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gen_storyteller2007-07-31 11:45 pm
green-maia.livejournal.com) wrote in gen_storyteller2007-07-31 11:45 pm
Entry tags:
Fic - "Gifts" - Chapter 8
Title: Gifts
Author: Maia
Rating: G for the first few chapters; later chapters will be PG-13 for violence
Warnings: Multiple character deaths in later chapters
Characters: Dawn, William, Buffy, Giles, Xander, Willow, several original characters
Feedback: Yes, please!
Disclaimer: Everything except the original characters belongs to Joss
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8: Giles reflects.
This chapter was first posted on my LJ here.
Gifts
Chapter 8
Giles took off his glasses, wiped them, put them back on, and looked again at the copy of the “birth certificate” that he held in his hand. William Whitethorn Hallows. 19 March 1977. Mother Rosemary Pullman Hallows. Father Arthur Nathaniel Hallows. He wondered if “William Whitethorn Hallows” had chosen the same month and day as the actual birthday of William Whitethorn in 1854. He wondered if it had occurred to the former vampire that he had killed Nikki Wood less than six months after his alleged birth. He wondered if he could even blame William Hallows for Nikki’s death, since if a vampire was not the human it had been (and Giles maintained that it was not) then the reverse should be true as well. He wondered what portion of human personhood was restored with the human soul. He wondered if Buffy, sitting in an airplane over the Atlantic, was expecting the Spike she had known. He wondered if she would be disappointed by William Hallows. He wondered if she would like him. He wondered if she would be attracted to him. He wondered if they would fall in love (rather poetic in a maudlin sort of way). He wondered if he himself would like William. He wondered what it would do to his relationship with Buffy if he did not. He wondered how everything had changed so fast.
He had known, of course, that things would change. He had known that the daunting exhilaration of the past few years could not last. He had known that building new institutions from the ashes of the old was a glory not only grim but temporary. He had known that one day the mountain of his magnum opus would become a plateau of bureaucracy and boredom.
But the last few years had brought him great satisfaction, not least because of the business partnership between himself and Buffy. He had had the joy his own father had known when Rupert had joined him on the Watchers’ Council. What greater happiness was there for a father than for his adult child to become an equal in the family business? The analogy did not quite hold up, of course...the gulf between Slayers and Watchers was still as wide as the ocean which would separate their headquarters after the Slayers’ Council moved to New York City next year. But it was a gulf between equals, now. Buffy was the leader of an army of warriors and he was the leader of an army of researchers. It was a partnership. And he treasured the equilibrium, the easy camaraderie between them. Together they had created something that would last.
He knew, though, that while Buffy had enjoyed their work, it was not as satisfying to her as it was to him. Her calling was to fight, not to build. He had known that sooner or later, she would move on.
Now, Buffy was only occasionally on the front lines. Every Slayer they lost was a tragedy, of course (though an inevitable tragedy), but with every death he was guiltily grateful that it wasn’t her. But as younger Slayers grew into leadership roles, the time when Buffy would more often be free to take the more dangerous role she longed for grew ever closer. And he dreaded it. He knew that sooner or later he would lose her again, and he did not know if he could bear it (and he acknowledged, now, that his true motivation for fleeing to England in 2001 was his own inability to endure witnessing her suffering).
The front lines wasn’t all that called to Buffy. She still wanted a “normal” life. How she would reconcile the pull of battle and the pull of suburbia, he did not know. He was not sure whether he hoped or feared that William Hallows would help her to achieve both of her seemingly contradictory desires. (And there was a third desire, too. One she never spoke of. But it was there. He saw it in her eyes, the yearning for the heaven she remembered.)
But he knew that however it all played out, the end had begun. Wherever that plane was now, it was carrying Buffy away from him.
He had the sudden strong urge to tear up the “birth certificate” and throw it across the room.
But emotions, of course, were never even that simple. There was curiosity and frustration as well as hope and fear (and anger).
He looked at the “birth certificate” again and sighed. He felt a certain admiration for Rosemary Hallows’ thoroughness. Not only was it cleverly faked, copies had been placed in every location where they would be expected, including the Hallows family file in the Watchers' Council personnel records archive, one of the few archives to have escaped destruction by the First.
It was likely, then, that the Hallows texts were indeed in the hands of
William-the-apparently-not-now-so-Bloody. (Except for it being bloody irritating that he was alive at all...) Not a consummation to be wished.
Giles rubbed his eyes, and thought back.
He had acknowledged to Buffy that Spike had indeed saved the world.
(Though in the power of the First he could as easily have killed them all...)
He had acknowledged that he had been wrong.
(Though he could have just as easily been right...)
He had apologized to her for his role in the attempt on Spike’s unlife.
(Though he had made a logical decision, given the incomplete knowledge that he had had at the time...)
Simple to say all that, of course, with Spike dust and Buffy in mourning.
(Though it hadn’t been a lie. He had been proven wrong in that instance. Spike had turned out to be an asset rather than a liability. And even at the time, he had regretted what he had believed he had to do...)
Buffy cherished her memories of Spike, and as it brought her comfort there was no reason to impinge upon them.
(After Jenny Calendar’s murder, Buffy had never once even alluded to Jenny’s betrayal...)
When Buffy and Dawn announced that they wanted to learn more about what William had like before he was turned, he’d helped them do the research.
(And he had been fascinated and somewhat amused by what they had learned...)
But it had bothered him that Buffy never even recognized his point of view. As a demonic entity potentially dangerous to human life, Spike had been well within their jurisdiction.
Now, however...William Whitethorn Hallows was human, and most definitely outside their jurisdiction, as Buffy had so pointedly reminded him before she left for New York .
Never mind that William was unable to account for how he had become human, and it might be in the interests of the Watchers’ Council (and the Slayers’ Council too, as he had argued to Buffy) to investigate the matter. Buffy had been adamant. And Giles knew that she was right: as an apparently harmless human being (however he had attained that state), William Hallows had a right to privacy.
To compound the frustration, William was Arthur Hallows’ legal heir, and so had the right, under both Council law and British law, to keep the Hallows’ texts until such time as he believed they should be returned to the Watchers’ Council. William apparently had all of Spike’s affection for Dawn (and Giles was truly grateful to William for giving Dawn a place to live while she finished her studies). If he discovered what Giles suspected might be in those documents regarding the Key, he would almost certainly refuse to hand them over without consulting both Dawn and Buffy. And as soon as Giles had learned what Jason had found in the Sumerian text (his stomach clenched at the thought), he had decided that it would be highly unwise to tell Buffy and Dawn – or anyone else - until he knew more. (For he did not know, yet. He only suspected, and feared...)
Giles rubbed his eyes again. The threat was not immediate. He had time to proceed with caution, gathering more information, telling no one of his suspicions. (And wasn’t it a Watcher’s fate to know more than he told?) There was too much uncertainty now. And he wished to honor Buffy’s request to have time to get to know William, undisturbed. He would bide his time.
*
Chapter 9
Author: Maia
Rating: G for the first few chapters; later chapters will be PG-13 for violence
Warnings: Multiple character deaths in later chapters
Characters: Dawn, William, Buffy, Giles, Xander, Willow, several original characters
Feedback: Yes, please!
Disclaimer: Everything except the original characters belongs to Joss
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8: Giles reflects.
This chapter was first posted on my LJ here.
Gifts
Chapter 8
Giles took off his glasses, wiped them, put them back on, and looked again at the copy of the “birth certificate” that he held in his hand. William Whitethorn Hallows. 19 March 1977. Mother Rosemary Pullman Hallows. Father Arthur Nathaniel Hallows. He wondered if “William Whitethorn Hallows” had chosen the same month and day as the actual birthday of William Whitethorn in 1854. He wondered if it had occurred to the former vampire that he had killed Nikki Wood less than six months after his alleged birth. He wondered if he could even blame William Hallows for Nikki’s death, since if a vampire was not the human it had been (and Giles maintained that it was not) then the reverse should be true as well. He wondered what portion of human personhood was restored with the human soul. He wondered if Buffy, sitting in an airplane over the Atlantic, was expecting the Spike she had known. He wondered if she would be disappointed by William Hallows. He wondered if she would like him. He wondered if she would be attracted to him. He wondered if they would fall in love (rather poetic in a maudlin sort of way). He wondered if he himself would like William. He wondered what it would do to his relationship with Buffy if he did not. He wondered how everything had changed so fast.
He had known, of course, that things would change. He had known that the daunting exhilaration of the past few years could not last. He had known that building new institutions from the ashes of the old was a glory not only grim but temporary. He had known that one day the mountain of his magnum opus would become a plateau of bureaucracy and boredom.
But the last few years had brought him great satisfaction, not least because of the business partnership between himself and Buffy. He had had the joy his own father had known when Rupert had joined him on the Watchers’ Council. What greater happiness was there for a father than for his adult child to become an equal in the family business? The analogy did not quite hold up, of course...the gulf between Slayers and Watchers was still as wide as the ocean which would separate their headquarters after the Slayers’ Council moved to New York City next year. But it was a gulf between equals, now. Buffy was the leader of an army of warriors and he was the leader of an army of researchers. It was a partnership. And he treasured the equilibrium, the easy camaraderie between them. Together they had created something that would last.
He knew, though, that while Buffy had enjoyed their work, it was not as satisfying to her as it was to him. Her calling was to fight, not to build. He had known that sooner or later, she would move on.
Now, Buffy was only occasionally on the front lines. Every Slayer they lost was a tragedy, of course (though an inevitable tragedy), but with every death he was guiltily grateful that it wasn’t her. But as younger Slayers grew into leadership roles, the time when Buffy would more often be free to take the more dangerous role she longed for grew ever closer. And he dreaded it. He knew that sooner or later he would lose her again, and he did not know if he could bear it (and he acknowledged, now, that his true motivation for fleeing to England in 2001 was his own inability to endure witnessing her suffering).
The front lines wasn’t all that called to Buffy. She still wanted a “normal” life. How she would reconcile the pull of battle and the pull of suburbia, he did not know. He was not sure whether he hoped or feared that William Hallows would help her to achieve both of her seemingly contradictory desires. (And there was a third desire, too. One she never spoke of. But it was there. He saw it in her eyes, the yearning for the heaven she remembered.)
But he knew that however it all played out, the end had begun. Wherever that plane was now, it was carrying Buffy away from him.
He had the sudden strong urge to tear up the “birth certificate” and throw it across the room.
But emotions, of course, were never even that simple. There was curiosity and frustration as well as hope and fear (and anger).
He looked at the “birth certificate” again and sighed. He felt a certain admiration for Rosemary Hallows’ thoroughness. Not only was it cleverly faked, copies had been placed in every location where they would be expected, including the Hallows family file in the Watchers' Council personnel records archive, one of the few archives to have escaped destruction by the First.
It was likely, then, that the Hallows texts were indeed in the hands of
William-the-apparently-not-now-so-Bloody. (Except for it being bloody irritating that he was alive at all...) Not a consummation to be wished.
Giles rubbed his eyes, and thought back.
He had acknowledged to Buffy that Spike had indeed saved the world.
(Though in the power of the First he could as easily have killed them all...)
He had acknowledged that he had been wrong.
(Though he could have just as easily been right...)
He had apologized to her for his role in the attempt on Spike’s unlife.
(Though he had made a logical decision, given the incomplete knowledge that he had had at the time...)
Simple to say all that, of course, with Spike dust and Buffy in mourning.
(Though it hadn’t been a lie. He had been proven wrong in that instance. Spike had turned out to be an asset rather than a liability. And even at the time, he had regretted what he had believed he had to do...)
Buffy cherished her memories of Spike, and as it brought her comfort there was no reason to impinge upon them.
(After Jenny Calendar’s murder, Buffy had never once even alluded to Jenny’s betrayal...)
When Buffy and Dawn announced that they wanted to learn more about what William had like before he was turned, he’d helped them do the research.
(And he had been fascinated and somewhat amused by what they had learned...)
But it had bothered him that Buffy never even recognized his point of view. As a demonic entity potentially dangerous to human life, Spike had been well within their jurisdiction.
Now, however...William Whitethorn Hallows was human, and most definitely outside their jurisdiction, as Buffy had so pointedly reminded him before she left for New York .
Never mind that William was unable to account for how he had become human, and it might be in the interests of the Watchers’ Council (and the Slayers’ Council too, as he had argued to Buffy) to investigate the matter. Buffy had been adamant. And Giles knew that she was right: as an apparently harmless human being (however he had attained that state), William Hallows had a right to privacy.
To compound the frustration, William was Arthur Hallows’ legal heir, and so had the right, under both Council law and British law, to keep the Hallows’ texts until such time as he believed they should be returned to the Watchers’ Council. William apparently had all of Spike’s affection for Dawn (and Giles was truly grateful to William for giving Dawn a place to live while she finished her studies). If he discovered what Giles suspected might be in those documents regarding the Key, he would almost certainly refuse to hand them over without consulting both Dawn and Buffy. And as soon as Giles had learned what Jason had found in the Sumerian text (his stomach clenched at the thought), he had decided that it would be highly unwise to tell Buffy and Dawn – or anyone else - until he knew more. (For he did not know, yet. He only suspected, and feared...)
Giles rubbed his eyes again. The threat was not immediate. He had time to proceed with caution, gathering more information, telling no one of his suspicions. (And wasn’t it a Watcher’s fate to know more than he told?) There was too much uncertainty now. And he wished to honor Buffy’s request to have time to get to know William, undisturbed. He would bide his time.
*
Chapter 9