Title: Trusted Foe 7/21
Author: Eaglewolf
Feedback: Yummy
Disclaimer: Joss and his playmates in the sandbox own it. It's getting crowded in there.

Giles was laughing as he drove, Buffy was gasping for breath telling him of the Scoobies latest enterprises.  She glanced over at him shyly, and smiled thinking how good it was to see him so happy.  He looked free and relaxed.  But as she continued to watch him out of the corner of her eye she noticed that his eyes took on that haunted look again as he remembered just what was going on.

“I like Lauren.” Buffy said, turning her attention to the countryside blurring by.

“I’m glad.” Giles said, wondering what he would have done if she didn’t.

Buffy wriggled in her seat, “But I’m gonna be glad to get back into my own clothes.”

The minutes ate up the miles, and they were already half way to London before they knew it.  Sometimes they sat in silence, and sometimes they talked.  Giles told Buffy more about the uneasy friendship he’d formed with Ras at first, and how by the time he’d helped him escape they’d been almost as close as brothers.   Ras had been the first one to open Giles’ eyes and show him that things didn’t have to be the way the Council said all the time.  He taught him to roll with the punches, and accept that sometimes the wrong way of doing things was the right way.  It was because of Ras that Giles had been able to adjust to Buffy so quickly.  In a way she reminded him of his old friend.

“Giles?”  Buffy turned in her seat to look at him.

“Yes, Buffy?”  Giles glanced over at her before turning his attention back to the road.

“Will you ever come home?  I mean would Lauren move, say if you wanted to?” She watched his face carefully to see if there would be any type of reaction.

“Why, Buffy?” He deliberately kept his face passive, knowing she was watching him like a hawk.

“I was just wondering…”  Buffy trailed off and it was a few minutes later when she spoke again.  “I miss you, Giles.  We all miss you.  If it wasn’t for the Hellmouth I’d seriously think about moving here.”

Giles smiled.  “It would be nice to have you here.”

“It would be nice to be here.”

*****

“Minnon!” Quikim exclaimed, “What happened?”

“I didn’t know she was with a Watcher!” Minnon cried, “But there’s more.”

“Yes?” Quikim growled.

“The Slayer.”

Quikim’s quills rose up on his back.  “The Slayer?  Not one of the potential Slayers but THE Slayer is here?”

“Uh. Huh.”  Minnon trembled, not quite sure what Quikim would do with this new information.  He closed his eyes and concentrated, “Buffy.”

“Buffy?” Quikim tried to choke back the laughter.  This is a name that strikes fear into the hearts of all demons?  Who is the Watcher?”

“Robert Gylez?  It’s hazy, Quikim.  You know how hard watching is for me sometimes.  I need to rest.”

“Giles?” Quikim growled.  “Rupert Giles.  I should have known.”

“Oh.  Giles.” Minnon frowned.  “That’s not good.”

“No.” Quikim replied.  “Not good at all.”

****

“I’m leaving, Sarah.  I won’t be back.” Lauren smiled at her boss.  “I’m sorry.”

Sarah frowned, “Lauren?  Is everything okay?”

Lauren nodded, “It will be.  Things are just going to be hectic.  I’m sorry I’m not giving you much notice.”

“No. No. It’s fine.” Sarah smiled, “But I’m going to miss you.  We were a good team.”

“Yeah,” Lauren returned the smile, “We were.  You’ll be fine, you’ll find someone even better than me.”

“Lauren?  Does this have anything to do with Rupert?”  Sarah’s look was hopeful.

“No.” Lauren laughed, “No wedding bells.  Actually…” Lauren took a deep breath, “I’m leaving him Sarah.  I love him but… sometimes it’s not enough.”

Sarah’s jaw dropped open, “But you two are so perfect together!”

“No.  We aren’t.  We were perfect for a time, but well things change – you know how it is.”

Sarah nodded, “Well if you need to talk…”

Lauren put her hand over the elder woman’s.  “Thank you.”

“And you know that if you ever need a job there will always be a place for you here.” Sarah tried to hide the tears rising in her eyes.  They’d started together, and had both worked their way up their respective ladders.

“I know.  Thank you.”  Lauren smiled, and went to pack up her desk.

She didn’t know what was going to happen next week, she just knew that if she survived her life was never going to be the same.   She was going to give Giles back to Buffy, she knew the young girl wanted him.  She could see it in her eyes how hard it was to see Giles with his arms around someone else.  Lauren smiled softly to herself, glad that Buffy and herself had warmed to each other quickly.  It would have been much harder to walk away from Giles to hand him over to a bitch who couldn’t care less about him.  But Lauren knew that Buffy did care about Giles very much, so if by stepping aside she could make them both very happy she was glad to do so.

A few minutes later Lauren stood in the doorway of her office.  She looked back at her bare desk and sighed.  That was all she had left to show for the past eight years of working here.  It had been where she first started out, and she’d honestly thought she’d retire here.  But Nick and Giles had taught her one thing if they’d taught her anything.  Take risks while you have the chance to do something about them.  Treat each day as an adventure; don’t sit back and let it all pass you by.  If she survived the next week she was going travelling, exploring all those places she’d only ever heard about.  She had money saved, but what was the use of saving if you never used it?

“The end of an era.” She whispered, as she turned and walked out to the elevator.  Her life in the corporate world was over.   She was going home to have a long hot bath, and start her life as a completely new person.  Lauren laughed as she realised soon she wouldn’t be thinking of Giles’ place as home.  She was really going to miss him, he’d become so much more than just a lover to her.  He’d become her best friend.  Lauren ignored the small voice in the back of her head that told her she was only setting Giles free because there was a minute chance she could get Nick back.  She knew that even if Nick hadn’t been coming back into her life she still would have let Giles go.  He deserved to be happy, and Buffy could make him much happier than she ever could.  He’d lost most of the sadness in his eyes since she’d come back to him.  That alone almost made up for leaving him.

****

“You’ve trained her well, Rupert.” Quentin said quietly, watching Buffy as she worked her way through the Council’s stimulator.

“She’s a remarkable woman, Quentin.  You’d be wise to remember that.”

Quentin turned to look at Giles.  “Quite.”

Giles took off his glasses and began to polish them, “I don’t wish to lay back in bed with you.  I want to make that very clear from the start.”

“We could use a man like you.” Quentin said slowly, wondering how he could entice him back to the fold.  “Buffy needs a man like you.”

“Buffy shall always have me.”  Giles replied with a steely glint in his eyes, as he replaced his glasses and turned to watch Buffy again.  “The Council however shall not.”

Quentin sighed.  “Your father would want you to come back to us.”

Giles removed his glasses again, and took a step closer to Quentin. “My Father is dead.”  He stepped back, feeling the anger radiating off him.

“He was a good man, Rupert.  A very good man.”  Quentin said quietly.

“Yes.  He was.” Giles felt his anger abate a little.  “But if he ever taught me anything it was do what was right for myself not anyone else.”

“Okay.  You win.” Quentin frowned, “What about on a contractual agreement?  You just help us out with certain tasks?”

Giles barked out a laugh.  “The ONLY reason I intend to help you with this Nikkaras debacle is because it directly involves Lauren.”  He closed his mouth with a snap.

“Lauren’s involved? How?” Quentin frowned.

“Never mind.”  Giles replied.

“Rupert!” Quentin was exasperated.

“I am not your instrument either, Quentin.” Giles replied remembering one night in Sunnydale many years ago.

“Buffy made that quite clear, Rupert.  She didn’t need your help that day.”  Quentin winched at the memory.  “We’re not your enemy.”

Giles raised an eyebrow, “That’s debatable.”

“I could cut your pension.” Quentin muttered under his breath.

“You could – but you wouldn’t.” Giles replied.

“No.” Quentin sighed.  “I wouldn’t.”

Giles smiled, “You knew this was a possibility when you trained me for the black ops.”

“I know.” He sighed heavily again, “and you were still the best operative we ever had. You wouldn’t consider training future Watchers would you?”

Giles pursed his lips, “Training them with who’s curriculum?”

“Ours of course.” Quentin watched Giles face and sighed yet again, “Yours.”

Giles nooded, “I’ll think about it.”

“Thank you.”  Quentin placed his hand on Giles’ arm.  “Thank you.”

“I haven’t said yes yet, Quentin.”

“I know.” Quentin nodded.  “I hate my job sometimes.”

For a moment Giles glimpsed a part of the man he’d known what felt like three lifetimes ago. “Someone’s got to do it.” Giles replied.

“I know.  I envy you, Rupert.  I wish I could just walk away sometimes.”

“Another few years and you’ll retire, Quentin.”

Quentin sighed, “If only it were that easy.  There’s no one good enough to run the council Rupert.” Quentin looked over at Buffy and then back at Giles, “No one available anyway.”

“No.” Giles answered the unspoken question.  “I may teach, but I’ll never take your job.”

“I thought as much.”  Quentin sighed again.  “It was worth a try.  Faith’s term is almost up.”

“I know.” Giles replied.  “What is the Council planning on doing about her?”

“About Faith? Nothing.”

“No wetworks?” Giles asked surprised.

“No.  She’ll be Buffy’s responsibility.”  Quentin replied.

“Oh?  Does she know about it?” His voice showed he was ready to go to war for her if he had to.

“Yes.  She suggested it.” Quentin replied.

“Quentin?”

“Hmm?”

“IF – and that’s a big if I was to accept a job training future Watchers – would you allow me to do so in Sunnydale?” Giles asked thinking ahead.

“You really do love her don’t you, Rupert?” Quentin sighed. 

“I-I-I...” Giles stuttered, “It’s not that.  I just think it would be a better place to train them – on the Hellmouth.  Rather than over here far away from danger.”

“Do you think any of our Watchers could cope with that?” Quentin asked his voice low.

“No.  That’s just the point, they sit in their offices and order people around.  They need to learn the lay of the battlefield.  They way I did.  Every Slayer is different Quentin.  Some are like Kendra, and some are like Buffy or Faith.  You don’t teach that.  You show them how to look in a book, or how to bark orders but not how to really deal with a real life Slayer.  If I was to train them where both Buffy and Faith were available…”  Giles trailed off as he started to weigh up the possibilities.

“Why don’t you talk it over with Buffy and get back to me?”  Quentin asked.

Giles nodded.  “We have a long drive back to Bath.  We only stopped to get her things.  But then she saw that, and couldn’t resist.”  Giles nodded at the simulator.

“She has the highest score ever, you know.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Giles asked dryly.  “She is the Slayer you know.”

Quentin chuckled.

Buffy bounded over and took the towel Giles handed her.  “That was fun.  Can we get one back home?”

“Of course, Buffy.  You could put one in the new training facility.”  Quentin replied smirking.

“What training facility?” Buffy asked puzzled.

“I’ll let Rupert answer that.  The Council resources are at your disposal.  Have a safe trip back.  Rupert.  Buffy.”  Quentin nodded to each of them in turn and turned to leave.

“Thank you.” Giles said to the elder man’s back.

“What’s he talking about Giles?” Buffy asked concerned.

“We’ll talk about it on the way home.” Giles smiled and offered Buffy his arm.

A couple of hours they were well on their way home, Giles had told her of his idea and was waiting to hear her ideas on the subject.

“That’s GREAT, Giles!  I mean you’d be back home and you’d be able to help me keep an eye on Faith.  We could actually train decent Watchers, in the field so to speak!  Instead of pompous gits they kept trying to send me.  I mean look at Wesley when he first arrived.”

Giles started to giggle.  “Yes well.  I believe he’s come quite good over time.”

“That’s just it Giles – it wasn’t until he had to face real demons.  Until he was in the real situations that he learnt to adapt.  When he first got to Sunnydale he expected the demons to do what he wanted them to, like they’d stand still while he found the right sword to lope their head off.”

“Well that’s why I thought it would be a good idea.” Giles said turning into the left lane.

Buffy was quite excited about the whole idea until suddenly she sobered.  “Giles?  What about Lauren?  Would she come home with you?”

Giles wondered what to tell Buffy, he didn’t want to tell her the truth but he didn’t want to lie to her either.  So he told her the only thing he could, “I don’t know.”

Buffy frowned as she tried to find a solution that would suit all of them.  “Well I guess maybe you could come and get it started and then come back if she didn’t want to come back to Sunnydale.”

“Buffy, if I was to do this it would be permanent.  It’s important.  More important than just me.” Giles smiled sadly.

“Yeah, but I don’t want you to have to lose Lauren because of it.  Being a Watcher has already taken enough from you as it is, Giles.”

“It also lead me to you.” Giles smiled and reached over to pat Buffy on the knee.

Buffy was surprised at the tears that welled in her eyes and the lump that rose in her throat.  “Thank you.”  She took a deep breath, “Having you as my Watcher was the best thing that ever happened to me.  I know I dumped on you sometimes Giles, but I want you to know that I really do love you.”

Giles smiled, “Thank you..”

“We make a great team.”  Buffy said banging her fist on the dashboard.

“That we do.” Giles nodded.

“Sunnydale just isn’t the same without you.” Buffy murmured softly.

“I know.”  Giles glanced over at Buffy and wondered if he should tell her the truth about him and Lauren.

“I hope Lauren will say she’ll come.  What will you do if she won’t?”  Buffy’s heart rate increased.

Giles sighed, took a hand off the wheel and ran it through his hair.  “That may not be an issue.”

“What??” Buffy turned around in her chair to face him.  “Is there something wrong?”

“Buffy, we don’t know if we can stop your dream from happening.”

“Oh.  Of course.  I thought you meant Lauren and you were having troubles.”

“We are.” Giles sighed.  “If she survives, and Nick wants her back… I’m letting her go Buffy.”

“Giles!”  Buffy exclaimed.  “You love her.”

“Yes, I do.  But I’m not in love with her.”  Giles glanced over at Buffy with a sad smile on his face.  “I love her very deeply, but she loves Nick in a way that I’ll never be able to match.”

“Oh.  I’m sorry Giles.”  Buffy tried to keep the grin off her face, she felt bad for him because she could see he was in pain but that would mean he was available.

“It’s okay.” Giles replied.  “It’s for the best.  It will make her very happy.”

“Giles?”

“Yes?”

“What would make you happy?”

“Going home.” 

“To Sunnydale?”

Giles nodded, “To Sunnydale.” 

“Giles, is it selfish of me to hope that Lauren and Nick get back together?  I mean I want her to be happy, I really like her but you belong with me.”

Giles gave her a puzzled glance.  “Hmm?”

“A Slayer needs her Watcher, Giles.  I trust you in a way I can’t trust anyone else.  You know me.”

Giles frowned wondering exactly what Buffy was talking about and hoping desperately it was more than just shop talk.

Buffy was distracted at that moment by a song on the radio, she turned the volume up saying, “You know he sounds a lot like you.”

My heart cries out for her in the night
I’m the invisible man who’s always there
She knows me, she hears me
Will her heart ever let her see me?

Oooh I’m the invisible maaan
Giles leaned over
and turned the volume back down, “Indeed.”

“When do I get to hear you sing again, Giles?”

“Tonight?” Giles replied, “I’m doing a set down at The Dragon.  Would you like to come?  Lauren will be there.”

“Count me in.” Buffy smiled, “I wanted to hear you sing more ever since Xander set Sweet loose.  You have a beautiful voice Giles.”

“Thank you.” He knew his blush was obvious this time.

“Should we really be going out tonight, Giles? Don’t we need to research?”

“We?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Lauren wants to go out tonight… I thought under the circumstances…” Giles replied

“We’ll save her.” Buffy said her voice determined, “She’s too good to die.  I’ll do everything in my power”

Giles nodded, “We all will.  What did you see exactly, Buffy?”

They spent the rest of the trip home discussing Buffy’s dream in detail, Giles’ questions drawing more and more out of her.   Soon they had a better idea of what was going to happen but not how to stop it.

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