Disclaimer

Charmed is the property of Aaron Spelling, Constance M Burge, and the WB; Buffy, the Vampire Slayer is the property of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Godzilla is the creation of Inoshiro Honda and Eiji Tsurubaya and Toho Pictures.

Summary

AU Crossover between the Charmed, Buffy, and Godzilla universes. Giles is holding a hearing on whether or not the Turner children can attend the Godzilla Fest celebration as Willow fumes and Cole is amused.

Author's Note

Thank you for all your patience with me for this chapter. It seemed to be much harder than I thought it would have been.

Chapter Four: The Hearing

Part One

Willow was furious. More than furious. Incensed. Enraged. No word was really describing the flame simmering within. She made a quick glance at her husband. Why wasn't he putting his foot down? Her eyes narrowed as she kept a hold on her temper. A feat that was becoming more difficult with every minute. By the Goddess! This was infuriating! She was the mother! She was the head of this family! In Hecuba's name, this had gone too far!

Cole shuddered underneath his wife's gaze. This whole situation was really very amusing, but Giles had better take care. He knew better. Willow's maternal instincts became more demonic with every child she had born for him. He knew that regardless of her humanity, that some of his blood flowed in her veins. A demoness' hormones were produced in her glands. He smiled weakly at his wife. He knew that, in the maternal sense, she was a demoness, with a demoness' instincts and passions. He spared a glance at Giles. He was ignorant of the danger. He was sitting at the desk calmly, smiling at the two children.

Ben was sitting stiffly, fuming. His sister, however, was cheerfully standing next to her grandfather holding an American flag. Didn't they feel the tension in the room? He tried not to chuckle. If this had happened in the Underworld, if Willow and he had raised their children down There, this would have been answered by violence. Willow would not have brooked any argument. By the Great Mother! He would never have chanced it with his mother. And he wouldn't have survived it if he had.

He looked again at his wife. Willow... darling...

Willow looked up sharply at her husband's thoughts. Her eyes narrowed as she projected her anger and fury at him. What! THIS should not be happening, HUSBAND. Why don't you do something? Why is Giles challenging me?

Cole shuddered at the inflection in the word Husband. Hell and damnation, this is going too far and too fast. He may have to stop this hearing. But he didn't want to. He glanced at his son quickly. It wasn't just the demon in Willow he was concerned about. He could see the fire growing in his son. He needed to deal with Ben's feelings or they may just fester into something he couldn't deal with. Darling, please... I don't think he means to challenge you. I certainly don't. I understand, the children should know better. But maybe...

Maybe NOTHING! There is no halfway here, Cole! I am not---

Willow! Baby, I just mean that we need to deal with Ben's feelings... It doesn't mean that your decision won't stand. I just think we need to let Ben air his feelings. Please, understand.

Giles sat quietly watching the two of them. They were obviously having a private discussion. Cole would be surprised to discover just how much Giles did know. It was one of the main reasons he came to live with them and the children. He understood the danger inherent in Willow. But it was all the more reason for him to continue with this hearing. He wanted this family to operate as a human family. The instant they started reacting as demons, they would be on a downhill slope.

"Willow, dear," Giles began, pausing for both Willow and Cole to disengage from their private conversation. "I am not here to usurp your authority." He turned as he heard a small cough from Ben's chair. "Yes, Ben. Usurp means to challenge or take someone's power or control from them. Do you understand?" He watched as Ben appeared to think about this and nodded his agreement before he continued. "As I was saying, I am just here to let both Willow and Ben state their case. This household cannot exist at this level of suppressed anger, frustration, and hostility." Giles paused once again as Ben's hand shot up. He sighed. "Yes, Ben?"

"What is suppressed, Grandpa?" Ben's eyes darted to his younger sister as she coughed loudly. "I mean, your honor, your honor."

Giles' eyes twinkled with amusement. "That's alright, Ben. You can interrupt at any point if you don't understand something. Just remember to do it politely. Now suppressed means that something is being smothered or trapped and can't get out." Ben nodded and Giles opened his mouth to speak.

"Your honor," Willow intoned ominously, "Does that mean my decision stands?"

"Yes, Willow." Giles agreed as Ben growled under his breath. "However, I would like you to keep an open mind during the proceedings. Please agree that you will consider changing your mind. Also, I would like you to promise not to interrupt Ben's statement. You will have a chance to ask him questions, you will also be able to make your own statement supporting your case. Do you understand?"

Willow let out a huge sigh and nodded her head. "Yes, Giles, I'm sure that's fair." (Cole didn't realize just how long he'd been holding his breath until that moment. In fact, he realized that he'd been halfway to a shimmer the whole time waiting for the eruption.)

"Very well," Giles took a deep breath and continued. "First of all, both Willow and Ben will make a short statement supporting their case and explaining why their decision is the correct one. These must be short statements. Remember that. Then, I will question our expert witness, Cole Turner, about this event. Then, I will ask Willow and Ben any questions I may have. Willow and Ben can then ask polite questions from each other. These questions cannot be construed as personal attacks, understand? Then, we will take a break and I will make my decision."

There was a sharp gasp from Willow. Giles chuckled and put one hand up. "My decision, Willow, will not be binding. As I said, this hearing is only to give Ben a chance to hear your concerns, and for you to hear his. However, I will make a decision of my own."

Willow relaxed and nodded. "Good," Giles went on. "Now I think we will bypass the pledge and go straight to the statements. Buffy, will you swear your mother in?"

Cole let all that tension go out of his body as he watched and, more importantly, felt his wife relax. Now he could sit back and enjoy this farce. As a lawyer, he was really enjoying this. But, as a husband, he was definitely not comfortable. As a father, though, this was a treat. He turned as Buffy rose and set a book in front of her mother and swore her mother in. Actually, he could almost see Willow swear in the other sense of the word under her breath. Now a different sort of tension filled his chest. The kind of tension you get when you were stifling laughter. This was definitely going to be a long day. He shook his head in disbelief at the whole arrangement.

"Yes, Cole?" Giles interrupted his train of thought. "Do you have something you need to say before we get started."

"Oh! Sorry, Giles, no. Although, I may be interrupted by witches, warlocks, or demons at any time."

Giles nodded his head, and turned his attention to a very angry and hostile Willow. "Willow, thank you for your forbearance and patience. Please make your statement."

Willow barely smothered a snarl and took a deep breath. Unlike Ben, she had not had a chance to prepare her statement. She knew what to say, though. It was how to say it that bothered her. This whole situation was ridiculous, but she was beginning to realize what Giles was doing. He wasn't trying to persecute her. He was trying to help Ben work through this without having the demon come out. That didn't mean that she wasn't still mad as a hornet! She did understand, but it seemed to just make her madder. She took another deep breath to calm herself. Looking from Giles to Cole (who was far too amused for her liking) to Ben (who looked nearly as upset as she felt), she decided to just move on.

"Very well. I realize watching a fire-breathing monster trash the downtown and waterfront sectors might be quite a lot of fun – especially from a little or big boy's point-of-view – I have very serious objections to this. I am not against this because it IS fun. I just don't want for my children to be subjected to demons at this stage in their life. I know Ben thinks he's a big kid now, but he is still very impressionable. I really don't want him to start thinking of demons as being people too."

She paused at the sound of a sharp gasp of outrage from Ben and his father. Glaring at them, she continued. "Present company excepted, of course. But, Ben and Buffy have not been raised in the Underworld. They were not raised to serve the forces of evil nor to learn 101 ways to kill a human being."

At this point, Cole couldn't hold in yet another chuckle. "Begging your honor's pardon, but I think I know more than 101 ways to kill a..."

"Cole!" "Daddy" The room erupted in outrage.

Willow coughed and drew in another breath. "I'm sure you do, husband." Cole shuddered at the ice in her tone. He might end up sleeping on the couch tonight, or even in the rat cage. "As I was saying, I have objections. Number one is safety. I'm not entirely sure as to the safety at this ... um ... celebration. Even if everyone were human, a celebration of this size might still be a little too much for two small children who aren't even of school age. But the people at this party won't be human. They'll be demons! Things will happen. Dangerous things. My main concern is to protect my children." She paused and looked little Buffy and Ben in the eye. "You may think I'm being mean, but I love you two very much."

She took some time to take some deep breaths to calm herself. Losing her temper, while satisfying, would not really help this situation. She looked at her children again and was happy to see them smiling at her. "To continue, in the second place, I'm very worried about having my children meeting and becoming friendly with demons, even if they are children themselves. Your father and I ... and, of course, your grandfather... try every day to make sure that you grow up to be good citizens... good people. I am always afraid that one day you'll come to serve evil... and, maybe.. maybe... your Aunt Buffy or another Slayer or even a witch may have to fight and kill you. And Goddess forbid! What if your father or I had to fight you!"

Cole heart contracted as Willow collapsed into tears, her face in her hands. He decided to risk being found in contempt of court and rushed forward to pull her into his arms. He never thought that Willow would ever voice that fear. He knew that she feared that particular nightmare. By the Abyss, he did as well. What's more, he feared their entire family turning over to that side. As he held her, he looked at his daughter. Little Buffy. He could never imagine her doing anything evil. She looked into his eyes, her little eyes filled with tears.

As Willow let herself cry, she suddenly felt her hand being grasped between Ben's little hands. "Mama, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I don't want to be evil. I promise you and Daddy and Aunt Buffy won't have to fight me. I promise!"

She pulled out of Cole's arms and knelt next to her son. Looking into his large eyes, she saw that they were wet with unshed tears. She smiled and pulled him into a hug. "Oh, Ben, I know you don't want to. It's just sometimes it's hard to resist the power. Really, both Mommy and Daddy have had problems."

Part Two

"Well, now that we've had our break, we can continue." He smiled as he saw Willow's head shoot up at his words. Ben straightened up and eased himself back to his seat. "Yes, Willow, I said continue. I think that it's important that we let Ben speak. His opinion is important, don't you think?"

Willow frowned. She really thought that this had been settled. She sighed and nodded her head in agreement. This had to be a bad, bad dream. Surely this couldn't really be happening.

Ben began to speak. "Thank you. I--"

"Hell!" Cole exclaimed as he felt the first tinglings of a call. Drax and Dracorus. They were calling him. "Sorry, Giles, Willow, kids. I've got to go. I'm being called." He ran over to his wife and kissed her, shimmering away.

"Well!" Giles exclaimed. "There goes our expert witness. Let's hope we don't need him."

Willow shrugged and turned to Ben. "Oh, well, Ben, let's finish this up, okay? My butt's getting numb."

Buffy and Ben giggled and smiled brightly at their mother. Ben nodded. "Okay. Why I want to go. I guess, number one, I want to see this Godzilla. He sounds really neat. Number two, I think it'd be nice to go to a party where we could do our magic and not have to worry about who saw us. It's always hard to hide what I am. What we can do. Also, I'd like to compare me and Buffy with other demon kids. I wonder what they're like. Number three, I guess it'd be nice to go to a party. There'll be games .. and treats.. and fun stuff to do."

He took a deep breath and looked around the room to see how what he was saying was being taken. Good so far, Mama's not arguing. "Anyway, I know it could probably be dangerous. But, we did use to live in LA with Uncle Angel and Aunt Buffy, there were always slimy things attacking us there. We learned to take care of ourselves. Right, Buffy?"

Buffy nodded her head enthusiastically, but then stopped at a look from her grandfather. Obviously, not what a bailiff should be doing. She scooted back in her chair.

"Also, we will have supervision. There'll be Mama and Grandpa and Daddy, well, at least part of the time. There'll also be white witches and white lighters all over the place. And, I was thinking ... maybe..." Here he paused and looked a little nervously around the room. He had been very proud he'd though of it. "Maybe Aunt Buffy could come. No one would dare do anything if Aunt Buffy were around."

"To finish, I'd like to say that if I know that I'm around evil, I'd think it'd be easier to resist than if I was just at home and evil kinda snuck up on me." He exhaled loudly. There! He'd said it! It probably wouldn't do any good, but at least he'd got it out.

"Well put, Ben. Excellent." Giles exclaimed. "Well, I think there's a lot to think about. Yes, indeed. I think that both Ben and his mother have made very valid points. Now, are there any questions? Or do either of you want to say anything."

Ben fidgeted in his chair and then stood up. "I want to say that I'm sorry for being such a brat today. And that I'll do whatever Mama and Daddy think I should do. BUT – I would really, really like to see Godzilla."

Willow smiled and exhaled. She finally felt more like herself. The cold, black rage that had filled her all day had finally dispersed. Maybe everything will be alright. "Maybe, we can come up with something. How about... well, maybe a picnic. Somewhere we can see Godzilla and see what's going on at the celebration? Not right in the middle of things, but somewhere that Mama would feel safe. Hmm? What do you think Giles?" She laughed. "I mean, your honor."

Ben and Buffy rushed to their mother and hugged her fiercely. Giles leaned back, feeling quite satisfied and very, very smug.