One little swear word in this chapter. Song I like is also here, inspired by Where the Wild Things Are, which I dislike for all the Buffy/Riley sex but love because Giles sings so beautifully...if that's the right word for it.
A big thank you to MsHellFire2005, devianttart, Snow Duchess and Enigmatic Eel.
"No. Not her. Just her form. In life, you talked with her; we thought this would make you comfortable."
Buffy stared.
"Perhaps not."
Tara frowned and changed. In her spot stood Andrew.
"Andrew." Buffy said reflexively.
Andrew frowned. "No. Just his body."
"Who are you!" Buffy demanded angrily.
"We are here to give you a gift."
"What kind of gift? Shoes?"
Andrew looked at her,confused and changed again.
"Damnit stop doing that, its confusing!" Buffy said plaintively.
"You have the choice" the First Slayer said gutturally. "For destroying a Hell Mouth, for the blood sacrifices you made..."
Blood sacrifices...Anya, Andrew, Robin, and Potentials...Spike.
"For these, we give you a gift. A life."
"Choose wisely." Giles stood before her. "Choose Well."
And then Buffy was left alone in her room, staring at her hands. Suddenly the laughter and breakfast downstairs didn't seem as appealing.
"But it's not true. It's a joke. They can't mean it." Buffy thought hastily. A life. No way. No way. Tears came to her eyes. Funny joke. I know there's another hell mouth. Some sick fuck toying with my mind.
Buffy put it out of her mind determinedly, and headed downstairs.
Working out what to do next took a long time, and many nights. Many arguments too, as Buffy and the Scooby Gang, along with Faith, argued with a lot of inexperienced and over-excited Slayers.Some returned to their homes, eager to see families left behind in the chaos.
A large group however, had no families at all- it seemed to be a feature of Slayer hood. These girls eventually agreed to travel to England, under the guidance of Giles and Xander, who were to teach them.
Many tears were shed as they left, and Willow had been almost inconsolable, to Kennedy's discomfiture.
"We're split up. How could you let this happen?" Willow had asked quietly.
Buffy looked sad. "It's what they want to do. I can't stop them."
Their last night together, Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles stayed in the temporary accommodation Giles had got for himself.
"You know Giles. I never did see your allegedly sexy singing." Buffy remarked, after a night of popcorn, soft drink and talking.
Giles muttered "don't know what you mean. Hardly the time..."
"Come on." Willow urged him. "You know you love going all crooner on us."
Giles shrugged uncharacteristically, put down his glass of wine and grabbed his guitar from the corner, sitting down and turning away from them.
He cleared his throat awkwardly and warned them "I'm not very good."
She calls out to the man on the street
"Sir, can you help me?
It's cold and I've nowhere to sleep,
Is there somewhere you can tell me?"
He walks on, doesn't look back
He pretends he can't hear her
Starts to whistle as he crosses the street
Seems embarrassed to be there
Oh, think twice, 'cause it's another day for
You and me in paradise
Oh, think twice, 'cause it's another day for you,
You and me in paradise
Willow looked down, tears in her eyes. Giles is sad too. Guess it's that British stuffiness that doesn't let him show it.
She calls out to the man on the street
He can see she's been crying
She's got blisters on the soles of her feet
She can't walk but she's trying
Oh, think twice, 'cause it's another day for
You and me in paradise
Oh, think twice, it's just another day for you,
You and me in paradise
Oh lord, is there nothing more anybody can do
Oh lord; there must be something you can say
Xander cleared his throat and shuffled his feet. Buffy took his hand silently, eyes on Giles who was still slightly turned away, his face in shadow. "I see what you mean Willow." Buffy whispered, smiling. "That is kinda sexy."
Xander groaned and put his hands over his ears. "I am not hearing that."
You can tell from the lines on her face
You can see that she's been there
Probably been moved on from every place
But she didn't fit in there
Oh, think twice, 'cause it's another day for
You and me in paradise
Oh think twice, it's just another day for you,
You and me in paradise
It's just another day for you and me in paradise
It's just another day for you and me in paradise
Giles trailed off and Willow stared down at the ground, fighting of tears and a terrible resurgence of a feeling reminiscent of home-sickness- but one Willow knew would be more appropriately named Tara-sickness.
Giles put his guitar down and cleaned his glasses.
"Well. There you have it."
Not such a fabulous chapter this one but I loved the reviews so I thought I'd update quickly...still sidetracked but glad people understand :)