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summer_of_giles2023-07-30 02:27 pm
aaronlisa) wrote in summer_of_giles2023-07-30 02:27 pm
FIC: His Father's Son, FR13, Gen
Title: His Father's Son
Author:aaronlisa
Characters: Rupert Giles
Rating: FR13/PG-13
Notes: Set during Season Seven.
Summary: Giles reflects on how he became a Watcher, despite never wanting to be one.
Word Count: 1069
Rupert Giles had never wanted to become a Watcher.
It was something that was thrust upon him because of who his family was. Edna Giles had come from a long line of minor British aristocrats who had all been Watchers for as far as the family could trace their history back. The only time she had ever stepped out of line was when she had married a baker's son.
Rupert had never really known his grandfather. The few memories that he had of the man were of a warm kitchen that smelled of bread and tea. Every now and then, when he bites into a piece of fresh, warm bread spread with butter and honey, he will be a small boy in that warm kitchen once more and he won't feel the weight of the family legacy pressing down on him.
His father had been a hard man. One who had done his duty. He had gone to the right school, obtained the right degree, entered the Council, married the right woman and had a son to follow in his footsteps. While his grandmother may have never treated him as a disappointment, his father certainly had. Edna and other family members had been delighted that he had returned, but his father had coldly sneered and told him that he doubted that Rupert would ever achieve anything and that their family's decline had been all due to Rupert's impetuousness.
Nothing had ever been his father's fault. Rupert had done all the things that he had been asked to whilst his father was viewed with disdain because of the fact that it was a ill-kept secret that while he may have fulfilled his duty, he spent more time in gambling and opium dens. Rupert was respected - even by those who despised him - because he had sowed his wild oats before returning to the Council.
When he had agreed to go to Sunnydale and to become Buffy Summers' Watcher, his father had sent him a terse telegram that insinuated he would fail. He had thrown it away and vowed that he'd do everything he could to avoid being the type of Watcher his father would have been.
He had allowed his Slayer to have friends and to have a normal life - or as normal as she could have - and he had kept two journals. One that transcribed a sanitized version of events for the Council and then an accurate one that did not shy away from the reality of what happened every night in Sunnydale.
Against his better judgment, he had allowed her to befriend a vampire. Afterwards, Rupert would always question his decision of allowing Angel to get close to Buffy. He had no doubt that the pair would have become close with or without his consent, but he had to wonder how differently things may have played out if he had never let his guard down.
He had become close to her friends, especially Xander and Willow. He didn't quite view the three of them - Buffy, Xander and Willow - as surrogate children, since he knew that he'd never be carrying out his responsibilities to the family legacy by having children of his own. His misadventures with Eyghon had ensured that he'd never sire children of his own.. But the three of them had become very precious to him. When he had left Sunnydale to allow Buffy to become an adult without his interference, he had felt like he was betraying all three of them.
On the flight back home, his only companions had been the mini bottles of whiskey that the stewardesses had given him and his guilt at abandoning them just as his own father had abandoned him. And he wasn't even certain that returning back to England was worth it. The Council had drastically changed in the years since he had left. His father had almost single-handedly ruined whatever reputation their family had within the organization. That aside, there was really no place for him within the ranks of the Council.
He had become a glorified errand boy. Finding Potentials. Investigating leads in places where the Council didn't want to expend a lot of resources. He grew to resent his decisions to leave Sunnydale. But he had no one to blame for himself. He had never wanted to be a Watcher and when his grandmother had found him a seedy pub in London following a gig, he could have said no. Edna Giles had been persuasive but the choice had always been his.
When Quentin Travers had personally picked him to go to Sunnydale to be Buffy's Watcher, he could have refused. But instead he had said yes. He had wanted to spit in his father's eye, prove to him that Rupert was the better man and the better Watcher. (And in the end was he any better than his father? He had abandoned Buffy just as his own father had essentially abandoned him.) He may have chosen to go back but he kept making mistake after mistake.
It's not until he's flying back to Sunnydale for what will be the last time that Rupert will realize that he had been fighting against a destiny that he had never wanted, just like Buffy had. And he wonders if he had just knuckled down and accepted the family legacy and his destiny, if things would have been vastly different. He waves the stewardess over and asks for another mini bottle of whiskey.
Rupert doesn't want to think about destiny, fate or family legacies. There have been far too many nights where he's laid awake at night and wonder how much of this horrible mess that they're in is because of his own selfishness from the start. If he hadn't rejected who he was always supposed to be, would things have been different? What decision was the one that had led them down this past? Rupert's not egotistical enough to know that this is all his fault, but he knows enough to know there are things that happened that can firmly laid at this door.
If things weren't so dire and desperate, he'd consider hitting up a sleazy bar on the outskirts of Sunnydale so that he could drown his sorrow and guilt before he has to face Buffy and the others and once again place the weight of the world on Buffy's shoulders.
Author:
aaronlisa Characters: Rupert Giles
Rating: FR13/PG-13
Notes: Set during Season Seven.
Summary: Giles reflects on how he became a Watcher, despite never wanting to be one.
Word Count: 1069
Rupert Giles had never wanted to become a Watcher.
It was something that was thrust upon him because of who his family was. Edna Giles had come from a long line of minor British aristocrats who had all been Watchers for as far as the family could trace their history back. The only time she had ever stepped out of line was when she had married a baker's son.
Rupert had never really known his grandfather. The few memories that he had of the man were of a warm kitchen that smelled of bread and tea. Every now and then, when he bites into a piece of fresh, warm bread spread with butter and honey, he will be a small boy in that warm kitchen once more and he won't feel the weight of the family legacy pressing down on him.
His father had been a hard man. One who had done his duty. He had gone to the right school, obtained the right degree, entered the Council, married the right woman and had a son to follow in his footsteps. While his grandmother may have never treated him as a disappointment, his father certainly had. Edna and other family members had been delighted that he had returned, but his father had coldly sneered and told him that he doubted that Rupert would ever achieve anything and that their family's decline had been all due to Rupert's impetuousness.
Nothing had ever been his father's fault. Rupert had done all the things that he had been asked to whilst his father was viewed with disdain because of the fact that it was a ill-kept secret that while he may have fulfilled his duty, he spent more time in gambling and opium dens. Rupert was respected - even by those who despised him - because he had sowed his wild oats before returning to the Council.
When he had agreed to go to Sunnydale and to become Buffy Summers' Watcher, his father had sent him a terse telegram that insinuated he would fail. He had thrown it away and vowed that he'd do everything he could to avoid being the type of Watcher his father would have been.
He had allowed his Slayer to have friends and to have a normal life - or as normal as she could have - and he had kept two journals. One that transcribed a sanitized version of events for the Council and then an accurate one that did not shy away from the reality of what happened every night in Sunnydale.
Against his better judgment, he had allowed her to befriend a vampire. Afterwards, Rupert would always question his decision of allowing Angel to get close to Buffy. He had no doubt that the pair would have become close with or without his consent, but he had to wonder how differently things may have played out if he had never let his guard down.
He had become close to her friends, especially Xander and Willow. He didn't quite view the three of them - Buffy, Xander and Willow - as surrogate children, since he knew that he'd never be carrying out his responsibilities to the family legacy by having children of his own. His misadventures with Eyghon had ensured that he'd never sire children of his own.. But the three of them had become very precious to him. When he had left Sunnydale to allow Buffy to become an adult without his interference, he had felt like he was betraying all three of them.
On the flight back home, his only companions had been the mini bottles of whiskey that the stewardesses had given him and his guilt at abandoning them just as his own father had abandoned him. And he wasn't even certain that returning back to England was worth it. The Council had drastically changed in the years since he had left. His father had almost single-handedly ruined whatever reputation their family had within the organization. That aside, there was really no place for him within the ranks of the Council.
He had become a glorified errand boy. Finding Potentials. Investigating leads in places where the Council didn't want to expend a lot of resources. He grew to resent his decisions to leave Sunnydale. But he had no one to blame for himself. He had never wanted to be a Watcher and when his grandmother had found him a seedy pub in London following a gig, he could have said no. Edna Giles had been persuasive but the choice had always been his.
When Quentin Travers had personally picked him to go to Sunnydale to be Buffy's Watcher, he could have refused. But instead he had said yes. He had wanted to spit in his father's eye, prove to him that Rupert was the better man and the better Watcher. (And in the end was he any better than his father? He had abandoned Buffy just as his own father had essentially abandoned him.) He may have chosen to go back but he kept making mistake after mistake.
It's not until he's flying back to Sunnydale for what will be the last time that Rupert will realize that he had been fighting against a destiny that he had never wanted, just like Buffy had. And he wonders if he had just knuckled down and accepted the family legacy and his destiny, if things would have been vastly different. He waves the stewardess over and asks for another mini bottle of whiskey.
Rupert doesn't want to think about destiny, fate or family legacies. There have been far too many nights where he's laid awake at night and wonder how much of this horrible mess that they're in is because of his own selfishness from the start. If he hadn't rejected who he was always supposed to be, would things have been different? What decision was the one that had led them down this past? Rupert's not egotistical enough to know that this is all his fault, but he knows enough to know there are things that happened that can firmly laid at this door.
If things weren't so dire and desperate, he'd consider hitting up a sleazy bar on the outskirts of Sunnydale so that he could drown his sorrow and guilt before he has to face Buffy and the others and once again place the weight of the world on Buffy's shoulders.
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