Title: Morning After part 5
Author: Michelle
Rating: FRT
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Summary: What happened in the morning? Sequel to Counterpoint
Setting: Season five, "Checkpoint"
Warning: Character death - taken from cannon
Disclaimer: These are not my characters. They belong to Joss, Twentieth Century Fox, UPN, WB & Mutant Enemy. This is purely for fun.
Previous parts can be found here. - http://www.livejournal.com/users/mrsdrake/tag/morning+after
Wesley insisted that Buffy continue to patrol. Even though the threat from Glory was gone, there were still demons and vampires in town. At first, Wesley went with her on patrol, worried that she would be distracted. She proved him wrong; patrolling helped channel her energy and get her mind off Giles.
Over the course of the next few weeks, they became more comfortable patrolling together. After the first week she didn't really need him with her, but she enjoyed his company. He was becoming a good friend, and she was glad to have him there. During the day, they researched, trying to find Giles. At night they patrolled.
Everything was fine until the day she came home to find her mother on the couch. She didn't know what to do, so she picked up the phone and dialed the only number she could remember - Giles'. She was confused when Wesley answered the phone.
"Wesley?" she asked in a broken voice as she remembered that Giles wasn't there anymore. Wesley was staying there until they found Giles and brought him home.
"Buffy? Are you all right? Has something happened?" he asked concerned.
"Something killed Mom," she told him quietly. "I need help."
*********************
Wesley found her sitting on the floor beside her mother, arms wrapped around herself and shaking.
"Buffy?" he asked quietly. "Have you called anyone besides me?"
When she shook her head, he quickly made a call to the paramedics.
"There's nothing here," she whispered. "I searched the house. Whatever killed her is gone." She turned a pale face to Wesley. "You have to research and find out what did this so I can kill it."
"I don't think . . ." He started to tell her that a demon didn't kill Joyce, but when she looked at him, words failed him. He'd trained to handle many things as a Watcher, but he never expected to deal with a situation like this. "I don't have much to go on, but I'll do what I can."
"Thank you," Buffy mumbled.
When the paramedics and the coroner arrived, Wesley pulled Buffy to her feet. He held her tight and told her not to watch, but she still heard everything. When she heard them zip the body bag, she turned and watched in horror. "No," she cried before she collapsed on the floor.
*********************
Buffy woke to the sound of a steady beeping. She tried to sit up as she opened her eyes. A hand gently held her down. "Where am I?" she asked.
"You're in the hospital," a familiar voice said.
"Wesley, what happened," she asked.
"You collapsed. I'm certain you'll be fine," he assured her. "The doctors wanted to keep you for a few hours and run some tests. I should be able to take you home soon."
"What about Mom?" she asked. "Is she okay? Will she be coming home soon?"
Wesley sighed. "We can talk about your mother later. Right now, you need your rest."
Buffy saw the look of grief that passed over his face. It reminded her of what happened. "Oh god. She's gone." She raised her hand to her mouth as bile rose to the top of her throat. She swallowed, trying to keep it down.
"I'm sorry, Buffy," Wesley said as he handed her a cup of water.
Before either of them could say anything else, the doctor entered the room and cleared his throat. "I have your test results, Miss Summers."
"Is everything all right?" Wesley asked.
The doctor spoke to Buffy. "You're dehydrated and your electrolytes are out of balance. We've put you on IV fluids that should correct the problem." He checked the IV before continuing. "You should take better care of yourself in your condition." He scribbled something on a pad of paper. "Here's a prescription for some prenatal vitamins and a recommendation for a good doctor. You need to have a checkup soon."
"What?" Buffy asked. "I don't understand."
"You're pregnant," the doctor told her. "I'm sorry. I thought you knew."
"We didn't know," Wesley said. "She's been under quite a bit of stress. I assumed that was why she wasn't feeling well." He took the papers from the doctor. "Thank you."
*********************
"It was a shock," Buffy told the young woman. "Finding my mom that way and then finding out I was pregnant. I was lucky Wesley was there. He helped with Dawn, I couldn't have done it without him."
"So, that explains a lot, but how did you find Mr. Giles and bring him back?" the young woman asked.
"Faith," Buffy said simply.
"So you wished real hard and prayed? That doesn't sound like you."
"Not that kind of faith. Faith the Slayer. I don't know how he did it, but Wesley busted her out of prison." Buffy smiled. "I think Willow must have falsified some documents or something. No one ever came looking for her."
"So how did Faith help?"