Title: The Assistant 22/?
Author: Sweetdoggie
Email: (stirling_summer@yahoo.com)
Pairing: B/G
Rating: G
Spoilers: Up to 4 (ish)
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 slept the clock around. Giles had tried to get her up for supper the previous evening with no result.

Merrick told them to let her sleep. “Her body is reacting to months of stress. She needs the rest.”

As a concession to his injuries they prepared a room for Wesley on the ground floor. There was no way the battered man was going to make it up three flights of stairs when he came home. Another visit to the hospital reassured them that he was making some progress, but the doctors wouldn’t release him for three more days. Faith remained unconscious. There was some talk about that. The doctor in charge of her case indicated that the longer she was unconscious, the less likely it would be that she ever awoke. On the plus side, he added, he had never seen wounds heal as quickly as Faith’s. The abdominal wound was closed, the severed intestines and pierced kidneys were totally healed and fully functional. It was a miracle. The others simply looked at him. Slayer healing was nothing new to them.

“If she continues to heal this quickly, we’ll be able to move her by the end of next week,” the doctor said.

“Move her?” Merrick asked.

“Yes. We don’t have the right sort of facilities to take care of a person in her condition. We are making arrangements to move her to a hospital in LA.”

They looked at each other in dismay. “Wesley is Faith’s legal guardian. He won’t want her out of his sight.”

The doctor sighed. Nothing was ever easy. “Perhaps he could travel down to LA once his ribs heal up?” he suggested carefully.

The small group of heroes looked at each other before turning to the doctor. “Faith must not be moved until Wesley can go with her,” Merrick said.

“We can hold her for a while, but really she would be better off in LA.”

“Not until Wes can go with her,” Merrick insisted.

The doctor sighed. “All right,” he conceded. “I admit, I’d like to keep a close eye on her for a while anyway.”

After bidding the doctor goodbye, the group broke up. Joyce went home to check on Buffy and Merrick and Giles decided to spend some time with Wesley.

The young Watcher was outraged when he heard they were moving Faith. “Over my dead body will she be moved before I can go with her,” he said firmly.

“Good man,” Merrick told him. “We’ll see to it that they don’t get jumpy. Would you like me to arrange a place for you in LA?”

“Would you, John? That sounds ideal,” the younger man told him.

Thus, it happened that Joyce was the only one home besides a sleeping Buffy when the Watcher’s Council called.

“May I speak to Wesley Windham-Price please?”

“Wesley sustained some injuries in the explosion of the school yesterday. He is in the hospital,” Joyce said automatically. “Whom may I say called?”

“This is Quentin Travers. Is Merrick or Giles available?”

“Oh, Mr. Travers. I’ve heard of you. I’m Joyce Merrick, John’s wife and Buffy’s mother. John and Rupert are at the hospital visiting Wesley and Faith.”

“Faith? Faith’s alive? How can that be possible?” Travers babbled.

“She was badly injured but is recovering.”

He sighed. “Is Buffy available?”

“She’s asleep.”

“Get her up, please. This is important.” Travers was becoming more and more frustrated. They had a situation developing and he couldn’t get hold of any of his field operatives.

“This may take some time,” Joyce replied. She put the phone down, turned and made her way up to her daughter’s room.

“Buffy. Buffy, honey. You need to get up. There’s a phone call from England for you,” Joyce said as she gently shook her daughter’s sleeping form.

Buffy opened her eyes groggily. “Wha?”

“Phone call,” Joyce told her briskly. “Travers from England. Nobody else is here to take his call.”

Buffy got up slowly and pulled on her robe before stumbling down the stairs. She picked up the phone. “Huh? Travers? Whatcha want?”

“Buffy?” he said questioningly as if he were not entirely sure it was she.

“Yeah.” She yawned and looked at the clock. She’d been asleep for more than twenty-four hours.

“Your mother tells me that Faith is still alive?” he sounded incredulous.

“She’s in a coma. Her wounds are healing.” Buffy sharpened up suddenly. “You’re wondering why Faith’s still alive because the next Slayer has been called, aren’t you?”

“Er, yes. How did you know another Slayer had been called?”

“Oh, Faith told me,” Buffy said.

“I thought Faith was unconscious.”

“Yeah, but she’s not dead and we shared Dreamtime.”

“Dreamtime?”

“That’s what she called it. She said the new Slayer was twelve and looks half that age. Said she was cute too.”

“Yes, she is. But I don’t understand how Faith would know about it.” He was deeply puzzled and curious. He might be an administrator, but he was still a Watcher and that part of him hadn’t been totally wiped out by decades of paper pushing.

“I must speak to Merrick,” he informed her.

“He’s not here,” Buffy said after looking around. “I think he’s probably at the hospital again with Giles and Wes. As soon as I get cleaned up, I’m going. I’ll have John call you.”

“Fine. If that’s the best you can do, I’ll have to wait, but please hurry.” He hung up the phone without saying goodbye.

Buffy looked at the disconnected phone in her hand. “Pillbox.”

Joyce came back in and handed her a cup of coffee, which Buffy drank gratefully. “Thanks, mom. I feel like I’ve been in a coma.”

“What did he want?” Joyce wondered.

“Slayer crap,” Buffy muttered. “Another girl has been called and he was surprised that Faith was still alive. It’s funny, for a gazillion years there was just one, now there’s three. Bizarre, huh?”

Joyce shrugged. “Hellmouth?” she offered tentatively.

“Probably. Or who knows? Maybe stuff like this is the regular thing for a Slayer. I just don’t know that much about it,” Buffy said tiredly.

“Haven’t you read the journals?” Joyce asked in surprise.

“Of course. And the ones that weren’t in English, Giles translated for me. It doesn’t help. Mostly they are just dry accounts like: ‘The Slayer killed five vampires this evening. She is dropping her right shoulder and telegraphing her blows. I must make a note to train this bad habit out of her’.”

“That really doesn’t sound very helpful.”

“No, it’s totally not!”

Buffy decided a quick run to the hospital would be better than driving even if her mom was inclined to let her have the car. She changed into a clean T-shirt and jeans and put on her jogging shoes. In five minutes she was half way there. Sometimes, it felt good to run.

They tried to stop her at the front desk, thinking she was too young to enter the ward unaccompanied, but as soon as their back was turned she found Faith’s room. She was lying hooked up to a jillion different machines that beeped and buzzed and one that even made sucking sounds. It looked obscene to Buffy. Faith was such a vibrant girl and to have this happen to her—it didn’t bear thinking of. She bent over the still figure. “Get better, sis. We need you at home.” She bent down and kissed the other girl’s head very gently. She could have sworn Faith’s hand moved ever so slightly in response.

Buffy left the unconscious Slayer and made her way to Wes’s room. He was still flat on his back trying desperately not to inflate his broken ribs more than necessary. Giles and Merrick were with him. Merrick seemed to be telling some story of when he was in Watcher training. It was very funny and Wes was trying very hard not to laugh.

Buffy entered the room and walked to the young Watcher’s bed. She bent down and kissed his cheek. “How are you feeling Wes?”

“I’m getting better every minute, Buffy,” he said valiantly. “Have you been to see Faith?”

“Actually, that’s part of the reason I’m here.” She described her dream and then told them about Travers’ phone call. “He wants you to call him back, John. Another Slayer has been called.”

“Good Lord! That mean’s there are three now!” the elder Watcher said in amazement.

Buffy looked worried. “I think something bad may be coming, Merrick. Something is sending us extra Slayers because we’re going to need them.”

“Have you had visions?” Merrick asked her. The other Watchers looked deeply interested in her response.

“Not as such. Not like when we moved to Sunnydale or anything, but I keep waking up with a feeling that we need to get ready. I don’t think it’s coming soon, but it’s building and we need to be prepared.”

“Will they send the third Slayer to us?” Giles wondered.

“I doubt it. She needs to be trained away from the constant dangers of the Hellmouth, especially if she is so very young,” Merrick said sighing. “I suppose we had better call him. He’s probably called four or five times since we’ve been here. Prat,” he commented in disgust.

They told Wes they’d be back as soon as they knew something and left him to get some rest. Giles drove everyone home and sure enough, the phone was ringing as they walked in the door. They heard Joyce saying they weren’t back yet, then amending her words as they walked in the door. Merrick greeted her with a kiss on the cheek as she handed him the phone with an expression of relief.

“Yes, Quentin?” he said.

The others couldn’t hear Travers’ side of the conversation, but whatever he was saying was certainly worrying John.

“I don’t see how that would be possible,” John frowned into the phone. “I have commitments here, Quentin. This is where my family is. I have a wife and a child on the way. My Slayer is here.”

There was a long pause while the British administrator spoke. Finally Merrick sighed. “You understand that I must talk this over with my family. This is not a decision I can make alone.” He ran his hand through his hair. “All right. I shall call you back when we have discussed this. Do not call me, we will be busy,” he growled and hung up the phone.

“We must talk,” he told the others. “We have a crisis on our hands, I’m afraid.”

They went to the kitchen where Giles prepared tea, Buffy made sandwiches and Joyce put out fruit and cookies. When they were all seated, Merrick spoke.

“As you know, a new Slayer has been called to be Faith’s replacement. Through the miracles of modern medicine, Faith didn’t die. Now we have three Slayers. Anna, the new Slayer, is Hungarian and speaks very limited English. She is just twelve. Her Watcher, Jan Banberosh, was killed in a car accident just before she was called. Anna was terrified but called the Council for help. They went to Hungary to retrieve her and she is currently residing in England.” He paused for breath before continuing.

“One of the languages I happen to speak fluently is Hungarian. It’s not all that popular a language these days and most Watchers concentrate in other areas. At any rate, they want me to come to England and take up her training. She won’t be ready to bond with a permanent Watcher for five or six more years, so that won’t be an issue, but they need an experienced Field Watcher and apparently, I am the only one currently free.”

“But, would you bring her back here?” Buffy asked, not really understanding what he was talking about.

“No. The Council feels, and rightly so, that the Hellmouth is too terrible for an inexperienced Slayer—especially since we have a very experienced one available. She will work closely with the Watchers-in-training and when the time comes for her to bond, one of them will be chosen. They want me to go to England and train her. She is very traumatized about losing her Watcher and they feel that having Joyce and I provide a family setting would be ideal for her.”

“But you’re my Watcher,” Buffy said.

“Yes, and I always will be,” Merrick told her. “But you have Rupert and he is more than capable of guiding you. Your mother and I would only be gone for a few years. Not really all that long in the scheme of things. You could come visit during the summers. We could come back for Christmas. I don’t really know what else to do. I hate to leave you but I feel terribly sorry for that poor child.”

Joyce jumped up and began pacing the kitchen at his bombshell news. “But, but I can’t leave my daughter, John! And what about the new baby? And my business?”

“Buffy is eighteen-and-a-half, married, and certainly one of the most responsible adults I have ever known. She wouldn’t be here alone. Rupert, her husband, will be with her. There are telephones as well, and England, while a rather great distance away, is not on another planet. Buffy would be fine, though we would all miss each other terribly. Now, the baby will come no matter where we are and England has fine medical coverage. You will have the advantage of the finest doctors the Council can provide. Not a small thing, by any means. Lastly, your business. You were just telling me the other night that after the baby was born, you intended to cut back your hours. We can hire some art majors from the college. Rupert can help keep an eye on the place. You can use your time abroad to establish new contacts.”

Joyce had the look of a deer caught in the high beams of a car. “But, John…this is all so sudden. We need to talk about this. I can’t just decide to pack up and move to another country for years over tea and cookies!”

“I’m sorry to spring this on you my dear. I’m not happy with the situation myself, but I think of that poor little girl: the only person she’s known in her entire life is dead and she has suddenly acquired supernatural powers. She’s been trained to know what that means, that she will be a magnet for the undead, the demons, the creatures of darkness that are drawn to the power of the Slayer. Can we leave her to that? I think of what would have happened to our daughter if I hadn’t found her just in time. What would have happened to her had I been killed? Now there is a new girl, younger even than Buffy was and she needs our help. Make no mistake, Joyce, she needs you as well.”

Buffy rested her head in her hands, tears pouring down her face. She was going to lose her Watcher and her mother, had already lost her adopted sister and brother—her family was slowly being pulled apart. “G, G, Giles?”

His heart melted at the fear in her voice. Reassuringly, he took her in his arms and pulled her onto his lap. “I will always be here for you, love. It would only be for a little while. Maybe not even as long as Merrick thinks—maybe a year or two and she would be up to snuff. Faith may wake up anytime and then Wesley would bring here back here. When this new Slayer is capable, I’m sure she will be sent to help in Sunnydale. The Hellmouth takes precedence, after all. It wouldn’t be forever.”

Buffy cried into his shirt. “I know it’s selfish of me, Giles. But it might be forever for me. What if I die and I never get to see my mom or Merrick again?”

Giles held her and rocked slowly back and forth trying to comfort her. “You aren’t going to die. We’ve had this conversation before. It’s not going to happen. We won’t allow it to happen. I’ll patrol with you. You won’t ever be alone. Maybe we can have the Council send some Watchers-in-training to help us out.”

He continued to hold and rock her murmuring meaningless but soothing phrases and issuing gentle reassurances. It was an hour before she stopped crying. She sat up and squared her shoulders. “I don’t want you to go,” she said looking at Merrick and her mother, “but I understand how that little girl must feel.” Her chin quivered. “I guess if you promise you’ll come home as soon as you can, Giles and I will be OK.”

Joyce hugged her. “Oh, honey. I wish there was another way.”

“Me too. But that kid needs the help of a good mom and dad and you two are the best. I’m going to miss you so much!”

“We’ll call, dear girl. The Council can pick up the tab for it, I have no doubt. We’ll come and visit and bring little Anna too, when she can come safely,” Merrick promised. “I don’t want you to patrol tonight, child. You need to rest. Let Rupert comfort you. Things won’t look so bad tomorrow.”

Buffy snuggled up against Giles and leaned her head against his chest. “I have a headache.”

He pulled out his handkerchief and dried her eyes. Signaling to Joyce, he picked Buffy up and carried her to their room. “You need to lie down for a bit. I’ll bring you some aspirin and water.” He stroked her hair.

He went back downstairs and got the required cure. Merrick stopped him before he could leave the room. “It’s going to be very hard on her, Rupert. She’s a high-strung girl and she’s loosing four people she cares about very deeply. If she drops off to sleep, come back down. We need to plan things out before she wakes.”

Giles brought Buffy the aspirin and stayed with her while she took it. He lay on the bed next to her and rubbed her forehead. Being Buffy, it wasn’t long till she had drifted off to sleep. He looked down at her and smiled softly. She had so much responsibility for so young a girl. Her life wasn’t fair and now her mother and her Watcher would be going away to help another girl who was in an even worse situation. She would miss Merrick and her mother, but maybe this was a good thing. Growing up was hard and leaving your home and family was always difficult even when you wanted to, but Buffy had lived with much older adults her entire life and now she would be left solely with her husband. He smiled again.

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