Methos chuckled at the expression on Giles’ face. “They’ve been at it for the last hour or so. I expect they’ll be up soon.” He offered Giles a cup of freshly brewed tea.
“Yes, thank you ever so much.” Giles said as he accepted the warm cup of tea. “Do you know if Joyce and Dawn slept okay?”
“As far as I know, they both slept fine. Leastwise they both seemed cheerful enough a little while ago when they were eating.” Methos replied as he sipped his tea.
“Good, good. No obvious repercussions then?” Giles inquired.
“None that I could detect.” Methos politely responded. He wondered to himself when Giles would stop beating around the bush and ask the questions that were obviously burning a hole in his brain.
Giles sat, sipping his tea, wondering how he could broach the questions he was dying to ask.
“Listen, I can practically see the smoke coming from your ears. Ask your questions and I’ll try to answer them as best I can, okay?” Methos said, not up to a game of will-he/wont-he this morning.
“Very well. Dawn called you ‘Uncle Methos’ last night. Why?” Giles queried as he dropped into full watcher mode.
“Because her mother, Joyce, is my sister.” Methos replied in an off-handed manner.
Giles looked at Methos over the top of his glasses. “Please enlighten me further.”
Just as Methos was about to start up the tale of his young life, the basement door opened and Buffy emerged from the basement, once again wearing Spike’s t-shirt. “Don’t get him started, we’ll be here all day and we don’t have time for lollygagging.”
“Well its about time you two climbed out of bed, instead of all over each other,” Methos snarked.
Buffy just cocked one eyebrow at Methos and grinned. “Jealous?”
Methos grinned salaciously and ran his eyes across Spike’s naked chest. “Oh definitely. That is one fine specimen you have snagged.”
Spike’s eyes about bugged out of his head as he realized they were discussing him. “Hey! Eyes to yourself mate. I belong to the lovely lady here.”
Buffy just giggled and poured herself a cup of coffee.
“I’m gonna go check on Peaches, make sure that spell is still holding him under.” Spike said as he left the kitchen, shaking his head as he wondered what he had gotten himself into.
Giles just sat there, teacup halfway to his mouth, a stunned expression on his face.
“C’mon Giles, blink already. Your eyeballs are gonna dry out.” Buffy muttered as she took a sip of her coffee.
“Hmmmm? Oh yes, quite.” Giles muttered.
“So, what’s up? You guys getting all with the sharing?” Buffy asked.
“Yup, the English statue there had asked me why Dawn called me Uncle” Methos offhandedly remarked.
“Did you tell him?” Buffy queried.
“You walked in just as I was going to illuminate the situation.” Methos grinned.
“Oh brother, you mean you were going to bore him with 5000 years worth of your dry sarcastic wit.” Buffy rolled her eyes.
“Damned straight. Wanted to see if he had any other expressions besides stunned and shocked.” Methos pointed out the stunned expression on Giles face.
“I beg your pardon.” Giles snapped, coming out of his daze. “Just because I don’t flaunt my emotions across my face like some addle-patted twit...”
“Chill, Giles. He’s just yanking your chain.” Buffy calmly informed him.
Giles turned to Buffy, “Then why don’t you tell me why Dawn was calling him ‘Uncle’.”
“Okay, okay. Sheesh… watchers… no sense of ha-ha.” Buffy settled herself onto a stool and leaned both elbows on the counter. “I dug his arse out of a snow bank when he was… 9 I think…” Buffy appeared deep in thought. “Round about that age, anyway. It had been a long, hard winter, and the elders of his village, like most people back then, decided that children were not worth keeping. So they cast out anyone under the age of 14, as being too young to work.” She continued.
Methos interrupted, “They also tossed a few of the elderly out as well. Why feed them when they can’t work?”
Giles looked stunned, then his expression transformed to a mixture of sadness and outrage. “That’s barbaric!”
“Different times Giles.” Buffy said. She shook her head and sighed. “When I came across him, he was huddled under a fallen tree with the corpses of about three or four other children, the youngest of which was only a few days old.” She turned to Methos, “Didn’t you tell me that the baby was your sister?”
“Yeah, she was.” Methos replied quietly.
“He begged me to kill him, Giles. He was so cold, alone, and terrified. I swear my heart almost broke. I wrapped him in my cloak, and gave him some bread…” Buffy started to say but was interrupted.
“She sat me up on this big black horse and told me to stay put. I was so scared I was going to fall off, I almost wet myself.” Methos interjected.
Tossing Methos an irritated glance, Buffy continued the tale. “I cremated the bodies of the children, and took him with me. Was almost 2 weeks before he would say more than ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to me. Moreover, even when he said no… he ducked as if I was going to hit him.”
“You didn’t…” Giles queried.
“She never did, but you have to remember, things were very different. The only women I knew were the ones in my village, and they didn’t carry a honking big sword.” Methos snorted. “I think that’s what scared me more than anything, the sword.”
“I kept him with me, taught him stuff, he asked if he could call me Mother.” Buffy’s eyes softened at the memory. “All in all I think it turned out rather well.”
“Even with the whole ‘Horsemen’ thing?” Giles asked.
“Might not have been my most brilliant idea, but it worked at the time… sort of.” Buffy replied.
Just then, Spike came tearing into the kitchen, “He’s gone!”
Buffy whirled around, “What do you mean, ‘Gone’”, she demanded. “I thought you and Cassandra had him all tied up and sleepy-spelled.” She stormed out of the kitchen, a hard look on her face.
Methos grabbed Spike by the shoulder, preventing him from following Buffy. “I think you need to explain what you meant by ‘gone’.”
Spike tried to pull away from Methos and follow Buffy, but found himself sitting on a stool, staring into the cold eyes of the man who referred to Buffy as ‘Mother’.
“Do you mean he dusted?” Giles softly inquired.
“No, I don’t mean he dusted. I mean he just up and vanished!” Spike snarled, frustrated.
Buffy stormed back into the kitchen, her eyes flashing in anger. “Goddamned stupid fucking piece of shit… when I get my hands on him…,” she muttered angrily as she stomped her way to the basement door. Pausing, she whirled around and pinned Methos with a glance. “My bike is stashed over by the cemetery…”
“Restfield Cemetery” Spike interjected.
“What he said. Go fetch my stuff. Now.” Buffy all but snapped as she wrenched the door open and stomped down the stairs.
Methos sighed heavily. “She’s in a right snit. I’ll be back. DO NOT antagonize her. For your own safety, just leave her be…” His words trailed off as he watched Spike follow Buffy. “When Joyce comes down, tell her I’ll be back in a few minutes.” he directed at Giles as he made his way out the door.
Giles simply remained on his stool, a stunned look of utter shock on his face. He blinked a few times and muttered, “My word…”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Upstairs, Joyce laughed to herself as she hung up the phone. “What an idiot…” she muttered. “Maybe I can get Spike to bite him.”
“Bite who Mom?” Dawn asked as she entered her mom’s bedroom.
“Oh, just that idiot principal of yours.” Joyce answered.
“Toldja he’s an idiot.” Dawn cheekily giggled as she darted out the door again and downstairs.
“Come back here missy.” Joyce laughed as she followed her daughter.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Down in the basement, Buffy was pacing and swearing under her breath, infuriated that he had interfered and taken her prey. She promised herself that the bastard would pay, in spades. So intent on her inner dialogue, she didn’t detect Spike’s presence until he had touched her. The gentle touch startled her out of her reverie, and she reacted by spinning around and punching him… squarely in the nose.
“OWWW!whadidyagoandothafor!” Spike yelled, clutching his nose, agony radiating from it.
“OMG! I’m sorry, so sorry Spike.” Buffy clutched at him, trying to pull his hand off his nose. “I didn’t mean to hit you. I’m so sorry. Let me see.”
Realizing that head startled her, he knew that she didn’t mean it. “’S okay love. Just a lil bump, s’nothing.” Spike said, wiggling his nose and noticing that it wasn’t broken. “You pull your punch or something? Cause, just blood, not busted.”
“Yeah, I kinda reacted without thinking, and tried to stop when I realized it was you. I’m sorry Spike.” Buffy whispered as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
“S’my fault too love, I shouldna startled you like that. No worries.” Spike said as he returned her gentle hug. “Now, wanna tell me what’s got you in such a state? I mean, I know Peaches is gone, but I don’t think it deserves this kind of reaction.”
“It’s not the damned vampire that has me in this state; it’s the goddamned interfering bastard who took him that has me in this state.” Buffy stated as she slowly pulled away from Spike. “And as soon as Methos gets his ass back here with my stuff, that bastard and I are gonna have words!”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Dawn giggled as she darted into the kitchen, coming to a complete stop as she saw Giles sitting at the counter, with a stunned look on his face. She turned to Joyce who had been right behind her and loudly whispered, “I think someone broke him.”
Joyce edged past Dawn and approached the stunned Englishman in her kitchen. “Rupert? What’s wrong?”
Giles started, jarred from his stunned state by Joyce’s quiet inquiry. “Angel is gone.”
“GONE? What do you mean gone.” Joyce demanded. “I hope it’s the ‘oops we staked him’ kind of gone and not the ‘we let him go’ kind.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know which it is, dear. Spike went to check on him and came back saying he was gone. Buffy seems to be having some sort of temper tantrum, and Spike followed her downstairs. Oh, and Methos went to get her stuff. Said he’d be right back.” Giles muttered grumpily, feeling like a messenger boy.
“Well, who knows which it is? Does Spike? Does Methos? Does Mother? And what do you mean she’s having a temper tantrum?” Joyce punctuated her words with sharp jabs of her index finger into Giles shoulder.
“Joyce…” Giles started to say, but stopped when Buffy emerged from the basement, Spike following her like a pale shadow.
“He was taken, and I am so going to have words with the bastard who took him.” Buffy stated.
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