TITLE: Sinking Sand
AUTHOR: vatwoman
SUMMARY: Vignette of Giles's thoughts on Willow's recovery (during Season 7 opener)
DISCLAIMERS: All things Buffy belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN
FEEDBACK: Will be gratefully received on-list or at:
vatwoman@yahoo.co.uk

Perhaps there would come a time when she would truly understand the nature of the power that she commanded, but not today. Today was a day for reminders of death and destruction and how she'd wielded both without conscience or care.

Of course, there'd been discussions about killing her, to do otherwise would have been an abrogation of the vow they'd all taken to protect others, but that vow had tangled them very prettily in its web of logic: protecting others had meant protecting her and so they'd allowed her to live. To live to be taught how to handle the power and the responsibility of that power.

And today she'd cut class.

Today he'd had to come and look for her: the first time in days that he hadn't known exactly where she was. So much fear. So little trust. The fear was justified, the trust had to be earned and he was struggling to put aside one and take up the other.

He wished he could just say `I know this woman. It'll be fine', recognising that there had once been a time, such a short time ago it seemed, when he could have said that without hesitation and meant it. But not today.

He found her through her power, the resonance of it rippling out across the ancient landscape and on up through him. Everything is connected. Something he'd come to know. Something she was coming to learn: the old tree behind her; the newborn flower before her; the rage in her; the rage in him. The blood on both their hands. She'd yet to ask him about the deaths he'd brought about: he wondered what he'd say to her when she did.

END
5th January 2003