Title: The Assistant 12/?
Author: Sweetdoggie
Email: (stirling_summer@yahoo.com)
Pairing: B/G
Rating: R
Summary: Merrick didn’t die. A/U
Spoilers: Up to mid-season 2
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.
Notes: Pretty much A/U right from the start. I don’t know how many parts this will be but I’m not going to leave you hanging. The rating is me being ultra-conservative. 99% of all the sex takes place off scene. B/A fans—it never happened

They searched through the books for another six hours the next day before Xander finally stumbled onto a reference to a vampire with a soul. “Damn.” The young man exclaimed. “I think I’ve got something.”

As they gathered round him, he read the text out loud:
In the final days, the ensouled undead shall battle great evil. His place will be next to the Slayer and it is by his hand that all will be revealed. Should he prevail, humanity will be restored.

“Well, Hell.” Merrick said with a grimace. “I suppose we can’t stake him now.”

“But what if it means some other vampire with a soul?” Xander asked. “If we had another one, we could dust Angel.” He was eager to see their former ally die. “I mean, they had a whole spell just for putting a soul back in—that’s kind of specialized. Somebody must have used it before? Right?”

The three Watchers regarded him with mouths agape at his idea. It had never once occurred to them that there might be other creatures of the night wandering around possessing souls. Finally Giles ruffled his hair back and snorted. “Out of the mouths of babes…”

Xander grinned. “Oooo. Now I’m a babe. I can deal.”

Everyone in the room rolled their eyes. The boy was irrepressible.

Cordelia leaned over and thunked him on the back of his head. “Knock it off, thought boy. I don’t want to do any more research.” She looked around. “So, now that we know we have to keep the vampire with a soul around, can we go? I have an appointment to get my nails done.”

Merrick waved her off, deep in thought. Willow, Oz and Xander used his preoccupation as an excuse to leave as well. Buffy and Faith looked at each other and began to creep towards the door, but were stopped when Wesley asked them where they were going.

Buffy, thinking quickly blurted out that they were going shopping. Faith needed a couple of things. The youngest Watcher nodded thoughtfully. “Of course. Have a good time.”

“Good thinking, B.” Faith whispered as they left the house.

“Well, hey! You do need some stuff and I think it would be a good idea to buy a couple of things for Wesley too. We can start on our Watcher makeover project and have fun too.” They headed for the mall.

Three hours and many dollars later, they had two new outfits for Faith that were a little less biker and a little more Barbie, as Buffy said. Faith was dubious about the outfits. “I don’t want to look like a sheep.”

“You won’t look like a sheep, I promise. You look like a girl who might be interested in having a guy notice her. Especially if that guy is a good looking Watcher type who is probably pretty conservative.” Buffy smiled.

“Are you sure?” Faith said, her doubt plain.

“Positive.” Buffy looked around the mall. They still had to visit the men’s clothing shop and then they would be done. “I’m thinking maybe a couple of polo-shirts and a nice sweater for Wes. What do you think?”

“He’d look good in a polo-shirt.” Faith admitted. “But would he ever wear one?”

“We’ll plan an occasion so that he pretty much has to dress down. How about a picnic? That’s fun and we could make all the guys wear jeans. Giles in jeans is munchsum. Merrick is pretty hot too. Hey! We could invite my mom along to be there for Merrick. I know they get along pretty well already. We’ll pass it off as a family thing.”

Faith thought about it for a minute. “Won’t it be kind of obvious that we’re interested? I don’t want to look like I’m chasing him.”

“Nah. Men are the most sentimental things on the planet. You mention that we want to go out as a family and they’ll melt like butter. And really, do you think Wes would get a clue if it weren’t put on his lap? I think you’re perfectly safe. He’s going to have to think it’s his idea, though. Right now, you want to stick to shy smiles and a compliment now and then. I don’t suppose you can blush on command? No? Too bad. You’ll have to stick with pouting.”

They bought Wesley two shirts, one dark green and one red. The sweater they picked out was a deep midnight blue. It was so soft, Faith wanted to run it over her face. The jeans were easy, as Faith had snuck into his closet and copied down the sizes of his dress clothes several days earlier.

They stopped at the grocery on the way home and purchased two gallons of ice cream as a reward for diligent shopping. When they entered the house, they could hear the sounds of the men working in the kitchen. Something smelled great. Buffy dropped the ice cream off in the kitchen and Faith snuck upstairs with their purchases.

Giles was happy to see his wife after so many hours. He took her in his arms and kissed her deeply, completely forgetting about the other two Watchers in his desire. The kiss was threatening to get out of control when Merrick cleared his throat. Wesley was blushing like a bride and couldn’t make eye contact with anyone.

“Did you girls have a good time shopping?” Giles asked with a deeply indulgent smile.

“Oh, yeah. We made significant inroads on you guy’s credit cards.” Buffy softened her words with a hug.

Giles kissed her hair. “You know, Wesley, when they are training us to be Watchers, someone should mention that young women seem to find excessive shopping to be a marathon sport. If they could find a way to harness that energy and direct it towards slaying, the world would be a much safer place.”

Buffy pouted. “I guess you wouldn’t be interested in seeing the new nightie I bought today then. Oh, well. Your loss.” She sniffed and turned her back on him.

He growled. “I think I could bring myself to examine this purchase.” He told her.

“Hmmmpf. I don’t know if I’m going to show you now.” He took a step toward her and she giggled then shrieked as he lunged for her. She ran through the house laughing pursued by her still growling husband. Nobody was surprised when he caught her conveniently in their bedroom. Their housemates heard him laugh just as the door closed firmly behind them.

Merrick sighed with a smile on his face. “I suppose we could put their supper in a warming dish.”

Wesley looked at the older man. “Do you think they are up there, right now, uh, never mind.”

“They love each other very much. Rupert can’t go for more than five minutes without looking up at her if she’s in the room. Watch him sometime, Wes. His eyes follow her like a flower follows the sun. Buffy owns him completely, yet also belongs completely to him. You were extraordinarily lucky that he didn’t kill you for trying to get between them. I suspect the only thing that saved you was there was no sexual motive involved.”

“I truly had no idea that they were really bonded, or even what that meant. Travers sent me here to cause dissention, I see that now. He didn’t care if it hurt Buffy or Faith either, for that matter. He is working on his own agenda, though I couldn’t guess what he’s after.”

“Travers is a weasel, as the children would say. He must be watched at every turn. He wanted to be a field Watcher, you know, as a young man. As the years sped by, he grew bitter at never being assigned a Slayer. I’m afraid his self-absorption has overcome his oath to serve the Slayer in whatever capacity is needed. Now, he serves himself.”

Their conversation was interrupted by Faith who came bouncing into the room. She looked at the Watchers and smiled. “Hi. What’s for supper? I’m absolutely starving. Who knew shopping was such hard work?”

Wesley smiled to see his Slayer so light hearted. His time in this household had already given him a new appreciation of what bonding with a Slayer could mean. He looked at Faith with new eyes. “Did you have a good time today?”

“Yeah. It was super. Buffy made me get a couple of outfits for school and uh, stuff. I don’t know if I’ve ever worn a dress before. It felt really weird, like my legs were all naked, you know?”

Wesley gulped briefly to think of Faith’s naked legs. “Uh, I’m sure they will be lovely. Uhm, w, would you put them on and let me, er, us see you in them?”

Faith looked up and something in his gaze mesmerized her. “S, sure. I’d like that.” She looked away with a flush on her cheeks. “After supper, OK?”

“OK.” Wesley nodded.

Merrick hid his grin by turning back to the stove. Watchers and Slayers building relationships were so cute. These two were going to give each other quite a race before they were through.

It was an embarrassed Buffy and a red-faced Giles that slipped downstairs nearly an hour later. Both had swollen lips and Buffy’s cheeks sported a red burn from being rubbed by an unshaved chin. Rupert tried to conceal the love bite on his throat but his shirt collar slipped several times bearing it to the room. Merrick looked up at them, a wicked gleam in his eye.

“So, Rupert, did Buffy show you her things?” He asked casually.

The younger Watcher’s blush darkened to dusky rose. He smiled nevertheless. “I saw quite a bit.” He admitted.

Wesley, who had just taken a sip of water nearly spurted it out again at this reply. He had never lived in a household where teasing was allowed. It felt so good, so free. Nobody was going to chastise him if he smiled.

Buffy just grinned and changed the subject, much to her husband’s relief. “Faith and I were talking and we think we need to go on a picnic. We were thinking about Saturday, baring apocalypse. We could invite my mom and it would just be the six of us. We could go to that abandoned farm where we killed the demons.” She told Giles, excited. “There was some real pretty country there and nobody would bother us. It would be a day just for our family.”

Wesley spoke up. “But, Buffy, Faith and I aren’t family.”

She looked at him in surprise. “Sure you are. Faith’s my sister as sure as if she was born to my mom and you…you get the big brother spot. I always wanted a brother and I think it’s pretty cool that he turned out to be as smart as he is handsome.” She looked around the table. “So, picnic?”

None of them could deny her anything so a picnic was arranged.

Wesley wiped his eyes surreptitiously. “Thank you, Buffy. I’ve never had a sister and I, I cherish the opportunity to be your brother.” He cleared his throat. As he looked at his plate a thought occurred to him. “I just realized I really have nothing to wear to a picnic. Perhaps I could borrow some casual garments from one of you?” He looked helplessly at Rupert and John.

Faith cleared her throat. “Um, I kind of thought of that, Wes. I,” her voiced dropped shyly, “I bought you a couple of things.”

“You, you thought of me?” His voice was hoarse. “Thank you, Faith. That was very sweet.”

She looked down, not knowing how to handle the situation. “I just picked a couple of things that I thought you’d look good in. ‘S nothing.” Her voice was gruff.

“Why don’t you guys go try on your new duds and show the rest of us?” Buffy suggested. “You first, Wes.”

Faith looked at Wesley and he nodded his approval. They went upstairs together and she handed him the sack containing his new garments. Fifteen minutes later they met downstairs.

Wesley had chosen to wear the red polo shirt with the collar unbuttoned and the blue jeans. Buffy quietly pointed out to Faith how nicely they emphasized his butt. “Hottie.” Buffy said in a whisper.

“Oh, yeah.” Faith answered, her mouth slightly open.

“Drool check, Faith.” Buffy teased.

Faith closed her mouth and quickly wiped her chin just to be on the safe side. It was dry. She gave Buffy a dirty look that the other girl simply laughed off.

Wesley looked to Faith. “Uhm, d, do you approve?”

Faith nodded, hardly daring to venture speech at this point. “You look great!” She finally blurted out. “You are so wasted in suits.”

Wesley blushed a fire engine red. He fiddled with the collar of the shirt for a few moments. “Thank you. Perhaps now we could see one of the outfits you purchased for yourself today?”

Faith looked at Buffy for help. “Red dress.” The blonde murmured.

The dark Slayer nodded and went to put on the suggested garment. It took her a few minutes because she was unused to the intricacies of female dressing, but soon she came down the stairs.

The dress was a deep, rich red. It’s design was light; a full skirt that came nearly to her knees offset by the simple halter top that tied behind her neck leaving back, shoulders and arms bare. She had put on a matching pair of shoes that added two inches to her height and finished the look with a drop dead red lipstick. Wesley nearly fell off the couch. Surely this couldn’t be the same girl who dressed in leather and looked as if she could fight a herd of wild elephants with no problem.

He stood up and walked to her. Taking her hand in his, he met her lovely brown eyes with awe. “You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, Faith. I am honored to be your Watcher.”

She blushed and it was as if no one else was in the room but the two of them. “I’m glad I’m your Slayer.” She whispered softly.

Merrick smiled. God, another pair well on the road to true love. He wondered if it were something Hellmouthy as his Buffy would say. He glanced at his darling girl and saw the satisfaction written on her face. He wondered how much of this evening was a set up. Oh, well, he mentally shrugged. It was bound to happen. He had never seen two people more needy than Faith and Wesley and this was definitely a good thing for them both.

“P, perhaps, uhm, that is, I was wondering if you m, might like to, ah, go to the Bronze with me tomorrow evening. F, for dancing? You could wear your new dress.” He nodded as the plan came together in his mind. “We could go to dinner at that French restaurant downtown. What do you say?”

Faith grinned. “I think that would be totally great.”

He walked her to the couch and sat beside her still holding her hand. The group talked about their research on the Angel problem and the evening passed quietly. Giles noted that Wesley didn’t release Faith’s hand till everyone stood to go to bed.

Buffy and Giles made their way to their own room quietly. He looked at her, basking in the beauty of her soul. “You’ve done well with those two.” He told her softly.

“They need each other so badly. They hurt, you can see it. If they can fix each other, why not give them a hand?” Buffy spoke softly. “I want everyone to be as happy as I am.”

“Are you happy, beloved?” He asked her. “Truly? I know I’m too old for you. You should have had a young man, babies to hold, decades of life to live. I can’t give you any of that and it hurts me to know it.”

“I’m happy, Rupert. You aren’t too old. Older than I am, yes. So what? It doesn’t mean anything. Babies, well, maybe I would have liked to have them, but only if they were yours. To know that I carried something of you in my body, that would have been wonderful, but it wasn’t meant to be. Mourn it, but don’t torment yourself. As for my life, if I die tonight or fifty years from now, I’ll know that I had your love and that made it worthwhile. I’ve thought about it a lot, you know. Whatever comes after—I’ll wait for you.”

He pulled her into his arms and held her while his tears dripped softly into her hair. They rocked each other slowly, giving the only comfort they had. He picked her up and carried her to the bed where they made love till the dawn peeked in through the pale curtains. His last thought as he fell down into the well of slumber was that life, no matter how short, was infinitely sweet with her in his heart.

They slept for less than an hour before the alarm clock rang and practically threw them from the bed. Buffy groaned and tried to pull the covers back over her head. Giles, looking rather the worse for wear, growled and pulled them off her. “If I have to get up and face another bloody day on the Hellmouth, so do you.”

“Hey! What happened to all that sweet talk coming my way last night?” She asked as she staggered from the bed.

“That was before the alarm went off and I realized that I had to function on less than an hour’s sleep.” He said grumpily, kissing her good morning.

They made their way to the shower and washed together, relishing the splash of cool water on their sleepy faces. After dressing, they slipped downstairs for a hearty dose of caffeine and sugar to start their day.

One by one, the others joined them at the breakfast table. Faith looked at them with a grin noting the bags under their eyes. “Gee, B. You look like you didn’t get any sleep at all last night. Insomnia?” She tormented.

Buffy glared at her. “I guess I just couldn’t fall asleep.”

“How about you, Giles? You don’t seem to have gotten all that much sleep either.” Faith prodded.

“Uh, Buffy kept me up all night.” He said.

Merrick snorted into his coffee cup. “No doubt.”

They both glared at the older man who studiously ignored them. “I’ve given some thought to the Angel dilemma. We can’t take the chance of killing the pillock, but I don’t believe he is safe to keep around Buffy either. We have several options that I can see.” He paused. “ We can trust him not to harm Buffy.” When Giles sat upright in his chair in protest he raised his hand and continued. “We can find a spell to make him not love her anymore. Quite dangerous since he is already operating under the effects of magic that we actually know very little about. Or we can open a portal and send him into another dimension, someplace where the flow of time passes differently. Effectively, what would be a few weeks for us would be a century or more for him. That should give him time to get over his feelings for Buffy, but still keep him available should he be needed.”

There was silence at the table for a few minutes before Buffy spoke. “It wouldn’t have to be a bad dimension, right? Not like Hell or anything? I don’t object to staking him, but that’s quick and over. A hundred years away from everything you know, that’s harsh. Plus, in a hundred years, wouldn’t you build up a new life in this other place? Then to get jerked out of it again…I just don’t know.”

Giles pondered the points Buffy had made. He had no objection to being cruel to the demon, but anything that disturbed Buffy was something that had to be considered very deeply. “We could tell him what we were doing. Maybe we could even get his consent somehow. If we told him he was searching for something, a quest perhaps, he might even go voluntarily.”

Buffy nodded. “If he knew it was going to be a hundred years for him and a couple of weeks for us, then I guess it would be OK.” She looked puzzled. “What on earth could we send him for?”

“The usual objects for quests are spiritual enlightenment—unlikely for a vampire, a special or magical weapon or artifact, or a personal goal.” Wesley said thinking about Arthurian legends.

Buffy and Faith exchanged looks. “One ring to bind them.” They both spoke at the same time and giggled. When the others looked at them enquiringly, Buffy said, “The Hobbit.” At the still blank faces of her Watchers, she added “Tolkien?” Still blank. “Geez, do you guys ever read anything that isn’t a thousand years old?”

Giles snorted at the thought of his reading habits being criticized by Buffy of all people. “Just tell me what it’s about, wench.” He threatened her.

“Wench? Merrick? How come he gets to call me a wench and I can’t call him a pillbox? Not fair, you big cheater!” She squeaked as he grabbed at her, but didn’t try very hard to get away. He held her on his lap and whispered something in her ear that made her flush. She settled down and looked like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.

“Now, what is this story about?” He said smoothly.

She sighed. “It’s about this little dude called a hobbit who gets approached by a mighty wizard to go on a quest with a bunch of other people to save the world from the bad guy. They have to find this ring that is really powerful before the baddie gets it. We read it in English last year. There was a cartoon too.” She added the last in a helpful tone of voice meant to goad him.

He squeezed her in retaliation. “I’m not watching a bloody cartoon.”

She waved her hand in dismissal. “It was just a story. We need something real he can go after and bring back for us.” She thought for a moment. “It wouldn’t hurt if it really did some cool magic thing, either.”

Giles looked at the others. “Right then. Amulets, Talismans, Magical Weapons, Artifacts, Books? What shall we send the creature after and make it sound believable?”

Buffy looked up with a grin on her face. “How about a magic stake that dusts vamps at thirty paces? Too cool.”

All three Watchers gave her what she thought of as ‘The Look’ and she grimaced. “It was just an idea, guys.”

Giles stood and patted her on her bottom. “Get ready for school. You too, Faith. I’ll drive you.”

Both girls groaned but complied. They were back down in ten minutes. Faith was wearing her second outfit that Buffy had chosen. It was a Tee-shirt dress of pale blue cotton and hung about two inches above her knees. She was sockless and wore a pair of white sneakers. Wesley couldn’t help noticing her legs were long and firm, made to have a man’s hand run up them, he thought.

Giles made sure both girls went to class before creeping into his office and locking the door for a nice snooze until lunch. The Scoobies bounded into the library after their last morning class and were in time to see him rubbing his face as he came out of the small room. Nobody had the heart to tell him the imprint of the couch was plastered firmly to his cheek.

“Hi, Giles.” Willow and Xander echoed each other.

“Hello.” He mumbled with a tired yawn.

Buffy and Faith came sprinting into the room seconds later. “Hi, Giles.” They both grinned at him.

Xander smiled at the girls. “Geez, Buff, you look like you didn’t get any sleep at all last night. Big research session?”

Buffy blushed. “Uh, sorta.” She looked at the clock. “Oh, wow. Look at the time. We have to eat and run I guess.” She pulled out the bagged lunch that Merrick had made for her. Peanut butter and cheese on wheat bread, an apple and a thermos of tea. It was one of her favorites.

Wesley had packed Faith’s lunch. He still thought she should have a healthy lunch, despite her protests. She had carrot sticks, an apple, a carton of low-fat yogurt, and a granola bar. He had allowed her to have a diet soda. She looked at the stuff spread out in front of her. “I really wish he wouldn’t do this.” She complained. “Yogurt is just nasty and I feel like a cow munching on a cud when I eat raw carrots.”

Buffy dug into her pockets and came out with several dollar bills and some change. “You could get something from one of the machines. I saw they had hamburgers in there again.”

Giles, happily ensconced in his falafel pita looked up. “He’s just trying to keep you healthy, Faith. You children eat enough rubbish as it is. Eat up, now, like a good girl.”

She shot daggers at him with her look, but obediently spooned up a scoop of yogurt. Her chin quivered as she tried to swallow it. She gagged and ended up spitting it out in a wastebasket. “I just can’t do it. Yogurt tastes like barf.” She grabbed the money off the table and came back ten minutes later with two kinds of chips, a candy bar, and a microwave hamburger. She tossed Buffy one of the bags of chips.

Giles sighed. “I’ll speak to Wes and tell him no more yogurt.”

Faith’s thanks were fervent.

Buffy looked at Giles suspiciously. “You know, you sure look a lot more rested than you were this morning. What’s up with that?”

He looked guilty. “Ah, I may have rested my eyes for a few moments this morning.”

“I can’t believe this. I’m being bored to tears in classes I can barely remember the name of let alone anything that actually goes on in them and you’re in here napping?”

He grinned. “I’m an old man, love. I need my rest.”

She returned the grin, but hers was somehow much more sinister. “Oh, well, I guess you wouldn’t be interested in what I learned in gym class today then.” She turned and started to walk away.

Knowing he was going to hate himself, he stopped her and demanded to be told what she had learned. She patted his hand. “You just rest, honey. I wouldn’t want to excite you.”

He growled. The Scoobies looked on with huge grins of delight. Watching this disparate couple play was as good as theatre. “Show me!” He demanded.

“Well, I don’t know.” She hesitated. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have a nap?”

He walked up to her and grabbed her around the waist. “Shall I show you what I’d rather have?” He murmured deep in his throat.

He was leaning in close to kiss her when the library doors swung wide. Principal Snyder walked in. “I thought I’d find you in here, Summers.” He looked at Giles. “What do you think you’re doing putting your hands on a student?”

Giles looked at him directly and without the least shred of guilt. “Buffy asked me to be her spotter while she showed me a move she learned in gym class.”

The principal looked suspicious but also uncaring. “Save the gymnastics for your class, Summers. I have something important for you to do.”

Buffy tensed. Anything Snyder wanted her to do was bound to be horrible. She watched the little man like a mongoose watches a cobra.

“The school board in their infinite wisdom has decided that we need to reach out to our most troubled students.” He looked at her contemptuously. “That’s you, by the way. They have received a grant to have some college students come in and mentor you. Each problem student, you again, will be assigned to one of these college kids. They’ll follow you around and keep you out of trouble while you’re at school. It’s a six-week program.” He turned around and gestured to a young man standing in the doorway of the library. “This is your mentor, Riley Finn. He’ll tell you about himself.” Snyder turned his back and walked out of the room.

The eyes of the group turned as a unit to check out the new guy. He was tall, about six foot three, Buffy estimated. He was in his mid-twenties and had the body of an athlete. He stepped forward into the room with a boyish grin. “Hi, I’m Riley.” He held his hand out to Buffy and she shook it.

“Buffy Summers.” She said redundantly.

“So, I guess I should explain a little more about the program. I’m a graduate student in psychology and my project this year is to shadow a high school student with an academic history of poor performance, socialization issues, and attitude problems and to attempt to put that student back on track. We’ll be working closely with each other for the next six weeks. I want to be your friend through all this, Buffy. I can help you get past what ever issues are holding you back from giving school your all. We’ll make a great team.” He stood there grinning down at her like he expected her to say something.

Buffy looked at Giles, desperation in her eyes. They couldn’t have this guy tagging around her life, even her school life, for six weeks. Any person with the least amount of observational skills would be able to tell that there was a lot more to her life than met the eye.

“Well, uh, thanks Riley. But I already have a team. I don’t have issues and I don’t want to participate in your program. So, thanks again, but not interested.”

“Um, Principal Snyder didn’t mention it, but your cooperation is mandatory.” He said apologetically. “Failure to cooperate will result in you being expelled. Sorry.”

Buffy turned to the librarian. “Giles?”

“I’ll look into it, Buffy. In the mean time, please cooperate with Mr. Finn.” He wanted to take her back in his arms and comfort her, but Finn obviously had no idea they were married and he wasn’t going to enlighten the boy.

“Oh, all right.” She looked at Riley. “Come on, I have to get to class.” She turned to her friends. “Bye guys. Why don’t you all come over tonight and we can have a party?”

“Sure Buff.” Xander said with a grin. “We’ll round up the rest of the gang and be there at seven, OK?”

Buffy grinned. “That’s the plan.”

Riley stood there uncertain. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends, Buffy?”

She sighed. “Xander, Willow, Giles, this is Riley. Riley, these are my friends, Giles, Willow, and Xander. Let’s go.”

Riley followed her out of the library. “Do you really think you should be having a party on a school night, Buffy? I’ve seen your grades and it seems to me you should be studying.”

Buffy ignored him.

“Why do you call the librarian by his last name? That’s kind of disrespectful. You should call him Mr. Giles. I’m sure he’d appreciate the courtesy. It’s important to show respect to figures of authority.”

Buffy ignored him some more.

The next class was Biology and the teacher showed a movie about the life cycle of the cell. The room was warm and dark and Buffy was in dreamland before the opening credits had rolled. Riley watched her the entire time. When the bell rang dismissing the class she opened her eyes and gathered up her books.

Riley strode briskly along next to her. “Buffy you slept through that entire class. You know that’s not right. Obviously you spend too much time having parties and not enough time resting.”

She finally turned to look at the huge boy. “God, you really are an old woman, aren’t you? Look, I don’t want to offend you, but it’s my life. Stay out of it, OK? I was up late with my boyfriend last night and we didn’t get to sleep till the sun came up. I’ve had about forty minutes of rest since yesterday night and I’m not really in the mood to be psychoanalyzed.”

He ignored her cranky mood and smiled down at her. “See, we’re making breakthroughs already. Tell me about your boyfriend.”

“No.” She went on to her next class. It was Ancient History. She only paid attention in this class because she knew that Giles had an interest in this stuff. She zoned until the teacher called on her to answer a question she hadn’t even heard. She looked up. “Uh, sorry. I drifted for a minute. Could you repeat the question?”

“Why certainly, Ms. Summers, I don’t mind taking valuable class time to repeat something you should have heard the first time. Who were the Vanir?”

Buffy furrowed her brow. She had heard this term before. Suddenly it clicked. “Norse gods. They had two flavors, the Vanir and the Aesir. The Aesir were the warrior caste, Odin and Thor amonst others and the Vanir were the ones who did other stuff. Some people think that the Vanir are an older religious belief belonging to the indigenous people and the Aesir were imposed by an invading warrior caste.”

There was absolute silence in the classroom as Buffy finished her recital. The teacher’s mouth was slightly open in shock. Not one of her classmates had expected her to be able to answer. The teacher, angry at being thwarted in his planned humiliation of the girl, nodded. “An unusual interpretation but acceptable. Please try to stay awake in class in the future.” He turned his back on her and went droning on about something else.

Riley gave Buffy a pleased look. After class he cornered her again. “That was really great Buffy. How did you know all that stuff? I could have sworn you weren’t listening.”

She glanced at him and rolled her eyes. “Giles told me one time.”

“You think a lot of Mr. Giles, don’t you? He seems like a really nice man. It’s good that you have bonded with an authority figure. It’s an important part of the maturation process.”

“Oh, we’re bonded all right.” She smirked, thinking that this big beefcake really had no idea of what that meant. “Well, I’m going back to the library so you can go home now.”

“I have to stay with you the entire time you’re at school, Buffy. We want to make this mentoring program really work, so I need to spend as much time as possible. Ideally, you’ll grow to like me and want to include me in your plans with your friends. You could invite me to that party you’re having tonight, for example.”

Buffy looked at him dully. “Riley, why don’t you find some other problem student and work on them? You’re really starting to get in my face and it’s annoying the hell out of me.”

He grinned down at her. “A defensive reaction is to be expected in the early stages of our relationship, Buffy. In time, you’ll get over that.”

She growled low in her throat and pushed past him to head into the library. The rest of the gang had already assembled there. “Giles? Any word?”

He looked up and saw her with the boy shadowing her every move. “I’m sorry, Buffy. The school board was adamant. It’s only for six weeks. I’m sure we’ll manage somehow. Now, sit down and lets see your homework.” He leaned over her and used it as an excuse to brush her hair back.

Riley saw the motion and thought it was odd for a teacher to make such a gesture to a student, but guessed he was probably her father figure and some affection was permissible. He decided to keep an eye on the situation, however, and the longer he watched the more confused he became. These two touched each other constantly. Nothing was overtly sexual, he saw, but little brushes of fingers here and there indicated a familiarity that was starting to creep him out. He wondered if the librarian and the girl were having an affair, then dismissed the idea as too wiggy. Whatever was going on though, the others in the group definitely knew about it.

He had a sudden thought. “Uh, Buffy? You said you were up all night with your boyfriend. When will I get to meet him?”

She looked at him as if he were crazy. “If you’re really, really lucky, never.”

“What’s his name?” The boy coaxed.

She grinned ferally. “His name’s Ripper. Hope you don’t ever have a chance to meet him. You wouldn’t like it.”

“I take it that this ‘Ripper’ is the jealous sort?” Riley smiled. “I can take care of myself.”

Buffy looked him over carefully. “Nah, Ripper’d eat you for breakfast.” She dismissed him.

Xander spoke up, pseudo helpfully. “I’ve seen Ripper in action, Riley. You don’t want to go there.”

Willow was nodding emphatically. “Yeah. He’s a bad guy.” She gave Giles a guilty look that Riley couldn’t interpret. “He’d never hurt Buffy, though.”

“What do you think of this ‘Ripper’ character, Mr. Giles? I assume you’ve met him?”

Giles grinned. It was very close to being Ripperish. “Oh yes. I’ve known him well. Trust me when I say that you definitely do not want to meet him. He threatened to kill the last boy Buffy danced with, you know, and he was deadly serious.”

“He doesn’t sound like the kind of man that Buffy should be associating with, if you’ll pardon my saying so. Buffy shouldn’t be associating with bad guys. It’s probably part of her problem with socialization skills. I assume that this guy is older than you?” He said with a stern look at Buffy. “You, no doubt, look up to him, but he’s guiding you down the wrong path, Buffy. You need some wholesome boy who can take you to the prom, not a street thug who’s only going to get you in trouble.”

Buffy smiled. “Yeah, he does get me into trouble, like every second Tuesday or so, but we can handle it.”

“That would be why you’re on the verge of being expelled? I’ve seen your school records—fighting, possible association with gangs, cutting classes, poor grades. Geez, you burned down a gym back in LA. You’re on the wrong path, kiddo and I’m going to do my best to see you get off it.”

Giles came up to Buffy and put his arm over he shoulders. “Thank you, but that won’t be necessary. Buffy is under my care and I really must insist that you leave her alone. She’s under a great deal of pressure and she knows she can always turn to John or I, or any of her friends if she needs help.”

“Who’s John?” Riley asked.

“Ah, he’s my housemate and also a good friend to Buffy.” Giles said with a smile.

Riley was thinking so hard they could practically see the hamster running on the wheel. They knew what he was thinking—male librarian lives with another man, touchy-feely with the students, comfortable hugging—must be gay. They could immediately see that he dismissed the older man as a threat. It was as obvious as if a switch had clicked off.

The library doors swung open and Merrick and Wesley walked in and were greeted enthusiastically by the group. The two men looked enquiringly at Riley as Giles explained his purpose. Merrick raised an eyebrow, but simply nodded at the boy. Wesley walked up to Faith and put his arm protectively over her shoulders.

“Are you girls ready to go?” Wesley asked. “I thought we could have an early supper before we began our research.”

Riley stood up. “I guess we didn’t get introduced properly. I’m Riley Finn.”

“I am Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, Faith’s guardian.” He didn’t offer to shake hands or even to step away from the dark Slayer.

Giles spoke up. “I’ll bring Buffy home later, Wes. We need to get a few things resolved here.”

The younger man nodded and helped Faith stand. He took her books and tucked them under his arm before leading her away. Merrick looked at Giles. “I’ll see you at home tonight?”

Giles nodded. “Of course. We shan’t be long.”

Faith, Wesley and Merrick turned and left the room. Xander and Willow stood at some unseen signal and both said they’d be by later. They beat a hasty retreat leaving the librarian, Buffy, and Riley alone together.

NEXT