Title: Impassioned 1/6
Author: TweedEmpress
Rating: PG
Pairing: Giles/Jenny
Genre: Angst/Romance
Summary: Reworking of 'Passion'. Jenny isn't killed, but Angelus has his eye on another target.
**WARNING: CHARACTER DEATH**
Timeline: Season Two, spoilers up to 'Passion'
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with BtVS (unfortunately). Some dialogue is lifted from 'Passion'. Any original characters and ideas are mine.
Distribution: FanFiction.Net, ODD, Mystic Muse, Ms Calendar's Site
Notes: Huge thanks to my fabulous beta reader Marissa. Not only did she correct my occasionally hilarious mistakes, she also provided amazing inspiration. The story wouldn't be half what it is without her.
Dedication: To everyone on Ms Calendars Group - for keeping the flame alive!

The students filed out of the classroom, chattering amongst themselves. The teacher had remained behind the desk, her eyes down, only looking up when the redhead walked past.

‘Willow.’

The girl stopped, approaching the desk. ‘Yes?’

Jenny smiled at her. ‘Um, I might be a little late tomorrow. Do you think you could cover my class till I show?’

It was as though the sun had erupted into the room as a wide grin spread across Willow’s face, her eyes shining.

‘Really? Me? Teach the class?’ She felt giddy. This was like having all her birthdays at once. ‘Sure!’

‘Cool.’

The smile suddenly slipped from her face as a thousand other thoughts crowded in.

‘Oh, wait. W-what if they don't recognize my authority? What if they try to convince me that you always let them leave class early?’ Genuine panic was starting to set in and her voice was getting higher. ‘What if there's a fire drill? What if there's a fire?’

Jenny tried not to laugh affectionately at Willow’s agonised expression: it amazed her how the girl had survived the past two years of vampire encounters. But she was tougher than she seemed.

‘Willow, you're gonna be fine,’ she said reassuringly. ‘And I'll try not to be too late, okay?’

She stared at Jenny, slowly calming down.

‘Okay. Good. Earlier is good.’ Willow smiled excitedly. ‘Will I have the power to assign detention? Or make 'em run laps?’

‘Hey, Will.’

They both looked over at the door and saw Buffy standing there with Giles. Jenny’s heart tightened in her chest.

‘Hi, Buffy.’ She tried to keep her voice from shaking. ‘Rupert.’

He looked down – not as though he wanted to ignore her, but more as though he wasn’t certain what to say in front of the others. Buffy, however, did want to ignore her.

‘Willow, I thought I might take in a class.’ She looked her friend pointedly. ‘Figured I could use someone who knows where they are.’

There was a pause and Willow glanced over at Jenny, a world of apology and regret in her eyes. Then she started to walk out of the classroom, and Jenny could hear her muted babbling as the two girls left.

‘Sorry. I have to talk to her. She's a teacher, and teachers are to be respected, even if they're only filling in until the real teacher shows up, because otherwise chaos could ensue...’

Giles had stood aside to let them pass, but he didn’t follow them. Instead, he stepped into the classroom, his hands, as usual, in his pockets.

Jenny watched him, not sure what to say now that he was actually standing in front of her.

‘How have you been?’

She cringed inwardly: it seemed such a stupid question. There were dark circles under his eyes ands he looked tired. Too many late nights researching, she thought.

‘Uh, not so good, actually. Uh, since Angel lost his soul, he's regained his sense of whimsy.’

Jenny felt a shudder run through her at the thought of what Angelus might consider whimsy and folded her arms, seeking a little extra warmth.

‘Well, that sounds bad.’

‘He's been in Buffy's bedroom,’ Giles replied, his frustration beginning to show. ‘I-I-I need to drum up a spell to, er, keep him out of the house.’

This, Jenny thought gratefully, was something that she may be able to help with. She grabbed a book from her desk and held it out to him.

‘This might help.’

He took it from her, surprise registering on his face.

‘I've been doing a little reading since Angel changed,’ she continued, folding her arms again, only this time imaging that it was someone else’s arms around her. ‘I don't think you have that one.’

‘Thank you,’ he replied, still not certain what to say to her, but eagerly leafing through the book.

So far, he hadn’t shown signs of walking out and Jenny began to breath a little easier.

‘So, how's Buffy doing?’

There was silence – it was almost as though the blonde Slayer was standing in the room with them. Giles closed the book, slowly lowering it.

‘How do you think?’ There wasn’t accusation in his tone – in fact, he sounded almost detached. It was, she knew, a sign of how deeply he felt about the whole thing. And at the moment, Jenny couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye and see the pain there.

‘I know you feel betrayed.’

Giles looked at her. ‘Yes. Well, that's one of the unpleasant side effects of betrayal.

‘Rupert!’ She was so tired. Tired of hiding and lying to the people she cared about most. And she couldn’t face a row with him: all she could do was try to make him understand why. ‘I was raised by the people that Angel hurt the most,’ she continued softly and looked up at him. ‘My duty to them was the first thing I was ever taught. I didn't come here to hurt anyone,’ she looked away again, avoiding his eyes. ‘A-and I lied to you because I thought it was the right thing to do. I... I didn't know what would happen. I didn't know I was gonna fall in love with you.’

There it was. Not the way she had ever meant to tell him, but she had said it. Jenny glanced back up at him and saw the shock on his face. She felt sick – what if he simply hated her now?

‘Oh, God. Is it too late to take that back?’

‘Do you want to?’

She looked back at him and saw…hope. Hope and uncertainty and… And she saw love. And the sudden, awful though occurred to her that he might have – must have – thought that she had simply used him. That she had never really cared for him at all. If he only knew how desperately she had fallen in love with him…

‘I just want to be right with you. I don't expect more.’ She gazed in to his eyes, hoping for one chance to prove it to him. ‘I just want so badly to make all this up to you.’

‘I understand,’ he answered. Behind his glasses, his eyes were glowing softly, finding answers in the dark eyes he loved so much. ‘But I'm not the one you need to make it up to.’

Jenny looked at him. Was it really so simple? But, then, his reason in life was his Slayer and he had to put her above everything – even his own happiness. If she could make things up with Buffy…. And the expression on his face, the warmth of his eyes told her that he them to be together as much she did.

He held the book up, giving her a small smile.

‘Thank you for the book.’

He turned and walked out of the room. Jenny watched him go and then leant against her desk, her mind reeling with possibilities, but even more determined to carry out her plan.

Her errand to the magic shop had taken less time than she had thought – her uncle had been right about the shopkeeper’s reliability even if he had been wrong about so much else. Jenny had made it back to the school in time for her first class, and the thought crossed her mind that Willow would be incredibly disappointed. She was lost in her own thoughts and was startled when Buffy Summers suddenly appeared in front of her.

‘Hey.’

Jenny paused, startled, before replying.

‘Hi.’

Buffy stared at the older woman for a moment and then averted her eyes.

Well, Giles had wanted her to make things up with Buffy and now here she was – if only the girl would say what she wanted to say…

‘Er, is there something that... Did you want something?’ She tried to sound as patient as she could.

Buffy looked back up at her.

‘Look... I know you feel badly about what happened, and I just wanted to say...

Jenny waited expectantly.

‘Good. Keep it up.’

She wasn’t entirely surprised by the teenager’s attitude, but she still felt a pang of disappointment.

‘Don't worry, I will.’

That seemed to be the end of it and Jenny made a move to walk on, but Buffy held up a hand.

‘Oh, wait. Um...’ Her expression softened and a look of genuine distress crept into her eyes. Buffy looked directly at Jenny and took a breath.

‘He misses you.’

Jenny stopped – the petite girl had her full attention.

‘He doesn't say anything to me, but I know he does. And I don't want him to be lonely. I don't want anyone to,’ she added softly.

There was a pause and in that silence, both women seemed to acknowledge how much Giles meant to them. Jenny felt her heart go out to the girl for all that she had gone through and in the same moment, all of Buffy’s resentment seemed to melt away.

‘Buffy, you know that if I have a chance to make this up...’

‘We're... good here.’ She gazed at Jenny meaningfully. ‘Let's just leave it.’

Buffy turned and walked away, leaving Jenny staring after her.

‘What is it, pet?’

The two men stared as the dark-haired vampiress clutched the table, letting out a low moan.

‘The Watcher…’ she breathed, rapturously. ‘Getting the soul back.’

Spike shot a look at Angelus, but he was still staring at Drusilla.

‘What the hell are you talking about, Dru?

‘Hey, no need to talk to her like that!’ Spike retorted.

‘Shut up.’

Angelus crossed the room, grabbing hold of Drusilla’s arms and dragging her up.

‘What are you talking about?’

Her eyes darted around the room and when her voice came, it was a singsong mockery of a child’s.

‘Soul’s lost, all gone. Watcher’ll get it back,’ she crooned. ‘The gypsy teacher will do it for him. But only for him.’ Drusilla focused on Angelus and smiled. ‘The Watcher…he’s the one.’

The book that Jenny had loaned him had proved to be invaluable. Giles ran one finger over the worn cover, wondering where she had managed to find it, but thanking the gods that she had. He had the spell to bar Angelus from their homes and was due to perform it later that night. Despite Willow’s protestations that she was capable of performing the ritual, he felt better doing it himself. Just in case. But he still had a few things to prepare and so was still in the library. The kettle had just boiled and Giles was about to brew a pot of tea when he realised that he had run out of milk.

‘Bloody brilliant,’ he muttered to himself.

Time to break into the school canteen. Again.

He moved along the dimly lit corridors, sure of his path, when he noticed a light coming from one of the classrooms down a side passage. Jenny’s classroom. Giles paused for a moment and then made up his mind. Abandoning his milk-raid for a moment, he walked down the corridor and looked inside. Jenny was at her desk, absorbed in something on the computer screen. She looked so beautiful, he thought, unable to tear himself away.

‘Hello.’

Startled, Jenny looked up then quickly typed in a few keystrokes before turning back to him.

‘Oh! Hi.’

Giles stepped into the room.

‘You're working late.’

‘Special project,’ she replied, watching him closely, her earlier encounter with Buffy replaying in her mind.

‘Oh.’

He was still hovering near the door and didn’t seem to be in any hurry to leave. Jenny smiled inwardly: now that he wasn’t trying to avoid her, she could see his emotions clearly in his eyes

‘I spoke to Buffy today.’

He stepped forward eagerly, his face so full of hope and sat on the edge of her desk.

‘Oh! Yes?’

‘Mm.’ She glanced away from him, unable to resist teasing him. ‘She said you missed me,’ she continued, coyly playing with a pencil.

‘Well, er…’ He sighed, his shoulders slumping. ‘She's... a meddlesome girl.’

He wasn’t even attempting to deny it! He missed her; she missed him. And, maybe, they just had a chance of making this work.

‘Rupert...’ His expression was a combination of hope and expectancy. She couldn’t help herself. ‘I may have some news.’

She hit the keyboard, bringing up another window in the screen.

Giles watched her, waiting for her to finish.

‘I-I think I’ve found a way to restore Angel’s soul.’

Of all the things he had expected her to say, this was not among them. Giles stared at her, trying to make sense of what she had said.

‘Wh-what?’

Jenny felt her heart hammering in her chest and tried to keep her voice level.

‘Look, I may be wrong – I’m still working on it – but I found a version of the original text and I’ve been creating a programme to translate it. It isn’t finished yet, I just need a few more hours, but … If it works, if it’s right; we could do the spell and bring back his soul...’

Giles stood up, looking at it as though he expected it to blow up at any moment, but then edged closer to it.

‘A-a programme… a-and you’ve…’

He gazed at her, astounded.

‘You did this?’

Jenny nodded, her eyes fixed on his.

They held the gaze for some moments and then Giles roused himself.

‘Do you have to do this here?’ he asked abruptly.

She looked at him, startled.

‘Can you only finish this here? Could you do this at home?’

‘Well – yeah, I guess so … Rupert?’ She gazed at him questioningly.

‘I-it’s just, I, er…’ He ran a hand through his hair. ‘I would feel better if you were at your flat. The school is public, you see. Anyone could come in.’

They exchanged another meaningful glance.

‘He has no reason to come after me,’ Jenny said softly. ‘No-one knows about this…except you.’

Giles smiled slightly. ‘I know. But I would feel better if you were somewhere safer. Is it possible?’

Jenny glanced at the screen and sighed. She would have to re-do some of the work, but that seemed a small price to pay.

‘Yeah. I can do this at home.’ A small smile crept over her lips. ‘But, er, I’d like to see you tonight. To go over what I’ve found.’

He held her gaze and even with the barrier of his glasses, she could see his eyes grow soft and smoky.

‘Y-yes, yes.’ He looked at her shyly. ‘I-I have to perform the, er, barring spell at Buffy’s. And Willow’s, of course. But after that…I could stop by your flat.’

Jenny’s smile faltered as her mind flew to her tiny apartment and the infestation of something nasty that her landlord had discovered in the basement.

‘My place isn’t really fit for guests – actually, it’s not really fit for human habitation.’ She glanced up at Giles. ‘Maybe, I could come to you? Maybe? After I’m done?’

Giles held her gaze and then his smile widened.

‘A-all right.’

They continued to gaze at each other until Giles dropped his head.

‘If you get your things together, I-I can, er, walk you to your car.’

Jenny carefully saved her work on a disk and then put it, the papers and books she had been working from, and – crucially – the orb, into her bag. Giles had waited patiently at in the doorway for her and Jenny was suddenly put in mind of a knight errant: the slight tension in his posture and the way his eyes kept watch over the corridor beyond lest anything threaten his ladylove… She laughed to herself, but had to admit that there was no one on this earth she would sooner have defending her.

Giles placed his hand at the small of her back as they walked through the darkened corridors and Jenny felt a smell rush of pleasure at the contact. Slowly, trying to appear as tough she wasn’t aware of it, Jenny inched closer to him until his hand was resting loosely on her hip and she could feel the heat from his body.

The car park was deserted except for her Beetle and his Citroen, they were both old and battered but they looked almost as though they belonged together. Giles escorted her to her car, watching her as she unlocked the door and placed her bag, carefully, on the back seat.

She turned to face him, the open door between them.

‘So… I guess I’ll be at your place later, huh?’

Giles brushed a lock of her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear and then gently ran his hand down the curve of her cheek. Jenny leaned into the caress, leaning into it, almost holding her breath with expectation. But he removed his hand and swallowed.

‘Y-yes. Later.’

She would have felt disappointed, except for the promise in the depths of his green eyes.

Giles closed the door for her after she got in and then stood aside, watching until her car had driven out of the lot and disappeared.

From the shadows opposite, a pair of amber eyes had observed the little scene. A cruel mouth curved back over a pair of fangs. Drusilla had been right – the Watcher had taken up with the Gypsy again. And he thought he could bring back Angel’s soul… Angelus laughed out loud to himself.

‘Thought you were smarter than that, Rupert,’ he murmured.

The demon’s yellow eyes followed the same direction as the Watcher’s after the car and then returned to the solitary figure as Giles stood for a few moments before walking away.

Angelus smiled to himself and then slipped out of the shadows, across the parking lot and followed the librarian into the school.

Giles checked and then double-checked that he had everything he needed with him. The book with the spell, the herbs needed for the wards… He checked his watch and tutted, stuffing the papers under one arm while switching off the library lights with his free hand. He had to get the barriers up and then… He suppressed a smile at the thought of her. Giles strode down the corridor, his coat flapping behind him, when a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye stopped him.

‘Y’know, I gotta say I admire your taste in women, Rupert.’ Angelus stepped forward, game-face in place, his eyes glittering coldly. ‘That Jenny… Mmm-mm!’

Giles tensed and a long, deathly silent moment passed before he spoke.

‘If you’ve gone anywhere near her-‘ his voice was low and rasping, but he still hadn’t moved.

Angelus grinned. Even with the glasses, he could see the silver flare in the Watcher’s eyes.

‘Gonna be interesting to see how far that famous temper of yours will take you,’ Angelus said, taking another step forward.

Giles raised his head, staring defiantly at the vampire, holding his ground.

Angelus bared his fangs, growling lowly – it was going to be fun taking the Watcher.

Jenny re-adjusted her rear-view mirror so that she could give her hair a final tweak and then checked that she didn’t have any lipstick on her teeth. Everything was fine. She took a steadying breath and closed her eyes momentarily, gathering herself before getting out of the car. Her bag contained the disk with the completed ritual and one or two papers that Giles might want to see. It also held her toothbrush and one or two other accessories. Just in case.

Jenny felt a low flutter of excitement as she walked along the pathway, down the steps and across the small, Spanish courtyard. And there it was – the door. His door. She knocked lightly and waited. There was no immediate reply, but she could see soft light spilling from the windows. Jenny hesitated for a moment and then tried the handle.

The door opened and Jenny was greeted with the soft strains of cool, lazy jazz. She closed the door behind her and looked around the apartment. Candles, the only illumination, stood on every surface and on a side table near the door was a bottle of red wine, two glasses and a single rose. Jenny lowered her bag to the floor and approached the table, picking up the rose and inhaling the sweet scent. She looked around and then noticed that tea-lights had been placed on each step leading up to the loft.

‘Obviously, my news can wait,’ she thought to herself.

With the wine in one hand and the glasses in the other, Jenny made her way up the stairs, anticipation spreading through her. The bedroom was dimly lit, only a few candles lighting the space, but Jenny saw his figure sitting in the winged chair, waiting for her.

She leant against the wall, a smile curving her lips.

‘Y’now, you’re pretty sure of yourself, Engl-’

His head was at a strange angle and even with the lighting, Jenny could tell that he was staring slightly past her and he wasn’t blinking…

There was a loud crash as the bottle and the glasses crashed to the floor and from downstairs, there was a long wail from a saxophone as it held a high-note. She didn’t notice the blood-red liquid soaking the hem of her dress and spilling her feet. And then Jenny broke out of her trance and threw herself across the room, falling to her knees beside the chair, calling his name frantically.

‘Rupert! Rupert? Oh no, Goddess, please, no! Rupert, baby, please…’

His hand was still slightly warm, but the beautiful green eyes were lifeless.

She kept hold of his hand, rocking herself back and forth, dry sobs tearing her chest. Everything came crashing to a halt while she knelt there and then another instinct kicked in. Jenny scrambled to her feet and ran across the room, nearly going head-first down the stairs when she slipped in the pool of wine, managing to keep herself up by grabbing hold of the banister. She half-fell down the stairs and grabbed the phone. And then stopped. She stood, breathing heavily, her eyes fixed straight ahead. The music had, finally, finished and the silence closed in around her. Jenny let out a breath and looked down at the phone.

Her hands didn’t shake as she dialled the number.

‘What was your relationship with Mr Giles, exactly?’

Jenny turned her head and stared at him, recognition slowly creeping into her eyes.

‘We, er, we…we were seeing each other,’ she replied softly.

‘So, you’d gone over to his house to spend the night with him?’

‘Yes. Maybe. I mean, we’d had a…a misunderstanding.’ She gazed helplessly at the detective. ‘But we were working it out. It was going to be okay. We were going to be okay.’ Her eyes slipped away from his face, back into that place beyond the dingy room they were sitting in.

The detective glanced back down at the preliminary findings from the crime scene officers. The neck broken, a dislocated shoulder, suspicion of several broken ribs, not to mention the grazed and bloodied knuckles. Rupert Giles had put up one hell of a fight before he died. He looked back at the pale-faced woman with the haunted eyes sitting in front of him and then turned to his partner. She glanced at Jenny and then shook her head. There was no way that she had been involved, physically, in her lover’s death.

‘Do you know anyone who would want to hurt Rupert like this? she asked gently.

For a moment they wondered if Jenny had actually heard the question, but then she shook her head, still staring at an unfixed point.

‘No,’ she murmured eventually.

‘Okay,’ the female detective said. ‘We’re gonna send you home, Jenny. Jenny?’

She roused herself, dark eyes flicking between the two questioningly.

‘Home? Yes.’

The officers had offered to drive her back to her apartment, but when Jenny had been led out of the interview room and back to the entrance hall, she had found Xander and Cordelia waiting for her. Of course – Buffy would have phoned them. That had been one of the worst points of the night. After calling the police, Jenny had dialled Buffy’s number and she had told her…forced herself to actually say the words. There had been a long, sickening pause and then Willow’s voice, full of fear before she had even known what had happened, asking what was going on. And Willow had started sobbing while Jenny held the phone to her ear, making small, strange noises of comfort.

Jenny was sitting in the back and Xander kept turning round, almost strangling himself on the seat-belt, his brown eyes moist and full of confusion. He was asking questions, the same ones over and over, his brain unwilling to accept what had happened.

‘Xander!’ Cordelia ground out from between clenched teeth.

She had been uncharacteristically silent during the drive, her face set and her eyes fixed to the road. In fact, Cordelia seemed almost unaffected by the news. But Jenny noticed that she was gripping the steering wheel so hard that her knuckles had turned white. The girl was desperately trying to stop herself from falling apart and Jenny knew that there was nothing she could do to help either her or Xander. Not yet. The one idea that had come to her in those awful moments after her discovery was the only thing that had got her through the police interview. It was all that was keeping her going now. But she couldn’t say anything. There would just be too much talk and she simply didn’t have the time.

‘Still warm. Oh, Goddess, he was still warm. There’s still time…’

They arrived at her apartment block and Jenny refused their offer to come up with her, instead sending them to find Buffy. Jenny walked slowly up the stairs, feeling about a thousand years old with every step. When she reached her door, she pushed it open slowly, letting it close behind her before she flicked the light switch. The place was a mess: she had been too busy working on the programme to bother about cleaning up. She’d do it later – there was something more important first.

A loud knock on the door some hours later roused Jenny from a semi-doze on the sofa. She glanced around: the candles were still glowing and the air was thick with the smell of herbs, but there was nothing overtly suspicious in sight. The knock came again, louder and more insistent. Jenny raked her fingers through her hair and opened the door.

‘Angelus is dust.’

Jenny stared at the Slayer. A bruise was flowering across one cheek, there were assorted smudges on her clothes and the faint, acrid stench of smoke hung around her.

‘Buffy?’

‘I staked him. It was a good kill.’ The huge blue-grey eyes were locked on Jenny’s face and then her lips began to tremble.

‘I should have done it before. I should have staked him when he first turned, when I had the chance.’ Buffy’s voice was shaking and tears were starting to roll down her cheeks. ‘I’m sorry! I’m so sorry…This is all my fault. And Giles…’ A note of hysteria crept in. ‘I-I loved him so much and he didn’t know and I don’t what to do without him. I can’t do this alone, I can’t do this without him. Oh God, I’m so sorry…’

Jenny pulled the girl to her, holding her fiercely and stroking the blonde hair as she wept.

‘it will be okay, Buffy,’ she whispered after a few minutes and then took Buffy’s face between her hands. ‘Buffy, listen to me. Everything will be all right, I promise you. We will get through this and it will be okay. You just have to be strong…for him.’

Buffy gulped down great breaths and scrubbed at her eyes, staring at Jenny wordlessly.

‘Look, do you want to come in for a while?’

‘No, it’s okay. Thanks … The others are waiting for me downstairs.’

Jenny nodded.

‘Unless – do you need us to stay? Are you okay?’

‘I’m fine. Go home, get some rest.’

Buffy looked at her for a moment and then turned down the corridor.

Jenny closed the door again and leaned against it for a few moments. She walked back into the living room and sat down, carefully picking up the orb that was on the table in front of her. It would do for now. She still needed to do some more reading: there were a few things that she wasn’t certain of, but she had done enough for now. Jenny sighed contentedly and leaned back against the cushions. The luminescence within the orb had changed colour to a brilliant green streaked with silver and she watched, fascinated, as it flared against the constraints of the glass. Now she could take her time until everything was perfect. She smiled and stared deep into the orb that held the soul of Rupert Giles.

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