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Chapter 24

New Watcher

Disclaimer: Part of the Text was written in Season Four of Buffy the Vampires Slayer. No infringement is intended. Words only use to drive the plot along.

As Giles entered the double doors of the Sunnydale library, he was waylaided by Principal Snyder.

"Mr. Giles, there you are," he said, his mouth twisted in a frown and his small brow arched in curiosity. "I have been looking for you. Where have you been?"

Giles sighed, looking down at the toad-like man. "Principal Snyder, remember I had asked for a couple of days off several days ago," Giles said exasperated.

"You did?" he said surprised.

"Yes," Giles said. "You signed off on me taking a few days. I have papers to that effect," Giles reminded the man.

"Yes, well," he said waving his hands in dismissal. "That's irrelevant now. Come on, I want to introduce you to your assistant librarian."

"Assistant librarian?" Giles asked puzzled. "I didn't ask for one."

"Well, you got one," Snyder snapped. "Meet Mr. Wesley Wyndam-Pryce," he said gesturing to a man in his late twenties, early thirties.

Wesley was a somewhat foppish looking man, with dark brown hair and wire rimmed glasses that obscure his hazel eyes. He was sorting books on the table.

Giles groaned. Just what I need, he thought, a Council crony.

"Mr. Giles?" Wesley said with eagerness in his tone as he rushed to clasp Giles' hands almost tripping over his feet. "I'm a Watcher," he whispered.

"I wouldn't have guessed," Giles murmured, shaking the other man's hands.

"Well, I will leave you two to get acquainted," Snyder said sourly, as he walked through the door. Giles didn't seem as upset as he should, he thought. If suddenly a younger man came on the scene, he would be upset. "Why do we need two librarians?" he muttered to himself. "…and another British one at that."

Wesley smiled a sickly sweet smile at Giles.

Giles bared his teeth, letting him see Ripper.

Wesley flinched and busied himself with some books.

They could hear Snyder in the uncomfortable silence that followed. "You there," he could be heard yelling. "Pick that up! This isn't your home."

As his voice trailed off, Giles turn towards Wesley. "I don't need another Watcher," said Giles with a frown. "I have being doing a great job."

"No, you haven't," Wesley said. "If you had been doing such a great job, then they wouldn't have fired you."

Giles winced and didn't go into his usual denial about quitting. Whom was he kidding? he thought, walking to sit on a nearby chair. He was fired because the love he has for Buffy is the love of a father. In the last few days, he had felt his age: Buffy lying to him, to them, had taken a toll on him; then there was the situation with Samantha, denying there was something between them.

What a kiss, he mused with a small grin. What a spark that had caused. It had shown that the heart he thought long dead was still a beating mess. Earlier, he felt as if Samantha had retreated. For one brief moment, both had let down their guards and brought someone else into their heart. After Jenny and Jack, both never thought they would find someone else that could complete them. But Samantha seemed stubborn, willing to deny that she had let her guard down.

"Mr. Giles, Mr. Giles," said Wesley.

"What?" said Giles, shaking his head and focusing his gaze on the other man.

"I've been calling you for the last ten minutes," he said in an annoyed tone.

"Pardon me," Giles answered dryly.

"As I was saying," Wesley responded briefly looking up from unpacking some boxes. "Of course, training procedures have been updated quite a bit since your day, much greater emphasis on fieldwork."

"Really?" said Giles with a bored stare. He crossed his arms.

"Oh, yes," he said with enthusiasm as he walked around a box. "Not all books and theory nowadays," he said as he reached in the box for some books "I have, in fact, faced two vampires myself – under controlled circumstances, of course."

"Well, no danger of finding those here," Giles said dryly as he uncrossed his arms.

"Vampires?" said Wesley looking up with a thoughtful frown on his face.

"No, controlled circumstances." Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Buffy enter the library. "Hello…Buffy."

Wesley overhears, looks at her and smiles condescendingly. "Well...," he said stepping to the head of the table. "Hello."

Buffy gives him a quick look up and down.

"New Watcher?" Buffy asked, one eyebrow arched.

"New Watcher," Giles agreed with a nod.

Wesley took a step towards her and held out his hand in greeting. "Wesley Wyndam-Pryce."

Buffy made no move to return the gesture but continued to eye him critically.

A moment later, he stepped back again. "Uh, It's very nice to meet you," he said with a slight embarrassed blush.

Buffy stepped over to Giles, never removing her eyes from Wesley. "Is he evil?"

Wesley looked perplexed. "Evil?" he wondered.

Giles gave her a brief grin. "Not as far as I know."

She shrugged.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going to check…"

"What?" said Wesley eagerly. "Is it something I can help with?"

"There you are Giles," Cordelia interrupted pushing the door open. "There was some guy looking for you said he's a Watcher."

"He's right here," said Giles.

"Oh," she said abashed.

"Hello, Cordelia," Buffy said, giving her a brief nod. It seemed like a lifetime ago when everything was sane. The only thing she had to worry about was having a life outside of being a slayer. Now in the last few days, everything had changed. Giles, Willow, and Xander (and even to some extent Oz) had become less innocent. Of course, they had known evil was in the world, but there lives were insular. She frowned and wondered what would have happened if she hadn't come to Sunnydale. Would they have had a normal life? "Everything changes," she mused, except for Cordelia who still focued her life as the popular cheerleader in the midst of chaos.

"Oh, Buffy? You're back," Cordelia said. "Did you get everything straightened up?"

"Yeah, we got in early this morning," Buffy replied. "Listen, I am wondering if you don't mind coming by the house tonight. There is something I want to tell you."

"Sure," she said with only a slight hesitation. "What time?"

"Seven o'clock?" Buffy said looking at her watch.

"Alright," Cordelia answered walking out the door.

"Giles, I got to book," said Buffy in a causal dismissal. "See you later?" she asked. "Same time?"

"Yes," he said with a nod.

Watching the camaraderie between the slayer and her friends, Wesley felt left out. "Mr. Giles," he called. There was a thin smile on his lips as he said, "You don't have to be jealous that I will be a better Watcher."

"A better Watcher?" said Giles dumbfounded, watching the other man walked out the room.

Willy's Bar.

"Hey there… Slayer," Willy said loudly and half his costumers went out the back door.

Buffy strolled into the dingy bar, ignoring the mass exodus her presence had caused and walked up to the bar. "Hey Willy, long time no see," she said casually, feeling the presence of the odd demon in the room.

"Buffy," Willy said clearing his throat, wiping a damp cloth across the bar.

"So," she said looking around. "Have you noticed anything weird going on…lately?"

"Weird?" he asked apprehensively, his eyes darting around the room with a frown. "What do you consider weird? We live on the Hellmouth."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "How about humans disappearing," she said.

Willy gave her a strange look.

"More than usual," she snapped.

"As a matter of fact," he said with a pause, "some of the guys have been complaining that there hasn't been enough food. But you know me – I like to keep myself to the background," he said with a shrug.

"Yeah," she said dryly. "Hey!" she said out loud, walking to the middle of the room. "It would be worth a lot to someone if they tell me if they find or know about something weird going on. Something out of the ordinary."

"Like what," someone yelled back.

"What's in it for me, if I tell you anything," a Lor'ash demon growled.

"Your life," Buffy said dryly, walking out the door and into the sunshine beyond.