Title: Atonement, Part 6
Author: Neena (varscona_pal@yahoo.ca)
Overall rating: NC-17
Pairing: Giles/Angel
Summary: Angel returns to Sunnydale intent on saving Giles’ life and making amends, but discovers that his good intentions may bring about more suffering than either of them can handle.
Setting: Season four of BtVS, season one of AtS.
Warning: Slash and a little angst.
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon, Kuzui, Fox, ME, Sandollar, etc. own the rights to the characters in this story, but I’m happy to live in their shadow.
The first thing he became aware of was the numbness. It felt nice—like his whole body was wrapped up in layers of downy cotton. Giles was finding it hard to think straight, and he wasn’t sure if the noises he was hearing were real or part of a dream. There was shouting and sounds of a struggle—it sounded real enough.
Giles sluggishly opened his eyes, vaguely thinking that if someone was in trouble he should try to help them. At first, everything was fuzzy and distant, and then everything went dark again—his eyes had closed on him of their own accord. He struggled to open them again, and managed to lift his head a little bit in time to see three blurry, man-shaped objects leaving the room. The shorter one in the middle looked like he was putting up quite a fight. Good for you, thought Giles, then he promptly forgot the whole thing and allowed his heavy eyelids to fall shut.
The next time Giles woke up it was to find a hand firmly clamped over his mouth. His morphine-addled mind couldn’t make sense of it, but he knew he was in danger. Then the blurred image of the man standing over him grew sharper as the man leaned in closer. That’s when panic set in. Giles tried valiantly to move, but it was like he was under water, his limbs slow to respond to the desperate demands sent out by his brain.
“Rupert. Sweetheart. Aren’t you happy to see me?” asked Angelus.
Giles huffed air through his nostrils, his eyes darting around the room, looking for anything that might help him.
“I’m hurt,” said Angelus. “You’re not scared of little old me, are you?”
Even through the drug-induced haze, Angelus’ comment managed to ignite a spark of hatred in him, and he locked eyes defiantly with the dark vampire.
As Xander was being frog-marched out of the hospital, he considered his options. So far he’d had no luck escaping from police custody, and he’d been warned that if he kept it up, he’d be charged with obstruction of justice. As they crossed the parking lot to the squad car, Xander decided to try and reason with them. It was a long shot, he knew, but he had to give it a go.
“Please, and I’m begging now—I’ll name my first-born son after you—just please…go back and keep an eye on Giles.”
“Remember that little thing I said earlier about your right to remain silent? I suggest you take advantage of that right.”
“But the guy who attacked Giles is in the hospital. I saw him!” Xander could tell he wasn’t getting through to them, so he embellished a little. “This guy’s nuts—he’s been stalking Giles for over a year. He isn’t safe—if this guy gets to him, he’ll kill him.”
“We’re not gonna let you go so we can run after some phantom bad guy,” said the blond.
“Then don’t let me go. Arrest me. Lock me up in the back of the car…but at least cover your asses. If I’m right—and I am—then Giles is in serious danger. You’ve got me. What’s it gonna hurt to check out my story. If I’m right—and I am—then you’ll catch the real bad guy. If I’m wrong…well, you’ll still have someone to put behind bars.”
The cops exchanged glances, and then the blond one shrugged. He didn’t really think the kid was telling the truth, but at the very least it was an excuse to put off the mounds of paperwork waiting for him back at the precinct. And if the kid was right—and he clearly thought he was—then they had nothing to lose and everything to gain by doing what he asked.
“All right, I’ll check it out, but you’re staying in the car.” Xander happily allowed himself to be handcuffed and locked up in the back of the squad car, and watched the two cops trudge back into the hospital.
The anger in Giles’ eyes was not enough to fend off Angelus. Fear had taken the edge off his morphine high, but he still felt limp and weighted with the effects of the drug. And now he was starting to feel the pain from his injuries.
With one hand still pressed over Giles’ mouth, Angelus peeled back the bandage on his neck.
“Now…where was I?” asked Angelus.
Giles moaned loudly beneath Angelus’ fingers as a cool tongue darted in and around the little fang wounds.
“Ah, that’s right, now I remember,” said Angelus, and in the space of a heartbeat he’d vamped out and sunk his teeth neatly into the marks they’d left earlier that day.
Giles felt the sharp pain in his neck and knew he was powerless to stop it. He felt a numbness come over him that had nothing to do the morphine, and he let his whole body go limp. All he could do now was pray that it would be over with quickly.
He didn’t have long to wait for his prayers to be answered—and not in the way he feared. As the world around him started to grow dim, he heard the door whoosh open and the sound of men shouting.
Angelus ripped his teeth out of Giles’ flesh and looked back at the intruders. As his features morphed back into their human appearance he wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand and grinned.
The officers no longer doubted Xander’s story. As soon as they’d seen Angelus through the window of the little ER room, they stormed in to break off the attack. But what they then saw…well obviously they were dealing with some freak hopped up on PCP—a common enough occurrence in Sunnydale. They drew their weapons, but the tall, dark-haired man didn’t even blink.
“Well now you’ve gone and ruined a perfectly good meal,” said Angelus. Then he casually knocked the policemen out of the way and sauntered out the door. By the time they’d got to their feet again, Angelus was nowhere to be seen.
Buffy arrived at the hospital just as the blond cop was un-cuffing Xander in the parking lot. She ran towards them, her heart thudding painfully in her chest, fearing the worst.
“Xan! What happened? Where’s Giles? Is he okay?”
“Buffy! Thank God you’re here,” said Xander. “Giles is in emergency, and I got arrested. Then Angelus showed up…”
“Xander…what about Giles?”
It was the policeman who answered her: “He’s going to be alright,” he assured her. “My partner and I were able to break off the attack and chase off the assailant before Mr. Giles was seriously hurt.”
Xander gave a small derisive snort, as if to say ‘likely story’, but he knew better than to say anything. Buffy pulled him away by the arm, tugging her behind him in her haste to get to Giles.
“Where is he?” she asked, once they were inside the ER.
“Down this hall,” Xander answered, and took the lead.
There was a small knot of staff gathered outside Giles’ room. Apparently the attack on Giles had caused a bit of a stir, and the gossip was flowing freely amidst the gathering of onlookers. But when they saw Xander coming towards them their flapping tongues quickly stilled. The way they parted to let him through was almost comical in its reverence. It seemed the gossip had elevated him to the status of heroically misjudged boyfriend.
“Can we go in?” asked Xander.
“Of course, Mr. Harris,” said Christine, her cheeks burning from embarrassment. Xander suspected that she was the one who’d started the rumours. He smiled at her and led Buffy into Giles’ room.
“Okay, what’s up with the Xander-worship?”
“It’s a long story,” said Xander.
“Which you’ll have to tell me later—in detail,” said Buffy, her focus having shifted to Giles. She went over to him and stood there, watching his chest rise and fall as he slept. She felt helpless—even with all her slayer powers she could do nothing to help him. The truth was, she’d let him down when he needed her and now it was too late. And it stung her deeply.
Xander came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. She smiled at him gratefully, but her smile didn’t have any staying power and it soon faded.
“I should have stayed with him,” said Xander. “I should have tried harder.”
“Don’t. What happened here wasn’t your fault,” she said, and in her head she added, “it’s mine”.
Giles stirred, his head turning towards the sound of their voices. Buffy turned on her 100 watt smile and gave his hand a pat, thinking it was best to put on a brave face. But Giles jerked his hand away from her, his head thrashing back and forth on his pillow as he fought to wake up. He moaned and struggled against the blankets like he was warding off one hell of a nightmare.
“Giles,” said Buffy, “Giles, it’s me. Everything’s okay now—you’re safe.” She took his hand again, patting it gently.
Giles’ eyes rolled open but it seemed to take forever for him to focus on them. He slowly blinked, and a dopey smile spread across his face as recognition set in.
“Buffy—you’re alright!” he said in a hoarse whisper.
Buffy gave him a sad little laugh. “I’m fine, Giles. The question is, how are you?”
The smile on Giles’ face died and he looked away. “I’ll be fine,” he said quietly.
“Maybe I should wait outside?” said Xander, wanting to give them a bit of privacy.
“No, Xander. Please stay,” said Giles, his eyes pleading with him. “I’d like you to stay.”
“Then I’ll stay,” said Xander, reassuringly. “As long as you want.”
“Please stay,” Giles mumbled. “Both of you…please.” His eyes had shut before the words were even out of his mouth and within seconds he was fast asleep.
A steely look of anger fixed itself on Buffy’s face and she made for the door.
“Buffy…” said Xander.
“He’s out there, Xander. And I’m gonna find him.”
Xander didn’t need to ask her what she would do when she found Angelus—the murderous look in her eyes said it all.
Once again, Willow had spent her time alone productively. She might not be able to keep up with her friends physically, what with her twisted ankle, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t help out in her own special way. She’d spent the time since Buffy left trying to track down another Orb of Thesulah by phone. The magic shop was fresh out—apparently a retirement home had bought their entire stock to use as table ornaments for their “Magic Ball” dance. It would be a few weeks before they’d get their next shipment.
Not about to give up, Willow took her search online and tracked down a New Age shop in Cleveland that still had one in stock. The owner told her it was on lay away for one of his regular customers and he couldn’t let her have it, but Willow read between the lines and offered the man three times the asking price. Suddenly he was all sweetness and sunlight, and he even offered to ship it for free. The only downside was that it was sitting in a warehouse, buried under an avalanche of shipments. But he promised he’d send it out as soon as he found it, and estimated it would take three days. Since she’d had no luck with any of her other sources, Willow figured it would have to suffice. Still…three days with Angelus on the loose was three days too many.
Willow’s mind wandered, wondering if Buffy had got to Giles in time, wondering if she’d caught Angelus. She shuddered, remembering the sadistic way Angelus had toyed with them the first time he lost his soul. She knew that this time would likely be worse—Angelus had tasted freedom, and he would put up a real fight before he’d let them harness him again. And they were all targets. Willow was so lost to her morbid line of thought that she nearly leapt out of her skin when the phone on her bedside table rang.
“Hello?” she squeaked into the receiver.
“Will? You okay?” asked Xander on the other end.
“Xander! What’s going on? Is Buffy with you?”
“Was. Now she’s gone on an ex-hunny hunt. I so would not want to be in his shoes right now.”
“She’s not gonna kill him, is she?” asked Willow.
“If she can hold him still long enough to drive the stake home, I guarantee it.”
“But…I tracked down another Orb of Thesulah. If we could hold off on the slaying for a few days we can get Angel back.”
“In a few days we could all end up vampire kibble.” Xander was starting to give in to his anger, and if felt good. “He’s a walking time bomb, Willow—even with a soul. You have no idea how close we came to losing Giles today.”
Willow wanted to argue that Angel had only come back to try and save Giles’ life. It wasn’t his fault he had a trick soul. Plus, if Buffy had to kill Angel again…well, last time hadn’t been pretty, and she didn’t think Buffy could handle a repeat performance. But Willow held her tongue—arguing with Xander about Angelus was a one-way ticket to Disasterville.
“If you’re gonna crack open the magic books, maybe you could vampire-proof the homesteads instead. They’re sending Giles home tomorrow afternoon, and I want to make sure Angelus can’t pop in for a visit.”
“They’re sending Giles home? I thought he was in bad shape.”
“Stabilized, and doing better than expected, which translates as: ‘we need the beds’,” said Xander. “I promised I’d stay with him and feed him his pills. Yep, that’s me—drug pusher to the infirm.”
“Xan, tell Giles…I don’t know. Tell him I’m sorry, ‘kay?”
“I will,” said Xander, and he paused. “Be careful, Will—he probably knows what you’re planning, and he’s already threatened to go after you.”
“I’ll be careful, I promise. Anyways, it’s almost dawn—by the time I get together everything I need for the de-invite the sun will be up and Angelus will be off in a sewer somewhere, hiding. So don’t worry.”
As soon as she hung up the phone, Willow got busy gathering up supplies. Her sore ankle made it a bit of a challenge, especially since most of the ingredients she needed were on the top shelf of Buffy’s closet or hidden at the back of the pantry in the dorm’s communal kitchen.
Once she had everything she needed, Willow did the de-invite on their dorm room. It was simple enough—just a few phrases she’d learned by heart last year, and the strategic placement of crosses at all possible entrances. That done, she piled everything she needed into her school bag and hobbled out the door.
There was no need to do Xander’s place if he was going to be staying with Giles, so she decided she’d start with Giles’ place then head over to Buffy’s house, in case Angelus decided to take his revenge out on Buffy’s mom. Willow blinked her grainy, sleep-deprived eyes at the breaking day and began the slow, painful walk to the bus stop.
Angelus was bored and was starting to wonder how long it would take Buffy to figure out where he was. He’d have thought it was obvious, but apparently not.
He was just flipping through Giles’ record collection when he heard the key in the lock of the front door. Finally, he thought, and he dived behind the kitchen pass-through. He pictured himself lunging at Buffy, taking her by surprise, but just before he acted on his impulse he realized it wasn’t Buffy who’d walked through the door. The smell was wrong, and the movements too hesitant and uneven. It was Willow who’d sprung his trap. Even better, he thought.
Something plunked down on the counter overhead and he smelled the unmistakable odour of fresh garlic cloves. There was a rustling of bags, and then he heard a hammering sound by the front door. He didn’t have to see to know she was hanging a cross—she was trying to safeguard the apartment against him.
A wicked grin lit up Angelus’ face. Willow had handed him an opportunity that he couldn’t pass up. He’d let her finish her spell—wouldn’t do much good, since he was already inside—then he’d let her go and tell the others it was safe for Giles to come home. It gave him a happy, glowing feeling to think of the fun he would have. It would definitely be worth the wait.
Willow worked diligently, guarding every possible entrance to Giles’ condo, chanting her little spell, blissfully unaware that she’d just put the finishing touches on a very deadly trap. Humming to herself, Willow gathered up her things and left—she had one more stop before she could go home and get some well-deserved sleep. She smiled at a job well done, and thought she might just have to treat herself to an ice-cream cone on the way home.