Giles moved in with Willow and Tara on Wednesday night. They had been able to afford a nice little two-bedroom apartment (this being Sunnydale and all) so Giles didn't have to sleep on a couch, for which he was very grateful. Thursday, Buffy and Giles cleaned the house and made sure all of his things had been removed. Buffy decided she wanted her dad to meet all of her friends Friday night so she invited them all over for dinner. She even invited Spike. She figured she could just tell her dad that Spike and Giles knew each other in England.
Friday morning dawned and Buffy drove Dawn to school. She had found that she had no trouble driving after the accident since she didn't really need her left leg to drive. She had been scared at first, but Giles had helped her get through it. He had also gone with her to buy a used car.
Giles was confused as to who would be here for him. He met Buffy in the foyer and asked, "Who is it?" Buffy pointed to the body on the doorstep. "What happened to him?" Giles asked.
"I hit him," Buffy admitted sheepishly. Giles just smiled at her. He could care less if she beat Ethan up.
"I suppose we should bring him inside and see what he wants," Giles said grabbing Ethan's arms and dragging him into the house.
"What about my dad?" Buffy hissed even as she grabbed Ethan's feet. Luckily, Buffy's father had his back to the foyer and didn't see what was going on. The rest of the Scooby's did though. All of them were trying very hard to act normal. Buffy and Giles saw Xander excuse himself. A few moments later he appeared.
"We can tie him up in the basement," Xander whispered. "I got some rope out of the closet and brought a chair down there."
"Good thinking," Buffy whispered. "You better get back before my dad suspects something." Xander nodded and headed back. Spike showed up right after Xander left.
"Your dad's getting curious," Spike said softly. "Why don't you go back and I'll help Giles take care of this." Buffy gave Spike a grateful look and headed back to the dining room.
"Is everything all right, honey?" Hank asked when she came back.
"Yeah, dad," she said trying to come up with a story as quickly as possible. "That was Rupert's brother." The Scooby's all gave her funny looks, but she pretended not to notice. What did they want her to say? That an old enemy of theirs had decided to pay a visit?
"Will he be joining us?" Hank asked, anxious to meet this man's family.
"Umm…not tonight," Buffy replied hurriedly. "He just got in from England and he's tired. He just stopped by to get a key to Rupert's so he could get into the apartment." Dawn was amazed at how well her sister had learned to lie. Buffy was saved from any more questions when Spike and Giles returned.
"How's your brother?" Hank asked. Giles shot a confused look at Buffy, but figured it out when he saw the pleading look in her eyes.
"Oh, he's fine," Giles managed to get out. He didn't want to contradict anything that Buffy had already said. Dinner settled down after that. After supper, Hank excused himself and said good night, saying that it had been a long day.
As soon as they heard Hank shut the bedroom door, they all quietly trooped down to the basement. Ethan had woken up a while ago, but had been unable to call out because of the gag Spike had shoved in his mouth. Buffy reached over and pulled it out saying, "I though you were in Nevada, Ethan."
"Yes, well it seems once the Initiative was disbanded, the government didn't know what to do with me," Ethan replied.
"So they just let you go?" Willow asked horrified.
"Unfortunately, no," Ethan answered. "Somehow the Watcher's Council found out about them holding me and offered to take me off of their hands."
"The Watcher's Council had you in their custody for over a year?" Giles asked surprised. "I didn't know that."
"Not many Watcher's did," Ethan replied. "Quentin was the one who arranged to take me from the government. I was his own special project. Unfortunately for him, I refused to cooperate."
"So how did you get away?" Buffy asked.
"Quentin is stupid, my dear," Ethan said to her. "It was only a matter of time before I could get away."
"Fine," Buffy said, "but why come here where you know you'll just get your ass kicked."
Ethan shrugged and answered, "I wanted to see if it was true."
"What was true?" Buffy asked.
"Your leg," Ethan replied and grinned when she took a step back. His grin faded quickly though when Ripper got in his face.
"And what does it matter to you?" Giles growled. Ethan quickly turned serious.
"Because if it's true then she," nodding his head towards Buffy, "is in trouble."
"What do you know?" Giles demanded. So Ethan told his tale. He told them how he had heard Quentin and Nigel talking about the liability of a one-legged Slayer. He told them how Quentin had come to him for help with his plan. He told them how he had refused, managed to escape, and ended up on Buffy's doorstep.
"And we're supposed to believe that you're here to help?" Buffy asked incredulously.
Ethan looked her in the eye and replied seriously, "Yes. I like chaos and giving you and Ripper a hard time, but that doesn't mean I want to see the two of you dead. Besides what would I do if I didn't have you two around to bother?" He flashed a quick grin. "If you don't believe me, you can always do a truth spell."
Buffy looked at Giles to see what he thought. Giles sighed. "I'm afraid he's probably telling the truth," he said. "Ethan's not a particularly good liar and he doesn't stand for much pain, which he knew he would most likely find here." Buffy sighed. She didn't need this right now.
"Can I get untied now?" Ethan asked. Buffy looked at Giles. She didn't have anywhere to put him while her father was here.
"The wanker can stay with me," Spike said.
"I'd prefer to stay with the living, if you don't mind," Ethan said. Buffy sighed again.
"Xander, can Ethan stay on your couch until my father leaves?" Buffy asked. It was Xander's turn to sigh.
"Fine," he said. They untied Ethan and he left with Xander and Anya. Willow and Tara also said good night and left. Spike said he'd do a patrol before he headed back to his crypt and left. Dawn said good night and went upstairs. That left Buffy and Giles alone in the living room.
"I wish you didn't have to go," Buffy said.
"I wish I didn't have to go either," Giles replied. "It's only for a few more days." They shared a long kiss goodnight. Buffy sighed and went to bed. The gang would start researching tomorrow.