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The Undiscovered Country Chapter 3/?
Author; Phoenixheart79 aka Carl/theblondiebear
Rating; PG, but may get higher (Features m/m relationship)
Disclaimer; I do not own BtVS, that privilige goes to Joss Whedon and M.E. I guess I own Sebastian, but
the rest I'm just borrowing. I promise to put them back in the toy box when I'm done!
Continuity; Starts ten days after the events of "Chosen"
Distribution; Please ask unless I post it somewhere where you archive it (like some of the yahoo groups I'm on), in which case I bow to that authority.
Feedback; Please! I write for me, but it's a boost to know what people think of my work.
Authors Note; This fic is the sequel to my last story, "A Childe
Awakens". If you haven't read that, you should, as portions of this story just won't make sense.
Chapter 3
She screamed and covered her eyes.
Behind her, the door to the house opened and footsteps raced across the gravel.
"Edward? Kennedy?" It was Giles’ voice, "Good lord! Dawn, call nine-nine-nine and ask for an ambulance! The address is by the phone!"
Arms grabbed Kennedy and spun her around into a tight embrace, "What’s wrong babe?" Willow’s voice was soft and soothing. The normally strong and confident Kennedy seemed to shrink in her girlfriend’s arms.
"I-I saw it. It was staring straight at me."
"What was?"
"T-the dog." Kennedy answered.
"Oh baby." Willow said, stroking Kennedy’s hair. "It’s okay, we’ll fix it. You won’t die. I promise."
"Lets get her inside, quick." Strong hands took her shoulder, Giles and Willow led her inside. Olivia and Buffy moved across the gravel towards the suddenly docile horse. Together they led it towards a gate and got it back in the field.
Kennedy was sat on the sofa being comforted by Willow when the police left three hours later. As the officers left, one of them took Giles to one side. "Although it appears to have been nothing more than a freak accident, I must ask that you keep yourselves available in case we need to talk again."
Giles nodded, "Of course. We aren’t planning on going very far in the next few days, just exploring the local area. We’ll be home each evening and I have an answer-phone."
The officer nodded in turn, "That’s fine."
"Excuse me, but Edward said there had been a number of strange accidents recently."
The officer rubbed his eyes, "Quite so, this will be the eleventh."
Giles’ eyes went wide, "Really? That’s terrible."
"Indeed." The officer started for the door, "Well, thank you for your time Mr Giles. Good evening."
"Yes, good evening officer." Giles said, shutting the door behind him.
He returned to the living room, "Well, I suggest we move upstairs to the library, see what we can find on the Barghest there. Dawn, would you mind making us drinks?"
"Sure." Dawn said and disappeared towards the kitchen. The remainder of the group headed up the stairs and entered Giles’ library. Xander gave a soft whistle.
"Wow Giles, this is kind of impressive."
"Yes, well, I had my collection from the states shipped over when I came home. With the collection I already had, it’s become quite extensive."
"I’ll say." Willow commented, looking around the large room. Shelves lined every wall from floor to ceiling, a good ten foot. Each wall had it’s own rolling ladder to reach the higher books. In the centre of the room stood a large oak table, surrounded by a half dozen chairs and reading lamps on the table. Leather armchairs, accompanied by a small coffee table, sat in pairs around the room, six chairs in total. Each pair also had a tall reading lamp standing between them.
As they settled in, exploring the shelves for any books which might seem pertinent, Olivia joined them. "Need any help?"
Giles smiled, "Only if you want to, Olivia. I know you don’t care for all of this."
Olivia smiled wearily back at him at him, "I might not care for it Rupert, but it’s here, I can’t just close my eyes to it. I knew Edward. Not like you did, but I still knew him." She hugged herself, "I want to help, for Edward."
"Thank you." Giles said, pulling out a chair at the table for her. As she sat down, Dawn arrived with drinks, handing them out before settling into one of the armchairs with a book on mythological creatures.
They stayed in the library into the small hours, pouring over book after book, the pile of rejected books growing ever higher. As the clock chimed two a.m., Giles set his book down with a dejected sigh and removed his glasses, giving them an idle clean.
"This is infuriating." he said, "For a creature that everyone’s heard the legend of, there’s a depressing lack of information."
Across from him, Xander shut a heavy leather bound book with solid thump, "This is crazy. We must have checked dozens of books. I gotta say Giles, your library doesn’t seem so impressive now."
"Yes, well, we have more books to read yet. For now, I suggest we retire and resume in the morning."
"You can’t just give up!" Willow exclaimed, "This is my girlfriend’s life we’re talking about!"
"Quite so Willow," Giles said softly, "But continuing while we are all exhausted is good for no one. We are far more likely to miss something important if we continue now than if we wait until the morning." He pushed his chair back from the table and turned his reading lamp off, Olivia standing with him, "We will see you all in a few hours." With that, the pair left the library.
"I think he’s right." Buffy said, "I’m going to bed. Come on Dawn, it’s late." Dawn yawned and stood up, placing the book she had been reading on the coffee table and shutting the light off. "Night guys." Buffy said, leading her sister from the room.
Kennedy got up and pulled on Willow’s hand, "Come on Will, lets get some sleep. We’ve got six days, we’ll solve it." Willow smiled up at her girlfriend as she was pulled to her feet.
"You’ve calmed down a bit."
Kennedy shrugged, "I was shocked, I mean this Barghest critter ain’t small you know. Scared the life out of me."
Willow kissed Kennedy softly, "That’s my tough little Slayer. Okay, we’ll come back in a few hours." They walked towards the door, hand in hand.
"Hold on Will." Xander called, turning off his light, "Come on Bastian, lets get some sleep." Bastian nodded wearily. Together, the two couples left the library and headed back to their rooms. "Don’t worry Kennedy, we’ll solve this. The Scoobies have handled worse. You’ll be fine."
His words seemed to comfort both of the girls and Kennedy smiled at him, "Thanks Xand." She opened their bedroom door, "See you later guys."
"See you later." Bastian echoed. As the door shut behind them, he turned to Xander, "I hate this. I’m not a research guy, I’m a ‘hit it until it solves the problem’ kinda guy. I just want to find this thing and beat it to a pulp."
Xander smiled, "Nice plan, but not productive. Then you’d only have six days left yourself. I hate to say it, but for now it looks like it’s the books that hold the answer." He opened the door to their room and ushered Bastian in, closing the door behind them.
Bastian shrugged, "I didn’t say it was a good plan." He smiled, "But yeah, you’re right. Still, I’ll have a look around with Buffy tomorrow and see if we can find some tracks or anything."
Xander looked back at him, "That’s a good idea. And you said you were dumb."
"Well, okay, only some of the time." Bastian answered with a grin. He walked over and kissed Xander.
After a while, Xander pushed away, "Mmm, much as I’d like to, we should get some sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day."
Bastian sighed, "You’re right." They settled down and soon sleep took them.
Buffy lay in her bed. No matter how she tried, she couldn’t sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him.
‘I can feel it, Buffy.’ Pain and awe flashed across his face as the mystical light pulsed from the amulet.
‘What?’
‘My soul. It’s really there. Kinda stings.’ He paused, lost in the sensations pulsing through him, ‘Go on then.’
She shook her head, ‘No, no you’ve done enough, you could still...’
He cut her off, ‘No, you beat them back. It’s for me to do the clean up.’
She looked round as the immense mystical cavern started collapsing, crumbling away. Dust and debris rained down, the ground shaking beneath her. More dust settled on her head, there was a steady shower of it now. This was it, she realised, the end of the Hellmouth. There was a bang.
Buffy looked over to the door as a second gentle knock came, "Come in." she called softly. The oak door opened a little and Dawn stepped in. She smiled softly at her sister and padded over the soft, thick carpet. Sitting on the edge of Buffy’s bed, she looked down at her sister.
"I couldn’t sleep." She said, "I keep thinking of everything that’s gone." A tear rolled down her cheek, "And mom. Buffy, I - we’ll, we’ll never be able..." Her voice broke and she started to cry, great racking sobs. Buffy sat up and pulled the younger woman into her arms, resting Dawn’s head on her shoulder and petting her hair. She whispered soothing words into Dawn’s ear, even as the tears that she had been holding back overwhelmed her and began running down her cheeks. Buffy pulled them down and they lay together on the bed, crying softly, yet both a little happier. They were together and they were family. Eventually, sleep took the two sisters and for the first time since the end, Buffy’s dreams were peaceful.
Willow and Kennedy lay in each others arms on the queen sized bed. Distantly they could hear Dawn. Kennedy rolled over, propping herself up on one elbow and looking at her partner. "It must be hard."
Willow’s eyes were wet with tears, "You have no idea Kennedy. I know what Dawn’s feeling. We’ve lost everything. Our homes, family, everything. I don’t even know where mom and dad are, even if they’re alive. I think they said they were going to Aunt Sue’s, but I can’t remember her number." A single tear rolled down Willow’s cheek. Kennedy reached out and brushed it away.
"But you’re still here. That’s what’s most important. And I’m with you. We’ll find your mom and dad. You remember where your aunt lives?" Willow nodded, "Then we’ll travel there, as soon as we can. We’ll find them. I promise." She pulled her witch into a hug. Willow rolled over and they cuddled together. Kennedy gently kissed the back of Willows neck. "I’ll always be there for you." Willow smiled and slowly drifted off to sleep
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