Jason Barnett: You got my long reply to your review.
Zigpal: Thanks for the review and of course the ever pleasing claps. And trust me, Joyce's reaction to the group is going to have an impact.
RabidReject: Intense and wow? I like those two words in relation to my writing haha. And I'm glad you liked how I portrayed Faith. Thank you for the review.
g120: Not seen you for a while...where you at?
A/N: God, I am so sorry for the late update, but lateness was all in a good cause. I've been busying out an 'episode plan' for Cocorific Season 8. So far I've got 26 episodes...and that's before we get to where the Season 8 comics begin. As season 8 was meant to be set after Angel Season 5, thus making Season 8 technically season 9 and so leaving me with a year gap to fill. Which I have tried to do as best as I can. And when I start posting them dear god I hope you'll like what I've done- It does all directly link to the Official Season 8, and many are based on the original comic series Dark House used to release and it has a big Lily storyline. Lily, baby Lily, not Lily teen Lily. She's not coming back yet as far as I know.
AND THEN after I got CS8 planned out from beginning to end, Issue 12 of Buffy: Season 8 has to come out in which Joss has thrown be the hugest biggest curve ball totally topsy turvying me for CS9. So I've been spending the last few days trying to incorporate Joyce, and by extension Giles, into that particular storyline.
Also, life sorta got in the way. Haha
Anyway, we're back on track now so...
It was a quiet living room that the group walked back into seconds after their talk with Buffy on the front porch. Everyone was waiting in the house silently in anticipation as the others- that is Joyce, Tara, Giles and Faith- returned.
"H-has Buffy left?" Willow asked quietly, "Or is she just outside? Coz-"
"Get out," Joyce said it so quietly it was barely audible and Willow (and a few others) frowned in mild confusion.
"W-what?" Willow asked, unsure of what Joyce was trying to say, "What do you mean? W-"
"Get out," Joyce repeated, but she was louder this time. Not shouting, but loud enough to be heard and her tone of voice spoke more volumes than if she had bellowed the words, "All of you. Out." No one moved, perhaps too stunned by what she might be asking them to do so, "Now!" That word she did shout and it seemed to kick-start action as everyone jumped out of their seats and began pouring out of the house.
"Where are we supposed to go?" Kennedy asked. Joyce gave her a look that clearly showed she didn't care.
"There's still the inn," Giles told her, "The other Watchers are there right now"
"Look I'm sorry 'bout that, you know?" Faith said once everyone had left besides her and Tara, "I didn't mean it to go that way"
"I know," Joyce said quietly but she didn't meet Faith's eyes.
"Right." Faith nodded, "So I'm gonna..." She jabbed her thumb in the direction of the front door before bailing; the tension was too much in this room and as much as she had tried to support B for once she wasn't gonna stick around for the awkward aftermath.
"I should probably go too," Tara said quietly, "Willow has just...I mean I know she but..."
"I understand," Joyce managed to smile despite the rage inside she was forcing herself to contain, "And Tara?" She said just as the girl was about to leave and she turned around, her hand on the front door handle.
"Yes?"
"Thank you"
Tara smiled in reply and left quietly meaning that now it was only Joyce, Giles and Dawn left in the room.
"Mom-" She began but Joyce cut her off with a raised hand.
"Dawn not now"
"But please, I need you to-"
"I don't want to talk about this" Joyce told her, firmly not looking at her daughter.
"Mom, I-"
"Dawn I can't. I can't explain to you how mad I feel right now and I don't wish to do something I know I would regret," She finally looked at her daughter and Dawn saw they were filled with disappointment, "So, please Dawn just..." She sighed, "Just go to your room"
It was worse than if her Mom had shouted at her. There was disappointment and quiet anger in her voice but more than anything, the thing that stung Dawn the most was the betrayal she heard in her Mother's words. Betrayal.
Sadly, and feeling there was nothing to say to make it better right now, Dawn silently walked past her Mom and Giles and headed up the stairs toward her bedroom.
"Joyce...are...are you okay?" Rupert asked carefully and when she turned to look at him he saw the anger in her eyes had now been replaced with a sadness.
"No," She shook her head, "No I'm not" Her voice almost broke with sadness and upset and he comfortingly drew her into an embrace which she automatically gave into.
"I need to find her Rupert," She told him, resting against his chest, "She could be anywhere. And she's all alone"
"You and I know for a fact that Buffy can take care of herself," Giles pointed out softly, "But right now I think she needs some time alone for her own reasons. If she doesn't come back tonight, we will look for in the morning. How does that sound?"
"It sounds...okay..." Joyce admitted reluctantly and Giles smiled at the fact her voice was muffled due to the fact she was speaking into his shirt- always a clear sign that she was the kind of upset that was mixed with angry. He stroked her hair soothingly with his hand, but found he came to the end of the strands too soon to do it properly. A few weeks after Lily had been born, she had it cut back to a length just a little longer than how she had had it when she first arrived in Sunnydale. It looked good- but then he thought everything looked good on her be it haircut or clothes- but he just preferred when she had it longer. He'd always preferred long hair. Made for good hand-stroking-throughing.
"You should grow your hair long again," He said softly then paused in consideration, "Well, mid-length again anyway"
She pulled away from him slightly, though not out of the embrace, so she could make eye contact with him.
"Is that a failingly subtle way of trying to tell me you don't like my hair?"
"Oh quite the contrary," He assured her, "Just...longer was nice too"
"I'll think about it," She grinned.
"So what do you think the Potentials are going to do about continuing their training?" Giles asked warily, "With Faith do you think?"
"I don't care," She informed, pulling out of his embrace, "I honestly don't care Rupert. After their...their attitude tonight- I just, I don't care, I just don't care. And Willow the way she...and Anya and Xander and..." She clearly went to say 'and Dawn' but stopped herself just in time, aware that thought would upset and anger her too much and at the same time as one another. "I..." She sighed, with something that sounded to Giles almost like defeat, "I'm going to bed." She told him, "Are you coming?"
"In a moment," He told her, "I'll just tidy the mess the...the others left behind down here"
"Okay," She nodded with a small smile at before walking up the stairs as Giles began tidying the living room.
It was just as he was putting the spare cushions on a neat pile beside the sofa- something his wife was inexplicably obsessive about- when all the lights in the living room went out. Along with all the others in the house. He only knew that fact by the fact he heard Joyce scream in surprise followed by the sound of her walking into something, most likely her dresser.
"Joyce?" He called out, walking carefully through the dark to the bottom of the stairs.
"I'm fine," She called back and as his eyes adjusted to the darkness he saw her standing at the top of the landing, "I just was a little surprised and walked into the door a little...what's happened to the lights?"
"It could be a fuse but.." A slight hunch was telling him the answer didn't lie in the fuse box and he went to look out the window in the front door and saw every street lamp and house light was off, "But it seems to be a power cut. Or..." Another thought occurred to him.
"Or?" Joyce prompted but he didn't answer, so she came down a few of the stairs, "Or what?" He still didn't answer so she walked all the way down the stairs to talk to him directly, "You can't say 'Or' and then follow it with silence. My nature makes me likely to panic"
"Oh it's just a thought occurred to me"
"And that thought is?"
"Power may just be gone from Sunnydale. If everyone who worked at the power company has now left" He explained. "Which considering every residents' recent rush to leave this town is a likely situation"
"Oh, I see," Joyce nodded in understand and then her eyes widened in alarm, "You mean we have no electricity?"
"Or any energy at all really..."
"What?" She yelped, "What about the cooker? The fridge? Hot water? Oh my god...the hairdryer. Dawn and Buffy are not going to be happy." She paused, "I'm not happy"
"We will just have to make do," Giles said simply and she looked at him.
"With what? I have about three candles in the draw and a need for a hot shower, not cold"
The moment Joyce woke up the following morning, the first thing she did was immediately get out of bed and rush to Buffy's room. She pushed the door open hurriedly yet quietly and looked over at the bed. It was still neat, empty and un-slept in. Buffy had not returned home last night.
Feeling almost the exact same feelings she had felt five years ago when she had walked into Buffy's empty room to find scattered clothes and one small note saying sorry, Joyce attempted to reassure herself with the thoughts of how they were going to search for Buffy today. This wasn't like the summer she ran away when they couldn't find her anywhere; Buffy was still in Sunnydale. She had just left for some space. They'd get her back today. They would.
It was two hours and thirty one minutes later (Joyce had been counting) and they still hadn't set out to find Buffy. The moment she had realized Buffy had not returned, Joyce had woken up Rupert and despite how sleepy he clearly was she had gone on to tell him in no uncertain terms that he was to get up, they were to have breakfast, get dressed and go out and find Buffy. Joyce in her panic had already done everything and was ready to set out while Rupert, ever an island of calm amidst a storm of panic, was getting ready at a normal pace and so wasn't quite done yet. To pass the time while she waited, Joyce paced the kitchen.
Dawn had wandered in at some point in her pink and yellow pajamas and Joyce had found she could barely look at her. She felt betrayed, betrayed by her own daughter. She loved Dawn, that was unquestionable but Joyce knew she was still too upset to play the Mom to her right now. Dawn had obviously sensed that as after making herself a bowl of cereal she had quickly left to eat the food upstairs in her room.
Joyce was still pacing the short length of the kitchen, when she felt a pair of warm hands rest upon her shoulders, stopping her from walking on any further and she craned her neck to see, as expected, Rupert stood behind her.
"Stop pacing," He told her lovingly, "It'll be okay; we'll find her. We'll get her back."
"We said that last time she ran away" Joyce countered.
"She was in L.A in that instance," Giles reminded her, "She hasn't left Sunnydale this time, I'm positive. And Sunnydale is a very small town to look through isn't it?"
"I guess..."
"We'll find her," He promised her before kissing her softly and reassuringly on the lips.
"Can we go now?" She asked desperately, "Please...I can't not know where she is. I need her back here"
"Okay." He nodded understandingly despite feeling that he knew Buffy would be back anyway at some point in the very near future, on her own terms, "We'll go now. Come on"
As quick as anything, Joyce grabbed her car keys off the side and rushed out the kitchen, fully ready to just go outside to the Cherokee. She was in such a rush that when she opened the door she didn't quite have time to stop herself walking into Faith.
"Oh..was just about to knock," Faith said.
"Faith...what...what are you doing here?" Joyce asked in mild confusion as Giles joined the two of them.
"Well the green marines are working up their non-Slayer mojo with the Watchers...so figured I'd be more useful here then hanging around them munching on salsa chips"
"Well we were just about to..uh, go search for Buffy," Giles informed her.
"Why?" Faith seemed generally confused by this suggestion.
"Well, because she's gone Faith, that's why," Joyce replied incredulously but Faith shook her head in argument.
"No, look we invited her back in but B left anyway- it was her own choice. She'll be back. Just on her own terms," She paused in thought, "And knowing her she'll be carrying some sharp pointy object"
"So what? We're supposed to just wait it out?" Joyce asked, not believing that suggestion, "H-"
"That's exactly what we're gonna do," Faith said, "B will come back. Till then we keep things movin'. We get the stuff she'd want done, done"
"But-" Joyce began to protest.
"I think Faith may have a point," Giles told her kindly, "We do what Buffy will need doing. Even if it is without everyone else due to you throwing them all out" That brought a slight smile to her lips, "And that way, we're here when Buffy comes back, aren't we?"
Joyce nodded in reluctant acceptance, knowing deep down that the two had a point. Unable to deal with the strain of it all anymore, she leaned into Rupert for support and he wrapped his arms around her.
"I just want her back home, Rupert. Now,"
"I know,"
"Still think it's weird you two being all cuddlies," Faith said, "Was less weird years back you know without the whole commitment deal? Coz then I just figured you two were just screwin'"
"Yes, because that makes things entirely more comfortable," Giles said sarcastically as he and Joyce pulled apart.
"Where's the sprog anyway?" She asked, ignoring Giles' comment.
"Upstairs, sleeping a little...why?" Joyce asked.
"Just wonderin'. Not the type to talk about guttin' in fron' o' kids anymore, am I?" She grinned, "So I was just checkin'"
"Oh," Joyce managed to nod and then realized Faith was still on the doorstep, "Oh, would you like, like to come in?"
"Sure" She turned to look at them both, "So we the only group we got? What's left of the 'Scooby gang'? A Watcher and an Honorary Scooby?"
"I'm afraid so," Giles replied, "Except for Tara. And until Spike and An-...and Spike come back."
"So what do we know?" Faith asked, taking a seat in the living room.
"What do we know?" Giles repeated, "Faith, there are any number of things going on right now so I ask that you please be a little more specific"
"What's the 411 on any evil or apocalypse updates?"
"Besides the fact that everyone seems to have left Sunnydale except us?" Joyce asked in reply and Faith nodded.
"Well, yeah. Speakin' of did your guys' lights go out last night? Like power cut style"
"Yes," Giles nodded, "The power company has shut down...it's employees having vacated the Hellmouth most probably"
"And every single evil in town wants at least one member of my family dead..." Joyce added on and Faith held up her palms in a 'whoa stop' motion.
"Okay, let's not get ahead with the dramatics. We'll just deal with what we got...what is it we're facing?"
"The thing we can't touch..." Joyce replied, "The...The First"
"And Caleb," Giles added, "Who despite being unnaturally strong- even stronger than Buffy apparently- he has a twisted penchant for abusing women"
"Misogynistic bastard," Faith grumbled but then her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her, "The Bringers. They're for the First but they work for Caleb too right?" Giles nodded in confirmation, "They're our weak link," She told them both.
"Are you saying we should think about attacking The Bringers?" Giles asked.
"Maybe..." Faith said, clearly thinking aloud, "Or maybe we should kidnap one"
"Kidnap one?"
"Yeah...torture it, make it talk" Faith elaborated, "Get some information on Caleb and The First that way"
"Yes, with our team of nothing," Joyce spoke up, "Faith, you are the only person here with any real ability. And now you want to kidnap one of these...things?"
"Well me and G can do the actual kidnapping. He can sorta handle himself"
"Well, thank you very much," Giles said dryly in acknowledgment of the backhanded compliment.
"And what am I supposed to do?" Joyce asked Faith, "Wait for you to return home bloodied and...bringerless?"
"Not exactly," Faith informed her, "See, we're gonna have to draw The Bringers out somehow. Which means we kinda need bait..."
Giles had been even less keen on this plan than Joyce. But with their numbers decidedly down and Faith adamant about someone being bait- and that was either going to be Joyce or Dawn- Joyce had quickly volunteered. No matter how mad she was at Dawn she doubted she'd ever be comfortable with her daughter playing the role of bait. No, not in a million years. She'd much prefer to risk her own life. So they had left Lily under Dawn's care, before setting out to find themselves a Bringer.
Which is how Joyce ended up walking down an alley on her own- something she hadn't done since the night she found out Buffy was the Slayer. Finding out something like that made you stop doing dumb things such as walking down dark alleys on your own.
Suddenly three bringers, apparently each unable to resist the temptation of an easy kill added to the fact of the kill's relation to the Slayer, burst out of different sides of the alley surrounding her and Joyce involuntarily screamed in horror and fear and just a little more than a bit of absolute panic.
The first Bringer, grabbed her from behind, knocking her down to her knees where Bringer one held her as the second Bringer came towards her with a knife that glinted in the moonlight. The knife was upon her throat when the knife-wielding Bringer was pulled away by some unseen force that soon revealed itself to be Faith. Bringer One then went to finish the job on Joyce but was pulled back harshly by Giles, tossing him aside.
Faith and Giles continued to fight off the three Bringers, both trying their very best to keep them completely away from a mostly vulnerable Joyce, who on top of that, after the close account, was looking a little shaky on her legs. Faith rolled away from her Bringer, grabbing the dropped knife before turning to stab the Bringer in the gut with it at the same time Giles choked his to death with a rope.
Faith then grinned at the remaining Bringer before pulling out something she had been carrying; a lasso. It was a little cowboy for her tastes but it really did the trick as she lassoed the Bringer before tying him up completely.
"Are you okay?" Giles asked Joyce now that the danger was over. She answered with her legs giving way and he luckily caught her before she fell to the floor.
"I'm fine, fine," She assured him, using him as a prop to stand herself up steadily once more, "If fine involves a cold draft of paralyzing fear. I just...I'd never done anything like before," She looked at him, "And I never want to do it again"
"I assure you, you won't have to."
"If you don't make sure of it I will," She managed to grin despite the fact she was still decidedly shaky.
"Come on, let's get Daisy back to the house," Faith said, leading the Bringer tightly and roughly by the rope she had wrapped around her hand and tied tightly around his neck and torso.
Joyce was sat in a seat at the kitchen island with a cup of coffee beside her and Lily on her knee as she tried to focus on the fact Buffy still had not returned. Dawn was still up in her room, clearly sensing the still bad-mood her Mom was in.
Lily was clearly itching to get off her lap and wander around the kitchen. Since being able to get a few steps without holding onto anything for support the little girl had become incredibly eager to be constantly mobile. However, with the Bringer in the house- even if it was in the basement- and all the other dangerous texts Rupert had splayed about, Joyce wasn't going to let Lily wander anywhere right now- even if it was only for a few paces.
Realizing that wriggling constantly wasn't making her Mother let go of her and put her on the floor, Lily moved on to trying to voice her wishes; something she had been attempting to do for the past few weeks. She had yet to say an actual word, but she was making the right sounds and no doubt was going to reach that milestone very soon. Probably in time for her first birthday which was, unbelievably, only a month away.
It was as Joyce was marveling at this thought that Rupert and Faith walked out of the basement, closing the door quietly behind them.
"How'd it go?" Joyce found herself asking them.
"The Bringer's dumb," Giles informed her dejectedly.
"As in he's not going to be excepted to North Western?" Joyce frowned, "Or-"
"He's mute," Giles finished before she had time to ask.
"Someone ripped out his tongue," Faith elaborated bluntly and Joyce instinctively grimaced in reply. Lily saw this and attempted to grimace also which Faith found kinda cute. Which was kinda strange as she'd never viewed kids in a cute way before.
"Hey," A voice not belonging to anyone in the room said coming from the direction of the doorway into the dining room and they turned to see Dawn stood there looking rather sheepish. "I kinda overheard what you were sayin'..."
"Dawn..."
"No, Mom." Dawn cut her off, "I, I think I can help. With the Bringer problem"
"How?" Giles asked.
"I've been reading this old Turkish spell book," She explained, "There's an old conjuration that the Ancient Turks used to communicate with the dying-"
"Ah yes," Giles nodded in recognition, "I believe I read some of the translated text when I was training to become a Watcher"
"There's a translation??!" Dawn exclaimed, "I've been reading like two words a night and there's a translation?!" She stopped suddenly and took a deep breath to calm herself, "No, I'm fine. I'm over it. So the spell is for communicating with people who can't talk. Like when a person is dying and can't speak anymore, this spell would allow them to say their goodbyes or y'know gripe about how no one ever came to visit." She looked at Giles, "Do you think it would help with Mr No Tongue"
"We'd have to call Tara over to cast the spell," He replied, "But I don't see any reason why it shouldn't work"
"Great, that's cool," Faith nodded, "Well, while you call Wizadora, we'll-"
"We're ba-a-a-ck!" Andrew singsonged from the foyer and it traveled all the way into the kitchen. A moment later he, followed by a depressed looking Spike, walked into the room.
"You're back," Joyce stated simply, acknowledging the two of them.
"Hi everybody," Andrew grinned widely, as he began talking a mile a minute"I missed you guys a lot. Sorry we took so long getting back from the mission-mission, but we had to well, wait out the sun but I think we had a very successful trip. We rode on Spike's "hog" which was very cool and played some amusing games and oh yeah, we got some useful information but do you know what? I really need to urinate," And with that he promptly left the room.
"Isn't he a blast of fresh air?" Spike asked the group before shaking his head, "Thank God I don't breath. Hey," He said, finally noticing something, "Isn't this house a little more crowded usually? Where is everybody?"
"At the Inn," Giles replied, "Ah, Joyce threw them out"
Spike laughed out loud at that.
"Not that I wasn't expecting it eventually," He grinned, "But why now?"
"Because they threw out Buffy," Joyce replied and Spike's grin immediately fell from his face as he became deadly serious.
"What?"
"The group, everyone," She explained, "Decided they didn't want Buffy around anymore. So they threw her out. Told her to leave. Faith, Tara, Rupert and I told her to come back in, to ignore them but she...she left anyway. We don't...uh, we don't know where though"
"Well, have you tried looking around for her?" He asked.
"I was going to," Joyce replied, "But Faith and Rupert said we should carry on and wait for her here..."
"Fine. You wait here for her," He said, "But I'm going out looking. I'll find her"
"Spike-" Joyce began as he went to leave once more but he cut her off.
"I can leave her on her own Joyce. I've got to find her and I will," He looked at her meaningfully, "I'll bring her back. I will" He left.
"Dawn," Giles said, "Call Tara"
They were all gathered in the basement. Well, Lily wasn't. Lily getting restless and decidedly over-tired had been put to bed by both Joyce and Rupert just in time for Tara's arrival.
"Kendinizi cok uykulu hissetrneye bashliyorsunuz" Tara chanted directly to the tied up Bringer, "Cok uykulu, cok uykulu. Gozlerinizin onunde sallamak icin cep saatim yok arna sizin de gozleriniz yok. Konusun bizimle"
Once she had finished the spell, Tara closed the book she had been chanting from and waited for it to take action. Absolutely nothing happened.
"Maybe you let me rough him up a little," Andrew suggested.
"Andrew!" Faith exclaimed, "Shut up"
"I don't know," Tara said with uncertainty, "That should have worked..."
"Maybe you should try again," Giles suggested, "A spell as complicated and ancient as this could-"
"I am the drone of the mind that is evil..." Andrew said low and seriously and everyone told him to be quiet as they continued to look intently at the still not speaking Bringer.
"I say, I am part of the great darkness," He continued and Giles looked over at the boy curiously.
"Wait," He said to everyone, "Listen."
"I am only a fragment of The We"
They all got it; Andrew was speaking for the Bringer.
"We work as one to serve The First," He continued.
"What exactly are you doing for The First?" Giles asked.
"We attend to the needs of infinite Evil. We exterminate girls and destroy the legacy of Slayer. We build an arsenal beneath the dirt. We obey the commands of our teacher Caleb. We protect--"
"Wait," Faith said, "What's that about dirt? Go back to that"
"We build weapons for the coming war"
"What dirt?" Faith demanded an answer, "Where?"
"At the farthest edge of town. We are everywhere. We are like the ocean's waves. We watch your efforts and are not scared. We will laugh at you as you die-"
The speech ended abruptly as Giles suddenly grabbed a knife of the side and slit the Bringer's throat, severing it's connection to Andrew.
"What the bananas!" Andrew exclaimed in shock, himself once again. He clutched his throat tightly as he glared at the knife-wielding Giles, "Okay, it is so lucky for you that you didn't just magically decapitate me"
"Well, I say we got something here," Faith said, "Underground. Edge of town"
"We'll grab some maps and start narrowing this down," Giles said, "We need to find a subterranean space with an area large enough for an armory."
They all began to walk back up the basement stairs.
"Are we gonna leave him down there?" Joyce asked Giles, looking briefly back at the dead Bringer, "Call me homey but I'm not too sure about having...dead bodies in my basement"
"We'll move him later," Giles assured her.
"Ugh," Andrew complained, "I feel used and violated and I need a lozenge"
It was a couple of hours later and the group had been pouring over the maps of Sunnydale in detail. Eventually they came to an answer.
"Isn't that the most likely one?" Tara asked, pointing out a spot.
"Sewer tunnel on the North side's closest," Faith nodded in agreement, "So I guess we'll start there"
"That sounds fine," Giles agreed, "But what exactly is the plan? Time for example?"
"Tomorrow. 'Bout seven," She replied, "You and Tara here are kinda my only crew right now if we stick to B's good side. But-"
"You feel we'll need the Potentials?" Giles finished and Faith nodded, glancing at Joyce uncomfortably.
"We kinda do need them. Fight in force," Faith admitted and Joyce reluctantly nodded. "Okay," Faith said, "So G, Tara and the best Potentials we got- tomorrow we go down into that sewer tunnel. Find what's being kept from us" She got up out of her seat, "I'll go home- the inn. Tell them before hitting the sheets"
"Okay," Giles nodded, getting up also as both Faith and Tara went to leave-taking Andrew with them. "Well thank you for all your help, both of you. That spell was very useful Tara"
"You're welcome," She said quietly.
"Tomorrow," Faith said to Giles as she walked out the door and he nodded.
"Tomorrow then," He closed the door leaving Joyce and Giles alone in the room (Dawn had been sent upstairs by Joyce when time had hit the midnight mark).
"Tomorrow..." Joyce repeated softly, "Do you think Buffy will be back by then. Will Spike have found her?"
"I'm sure of it," He assured her.
"I wish I could be as calm as you right now," She told him.
"I'm not calm," He told her, "I'm as panicked as you are. I'm just a good actor"
She kissed him. When she pulled away he looked every so slightly confused.
"What was that for?" He asked.
"Does there have to be a reason?" She replied and as she asked this he realized that no, there did not. He kissed her again, and she immediately matched his intensity. But the passion in her kiss, seemed almost desperate- not just with a need for him, but a need to forget her worry about Buffy, about everything. Just one night without thoughts or worries.
She wrapped her arms tightly around him, one hand holding his neck, the other pressed tightly against his back as he slipped his arms around her waist, holding her just that little bit tighter and that little bit closer to him as they continued to kiss.
As the intensity of the kissing (and by now, also groping) continued, the two stumbled together towards the stairs, before Giles pressed Joyce up against the wall. He kissed her on the lips, along her jawline, down her neck, trailing kisses as far down as her buttoned shirt would allow. Then as he reached the cut off, he began undoing the buttons one by one.
"Come on," She murmured, grabbing his hands to stop him, "Upstairs. We're becoming repetitive with having sex in the living room."
And with that the two led one another upstairs, hand in hand, pausing on the stairs frequently for impatient yet passionate smooching before carrying on up to their bedroom.
When they eventually fell into the room, slamming the door closed behind them, Giles picked up Joyce as the two kissed furiously, spinning round to place her on the bed, where she wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him down towards her.
There he finished off what he had started at the bottom of the stairs by completely unbuttoning her blouse. She wriggled in the material so he could easily peel it off. And as he began unclasping her bra, Joyce's hands wandered down to the bottom of his top and she gathered it in her hands before gradually lifting it up before pulling it up over his head. She threw it aside and they resumed kissing, their mouths seeking out one another after only having broke apart for mere seconds...
Once he had rid her of her bra, she undid the zipper on his jeans and slipped her hand inside, gently teasing his growing erection. When he moaned in pleasure, she smiled at him knowingly and teasingly and in reply he leaned down over her and began kissing down her neckline in a way he knew always sent her into a frenzy. His kisses teased her breasts while his hands moved gradually more and more south, causing her to moan involuntarily in ecstasy.
He continued to caress her entire body, having already gently slid off the pants she had been wearing, just as she had tugged off his trousers.
"Oh god," He murmured in between the kisses, "God, you're beautiful"
Those few words seemed to ignite her passion even more, as she took charge now and rolled over so she was now sat astride him, her hands pressed against his chest, as she teased her fingers through the fine, coarse spread of hairs and he twitched in pleasure at the sensation, causing Joyce to grin.
She then kissed him ferociously on the mouth.
"No playing tonight," She told him, knowing they were both going to instinctively head in that direction, "Just this, just us" She kissed him again, delving her tongue into his mouth with a fiery intensity that caused Giles to buck against her as it increased his arousal.
"No playing..." He grinned, now wanting to get to serious business as much as ever.
She leaned forward again, kissing him as she lowered herself onto his erection and started to wriggle, causing him to groan even louder. She started out ever so slowly, easing herself down upon him with a steady, tantalizing rhythm, whilst they continued to kiss one another with the same constant beat. This pleasure seemed as though it would never end to Giles, she just kept going driving him into a sexual ecstasy that was causing him to lose sense of himself.
Her breathing was coming faster, heavier and more erratic as she reached climax and through his pleasurable daze he heard her cry out as she tightened around his penis, the two of them pressed incredibly close to one another.
While he was still inside her he grabbed her shoulders and used the grip to roll the two of them round so now he was the one on top. She didn't comment or complain about the change but merely grinned even more at him if that were possible.
She was grinning because she recognized that look in his eyes. These were the times when he let Ripper come through, influencing his actions, his directions, his attitude and it excited her. Pure Ripper frightened her, especially since her first hand experience last year but this was different. This was still Rupert, through and through; but he was letting Ripper guide him.
He began to increase the speed and intensity of his thrusts, overriding the slow, steady pace Joyce had set previously and the attention he was paying her was so thrillingly pleasurable it brought her a climax after another in a way that rocked them both.
They were both slipping over now, both in perfect synchronization as they both worked towards their climax as their breathing became quick, erratic and frantic, heavy with the passion that had been constantly increasing between them. Eventually the building pressure became too much for both of them to hold on any longer and they slipped over, both crying out together as they orgasmed with Rupert's final, powerful thrust.
The two collapsed side by side one another, both panting heavily.
He gently ran his hand up and down Joyce's bare arm, feeling the heat radiating from her skin and she shuffled closer to him to the point of almost physically breaking the law of physics that no two objects can occupy the same space.
They fell asleep like that, entangled with one another, the bed covers in disarray around them.
It was early the following morning; just a little before seven am and Giles, Joyce, Dawn, Andrew, Faith, Tara, Wood, Daniel, Jac, Ted, Cassandra, Kennedy, Rona, Amanda, Vi, Natasha, Rebecca, Rachel were gathered there.
There was very little room and to compensate for the lack of seating space Joyce was sat upon Giles' lap like a teenager. Dawn did not like seeing this; not because she didn't think it was cute but she had quickly discovered that such body language usually meant that the two of them hadn't had much sleep the previous night as in...well, Dawn didn't want to go there.
"So it turned out that all these stone tablets basically said the same thing. The First and Caleb are trying to protect something." Andrew was telling everyone, "We don't know exactly what, but it's something powerful and they don't want the Slayers to get it. I'm thinking it could be a weapon and if we are looking for an arsena-"
"You're not coming," Faith told him bluntly.
"If one is looking for an arsenal," He continued, "Well, what better place to find a-"
"Weapon," Faith nodded, "Got it. Good, good. Good thinking Andrew"
"It was a pleasure," He informed her, "Back to you Faith"
"Right now, G and the Potentials; you're with me. Same for you Tara; might need a Wicca whammy," Faith said to everyone, "Can't be too careful. The rest of you? Wait by the phone, wait for us, wait for B, just sit tight and wait. We'll be back with whatever Caleb's keeping from us. Now let's do this thing"
"I don't want you to go," Joyce admitted as Giles stood up and therefore forcing her stand up also, "It's not...I don't feel good about this. It's not safe."
"I'll be back soon. I promise," He assured her, kissing her on the lips, "Everything will be okay. Ish. I promise," He kissed her again before following the others out leaving behind an extremely worried Joyce being comforted a bit by his sister.
After diving into Caleb's hidden chamber, Buffy quickly got to her feet and smiled at what she saw. It was what she had been searching for. She smiled. Before her, embedded in rock was a blood red scythe, a stake on the opposite end. This was hers. She knew it.
"Is this it?" Giles asked as he, Faith and the others finally got rid of the Bringers and reached the box.
"Probably," Faith said, flinging it open. Her eyes widened as she saw what was inside. Wires. A black box. A timer. A bomb.
7...6...5
"Everybody get down!!!" She yelled, before diving for the floor herself.
4...3...2...