Title: Castaway
Author: Sweetdoggie (stirling_summer@yahoo.com)
Pairing: B/G
Rating: FRAO
Summary: Buffy falls through Glory's portal and doesn't die.
Spoilers: None
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 sparred together for most of the morning, took a quick break for lunch—grilled cheese sandwiches—and then more practice. He didn’t stop till he was assured her reflexes hadn’t suffered from her enforced vacation from Slaying.
“Would you mind if I accompanied you on patrol this evening? I just want to see your reaction time.”
“You know I don’t mind. In fact, some of the happiest times in my life have been you and me on patrol.”
“That’s a very sweet thing for you to say.”
“S’truth is all.”
“Would you care to stop at the Espresso Pump for a coffee after?”
She hesitated. “I’d like to try. I don’t know if I can take being around that many people this soon, though.”
“We’ll work on that,” he promised. “Soon, you’ll be back to your normal self.”
She grinned. “I hope not. My normal self was severely challenged. I’d much rather be a new, improved Buffy.”
She staked two vampires with ease on patrol. Age had given her a little perspective, it seemed. She didn’t even bother to talk to them, simply plunged and moved on. Giles was proud of her.
“Now that’s how to take care of the evil undead!” he complimented her.
“Well, I have more important things on my mind than listening to the babble of moronic demons. I’m worried about trying to go to the Pump later.”
“Don’t worry,” he commanded. “If you can’t handle it, we shall leave. You will recover your ability to deal with other people at your own pace.”
“What if I never get better?”
“Why would you even think such a thing? Your inability to be around others is not a result of an injury, but is the product of being isolated for nearly five years. You will be fine. Just give yourself time.”
“How much time? I have things that I need to be able to do. I have to get a job. How can I support myself if I can’t stand to be in a room with more than one other person in it? Plus, Dawn’s freaking out because I can’t be all huggy with her. I’m really trying, but they make my skin buzz when they get around me.”
“I know, love. I know. Think of tonight as an acclimatizing event. An inoculation, if you will.”
“I’ve never liked shots.”
~*~
Luckily, the Pump was mostly empty. Giles ordered her a milk-laden coffee drink and tea for himself. She sipped the beverage as if it were ambrosia. “Wow. You know, one of the hardest things, I think, was not having any new flavors. No pepper, or onions, or tomatoes. No coffee or tea or milk. No sweets. The soda was a big disappointment, but everything else has been fantastic. I’d like to try ice cream next, I think.”
“How about saving that till tomorrow? Too many new things in your system could make you ill.”
“Whatever you say, Giles.”
Giles reflected on the changes five years had made in his darling girl. Before the final battle with Glory, she would have insisted on having ice cream or anything else that she wanted no matter how sick it made her and then would have probably blamed him for not stopping her. Now, she listened to him, and paid attention when he told her something was bad for her. It was a novel experience and he wondered how long it would last.
They walked home holding hands.
~*~
Dawn was still up when they returned from patrol so Buffy used the opportunity to talk privately to her about the things that had been going on in her life.
The younger girl sat sullenly at the kitchen table, her older sister in the chair beside her.
“Tell me about this stuff, Dawn. I need to hear it from you.”
“I thought Giles blabbed everything already.”
“Giles informed me that there had been some problems. I want to hear it from you though.”
Dawn sighed. “I just got into some trouble. It was no big.”
“Shoplifting and vandalism sound pretty big to me. Start with the shoplifting. Why did you do that?”
Dawn shrugged. “I dunno. I just saw stuff and took it.”
Buffy ruffled her hair. “You understand that’s wrong, right?”
“Yeah. I won’t do it anymore.”
“Good. Then we can move on to the vandalism part of tonight’s entertainment. What was that about?”
“I hate that school. They make me feel like I’m a total freak. Those teachers are always sneering at me. Treat me like I’m dirt or something.”
“Exactly how? Give me a specific instance, OK?”
“Well, Mr. Weebler, the science teacher? I turned in four pieces of extra credit—and it was all good work too. He gave me a C in his class. Other kids who turned in extra credit got their grades raised up to a B. And I know my work was better than theirs because we compared it.”
“Did you talk to him? Ask him what was going on?”
“Yeah. He said he didn’t like brown-nosers and that I could do extra credit till I dropped and it wouldn’t change my grade.”
“Wow. What a jerk. What else?”
“There was Ms. Skelly. She teaches home economics. It’s a stupid class. She must have heard rumors about us—she called me in after class and said that just because I was from a broken home and had a dysfunctional family life, I didn’t need to look to her for any favors.”
“What’s wrong with these people? A broken home? Like half the country doesn’t have divorced parents? I guess I’m going to make a trip down to the school. Giles tells me there’s a parent-teacher conference coming up next week. I want to see what they say to me.”
“Those were the two classrooms I trashed. I was just so peeved at them for being so snotty with me. Like I don’t have enough problems that I have to have extra harassment?”
“Hey, kiddo. We’ll deal with this. Mom and Giles went to bat for me when Snyder hated my guts. I can’t do any less for my little sis.”
“Well, you can’t make it worse.”
“If they don’t shape up, we can transfer you. There are other schools even in Sunnydale. I know I’m not really the best representative of this theory, but violence is seldom the correct response. I hated Snyder with a fiery passion, but I put up with him because I was undercover girl. You might have to learn to do the same.”
“I’m not the Chosen one.”
“No, you’re not. You are the Key and the Chosen one’s sister. I don’t know if that gets you extra demerits or what, but sometimes you just have to go with the flow.”
“So, I’m still grounded?”
“Yeah. Bummer, I know, but it won’t be that bad. I wanted to ask you if you want to join the Scoobies as a researcher anyhow. You have a gift for languages and you’re brainy. If you promise not to do magick, I think we could use your services.”
“Really? You’d let me help research?”
“Yes. But you need to keep your grades up. Giles will help you with the basic texts that you need to start with. Give you a solid grounding in the metaphysical stuff.”
Dawn leaped up and hugged her sister. “You just watch me, Buffy! I’ll be the bestest researcher ever.”
Buffy smiled and managed not to pull out of her sister’s grasp. “I know you will. I’m going to ask Giles to pull some strings…see if we can’t get you into a decent college in England. Someplace that you could study to be a Watcher, if you want.”
“Me? A Watcher?”
“Who better?”
“But then I’d have to be away from you.”
“It’s two years away, Dawn. Anything could happen in two years. Who knows, we may figure out a way to close the Hellmouth. Maybe we’ll all be in England. Wouldn’t that be cool?”
“Way cool.” Dawn secretly decided that researching how to close a Hellmouth was going to be her own private project.
Dawn went to bed filled with excitement and plans for her future. Buffy went off to find Giles and tell him what she had promised her sister.
“You want her to be a Watcher?”
“If she wants to. Apparently, she does.” Buffy let the tone of her voice indicate how inexplicable she found the whole concept.
“Well, I can certainly get her in. She has all the criteria the Council looks for. She may never be assigned a Slayer, but that is common. Field Watchers are rather rare birds, you know.”
“I love my Field Watcher. I hope that if Dawn ever gets a Slayer she follows your example. You’re the best.”
He blushed at her compliments. “No, I’m barely adequate, I assure you.”
“You’re all I need.”