Fic: Magister 3 (Vamp!Giles) FRT (8/?)

[gilescandy.livejournal.com]

Ch. 8 – Rest for the Weary

Something woke Giles. Pounding… Thumping… It was footsteps. Someone running across the floor above. He blinked, staring up at the swinging lightbulb and bare wooden beams of the ceiling.

“Nothin’ like the pitter-patter of tiny feet in giant combat boots, ay?” a voice came from across the room. He rolled his head to see Spike lounging on another cot in the basement of the Summer’s home. “Have a nice holiday? You look like you spent the last few weeks being a chew toy for Clifford the big red dog.”

Giles chuckled as he slowly sat up. He looked the other vampire over. Both of Spike’s eyes were nearly swollen shut, jagged cuts traced the sharper bones of his face, and his bare chest bore slices and bruises that were in several different stages of healing. “Coming from someone who looks like you, that description is far from comforting.”

Spike grinned for a moment, then ducked his head. “I couldn’t fight it. They were here alone and there was nothing I could do to you protect them.”

“Xander told me what happened. There was no way any of us could have foreseen its plan. I’m sure you gave The First a jolly big headache in your own special way.” The souled vampires stared at each other for a few moments and laughed in spite of themselves.

“Great,” Dawn was coming down the stairs holding a tray. She gave both of them a beaming smile and turned her head toward the door. “Hey. Tell the others that the guys have finally rejoined the land of the living, will ya?” This set the two men chuckling again. At the bottom of the stairs, the teenager put her burden down and ran to give Giles a hug.

“I missed you, too, luv,” he replied to her unspoken sentiment.

“Thank you… For showing up just in time to keep me in one piece,” she whispered into his ear. Then she pulled out of the hug and smacked him hard on the shoulder.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“That was for running all over the world being all clandestine and danger-man. Just because you’re undead now doesn’t mean you’re undeadable.”

Giles blinked at her, clearly trying to decipher her meaning. At last he smiled gently. “I only did what was needed. And I was hardly even in real peril. More like a simple escort much of the time, trying to direct potentials back here.”

“Oh yeah?” Willow walked down the steps. “Maybe you should tell that to the girls upstairs who’ve been regaling us with tales of the hero Watcher jumping off buildings and rescuing them from certain death.”

“Exaggerations of youthful imaginations, I assure you both.”

“Yeah right.” Dawn thumped him again before going to retrieve her tray.

Walking past her, Willow took a washcloth from the large bowl of water and went the sit next to her lover. She slowly reached up to press it against a gash the Turok-Han had left across his jaw. Giles leaned into the warmth of her palm through the cloth. “Why shouldn’t we believe them?” the witch whispered. “You’ve always been a hero around here.”

He smiled self-deprecatingly, “Except when I wasn’t.”

“Hey, who among us can say we’ve never had a couple off days when we’ve tried to destroy or take over the world? Or, at least, wanted to,” the Slayer said from the stairs. “Right now I’m just glad to have my two big dogs back home.” She stood for a second to look them over. “You both slept for like… almost a whole day and you still look like hell.”

“Hey,” Spike griped. “Still a bit banged up there yourself, pet.”

Dawn laughed, “They just need something good to eat. Here, guys, I’ve got blood all around. Ninety-eight degrees to go down smooth.” She handed cups of blood to Buffy and Willow so they could feed their respective patients.

“You shouldn’t have to see me do this…” Willow hushed Giles’ expected protest with a smirk and a tender caress along his lips. She passed the cup into his grasp and encouraged him to drink.

Buffy had no such arguments from Spike. “Sorry we had to shove you guys down here in the basement,” she said as they drank. “The house is about to burst as is. We figured all the girls wouldn’t bother you as much down here. Besides, no windows, so…” Giles didn’t get a chance to make his usual self-dismissive response as something at the top of the stairs distracted her. “They’re awake. You wanna come check them out, Doc?”

“Vi, you and Kennedy take the girls out to start some calisthenics. I’ll join you shortly… Yes, and please let Xander know we’ll be doing basic short sword drills today. If he wouldn’t mind preparing the weapons.” The tall, elegant woman, with her steel colored hair pulled back in a tight bun, strode down the steps. “I happen to be a physician, my dear. One of the girls gets hurt and I can deal with that, you get hurt and I can help… These two gentlemen,” she glanced back and forth between the vampires with a tiny, kind smile, “I’d say are rather beyond my help. Feed them well, put them back to bed for another day… unmolested,” she added with a knowing glare at the young women, “and they’ll be right as rain.”

“Dr. Pryce,” Giles set his blood aside a stood to greet her. “I can’t tell you how glad I am that you made it.”

“You’re not the only one,” Buffy added. “She’s been awesome at getting all the girls settled and organized.”

“Lots of practice, I assure you,” the older woman smiled. “I’ve been dealing with bull-headed Watchers for, well, longer than most of you have been alive.”

“Tell us about the bull-headed part,” Dawn pushed Giles back toward his cot. “Go finish your food. You still look like you could fall over at any moment.”

“I’m perfectly--”

“She’s right, Rupert. We’ll need you both fighting fit soon enough. Now, I’d better get outside before another argument derails today’s training. You ladies remember to let these boys rest now.” Dr. Pryce turned and climbed back up the steps.

As she left, Dawn bustled about, passing out clean washcloths and new bandages. Giles sat back on his bed and tried to hide his unnecessary but reflexive embarrassment as Willow opened his shirt to change some old dressings. “Umm,” he tried to distract himself when her massaging touch began to feel very good indeed.   “I… When this all started, I sent Ethan to you with the information we had gathered. I don’t suppose he actually made it this far without changing his mind, did he?”

“Ethan?” Willow frowned. “Tall guy? Sexy accent? Have we seen him around?” The other ladies giggled.

Dawn grinned affectionately. “He’s here. In fact, with all the girls headed out for training, he’s probably sneaking in to grab his shower right about now.” The pipes of the water-heater rattled, as if confirming her assessment. “He mostly tries to stay out of the way with so many teenagers fighting over like… everything in the house.”

“Ethan spends a lot of time holed up with the books, trying to study,” Willow said with a hint of pride. “He’s actually been a big help. Especially to me when The first attacked through my magick.”

“Are you all right?” Giles was instantly on alert.

“I’m fine, Rupert. It was just, I tried to find its hiding place with a spell… And, and it got inside.”

“That must be what the coven showed me in the vision. When I arrived and found the house broken into and deserted, then having to track you and fighting the Turok-Han… it all pushed that completely out of my mind. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here for you.”

“Giles, stop.” Willow placed a hand on his chest, trying to sooth his agitation. “I knew the risks, but we had to try. There was nothing you could have done to change what happened. And I’m good now.” She moved to kiss him, but he turned his cheek to her, not wanting her to taste the blood still on his tongue. Willow placed her kiss on his cheek with a tentative frown, trying to push away the unsure thoughts that his small rejection provoked. “Umm, what was that you said about the coven and visions?”

“Well… it’s happened a couple times. I can only guess that they were attempting to relay information from their seers directly to me. It’s mainly flashes and feelings. The first one sent me to Dr. Pryce and her colleagues, where I found the help I needed. And the second told me you were in danger.”

“Wow,” the young witch couldn’t help her excitement. “Althenea never told me about that. I guess it’s easier to get me on the phone, anyway…”

“She’s called here?”

“Yeah, like you said, whenever they think they’ve found a new potential. Then Dr. Pryce can get ahold of Antonio. They have a whole system set up now. Oh, and Antonio wanted you to know that Europe has been cleared and they’ve started on to Africa and Asia. He seems to really have things moving.”

Giles began to smile, but a worried cloud to quickly overshadowed his face. “It’s not fast enough. If Ethan chose to stay here, that means all of the girls on this content have no hope of anyone reaching them in time. There are still too many out there dying.” He began to stiffly push himself up again. “I have no right to rest while they’re still in trouble. I came back too soon.”

“Hey! Sit,” Buffy ordered him. Her Watcher obeyed automatically with wide, surprised eyes.

“It’s okay, Giles,” Dawn brought him another cup of blood. “As Ethan puts it… They are in more capable, softer, and lovelier hands than his ever were.” She couldn’t help laughing at the confusion in his eyes. “I got the whole story from Molly. Apparently they ran into Faith somewhere in Connecticut, ran into as in she saved their butts. They knew how important it was that Ethan got to us, so Faith has been going after all the potentials she could on her way back here. And, from the reports of the new girls that have been arriving, she’s really been booking it across the country. Chloe came from Iowa.” The teen gave him a loving, if a bit patronizing, pat on the head. “You’re allowed to take a break, Atlas. Your crew can hold the world for a while.”

Across the room Buffy caught his eye and gave him a confident nod. With it, a weight seemed to lift from his chest. There were still so many lives, but he wasn’t alone in trying to save them anymore. The bodies of dead children weren’t his alone to bear. He should have known all along. But Giles could never shake the suffocating feeling of responsibility. He could only be grateful to be part of a whole… surer, bigger, and stronger than himself, and fight on with the true heroes surrounding him.

He swallowed hard, a sudden lump in his throat at the overwhelming pride he felt. “I… Well, you can’t expect me to sit here and do nothing. Have you been able to glean anything of use from the materials we were able to rescue from the Council?”

“Not much,” Willow shook her head. “There’s just so little written on The First itself.”

Dawn gathered up empty dishes. “I promise to bring the books down here so we can go over them again together. But only after you rest a little more. Now… get to sleeping, both of you.”

After she had scaled the stairs, Spike said in an amused mutter, “Wonder if Little Bit’s ever thought about recording those relaxation tapes.”

There were chuckles all around, until Buffy stood. “She’s right. For now it seems like The First was banking on its Uber-vamps doing a lot more damage. But we have to believe it’s regrouping right now. We should all get some rest while we can.”

******

“The schedule says it’s my turn!”

“No way! I’m tired of taking cold showers because of you. Besides, you goofed off through half today’s workout. Come back when you learn how to work up a sweat.”

“Hey. Just because I’m not as good at stinking as you, doesn’t mean I don’t get my shower.”

“That’s it!” Ethan stomped down the hall and pulled the fight apart. “How’s a man supposed to keep his mind intact in this madhouse?”

“Ethan, where are you going?” Dawn followed as he stalked on down the stairs. “You can’t leave.” He spun around, but his intense irritation faded when he saw her earnest worry deep in those sparkling eyes. “I don’t want you somewhere out there all by yourself. It’s dangerous.”

He sighed, “If we don’t get some elbow room, it’s going to become just as dangerous in here. We’re close to being washed away on a tidal wave of estrogen. And, while I’m the first to admit that having this many boys in a house would have rendered it unlivable long before now, we can’t keep twenty-six young girls cooped up like this either. It’s nearly inhuman.”

Dawn gave him an oddly adoring smile. “You know for a fact that’s how many there are, don’t you?”

He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed before addressing the room at large. “All right, listen up. Everyone who doesn’t have an adequate sleeping space, gather your kit and meet me out front.”

“What’s going on?” Buffy asked as she and Dr. Pryce came from the kitchen.

Dawn shrugged, then hurried to follow the sorcerer out the door. He marched with purpose across the lawn and up to the neighbor’s front porch. Kneeling at the door, he pulled out his wallet and produced two small metal hooks.

“You can’t do that!”

“My dear Slayer,” Ethan sighed, “though your house is lovely, we are being crowded to death. Most of the neighborhood has been, prudently, abandoned. These people packed up and left two days ago. The other side went the day before. Now,” he stared up at the three women, “if your moral code will not allow me to continue, speak now and I’ll stop. However, I don’t see how we can hope to defeat any apocalyptic force if we are already at serious risk of killing one another first.”

Buffy looked over to the elder Watcher. In response Dr. Pryce shrugged and said, “He sounds perfectly reasonable to me, love. I know the girls can’t go much longer with only two bathrooms to share.”

“Okay,” the Slayer nodded. “But just this one and the other side of us. We can’t get too spread out. And we should put some experienced fighters in each house to make sure everyone’s protected.”

“Agreed,” the older woman nodded. “I’ll go divide up the girls and organize house captains.”

Dawn added excitedly, “Oh! And we can have code-names for each house. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff!” Her shoulders drooped at the blank stares she got in return. “Geez. Ever heard of reading for fun, people?”

Ethan gave her a very serious look. “Well, if I’m to stay, there has to be a Slytherin.” His response cracked both of them up as the Slayer and Watcher walked away shaking their heads.

Dawn’s gaze became glued to Ethan’s long, dexterous hands as he worked. “I didn’t know you could pick locks. I thought you’d have a spell or something to do it automatically.”

He smirked as he heard the satisfying click. “Sometimes the hands-on technique is the most pleasurable, my dearest.” Standing, he pushed the door open.

The younger girl ducked her head to hide her blush. “You think you could teach me?”

“Not sure the holier-than-thou big sis would like that much.” They both turned to see Faith strolling up, two more potentials following her.

“You made it,” Ethan stated, his relief buried stoically, but there.

“Yeah. Don’t tell me you ever doubted, old man? Oh and, before I forget, I have something for you.” She swayed up to him enticingly, licking her full lips, and punched him hard in the shoulder.

“Ow!” Ethan fell back against the door frame, shock written all over his face. The Slayer threw a driver’s license for him to catch. He glanced at it in bewilderment.

“Do I look like a Gertrude to you? Seriously?!?”

He began to snicker as she glared accusingly, with Dawn already bent over and howling hysterically beside him.

******

“We’re done, Buffy. Ethan and I set up wards all the way up and down the street. If anything with any kind of badness in it even comes close to one of the houses, everyone will know about it.”

“Thanks, Wills.”

Ethan stepped up behind the redhead. “Don’t thank her just yet, my dear. You might soon get tired of alarms going off to tell you I’m still hanging around.”

“Believe me, if you’re the worst we have to deal with for a little while longer, I’ll be fine with that.”

The chaos mage frowned, making both Willow and Dawn giggle at his reaction. “You wound me, Slayer. I think I’ll have to cause a bit of mischief and remind you of what put me on your villain list in the first place.”

Buffy glared at him for a moment before it shifted into an evil smirk of her own. “You could do that, Ethan. But we both know I’ll just use my secret weapon against you. I’ll send my little sister to be disappointed in you.”

The sorcerer huffed in exaggerated annoyance, but one look into Dawn’s accepting eyes and he knew it was true. Deep in his heart he also knew that one day those eyes would stare at him with nothing but blame and hatred. It was how things in his world always ended. It was his nature.

“Hey, Dawnie,” Buffy said. “Let’s get everyone out here. The sun’s about to go down and we’ll only have about half an hour of good light after that.” Her sister gave a nod and ran inside to spread the word. It felt strange, having everyone gather on the front lawn, but it was the only place left large enough to hold the entire group and still have any room for demonstrations.

She looked over all the faces as they gathered. A few as familiar as family, along with many, many new ones. There were close to thirty potentials now. It looked like so many as they stood before her. But she knew these were the lucky ones, the ones who escaped death to make it this far. Only a handful of the hundreds that once were.

“Listen up!” she called for attention. “I know you’ve all been working hard. But some of you still don’t understand why you’re here. We can tell you all the stories we want, but it doesn’t make all of this any realer. You feel like you’re stuck in some fairytale, some nightmare. It can’t be real, right? A small bunch of girls can’t be the only ones in the world who can stand against ultimate evil. There can’t be real demons and vampires. Well, those of you who are new, pay attention. These next lessons are the ones that will keep you alive.” Buffy looked toward the house. “Okay, we’re ready for the guys.”

Dawn nodded and ducked back inside. She emerged a moment later with Spike and Giles in tow. The two men walked over to Buffy. Out of the corner of his eye the Watcher could see the group of girls who had already faced the Turok-Han surreptitiously pushing the newer potentials to the front.

“Are you sure this is entirely necessary?” he grumbled to his Slayer.

“They all have to be ready for what we’re up against, Giles. Better you guys scare the hell out of them than something that would really hurt them.”

“Come on, Watcher,” Spike elbowed him. “This is the fun part.”

Giles sighed and turned toward the young group to stand beside Spike.

Buffy began to stroll back and forth in front of them, addressing the girls again. “You’ve all see these guys around the house, right? Talked to them. Super sweet gentlemen, always willing to help you out if you need something. They couldn’t hurt a fly, right? Right?”

The Slayer stepped aside and both Spike and Giles vamped-out, putting on the fiercest, most menacing snarls they could. Several of the girls jumped back, only to be held in place by the more experienced people standing behind.

“Now, if you thought these guys were harmless, look again. Lesson number one, vampires can look like a human whenever they want. There are three sure ways of killing a vampire. Faith, if you’d demonstrate…” The other Slayer stepped up and began to mime attacking motions on Spike as Buffy explained.

After they had gone through several moves, Rona interrupted, “This is all fine for you guys, but you’re Slayers. How do you expect us to be able to do any of this?” The bobbing heads around her indicated that she wasn’t the only one who was thinking this.

Giles caught Buffy’s eye and she moved aside for him. “You all have much more power than you think,” he told the potentials. “Strength is only a tool. Each of you possess innate knowledge, the ability to think through the problem and use your surroundings. But, even if you weren’t part of the Slayer heritage… Dawn, if you wouldn’t mind?”

The younger Summers ran forward and faced Giles with a grin. “You see,” she said as his bright yellow eyes focused on her, “he knows he’s stronger than I am, faster, too. But then, he always has been. The thing is, we both know, if he got ahold of me, he could kill me in an instant. That only makes him cocky, and cocky turns into sloppy, and sloppy means he’ll make mistakes. His mistakes mean I can beat him.”

Giles lunged at her, but Dawn was ready. She grabbed his shoulders, planted her feet in his gut, and rolled back, tossing him over her. He got up as she did and went for her again. The teenager was able to escape his grasp and throw him off using several more techniques before he finally managed to pin her beneath his much larger frame. He glowered down at her, preparing to go for her tender throat.

Dawn turned her head to look out at the worried faces watching them. “Of course, one mistake of our own can make things a little tricky. But, that’s when we can always count on our secret weapon. Something that the vampires forget about every single time…”

“Friends,” Willow finished, standing over Giles and holding the blunt end of a stake to his back, over his heart.

Giles looked down at his young friend with gratitude in his eyes, trying to hide his fangs behind lips that couldn’t quit close. He began moving to let her up, but, to his surprise, she picked her head up to plant a small kiss on the ridges of his brow and smiled up at him. Again, her boundless acceptance and caring stunned him.

“All right,” Buffy was instructing. “Two groups. One with me and Spike, the other work with Faith and Giles.”

******

The night had grown to a deep black. Though the street lamps were lit, they cast a gloomy glow. To add some light, Xander and Andrew had built a fire in the empty street. And, by the time they’d finished the training session, the fire had been stoked to a healthy blaze. Being in no hurry to split up for the night, dinner was brought outside, and the group was soon sitting around the fire, talking and laughing.

Willow found Giles sitting on the curb a ways down the street in the darkness. “Why are you out here all alone? Everyone’s finally getting to know each other with no arguing.”

“I’m happy to watch,” Giles murmured, smirking at the small joke. “Some of the children are still looking at me like they’re frightened. I don’t want to ruin their good time.”

“They might have been a little surprised. I don’t think anyone believes you’d ever hurt them.”

“Still, vampires don’t belong--” Spike’s loud laughter came from by the fire. “I don’t belong … It’s better without me.”

Willow frowned at him for a moment, then got up and walked away. To his surprise, she returned a few minutes later carrying the guitar he’d left with her. She passed it to him, and leaned her head against his shoulder.

“Play for me?” she whispered.

Giles plucked at the strings for a while. He didn’t much feel like singing. He looked out at all of the happy faces at the fire. They all seem so very young, so carefree, just as they should be. He glanced over into Willow’s eyes. If only he could take this fight from all of them. Take the threat of death and apocalypse from all of their young shoulders. If only he could change the world and keep them all safe.

His fingers finally settled into a tune. He had played all the way through the first verse once, when he heard Faith start to clap the beat for him. She got up, walking around and clapping over her head until others began to join in. Giles played louder and began to sing.

If I could reach the stars
Pull one down for you,
Shine it on my heart
So you could see the truth:

That this love inside
Is everything it seems.
But for now I find
It's only in my dreams.

As he got to the chorus, another voice joined his. Ethan’s clear tenor beautifully interweaved with Giles’ rich tones as if they’d never stopped singing together at all.

That I can change the world,
I will be the sunlight in your universe.
You would think my love was really something good,
Baby if I could change the world.

Ethan got up as Faith danced over and began gyrating in front of him. He leaned over and pulled Dawn up as well, dancing with both girls. It was then that someone turned over a couple pales and began drumming the rhythm.

If I could be king,
Even for a day,
I'd take you as my queen;
I'd have it no other way.

And our love would rule
In this kingdom we had made.
'til then I'd be a fool,
Wishing for the day...

Spike coaxed Buffy into dancing. And Xander, and even Andrew, had groups of ladies bobbing around them. Faith left Ethen all to Dawn and focused her gazed on the high school principal, who Buffy had begun bringing around frequently. The tall, muscular man exuded the power and bearing of a Nubian king, and the dark Slayer had noticed. He took her into his arms, swaying with her rhythmically.

…That I can, change the world.
I would be the sunlight in your universe.
You would think my love was really something good,
Baby if I could change the world.
Baby if I could change the world.

Several of the girls ran over, pulling Giles and Willow up and back to the impromptu dance floor with them. They jumped around while he continued playing, pouring his whole heart into the strumming of his guitar and the words he sang as more voices joined his. They sang out, repelling the darkness and driving away the monsters with the pure joy of their song.

I could change the world,
I would be the sunlight in your universe.
You would think my love was really something good,
Baby if I could change the world.
Baby if I could change the world.
Baby if I could change the world…

Ethan kept dancing as she watched him through the flames. He could see and feel her, her stillness a stark contrast to the movement all around. Annabelle’s cold, ghostly gaze never left him.

____________

A/N – Change the World by Eric Clapton. Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmnUBCXWzXA