Spring Fever:


English Rains (Part one)

Disclaimer: You know. I don't own Buff and co., Joss 'n' them do. (New characters are my own invention. For their use, please ask first.) Thanks.

London was cold, wet, and rainy. Not that Rupert Giles minded, but his red-haired companion certainly seemed to. Willow, he noted, was shivering violently.

"Here," he said, and offered her his overcoat. She smiled gratefully as he helped her don it. "Thanks, Giles." The brown duster seemed to drown her as she gathered it around herself. [She even looks lovely soaking wet,] he thought, and his inner moppet raised an eyebrow, which stimulated a flood of other, less innocent interpretations of the thought. Giles shook his head and dissmissed them.

He ran a hand through his short, wavy brown hair and smiled down at her. "So, why are we standing outside in the rain?" she asked.

"We're waiting for our ride," he answered. "Shouldn't be too long, though. Best to get the luggage together."

They set about gathering their belongings. Willow had packed only two bags, and in her carry-on only packed toiletries, a copy of The Demolished Man and an extra-large duffel bag to carry souvenirs in. Giles hoisted his three bags on his shoulders, and looked out into the street.

A large black sedan pulled up to the curb, and a giant of a man in a grey tweed suit got out of the right side. "Rupert!" he called as he ran up to greet the pair. He engulfed Giles in a bearhug, and just when Rupert became sure that he would never breathe again, the man let go of him.

"Edwin, old man," he wheezed,"good to see you again." The two shook hands, and then Edwin turned his huge brown eyes on Willow, who was still shivering from the the cold rain.

"And who is your lovely companion?" he asked, flashing a brilliant smile at the girl. She smiled and extended her right hand. "Willow Rosenberg. It's ah, n-n-nice to meet you." Her teeth were chattering as the rain soaked through her hair, and she was sure that if she didn't get inside and warmed up and dried really soon, she was going to spend a good portion of the trip in the hotel room being sick.Edwin took the offered hand in both his own and suavely kissed it. "Welcome to Great Britain, dear girl. Shall we go?" He released his grip and gently took her luggage away from her as he turned to walk towards the sedan. "This way."

Motioning to the two to get inside first, Edwin unlocked the trunk of the car and put Willow's bags inside with Giles'. He closed it up and got in the vehicle as well. He looked in the rearview mirror to back out of the parking space, whe he noticed that it was awfully quiet in the back seat. The girl, [What was her name? Willow?] and his cousin had both fallen asleep, she with her wet head on his shoulder, and he with his arm around the petite girl, his mouth hanging open, and his head back on the headrest. Edwin ran a hand through his long, sandy brown hair and chuckled, muttering to himself, "Plus ca change..."

Willow awoke to a hand shaking her shoulder. "Willow...wake up. Willow." She sat up straight and exclaimed. "Frogs!" before she realized where she was, and whom she had been using as a pillow. SHe grinned sheepishly at Giles, who said to Ediwn, "She has frog fear."

Giles and Willow exited the car as Edwin retrieved their luggage. Giles sighed as he saw the building ahead. The Watchers' Compound. He'd dreaded coming here as a child, and now it seemed he dreaded bringing Willow, who was still a child, into this kind of life.Willow, her children, her grandchildren, their children, theirs, and so on until the end of time. It was a big decision for her to make, one which she would want help and guidance with. Giles suspected that she already knew as much about being a Watcher as she could without being one. She really was as much a Watcher as he was...only without the magickal or combat training. In his mind flashed a picture of Willow brandishing a battle-axe and decapitating a vampire. Little Willow, the fierce warrior. He chuckled.

"What's funny?" Willow asked. The sun had begun to come out from the clouds, and a few rays shone onto her hair, giving it the sheen of brand-new copper.

"What?" Giles said.

"You were laughing, Giles. What's so funny? Thank you, sir." She took her bags from Edwin and waited patiently for him to lead them into the building.

It was obviously not a hotel. It was a castle, complete with drawbridge and moat and surrounded by walls fifteen feet high. The grey stones that made up the outer walls and towers of the castle has been repaired with normal red bricks where there had been holes. The outer walls of the main building were of the same modern brick.

"Renovations? When did they do this?" Giles asked Edwin.

"1982. You were in Prague that year. You haven't been back here since...well..."

Giles cut him off abruptly. "It's been forever, yes, I know. I haven't been called."

"You called us, Rupert." Edwin stated. His tone was flat, which Giles knew indicated that he wasn't keen on talking on the subject any further. "Miss Rosenberg, shall we get you settled?" he asked as he offered her his arm. "Your room is right this way."

"What about Giles?" Willow asked.

"I think he knows where his room is. This way, if you please." Edwin led Willow into the front doors of the castle, and disappeared into one of the many hallways that led upstairs.

to part two
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