Title: Morning After part 1
Author: Michelle
Rating: FRT
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Summary: What happened in the morning? Sequel to Counterpoint (FRAO
"So, you eloped in the morning?" the young woman asked.
"That was the plan," Buffy replied as she thought about that fateful morning.
Buffy groaned as she woke, not wanting to leave the wonderful dream she'd been having. When she stretched, her sore muscles reminded her that it hadn't all been a dream. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Daylight was creeping into the room, and she wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and drift back to sleep.
"Giles, what time do you want to leave?"
There was no answer.
"Giles?"
She looked around the loft, then scooted off the bed to look over the railing. He wasn't anywhere to be seen. 'He must be in the bathroom,' she thought. Spying his shirt on the floor, she grabbed it. As she made her way downstairs, she pulled on the shirt and buttoned it.
Panic threatened to overwhelm her when she found the bathroom door open and no one inside. "Get a grip, Buffy," she told herself. "There's got to be an explanation." She started to pace. "Maybe he went for a jog. He does that sometimes." She stopped as an idea struck her. "A note. He wouldn't want me to worry. So, he would leave a note."
She found the note on the desk and felt the panic rise again as she began to read.
Buffy,
I don't know what came over me last night. To say I took advantage of you is an understatement. What transpired between us was unforgivable and must never happen again. You are my charge, my responsibility, and I have inexcusably violated your trust. I feel I must leave you now for your own good.
Goodbye.
Your ever faithful Watcher,
Rupert Giles
The note fell from her hands as she backed away from the table. "No," she whispered as tears began to fall. "You can't leave me." Her heart was pounding in her chest. "How could you do this to me? I trusted you."
She started to gather her clothes that were still scattered around the room. 'I can't stay here,' she thought. 'I need to get dressed and go home.'
A soft knocking on the door brought her out of her thoughts. "If that's Quentin, I swear I'll kill him," she said through gritted teeth. She opened the door, almost taking it off it's hinges. "If you've come here to deport Giles. . ." It took a moment to realize that the man standing in the doorway wasn't Quentin Travers or any of his men.
"Buffy?"
"Wesley? What are you doing here?" Buffy asked in shock.
Wesley pushed her gently into the apartment and closed the door behind them. "Willow called me. She said you might need help dealing with the Council. I came to talk to Mr. Giles."
"He's not here," she told him quietly before bursting into tears.
Wesley gently took her in his arms as she cried. She tried to push him away, but he held her close and didn't let go until her trembling subsided.
He offered her his handkerchief, and she used it to dry her face and wipe her nose. "What's wrong with me?" she asked. "Why do they always leave? First Angel, then Parker. Riley would rather get bitten by vampires than be with me. Now Giles leaves me. How could he leave me? He was supposed to stay forever." Bit by bit her voice rose in volume until she was screaming. "How could he hurt me like that?"
"Buffy, I don't understand. What happened?" Wesley asked, cautiously.
"He said he loved me and wanted to marry me. Then he ripped my heart out, and he wasn't even man enough to do in person. He did it in a note. He said it was for my own good." She burst into tears again.
*********************
It took a while, but Wesley managed to find out what had happened without upsetting Buffy further. Not long after, she cried herself to sleep on the couch. He found a blanket and covered her before searching for the note from Giles.
The note, found on the floor beside the desk, appeared genuine. However, Wesley was skeptical. Finding one of Giles' journals, he began to compare the writing. Initially, he felt his instincts might have been wrong. The handwriting matched that in the journal, but something about the note still bothered him. He pushed aside the note and began to read the journal.
Even skimming through the entries, Wesley could read the emotion in them. Giles loved Buffy deeply, and he worried about her constantly. He watched her struggle to balance her life as a Slayer with her life as a young woman. He'd wanted to comfort her when she was hurt by the men in her life - Angel, Parker, Riley.
'Why would he leave her this way? It doesn't make sense,' Wesley thought.
He read the note again. The emotion that showed in each of Giles' journal entries was not present. It was also perfect, having no variation in how the letters were formed. "No one writes that consistently unless. . ." Wesley thought aloud, his voice trailing off as he thought of the implications. "It's a forgery. He didn't write the note."
He picked up the phone and dialed. After a moment, he said, "Willow, I need your help."