Title: Stop Motion 4/?
Author: Shannon
Pairing: Willow/Giles
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Joss Whedon, ME, UPN, FOX, and WB.
Distribution: http://magical-worlds.us/musings/, My LJ (shannon730), Hairy Eyeball if Elisabeth wants it. Anyone else that has my other fics. Any one else just let me know first.
Summary: Buffy is injured. Willow and Giles work together to help her and find the vampires behind the attack.
Author's Notes: Thanks to Gabrielle for betaing this for me. This is written in response to Michelle's challenge
What would happen if Buffy was paralyzed? I'd like to see a story about this, and about Giles' reaction to it. Pairing: A Giles/Buffy pairing would be preferred, but any pairing would be good. (It could be interesting to see how Buffy's paralysis would affect Giles' relationship with someone else.) I hope it's at least close to what you wanted.
"Giles," Buffy said softly, not sure why she had called at all. What could she possibly say to Giles, or to any of them after the way she had acted that morning. "Giles I…"
"Is everything all right?" Giles asked immediately, hearing the fear in her voice. Had the vampires that attacked her somehow found her again?"
"No," Buffy sighed, "I mean, yes, I'm fine, nothing attacking me or anything, but… Giles, the doctor was right, wasn't he? I won't ever walk?"
"I'm afraid so."
"How can I…," she hesitated, unsure of how exactly to explain what she was feeling. "I'm the slayer, everything that I do, everything I am…"
"As Willow told you earlier, Buffy," Giles interrupted, "You are more than just a slayer. You can and will survive this, and we're all here to help you."
Willow stood by the desk listening to Giles talk to Buffy. She had meant what she said earlier. Buffy was more than just the slayer. But, being a slayer was a big part of who she was, it would take her a long time to adjust to not having that part of herself anymore. Part of Willow thought Buffy needed to talk to someone else; someone trained in helping people through this kind of injury. The other, more logical part of Willow, while agreeing that professional help would be good, was looking at the odds of finding a psychologist or social worker who could possibly understand the slayer issues involved.
No, there was no professional who could help Buffy right now. They were the only ones that could understand what she was feeling, what she was going through. They may not fully understand, but they had been there, they had seen and lived with everything she'd been through. But Willow wished there was someone thatwho could fully understand what it was like to suddenly not be a slayer. To have that taken from them.
Maybe not understand what it was like to lose their slayerness, but maybe…she knew he had survived the battle in Los Angeles, but she didn't know where he had gone. She'd ask Giles. If they could find him, he would understand at least a little of what it was like to lose that part of yourself that you had spent so much time believing was all you were.
Giles had settled back in the chair and was still comforting Buffy, reassuring her that things would work out in the end. Willow frowned, it was obviously going to be a long conversation and she had promised Dawn she'd go shopping with her in the morning. She waved to Giles, and when he nodded she left the room, closing the door behind her.
**********
"I'm not certain that bringing Spike here is a good idea, Willow," Giles said. She had told him her idea shortly after they had left the house and they had been debating it ever since.
"She needs someone to talk to, Giles, someone who'll understand," Willow said, knowing how important it had been that she had someone to talk to after Tara had died. How much she needed Giles and the coven, people who could understand what the magic felt like. How hard it was to give up that part of herself.
"She has all of us," he insisted. He did understand what she was suggesting but wasn't sure if opening up those wounds for Buffy would be to her benefit.
"It's not the same thing. None of us can really understand what it is to lose so much of yourself. He can."
"Why don't we wait and discuss this later, with everyone," Giles suggested. "See how the others feel."
"Okay," Willow agreed. "The vampire nightlife seems to be very…quiet, doesn't it?"
"It does, perhaps Faith's message was stronger than we realized last night."
"Maybe," Willow sighed. "Dawn did give me the name of a demon bar that Buffy went to for information a couple of times."
"They may not be as easily intimidated as Willy," Giles said frowning. "Demon bars can be dangerous."
"Yeah, and we always avoid danger, right?" Willow smiled. "Come on, if we don't go alone, we won't go. We certainly can't take Faith in there, and it would take too long to bring another slayer up here, you've already sent all the girls that Buffy had here to London."
"If you insist," Giles agreed reluctantly. He knew this was likely to lead to a dangerous situation, but he wasn't even sure he wanted to avoid that. Willow had been right, he had a lot of pent up…anger to work out.
"Oh, look," Willow said, smiling and pointing at a building on the other side of the street as they emerged from the cemetery. "There it is."
"Just happened to remember the bar, when the cemetery was empty, did you?" Giles asked. "Hadn't planned to visit here all along?"
"Are you suggested I tricked you, Giles?" Willow laughed, "Would I do something like that?"
"Right, then," Giles frowned, "Do you have a plan of some sort. We aren't slayers, anyone in here may not be as eager to give up information to a watcher as they would to Buffy."
"No, they probably won't tell a watcher anything at all," Willow agreed, "But they might be willing to tell the witch who nearly destroyed the Hellmouth what they know."
"No offense, Willow," Giles said as they approached the door, "But you don't look…Willow?"
"Yeah," Willow grinned. Giles stared at her for several seconds, Willow waited, giving him time to register what had happened and enjoying the fact that she was able to shock Giles; so little surprised any of them anymore. "Did I forget to tell you that I can control this now, I can make it happen whenever I want."
Giles took in the black hair and eyes, trying to suppress the shudder of fear that went through him when he first looked at her. "Yes, you did. How long…?"
"A while now, since Kennedy left," she admitted. "I found that it was safer to patrol without a slayer if I looked…um…more threatening."
"But it's no longer connected to the dark magic?"
"Oh, it can be. It still happens on its own sometimes. When we found Buffy that night I didn't make it happen. I can control it now, so sometimes it's more like a glamour."
"So, you plan on doing this by force then?"
"No, not if I don't have to, but we're less likely to be chased out this way," Willow admitted. She extended her hand to him, "Ready then?"
"Ready," Giles agreed taking the offered hand, and hoping that Willow was as in control as she believed she was.
**********
An hour later, Giles watched from the dark booth as Willow questioned the vampire pinned to the wall with a stake hovering several inches above his chest. Willow had been certain the vampire had information. Giles didn't believe he was involved in the attack, but agreed with Willow that he knew who had ordered it.
Unfortunately for the vampire, he wasn't feeling inclined to speak to them, and Willow wasn't feeling inclined to leave empty-handed. "I'm getting kinda tired here, magic is draining and all," Willow said, allowing the stake to falter and move closer to the vampire's chest. "I can't promise that I can continue to hold this stake steady much longer. So, one more time, who attacked the slayer?"
"I don't know who attacked her," the vampire said nervously. "I've just heard rumors that vamps were being approached."
"Okay, so this wasn't a vampire plan then?" Willow said calmly. "So, who was planning it? Who wanted the slayer dead?"
"Willow, you may wish to be more specific," Giles said, coming to stand near her, "Most vampires and demons wish to see Buffy dead."
"Good point," Willow said, glancing over to Giles. "Who hired the vampires that attacked Buffy a few nights ago?"
Giles watched as Willow continued to question and threaten the vampire. He had doubted her ability to pull this off. The only time he had seen Willow truly threatening had been when Tara had died. He had never seen her this confident or this in control of her power. Of course, he hadn't seen her nearly as often in the last years as he would've liked. She had grown and changed a lot in that time. She wasn't the shy little girl he had met in Sunnydale. Nor was she the inexperienced witch with the power to destroy the world. She still had the power, and she was still quite shy at times, but she had become a confident woman who had learned to blend and control both of those traits admirably.
"Let's go, Giles," Willow said, dropping the vampire to the ground again, and floating the stake back over to her outstretched hand.
"I'm sorry," Giles said, pulled out of his thoughts. "Are we finished here?"
"Yeah," Willow said, "Obviously you stopped paying attention. Remind me later to ask what you were thinking about."
"Did you find what out what we needed to know?"
"Sort of," Willow sighed, "Let's get out of here. We need to talk to the others, and possibly Buffy."