No More Farewells - Chapter 4
Buffy stood up, stretched, and walked to the window overlooking the courtyard below while her hosts deliberated in rapid French. The translator they provided her had steadfastly refused to fill her in on the heated debate going on amongst the group. She thought she heard them talking about croissants, but then realized it could've been something about the number four - quatre - she had no clue. High school French certainly hadn't prepared her for this.
Folding her arms around her, she watched the raindrops form concentric circles as they hit the puddles below. It was a dank, cold day and the huge 18th century building with its high airy ceilings and large, full length windows did nothing to keep the heat in. Ornate and opulent and impressive though everything was, she wished for a warmer and less imposing setting.
It was Wednesday. She had been negotiating for five days and they were still no closer to an agreement. She wanted to help, but not at the expense of giving control of her Slayers and Watchers over to a foreign authority. That was unacceptable, especially in light of the Slayer to Watcher ratio - the new and fragile relationships between them still needing to grow and gain mutual trust and respect without having additional and possibly conflicting orders barked at them from outsiders.
And as her mind mulled over the term Watcher, her thoughts naturally shifted to Giles. He should have arrived in the city earlier that morning for his conference. Since her French colleagues were still deliberating, she wandered back to her table and rifled through her briefcase, pulling out the information he had sent her for the following evening. Giles was scheduled as the last guest speaker of the evening before the president of the Louvre gave his closing remarks and the celebratory reception began.
The conversation between the members of the warring ministries started to heat up, getting louder and with angry gesticulating, and she sighed inwardly, placing the papers back in her case. She probably wasn't going to get to go to the conference, and as much as she was looking forward to seeing Giles again - to hear him speak - there were so many conflicting feelings surrounding him that it was probably for the best. Having had a few days to distance herself from the situation after their last conversation, she realized she had been right. She couldn't trust herself around him. She'd allowed herself to flirt with him, further opening her heart to potentially more hurt. It all needed to stop. Well… maybe they just needed to set some hard limits because she loved his advice, his absolute faith in her abilities, and to hear him profess his faith in her, because she doubted herself at times, especially in this new role she'd placed herself in.
Buffy ran a hand through her long hair and conceded that they needed to have a serious conversation. Yes, they needed to set those limits and figure out how to navigate through it all and be friends again. And she needed to be a friend and find a way to be at the Louvre to support him during this very important time in his life.
Needing some air and time to think, Buffy gathered her things and stood up. She'd had enough of the posturing of her French counterparts and the infighting between them. Nothing was being accomplished and she really had better things to do than sit and watch their shenanigans. When she reached the door, the lead negotiator for the Ministry of Defense asked, "Mademoiselle, where are you going?"
Buffy turned around and shrugged. "Shopping, sightseeing, perhaps having a coffee while sitting along the Seine and watching the boats go by, I don't know. But right now, you are wasting my time. You have a problem. A very big problem endangering your citizens. I have the resources you need. When you come to grips with the fact that I can fix your problem and all I need is the authorization to go in and clean it up without interference, call me on my mobile. Oh, and if you can't or won't make that happen, then let me know so I can go home. I have a large organization to run." With that, she pushed through the huge, ornate doors and let herself out.
—
It felt rather liberating walking out of the meeting holding all the cards. Of course, potentially losing a huge client like the French government would be a big blow and would possibly result in Xander falling into an apoplectic fit, but there had been no guarantee they were going to play ball from the start. She supposed she should call him and let him know of the latest development, but she was enjoying the peace and quiet at the moment and wasn't going to let anything kill her buzz.
The rain had stopped and the sun had broken through the clouds, creating an ethereal shimmer amongst the buildings and along the pavement. Having walked the two blocks down to the Seine, Buffy grabbed a ham and cheese baguette and coffee from a street vendor and placed a dry newspaper down on a bench before sitting down along the riverfront. Across the river stood the Tuileries Gardens and the Louvre. Giles would be there by now, attending lectures and schmoozing with the big academics in his field.
The familiar ache in her chest grew at the thought of him. Before she'd left for California, she'd made the decision that perhaps it was best if they stay friends and let some time pass before seeing each other again - to allow the wounds to heal. But Giles had asked her to take some time to think about their relationship while she was away, professing his love for her, fighting for a chance to make things work between them. And she'd promised him she would.
The sex had been incredible - the heightened emotions, the urgent need to be together... though the aftermath had been one of her lowest points in quite a while. And while she tried desperately to put on a happy face and spend some quality time with her sister, even advocating for her to make up with Giles, Buffy knew that Dawn knew something wasn't right. Even their father had noticed Buffy's dour mood, often commenting on it, trying to get her to open up. And he was just about the last person she would tell something so confidential and so important to.
She took a sip of warm coffee and adjusted the collar of her coat to ward herself from the damp chill in the air as November heralded the cold, wet weather of late autumn. At least the sun still shone. Her phone rang and she sighed deeply. It was probably someone from the meeting she'd just left calling to berate her for leaving and asking her back to the meeting room to continue negotiations.
"Buffy Summers," she answered.
"So where are you and what did they do to piss you off to leave?" Xander asked in a sympathetic tone.
"What? Xand? How did you know?"
"Got a call from a very irate underling of one of the ministers asking me to intercede on their behalf. You know, trying to circumnavigate the chain of command. If you don't get somewhere with mom, ask dad, right?" Xander explained as Buffy huffed indignantly. "I told them I couldn't be of any help. Not my department. Anyway, not sure whether it was Defense or Interior. Doesn't matter. You okay?"
"Yeah. I just got fed up. They isolated me in the room by speaking French amongst themselves and getting huffy with one another. I told them to stop wasting my time and come to a decision. We have what they need and they need to decide whether to let us do what we need to do or find a different way of dealing with their problem, you know?"
"Yeah, I know. I am sure they'll cool down and come to their senses."
"I hope so. I thought you'd be less cool about this."
"I've seen you in action, Buffy. You took the previous Council clowns down a notch. I am sure these bloviating bureaucrats need the same type of treatment."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence. I needed that."
"That's what friends are for. So uh, speaking of friends, I had dinner with Giles the other night."
"Smooth," Buffy commented with amusement.
"Liked that transition, did you?"
"How is he?" she asked with what she hoped was an air of indifference.
"Good. We talked about his new gig and how that's going, which is really good, by the way." He waited for her to say something, but she didn't, so he he continued, "We also talked about starting up movie nights at my place, but, you know, he's kinda worried about how you'll react with him there."
"Did he say why?"
"I think it's just hard for him, you know, with you guys not being so close at the moment," Xander answered, and she was thankful that Giles hadn't confided in him.
"He's worrying for nothing. We're both adults. I think we can handle a couple hours in the same room together without…" She trailed off. Without what? Groping each other in a huge make out session? Fighting? Pining for the other? Pretending that nothing was wrong between them? "Without causing a scene," she finally finished.
"I'm not worried. He's just… you know how he is. He doesn't want to… be the cause of friction."
"I'll tell you what I told Dawn. Giles is family and he deserves our love and support and to be a part of things."
"I agree and it's sorta what I told him. Kinda. You know, and basically offering a sacrificial lamb into the mix if things get tense for whatever reason."
Buffy laughed. "Andrew as a peace offering?"
"You know it," he confirmed and Buffy could practically hear his goofy grin through the phone.
"Thanks, Xand."
"Hey, no problem, but when you get back, you should give Giles a call and make arrangements to meet up for drinks or something and just… talk."
Her eyes shot across the Seine to the Louvre again as a sense of longing clutched at her heart. She swallowed and feigned a sense of amusement. "Trying to keep those movie nights from turning into a death match?"
"Well, my money would be on you, but I have to keep the peace and I really don't want to get Andrew's hopes up that he might be allowed to watch movies with us."
She let out a little laugh. "For Andrew's sake I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks, I know Giles regrets the badness between you."
Her tone turned serious and she closed her eyes against the hurt the conversation had dredged up. "I regret it too."
"I know. Now, see what you can do to get the French to play ball with us."
"Hopefully they'll come to a consensus and fill me in on what they want us to do, if anything. Honestly, I just want to come home," Buffy replied truthfully. 'And sleep and ignore the world for a few weeks,' she thought, but she knew she had to see the deal through and, if her schedule allowed, support Giles at the conference.
As his friend.
Until she could reconcile her heart and her head.
"I get it, Buff. You need some downtime. Look, regardless of the outcome, take a few days to do some sightseeing and don't worry about things here. I've got it covered. And I promise, no Gary Oldman."
"There better not be a Tom Cruise as Lestat or any other demonic decorations lurking in my office."
"Nope, don't worry. Good luck and keep me posted."
"Will do," she answered, hearing the click on the other end of the line. Placing her mobile in her purse, she grabbed her things and started to wander down the Seine. Maybe she'd take in some sights while she waited to hear from her French counterparts.