TITLE: Magic 5/14
AUTHOR: Rari Coss
DISCLAIMER: It all belongs to Joss, the real king of the world, the WB, UPN, Fox, Mutant Enemy and anybody else who feels they own it. Im just borrowing, lost in admiration, and then giving them back, memories wiped clean.
FEEDBACK: Absolutely.

As they approached Council grounds they could see three armed guards waiting for their return. The guards snapped to attention and one of them stepped forward and spoke. “Mr. Giles?”

Giles’ forehead furrowed at the unexpected courtesy. He glanced at Spike and Willow and then moved forward. “Yes?”

The guard made a motion to something behind Giles. Spike and Willow turned and saw three more guards coming up behind them. Spike’s eyes widened and Giles just sent him a look.

The guard in front of them spoke again. “Just glad to see you back safely, sir. We’re responsible for your well-being.”

Spike whispered. “Détente, indeed.”

Giles just nodded and didn’t respond to the guard. He started to head back to the window they had all crawled out of earlier.

The guard politely cut him off. “Excuse me, sir. Your quarters have been moved. Mr. Jensen thought perhaps you might like to use the front door.”

At that Giles bit off a smile. He gestured to the guard to lead the way and with guards both in front and behind them they were escorted into the Council building and brought to a room down the end of a long corridor, on the first floor. The guard opened the door and after Giles, Spike and Willow were through it, he closed it behind them.

It was a small apartment, with three bedrooms, one a master suite. Spike whistled. “Not bad.” He walked through all the rooms and when he went into the third bedroom he didn’t come out for a minute.

Curious, Giles walked in to find him. One of the rooms had all the windows heavily shaded, to prevent any sunlight from entering. Giles looked around, impressed despite his desire not to be. Willow had followed Giles in. She took in the window treatment. “How did they get this done so fast?”

Giles smiled ruefully. “Getting things done is what they do best.” He walked back out into the living room.

Willow was still confused. “How did they know you’d come back, that we’d all come back?”

Giles smiled at her. “This Mr. Jensen isn’t a fool. He reasoned it out just as I did. He knew the only way I could keep you safe is to bring you here.”

Willow’s eyes hardened and she spoke angrily. “He is a fool. He left you to rot, and then he tried to kill you.”

“Willow, don’t mistake heartlessness for foolishness. I’m dangerous; he knows that. As far as he’s concerned I’m a loose cannon, one that he has no control over.”

Spike threw himself down on the couch and reached into his pocket for a cigarette. He ignored the looks that Giles and Willow sent him. “Don’t even start with me.” He lit one up and took a drag. He looked at the kitchen area. “Hey, Red, go see if there’s something to nosh on.”

Willow walked over to the kitchenette and opened the refrigerator. It was full of food. She opened the cupboards and they were too. “Yikes. There’s tons of stuff. What do you want?” She looked at both Giles and Spike.

Giles walked over to join her and just stared into the open refrigerator. Willow saw that look in his eyes again. She moved over closer to him, smiling. “Weird to have choices again?”

Giles smiled at her. “It does feel strange.” He reached out a hand to choose a drink and then pulled it back. He sent her a sheepish smile and reached again. He pulled out a bottle of root beer. He twisted off the cap and drank deeply. He let out a satisfied sigh.

Spike got off the couch and came over to join them, leaning across the counter from them. He asked Giles to grab him a beer. He took the proffered beer from Giles, opened it and took a swig. He took another and then headed back off to the couch. He picked up the remote and turned the television on.

Giles started at the noise and he swung around. When he saw that it was the television he laughed softly to himself. He saw Willow looking at him and he smiled at her. “I’m all right, Willow. It still occasionally feels like a dream. As if maybe I really have gone mad.”

She put her hand on his arm. “Nope, not a dream. Just us.”

Giles looked down at her and smiled tenderly at her, putting his hand briefly over hers. “Better than a dream.” He turned away and started putting some snacks on a tray. He carried the tray out to the living room and sat down with Spike. Giles watched the television with them for a few minutes and then got up. He moved over to the window. It would be dawn soon and he could just start to make out shapes. He stood there, motionless. Willow watched him, finally getting up to join him. “What are you looking at?”

He continued looking outside. “I miss my trees.” Willow could feel her eyes prick with tears. She stood with him as the night started to wash away into light. Giles noticed Willow yawning. “Time for bed?”

She nodded and yawned again. “I’m tired.” She stretched out her shoulders. “I didn’t get much sleep last night.” She frowned. “Or today, or whenever it was back in California.” She shrugged and looked at Giles. “Aren’t you sleepy?”

“Actually yes. I haven’t been needing to sleep much anymore, but I have to admit the thought of a good night’s, or day’s, in this matter, sleep sounds quite appealing.” He pointed to the master bedroom. “Why don’t you take that room?”

She shook her head. “No, they set up one of the other rooms for me.” She laughed at his confusion. “There’s girl stuff in there.” She blushed. “I mean, like girlie soaps and shampoos and make up and stuff.” She wrinkled her nose. “You know, girl stuff.”

He laughed. “Indeed, girl stuff.” He looked at both Willow and Spike. “I’ll say goodnight then.”

Spike raised his beer as a goodnight salute and went back to his show. Willow rose on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. He raised his hand to touch where she had kissed him and smiled at her. He turned and walking into the master bedroom shut the door behind him.

Willow walked over to Spike and sat down next to him. She struggled to decide what to say. She put her hand on his arm to get his attention. “I’m sorry.”

He continued to watch the television. “For what?”

She gestured to the room. “For getting you stuck here.”

He blew a noise out through his lips. He glanced at her and saw how worried she was. He lifted the remote and shut off the television and turned to her. He chewed on his lip for a minute. “It’s not all bad.” He held out his beer. “Free beer and food.” He let out a disgusted short laugh and shrugged.

Willow’s smile was sad. “Was I wrong? Was it wrong for us to come?”

Spike shook his head. “If we hadn’t come, Giles would still be stuck in that room going bonkers, having conversations with trees and eventually blowing England off the map.” He pulled his legs up, sitting Indian style on the couch. “Besides, despite his worrying, he was glad to see you.”

Willow cocked her head. “He was glad to see you too.”

Spike looked down at his hands. He’d seen that. He’d seen how glad Giles had been to see him. It still surprised him. He looked back up at Willow. “One day at a time, luv.” He turned to the window and his eyes narrowed. “I can feel the sun. I think I’ll turn in as well.” He touched Willow’s knee. “Go get some sleep, you look done in.” Willow nodded and rose when Spike did.

Giles took a long shower. As he washed his hair he felt its length. He wondered if he should ask Willow to cut it. He finally shut the water off and dried himself. He avoided his reflection. He slipped into some boxers and a T-shirt and sat on the bed. After the twin bed he’d been sleeping in for so long the king sized mattress looked huge to him.

He slowly lay down, feeling the softness of the comforter underneath him. He lay there welcoming the silence at first. After a while it began to feel oppressive. He had to keep opening his eyes to reassure himself that it hadn’t been a dream. That he was in a new room, that Willow and Spike were close by. As any kind of restful sleep continued to elude him he finally got up and went to stand by the window, looking out.

Willow took a shower as well. When she got out she dressed in the oversized T-shirt that had been left on the bed. It covered her to her knees. She laughed at her reflection in the mirror and looked down at the shirt. It had the insignia for the Watcher’s Council on it. She walked back into the bedroom and she opened up the closet curious to see if they had brought other clothes for her as well. Her eyes filled with tears as she saw what was resting inside. She slowly sat down and reached forward pulling her small suitcase out of the closet. The one she’d left on the plane. She held it tight to her chest and started to cry. She stood suddenly and threw the suitcase away from her. She opened her door and ran to Giles’ room.

She gasped when she saw the bed was empty but then she heard him as he turned to see who had entered his room. She ran over to him by the window and fell against him crying. He held her tightly. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

She couldn’t talk she was crying so hard. He just held her, running his hands up and down her back to soothe her. Finally her sobs became less frequent. She looked up at him and he reached down and wiped her tears away. He asked again. “What’s wrong?”

More tears fell down her face. “My suitcase. It’s in my room.” Giles shook his head, still not understanding the cause of her misery. She started to cry again. “It was on the plane, I left it on the plane. With the pilot.” She started to sob again and Giles continued to hold her, his eyes darkening as he rested his head on hers.

“Willow, I’m so sorry.”

She raised her head again. “Do you really think he’s dead?”

Giles thought about lying for a moment. Then he realized she needed to know the truth. She needed to know what they were up against. “Yes, I do.” He headed her to the bathroom. He wet a washcloth and started wiping off her face.

“Why did they have to kill him? I don’t understand. Why did they bring me my suitcase?”

Giles tightened his lips and squeezed the washcloth tightly in his fist. “To send us a message. To show us that they have the upper hand here.”

Willow looked up at Giles. “Do they?”

Giles hesitated and then he shrugged. “No, it’s more like a stalemate.” He wiped more tears off of Willow’s face.

She held his arm and closed her eyes tightly. “I feel like I killed him.”

Giles held her by her shoulders. “You didn’t. They did. Remember that. You came back here with me because you chose not to kill.” He paused. “If anyone of us is to blame, it’s me. I kept you from going back to the plane. Maybe if I’d gone with you right away we’d have gotten to him in time.”

Willow smiled sadly at him. “Thank you for trying to make me feel better but I don’t believe you. Spike and I would probably just be dead too.” She rested her head against her chest. “At least this way we’re together and we’re safe.” Tears started to fall again. “At least the three of us are.” She hadn’t particularly liked the pilot but he hadn’t deserved to die.

Giles spread his legs a little and leaned against the bathroom counter. He pulled Willow into his arms and held her as she started sobbing again. Giles felt a moment of rage as he thought of the man who had ordered them killed. Giles had no doubt that he had orchestrated this. If he’d been standing in front of him Giles would have ripped out his heart for using Willow to deliver this message.

When Willow finally looked up Giles had the rage off his face. He smiled tenderly at Willow. “Better?” She nodded and sighed tiredly. He spoke again. “Think you can sleep now?”

She closed her eyes. She didn’t want to go back to that room, back to the room where the suitcase was. She spoke in a small voice. “Can I stay here with you? I don’t want to be alone.”

He looked down at her, at her red rimmed exhausted eyes. He nodded. He wiped her face one more time. “Come on, let’s get you tucked in.”

She followed him out and watched as he pulled back the covers. She crawled in and curled onto her side. He walked to the other side of the bed and lay down on top of the covers. She wiggled over and laid her head on his chest resting her arm over his stomach. He worked one arm under her head and laid the other over her arm. She opened up her sleepy eyes. “You sure you don’t mind?”

He patted her arm. “No, I like having you here. Believe it or not I was actually feeling lonely. I kept thinking I had dreamed it all, that I would wake up and you’d be gone. It will be nice to have you here to remind me that it’s true, that I’m not alone anymore.”

She lifted her head and looked at him fiercely. “I will never let you be alone again.” She lay her head back down on his chest and he listened as her breathing grew deep and regular. He lay there for a long time before finally closing his eyes and allowing sleep to take him.

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