Title: In Giles' Living Room 3/3
Author: K.V. Wylie
Disclaimer: Permission to use these characters relating to BtVS & AtS, has not been given. Joss, Twentieth
Century Fox, UPN, WB & Mutant Enemy own TM and copyrighted them. This is purely for fun,
and no copyright infringement is intended
Willow thought she was going to scream. If she moved, she knew her father would go with her. So she was staying in one spot, and so was he, his arms crossed over his chest, watching her, waiting and watching until she thought she would just lose it completely.
"Would it make you feel better to yell at me?" he asked finally.
"You don't like being yelled at," she said.
"No, I don't," he said sternly.
Willow flopped onto a bench. "Can't you try again with mom? Maybe call her?"
She felt him gently stroke her hair. "Child, I haven't seen your mother in nearly a year."
"I know, but--"
"And that was for ten minutes because we failed to synchronize our flights at the airport."
"You could call her."
"No," he said simply. He took a seat at the other end of the bench.
"You're here for, what, a week this time?"
"I'm going to stay," Ira said. "Your mother and I decided I would be the one to tell you that we had decided to part. I wish you had found out under different circumstances than those of yesterday morning."
"That's for sure," Willow said, twitching uncomfortably.
"I am sorry."
"Because you were…..with someone? Or because that someone was another man?"
He paused at the anger in her voice.
She looked up. "Have there been…..others?"
"That is my business."
Willow violently threw her candy apple into a bin. "Why Giles then?"
Her father brightened. "Oh, that's easy. Because I fell in love."
She stared at him.
A passing clown paused by them. "Judging for best Rhode Island Red in pavilion B in five minutes! Lay your bets. Winner gets a free chicken."
"Live?" Ira asked curiously.
"All our chickens are alive," the clown replied. "And most of our judges too."
"I suppose I asked for that. No, thank you," Ira said. The clown shrugged as he moved on.
Willow had barely heard the exchange. "You l-love Giles?"
"Yes, you did not walk in on anything illicit," Ira said, as he brushed sequins from the clown's costume off his lap. "Willow, you have a decision to make. I am going to stay here. Your mother has taken a house in London. I hope you will remain here with me. I would like that. However, if you desire to live with your mother, you may, and continue your education in London. It is your choice."
"You mean, go to Cambridge? *The* Cambridge?"
Ira nodded slowly. "If you choose." Quietly, he added, "It would mean leaving your friends here, though."
"But I could come back in the summers?"
He looked at her for a few moments. "Certainly." He stood. "I think you have good friends…..including young Mr. Harris," Ira said. "As well, your father loves you, and wants you here."
Willow looked away, at the mass of people swirling by, but not really seeing them. "I…..um….."
"I do understand about the lure of London," he added. "Shall we look for the others?"
"Ok." She got up. "Buffy and Giles went this way, I think." She started towards the arcade.
<<<>>>
As Buffy walked through the courtyard to Giles' apartment, she reflected that this hadn't been the worst evening of her life. It hadn't been wall to wall fun, but she'd never had a night like that anyway. As far as Buffy-fun-fests went, the evening was of the not-bad.
Except for the part of seeing Giles on a 'date'. Though he and Willow's father had spent most of the time with a chaperone-approved eighteen inches of distance between them, they had given each other enough secret looks and hokey smiles to almost make Buffy wish for Anya's company instead.
Willow, at least, now answered when Giles spoke to her, though her answers were mainly one-syllable and directed to trash cans, posts, and her shoes. Something was on her mind, something more than her parent's divorce. Buffy was sure of it. Something had been said between Willow and her father, and it had made Willow strangely distracted.
Buffy would rather have gone back to the dormitory straight after the fair, but a text she needed for class tomorrow was at Giles'. So here they were, trooping through the courtyard to his apartment. But, Buffy promisedherself, they were only going to stay long enough to get her book, and for Willow's dad to get his car keys. He would drive them to the campus, and then Buffy would have a clear field in which to get Willow to spill.
Giles opened his front door, Buffy went in, (straight to the couch for she didn't need much light to see by), she heard Ira Rosenberg go to the kitchen (obviously he knew his way around well enough in the dark, she noticed), Willow took a couple of reluctant steps in, then Giles came in and turned on a light switch.
All four of them looked up, then looked farther up to an object glittering at the ceiling.
And froze.
"What the frig is that?" Giles asked, to no one.
Something large and white hung from a ceiling beam. It looked like a cocoon spun out of spider webs and Christmas lights. Only a few strands were attached to the wood beam; the bulk hung down level with Buffy's head.
Willow took a few steps forward, but Ira was faster than Buffy would have guessed. He cleared the space between the kitchen and front door in an instant, and got between Willow and the whatever-it-was.
"There's something inside," Buffy said, peering at it. "And it's moving."
"Don't go near it!" Giles said sharply.
"Thanks, Giles, for that important update to my training." Buffy peered around the cocoon at him. "What is this?"
"I believe I already indicated that I don't know," he replied.
"What kind of Watcher are you? This is *your* apartment. Did you leave something on the stove?" she teased.
"Yes, I left Stove-Top Cocoon Mix in a pot," he replied, circling the object warily.
"Maybe it's a butterfly," Willow offered, trying to see around her father. "A Christmas butterfly."
Her father gave her a look. Quickly, she said, "I mean, a Hanukkah butterfly."
"What are those, Rupert?" Ira asked, indicating a spot near Giles' feet.
The latter bent down and picked up two, small clay pieces.
"Lateor praemanc," Giles read. "It's the clay tulip bulb."
"Clay what?" Buffy asked.
"For lack of a better description," Giles said, handing her the pieces.
Buffy eyed them dubiously, then looked at the cocoon again. "*That* came out of these little things?"
"Exposure to air?" Giles murmured, still circling around. "Cells of some sort."
"Accelerated growth," Ira said. "This is a birth."
"And imminent, by the look of it," Giles continued.
"Where did these come from?" Buffy asked, holding up the clay bits.
"Xander found it. His company is expanding Gulch Road," Giles said. "Did you check on the area, Ira?"
"There is nothing of note in any records. The area was farmland until the road was built," Willow's dad said.
"I don't like this." Giles shook his head.
Buffy's neck was getting sore from trying to keep up with Giles and Ira Rosenberg bouncing conversation off of each other. "Whatever it is," she said, "it's pretty."
Giles glanced at her. "Pretty things can be dangerous too, Buffy."
Buffy tossed the clay pieces onto a table. "I'm not sensing anything bad from it, Giles," she said. "We'll sit here with a few weapons and wait it out. What's the big?"
"What you sense or do not sense seems to be as mutable as the--" but Giles stopped and regarded her thoughtfully.
"I'll take my daughter home and then return," Ira said, but Willow cut in.
"No, I want to stay here."
"Daughter, it is not safe."
"But I want to stay. I'm part of the Scooby gang and I always stay," Willow protested.
"I know," Ira said. "And I have spent many sleepless nights because of it."
"I'm not leaving!" Willow said, crossing her arms over her chest and raising her chin.
"Child--" Ira started.
"No!"
Buffy tried to hide a smile. "What's that phrase about apples falling from the tree, Giles?"
"This is Resolve Face," Willow said. "*Not* Parent Face."
"Looks the same from here," Buffy said, curling up in a corner of the couch. She noticed Giles' mouth twitch as he handed her a crossbow.
"All right," Ira said finally. "Willow, you will stay here by the door."
"I'm going to stay with Buffy," Willow said, and promptly scooted over to the couch.
Her father opened his mouth, but he swallowed the words. Instead, he went into the kitchen and helped Giles make tea.
<<<>>>
Willow woke with a jump. She looked around, thinking that something in the living room had woken her up, but everything looked the same as before. Buffy was beside her, a crossbow propped on a couch cushion. Giles and Ira were stretched out in two chairs by the desk, asleep with their chins on their chests.
Buffy turned at the movement, her eyes glittering as strongly as the spinning cocoon above them.
"You ok, Will?" she whispered.
"Just a nightmare." Willow glanced in the direction of the two men. "When did they fall asleep?"
"Giles took first watch. He woke me at four, and your dad was sleeping then."
"Anything?" Willow cautiously pointed up.
Buffy shrugged. "It just keeps twirling. I don't know what's going on with it. Your dad thinks that whatever's being born will be here before sunrise."
"Is it a demon?"
"I don't know. It's fun to watch though. It looks like coloured lights dancing inside." Buffy snuggled down beside Willow. "If it's a demon, I'll kill it. No biggie. So, what's the sitch with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"You've been thinking about something all evening."
In a voice almost too low to hear, Willow said, "My dad asked me if I wanted to live here with him, or move to London with my mom."
"London, huh? Like in England?"
"I could go to Cambridge and come home in the summers."
"Probably a better school than the one we go to," Buffy said, trying to keep the hurt from showing in her voice. Her stomach had just plummeted.
"Tara and I like to read about Celtic history, and about the Saxons and Romans. Can you imagine being able to actually see some of these places? Me?"
"I bet it would be wonderful," Buffy said quietly. "And when you come back, we could hang all summer." She glanced at Giles and Ira. "You wouldn't want to live with your dad? I know I only just met him, but he seems ok. And he cares about you. It could be worse. You could have my dad."
"My dad cares, but he worked a lot when I was growing up. Sometimes I wouldn't see him for months," Willow said. "And he's really strict."
"Not that I *ever* imagined saying this," Buffy said, "But Giles, Mr. The-World-Will-Fall-Off-Its-Axis-If-I-Ever-Didn't-Wear-Tweed Giles, will probably, uh, loosen your dad up." She grimaced. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded."
"You don't know my father," Willow said.
"No," Buffy agreed, "but you outstared him tonight. I bet that never happened before." She checked the cocoon's progress before adding, "People change."
"Like Giles at the fair," Willow agreed. "He was…..laughing. I've never heard him laugh before."
"No?" Buffy asked, surprised.
Willow shook her head. "It seems wrong."
Buffy smiled. "I was thinking that it seemed right, like tonight was the real guy, finally." She sobered at a sudden, intense flare of colour from overhead. Flying to her feet, crossbow up, she shouted, "Giles! Time to play midwife!"
He was awake and on his feet in an instant. Ira Rosenberg took a few moments longer to awaken. When he stood, Willow went over and took his hand. He looked down at her, smiled warmly and squeezed her hand.
Circling the cocoon, Giles murmured, "Extraordinary."
"It's gorgeous," Buffy added.
"Keep your weapon aimed, please," he warned when he saw the sight of her bow dip. She raised it again, after giving his lowered sword a rather pointed look.
Under the white skin of the cocoon, a chromatic storm twisted and flared. Turquoise rain battered scarlet clouds. Citrus-orange lightning made skewered paths from side to side. The ceiling supports began to groan as the larva bulged and swung, its arcs now threatening to smash it into a crossbeam.
"It's on my side!" Buffy yelled, as what looked like a head pushed against the top. The skin split, screeching like shearing metal.
Buffy winced at the pain in her ears, but she kept her crossbow up. Whatever was emerging from the tempest was gigantic. The head came, so fierily white that Buffy had to look to the side. She saw a limb come out, extending slowly like a spider leg. But then it shook and revealed itself to be not a leg at all, but a wing, wet and golden-green like algae in a stream.
Then it flared too, as if the air was setting it on fire. Buffy had to lower her eyes again.
"Giles?" she called, not able to see him for the brilliance.
"Here!" he replied, coming beside her. "Willow? Ira?"
"Kitchen," Willow called back. "Dad opened the door!"
"Why?" Giles shouted.
But Buffy, seeing another wing unfurl, said, "Because I'm going to let it go."
"What?"
Buffy dropped her crossbow and shaded her eyes. "Giles, you said that Willow's dad takes his faith seriously. I think he's guessed what this is. Not that I know myself, exactly, but we're going to let it go. I think that's the right thing to do."
She took his hand as they edged back, away from the entity being born. Even though she couldn't look at it, she could feel the oppressive size of it, like a brick wall pushing at her chest.
The last of the larva must have torn because the metallic sound died off. In the ghastly, burning-white glare, Buffy smelled holly and spicy flowers and coal, and dozens of other odors, surrounding her like incense fumes. Then she heard something, like a footstep, but feeling more like a shudder through the floorboards. Something brushed the top of her head, streaking an amazing warmth through her hair. At the touch, she almost went forward. Wanted to go forward, to the whatever it was, and just submerge in the heat, but Giles grabbed her arm.
"Buffy!" he cried.
"I'm not going," she managed, but it had been a close call. Giles wrapped his arms around her as she trembled. Another tremor came up from the floor, but a fainter one. The white light became yellow, then grey, and then died off. Buffy looked up cautiously and found an empty skin above her and a few wisps of smoke by the door, but nothing else except for Giles' furniture.
"Everyone ok?" she called.
Willow and her father came out from the kitchen, looking dazed. "I guess so," she said. "What was that?"
"I don't know," Buffy said. "But it was…..beautiful."
"That it was," Ira agreed.
"What do we do with that?" Willow asked, pointing at the empty cocoon, but it was already disintegrating into ash.
"I guess we get a Dustbuster," Buffy laughed. Giles looked at her and sighed.
<<<>>>
Willow bounced into the dorm room. "Hey, Buffy. Dad and Giles and I are going out to a movie. Want to come?"
Buffy put down her sociology text, eyeing her excited friend. "So, you're ok with things now?"
Willow bounded onto the bed, which sent all of Buffy's papers flying. "You were right about people changing. My dad actually made a joke. He never makes jokes. Until now. And it was a horrible one, but he'll get better, I'm sure."
Buffy tried to retrieve her essay notes. "Oh no! I didn't number these pages."
"Sorry!" Willow made several attempts to grab pages which seemed determined to remain airborne.
Slowly, Buffy asked, "And…..about the other thing? London?"
"I'm going to stay here. I'm not entirely sure about guy-guy, only because it's Giles and my dad, and that's, um--"
"Yeah, I know," Buffy said sympathetically.
"So, you wanna come? We can't go see the Grinch movie, because my dad is still kind of panicky on Christmas, but--"
"I've got to finish this paper," Buffy said.
Willow nodded. She gave Buffy a hug before flying out the door.
Buffy stared at her text for a moment, looked at the door, looked back at the book, then breathed out and tossed everything onto Willow's bed.
"I heard that!" Willow called from the hall. "Hurry up! Dad's meeting us downstairs!"
Buffy laughed as she grabbed her jacket.
(end)
(Ira Rosenberg is mentioned in the season two BtVS episode "Passion". Angel has turned into Angelus, and Willow nails a cross on her bedroom wall (behind a curtain) for protection. She tells Buffy that her father will freak if he sees the cross, and also mentions that she has to go to Xander's house to watch a Charlie Brown Christmas every year.)
GOING TOWARDS YES (Story II)