Title: Missing 1/7
Author: LadyForASH
Rated: Eventual FRAO, but FRT for now.
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Spoilers: Everything. This takes place after Chosen.
Disclaimers: I own nothing. Joss is the bomb. Everything is his and I'm just taking out these wonderful characters and playing with them for awhile. Please don't sue.
Summary: Willow is missing!
Shadows flickered about on the walls of the living room. A cozy fire crackled in the fireplace with a nice vanilla colored tile hearth soaking up the orange color of the flames. Giles sat in his favorite easy chair across from the hearth, sipping on his tea and gazing into the fire as if mesmerized by the flames. In actuality, his thoughts were miles away. Rain spattered against the window panes. When he was in Sunnydale, California, he had missed the sound of the rain. He had missed how the rain would come here in England and cleanse the Earth. He loved and had missed the smells that a good downpour could bring. Now he was here, the place he had missed, and it was the last place that he wanted to be.
Visions of Buffy danced in his mind. Though his gaze bore into the flames, it was her that he saw. She was breathtaking in battle. He missed watching her in action. Her fluid movements, her strength and poise and command in the field always gave him pause. She hadn't needed him in that capacity for years now. In fact, truth be told, she didn't need him at all anymore. He sighed heavily and sipped from his teacup, closing his eyes against the memories.
Giles hadn't heard from Buffy in months. Ever since the demise of Sunnydale, she and the others had dispersed upon the Earth, going their separate ways to "find themselves" and the like. Giles had returned home to Bath, yet he still hadn't "found" himself. Or rather, he had, in his visions of the past. He yearned for the library in Sunnydale. In that life, he had a purpose. He was needed, if misunderstood. Now he was a lonely old man lost in his thoughts of the past, and slowly dying of a broken heart.
It wasn't that he didn't have offers. Robin Wood had contacted him on several occasions regarding the Hellmouth in Cleveland. He practically begged for Giles to help him train all the new slayers there. Giles did help with research from his home in England, but he couldn't bear to physically go to Cleveland. Seeing Wood reminded him of how he had betrayed Buffy. Giles couldn't just turn his back on them when they needed help, but he couldn't put himself out there a hundred percent either. Now that the Watcher's Council was non- existent, Giles was the main resource for the existing Watchers and Slayers. He knew that in a sense, that was his duty and purpose, but he just couldn't put his heart into it like before. The evil never stopped. The pain never stopped. He could handle it all knowing Buffy was there with him, but without her beside him, he just couldn't go on. She had "retired," after beating the First Evil, and she deserved the rest. Now he considered himself retired as well. He was Buffy's Watcher, after all. Whether she needed him or wanted him or not, he was hers, for always. He'd help Wood when he could, but not in Cleveland, and not with hand to hand training. He had to stay here and wait for Buffy to need him again. She was his Slayer, and watching her was his duty. He'd wait forever if he had to. He vowed that he would not betray her again by not being there for her, if she did call in need.
He got up and went into the kitchen to wash his tea cup. Outside his kitchen window was the field where he'd ride his horse, and the shadow of the barn fell across the back patio. The rain was softly falling now. It was more of a mist, really.
Not much had changed here in Bath. That in itself was comforting. His family estate here was well cared for while he had been away, and he was grateful for that. It was nice to have something that was constant in his life. Willow had been impressed with the land when she had been here to heal after her magical addictions. She had spent most of her time at the Coven, but Giles knew she had found peace here on his property. He had thought he too would find peace now that he was home, but so far it had eluded him.
The last couple of years had been awful. He had made some poor choices. He had left Buffy after she came back. He had thought he was doing the right thing, but later learned he was anything but correct in that decision. His poor judgment continued when he came back to Sunnydale to help with the battle against the First. He had betrayed Buffy, going behind her back to scheme with Wood and serving as a distraction towards Buffy while Wood tried to kill Spike. He never should have done that, and if he really thought about it, he knew it was jealousy of her connection with Spike that had drawn him to it. And then when the others had disapproved of Buffy's decisions, and they had lost faith in her, he had remained silent. Even when they threw Buffy out of her own house, he had let them, and remained silent. If asked why, he couldn't tell the answer. He just knew she wasn't the Buffy that he had grown to love. That Buffy was gone, and it was all his fault. Yet, in the end, Buffy had won. He was so proud of her. He didn't deserve her. And she didn't need him anymore. So what was his place now? He didn't know.
He slowly made his way up the stairs and changed into his pajamas before falling into bed. This wallowing had to stop. He knew this. It was pathetic, really. His only redeeming quality was the fact that he had left the Scotch alone. How long that would last, he did not know. Giles rolled onto his stomach and closed his eyes. Sleep didn't take long in coming. Depression helped with that. Waiting and wallowing could be exhausting.
* * *
A cloud of dust drifted down all around Buffy. She shoved her stake down into her boot, and sneezed. Another sneeze shook her as she straightened up, pushing her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Ack, I hate this part." She glanced down the street, not sensing any other vampires, nor seeing another living soul.
It was late, way past the "witching hour." Dawn was fast asleep in her bed at home. Buffy had not been tired in the slightest, and thought a good patrol was in order. The shadows in Kirby were deep and thick around the Sherwood Forest, but vampires were not plentiful. The tales of ghosts, perhaps of Robin Hood's Merry Men themselves, filtered down throughout the people living around and in the area. Buffy had not born witness to anything remotely like that either, however. A lone vampire here and there, as in tonight's patrol, was all. She knew she should be relieved and content about that. But frankly, she was bored. Especially when she was restless like tonight.
She walked down the cobblestone street slowly and alert. The trees of the forest stood sentinel on her right, and someone's garden bloomed on her left. This was a picturesque setting, and Buffy sighed as she glanced up into the night sky. Stars twinkled brightly. On a night like this, it was hard to believe in evil. It was even more disturbing to Buffy that she couldn't find peace within herself.
Dawn had convinced her to settle here in Kirby. They had made travels from Rome to Paris to Berlin after Sunnydale, until finally finding themselves here in England. Dawn had started the school year here, and had made fast friends with two girls named Sarah and Katie. The three girls were all attached at the hip. It reminded Buffy of her high school days with Willow and Xander. She missed the Scoobies. They didn't talk much anymore. One would think that after everything they had all gone through together that they would be closer than family, but that just wasn't so. They had all built up too many walls over that last year. Buffy still hurt over their lack of faith in her. They threw her out of her own house, Dawn included. Buffy truly believed that Dawn didn't know any better, that she didn't realize what a betrayal that action was or what effect it would have on Buffy. But the others knew. At least, they should have. It wasn't something Buffy could easily forget and forgive, especially when none of them asked for forgiveness. Buffy wasn't even sure where they all were now. Wood and Faith were with potentials in Cleveland, and she thought Giles was at his family estate in Bath, but she had no idea where Xander or Willow roamed. Andrew was in Rome, and a few months back he had mentioned that Xander was on some kind of safari thing in Africa, but no one had heard from Willow in months. Buffy had left her address with Wood and Andrew so if anyone wanted to get in touch with her, they could. But no one did, besides Wood on business. Sometimes Buffy felt like one of those abandoned elderly in a retirement center, no family, no visitors, no letters, and no phone calls. At least she had Dawn, and for that, she would always be grateful.
A few more blocks West, and Buffy turned into a small cottage on her right. It was nestled on the outskirts of the forest. The house was painted a mellow tan and white, with a little front porch. A flower garden bloomed all around and behind the house. Buffy had discovered that she loved gardening, and had a knack for it. It amused her that her calling was death, but her new hobby was to bring life.
Buffy and Dawn had purchased the small cottage with funds from the Council. Robin Wood controlled all the Council's accounts now, and didn't even blink when Buffy asked about settling down and purchasing the house. She and Dawn also received a monthly stipend which insured Dawn of the best education, and that Buffy would never have to flip a burger or earn a living ever again. Wood had told Buffy that she was owed a great debt for all her efforts as the sole slayer. Now that she was retired, he instructed her to enjoy life. She was trying, but once in awhile, the melancholy would strike. The boredom would set in. On these nights, she yearned for the action from the old days.
Several times a week Wood or someone working for him would call to get advice from Buffy. She was now labeled as an advisor for the Council. She knew that she would never be completely free from being "The Chosen One." What was strange was that she didn't really mind. Not anymore. Because she knew she wasn't alone in the fight against darkness, she didn't mind helping out as an advisor. There were other slayers out there that were afraid, and they counted on her guidance. She'd help them as well as she could, because she remembered what it was like when she was the "only girl in all the world." She never wanted any slayer to feel as alone as she had.
Buffy entered her home in darkness, not needing an overhead light to find her way. She quietly hung up her coat in the closet, and then peeked into Dawn's room. Her sister was fast asleep, snoring softly. Buffy smiled, and then gently closed the bedroom door before making it to her own master bedroom. She undressed and ran a bath, pouring in some lavender scented bubble bath. She sighed as she settled into the water, closing her eyes and relaxing in it's comforting heat. She fell asleep in the tub as the rain began to fall softly outside, gently hitting upon her bathroom window.
It was early the next morning when Giles was jarred out of sleep by a pounding on his front door. "Bloody hell," he gasped into his pillow. He grabbed his glasses which sat on the side table and squinted at the clock. It was just past six in the morning. Who would be calling on him at this early hour?
The knocking was insistent. He rolled out of bed and grabbed his robe which hung on a hook on the back side of the bedroom door, and slipped his feet into some very worn sandals that had been kicked off by the side of the bed. He rubbed at his unruly hair as he made his way downstairs and to the front door. The knocking didn't stop until he threw open the door. The morning sunshine blared in, blinding him to who was there momentarily. He squinted until his eyes adjusted, and his gaze fell upon Xander.
"Xander?" The boy looked awful. He was skinny, sallow, and sunken. He fell to his knees and Giles rushed down to help the boy. "Xander!" Giles dragged him into the living room, shutting the door behind him with his foot before gently settling Xander down on the sofa.
"Hey G. Man." Xander coughed out the words. His voice was scratchy and weak. Giles gave his arms an affectionate squeeze. "I'll get you some water." He made sure Xander was secure on the couch before he ran into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water out of his refrigerator. Xander nodded his head in thanks before drinking deeply from it, then wiping his mouth on his torn and dirty coat sleeve. "Ah, I think that's better."
"Dear Lord, Xander, what has happened? Are you hurt?" Giles reached out his hands to begin to examine the boy, but Xander shrugged him off. "I'm fine. Tired and worn out, but fine. It's not me we need to worry about." The haunted look in Xander's eye caused Giles to shiver. Where was the clown, the jokester? This was not the Xander that Giles knew. It frightened him. "Xander, what is going on?"
Xander set the water bottle down on the table and leaned back into the sofa. He reached up with his left hand and scratched underneath his eye patch. It still bemused him that it still felt like his eye was there, even after all this time. It had been over a year now since he lost his eye. Sometimes, it felt like longer.
"I think they have Willow. I'm not sure, and I hope I'm wrong, but I think they have Willow. I mean, she was supposed to be here with me, but she`s not. She`s not here is she?" Xander frantically looked around the room hoping to see his friend.
Giles was getting frustrated with Xander's cryptic explanations. He wanted to shake the boy, but was afraid he'd injure him. "No, she's not here! What has happened? Who has Willow?"
Xander inhaled deeply, and then turned to look at Giles with a determined expression. "I was in Africa, getting ready to go on that Safari. You got my postcard?"
Giles nodded impatiently that he had, urging Xander to go on.
"Well, I sent Willow a postcard too, and she had Andrew track me down and she called me. She had broke up with Kennedy and wanted to get away. She wanted to come with me. I was giddy for her company. If I had known..." he trailed off, lost in thought. Giles poked him. "Xander!"
Xander shook himself. "Oh, sorry. Where was I? Oh, yes, Will came to join me. That first night was great. We shared stories by the fire, laughing and remembering. We talked about high school, and all the glory days, you know? It was late when we finally retired to our tents."
He grabbed the bottled water and sipped from it before continuing. "It was before the sun was up that they came and surrounded our tents. I was awakened by someone or something grabbing me by my arm and pulling me from my tent. Fire was raging all around our campsite, and I couldn't see through all the smoke. Strong arms tied me up and threw me in the back of a jeep. I screamed out for Willow, but they knocked me in the head and I was out. I don't know who they were, or what they wanted." His lips quivered as he fought back the tears. Giles put his arm around his shoulders. "We'll find her, Xander. Go on, what happened next?"
Xander breathed in deeply to calm himself. "They kept us tied up in a tent, somewhere deep in the jungle. I was blindfolded too, so I never saw who they were. They didn't speak English. They argued a lot outside of the tent. I don't know how long we were there. It could have been days, or weeks, but I just don't know. They'd bring us bread and water. I tried to ask who they were or what they wanted, but let's just say they didn't like questions." He paled, and Giles had no doubt that Xander had been beaten repeatedly. He hoped they hadn't laid a hand on Willow as well.
"They kept Willow and I separated in this huge tent. Then, this morning, Willow spoke to me in my head. You know, like when after Buffy died and Willow would give us directions in our heads? Anya and I hated that."
Giles nodded, remembering that bleak time.
"Willow said she had a plan. She was going to use her magic and teleport us together to your place. She said, `I'll get us to Giles.' Then there was this pain in my head, and bam, I'm at your front door. She was supposed to be here too, Giles. She said US, and not just me. Something must have went wrong."
Tears started to trickle down Xander's face. In all the years Giles had known Xander, he had never seen him cry before. Not even after Anya's death. He was always stalwart in his pain. The tears more than anything frightened Giles the most.
"We will find her, Xander. I promise." Whatever he had to do, Giles would not fail this time.
Buffy awoke sometime in the early morning. The bath water was tepid, and goose bumps speckled her arms and legs. She shivered and pulled herself out of the tub, wrapping herself in a beach towel. She dried herself off and then put on some warm flannel pajamas. As she combed out her hair, she glanced down at her form in the mirror. She missed her "yummy sushi pajamas." The flannel plaid pink and white outfit she now wore was just not the same.
After combing out and drying her hair, she went back downstairs to put on some tea. Dawn would be waking up soon, so breakfast would be in order. Buffy glanced at the calendar as she prepared the teapot, noting that today was marked in a big red circle on the Robin Hood calendar. Dawn had been planning this day for weeks. Katie and Sarah and their mom were taking Dawn on a week long trip to London. Apparently they had family there. They planned on showing Dawn the sights, catching a play, and doing a million and one other touristy things. Dawn had been counting the days. Buffy was excited for her, but was sort of dreading it herself. She was going to be alone while Dawn was away. She hated being alone these days.
The phone rang then, shaking Buffy out of her doldrums. "Hello?"
"Buffy, I hope I didn't wake you?"
"Nope, you didn't. How can I help you today, Robin?"
"You don't think I would just phone you up for a nice chat?" Wood was teasing her, and they both knew it, but it was nice and light hearted. Buffy smiled at her sister as Dawn made her way into the kitchen, a big yawn gracing her face.
"Morning," the teenager mumbled.
"Actually, " Wood began, "you are correct. I do need your wisdom. Hopefully you can help me out here anyway. We've ran into a demon here that I don't know a lot about. I don't even know if I can pronounce it's name correctly. I want to say `Glarghk guhl kashma'nik?'"
Buffy paused, holding the spatula with Dawn's scrambled eggs still on it in mid air above the plate. "`Glarghk guhl kashma'nik!'"
Dawn rolled her eyes and snatched the spatula out of her sister's hands. "I hated that demon. Made you crazier than usual."
Buffy shushed her sister and sat down at the kitchen table.
"Yes, I know that demon. One skewered me in the arm once, and injected me with some kind of poison that made me think I was in a mental institution. I almost killed Dawn and...my family." Buffy said the last in a quiet voice. It wasn't often when she referred to them as her family, but that's what Willow and Xander were to her. Dawn glanced up sharply at her sister, noting her pale face and quiet demeanor as Buffy listened intently into the phone.
Buffy finally went on to explain to Wood that in order to reverse the poisonous effects, they would have to break off the demon's skewer and make an antidote out of the poison. "Willow can help you with that. Frankly, I was a bit out of it at the time. All I remember was that it tasted awful."
"You don't know the recipe?" Wood asked.
Buffy nodded as she spoke into the phone. "Nope, that was all Willow. She made it."
Dawns arched her eyebrows. "I remember it. I wrote it down in my journal too."
Buffy covered the mouthpiece of the phone. "You did?" She then uncovered the phone to tell Wood. "Dawn says she has it."
"Well, that's good." Wood sighed in relief. "Willow is out of touch, so I was counting on you."
Buffy began to shovel the now cooling eggs into her mouth. "What is she up to these days?"
Wood frowned. It was sad that he had to tell Buffy what her friends should be telling her themselves. "She joined Xander in Africa on a safari. She was quite excited about it."
Buffy closed her eyes against the pain of the loss of intimacy with her friends. They were continents apart from each other now. It was rare that Wood and her talked more than just business. Maybe it was Dawn's eminent trip that struck Buffy with longing, but she found herself asking about them. "And Giles? Have you talked to him?" Why did her heart ache as his name crossed her lips?
"Not lately, no. He's helpful at times, but I sense that he's quite sad these days, Buffy." Wood leaned back in his chair, curious as to what Buffy would say. He knew there was a rift there between the Watcher and Slayer that needed healing. He felt guilty for contributing to that rift when Giles and he had conspired behind Buffy's back to kill Spike. They had failed in that, and Wood now thought that was the final nail in the coffin between Giles and Buffy. He would love to aid in some kind of reconciliation between the two, but Wood had no idea how to do that.
Buffy pushed her plate away and stood up, cradling the cordless phone to her ear as she helped Dawn clear the table.
"A phone call from you could help, perhaps?" Wood knew he was walking on dangerous ground now, but he couldn't seem to hold the words back.
"Yeah, well, he hasn't bothered to phone me either." She also wanted to mention that he was the one who left, he was the one that abandoned her, and he was the one that stood there as they all kicked her out of her own home. Why should she now be the one to call him? But she remained silent, angrily shoving things around in the kitchen. Dawn finished clearing the table and stood against the counter, crossing her arms in front of her chest and gazing at her sister with a concerned look.
Wood sighed heavily. He knew this conversation would not improve. Sensing Buffy's mood, he decided to end it as soon as possible. "I'm sorry, Buffy, but I really should get that antidote from Dawn so I can get it to the girls as soon as possible."
"Certainly, Robin." She handed the phone to Dawn and finished cleaning up the breakfast dishes. Dawn told Wood she'd email him the ingredients right away. Buffy smiled, proud of her sister, then she ran upstairs to change into some clothes and then she'd help Dawn finish packing for her trip.
* * *
The drums never stopped. They bore into Willow's brain like a drill, vibrating her very skull. She clenched her teeth, and they too rattled inside her mouth. She yearned for peace and quiet and stillness with every fiber of her body.
She was guarded every second of every day. She didn't know where she was. All she saw was the inside of a hot canvas tent, and various black faces whom she assumed were members of the tribe that now held her captive for some unknown reason.
The leader, or at least she assumed he was the leader, only came to see her once. She knew he was a Shaman of some sort, and his magic was powerful. He had stepped into her tent the moment she had begun her spell to send Xander and herself to Giles. Xander had been teleported successfully, she hoped, because he had vanished. But she had remained, and her magic ceased to work. Somehow, this Shaman had turned her magic off. That was the best way for her to describe it. Her magic was still there, just as her heart was beating and her blood was pumping. He hadn't drained her of it or stripped her of it. She could feel her magic there, just under the surface. But the connection between it and her seemed to be broken. In some way, this Shaman had turned her magic off, and she didn't know how to get it back on.
No one had hurt her, at least not physically. But she was obviously a prisoner, stuck in a tent in the middle of Africa. No one talked to her, or told her what they wanted. No one even seemed to speak English. She had babbled non stop for days, but now she was silent. Her throat was parched, and the minimum water provided did little to slake her thirst.
She only hoped that Xander did get to Giles, and they'd eventually find and rescue her. Until then, all she could do was wait.
* * *
Giles hung up the phone, cursing.
"Didn't go well, G. Man?" Xander had changed into some of Giles old clothes and had been fed. He was feeling a lot better. Just being in Giles' presence helped his confidence grow. They would get Willow back. There was no other option.
"They didn't know a bloody thing!" Giles had phoned various contacts he had, but no one had heard anything about demonic or evil activity brewing in Africa. None of them had heard about a red headed witch either. Willow seemed to have simply vanished.
Giles was pacing back and forth in his living room. He shoved his hands down deep into the pockets of the jeans he wore. He was unshowered and unshaven, and had just thrown on a black t-shirt with his blue jeans.
"I even tried phoning Wood, but his secretary or whoever she was said he was away on a crisis, making some kind of antidote for a poison." Giles thought the lady was going to ask for further information from Giles, but he had hurriedly hung up, realizing that Wood was a dead end. Besides, Wood had his hands full there in Cleveland on that Hellmouth. He most likely would have been of no help, but Giles was desperate for any kind of help he could get. He had told the secretary to have Wood call him back as soon as he could, and that is was an emergency.
"Maybe we should try Buffy?" Xander sat on his hands, an anxious expression on his face.
Giles paused in his pacing, throwing himself down onto his leather lounger across from Xander who sat on the couch.
He hated to disturb Buffy. She deserved whatever peace and happiness she had now found. But, this was Willow, and they'd need all the help they could get. If Willow was in need, Buffy deserved to know. No matter what had transpired between them all, Giles knew Buffy would be there for her best friend. He nodded in agreement with Xander, and picked up the phone.