http://gilescandy.livejournal.com/ ([identity profile] gilescandy.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] summer_of_giles2011-07-08 05:18 pm

Fic: Magister (A Vamp!Giles) (PG) Ch. 1&2 of 14

My last offering today will come in several posts.  I'm now going to break one of my own rules.  I usually don't like to share stories that aren't complete, but you can thank my sister and mmagnet_ff for convincing me that you guys will enjoy starting this anyway.
So, here is my contribution to the evil Giles theme this summer.  I will do my best to have more by the free for all day.  Hope you enjoy! 

Completed SoG 2011!

{C}{C}{C}{C}

Title: Magister
Author: gilescandy
Disclaimer:  Characters from Buffy and Angel belong to Joss Wheton et al.
Rating: NC-17 overall.  (Chapter ratings with each post.)
Pairings:  Haha!  Giles/?  Basically, Vamp!Giles wants, Vamp!Giles has.
Warnings:  At the beginning of each chapter.
Timeline:  A/U.  I had to mess with time to get the combination of characters and past events I wanted.  So, the Buffy crew is at the beginning of season seven, only it’s a few weeks before Dawn starts school, Giles came back with Willow to help her settle in, Anya is human again, and Spike has had time to get used to his soul.  The Angel crew has been in a rut.  They’re in season two just after moving into the Hyperion.  And Faith is in Buffy seven, reformed and escaped from prison.  Just go with it, you should catch on pretty quick.
Summary:  It's a Vamp!Giles.  Let the mayhem commence!

Author’s note:  Magister is a Latin word.  It’s pronounced Ma-gee-stay.  Sounds better that way.

Warning:  Character death

 

 

Magister 

1.  The Lightest of Burdens is Death

 “God!  I should’ve never let any of you come with me!” Buffy screamed in frustration as she paced around the lobby of the Los Angeles hotel that served as headquarters for Angel Investigations.  Her cries were heard, but the ones they were directed at did not respond.  Xander stood just inside the doors, breathless and blinded by tears.  Willow sat in a corner, rocking herself as she tried to bite back sobs.  And Dawn, the youngest and, at this one moment, bravest, sat by him, gripping his hand and staring into his eyes, willing him to fight just a little longer.

Cordelia hurried in with a bowl of water and a washcloth.  She gave it to Dawn, who began mopping the sweat and blood from his brow and face while whispering soothing sounds.  Even she knew there was no hope, but she wasn’t going to let herself break down like the others.  Not when there was still comfort she could give him.  Not when he still needed to see a caring face.

“There was nothing you could have done,” Angel tried to calm Buffy.  “No one could have known they heard you were coming.  They came out of nowhere.”

“That was my point,” Buffy howled.  “If it was just me--”

Xander’s fist thumped against the wall. “Then you would have been outnumbered ten to one and we would have lost a Slayer instead of a…”

“I know how strong those things are,” Angel tried to back the boy up.  “It’s a wonder any of you survived.”

Buffy began to shake with rage.  “What was he doing taking on two at once anyway?  He should know better.”

“It was for me!” Dawn finally cried out over her shoulder.  “He took the hit that was meant for me.  He saved my life and now he’s going to die.”  A weak squeeze from the hand she held brought her attention back to the man lying on the table.  He was trying to speak, but all he could manage were bloody gurgles.  “Shh,” the girl whispered to him.  “I know.  These days I always know what you’re going to say to me.  But nothing is going to make losing you any easier.  I love you--”

“We’re not going to lose him,” Buffy cut her off.  “Willow, you’re the most powerful witch I know.  You can heal him, can’t you?”

Willow looked up at her with a sudden fire in her eyes.  “If I could, don’t you think I’d be doing it already?  Buffy, half his chest is gone.  There’s no coming back from that!  It’s only by sheer willpower that he’s still alive now!”

“Then we go to Plan V.”  Buffy stared resolutely at her friend.

“Plan V was just a thought exercise,” Willow said cautiously.  “I studied it because I wanted to know if I could do it.  But the idea of actually using it…”

“I’m not going to lose him now, Will.  Not after all he’s done for me.  All he’s done for all of us.”

Tears cascaded down the witch’s cheeks.  “Don’t you dare imply that I don’t remember everything we’ve put him through!  What I did to him…  I’m just saying that we should think about whether or not he would want this.”

“I don’t care what he wants!” Buffy yelled.

“Since when is that a new thing?” Xander stepped into the conversation.  Buffy wheeled on him, pinning him to the wall before she realized what she was doing.  She slowly let him go.

“So what are you two suggesting?  When we first talked about this, it was because we were tired of losing everyone we loved.  We’ve been together, fighting to save the world for so long and what has the world given us in return?  Oz, Riley, Angel, Cordy… All driven away.  Then we lost Miss Calendar, and mom, and Tara, and now…”  Buffy growled in frustration.  “Every time he leaves us on our own things fall apart.  Are you telling me that you can just stand here and watch him die now?  Let him go forever?”

Xander and Willow shook their heads sadly with a simultaneous, “No.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Willow’s eyes shot up to her with a panicked look.  “I need supplies.  Some rare items that we’ll never find before…”  Her eyes indicated the man on the table as her voice refused to finish.

“I believe I have everything you’ll require, Willow,” Wesley’s voice drifted from the office doorway.

“You know what she wants me to do,” Willow moved toward him.  “And you’re willing to help?”

“It’s not hard to guess from your conversation.  But I must warn you, the Council has strict policies pertaining to this sort of thing.  Especially when an asset of his caliber is compromised.  Though I am no longer affiliated with them, you can be sure that all of us are still of great interest to them.”

Buffy growled, “We’ll deal with the Council when they catch up.  You and Willow start getting ready.”

“I still can’t believe you want to help with this,” the red-head followed Wesley.

“I will admit to you that I think it’s foolish, and you and Xander are correct with your objections,” the ex-Watcher spoke calmly.  “But the Slayer seems determined.  Better to stay and be sure the proceedings run smoothly than to be expelled and unable to help.”  Wesley let a half-smile jerk at the corner of his mouth.  “Besides, I too have some affection for the man.  Though, in our short time together, we may have seemed to be at odds, I do count him as a friend.”

Buffy grabbed Angel’s coat and pulled him to the side of the dying man.  “Okay, as soon as our magical duo in there is ready to capture his soul, you are going to turn him.”

Angel swallowed hard, not knowing what to say.  Cordelia’s head snapped up from helping Dawn tend to the wounded man.  She had no such problem.   “Are you insane,” she screeched.  “You can’t do that to him.  You can’t turn--”

“When I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it,” Buffy barked.

Angel was captured by the pleading green eyes of the dying man.  There was sorrow, pain, and fear.  But he knew from experience this man did not fear death, his own least of all.  This man feared becoming the monster he’d spent his whole life fighting against.  He feared becoming the vampire he was now pleading with.  Pleading for the simple mercy of death.

“I can’t,” Angel finally said.  “I won’t touch him.  After all I‘ve done to this man, you can’t ask me to turn him into a monster.”

“But he won’t be,” Buffy begged.  “We’ll give him his soul back.  He’ll be like--”

“Like me?” Angel spat.  “I wouldn’t wish this curse on my worst enemy.”

Dawn’s resolve to be strong for him was fading and her eyes began to flood and run over as she looked up at her sister.  “You can’t curse him.  Please, Buffy, I don’t want him to die either, but I won’t let you sentence him to hell.”

“We aren’t going to, Dawn,” Buffy whispered soothingly.  “Willow figured out how to do it so he can be happy.  He’ll be with us forever.  And he’ll be able to fight along side me like he always wanted to and never get really hurt again.”

Dawn looked back and saw tears streaming from the corners of his sad, green eyes.  She knew nothing she could say would change her sister’s mind.  There was also the selfish part of her screaming in the back of her mind, telling her how much she didn’t want to let go either.  Telling her how much she loved him and how much she didn’t want to lose another parent.  Because that’s what he was.  There may not have been any blood between them, but that didn’t make him any less the man who looked after her and cared for her.  In her heart he was her father and no one could tell her any different.  The youngest of this group of warriors wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered into his ear.  “I’m sorry.  I’m so, so sorry.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Angel turned to walk away.  “I’m not touching him.  The man has spent his whole life fighting my kind.  I will not do him the injustice of turning him into one.”

“I told you he’d say that, B.”  Faith stood in the doorway with a small, female vampire wriggling in her firm grip.  “Good thing I brought a backup plan.”

“Here’s the deal,” Buffy announced as the struggling vampire was forced toward her.  “All you have to do is turn this guy and we’ll let you go.”

“Buffy,” Angel tried.  “She’s still so young I can smell the dirt on her.  She doesn’t know any better.  She doesn’t know what he can become.”

“If you’re not going to help me you can just shut up!” Buffy shouted at him.  The vampire that loved her lowered his eyes in defeat.

“We’re ready over here,” Willow’s quiet voice informed the Slayer.

“Good.  Start the ritual,” Buffy ordered.  The Slayer grabbed the captured vampire and cleared the others away from the dying man.  She took out a knife and slit the vampire’s wrist. 

Beside her, the man on the table made one last attempt to let his wishes be heard.  But his blood soaked lungs wouldn’t hold enough air to force his vocal cords to work.  As his Slayer forced the vampire’s face against his neck, the pain of the small bite faded into the dull throb that wracked the rest of his body.  Darkness closed in on his vision and he could taste the tang of another’s blood mixing with his own in his useless mouth.  His limbs grew cold, numb as what little blood he had left was drained from his dying body.  The pain was gone now.  Just darkness, just rest.

There, in the lobby of a strange hotel, in the heart of a strange city, and surrounded by the people he loved most in the world, Rupert Giles died.

***

Giles’ last breath escaped like a silent explosion, sending a shock wave of grief rippling through the room.  The dark eyes of his young sire darted around in fear.  She watched as the humans around her withered and became incapacitated by their emotions.  Seeing a clear path to the exit, she took it.  She ran as fast as she could, not noticing that no one moved to stop her.

At the door, the fleeing forced-sire left a toppling and confused Gunn in her wake.  He watched her disappear into the night as he dusted himself off and wandered into the hotel.  The scene he stepped into was even more confusing.  Cordelia, along with a young, blond woman and a teenager, was hunched over the table, bawling.  Angel stood, looking on with his head bowed in sadness.  A dark-haired young man and a woman in leather stood at his side, both shaking with silent grief.  Wesley was on the floor by the counter, cradling an unconscious red-head, who was bleeding from the nose, in his arms.  The whole picture was enough to make anyone’s heart stop.

“God, who died?” Gunn breathed.  He immediately regretted giving any voice to the question as he finally noticed what the group around the table was huddling over.  It was the body of a man. A man who obviously meant a lot to each person in that room.  Gunn almost staggered as he remembered who Angel had sent for to get help and the weight of the combined grief that filled the room hit him in the chest.  All he could whisper was, “I’m sorry.”

Angel blinked a tear from his eye as he looked up, the only one to notice that Gunn had even arrived.  He gave his young ally a subtle nod of reassurance and quietly cleared his throat.  There was work to be done now, and no time to lose.  “Gunn, Xander,” he began in a quiet, but commanding voice.  “I need you two to set up some accommodations in the basement.  The most heavy duty shackles you can find.  No cutting corners when you bolt them to the wall.  We’re about to have a very dangerous guest.”

“Got ya, Boss,” Gunn nodded.  “One Angelus special coming up.”  Xander took one last glance at the body of his friend and followed Gunn into the basement.

“Cordy, Dawn, Faith” Angel continued gently.  “Willow needs your help right now.  Take her upstairs and find her a nice room.  Make sure she’s comfortable.”

Cordelia nodded, wiping her eyes.  Dawn ran her fingers along the kind features of Giles’ face one last time, then rose to help tend to Willow.

“Wes,” Angel said as Faith lifted Willow from the ex-Watcher’s arms.  “That should go in the safe.”  The vampire indicated the glass urn on the floor that now held a golden glow.  “I want you to change the combination.   Something that only you would ever think of.  Right now that soul is the most important thing in our possession.”

“I understand.  I’ll make sure it’s secured.”  Wesley took up the small urn and headed for the office.

The only two remaining in the room, Angel moved to Buffy’s side and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.  The Slayer slowly pried her fingers from the tattered and blood-soaked lapels of her Watcher’s coat and turned into the tepid, but caring, embrace of her first love.

“I wonder if it hurt this much?” She moaned into his chest.

Angel stroked her hair.  “If what did?” he murmured.

“I wonder if it hurt him this much when he had to watch me die.  When he had to look down at my body.”  She let out a shuddering sob.  “I mean…  I watched Merrick get murdered right in front of me.  And that was before death became part of my life.  He was my Watcher…  My teacher and friend.  Why does losing Giles seem to hurt so much more?  Is this what I put him through?”

Angel patiently waited for her to get her words out and to bring her sobs under control.  “Buffy, this man was more that just a Watcher to all of you and you know it.  And if you think the others aren’t grieving just as hard right now, they are.  That’s why I gave them tasks to put their minds on.”  He sighed deeply, a human habit he still held on to.  “As for what he felt when you died...  We were all drowning then.  I could only be in Sunnydale to stand at the outskirts of your funeral, then I ran away.  But I do know this.  Giles died with his Slayer that day.  And he likely would have followed you into the grave if not for what you left him.”

“What did I leave him?” Buffy whimpered.

“People who still needed his care.  People who he loved as much as he loved you.  And that’s the same thing he’s left you.  The others need you now, Buffy.  He meant as much to them as he did to you.  Right now we have to make sure nothing goes wrong, for them.”

Buffy wiped her eyes.  “You’re right.  We’ll get him back soon.  Let’s just focus on what needs to be done.”

“If we’re lucky,” Wesley said, emerging from the office, “It will take him quite a while to rise and come to full strength.  The wounds his body needs to heal should slow him down a bit.  Of course, he will need to feed as soon as he wakens.”  He sighed.  “That spell took quite a bit out of Willow.  Let’s hope she can recover her power before he gains all of his.”

A small smile spread on Buffy’s lips.  “You guys talk like Giles is gonna be uber-dangerous.”

Angel and Wesley exchanged sad and knowing glances.  The vampire looked down to Buffy.  “Let’s take him down to the guys so they can lock him up as soon as they’re ready.  Then you and I can go out for a breather and restock my blood supply for two.”

2.  Almost Alive

“He’s awake!” Dawn screamed from behind the counter.  She jumped up and down, pointing at the monitor she had barely left since the guys set up the camera to watch the make-shift basement cell.  “Look, look he’s moving!”

Wesley and Angel exchanged worried glances.

“He’s hungry, right?” Dawn continued to dance.  “I’ll take him some blood.  I can’t believe he’s awake again.”

Wesley stepped calmly into the girl’s path.  “Dawn…  Dawn please listen to me.  I know you’re excited.  We all are. But, for now, I need you to promise me one thing.  Promise you won’t go down there without someone with you.”

“But I’ve done it before.  I’ve fed Spike.”

“I know…  And, if all goes as planned, I suspect you’ll be perfectly safe with Giles as well.  However, you must remember that, until Willow regains enough strength to perform her spell, that is not Giles.”  Wesley’s heart sank as the teen’s joyful features darkened.  He knew his words might have come out harsh, but making her understand was the only way the keep her safe.

“I get it,” she glared at the ex-Watcher.

Angel walked up beside Dawn with a mug of blood.  “I’ll go with you.  We can give him what he needs together.”

As they descended the stairs, Dawn again let her eyes scan over the conditions that the others had convinced her were necessary for her friend to be subjected to.  He was hunched in a corner.  Cold, cinderblock walls on each side and an unforgiving concrete floor beneath him.  She wished they had let Xander build him a bunk, as he had begun doing.  But everything he suggested was vetoed for being too dangerous.  As if the shivering, whimpering creature before her now could have used anything as a weapon, let alone pull a steel slab away from a wall. 

At least they had let Xander help her change him into one of the clean shirts he had brought with him.  She couldn’t bear to leave him as he was, in his blood-soaked, brown coat and the shirt that had been torn to shreds as he fought so fervently to protect her.  All that did was highlight the gaping wounds he had suffered and remind her of how it felt to watch him take his last breath.  The new shirt she had picked out was a dark, forest green and long sleeved with a slight v-neck.  Dawn had always thought he looked good in that shirt, in a strong and healthy sort of way.  Somehow it seemed to hide some of his weariness even when she knew how tired he really was.  But, not tonight.

He was shackled there, in that cold corner.  A large iron bracelet wrapped around each wrist and ankle, with heavy chains that led to four separate rings bolted into the wall.  Gunn told her that if one failed the others would hold him.  At the moment she didn’t care.  She wanted to hold him, to take away the pain he was so obviously in, and tell him that everything would be back the way it should be soon.  The last thing Gunn did was to paint a thick, yellow line on the floor.  He called it the ‘point of no return’.  It was to indicate how close they could get and stay out of the new vampire’s reach.  She was sure that they figured they had to do that to keep her from doing something stupid.  As if she was new to the whole vampire thing.

As they approached the line, Angel handed her the mug.  Dawn was grateful.  While Wesley was so worried about the plan going right, Angel seemed to see her need to help.  Her need to do something, anything to care for Giles in some small way.  She didn’t blame the others for being wrapped up in their own emotions now.  Technically, they had all known him a lot longer than she had.  But Dawn had already been alone to work out her own feelings about him in the time he was gone to see to Willow’s recovery.  Over the years since her creation, the ones she counted as real, she had gone from being a nuisance kid to him to becoming a young lady in his care, just like the others.  He was there when her mom died.  He was there when Buffy died.  She felt safe when he was around.  And she hated him every time he left.  It took her a long time to realize why.  One day it occurred to her that hatred like that can only be felt for someone you truly loved.  And that revelation was soon followed by another.  There had been times he stayed for her, and times he left because of others.  But she never asked him to stay at those times.  And something deep inside told her that he would have, just for her.

“I know you’re in pain right now,” she heard Angel say soothingly.  “The hunger is intense when you first wake up.  Drink this and it will help.”

Dawn placed the mug on the floor and used a broom handle to slide it just over the yellow line.  Giles looked at the blood and let out a miserable groan.

“It’s pig’s blood, Giles,” Angel urged.  “You need the nutrients to heal correctly.  I remember that shred of humanity that’s fighting to hold on inside you.  And I also know I’m mostly speaking to the demon that’s trying to stamp it out.  A man like you can hold on, Giles.”  Angel put his hands on Dawn’s shoulders.  “With so much to hang on for, I know you’ll make it.  The real turning point for an infant vampire is the first taste of human blood.  I promise, I will not let that happen to you.”

“Please, Giles,” Dawn added quietly.  “I had to watch you die for me.  Don’t make me watch you suffer anymore.  Drink it for me.”

Giles picked up the mug and let the smell of the blood engulf his senses.  His body roared for it.  Every fiber of his being craved the first taste.  The demon pounded in his head, howling for him to drink, to accept what he had become.  But he held out for just a little longer.

“Angel,” he groaned.  “I don’t want her to see…”

Angel understood.  One of the hardest things for a vampire to learn to do was to hide what he really was while feeding.  Most would never care enough to attempt it.  But he understood exactly what Giles needed.  Angel pulled Dawn to his chest and blocked her view.  When he was sure she wouldn’t try to peak, he nodded to the new vampire.

Giles gave a grateful smile, then brought the mug to his lips.  At the first taste of blood, his eyes transformed from gentle green to two pools of blazing yellow fire.  Cold and heartless, they stared up at Angel as he drank.  The dulled human teeth elongated into sharp fangs ready for tearing and devouring.  His forehead bulged and formed into sharp ridges, distorting his kind features into the true visage of the demon that now resided inside the dead man.

Upstairs, Wesley watched on the monitor.  He felt moisture creep into his eyes and a wave of nausea roll through his stomach.  The ex-Watcher thought he had been ready for this sight.  All his years of study and fighting, his time working closely with a vampire should have prepared him for the change.  But this was a friend and respected colleague in the war against evil.  The very evil he had let this man be subjected to.  The fate worse than death for a true Watcher.  His resolve was set firm.  The one thing he could do for the man now was to make sure he had nothing to regret when his soul was returned.  “I swear,” he whispered.

Wesley blinked his focus from the monitor as Buffy, Xander, and Faith came down the stairs from checking in on a still exhausted Willow.  He simply announced, “We have another vampire in the building.”

***

It was the next afternoon when Faith bounded down the stairs to the basement.  “Hey, Big G!  Lunch time.”

Giles looked up from his spot in the corner.  “Hello, Faith,” he sighed wearily.  “Where are the others?”

“Why,” she put the hand not holding a bottle of blood on her hip and looked down at him with an exaggerated pout, “Just seeing me not enough to make you happy?”

He bowed his head with a shy smile.  “Sorry, it’s only…”

An infectious grin spread over Faith’s face.  “No worries, Big Guy.  I know how it is to be cooped up with no one telling you what’s going on.”  She tossed the bottle to the vampire Watcher who caught it reflexively, and slid down the wall to the floor just outside the yellow line.  “Buffy went with Angel and his crew to deal with the matter he called her down here for in the first place.  Dawn and Xander are finally sleeping.  And Willow’s still knocked for a loop from that mojo she worked on you.”

“I don’t even know how long it’s been,” Giles whispered.

“Since you bit the big one?” Faith chuckled.  “All the drama went down the night before last.”

“And now they left you all alone to baby sit.”

“Hey!  What, you get yourself a set of fangs and all the sudden you think you’re too much for one Slayer to handle?”

“Not at all,” Giles glanced over and gave her his familiar quick half-smile.

“Good,” she laughed.  “‘Cause I can still take you, Old Man.  And don’t you forget it.”  She sighed, and he fiddled aimlessly with the cap of his bottle.  “Besides, I haven’t gotten a chance alone with you since… well ever.  Not without the precious little Buffy around.”

Giles looked over at her with concern creasing his brow.  “Do you still blame Buffy for what happened to you?”

“Nah,” Faith shrugged.  “I had a lot of time to work through all that crap while I was sitting in prison.  At least, until someone started sending the assassination squads after me and I decided it was time to move on.”

“And what did you come up with?” he gently prompted.

The Slayer pulled a knee up to her chest and held it.  “We were who we were.  It was inevitable for things to spiral, I guess.”  She paused for a long moment, lost in thought.  “I…  I know you’re not him… really.  I mean, we have the real Giles stuffed in a jar and locked in the safe upstairs.”  The corner of the vampire’s mouth quirked as he filed away the piece of information.  “But you do still have all his memories, right?”

“I do,” he nodded.

“Did you ever wonder how things would have been different if, maybe…  If you had been sent to be my Watcher?”  His understanding, green eyes watched her carefully as he waited for her to say all she needed.  “I mean, don’t get me wrong.  My original Watcher was great.  She was the first person in my life to actually give a damn about me.  She gave me respect and kindness.  Then she was repaid by being ripped to pieces right in front of me.”

“That wasn’t your fault.  Kakistos was very powerful--”

“I know,” Faith waved him quiet.  “It took two Slayers to take him down.  But, sometimes in my dreams, it’s you instead.  And you’re just a little bit stronger, a little bit faster, and I make it to you in time.  Then everything turns out different…”

“Faith, you must remember, Buffy did lose her first Watcher as well.  It is a Watcher’s greatest honor to lay down their life in defense of the Slayer.”

“True.  But then she got you.  And what did I end up with?  Whimpering Wesley…”  As Faith gestured up the stairs, Giles couldn’t contain a chuckle. 

“Wesley wasn’t ready to face the challenges you presented.  You can’t blame him for that.”

“You could have,” she said softly, studying the floor.  “I could tell there was darkness in you that you learned how to face and control.  Who better to teach me the same thing?  Buffy never appreciated what she had in you.  Even when the Council showed what dumb-asses they really were, you were still there for her.”

“Well…”  Giles reached for glasses that he’d forgotten he no longer needed.

“You do know that that’s what I got from Wilkins, right?  Unconditional understanding and support.  He may have turned me into his personal assassin, but at least I had a sort of ‘Giles’ of my very own for a while.  That is, until Buffy took him from me, too.”

“In point of fact,” Giles said calmly, “It was I who set off the explosion that killed the Mayor.”

Faith chuckled, “Believe it or not, G, that makes me feel a little better.”  She glanced at the full bottle in his hands.  “What’s the matter?  Not hungry?”

Giles stared at the bottle in his lap.  “Quite hungry, actually.  It seems that hungry is all I’ve been since my… um… awakening.”

“Oh,” Faith laughed with understanding.  “Don’t be shy-boy in front of me now.  You can’t show me anything darker than I’ve already seen staring into a mirror.”

“Faith, please…”

“Nah-uh, not moving.”

Giles shifted, turning to face away from the willful girl.  A fierce groan escaped his throat at the slight movement.  Faith rose to her feet and look down at him with concern and anger.

“Show me your chest!” she ordered.

“It’s nothing,” the vampire gritted his teeth.  “I’ll be fine soon enough.”

“Goddamnit!  She’s doing it to you again.  She’s keeping you weak and letting you suffer just because she can.”

“It’s not…  I don’t think she knows…”

“But I bet Angel does.”

“It’s for the best, Faith.  I have to fight until Willow’s ready.”

“The hell!” Faith screamed, stepping across the safety line.

Giles could hear her heartbeat pounding in his ears.  He could smell the sweet femininity of her tender flesh.  His stomach twisted and howled within him, and his teeth ached for action.

“Stay away from me, Faith,” he roared, a deep and menacing sound.  “I’ll eat you.”

Faith’s lips curled in a wicked grin.  “I’ve had dreams where you’ve said that to me, too.”

“Please…” he shook with the effort of control and tried to hide deeper in the corner.

“All you need is a little pick-me-up, G.  And I’ve been told there’s nothing better to build strong vamps than Slayer blood.  Luckily, I have some of that.  Then you’ll be good as new when Willow’s ready to let your soul put that demon in its place.  Besides, you know Buffy’s done the same.  Would probably do the same for any of her vampire boy-toys.  She just won’t do it for the man who’s stood beside her all these years.”

“B-Buffy follow’s her heart…”

“And what do you think I’m doing?”  She knelt beside him and wrapped a strong arm around his shoulders, holding him to her chest.  The other arm she held up, offering her vulnerable wrist to his trembling lips.

Sweat began to bead on his brow as he tried to fight the urge to rip into the offered flesh.  He could feel the warm blood in her vein pulsing against his sensitized lips.  His head swam with waves of dizziness, every instinct in his body calling for the offered meal.  Her heart pounded against him, between the soft pillows of her breasts.  He closed his eyes, using all his mental strength to combat the sensory assault.

“Slayer, remember?  I can take care of you,” she whispered, her lips brushing against his ear.  “I won’t let you hurt me.”

Faith took her wrist and slid it sharply against one of the rough chains binding him, tearing a thin slit in her skin.  She pressed the fresh, crimson droplets against his mouth.  At the first taste, Giles’ eyes flared yellow and his forehead distorted.  He grabbed onto her arm, burying his sharp fangs into her vein.  She tasted of youth, and strength, and wildness.  The drink made the beast within him roar with power.  He was suddenly strong, and he was hard and wanting.  Wanting everything he could take from her.

“That’s better, isn’t it,” she gasped in his ear, as he felt her writhe against him with just as much passion in the sharing.

Giles released his grip to growl in approval.  Before he could bite down again, a fist collided with his jaw, knocking his head into the cinder-block wall.  Everything faded.

“I told you I could take care of you.”


Chapter 3

[identity profile] redpearl-cao.livejournal.com 2011-07-13 10:51 pm (UTC)(link)
That was a very selfish thing Buffy did, turning Giles into a vampire.
Love the Giles and Faith interaction here. I think they would have made a great watcher/slayer team.

[identity profile] wickedfox.livejournal.com 2011-07-15 08:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Uh oh. Faith is in trouble. Very good start. You have a great sense of scene and description.