An hour later, Spike had just finished unpacking his bags and was now waiting in the living room for his uncle to show up. Apparently, Xander had been given a key to Giles’ house; he hadn’t explained why and Spike hadn’t asked, and after giving him the tour and showing him which room he would be sleeping in, Xander had told him to make himself feel at home, and left. He was just about to turn the telly on, when the front door was opened.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Rupert.” Spike got up to greet him, when he realized that his uncle wasn’t alone. A young, blonde girl; looking to be about the same age as himself, and the most beautiful girl Spike had ever seen, was standing behind him. “Um… hi.”
“Hi. Excuse me.” The girl barely looked at him before dropping a small bag on the floor and headed towards the kitchen.
“Buffy, wait, I’d like you to meet…” Giles stopped as the girl had already left the room, sighing before turning to Spike with an apologetic look. “I’m sorry about that, she has… um…” He paused for a moment, then decided to change the subject. “I can’t tell you how nice it is to see you again, Spike, how long has it been? Five years?”
“Something like that.” Spike nodded, glancing towards the kitchen. “So, who’s that?”
“Oh, um… that was Buffy. She lives here as well, I’m sure you two will get along just fine.” Giles hesitated, like he was about to say something more, then became quiet.
“Buffy?” Spike chuckled. “What kinda name is that?” Then he became serious. “Is she seeing someone?”
Giles removed his glasses and started wiping them with the edge of his shirt. “Actually, um… are you hungry?” Once again he changed the subject, causing Spike to frown.
“No, thanks. About…”
“Then let’s sit down and, um… catch up.” Giles gestured towards the couch.
Spike sat back down, giving his uncle a curious look. “All right. No offense, but I kinda wondered…”
“Why I offered you this job?” Spike nodded. “Well, I…” Giles sat down in an arm chair. “How much do you know about magic, Spike?”
He shrugged. “Nothing, really. Tell the truth, never been interested.” Seeing the frown on Giles’ face, he hurried to add; “But I’m a quick study, I’m sure I’ll learn.” Giles looked relieved, and Spike continued; “Listen, Rupert, I really appreciate you’re doing this, but what’s in it for you? I mean, why me? Wouldn’t it be easier for you to just find someone here in town who knows about this stuff?”
Giles was silent for a moment, then spoke. “When I heard about what happened to you in London…”
Spike interrupted him before he could finish, a cold expression on his face. “I see, so that’s what this is about? I don’t want this bloody job because you feel sorry for me, I don’t need your pity.”
“I can assure you, Spike, this has nothing to do with pity.” Giles gave him an annoyed look. “Would you mind letting me finish explaining?”
Spike sighed. “Course, sorry.”
“Thank you.” Giles went on; “I know only what your mother told me, I’d like to hear your side of the story some day.”
“Why?” Spike was confused. No one had asked him that before. His mother, his friends, the cops, they had asked him a lot of things; why he’d done it, what the hell he had been thinking, but they had never asked directly for his side of the story. Not that he would have been able to explain, anyway. How could you explain something you didn’t understand yourself?
Giles ignored his question. “There was a fight, yes?”
Spike let out a bitter laugh. “No. Not a fight.”
“Right.” Giles eyed him carefully. “How many, then?”
“Forgot.”
“I see. And it’s been going on for… how long? A couple of years?” Spike nodded. “Looks to me like you needed to get away for a while, am I right?”
“Yeah, but…” He took a deep breath. “I was in jail, Rupert.”
“I know.” Giles looked him right in the eyes as he continued; “The others don’t, however. I reckon you should be the one to decide if you want them to know or not.”
Spike gave him a surprised look. “Thanks. I really appreciate it. All of it, I mean.”
Giles nodded. “Very well, let’s move on. You asked me about Buffy before; there are some things you should know.” He sighed. “You might have found her behavior a bit… rude, but I can assure you, it has nothing to do with you. Ever since the… the accident, she has been… withdrawn.”
“Oh, right, William? Heard about that, I’m sorry. Were they close?” Spike suddenly felt stupid, he had completely forgotten about the accident three years earlier. But of course, he hadn’t seen William since they had been kids. Giles on the other hand…
Removing his glasses again, Giles closed his eyes for a second. “Yes, quite actually, they were, um… involved.” He swallowed. “It was very hard for all of us, but she took it the hardest, the poor girl. She loved him, you see.” He paused. “I lost my son, but she lost her soul mate. It took almost a year before she started speaking.”
For a moment, Spike didn’t know what to say. “I understand it must have been hard for her to talk about what happened.”
“No, you misunderstand.” Giles put his glasses back on. “I didn’t mean how long it took for her to talk about what happened, I meant how long it took for her to speak at all. She didn’t say a word, to anyone, for almost a year, she had withdrawn completely into herself. For a long time, I feared she would never recover. She was…” He swallowed again. “Buffy was the one who found him.”
“Oh, bloody hell!” Spike stared at his uncle in shock. “That’s…” He hesitated. “I don’t know what to say.”
“That’s all right, I understand.” Giles looked away for a moment. “I thought you should know why Buffy is the way she is, since you are going to be living in the same house.”
Spike nodded, still in a state of shock. “Thanks for telling me.” Giles hadn’t told him what happened to William, and he didn’t want to ask. Some things were just too personal, and he really hadn’t known William that well. Sure, they had been cousins, but that didn’t mean they had been close. He could honestly say that he knew nothing about what kind of life William had been living.
“You’re welcome. Now…” Giles put on a strained smile. “About the job, there are some things you should know.”
“Is Buffy working in the shop as well?” Spike had decided to push all thoughts of wanting to date Buffy to the back of his mind, but he was still curious.
“No. Well, um…” Hesitating, Giles stopped for a moment. “She…” He sighed. “All right, Spike, I’m gonna be straight with you here. What I am about to tell you, you might find it a bit hard to… take in. But I do assure you, I will be nothing but sincere. Do you believe me?”
Frowning, Spike nodded. “Course.”
“Right, well…” Giles took a deep breath. “Tell me, Spike, are you by any means familiar with the term ‘Slayer’?”
TBC
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Author's Chapter Notes:
From the small amount of reviews for last chap, I take it the interest for this story isn't that great after all. I'd really like to keep writing on both my stories right now, but I don't think I've got the time. So maybe I should focus on Saving You for a while, since it seems like people are more interested in that story than this one. To those of you who did leave me a review for last chap: thank you so much, this chapter is for you! :)