Title: The Assistant 2/?
Author: Sweetdoggie
Disclaimer: No permission has been granted to use the characters. They are owned by their creator, Joss Whedon, Twentieth Century Fox, UPN, WB, and Mutant Enemy. This story is non-profit and is intended solely as entertainment. No copyright infringement is intended.
Buffy looked up and caught him staring at her again. She was tired of it. Giles had been freaking her out all week with his constant looking at her. She had complained to Merrick that Giles was staring all the time, but he had simply said that young Rupert needed to accustom himself to being around a Slayer and that it was hard to take in the first time you worked with one. Slamming her fist into the punching bag, she turned to him and stomped over to the table he was sitting at.
“What is your trauma, buddy? Why are you staring at me all the time?” She demanded.
“I wasn’t staring.” He said defensively, his blush belying his words.
“Oh!” She said, outraged at his denial. “You were so staring at me! Merrick! He was doing it again!”
Merrick didn’t look up from the book he was reading. He didn’t want the others to see the smile on his face. Schooling his voice to careful blandness, he replied. “Rupert, quit staring at the girl. Buffy, please attend to your exercise. You are dropping your left shoulder again.”
Buffy turned back to her punching bag but not before sticking her tongue out at Giles. He looked outraged. “Merrick, did you see that? She stuck her tongue out at me!”
“Did not!” Buffy sang.
“Did too!” He yelled back at her.
“Liar, liar, pants on fire!” She sang and danced around the punching bag.
He got up and tried to catch her, intending to make her tell the truth.
“Merrick!” She cried as he closed on her.
“Merrick!” He yelped as she punched him, lightly. Lightly, that is, for a Slayer.
Finally the elderly man closed his book and looked up at them, amusement vying with impatience on his face. “When you two children have stopped playing, I believe I have found something of interest regarding our nemesis, the Master.”
Instantly, they came to his side, Giles reaching out for the book at the same instant Buffy tried to take it. They jostled each other, each trying to push the other out of the way. Merrick slapped his hand down on the book, the sound like a gunshot in the deserted library.
“That’s it! Buffy! Rupert! You will cease this childish display immediately.” He stood up holding his chest, wheezing slightly. “Come with me right now! We are going home.”
The two combatants hung their heads and followed him to Giles’ car. Merrick got in front and gestured for Buffy to get in back. Then indicated that Rupert should drive them back to the house. Buffy sat sullenly, arms crossed over her chest. When her eyes met Giles in the rear view mirror, she stuck her tongue out at him again. Even from the back seat, she could see him grinding his teeth.
He said nothing, maintaining iron discipline over his temper and his urge to turn the brat over his knee. Something, he suspected, that should have been done a very long time ago. Merrick was entirely too easy on her, he thought. Buffy could do no wrong in the older man’s eyes. It was disgusting the way she cosied up to him, hanging on his every word. Whenever Giles suggested something, she sneered at it, belittled him, or simply ignored him. It was infuriating.
He pulled into the driveway of their home and got out of the car. Normally, he would have opened Buffy’s door for her, but he couldn’t bring himself to offer even a token courtesy to the girl. Merrick indicated that they should both go inside. He followed behind them pointedly ignoring their attitudes.
When they were inside the house he sat them both down together on the couch and stood over them. “I have never, in all my years as a Watcher, seen such a ridiculous display of temper, pique, and immaturity. And I am here to say, this stops tonight! Did it ever occur to either of you that your very lives and the lives of everyone in this town depend upon you to work together harmoniously? No? I don’t suppose that it did. That would require thought on both your parts and that seems to be something you are severely lacking in.
“Buffy. Call your mother and tell her you are staying all night with a friend.”
She started to protest, but he simply held up his hand and pointed to the phone. She sighed and did as he commanded.
“Summer’s residence.” Her mother’s voice answered.
“Hi, mom, it’s Buffy. Would you mind if I stayed with a couple of my girlfriends from school tonight? We were talking about that big test we have on Monday and got to thinking that maybe a study-slumber party might be fun.”
“Oh! Well, since tomorrow is Saturday, I guess it would be all right. What time will you be home tomorrow?”
“Gee, I’m not sure. I figure we’ll probably sleep in.”
“Be good, honey, OK?” Her mom asked her.
“I will, mom. I love you. Bye.” She hung up the phone.
“OK, I’m good till at least tomorrow afternoon.” She told her Watcher.
“Good.” He paced around the room for a few minutes before turning his attention back to them.
“Now, what I want is to see you two discuss your issues with each other. You will not be leaving here until this silly bickering is resolved. Rupert, I’d like you to begin and list your feelings about Buffy. Buffy. You will remain silent until Rupert has finished speaking. Do you both understand?” He waited until they nodded.
Giles stood up and took his own turn at pacing the floor. He looked at Buffy waiting rather impatiently on the couch for him to begin. “Very well. I have never worked with a more irritating person in my entire life. She thinks she knows everything and disregards any information I might provide. She denigrates me in front of the others and she has no respect for my calling. She lies and whines and it is extremely irritating.”
Buffy was bursting to defend herself. She practically bounced on the couch when Merrick gave her permission to speak. “He is such a bore, Merrick. All he does is talk about Slaying and following the rules. No matter what I do, it isn’t right because it isn’t how some Council-raised Zombie Slayer would have done it. He creeps me out with his constant Watching. He writes everything down in his stupid journal. Maybe I do say stuff about him to the others but he deserves it. He’s nothing but a pillbox!” She finished triumphantly.
“Ah, what?” Merrick asked fighting a smile.
“You know, that British thing he’s always muttering about Angel, about how he’s a bloody pillbox!”
Merrick coughed and sent Buffy off to get him a glass of water. He had calmed down somewhat when she returned. Giles was sitting in a chair, red faced.
“The word, dear girl, is pillock, and I sincerely hope I never hear such a vulgarity cross your lips again. Do I make myself clear?” Merrick sounded stern.
She looked at the ground. “Yeah. I guess.”
“This is not a situation that will deteriorate into name-calling, Buffy. I believe you owe Rupert an apology.” Merrick continued.
Buffy crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. When neither man responded, she sighed. “Oh, OK. I’m sorry I called you a pillbox!”
Giles stood and turned towards her. “Apology accepted.” He said quietly.
It was Giles turn to sigh. “I’m sorry if you find my Watching you, er, creepy. I’m simply astonished is all. It’s very different hearing and reading about Slayers all one’s life, and then to meet one…” He tapered off at a loss to continue.
“Sorry again.” She told him. “I guess I shouldn’t be so sensitive. It’s just that sometimes I feel freaky enough without feeling like everybody is watching me all the time. I’m sorry I dissed you to the gang, too. Really, I think you’re a good fighter and I know you’re really smart. I think I’m still a little mad because you’re not Merrick.”
Even Merrick looked surprised at this outpouring. “Buffy.” He paused. “You know I asked Rupert to come here, don’t you?” She nodded. “Do you realize that he gave up a very promising career at the British Museum to be your Watcher? Doctor Giles has a string of degrees and could have gotten a job anywhere. He chose to come here and run this tiny library in an insignificant school in a country full of ignorant barbarians for you. Not some other girl, not for Willow or Xander, but only for you.”
She looked ashamed. “I’m sorry.” She whispered. “It’s just hard sometimes…I don’t want to be destiny girl, you know? I wanted to grow up and maybe get married and have a couple of kids. Not a real big dream or anything, but it was what I wanted. Instead, I got this whole destiny gig. I have strange men coming up to me and telling me that I am the Chosen one, the one girl in all the world who can fight the forces of darkness, yada, yada, yada. And instead of these guys being nut jobs, like anybody else would assume, I get the real deal. Guys sent by a secret society to train me and make me a better fighter. Yay me.” She said bitterly. “So, I’m sorry, Giles. I’ll try to be less…whatever and more of what you seem to want, but you need to cut me a little slack too. I’m not a robot, and I am not happy.”
Giles came back to the couch and sat next to her. He took her hand in his. “I apologize myself, Buffy. I know it’s very difficult for you to accept what your life has become. I’ll try to be less judgmental in the future if you’ll try to be more cooperative. Do you think we could work out a deal, perhaps?” He smiled softly at her.
She looked up at him and returned his smile with one of her own that seemed to brighten the room they sat in. Merrick raised an eyebrow and had a few thoughts on the subject of Slayer and Watcher bonding that he chose to keep to himself.
He cleared his throat. “Very good, as far as it went. But you two need to learn more about each other. Now, I shall go and prepare some tea and I want you two to actually share information about yourselves to the other person. Before we are done tonight, you will be a team.”
Buffy rolled her eyes at Giles who grinned at the older Watcher’s stiff attitude. They exchanged commiseratory looks and settled down to learn about each other. Buffy looked at him curiously. “So, tell me something about yourself.” She invited.
“I’m thirty-six years old and I was born in Bath, England.” He began.
“I think I’ve heard of that place. It’s some sort of spa or something, right?” Buffy asked him.
“It has been considered to be a very healthful place since the Romans times.” Giles admitted, surprised that she knew of his home.
“Is it pretty?” Buffy wondered.
“Very.” He told her with a sigh. “It was very hard to leave England and come to this place. It’s terribly different than what I’m used to.”
“Maybe you can take me there sometime.” She offered. “I’d really like to see it.”
“That would be lovely.” He told her somehow flattered by her words.
Buffy settled down on the couch as Merrick carried in the tea tray and fixed them all nice cups of tea. “Well, you know I was born in LA and I’m sixteen.” She waved her hand as if all that was terribly boring. “Before I was Called, I wanted to be an Olympic figure skater. I was good and I could have done it, but then last year I learned I was made for other things…” She sighed.
“I know how to ice skate.” Rupert said. “Perhaps we could find a rink sometime?”
“That would be great!” Buffy said with a grin. “You know, I’m not really history girl or anything, but I hear Sunnydale has a pretty good museum. Maybe you and I could go there and you could, I dunno, explain things to me.”
“That would be very enjoyable.” Rupert responded with a grin of his own.
“My mom doesn’t know I’m the Slayer, so we’ll have to hide it from her. I’ve been doing this for months. How can she not know?” Buffy asked him plaintively. “She thinks I’m a juvenile delinquent. I come home late, night after night, bloody, bruised, clothes torn. I wish we could tell her. It would save me lots of groundings.”
Giles sighed. “We can’t, I’m afraid. The Council is rather strict on maintaining a secret identity for the Slayer and her Watcher. If your mother knew, she would be in danger and could, inadvertently, betray you or otherwise cause the minions of evil to harm you.”
Buffy gave him a sideways look at his ‘minions of evil’ speech. Sometimes he was so stogy that she just wanted to tease him to shake him up a little. She sat up looking enlightened and told him what she had just thought. “Maybe that’s why I’m so mean to you sometimes. It’s not ‘cause I don’t like you, because, I do. Which is just like totally weird all by itself. But sometimes when you start using all those big words and stuff, it makes me feel stupid. And I don’t want you to think I’m dumb.” She admitted somehow ashamed.
“I would never think you are dumb or stupid, Buffy. Scholarship is not everyone’s gift. When I was a lad, I hated to study. My father was rather strict, however, and I had no choice if I wished to avoid punishment.” He told her.
“Wow. Thanks. It’s not that I totally hate school, well, yeah, I guess it is, but it’s not like I hate learning stuff, ‘cause that’s fun. It’s just sometimes when I’m sitting there for hours, all I want to do is run and run until I’m so tired my legs won’t hold me up. I need to be moving all the time and it’s very hard to sit still in a classroom. Even harder since I became the Slayer. I have this energy buzz going on all the time. It feels like ants crawling over my skin.” She shuddered.
“That problem can be solved with more exercise.” Giles told her decisively. “If you started every day with a run, for example, it would probably take you through most of the school day. You could also come to the Library during your free periods for training. Perhaps we could practice our hand-to-hand combat techniques.”
Buffy looked at him brightly. “That sounds great, Giles. Uhm, would you like to run with me in the mornings? I hate to go alone and Merrick can’t.”
Giles was touched that she had thought to include him. “I would enjoy that very much, Buffy. Can you meet me here at seven every morning?”
Buffy looked determined. “I’ll try.”
They talked about a variety of subjects until Buffy suddenly yawned. She apologized. “Sorry, with this new vampire thing going on, the prophetic dreams have been coming every night. I’m not getting a lot of rest.”
Both met sat up alertly. “You’ve been having the dreams?” Merrick demanded.
“Yeah.” Buffy didn’t really want to say any more about them.
“What about.” Giles probed, his look intense.
She sighed and wrapped her arms around herself. “Him. I dream about him a lot. He won’t win any beauty contests, let me tell you. He’s so old; he’s forgotten his human face. His mouth is stained with blood. It’s permanent now. His skin is chalky white. He sees me in the dreams. I think he knows all about me.” She shuddered.
“I dreamed about Giles too. I kept seeing that book you slammed down in front of me—you know, Vampyrs.” Both men nodded. Her voice dropped. “I see my own death sometimes.” She whispered. Looking up at both men, she said, “I don’t want to die at sixteen.”
Giles put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her against his chest. He rubbed her back in circles soothing her. He spoke a soothing stream of comforting nonsense until she relaxed against him. He looked down and saw that she had fallen asleep. Looking at Merrick for inspiration, he complied when the older man indicated that he should put Buffy down on the couch and cover her with the afghan that was draped over the back. The two men went to the kitchen and sat at the table.
“Are you feeling better about her now, Rupert?” Merrick asked the younger man.
The assistant Watcher nodded. “I had no idea she was anything beyond a spoiled little brat, John. I never thought about her wishing for a different life. The only Slayers I’ve been acquainted with were raised to it from infants and knew nothing else. I don’t like that she’s been having the dreams every night, either.”
“No, nor I.” Merrick agreed. “I think she’s beginning to trust you, however and that’s good. She is a very resilient girl.”
“Why on earth would you think the child trusts me?” Giles asked stupefied.
“She didn’t fall asleep in my arms, now did she?” Merrick asked him. He looked at Rupert. “You know, if she forms the bond with you, what you’ll be required to do, don’t you?”
“Perish the thought, John. I’m twenty years older than the girl. There is nothing that could prevail upon her to bond with me as anything other than a teacher.”
Merrick snorted. “You deceive yourself, Rupert. The day will come, probably much sooner than you are ready for it and there she will be.”
“How do you know it won’t be you?” Giles asked.
“My Buffy will always love me, Rupert, but we aren’t meant for the Bond. When you two are together, I can practically see the ties forming. She’s learning to trust you. She already notices everything about you.”
Giles looked skeptical. “Oh, really? Like what?”
“Like the fact that you’ve been watching her rather closely for quite some time now, for example.”
“I have been staring at her, I suppose. It’s probably hard to miss.” Giles defended.
“Nonsense. I didn’t notice till Buffy started complaining about it.” Merrick told him. “I tested my theory the other day by asking her what was your favorite tea. She named it immediately.”
“Anyone could know that. I drink tea rather frequently.” Giles said.
“Ah, but would you expect Buffy to know it? I rather doubt it. Have you noticed she always accepts when you offer her a cup? She doesn’t even like tea.” Merrick sighed. “No, my boy, the bond is definitely forming. I’ve been wondering if I should bow out of the scene. Go away from her.” He looked down. “I know that I should, but I can’t bring myself to leave her.”
Giles looked up sharply. “Are you sure you aren’t forming the bond?”
Merrick looked morose. “My time with Buffy is over, Rupert. I can only be here in a support capacity now. She will always love me, but never be in love with me. But you…she will fall very deeply in love with you.”
“She’s just a child, John. If I formed any sort of relationship other than teacher and pupil I risk a jail term or deportation at the least.” Giles protested.
“Yes. That is quite a dilemma. I suppose that my living with you provides some cover.” Merrick mused.
“How so?” Giles asked, puzzled.
“Rupert, when two middle-aged men live together, no one supposes it’s because they share responsibility for the same girl.” Merrick’s tone was dry.
“You mean, they think we are gay?” Giles asked somewhat astonished.
“Of course. Actually, it’s a rather good cover. Buffy can be with us without much suspicion.”
“I’ve never given anyone the impression that I was gay!” Giles protested.
Merrick sighed and rolled his eyes, no doubt schooled in the technique by his Slayer. “Rupert, you are a bachelor, live with another man, drink tea and you’re a male Librarian. To an American, that means you are practically radiating gayness.” Merrick smiled slightly. “In addition, you are foreign. Many Americans have a subconscious fear of foreign things. If you put a label on it, it makes it less frightening.”
“B, but I’m not gay!” Rupert protested. “I’ve been with women before!”
Merrick hid his grin behind his teacup. “I know your not homosexual, Rupert, but sometimes the appearance is all that matters. No one will have the least worry about your relationship with Buffy which is what we must be concerned with.”
Rupert’s feathers were quite ruffled by the implications about his sexuality. He wasn’t homophobic, but he didn’t like being labeled. While he was able to concede that it was an excellent cover, he was uncomfortable with the societal expectations it placed upon him. Gods! He hoped no one expected him to kiss Merrick because he just wouldn’t do it! Another fear struck him as he pondered the situation.
“Do you suppose Buffy thinks I’m gay?” He asked the older man, deeply worried.
“No, of course not. She knows why we are living together, for one thing. Buffy has lumped us both into the subset of humans known as ‘old guys,’ and has assumed that neither of us has any sexuality at all.” Merrick explained, looking amused when Giles swore.
“Bloody Hell! John, I’m only thirty-six, hardly in my prime, let alone an ‘old guy.’ He was deeply offended at the concept.
“Rupert, to a sixteen-year-old, thirty-six and fifty-seven are practically the same age. Our Buffy doesn’t see us as functional males, believe me.” Merrick sighed. “When the time is right, the bond will ensure that she changes her views on you, Rupert. She won’t be able to help it. And face it, my friend, it’s already working on you, isn’t it?”
Giles rubbed his hand over his face. “I don’t know. It’s just…she’s fascinating. I could watch her move for hours. She practically radiates energy. I find myself wanting to touch her—not in a sexual way, but just to feel the reality of her, if that makes sense.”
Merrick nodded. “You already belong to her. I hope when she realizes it, she will be kind to you.” He sighed. He didn’t tell his young friend that he also belonged to Buffy. The bond, once set in place, never left and now Merrick would love the girl till he died.
Giles looked depressed. “Where does the bond come from, John? Why does it bind us to these girls so deeply that our souls are joined? I’ve seen what happens to a bonded Watcher when his Slayer dies. It’s terrifying. He becomes a rudderless ship, barely functioning until he finally dies of grief. How many Watchers outlive their Slayers by more than a few months?”
Merrick patted him on the back. “You know why the bond forms, Rupert. The Watcher’s most important function is to protect the Slayer. His life and hers are twined together. Essentially the Watcher is the Slayer’s reward. The one person in all the world who loves her so much that he gives up everything, down to and including his very life for her. When the bond manifests in her, she will realize that she is not alone and will never be alone while he draws breath. You will never be able to leave her.”
Rupert shuddered. He didn’t want to become the love slave of a girl twenty years his junior but he could feel it happening already. He dropped his head into his hands, pondering the quirks of fate that had brought them to this pass. A noise in the living room caught his attention. Buffy.
“Giles?” He heard her sweet voice, slightly rough from sleep call him.
“Here, Buffy.” He replied, rising and going in to her. He didn’t see Merrick’s face when the Slayer called for Rupert and not for himself.
The Librarian entered the living room and went to the girl on the couch. “What’s the matter, Buffy?”
“Nothing, I guess. I just had one of those dreams and I woke up not really knowing where I was. ‘S’ funny, though. I knew if you were here I’d be OK.” She yawned. “Something big is coming.” She told him. “The Master is going to try to rise and, and I think he kills me. I look down in the dream and see my body dressed in a white formal gown floating in a pool. He drowned me like a rat.”
Rupert pulled her into his arms and stroked her hair. “I know it’s frightening, luv, but we won’t let it happen. Remember that when all is said and done, he’s just a vampire. You’ve staked hundreds of them. He’s going to be dust.” He kept up a comforting stream of babble till he felt her relax in his arms again. “Now, do you think you can be a good girl and go to sleep?” He asked her with a soft smile.
She smiled back suddenly shy. “I can always sleep, Giles. Say good night to Merrick for me, please?”
“Of course.” He waited until she laid back and pulled the cover up and tucked it in around her shoulders. “Sleep well, little Slayer.” He said smiling slightly.
“Night.” She closed her eyes and was asleep again in seconds.
He got up and walked back to the kitchen where Merrick waited. “She wished you good night, John.” He told the older man. “She had another prophetic dream.” He explained what she had told him. Both men sighed. “We must do something to protect our girl.”