an heirloom or a gift, it represents no prominent historical moment in my life. It is just a pen. If it runs out of ink I could throw it in the trash and select another from one of my draws or from the stationary cupboard in the outer office and not think twice about it. But what if … what if I was to place some enchantment on it? A spell that would ensure this irrelevant object never ran dry of ink ever again? Only then, Buffy, would this pen hold any true value. The Holy Men that condemned the First Slayer, in a sad and twisted reflection of this pen-scenario, sincerely thought that what they were doing was probably helping in giving, in a very skewed way of course, the First Slayer life a purpose and therefore a greater value. How their decision would impact upon your life, as well as the undoubtedly tens of thousand girls that proceeded you, would never have factored into their collective thought's at the time. They were giving the First Slayer the opportunity to follow her quest to its completion."

Buffy felt incensed. "You're comparing my crappy life and what they did to the First Slayer to a reusable pen?! A pen!"

"No, I'm not, Buffy. For goodness sake. I told you that it was an innocent comparison, not a legitimate one. The sacrifices you have made over the last 10-years would be beyond many, if not a majority of people living today. My pen reference is merely an effort on my part to illustrate how these Holy Men may have looked upon the First Slayer. An individual that they were trying, in their own misbegotten way, to help. To help her and in a distorted fashion also help and serve themselves."

The Slayer slumped back in her chair, mumbling out a reply slightly louder then she had intended. "That still doesn't make it sound any better, Giles." Buffy then straightened up in her chair and stared across the table at her former mentor. "Lara said there was a legend of a Warrior Woman in Africa. A female warrior's life that had amazing parallels to what we think we already know about the First Slayer."

The Englishman shrugged his shoulders with indifference. "The further back in time you go, Buffy, the more stories and tales you'll find which overlap one another. Legends and Myths from one culture bleed into, or become adopted, by another. With only slight variations made in order to help enforce each 'legitimate ownership' of these tales. What story was Lady Croft alluring too specifically?"

Buffy chewed her inner lip in contemplation, every part of her wanted to ask Giles about the validity of Croft's idea to a Slayer-Amazon Connection. But this was a compulsion, made more out of habit then need. "Lara told me and Dawn the other night about an African story where a group of Witch Doctor's tried to save this 'girl' after she was attacked really bad by some beastie. But when it became clear to them she was a goner despite all their best efforts to heal her they gathered together and discussed what they were going to do. They were afraid that if she died then all the monsters and demons that had always been a problem in their respective territories would grow in number and kill them all. So in the end they did some major-voodoo, making it so that her Spirit would leap frog from one girl to another. Doing battle with these things until the end of time."

Giles leaned forward with razor intent clear upon his face. "Lady Croft told you this? Last night?"

"Umm yeah." Buffy automatically answered, surprised at the sudden sharpness of her former-Watcher's response to her narrative. "It was just a story though. Something she had heard about in her travels abroad I think. Probably just nonsense anyway. She was trying to have a bonding moment with me and Dawn and told it to us as a bit of a lark. It was right after dinner, just before she then had told us that one of her ancestor's had been a Watcher themselves. I think she was trying to get us to trust her. Why do you ask?"

Giles eyes became suspicious at Buffy's long-winded disclosure … but … satisfied just the same for the explanation. Leaning back in his high-back leather chair and steepling his finger's together like some James Bond-Villain he answered, the volume and tone of his voice gentle and cautious. "Several months ago, Xander, contacted me. I remember it quite clearly because it was 3 in the morning. Usually when we corresponded with one another we did so at an allotted time, a time that allowed me to set a half-hour free in my diary for us to catch-up and engage in personal back-and-forth. You know: How he was, what he's been up to. Silly 'father/son' things really. Anyway, he was very excited over a story he had been told by a Tribal Elder earlier that evening.

"But Xander didn't wish to place anything down in his Monthly Report to me because he had been disappointed many times before and he did not wish to go on 'Record' unless he had something more definitive and concrete. To that end he said that he wanted to confirm some of the specific details with another source. But he was quite cagey over who that source was. I offered him some of our own Researcher's here, but after how royally two of them screwed up the Tra'ka'pein Translation last June, he was understandably hesitant in putting his hopes in their hands again … at least until, as he said, 'The Hellmouth rose up and then froze over.'

"Anyway, during that 20-minute discussion he imparted to me a long forgotten and rarely heard African Myth. Reciting it word-for-word as it was imparted to him. In a nutshell, Buffy, his story was also about a lone warrior girl from a race of women. A girl who was condemned to fight unnatural beasts and creatures. Existing from one form and passing into another until the ending of the World. At the end of our conversation he announced that he almost 99-percent certain they were talking about the First Slayer. And I had to admit, I was also very excited because I too also saw the similarities between what we knew from your experience and what was told to him. But as I said, he wanted to confirm aspects of this story with another source." Giles sighed and sounded almost defeated as he continued on. "Sometimes, Buffy, that 1 percent can make all the difference between something being accurate and something being false. The Tra'ka'pein Incident last year is a perfect example of what I mean. All it took was one poorly deciphered noun and Xander nearly had his tongue ripped out for the affront it caused the Demon-Chief's eldest daughter.

"Anyway, Xander chose to delegate this task to someone he said had more experience in background research then him. Someone who would not allow their emotions and excitement to cloud either fact or reason to proving the story true. Unfortunately, Xander, never did get back to me as he had promised. As such I assumed his investigations, as well as the independent investigations of his colleague had met an inconclusive dead end. But it just goes to show you, Buffy that not all the intelligence Lady Croft has supplied you with can be counted on as reliable. Now I am not saying that she has intentionally misled you, her errors could very much be genuine. Just as Xander's obviously were. I am just asking you to place a little bit more faith in me and him then with her."

Buffy remained silent. Deliberating in her mind over what Giles had just said. If it was true that Xander himself hadn't found any juice to support this myth then she could probably take from this that Croft's Amazon-Angle was nothing but a healthy dose of steaming crap-olla. But still, if you're going to be served a steaming dose of crap-olla to people, you'll need a plate. And the Tomb Raider had that. A plate that was close to two-and-a half-thousand years old. A Plate, Xander or the Watcher's Council, didn't have or were even aware existed.

Poor Xander. Three years of searching, of risking his life pursing even the smallest piece of evidence of the First Slayer's existence. And all the proof he needed was never even in Africa. But in some aristocrat's private vault right back here in England. Buffy, felt a wave of melancholy consume her over her Xander-Shaped-Friend's plight. If it wasn't for bad-luck, she doubted if Xander would have any luck at all. And if she, Lara, and Dawn found out the truth of the Slayer Origin's after less then a month on the case, how would he feel about that?

He had left for South Africa three-years ago with the intent of making this discovery all on his own, with no help from anyone. If she and Dawn humiliated him like that she'd doubt he'd ever recover. And despite all these confusing emotions that had now been stirred up within her for the guy, the absolute last things she'd ever want to do was steal this glory right from under him. He'd been doing such incredible and amazing things in Africa, and every bit of it was centralised on his Myth Busting Search of the First Slayer Origin's.

Inwardly, Buffy, deflated. She had wronged him in so many ways, without even knowing that she had been. She could not be a willing party to this blotch on his Council Record and she knew that her little sister would feel the same way. Yesterday morning, when Dawn had asked Croft if she would consider including Xander in this expedition, she felt relieved when the Tomb Raider coyly answered that she had arranged for all the man-power they would need and that their Guide was someone they would be able to trust and rely upon. At the time, Buffy was silently grateful that the Raider had rebuffed her sister's suggestion. Grateful because of the purely selfish reason of her not knowing whether or not she could have coped with having to spend an extended period of time with the guy's whose friendship she had all but abandoned three-years earlier. The same guy she was finding herself thinking more and more about in a more then friendly-type-way.

But after one night of wallowing in her confusing-misery, consuming two tubs of Strawberry-Ripple Ice Cream, as well as watching 'Troy' twice on her Hotel Pay-per-View Channel. She was now feeling quite ... emboldened. Dawn was right, Xander, more then anyone deserved to be part of this discovery, despite how awkward it would make her at seeing him again. With this in mind, the Slayer decided that when next she saw Lara, which would be tomorrow, she would demand from the English Beauty that she take her sister's request seriously and find some role in her expedition for a certain one-eyed carpenter. Either that or she wouldn't go. And if she didn't go then Lara wouldn't be able to use her 'Slayer Memories' to find and backtrack any familiar landmarks that might allow them trace all the way to the remnants of Amazon Village. Croft needed her, plain and simple. And though Dawn would be horrified that she was holding her future with the Tomb Raider to ransom, she also knew that for Xander her little sister would happily abandon that future in a heartbeat. She just prayed that Xander would be able to join them and that he wouldn't feel overshadowed or intimidated by the gorgeous adventurer like she was.

Buffy continued to ponder her strategy of blackmail and judging it's overall success as Giles continued to droll on about Watcher resources being unparallel. Croft was far from being a pushover, she knew that much for sure from the brief time she had spent in her company. And the last thing in the world she would want to do would be to sour any chance Dawn had in getting in tight with her 'Mentor'. Hell, deep down, Buffy had to admit that there was even something … admirable … about her. Obviously, the Tomb Raider didn't much care what people thought about her but that she would prefer it if what they thought of her came with a friendly-slant. As far as Buffy was concerned, Lara had earned her friendship and admiration the moment she revealed to her the whole 'True Love' thing. Big deal if she may have gotten one little folktale wrong. Dawn still trusted her, and everything else she had shared with both of them seemed to have panned out so far. Besides, all she had to go on that Lara was even in the wrong with everything was Giles word of honour. And yes, clearly it also went a long way that Xander himself had also heard of a simular legend. Because this meant that Croft wasn't half-arsing anything and that she had been seriously looking under nearly every rock available to her.

As Buffy finished this thought, a new one arose. One that gave her a very prickly sensation on the back of her neck, something that from her past experience, was never 'of the good'. That 'new thought' was towards both Croft and Xander. Africa was a mondo-big place, but for the past three-years, if the 'Xander-Files' she had read just a few days ago could be taken seriously, Xan had been chasing down any and every story that could possibly be linked to the First Slayer. Meaning that he had made himself a pretty big fish in a small pond where tales of lone-slayer-girls were concerned. If Lara and Xander were both looking under the same kind of rocks, then the real question would be how it is the two of them hadn't crossed one another's path? If Lara was asking some of the same kind of people the same questions that Xander was, how was it that she hadn't even heard of his name in passing? Surely people would have referred her to him the moment she had started her enquiries …

Mentally, Buffy shook her head. More and more questions. But certainly questions that can be pondered at another time. Her ex-Mentor had just finished praising the new Council Library and she couldn't bear any further self-congratulating, so she decided to bring him down to Earth … hard.

"Giles, Croft has been more direct and honest with me in the one evening I knew her then you have been my entire life. So I can forgive her if she got one or two small things wrong. Because at least with her I can count that these mistakes may have been genuine and not 'calculated', unlike some others I can name right about now."

"Buffy ….*"

Buffy didn't want to hear Giles soft spoken excuses, but even more then that she wanted to put the Croft-issue to bed quickly. "*Earlier, you referred to my agreement with the Slayer Spirit as a Binding Contract. But I don't recall signing anything."

Giles allowed himself to be caught off-guard by the query. "Seriously? After a decade of education in Supernatural Lore, that's what you cling too? Of course there wasn't any signature needed. It was an agreement of intention and acceptance, Buffy. A pact between all the parties involved. You, the Spirit and of course your Lover."

At the last word, Buffy's, eyes bulged out of her sockets. "Hold the phone, are you saying that at the time I was agreeing to all this imposed misery. My 'Lover' … who ever that is, would have been agreeing to all of it as well?"

Giles offered his former Slayer a non-committal shrug. "If an agreement was made with you, then that same agreement would extend to them as an 'Interested Second-Party'."

If Buffy didn't feel guilty about how she had treated Xander in the past before, she certainly did so now. With all those years of rubbing it in his face that *she* was the one chosen by fate. Only to now discover that when she had given the thumbs up to the Spirit, she had also inadvertently roped Xander into her cursed life as well. "That is so wrong."

"How so?"

"Because … well … because it is, Giles!"

"Please understand, Buffy, that the supernatural world is not how it is generally portrayed in fiction or the movies. It is not one that operates in chaos. *Ours* is the one that operates in chaos. Theirs is actually quite orderly. Theirs is one of checks and balances. There is a good reason why the Three Demon Lords of the Neither Realm use the Law Firm of 'Wolfram & Hart' as their front here on Earth. Law and Rules are their bread and butter. The Supernatural World, Buffy, is governed by a strange stability that we, as humans, can only aspire to possessing one day ourselves. Any Agreement made with you, would have also have had to include your Lover as well, if only on a smaller and milder way then yourself."

"B...but how?"

"It truly would not have been so difficult. The conditions of this … 'Curse', as you refer to it, are quite specific. Your 'freedom' hinges very much on their participation. It … it truly is an odd and unique change of fundamental's. Quite amusing really. Typically it's the female who yearns for her Prince Charming and it's the male's lone desire to become a great warrior or hero. But in this instance these roles are reversed. With the girl wishing to become an impressive fighter and defender and the boy wishing to find and know true love."

"But I don't …?"

"As I stated to you earlier, Buffy, every culture, every legend, says that there is always one perfect partner for another. An ideal match in every sense of the word. Those bonds truly do exist. We cannot see them of course, they are … ethereal. But they are, none the less, there. From birth to grave, they all exist within us. And it is these bonds that govern our attraction and preference to others. Why some of us prefer redheads over blondes. Shapely figures to athletic ones. Maturity over … playfulness. The various combinations that exist are astounding, Buffy. Most people end up having to 'settle'. So what if out of a hundred a boyfriend or girlfriend only matches, at most, 80-target-points to what they're looking for? Generally people side with the majority, staking-their-claim and then marrying before it's too late, or in case someone else steals them away. Despite what people say very few are actually willing to sit around and wait for they're soul mate to show up out of the blue. Many don't want to end up alone. So 'compatibility' becomes their watch-word."

Buffy blew a fallen strand from off her forehead. "Real romantic, Giles."

"Not romantic, Buffy, realistic. How many relationships have you been in where you or they have had to compromise?"

"Everyone compromises, Giles. Everyone."

"Not with your 'Ideal', Buffy. They like the same food you do, enjoy the same music, the same movies, the same television shows. They even share the same world views."

Buffy's mind again inadvertently searched through her memories of Xander, and again she was frustrated by how many interests they shared, even right down to the same food that they liked. But she was not prepared to reveal that she had been thinking of anyone inparticular to the Watcher. "Sounds kinda boring if you ask me. Where's the variety? Isn't that the … y'know … the spice of life? If he likes the same stuff as me, then what would there be to talk about?"

"I suppose that would depend upon yourselves, but I am confident that your … simularities, would not be the obstical you believe it to be. Lover's, Buffy, are a consistent-comfort. You don't need to change them, or for that matter have to be 'changed' in order to please them. They are someone you will never find yourself at odd's with. They are someone who is a 'perfect fit' to everything you are and possibly want, Buffy. You see, the Contract you make with the First Slayer doesn't force some poor boy into becoming somebody they are not. The Contract permit's circumstances … fate … to bend in both of your favours so that the two of you will eventually meet. But what happens after you have both met … well … anything can happen from that point on."

"So the Spirit has no way of knowing who my Lover is?"

"No. It is as blind to this as you are. But do not forget, Buffy, you and the First Slayer share the same … consciousness. Just because it chooses to be a 'silent houseguest' doesn't mean it is not aware of your fundamental and emotional reactions to certain people. And let's face it; it is not in its best interest to allow such a relationship to develop. It is quite possible, as you had earlier surmised, that it engages in some level of romantic-sabotage to cause the Host's interest to stray elsewhere. Afterall, deflection of feelings would be far more preferable to it then the alternative. And it achieves this by first gauging the emotional reaction of their Host and then possibly waylaying that 'interest' to some other unsuspecting party."

Buffy closed her eyes and balled her hands into tiny, mighty fists. So that was how the Spirit was able to 'miss direct' her away from following her own heart? Only instead of there being some … randomness to the whole thing it now appeared as though her own emotions had been an unwilling accomplice to her very heart's betrayal. "But what about me, Giles?" Buffy then gently opened her eyes. "From the sounds of it, the First knows my heart better then I do. How will I ever be able to trust what I feel ever again after hearing that?"

"Trust me, Buffy. The fact that you have been so easily manipulated in the past, that is a *good* thing."

"Good? Good? How is that good? I have the right to be happy, don't I?"

"Of course you do. But you don't want this type of love, Buffy. If I knew … knew without a shadow of doubt that you would not one day live to regret learning the truth …*"

"* TRUTH?! C'mon, Giles. We've been dancing around this since I first asked you the question about 'Lovers'. All I have wanted from the first moment I ever met you was the 'truth'. But instead I discover that throughout all these years all you have done is deceive me … lie to me. And I've … I've had enough. I need to know. If you know who my Lover is then I want you to tell me now!"

The English Watcher expression became a solemn one as he stared back at his former-charge. He then looked to his intercom, sadly nodding his head in agreement. "You're right, Buffy. If I owe you anything, I owe you that much. But before we proceed further there is still something else that you have to be made aware of." The Senior Watcher then raised his hands up to hastily still any complaint that was about to exit the blondes mouth. "I do not plan to dodge this issue, Buffy. If you wish to know the complete truth then I will give it to you. The ugly truth of it all. But there are still elements you need to be made aware of. So if you don't mind I would like to include, temporarily of course, one other person. Do I have your permission?"

All Buffy could do was offer a cautionary nod of her head. She had come this far, she might as well see it out.

"Thank you, Buffy." Rupert Giles then placed his finger on one of the intercom buttons and spoke aloud to his Personal Assistant in the outer office. "Mary, might you please contact Mr Archer and instruct him to come to my Office immediately."

Senior or Junior?

"Archer Senior, please Mary."

Yes, Sir. And Mr. Giles, Mr. Cavender wished me to inform you that Ms. Faith Lehane apparently arrived in England nine-hours ago, First Class on British Airways. But after making her way through Customs and Arrivals she disappeared.

"So she's at least safe?"

As of nine-hours ago, yes Sir. But she has once more disappeared from the grid. And with Airport Security the way it is now our Tech People are having a Devil of a time accessing their systems. Not to say they can't, just that it might take a little bit more time. What we know thus far is based on her Passport clearance in both the US and here. That she departed and arrived, nothing more. But we do not know how she paid for the passage as it wasn't paid with her Council Credit Card. It seems a secondary party has covered the costs. We are trying to identify who, but First Class Clientele typically has additional security and confidentiality associated to their ticket purchases, so that makes such things additionally difficult. Even more so if they possess an Account with an Airline and do not 'pay' as they fly like many of us do but rather settle their Account at the end of each month. And if this is so, well, this being the 4th it may take three-and-a-half weeks before a financial paper-trail makes itself apparent.

"I see. Do what you can, Mary. And thank you for that update." Giles removed his finger from the button.

Silence then flowed between both Watcher and Slayer until Buffy couldn't take anymore. "What happened? Is Faith okay?"

With tired eyes, Giles just shrugged his shoulders. "I wish I knew. She checked in after her Patrol two-nights ago. But an hour after she had retired to her Apartment to get some sleep, she apparently received an international call, she then hastily departed."

"How do you know this?"

"Faith is presently under Watcher Surveillance. We have been logging her activities for the past three-weeks. Ever since her Watcher … Justin, bought a matter to our attention."

"She … she hasn't gone to the Dark Side again has she?" Worry, laced in the blonde's voice.

"Goodness no. In fact she has been exemplary. Coincidently she is under sevellience for the exact same reason as why you are here."

Buffy's brow crunched in confusion. But before she could ask her question there was a gentle tap on Rupert Giles main door.

Without sparing a moment to even enquire into the identity of the person, the Head Watcher bellowed out, not using his intercom. "Come in, Reginald."

Buffy craned her head in the direction of the door as it slowly opened. What shuffled through was an eighty-five year old man with an elaborate silver handled cane. Immediately, Buffy, felt a need to get up from her seat and assist the Watcher-Veteran. But as she rose the man named 'Reginald' just waved any charitable effort away with a smile.

"I'm not dead yet, my dear child. I've still got several good years left in me before I need anyone's assistance to walk across a simple room."

Buffy blushed and offered the old man a tiny smile. She suspected that she should probably be just as angry at this stranger as she was with Giles; after all, he was a Watcher as well. But she just felt so emotionally tired and spent. The finish line was in sight, all she had to do was tolerate this charade for a couple more minutes and Giles would have to tell her her 'Lovers' name. He had all but promised her this.

Taking his seat next to the Slayer, but never allowing his eyes to stray from the Head of his Organisation. Mr Archer, Snr. Addressed Rupert Giles. "Well, my boy, what can I do for you?"

Giles made a sweeping gesture with his right hand towards the aged man. "Buffy, may I introduce you to the man who taught me everything I knew about becoming your Watcher."

Reginald offered the Slayer a small bow. "Truly, my dear, it's nothing I'm particularly proud of. Rupert was one of my worst ever student's." He said with a small glint of mirth in his eye. "Believe me, if he had been one of my better ones, he would have been in that Chair twenty-years sooner."

Buffy surrendered another small smile. No doubt about it, this old coot was a charmer.

Giles pulled at his tweed lapel's in an irksome fashion. "Regardless of what you think, 'old-man'. I'm sitting in it now. So please show me and the Office a bit more respect."

"OH, respect? I'm not the one who nearly fainted at his first Gwarnar dissection, am I? It was embarrassing, my dear. He fled like a nipper about to be clipped, bawling and wailing like a newborn, all as he ran from the classroom in abject fear. If it had been me, Rupert, I never would have had the nerve to show my face again, regardless of who my father was."

"I was eight and you threw its liver at me."

"I *tossed* it's Liver to you and *you* dropped it. Unbelievable. Underarm and all. That's why I never allowed you to try out for the School Cricket Team; you obviously couldn't field to save your life."

"There is more to being a Watcher then playing Cricket, Old-Man."

"Not if you're British, there's not!"

Buffy raised her hand tentatively, not sure whether this was an argument that should be taken seriously. "Err, Giles, what is he doing here exactly?"

"Yes, Rupert. What *am* I doing here?"

Giles leaned across the desk, sparing a brief second to look at his former Slayer before he removed his glasses and closed his eyes gently. "You are here, Old-Man. To tell Ms. Summer's all she needs to know about the 'Lover's of Athena'."

At the completion of this sentence, Giles, instantly darted his head to the right as an antique walking stick suddenly found itself flying across, and over, the desk. Narrowly missing the Chief Watcher's head by about half-a-foot. It's journey ending with the impact, and then shattering, of the 130-year-old Oriental Vase that had been situated on the polished oak pedestal directly behind him.

Opening his eyes to the sound of the vase fragmenting with its assault, and then turning his head to appraise the damage, both financial and historical, the Head Watcher released a frustrated grunt. "Well … that went a whole lot better then I thought it would."

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I know, I know. I promised you a 'Xander' chapter this time out. It is written, but when I went over it I was displeased. I wanted more … action, and I thought it kinda fell short in that regard. I have a friend of mine, who is a major Phantom-fanatic, looking over it and making some suggestions.

Please don't hate me

Please offer me your thoughts, but refrain from Flames, I am the sensitive sort. Reviews are coin of the Realm, people.

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