::Giles:: What Are You Doing Here?

[Buffy Anne Summers]

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Three vampires down and the adrenalin was pumping through her at an alarming rate. She was so hyped up that she wasn’t sure what could tame it. She wished there was something stronger than the vampires she had faced out here, but then regretted the notion as if there was something stronger out here she highly doubted it would have not killed anyone yet…and she didn’t wish that on anyone. She looked at her watch and noted the time. She could easily drive another hour away to patrol a larger cemetery and still make it back before the others woke up. The thought was tempting, but it was only a brief one.

Her thought was brief because of the whole being kicked in the head thing that had happened. She groaned as she fell forward and looked up to see a vampire advancing on her quickly. She muttered under her breath before kicking her legs up in order to right herself. She immediately got into a fighting stance and raised an eyebrow. “No fair hitting GO when I wasn’t looking. That will cost you 15 brownie points mr.” She quipped before jumping at the vampire, her stake out in her hand naturally.

She felt the vampire in question try and attack her but she rolled her eyes and side stepped him. He wasn’t nearly as smart as some of the others she’d faced and this fight was almost as pathetic as it was short.

“Come on, why are you picking on a defenseless girl?” She asked, though not really expecting an answer. She saw him snap at her and was fairly shocked when he reached out a knife from his back pocket. It wasn’t usual that vampires carried weapons so she wasn’t prepared, thus leaving her with a cut across her arm and one across her cheek. She could tell when the scent of blood hit the vampire because he got even more crazed and she knew she had to end this. “Oh, wait, I’m not defenseless.” She stated, using his own weight as momentum as he came at her to flip him upside down. Shoving the stake through his chest quickly she sighed in relief when she watched his body turn to dust and ash.

She wiped her hands on her pants, scowling at the cut on her arm. Her thoughts were interrupted by a scream and she didn’t think, she just ran towards it.

Once there she saw a dead girl laying on the ground and a vampire advancing towards another. She jumped in, grabbing the vampire’s arm. “Hey! Why don’t you pick on someone my size.” She told him before delivering a punch directly to his face. She didn’t let the fight go on long as she threw him over the headstone. She barely gave him an opportunity to fight back before she plunged the stake directly into his heart, rolling her eyes at the dust. She turned back to the girl, knowing she had to do something. She crouched down in front of her. “Are you alright?” She waited until the girl nodded before smiling sadly. “Run home. I’ll take care of everything.” She told her before waiting until she did. Once the girl was gone she dialed 911, placing an anonymous call before heading towards another part of the cemetery, making sure not to be seen.

She sighed as she waited until she saw the ambulance pull in before heading back to the boarding house, not wanting to stay out any later. She didn’t want to get caught in the cemetery by the authorities…it would be a bit hard to explain why she was there when a dead girl was found not even a mile away.

She walked back towards the house, her mind contently blank as she did. She didn’t want to think about anything, literally, wanted to keep her brain cleared of all rational or irrational thoughts because when she thought too much, it got her into trouble.

Before long she realized she was walking up the driveway of the house she was renting (though considering buying). She noted the time was after midnight and opened the door, creeping in as silently as possible to not wake the other occupants of the home up. However a noise from the living room alerted her that someone was still up. As she walked into the room her eyes widened as she saw who it was. She noted the broom that had fallen, though she didn’t know who had knocked it over as the person sitting on her couch was not anywhere near the broom.

“Giles?” She asked, though a smile broke free as she saw her watcher for the first time in over a month.

Word Count:: 805
Tag:: Rupert Giles
Outfit:: Click here for Buffy’s outfit
Note:: Sorry we had to sort restart this. I know It's annoying! <3

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[rupertgiles]

Giles looked up from the piece of scrap paper with the address hastily written on it. There it was: the Slayer and Watcher boarding house. Looking at the building with more scrutiny, Giles was beginning to understand the appeal of a Virginian plantation style boarding house. There was plenty of room for multiple potentials and young watchers. Additionally, it looked like they had enough privacy to train without bothersome neighbors watching them, which was more of a problem than Giles liked to admit. Something about twenty-odd young women in a training regiment set people off in different ways sometimes.

After retrieving his messenger bag and suitcase from the rental car, the watcher plucked out a key he had been mailed when Buffy had decided to rent this house. Giles wasn’t sure he would ever use it, but then again, here he was. And it was certainly nicer to have a house to stay at rather than bothering with a hotel. Although, he wasn’t sure he would get a bedroom. Well, that was alright, Giles had spent many a day in his youth sleeping on couches and floors and worse places, so anything resembling a cushion would do well enough for tonight.

He turned the key slowly, trying to muffle the noise of the deadbolt clicking over, and gently pushed open the door. It was half past eleven or so, and he suspected everyone would asleep or would not want to be disturbed. Buffy, for instance, would probably be awake still, but Giles could wait until tomorrow to see her. She would probably be concerned if he suddenly appeared in the middle of the night. Frankly, the reason he was here was because of his knowledge of dead languages, rather than an apocalypse or other emergency. He was anxious to see Buffy again, but there was no need to make the girl fret. Then again, at this time, she was probably patrolling.

Giles shuffled his way through the dark, finding the living room quickly enough and turned on a small table lamp next to the couch, which seemed as if it would make a decent bed. Giles quietly set down his luggage and sat down on the couch with a sigh. That flight had been much too long and his trip to Mystic Falls had been… eventful, to say the least. He pulled out that ‘Supernatural’ book that the unique young woman, Becky Rosen, had given him. Giles still could hardly believe what that this book contained. It was different from his usual reading material, but it had piqued the ex-librarian’s interest enough that he would try to finish it. Giles pulled off his shoes and suede jacket and settled into a comfortable position to read by the lamplight for a bit before going to bed.

Engrossed in his book, Giles didn’t pay much attention to how much time went by, and was only draw out when he heard a small clatter. The watcher looked up and scanned the area, but upon seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he returned to finishing the chapter. But not a moment later, a familiar voice called his name and he felt himself pause for a moment before looking up again.

”Buffy,” Giles felt a soft smile cross his face. He closed the book and set it on the side table, then stood and closed the distance between him and his Slayer. Giles had to admit, he felt a bit sheepish, standing there without Buffy knowing the reason why, but more than that, he was overjoyed to see her. And yet no words were coming out of his mouth. Finally, Giles gave a dry laugh, ”Ah… Good evening. I... I meant to call ahead, but I…” His voice trailed off. Buffy could probably fill in the blanks without him babbling on about it, ”It’s terribly good to see you.”

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TAGS: Buffy
WORD COUNT: 644
NOTES: I assume post this is pre-Angelus, time-wise. Considering the lack of dead bodies and such ;)

[Buffy Anne Summers]

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She smiled at her watcher and hugged him tightly, remembering that he wasn’t super human so she had to watch her strength. She had forgotten her own strength many times while hugging her watcher since it was a rare thing for them to hug…so she made a mental note to remember it always. She didn’t want to bruise or break anyone’s ribs…she’d done that before as well and it wasn’t a pleasant feeling to know that she’d hurt someone that she cared about, especially someone like Giles who was the closest thing to a father she had had in a long time.

She waited for Giles to sit down before sitting down herself. She loved the dynamic that the group had going now, it made everything easier in the end.

She had been shocked when after blowing up Sunnydale the group had headed to England upon Giles’ request to see about the Watcher’s Councils belongings. She had been even more shocked to find that since no one except Giles was left that everything that the Council had owned, including an obscene amount of money, had gone directly to him. They had all spoken about it and knew that with as many new slayers around and many more potentials around that they would need to find, that they needed a watcher’s council as well as a place to train them. So that’s what they decided to do. The group had moved to Rome and bought two buildings right next to one another. One was an old private school and one was an old hospital.

Giles took the old hospital and gutted it, leaving nothing but the structure and made it into offices, conference rooms, and the top two floors of the 10 story building were apartments for all the watchers’. She had taken the old school and had worked with what she had though she had gutted the top 2 floors of the 10 story building. She had used the bottom floor for offices for the teachers and trainers, the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th floors were classrooms that the teachers used since yes, they actually were a regular boarding school for girls…but it was by selection process only and of course the only students allowed were potential slayers. The 6th, 7th and 8th floors were training floors…she had gym equipment, work out rooms, mats, different types of weapons, the works. Then the 9th and 10th floors were the apartments for the trainers and those like Faith, etc that didn’t live but there but had their own rooms.

Behind the Watcher’s Council and the Slayer School there was a large fence that housed another building that the two of them shared. It was the Dorms as they called it for all the students. This way parents could come and see the school, see the dorms, but never have to go through the training areas or the other apartments to see where their children lived. It worked out wonderfully for everyone and everyone had everything they needed.

She took a deep breath before looking up. “So not that I’m not glad to see you but what are you doing here?” She asked, trying to change the subject. If you’re here just for a visit I might put you to work.” She stated with a laugh. “There is a lot of Mysticism here…I’m talking vampires, werewolves, cops walking around with guns that shoot wooden bullets, the works. Any ideas?” She asked, hoping he had some idea because she definitely didn’t.

She shook her head. “Nevermind, sorry, I know I said I’d put you to work but I really hate to do so right when you’ve arrived. So really, what are you doing here?” She asked, her smile bright at the fact that her mentor was on the same side of the country as she was. She hadn’t realized how much she missed him. Being in charge was hard work and she would never give him trouble for constantly being stressed and cleaning his glasses again.

Okay, so that was a lie, but she could try right?

Word Count:: 720
Tag:: Rupert Giles
Outfit:: Click here for Buffy’s outfit
Note:: Yeah, pre-Angelus because in a few of my posts with Kasey I’ve said that I worried about what Giles would say when he found out that Angelus was running free again. Lol. Also sorry for the random bits of information about how they had changed the Council. Lol.

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[rupertgiles]

Buffy embraced her watcher, and Giles could tell that she was appropriately holding back, making sure she didn’t crush any of his bones. But the hug was still constricting enough that Giles felt his lungs being deprived of air for a second before Buffy released him. Despite this, Giles warmly hugged her back. He had sincerely missed her. And she looked like she was flourishing here. She just seemed in control, more mature and orderly. Giles sat back down, Buffy following him. Of course, she was wondering why Giles had come to Richmond, but also told him of the many strange occurrences that seemed out of place for the small town.

”Well, there isn’t a Hellmouth here, as far as the records show,” Giles mused, ”But if the police are taking precautions, the threat must be large enough to be widely known,” It had always amazed Giles how the Sunnydale police never attempted to make a force against demons and the like when it had been obvious that the supernatural ran rampant in the town. Giles had never been a proponent of trying to completely expose the world of demons, werewolves and vampires, but having some form of allies in the community was usually a welcome thing. Giles continued to think, tapping his thumb against his lips for a moment, before concluding with a shrug, ”I can’t really think of any reason for all of them to gather here other than some source of mystic energy.”

“There’s also a writer who knows too much and i-i-is publishing it like a novel,” Giles stammered, his voice carrying a hint of distaste. He picked up his new book, showing the cover to Buffy, “I don’t know what to make of this ‘Supernatural’ book. And this fellow who writes it—I can’t tell if he’s trying to help or if he’s the most irresponsible author since… since that one woman. I don’t recall her name, but she made some terrible romantic drivel that Andrew is-- is always complaining about.”

As Buffy brought the conversation back to not putting him to work, Giles calmed down. He didn’t mean to get flustered; it was just in his nature, especially when it came to the abuse of the supernatural and books. And here were both in the same place, so he couldn’t help but be concerned. Yes, Giles had to admit the general population wouldn’t think anything of it, but there would be that odd one out who would use this information and end up in grave danger. He was pretty sure the author was marrying one of those people. In any case, Giles returned his attention to Buffy.

”You’re having me working right now, making me think about all this… paranormal nonsense,” Giles pretended to complain, even though a little grin was set firmly on his lips. It was nice, being able to talk to Buffy like this. She had come so far from those days as a high school girl. Instead of struggling over whether she could go shopping rather than training, Giles and Buffy could speak to each other as equals, even joke about a bit as equals, ”Well, actually, I’m retrieving an artifact for the Council. It’s just something that shouldn’t end up in the wrong hands.”

”How are things here? Besides the overpopulation of demons,” The watcher asked. Everything seemed quiet now, but Giles knew that a house full of young potential Slayers could be more of a hardship than quelling the threat of evil at times, ”I trust that Willow and Dawn are doing well?” Giles made a note in the back of his mind to set some time to visit with them as well. However, he was glad that he had gotten to see Buffy first. It was such a relief to see her smiling.

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TAGS: Buffy
WORD COUNT: 636
NOTES: Actually, the council information proved extremely helpful. I am going to keep that in mind for future posts :3

[Buffy Anne Summers]

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Her mind raced as she wondered what her former watcher was doing in Richmond. From what she had seen before she left Giles had a huge amount of work to do, so what would bring him here was questioning and a bit troubling to her. It saddened her to think of Giles as her former watcher but in a sense it was true and in a sense it wasn’t. Giles was the head of the Watcher’s Council just as she was the head of the Slayer School. The difference was she still actively slayed, while Giles ran the Watcher’s Council. He was still there if she needed him, but a lot of his watcherly duties had been passed down to Xander, though he was still in Rome.

As much as she loved Xander, he was practically her brother, she missed having Giles as her full time watcher. She missed knowing that he would be there at all times if she needed him because that was his job…though she knew he had done it for free for awhile there as well. It still made her miss the old times where she could run to the library, dump whatever problem she had into his lap and then have a research party in order to find out the latest demon of the week problem.

However things changed, people changed, situation changed…that was just the way the world worked and it was something she had almost gotten used to over the years, though either way it still bothered her no matter how hard she tried to deny it. She would admit she was someone who was against change, though she had gotten good at adapting to it. What else could she do when she had literally blown up (well…she hadn’t but Spike had) her home?

Buffy laughed a small laugh when she heard the comment about not Hellmouth being around. “If there was a Hellmouth here I’d be sending someone else to deal with it. I think 6 ½ years of dealing with the Sunnydale Hellmouth earns me a bit of a break from one…dontcha think?” She asked him, pouting her lips exaggeratedly, knowing she most likely looked fairly ridiculous but not really caring. Giles had seen her at all times of her life over the past 7 and some odd years that she had known him, so really she didn’t get embarrassed anymore.

“It’s actually getting a bit scary. Willow and I chaperoned a dance last week and there were at least two vampires there. They weren’t hurting anyone and one of them actually came up to me and told me that she wasn’t there to hurt anyone. I think her name was Lexis? Lexi? Something like that. But it’s weird. I feel like I am back on the Hellmouth the way that mystical things are drawn here. It’s actually sort of creeping me out. And that has to tell you something because I rarely get creeped out anymore with all that we’ve all seen.” She told him.

Buffy’s eyes widened at the mention of someone knowing too much and actually publishing books in order to what…to promote it? “Do you have one of the books?” She asked, extremely curious. “I’m interested to seeing how close to the facts they got.” She told him, hoping he had one or else she’d have to go and buy one…and she really didn’t want too. She knew if she told Willow she was headed to Borders she’d want to tag along and they’d be there for hours. She would much rather shop for shoes than shop for books…ask anyone who knew her and they would all agree.

“You love working and you know it.” She kidded him, grinning. She could clearly remember what he had been doing while he had been ‘unemployed’ as a Watcher (and before he bought the Magic Box). Giles was definitely one that needed to work to keep himself sane. Her comment was solidified when he stated that he was there on Council business. “See, I rest my case. You workaholic you.” She giggled out. Though her giggle turned into a small frown when Giles asked about Willow and Dawn. “Uhhh…sorta?” She asked with trepidation. “You got my message about Kennedy correct?” She asked, hoping he did but having a feeling he hadn’t being that he was here so quickly.

Word Count:: 782
Tag:: Rupert Giles
Outfit:: Click here for Buffy’s outfit
Note:: Well in that case I guess I’ll catch Giles up on everything he missed. Lol. There is quite a bit that’s happened in this small town over the past couple of uh…weeks? Lol. Time is irrelevant in Mystic Falls, Virginia

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[rupertgiles]

Giles chuckled again at Buffy’s exaggerated pout and nodded in agreement about Buffy’s opinion on the Hellmouth. The look on her face and talking about Sunnydale was a throwback to old times. He wondered sometimes if Buffy did those sorts of things to remind him that he still had a place as the patriarch of their little family. Giles did like his role as the father-figure, probably was even a bit defensive of it. But as a good father did, Giles listened intently to Buffy telling him about a dance she chaperoned. With vampires there. Peaceful vampires, somehow.

”She was genuinely saying that she wouldn’t hurt people? Are you sure that was a vampire?” Giles blinked in confusion. Hurting people is what vampires were made to do. They had no souls and a lot of hunger and they certainly wouldn’t go up to Slayers and tell them of their innocent intentions. He hastily added, ” Not that I’m doubting your Slayer sense, but… short of her having a soul, it just seems… out of character for a vampire to do such things.”

Glancing at the ‘Supernatural’ book, Giles wondered if, for all the knowledge the council had, they were missing a whole world full of information somehow. He knew that some information had been lost in the attack on the original Watcher’s Council, but it just seemed like Giles had been uncovering more and more things that made everything much more complicated if they were true. Or perhaps, somehow, there were actually more ensouled vampires out there than the Watcher’s Council knew. After all, it was possible that a gypsy curse or trials in Africa could be repeated. Giles gathered his thoughts again and focused on why all these mystical things would be happening.

”If there is that much activity, there has to be a purpose for all these demons and such to be there. They could be making an army or hiding from something more dangerous,” The watcher reasoned for a bit before turning back to Buffy, ”Being… ah, ‘creeped out’ is a perfectly natural feeling when we don’t know what the situation is.”

“I do, actually,” Giles said in response to Buffy asking after the book, ” The woman who gave this to me is evidently marrying the author. Also, according to her, this Mr. Shurley has prophetic visions about two hunters who travel across America in search of dangerous supernatural things to quell,” Giles handed the book over to Buffy for her inspection, ”I haven’t finished the book yet, but as far as I can tell, it’s more or less accurate.”

”Oh, yes, yes,” Giles gruffly admitted his love of work. After all, what else was a fifty-two year old mystic supposed to do? When he was between being a watcher and being a shop-owner, he nearly went crazy. Well, part of that was being left out of the loop by Buffy and the others, as well as having to be flat-mates with Spike for a while, but mostly it was the feeling of being useless that had wounded him the most. Restarting the Watcher’s Council had probably been the best thing that happened to him in a long time. Leading it felt rather fulfilling.

And then Buffy seem to become a little upset. Giles’ enthusiasm followed, his smile fading into a look of concern. He worried for a moment that Willow and Dawn had become hurt for a moment, but then Buffy mentioned her fellow Slayer Kennedy, ”Is something the matter?” Giles paused, and then rephrased, his tone softer and slightly uncertain, ”Something happened.”

After all, Slayers, while incredibly strong, were not invincible. One misstep or failure to block could result in terrible consequences. As a watcher, Giles had always understood that the Slayer’s greatest weakness was that they were just as frail as a normal human. They could recover much faster, but it still took the same amount of pressure to break their bones or pierce their heart as the average person on the street. Kennedy had been a strong fighter, but Giles did worry that her overconfidence would be the end of her one day. And from the way Buffy was acting, it seemed that day had come to pass. Well, he was sure that Buffy would explain exactly what had happened.

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TAGS: Buffy
WORD COUNT: 718
NOTES: Hehehe, I know what happened to Kennedy, but Giles doesn’t :3.

[Buffy Anne Summers]

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The blonde slayer took the book from Giles cautiously, as though it would jump up and bite her. She would admit to not being the most scholarly person in the group, that was clearly his and Willow’s forte, but she wasn’t afraid to read. With that being said however she was worried about this particular book. She wanted to know what it said but at the same time really didn’t want to have another worry on her shoulders. What if this guy mentioned slayers? What if he named names? Ugh, she was getting ahead of herself and needed to calm down. She turned to the back and read the description of the book, her eyebrows raising as she finished it. She took another look at the cover and then covered her mouth as she started giggling loudly.

“Well…uh…at least I know that this guy is accurate in his descriptions, though whoever the artist is could definitely use a bit of cluing in. Dean and Sam, the guys in this book, yeah they definitely do exist. We uh…met them a few days ago.” She told him before sobering up and realizing that in order to explain to Giles how she had met them, she’d have to explain about Kennedy if he didn’t already know.

It was clear from his next question that he hadn’t been informed. How did she tell him that she had become a murderer? That all his talk about making sure to stay on the right side of the line was for nothing because she had ultimately made the same mistake Faith had all those years ago. She had spoken with Spike after she came back from heaven and she had relayed to her that Spike had been the one to kill Ben, thus killing Glory. She hadn’t been able to kill an innocent back then…and yet now she did it.

Granted, Kennedy was far from innocent, but the fact remained the same that she had taken a human life with her own hands…and she wasn’t sure that was something that she wanted to confess to the man she saw as a father.

She looked at him for a moment, seeing that he thought she had been killed in battle. She had been in a way, but there was no telling how Giles would react to the fact that the battle had been against her own sister slayer and it had been one to the death.

“Kennedy has been losing it for awhile apparently.” She started out. “She teamed up with a demon of some sorts, she wouldn’t ever give its name but apparently it was powerful. She didn’t like the fact that we had rules and standards that we lived by as slayers and she thought that this demon could give her more power…so she went around and did things that I won’t mention. However after awhile it wasn’t enough for her. She…she kidnapped Dawn. That’s how I met Sam and Dean, they were listening on the police scanner and heard my call come in about my missing sister. They helped us find her but unfortunately it wasn’t enough. Kennedy had all these vampires working for her and while Faith and Dean got Dawn out (who had been tortured for hours by the look of it by Kennedy) we were working on taking the vamps out. However she…she showed up and we fought. I couldn’t…” She started before stopping, gathering her wits about her. It was now or never, and as a tear leaked down her face she looked down, not wanting to face him as she stated her crimes.

“I killed her. She almost killed Dawn but…I killed her. Willow wanted to do it but I couldn’t let her. I wouldn’t let another life rest on her shoulders and this was my fight. She’s dead because of me.” She stated, and refused to look up to see the look on his face.

Word Count:: 679
Tag:: Rupert Giles
Outfit:: Click here for Buffy’s outfit
Note:: Awwww, she’s all scared he’s going to hate her now.

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[rupertgiles]

The last thing Giles expected Buffy to do when she examined the book was laugh. She then mentioned that she had actually met the characters described. This was not a shock from the standpoint that the characters were actual people (Becky had cheerfully informed him thusly) but that Buffy had met them, and that they had been in the area. But this was set aside by Buffy’s apprehension about Kennedy. And good lord, it was a tale she told. Somehow, Giles was only mildly surprised, his face growing darker and heavier as Buffy relayed the events. It was appalling to think that someone that he had trained and trusted could do something like kidnapping and torturing an innocent girl. More than this, he was disappointed. In Kennedy for being weak enough to seek power through a demon and in himself for not keeping a closer watch on the situation here.

”Buffy,” Giles’ voice halted with a sigh and he took off his glasses. He needed to make sure to choose his words perfectly for such a situation. Buffy had always drawn the line at taking a human’s life. Giles recognized it was the most important tenant of her morals concerning slaying. To his knowledge, she had only ever killed one human before this: the evil preacher Caleb, and one could consider him not to really be human by the time Buffy defeated him. So, in accordance, he wanted every word to mean something, ”You know as well as I that your destiny is to fight all supernatural dangers. That includes rogue Slayers.”

”The disadvantage in Willow’s spell is that it gave powers to all of the potentials, whether their intentions are good or not.” Giles knew this all too well. Faith had not been the first rogue Slayer dealt with in the long history of the previous council, and the current council had tracked and stabilized several potentials who had started to abuse their powers, “ Simply being born with the power of a Slayer doesn’t make one a hero.”

”If she was channeling demons, working with vampires, a-and the other things you described,“ The watcher paused again and reached up to rub his forehead with the heel of his palm and then held his head in the same hand, ”It’s very unfortunate. But there are actions which are not acceptable in a Slayer, and Kennedy committed crimes which the Slayer Organization cannot condone. If she refused to surrender, then… as the leader of the Slayer Organization, it was your responsibility to eliminate the threat.“

”That being said,” He took another pause to choose the words he wanted. What he had just previously said sounded so cold, but it was the truth, which he owed to Buffy. While Giles thought, he reached out and gingerly laid his hand on Buffy’s shoulder. When he finally spoke again, his voice was soft and low, ”I’m sorry. I’m sorry you had to do that.”

This is what hurt Giles the most about this situation. He never wanted to have Buffy feel this way. Giles had done horrible things to try and preserve that section of her humanity, of that last layer of purity. It was hard, sometimes, not to put her on that pedestal when it came to something like this. But now, he had failed. And it was even worse knowing that half the reason why Buffy was crying like this was she feared his judgment. How could he even try to judge her when his own hands were stained with blood much more innocent than what Kennedy had turned into? Kennedy at least was the concern of the council and had to function within it. Ben had been just a victim of circumstance.

On the other hand, the watcher had done so for a two-fold reason. One was to keep the young people he considered his children from the horror of murder. And the other was to keep them safe from any potential danger. Ben was the simplest way to destroy the Hell God and the end justified the mean. It was the same thing that drove him to remove Angel and Spike from Buffy’s life at various times. For better or worse, Giles would always choose his patchwork family over anything and anyone else. That was his role. But in stepping into her place as a leader, it had to become Buffy’s role as well. And that tore Giles apart.

Nevertheless, Giles kept a steady eye on his Slayer, his voice still tender but strong, ”The important thing is not to forget. I can assure you, Willow has not forgotten her mistakes, and I have not forgotten mine.”

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TAGS: Buffy
WORD COUNT: 778
NOTES: ~

[Buffy Anne Summers]

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She heard her surrogate’s fathers comment about fighting all supernatural entities, including rogue slayers. “I was prepared to Kill Faith when she tried to kill Angel. I feel awful about it now but I don’t regret it because she was doing something harmful to the person I love. The same thing went down here. With that being said however I don’t want to be like that Giles. I told you before that I felt like I was becoming cold, hard, a shell of the person I was. I don’t want to be that type of person but I feel like it’s the only way to keep me sane.” She confided in him, before taking a deep breath and continuing on in her rant.

“I feel like in order to do my job in the way that I know I have to sometimes, to make the decisions that no one else can make because they aren’t asked too, that I cannot care. That I cannot love. And I don’t want to be that person because I care, I care sometimes too much. I love. I love Dawn, Willow, Xander, You, Angel, and several others…and I don’t want that to change. But how can I be okay with killing someone, someone who had others love her just like I love my friends and family…and not be cold?” She asked him, though didn’t really expect an answer.

She knew that she was being a tad overdramatic about the whole thing. With that being said however she could clearly remember a conversation that she had with Dawn and Xander a few years back when Willow had been going through something similar. She could clearly remember what she said, what they had said, and her conviction on that.

We need to find Willow.
Yeah, she's off the wagon big-time. Warren's a dead man if she finds him.
Good.
Dawn, don't say that.
Why not? I'd do it myself if I could.
Because you don't really feel that way.
Yes I do. And you should too. He killed Tara, and he nearly killed you. He needs to pay.
Out of the mouths of babes.
Xander.
I'm just saying he's...he's just as bad as any vampire you've sent to dustville.
Being a slayer doesn't give me a license to kill. Warren's human.
So?
So the human world has its own rules for dealing with people like him.
Yeah, we all know how well those rules work.
Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don't. We can't control the universe. There are limits to what we can do. There should be.

She couldn’t say she believed in that anymore, and it scared her. During that conversation, when that all went down, she had believed her words. She had known that Warren deserved to go to jail. But really, was Warren any better than Kennedy? Was he worse? What made what Willow did so bad, but what she had done not so bad? She didn’t see the difference. Both had done things in revenge of their loved ones…so what was the difference?

She cleared her head, trying to tune back into what Giles was saying. “I-I didn’t even ask her to surrender. I mean granted torturing my sister…knowing that I would come for her…planning on leaving Dawn there and watching as I found her mangled body…didn’t really give her any points in my book, but I still should have asked her to surrender. I didn’t. I simply fought her. She didn’t ask for my forgiveness and she tried to beat me as much as I tried to beat her…but I didn’t ask her to surrender.” She told him, knowing that she could very easily be digging her own grave so to speak because technically she had murdered someone, but she needed these things off her chest. She needed to let her mentor know that she felt guilty about these things, whether or not they were the right thing to do.

She looked up at him, tears falling unchecked down her face. At that moment she looked like a little girl. Her eyes were the only thing that gave her away about the horrors that she had faced, but everything else screamed vulnerable, something the blonde tried not to be.

“I will never forget, I can promise you that.” She told him, covering up her hand with the sleeve of her jacket to wipe her eyes. “I hated myself…still do…because whether or not she was evil…she was still a person. I cannot forget it…I won’t let myself.” She told him, her eyes red from the tears that she had shed.

Word Count:: 796
Tag:: Rupert Giles
Outfit:: Click here for Buffy’s outfit
Note:: Awwww, poor Buffster. Love Giles though. He’s so sweet, so caring, so…Giles! Lol. <3 Oh yeah and all the italicized words, yeah I don't own those. lol. Just wanted to make sure to add that little disclaimer on there.

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[rupertgiles]

It seemed not that long ago that Buffy and Giles had a conversation like this. Or rather, perhaps they had repeated this conversation for the entire time they had known each other. Where the average Slayer would cut herself off from society, Buffy had always insisted on having a veneer of normalcy over her duties and Giles had learnt to accept that many years ago. But now, it seemed to have this unexpected problem attached to it. How was a Slayer, or rather, the Slayer, supposed to be able to love and still kill when the time came for it?

Buffy talking about the dichotomy of caring and being cold made Giles… not quite uncomfortable, but certainly a little thoughtful about his own issues with the matter. With Giles, it had always been a switch, something he could turn on and off when the situation called for it, and that was a fine line for him to walk at times. But he didn’t want that for Buffy. Her emotions were her strength and her convictions proved to be correct when her true feelings were behind them. To have her cut off her feelings would be a mistake, in Giles’ eyes. Although, who she shared those emotions with; Giles had a thing or two to say about that. Not that he could really tell Buffy who to include in her fold of friends.

”You never learn to… ‘be okay’ with it,” Giles nearly balked at how simple that sounded. How could the moral implications of taking a life be put so simply? ”Frankly, it’s not something that’s okay. But sometimes it is necessary.”

”At its heart, we are waging an endless war. That’s the sad truth,” He glanced at the ceiling for a moment before returning to look at Buffy, who was still in tears, ”Those young women that are sleeping upstairs right now—do you think they truly understand the gravity of the role they have accepted? For all their strengths, some of those girls will certainly die in battle, while they are still young and unproven. Some may even die once they are fully fledged Slayers.”

Giles waited a moment, letting himself regroup. He really hadn’t expected that the first discussion he had with Buffy to be this philosophical and emotional, ”What I mean to say is… that by taking on this calling, you and I and those young women and anyone else connected in this has—has offered up their lives, essentially. And we do it to protect those who cannot protect themselves. For a Slayer to abandon that is inexcusable. Kennedy, of all people, should have known this to be true.”

To say that Buffy should not have asked Kennedy to surrender would be incorrect. They did not own these girls lives, after all, and Giles did hope to fashion the Slayer Organization and the new Watcher’s Council to be more benevolent and understanding than their previous incarnations. It would have been much more preferable if Buffy had managed to capture her alive and let the council rehabilitate her, or at least incarcerate her. Thus, unlike Faith, perhaps Kennedy had not received the time to leave her dark ambitions and receive help. But perhaps Kennedy would have never given up. This was unknown now, and Giles had no words that could reassure or assist Buffy. So he was merely quiet and listened. Once she had finished letting everything out, Buffy seemed so frail, like all the maturity Giles saw a few moments ago had all been taken away by magic.

”Sometimes I fear that you are too forgiving of everyone except yourself,” Giles said to his Slayer, ”Hating yourself, in the long run, will only wear on you. You can feel the remorse, but you cannot allow it to consume you. The closest thing we can compare ourselves to is an army and you are the general. You must be strong for those girls, and it is possible to be strong without being indifferent. You keep your sanity by… doing this. Talking. Reflecting. Remembering that life isn’t as simple as heroes and villains.”

Saying that probably wasn’t going to make Buffy feel any better, no matter how lovingly Giles could make it sound. There really wasn’t any point in trying to make it better. Only time could do that. However, Giles hoped that some of his opinions would give her a little more clarity into the situation,”I’ll make you a cup of tea, if you like,” The watcher murmured, trying to offer any comfort his words could not supply, ”Then I think some bed rest might be in order.”

+++

TAGS: Buffy
WORD COUNT: 772
NOTES: Poor Buffy D: It’s so sad when she cries.

[Buffy Anne Summers]

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The young blonde listened to the older man with rapt attention, knowing that whatever he said was true. She knew it was strange that she had such blind faith in the man who was like her father but it was something that never truly went away. That’s not to say that they didn’t argue because they did…quite often in fact. There had even been times that she had wanted to hate him, and there were times that she had gone against what he had wanted, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t always trust him, no matter what she had said at the time.

She knew what he was saying was true. She knew that things happened for a reason no matter how hard they were…but that didn’t really make her feel any better. She hated the fact that she had taken a life, even one as sadistic as Kennedy had been in the end. It didn’t help that a part of her felt completely responsible for the way that she had turned out. She kept going over and over in her mind, asking herself if she had paid more attention, helped her a little bit more, could she had counter acted the evil that had come up inside her. Realistically she knew that there was nothing that she could have done. She did everything she could in order to prepare the girls for what they would face while fighting the first and afterward…but that still didn’t help her get over the pain she felt having done what she had to do.

She smiled softly when Giles stated that she forgave everyone too easily other than herself. She knew this was something that she struggled with, it always had been. She had forgiven a lot of people over the years, many that no one else would forgive, and yet she still couldn’t forgive herself for many things. She had forgiven Angel…well…Angelus…for torturing her and those she loved for months. Had forgiven Willow for trying to turn Dawn back into the energy she had been created from, forgiven Xander for lying to her about what Willow had been attempting while she had been fighting Angelus, forgiven Faith for attempting to kill Angel…and forgiven Giles for attempting to help Robin Wood kill Spike.

She couldn’t forgive herself however for things that could be said were worse and could be said were better. She couldn’t forgive herself for not saving her mother, could not forgive herself for not protecting Jenny Calendar from Angelus, couldn’t forgive herself for not saving Tara, nor could she forgive herself for any of the other deaths that she had not been able to prevent. She knew realistically that she couldn’t save everyone…but that didn’t stop her from feeling guilty.

She smiled and nodded at her mentor’s comment about tea. She didn’t even truly like tea that much, but the smell of it calmed her down because no one could make it like Giles and that meant that for once she didn’t have to be the grown up. She opened her mouth to reply but heard a noise on the steps. She turned towards the noise and grinned when she saw the messy red hair of her best friend coming down the stairs, knowing she would get a surprise when she came into full view of the living room.

Word Count:: 610
Tag:: Rupert Giles, Willow Rosenberg
Outfit:: Click here for Buffy’s outfit
Note:: Ash wanted Willow to jump in before the end of the thread that way Willow and Giles could see each other too. Lol. So I figured I would give her an opening, Hope that’s alright!

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[Willow Danielle Rosenberg]

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As Willow was standing there reading she felt something in the store, she wasn’t sure what it was but it had seemed like a familiar aura she had felt before. Willow peek over to see who else was in the store, so far she didn’t see anyone that she knew. But then Willow looked again and saw a man standing over by the register, he was a bit far away from were Willow was and with store being so big so she wasn’t she if she had knew him. She decided to walk closer to the were the man was, when she got closer Willow knew who it was. “Oz! oh my god! What are you doing here? I mean how have been?” Willow said in shock after seeing Oz. She had missed him so much, the last time Willow had saw Oz was then he came to the collage and found out she was with Tara. Don’t get Willow wrong she loves Tara and wants to be with her, but a part of her will always miss and love Oz. She asked Oz how he had been as they sat down to talk.

Willow and Oz talked for while as time passed, Willow still couldn’t that Oz was really there with her. She was so happy to have a old friend to talk to, she never wanted this to end. But right when Willow said that to herself….

She had woken up in her bed, realizing it was all a dream none of it was ever really real at all. It seemed everyone Willow has ever loved is ether gone or dead, it was sad really. Willow looked at the clock and saw what time it was, wondering if Buffy had come home yet from patrol yet. Willow decided to head down stairs to check on Buffy and get a glass of milk as well. She got up out of bed and made her way down the stairs, as she did she could hear talking down stairs.

Willow made her way down there as fast as she could to see what all the talking was about, when Willow was at the bottom of stairs she could now get a good look at who it was. She was so happy and relived when she saw who it was, “Giles!” Willow said running to give him a hug. Willow was so happy that he was there with everything going on they could really use him there, especially Buffy. Willow almost felt like a weight had been lifted from there shoulders a bit, “Giles I’m so happy that you are here!” Willow said as she finally let up from the long hug. Willow then looked over at Buffy and said, “Hey Buffy, so what is going on guys, everything ok?”


Word Count- 475
Tagged- Buffy and Giles
Outfit- Click to see Willows PJ's
Note-
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[rupertgiles]

Buffy didn’t really say anything as Giles lectured her, just gave sad smiles and nodded. She was listening, Giles had learnt to tell when she wasn’t. But Giles was still a bit in the dark as to how she was taking this. He supposed that she was still distressed, still lost in her own guilt. Giles could understand that. He had been in similar situations many times before. He just hoped he had helped rather than terrified her. Adding the huge burden of ‘you are responsible for these girls lives’ on top of ‘you may have to murder people’ might make Buffy feel even worse. Those ideas were something only a handful of twenty-five year old women had to deal with, and they certainly did not have to fight supernatural threats everyday as well.

When the Slayer accepted his offer to make tea, Giles stood from the couch, and looked to where Buffy had suddenly directed her attention. Coming down the stairs was Willow. A warm smile came back to Giles’ face as the young witch called out his name. ”Willow,” Giles gratefully accepted her hug, which was probably just as enthusiastic as Buffy’s. He added with a chuckle, ”You’re up late.”

”I’m going to put on some tea. Would you like any?” Giles asked, and after Willow’s answer, he nodded and said, ”I’ll let you two speak for a moment, then.”

It took him a moment to find the kitchen, but Giles was there soon enough. He also had to rifle through the cupboards for a while, but was rewarded with a red tea kettle and some loose leaf tea. He gave a quiet chuckle, knowing that the only reason these things were here is that Giles wouldn’t have his tea any other way. They knew he would complain otherwise. After putting the kettle on, he wondered if Buffy talking to Willow about these heavy topics would mean that none of them would get to bed now. It’s not that Giles particularly thought that they need to sleep, just that he knew Willow would have her own emotional hurdles to pass when it came to murder. Every single one of them had guilt attached to taking someone’s life now.

He absentmindedly prepared three cups, and grabbed a few sugar packets as well. He took up the mugs, carefully balancing two mugs in one hand, and the other mug and the sugar in the other. Halfway back from the kitchen, Giles just then realized he had forgotten whether Willow had said yes or no and now he might have an extra cup of tea. Hopefully she had said yes, else Giles would have a slightly embarrassing situation on his hands. He must have been more tired than he thought. He set the cups and sugar packets down on the coffee table and sat back down on the couch, hoping to catch up in the conversation.

+++

TAGS: Buffy, Willow
WORD COUNT: 485
NOTES: Insert Alzheimer joke here?

[Buffy Anne Summers]

- - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - -

The blonde slayer couldn’t help but giggle at her best friend’s disheveled look. It wasn’t unusual for anyone in the boarding house to be up late but it seemed that Willow had forgotten to take a brush to her hair before coming down. Not that it mattered since they had all seen each other in the worst possible conditions over the years (with the exception of the new potentials and they always thought it was funny to see the scoobs looking like hell, made them appear more human as she had overheard Mary say one time) but it still made the petite blonde laugh. “Nice dreams Will?” She asked in a teasing voice, smirking again when the red head saw Giles and screeched out his name, flying over to him and enveloping him in a hug.

She could tell that Willow, like herself, was relieved that their father figure was here. It almost felt like the family was one step closer to being reunited, only missing their brother for all intents and purposes, Xander. It was strange to think how their family had changed so many times, and yet the core four were still the same…she prayed that would never change.

She grinned at Giles when he stated he would let them talk for a moment while he went and made a cup of tea. She knew that was his way of getting out of the room before the ‘girl talk’ could commence. She had tortured the poor man many times with her female talk at one point, not realizing it had made him uncomfortable. Now however she tended to do it to make him laugh and to purposely make him uncomfortable. Hell, he hung out with them as teenagers, he should know how these things worked by now. Once he was out of the room she turned to Willow, finally taking pity on her and moving over to fix the red heads hair, giggling again a bit at some of the odd ways it was sticking up. “Daddy Giles wanted to check up on us.” She told her before sobering a bit and nodding.

“I told him about Kennedy. It wasn’t easy but he knows…and to be honest I feel better.” She told her, not really knowing why she was rambling but knowing that she wanted her friend to know what Giles all knew. Before she could explain any further Giles walked back in with three cups of tea. “Thanks.” She told him, a grin on her face as she took the mug from her, snorting at what was on hers. ‘Vampires Bites’ it read and she rolled her eyes, clearly it was a mug that one of the potentials owned…because she definitely didn’t remember buying it.

Word Count:: 507
Tag:: Rupert Giles, Willow Rosenberg
Outfit:: Click here for Buffy’s outfit
Note:: Bwahahahaha. Sorry, being sick gives me no sense of humor so everyone else will probably think the mug is stupid, but I thought it was hilarious. Lol. I desperately need that doctors appt. lol

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[Willow Danielle Rosenberg]

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Willow still couldn’t believe that Giles was here, which was great and that meant that they almost had the whole gang back together again. Except for Xander he still was back in Rome keeping an eye on things, but that was Xander for always trying to take charge and watch over everyone. Which was good Willow was worried about how everyone was doing back at home, Willow really missed her students from her magic class. Who knows when we will all get to go back to Rome, there is so much going on here in this town and with having to round up other Potentials. They were just way to busy to even thing about going home anytime soon, hell before Willow know it they might be living here.

Willow was happy to see him she didn’t even know were to start, a lot has gone on here without him It has been so crazy since she got there, first running into Tara and finding out she was live that was a big one. But Willow did know if she should tell Giles just yet and freak him out, plus whatever him and Buffy were talking about was probably way more important. Willow was happy that he was here for Buffy most of all, there as been a lot going on and whenever Giles is around It really makes Buffy feel a lot better. I guess you would say to Buffy he is more like a dad then a watcher, actually I think the whole gang feel that way about Giles sometimes. “ Yeah I got up because I was having really strange dreams, plus I heard someone talking. So Giles how is everything thing, are you doing ok? How is Xander and everyone they doing back home good I hope?” Willow asked

Giles left to go get them some man Willow had missed this, it was starting to feel more like old times again. When Giles left the room Buffy had told Willow about how she had told Giles about Kennedy. Giles did have to know sometimes might as well tell him now. Willow is just worried what Giles was thinking right now about it. “Well that’s good that you feel better Buffy, that whole really did do a number on you Buff. So what did Giles say about it all?” Asked Willow. But not long after that Giles was back with the tea. “Thanks Giles just what I needed.” Willow said taking her tea off the tray. Giles was always good at making really good tea, another thing Willow had missed.

Word Count- 445
Tagged- Buffy and Giles
Outfit- Click to see Willows PJ's
Note-
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