CHAPTER 208 – THE FIRST & THE TWO-YEAR CLAUSE; IT JUST KEEPS COMING...

DECEMBER 28, 2007

GREENWICH

8:30AM

"Okay, I’ll tell him," Buffy said, clicking off her cell phone. It was the last of a flurry of calls that had started an hour ago and hadn’t stopped since. This particular one had come for William; it had been from Wally. Seeing the growing look of distress on his face the more he listened, she had taken over. She walked over to the couch and took a seat next to him.

"The doctors think Edna had a heart attack. They don’t know how serious it is yet," Buffy said gently.

"It came to her too, didn’t it?"

"It sounds like it, but we can’t be sure. It could be a coincidence. I mean, Edna is getting up there in years and…"

"Don't," William said sharply. "You don't need to protect me from the truth. Wally told me enough of what Edna was saying to him for me to figure it out. He just thinks it's from her medical condition, and that she's confused, but we know different don’t we? It’s The First."

"I know," Buffy said softly, taking his hand. "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…"

"You can’t protect me, Elizabeth. I know you want to, but you can’t."

Buffy nodded and turned away. She knew all too well about her inability to protect anyone that she loved. Back when she was young and idealistic, she had truly thought that not only could she save the world from monsters, but especially those she loved. How very naïve and stupid she had been. Unfallen tears stung her eyes, but she resisted the urge to wipe them for fear that William or the others would notice. Giving in to her fears and her bone-weariness right now would solve nothing. Especially, now, when she feared they would all be depending on her to take charge in some way. Even if there were thousands of other slayers, this core group knew her first as the one and only slayer and had been to battle with her more times than she could count.

Bile rose and burned her throat at the very idea of having to put on the mantle of ‘General Buffy’ once again.

"How’s Dawn?" Giles asked.

"Shook up, scared, and also really, really pissed off."

Giles smiled at that. "Good for her; she has every right to be."

"We all do. We all bloody well do," Buffy added for emphasis, looking at William hoping he would respond as if -- as he would’ve a long, long time ago. He didn’t take the bait. There was no wry grin, no sarcastic comment, no arched eyebrow, nor even a slightly shocked look. He didn’t do or say anything.

"And Clem?" Willow asked.

"Battening down the hatches; rather, he’s going to stay with some demon friends of his in San Diego. Safety in numbers, and all that."

"Probably wise on his part," Giles said.

"I think he’s afraid to tell them, though. They probably wouldn’t let him stay if they knew."

"It’s an untenable position to be in, whether you’re a man or a demon, isn’t it?

Nobody answered.

Giles looked down at the tablet of paper he’d been taking notes on since the calls started.

"The First has appeared to Dawn, Xander, Edna, and Clem; in other words, those who have been close to William since he’s come back."

"Do we know it’s only that? I mean, we don’t know that’s the only criteria, do we?" Buffy asked.

"What do you mean?"

"With the exception of Xander; Dawn, Edna, and Clem were also close to William before he…before we closed The Hellmouth," Buffy said. She looked over at William before continuing. "The First could also be going after everyone connected with that event, in which case we’re sure to hear from more people. Or, if it is just those William is currently close to, then there’s others, too."

"The Wittmans; Richard and his wife, Ingrid," William spoke up.

Buffy nodded. "Right, you were close to them, but they wouldn’t have any idea what was happening to them if The First showed itself to them in some form or another. There’s also what’s her name from Ipso Facto. You were close to her."

"Miranda," William volunteered, giving her a look, which was half-defensive, half-apologetic, "but we weren’t close."

"Close enough," she muttered under her breath.

"You’ve made excellent points, Buffy" Giles said. "I think we should…"

"What’s wrong?" Buffy asked, seeing Willow suddenly jump out of her chair.

"God, I need to call Kennedy and warn her."

"Yes, you definitely should," Giles said. "I think we should call anyone we can think of who might be affected. Of course, for those persons like the Wittmans, it might just be in their best interest to keep the conversation neutral. You don’t want to unduly alarm anyone who may not even be affected in the first place."

~~~~~~~~~~~

William made his calls, as did the others. The Wittmans were pleased to hear from him and told him they were fine. Ingrid’s cancer was in remission, and they had just come back from visiting relatives out East for the holidays. Richard said that they suspected Charley had become a father and told him they were keeping a kitten for him. Since he couldn’t tell them about The First, he only said that he’d read that there had been some strange occurrences going on in their area, and to be on the lookout. Richard countered that he hadn’t read anything in the local paper, but didn’t press the issue of how or why, William – all the way in England – would be privy to that information, but promised they’d be careful.

Miranda was also glad to hear from him. That is after she was done reading him the riot act for having made everybody worry. Despite being engrossed in her own phone call; a quick glance across the room confirmed that Elizabeth was more than aware of who he was now bantering with. He turned away from her barely disguised, barbed look, and got on with the real reason for his call. . Unlike the cloak and dagger call to the Wittmans, William was glad he could tell Miranda about the real situation and properly warn her.

With that accomplished, he rose from the couch with a heavy sigh, and headed towards the door. "I’ll be right back," he said over his shoulder.

"Hold on a sec," Buffy said to the person on the other end of her phone, hurrying to intercept him. "Where are you going?"

He bent his head so he could speak into her ear. "I need to use the loo. That’s alright, isn’t it? Or do I need permission for that now?"

He could see Elizabeth bristle at his words, and it gave him a small, selfish measure of satisfaction. Any other time, he knew he would never talk to her in such a manner; or if he slipped up, he would immediately feel ashamed. Right now, however, he was so sick of everything he couldn’t bring himself to apologize.

"No, of course not. I just think we should stay together until Willow does the protection spell with the others," Buffy said, checking her watch, "which is only about thirty minutes from now."

William blew out a frustrated breath, "Well, I’m not bloody well waiting that long, and I don’t fancy a group trip!" William hissed.

Buffy looked into his eyes and stepped back, her hands up in front of her in defeat

Seeing the hurt look on her face, he softened his tone. "I won’t be long; I’ll use the one down here."

~~~~~~~~~

William closed the bathroom door and leaned against it, allowing himself to drop the brave front he felt he needed to keep up for the sake of the others. Brave was a far stretch from the way he felt. It took all his reserves just to keep himself from appearing likely to fall apart again.

He slid down the door to a crouched position and hugged himself, as troubled thoughts swirled through his head. Everyone he cared about was in danger -- because of him. No matter what theories Elizabeth and the others came up with, it was obvious to him that he was the catalyst for what was happening. Worse still, was that he had no clue how to stop it.

~~~~~~~~~

The sound of a fax machine starting up jarred Buffy from her thoughts. Giles had gone into the kitchen and Willow was busy talking on the phone to Xander. She walked over to the machine and took off the fax. It was from Wesley. She wasn’t going to read it, but the words, Shanshu Prophecy in the heading caught her eye.

It read:

The color drained from her face, and Buffy’s hand shook as she read and reread the fax.

Giles walked back into the study, carrying a tray with a new pot of tea on it. Her look stopped him in his tracks.

"Buffy, what is it? What’s wrong?"

"That’s what I’d like to know! What the hell is this?" She demanded, as she rattled the paper in front of him.

Pushing up his glasses, Giles quickly scanned the paper. "Ah, this...I can explain."

"Really, Giles? You can explain? How about you, Willow? You want to explain this to me, too?"

"What?" Willow said, turning towards the raised voices -- one particularly directed at her.

Buffy motioned towards the paper Giles held.

"Um...Xander, I got to go. No, everything’s alright...I mean alright as in The-First-didn’t-just-show-up-alright. Other than that I’m not sure what’s going on. I understand. Yes, I’ll call you and you do the same. Give my love to Angela and the kids."

Buffy’s face was set in stone, but Willow could feel angry eyes boring into her as she walked over to Giles’ desk. She wiped damp palms on her jeans before she took the fax from his hand.

"Buffy..." Willow said, turning to her after reading it.

"You knew, didn’t you?" Buffy said, her voice low and strained. "Ever since he’s been back, you knew he only had...you knew about this two-year clause that’s been hanging over his head and you didn’t tell me. I asked you about it and you didn’t tell me."

Willow swallowed hard. "Buffy, I didn’t know..."

"What do you mean, you didn’t know? Of course you knew! You were the one who read about the Shanshu before I’d ever heard of the damned thing; when I was having dreams about Spike being alive."

"No, Buffy. I mean, yes. I did. But it’s not what you’re thinking. Until we had the actual manuscript..."

"The one nobody bothered to tell me that I was carrying over here from Wesley?" Buffy asked, glaring at Giles.

"Please, let Willow finish what she’s trying to tell you. I’m sure that you’ll see there was no intent to keep anything vital from you?"

Buffy shook her head in disbelief. "Nothing vital? That this two-year prophecy is saying that William could forfeit his future...cease to be? That’s not vital? That’s not my business? What the hell is with you people?" Buffy’s voice went up an octave, as her sense of the world seemed to be spinning like some crazy Tilt-a-Whirl.

Willow had tears in her eyes as she looked helplessly at Giles.

"Buffy..."

"No, Giles. That’s okay. I’ll tell her. When I first hacked into Wolfram & Hart’s database and read the about the Shanshu Prophecy, I did read about the two-year clause."

"Why would you keep that from me? Why, Willow?"

"It was because of what I thought it said. In the ancient language it's written in, the word for wholeness is practically indistinguishable from what I thought the word was. It wasn't until we got the actual manuscript, that I realized I’d mistaken that word for another; one that is totally different, that I couldn't…"

"Why? I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t you tell me whatever you thought it meant? What was it that was so secretive that you couldn’t tell me? Why did you think you had the right to keep any of it from me? What was it?"

"Love. I thought the prophecy said that he had to find love, not wholeness."

Buffy’s shrill, explosive laughter made Willow wince. "Love? You couldn’t tell me that William had to find love? What the...?"

"Don’t you see, Buffy? Love was the one thing I couldn’t tell you about. The coven agreed. What if you hadn’t fallen in love with William after he came back, or had fallen out of love with him? If you knew what the prophecy said, it wouldn’t have been honest, because then maybe you’d be trying to love him when you really didn’t, or keeping him from finding love somewhere else. But then you were in love with him and it was obvious that he had found love, so I didn’t see any need to..."

"I can’t hear this," Buffy said, walking towards the bar where she picked up a bottle of scotch, and without bothering with a glass, took a drink from it. Banging down the bottle, she turned back to Willow and Giles.

"Maybe if you both hadn’t conspired to keep secrets, then maybe I would’ve had the opportunity to consider that the part about love sounded a bit too easy, or lame, or whatever? Why would a prophecy be concerned about the one who received the Shanshu finding love or not? Maybe if you both hadn’t kept this from me, then I could’ve figured out how to help him in all this time, but you never gave me that chance. All this time, you both knew something about William that you kept from me. How could you? After everything I’ve been through…how could you?"

For that, neither Willow nor Giles had an answer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After finishing up what he had come to do, William stood at the sink and splashed cold water on his face. As he raised his head, his breath caught in his throat at the sight of the image behind him in the mirror and he whirled around.

"Hello, William," came the soft, lilting voice he knew from the cradle.

In his heart he knew it must be a trick, but he still couldn't help but stare in awe and amazement. The vision before him was not that of the frail and sick mother he'd last seen the fall evening he reluctantly left to attend the Addam's party -- the night that changed his life forever. No, this mother -- beaming of health and vigor and beauty -- was the one he remembered from his boyhood.

He continued to stare at her, unable to speak.

"What’s the matter, dear? Cat got your tongue?"

"Is it really you?" William whispered.

"Why of course it's me, my sweet son. Who else would I be?" she replied; her words and the sound of her lyrical voice making him want to weep.

"Mum..."

He was rewarded with her gentle smile.

"Look at you, you’re...glowing."

"Why yes, and I have you to thank for that, don’t I?"

"I don't understand."

"Well, last you saw me, I believe I looked like this."

William gasped and shrunk back against the sink as he watched her appearance change from healthy to deathly ill.

"But then you took me, didn't you? Took my human life and gave me the eternal kiss of life." As she spoke her features changed to those of a vampire; it was all the more horrible because this evil, leering thing was looking out at him from the face of the first person he loved in this world.

"That wasn’t quite what you wanted though, was it? Wanted me to still be your doddering old mum, and when all I wanted was to take my leave from you, to pry you from my apron strings once and for all. So you staked me didn't you? Killed me good and proper so you could go off with your new trollop!"

"No! Oh, God…please, no," William whimpered, closing his eyes tight.

"Do you think God will help you after all you’ve done? After what you did to me?"

"Or to me?"

William’s eyes flew open at the sudden sound of familiar male voice.

"Hello, little brother," Henry said, his lips curling upward in a cruel smile.

"How’s my nice parcel of land in California doing these days? You know; the one you stole after you murdered me? Did you make a killing in gold? No…wait. That’s not the sort of killing you and your ilk went in for, was it?"

"Henry," William gasped. Nausea rose in him as he stared in horror at the grossly mutilated face of his once-handsome brother. He shuddered as he looked at the bloody arteries and tendons hanging out of his neck; exposed from the savage mauling he’d obviously received. It was almost worse than the railroad spike that stuck out of the middle of his forehead.

"I always knew mum should’ve bashed your pathetic brains in when you were still a squalling infant, and before you could turn into the bumbling, socially backward ponce who embarrassed me by his very existence. You don't know how I loathed ever having to lay claim to be related to such a waste of space; let alone one who spouted poetry worse than offal!"

William's head felt light and his heart pounded from the verbal onslaught, each word like a punch to his gut.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I’m so very sorry. I never meant to..."

Henry’s face changed into something that even William's most terrifying dreams of hell could never have conjured. Its mouth, filled with row upon row of razor sharp and blood stained teeth that a shark would envy, erupted in ruthless laughter, which echoed off of the tiles. All the while, its black, cold eyes bore into his own.

"Oh, you will be sorry when I’m finished with you once and for all, William."

~~~~~~~~~

Stunned beyond coherent thought by this latest blow, Buffy stood by the bar; her hand gripped tightly around the bottle of scotch, she stared into the void.

"Buffy?"

She didn’t respond. Giles walked over to her and said her name again.

Finally she looked up.

"Where’s William?"

That’s when they heard him scream.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Giles raced down the hall assuming both Willow and Buffy were behind him.

"William! What is it? What’s wrong?" Giles called, as he tried the handle, but it wouldn’t budge.

"Open the door!"

As though it were very, very far away, William could hear the pounding, but was powerless to look away from the monstrous specter in front of him. He could hear himself scream, as it turned into a black, snake-like cloud that shot towards him before disappearing in a bright flash of yellow light.

"Buffy! Willow!" Giles called as he struggled uselessly with the door.

"I got it," Willow said.

Giles looked around and frowned. With all this having happened so quickly, he hadn’t even realized until now that, indeed, Buffy hadn’t followed. This didn’t bode well.

Willow took a deep, cleansing breath and focused her will as she started to draw in the kinetic energy necessary to wield the magical forces she needed to break down the door’s barrier.

As she did, Giles was still trying to push his way in. Suddenly the door flew open of it’s own accord, causing him to nearly fall into the bathroom as William stumbled out into the hallway.

"What happened?" Giles asked.

Panting heavily and trembling, William could only shake his head.

"You saw something, didn’t you? Or someone?" Willow asked.

He looked at her briefly, then nodded. "My...mother. She was here, she and my brother, Henry. They told me...they said..." William swallowed hard, unable to go on.

Giles put his hand on William’s shoulder "You must listen to me. It was not them. It was The First, masquerading as your loved ones. "

"I know," William said, his voice faltering. "It showed its true face to me after..." He was going to say after it was done with him, except that it wasn’t; it had promised that it was most definitely not done with him.

Both Giles and Willow started talking at once; consoling him, and imparting what they knew of The First, but he wasn't listening. His attention had been drawn to Buffy as she stood in the doorway of the study, wearing as lost a look on her face as he felt -- and that scared him nearly as much as seeing The First had.

"Elizabeth?" William said, immediately going to her side. She didn’t answer.

The talk trailed off as the others now also noticed her standing there.

"It was The First, Buffy. It was here. It came to William," Giles said.

Her pupils dilating were the only sign that she’d heard the watcher.

William repeated her name, tentatively taking hold of her arms. Finally her eyes focused on him, as though she’d just woken up.

"Are you alright?" Buffy asked softly.

Relief flooded through him. "I am, although I guess you were right about my waiting."

"Waiting…what?"

"To go to the loo. The First decided to pay me a call while I was in there; think I’d have preferred the group trip after all," he said wryly.

"Group trip…what?"

William shook his head. "Never mind. Point is..."

"Are you alright?" Buffy repeated tonelessly.

He studied her closely, not understanding what it was that he wasn’t seeing, but it filled him with cold dread.

"Look at me, luv," William said until her eyes focused on him again. Smiling softly, he took her hand and put it on his face. "I’m alright, see?"

"Good. It’s good you’re alright," Buffy said, turned and walked the few paces back into the study. The rest of them followed.

Giles went over to the bar and took the bottle which Buffy had been previously holding onto, and poured a generous measure into two tumblers. Instead of handing the glasses to them, he purposely walked across the room and set them on the coffee table. William understood and led Buffy over to the couch. He handed her one of the tumblers while he quickly drained the contents of the other.

~~~~~~~~~~~

9:00AM

"Giles, it’s time," Willow said.

"Can you do it from here?"

"No, sorry. I need to be alone only with those who are forming the circle, even if it is a ‘virtual’ circle."

"I don’t like the idea of you being alone upstairs right now."

"I know, but I won’t be. I’m not. I can already feel the other’s strength pulling me. I’ll be fine," Willow said, her voice strong and sure, and with that, she turned and left the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The mood in the study was somber as they waited for Willow. Giles soon retreated to his desk with the pretense of doing something, though in reality, he was on full alert. On the couch, William sat nervously fidgeting with his glass, as he cast sidelong glances at Buffy; her out-of-character stillness and lack of emotions only serving to make him more restless by the moment.

"Shouldn’t be long now until Willow finishes," he said.

"Good," Buffy said, once again answering his attempt at conversation with a monosyllabic answer.

Unable to stand it any longer, he rose and walked over to the desk.

"I think something’s wrong," William said, speaking very softly so that only Giles could hear. Although, given the way she was acting, he doubted she’d pay any attention to what was being said anyway.

"What do you mean? You think something’s gone wrong with Willow’s spell? " Giles asked, starting to rise.

William quickly shook his head, and Giles sat down once again.

"It’s Elizabeth. She’s not acting like herself. She’s barely said a word since…"

Just then Willow came flouncing into the room, a look of relief on her face, and an aura of power surrounding her.

"It’s done!"

"It worked?" Giles asked.

"Yep, we’re protected here now. This house is …well, as safe as houses. At least the protection spell should hold for the next twenty-four hours. When Althenea and the others get here tomorrow they’ll be able to reinforce it, plus cast a wider net encompassing not just those here, but anyone else who might be connected to William or the last battle somehow."

"You mean you and your friends can actually stop The First from doing anything more?" William asked, a glimmer of hope stirring in his breast.

"Well, um…no. Not stop as much as impede its efforts until we figure out how to fight it for real."

"Oh…"

"Still," Giles said, rising. "That’s a very good thing. We don’t want The First to be able to pop in here when we’re trying to discuss it, or worse, terrorizing us or those we know anymore than it already has."

William nodded, then looked over at Elizabeth. She was saying something, but so quietly he couldn’t hear. He walked over to her to listen, but she’d stopped talking by then.

"Elizabeth? Were you trying to say something, luv?" William asked, waiting for what seemed like a long time before she finally answered.

"No."

William puffed out a breath of air in frustration as he studied her too-quiet demeanor.

Giles cleared his throat.

"From what Willow has just said, I think it’s safe to say that we can all move about now without fear of being intercepted by The First. I for one am grateful for that. I’m also quite famished."

"Me, too. I think I worked up an appetite with all that spell-casting," Willow said, with a nervous laugh.

Although food had been the furthest thing from his mind during all this, William’s stomach gurgled at the mention of it. He looked over at Elizabeth and at the empty glass that she still in her hand, as though she’d forgotten about it being there.

"Yeah, I think we could all do with something. What do you think, Elizabeth?" William asked, kneeling down in front of her and gently taking the glass from her. "Want me to fix you something to eat?"

He tilted his head, as his blue eyes looked hopefully into hers.

"Okay," she said simply.

He smiled and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek before rising.

Giles had already left the study, and Willow was now leaving as well.

William hesitated at the door. He didn’t want to leave her alone. Giles had already left the study, and Willow was now walking out as well. He followed her out into the hallway and called to her.

"What’s up?"

"Do you think you might stay with Elizabeth while I’m getting her something to eat?"

Willow hesitated. The last thing she wanted right now was to put herself in the position of having another verbal smack down with Buffy, but that was something she couldn’t tell William.

"I could," she said, trying to sound reasonable, "but if it’s because you’re worried about The First, you really don’t have to be. We’re safe; at least for now. The First can’t …"

"I know. I just…please, Willow?"

She looked at him and relented. "Sure, no problem. I promise I’ll stay here and keep her company until you get back."

William let out a sigh of relief.

"I can get you something, too, if you’d like?"

"You don’t have to do that. I’ll just wait until you get back."

"You sure? It’s no bother."

Willow felt like her head might explode. Instead, she pasted on her best grin. "I’m sure! Go on now, okay?"

"Thanks." He looked back into the study one more time, then went towards the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Willow took a deep breath and walked back into the study. There was no reaction from Buffy, although she could have sworn she’d heard her mumbling something as she walked in.

"Boy, sure got messy in here, didn’t it?" She said lightly, as she nervously went about cleaning up the assorted glasses and plates that had accumulated over the last couple of hours. That only took her a few minutes and soon the room returned to an uncomfortable silence. Unable to stand it, she walked over to where Buffy was sitting and sat in a chair across from her.

"Buffy, I really am sorry about not telling you what I thought the Shanshu Prophecy said. I was only going by what the coven counseled me to do. Looking back, I should’ve told you anyway." Willow continued to express her regrets any way she could think of, knowing even as she listened to herself that they sounded pretty thin. When her phone rang and it was Kennedy, she was more than glad to have a good excuse to stop; she was being ignored anyway. Even the apologetic look she offered went unnoticed as she stood up and moved away from the couch to take the call.

"Hey, Sweetie. What? Oh, honey, that’s awful...your dad’s back in the hospital? Open heart surgery? No, I don’t think it has anything to do with The First either, but thanks for reassuring me...no, that’s alright, you need to stay there...can’t be helped...wait...you need what? Yeah, honey, I have it. It’s on my computer."

She took a quick glance at Buffy -- still not moving, not talking, and most definitely not interested in what was going on with her life -- and made a decision.

"Hold on, Kennedy," Willow said, covering the phone.

"Buffy, I’ve got to go get something from upstairs. I’ll be right back, and William will be back in a minute, too, okay?" There was no answer forthcoming. Not that she’d expected one. As far as Willow was concerned, her conscience was clear.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Had she stayed for another minute she would've heard the words that Buffy had only mumbled before, but now spoke clearly:

"It just keeps coming..."

END CHAPTER 208

DECEMBER 28, 2009
SUNDAY
GREENWICH
9:45AM

There was no reasoning with William.

For the past half-hour, ever since he'd returned to the study and unsuspectingly found Buffy missing, they'd been over the flat with a fine-toothed comb. The fact that their search was to no avail didn’t deter him. Like someone who keeps checking the same places for something they’ve lost, hoping against all odds, that if they only look hard enough just one more time, that it will just reappear by the sheer force of their will, he continued to look.

"Just stop, will you?" Giles said, grabbing William’s arm as he once more headed for the stairs. "There's no point in your looking up there again."

Disregarding him, William forcibly shook off the watcher's arm and dodged around him.

Nothing made any sense to him. Willow and Giles had assured him that as far as they knew, The First had not appeared to Elizabeth at the same time it was appearing to him, since they were also with her in the study. By the time he’d left her alone with Willow in the study, the protection spell was already in place. More importantly, he knew with absolute clarity that Elizabeth would never run away from danger which begged the question: if not that, then what?

"She’s not here!" William called a few moments later, the frustration and anguish in his voice carrying from the third floor.

"I know," Giles said softly to himself. He glanced over at Willow, sitting forlornly on the bottom step with her head resting on her knees.

"This isn't your fault, you know."

Willow raised her head to look up at him. "Isn't it?"

"No. You did the best you could with the information you had."

"I should’ve known better. I did know better."

"What do you mean?"

"I’m not a newbie, Giles. I know translations can’t always be trusted, especially considering I got it from Wolfram & Hart. I should’ve looked for the original. Why didn’t I look into it further?"

"From what you told me things were…"Giles stopped as William came hurrying past them. He continued down the hall to check the main floor rooms one more time before finally coming to a stop in front of Willow.

"When did you leave Elizabeth to go upstairs?"

"I already told you. Twice," she said, hugging her legs closer.

"Well, tell me again!"

"Please! Try to get a hold of yourself. Shouting at Willow because you’re frustrated isn’t going to get Buffy back any sooner."

William took a deep breath. "I know. I’m sorry, Willow."

"That’s okay, William. I understand, but like I told you when I first heard you calling for Buffy, I’d only been upstairs for maybe three minutes. I know that because I had to find something on my computer for Kennedy. From the time I booted it up to the time I had found the file, that’s about how long it took me."

"And Elizabeth never spoke to you while you were with her in the study? Think, Willow, please. Anything at all that might be a clue; might give us some idea…"

Willow shook her head sadly. "I’m sorry. I talked to her, but she didn’t say anything back at all. She just sat there and…wait. No, never mind."

"What is it? Please, it could be important."

"It’s just when I walked back into the study after you asked me to stay with her, Buffy was mumbling something, but I didn’t catch it and she didn’t repeat it."

William furrowed his brow, remembering when she had done the same with him earlier.

"You said you talked to her, though?" Giles asked.

Willow let out an exasperated sigh. "Yes, once more. I talked. Buffy didn’t. I apologized again. She listened. At least I assume that’s what she was doing. It was sort of hard to tell when I wasn’t getting any damn response at all from her. That’s it; that’s all of it, okay?"

"Apologized? For what?" William asked.

"For what?" Willow stammered, realizing her mistake too late. She took a quick glance at Giles, who imperceptibly shook his head.

"Just about the whole predicament you’re in; that we’re all in," Willow hastened to explain, as she squirmed under William’s scrutiny. "You know, about The First and…everything."

"You’re lying!"

"William!"

"No, Giles. She’s lying and you…you’re covering for her!"

"It’s not like that at all. While it’s true you don’t have all the facts, it’s not true that we’re intentionally lying to you."

It didn’t surprise him when the watcher once again tried to placate him.
What did surprise him was the sudden and almost uncontrollable urge to hit something that surged through him.

"Don’t. Say. A. Word." William warned, his voice low and threatening.

Giles shut up and Willow sat up straight, alarmed.

Jaw clenched so tight he could hear his teeth scraping against themselves, William paced from the stairs to the door and back again, only pausing momentarily to gently touch Elizabeth’s coat, which still hung on the hook. Finally he stopped and faced them.

"I knew something was wrong with Elizabeth when she was in the hall after I saw my mother and my bro…after I saw The First in the bathroom. She wasn’t acting herself," William said, turning to Giles. "I told you that when Willow was upstairs! I told you I was worried."

"I know, and please believe me when I tell you that I wasn’t trying to keep anything from you, but that the timing was bad. Willow just came back and…"

"Bollocks! I don’t give a damn about your bloody timing! If something upset Elizabeth, I had every right to be immediately apprised of it!"

"And nobody is saying that you don’t!" Giles forced himself to not to add, that if it hadn’t been for Buffy coming to England a few days ago, he certainly wouldn’t have been apprised of anything that was happening with her from six thousand miles away.

"Then I suggest you tell me exactly what upset her so badly that she would take off, knowing that this is the only place that she's safe from The First right now. What did you say to her?"

Giles and Willow stole a glance at each other.

"Tell me now, goddamnit!" William yelled.

Willow stood up. "I’ll tell you."

Giles put his hand on Willow’s arm. "We both will. I promise you. However, I think right now that calling the slayers, and organizing a search party to find Buffy should be our first priority. Wouldn’t you agree?"

The muscles in his jaw ticked in barely contained anger, as he looked from Giles to Willow then back again. He didn’t want to believe that these two people, who were supposed to be Elizabeth’s closest and most trusted friends, would have done or said something so distressing that it had caused her to leave. However, their evasiveness and guilty looks left little room for doubt that it was so. Whatever was said, she was now out there, alone and vulnerable to The First.

"You’re right. It can wait, but this isn’t over," William said tersely. Before they could say anything else, he turned and sprinted up the stairs.

"What's he doing, Giles?"

"I have no idea."

In nearly the time it took them to voice this William was back downstairs --his coat slung over his arm and mobile in hand, making his intentions clear.

"Where are you going to look for her?" Giles asked.

"Everywhere."

"Everywhere is a big place. Why don’t you at least wait until Willow tries to find her with a locator spell? That will…"

"Giles, I can’t," Willow said forlornly. "Not right now. I used up all my magic when I did the protection spell."

"Doesn’t matter," William said curtly. He walked to the door and pulled it open. The icy air hit him in the face and reminded him that The First wasn’t the only peril. He turned back to look at them. "I’ll find her. I have to…she doesn’t even have her coat."

~~~~~~~~~~

SUNDAY

11:45AM

HAMPSTEAD

"Are you ladies ready yet? Services start in fifteen minutes," Robert said, pushing his chair back from the table.

"I think so. Alyson, be a sweetie for me and go upstairs to see if Grandma Beatrice is ready," Amanda said, as she set the breakfast dishes in the sink and took a last swallow of her coffee before pouring out the rest.

"Okay, mum," Alyson said, nearly knocking the chair over as she jumped up from her seat.

"And don’t run. Your shoes are still slippery."

"I won’t!"

The sound of little feet clomping up the stairs told her otherwise.

"Sort of like telling her not to breathe, don’t you think?" Robert said, with a lopsided grin.

Amanda couldn’t help but grin back, even as she threw a dishtowel at him.

"I’ll go get the car and meet you lot out front then," he said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before grabbing the jacket of his suit off of the chair and heading to the door.

~~~~~~~~~~

William wasn’t sure where he was going to look for Elizabeth after leaving Giles’. His instincts told him to first check the places that she had some familiarity with; so that’s what he did, starting with Greenwich Park. Not finding her there, or at the outdoor market where they’d done their last minute Christmas shopping, he went over to St. Sebastian’s.

Reverend Handley was in the middle of delivering a sermon when William unceremoniously barged through the doors. He heard the vicar momentarily stop reading, as all eyes turned towards the back of the chapel. However, embarrassment wasn’t a luxury William could afford today. Ignoring the looks of curiosity, he quickly walked up the main aisle and carefully scanned each row before leaving.

His next destination was Westminster Abbey. Discovering he didn’t have enough money to hire a cab to take him there he realized he had two options: go back to Giles’ flat or take the train. He chose the latter and felt that fortune had favored him when, even on a Sunday's schedule, he didn't have to wait but a few minutes for a train to come along. Unfortunately, the speed at which he got there didn't make any difference. Elizabeth wasn't there either.

Another train and two buses later, William was once more heading home to Hampstead, or rather, what used to be home. Panting hard from sprinting all the way from the last stop, and fervently hoping he'd find her inside, he hurried up the walk. As he stood there just about to knock, the door unexpectedly opened.

Robert stepped back, a look of surprise crossing his face. "What are you doing here?"

"I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…" William stammered.

"Who are you talking to?" Amanda called from the kitchen.

William shifted uncomfortably under Robert’s not-quite-polite, inquisitive gaze.

"It’s your long lost relative come to call again," he said, his eyes never leaving the other man’s face.

"William? Well, what are you doing letting the poor man stand outside in the cold?" Amanda said as she came into view and pushed the door open wide.

"Come in."

"No, that’s isn’t necessary. I can see you’re on your way out,"

"Don’t be silly. You’re here now, aren’t you?"

William hesitated before crossing the threshold. If the looks of surprise on both Robert and Amanda’s faces at seeing him were any indication, then he already knew that coming here had also been in vain. However, leaving was not quite as simple as turning and walking away, especially since it was he who had initiated this familial contact that he now found himself facing.

Amanda smiled at him encouragingly. "Please, come in,"

Once inside, she insisted on taking his coat and offered him a warm drink. He declined.

"I won’t be but a moment," William said, surreptitiously looking around to see if by some small wonder, he’d see Elizabeth here after all.

I just…" he stopped as he heard a commotion on the staircase. All eyes turned towards Beatrice, whom upon seeing William, had faltered.

"Grandmother!" Amanda said, rushing to stairs.

"I’m okay, dear." Beatrice said, quickly recovering her equilibrium. She continued ascending the staircase, one hand tightly gripping the shiny oak banister, the other holding onto Alyson’s for support, all the while staring at their guest. Amanda took over as they reached the bottom.

"Look, Grandma," she said, as she guided her towards the door. "It’s William come to call again."

Beatrice nodded, her eyes never leaving his face.

William shifted on the balls of his feet under her scrutiny.

"The reason I came," he said, clearing his throat, "was to ask if, by some chance, you’d seen Elizabeth today."

The silence seemed palatable as they all looked at each other, before Amanda finally spoke. "No, we haven’t seen her since she was here with you yesterday."

"Has something happened to your young lady?" Beatrice asked.

"No. I mean, I don’t think so. It’s just that she left the flat this morning without telling anybody. That’s quite unlike her."

"Did you two have a fight?"

"Robert!" Amanda scolded.

"It’s a fair question," Robert insisted. "Well, did you?"

William took a deep breath as scenes from his and Elizabeth’s joint nightmare came flooding back. Suppressing a shudder, he shook his head.

"Then maybe she just went out for a walk. I imagine she does that from time to time, right?"

"Yes, of course. It’s just that we were all up early this morning in Giles’ study…"

"You mean there at your friend’s flat; the one you and Elizabeth are staying with?" Robert asked.

"Yes, and then she was just gone."

"She didn’t say anything or leave you a note?" Amanda asked.

William shook his head.

"I see."

Robert looked from Amanda to William. "I’m not sure that I do. I don’t mean to be rude, but why did you think that she might be here?"

William couldn’t help but notice as Amanda shot Robert a glare that left no doubt that she did consider his question rude.

"No, it’s alright. To answer your question, I didn’t, really. It’s just she doesn’t know anybody else in London, and I just thought…maybe she’d come here. She wasn’t at the other places I’ve already been to look for her since I left…"

Amanda put her hand on William’s arm sympathetically. "I’m sure Elizabeth is fine. She’s probably already back and wondering where you’ve gone off to."

He wished he could believe that, but his gut told him differently. That, plus he’d called Giles (yet again) while on the bus, and she still hadn’t been seen nor heard from.

"Maybe she’s hiding."

They all turned to regard the youngest member of the group. "You mean like in Hide-n-Seek?" Robert asked.

Alyson’s light brown curls shook side to side. "No, so the monsters don’t find her," she said solemnly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With a smile borne of years of patience, Reverend Handley shook hands with the last of the parishioners at the door of St. Sebastian’s. He politely waited until he saw them safely ensconced in their car, then hurried back inside to his office. He’d had enough trouble keeping focused on the remainder of the sermon once he’d seen William, in such a state, come rushing into the chapel, only to leave before he could talk to him. After services had ended, he’d hoped that he might find him outside, but it wasn’t to be.

In the past, the vicar had felt that to bear the knowledge that demons actually did exist in the world was a curse. Accordingly, the forbearing had often been accompanied by prayers to God for enlightenment that only seemed to go unanswered, followed by longing for his days of innocence.

Now he saw his knowledge as a mixed blessing, the yin and yang of the divine. For surely, without having stumbled into that small membership of those who knew of such things, he would have never been privy to learn of the miracle bestowed on William Worthington. Make no mistake about it; it could be construed as nothing less than that.

Flipping through his old-fashioned Rolodex, the vicar found Rupert Giles number and picked up his phone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At Amanda’s insistence, William allowed them to drive him to Highgate Village, even though it would only make them later for church than his unexpected visit already had. Alyson rode in the front between her parents, while William sat in the back next to Beatrice.

If William had thought Beatrice reminding him of his mother had been unbearable yesterday, in comparison, that had been a cakewalk. The horrifying depiction The First had shown him of his mother, now made being in her presence an excruciating reminder.

Anxiously, he watched out the car’s window for the moment the first streets of the village came into view, where he would ask to be let off.

"Robert, would you mind stopping at Morrison’s?" Beatrice asked, as they neared the intersection of the large grocery chain. "I’d like to have you run in and get us a half-dozen or so of those raspberry tarts for our dessert for later."

"I don’t mind," Robert said, as he hesitantly slowed the car. It was an odd request for the old woman to make. He glanced at his wife to see if she had a clue, while discreetly motioning towards their backseat passenger.

"Why don’t we just stop afterwards, Gram? If we stop now we’ll be late for church."

"We’re already late," Beatrice said, with an uncharacteristic nonchalance. "Besides, you know very well that by then the tarts will be gone. That is, if William here doesn’t mind indulging an old woman and her penchant for pastries another few minutes or so."

"Of course not," William answered, in what he hoped was a convincingly neutral tone. His inner voice was anything but; it swore and railed in frustration at the further delay.

"I might as well go in with Robert and pick up some milk while we’re here. She turned around and gave William a sympathetic look. "We’ll be right back and you’ll be on your way."

"What about me?" Alyson asked.

"You go and help your mummy and daddy," Beatrice said. She reached into her purse and pulled out a coin and gave it to Alyson. "That’s for those lollys you like so much."

Alyson let out an excited sound as she undid her seatbelt and hurried to get out of the car with her parents. Amanda grinned and shook her head at Beatrice, before grabbing her daughter’s hand before she ran off between the cars.

"Be back in a few minutes," Amanda said, closing the car’s door and leaving her grandmother and distant cousin alone in the backseat.

The minutes ticked by in uncomfortable silence. It wasn’t just from the awkward silence that one might expect from two people who didn’t know each other well; rather this silence felt disturbed and rife with something struggling to bubble to the surface. Not surprisingly, William startled when Beatrice suddenly grabbed hold of his hand, just as he was trying to discreetly look at the pocket watch Elizabeth had given him last Christmas.

"I never dream anymore," Beatrice said, her voice wistful. "Or if I do, I don't recall them. Strangely, last night, for the first time in ages, I did. Although, calling what I had a dream is quite the misnomer. I had a nightmare, and a most horrid one at that. You were in it."

William paled. "I'm sorry. I think perhaps I should go," he said, reaching for the door handle with his free hand while trying to pull his other out of her grasp, but she held fast.

"Nonsense, young man. You’re not responsible for my nightmare, but I am compelled to tell you about it, which is the real reason I orchestrated this stop here. When I saw you today I knew that it was a sign, and that I was meant to give you a message."

William’s mouth was suddenly dry. He swallowed hard, summoning up his courage.

"What message?"

Beatrice responded to the involuntary trembling in William’s hand; squeezing it harder than he thought a woman of her age was capable of doing.

"One of forgiveness."

~~~~~~~~~

Giles heart rate suddenly sped up, readying itself for fight or flight, at the feeling of an unnerving vibration. Then he realized the cause.

"Blast it all!" Giles swore at the offending culprit - the phone in his pants pocket. How the blasted thing had become switched to that offensive mode, he had no clue. He made a mental note to ask Willow how to return it to ‘ring only’, the first chance he got. All the phones --both house and mobile-- had been ringing non-stop since William had left. This latest call had been from Reverend Handley, reporting that William had been to St. Sebastian’s looking disturbed, and to inquire what was the matter, and asking if he could be of any help. Plus, the slayers --now fanned out all over London-- were calling nearly every few minutes, or so it seemed, to relay that they had yet to find Buffy, and to check for further directives.

On top of that, he’d had to fend anxious calls from both Xander and Dawn; the latter to whom which he had not told of Buffy’s strange disappearance. Of course, that lasted all of five minutes before an Trans-Atlantic equivalent of round-robin between Willow-Xander, Xander-Dawn ensued. A near-hysterical Dawn called back, screaming in his sound-enhanced mobile, and nearly causing his eardrum to bleed. If he had forgotten how shrill Dawn could be, he was quickly reminded. Still, as badly as he felt over his sins of omission, allaying her fears was not his first priority; it was finding Buffy.

~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda opened the car door just in time to see Beatrice release William’s hand. Curiously she looked at them. "Everything alright?"

"Just fine, dear," answered her grandmother innocently. William nodded in agreement.

A few minutes later the car stopped in front of The Flaming Goat’s Foot, where William had asked to be let off, and they said their good-byes.

"I’m glad we got to see you again, William, even under the circumstances. Don’t worry, too much. I’m sure you’ll find Elizabeth in no time," Amanda said.

"You’re probably right; at least I hope so," William said, as he opened the door.

"I am!"

"Don’t forget what I told you," Beatrice said.

He held her gaze for a moment. "I won’t."

"Godspeed, William."

"Godspeeds!" Alyson echoed.

Robert gave a quick wave as he drove off.

William watched until the car turned off a side street and drove out of sight.

"Thank you," he said softly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

William had quickly checked The Flaming Goat’s Foot and the little shops around Highgate Village before heading to what had been their last stop yesterday, only to find it closed for the day.

After all the frantic hurrying he’d done to get from one place to another searching for Elizabeth, it was with a vague, uneasy reluctance that William finally dragged himself away from the locked gates of Highgate Cemetery to continue down the steep road back towards the St. Alban’s bus stop. He was almost there when his phone rang. Expecting it to be Giles or Willow, he was surprised to see an international prefix followed by the very first number he’d learned after learning his own.

"Dawn, are you alright?"

"Did you find Buffy?"

"No, I...you know?"

"Yeah, I talked to Xander, who had talked to Willow. Then I called Giles and bitched at him, but he wouldn’t tell me much. In fact, I got the feeling from both him and Willow that they weren’t telling me much."

"What a surprise," he mumbled.

"What the hell is going on? And don’t even think about giving me the short version, either."

"I won’t. I promise," William said solemnly.

He didn’t know if he was more relieved to know that Dawn was okay, or to have her as someone he could unburden himself to, but the words soon flowed. Only stopping momentarily in order to board the bus and find a seat alone in the back row –and likewise when he boarded the last train to Greenwich -- he filled her in on everything that had happened to him and her sister in the past 24 hours. He even told her of the slip-up Willow had made to him about her apology to Elizabeth and the reason behind being something neither she nor Giles would divulge. The only things he left out were some of the horrible details from his and Elizabeth’s mutual nightmare, and what The First had said to him in the guise of his mother.

With John at her side, Dawn listened intently. She tried to keep her warring emotions in check, but she couldn’t help sniffling back the tears.

"I’m so sorry, Dawn. The First...the danger you’re all in...It’s because of me. If I had never...."

"No, William! It is not your fault. The First is what’s doing this to everyone; you’re just the scapegoat its using to play its games. Secondly, blaming yourself isn’t going to help find my sister any quicker, so just stop it!"

William looked out the train window, as the lights of the tunnel underneath the Thames whizzed by hypnotically. "You’re right. I’m sorry," he said softly.

Dawn got up from the couch she was sitting on with John, and paced the room as she gathered her thoughts.

"The First told me that everything was my fault."

"Your fault?"

"Yes, my fault. The First came to me as that skank god, Glory. She said that because I didn't accept my destiny and jump off that tower, that everything that happened after Buffy died and was brought back; that all the deaths --even yours --were my fault."

"Oh, Dawn, no!" William said.

At the same time, John, hearing this for the first time hurried over to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "Dawnie...sweetheart."

"It's okay," she whispered to John, her hand over the receiver.

"You're right!" Dawn answered William. "It's not my fault any more than any of this is yours. I'm not saying that it didn't scare the crap out of me, because it did. It played right to my weakness, like it’s doing to yours."

"Got a lot of those," William said, a trace of bitterness creeping into his voice.

"To that I say, bullshit, William! You're not weaker than anybody else; in fact, you're stronger than most people I know...present company excepted," she said, turning her face up to John. He winked and gave her a small kiss; accepting the compliment in the spirit it was given. His life had been a cakewalk, even in medical school, compared to the hell that all these people had been through.

"The First has been doing to you, on a large scale, what its now doing to everyone else, only on a smaller one. That it’s been playing you since you came back...God! I don't know how you didn't completely lose your mind with The First inside your head."

"Very nearly did," William said softly. "Still not totally convinced that it was The First and not just me. It felt like it was me, or him, doing those...things; giving in to evil."

"You're not!"

"How do you know? You weren't ever evil."

"Might've been. I was a key to a hell dimension. How do I know what I did then? Still, I'm over it. You should get over it, too. Furthermore, The First can..."

William winced slightly as Dawn, in graphic detail, told him exactly what The First could do. Still, her tirade made him feel a bit better.

"I love you, Dawn. You know that, don't you?"

"Duh! I love you, too, you big dummy."

"I know...thanks."

"Getting back to my missing sister; from what you told me, I don’t think Buffy left because of The First. She wouldn’t do that knowing that everybody is still in danger; she would never just rely on a protection spell. If there’s one thing I know about my sister, it’s that she doesn’t do things without a reason, and she wouldn’t disappear now without one, either. If you haven’t found her, and the Slayerettes haven’t found her, then you’ve got to find out what Giles and Willow told Buffy. That could be the key," Dawn said, wincing at the unintended self-pun.

END CHAPTER 209

12:30PM

GREENWICH

After a flurry of calls every fifteen minutes or so, the only person who hadn't called back for quite some time now was William. Giles didn't know if that was a good or a bad omen. He was just about to call William, when he heard the front door open. He put his phone back into his pocket and headed towards the foyer. Willow was coming down the stairs by the time he arrived.

"Is she back yet?" William asked, hopefully, as he looked at each of them in turn.

Willow shook her head sadly.

"I was rather hoping when I hadn't heard from you, that Buffy was with you," Giles said.

Deflated, William sagged against the wall. "I didn't call again, because I couldn't bear to hear that she hadn't yet returned. I thought that perhaps by the time I got back…"

Giles nodded in understanding; his own false hope had just been dashed as well.

"Where can she be? Has anyone called?"

"I’ve got about ten slayers out in the field looking for Buffy and they’ve all been calling. Unfortunately, none of them have had any leads."

"Where have they looked?"

"If you follow me into the study, I can show you."

William nodded and pushed himself off the wall and followed Giles into the study. There on his desk, resembling a war chart for all intents and purposes, was a large map of London.

"As you can see," the watcher said, as he made a sweeping motion with his hand over the map, "the slayers have pretty much been all over London. Still, it's much like searching for a needle in a haystack, given the vast area. Not to mention, without knowing if she’s stationary or ambulatory…"

"What do these mean?" William interrupted, pointing to the dozens of marker-highlighted designations on the map.

"The circles are the places where the girls have been sent to look for Buffy. After they have called and informed me that they’ve been unsuccessful, I place an X in the middle. I’ve taken the liberty of including the places you told me you looked for her, as well. Those are in green, to distinguish them from the others’."

Giles picked up the green highlighter and uncapped it. "Where else did you look for her since the last time you called in?"

William let out a weary sigh.

"Pretty much just retraced our steps from yesterday, and visited the places we'd gone to before that."

"Care to be more specific?"

"No."

"Well, I hardly think that's helpful," Giles said irritably. "Tell me, what is the point in having the girls wind up at the same places that you've already been to…"

"They won't," William said, cutting him off.

"Buffy already told me that you and she had been back to your family's former house in Hampstead and Highgate Cemetery yesterday."

William's surprised look gave way to one of anger.

"Buffy only told me about it because I asked her if anything happened yesterday that might have precipitated your nightmare with The First."

William still didn't answer. The last thing he wanted was to have his distant relations pulled into this. Although, from what Beatrice told him it seemed at least she was already affected from having had contact with him

"Very well," Giles replied curtly, recapping the highlighter. He then removed two heavy volumes from one side of the map; it curled up onto itself with a snap, causing Willow to startle.

"What are you doing, Giles?" Willow asked, alarmed.

"Since this is getting us nowhere, and William doesn't want to share his information, not even in the service of finding Buffy; then I see no reason to continue on this particular path. Perhaps you can just locate her with a spell once you get your powers back," Giles said, walking over to the bar and pouring himself a generous tumbler of Glenlivet; which he downed immediately before pouring himself another. He turned away from them, as he tried to get his emotions under control. He knew he was being a berk under any standards, but his overriding concern for Buffy was ruling his mouth, as well as his heart at present.

Willow looked from one man to the other. They were both obviously at the breaking point and she felt it was up to her to diffuse them.

"It’s not that William doesn’t want to share, Giles. It’s just that some of the places he and Buffy went to were private. Isn’t that right?" Willow asked, giving William a gentle nudge on the arm, while noting that his hands were gripped so tightly on the arms of the chair that his knuckles were white.

The ticking of the wall clock sounded loud in the pregnant pause that followed.

"Yes, it’s private," William finally said.

Willow let out a breath of relief as she saw his grip relax.

Giles was about to argue that privacy wasn’t a luxury he could afford right now, then decided against it. He picked up the glass to take another drink, then thought better of that as well. Instead, he poured one for William and took it over to him, bottle in hand. The younger man looked up at the outstretched hand for a moment, before accepting the glass with a short nod.

William drained the glass, but shook his head at the non-verbal offer of another.

"Did Wally call back?"

"Who?" Willow asked.

"Edna’s grandson."

"Oh. No, he didn’t call. Dawn and Xander called...," Willow said, quickly adding, "they’re okay."

Giles shot her a quick, sharp look that she didn't catch, but which William did.

"Do you mean Dawn called again? Besides the previous two or three times she called you this morning trying to find out about her sister?" William asked coolly, addressing Willow, but looking at Giles.

Willow hadn't expected that. "No, just those. But how did you...?"

"Dawn called him," Giles stated.

"Yes, she called me. Had quite an interesting conversation; spoke at length, in fact."

"I imagine she's still upset with me."

"Shouldn't she be? Elizabeth is Dawn’s sister. She has a right to know what's going on."

Giles sighed. "I didn't mean to withhold information from Dawn, but I also didn't see any reason to upset her by going into a lengthy conversation, when there's nothing she can do from California. That’s why I didn’t tell her more than she needed to know."

William’s laugh was short and brittle.

"That’s rich, Giles. Or maybe it’s just secrets all around; at least when it’s you two who are keeping them."

Giles temper flared. "Yes, and you’ve been so terribly forthcoming throughout all this, have you? I seem to recall that you didn’t even tell Buffy you were here; she had to figure it out. I guess you don’t mind my keeping secrets as long as they’re yours!"

"That was different! You know why I did that!"

"Guys! Stop! This isn’t getting us anywhere and Buffy – who you are both worried about and who you both love – is still out there!"

The men glared at each other, then looked away. Giles was the first to speak.

"You’re right, of course, Willow. We need to stop this bickering and find her."

William rose from the chair and began to pace.

"You said something that I haven't been able to get out of my mind. When we were looking at the map you said that looking for Elizabeth was like looking for a needle in a haystack. You’re wrong. Dawn, however, was right on the mark. She said that Elizabeth would never just leave without a good reason for doing so, especially under these circumstances. I may not remember who she was in Sunnydale, but I know her now, and you two surely know this about her."

"He has a point, Giles."

"What’s missing is my knowing that reason. When I do, I'll know where to find her. I believe the reason she left is directly tied to what you told her that upset her; what you, Willow, had to apologize for again, and what you both have been trying to keep from me."

"Again, we are not trying to keep anything from you. Furthermore, I still don’t think that’s relevant right now," Giles said.

"I don’t much care at this point what you think; because I know I’m right."

William stopped and looked at both of them.

"The time for secrets is over."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Giles glanced over at Willow, who gave him a small nod.

"Very well," Giles said, deciding to skip any preamble, as well as the inclination to suggest that William take a seat. In the mood he was in, it was unlikely he’d heed his advice anyway

"As you already know; almost seven years ago, Spike succeeded in closing the Hellmouth by giving up his life. In doing so, he helped Buffy avert the apocalypse and saved mankind. That completed his desiny and, thus, fulfilled the Shanshu Prophecy. Then, almost two years ago-- five years from the exact date of the closing of the Hellmouth, --you came back human. That you are now human was

the reward; his reward for having done so."

Giles reached behind him and retrieved the tube that had been sent by Wesley. He pulled out the scroll and unwrapped another protective layer of heavy paper that was wrapped around it before placing it on the desk across from him.

"Is that it?" William asked.

Giles nodded.

It never got any easier. This. Hearing how his life - the totality of this new life - was directly attributed and intimately linked to the very thing he loathed and was horrified by; had run from ever since he'd found out about his past, only to realize that there truly was nowhere to hide from this truth.

Steeling himself, William slowly approached it - this ancient and yellowed scroll onto which his life had been prophesied.

As he reached for it, he felt an odd sensation. He withdrew his hand and looked at Giles. The watcher nodded once more, not knowing the reasons he'd hesitated. He took a deep breath and took hold of it. As he did, he felt a sudden tingle, which quickly spread from his hand, up his arm, and then throughout his whole body. It felt as though every atom of his entire being was suddenly thrumming with some sort of kinetic energy. It wasn’t altogether unpleasant. He let a few moments go by before carefully unrolling it on the desk.

Like all the other scrolls he’d translated at The Council, this, too, was in some ancient language. It looked similar enough to some he’d recently worked on, so that he could figure out a word here and there, but not all of it without translating texts to guide him. He mentally shook himself of his reverie.

"I don’t understand. What does the prophecy have to do with what you two told Elizabeth? She knows all about this; she the one that told me about it."

"I know she told you about the prophecy, but what she didn’t..."

"Didn’t what? What didn’t she tell me?" William asked, his heart sinking.

"You misunderstand, Buffy didn’t not tell you anything; she didn’t know herself."

"Wait!"

All eyes turned towards Willow.

"I’ll tell him, Giles."

He nodded.

Willow cleared her throat. "A couple of years ago, Buffy called me because she started to have slayer dreams again; dreams about your being alive. I think it was after she’d found a picture of the amulet in the newspaper from an archaeology dig that some professor was doing in Sunnydale. She’d tracked down the professor who had found it, and went to Chicago to get it from him, but once she got there, she found out that he had died. She then went to The Field Museum where he’d had an office, but nobody there knew where it was, either."

"But it was there; I was there, wasn’t I?" William said, as much to himself as them.

"Yes. Like I said, Buffy called me. Well, I figured that since Angel had given Buffy the amulet that she gave to you to wear, and since he’d gotten it from Wolfram & Hart..."

"Who are they again?" William asked, trying to remember what it was Elizabeth had told him about Angel and Wolfram & Hart, when she’d tried to go and confront him last year, after everything happened to them. Why had Angel brought it to her in the first place, and what had made her think it was to be given to him, considering the murky past that she knew they shared? For these questions, he had no answers.

"They’re this evil law firm that Angel was working for. I know it doesn’t sound like it, but I’m getting to the point, okay? Anyway, I hacked Wolfram & Hart’s computers to find out about the amulet, and found out it was cross-referenced with the Shanshu Prophecy."

Willow stopped.

"And?"

"Yeah...well, you see there was more to the prophecy than just your coming back human. There was also a two-year clause that had to be satisfied."

William stared at her. "What do you mean was a two-year clause?"

Willow shifted from foot to foot. "What I meant to say is that there is a two-year clause."

William looked at the scroll once more, then across the desk at Giles, and finally back up at Willow, studying her. Expressions, both guilty and sorrowful, played across her face almost simultaneously.

He let them both hang there in the wake of his silence, as he deliberated this new information, and tried to connect the dots.

"You both know what the two-year clause says."

They nodded.

"If I’m understanding this, Willow; you were the very one to tell Elizabeth about the prophecy in the first place. Am I right?"

"Yes," Willow answered softly.

"But not about the clause."

Willow and Giles exchanged a look; their faces both grim.

"Why? Why do you both know about it, but not Elizabeth? Not me?"

Silence.

"Tell me!"

Giles stood up; a silent warning, or a show of solidarity with Willow. He didn’t care.

"William," Willow said, her voice taking on an almost pleading quality. "It’s not that I didn’t want to tell her about the clause; it’s that I couldn’t,"

"What do you mean, couldn’t? Why the hell not?" William asked, his voice sounding loud in the quiet of the room.

Willow burst into tears. Giles went to her, but she backed away from him and the comfort he offered.

William was about to apologize, but hardened his heart. He didn’t care a whit about what the stupid thing said, but something about it was the reason that Elizabeth bolted, and now she was out there all alone.

"What does it say, Willow?"

"It doesn’t matter, I had it wrong."

He blew out a frustrated breath. "What did you have wrong?"

"When I translated the text I found in the Wolfram & Hart archives, I got it wrong. I got the word wrong about what had to come to pass in order for the your shanshu to stick.

The word rolled around inside William’s head; stick. Before he could ask about it, she continued.

"The reason I couldn’t tell Buffy was because her knowing it could change the outcome. I thought the two-year clause said you had to find love."

He laughed suddenly, as the tension drained from him, and the fear around his heart loosened its vice-grip.

"Love? You thought the prophecy said I had to find love?" William laughed again, shaking his head. "What the…why, then? Why couldn’t you tell her that?"

"Don’t you see, William? It’s precisely because of the nature of love that I couldn’t tell her. I asked the coven, and they all agreed, that by telling either of you – though mostly, Buffy, because you didn’t know anything at first - that it could affect the outcome. What if Buffy hadn’t really loved you when you’d come back? Or only felt for you as a friend? If she knew about the clause, she might have tried to love you anyway for the sake of the outcome, but it wouldn’t be real, and that could’ve prevented you from finding true love. Or…what if you’d realized that you no longer loved her after everything that happened to you."

"Rubbish!"

"We thought it best…"

He turned to Giles. "Have a long history of thinking you know what’s best for her, don’t you? Isn’t that why Elizabeth didn’t have anything to do with you for years?" William asked, immediately regretting it, seeing the stricken look on the watcher’s face.

Slowly Giles nodded. "Touché, although I’d say we’ve all been guilty of that as of late, wouldn’t you?"

William’s head was beginning to hurt. He turned back to Willow. "So, you thought that the two-year prophecy could be affected if either of us knew the actual contents of the clause, but you now say you translated it wrong."

If it were possible for a human to look even more miserable than someone who’d lost her best friend, mother, and puppy all on the same day, Willow did.

Giles spoke before she could answer.

"When you told me that your nightmares were taking on a more sinister quality, I thought perhaps it was time to take a closer look at what the prophecy had to say, if anything. I called Wesley, hoping that he might have transcribed it himself, when he had worked with Angel at Wolfram & Hart. Even better, he had actually procured the original scroll containing the Shanshu Prophecy from them, and had stashed it away. He was going to bring it over here to me himself, but before he could, there was an incident in which he and his slayers were attacked by demons whilst up in the mountains on a mission. Some of them were killed, and quite a few more than that, hurt. Wesley himself was hurt."

"Is he alright?" William asked.

"Yes, I believe he’s doing better now, thank you."

"Good…but how did you get it then?"

Giles smiled a bit. "By mere coincidence and perhaps a bit of providence, Buffy found his number on your phone bill at around the same time she figured out that you were here. She called to ask about you, of course, and when she told him her plans to come to England, he asked her if she’d deliver something to me. He didn’t tell her what it was; only that it was an ancient scroll."

William stared down at the scroll, then back at Giles and Willow.

"So, you got the original, then you two set to work transcribing it, at which time, you, Willow, find out you were wrong about the two-year clause. You decide to tell Elizabeth all about it, after which she runs out."

"That’s not what happened, and we’re still not sure that is why she left. Willow and I were planning on sitting down soon with the both of you to share our findings, but then last night with The First attacking you and Buffy in your nightmare, followed by the rest of what’s happened, we never got the chance.

As for how Buffy came to find out; when you’d left the room earlier to use the loo, she, unfortunately, picked up a fax that had just come from Wesley. It confirmed what we’d already assumed was the correct translation now. Having said this, and without waiting to be asked, he reached into his top drawer and pulled out the paper in question, and handed it to William.

"Just remember, although we’re sure of the translation, we’re not sure of anything much else."

William took the paper and read it over the entirety of it once, then again, and again a third time, focusing on the main caveat, ‘If within two years, the vampire who has shanshued has not achieved wholeness, he will forfeit his future.’

Now what Willow had said before about the shanshu not sticking made sense; he knew what it meant, at least what it could mean for him. Having read this, Elizabeth would know, too.

He set the paper down and turned to face both of them.

"I know where she is."

END CHAPTER 210

CONT. CH. 211