DECEMBER 21, 2009

SUNDAY

GREENWICH

12:15AM

FUNNEL AND FIRKIN

Hugh Hawley looked down the bar at the man who, except to tell him, "Keep ‘em coming," when he’d first sat down three hours ago, had not said another word.

"Last one," he said, setting down another shot of Jack Daniels in front of him.

William slowly focused on the man in front of him, scowling slightly as the words sank in.

"We're closing for the night,' the man offered, apologetically.

"Oh, right," William mumbled.

"Bars close around here too damn early, if you ask me," said a soft, American accented voice.

He turned with a start towards the woman. He stared, bleary-eyed. A petite blonde woman with green eyes shining of inebriation smiled at him. William blinked several times trying to clear his vision from wistful imaginings.

"I'm Jennifer," she said, encouraged by his intense gaze. "I'm a history student at the university here. What about you? Are you from around here?"

"Originally," William said after a moment. "Just passin' through now."

"Yeah? Where you going?"

A bitter guffaw died in William’s throat. "Hell, no doubt."

"Oh come on. It cant’ be that bad," Jennifer said, with a small sympathetic laugh.

He didn't reply.

"Well, I don't think you're going to hell tonight in any case. So how about we get out of here? We can go somewhere you know; get to know each other better..." she said suggestively.

"I don’t think so," William said, throwing back the last shot. "I’m a bad man; a very bad man."

Jennifer, who had been inching closer to William as she spoke, was now pressed up against him. He felt her warm breath as she whispered in his ear; "What would you say if I told you I sort of have a thing for very bad men?"

"I’d say you’re a stupid bint without the bloody lick of sense you were born with!" William said, shaking her off. Abruptly, he rose and threw some bills on the bar.

Jennifer’s face flamed, as she hurriedly got off her own barstool, glaring angrily at William.

"I don’t know what your problem is. I just wanted to have some fun, but apparently that’s a crime around here. God, I miss American men! At least I could get a decent...Know what? Fuck you!"

As he stood there swaying, a painful sense of deja-vu washed over him of another blonde tossing her hair over her shoulder, and angrily stomping away from him many times; what seemed like a million times.

The other patrons turned to look curiously at William as he stumbled drunkenly towards the door, but he didn’t pay them any heed. Nothing mattered anymore, least of all a group of strangers he’d never see again.

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

1:00AM

Giles paced from the kitchen to the foyer, glancing towards the clock in the study for the fiftieth time. As he paced, he replayed the whole day from morning, until William had left his seat during the game. The front door opened. Expectantly, Giles turned towards it.

"Oh, it’s you," he said, sighing.

Vi looked contrite.

"I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for that to come out quite like that, it’s just been..."

"I know," she answered, taking off her jacket and throwing it on the bench next to the door.

"You found no trace of William then I take it?"

Vi shook her head.

Last Giles had heard, neither had the other girls. In groups of twos and threes he'd sent the slayers out to comb the city for William. A couple of them had been dispatched back to the neighborhood in and around the stadium. Another two groups had gone to the areas of Hyde Park and Kensington, where William had mentioned his brother once lived, and where Dru had sired him. The other groups were searching Greenwich, Hampstead, and central London.

"Damnit! Why did he...? I can’t figure it out. We were sitting there enjoying the match. William got up to go use the loo; at least that’s what I supposed, but he never returned. What am I missing?"

Vi walked over and put her hand on the watcher’s shoulder. "I’m sure he’ll turn up, Giles."

Giles ran his hand through his hair. If something were to have befallen William, whether by demon or the human variety, he would never forgive himself. Buffy would never forgive him either. That William was a grown man with considerable fighting skills; having at one time been a master vampire, made no difference. He felt responsible for William’s well being, coming to him as he did without her knowledge.

The house phone rang, and he quickly grabbed it.

"Is this Rupert Giles?" asked a woman whose voice he didn’t recognize.

"Yes, this is Rupert Giles. Who’s calling?"

"I’m sorry to disturb you at this hour. This is Dorothy Faulkner."

"Who?"

"Your neighbor across The Knoll from you. I got your number from Harold Watley."

"Oh yes, right. What can I do for you Mrs. Faulkner?" Giles asked, wondering where on earth this was heading.

"You see Mr. Giles," she said, clearing her throat, "I’m usually asleep at this time, but nature called. As I was passing my upper hallway window I happened to glance out. As I did, I saw a man walking across The Knoll near Harold’s, then heading in your direction. Let me tell you, I almost had a heart attack seeing someone out there. I was going to call the police, when I saw him collapse in your back yard."

By this time, Giles had walked to the back door and turned on the lights. Vi followed.

"Is he still there?" Giles asked, straining to see out into the darkened yard.

"Yes, he’s down near the shed."

Giles put his hands above his eyes as he peered out into the yard. He’d have almost missed the figure completely, save for what remained of the telltale hair.

Shall I call the police or an ambulance for you?" Dorothy asked.

"No, I’ll take it from here. Thank you."

"You’re welcome. Please, do be careful, Mr. Giles."

"I shall. Thank you again," he said, hanging up.

"What is it?" Vi asked.

"Come with me," Giles said, hurrying out the door.

"It’s William!" Vi said, hurrying towards the still figure.

Giles nodded. Kneeling down, they immediately began to assess him for injuries or signs of trauma.

"I don’t think he’s hurt," Vi said.

"William, can you hear me?" Giles asked, gently shaking him.

William moaned something unintelligible, then turned over and threw up.

"No, not hurt," Giles said, wrinkling up his nose in disgust. "Drunk as a Lord, by the look and smell of things."

Giles first inclination was that he ought to just leave him outside to burn up in the morning sun. That was followed by the rather disappointing realization that since William wasn’t a vampire, that wouldn’t be the case anyway. On the other hand, he could just let Mrs. Faulkner call the police on the inconsiderate berk. Still...

He silently cursed his conscience.

"Help me get him inside," Giles said tersely,

Vi came around the other side. Together they hoisted William up, and between them, walked him back to the house, cleaned him up as best they could, and put him to bed.

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

DECEMBER 21, 2009

SUNDAY

1:30PM

Sprawled sideways on the bed and still in his street clothes, William’s first thought upon waking, was that something had crawled into his mouth and died, given the bitter, rancid taste. He fared no better as he attempted to get up; the movement bringing on a cacophony of kettledrums, apparently which had taken up residence inside his skull sometime during the night. He fell back, trying to get his bearings. Slowly, the past twenty-four hours came back to him: the Chelsea vs. Manchester United game, Stamford Bridge Stadium, packed with over forty thousand people.

All those people...

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

After a quick shower, William steeled himself before going downstairs in search of tea. If it weren’t for the overwhelming feeling of dehydration, he would’ve stayed in his room. It was Sunday, so the chances of Giles not being at home were slim. He went over his explanation in his head one more time before heading down the stairs.

The study door was closed, as William made his way into the kitchen. As to not bring any attention to himself, William poured the water before the kettle could even whistle.

With teacup in one hand and aspirin bottle in the other, he quietly made his way down the hall, heading for the stairs.

"William, might I have a minute of your time, please?" Giles asked through the study door, just as he passed in front of it.

With a sigh, William back tracked the few steps, and pushed open the door with his arm. Giles stood up from behind his desk, and motioned for him to take a seat on the opposite side. Despite trying to be careful, William’s hands shook as he tried to set the teacup on the desk, causing some of the liquid to spill over the side and onto some papers. Swearing under his breath, he started to get back up to find something to sop it up with when Giles stopped him.

"That’s alright. I’ve got something for that," Giles said. He produced a box of tissues from a drawer and handed them across the desk to William.

"I’m sorry," William said, wiping off the liquid. He looked at Giles, as he picked up the sodden papers, shaking his head.

"We’ll put them on The Times," Giles said, opening up the Sunday paper. Spreading it out on the floor near his desk, he then took the wet papers from William and sandwiched them between the newspaper sheets. That finished, he sat back down again.

The moments ticked by and finally Giles cleared his throat. It was with the greatest effort that he’d decided he would reign in his anger and disappointment, when confronting William with his thoughtless and self-destructive behavior yesterday.

"How are you feeling today?"

"A bit green."

"I should say," Giles said, nodding. "Do you recall how you got to your bed last night?"

William shook his head. He’d suspected as much, given the state they’d found him. Giles filled him in from the slayers who had been summoned to go looking for him, to when Mrs. Faulkner called, ending when he and Vi had managed to put him to bed.

"Care to tell me what happened to you yesterday, whist we were at the game?"

William took a deep breath and repeated what he’d rehearsed earlier, along with an apology.

"Claustrophobic? You felt claustrophobic? That’s it?" Giles asked, suspiciously eyeing William.

"Pretty much. Yes."

"Was there something about your past that being at the game set off?" Giles probed.

"No. It was just...I just had to get out."

Giles wasn’t satisfied. If that had been the case, William could’ve just met him at the car after the game. Not to mention him going missing for hours, only to return home so drunk he didn’t even remember how he got to bed.

William shifted in his seat, feeling very much like a child brought up in front of the headmaster.

"I apologize for causing you any worry yesterday, and for last night," William said. "You’ve been nothing but kind to me, to which I’m very grateful. It was thoughtless and unconscionable of me to put you through that."

"Yes, it was, William. I’m disappointed in you."

"Again, I’m really quite sorry. It won’t happen again."

"Very well," Giles said. He was still dissatisfied, but he didn’t know what else he could do for William at this juncture.

"If you don’t mind, I think I’ll go back to my room. I’m not feeling very well," William said, rising.

"Of course," Giles said, also standing.

With a nod, William collected his teacup and walked to the door.

"William?"

"Yes, Giles?" he asked, turning around once again.

"Um...just remember, I’m here if you want to further discuss anything that’s troubling you. Anytime."

"Thank you," William said. And with that, he was gone.

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

DECEMBER 22, 2009

SUNDAY

LOS ANGELES

5:00PM

Still in shock from the events of the past twelve-hours, Wesley pulled up in front of his office. He sat there for a moment, blank-faced stared out the window. Finally, he reached across himself with his right hand to open the door, carefully turning his body, as to not jar his casted left arm on the steering column. With the help of a standard issue emergency room cane, he limped over to the trunk to retrieve the weapons bag.

Letting himself into the office, he accidentally bumped his arm against the doorframe. The pain, radiating from his elbow down to his fractured wrist, was sudden and blinding, but he welcomed it. Gritting his teeth, he waited a moment for the pain to subside. When it had, he hauled up the long bag he was carrying, and without bothering to turn on the lights, went over to the cabinet on the far wall. Maneuvering as well he could, he replaced the weapons he and the five slayers had taken with them to San Bernardino National Forest.

Things couldn’t have gone worse. The G’raklics had been a particularly nasty breed of highly intelligent demons. For days, he and the slayers had searched throughout the areas where the reports of slaughter had originated from, but were unable to find any trace of them. Then yesterday, as they were starting to hike back, the demons mounted a surprise attack, surrounding them in the only area they had to pass through that offered no possibility of retreat.

As strong and skilled as the slayers were, they were still no match for nearly a dozen G’raklics. Their short stature belied their fierce stalking skills, reminding Wesley of the velociraptors from Jurassic Park.

Furthermore, the bony plates that protected their midsections and much of their necks, made killing them by beheading all the harder. The blow needed to be precise. In the end, one of his best slayers, Jessica was dead. Ramona was mortally wounded, and not expected to make it through the night. Loreena had suffered a concussion and would need to stay hospitalized over the holidays, even with slayer healing. The other two, Neela and Alisha also sustained injuries that would keep them from any duties for a while. Not that he cared about that; his heart was heavy with loss and a deep sense of personal failure.

All he'd wanted was to go home, but he couldn't bear to call the families of the girls from his apartment; it was his only haven in this insane world. Wearily, he walked to his desk to look up the numbers he needed. The red light on the phone was blinking, and he stared at it a long while before finally pushing the button.

"Wesley, this is Buffy. Call me when you get this message; as soon as you get this message."

He felt an irrational hatred towards her for a moment.

And, the only slayer in the history of the world who'd been able to share her power, turning thousands of potentials into just-as-real-as-she-was slayers. Thousands of slayers, and still not enough to stop all the evil, or to stop his slayers from dying.

The moment passed and lucid thought returned. After all, Buffy had been alone in the fight against evil for all those years, surviving longer than any slayer before her. She’d done what she had to in order to save the world from The First, that along with the sacrifice Spike had...

William. That must be the reason she called.

"Crap."

That phone call would have to wait until he’d first called the families of the girls who were dead, dying, or hurt.

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

DECEMBER 22, 2009

MONDAY

GREENWICH

7:00AM

William stared at his reflection in the mirror, hardly recognizing it anymore. The chronic sleeplessness, stress, and drinking over the preceding months showed. After splashing some cold water on his face, he vigorously rubbed his cheeks with his palms hoping some renewed circulation would cover the pallor. It wasn't much, but it was slightly better.

Remembering his mother's advice of long ago he forced himself to smile, studying the effect. Satisfied, he nodded. It was the one small change he could consciously make which would be both persuasive, and most dramatically affect his looks.

He wasn't proud of the deliberate deception he was about to engage in. However, he only had a short time in which to convince everyone that he was doing alright now. If he could manage so, it would be much more readily accepted when after the holidays, he announced he was off to revisit some places he'd last seen as a child. Of course, Giles would likely ask if he wanted some company, which he would graciously decline.

He would only be half-lying, anyway. The Lake District had, in fact, been a place he had fond memories of as a child. The Internet had provided him with all the information he had needed. He’d even rented a car for next Saturday, and made reservations at a low cost lodge, close to many hiking trails; one of which would surely serve his purpose.

No matter what he felt between now and the time he left; be it sorrow, anger, or self-loathing, he would have to be careful to not let those emotions show. To those around him, it needed to appear that he was once more finding meaning, if not joy, in life again.

Still, that wouldn't be the real test; not by a long shot. He knew he couldn't very well act as if everything was fine without showing that he was somehow also dealing with his relationship with Elizabeth, especially over the holidays. Giles knew him too well for that. Not to mention, he wanted to contact her, needed to, if only to somehow let her know that she's never been very far from his thoughts. It was a double-edged sword; the part of him wanting to pour his heart out to her to reassure her that she was still loved, and always would be. The other part of him was loath to giver her renewed hope, only to have it taken away.

All he knew is that it had to look like an accident. There could be nothing that would lead Elizabeth to think that it was something she could have prevented. To leave her feeling as though she’d somehow failed him would be worse than the hell that surely awaited him. Hell wouldn’t be cheated of it’s due this time; of that he was certain.

Although the thought of her loving someone else seared him in its intensity, with all his heart, he hoped that Elizabeth would go on with her life and all that meant. What he wanted for her, was a life that would be filled with love; and, if she wanted marriage and children. Most importantly, William wanted her life to be filled with light and to be free of the darkness he believed his presence had brought back into her life.

Most of all, if his nightmares were any indication of the thing he had been, or of the savagery he must still harbor deep inside him, he wouldn’t be around to hurt her.

END CHAPTER 186

CHAPTER 187 - SURPRISE

DECEMBER 23, 2009

TUESDAY

4:00AM

SOMEWHERE OVER THE ATLANTIC

Buffy shifted in her seat, trying to get comfortable. She'd taken the midnight flight from LAX to London hoping she would be able to doze for at least part of the long flight. However, so far sleep had evaded her. It wasn’t just in anticipation of seeing William, but also finding out why he’d basically cut off all communication with her. That in and of itself was enough to keep her awake, but it was what happened at the airport before she left, which left her feeling disquieted.

Wesley had finally called her back, calmly listening while she grilled him about his part in helping William get to London. Without emotion, Wesley told her all that he knew, which wasn't much. He told her he’d originally planned on accompanying William the whole way, only to be needed back in Los Angeles.

At the end of the conversation he informed her there was an important scroll that needed to get to Giles, asking if she could please come by his office and pick it up on her way to the airport. She’d retorted, that if it was that important to him, he could meet her at LAX and deliver it to her there. After forewarning him that if he weren’t there when she arrived she wouldn't wait, they agreed on a meeting spot in the parking lot, closest to the international terminal.

Pulling into the lot, she soon spotted the car he’d described, and parked nearby. Expecting the Wesley of old, she was shocked by his appearance. Instead of the bespectacled, nerdish watcher she remembered, a tall, good-looking man, not much older than herself, got out of his car. Bruised, limping, and his arm in a sling, it was obviously he’d recently seen battle; that or he’d been involved in a car crash. Either way, she now regretted having made him make the trip to the airport in his condition.

"What happened?" she asked.

Wesley proceeded to tell her about what had happened to the slayers and himself up in Big Bear.

"God, Wes, I’m so sorry! I wish you’d called me. I could’ve helped," she’d said, automatically.

"Quite frankly, asking you never occurred to me."

"And why the hell not?" Buffy had asked, infuriated by his matter-of-fact attitude.

Wesley had eyed her curiously before he spoke. "Because you’re retired. Aren’t you?"

Buffy was taken aback. In that moment, she’d truly forgotten what she was.

Muttering an apology, she promised to take good care of the scroll, then said her good-byes.

Now, somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, Buffy wondered if retiring and letting other girls carry on in her stead, had been the right thing. Was being the slayer for seven years, averting numerous apocalypses, losing loved ones, and even dying twice herself enough justification to turn her back on her calling?

For what, she wondered. In order to have a normal life? Despite the outward appearance of her life, past and present, she certainly didn’t feel normal. She didn’t imagine she’d ever quite feel normal again.

And now, she was flying off to England to find/confront her former vampire-now-human-lover, (though she used the term loosely as of late) but to what ends? To convince William that he could have a normal life with her? Elizabeth Worthington, nee Buffy Summers: Master & Commander of All Things Abnormal in this Life! Would he ever be able to again, now knowing what he did about himself? Would she? Just because they had that in common, it didn't mean he would come back to her, despite his reassuring words before he left. Since then, his actions, or rather inaction, had spoken for him.

Her eyes grew wet, as she pondered the futility of it all. Looking around the plane at the sleeping passengers, she decided she hated them, hated them and their stupid normal lives. But most of all, she hated herself. She hated herself for quitting, while others still died in the battle against evil, and she hated herself for what she still wanted, and what it seemed she couldn’t have...

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

DECEMBER 23, 2009

TUESDAY

1:00PM

To say that Giles had been surprised to find William already at the breakfast table yesterday morning, and offering to go to The Council with him, was an understatement. What with this latest episode just barely a day old, he certainly wouldn’t have taken any bets on this scenario. That wasn’t to say he wasn’t pleased; William had been quite an asset to both him and the girls when he’d been there in the past.

Giles glanced over at William working on a translation; rather he was supposed to be. Instead, he was staring off into space. If Giles had heard him snoring, he wouldn't have been surprised, as eerily still as he seemed to be. Just then he stirred, and Giles quickly looked down at his own papers, so as to not be caught staring. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see William giving him a hurried glance, before going back to his work. And so it went...ever since yesterday; odd moments of zoning out, distractibility, far less than stellar sparring and fencing exercises with the girls, careless mistakes on his translations.

As was his habit while attending paperwork, Giles would occasionally take a glance at the monitors linked to the training rooms. Often, seeing his girls as they progressed from untrained gems in the rough, to capable slayers was what made him feel it was all worth it, and what kept him going. It was what kept The Council going.

Yesterday, however, he'd found himself frowning - not at the girls, but at William who’d been fencing with them. Giles winced as he saw him stumble, due to nothing more than bad form, certainly unbecoming for one classically trained such as he’d been.

"Come on, William," he'd found himself saying aloud, as he watched more of the same. The fencing came to an abrupt stop, and he watched as the girls surrounded William. Unable to see what was happening, he rose from his desk to go downstairs...

~~~~~~~~

"Are you okay, William?" asked Rose, rushing to his side.

William looked down, surprised to see the red stain spreading on the upper sleeve of his shirt.

"I’m so sorry," Rose said.

"No need. I let down my guard, and you took the advantage. That’s exactly what you want to happen in a fight."

"Yeah, but not in here. I...I cut you. God, I’m really sorry!"

"Why were you fencing without the safety tips on?" Vi asked, looking at Rose sternly.

"I don’t know," Rose mumbled.

"Don’t blame Rose, it’s my fault, too," William said.

Rose smiled gratefully at William. He’d defended her.

"Giles is going to have a cow when he finds out," Vi said, biting her lower lip.

"It’s okay, really," William said, as the other slayers gathered around him and were now examining the wound. "It doesn’t hurt. Much."

"Do you think he needs stitches?" asked Rose.

"No, it’s not too deep," Vi said. Fatima had run off to get the First Aid kit, which she now handed over to Vi.

"See, what did I tell you...ouch!" William said, as Vi swabbed the wound with peroxide.

"Still..." Rose said.

"Perhaps William should help me in the office today," Giles said, appearing over Vi’s shoulder to get a better look at the wound, then turned to William.

"Yes, I suppose that would be best," William said, chagrined.

"I’m sure you’ll be back up to snuff in no time, as soon as that injury you told me about last night is better," Giles said.

William was about to ask what he was talking about, when he caught Giles’ intent.

"What injury?" asked Rose.

"Um...twisted my ankle yesterday," he said, glancing at Giles, who gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"You should have told us," Vi said.

"Really, William. I wouldn’t have been so hard on you," Rose said, winking at him, but relieved that this injury hadn’t really been her fault after all.

"Guess I just forgot about it."

"Why don’t I look after William, and you girls take a break?" Giles asked, as he nodded to William to follow him.

~~~~~~~~

"I appreciate your giving me an opportunity to save face, but you didn’t have to do that," William said, trying to keep his voice even, as they made their way up to the office. "It’s not like I didn’t know that I wasn’t fencing very well, or that I can’t accept the consequences of having done poorly."

"Understood." Giles said, nodding. "And if I offended you, I apologize."

"No need..."

"Actually, I do need your help on something, so I'd be happy to have you consider my interference as just a way to enlist your help," Giles said, with a wry grin.

"Yes, well...I'll do that then," William answered.

~~~~~~~~~

6:00AM PST

STILL OVER THE ATLANTIC

Buffy could hear the stewards starting to come down the aisles with carts full of coffee, juices, and whatever passed for a continental breakfast. Make that trans-continental. Quietly, Buffy turned off the small, overhead light, and raised the shade a couple of inches. It was brilliantly sunny outside now, at however many thousands of feet high they were flying at. She could see the clouds beneath them, but not the ocean. Just as well, the thought gave her the willies. She glanced once again at her watch. It was already past noon in London. Willow would be there to pick her up in only a couple more hours and then...Her stomach clenched at the unknown. And then...that was the big question.

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

2:30PM

GREENWICH

COUNCIL HEADQUARTERS

The phone rang, startling both William and Giles.

A few minutes after answering it, Giles turned to William. "It seems we’re being ordered out of here, in deference to the girls’ need to decorate for the party this evening."

"They’re not decorating in here, are they?"

"No! Oh dear God, I hope not," Giles said, making a mental note to make sure to lock the office door. "Just the same, they want us out of the building proper. So, what say you we finish up, and head for home shortly? I think I could use a nap before tonight’s doings in any case."

William nodded, fighting back a yawn at the mere mention of sleep. Not that he would dare chance it, not before having to go to this party. He dreaded the very idea of having to mingle and pretend he was in some sort of cheery holiday mood, but pretend he must. It was part of the plan. They had to see him as acting normal.

"I’ll just be another couple of minutes. I’d like to finish up this page first, if that’s alright."

"That’s fine. I have a few things to finish myself," Giles said.

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

3:30PM

LONDON

HEATHROW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

It had taken almost an hour to go through customs after been tagged to have her luggage gone through by London’s finest. Luckily, she’d left her stakes at home. That would’ve been interesting to explain. After finally getting through the process, she walked out to where families, friends, and loved ones awaited.

Buffy saw Willow first. She was holding up a big cardboard stake, with her name in yellow crayon, written lengthwise down the middle.

"Very funny. Does that also come with a cardboard vampire?" she said, tapping Willow on the shoulder.

"Buffy!" Willow cried, throwing her arms around her, in a welcoming hug.

"You cut your hair!" Buffy said, looking at Willow as she stepped back. "I like it!"

"Really?" Willow asked, her hand automatically going up to her hair.

"I do," Buffy said, admiring the short, curly style. She grabbed the handle of her larger suitcase, then positioned the carry-on top of that.

"I’ll get that," Willow said, as she took hold of the handle just as Buffy had finished attaching the smaller one on top.

"You don’t have to do that, I’m fine."

"Nope, allow me. You can just carry the...what is that?"

Buffy looked down at the large cardboard tube she had in her arm. "I honestly don’t know. It was something Wesley wanted me to deliver to Giles. He said it was important. Old and ancient texts on some old and ancient scrolls, as far as I could tell. Let me tell you, trying to explain something like that to the baggage screeners, not of the fun! I think they thought I was a mule or something, with a payload of drugs inside there."

Willow laughed, as they made their way through the maze of concourses on their way to the parking lot. They got to the car and Willow put the luggage into the boot, while Buffy waited for Willow to unlock the door.

"Um, Buffy?"

"Yeah?"

"Um...you didn’t want to drive, did you?" Willow asked, trying not to panic.

"No, why?"

"Wrong side."

"Huh? Oh yeah, so it is," Buffy chuckled, as she now took notice of the steering wheel through the window. "Wow. It’s like something you know exists, but until you see it, you really don’t believe it."

"Like vampires?"

"Good analogy, except vampires I know exist. Now cars with steering columns on the right side, and driven on the opposite sides of the road, those are the things I have trouble comprehending! How screwed up is that?"

Willow laughed. That was her Buffy.

They didn’t talk until Willow had exited the parking lot, and got onto the Motorway.

"Speaking of vampires, at least a former one now residing with my former watcher; how long will it take to get to Giles’ place?"

Willow looked at her watch, calculating both the traffic and time of day. "About an hour; a little less if we’re lucky, a little more if we’re not."

Buffy nodded and settled back in her seat, as Willow narrated points of interest as they drove toward Greenwich.

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

5:00PM

GREENICH

COUNCIL HEADQUARTERS

"Hey, it’s looking pretty good," Vi said, as she came into the training room. Being the largest room, it had been chosen for the site of their party. A large Christmas tree had been brought downstairs and festooned with lights, garland, tinsel, and ornaments. Colorful decorations had been hung on the walls, streamers hung on the windows, and a large poster of a fireplace was mounted on the wall. Long tables covered with red and green checkered tablecloths were beginning to fill up with plates of Christmas cookies, truffle cakes, pies, candies, and other treats.

Another table was set up for liquid refreshments. Unopened bottles of wine and liters of soda were being iced, while an empty punchbowl sat in the middle, waiting to be filled. Two other tables had been set aside; one to serve the traditional English holiday fare of roast goose, mince pies, plum and figgy puddings, stuffing, and potatoes; the other for foods representing the home countries of the many other slayers who now studied and resided here.

"Thanks," Rose answered. She and a few of the other slayers had been in charge of this area. "How about you, are you finished with the entryway hall?"

"Just about," Vi said.

After she’d gone, a couple of the other girls came up to Rose.

"So, what do you think the chances of William coming to the party are?"

Rose patted her head thoughtfully. "I’m not taking any chances tonight ladies. As soon as we’re finished here, I’m going to put on my sexiest, most revealing dress, then I’m going to Giles’ flat on a search and rescue mission to make sure that he does!"

The girls giggled, conspiratorially.

"Who’s with me?"

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

5:00PM

GREENWICH

TRAFALGAR TAVERN

Buffy made her way back to the table, where Willow, a strong espresso, and a salad awaited her. As soon as they’d gotten into Greenwich, she’d asked Willow if they could stop somewhere so she could get some fresh clothes and make-up out of her luggage. There was nothing like traveling for hours and hours to make one feel all skanky. She would’ve have liked to showered, too. Unfortunately, Willow lived in Bath, and the only other alternative would’ve been to rent a motel room for an hour or so, but that was ridiculous even for her sleep-deprived brain.

So, a restaurant’s bathroom was put into service in the name of making herself halfway presentable. It also gave her time to catch her breath, if only a bit, before just arriving at Giles’ doorstep, luggage and hopes in hand.

"You look refreshed," Willow said with a smile, as Buffy sat down. She’d changed into a pair of smart tan pants, a maroon shell with a cowl neckline, over which she wore a short, ivory cashmere sweater. Her hair had been taken out of the ponytail, and now looked freshly brushed. It hung loosely, except for the small, shiny maroon clip holding back one side.

"Well, as refreshed as one can, dressing in a stall, and applying makeup under a dim restroom light bulb," Buffy stated ruefully.

"You can’t tell at all; you look very nice.

"Really?"

Ever the optimist, Willow nodded emphatically. "Absolutely! William is going to take one look at you and fall in love all over again."

"If it were only that simple..."

~~~~~~~~~

4:30PM

Bolting awake, William jumped out of bed when Giles knocked on his door to remind him that they were to leave for the party within the hour. His heart pounded furiously, as he struggled to come back to his awakening reality.

He hadn’t meant to fall asleep. Sleep meant nightmares, and this had been no exception. In fact, it had been worse than normal.

Hearing Giles’ retreating footsteps, he sat back down on the bed, his hands in his head. There was no way he could go to this party and act like everything was okay. Not now. He would just have to tell Giles that he wasn’t feeling well, and to extend his regrets to the girls. That decided, he rose from the bed and went over to the table to look over the document Lawrence had sent him to sign. He would post it first thing tomorrow.

After returning from The Council, William had placed a call to Lawrence. He tried to be as casual as he could, considering the reason for his call.

Ever the diplomat, Lawrence didn’t question him directly about the possible reasons for the request, instead he had suggested other options.

In the end, what did it matter which way it was worded? As long as Elizabeth didn’t have some magistrate challenging his will, then she would be okay financially.

She’d be okay.

It was his mantra, and the only thing that he had left to believe.

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

5:30PM

TRAFALGAR TAVERN

"That’s The Council," Willow said, as they drove past.

"Hmm...not what I expected. I thought it would look like a fortress or something."

Willow laughed, "Well, I think the old building that Travers and them used to work out of was more like that; I’ve seen pictures. Giles is a lot more laid back, and so is the building. Kennedy tells me that it’s a lot bigger inside. It has a couple of subterranean levels"

"Oh..."

"It’s too bad we couldn’t have driven through London proper, but that would’ve take forever. There’s so many wonderful places to see!"

"Like Harrod’s?"

"Besides Harrod’s, Buffy! There’s Kensington Palace, The National Gallery, The Tower of London..."

"I know, Willow. I was just teasing. I’m going to be here for a little while. You can take me on a tour, okay?"

"And Harrod’s I was going to say. I’m gay and a girl; I believe shopping is in both my job descriptions."

"So it is," Buffy said, and they both laughed at the joke. The irony was that over the past years, she’d mostly only shopped when it became a necessity, not for fun like she had when she was younger. Until last year, that is. Having someone to buy stuff with and for, that had made it fun again.

"Are you ready to go now, Buffy?" Willow asked gently.

She slowly nodded, "As ready as I’m ever going to be..."

~~~~~~

5:45PM

"Let’s go," Rose said to the two other girls accompanying her. Having spent the last thirty minutes transforming herself into a sexy vixen, she looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror, satisfied with the results. She’d had her eye on William for a long time, and tonight she would make her intentions known...

~~~~~~

"Here we are," Willow said, turning the car off.

Buffy looked at the house, but made no attempt to get out.

"Do you think I’m doing the right thing?"

"I think so. Why? Don’t you?"

"I dunno. All of a sudden I’m not so sure, maybe I shouldn’t have come. Maybe he really doesn’t want to see me, maybe..."

"It’s just nerves."

Buffy didn’t answer.

"Well besides all that second guessing your head is doing, what does your heart tell you?" Willow asked.

Buffy took a deep breath and nodded. Willow opened her door and Buffy followed suit, then together they walked up the sidewalk to Giles’ front door.

~~~~~~~

Glass of sherry in hand, as he read the day’s newspaper, Giles looked up as William came into the study. He started to ask if he was ready, but something about his demeanor stopped him.

"I’m sorry," William said, "but I don’t think I’ll be accompanying you to the party."

"Oh? Why not?"

"I’m afraid that I awoke with a horrible headache. I didn’t mean to fall asleep; looks like I would’ve been better off."

"Are you sure? We needn’t stay that long. In fact, a spot of food might be just the thing you need."

William shook his head, "No, I’ll just eat something here. I just don’t think I can stand the girly noises right now. Please give them my regards and..."

Giles and William both turned their heads, as they heard the knock.

"Wonder who that could be," Giles said, as he got up to go into the foyer.

~~~~~~~

Buffy stood off to the side a bit, as Willow knocked.

"He’s coming," she whispered.

"William?"

"No, Giles."

The door opened, followed by moments of stunned silence.

"Surprise..."

END CHAPTER 187

"Willow? Willow! My God, where did you come from? Never mind that; it’s wonderful to see you! Come in, come in! Why didn’t you let me know you were coming?"

Willow shrugged, before stepping aside.

"Hello, Giles," Buffy said, moving from where she’d been standing in the shadows to the center of the doorway

"Double surprise," Willow added meekly.

"Buffy? Oh my goodness, my dear girl, I’m so very glad to see you!" Giles said, smiling broadly and taking both of her hands in his. In that moment, he all but forgot the most likely reason she’d come at all.

"Girls, you are both a sight for sore eyes," Giles said, looking at them fondly. He wouldn’t have admitted it aloud, but them being there had just made it seem a lot more like Christmas. He shook his head in wonderment. "I just can’t believe it."

"It’s nice to see you, too. Wonderful, in fact," Buffy said, "but, I gotta ask, what the frilly heck is going on?"

"Going on? Whatever do you...? Ah, of course..." Giles said, a bit deflated as her meaning became clear.

"Elizabeth?" William said, so softly that the others didn’t hear.

"Merry Christmas, William," Buffy said softly, venturing a small smile.

Wide-eyed, he continued to stare at her. She was really here, not just a vision from his most ardent dreams, and recurrent sacrifice in his most horrendous nightmares, but here in the flesh.

Watching the play of emotions across his face, Buffy took a tentative step forward.

Shaking his head, he mirrored her, only in the reverse, backing away from her. This couldn’t be happening, couldn’t be real. Please God, not now.

"William? I..."

Just then the door burst open. All eyes moved to the three women who had just come in.

"Hey Giles! You ready for the party? How about you, William?"

Buffy looked at them, then at Giles and William. Nobody spoke.

Finally, Giles cleared his throat. "Girls, this is Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg. Buffy, Willow, these are some of our school’s students; Rose, Fatima, and Meghan."

"Mary," she corrected.

"Mary, of course."

"Buffy Summers, huh? As in the former slayer?" Asked Rose. Coolly she sized up the competition and inwardly shrugged, finding her lacking.

Buffy nodded, having trouble taking her eyes off of William for even the few seconds it took for the introductions.

"Nice to meet you. Seems you came just in time for our party; in fact, it’s starting as soon as we get back."

The three girls had now surrounded William, who himself was still staring at Elizabeth. Only when Rose possessively grabbed his arm, making him wince, did he look away. Noticing she'd grabbed him over the wound she'd accidentally inflicted earlier she adjusted her hold. Buffy also noticed, as she watched the interplay between them with something akin to fascination.

"What are you doing?" William sputtered, suddenly aware that both Rose and Mary each had hold of him by an arm.

"We’re here to escort you to the party."

William shook his head.

Buffy bristled, ready to kick some sub-slayer butt if need be.

"Uh-uh, William, you promised, and we’re here to insure you make good on that promise," Rose said, as they started to drag him towards the front door. Too stunned to think or say anything else, William let them.

"Well, hope we see you at the party," Rose said sweetly, as she opened the front door, and along with the other girls, led William through it.

"What the hell is going on!?!"

"Buffy, calm down."

"Don’t you dare, ‘Buffy calm down’ me, Giles! I just flew thousands of miles to find out what’s going on, only to find William looking like I don’t know what, and then hightailing it out of here to go to a party with some...some slayer sluts! So don’t tell me to calm down!"

"That’s neither fair, nor accurate. The girls have had this party planned for weeks. It had nothing to do with your arrival, which by the way, thanks for having the consideration to let us know you were coming," Giles said, heatedly.

"Yeah, I should’ve done that. Then William would’ve had time to go hide out in Asia or something," Buffy said, hands on her hips. "I’m sure you would’ve helped him disappear, seeing you’re the expert on that."

"What did you expect from him?" Giles asked, ignoring the baiting. "You just pop in here..."

"Whoa, calm down guys," Willow said.

Giles took a deep breath, continuing in a much softer tone. "Buffy, it’s not that I don’t want you here. Please, don’t think that. I’m very glad you’re here, just as I’m sure William is as well. You just took him aback, is all."

"Is that what that was? Being taken aback?"

Giles didn’t answer.

Buffy’s shoulder’s sagged as the adrenaline, which had sustained her, now ebbed away.

"How could you not tell me William was here all this time? That he’d come to you? Why is he here? How did he even know where you lived?"

Giles took a deep breath. "To answer your last question first; last year in Julian, unbeknownst to you, I did give William a card with my phone number, and the offer that if he ever needed to, he could call me. The reason being was that I could foresee that he might someday have questions you either couldn’t, or wouldn’t answer."

The betrayal stung like a slap, and Buffy took a step backwards.

"Such as?"

"Such as The Council’s records, as they pertain to him."

"I thought The Council and all it’s records had been blown up," she said, icily.

"Not those that I’d already had in my possession, and that would apply to the totality of files of one William the Bloody."

"Know what I think? I think this was your way of still trying to control me; by taking away the one person I love," Buffy yelled. She knew she wasn’t making any sense, but she was helpless at this point to stop herself from dredging up old wounds. "Admit it Giles, you always hated him, and of all the people he could go to who would fuck with his head..."

"Buffy!" Willow warned.

"That’s patently absurd, even coming from you, Buffy!" Giles said, his voice belying his indignation.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"You want to know what that means?"

"Guys! Stop!" Willow yelled. It had the desired effect. She turned to her friend, first.

"You’re not being fair, Buffy. I don’t think Giles hates William. You don’t, do you?"

"Of course not!" Giles said, shooting Willow an aggrieved look.

"And Giles, you have to know how it looks to Buffy, don’t you? No matter your motives, you went behind her back. Again."

Giles nodded, sighing. He’d always known that his helping William would likely drive a deep wedge between him and Buffy. Apparently, those chickens had now come home to roost.

"Believe it or not, Buffy, I’ve grown quite fond of William and I have no wish to see him hurting. Back in Sunnydale, I did strongly dislike Spike, but that time has long passed. And admittedly, I did conspire behind your back to remove him from the picture, but only because I wholeheartedly believed Spike was a danger to you and the potentials. Furthermore, I believed that you couldn’t see that because of your feelings for him. I was wrong on all counts. Believe me when I tell you that the last thing I want to do, is to cause you any more suffering than you’ve already had to bear."

"How could you?" Buffy asked, her voice trembling. "How could you let him read those terrible things without..."

"You?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact."

"William didn’t want you involved in this, that’s why he came to me. Do you really think me that heartless, Buffy? Do you think I just gave him the files, and let him read them without comment, without discussion, without trying to somehow put it into perspective for him? However, the fact remains Spike killed; killed with impunity. Try as I might- try as you might- there’s no good way to soft sell that."

"William didn’t kill those people," Buffy said adamantly.

"No, he didn’t. But William is the one left trying to understand why he’s back. He doesn’t understand why he’s alive again for the first time in over one hundred twenty some years, or after burning up in The Hellmouth."

"He’s back because he saved the freakin’ world! That’s his reward! Isn’t that what the Sandshoe Prophecy said?" Buffy asked, turning to Willow.

"Shanshu. Yep, that’s what it said," Willow said, shifting uncomfortably. "Still, there are a lot of questions for William to try to find answers to, Buffy."

"It’s not that he doesn’t intellectually realize these truths," Giles interjected. "It’s that he isn’t internalizing them, and that’s where it counts if he’s to be able to make some sort of sense of his life and go on."

"Yes, he does. I know that."

"William needed someone who wasn’t in love with him to be able to give him the facts, without censorship," Giles said gently, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Who else would you rather him have turned to? The only other person, with direct knowledge of who Spike was and what he did throughout all those years is Angel. And even if Angel hadn’t been behind what befell you and William, I doubt you’d have much cared for that option. I have no doubt that if it hadn’t been me; William would have sought out someone else to find his answers from. I gave him my card, Buffy, because I was the safest choice."

"He could’ve told me. I would’ve taken a leave of absence. I could’ve come, too."

"William also needed to do this without worrying that you would be in pain, right along with him."

"Too late for that," Buffy said, looking at Giles. "Doesn’t he know that I feel what he feels?"

Giles smiled sadly at Buffy.

"He needed to do this on his own."

"So what do I do now?"

"Well, I believe that if you’re up to it, we go and catch up to William at the party. Then, you talk."

END CHAPTER 188