Title: The Assistant, part 52
Author: Sweetdoggie (stirling_summer@yahoo.com)
Pairing: B/G
Rating: R
Summary: Big news for Buffy
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.
Giles and Buffy drove the truck back to Sunnydale while Faith and Wesley rode the motor bike. Faith liked it because she got to put her arms around her dear Watcher and Wesley liked it very much for the same reason.
They had only been settled in for about a week when Riley stopped by the house. Wesley let him in with some trepidation, but Rupert and Buffy simply raised their eyebrows at the young soldier.
“Buffy, I’ve come to tell you that the Initiative is pulling out of Sunnydale. The labs have been cleared and sealed so you shouldn’t have any more trouble from that area.”
Buffy nodded her thanks for the information. “Well, take care of yourself, Riley. It’s been an interesting couple of years.”
He frowned slightly at what he perceived to be her flippant attitude. Looking at the two Watchers sitting near her, he made up his mind. “I’d like to talk to you privately, Buffy.”
She shrugged and got up off the couch. They stepped out onto the front porch together. “What’s up, Riley?”
“I…you still mean a great deal to me, Buffy. If you ever need help or want to leave Mr. Giles, I want you to give me a call.” He pressed a business card into her hands. “Just call this number and ask for me. I’ll come.”
She looked at the card and tried to hand it back to him but he pushed her hand back and gently curled her fingers over it. “Just remember, if you need me, I’ll come.”
“Well, uh, thanks, Riley. I appreciate the offer but I’m not going to be leaving Rupert in this lifetime. Good luck with the military and all that, OK?”
“Goodbye for now, Buffy. I’ll always love you.”
She rolled her eyes at his drama and watched him stride down the walk, his bearing martial, his demeanor serious. Walking back into the house she showed the men the card. “If we ever need him, we can reach him through this number.”
“We shan’t ever need assistance from that impertinent puppy,” Giles snapped.
“We should keep it though, in case something comes up with the Initiative. He said they closed it down and sealed it off, but you know nothing ever stays hidden in this town. In a year or two, some kid will find an air duct they missed and climb down it or some monster will knock out one of the barricades…who knows what, but you can bet your boots, it won’t stay deserted long.”
Giles sighed, hating her logic but bowing to it, just the same. “Oh, very well.” He stuck the card in his journal for that month with an unhappy grimace.
“It’s probably for the best that he’s gone,” Wesley commented. “I know that if some boy started sniffing around Faith, I should be very hard put to restrain myself.”
“Lord knows, it’s not like I don’t have enough practice, first Angel and now this silly ponce…”
“I can’t imagine,” commiserated the younger Watcher. “How did you tolerate having a vampire around for any length of time?”
“He was useful to some degree. Seemed to be able to find books and manuscripts whenever we needed something. Plus, Buffy wasn’t interested in him.”
“Like I could be interested in a vampire, for pity’s sake! You know being around them gives me cramps. I’d have to be kinda weird to want to feel like that all the time.” Buffy picked up a magazine from the coffee table and started to page through it.
Faith nodded her agreement. “Yeah, but it would be sorta poignant or something—beautiful Slayer, handsome creature of the night. I dunno. Good story potential.”
“Lame,” Buffy told her without looking up from the magazine.
The dark-haired Slayer nodded. “I suppose you’re right. I mean, what about bonding with your Watcher?”
“Right.” Buffy turned the page.
“Even if the bond wasn’t there, no Watcher on Earth would let his Slayer have a romance with a vampire,” Giles said emphatically.
“Very true,” Wesley agreed.
***
The weeks passed quickly and Christmas was approaching. Buffy and Faith decided to pool their expertise and shop together for their men’s presents.
“Do you think Wes would like this?” Faith held up a fishing rod.
Buffy shrugged. “Does he do that outdoor stuff? He always seemed more like a book-kinda guy to me.”
“I know, but I thought he might like to try something different.”
The blonde Slayer looked dubious. “I dunno…”
Faith put the rod down. “Yeah, that’s sort of what I was thinking too.” She sighed. “Who knew this would be so hard? What are you getting Giles?”
Buffy showed her the leather-bound journal and silver pen she had picked out. “It’s boring, but he’ll like it. I also got him some CD’s, and that sword I took off that demon last week.”
“Wow! You’re really good at this.”
“This isn’t our first Christmas.” Buffy leaned rather suddenly against the railing of the upper mezzanine. Her face had gone as pale as a sheet. Faith looked alarmed.
“Buffy! Are you OK?”
“Whoa! I felt really dizzy for a minute.” She walked carefully to a bench and sat down, Faith following along clucking like a mother hen.
“This isn’t normal. You shouldn’t be feeling dizzy!”
“Probably I just need to eat something is all.”
Faith looked unsure but offered to go buy some food. Buffy nodded and wiped her sweaty head with her hand. The younger girl trotted off to the food court and came back with an assortment of sandwiches, fries, drinks, and some gigantic cookies. Buffy wasn’t really hungry but she made an effort to soothe her adopted sister and ate some of the largess. Surprisingly, she did feel marginally better after eating.
“I guess that was it. I was just hungry.” Buffy stood and began to help clear the remains of the meal away. She took two steps and passed out, banging her head on a table and then hitting the ground hard.
Faith dropped her tray and bent down, cradling Buffy’s head in her lap. Mall security came running over to see what was the matter.
“She passed out!”
The guards began questioning Faith. “Is she on drugs? Has she been drinking?”
“No! Buffy never touches that stuff. I need to call home.” She tried to look around for a phone, but they wouldn’t let her go alone. At last, one of the guards lent her his cell phone. She called Giles.
“Giles? It’s Faith. You need to come right away! We’re at the mall. Buffy fainted or something.”
When she looked at the fallen Slayer, Buffy was glaring at her. “Why did you call him? You know he’ll go nuts getting here and worrying about me.”
“He’s your husband, that’s his job,” Faith replied.
Sunnydale wasn’t that large a town and it took only fifteen minutes for Giles to arrive at the scene in a dead run. He tore up the stairs and found Buffy sitting up on the floor with an ice-bag pressed to her head.
“Are you all right? What happened?” He gathered her to him and held her tightly.
“I’m OK. Really,” she insisted. “I just felt a little dizzy and I moved too fast. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
Faith came up behind her. “She felt dizzy earlier so we got some food. She seemed fine after we ate but when she stood up and started to clear the table,” the younger girl made a gesture like a tree falling with her arm.
Buffy glared at her. “It was nothing!”
“Buff, you fainted. I’d say that was something,” Faith refused to be intimidated.
The mall manager came forward and made Buffy and Giles sign waivers of responsibility so that the mall wouldn’t be sued later. He also gave Buffy a shopping voucher for a fifty dollar spending spree good at any store in the mall. She thanked him quietly before Giles picked her up and carried her from the shopping center. Truth be told, she still felt sort of ooky.
After a short but intense argument, Giles took her home. He had wanted to take her directly to the emergency room but she had vetoed that choice emphatically.
“I’m perfectly fine. I’m not going to the emergency room.”
“You fainted. We need to find out why.” He had been persistent but she had been like a rock in her refusal.
“Low blood sugar. The food hadn’t had time to kick in yet is all. It’s not a big deal.”
“No patrol tonight.”
She shrugged. “OK. I guess I wouldn’t mind getting some sleep. I’ve been pretty tired lately. Must be from all my late nights.”
Giles looked concerned but said nothing, resolving to keep a closer eye on his Slayer whether she liked it or not.
Buffy rubbed the spot on her forehead where she had banged against the table. “Is this going to bruise?”
He looked at it closely. “Probably not. It didn’t break the skin. You should be healed by morning.”
“Good. Can I have a couple of Tylenol?”
“Of course.” He shook out two pills and placed them in her hand before getting her a glass of water.
After she had swallowed the pills she yawned. “I’m going to go have a little nap, if that’s OK with you.”
His eyebrow climbed but he said nothing. It wasn’t like his wife to sleep during the day unless she had been Slaying much more rigorously than she had been. Something was definitely wrong.