WDWG Chapter 14: Restructure
An insistent noise penetrated Buffy's sleep addled brain and prevented her from going back to sleep. Well, that and her body ached. It was a good ache though, like after a particularly good fight with a gang of vamps. 'And, what the hell is that noise again?' She stretched and moved to get up and the sound became clearer... a buzzing - and a Queen song?
"Giles..." She said softly with no response. "Giles?" She tried again with a little more force while poking his chest.
"Mmmph..." He replied groggily.
"Your phone..."
He grumbled and rolled over to grab the phone from the nightstand, rubbing his face in an attempt to wake up, "Giles, here," he mumbled as he hit the answer button on the offending device and shot the clock radio a nearsighted glance. "Christ, it's not even seven in the morning here. Can't he call me back at a more civilized hour? No, of course not... Yes, give me a moment and put him on..." The sluggish Brit muttered in resignation.
"Whozit?" Buffy murmured.
Giles hit the mute button on the phone and turned to his love, placing a kiss on her cheek, "Shhh, darling, go back to sleep. Council business I have to attend to." As he got up to head to the bathroom, he sighed in regret that they were robbed of the tender moments of waking up together after a night of shared passion.
Drifting back into a slumber, she grinned as she heard him complain, "This better be good, Uncle, I haven't had my morning tea yet," just before closing the bedroom door behind him.
A little later, Buffy awoke again to the sound of another mobile phone ringing, only this time it was hers playing... "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion? What the hell? As she grabbed her phone, she made a mental note to slay Dawn, who had personalized their phones the day they had gotten them. "Morning," she answered stifling a yawn. "Oh, hey Will, what's up? Breakfast? Umm, what time is it? Eight thirty? Meet in a half an hour? Yeah, I guess we can do that... No, I am, it's just... yeah, late night... No, all... Will... Willow... everything is fine! Ok, thirty minutes, and we'll be down. Yep, see ya." With that, the sleepy Slayer hung up the phone and leaned back into the pillows, taking in the mixed scent of her perfume and the wonderful Gilesy smell with a satisfied smile.
Picking up her robe, she headed towards the bathroom glancing into the common room, where she found Giles still on the phone and scribbling in his notebook. Making a slight detour, she walked over to him, caressed his cheek and placed a kiss on top of his head.
He looked up and smiled apologetically, "Hang on a second, please." He said into the phone. Hitting mute, he pulled Buffy into his lap and kissed her tenderly, "I'm sorry, this is the second call this morning."
"You're clean and dressed." She noted with a mocking pout.
"Yes, I had a thirty minute reprieve while my uncle took his dogs out for afternoon walkies." He sighed ruefully, "Otherwise I would have come back to bed."
"Mmmm, that would have been nice! Uncle, huh?"
"Yes, I have one of those." Giles stated dryly, trying to keep his lips from tugging into a full fledged smile.
Ignoring his sarcasm, Buffy asked, "Do you think you can break away? I got a call from Willow, there's a group going to breakfast and they want us to join."
"I think I can. It's past time for tea over there -"
"Oh, must not interrupt the sacred hour!"
The Englishman feigned indignation as he pushed his tremendously American girlfriend away. "Quite! Now hit the showers, Summers! I'll finish up here."
Leaning down, Buffy gently nibbled his earlobe, teasing, "You could join me."
Moaning softly at her suggestion, Giles playfully smacked her butt, "Off you go," he growled, watching her retreat into the bathroom, heaving a huge sigh of regret. Hitting the mute button again, he continued his conversation, "I'm back... Yes... we need to wrap this up, Uncle, I must head down to breakfast shortly... Alright, yes, I will provide that information as soon as I have it..."
It took Buffy a little longer than thirty minutes to get ready. She took her time reviewing the previous evening's activities with Giles, focusing on her happiness. The warm water felt wonderful on her sore muscles and for the first time since her Calling, she felt truly at peace.
When she came out of the room fully dressed in a light pink sundress and an off white cardigan, she had to stop and brace herself against the door frame as she quietly took in the sight of her Watcher pouring over his notebook, pen in his mouth, glasses on the desk, and his hair tousled from running his hands through it several times. He was in his element and she reveled in it. How many times over the years had she seen him in this exact same position?
"Hey, sweetie." She greeted, walking towards him.
He stood up grabbing his glasses and smiled softly in her direction, the corner of his eyes crinkling in delight as he took in her beauty. "Ready to go then, love?"
"Just about." She smiled at him as she combed her fingers through his hair, taming the waves. "Ok. Let's join our friends."
"You look lovely." He complimented, as he laced his hand with hers, walking out the door towards the elevators.
"Thank you. You're looking mighty handsome, if I do say so myself. Lovin' the burgundy v-neck." She returned, rubbing her free hand along his arm. "So... how are things with the Council?"
"Moving along rather quickly. There have been some positive developments in England, such as identifying several Watchers who were not killed in the blast or hunted down by the Bringers. Most seem to be of the younger generation, which is good. I will happily fill everyone in on the news later, but I'm not in the mood to discuss work right now." He said pulling her flush against him and tracing his fingers against her sensitive collarbone. "And I am very sorry about this morning. There was nothing I wanted more than to slowly wake up with you and continue my quest in finding all your sensitive spots, but it seems my uncle does not respect time zones."
The blonde woman trembled at his touch and raised an eyebrow in amusement, "You'll just have to make it up to me later then, won't you?" She murmured seductively.
Giles turned towards her, cupping her cheek and brushing his thumb along her lower lip, "You know I will." He replied, his voice husky.
Just then the bell chimed and the elevator doors opened, breaking the romantic mood between the pair. "Your uncle sounds grumpy." Buffy mused, changing the subject as she entered the lift.
Following her in, Giles countered, "Not really, just busy and occasionally absent minded. He's a good man, I think you will like him."
"Your father's brother or your mother's?"
"Mother's." He stated, putting his arm around her waist.
"Watcher?" She asked returning the gesture, hitching her thumb through a belt loop on his black cargo pants.
"Yes. Retired for some years, but back in service now. He has extensive contacts and is helping me out while we are rebuilding."
"Ally or willing accomplice in this brave new world of ours?" The wary Slayer interrogated, communicating her complete distrust of anyone associated with the old Council. If she were honest, she would have preferred to have Giles rebuild the Council from the ground up, but she knew that it would be an impossible task without the continuity and help of any and all Watchers who had survived the vicious attacks the First's henchmen had carried out.
"Definitely an ally, Buffy." Her lover reassured her, drawing her close, and placing a kiss at her temple. Guiding her through the doors of the opening lift, Giles silently watched Buffy contemplate the information she was given with a secret smile as they headed towards the dining room.
"Morning, Buff, G-man! Glad you could join us." Xander greeted as the couple found their party and sat down.
"Xander, must you insist on calling me that? It wasn't even funny the first time." The older man admonished, then addressed the rest of the party at the table, "Good morning all."
"It remains funny. You're just too stuffy to see it!" The younger man teased with good humor.
Not able to resist a good comeback, the Watcher replied, "I haven't worn tweed in a long time, whereas I see you are still dressing in the dark."
"Oh, that hurts," Xander laughed clutching his chest in mock pain, "but tweed isn't just a fabric, it's a state of mind."
"Yes, and what we can tell from your ensemble is that you must be our court jester, hmm?" Giles jabbed in return arranging his napkin in his lap.
"Ouch. Touché, Bookman! So, now that you've deigned to join us for breakfast, what took you so long?"
"I was on the phone dealing with Council business." Giles covered with enough truth behind it.
"Not buyin' it, G." Faith piped up. "We all know Buffy can't be on time."
"Hey, what's with the 'gang up on Buffy and Giles day'?" The senior Slayer pouted.
"Well, you are over fifteen minutes late, Buffy." Willow pointed out. "And we know Giles is always on time, which makes you the guilty party... unless you both were late because... oh!... babbling... stopping now!"
Buffy's eyes went wide with embarrassment at her best friend's rambling. Breaking out in a fit of giggles Kennedy grabbed her lover's hand. She'd never seen this side of the Scooby relationship before. The laughter proved infectious and the gentle teasing continued until their meals arrived.
"So, G, what's the scoop on the 'Council: UK division'?" Faith asked passing the syrup to Xander.
"Well, it seems several Watchers and Watchers-in-training have been located and a few of the retired Watchers have been persuaded to come out of retirement to help with the rebuilding and sit on the Board. Oh, and there is good news for you and Robin. We've procured housing accommodations just outside Cleveland for you and the current crop of Slayers. It's an old mansion on about 30 acres, so there is plenty of room for expansion, should there be need."
"Whoa, that was fast!" Willow chimed in.
"When and how did that happen?" Buffy asked incredulously.
"I had made some inquiries when you were in the shower the day we arrived." Giles returned matter-of-factly. "I was informed by my uncle this morning that a house was found and the bid was accepted by the sellers."
"Gotta love those Council guys. They sure can boogie." Xander added sardonically.
"Yeah," Faith added with a shudder, remembering the quickness with which the Wet Works team moved.
"Need I remind you all that we are the Council?" Giles prodded. "We're the front lines right now -"
"Always have been." The blonde Slayer pointed out.
"Yeah, G, nothing new there." Faith stated defiantly, folding her arms in support of Buffy.
"Yes, but please, let me finish. There is more and I think it will take some of the apprehension out of all this. The new Board has been in place for about a month. It is made up of five senior and formerly retired Watchers, three of whom were Watchers to previous Active Slayers. They understand what it is like to be in the heat of battle and know the absolute horror of losing a Slayer." His voice lowered with the last sentence and he looked away wincing slightly to stifle the bitter memories before resuming, "Anyway, one of the other two is my uncle and godfather, Sebastian Grey, an ally and advocate of mine from my birth. The other is Daniel McTavish, former head researcher and demon expert who has also held his own in the fight with Evil. He was my mentor and it was through him that I learned to sharpen my research skills. In short, we're talking about people who have the welfare of the Slayers first and foremost in their minds."
"No shit?" Faith asked wide eyed.
"Er... no shit!" Giles replied grinning with enthusiasm. He noticed Buffy's disbelieving look out of the corner of his eye. "But what is more, when I called my uncle to report on our status, the Board called an emergency meeting and voted to change the structure of the Council. Instead of there being a Head of Council, there are now two positions: co-presidents if you will. This will allow the organization to support the Slayers in several ways, not just providing a Watcher with Council resources."
Pulling off his glasses to take a moment to polish them, Giles turned to Buffy, "Those two positions belong to us. We were voted in unanimously."
"What?" The thunderstruck Slayer asked disbelievingly.
The group around the table cheered and clapped. Robin let out a wolf whistle, drawing the attention of the other diners and, more importantly, the 6 remaining Slayers and Andrew who were getting ready to head to the pool having finished their breakfasts. Instead, they made their way to the "adults' table".
"The idea would be for there always to be a Watcher and a Slayer at the head of the Council. It's actually quite brilliant! Of course, we still have to accept the positions..."
"Goddess, Buff! Say you'll do it!" Willow bounced excitedly, eliciting agreement from the mini-Slayers.
For the second time that morning, Buffy just stared at her best girl friend for a moment. Turning to her lover, she managed, "Well, this changes things."
It was Giles' turn to be confused, "How so?"
"We just went from being renegades to running the asylum!" She started laughing. "It's insane!"
Faith got up, walked around the table to where Buffy was sitting, and knelt in front of her, looking up at her with serious chocolate brown eyes, "Are you gonna do it, B? I mean, it makes sense and you retired from fighting anyway. This is the next step and it's huge! Who knows us better than you? We'll follow you. I promise." She vowed motioning to her fellow Slayers.
"If it helps, the Board approved the positions for Willow, Xander and Robin. They also created the position of Senior Slayer: Americas Division for Faith. Effective yesterday." Giles added with a smile.
Buffy grinned enthusiastically at Giles, grabbing his hand, "You really want to do this, don't you?"
Looking deeply in her eyes, he answered sincerely, "With you, yes."
"Ok, I'm on board." The blonde laughed. "This is definitely a good!"
Her Watcher pulled her into a tight embrace as the group gathered around offering their congratulations. It all seemed surreal, but then, what didn't these days? A week ago, all had seemed hopeless. Now there was a future to look forward to, plans to be made - plans that included more than paying the bills on time and making it through the night to fight another day. Nuzzling into his neck, Buffy raised her mouth to his ear and whispered, "Thank you, Giles."