Grrrr... Fixed. And you're right. I originally had a different name in for Irene. For some reason names are the hardest thing for me to come up with so I'll usually put a generic name in as I'm writing and then go back and change them all once I find the right name. I have no idea how I skipped an entire chapter though. I guess I'm as ready for the in laws to leave as they are. Hehe. Back to the story.
Warnings and disclaimer in Chapter 1. Enjoy.
"Wonderful breakfast Ms. Summers," Andrew said after his first bite. "I don't think I could do any better."
"Thank you Andrew," she told him. He beamed as he went back to his food. They looked up from their breakfast when an untidy Giles entered the room, carrying Buffy in his arms. Joyce raised an eyebrow questioningly, but stayed quiet. Tara and Willow helped Giles into his chair while the others watched with various levels of fascination.
"Thank you," he said to them as they helped him perch Buffy on his lap. She was straddling his knee, her back up against his chest just like a toddler. She opened her eyes long enough to smile at them before closing them again and leaning back contentedly.
"Where's the chair?" Dawn asked. He looked up at her.
"She, umm, didn't want it," he stammered. Dawn looked back at her sister. She appeared completely relaxed, but on closer examination she could see her hand wrapped tightly around his arm. Dawn winced in sympathy. The others looked at each other before turning their attention back to the pair.
"Would you like some breakfast?" Joyce asked. Giles looked up in fear before forcing his fear aside. His stomach growled, reminding him he missed dinner last night, and churned at the same time.
"Maybe some tea?" he asked. "I'm feeling a bit queasy at the moment." She nodded and soon placed a cup before him. He grabbed the handle, taking a cautious sip while everyone returned to their own meals. The normal mundane chatter slowly started up, which comforted him more than he thought it should.
"Morning." Giles rolled his eyes as Ethan came strolling in. "What wonderful chaos are we going to get today?"
"Can I get you some tea Ethan?" Joyce asked.
"That would be wonderful, love," he said smiling at her. She returned the smile and left to get his tea.
"You seem awfully glib this morning," Giles snarked. Ethan smirked. "And when did you and Joyce start getting along so well?"
"We came to an understanding last night," he said, taking a seat next to Giles. Buffy opened her eyes, turning her head to watch him, but made no move to leave Giles's embrace. "So what's on the agenda for today? Do we still focus on the crazy vampire chained downstairs or do we start on the witch's evil doppleganger?"
"Ethan!" Joyce hissed as she handed him his tea. "We don't discuss these things in front of my daughter."
"Oh," Ethan looked chastised. "I'm sorry love. I didn't realize."
"Actually," Giles said, looking at Ethan in wonder, "she's curious about what you're talking about."
"Wait!" Xander spoke up. "What do you mean she's curious?" Giles was about to answer when the door opened. A minute later Wesley led his group into the dining room.
"Do you mind if we come in?" he asked, pulling in some stools from the kitchen with them. Joyce nodded her consent, and they made themselves comfortable around the table.
"Can I interest you in some breakfast?" Joyce asked politely. They shook their heads.
"We've already eaten," Wesley explained, "but thank you." She nodded before focusing on Giles.
"What did you mean?" she demanded. Buffy looked at her momentarily before refocusing on Ethan, but everyone could see she was starting to get uncomfortable. Giles didn't answer immediately, instead he focused on calming her down once again. Joyce, realizing she made her daughter uncomfortable, kept quiet and took a few steps back.
"I heard we missed some excitement last night," Wesley broke the uncomfortable silence after a few minutes. The Scoobies looked at him.
"Understatement of the year," Xander said, "but we missed it too. And nobody wants to talk about it, so tread lightly." Wesley nodded. After a few minutes Giles was able to calm Buffy down again.
"What did you mean Rupert?" Joyce asked again, calmly this time. Giles sighed, tightened his grip on Buffy, and turned towards her mother.
"Last night I felt something," he explained. "Something I can't quite explain. I felt fear. I felt Buffy's fear." There was silence after that.
"Everyone could tell she was terrified," Dawn attempted to interject some common sense. "Maybe you just displaced some of that?"
"No," Giles shook his head. "I had my own emotions that night. Confusion, which rapidly changed into anger, rage and hate." Dawn nodded, experiencing those same feelings. "I never felt fear until Buffy did, but I felt it as if it was my own."
"Are you sure you weren't just reacting to her reaction?" Joyce asked desperately. "Everything was so intense last night. I was afraid for her." He shook his head.
"No," he countered, barely resisting stomping his foot in a very childlike way. "I wasn't afraid for her or reacting to her distress. I felt her fear. There is no other explanation." He was quiet for a moment before adding. "I'm feeling a small amount of that fear right now."
"What?" Willow asked. Tara studied them intently, a frown forming on her face as struggled to understand what she was seeing. "You mean you're afraid she's still feeling fear?"
"No," Tara spoke up. She turned to him sheepishly. "I hope you don't mind that I read your aura." He smiled to show he wasn't mad. She turned to her girlfriend, but spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "Buffy's aura is completely out of balance. Nowhere near her Slayer aura when we first met, but nothing like her aura after The Ring either. When Joyce brought her home, her aura was dimmed, almost like she didn't realize she could feel or didn't know what to feel. Since she's been back her aura has stabilized. She's coming to terms with her experience as best she can, but right now it's almost like when she first came home, only more intense. Fear and confusion are dominating her other emotions. Even on her worst days it's never been this bad. And Giles is almost a mirror image." Giles closed his eyes and concentrated.
"She's afraid of her mother," he said painfully, "but confused because her mother has always made her feel safe until now."
"She's afraid of me?" Joyce asked shakily, sinking onto a chair. Giles opened his eyes and stared at her.
"Not you," he clarified, "but what you can make her do." Joyce closed her eyes.
"You've bonded?" Wesley asked, awestruck. Giles looked to him desperately.
"How?" Giles asked. Anya was studying the pair intently, while the rest looked between Giles and Wesley. "There's no other explanation I can think of, but I always thought it would be a gradual process. Not out of the blue as this seems to be."
"What is bonded?" Gunn asked, "and what does that mean?" Wesley sighed.
"It means I never stood a chance as her Watcher," he sighed before turning to Giles. "Is it a complete bond?"
"I'm not sure," he admitted. "I'm sure it was last night, but since then it's been different. I'm not sure what are my feelings and what are hers."
"Interesting," Wesley said, taking his glasses off and polishing them.
"Very interesting," Xander parroted. "What's this bonded?"
"The bond between a Slayer and a Watcher," Anya told him.
"You know about this?" Xander asked. Anya threw him a look that said 'Duh' before turning back to Giles.
"I knew you were close, but I didn't realize you two had bonded." Wesley continued, not responding to the attempted interruption.
"Neither did I," he admitted. Joyce held up her hands to stop them.
"Okay," she interjected, frustration coloring her voice. "What is this bonding?" Giles looked up sharply as Buffy started trembling slightly. Joyce took a deep breath, closing her eyes while Giles comforted her daughter.
"Perhaps I can explain," Wesley offered. Everyone turned to look at him. "As you know, the bond between a Slayer and her Watcher is key in her ultimate success or failure."
"Which is why so much time and effort is spent pairing them up," Willow added, looking away from Tara for the first time. "Giles told us all about it. They have spells and seers and everything."
"Correct," Wesley agreed, "and for the most part relationships between Slayers and Watchers are successful, but on a level resembling a working relationship. Occasionally they will bond deeper, but anything more than a student teacher relationship is frowned upon. But every so often a Slayer and Watcher bond so closely they almost become one entity. Many times they become lovers." Ethan choked on the tea he had been sipping, turning to face Giles when his coughing fit was finished.
"Lovers?" he asked. Giles glared at him.
"Not that it's any of your business, but no." Buffy opened her eyes and stared at the chaos mage serenely.
"Many times when one of the bonded pair dies, the other follows quickly behind," Wesley finished solemnly. Everyone paled slightly. Buffy started fidgeting, sensing the discomfort in the room.
"It's one of the reasons the Council doesn't want Watchers to be emotionally connected to their Slayers," Giles told them once Buffy was calm again. "Active Watchers are incredibly hard to find. To risk losing one when their Slayer inevitably dies is a senseless loss. Which explains why the Cruciamentum is as much a test for the Watcher as the Slayer."
"I always wondered why you went through with it," Wesley admitted. "Though at the time, I naively assumed it was simply because it was Council policy."
"You did it to protect her," Joyce said, finally understanding herself. Giles nodded.
"I protested every step of the way," he admitted, "but I knew if I downright refused I would be removed and Buffy would be given a new Watcher. I hoped if I did their test they would leave us in peace."
"Well it almost worked," Wesley chuckled. "Though I doubt it ultimately worked out the way the Council hoped." He turned serious again. "But I don't know how you could become bonded so deeply without knowing."
"There's that word again," Xander interjected. "What exactly is bonded? How is it different than being close? Cause they've always been close."
"Yeah," Willow added. "Giles has always been able to tell if something was bothering her or if she was lying to him." Giles smiled at her.
"I do know her very well," he agreed, "but last night was different. I felt her fear, so sharply that it infused a cold terror in me that I still don't understand." He turned to Xander. "Bonding is a connection formed between Watchers and Slayers so deep that they can literally know what each other is thinking, feeling, or doing. They essentially become one. It is what every Watcher aspires to become. Only a handful of bonded pairs have been known to exist since Watcher's began, and those Slayers are legendary."
"You and Buff are pretty unstoppable," Xander tried again to understand.
"We made a good team," he conceded, "but it's different now. I was able to read her through her actions or her words, but now I feel her emotions."
"What about now?" Joyce asked. Giles frowned.
"It's muted now," he explained, "but I still feel fear mixed with confusion and curiosity."
"Muted?" Wesley asked. "If you're truly bonded the feelings should only increase, not become muted."
"I know," Giles snapped before sighing. "I'm sorry. It was a rough night for both of us and I'm a little snappish today."
"That's quite all right," Wesley grinned at him, putting his hand on the older man's shoulder, "but you do realize what this means don't you?"
"Research," Giles mumbled, without the enthusiasm that word usually brought. Everyone groaned with him, as he hung his head in exhaustion.
"Research?" Ethan asked. "We already have two situations to deal with and you want to add another?"
"I don't want to," Giles snapped, raising his head to glare at his former friend. "It seems as if we have no choice."
"It's getting a bit chaotic," the chaos mage grinned mischievously as he reached for some pancakes. "I'm beginning to see the appeal of this town."
"Ethan," Joyce warned as she finished her breakfast. While the others were finishing their plates she got a bowl and put some plain yogurt into it for Buffy. Buffy turned her head to watch her when she started to approach. She knelt next to the chair, reaching out to push back some of Buffy's hair which was falling over her face. "Hey baby. Did you sleep well last night?" Buffy didn't answer. Instead she kept her gaze firmly on Joyce's face. Her face was inscrutable, and not for the first time Joyce wished she would start talking. "Do you remember what we talked about last night? How you need to eat or Ben will have to put you back in the hospital?"
"Joyce," Giles warned even as Buffy reluctantly nodded. She glanced at him briefly before picking up the spoon. Joyce took a spoonful of yogurt and fed it to her daughter. Buffy struggled to eat and eventually almost all of it made it down. Joyce beamed at her daughter, while Giles was starting to look a little green.
"Another bite," she encouraged, raising the spoon to her lips again. Buffy obliged. Joyce watched happily as her daughter finally started eating again. The third spoonful was when she noticed Buffy's hands trembling slightly, but Buffy ate it with no complaint. Giles, however, was getting greener and greener.
"Stop!" he said after a fourth bite was eaten. He looked between the two of them before pushing his chair back as far as it could go. He was just in time too, as a second later Buffy began to throw up. He held her upright as vomit and bile began running down her chin and onto her shirt, even as he closed his eyes tightly to control the rising nausea he was feeling. After a few minutes her stomach was empty, but she continued to dry heave for another couple of minutes before she slumped back against Giles in exhaustion.
"Buffy?" Joyce was already there with a towel, starting to clean her daughter up. The Scoobies looked on in sympathy, this was not the first time Buffy had vomited all over herself, while the fang gang backed away until they were safely out of range. They slowly gathered the dishes, nobody had any appetite after that, and began cleaning up while Joyce saw to her daughter. "Rupert?" she asked. He still looked a little green.
"I think I know why I'm nauseous," he said calmly, opening his eyes and looking at her. "But I don't think it's me and I don't think it's an emotional response." She caught his eye before sighing.
"I'll call Ben once we get everything cleaned up," she said. Giles nodded.