Title: Misunderstandings - Part 7
Author: Michelle
Rating: FRAO (Adults Only)
Pairing: Buffy/Giles (eventually)
Summary: Another birthday has tragic consequences for Buffy
Setting: set after season seven
Warnings: contains non-consensual sex
Disclaimer: These are not my characters. They belong to Joss, Twentieth Century Fox, UPN, WB & Mutant Enemy. This is purely for fun.
Thanks to monkeyscorpion for the beta.
Previous parts are here: http://bripper.drakeleather.com/Misunderstandings01.shtml
Faith desperately tried to think of a response to Giles’ question. Fortunately, Willow spoke up with an answer. “Short version - you were under a spell. We knocked you out, and Faith tied you up.”
“And my pants. . . ?” he asked.
“That’s going to take a bit more explanation,” Faith said.
Despite the fact that his hands were still bound together, he proceeded to tuck himself into his pants and zip them up.
“You’ve had experience doing that?” Faith asked as she inched away from him.
“Faith, I’m not going to hurt you,” he told her.
“Not taking any chances.”
Giles glanced from Faith to Willow and back again. “What did I do?” he asked as he stood.
“You wanted Faith to. . . uh. . .” Willow stammered. “I mean. . . you tried to force her to.”
“Do you remember anything?” Faith asked.
“The last thing I remember was my cell phone ringing,” Giles admitted.
“We think that’s the trigger,” Willow told him.
“You haven’t told me why you’re here or why I’m tied up,” Giles said harshly.
“Well, we got the results from the DNA test,” Willow told him. “According to the results, you had sex with Buffy.”
A knock on the door interrupted his response.
“I’ll see who it is,” Willow said as she walked to the door. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see the youngest Slayer. “Rachel?”
Rachel nodded. “Is Giles here? I need to talk to him. It’s very important.”
“Now’s not a good time, Rachel,” Willow told her.
“It’s about Merissa. I overheard some things that I think he should know.”
*************
Dawn watched Buffy as she slept. It was obvious she was having nightmares; she tossed and turned and even talked in her sleep. Though Dawn couldn’t understand a word she said. The nurses said she shouldn’t wake Buffy. They didn’t know what she might do if startled awake. So, Dawn watched and waited.
When Dawn began to think Buffy would sleep forever, Buffy spoke to her. “You shouldn’t be here, Dawn. It’s not safe.”
“Are the rumors true?” Dawn asked. “Did Giles do what they say he did?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I saw him earlier. He doesn’t act like –” Dawn began.
Buffy interrupted her. “He was drunk. He probably can’t remember what he did and probably never will. I just wish –”
Dawn shot out of her seat. “No, Buffy!” she shouted. “No wishing. You don’t know what will happen.”
“I don’t care what happens. I just wish Giles would remember. I wish he would see what happened and remember what he did to me.”
*************
Rachel shuffled her feet nervously. “If they find out I’m here talking to you, they’ll . . .”
“It’s okay, Rachel,” Willow assured her. “We won’t let them hurt you.”
“But they hurt Buffy. If they can hurt her, they can hurt anyone.” She glanced at the door as though she thought about leaving.
“We won’t let them know you’ve been here,” Willow said. “It’ll be our secret.”
“Why don’t you tell us why you’re here,” Giles suggested.
“There’s this group. It’s supposed to be a support group for those that lost family when the old Council headquarters was destroyed, but it’s not.”
“If it’s not a support group, then what is it?” Faith asked.
“They all did lose family, but they want revenge for it. They blame Buffy and Giles. They say it’s all because Buffy died and came back. So, they blame her.”
“Why Giles?” Willow asked. “Why not those who brought her back?”
“No one knows who brought her back,” Rachel told them. “Giles is her Watcher. They must think he did it.”
“How do you know about this group?” Giles asked.
“They tried to get me to join, but I didn’t think I needed a support group. Then today I overheard some of them bragging about what they’d done. They think it’s funny that Buffy is hurt.” She looked like she might cry. “How could they hurt her and laugh about it?”
“Some people only care about themselves and don’t care who they hurt,” Willow told her.
“What did you hear?” Giles asked.
Rachel looked at Giles and noticed his hands for the first time. “Why are your hands tied up?” she asked.
“Apparently, I attacked Faith, too,” he answered.
“It’s okay,” Willow told her. “We think we know what triggered it.”
“But we’re not taking any chances until we’re sure,” Faith added.
“So, you know about the cell phone?” Rachel asked. “I heard them talking about using his cell phone.”
“We know about the ring tone on the phone being used as a trigger,” Willow said. “So, what else did they say?”
Rachel avoided looking at Giles and spoke to Faith and Willow. “They talked about how they got Buffy drunk and took her home. They said they drugged her and waited for Giles to come home. Somehow, they knew he was gone and when he would be back. They wanted him to find her. They pretended to be asleep when he came home. They laughed about how he thought they’d all had sex together. They said they called him on his cell phone after they left to activate a trigger.”
“Did they say what happens when he hears the cell phone or why they wanted him to think they had sex?” Willow asked.
“They wanted him drunk before activating the trigger. They thought he would be able to feel it and stop it if he was sober. They thought he would start drinking if he thought Buffy was cheating on him. They said the trigger would make him act like he didn’t have a soul.”
“I don’t get it,” Faith said. “Why would they talk about all this where someone could overhear it?”
“I think they were drunk. They were talking about a lot of things. This was just some of what I heard. They were also talking about Buffy getting special treatment because she’s dating Giles. They didn’t think it was fair. They didn’t even consider how many times she’s saved every one.”
“So, how did the trigger get there?” Faith asked.
“My trip,” Giles said. “Someone involved must have orchestrated events to send me out of town. There was no need for me to go. Anyone could have handled it, but the information I received made it seem like I needed to go myself. I should have realized it was a trap.”
“Giles, you can’t blame yourself for this,” Willow said. “They would have found another way to plant the trigger. So, what happened on your trip? When could the trigger have been planted?”
He was silent a moment. “I don’t know. There’s a block of time where I can’t remember anything.”
“So, that’s when the trigger must have been set,” Faith said. “So, how do we remove it?”
“I don’t know,” Willow admitted. “Any ideas, Giles?”
“I’ll need to research —” He stopped abruptly.
“Giles? You okay?” Faith asked.
He fell to his knees.
“Giles?” Willow asked.
“Fuck,” he said before he threw up.