Title: Misunderstandings - Part 15
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 and suicidal themes
Disclaimer: These are not my characters. They belong to Joss, Twentieth Century Fox, UPN, WB & Mutant Enemy. This is purely for fun.
Previous parts are here: http://bripper.drakeleather.com/Misunderstandings01.shtml
Ethan pushed Rachel past everyone, shoved her into an empty room, and shut the door behind them. The window went dark, and the room was suddenly silent.
"Don’t want them to see or hear us?" Rachel asked.
"They can hear us," Ethan said. "We can’t hear them. I don’t want distractions."
Rachel swallowed hard and backed away from him. "I thought you would be pleased."
"That you almost killed my friend?" He asked quietly. His voice betrayed none of his anger.
"But — the chaos? I wrote the spell myself," she argued.
"That is not chaos. That is vengeance." Ethan jabbed a finger towards the window. "What did they do to you?" His voice raised slightly this time.
"They killed mom!" Rachel yelled. "It’s their fault she’s dead. If Buffy had just stayed dead, everything would be fine. She should be dead, not mom." She met his gaze with cold hatred in her eyes. "And a Watcher should die with his Slayer."
Ethan knew there was more to this. "But what did they do to you?" he asked.
Rachel was silent for a long time, but when Ethan advanced on her, she screamed, "They kept you from me! You were more focused on causing them trouble than being a part of my life!"
Ethan understood then. She was jealous. "You selfish little girl. Grow up. The world doesn’t revolve around you." He advanced on her and pushed her against the wall. "I’d teach you a lesson in true chaos and vengeance, but I don’t think you would learn." He backed away. "No. What you need is punishment." He turned and headed for the door.
Rachel took a step after him. "Father." When he glanced back at her, she said, "Sir."
He waved his hand, and she stopped moving. "Don’t ever call me that again." He walked to the door without looking back. With a few chanted words and a small wave of his hand, the door opened.
He shut the door behind him and caught Willow’s eye. "I need your help."
Willow stood and walked to him. "What do you need?"
"You and the scythe," he said. Without waiting for a response, he turned and went back into the room.
* * * * * * * * * *
After a brief debate over letting Ethan near the scythe, Faith went to get it. "I hope you know what you’re doing," she said as she handed it to Willow.
"Don’t worry," Willow said before she disappeared into the room.
"What are they doing?" Gunn asked.
"I believe they’re attempting to strip away everything that makes her a Slayer," Giles answered.
"Can they do that?" Fred asked.
"If anyone can, it’s those two," Xander answered.
"As long as it doesn’t do anything to me, I’m fine with it," Faith said. "We don’t need Slayers like her. At least when I was bad, I was up front about it. I didn’t hide behind others."
"You eventually got help, too," Robin said. "I don’t think she ever would have."
They were all silent for a while, thinking of the implications.
Soon, a scream pierced the silence, followed by Willow and Ethan leaving the room. They closed the door behind them.
"Did you hurt her?" Dawn asked.
"Not physically," Ethan answered.
A loud wail came from the room, and everyone but Willow and Ethan turned to see Rachel through the window. She slammed her fists against the glass. "No! You can’t do this. It’s not fair! I did this for you! Don’t you understand? Come back!"
Ethan kept walking, never saying a word to her.
"What happened?" Faith asked Willow quietly.
"He disowned her and said he’d never be a part of her life again. He’s leaving her here for Buffy and Giles to decide her fate."
* * * * * * * * * *
Once they knew the spell worked, the traitors were gathered. The Slayers had their Slayer abilities removed, and those with magick had all of it stripped away.
"Now what shall we do with you?" Giles asked.
"I could take them back with me," Fred offered. "I don’t have enough test subjects." Wesley and Gunn shot her a look. "Do you have a better idea?" They both shook their heads. "Didn’t think so."
"Send them to a hell dimension," Buffy said suddenly. "Make them suffer."
"Buffy!" Willow shouted. "That’s not an option."
"Actually, it is," Giles said. "The Council has prisons in several dimensions. I’m certain one of them will suit our needs."
* * * * * * * * * *
The next few days were spent finding a place to send the traitors and arranging for it. Once that was done, they finally found time to relax. Things started to get back to normal. It was almost like it never happened - almost.
Giles moved into an apartment close to campus, and Buffy moved into the dorms. He knew they needed to talk more, but he never found a good opportunity.
One day several weeks later, he was determined to talk to her and went to her room. As he knocked on the door, it swung open.
"Buffy?" he called out.
No answer.
The room was neat and tidy. At first glance, everything was in it’s place. A second scan of the room revealed that a short sword was missing from the rack over the bed. There was also a note on the desk.
Even as he read the note, he was running to find her. He could still feel the bond and hoped it would lead him to her in time.
He found her on the roof, holding the sword in one hand and an envelope in the other.
"Buffy?"
"Go away," she said.
"Don’t do this," he pleaded as he inched closer.
She dropped the envelope and grabbed the sword in both hands. "I can’t live with what I did," she said through her tears. "I tried to kill you twice."
"Buffy, I don’t blame you for that," he said. She didn’t respond. "What’s in the envelope?"
"Test results," she mumbled.
Giles noticed how her hand shook slightly as she spoke. He picked up the envelope and noticed that it hadn’t been opened.
"Test results don’t matter. I know I was raped, I know I was drugged. The details are unimportant," she said as she held the tip of the sword to her breast.
"Buffy, please don’t," he begged her.
"I can’t go on like this, feeling this way, feeling the bond every day. It hurts too much." The sword trembled in her hands, and she fought to steady it.
Giles opened the envelope quickly and read the paper inside. His heart skipped a beat. "You won’t just be killing yourself," he told her.
"I know. You’ll die too if I kill myself," she yelled. "I don’t care. None of it will matter once I’m gone."
"Will you kill our baby too?" he asked, holding up the paper for her to see.
Buffy faltered, and Giles took the sword from her. "Buffy, I’m sorry. We didn’t plan for this to happen, but please –" He bit back a sob as tears fell from his eyes. "Don’t kill an innocent child."
"I’ll always be reminded of what happened," she said, not looking at him.
"I can raise the child if you don’t want it," he suggested. "Just don’t make any hasty decisions." He took a deep breath. "I know you don’t love me, Buffy, and you might even hate me, but don’t make our child pay the price for what happened." He took the sword and left without another word.
He never heard Buffy’s whispered, "I still love you. That’s why it hurts so much."