Title: Explosion 1/7
Author: Jadedragon
Email: blm55@bellsouth.net
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Rating: PG 13
Disclaimer: The characters from BVTS don't belong to me (sigh), they are the property of Joss, the WB, UPN and Mutant Enemy. I'm just playing with them for a while.
Summary: Giles is trapped in a warehouse when it explodes and believed to be dead.
Feedback: I'd love to know what you think. If you disagree with something I would like to hear it, small flames okay, but bonfires are not appreciated.
Notes: <> denotes thoughts

Buffy, Giles, Xander, Willow, Angel and Wesley had searched the warehouse meticulously and had come up empty, another lead pointing to nothing. They had been searching for the lair of Boris and his minions most of the summer. Angel and Wesley had come up from Los Angeles to help with the search. Boris was a very dangerous vampire who had come to the Hellmouth intent on opening it to release the demons within to help him overtake the world. Boris was an ancient vampire who had been a sorcerer in life and had finally found the spells necessary to unite vampires and demons under his leadership. They had been one jump behind him all summer and had barely prevented him from opening the Hellmouth two and a half weeks earlier, at the last full moon.

Everyone was at the entrance, except Giles who wanted to reexamine a lower storeroom. He headed toward the other end of the building, telling the others to go ahead and get ready to leave; he would only be a few minutes. Giles entered the small storage room; at first not seeing anything but the empty crates he had seen the first time he had been in the room until he walked to the back wall. He spied a crack in the wall, which on examination was a secret door that he opened. Inside was another room, filled with explosives, a timer clicking with just over a minute left on it. He ran for all he was worth upstairs, yelling at the top of his lungs to get out. Once he made it to the ground floor he started running toward the entrance.

Buffy saw Giles running and waving his arms. "Get out!! It's a trap! Get out!" Giles yelled, as he ran toward the entrance, 100 yards away. Angel and Wesley forced Willow, Xander and Buffy out of the warehouse just as the first explosions rocked the building. They were thrown to the ground as the following explosions brought the building down. A second series of explosions brought the collapsed building to flames, preventing any attempt to rescue Giles.

Buffy looked at the building in shock. "No! Rupert!" She ran back toward the building, as Angel caught her preventing her from entering the burning building. "Let me go. I have to get Giles!" Buffy struggled in Angel's arms. Wesley and Xander went to help him. It took all three of them to subdue the Slayer and keep her from reentering the burning warehouse to find her Watcher. She finally broke down, sobbing hysterically. Willow went to Buffy holding her as she cried with her. Soon fire trucks were arriving, so Angel, Wesley and Xander went to see if anything could be done, leaving Willow to comfort Buffy.

Willow held her friend and tried to comfort her, stroking her hair, brushing the tears away, just holding her to let her know that she was not alone. Willow was crying herself. Giles had been her friend, her mentor as well, as he had guided her studies of magick. He was more a father to her than her own biological father had ever been. How was Buffy going to handle this? Giles was everything to her, now even her lover. They had been together so briefly, just a few months, yet the love between the two was evident to anyone who saw them together, they completed each other. Willow knew that her friend would have a hard time ahead of her. Buffy had thought that Giles would outlive her and had discussed this with Willow and Xander just last week, asking her and Xander to watch over Giles and help him to cope with her loss, if and when it happened. Now, she and Xander would help Buffy to cope with Giles' death. Willow thought no one could have escaped from the explosion and the fire that had followed. Willow started sensing something and she opened her mind using her physic abilities. She detected magick, the evidence of a powerful spell. She couldn't identify, it was not a spell type she had encountered before. She would mention it to Wesley; maybe he would know what it was. It was probably a spell cast by Boris to ensure that they had entered the building before the explosives were set off. Willow forgot about it, concerned with helping Buffy cope with Giles death.

Angel, Wesley and Xander approached a firefighter.

"There was a man inside the building when it exploded," Angel told the firefighter who left to get his chief.

"Who are you and why were you in the building?" asked the Chief firefighter as he approached the three men a few minutes later.

"My name is Angel and I'm a private investigator and these are two of my associates. We were looking for a runaway in the warehouse when Rupert came running toward us yelling to get out of the building." Angel told him as he handed him a business card. "We had just exited the building when the first explosions started. Rupert was still inside."

"Was that the name of the man who was still in the warehouse?" the Chief asked.

"Yes, Rupert Giles, a friend and colleague who sometimes helps me with investigations here in Sunnydale. My base is in Los Angeles." Angel explained to him.

"Enough of chit chat. Why aren't you going in to get Giles?" Xander demanded of the Chief.

"I'm sorry, but whoever set those explosives also included fire accelerants. The fire is too hot for our equipment. We have radioed for backup and heavier equipment to fight the blaze. I'm sorry, but there is no way your friend could have survived in that building." the Chief told them, a sad expression on his face. "I'll need to talk with your group, but now I need to get back to my team. Will you be here for a while?

"Angel, I'll stay with Xander. Why don't you take Willow and Buffy home?" We'll meet you there in a little while." Wesley told Angel, knowing that sunrise was in about thirty minutes. He then turned to the Chief. "Rupert's girlfriend was here and saw the explosion."

"By all means, take her home. She doesn't need to be here. We'll do everything we can, but there is very little hope anyone survived that." he told them as he left walking toward the blazing inferno.

Angel approached Willow and with her help quickly got Buffy into the car and drove to the house that they shared with the rest of the Scooby Gang.

**********

Joyce had been thinking of Buffy and Rupert a lot the past week and finally realized just how badly she had been treating them. She knew that Buffy had loved Rupert for a long time, only realizing just how much recently. She had seen the love in Rupert's eyes for her daughter. However she was troubled with the thought of a man she had sex with being involved with her daughter, even though she and Rupert had been under the influence of powerful magicks at the time. She knew Rupert was a good man and knew that he loved her daughter to distraction; he would take care of Buffy and see that she had everything she needed. She would have to "deal" with it to borrow an expression of Buffy's generation. She didn't want to lose her daughter and also she didn't want a son-in-law in her own age group, it made her feel old. "Joyce, if you love Buffy you will have to accept that she and Rupert are going to be together," she had told herself before she went to bed. Afterwards, Joyce felt a peace she had not felt in a very long time. She had finally begun to accept Buffy and Rupert's relationship. She planned to see them the next day to discuss it with them and try to set everything back on the right foot, so to speak.

Joyce woke up suddenly, knowing something was wrong.

She looked at the clock beside her bed. 4:45 A.M. She tried to go back to sleep, but she knew something was wrong and didn't know what. She lay in bed for only a few minutes before she decided to go over to the Scooby house where Buffy lived with Willow, Xander, Tara and Anya. She quickly dressed, feeling a sense of urgency she had not felt before. She knew that Buffy needed her. "God, let her be okay. She's my only baby," she thought as she left her home.

As she arrived, she saw Angel's car pull up to the curb. He went to the passenger door and took out Buffy cradling her in his arms. She didn't see Rupert, but Willow was at his side. She followed them into the house.

"Is Buffy hurt?" she asked the vampire as he carried Buffy upstairs to her room.

"Joyce, physically, she's fine, but Rupert was killed tonight in an explosion," Angel told her as he laid Buffy down on her bed and turned to Willow. "Why don't you make her more comfortable and I'll tell Joyce what happened. Joyce, come with me downstairs."

Joyce followed Angel to the living room and sat on the sofa before asking him, "Angel, are you sure he was killed? Is there any hope?" Joyce asked knowing just how this would shatter Buffy.

"We can hope, but the explosion was extensive and there were accelerants used. It was a trap and Giles saved our lives warning us just before the explosions started.

"What happened to Buffy?" Tara asked as she and Anya came into the living room from the library.

Angel sat down in a chair while Tara and Anya joined Joyce on the couch in front of him.

"There was an explosion and Rupert was inside. The Fire Chief said that no one could have survived and Buffy saw the whole thing. It took Wesley, Xander and me to keep her from going back into the burning building to try and find him." Angel's pain was clear to the three women sitting on the couch.

"Could he have gotten out? Giles has gotten out of tight places before." Anya said.

"I don't think so, Anya. We stayed around for about an hour but he never showed up. Buffy's in shock so Willow and I brought her home."

"I'm going up to Buffy." Joyce told them, tears in her eyes.

"I'll go make some chamomile tea for her, it will help her calm down and get some sleep." Tara said as she went to the kitchen.

Angel watched Tara as she left the room. She was such a shy person, like a skittish filly who was scared no one would like her. She had proven herself over the summer, being there when her magick was needed and helping with research. She was a welcome addition to the gang, and he knew that she and Willow were very much in love.

**********

"Willow, he's gone. He's gone and I didn't get to tell him!" Buffy sobbed as Willow helped her change clothes.

"Buff, you have to calm down. You're not doing yourself any good. You need to try and sleep. I'll stay here with you. Angel is talking with your mom and she'll be up here soon."

"Will, she won't understand. She doesn't approve of Giles and me. She thinks he took advantage of me," she told her friend as she finished dressing and sat down on her bed.

"She knows that he loves you."

"He loved me...past tense." Buffy sobbed as Willow held her, trying to soothe her.

Joyce walked in as Buffy sobbed in Willow's arms. She had never seen her daughter so distraught, even after Angel had left following her graduation. She ached for her. " I have been such a fool," she thought to herself. In the past few months since Rupert and Buffy had been together, Buffy had shown a maturity that had not been evident before, but Joyce had been more concerned with herself and appearances than her daughter's well being.

"Buffy," Joyce called.

"Mom, he's gone." Buffy sobbed as Joyce went to the bed and took her daughter into her arms.

"Buffy, I'm so sorry. I've been a fool. Please forgive me." Joyce told her daughter as her own tears started falling. "I know that he loved you, I thought I was protecting you. He was so much older."

"That didn't matter. Mom, I have never been loved like he loved me and never will again. Rupert's gone and I didn't even get tell him!"

"Baby, what didn't you get to tell him? He knew how much you loved him." Joyce asked her daughter.

"Mom, Will, I'm going to have a baby, I just found out today and was going to tell him after we finished at the warehouse." Buffy sobbed harder as she held her mother in desperation.

Buffy felt so fragile, so weak as Joyce held her, she was in such pain. Buffy had always wanted to get married and have a family, when she was little she would play dress up and pretend to be either a bride or a mom. Although they had never talked about it, she knew that Buffy had given up those dreams, thinking that she probably would never live long enough to marry and have a family. Joyce vowed she would do everything in her power to help make things as easy for her as possible. She knew that the Scooby gang would help too, but it would still be hard, being an unwed mother. Buffy would need all of their support and she would have it.

"Buffy, you need to try and get some sleep. This is not doing you or your baby any good. You need to calm down." Joyce was telling her as Tara entered with a tray.

"Mom, how do you feel about my having Rupert's baby?" Buffy asked tears falling again down her face.

"Buffy, I love you and your child. I regret that Rupert won't be here to see his child born. I'm here for you. I'll help you anyway I can. If you will let me," she told her daughter. "I'm so sorry for the way I've acted."

"Oh, mom!" Buffy cried as she held her mother again.

"I-I made some chamomile tea for Buffy." Tara said as she entered the room.

"Tara, thank you. Buffy, here drink this, it will help calm you." Willow told her friend as she handed the cup to Buffy as Joyce moved from the bed so she could drink the tea.

"Will it hurt my baby?"

"No, it will just help you to calm down and get some sleep. You need sleep for you and the baby." Willow told her as Buffy started drinking the tea.

Joyce, Willow and Tara sat with her for about thirty minutes before she finally drifted off Tara sat with Buffy while Joyce and Willow went downstairs to tell the others the news of Buffy's pregnancy. As they reached the first floor, Wesley and Xander came in as Anya brought coffee to the living room for everyone. They all gathered wanting to hear what had been learned from the site.

"I wanted to stay behind because I sensed a spell that had been cast just before the explosions. Willow, did you sense anything unusual?" Wesley asked the young witch.

"Wesley, I did sense something, but it was not like any spell that I have encountered before. What was it? I thought it might be something that Boris had cast to be sure that we were in the building."

"You didn't sense Rupert?"

"No…"

Wesley looked at the group around him. He didn't want to raise their hopes, but he did want them to know just what he had discovered. "What I sensed was a translocation spell, a very powerful one, and I sensed Rupert. If he used the spell before the explosions, he could have escaped. I don't know if the spell was finished or not, nor where it may have taken him. I want to go back to the site with Willow and Tara to see if we can determine whether Rupert cast the spell, whether or not it was completed and if it was where it sent him. I don't want to get anyone's hopes up and I wouldn't tell Buffy until we know more. She has had enough shocks for one day."

"Do you think he's alive?" Willow asked hopefully.

"Willow, I don't know. I know that I'd never forgive myself if I didn't follow every lead. Can I count on your and Tara's help?

"You bet. When did you want to go back?"

"The best time will be tonight, we all need some sleep and the Fire Chief said an investigator for the Fire Department will be coming by a little later to talk to you and Buffy."

"Wesley, do you really think there is a chance that Rupert is alive?" Joyce asked her daughter's former watcher.

"Joyce, there is a chance, however small. Rupert is a very resourceful man, if there was a way out of there, he would find it." Wesley assured her.

"I hope so. Buffy needs him, us more than ever now." Joyce told them, her voice breaking.

"What do you mean, Joyce?" Angel, who had been quiet during the entire conversation, asked Buffy's mom.

"Buffy just told Willow and me that she is carrying Rupert's child and he didn't know it. She's going to need all of our help and support over the next months. It will be hard enough for her to deal with Rupert's death, but having his child without him, is going to be that much harder for her. I've never seen her so fragile." Joyce told them before she broke into tears again as Willow took her into her arms.

As Willow comforted Joyce, the others looked on more in shock than before. There was no question that they would help Buffy. They had always helped each other through the bad times. Each made their own silent pledge to help their friend through her grief and help her to welcome the new life she carried into the world.

**********

That night Wesley, Willow, Tara and Xander returned to the warehouse. They cast a circle around the building and prepared the other markings and herbs needed for the spell. Wesley had explained that first they had to determine whether or not Giles had cast the spell he and Willow had sensed. Next they would try to determine what type of translocation spell it was and where it had taken the Watcher. It was a very complicated series of spells that Wesley had worked out while the others rested and answered the further questions of the Fire Department's investigator. Wesley knew that it would take the rest of the night to complete the series of spells and hopefully find where the spell may have taken Rupert. Even if Giles had cast the spell, and it had worked there was no guarantee that he had been transported where he could get the medical attention that would be needed for the injuries he would have suffered in the explosions. Wesley knew that it was probably a wild goose chase, but he would not leave any stone unturned. Rupert had become a good friend, despite the rough beginning they had and he was not one to give up on a friend when there was any chance, no matter how slight. It took an hour prepare and cast the first spell and get the results.

"Wesley, it's glowing!" Willow said pointing to the bowl containing Giles' hair.

"Yes, Rupert definitely cast the spell. That's good news, now to determine the type of spell and if it was completed. Lets' get the next one set up." With that they started the preparations for the second casting to determine what type spell Rupert had used.

About 45 minutes later, they had determined that the spell did indeed deal with translocation, a very powerful and ancient one that had been brought to a conclusion. For the next spell they had decided before hand to adjourn to Giles apartment. It would be easier to use maps on his floor than try outside in the wind.

Thirty minutes later they were at Giles' and had moved the coffee table and couch to give them room to spread out the map they would use. Wesley had Willow do the location spell, using a map of the U. S. and a pendulum, which she held in her right hand and held the bowl with Giles hair in her left as the focus. The first pass over the map ended in the Olympia Mountains in Oregon. At this point before they made a second pass, Wesley sent Xander out to get a map just of Oregon and one of the Olympia Mountains. Wesley gave him his cell phone in case they needed anything else while he was out or the second pass showed another location. The second and third pass also ended in the Olympia Mountains. It appeared that the spell had worked and Giles had been transported to somewhere in the mountains of Oregon. Wesley just hoped that he had been alive when the journey had ended. As soon as Xander returned with the two maps they took the one of the mountains and spread it over the floor. On the first pass it landed on a mountain called Stone Bluff. The next two passes also ended at Stone Bluff.

"We've found him!" Willow cried.

"Willow, he was transported there, but was he alive when he arrived? He would have had injuries from the explosions, possibly very serious ones." Wesley cautioned her. "I think it best that we not tell Buffy what we have discovered until we know more. I will go to Stone Bluff and try to find him. Willow, Tara and Xander, you need to stay here with Buffy." he told them before they offered to come with him.

"H-how will you find him?" Tara asked.

"Once I am in the mountains, I will contact the local authorities and see if anyone answering his description has been found. If not, there are several spells that I can use to locate him and I will try to find anyone who is involved with magick in the area to help me. I will do my best. I care for Rupert, too. I'll do everything I can to find him.

"We know that you will. Wesley, you have to find him, for Buffy." Willow told him.

"Willow, Tara, Xander, I may still find him dead. He may not have survived the explosion or the trip or may not have gotten the medical care he would have needed. It is still a long shot. I just want you all to realize that." Wesley told them very somberly. He didn't want to get their hopes up, even though his were.

**********

The next afternoon a memorial service was held for Giles. A body had not been recovered; the fire had been so intense that it would have been burned to ashes. One item had been found, however, Giles onyx ring, which Buffy took and placed on her ring finger, where a wedding band would have gone. Buffy cried during the ceremony, surrounded by her mother and friends. Her father had been called, but he had been out of the country on business. They had been back at the house only a few minutes when there was a knock on the door.

Angel opened the door for a man in a three-piece suit carrying briefcase and a priest.

"Is this the residence of Ms. Buffy Summers?" asked the man, who from his accent was British.

"Yes, Buffy is here, but she is not up to company just now. She has just returned from the memorial service for her boyfriend and is very upset." Angel told the stranger.

"Yes, I understand. Allow me introduce myself. I am Charles William Smythe and this is Father Simon. I'm Mr. Giles' attorney and he told me that the people named in his will would be present here after the service. Might I see Ms. Summers, Ms. Rosenberg, Mr. Harris and Mr. Wyndham-Pryce?

"Follow me," Angel told the man as he turned and led them into the living room.

Buffy was sitting between Willow and Xander. They had been there for her the whole time, helping her, guiding her, supporting her. Never had they seen her so weak, so helpless. Angel, Wesley and Xander had been patrolling the last couple of nights, Buffy being in no shape to.

Mr. Smythe looked at the small colorless woman sitting between her friends. He has seen pictures of them and could not believe that this was the Slayer. She looked so pale and frail, like she could barely carry her own weight. All the fight that Rupert had spoken of had left her. He could see that she was totally devastated by his loss. Rupert had known her better than Charles had thought.

"Ms. Summers, I'm Charles William Smythe, Mr. Giles' attorney. You, Ms. Rosenberg and Mr. Harris are mentioned in his will, as well as Mr. Wyndham-Pryce, which he wanted read as soon after his passing as possible."

Buffy looked up at the English man, tears in her eyes. "Just like Giles, still taking care of everything."

"Yes, Mr. Giles had everything prepared in case anything should happen to him. Is Mr. Wyndham-Pryce here?"

"I'm here," Wesley answered as he approached the attorney.

"Mr. Giles asked that you take over his duties as Watcher. He felt that you had matured and grown since you started working with Angel. He felt that you would now know how to guide and help Ms. Summers in her duties as Slayer."

"Oh," Wesley said, touched that Rupert thought so much of him.

"He told me of your work with Angel Investigations but asked if you would make yourself available if Buffy needs your help and guidance."

"He didn't have to ask. Of course I will help Buffy in whatever capacity I can. We all will." Wesley assured him.

"Ms. Rosenburg, Mr. Giles leaves to you his collection of magick volumes with the caution for you to proceed slowly and learn all the basics before going on the more difficult and dangerous spells. He also asked that you help Buffy in anyway that she needs. He said that you and Tara would understand, this is the order in which he suggests that you study and learn from his texts." he said as he handed a typed manuscript to her he had retrieved from his briefcase.

Willow looked at Mr. Smythe with tears in her eyes. "I'll use anything that Tara and I learn to help Buffy. Giles was always so cautious when it came to magick. This is just like him."

"Mr. Harris, he knew of your relationship with your father and wanted you to have a place of your own so you would always have a place to go. He left you the residence that you now reside in. He bought it soon after all of you moved into it. Mr. Giles looked on you, Ms. Rosenburg and you, Mr. Harris as the children he never had, his family, and as such left you each the sum of $250,000."

Willow, Xander and Buffy looked at each other in shock. They never knew that Giles had money. He never talked about it or the lack of it. Buffy was happy for her friends. She knew that each had considered Giles as a father figure and knew that each had benefited greatly from knowing him. Buffy looked at Mr. Smythe wondering if the will been written before they had become lovers?

Mr. Smythe turned to Buffy, looking into her sad eyes as he continued. "Ms. Summers, everything else he has left to you and it is a considerable estate. He was the last of his line and his property in England, though small, is worth a tidy sum. But the last of his bequests were added just last week and are extensive. Basically he asks that you marry him, posthumously and take his name. Also, if there is any chance of a child, he adopts this child as his and asks that you raise the child here with your friends and family."

Buffy looked at Mr. Smythe as if he were crazy. "I can't marry a dead man, it's not legal!" she cried, her voice cracking with emotion.

"Yes it is, it has not been done in several centuries, but there are precedents, Mr. Giles researched it thoroughly and I helped him prepare the codicil myself. It is perfectly legal and will stand up in any court here or in Britain. We both made sure of that. There are some papers to sign and once they are filed, and a proxy wedding performed, you will be Mrs. Rupert Giles."

"Mr. Smythe, might I speak to you in the other room for a moment while Buffy digests what you have told her?" Wesley asked him in a tightly controlled voice.

"Certainly." Mr. Smythe followed Wesley into the library. Angel also followed and closed the door.

"Mr. Smythe, just what do you think you are doing? Buffy, Ms. Summers, has just said goodbye to the man she loves, has discovered that she is carrying his child and then you come and upset her again!" Wesley was livid.

"Believe me, Mr. Wyndham-Pryce, I am just doing what Rupert wanted."

"To marry Buffy after his death! Rupert would never be so cruel!"

"It's not being cruel. He wanted her taken care of and to inherit his entire estate. There is a distant cousin, who he abhorred. This cousin is connected with the council and sides with Mr. Quentin Travers. He did not want his cousin to profit by his death. He has tried in the past to have Rupert killed."

Wesley looked at Mr. Smythe, digesting what he had told them. He turned to his boss, "Angel, have you ever heard of such a marriage?" Wesley asked the vampire.

"I have heard of posthumous marriages, though they are rare. Usually it happened when a man went off to war and died in battle, leaving a woman or girl pregnant with his child. The family would marry the girl by proxy to their dead son and take the baby to raise. The girl would be taken care of, but she usually faded in the background after having given them an heir."

"So this is legal?"

"Wesley, you had better asked Mr. Smythe, not me, I'm not a lawyer, only a semi-historian." Angel told his friend.

"Mr. Giles did heavy research into the archaic laws, which have not been removed from the books. I assure you that everything is quite legal."

"What if Rupert is alive?"

"Then the will would be null and void. But I thought there was no escape from the fire he perished in."

"He may have escaped using magick. I am on my way to investigate that possibility. Buffy does not know, nor will she until after I return. I don't want to hurt her anymore than she already has been. But the marriage by proxy, would it still be valid, if Rupert's alive?"

"Yes, it would be just as valid as any other ceremony. Mr. Wyndham- Pryce, I understand, I really do. I wish you the best of luck. Rupert was my friend, too."

Willow knocked and came into the room shutting the door behind her. "Buffy's decided to sign the papers and have the ceremony as soon as possible. She wants their child to have its father's name," she told the three men. They all followed Willow back into the living room. Mr. Smythe took the appropriate papers from his brief case and had Buffy sign them and then Father Simon proceeded with the ceremony. Soon she was Mrs. Rupert Giles with Wesley standing in as proxy.

Buffy had made it through the ceremony by will alone. Mr. Smythe and Father Simon left soon afterwards, Mr. Smythe having Willow and Xander sign the papers for their inheritances before he took his leave of them. Buffy went up to her room, tears finally streaming down her face. She was married to Rupert, and he was not here, her heart was breaking all over again. When she reached her room she fell on the bed sobbing. Her mother and Willow found her there and tried to comfort her, finally getting her to sleep. Willow lay beside her friend to keep her company so she would not wake up alone.

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