A/N So at this point in canon we knew nothing about the Watchers Council and what we find out later is, well, confusing. The main Council seems to be made up of misogynistic control freaks that make Giles look like a great guy in comparison. I say in comparison because he actually wasn't. I read a fan essay recently wondering why Xander never bothered to learn a martial art. Bear in mind, he was a sixteen year old teenager when he met Buffy and Giles allowed him and Willow to help Buffy. Giles never gives either of them any help or encouragement, even though doing so would help keep them safer. Xander teaches himself to use a crossbow and an ax, both of which he's seen using over the course of the show. While attending school, helping with research and patrolling and later working and getting himself out of his abusive home life.
Willow teaches herself Magic, something Giles knows from personal experience and should know from training is extremely dangerous and aside from a couple of warnings, says and does nothing even when she screws up so badly people get hurt. Not until she melts down and tries to end the world.
As the adult with training and experience, it was his responsibility if he was going to allow them to be involved.
In other fics I've explored the 'evil' Council, the 'competent' Council and the 'mixed bag' Council, in this fic I'm going to examine another potential aspect of the Council, the actual demon hunting part. In canon we see they have teams, one of which gets sent after Faith. Now I'm going to use the idea of the hunter teams as an avenue of helping Xander.
While exploring what an actual competent Watcher/mentor/parental figure should look like. Giles encouraging and allowing Buffy to be in an extremely dangerous relationship with Angel was never going to be a 'good' thing, no matter how much the audience wanted to believe it was. Given the way Joss deliberately wrote Angel to be, obsessive, controlling, manipulative and the whole supposedly falling in love with her at first sight while she looks like a twelve year old sucking on a lollipop literally says everything about how Joss actually wanted the audience to view Angel. The warning signs were all there long before the curse actually broke.
Fan essays detail how cringy they thought sixteen year old Xander was, why don't I see any essays on Angel, whether he's a 26 year old human or a 240 year old vampire supposedly falling in love with a 15 year old who looks 12 sucking on a lollipop? 😏
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"There's going to be some ground rules." Diana informed the two squirming teenagers sitting at her kitchen table. "You're both barely sixteen, you might think you're ready for anything life throws at you, but you're not. I don't have a problem with the two of you dating, I have a problem with the two of you engaging in a sexual relationship at your age. Granted, your first time together was while you both were under the influence of Magic and neither of you could give consent. But that does not mean that going forward you can have sex 'just because you already have'. You need time to deal with the ramifications of the act and the circumstances and the consequences of the situation."
"What kind of consequences?" Xander asked, scared. "Are we in some kind of legal trouble or am I? I'm older and I'm a guy and does the law think I forced Faith? I keep having a nightmare that I did, force her I mean. I need to know, did I?"
"I wanted it too." Faith told him. "And I was stronger and could have kicked you off. I don't know where I end and the animal began because I felt everything and I wanted it too. From killing and eating the lion to inviting you to have sex with me. I liked you before this whole mess, so I don't know how much was me and how much was that the thing that accidentally got jacked into me, so how can you?"
"Which is my point." Diana told them. "You need to take a step back and figure out what is you and what isn't. You can accomplish that as friends or by cautiously dating, but not by having sex. Once we know for sure if Faith is pregnant or not-."
"Oh gods." Xander whimpered. "The idea of being a dad scares the crap out of me, but if you are pregnant, Faith, I refuse to be a deadbeat Dad. I'll drop out if I have to and get a job, I'll help take care of a baby no matter how much the idea freaks me out. Just don't cut me out, okay? Give me a chance to prove I want to help."
"How can I have a kid and be the Slayer?" Faith was just as scared, if not more so. "I won't be able to actually do the Slaying part while I'm pregnant, but I don't want to just get rid of it either. What do I do, Diana?" Faith looked and felt lost, she honestly had no clue what direction to go in.
"First, we don't yet know you're pregnant." Diana reminded her. "Second, the Slayer is not the only person looking after the world. A single Slayer can't protect the entire world, which is why demon hunting groups like the Watchers Council exist. If you are pregnant, I will petition to have a full-time hunter team assigned to Sunnydale. There's enough vampire activity here to warrant it."
"What if I'm not pregnant?" Faith asked, not sure which answer she'd prefer. A baby would change her life more than being the Slayer, but her baby would also likely grow up without her. Sure, it would have Xander and Diana and Jesse would probably love being an uncle, but she might not ever really get to be the Mom.