181 Chapter EightAugust 5th, 1998 State Highway 5, north of San Juan CapistranoBuffy watched as the lights in the distance gradually receded; soon the car grew darkagain. She had barely spoken to Giles in the hour and a half they had been driving. She’d contented herself with looking out the window at the gradually darkening sky and letting herthoughts wander where they would. She realized vaguely that her behavior might seem rude to Giles, who had gone to the trouble of renting a car from this decade to come and get her. Likely because his old beater would never make the trip. Wrapped up in her own thoughts, Buffy failed to notice whether her quiet bothered Giles. “Some coffee?” Giles asked, shattering the silence. “Hmm?” Buffy responded, looking over at him. “There’s a rest stop ahead. I was just wondering if you wanted anything, or if you’d like to stop, or...” “Giles,” Buffy said. “L.A. to Sunnydale is less than three hours.” She paused. “When someone other than you is driving. I don’t need to stop that often.” “I didn’t ask you if you needed to stop,” Giles responded softly. “I asked you if you wanted to stop.” “Sounds like you do,” Buffy said. “I am thirsty,” he said. “We’ll stop and get some coffee and keep driving.” Buffy nodded. “Sounds like a plan.” Giles pulled in to the rest stop and parked; he and Buffy got out and headed into the rest stop building, a recent construct designed to mimic a mall food court but with less space. Buffy scoped the place out quickly and pointed. “Nathan’s.” Giles gave her a questioning look. “Shortest line,” Buffy said. “Right,” he nodded went to get two coffees. As Giles waited in line, Buffy people-watched, occasionally scanning to see if she could spot any vampires. Not much known for their long-distance driving, she mused as a young couple passed by, holding hands. She watched an old man shift all of his belongings from one bag to another; when he had completed this, he switched them all back again. Buffy wondered idly how someone like that was allowed to drive. Giles interrupted her thoughts by offering her a steaming c up of light brown coffee. She looked up at him. “Three sugars?” she asked. He tilted his head. “Three sugars. I haven’t forgotten.” He sipped at his black coffee. “Though how you can ingest something that sweet is beyond me.” “I like sweet,” Buffy said. She glanced around the food mall. “Can we go?” “Absolutely,” Giles said, ushering her toward the door and walking next to her to the car. He set his coffee on the roof and fished out his keys, letting them bo th in and starting the car. Buffy set her coffee in the cupholder and buckled her seat belt. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and said, “Okay, Giles.” Giles put his coffee next to hers. “Okay what?” he asked her as he backed out of the space. his entire document copyright [email protected]
Buffy watched as the lights in the distance gradually receded; soon the car grew dark again. She had barely spoken to Giles in the hour and a half they had been driving. She’dcontented herself with looking out the window at the gradually darkening sky and letting her thoughts wander where they would. She realized vaguely that her behavior might seem rude toGiles, who had gone to the trouble of renting a car from this decade to come and get her. Likelybecause his old beater would never make the trip. Wrapped up in her own thoughts, Buffy failedto notice whether her quiet bothered Giles.
“Some coffee?” Giles asked, shattering the silence.“Hmm?” Buffy responded, looking over at him.
“There’s a rest stop ahead. I was just wondering if you wanted anything, or if you’d liketo stop, or...”
“Giles,” Buffy said. “L.A. to Sunnydale is less than three hours.” She paused. “Whensomeone other than you is driving. I don’t need to stop that often.”
“I didn’t ask you if you needed to stop,” Giles responded softly. “I asked you if youwanted to stop.”
“Sounds like you do,” Buffy said.“I am thirsty,” he said. “We’ll stop and get some coffee and keep driving.”Buffy nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”Giles pulled in to the rest stop and parked; he and Buffy got out and headed into the rest
stop building, a recent construct designed to mimic a mall food court but with less space. Buffy
scoped the place out quickly and pointed. “Nathan’s.”Giles gave her a questioning look.“Shortest line,” Buffy said.“Right,” he nodded went to get two coffees.As Giles waited in line, Buffy people-watched, occasionally scanning to see if she could
spot any vampires. Not much known for their long-distance driving, she mused as a youngcouple passed by, holding hands. She watched an old man shift all of his belongings from one bag to another; when he had completed this, he switched them all back again. Buffy wonderedidly how someone like that was allowed to drive.
Giles interrupted her thoughts by offering her a steaming cup of light brown coffee.She looked up at him. “Three sugars?” she asked.He tilted his head. “Three sugars. I haven’t forgotten.” He sipped at his black coffee.
“Though how you can ingest something that sweet is beyond me.”“I like sweet,” Buffy said. She glanced around the food mall. “Can we go?”“Absolutely,” Giles said, ushering her toward the door and walking next to her to the car.
He set his coffee on the roof and fished out his keys, letting them both in and starting the car.Buffy set her coffee in the cupholder and buckled her seat belt. She brushed her hair out
of her eyes and said, “Okay, Giles.”Giles put his coffee next to hers. “Okay what?” he asked her as he backed out of the
“I know I’ve been the quiet queen over here,” Buffy admitted. “But there’s got to besomething you want to tell me.”
Giles maneuvered around the gas pumps and headed back on the highway. “I don’tfollow you.”
“Look,” Buffy said. “I know you, and I know Pike. He didn’t just call you because hewas bored, and you didn’t rent a car and drive all the way up to L.A. just to check out my tan.You guys are watcher-types. You watch things.” She took her coffee from the holder. “Andwhen you see something, that’s when you come to me with it.”
Giles frowned. “How do you know I’ve something to tell you?”“Giles, I’m sure you’re a closed book to most people. You were probably even counting
on the ‘she’s been gone two months’ thing to help you stall, right?”Giles raised an eyebrow. “You seem rather preoccupied. I was trying not to push
anything on you.”“But you’re dying to tell me something creepy, right?”Giles said, “Buffy, I know you just went through a rough ordeal. You apparently killed
Angel, you have just left people who obviously care about you, and you had a showdown lastnight with Spike. Even without all of the other things Pike told me, I’d say that’s quite a lot to
deal with.”Buffy shrugged. “So?”“So, I don’t want to add to that list of concerns just yet,” Giles told her. “We’re not in any
hurry.”Buffy sipped from her coffee--Giles had made it just right, a rarity for him -- and said,
“Giles, I can deal. Me Slayer, remember?” She gestured to her torso. “My shoulders can handlewhatever extra weight you want to put on them.”
“Buffy,” he said, “I don’t--”“Giles,” she warned him.Giles laughed to himself as he changed lanes to pass a slow-moving truck.“What?” Buffy asked.Giles glanced at her. “Did you know that I actually missed this, this bantering we do?
That as much as I like to get my way sometimes, and as often as I think I know better, and eventhough you do vex me sometimes... I did miss you, Buffy.” He sighed. “Rather badly.”
Buffy blinked. Woah. “Thanks, Giles. I mean that.”He nodded. “Yes, well... as a watcher I’m supposed to remain a little distant from the
Slayer.”Buffy furrowed her brows and took another sip of coffee. “Distant?”“Yes, you know... be your teacher, not break out of that role, not get too emotionally
attached, that sort of thing.”“Ah,” Buffy said. “Your professional obligation to be stuffy.”Giles gave her a look. “Something like that.”
“So?” Buffy asked.“So...” Giles said, moving the car back into the right hand lane. “So... well, Buffy, you
make that difficult.”“I do?” Buffy asked.“Yes,” he said. “Quite so.”Buffy smiled a little. “Would you call that charisma or charm?” she teased him.“I think I would call it just being Buffy. I’m sure Pike would agree with me.”
I think Rachel would agree with you more, Buffy thought, but she let it pass. “Are you jealous?” Buffy asked Giles.
“What?” he asked.“Of Pike. That he was playing watcher with me.”Giles furrowed his brows. “Why should I be jealous?”“Giles, come on. I’m your girl. Your Slayer. Tell me you were happy that I was out there
killing baddies with someone else watching over me.”“I’m extraordinarily pleased with what you were able to accomplish in two months,”
Giles told her.“But...” Buffy prodded him.Giles looked at her.He sighed. “But I’m even more pleased you’re coming home.”Buffy laughed.“What?” Giles asked her.Buffy shook her head. “You take more words to say, ‘I’m happy to see you,’ than anyone
else in the whole world, Giles.”“I thought I had said that,” he protested.
The Slayer smiled. “It’s good to see you too,” she murmured.Giles looked over at her, surprised.“What, just because I made some new friends, I’m not allowed to miss you...guys?”
Buffy asked.“Of course you’re allowed,” Giles said. “If you missed everyone, though, why didn’t you
call?”Buffy looked out the window. “It wasn’t that easy, Giles. I didn’t ever expect to see you
guys again. I left Sunnydale for good. I didn’t expect to come back. Ever.”Giles nodded, surprised.“But I found out some problems have a way of following you, no matter where you go.
And some you can’t get rid of no matter where you are.”“You seemed to have helped out Pike and the others a great deal, though.”Buffy nodded, slurping her coffee. “Sure, I solved all their problems. Well, most of them.
But I still have plenty of my own.”Giles glanced over at her. “If there’s anything I can do to help...” he offered.Buffy sipped on her coffee. “There is,” she said.Giles said, “And that would be?”She closed her eyes. “Tell me how everyone’s doing. What they did over the summer.”
She looked over at Giles. “Is my mom still mad at me? Is everybody mad because I left?”Giles said, “Buffy, everyone missed you. They’ll all be very surprised when you
suddenly appear tomorrow.”“You didn’t tell them you were coming to get me?” Buffy asked.“I wasn’t sure I was,” Giles said. “Pike told me you were getting... um, rather violent
with the vampires. We didn’t discuss your leaving L.A.”Buffy shook her head. “What?”Giles frowned. “Pike didn’t call me and say, ‘Please come get your Slayer, I can’t control
her,’ you know. He told me he needed help and that he was afraid you were going to make aserious mistake and get killed.”
“There’s some faith for you,” Buffy muttered.“He was concerned-- as was I. That’s why I came.” Giles said, “Although I did hope I
could persuade you to return to Sunnydale with me.”
“You really didn’t go to L.A. to drag me back home?”Giles looked over at her. “Buffy,” he said gently. “In the first part, I wouldn’t do that to
you. I had no clear idea why you left, and I had no business interfering with whatever your reasons were. You are, as you said, a big girl. And you can take care of yourself. Naturally Iwanted you to come home, but I would never presume to make that decision for you.”
He paused for a moment, and he added, “Besides, I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”Buffy raised both eyebrows. “Excuse me?”“Buffy, perhaps it has never occurred to you just how strong-willed you are. I have
learned in the two years that I have been your watcher that once your mind is truly set, it takesmore than me to change it.”
“So now I’m Miss Stubborn,” she said.“In the best possible way,” Giles told her. “Miss Determined is rather closer to the mark.”
He glanced at her again. “Since I already knew this, I saw no reason to come to L.A., even after Iknew how to find you. It would serve no purpose for me to try to drag you back to Sunnydale if you had no inclination to go.”
“So you would have left me in L.A.?” Buffy wondered.“As much as it would have pained me to, yes. You’re an adult, Buffy-- maybe not in the
eyes of the law, but in my eyes-- and as I said, that would have been your decision to make.”Buffy looked over at Giles and smiled. “I think you just gave me a really huge
compliment.”“Well, I was only speaking the truth,” Giles responded. “I--”“Giles,” Buffy said, interrupting him.“Yes?”“Let me dwell on the praise part of this, okay?”He nodded.They drove in silence for a while, each sipping their coffees, when at last Buffy asked
Giles, “Everybody’s okay, right?”Giles nodded. “More or less, yes.”“Which is it, Giles?” Buffy asked. “Less, or more?”Giles looked over at her. “It can wait until the morning. We can talk about other things
tonight, Buffy.”Buffy raised an eyebrow.“It doesn’t have to be all business, all the time,” he added.Buffy turned in her seat and said, “Who are you and what have you done with the real
Giles?”“Hmm?” he asked.“What happened to ‘all work and no play’ Giles?” Buffy asked him.Giles remained silent.“Well?” she prodded.He squirmed a little.
“What?” Buffy asked him.He opened his mouth, glanced at Buffy, and glanced away, closing his mouth.“Giles,” Buffy said, “you might as well tell me.”He frowned. “Very well. Your ‘all work and no play’ watcher has been training Xander
all summer, and if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that some time away from the job is goodfor the Slayer.”
Buffy smiled. “You’re training Xander?”Giles nodded.
“To be a back-up Slayer?”Giles nodded again.Buffy smiled wickedly. “This I have got to see.”
* Boca Del Infierno
(Sunnydale)
CLICK “What is this?” Xander asked.“Based on the funny clothes and short grass, I’d guess golf,” Willow replied.“Yeah, but look at the film, Will. It’s old. This is like, what, the thirties?”Willow peered at the screen. “Look at those sideburns! Gotta be the seventies.”Xander looked at Willow incredulously. “Someone is actually showing old golf games?
What, the new ones aren’t boring enough for you? Let’s show you old golf games you alreadyknow the ending to?”
CLICK “Well, you might not know the ending,” Willow said. “We wouldn’t.”“But who wants to wait around to find out?” Xander asked, his eyebrows furrowing to
make out whatever channel he had switched to.“Cartoons!” Willow said, smiling.“Not just any cartoons, Will. Look at those oversize eyes...”Willow laughed. “Japanese cartoons!”Suddenly, a figure in white raised his arms, and an ocean began to recede, splitting in half
neatly.
Willow and Xander stared at each other in horror. “Japanese Bible Cartoons!” they saidin stereo.
CLICK A plane roared overhead in a black and white newsreel. Troops in unfamiliar uniforms
scampered across a distinctly European looking landscape, complete with blown-out buildings.Light flashed as an anti-aircraft gun fired away.
“Willow Rosenberg, for the bonus round -- and the game -- on tonight’s Name ThatChannel, here are your clues...”
Willow dutifully closed her eyes.“Warfare... in black and white,” Xander said, watching the screen as the scene changed.“Big ugly tanks with stars on them,” he added. Willow nodded.“And...” he started as the view switched to a bunch of men standing around a table,
“Hitler!”“Oooh, that’s an easy one,” Willow said. “History Channel!”Xander clapped. “Willow Rosenberg, you’ve won a year’s supply of Turtle Wax, and a
set of encyclopedias.”Willow opened her eyes and mock-frowned. “I already have a set of encyclopedias. On
CD-Rom, even.”Xander shrugged. “Okay then, I make the next trip to the kitchen.” He held up her glass.
“Milk,” Willow said.Xander stood. “You are such a crazy cat,” he said to her. “A wild woman.”“Cookies too?” she asked, smiling up at him.“Oreos or Chips Ahoy?” he asked.Willow gave him the million dollar smile. “Surprise me.”Xander mock-saluted her, grabbed his glass as well, and scooted off down the stairs.“World War Two is boring,” Willow said. “It always ends the same way.”CLICK “Baseball.”CLICK “Baseball again.”CLICK “Soccer.”CLICK “Ooh,” Willow said, putting down the remote. David Duchovny typed quickly on a
keyboard, looking over his shoulder. Willow watched as two mysterious men started makingtheir way through a crowded computer exhibit.
“Look out, Mulder,” Willow warned him.Xander returned with a tray, bearing two glasses of milk and a bag of Chips Ahoy and a
bag of Oreos.“Your milk,” he said, handing Willow her glass.“What kinda cookies did you get?” she asked.Xander tilted his head. “You said to surprise you,” he said.“You brought both?” she asked, seeing the bags.“Surprise!” Xander said, smiling.“Xander,” she scolded him lightly.“No, it’s okay,” he said. “Your mom was already out of the kitchen.”She tried to frown at him but laughed as he took his seat on the floor by the foot of the
bed. “X-Files, huh?” he asked.Willow gazed at the back of his head, noting the way his hair had grown longer, and the
way it always fell wild in the back. How many years did we do this, and he never knew I was sneaking glances at him? Willow smiled to herself. He still wouldn’t know.
“I know this one,” Xander said. “This is a flashback. Scully’s not in this one. Much.”CLICK “Hey,” Xander said, turning around. “You didn’t have to change it.”Willow smiled at him. “Oh, no, I know what comes next. ‘Where’s Scully? If Scully was
here, she’d figure it out.’ And so on.”Xander looked hurt. “Will, I would never do that!”Willow chuckled. “You did that the last time we watched it.”“Except for the time I did that,” he said lamely.
“Engines at full power, captain,” a woman with a prosthetic forehead said. “We can’t break free.”
“Aye, Mr. Scott,” Xander intoned.“Wrong Star Trek ,” Willow teased him.“They’re all the same,” Xander shot back without looking. “All these incredible women,
and the captain always gets to sleep with them. Spock never gets any chicks.”Willow hit him on the head with a pillow.“Hey!”
“Xander, this captain is a woman.”“So, this is the nineties,” Xander said. “A woman captain could sleep with the babes.”Willow arched an eyebrow. “This is Star Trek , not the Playboy channel.”A particularly voluptuous woman in a sprayed-on shiny silver jumpsuit sauntered across
the screen.“Ya coulda fooled me,” Xander said.CLICK “Hey!” Xander said. “That was just getting interesting.”“Save it,” Willow told him. “You know the rules of surfing.”Xander nodded. “Yeah, yeah. If one of us hates it, out it goes.”Willow nodded. “Exactly.” She took a drink from her milk.“So,” Xander asked, “what about a video?”Willow put down her glass. “Remember when we used to do this all the time?”Xander smiled. “Yeah. Your mom would always wake us up the next morning with the
same line. ‘I don’t know what you kids are watching half the night that makes you giggle somuch...’”
Willow grinned. “I’m glad you came over tonight.”
Xander returned her grin. “Me too. I kinda missed this.”“You did?” Willow asked.“Well, not this exactly,” he said, gesturing to the TV, “although I did miss that. I mean
just hanging with you, Will. Just being laugh-till-you-fall-down pals.”Willow smiled. “Yeah.”“So,” Xander said, a little quickly. “Video?”Willow gave him a look. “Nothing with monsters. We have enough of those in our real
lives.”“Tell me about it,” he said. “You’re dating a werewolf.”Suddenly Xander stopped, aware that he had crossed some fragile line. Willow stared at
him for a second before she said, “And you’re dating a witch.”Xander looked at Willow for a long moment; but when her glare broke to reveal a smile
at first, and then laughter, he started laughing himself. Cordelia can be a witch, he told himself,laughing with Willow, not only because she was right, but because everything felt comfortableagain.
“Can I ask you something?” Xander queried.“Of course,” Willow said.“How’s everything goin’ with you and the Ozman? Haven’t seen him in a few days.”Willow shrugged. “He’s sensitive about the full moon,” she said. “Which ends tonight,
thank goodness.” She looked at Xander. “We’re doing fine, thank you. How are you and... youand...” Willow shuddered. “Cordelia doing?”
Xander shrugged. “Okay, I guess.”“Only okay?” Willow asked, a little eagerly.
Xander opened Willow’s closet door, revealing a rack of videos. “Yeah. She startedshopping for school clothes today.”
“But school is three weeks away!” Willow said.“You think I don’t know that?” Xander replied. “You think I didn’t try that line out on
her?”“And?” Willow asked.“No dice. She says she needs three weeks, minimum, to get ready for school.”Willow pouted. “Poor baby,” she said.
Xander turned to face her. “Will, you could show a little sympathy.”“I am,” she told him. Very little. He turned back to the videos.“Every relationship has its ups and downs,” Willow reminded him. “I can’t see Oz three
days out of the month.”“Believe me,” Xander said, selecting a video from Willow’s library, “there are a few days
a month when Cordelia is best avoided, too.”Willow laughed.“What?” Xander asked her.When she managed to get control of her laughter, Willow asked, “Remember when we
used to think the whole month was her time of the month?”Xander raised an eyebrow. “Whaddaya mean ‘used to think?’” he asked, grinning.Willow started laughing so hard that she fell down on the bed.Xander sat down on the bed next to her, tickling her stomach. Willow doubled over and
turned away from him, but her laughter increased. At last Xander stopped, laughing himself as hesaw Willow squirm on the bed in joy. At last she rolled over, checking tentatively to make surehe wasn’t waiting to strike again. When she saw she was safe, she turned back to face him.
“Can I ask you something?” she asked him, echoing his earlier question.Xander nodded. “Shoot.”“Did you really mean what you said that night you came over here with the creepy
woman?”Xander looked confused. “Will, there’s no need to get harsh on Cordy. I mean--”Willow smiled. “No, silly, not Cordelia. The creepy “We want you Willow!” vampire
woman at the window. You slept on the couch?”Recognition dawned on Xander’s face. “Right. Remind me again what I said.”“You said we would always be friends no matter what, even if we were a hundred and
married to other people.”Xander nodded. “And I meant every word.”“Good,” Willow said.Xander furrowed his brows. “Was there some reason to doubt this friendship thing?” he
asked Willow.“Not right now,” Willow told him. “But you never know-- especially living here, on the
Hellmouth and all-- things change so fast, and you never really know--”“Cordelia being my girlfriend is really wigging you out, huh?”Willow grimaced. “Sorta.”“Will, you have a boyfriend too, you know. And I’m not wigged.”She gave him a look.“Okay, I’m a little wigged, okay? But not majorly wigged.”“But we never had a ‘We hate Oz’ club,” she reminded him. “We did have a ‘We hate
Cordelia’ club.”
“Which Jesse never joined, because--”Xander looked up. “Oh, man.”Willow nodded. “Things change, Xander. Really fast. Even the ones that shouldn’t.”He took her hand and smiled. “Yeah, well, this me and you against the world thing, Will -
- that’s never gonna change. Ever. That’s one you can count on.”Willow smiled shyly. “I’ve always counted on you, Xander.”Xander raised an eyebrow. “Really?”Willow nodded.
“You know, Willow,” he said, handing her a cookie, “you really are the best.”She just smiled and ate the cookie.
*
Joyce turned the key to the gallery door and locked it, closing the place down for thenight. She sighed as the key got caught; the lock had been doing that lately. Well, with the money I’ve made from Stark’s collection, I can afford a new lock. She jiggled the key free and turned togo to her car; she gasped in surprise as Raymond Stark stood not five feet away from her.
“I’m terribly sorry, Joyce. Did I startle you?”Joyce put a hand to her chest. “Raymond!” she said. “A little, yes.”He smiled. “Please accept my apologies. And I am sorry to drop in on you unannounced
like this. But Melanie has told me the collection is doing rather well.” He gestured to the shop. “Iwas hoping I might have a look and see what sold.”
Joyce nodded. “If you like.”Stark raised a hand. “If it’s no trouble,” he added. “I’m sorry, you were heading out,
weren’t you? Closing up for the night?”“Well...” Joyce trailed off. “I was, but a quick look around would be all right, I suppose.”“I do appreciate this,” he said. “I tried to get here during gallery hours, but business has
been so hectic lately. Today was no exception, I’m afraid.”Joyce unlocked the door. “What exactly do you do for a living?” Joyce asked him.Stark smiled pleasantly. “You’d laugh if I told you.”Joyce opened the door and flicked on the lights. “Try me.”“I’m a motivational speaker,” he said, entering the gallery behind her.“Really?” Joyce asked him. “You must be a very good one.”Stark nodded. “I can be very persuasive when it’s necessary,” he told her.“So I’ve noticed,” she replied.Stark took her hand and kissed it gently. “Nothing gets by you, Joyce.”Joyce felt herself blushing. What is it about this man? I can’t believe we suspected he
might be a vampire.“So,” Stark said. “What exactly has sold?”“I can get an inventory list, if you like,” she said.Stark graced her with his best smile. “If it’s not too much trouble.”“Just a moment,” Joyce said, entering her office.Stark gave the place a glance. Horde axe gone. Roman helmet gone. Iceni shield gone.
Gilgamesh’s helmet, still here. Sumerian sacrificial dagger, gone. Philistine breastplate, gone.His brown eyes skimmed over the remaining items-- a shield here, a piece of armor there-- andcame to rest on the chakram. And then there’s you.
Joyce returned from her office with a sheet of paper. “I printed this out before I closed
up,” she said.Stark turned to her and asked, “Has anyone inquired about the disk?”“The chakram?” Joyce asked.Stark’s head whipped around to face her. “How do you know its name?”Joyce smiled. “You must have mentioned it,” she said.“Never,” he said, and his eyes changed from their normal brown to a horrible fetid
yellow. A thin line of red ringed the outer edge of yellow. “Who spoke the name chakram?” heasked.
Joyce stood still as if held by an outside force. “Giles,” she said in a monotone.“This is the same ‘Giles’ Melanie has told me about, yes?” Stark asked. “How do you
know him?”“He is a teacher at my daughter’s school,” Joyce responded. “A librarian.”“He is tall? Well built?”“Not especially,” Joyce said, staring straight ahead. “He is handsome.”Stark frowned and queried, “Where can I find this ‘Giles’?”“Sunnydale High School.”“At night,” Stark snapped. “His home.”“Capeside Apartments, 12A,” Joyce provided.“You’re sure this is the same man who has questioned Melanie?” Stark asked.“Positive,” Joyce replied.Stark shook his head. “It’s not him. Still, we should check.” He turned to Joyce and
moved close to her. “Whenever anyone asks about the chakram, you are to call Melanie, do youunderstand? As soon as they are gone, you call her, without fail. And you will tell no one else of this.”
“I understand,” Joyce said.
Stark put his hand on the sheet of paper that Joyce held and flicked his eyes back tonormal. “Are you all right?” he asked.
Joyce blinked. “What just happened?” she asked.“You were talking about the long hours you put in, and you got dizzy,” Stark told her. “I
do apologize for coming so late.”“Nonsense,” Joyce said, rubbing her forehead. ”It’s no problem.”“Well,” Stark said. “I won’t keep you any longer.” He held up the sheet. “Thank you for
this.”Joyce nodded. “You’re welcome.”“Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked her. “You don’t need a ride home or anything?”Joyce said, “I’m fine, really. Thanks for your concern. Just working late a lot, that’s all.”“Well, then, rest is the best thing for you, then, isn’t it?”She nodded. “I guess so,” she agreed.“Well, thanks again, and good night, Joyce.” He left.Joyce looked around the gallery for a moment and shrugged. “Good night,” she said to no
one as she turned out the light and locked up again.That was strange, she thought.Inside, the nine stones on the chakram glowed faintly very briefly before dimming again.
*
“Tell me about this Giles,” Stark said.“The librarian?” Melanie asked, all trace of her accent gone.Stark nodded as the limousine turned the corner.“How can he know of the chakram?” Melanie queried. “We’ve destroyed all links to that
knowledge.”Stark folded his hands. “Apparently not.”Melanie’s blue eyes stared at Stark. “I did what I set out to do. There is no way for
You would think, Melanie considered as her thick boot heel smashed the window pane,that they would have better security at the school. Especially this school, that is practically built right atop the Hellmouth. She reached in, avoiding the shards of glass, and unlocked the window.It opened easily, and Melanie moved her long, lean frame inside. The library lay in darkness, andshe left the window open in case someone, or someones, waited for her.
There was supposed to be a Slayer in this city, Melanie thought, making her way aroundthe rear of the stacks, glancing at the books there. History books, she noted, running long fingersalong the spines. Once I would have been content to read this stuff for days on end. Before I found a higher purpose. She turned the corner and followed history as it blended into literature; aquick glance told her that literature took up the rest of this shelving unit. She turned around onone heel and checked the books on that side. Science, math... boring things no one will ever useafter they leave this building.
After checking the outside of the second set of shelves to make sure they held nothing of importance, Melanie moved to the other side of the upper area to check the other stacks. Civics,
political science, government... She stifled a yawn and moved around to the other side, notingwith disdain that the section continued. I would hate to go to school here, she thought. Must bereally dull. The last unit of shelves contained mostly biography, and a very few books onanthropology.
“That was a waste,” Melanie said, hopping lightly over the rail and landing next to themain table. She moved to the computer and flicked it on, crossing her arms while she waited for it to boot up. To her surprise, it came up quickly. Probably nothing here, she told herself, but I intend to be thorough.
A row of icons flashed quickly in succession across the bottom of the screen, and then a pretty picture of a pile of fall leaves appeared. Melanie raised an eyebrow as the desktop cameup; she double-clicked on the hard drive, named, appropriately enough, “Library”, andinvestigated the contents of the computer.
The database seemed to be mostly a glorified card catalog; though a great deal of other software had been loaded in, the computer desktop held very few files of any sort not related tolibrary work, and nothing that looked suspicious to her. If there’s anything on here, it’s hidden. I could search this thing for hours and not find anything, she thought. Or I can let it do the looking for me.
She clicked on the FIND icon and typed CHAKRAM. NO ITEMS WERE FOUND the computer told her. All right, she thought. SCROLLS. NO ITEMS WERE FOUND.“So they’re less obvious,” she muttered. COVINGTON.ITEMS FOUND: 1. DIARY OF JANICE COVINGTON, VOLUME 1. COMPLETED 1949.
Melanie frowned as she selected the file and opened it.“Diary of Miss Janice Covington, recovered from collection of Arthur Lindley, on loan
from Donald Merrick. Volume 1 of ?, completed April, 1949,” she read aloud.Melanie closed her eyes a moment. Dammit, dammit, dammit.She glanced at the screen again.“Logged 6/9/98. WR.”WR? Melanie wondered. Giles doesn’t work alone?She snapped her fingers. Willow Rosenberg. I knew she’d be involved somehow.
She clicked back to the main screen. “I wonder...” she said, a feeling of concern comingover her.
She hit the FIND icon again and typed VAMPIRE.137 ITEMS FOUND.“Son of a bitch,” Melanie swore, slamming a fist down on the table.She stood up straight and pulled a cell phone from her front pocket. She dialed quickly.“This had better be important,” a voice on the other end said.“Sire, it’s me,” Melanie said.“This had still better be important.”Melanie took a deep breath and said, “Giles is a watcher.”Silence for a few moments.“Are you sure?”Melanie nodded. “I’m positive. He also has possession of Janice Covington’s diary. At
least one of them.”“That wasn’t destroyed?”“Merrick had it,” Melanie said. “Apparently Giles took possession of it two months ago.”“Son of a bitch.”
Melanie nodded. “That’s what I said.”“Find it and destroy it.”“Yes, sire,” Melanie said. “He also has an extensive collection of vampire lore.”“You know what to do.”“I wish we could enter his apartment,” she hissed. “Who knows what he has there?”A pause. “I think it is time Melanie Stark goes on a date with Rupert Giles, don’t you?
You can arrange that with the gallery woman, Joyce.”“I should be able to,” Melanie replied.“Good. I’ll let you go. You have a lot of work to do.”Melanie nodded as the phone hung up. She slid her phone back into her pocket and
headed toward Giles’ office. Her long legs carried her across the floor quickly; but as she movedto enter the room, she felt a barrier snap across the doorway and stop her. She pressed against it, but it would not let her in. Melanie looked up; a cross hung over the doorway, a small one, but ithad obviously been blessed with a powerful warding spell.
“Smart son of a bitch,” she muttered.She turned and looked at the cage, and the storage area inside. She walked to that wire
door and prepared to open it when she felt the same type of barrier snap into place. She sworeunder her breath and turned around to face the room, angry.
“I do not like being told, ‘no’,” she hissed, and grabbed a nearby chair. She picked it upand hurled it into the stacks with a loud crash. She grabbed a second chair and threw it behindthe front desk, smashing a vase and spilling water and flowers all over the floor. The third chair ended up in the upper stacks; the fourth one she hurled at the main doors, leaving a gash in thewood.
“Damned clever humans,” she growled, throwing the last chair straight up in the air andmoving away from it as it crashed and broke into pieces. “Always have to be so damn thorough!”
Her hunting face overcame her, and she grabbed the chair behind the main desk andthrew it across the room, clanging it off the cage. “Like it will make any difference when we’redone!”
She leapt up on the main desk and kicked the telephone, sending it spinning across theroom. She leapt from the counter to the table, landing near the computer. She reached down tograb the computer and stopped, an evil grin coming over her face.
Joyce polished off her wine and sat in the almost-darkness for some time, neither thinking nor saying anything, just drifting back and forth between sleep and waking, when a loudthump jolted her into alertness.
What was that? she asked herself.It thumped again.“The front door?” Joyce wondered, turning on a lamp. At twelve-thirty at night?Joyce stood up, moving slowly toward the door. Probably a prank. Or the wrong house.
No one ever comes this late.Another series of thumps convinced Joyce that whoever had started this intended to finish
it. She moved to the door and prepared to open it when the thought hit her, What if it’s avampire? Come looking for Buffy, or...?
She flicked on the light, wincing at the brightness, and looked through the window at thetop of the door; she could see Rupert Giles standing in the darkness. Rupert? Why didn’t he just call? Must be important.
Joyce opened the door. “Rupert, I’m sorry I--” She stopped as she saw, standing in frontof the librarian, Buffy.
“Hi, mom,” Buffy said.
Joyce reached down and grabbed her daughter, lifting her off her feet in an embrace sofierce Buffy half wondered if she wasn’t the only one in the family with Slayer-enhancedstrength.
“I missed you too,” Buffy managed to gasp aloud as Joyce held her.Joyce set Buffy down and looked at her daughter, saying nothing.“I’ll leave you two,” Giles said.“Rupert,” Joyce spoke at last. “Thank you for this.”Giles smiled slightly. “You’re quite welcome, Joyce. But it was Buffy’s decision to come
home.” He nodded. “Good night.”“G’night, Giles,” Buffy said.Giles gave her a small wave as he headed off back to his car.Buffy turned to look at her mother. “You wanna go inside?”Joyce blinked back tears. “Buffy,” she said softly.“Mom?”“Was what he said the truth? That you chose to come home?”Buffy nodded. “Yep.”Joyce hugged her again. “I missed you so much,” she said. “More than you would
believe.”Buffy shut her eyes as she grabbed her mother tightly. “I doubt that, mom. I’d believe it.”Joyce broke off the embrace. “Let’s go inside,’ she said. Buffy grabbed her backpack and
followed her mother in.“So,” Joyce said as they sat down, “what made you decide to leave L.A. and return
here?”
Buffy frowned slightly. “You knew I was in L.A.?”Joyce nodded. “Rupert kept me updated on his search for you.”Buffy looked away. “Mom, look, I’m sorry I--”Joyce held up a hand. “No,” she said.“No, what?” Buffy asked.“Don’t apologize, Buffy,” Joyce said. “Just tell me why you left.”Buffy looked down. “It’s kinda hard to explain, mom.”Joyce sat back on the couch. “Try me,” she said.
“Well,” Buffy said, “you threw me out, Principal Snyder expelled me, and I had to killmy ex-boyfriend to save the world. Oh, after he had terrorized my friends, put Willow in thehospital, broke Xander’s arm, and tortured Giles.” She met Joyce’s eyes. “I just figured everyonewould be better off without me around.” She looked away. “That, and I had to sort some stuff out.”
“Buffy,” Joyce said, and her daughter looked at her again.“Don’t you ever make the mistake again of thinking I would be better off without you.
Ever.”Buffy furrowed her brow. “Mom, you threw me out! You told me not to come back!”Joyce closed her eyes. “And I’m sorry about that.”Buffy leaned forward. “I didn’t know that! I thought you didn’t want to see me again.”“I was angry, Buffy. You dumped a lot on me and asked me to accept it on faith.” She
shook her head. “You try dealing with finding out your daughter is Superman.”“Mom, I don’t fly,” Buffy said.Joyce looked at her.“Well, yet, anyway,” Buffy added.Joyce smiled. “Just don’t ever think I don’t want to see you again, Buffy. That will never
be true, no matter how mad I get. You’re the most important thing in the world to me.”Buffy asked, “Really?”Joyce nodded. “Really. Honestly. Couldn’t mean it more.”Buffy smiled. “Thanks, mom.”Joyce said, “So, aside from your mother throwing you out of the house-- which, again,
she’s sorry for-- and the school issue-- which I knew about, because they sent me a letter-- whatelse did you have to work out?”
Buffy looked a little embarrassed. “Let’s just say it was a rough final break-up withAngel.”
“You killed Angel?” Joyce asked.Buffy looked ill. “I’m still not really happy about it.”“But didn’t you tell me he killed Ms. Calendar?”“That wasn’t Angel,” Buffy said. “Well, it was Angel, but it was really Angelus.”“He was schizophrenic?” Joyce asked.“In the majorest of ways,” Buffy said. “Except he really was two different people.”Joyce shook her head. “I don’t understand.”“Trust me mom, I was there through all of it, and even I don’t understand the whole
thing.” Buffy shook her head. “Even though I knew I had to do it, it still wasn’t easy.”“So you... slayed him?” Joyce asked.“Could we not talk about this?” Buffy asked her mother. “Could we talk about, like,
anything else?’“I’m just trying to understand,” Joyce said. “I don’t want to delve into anything you don’t
want to.”
Buffy nodded. “Thanks.”“So what did you do in L.A. for two months?” Joyce asked. “Besides get a great tan.”
Joyce looked at her, one eyebrow raised.“I... killed a lot of vampires.”“I thought you said you wanted to get away from that,” Joyce wondered.“I did!” Buffy said. “Just didn’t work out that way.”“They came after you?” Joyce asked, concern in her voice.“Not exactly,” Buffy replied.
Joyce frowned. “You went after them?”Buffy shrugged. “Not exactly.”“Well?”Buffy spoke, “You remember Pike, right?”Joyce shook her head. “No.”Buffy said, “Oh, yeah. I never introduced him to you.”“Oh wait,” Joyce said. “Was he that vampire with the white hair?”Buffy chuckled. “That was Spike, mom. Totally different guy. Thank God.”“So who’s this Pike?” Joyce asked.“Pike was this guy I met when I was going to Hemery-- when we lived in L.A.-- and he--
”“Buffy,” Joyce interrupted.“Mom?”Joyce smiled. “It is good to have you back. I missed you more than I thought it was
possible to miss someone.”Buffy got up and hugged her mother. “Thanks, mom, I missed you too.”Joyce curled up her legs on the couch and put an arm around Buffy’s shoulders.
“Now tell me all about this Pike guy you met.”“Mom, he’s not a guy in that sense. He’s just a guy. He’s got a girlfriend, and...”Buffy continued talking at a rapid pace, starting to sketch out the story of what had
happened to her over the summer. But Joyce merely looked at her daughter and thought, I love you so much, Buffy. Don’t ever leave me again. Ever.
*
“You should have seen it,” Willow said, laughing, putting her hand on Oz’s shoulder.“When I realized what I had done...” she trailed off because she had started laughing too hard tocontinue.
Oz looked at Xander and raised an eyebrow.“I’m guessing it was one of those ‘hadda be there’ moments.”Oz nodded. “I’m not even sure I’m here.”Xander looked at the main entrance to the school. “I know what you mean. We have seen
way too much of this place over the summer.”Oz shrugged. “I’m thinkin’ I’m gonna be seeing a lot more of it this fall.”Willow, recovering from her bout of laughter, asked Oz, “What do you mean?”As Oz was about to reply, a red corvette screeched around the corner and parked directly
in front of the school.“Isn’t that Cordelia’s car?” Oz asked.Xander brightened. “Sure is.”
Willow frowned slightly as Xander jumped up and went to meet Cordelia.Oz muttered under his breath, “Nice timing.”“What’s she doing here?” Willow asked.Oz turned to face her. “She’s not allowed to be here?”Willow shrugged. “I’m just surprised she can take time out from her busy ‘I have to shop
for three weeks for school clothes’ agenda, that’s all.”Oz raised both eyebrows at Willow’s tone. Mee-oww! he thought. “I’m gonna go out on
a limb here and suggest you aren’t happy that Miss Chase has shown up today.”
Willow looked at Oz, and her expression softened. “It’s just that the three of us get alongso well without her. Why does she always have to show up?”
Oz squinted as he looked back at Xander and Cordelia, who were entwined around oneanother and kissing with enthusiasm. He turned back to face Willow. “I’m guessing it’s her uncontrollable physical fascination with Xander.” Oz jerked a thumb at the two. “Would yourather be like that?”
Willow looked at him in confusion. “Huh?”“We can be surgically attached at the lips too, if you think that would help.” Oz
shrugged. “It’d make eating more difficult, but they have IV’s for that.”Willow smiled. “No, I like the amount of kissing we do just fine. We don’t overdo it...
like someone else.”“No such concept,” Oz replied.“What?” Willow asked.“I couldn’t possibly get to kiss you enough. No such concept.”Willow smiled. “But don’t you think it’s better the way we do it? You know, save it up a
little so that when we do kiss, it’s like, ‘Wham!’ fireworks.”Oz gave her a lopsided grin. “You too, huh?”
“Oh, yeah,” Willow agreed. “And when you put your hands--”“What are you kids doing here?” a voice sounded out from the doorway.Willow fought the urge to blush and turned to face Principal Snyder. “Good morning,
Principal Snyder,” she said.“Well?” Snyder demanded.“We’re waiting for Mr. Giles,” Willow provided.“Harris! Chase!” Snyder called out, ignoring Willow. The two lovebirds stopped kissing
to face him.“That’s enough of that on school property.”Xander took Cordelia’s hand and they walked toward the main door.Snyder turned his attention to Willow. “Now, why are you here again?”“Waiting for Mr. Giles,” Oz repeated.“That makes two of us,” Snyder said. He frowned at the students. “Speaking of which,
where were all of you last night?”“Home,” Oz provided.“Willow’s,” Xander said.“Home,” Willow and Cordelia said at the same time.“I take it you have someone who can verify this?”Xander asked, “Why would anyone care where we were last night?”Snyder crooked a finger. “I’ll show you. Come on, all four of you. Follow me.”Snyder led them down the hall, walking briskly. “Actually, it’s convenient-- one might
say, suspiciously so-- that you four are here. Considering that except for Giles, you spend themost time in this area.”
He led them around the corner in the direction of the library. The doors had been thrownopen, and the students could see the wreckage inside.
“What the...” Xander wondered.“Oh my God,” Cordelia said.Oz frowned. “Someone really threw a temper tantrum in there.”Snyder nodded. “And I have a good idea who,” he said. He folded his arms as if the
answer was evident and stared at them.“And that would be?” Xander asked.
Snyder snorted. “Isn’t it obvious? The missing little link to your delinquent chain. BuffySummers.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Willow said. “She’s not even in town.”“And even if she was, Buffy wouldn’t trash the library,” Xander added.“You people,” Snyder said. “Always sticking up for one of your own, no matter how
misguided or pathetic they are.” He began to continue when Cordelia took a step toward him.“Just who are you calling pathetic?” she asked him. “Just because you’ve been losing
your hair since you were in grade school, don’t take it out on us. Not only don’t you have any proof that any of us-- or anyone we even know-- did this, you don’t even have good reason tosuspect us! Except that you suspect everyone of everything.” Cordelia clenched her fists. “Whywould we trash the one place we like to hang out in, sorry as that may be?”
Snyder blinked. “I can see hanging out with these malcontents has had a detrimentaleffect on you, Miss Chase.”
“Hey!” Cordelia retorted. “At least I can choose who I hang out with.”Snyder glared at her. “I don’t like your attitude.”Willow said, “There’s a surprise.”Snyder turned to stare at her. “What was that?”
“You don’t like anyone’s attitude,” Willow said.Snyder raised a finger and pointed it at Willow. “Now you listen to me, Rosenberg. Just
because you’re getting good grades doesn’t mean I don’t have my eye on you. You think Ihaven’t noticed--”
“Good lord!” Giles said from down the hallway, cutting Snyder off.“Giles!” the principal turned. “It’s about time you got here.”“I came as soon as I heard,” Giles said. “I apologize for not getting here sooner. I had a
very... late night.” Giles looked at the library. “What happened?”“Ask your friends,” Snyder said.“Oh, really, Mr. Snyder,” Giles snapped at him. “Do you think these students would harm
the one place in the whole school where they feel comfortable?” Giles turned to look down athim. “Such an accusation belies an inherent lack of understanding of the teen psyche. A seriousshortcoming in a high school principle, I should think.”
Snyder looked up at Giles. “Then who do you think did it?”Giles gave Snyder a very unpleasant look. “If you will allow me-- and them-- to
investigate, I may be able to provide you with some clues.”Snyder nodded. “All right. But only because the custodial staff doesn’t come in until next
week. But I’ll be keeping my eye on you Giles-- and on all of your little friends.”Giles gave him a smile completely devoid of humor. “I would expect no less of you, Mr.
Snyder. Good day.” Giles turned and headed toward the library. The four students followed himquickly, leaving Snyder to watch them as they headed off.
“I don’t like him,” Snyder said before he turned and headed back toward his office.Giles stepped inside the entrance of the library and frowned. “This was deliberate,” he
sighed.“It would be kind of hard to have an accident like this,” Willow offered.“Boy, they really did a number,” Cordelia said.Xander spoke up. “They didn’t get in the cage. Look.” He pointed at the dent in the metal
wire. “And they were plenty pissed about it, too.”Oz looked around. “Somebody has a major grief with chairs.”“Giles, look!” Willow said, standing near the computer. Giles came to look at the screen,
VAMPIRE. 137 ITEMS FOUND.“Now we know who,” Willow said.Oz peeked over Willow’s shoulder and let out a low whistle.Giles took off his glasses. “Yes, we do.”Xander and Cordelia came up. “Wow, they were checkin’ up on us,” Xander announced.“That’s bad, isn’t it?” Cordelia asked.“Very,” Giles said. “I wasn’t expecting this to happen so soon,” he added.“You were expecting this at all?” Oz wondered.“Giles,” Xander asked. “You wanna clue the rest of us in?”“Of course,” Giles said. “But not here, and not now. This place isn’t safe.”Willow looked around. “Not safe?” she asked.Giles said, “Well, not safe enough.”“Not safe enough?” Cordelia echoed. “That doesn’t sound encouraging. What’s safe
enough? ”Giles asked Oz, “Did you drive here?”Oz nodded. “Natch.”Giles said, “Good. Cordelia, Oz, take Xander and Willow over to my apartment.
Whoever did this left us a message on purpose. There are things I need to share with you, butthat is best done away from here.”
Oz nodded; Cordelia said, “Fine, we’ll follow you over.”Giles adjusted his glasses. “Actually, I need to make a stop on the way home.” He looked
at Cordelia. “Meet me over there, alright?”Cordelia glanced at Xander. “Okay...”“Good,” Giles said. “Oh, and Willow, bring your portable computer, will you? I’m afraid
we may be leaning on it for a while.”“Sure, Giles,” she said.“And all of you... don’t tell anyone where you’re going.” He turned and left.Cordelia blinked. “This is wigging him out more than I would have thought.”“I don’t think it’s just the mess, Cordy,” Xander said.“It’s not,” Willow said. “He knows something. This means something to him that we
don’t understand yet.”“There’s a switch,” Oz muttered. He turned to Willow. “Shall we?”Willow nodded. “Yes.”
*
Xander, Cordelia, Willow and Oz had gathered around Giles’ door, waiting inuncomfortable silence as the Citroen pulled up, clanking and complaining. Giles got out of thecar and reached in and grabbed a backpack.
“Who’s that with him?” Oz asked.“Where?” Willow inquired.A petite blond stepped out of the passenger’s side, glanced at them briefly, then looked
away. She started to get back into the car but Giles said something to her. She reluctantly got outand closed the door. She took off her sunglasses and looked again in the direction of the gang.
“I don’t believe it,” Cordelia said.“Oh my God!” Xander exclaimed.Willow turned to Oz. “Pinch me.”
Oz raised an eyebrow. “What?”“Pinch me!” Willow said through clenched teeth. Oz complied.“Ow!” Willow said. “Not so hard.”“Sorry,” Oz said. “But I guess that means you’re awake.”“No, this must be a dream,” Willow said.Giles walked up to them. “I believe there is someone who has something to say to you.
And what I have to tell you concerns her too.” He walked between them and opened the door.“Buffy,” Xander said.She nodded. “Hey.”“Buffy,” Cordelia said. “You’re so tan! You look great!”“Thanks, Cordelia. So do you.”Oz offered a hand. “Good to see you again. And in one piece.”Buffy gave him a slight smile as she shook his hand. “Oz.”She turned to Willow. “Will,” she said.Willow remained silent.“Will?”Willow merely stared at her.
“Willow, I...”Willow cut her off. “You could have left me a note. Or called.”Buffy bowed her head. “I know, Will. I’m sorry.” She looked up. “I’m sorry to all of you.
But it had to be that way.”“We care about you,” Willow said. “Don’t shut us out.”“I won’t,” Buffy said. “Not again.”“Inside?” Giles prompted. “Please.”Willow turned to Giles. “Just a minute, Giles,” she said. Then she faced Buffy.“Promise me.”Buffy felt a jolt go through her. “What?”“Promise me you won’t leave us again like that.”Buffy closed her eyes. “Willow, could we skip this? I’m not good with promises right
now.”Willow folded her arms. “I don’t want to work with you if I can’t trust you not to leave.”Buffy opened her eyes. “I did it for you. For all of you. So you’d be safe. So you could
have a life-- like the lives you had before I came here.”“We don’t want lives without you,” Xander said. “Even if that means bringin’ on the
vampires. We’ll take that if it means we get to have you in our lives, Buff.”“Xander,” Buffy said, but she felt wetness welling up in her eyes.“He’s right,” Willow said. “The worst thing you could do to us is leave, Buffy. You can
put us in danger. We can handle that. We have before and we will again. But you can’t leave us,not again, not ever.”
Buffy took a deep breath and wiped a tear away from her cheek. “I don’t deserve this
loyalty.”“Not right this second, no,” Willow said. “But you’ll earn it back, I promise.”“You guys,” Buffy said, looking at all of them.“Please,” Giles prompted from behind them. “Let’s continue this inside.”“I promise,” Buffy said. “You have my word, guys. The Slayer is here to stay. No more
leaving town suddenly.”Willow stepped forward and grabbed Buffy, hugging her. Xander came up next to them
and threw his arms around both of them. “Welcome back, Buffy,” he said.
“I missed you guys,” she told them.“And we missed you,” Willow mumbled. “Don’t go away again, Buffy.”“I won’t,” she said. “I won’t.”Cordelia looked at Oz, who returned her glance. Both of them shrugged and joined the
group hug.Giles folded his arms. “Yes, well, when you’re ready...”Some time passed before Oz and Cordelia peeled away and came inside. Giles had to
come out onto the front step and guide the other three inside and shut the door behind them. Hewent in and put on a kettle of hot water and grabbed a bag of cookies that Willow had suggestedhe keep in the house for when the gang came over.
He glanced outside the kitchen and noticed that Xander and Willow still held Buffy. I missed her too, he thought, getting the tea cups ready. But you haven’t been seventeen in a long time, Rupert, he told himself. Give them all the
time they need. Giles brought out the tea and cookies and went back for six mugs. Even when allof that had been brought out, Buffy, Xander, and Willow were still locked together in anembrace.
“Wow,” Cordelia said, taking a cookie.
“Yeah,” Oz agreed. He poured himself some tea. “I don’t think I’d get a reception likethat from Willow if I left, even if I was gone two months.”
Cordelia pouted. “Well, the next time I go away, I’m gonna remember this, I can assureyou.” She pointed at the group hug with her pinkie. “I better get that level of attention fromXander if I go away for a weekend .”
Oz said, “You know, Cordelia, all things considered, I think you’re handling this reallywell.”
Cordelia arched an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”Oz tilted his head. “It’s not every day Xander holds two women in his arms for ten
minutes. I woulda thought you’d be a little jealous. But you’re cool as a cucumber.”Cordelia finished off her cookie. “What, this? This I can deal with.” Cordelia leaned over
toward Oz and said in a low tone, “He better have his head in the right place tonight, though. Idon’t want to hear about Buffy tonight at all.”
Oz raised an eyebrow. “What’s tonight?” he asked, taking three cookies from the bag.Cordelia sat back, looking self-satisfied. “Never you mind.”Oz nodded.Xander and Willow at last tore themselves away from Buffy and sat down next to their
respective partners. That made the couch a little crowded, but none of the teens seemed to mind.Buffy sat in an easy chair, and Giles pulled in a chair from the dining room for himself.
“Is everyone settled in, then?” Giles asked.They all nodded.Giles withdrew a slim leather book from his jacket pocket and placed it on the table next
to the tea service tray.
“What’s that?” Willow asked.“A book,” Xander said.Giles gave him a dark look and said, “That book is Janice Covington’s second, and final,
journal.”“That’s the woman Buffy’s mother had a dream about, right?” Cordelia asked.Buffy frowned. “My mom had a dream about what?”Giles hand up a hand. “I’ll explain everything, Buffy.” He turned to Cordelia. “That’s
correct, Cordelia. Ms. Summers had a dream that she was on an ill-fated expedition with Janice
Covington, who wrote that book. She was able to recount details she couldn’t possibly haveknown. It was more of a vision than a dream, really,” Giles added.
“So what does that have to do with that book?” Buffy asked, gesturing at the slim volumeon the table.
Giles sighed. “Everything, I’m afraid.”He poured himself some tea.“In 1949, Janice Covington made a journey that I believe was to have profound impact
on...” Giles trailed off. “Well, on the entire world, actually.” He stirred his tea.“The chakram-- which now sits in your mother’s gallery,” Giles explained to Buffy, “is
an artifact whose origins are lost to us. Janice only tells its story in bits and pieces in her journal.She constantly refers to a series of scrolls that were written long ago, and she alludes that thosescrolls tell much more.”
Giles adjusted his glasses. “In 1940 Janice Covington and two associates, MelindaPappas and Jack Kleinmann, found the chakram. For reasons not clearly elaborated in her journal, Janice chose to bury the chakram again; she mentioned briefly that it had something todo with keeping some sort of curse intact. But somehow a group of vampires learned of itsexistence, and sometime between 1941 and 1945, they dug it up. Covington and Merrick learned
of this and were not pleased; Janice spent the rest of her life trying to get it back, but she never succeeded. In 1946 one such expedition in Greece ended in disaster for her. She lost Pappas andthe sister of her lover, Ian Merrick.”
“Merrick?” Buffy asked.“Your previous watcher’s father,” Giles told her.“His father was a watcher too?” she asked.“Ian Merrick survived that terrible day, but he more or less retired from any active field
work after that. Janice, however, never gave up.” Giles pointed to the diary on the table. “Shewas convinced the chakram was a source of some mystical power. From her descriptions, itapparently transformed Melinda Pappas from her normal studious self into a warrior of unparalleled prowess.”
“So it changed her from someone like you into someone like Buffy?” Xander asked.Giles gave him a look. “Essentially.”Xander nodded. “Cool.”“But only temporarily,” Giles continued. “When the danger was over, her powers receded
back into the chakram. Or wherever they went. And she was the normal Melinda Pappas again.”Giles sipped on his tea. “Janice carried a heavy burden of guilt because her friend had
died, and because the chakram had been lost to the vampires. So she never gave up searching for it, because she was afraid if it fell into the wrong hands...”
“Someone would use that power,” Willow spoke up. “Somebody would use it for thewrong reasons.”
“Exactly,” Giles said. “But Janice never succeeded in getting the chakram back.”“Bummer,” Cordelia said. “Wasted life.”
“It’s not that simple,” Giles said. “In her travels, she tracked some of the vampire thievesto Iran. She hoped to regain possession of the chakram, but Iran in 1949 was a very unsettled place. She had a long, dangerous journey, and she was almost killed on three occasions.” Gilesshook his head. “And not to speak ill of the dead, but I almost wish she had been.”
“Giles!” Willow said. “That’s not like you.”He held up a hand. “I only say that because Janice was very thorough, and she
investigated every lead. And one of those leads took her someplace she never should have gone.”Giles closed his eyes. “She found the lair of the first Vampire King.”
“What??” Willow and Buffy asked in unison.“I don’t get it,” Xander said.“The first vampire king is reputed to be thousands of years old,” Willow told him. “Some
of the writings say that he was the very first vampire in the world.”Xander shook his head. “Wait a minute. You’re talkin’ like the very first guy who
couldn’t see himself in a mirror?”Willow nodded. “The oldest one, yup.”Buffy spoke, “He supposedly created the race of vampires himself, from his own blood,
and with the demon inside him.”“So if he’s the first one,” Oz asked, “where’d he come from?”“No one knows,” Giles responded. “He seems to have simply appeared in the Middle
East about a thousand years before Christ.”“So this guy is like the grandfather of all vampires?” Cordelia asked.“Exactly,” Buffy replied.“Wait a minute,” Xander asked. “This guy started the whole thing? All vampires started
with him? How is that possible?”Giles said. “Remember that I told you that mankind drove the demons from Earth, and
that one stayed behind to father a race that was neither demon nor man?”Buffy, Xander, and Willow nodded.“That was him? “ Xander asked. “You’re telling me this Janice woman found the demon
who stayed behind?”“She didn’t just find him,” Giles spoke.“Oh no,” Willow said.“She woke him up.”“Why do I have the feeling that this gets worse?” Buffy asked.“Because it does,” Willow said. “Right, Giles?”Giles removed his glasses. “I wish I could tell you otherwise. But yes, it does get worse.”
He took another sip of tea.“Janice escaped him because he had slumbered so long, and he was groggy when he
woke up. He wasn’t up to his full powers. Or even close.”“Why didn’t she kill him?” Oz asked. “You know, a stake through the heart, and good-
bye grandpa.”“She tried,” Giles said. “But even after he just woke up, he was still too much of a match
for Janice, who was no slouch herself.” To himself he said, “She would have made a remarkableSlayer.”
“So, she just stumbles in and wakes this guy up and takes off? Hello, can anyone else sayirresponsible?” Cordelia asked.
Giles frowned at her. “It wasn’t for lack of trying. The demon was simply too powerfulfor her. She was lucky to escape with her life.”
“Forgive me for interrupting, Giles,” Buffy said. “You said Janice was looking for this
shock-thingy.”“Chakram, yes.”“Did she ever find it?”Giles squirmed in his chair. “In a manner of speaking.”“You said she never recovered it,” Willow spoke.“But she found it?” Xander asked.Giles nodded.“And she woke this old demon up while she was looking for it?” Oz asked.
“Actually, she woke up the vampire king when she found it,” Giles said.“What?” Buffy asked. “Did I just hear what I think I heard?”“Giles,” Willow said. “Is there any chance you made a mistake on this?”He shook his head. “No. Janice wrote that the chakram was in the lair of the first vampire
king, and that it was protected by his servants.”“Oh my god,” Xander blurted. “So this means that, what... this demon vampire first king
whatever guy is... here?”“Or his servants,” Willow said.“This is really bad, isn’t it?” Cordelia asked.Willow turned to face her. “This is the worst kind of bad. This kind of bad makes the
regular kind of bad look good.”“Ew,” Cordelia said.“So what does he want with us?” Oz asked.“Or is this just the usual, ‘Hi, figured I’d check out the Hellmouth while I hatch my
nefarious plan,’ kinda thing?” Xander asked.“I’m afraid I’m not sure why he’s here,” Giles admitted. “But now we can be sure that
Raymond Stark-- and likely his niece-- are vampire servants of his.”
“The guy who owns that collection is a vampire?” Buffy said. “Hello, my mom is inmortal risk here!”
“I thought he was a vampire,” Willow said.“Yes,” Giles added.Buffy stood. “You guys thought he was a vampire and you let my mom deal with him
anyway? Did we pass some sort of ‘be nice to vampires’ code while I was gone? Or did IQ’s justsuddenly drop while I was away?”
“We weren’t sure,” Willow told her.“You shoulda made sure!” Buffy said. “This is my mom we’re talking about here, guys.
Not just some run of the mill innocent civilian.”“I wasn’t positive until I read Janice’s journal last night,” Giles said. “I couldn’t be sure
until I had proof.”“Forgive me if I sound a bit wigged here, Giles, but if there was any doubt at all,
somebody should have staked the place out. You know, with mirrors or something. Preferablywith holy water and crossbows.” Buffy glared at him. “I can’t believe you’d take chances withanyone, let alone my mom.”
“It’s not as if we didn’t try,” Giles muttered.“You weren’t here,” Xander said. “We were doin’ the best we could, Buffy.”“Yeah, well, no offense,” Buffy said. “But it wasn’t good enough.”“You ran off and left us,” Xander said. “If you had stayed here, you coulda helped.”Buffy turned to face Xander and opened her mouth to speak when Giles said, “If Buffy
had been here, she would have been a target. As soon as they find out she’s back-- and they will,rest assured-- things should get ...interesting.”
Buffy closed her mouth and said to Giles, “Explain.”“You won’t like this part,” he said softly.“As opposed to the other parts, which we were wild about,” Xander said.Giles ignored him. “If the writings are true,” Giles spoke, “this First One...”Buffy raised an eyebrow. “Spill, Giles.”Giles looked uncomfortable. “He, um...”Buffy glared at him.“He sired the Master.”
Buffy closed her eyes.“Which means he’ll be more powerful, more dangerous, and more--”“I get it,” Buffy said.“And he’s not contained like the Master was,” Giles finished.“I get it,” Buffy said.“The Master?” Oz asked. Willow leaned over and whispered in his ear for a few
moments.“Oh,” Oz said.“So what do we do?” Xander asked.Giles started to respond but Buffy spoke up. “We get my mom out of danger.”Xander nodded. “That’s a good plan,” he said. “After that?”“Why don’t we take back the chakram?” Willow asked. “If it’s supposed to be this
mysterious and powerful artifact, wouldn’t it be better off in our hands then with the prince of darkness?”
“We shouldn’t even think of trying to get our hands on it until we know why they havechosen to reveal it,” Giles said.
“It’s bait,” Cordelia said, and everyone looked at her.
“What? I told your mom that they do that at the jewelry stores. This is the same thing, it’s just that the stakes are higher.”
“They’re a lot higher,” Oz said. “These are lives at risk here.”“My mom’s,” Buffy growled.“Cordelia has a point, though,” Giles said.The look that Buffy gave him could have withered a wheat field. “What?”“Buffy, I know you’re concerned about your mother, and--”“Concerned?” Buffy echoed. “Concerned? You guys let left my mother to fend for
herself against servants of some ancient demon dark lord-- or maybe even his badness himself--and you think I’m concerned?” Buffy’s fists clenched. “This goes way beyond concerned.”
“Buffy, now wait a minute. I really think that we--” Giles started.Buffy slammed her palm on the table. “Okay!” she said. “Before this goes any further, I
demand we get my mom out of this, out of the way.” She glared at Giles. “And this is not openfor discussion.”
“Agreed,” Giles said. The rest just looked at Buffy.“We’re on your side, Buff,” Xander said.“Good,” Buffy said. “That’s where I want you.”“So, after we get Ms. Summers clear,” Willow said, “then what, Giles?”“We need to find out more about that chakram. We need to know why they are making it
so accessible. They can’t be worried about it being stolen or they wouldn’t put it in the gallery.But they must want someone to know about it, or they wouldn’t display it openly.”
“So you agree with my bait idea?” Cordelia asked.“Yes,” Giles said absently. “I think that’s what it is. But bait for what?”
“Or who?” Buffy asked.
*
Principal Snyder spun around in his chair as a knock sounded on his door. He raised oneeyebrow and checked his watch. “Come in,” he said.
“Principal Snyder?” the visitor asked. Snyder frowned. A tall young man, dressed in whathe no doubt considered ‘business casual’ filled the doorway. Snyder frowned. Any job worthhaving is worth dressing decently for, he thought.
“Can I help you?” Snyder asked.“I hope so,” the man said. He offered a hand nearly the size of a baseball glove. “I’m
Jason Corveer. We spoke about the opening in the English department.”Snyder shook the man’s hand; Corveer’s hand engulfed his, and Snyder looked up at the
tall teacher. “I assume you have all the necessary paperwork?”Corveer handed his resume over to Snyder, who glanced at it cursorily. He stopped and
read it closer.“You went to Oxford?” Snyder asked.Corveer nodded.“Why the hell do you want to teach here? You must be able to get a better job at a bigger
school.”Corveer smiled. “Let’s just say I like the community.”Snyder frowned. “You’re aware of the salary restrictions?”Corveer nodded. “You were very clear about your budgetary woes over the phone.”
Snyder folded his hands. “Then you understand that I can’t better the offer I tendered you before.”
Corveer shrugged. “I told you then, and I’ll repeat it now. The money is not an issue.”Snyder chortled. “You’re the first teacher I’ve ever heard say that.”Corveer said, “Maybe you’re hiring the wrong kind of teachers.”Snyder glared.“Though considering Sunnydale is ranked first in the entire nation for teacher fatalities in
the past two years, I’m surprised you even have any applicants for the job at all.”The principal leaned back in his chair. “You seem to know a lot about us.”“I make it my business never to go anywhere without checking up on it first. It’s an old
habit, but it’s saved me a lot of trouble.”“Trouble is exactly what I don’t want at this school,” Snyder said.“Then we see eye to eye,” Corveer said.“That’s a rarity,” Snyder said, nodding. “But then, not every teacher comes recommended
by the mayor.” He extended his hand to the big man. “Welcome aboard.”Corveer shook his hand again. “There is just one little thing,” he said.Snyder said, “And what would that be?”“You’ll have to reinstate Buffy Summers.”Snyder blinked at the man. “Come again?”“You heard me.”Snyder gave him a dark look. “Who do you think you are?”Corveer stood up... and up... and up. “Trust me, Snyder, you don’t want to find out. Now
reinstate the girl.”
“Out of the question,” Snyder told him.Corveer reached down and picked up a small glass globe paperweight. He put it in the
palm of his right hand and showed it to Snyder. “This globe has the same density as your head,”he said. He closed his hand around the globe and began to flex the muscles in his wrist and hislower arm. A grating sound issued from his fist, like sandpaper rubbing across a piece of sheetmetal.
After a moment Corveer stopped; he turned his fist over and let the tiny sandlike grains of glass filter through his fingers down to Snyder’s desk.
“I trust you won’t be needing any more graphic illustrations?”Snyder looked aghast at the sandy residue of the globe. He looked up at Corveer, but the
man’s face was deathly serious. “I’ll reinstate her. I don’t understand why, but--”“You don’t have to,” Corveer said. “Just do it.”Snyder’s eyes returned to the small pile of glassy sand. “Consider it done.”Corveer smiled. “Good day, Principal Snyder,” he said as he left the office.
