FORAY-PART 12
CHAPTER 46
Matthew was fuming...
If it hadn't been for the damned tape, he possibly would have been able to bluff his way out...
Again.
Now, not only was he confined to the compound, he knew that Henry's watchdogs would be following his every move until the inquiry.
'If I get my hands on you Ian,' he thought.
He couldn't believe one of his own men...
Oh, he would repay this kindness, but it might take him awhile.
'Oh no Ian. I'll get you yet,' he smiled to himself and walked to his room.
Hours later....
"Hello there Rupert. It's good to see you again, it's been too long," Mary said as she approached him.
"Ah... Mary. It has been a long time," he replied, receiving the light hug.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"To tell the truth, exhausted," he answered, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. The trip was finally catching up to him.
"Well, I'll make sure you're not disturbed."
"Thank you Mary. Um... is there a possibilty that I might get something to eat? The food on the flight wasn't filling," Giles asked.
"Would a sandwhich do? I'm afraid the kitchen staff won't be up for a few more hours yet," Mary replied. 'Oh... Rupert, what did they do to you?'
"A sandwich sounds wonderful right about now. Perhaps with... a ... a warm glass of milk?" he asked.
Mary smiled, "Of course Rupert. I'll have it sent to your room."
"Still the same one?" he asked.
"As if we would give you any other. Why don't you run along, I'm sure your bags have been left in your room. Will you need any help unpacking?"
"No... I can handle it, thank you."
"All right then, I'll let Sir Henry know that you're here first thing in the morning," Mary told him.
"Good night Mary," Rupert said.
"Good night Rupert." Mary made a note to let Lucinda, who would take over from her in a few hours, know that Sir Henry wanted to have the updates she was working on first thing in the morning.
Giles left the office, going down the corridor and past the main study.
He had spent many endless nights in that study, so many books. With never enough time to read them.
Just to sit among them, satisfied a yearning in him.
All the knowledge stored within the pages.
He sighed, perhaps he would brush up on some reading while he was here.
Walking upstairs, he went straight to his old room.
Opening the door, he felt the rush of memories envade his mind.
Some of them quite pleasant...
'What was her name? Ah, yes, Tracy,' he recalled her fondly.
Others not so...
He would not think of those awful times.
Not now.
He smiled, the fireplace had been lit.
He could remember the frustration he felt, when many of the nights he would try to light the blasted thing...
Black soot covered his face and most of his clothing, after many attempts.
It wasn't until his final days in England, that he had been able to get a fire started in about 5 minutes.
At first, he hadn't agreed at all with the Council's decision to send him to America.
He had his job at the museum, that he loved.
Surely, there must be another member more qualified than himself.
No matter how hard he tried to persuade them otherwise, the decision stood.
He would be Buffy Summer's new Watcher.
Rupert laughed softly, as he walked over to his bed...
'What kind of name was that for a Slayer?' he had thought, when he had first read her files.
Now, he couldn't stop thanking his good fortune that the Council had not given into his request.
Had not assigned someone else in his place.
He could not imagine what his life would have been like without Buffy and the others.
They had given him a true understanding of what his duties meant...
They had given him a sense of purpose...
Willow...
Willow had breathed life into his every day existance.
There hadn't been a day that had gone by, when even the briefest visits from her hadn't brightened his day considerably.
He wondered time and time again, what he had done... right, to deserve her presence in his life.
He was... is continuely amazed by her...
Her charm...
Her wit...
The inborn sense of grace.
Rupert smiled as he unpacked his bags.
For anyone else, that thought might have been looked at and scoffed.
But then...
Most people never LOOKED below the surface.
Below the outer shell, that hid the beauty he knew to be there.
You just needed to look.
Everyone, almost everyone, saw Willow as just a shy teenager. Doing her best to blend in... not to draw attention to herself.
Except the few friends she had.
With them she could be herself...
Without fear of ridicule...
Slight teasing now and then, perhaps...
Done with love.
Not outright intent to do harm.
But he could see below the surface...
How much she had grown, emotionally.
How the slightest compliment would make her face light up from within...
Althougt she still didn't think she deserved them at times.
He knew, in time, that Willow would learn to accept the compliments for what they were...
The truth.
There was this part of him... that he was somewhat ashamed of.
That part of him that was decidely male...
And had been that way since the beginining of the human race.
The part of his male psyche that was extremely pleased with himself...
Pleased that Willow had wanted him...
A smirk appeared on his face...
Xander had no idea what he had let slip through his fingers...
And never would...
'Not as long as I breathe,' he thought.
Reaching into his bag, Rupert moved his shirts out of the way, he was searching for something he had packed.
His hand came across the cool surface of the object.
He carefully pulled out a hinged picture frame.
Opening it up, he gazed fondly at the photographs.
The first one was of the "Scooby Gang" outside the high school.
He never quite understood the reference, except it came from some cartoon they had apparently watched.
Then there was the other one...
It had been taken in the library.
He was standing in the middle, and on either side of him were Buffy and Willow.
They were smiling.
And if he looked carefully, he followed his gaze...
It focused on Willow.
He placed the photograph on the nightstand next to the bed, and began unpacking in earnest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Few Hours Earlier...
Sunnydale High School Library.
"Okay... I think we've done enough for today. I'll see you tomorrow, say around four?" Shae asked Buffy.
"Yeah, four sounds good. That was a great work out by the way," Buffy replied.
"Thanks. I'd like to accompany you tomorrow night, when you go on patrol. I'd like to see for myself what you're going up against," She said, as she mopped the sweat from her brow.
"Um... sure... no problem," Buffy replied.
"Why do I get the feeling you may not want me to go?"
"Well, things do get a bit hairy out there..." Buffy said.
"I'll try to stay out of your way, after all you ARE the Slayer. But, if I think I you could be in danger, I WILL step in," Shae told her.
"Fair enough," Buffy answered.
"Will?"
"Hmm..." Willow replied, her eyes glued on the computer montior.
"It's time to go..." Buffy told her.
"What?"
Shaking her head and smiling, Buffy walked over to where Willow was sitting.
"Time to leave Will," Buffy said in her ear.
"Leave?" she replied, barely turning her head. She was engrossed in the text she was reading.
Buffy leaned forward, she had to see what Willow was reading.
'Scully sighed as Mulder broke the kiss. It had taken them so long to finally admit to each other what they had felt.
"I love you Scully," Mulder told her. His eyes filling with the tears of untold joy he was experiencing. It shocked him down to his very soul. He didn't know what he would have done if she had died earlier tonight.
"I love you to Mulder, I always have," Scully replied.
Mulder brought his hands to her face, holding her gently. He bent foward, he wanted to taste her lips once more, to get lost in her....'
'Lost in Scully,' Mulder thought."
"Will!! You little sneak," Buffy exclaimed.
Startled, Willow turned to see Buffy leaning over her shoulder.
"WHAT?" she panicked.
"You sneak. Here I was thinking you were 'research girl', and here you are reading about Mulder and Scully."
"It's... it's not what you think! Really," Willow uttered, desperately trying to close the browser.
"Oh... no you don't," Buffy said, grabbing the mouse from Willow's grasp. "It's not what I think huh?"
"No... I, I was making a new search... search for web sites, vampire information..."
"And that's why you were reading about the X-Files?"
"Buffy, you'd be surprised about the information most people believe to be fiction anyway," Shae volunteered.
"I see, so, the fact that Mulder and Scully were kissing?"
"Well, it's... the, the story dealt with vampires... and... and, I didn't know it was going to happen... honest!" Willow replied.
"Take it easy Will. No harm, no foul," Buffy told her, trying to keep the teasing to a bare minimum.
"I... I just got caught up," Willow said.
"I'm sorry Will. I shouldn't have teased you... forgiven?" Buffy asked.
"Um... I'll get back to you," she replied, the hint of a smile on her face. Willow knew that Buffy wasn't trying to hurt her, she was flustered. 'At being caught,' she mused.
"She'll get back to me she says," Buffy replied looking over to her new Watcher.
"Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm starved. Is there any place close by where I can grab something to eat?" Shae asked.
"Why don't you come to my house? I'm sure Mom's got something to munch on?" Buffy offered.
"Oh, no, I don't want to impose," Shae replied.
"Impose, impose. How 'bout it Will, you up for some of Mom's cooking?"
"I'd like to, but, I've got to get home. Some other time?" Willow answered.
"No problem," Buffy said.
"All right, if you really don't mind?" Shae watched Buffy shake her head. "Okay, let me get my things," she said, retreating to Giles' office.
"So, what do you think of her?" Buffy asked Willow once Shae had left.
"Um... she's nice?"
"Out with it Will," Buffy said.
"I don't know, it sorta feels... weird?" Willow answered.
"Weird?"
"Yeah... like we're cheating on Ru... Giles," she caught herself.
"To tell you the truth, I've felt the same way. It's like I don't want to like her to much ya know?"
"Yeah, I know."
"It'll probably take us some time to get used to the idea," Buffy said.
"Are we ready to leave?" Shae asked after she came of the office, locking the door behind her.
"Let's roll," Buffy exclaimed, as she got her things together.
"I'll be right there," Willow replied, taking a blank disk out of her backpack and quickly saving the story. She'd read it later. 'I just want to see how it ends,' she thought to herself.
Logging off the internet, and shutting down the computer, Willow jogged over to where Shae and Buffy were waiting for her.
They left the school, talking about some moves they had gone over. Willow told Shae of at least 5 new sites dealing on vampirism. Buffy walked with Willow to her front door, where they hugged good-bye.
"See you tomorrow Will," Buffy said, waving good-bye.
"Bye Buffy," she replied, as she went into her house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
London, England
Early Wednesday Morning.
Giles had finished his milk and sandwhich, and had settled down for the evening.
He had an appointment the next day to see an orthropedic surgeon. His medical records had been shipped over earlier on Monday. He had to prop his arm once again.
'Another six weeks of this, I may go mad,' he thought to himself.
Glancing at the photographs, he sighed.
"Good night Willow," he said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rosenberg Residence
Tuesday Night -10:30pm
Willow sat in front of her computer, she had just finished reading the story she had saved earlier in the libarary.
She didn't really lie to Buffy, about the story...
Not really...
It DID deal with vampires...
At first.
She honestly had no idea...
"Who am I trying to kid?" she asked herself.
By the time she had reached the fifth part, it was obvious to her that the story had begun delving into Mulder and Scully's feelings towards each other.
So, it was romantic.
It was nice seeing them together, after all, you'd never see it on the show.
"Too bad it's fiction," she said outloud.
It wasn't some Xena episode, one of her on-line friends had told her about...
Something about an enchanted scroll, and whatever was written on it would come true.
An evil glint appeared in her eyes.
"I know what I'd DO with that scroll," she smirked.
Her phone rang...
'Who could that be?' she asked herself.
Picking up the receiver, she brought it to her ear.
"Hello?"
CHAPTER 47
London, England
Wednesday Morning
10:30 AM
"Hello?" he heard being said over the telephone line.
"Um... yes, hello..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunnydale, CA
Rosenberg Residence
Tuesday Night
10:30 PM
"Hello?"
"Hiya Wills," Xander said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
London, England
"Yes, I'd, I'd like to change my doctor's appointment, with Dr. Sanford," Giles said.
"And when is your appointment, sir?" the receptionist asked.
"It's um, tomorrow at 10 AM," Giles replied.
"May I have your name please?"
"Giles... Rupert Giles."
"Hold the line Mr. Giles. I'll see what other openings we have for tomorrow," he was told.
"Of course," Giles replied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunnydale, CA
"Hi Xander. Is something wrong?" Willow asked.
"Nah, everything's fine. I just wanted to know how things went with Buffy's new Watcher?"
"It was fine, she's nice," Willow said. "Xander?"
"Yeah Will?"
"Um, did you happen to see my backpack. I can't find it?"
"Did you lose it on Friday? You know... when..."
"Yes... I haven't been able to find it yet," Willow answered.
"As a matter-of-fact, I've got it," Xander replied.
"You do?"
"I found it in the library, right before the police showed up. I thought you might have left it behind some other time," he said.
"That's great. I was worried, it's got all my stuff in it," Willow told him.
"Yeah, I hope you don't mind, but I looked in it. I'm impressed Will, no good Slayerette should leave home without it," Xander said smiling.
"Xander... stop that," Willow replied good naturedly.
They stayed on the phone for another ten minutes. Xander discussing his misfortune of having to attend Cordelia's father's country club party next month.
After they had hung up, Willow decided she should get ready for bed.
She had wondered from time to time how Rupert was doing in England.
Did he have a good flight?
Did he like the food?
Did he miss her?
"Come on... it's only been a few hours," she told herself. 'He can't possibly miss me too much, can he?'
Willow couldn't help feeling...
Empty.
A void had been created the moment he left...
It was something only his presence could fill...
It was going to be a LONG three months.
"Good night Rupert," she whispered, then snuggled beneath her blankets.
Willow tossed and turned, before sleep finally claimed another lost soul.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
London, England
"Yes, that will be fine," Rupert replied as he rescheduled his doctor's appointment.
"We'll see you on Friday then Mr. Giles. Good bye."
"Yes, thank you, good bye."
Giles hung up the phone, running his good hand through his hair.
He had spoken with Lucinda earlier in the morning, she confirmed that Sir Henry had been notified of his arrival late last night.
He would be speaking with Sir Henry later on in the afternoon. He needed to make his report about what had happened on Friday. After leaving his rooms, Giles decided to walk through the compound's expansive grounds.
The grass was immaculately cut, he could just make out the croquet set-up in place. It was glorious during this time of year.
"Willow would love it here," he said to himself.
Giles had fought the urge to call her this morning, he had every intention of dialing her number, but thought better of it.
Of course, there was the problem of whether or not she was at home when he called. For all he knew, she could have been at the library with Buffy and Shae. Or she could have been sound asleep, it was a quandary for him.
He walked around for another hour, before heading back to the main house.
The gravel crunched beneath his shoes as he walked up the large circular driveway.
It was a typical house of English Nobility.
Considering the former owner of the house was an Earl, as well as a high ranking member of the Council. The house had been left to the organization, much to the chagrin of the Earl's family members who were not aware of the Earl's ties with the Society.
Rupert walked up the step and into the house.
He stopped by the office and requested to see Buffy's files. Only to be told that Sir Henry had checked them out.
He wasn't confident enough in his computer skills to have them brought up, to have a cursory look at them.
The computer files only contained minute information, the binders were used for day to day reference. The main files, were stored on tape, under lock and key. He had been there when the files had been transferred, it took years to get everything done.
Before he left, he asked to be informed when Buffy's files were available.
Opening the door, he ran into Rory Fitzsimmons on his way in.
"Rory... old man! It's been a long time, how are you?" Giles asked.
"Hello 'Bert. I'm fine, better than you, I dare say," Rory replied.
Giles smiled, no one had called him 'Bert' since his school days at Oxford.
"Yes... yes. I have had a bit of a run in, you might say."
"I'll bet. Have you had lunch yet?" Rory asked.
"I haven't," Giles answered.
"Give me a minute, and we'll get something. What do you say?"
"An excellent suggestion, I'll meet you in the dining room. I just need to get something from my room," Giles said.
"Good enough, I'll see you there," Rory replied.
Rory watched as Rupert walked down the corridor, before the smile he been wearing disappeared from his face.
Walking into the office, he spoke with Lucinda. It was as he thought.
Rupert wanted to see the files on his Slayer. He would have to give this information to Sir Henry as quickly as possible.
Giles opened the door to his rooms, he smiled as he thought about Rory Fitzsimmons. He hadn't seen 'Fits' since he left for America.
Walking over to his dresser drawer, he pulled it open.
Without thinking about his actions, he took out his wallet, and retrieved a photograph contained within. Placing the photograph in his inside coat pocket, he tapped it twice before closing the drawer.
He had performed the same ritual for the past year, without fail.
He slipped his wallet into the back pocket of his slacks, and proceeded to the dining area.
The photograph, was of course, of Willow.
She had given it to him, after he had commented in passing, that she had taken a lovely yearbook picture.
It surprised him, when Willow showed up the next day and shyly handed him a wallet-sized copy.
He had treasured it every day since.
Whenever he had a moment or two, he would remove the photograph and look at it.
Lately, he had made it a practice of placing the photograph in his inside coat pocket.
The one resting next to his heart.
He had reasoned to himself, that, if he couldn't tell her how he felt...
He could at least keep this momento close.
Now, it was a reminder of what he left behind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hello?"
"Henry, it's Rory."
"Yes Rory. What can I do for you? Has Matthew been causing problems already?"
"No, it's not Matthew. It's about 'Bert."
"Bert?"
"Rupert," Rory explained.
"Ah, yes... Rupert. What seems to be the problem?" Henry asked.
"He wants to see the files on Miss Summers," Rory said.
"I see... don't worry about it. I'll handle it," Henry replied.
"Right, I thought you should know," Rory explained.
"You did the right thing Rory," Henry told him.
"Well, if you'll excuse me Henry, 'Bert's waiting for me.We're having lunch together."
"By all means. And thank you Rory, once again for bringing this to my attention so quickly."
"Just doin' my job Henry. Good-bye."
Rory wondered how Henry was going to handle the situation.
He met Rupert in the dining area.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Lucinda, this is Henry," he said over the phone.
"Hello Henry. What can I do for you?" she asked.
"I need you to do something for me regarding the files on Buffy Summers," he said.
"What exactly do you want me to do?" she replied, having brought up the file on her computer monitor.
"I want you to make up a new binder for her," he said.
"Is there something wrong with the one we have?" Lucinda asked.
"No... it's fine. I have it front of me. I need a new one made up without references of Matthew Halloway or any of his team members reports in it," Henry said.
"I'm not sure I follow?"
"You may or may not have heard that a board of Inquiry is being convened based upon Matthew's actions, with regards to his Slayer. Suffice to say that if Rupert were to find out that Matthew acted in complete disrespect of the rules... I'm afraid Matthew would be in need of some serious medical care right about now," Henry explained.
"If I understand correctly, you wish me to make up a new file, up to, but not including any reports by Matthew or his men. Am I correct?" Lucinda needed to be 100 percent certain, before proceeding.
"Precisely," Henry said.
"I'll get on to it right away," Lucinda replied.
"Thank you, let me know when you've finished. I'll need to sign the book saying I've returned it, then Rupert can be informed that it's available," Henry said.
"Of course Henry. You can count on me."
After he ended his conversation, Henry looked at the television screen.
He had been watching the footage taken in the warehouse.
He wasn't sure how Ian had managed to get the tape out, but he did.
It was fascinating to watch.
He did feel sorry for Ian, after watching the Slayer knock him out with a round house kick.
If he was anyone else, he would have never believed what the taped showed. Or rather what it didn't show.
He must have watched this one section of tape at least five times.
It was amazing to watch a piece of sheet metal seemed to bob up and down of its own accord.
There it was...
Proof...
That could never be validated, that vampires exhisted.
Gerald had been most cooperative in explaining that the metal was being held aloft by none other than...
Angelus...
Or Angel, as he goes by now.
There were volumes upon volumes on Angelus alone.
At first, it was thought that Angelus had finally met his match, and that he had been killed.
After all, it had been at least 80 years since there had been any mention of Angelus on record.
Except for vague references of a 'Guardian Angel', that had assisted various Slayers over the years.
Then they entered the era of Buffy Summers...
Now, they had started a new section in Angelus' files, devoted to Angel...
An improbablitly...
A vampire, with a soul.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Giles and Rory spent an hour going over things, generaly catching up with each other. It had been four years since they had spoken last.
Rory glanced at his beeper as it went off.
"I'm sorry 'Bert. I've got to go," he said as he stood up from the table.
"No, I understand, it's quite all right," he replied.
"We'll talk again later?" Rory asked.
"Of course, I look forward to it. Perhaps you could get in touch with Ken, we'll make an evening of it."
"Sounds like a great idea. So long."
Giles had some time left before he had to see Sir Henry, so he took the opportunity to go to the study. His eyes caught the title of one of his favorite books, taking it down, he walked over to the leather armchair and began to read.
Giles glanced at his watch, he noticed that he had been reading for nearly an hour. Closing the book, he went to see Sir Henry.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matthew had been wandering the halls when he spotted Giles making his way to Sir Henry's office.
'No doubt the doddering fool will tell him about what happened,' he muttered to himself. "Well... I'll just have to talk to him later on. Explain my side of things," he said outloud.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Come in."
Giles walked into the private offices of Sir Henry Latham.
"Rupert dear boy, come in... come in," Henry said rising from his chair.
"Hello Sir Henry," Giles replied.
After all the years they had known each other, Giles had never felt comfortable enough to call him 'Henry'.
"Ah, well. I see that hasn't changed, has it?"
"Umm, no... no it hasn't," Rupert replied.
"Sit down dear boy, sit down," Henry said. "Can I get you something to drink?"
"Ah... no, no thank you. Don't let me stop you... if... if you wish to have something," Giles offered.
"Well... how are you doing?" Henry asked.
"Much better, I'm going to see the orthropedic doctor on Friday," Giles said.
"Good, so... Rupert. Can you tell me... what do you remember about..." Henry made a gesture with his hand towards Giles arm.
"Uh... yes, not much I'm afraid. I... I was unconscious most of the times, except when the leader would speak to me," Giles said.
"Was... or is there anything you can remember about the man who attacked you? Anything at all?" Henry asked.
"Only that he knew that I was a Watcher, and... he knew the location of the warehouse, where Buffy... Miss Summers and I had been training for the test the Council was going to give her. The only people who might recognize them would be Buffy and the others," Giles said.
"Have you had the chance to talk to them about it?"
"No... I... I came here, as soon as I could. I didn't think about it, I do apologize."
"Rupert... you musn't worry about it. I'll e-mail Miss Foster, have her ask Miss Summers and her friends to give a short account on the matter," Henry said.
"I'd like to read them... when, when they arrive," Giles asked.
"Wouldn't have it any other way," Henry told him, knowing Giles would read only what he would allow him access to. "How's Miss Rosenberg doing after her ordeal?" he asked.
"Um... she's... she's well. She's quite resiliant," he responed.
To be continued....Part 12b