TITLE: Magic 7/14
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.

Spike lit a cigarette, the flame highlighting the angular planes of his face. He leaned against a tree and watched Giles fight. They had been walking for a while. Spike knew that Giles hadn’t been looking for anything to kill but they had stumbled onto a group of vampires. The vampires had been having fun playing with their food, harassing a couple of young lovers who had chosen the wrong place to woo one another.

Spike had made quick work of several of them while Giles had made sure that the vampires’ intended prey escaped. That left two vampires and Giles was fighting them both. Spike pursed his lips, fascinated. He wasn’t sure if anyone who didn’t know would even see it. It was difficult for him to see it and he knew Giles had magic that protected him. Giles used it so subtly. He never used it to attack. He used it to defend, to deflect, and to confuse. When he did attack it was with his fists and his feet.

Spike let Giles fight. He figured Giles could use a good fight, and it was clear that he didn’t need to worry about Giles getting hurt. After a while Spike got up. Giles didn’t have any weapons; he wouldn’t actually be able to kill these vampires, not unless he used his magic or was planning on fighting them until sunrise. He called out to Giles and Giles turned to him. Spike watched as one of the vampires went for Giles’ neck and ended up eating dirt on the ground, looking confused. Spike grinned. He tossed a stake to Giles. Giles caught it and as the vampire pulled himself up Giles staked him. When Giles turned to stake the last one it was to see him running away. Giles narrowed his eyes deciding if it was worth the chase. He waited too long and the vampire was gone from sight.

Giles turned to Spike and threw the stake back to him. “Thanks.”

Spike caught it easily and put it back in his pocket. He nodded his head, throwing his cigarette butt on the ground, grinding it beneath his foot. Spike looked at Giles. He had thought of something while he had watched Giles fight. “You know Giles, there is one way the Council might let you go.”

Giles looked at Spike, his eyebrows raised. “Yes? Enlighten me.”

“You get back on their payroll.”

Giles brow furrowed. “As a watcher?”

Spike barked out a laugh. “No, I’m afraid your mild mannered watcher days are over.”

Giles wasn’t in the mood for play. “Explain what you mean.”

Spike pointed to where Giles had been fighting. “Doing that.” Giles looked where Spike was pointing. “You’re better than a slayer. You can’t be killed, you can’t even be hurt.” When Giles stayed silent Spike asked a question. “Who does the Council use now when there’s killing to be done?”

“For humans?”

Spike shook his head. “Demons.”

“The slayer.”

Spike kicked a stone. “She can only be in one place. How about the demons everywhere else? How does the Council keep it under control?”

“Security teams. Similar to what Riley went off to do. I’m sure if you traced his chain of command up to its origin that the Council would ultimately be behind it.”

“I imagine these teams take quite a beating.”

Giles nodded his head. “They die all the time.” He tightened his lips. “As do the slayers. It’s a war, casualties are high.”

Spike started walking and Giles moved to his side, quickening his stride to stay apace of Spike. Spike went on. “So, what would the Council do to have someone like you? Someone who could go in, kill the demons, and get out. No casualties. No risk to humans, except maybe to you. And if you die, that’s just a perk for the Council.” Spike grinned. Giles stayed silent, listening. Spike continued. “Maybe the security teams handle the penny ante stuff. Maybe they do recon and figure out which problems you handle. Maybe they go with you and deal with rescuing any humans, administering first aid and the like.”

Spike stopped talking. When Giles still didn’t respond he shrugged. He reached for another cigarette. It was his last. He crumpled the pack and threw it on the ground. Giles absent-mindedly picked it up. Spike raised his eyebrows as he watched Giles throw the discarded pack into a nearby garbage can, without the smallest glare at Spike. Spike could see that Giles was miles away.

Spike needed more cigarettes. He started to turn heading back into town and Giles just turned with him. Spike found an all night market. He walked in, Giles behind him, and asked for two packs of cigarettes. The store clerk laid them on the counter. Spike turned to Giles and prodded him on the arm. Giles slowly turned his head to Spike. Spike pointed with his chin to the clerk. “Pay him. I haven’t got any money.”

Giles reached for his wallet and then he snapped out of his mental reverie. “I don’t have any money. Why would I have money?” He looked at the cigarettes. “And why on earth would I buy you those? I can’t abide them.”

Spike rolled his eyes and dug into his pocket pulling out some loose bills. He grinned. It had been worth a try. He only had American money. He negotiated with the clerk and after handing over a few bills he picked up his cigarettes and walked out. Giles looked at the clock on the wall as he followed Spike out. His eyebrows rose, he had no idea they’d been out this long. He hoped Willow was still sleeping. They headed back to the Council. As they neared Giles stopped and turned to Spike. “Please don’t discuss this with Willow. Not yet.”

Spike just looked at Giles. “You know I’m right, don’t you?”

Giles’ lips tightened. “I’m afraid you might be.”

“So, what’s the problem? Go make a deal. Your services for Willow’s life. Go sign a contract, and let’s get out of here.”

Giles ran both his hands through his hair. “Spike, it’s not that simple. I still don’t know how to control most of my magic. I…” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Spike watched the emotions flicker across his face. Giles opened his eyes and they were full of pain. “I’m so tired of killing.” He looked down at his hands. He looked back in the direction they had fought tonight. “An occasional vampire is one thing but to take this on, to make killing be what I do…” He tightened his lips and looked away.

Spike snorted. “It’s what the Council’s been asking slayers to do since time began. It’s what you expected Buffy to do.”

Giles lifted startled eyes to Spike. He remembered how Buffy had feared getting lost in the killing. Now he understood what she meant, what she had been afraid of. It made him ashamed. He was ashamed that he had essentially dismissed her concerns, that he’d tried to placate her with words. And he was ashamed that his own fears about it for himself were so strong.

Spike shook his head, his eyes glittering. He spoke in harsh tones. “Don’t worry. I won’t say anything to Willow. I wouldn’t want to get her hopes up.” He opened up one of his packs of cigarettes, throwing the wrapper on the ground, challenging Giles to do something about it. He shook his head again and began walking.

Giles slowly leaned down and picked up the wrapper. He balled it up tightly in his fist and slowly followed Spike. Neither he nor Spike acknowledged any of the guards that surrounded them and escorted them back to their quarters. Giles quietly opened the door and scanned the living room. There was no sign of Willow. He walked over to the counter; picked up the note he had left and threw it and the cigarette wrapper in the trash. He looked up to see Spike disappearing into his bedroom.

Giles started making himself some tea. The ritual helped soothe him. He carried his mug over to the couch and sat down. Slowly sipping he let his mind wander. He thought of Willow. He knew Spike was right. He knew he could probably go talk to Jensen tomorrow and have Willow and Spike on a plane back home tomorrow night. Even without him being able to control his magic. Jensen would probably see that as an acceptable risk. Giles had no illusions about the Council’s willingness to accept the death of innocents in the fight against evil.

He sat there holding his mug until his tea grew cold. He thought of what his life would be like. He mostly thought of being without Willow. For the past three years, she had come to represent everything good in his life. Anything good that had happened to him, any positive emotions, any hope, any love, it had all come to him through Willow. He shook his head. He couldn’t imagine anything that would be harder than putting her on a plane and sending her out of his life. The only thing harder would be seeing her dead. And to keep that from happening, he would send her away. And live the life he feared, and live his life alone.

He tasted his tea again and made a face as the cold liquid hit his lips. He walked over to the kitchen and poured it in the sink. Walking back over to the couch, he lay down, putting his arm over his eyes. It took a long time but eventually he fell asleep.

Willow gradually woke up. She glanced at the bed beside her but it was empty. Not that she had expected Giles to join her, but she would have been glad to have him nearby. She got up and used the bathroom. She ran Giles’ brush through her hair and frowned at herself. Walking to the window she peered out. It was still dark but she guessed it was nearing dawn.

It was quiet. She opened the door and saw Giles sleeping on the couch. His arm had slipped off his face. She went over to the couch and stared down at him. He was astonishingly handsome. She had always found him attractive, in an older man sort of way. She had spent much of her high school years working through intermittent crushes on him. For the past two days his face had continually surprised her. Sometimes he seemed like such a stranger, his youthful appearance startling her. Other times she could see the Giles she remembered so clearly in his eyes, in his expressions, in his voice.

She slowly reached down and touched a curl of his hair. He stirred and turned a little, his back nestled into the back cushion of the couch. She slowly sat down in the curve of his body, being careful not to disturb him. She couldn’t imagine what his life had been like. She thought back. It had been three and a half years since he had left Sunnydale. She shook her head. Three and a half years of hell. And five years before that, being a watcher, taking care of them all.

Willow slowly moved her body until she was sitting on the carpet. She folded her arms on the couch and rested her head on them. She continued to look at him, looking for familiar landmarks. His face was narrower, but the cheekbones were the same. She was tempted to wake him up but she didn’t know how long he’d been sleeping. She wanted to see his eyes. Then she always knew it was him. As she watched his face shift from familiar to unfamiliar and back again her eyes started to get heavy. Laying her head down she drifted off to sleep.

Giles wasn’t sure what woke him. He lay on the couch listening. He heard her shift before he felt her. He looked down in surprise and saw Willow sleeping. The sun shone on her hair. He watched as an extraordinary myriad of colors were reflected back. He couldn’t see her face. He lay there feeling both content and bereft. Content that he had today with her, bereft that it would probably be his last.

Almost as if his contemplation wakened her, Willow opened her eyes and slowly lifted her head. She saw Giles watching her and she smiled. He smiled back, the smile not quite reaching his eyes. “Caught up on your sleep yet?”

She gave out a half laugh. “I hope so. I feel like all I’ve done is sleep.” She cocked her head looking at him. “What time did you go to sleep?”

Giles shook his head. “I have no idea.” At her concerned look he reminded her. “I’m fine. I don’t really need to sleep. It’s habit mostly.”

She nodded and yawned, sitting up straight, stretching to get the kinks out. “Spike sleeping?”

Giles nodded and also moved to sit up. Giles smiled at Willow, determined to enjoy this day with her. “Would you like to go out for breakfast?”

She bestowed him with a bright smile. “I’d love to.” She jumped up energized at the thought of food. She put a hand on her stomach. “I’m starving. Where should we go?”

Giles thought for a moment. “Well, I’m not sure it’s still open but I had a favorite place I used to go to all the time. It’s tiny, most tourists don’t ever find it and if they do they would probably choose to pass it by. But it’s wonderful.”

She took in his wistful nostalgic look. She smiled, wanting to give him this. “That sounds perfect. I’d rather eat where the locals eat anyway.”

They both headed off to their respective bathrooms to freshen up. A few minutes later Giles opened up the door and holding it open for Willow, escorted her out. The guards outside jumped to attention. One of them almost put a hand out to stop them. At a look from Giles he quickly put his hand down. “Sorry sir, you just surprised me. You…well…you haven’t left this way before. You always seem to go out the window.”

Giles bit back a smile. He supposed that was true. “Would you rather I…” He pointed back into the room.

The guard shook his head; he almost smiled. “No, that won’t be necessary.” He moved out of Giles way and Giles placed his hand on the small of Willow’s back and gently directed her to start walking. Remembering something, Giles turned back to the guard. “Would you please let Mr. Jensen know that I need to speak with him later today?” As the guard nodded Giles started to walk again. Willow flashed him an uncertain smile. Giles just took her elbow and moved her along. He heard the guard make a call. Giles smiled sadly, ignoring the tightness in his chest.

The place was still open. It brought back the years, brought back the steady times, the times of learning, of being clear about his life and his destiny. As he pushed open the door he saw Sam. He hadn’t consciously thought about it but one of the reasons he had liked this place was because of Sam. Sam was the owner, waiter and chef. He and Giles had struck up a friendship. Not one that extended outside of this restaurant but one that had been important to the two of them nonetheless.

Giles almost called out a greeting and then remembered that there was no way to explain his appearance, that it was extremely unlikely that he would even be recognized. So he stayed silent and simply directed Willow to one of the booths. He looked at the menu. One of the things he had liked best about eating here was that Sam had always known what he wanted. Sam had made it for him once, something that wasn’t even on the menu, and Giles had eaten it every day after that. Giles planned to order off the menu today.

They were the only customers. It was a weekday and the early crowd had already come and gone. Sam walked over to them and pulled a tattered pad of paper out of his pocket. He glanced at Giles, and then glanced again. He chewed on his lip. “You remind me of someone.”

Giles nodded. “People tell me that all the time.”

Sam just stared, not satisfied. “Nope, you look like a guy who used to come in here all the time, although he’d be quite a bit older now.” Sam caught the worried quick glance the young girl shot at her companion.

Giles lifted his eyes to Sam and couldn’t resist a gentle smile, the old friendship tugging on him. Other than that he didn’t respond to Sam’s prodding. He looked at Willow. “Do you know what you’d like to order?”

Willow pursed her lips. “I’ll take the breakfast special.” She looked up at Sam. “And some tea, please.” She smiled at him.

Sam looked at Giles. “I’ll have the same, thanks.” Giles placed the menus back behind the napkin holder. Sam gazed at him another moment before walking behind the counter to the grill.

Willow was about to speak when Sam started talking. He was facing the grill but Giles knew he was talking to him. He had always talked while he cooked. “You remind me of a watcher. A watcher I knew who went to America.” Sam turned around, his gaze sharp as he looked at Giles. He turned around again, back to the grill. “I heard he got into some trouble. I heard they locked him away in the basement of the Council.” Gossip was rife here in this town, despite all the secrets. He concentrated on cooking for a minute. Willow and Giles exchanged glances.

Sam continued. “Now, I thought that was wrong then, and I still think it’s wrong.” He shook his head as if amazed at the idiocy of the Council. “He was a good man, that watcher. One of the best I’ve known. I’d be glad to see that he was free, that he was all right. It would do my heart good.”

He started sliding food onto plates. He walked around the counter again and slapped their plates down. Giles looked down at his plate and had to swallow against the tightness in his throat. Sam spoke again. “That’s how you like it, isn’t it?” Sam had not given him what he had ordered. Sam had made him the dish he had always enjoyed so much, in years past.

Giles looked up at Sam, his eyes bright. “Yes, Sam, that’s how I like it.” He laid a hesitant hand on Sam’s arm. “Thank you.”

Sam nodded, satisfied. He spoke gruffly. “I’ll get you your tea.” He turned away and walked around the counter again.

Giles looked up at Willow and saw that her eyes were bright too. He smiled at her and leaned down to smell his breakfast. He breathed out a happy sigh and reached for the salt and pepper. Willow frowned. “So, how come he didn’t just make two of yours? It looks yummier than mine.”

Giles laughed, feeling momentarily at peace with the world. “I’m sure he would if I asked him to.”

Willow grinned. “Nah, we’ll let you be special guy today.” She looked at him, feeling proud of him, proud to be with him. Proud that he was the kind of man who could make such an impression on a breakfast cook, an impression strong enough to break through time and appearance.

Sam brought over their tea and chatted with them for a minute. They spoke of trivialities, and happenings around town. No reference was made to Giles’ circumstances, past or present. Giles knew Sam would never talk about it unless Giles chose to bring it up. He also knew that Sam would never talk about it to anyone else. Another couple came in and Sam went to serve them.

Willow and Giles finished their breakfast, continuing the light conversation. Giles sat back, sated. He sipped at his tea and watched the people walking by. He looked at Willow. “What would you like to do today?”

“Do we need to stay in town?”

Giles nodded. “I think that would be best.”

Willow thought for a moment. “Let’s just walk around and see what we find.”

That suited Giles fine. He reached for his wallet again and then looked at Willow mortified. “Willow, I don’t have any money, I don’t even have a wallet anymore.”

Willow grinned. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Likely story.” She reached for her wallet.

Sam walked over. “On the house today.” At Giles’ frown Sam insisted. “My place, my choice.” He looked at Giles. “Will you be back?”

A rueful smile crossed Giles face. “I don’t know.” He looked up at Sam. “But I promise you this. When I’m in town and free, if it’s breakfast time, I’ll be here.”

Sam nodded. He cleared his throat. “It was good to see you.”

Giles looked at Sam. “It was good to be seen.” He watched as Sam turned away and walked into the back. Willow took Giles’ arm and the two of them walked back outside.

When they got back it was late afternoon. The guard stopped Giles as he was entering the apartment. “He’s waiting for you. He said to call when you got back.”

Giles looked at Willow. “Willow, I…” He hesitated. “I’ll be back in a little while.”

Willow’s face got worried. “Where are you going?” She recalled suddenly his request to the guard this morning. She had completely forgotten about it until now. “Why are you talking to him? What does he want?” She didn’t like the look on Giles’ face. She spoke once again, her voice insistent. “Let me come with you.”

Giles could already felt the pain of losing her. He reached out and softly touched her hair, running a few strands of it through his fingers. He shook his head sadly. “No, I need to speak to him alone.”

Willow started to feel frightened. “Giles, what are you going to do? What are you telling him?”

Giles could feel the guard shift impatiently next to him. He looked again at Willow. “I’ll explain when I get back.” Giles looked at the guard and the guard headed off, leading Giles to his destination. Willow tried to follow but another guard stopped her. She watched Giles with her eyes until he turned a corner. She put her hand to her stomach hoping to quell the nervous flutters. She moved back and the guard shut the door. She had to fight to keep the tears away. She went to sit on the couch pulling a pillow up tight against her chest. She sat there, the room slowly darkening as night fell.

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