Chapter 15: Father and Son Talk - Rupert

A/N: It's really short, but it's there.

Challenge: partially to answer a forum request/challenge by DeepBlueJoy for a story with a 'person of color' as a main character – who doesn't die immediately.

Warning: none actually…unless you happen to agree with the Cruciamentum and think Travers is an unsung hero.

Thanks to my beta: AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS and AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

Robin's apartment

Torn between stewing in anger at a Watcher who would willingly leave his Slayer and satisfying his curiosity as to what could make a man do that, Robin decided that he was more interested in the why of the matter, so he asked, "What do you mean, Bernie?"

Glad to see his son willing to listen – perhaps he would change his mind about the errant Watcher, too – Bernie replied, "Because he openly defied the Council during Buffy's Cruciamentum. Oh, he started the test as expected, but when he was faced with the reality of what he was doing to her, he came clean about it to her, then chased after her to help after the vampire the Council used killed its handlers and kidnapped Buffy's mother."

"Whew, bet neither Buffy nor the Council was happy with him that night," Robin breathed out. "I'm surprised she didn't break all of his bones for that…or did she?" he asked, looking far too hopeful for Bernie's comfort.

"No. The irony is I think Quentin had as much to do with Buffy forgiving Rupert as Rupert's change of heart – perhaps more so. From Rupert's diary, it didn't seem like she was too happy with him until Quentin fired him for caring too much about her. It might have hit her then that Rupert had very few options concerning the test. That and Quentin made himself a far nicer target for her fury," Bernie said with a smirk. Her comments to the Council stooge made his day when he read them.

After shaking himself out of his thoughts, he continued, "And despite the fact that a new Watcher was to be sent to Buffy, Rupert stayed to help. When she told the Council she wasn't going to have anything to do with them, he stayed. He continued to stay right up until last spring. I don't know what happened in the months since that could have made him leave, but the man I read about in the diaries would only have left Buffy if it was necessary to save the world," Bernie concluded, setting aside the entries where Rupert considered leaving when he felt useless. It was clear that Watcher and Slayer were side-by-side at the time of his abrupt departure…or they were in the diaries that just preceded it.

A/N: Next…I think we're done with Bernie and Robin for now. They kept talking, but we don't need to rehash all of BtVS history, do we? Time to check out what's happening at Buffy's house.