Title: Slayer Central chapter 34
Author: Gileswench
Contact: gileswench@yahoo.com
Feedback: Constructive criticism always welcome. Praise abjectly sought.
Disclaimer: It all belongs to Joss, Mutant Enemy, etc., etc., etc. I just let them have all the fun Joss won't. I own nothing except my twisted mind which you really don't want. Please don't sue.



Buffy stared at the envelope for a long moment. While she didn't know what was inside, she knew it wasn't going to be something she wanted to see. Travers looked too smug.

She took a deep breath and opened the packet. She pulled out the series of photographs and looked at each in turn as the blood drained from her face. She willed herself not to scream, not to tear them to pieces and make Travers eat the shreds.

"This doesn't mean anything," she said in a voice she had to work to keep from shaking.

She swallowed hard against her rising gorge.

"Are you sure, Buffy?" Travers asked. "It would seem to me that this means that you've married a man who would have, at the very least, some considerable reluctance to consummate the relationship."

"Our relationship is none of your damn business, Travers!"

Buffy tugged on Giles' sleeve to get him to sit. A moment later she scrambled to her feet and raced to the employee restroom. She fell to her knees before the toilet and vomited repeatedly. She was dimly aware of Giles holding her hair back and murmuring comforting words. For the first time, she wasn't comforted. She wanted to shrink into her skin. She wanted to be alone to deal with the images she'd seen. She didn't want to deal with Travers or her father in law or even Giles.

Still, she forced herself to smile wanly at Giles when he brought her a glass of water.

"Feeling better now?"

"A bit. Damn morning sickness," she lied.

She allowed him to hold her gently while she recovered, but stood as soon as she felt sure her legs would support her.

Buffy turned to Travers.

"Rupert Giles is my husband and the father of my child. I saw the pictures, and I still say it."

Travers shook his head.

"Well, since you still insist that that is the case, I suppose there's nothing for it. Please, sit down."

She slid gratefully into her chair, though her expression didn't change.

"Spill, already, Quentin."

*****

Tara shook her head.

"I don't know how you can make this better."

Willow stared at her girlfriend, stunned.

"But...Tara...there has to be something I can do."

"I - I don't know. You've never told your parents about me. About you. About us. How can I accept that?"

"And I suppose you told your father all about me?" Willow challenged her.

"Yes. I sent him a letter a few days after he left here. I don't expect I'll hear back from him."

"Did you expect to hear from him before you wrote the letter?"

"That's not the point..."

"I think it's gotta be one of 'em. One of the points. You didn't tell him while he was here. Why? If it's so damn important that we tell everybody, why didn't you tell him then?"

"Willow, you live in the same town with your parents. You see them all the time. It's different."

"Yeah. Different. It's nice you have all the answers, 'cause one of us sure needs them. Maybe next time you'll tell me ahead of time what I'm supposed to do for you. Then I might have some sort of fighting chance to actually do it."

With that, Willow raced out of the room and locked herself in the bathroom. She sat on the edge of the bathtub and cried. She could hear Tara knocking and begging to be let in, but ignored her. Half of her heart dropped like a stone when Tara finally gave up. She was surprised when the other half felt lighter with relief.

*****

A subdued Buffy allowed Giles to escort her to the Citroen. When they were both settled, Giles looked hard at her.

"Are you alright?"

Buffy nodded but didn't speak.

Giles ran a hand through his hair and tried again.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know those photographs existed. Buffy, if I'd known..."

"Don't. Just don't. I'm okay."

She looked straight ahead, her mouth set in a hard line.

"Buffy..."

"You'd better start driving. They're probably still watching."

Giles sighed.

"Where would you like to go?"

"Hospital. I need to see my Mom."

"Fine," Giles muttered under his breath as he put the Citroen in gear. "You speak and I bloody obey."

*****

Cordelia took a deep breath and shook her tresses into place. She smiled broadly as she reached for the doorknob. Before she could open the door, Tara came barreling out, nearly knocking her over in the process.

"Hey! Watch it!"

"I -I - I'm sorry. I have to go," Tara babbled. She made a move for the stairs, but was halted when Cordelia grabbed her arm.

"What's your trauma? Tara, are you crying?"

The witch swiped her eyes with the back of her hand and shook her head.

"Oh, please! You're a total mess and your nose is gushing like Niagra Falls. Look, you can't go anywhere like this. You'll just walk in front of a bus and get splatted, and then I can just see Willow going all postal on me for letting you go. And a postally inclined witch isn't any fun to play with. Trust me on this one."

While she was talking, Cordelia managed to steer Tara indoors and onto the sofa in the living room.

"So I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say all is not well in Sappholand, am I right?"

Tara nodded and gurgled oddly.

"Look, don't even try to talk until you have the crying under control. Then you and I are going out for a little while. You need to go find an elsewhere to be while you and Willow calm down, so girl's night out...in a totally non-lesbian sort of way."

*****

Buffy edged her way nervously into her mothers' hospital room. Crystal was already there, holding Joyce's hand as they talked.

"Hey."

"Buffy, I'm so relieved. Are you okay?" Joyce asked as her daughter came a bit closer. "What did they do? Was it hard? Where's Rupert? I thought he would come with you."

"It's okay, Mom. No big. And Rupert had...stuff to do."

"Stuff?"

"Yeah, y'know, Watcher stuff and Christmas stuff and...stuff."

Joyce looked hard at Buffy.

"What happened?"

"What do you mean? Nothing happened."

"Buffy, I'm your mother and I know when something bad has happened. What is it this time? Ribs or concussion?"

"Neither. I promise you, Rupert is perfectly fine. Not a scratch on him, or me. It was just...let's just say the Council is not good at playing nice with others and leave it at that. I don't want to talk about it."

"But you're okay? They didn't make you do something that could hurt the baby, did they?"

"No, Mom. Nothing like that. More in the realm of ritual humiliation than physical torture."

"Maybe I should go..." Crystal began.

"No," Buffy said. "I think maybe you should stay, actually. I passed, so I got the word on Daddy, such as it is. You need to hear it as much as Mom. Maybe more. But you might want to be sitting down."

Crystal sat cautiously next to Joyce.

"See, Daddy didn't go to Spain. That note was just to throw us off the track. He didn't leave the country. In fact, we have reason to believe he's here in Sunnydale."

*****

Harmony stretched like a cat and kissed her bedmate. This time she felt sure she'd hit the jackpot. This one might be a little older looking, but that was okay. He didn't look all wrinkly and toothless old, just...nicely seasoned she decided. And he might be fairly new, but he was powerful.

She nipped him along his throat and giggled when he pulled her head back by the hair.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Don't you like it, baby?"

He rolled atop he and pinned her hands to the mattress.

"Not a lot, no. But I do like this..."

He kissed her hard, so hard it would have bruised a mortal woman. She groaned with passion at his dominance. This was what he liked in a woman. Submission.

He moved his kisses lower.

"Oh Hank, yeah baby."


:: NEXT :: | :: CHRONICLES INDEX :: | :: AUTHORS PAGE ::