Summer of Giles

So, hey, funny story. I was planning to post this final chapter at 6 o'clock, but at 5:30 my whole street lost power! That made me a bit nervous, let me tell you—I was afraid I'd end up drawing out the suspense for considerably longer than I'd meant to. But happily the folks at Hydro Quebec seem to be quite on the ball, and the blackout lasted less than an hour—so I think I'd better post now, before anything else can go wrong.

Thanks for coming along for the ride!

TITLE: It Never Happened (part 8 of 8)
AUTHOR: shadowscast
PAIRING: Giles/Spike
RATING: R
GENRE: h/c
LENGTH: 37,000 words

SUMMARY: It's the summer of 2001. Buffy is buried under a stone that says "She saved the world. A lot." Those she left behind are struggling to figure out how to live in a world without her, and how to continue to protect it.
WARNING: I wanted this story to fit perfectly into the gap between S5 and S6. So if you think about it, you already know how it ends.
FEEDBACK: Honestly? I crave it.
DISCLAIMER: The characters and the world belong to Joss, but he did say that we could play with them. This story was written for fun, not profit.

If you didn't catch chapter one, you can read it here.


Chapter Eight


( Giles found the beginning of September particularly difficult. )

It feels so weird to work on something for four months and then post it all in one day. I'd never have the self-control to hold back posting chapters as they're written if it weren't for the structure of the community with its individual posting dates. But, having made it this far, I have to say it's a whole lot of fun spending the whole day posting a story! *g*

TITLE: It Never Happened (part 7 of 8)
AUTHOR: shadowscast
PAIRING: Giles/Spike
RATING: R
GENRE: h/c
LENGTH: 37,000 words

SUMMARY: It's the summer of 2001. Buffy is buried under a stone that says "She saved the world. A lot." Those she left behind are struggling to figure out how to live in a world without her, and how to continue to protect it.
WARNING: I wanted this story to fit perfectly into the gap between S5 and S6. So if you think about it, you already know how it ends.
FEEDBACK: Honestly? I crave it.
DISCLAIMER: The characters and the world belong to Joss, but he did say that we could play with them. This story was written for fun, not profit.

If you didn't catch chapter one, you can read it here.


Chapter Seven


( Incredibly, life settled into a routine. )

I'm going to aim for a chapter an hour now, for the last three chapters. Back in real life there's dishes that need doing, but luckily there's a frozen pizza in the freezer, so at least I don't have to worry about making food!

TITLE: It Never Happened (part 6 of 8)
AUTHOR: shadowscast
PAIRING: Giles/Spike
RATING: R
GENRE: h/c
LENGTH: 37,000 words

SUMMARY: It's the summer of 2001. Buffy is buried under a stone that says "She saved the world. A lot." Those she left behind are struggling to figure out how to live in a world without her, and how to continue to protect it.
WARNING: I wanted this story to fit perfectly into the gap between S5 and S6. So if you think about it, you already know how it ends.
FEEDBACK: Honestly? I crave it.
DISCLAIMER: The characters and the world belong to Joss, but he did say that we could play with them. This story was written for fun, not profit.

If you didn't catch chapter one, you can read it here.


Chapter Six


( Giles parked half a block away from the address Ethan had given Spike. )

Aw, it's already half over! But I'm excited for the second half. Lots of stuff happens!

TITLE: It Never Happened (part 5 of 8)
AUTHOR: shadowscast
PAIRING: Giles/Spike
RATING: R
GENRE: h/c
LENGTH: 37,000 words

SUMMARY: It's the summer of 2001. Buffy is buried under a stone that says "She saved the world. A lot." Those she left behind are struggling to figure out how to live in a world without her, and how to continue to protect it.
WARNING: I wanted this story to fit perfectly into the gap between S5 and S6. So if you think about it, you already know how it ends.
FEEDBACK: Honestly? I crave it.
DISCLAIMER: The characters and the world belong to Joss, but he did say that we could play with them. This story was written for fun, not profit.

If you didn't catch chapter one, you can read it here.


Chapter Five


( A busy schedule was the best remedy for an unsettled mind, Giles decided. )

Well, I did fall asleep again, and for longer than I intended! Oops. But now I'm all chipper, ready to post chapter four and then go and feed my friend's cats!

By the way, I want to warmly thank everyone who's commented so far. I really appreciate it! *hug*

TITLE: It Never Happened (part 4 of 8)
AUTHOR: shadowscast
PAIRING: Giles/Spike
RATING: R
GENRE: h/c
LENGTH: 37,000 words

SUMMARY: It's the summer of 2001. Buffy is buried under a stone that says "She saved the world. A lot." Those she left behind are struggling to figure out how to live in a world without her, and how to continue to protect it.
WARNING: I wanted this story to fit perfectly into the gap between S5 and S6. So if you think about it, you already know how it ends.
FEEDBACK: Honestly? I crave it.
DISCLAIMER: The characters and the world belong to Joss, but he did say that we could play with them. This story was written for fun, not profit.

If you didn't catch chapter one, you can read it here.


Chapter Four


Anya looked up and smiled when the shop bell jangled, but she lost enthusiasm when she saw who it was. ( “Oh, hello. I thought you were a customer.” )

Looks like today's going to be a hot, sunny day, at least where I am. Not a good day for vampires! So it's lucky there aren't any around here....

TITLE: It Never Happened (part 3 of 8)
AUTHOR: shadowscast
PAIRING: Giles/Spike
RATING: R
GENRE: h/c
LENGTH: 37,000 words

SUMMARY: It's the summer of 2001. Buffy is buried under a stone that says "She saved the world. A lot." Those she left behind are struggling to figure out how to live in a world without her, and how to continue to protect it.
WARNING: I wanted this story to fit perfectly into the gap between S5 and S6. So if you think about it, you already know how it ends.
FEEDBACK: Honestly? I crave it.
DISCLAIMER: The characters and the world belong to Joss, but he did say that we could play with them. This story was written for fun, not profit.

If you didn't catch chapter one, you can read it here.


Chapter Three

( Sometimes, when he had trouble sleeping, Giles would conjugate verbs in his head. )

Good morning! Did you sleep well? I didn't, actually—I'm six months pregnant and I seem to have lost the ability to sleep through the night. It's okay, though, I'll just have a nap later.

Hm, well, enough with the chit-chat! Here's the second chapter.

TITLE: It Never Happened (part 2 of 8)
AUTHOR: shadowscast
PAIRING: Giles/Spike
RATING: R
GENRE: h/c
LENGTH: 37,000 words

SUMMARY: It's the summer of 2001. Buffy is buried under a stone that says "She saved the world. A lot." Those she left behind are struggling to figure out how to live in a world without her, and how to continue to protect it.
WARNING: I wanted this story to fit perfectly into the gap between S5 and S6. So if you think about it, you already know how it ends.
FEEDBACK: Honestly? I crave it.
DISCLAIMER: The characters and the world belong to Joss, but he did say that we could play with them. This story was written for fun, not profit.

If you didn't catch chapter one, you can read it here.


Chapter Two

( Spike reappeared at the Magic Box the fourth night after his change. )

Greetings, all! It's after midnight in my time zone, so I declare my posting day to have begun!

Today I will be bringing you one fic in eight parts (plus an epilogue). I'll be posting the chapters one at a time throughout the day, because that's how I get my kicks. Of course, after this chapter I'll be going to bed, so the next one won't show up until morning ... but I'll set my alarm for really early!

But first, a huge thanks to yourlibrarian for beta-reading (including totally kicking my ass when I needed it), for helping me figure out what to do next when I got stuck, and, actually, for talking me into signing up in the first place! Also thanks to shapinglight for making sure that my Giles and Spike actually sound like they're English.

TITLE: It Never Happened (part 1 of 8)
AUTHOR: shadowscast
PAIRING: Giles/Spike
RATING: R
GENRE: h/c
LENGTH: 37,000 words

SUMMARY: It's the summer of 2001. Buffy is buried under a stone that says "She saved the world. A lot." Those she left behind are struggling to figure out how to live in a world without her, and how to continue to protect it.
WARNING: I wanted this story to fit perfectly into the gap between S5 and S6. So if you think about it, you already know how it ends.
FEEDBACK: Honestly? I crave it.
DISCLAIMER: The characters and the world belong to Joss, but he did say that we could play with them. This story was written for fun, not profit.


Chapter One

“This is pointless,” Xander complained, carelessly flipping a page of the fragile old book Giles had tasked him with. “We killed the demon.”

“Spike killed the demon,” Dawn pointed out. “The rest of us just kind of stood around and watched.”

Anya looked up from her own research, offended. “I tried to hit it with my flashlight. And what did I get for my trouble? A ten dollar dry-cleaning bill, that’s what.”

“It was pretty goopy, after a while,” Willow agreed.

“And it’s dead,” Xander reiterated. “Which brings me back to my point about pointlessness.”

( Giles tried to rein in his irritation. )