Title: The Assistant, part 36
Author: Sweetdoggie (stirling_summer@yahoo.com)
Pairing: B/G
Rating: R
Summary: Buffy in England
Spoilers: season 4
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 woke up the next morning disoriented. This room smelled funny, old and strange. She opened her eyes and looked around. Oh, yeah. England. She looked over at her sleeping husband and grinned. He looked like a kid when he slept. All the worry lines smoothed out of his face leaving him looking very young and vulnerable. His hair was standing straight up. He was going to have a serious case of bed hair, if she wasn’t mistaken. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was only six A.M. There was no way she was getting up this early. Lying back down, she snuggled under the blankets and tried to drift off to sleep. After twenty minutes it became clear that further sleep was not an option. She crawled out of bed and pulled on the warm robe her husband had given her for the trip. Feet encased in fuzzy blue house slippers, she made her way downstairs.
She couldn’t find any coffee so she settled for tea. Merrick walked into the room a few minutes later.
“I thought you might be up,” he murmured. “I can still feel you through our bond.”
“Couldn’t sleep and didn’t want to wake Rupert.” She took a sip of tea. “How do you like living in England?”
He sighed. “To tell you the truth, I infinitely prefer Southern California. It’s warmer and dryer and it has you and the rest of my extended family. I’ve missed you terribly.”
“When Anna gets home today, we’re going to train some. I want to see how she’s coming along,” Buffy told him in a seeming non sequitur, which really wasn’t at all.
“The sooner she’s ready to come to the Hellmouth, the sooner I can come home, is that your thinking?”
“Yes. But I also want to make sure she’s ready. I like her a lot, Merrick. I don’t want to lose her because she isn’t up to Hellmouth toughness.”
“I’m glad.”
“She’s having the dreams too, you know.”
He sat up. “She hasn’t mentioned it to me.”
“They’re vague, unformed. She probably isn’t in touch with her inner Slayer enough to understand them.”
“You’re good for her. I could see it last night. She hasn’t talked about her Watcher before. That she was able to with you is a very good sign.”
“She misses him. I told her he would always be with her, Watching from Heaven. Was that OK?”
“It was probably the best thing you could have told her. It’s also quite true, I have no doubt.”
“It made me think, John. What would I have done without you? What if you had died?”
“Then you would have gotten on just fine with Rupert—just as you have done, I might add.”
Buffy looked unconvinced. “I wouldn’t have wanted to let another Watcher into my heart. It would have been very hard and you know what he was like at the beginning, all gung-ho duty boy.”
Merrick smiled into his hand careful not to let Buffy see. “But he grew out of that very quickly, didn’t he?”
“Yes, you’re right.”
“Rupert told me about the mess he made with Olivia.”
“Did he?”
“He didn’t mean to hurt you, Buffy, but it’s a very sad fact of life that people do stupid things, even very intelligent people.”
“I forgave him.” She didn’t want to talk to Merrick about this. As far as she was concerned it was water under the bridge. “What would make things perfect would be if that, that woman ran into us here in England. I’d show her who my Giles belonged to, you bet.”
Merrick made a note to himself to look into that scenario. He had never liked Liv—she was a bad influence on Rupert. She hadn’t been involved in the disaster that had resulted in raising Eyghon, but she ridiculed Rupert’s tendency to scholarly behavior. He felt like he had to act up in her presence, show her he wasn’t a total grind. Merrick had hoped he would outgrow this stupidity. Maybe this last time, nearly losing his wife because of it had woken him up.
“We have to go into London today. The Council wants to meet you,” he changed the subject.
“Is that Travers’ butthead guy going to be there?”
“Probably.”
“Rupert wouldn’t let me send him the band candy.” She looked at her nails.
“Buffy! What did you do?” He knew her evasive look when he saw it.
“Um, nothing! Why would you think I did anything? Nothing is going on especially about the band candy which we should just forget about because it would be bad if some of that just happened to like fall into a mailbox addressed to Travers, which, I mean to say, that probably didn’t happen, right?”
He groaned and dropped his head into his hand. “When did you send it?”
“If any got sent, which I know nothing about, it might have been when he called to make you come back to England.”
“So it’s been several months. I swear, between you and Rupert, you act like you’re both ten! That could have had very serious repercussions, Buffy. You do realize that was wrong, don’t you?”
She looked down at the floor. “Yes,” she whispered in a tiny voice.
He looked at her in exasperation that slowly changed to deep sympathy. She had lost so much by being the Slayer. Her prank was childish but he could understand her dislike of the man who tried to take away her Watcher. He thought of Travers as a youngster and had to grin. The fool was so stuffy even as a boy that he doubted the Council noticed any difference.
“Well, we needn’t work this into the ground. Just, well, don’t mention it to anybody, especially Rupert, all right?”
She looked up through lashes glittering with tears. “OK. I’m sorry, well, sort of anyhow. Mostly, I’m sorry you had to be disappointed in me.”
He held out his arms and she came into them, craving his comforting touch. “There, there, Buffy. It’s all right.”
Neither of them noticed Rupert who had come to the kitchen door. He looked in at them and jealously flared wildly in him. Merrick shouldn’t be touching Buffy like that! She belonged to her husband and no other. He stepped into the room, eyes flashing.
Buffy and Merrick looked up. She smiled to see him and noticed that she had been right about the bed hair. “Hi, honey. Want some tea?”
“What are you doing up already, Buffy?”
“I couldn’t sleep and didn’t want to wake you up. Merrick came down to keep me company.” She leaned over and kissed the older Watcher on the cheek, not noticing how Giles eyes narrowed at the two of them.
He walked up to Buffy and pulled her under his arm looking carefully at the other Watcher as he did it. Giles dropped a kiss on her head. “Why don’t you run up and get dressed, love. I’ll start some breakfast.”
“OK. Be right back.” She dashed out of the room.
“You seemed very friendly with my wife, John.”
“We talked. We’ve missed each other.”
“Buffy is under my care now. She belongs to me.” Giles sounded very fierce.
“Is there someone here disputing that?” Merrick asked him.
“I won’t relinquish the bond for you.”
“I’m not asking you to, Rupert. Buffy is your wife. If your bond is threatened, it is by your actions, not mine.”
“I will never give her up, never!”
“Good. Now, sit down and let me get you a cup of tea.”
The fire slowly died out of Rupert’s eyes. He looked vaguely ashamed of himself. “Sorry, John. It’s just—I can’t bear to see Buffy touching other men, not even you.”
“I understand, Rupert. Believe me, if there is one thing I understand it’s that.”
“I don’t know how you did it. How could you let her go?”
“Because our time was over the minute that stake took out my lung. I did what was best for her. I always will.”
They sipped their tea in silence till Buffy bounded back into the room. “What’s for breakfast, Watchers-mine?”