Title: Discovering You 1/2
Author: Luisa
Email: leyjd@hotmail.com
Pairing: B/G
Rating: PG-13
Distribution: Dword, Kattie, Dusty, Dee... Anyone else just tell me where.
Summary: Sequel to Regrets. When the world doesn't end and Giles doesn't
die, he and Buffy find each other.
Spoilers: up through "Grave" (S6) Angst Alert!
Disclaimer: Everyone from the Buffyverse belong to Joss, ME, et al. I'm
just re-writing the script, so that Buffy and Giles get the reunion they
should have had :P "Hero" belongs to Chad Kroeger
Feedback: hmm... how about I trade you a naked Giles mental image for your
feedback. Would that work? <EG>
Notes: To those of you who demanded... err... requested a sequel - this is
for you.
Thanks: To Donna for the Beta... thank you so much! :)
They stood side-by-side, silently surveying the calm surroundings, each wondering if the sleepy town that lay below had the slightest inkling that the world had almost ended. The elder of the sisters reached an arm around the others' shoulders, still in awed silence as they shared the first tender moment in what seemed like a lifetime, but was in actuality mere months.
Dawn eventually turned to her sister with a happy, peaceful smile. "I... I love you Buffy"
With tears still in her eyes, Buffy now wrapped both arms around her sister, pulling her in for a fierce hug as she replied into Dawns hair. "I love you too, munchkin."
Dawn raised her head to look into Buffy's eyes, a question in her own. "What do you think stopped it? I thought Willow couldn't be stopped."
"I don't know, Dawnie. Anya said that Giles said...." Buffy's sentence died on her lips and the contented expression on her face faded entirely as realization dawned. "Giles!"
Dawn's eyes widened in shock as she watched panic colour her sister's face. "You... you don't think... he...?" Her thoughts also trailed off.
"I... I don't know.... I... oh god... what if...?"
For several seconds, the two sisters could only stare at each other in growing dread - each afraid to speak their fears until finally Buffy spoke in a choked voice. "I... I... I gotta..."
"I know. Go to him." Dawn's words were soft, and her voice trembled a little as her eyes filled with tears of uncertainty. Giles' life was at stake. She nudged the Slayer, trying to propel her into action. "Go on... I'll be right behind you."
Buffy's eyes also glistened as she wrapped her arms around the teenager's sight figure, amazed at Dawn's sudden maturity. A small "Thank you" passed from her lips before she turned and fled the cemetery.
She ran without looking back, hurtling over anything that stood in her way. There was no room for intense thought or reflection as she ran. Just one simple phrase flitted through her mind continuously while her gut clenched in fear. [Don't die Giles... don't die.]
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The Magic Box was a wreck. It would be impossible for anyone inside to survive the attack inflicted on it by Willows magic and rage, let alone the earth tremors that had followed as the witch had tried destroy the world. Buffy could only stand and stare in shock at the deteriorating building that was once Giles' livelihood and the Scooby-Central. [Oh, god... Giles... please be okay...]
She stepped forward gingerly, picking at the debris that had flown into the street. "Giles?" She called out as loudly as she could, given that she was struggling to find her voice as her panic rose. "Giles?! Answer me!" Hesitantly, the Slayer entered the former store, aware that it could come crashing down around her any second.
It was as if walking onto a deserted battlefield. Shattered glass was strewn around where the counter once was, and the few bookcases that hadn't splintered lay flat on their backs - their contents spilled throughout the room along with many broken ornaments and figurines. And there was blood... enough to worry Buffy even more. "Giles? Anya?" Still only silence answered her. She would have progressed though to the training room in her search, but for the fact that the fallen gallery barred the entrance. [Where are you guys?] Fear gathered even more strongly in her heart and she backed worriedly out of the store, refusing to believe that they could be crushed in the mass of destruction.
Turning back toward the quiet street, Buffy headed toward the only place she could think of that Anya and Giles would have gone to, had they survived. Running once more like the devil was on her tail, the Slayer found herself at Giles' apartment before she realised it. "Giles?" By now her cry was hysterical, and she flung open the door without caring what sort of disturbance she was creating in the small complex. "Oh my god, Giles!" The words were wrenched from her throat and tears sprang easily to her worried eyes as she took in the sight beyond her.
He lay on the couch, clearly exhausted from the afternoon's events with bruises purpling on his face and arms surrounded by cuts and scratches. His eyes were closed as if it were to great an effort to even open them for her, despite the fact that she had crossed the room and was kneeling by his weary from, demanding that he look at her.
"Giles! Please! You've got to open your eyes... you've gotta look at me! Please, oh please Giles... don't die on me... I just couldn't handle it, if..." A heart-breaking sob erupted mid-sentence, and the distraught Slayer gathered her Watcher into her arms, cradling him close to her. "Please Giles... look at me..." Tears cascaded down her cheeks as she sobbed his name once more. She was barely aware of his chest rising slowly, as she homed in on the agonisingly slow pulse by her ear as she hugged him to her. "God Giles... I know you're still there... all you have to do is wake up..." She raised a hand absently and stroked his hair, pressing a tearful kiss to his forehead. "Come on Giles... just wake up, baby... please... I need you so much... I've got so much to tell you..." She dropped her hand and slid defeated onto her backside as yet more tears spilled from her eyes. She continued to call his name, beg of him to wake up as she alternated between sobs and hiccups of despair. A sudden movement caught her eye, and she looked upward at the demon standing at the top of the stairs that looked sympathetically back at her.
"He... he was okay while we were walking - or in his case, stumbling - back. But as soon as we got in, he just crashed. I... I didn't know what to do..." Anya hesitantly edged her way down the stairs, fearful of the Slayer's wrath. "I... I didn't know if there would be anything anyone could do... I mean... it's not like he's..." her voice trailed off and she took a deep breath before trying again. "He's still breathing, right? I mean, well... that's a good sign, right? Maybe he's just asleep." As she neared, Buffy could see that the other girl had been crying as well.
"He won't wake up. I... don't know what to do." The usually bold Slayer was a ball of despair huddled next to the almost still form beside her. "He's hit his head so many times before.... god, what if...?" She couldn't complete the question, dread compounding yet another heavy sob to tumble from her lips.
"Maybe... maybe he's just sleeping really heavily.... you know, after Willow drained him and all... that's gotta be tiring..." Anya's lower lip trembled as she searched desperately for reasons, and a sniff escaped her against her will.
The soft sound tore at Buffy's heart and the Slayer rose blindly, reaching toward Anya and pulling her to herself. There they clung to each other for dear life, utterly helpless they allowed themselves to drown in tears of fears for the man who had watched over them all for so long.