Fic: Intervention 6/7
Mar. 14th, 2012 04:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crys_lochVampire Stories, story 3
BtVS / Buffy/Willow/Xander
NC- 17
Summery: There are some who know what happened. There are some who have also been betrayed. Enter Giles, Jenny and Cordelia.
Intervention, part 6.
Disclaimers and warnings are listed in part 1 and still apply.
Willow followed Xander back down Railroad and over along Holly. The streets around them were dark and deserted. "Where are we going?"
Xander turned to his friend and shrugged. "Just away, I guess. I still like just taking off and looking around."
Willow smiled her acceptance. "Okay. Just curious. You know me, always had to have a plan."
"Well, if you like, we can go down by the marina." Xander suggested. He wasn't sure why Willow was going with him and he kept kicking himself for wishing he was alone.
Willow took his hand into hers. She had meant it, she didn't want to hold him back. But she also wanted it to feel a little like old times. She missed him. "That sounds nice. But is anyone there at this hour?"
Xander was flooded with their simple connection and a little relieved to hear she was out here to hunt as well. "There's always someone there it seems. And usually only them. No witnesses."
"You know a lot of the city now, don't you?" Willow kept the conversation going.
"Yeah. I like feeling that it's mine." Xander admitted.
"So, what do you think of that bar?" Willow started towards what she really wanted to talk about.
"I don't know," Xander hedged. "It's cool I guess. Somewhere we belong. It's just..." Xander looked over to Willow and smiled, "I was kinda liking the idea that the city was all mine. Now I have to share it with a bunch of other demons."
Willow laughed. "Poor Xander." Her face sobered some as she continued with the part that worried her. "You aren't afraid of them, or worried that one of them will recognize Buffy?"
"I'm not afraid of any of them." Xander protested. "We kicked demon butt as humans. Now... Besides, Buffy's a demon now, what are they gonna do?"
"Hold a grudge comes to mind," Willow absently answered. "I didn't think of this happening is all. I was so worried about the slayers not finding us, I didn't think about the demons finding out."
"Don't worry about it." Xander pulled her a little faster toward the marina. He could see a large luxury boat just starting in. "We're all demons now."
The private marina was just at the end of Holly, past all the downtown buildings and commercial docks. There were condos and large waterfront homes just beyond it. It was an area he enjoyed hunting in. Xander and Willow jumped over the gate and waited in the shadows for the boat to dock. There were large steel hand railings lining the path to the docks. Xander started twisting the end of one, his arms flexed with the effort to bend and shape the bar into the pattern of waves.
"You're the mystery vandal!" Willow suddenly realized and burst into laughter. "Did you really break a statue off its base and reposition it on its head?"
Xander looked up and smiled. He stepped back from his latest piece of work. "Yeah. You caught me. Are ya gonna turn me in?"
"Of course not, silly." Willow looked at the series of hills and valleys that now marked the once straight hand rail. "But why?"
Xander shrugged. "Why not? I guess I like messing with things." He looked over to the hand rail again and smiled. "I think it's kind of artistic, no?"
Willow just shook her head. "I like it," she decided. "Let me try." She went over to the opposite hand rail and tried to bend the end without much result. "Why can't I bend it?"
Xander walked over and stood behind her. He reached around and took her hands in his own. "Here, let me help. Put your hand here and push down, pull up at this end so it will start to bend at your hand..." He stood up some to let her continue. Still, the bar would not bend.
Willow turned to her friend. "You're stronger than me. That's not fair."
Xander faltered for an explanation. "I thought all vampires were kinda equal strength."
"They are," Willow confirmed. "Or at least Giles and Buffy always said they were when giving us the be careful around vampires you once knew speech. I don't get it. Can Buffy bend things?"
"I don't know," Xander admitted. "It's not like we've done the big compared strength, speed, I'm more a vamp than you thing. I just started playing around is all. Seeing how far I could leap, what I could do."
Willow was quick to grab Xander's hand. "I'm not mad. Honest. I'm just a little disappointed I can't do the vandal thing. Maybe we should compare though. Not in a I'm better way. Just, you know, to find out."
Xander smiled. "Always gotta know, huh?"
"Aren't you curious?" Willow challenged.
"Yeah, a little now," Xander easily admitted. "Okay, tomorrow night, for the gold medal, let the games begin." He looked up and noticed that the boat was slipping next to its spot on one of the docks. "Come on, our late night snack has arrived." Xander led Willow silently down the to the end of the far dock. They kept to the shadows and watched as three people, stumbling drunk, attempted to tie off all the lines. "You ready?"
Willow took a quarter out of her pocket and flipped it. "I'm in."
Xander watched her, puzzled. "What was that for?"
Willow placed the quarter back in her pocket. "I'll tell you after. Right now, I'm kinda too hungry."
Xander smiled at her words. Maybe this would be alright tonight. "Then let's go."
They slipped over to the boat as one of the men was climbing back onboard. That left one man and one woman on the dock. Willow hung back and let Xander choose which one he wanted. He crossed over quickly and grabbed the woman from behind, silencing a scream with a hand over her mouth. Willow acted quickly in turn and kicked the man to his knees then bent over him. Her sudden bite at his throat kept any sound to a muffled whimper. Xander watched Willow feed and kept the terrified woman tightly in his grasp. She struggled the more she witnessed what was happening to her husband. Finally, Xander bent forward and let his fangs slip into her neck. He kept her head towards the man and Willow, kept her watching as he fed. He felt her faint then die and always with the hint of regret at the end, let her body drop. Willow stood up and stepped over the prone body of the man. They glanced at the boat, hearing the sounds of stumbling and packing, but not seeing the other man yet.
"It's true," Xander smiled at his friend. "You do grin as you feed."
Willow shrugged and shyly glanced away. "So they tell me."
"What do I do?" Xander suddenly felt the urge to ask.
"I don't know. I guess I haven't really watched you before." Willow remembered it was one of the reasons why she was here. "Why don't you hop onboard and show me."
"Okay." Xander paused just before climbing onto the boat. "He's gonna run. Don't let him hop off, okay?"
Before Willow could wonder what that was about, Xander had climbed onboard and gone down below to find him. Willow stayed up top in front of the exit and waited. The wait wasn't long. She heard a scream, muffled by the walls of the cabin but still loud. She looked around to see if anyone was about. Then she saw the man running clumsily out of the cabin. He made his way to the exit and pitched into a different direction when he noticed her. Xander lazily came up behind. Willow watched as her oldest friend played a twisted version of peek-a-boo and intercept with the drunken would be sailor. The man was breathing so heavily he could barely make a sound. She could hear his heart beats even when he was running around the other end of the boat. She watched Xander play a while, the goofy grin she knew so well softening the hard edges of the vampire visage. Only occasionally, did she have to block the man's escape. He was so frantic, he seems surprised to see her there each time. Eventually, he seemed to give up or run out of strength at least. He crouched at the bow of the boat, pleading and begging. Even her ears were deaf to his cries, she realized. Xander's grin only widened as he approached the man. He pulled him to his feet and for a moment seemed to consider letting him go as he straightened his jacket and dusted off the dirt. Willow guessed it was only that somewhere in the chase, Xander had found a little respect for him. At least, that was her impression as her oldest friend seemed to stand the man up straight and tall before pulling him close and sliding fangs into neck. It didn't last long. The blood was pumping wildly and soon, Xander was setting the man down on one of the seats at the bow. He walked back to Willow, his finger swiping the blood off his lips before his tongue licked up the remains.
"That was fun," Xander greeted his friend.
"It looked fun," Willow admitted. She had told herself and him that she would not interfere or hold him back. She had stayed and let herself simply watch. He was having fun. And however much she could remember being in that man's place, she also remembered what it was like to feel the chase and the thrill of holding life and death in your hands. She remembered it all still. Most of all, she remembered that this man never stopped loving her for it. She could honestly say now she would never stop loving him, all of him, as well. She leant forward and kissed Xander on his blood stained lips.
Xander reached his arms around Willow and pulled her against him. He leaned forward as she pulled back and swept her into another kiss. The blood was still filling his body, the passion still swimming in his mind and the call of the night still singing in his ears. Willow reacted to his desire with her own. Her arms wrapped around him and locked together, eternity seemed to pass too soon when the kiss ended.
"Well, hello there old friend." Willow rested her head against his chest, the stillness still amazing her. "What was that all about?"
"Is that what we are? Old friends?" Xander held her close and wondered aloud, feeling their connection settle deeper than the heat of life's blood ever could.
"Old friends, always," Willow confirmed. Then she glanced up into his gaze. "And lovers."
Xander smiled. Suddenly, the cry and calling of the night faded to a muted hum. Nothing in the world felt more right than this, no desire greater. "I'm glad you came."
Willow smiled and settled back down against his chest. "So, what now, pussy cat."
"Pussy cat?!" Xander protested.
"You hunt like a cat," Willow informed him. "You play with your food and mostly just scare it to death." That there was a natural comparison to what they do now comforted her.
Xander faked a purr. "But do I smile?"
Willow considered what she witnessed. "You keep your goofy grin when you play. It's odd, cause it softens the whole grr look. But you get this intense focus when you feed."
Xander nodded thoughtfully, then grinned with a dawning idea. "Hey, lets take this boat for a spin. We can drop the bodies off out there. It'll be this whole CSI mystery for the police."
"Xander," Willow chuckled at the idea, "you don't know how to steer a boat."
"What's to know?" Xander insisted. He pulled back and looked down into Willow eyes. "Come on, just a short ride. It's not like they need it now, so what's the harm if I bang it up some?"
"I can see you trying to bring this thing back in this little spot." Willow pointed out.
"So, we'll leave it out there." Xander countered. "More the mystery. We'll take the little one, what's it called..."
"The dinghy," Willow supplied.
"Yeah, we'll take that back." Xander smiled in triumph at the whole plan. "To really confuse them, we'll send it back out there on its own to drift around."
Willow just shook her head then surprised him by nodding her assent. They pulled the other two bodies onto the boat and with a little bump and struggle, managed to get it out past the marina. Xander impulsively wrapped a line around each of their ankles like a string of fish and sent them all overboard to sink into the water. They left the boat drifting and returned to the end of the dock in the dinghy before sending that on its way as well. Xander stood for a moment and smiled at the result of his work. Willow took his hand and they started for home.
* * * * * * * * *
The next morning, Jenny woke alone in the bed. Her panic was quickly pushed away by the smell of coffee drifting into the room. She rose, and finding a robe, put it on and wandered to the kitchen.
"I was hoping you had some coffee here," Jenny greeted Giles as she poured herself a cup.
Giles turned from his tea preparations and smiled warmly. "I keep it for the ever present Americans that drift through my door. Dawn especially would never forgive me if I were to run out."
"Dawn." The panic returned. 'How could she be so stupid', Jenny wondered. 'Of course Rupert would have a girlfriend. It's been years,' she reminded herself. 'He's moved on.'
"Yes." His tea complete, Giles started sipping it, enjoying this morning more than any he could recall in a long time. "I should think she'll be ecstatic to see you again. Her shock threshold is very high by now. This probably won't even seem that strange, I'm afraid."
Jenny was barely listening. "Rupert, I'm so sorry. I never meant to put you in this position, and now..." His words finally worked their way into her mind. "Wait, why would your girlfriend be happy to see me? What do you mean, again?" Jenny's thoughts ran through the faculty list at Sunnydale High, searching for anyone named Dawn. Finding no matches, her stomach sank as she searched through the names of Buffy's friends and classmates.
Tea suddenly exited Giles' mouth as her words sank in, the spray covering the counter. Giles tried to stifle the shocked choking so he could correct this as soon as possible. Finally, he was able to gasp words out. "My girlfriend?! Dawn is most certainly not my girlfriend."
Jenny couldn't help but be amused as well as relieved. She mentally took a step back from the assumptions and decided that she should better have at least a cup of coffee before launching into further ones. She watched Giles start to clean the mess and tried to sound casual as she continued. "So, then, who is this Dawn that gets morning coffee?"
Giles looked up at Jenny. The mess was forgotten as he puzzled at the question. "You know Dawn. Buffy's younger sister. You used to watch her while we..." Understanding broke across his face. "Of course. You had already passed away." He shook his head as the paradox became clearer in his mind.
"Buffy doesn't have a sister." Jenny began to drink her coffee in earnest.
"The shift in reality would not affect you..." Giles was continuing the realization as he poured himself another cup of tea.
"Reality shift?!" Jenny poured herself another cup of coffee and sat down quickly.
Giles settled against the counter and continued to drink his tea. Jenny's words paused his thoughts and he avoided looking at her as he searched for a way to explain it. Finally, he brought his gaze to her wary eyes and kept his tone soft as he tried to clarify the situation. "Perhaps, given the hour of the morning, it will suffice to say for now that Dawn was created, through magic, as Buffy's younger sister. That same magic created our memories of Dawn. So too, were her history and memories created." He paused for a moment then added, "she'll remember you, Jenny."
"That makes no sense," Jenny concluded.
Giles shrugged and moved to sit next to her at the kitchen table. "As you said, 'It's Sunnydale, things happen'. It makes as much sense as you sitting here now in my apartment."
"So Buffy has a little sister." Jenny tried out the words. "How much younger?"
Giles worked out some approximation math in his head. "Six years, I believe." He reached across the table and lightly grasped Jenny's hand. "Are you alright?"
Jenny offered a weak smile. "It's just mornings are hard enough without girlfriends and reality shifts."
Giles covered a grin by taking a sip of tea. "So how many of your mornings are usually filled with girlfriends if I may ask?"
"Mine or theirs?" Jenny playfully countered.
"I see." Giles continued to drink his tea, watching as she slipped her hand out from beneath his only to lightly slap it in turn. "We do need to talk sometime this morning." He regretted causing her face to fall, her smile to disappear, but so many immediate questions filled his mind upon waking.
"I know, Rupert," Jenny acknowledged as she got up and poured another cup. She paused at the counter but the patience and understanding on his face brought her back to sit at the table. "May I just ask you something first? This filled my mind all night and brought only nightmares. And it might be easier to tell you everything if I can just hear your answer first." Jenny rambled in explanation.
Giles sat up a little, concern showing across his features. "What is it?"
Jenny took a deep breath then a sip of coffee before she chanced the question. "Last night, at the bar, when I approached you, you said some things. You mentioned not really being able to kill me off." She looked down at the table. "What did you mean?"
"Oh, Jenny." Understanding flashed into his mind and he reached for her hand, then pulled it back, worried the touch might not yet be welcome. "Please, you must believe me, I did not think I was talking to you." He waited until her head rose and he could look into her eyes. "What heartless, foolish words. Of course you had nightmares." He paused again. There was so much to explain too quickly. "Our last foe, it was evil itself. The first evil. The whole, eternal." He gave up trying to fully explain it and attempted to move on. "This evil would take the form of our loved ones who had passed and use this form to torment us, play with our minds."
"So I was used by some great evil and I don't remember it?" Jenny cut in and felt herself grow ill.
"No!" Giles was quick to cut off the idea. In a softer tone, he tried to continue. "No, this evil would use the image of a loved one. It was not really you. It could never be you. When you came to the bar, I assumed it was the First, trying to gloat that such evil could never really be killed. When you touched me, I knew it was you."
"How?" Jenny was feeling a little more at ease. At least it started to sound reasonable. Well, reasonable by Sunnydale standards.
Giles chanced a small smile. "The first can not take corporeal form. There is no way it could have touched me. And, you see, there is no way it could really use you. Only your image. Please, believe me, I thought I was speaking to it, not you."
Jenny slowly nodded and looked into his eyes. So clear and honest, these eyes. "Thank you."
Giles did chance a comforting touch at her words and gently clasped her hand in his own. "There are other questions as well," he gently reminded her. He pulled back a little and added ruefully, "Given the lapse in time, it's apparent there will be many questions." He squeezed Jenny's hand a little. "Some are more immediate than others, though. Jenny, I need to know, before this continues, why they brought you back, and why now."
"I did promise, didn't I?" Jenny looked down into her cup.
"You did," Giles gently agreed and encouraged. "It's just... I've seen this happen before. It almost killed me."
Jenny looked up into his eyes. "With Buffy, right? They told me the story." She looked down again. "But that was because of a greater purpose, events foreseen, the hero needed."
"No." Giles took his hand from Jenny's and cleaned his glasses absently. His anger still flooded him at the memory. "No, I believe those events would never have happened if not for what was done. I don't know what you were told, but the reasons for Buffy's resurrection were complicated and many, yes; but in the end all too human. And the consequences were great." He looked up into Jenny's eyes. "Please, you can see, I need to know."
Jenny nodded slowly. It appeared it was time. "I wish I understood it myself," she mumbled just loud enough to be heard. She took a deep breath and continued more clearly. "There's been very little else I've really thought about since coming back. One, was finding you. The other, why they would think they should do this and what I'm supposed to do."
"So, I take it the two things aren't really connected?" Giles quietly thought out loud. "Finding me and why you are here, I mean."
Jenny laughed a little. "Oh no. I can imagine they are more than angry with me at the moment." She smiled. "Now, ask me if I care."
Giles smiled in return. "I dare say, there's no need. I am so powerfully happy that you found me."
"Not for long," Jenny muttered and her smile faded.
"Jenny, I understand that clearly this won't be the most pleasant news, perhaps even the end of the world again." He took her hand in his own. "But the end of the world rarely comes with a second chance included like this. I made the horrid mistake of throwing away my second chance with Buffy due to my own pain. I won't make that mistake again with you."
"What do you know about Buffy, Willow and Xander's disappearance?" Jenny seemed to suddenly switch topics.
Giles considered the question for a moment. "I see. Or rather I feared as much, I guess. So this has to do with them?" Seeing Jenny's nod, he continued. "I don't know much, I'm afraid. We were recuperating after the battle with the First and the devastation of Sunnydale. The whole world was changed. It felt at the time for the better. Then we found notes left for us, and they were gone. Their notes explained..." Giles shook his head. "There is no explanation for the total severing of contact. They explained nothing, really. Not for Dawn and myself. She continues to look for them."
"Rupert! She has to stop." Jenny exclaimed, her head rising sharply so he could see the urgency in her eyes. "I don't even know her, but I know she has to stop."
"That's not possible." Giles informed her and shook his head.
Jenny looked up for a moment and fought the tears she could feel coming to her eyes. "I know what happened, Rupert. My tribe told me. They told me it's why I'm here. I honestly, I just... I don't know what I can do about it."
Giles' heart leapt and stilled for a moment. "You know what happened?! Please... Jenny..."
She looked into his eyes and tried to be as gentle with the news as possible. "One night, when you were all in that motel, Willow was bit by a vampire. She was turned." Jenny paused for a moment, warily watching his face for clues how he was taking this and a sign to continue. "Willow killed her sire." She left his muttered, surprised remark of 'strange' alone and started again. "She then, somehow, and this is the impossible part, turned Buffy." Jenny stopped when Giles pulled back suddenly.
Giles let the silence draw out, grateful for the break, the time to recover. "Not so impossible, I fear. Not for Buffy, I'm afraid. Not if it was Willow." He looked again at Jenny. "Are you sure? Are they certain?"
"Yes," Jenny gently whispered. "There's many things I don't know, but this..." Seeing Giles nod his head, she continued. "Buffy turned Xander."
"Buffy turned Xander?" Giles cut in. "No. That..." He looked directly into her eyes. "How could they know this?"
Jenny shrugged apologetically. "My tribe continued to watch."
"So the three of them..." Giles swallowed the knot in his throat and closed his eyes briefly against the pain. "You're telling me they're vampires."
"I'm so sorry." They were pitiful words that didn't begin to approach the sorrow, but it was all Jenny could think to say.
"I thought I had steeled my mind, first with Angel, then with Spike, I thought I prepared myself for this." Giles shook his head. "We had just won. Well and truly won. Buffy could have... she could have been the first Slayer to retire. Their whole lives were finally ahead of them!" Suddenly, he slammed his fist on the table.
"Rupert?" Jenny shrank back. She understood the anger. She feared it would be turned towards her.
A couple of tears trailed down Giles' cheek, even as he fought against them. "I'm sorry. I won't..." He steadied himself and took a deep breath. "I need a drink." Giles got up from the table and pulled the scotch down from the kitchen cupboard. "Would you like one?"
"No." Jenny was quick to answer.
Giles remained in the kitchen and leaned against the counter. "Jenny," he tried to keep his voice soft and steady, "why would they pull you here? What can they expect you to do?"
"I don't know." There was a pleading for understanding in her voice. "They only said I was to fix it. For my people..." Jenny was always uncomfortable talking about where she came from and how she was different; and this, to him, only made her remember what that difference cost them before. "The order of the world for my people is in the stories that play out over and over. It is how we see the world. Stories of heroes are rare, cherished. And a story of heroes does not end this way. It's as if our world is destroyed, Rupert."
"But how can you fix this?" Giles wondered out loud. He filled his glass again as the obvious answer came to him. "You're going to give them back their souls."
Jenny suddenly wished she had taken him up on his drink offer. "Maybe." She didn't think that she could, or would. "I only know that I have to go to them."
"You know where they are?!" Giles grew excited again.
"Yes." Jenny looked over into his eyes. "I want... I need you to come with me, Rupert." The absurd injustice of what she just asked him came raining down over her thoughts. Still, even if she could take it back, she would ask it again.
"Of course." His answer was out before he even thought about it. There was too much in his mind to consider anything more anyway.
Jenny let out a sigh of relief and a smile flickered. "We can't tell anyone where we are going or why," she gently reminded him.
"Dawn." One thought managed to break into Giles' spinning thoughts: 'What would he tell Dawn'. "She can't know you're here," he tried to explain.
"Why?" Jenny thought that her coming back might be the perfect excuse for why he had to go.
Giles managed to smile ruefully before downing the last of his drink. "Because, it would only lead to more questions. She's too curious and far too intelligent to simply believe that you just popped back into my life."
"I see." In truth, Jenny was a little relieved she wouldn't have to meet the girl. "Your influence, I'm sure."
"The way she can jump to the answers, more Buffy's I expect." Giles absently protested. "I'll have to think of another reason." He looked over to Jenny. "They won't be surprised, even Dawn. It's been no secret I haven't been happy here. Or supportive of the continuation of the Watchers Council. No, I think it's clear I've only stayed here for Faith and Dawn. And I believe I needed them more than they've needed me."
Jenny was a little stunned. He was so different than the man she knew. It had only been five years. And so much happened in those five years. These names, these women that clearly meant so much to him, she didn't know them, had barely heard of them. Faith, the other Slayer. Dawn, they must of mentioned but so much happened that night and she was so overwhelmed. What had she just done to him, coming back into his life with this news. And when he realized it, would he ever forgive her. "You're really coming with me?"
Giles looked over and smiled. He crossed the short distance to her and pulled her up into his arms. "Yes." He was stunned again by the very image of her face, so often in his dreams, and now so close he could touch her. His fingers gently stroked her hair back from her eyes. "I said I wouldn't throw away another second chance, and I meant it. This is cruel and unjust to everyone, to all of us. If we can stick together... help each other..."
"Yes," Jenny broke in with relief. Tears broke from her eyes and she pulled him her, resting her head against his chest as she finally allowed herself to sob.
Giles allowed his own tears as they stood rocking gently in each other's arms. He couldn't help it. Through the anger and the pain, he couldn't help but feel grateful to hold her again in his arms.
The rest of the afternoon was a strange fluctuation between subdued motions as they ordered plane tickets and packed his things, and tender affirmations of their budding reunion and its commitment. Arrangements for stuff, excuses to loved ones; it all happened with a fluid confidence that gained momentum before they could second guess it and turn it all around. Only when they were seated at the gate, waiting to board the plane, were they careful not to look at each other or say anything. Only when they were seated on the plane and it in turn was in the air, did Jenny allow hope to settle again around her heart and protect it.
"Thank you again for letting us fly in first class." Jenny smiled at Giles and reached for his hand. "The people, crowds, the noise... it's still all too much."
Giles smiled in return and relaxed back into his seat. "I understand. Or at least, I've seen it before. Please, this... this will be a series of adjustments for both of us. Can we agree to remain forthright and honest with each other?"
"Wow." Jenny almost laughed. "Way to skip over the honeymoon phase." She nodded her head, anyway. "But yeah, I see what you mean." She looked thoughtfully out the window for a moment though the night overcast left her little to see. "I used to love people. I loved to go out into the crowds and feel all the energy that spilled around me. I wonder if I'll ever get that part of me back."
"I always preferred the mostly solitary life myself." Giles mused out loud. When Jenny turned towards him with a look of subtle disbelief, he gave in. "Okay, in my youth, as you already knew, I was... well, I was a small time rock musician in the 70's. You'd do well not to imagine too much and I had better leave the stories for a long other time."
Jenny smiled in reassurance and squeezed his hand gently. "There's a lot of things we don't really know about each other. We never had the time, before... it was all cut too short."
"We'll have time, now." Giles assured her.
There were two things Jenny's mind had been nagging her to reveal. Two last things he should know. Should have known before committing himself to join her, but fear begets regrets and there was nothing she could do about that now. Here, on the plane, trapped; she swallowed and looked down at their joined hands. "Rupert, there's something I haven't told you yet. Well, two things, really."
Giles felt his heart sink. Still, he squeezed her hand then softly ran his thumb over the skin. He signaled the stewardess for a drink. "Okay. It's okay."
Jenny waited until he had ordered his drink, again declining one of her own. She grew a little worried, as the memories of his reactions when that demon came back at him from his past filtered through her mind. She pulled back a little and let herself openly see him as best she could. He was different, yes. In a way, defeated, even though, with all the stories she heard, they had stood victorious at each end. He was not the sick desperate drunk that had so shocked her before. She pushed those worries aside and reminded herself she was out of place and time. Besides, there were plenty of other things to worry about. "When my people performed the resurrection spell, they bound my life to Buffy, Willow and Xander's. Finding you was probably about as much free will as I have."
"They bound you?" Giles was feeling ever more bound to them, himself. His own regrets, his actions at the end and what these brave young people had proved to him anyway; the thoughts kept cycling through his head and from the moment he understood what had happened, his course felt set. He didn't think that was what Jenny was describing though.
Jenny took a deep breath and kept her gaze forward as she quietly continued. "My life is suspended with theirs. I can not grow older or die until all three of them do. And I am tied to them somehow... I feel... well, let's just say I have to be where they are."
Giles remained in shocked silence and habitually sipped his drink. He tried to let her words form meaning. He remembered at Buffy's return, she seemed to want nothing more than to die again. "Do you think, maybe, they did this so you would... could kill them. To do so," he felt obliged to point out though it broke his heart, "would set you free."
Jenny closed her eyes and squeezed his hand tight. "Do you want them to die?"
Giles finished his drink and bowed his head. He promised himself he would have no more for the rest of the flight. There was too much to move towards to be drinking away the past. "No," he whispered. Then looked up, though not over. "God help me, but no. There's so much..." He swallowed and tried to continue. "I can't explain how much they showed me. I can't tell you how much I regret my own behavior. They don't deserve this. But my heart of all things is telling me they deserve that even less." He turned to Jenny and let a touch of pleading show in his eyes.
Jenny closed her eyes then opened them again into his gaze. "The second thing you should know is that I'm in love with you. Still, I guess I should say, since I fell in love with you before I died."
Giles nodded and smiled. He reached up to gently touch her face. "I love you, as well," he easily admitted. Too many times he had let those words go unsaid. These continued twists that marked his life finally rocked those words free. "What does this mean?"
Jenny kissed his palm. "That if their plan was I end their unlives so I could end my own, they blew it?"
Giles smiled relief and impulsively leaned forward and kissed her. "So we have a chance, then?"
Jenny laughed, relief flooding through her. "I didn't fly to Cleveland to make your life easier, now did I? You aren't the only one who wants a second chance. In many ways." Her face sobered as she felt the need to remind him of something. "I'm bound to them, though, remember?"
"I feel bound to them, myself," Giles gently pointed out. "We'll work it out." Giles wrapped his arm around her as she leaned into his side.
"I don't think the answer is that easy anyway," Jenny broke the comforting silence as more thoughts came to her mind. "If it were just that, they could have tried to kill them without going to the trouble of me. They said I had to make it 'right'. I don't see how that would make it anything but final."
"We'll work it out," Giles repeated. The plane would bring them to a Bellingham well into the night. His mind stuttered and stopped each time he tried to imagine what Buffy, Willow and Xander were doing now.
* * *
