Title: A New Slayer 3/9
Author: Jadedragon177
Disclaimer: Not mine, Buffy and company belong to Joss, Mutant Enemy and the WB and UPN. Can I keep Giles, please?

"Rupert, what's wrong with her?" Joyce asked the question on everyone's mind, as he reentered the room with Spike and Angel.

"Nikki has been through too much tragedy in her short life. Her parents and both of her brothers were killed in a car accident when she was 8 in the Scottish Highlands. She was trapped in the car with them and wasn't found for several days," Giles looked at the varied expressions on his friends' faces, which ranged from shock to sympathy. "Nikki watched her younger brother slowly die of his injuries with the corpses of her parents and older brother around them. She fought so hard to get out of the car that somehow she came into her Slayer powers. But, instead of being placed with a family as she should have been, she was taken to the Council compound outside of Liverpool and has lived under the strict Council rules ever since. She never had a chance to grieve for her family, nor finish her childhood. Her techniques are flawless, but she has no emotion unless it's like you just saw, flashbacks. She needs a normal environment. She needs to know that it's all right to just be a girl. That's where I need your help, all of you. She has never had any friends just the members of Council. It has taken me five months to finally talk them into letting me bring her here to try and reach her. I know there is a scared little girl inside crying out for help. The only reason that the Council finally agreed was that she when she almost got both us killed three nights ago, she broke down in front of Lord Courtney, the head of the Council. They didn't believe that her condition was so severe until then," he finished, the pain and anguish in his voice all too clear.

"Rupert, should I go to her?" Joyce asked him, wanting to help the young Slayer.

"Joyce, I think that's an excellent idea. She needs a woman she can talk to, a mother figure. She usually sleeps after an episode like the one that just occurred and will wake up not remembering her reaction or what she was reacting to. I'm to the point that I don't know what to do anymore. I'm open to suggestions from anyone at this point." He told the group as he sat down very heavily. Buffy went to sit by him as Joyce left the room to be with Nikki when she woke up.

"Giles, how old is she? Willow asked concern and worry on her face.

"She just turned twelve, several years younger than most slayers when they're called. She has the strength, the moves, but she is so young. Her parents and brothers' deaths affected her greatly and she has never grieved for them. She was never allowed to grieve for them. Nikki was forced into the uncaring environment of the Council and into Slayer training," he told them with anger in his voice, but then his tone softened as he continued. "Paul was her first Watcher. The first night he took her into the field they were attacked by a group of seven vampires. He had been told he was taking her to a place that had just been cleaned out and was caught unaware. He was killed while she watched. Nikki had only been at the compound a couple months when this happened. She feels responsible for his death and from that day she has become more and more emotionless. I've been with her for 5 months and she will not let me or anyone else in. I know she's hurting, I hear her crying at night. But when I try to comfort her, she just pushes me away and becomes even more emotionless." Giles told his friends, defeat plainly in his voice.

"Giles, if anyone can mother her, my mom can," Buffy told him. "Just give her time. She knows what it's like to be mom to a Slayer."

"That's what I'm hoping. I'll need all of your help. She needs to learn how to behave around normal people; she has only been around the Council since they took her in four years ago. She needs to learn to be a child and how to have fun."

"Do you think that she would like to take some classes at the dojo? That would give her the chance to meet some people her own age." Wang asked.

"Wang that's a good idea, but later. At the moment, I feel she is too fragile emotionally to be around strangers that don't understand about her special calling."

"Giles, what can we do?" Xander asked him wanting to help however he could.

"Just treat her as a friend and try to help her to understand that she is safe. I hope that Joyce may have more ideas on how to help her. I don't know what else to try," Giles said, defeat plainly in his voice.

"Giles, Tara has begun crisis counseling since you've been gone. I'm sure she'll be glad to help," Willow suggested.

"Willow, that's a wonderful suggestion. Where is Tara?" he asked wondering where the shy witch was.

"She had to work today, but she'll be here later when her shift is over."

"I look forward to seeing her again."

Anya came in as he was talking with Willow and was surprised to see Giles sitting by Buffy. She had suspected that he was the father of Buffy's child and seeing them together was sure of it. She took a seat by Xander and he took her hand.

"Giles, I'm glad to see you back," Anya told the Watcher. "The shop is doing very well," she pointedly told him.

"I'm sure it is, Anya. Now, tell me more about this demon we're looking for," Giles said and everyone started the research that they had gathered for.

They had been researching for several hours when Wang found a picture of the demon from Buffy's dreams. It was a Malock demon. Anya told the group that they were known for being quite vicious and clan oriented. Usually when a group of Malock demons gathered they would take over a town destroying it and all life in the town before moving on. There had not been such a gathering since 1729 when a small village in rural Germany had been wiped out before the demons had been exterminated. It had been thought, at that time, that all of the Malocks had been eradicated.

Further research revealed that the demons were not that much stronger than other demons, but that there was a telepathic link between members of each clan, which made them that much harder to kill. Included in the information they had found, was the spell, which would render this link null. The Scoobies realized that this spell would be the key to destroying them. Xander, Wang, Doyle and Wesley left to search several areas that were possible lairs for the Malocks while Angel and Spike went through the sewers to see if there was any activity near the Hellmouth.

It was almost 2:00 p.m., when Xander and Doyle returned to the Mansion after talking with Willie, who had told them of a single Malock demon that had been trying to hire some of his clientele to help him open the Hellmouth. Willie didn't know where he was staying, but had noticed an odor about the demon of burning rubber tires. Even though burning tires had been outlawed, the Gang knew of a group of Comek demons, which used burning tires as an aphrodisiac. The Comeks were harmless and kept to themselves. Their lair was in the caves where Adam had made his headquarters, so many years before. It was decided that Spike and Angel would go and scout the area after dark and report back to the group.

*********

Nikki awoke, she didn't know where she was. There was a woman sitting beside her, stroking her hair. Then she remembered she was in Sunnydale and the woman was Buffy's mother.

"What happened?" she asked the woman beside her.

"You had a flashback," Joyce told her honestly.

"Did I hurt anyone?" Nikki asked in a small voice.

"No. Nikki, would you like to live with me?" Joyce asked thinking that might be a good first step toward a more normal life for the young girl.

"I have to live with my Watcher." Nikki told her in an emotionless voice.

"Buffy didn't. She lived at home with me until she went to college and there she lived in the dorms."

"Buffy went to school with people her own age?" <This was unbelievable. Slayers lived with their Watchers and learned everything they needed from them. >

"Of course she did. She didn't know she was going to be the Slayer until she was 15. I never knew her first Watcher. I believe his name was Merrick. He was killed saving her life before we moved to Sunnydale." Joyce thought that this information would help Nikki.

"Do all Slayers get their first Watchers killed?" the young girl asked.

"No. It just happens sometimes." Giles answered the question from the doorway as he entered the room. "Neither you nor Buffy had been fully trained when your first Watchers were killed. Buffy was called before she was found and Merrick was training her when he was killed," he told Nikki as he sat on the bed beside her. "Nikki, your training had also just begun when Paul was killed. It was an accident, just like Merrick's death was. I know that Buffy grieved for him, but she used her anger to help her defeat the demon that killed him, just as I know that you can. One of the reasons that I brought you here was to have Buffy and the rest of the Scooby gang to help you become a better Slayer. But first, you must have a chance to grieve, to just be a little girl who has lost her entire family and a Watcher who you were becoming close to."

"Emotions just get in the way." Nikki told him.

"No, Nikki. I don't believe that. Emotions make you stronger. I have seen it with Buffy when she was saving any one of the people that you have met here. When someone she loves is in danger, her emotions give her an edge and I have seen her, time and time again use that edge to overcome overwhelming odds and save whoever was in danger and defeat the demon that caused that danger," Giles told the young Slayer, hoping he was getting through to her this time.

"You think I should move in with Mrs. Summers?" she asked her Watcher.

"Yes, I think it would be good for you, but I won't force you. This has to be your decision. Why don't you spend some time with Joyce and see if you like each other before deciding." Giles suggested, looking at Joyce who nodded to him.

"I know, why don't we go shopping," Joyce asked the young girl.

"I don't like crowds," Nikki told her.

"I know some small shops where there usually aren't too many people and we could buy a picnic lunch and go to the park afterwards," Joyce suggested.

"Eat on the ground?" Nikki hadn't been on a picnic since before her family's death. No one at the Watcher's Council would ever have suggested going shopping much less a picnic. Clothes were ordered and given to her. She had never had the chance to choose what she wanted; she wore what was given to her.

"We could eat at a picnic table, if you wanted to." Joyce assured her.

"I can choose? I can pick out what I want to buy, where I want to eat?" this notion was so foreign to her that she was in shock.

"Of course. This is your day. We will do whatever you want to do," Joyce assured the scared young girl.

"That's what Mommy said, it was my day and I wanted to go into the mountains…" Nikki said in a slow cracking voice which trailed off as Giles and Joyce realized what she was referring to.

As Joyce took the young girl into her arms, she felt the sadness in the small child. But her tears didn't come. She held her briefly, but Nikki soon pushed away from her and got up from the bed, walking toward the door.

"I'll go shopping but I'd rather eat at a restaurant," Nikki told her as she walked out of the room toward the living room where the others were.

Joyce looked at Giles before following the small Slayer. Giles, left in the room by himself, pondered the scene between Joyce and Nikki. She had shown more emotion in those few moments than he had seen in the entire five months that he had been her Watcher. Bringing her to Sunnydale had been the right decision. He felt sure that they could begin to heal the scars of Nikki's past and the first step had been made in this room.

Thinking about Nikki's future brought him to his own. He was going to be a father. He and Buffy were going to have a baby. He had to find Buffy to discuss their future, and their child's. He wanted to marry the woman he loved; he wanted his child to have his name; he wanted Buffy to have his name. Giles wanted to take care of her and their child, if Buffy would let him. He knew that theirs would never be a traditional marriage, but it would be full of love. He felt so blessed as he went in search of the woman he planned to spend the rest of his life with.

**********

Willow saw Giles leave the room and went to talk with Buffy.

"Did you tell him about the baby?" she asked her friend.

"Will, the spell was broken as soon as he saw me and he knew. I now know what you felt like then he got angry with you for using spells that he felt you weren't prepared for."

"He was angry?" Willow asked with surprise on her face.

"To say the least. He told me that some of the young girls the spell was cast for were raped and died of their injuries," she told Willow. "He asked me how I thought he would have felt if he had hurt me?"

"Buffy, how did he feel about being the father of your child?"

"Shocked at first. But after I told him that I felt that I was losing him to his new Slayer, he told me that he loved me and had been having dreams of that night ever since. We haven't had much chance to talk yet, but he seemed happy about the baby. Spike came in just as we started talking and was attacked by Nikki, then Mom stopped by and guessed that Giles was the father. And if you think that wasn't awkward, let me tell you, it was," she assured her friend, as she saw her mom and Nikki leave by the front door as Giles entered the room walking in her direction. "Here comes Giles now. Maybe we can have that talk." Buffy told her friend as Willow got up and went back to her computer.

Giles sat beside Buffy and turned to her. "What were you and Willow talking about?"

"She asked if I had told you about the baby…"

"I thought that she didn't help you with the spell." Giles said, anger creeping into his voice.

"She didn't. She found the bag where I had left the spell and the left over ingredients three weeks after you left. She didn't realize the complete consequences of the spell until I told her that I was pregnant. Giles, no one helped me with the spell, except Allie, the owner of a magick shop in LA where I went to buy what I needed. She told me how to mix the potion and how to draw the circle."

"Buffy whenever I think of what could have happened, I cringe. You could have been hurt so badly by me if anything hadn't gone properly. Promise me that you will never do anything that foolish again," he pleaded with her.

"Giles, I promise. I never realized that the spell could have been dangerous."

"I realize that. Unless you have seriously studied the ancient magicks, as I have, you just don't realize just how many things can and have gone wrong with some of these spells. But enough of that, we have other more important things to discuss."

"Yeah, like our daughter," Buffy told him with love shining in her eyes.

"Daughter?" Giles asked with a look of awe on his face.

"Yes, a little girl."

"I want her to look just like you," he said as he gazed into her eyes.

"I only hope she has your height," she teased him.

"Buffy, I never thought to have children, and now I am going to be a father."

"Then you're happy about our baby?" she asked.

"Very happy. I only wish I had been more aware when she was conceived. I would have been a very willing participant," he assured his love.

"I know that now, I'm sorry. I was so scared. I should have listened to Wang, he said I should have told you of my feelings before you left for London."

"Wang is a good friend and you should have listened to him. But that is in the past, we now have to make plans for our future and our daughter's future. Buffy, I want to marry you. Before you say anything, hear me out," he stopped her before he continued. "I love you and have for quite some time, but I never thought you could see me as a man, only as your Watcher, your friend. I am not feeling pressured by your mother, though I believe that you should have contacted me and let me know as soon as you knew that you were pregnant. I want to be with you and our child. There are so many decisions to be made not only about our relationship but what to do about Nikki and this demon that's in town. But right now at this moment the most important thing to me is taking care of you and our child. I want you to be happy, but most importantly, I want to do what is best for you and our daughter. What do you want to do? I need to know," he told her with love in his eyes.

"Giles, I don't want to rush into anything, I want us both to be sure."

"Buffy, I'm tired of being alone. I never realized just how alone I was until I came here to be your Watcher. I had been alone ever since I had returned to the Watchers when I was 22. When I came here, instead of having one Slayer to train, I had a Slayer and her Slayerettes. You became my family and I was never alone, someone always needed me for something. Then Jenny and I became close. I cared greatly for her, but I'll never know if I could have loved her, our relationship never got that far, and even though I didn't know it at the time, I was already in love with you."

"Oh, Giles,…" Buffy started.

"Let me finish," he told her, putting his forefinger on her lips. "When I returned to England, I realized that I was alone again. Nikki is so very different from you as a Slayer and she was so isolated. We haven't even become friends. Again, I was alone, but this time I knew just how alone I was. I have never been so miserable in my life than at the thought that I might never see any of you again. I realized that you, you and the Scoobies are my family. I missed you all, especially you. And I was at my wit's end trying to help Nikki. I have been trying to talk the Council into bringing her here for over five months and it took us almost getting killed to finally convince them what kind of shape she was truly in. I may have been alone, but she has been totally abandoned. Nikki was left with no family and no one to love her. I see a lot of myself in her. I felt abandoned when I returned to the Council, unloved. It wasn't until I came here to be Watcher to the most unorthodox Slayer in history that I found the love I have been missing for far too long," he finished, tears bright in his eyes.

Buffy looked at the man she loved and knew that she wanted to be with him too. "Giles, I have loved you for a long time. Yes, I will marry you, there is nothing I would like more than to be your wife," she assured him, as he took her into his arms.

"Where were Nikki and my mom going?" Buffy asked him after a few minutes.

"Joyce was taking Nikki shopping and to get something to eat. She has asked Nikki to move in with her. How do you feel about that?"

"Ok. Mom can be difficult at times, but she is very loving and that seems to be what Nikki needs."

"I couldn't agree with you more. While we were talking in the bedroom, Nikki briefly opened up about her past. It seems that the day of the accident, she had chosen where they were going. She blames herself for the accident that killed her parents and brothers. Buffy I think that living with Joyce will give her a more normal life than living with me. It may be easier for her to relate to Joyce and even to you than to me. Male council members have surrounded her, ever since her parents died. She needs women to relate to," he told her, becoming frustrated again, not knowing what to do for his young Slayer.

"Giles, it's ok. We'll all help. I know that this has been hard for you," Buffy assured him as they held each other.

"It's just been so frustrating. And the damn Council wouldn't see past their noses!"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Do you know why they appointed me as her Watcher?"

"Because you were such a wonderful Watcher for me?" she asked in an unsteady voice, not sure of his mood's sudden shift.

"Because no other Watcher would take the position. Every one of her Watchers has gotten injured, some more severely than others. But still they didn't see that she needed help! The damn bureaucrats were more concerned with her training as the Slayer than her health!" his anger very clear to his love.

"Hey, Giles, we're going to help her. Don't worry about what the Council has done," Buffy said as she tried to soothe him, taking him into her arms, stroking his hair until he relaxed and returned the caresses.

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