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11. Bonding
He sat on a bench in the park not far from the watcher's place. He just sat there, like he had done for a while now, not knowing what to do or where to go. His big secret was out of the closet; he had been trained to help a slayer, but had failed at the most crucial moment of her life. He had failed not only the slayer, but also his twin sister, sweet little Angie who meant the world for him. He wondered how these people would react, how Willow would react. Would she too hold him responsible for the death of his sister? Like Madeleine and his parents did at the time...like everybody did, except his brother and 'his' watcher... ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
She stumbled over her own feet and tears were streaming down her face while she searched the area between Giles' place and the campus. She had to find him. Spike's words ran through her mind bringing out more tears as she ran towards the park, she actually didn't know where the sudden need to be in the park came from, but during the last few years Willow had learned to trust her instincts. She found him on a bench near the fountain in the middle of the park and a question suddenly entered her mind, or maybe it had been there since she heard Spike's speak of defense; how on earth had Graham survived the night Angelin was killed? Chained to a wall with a skewer through him he would have died even if the vampire didn't decide to drain him dry...and how come Spike was all friendly with Graham?! She hadn't more than thought that last question before she remembered Graham's words on how he knew Spike: 'He saved my life.' Spike had been there, at the dungeon. But that was before he was chipped, even before Buffy was called. Had he been with the vampire king Lucian? But if that was the case: How come Spike had saved the life of a slayer-trained boy? Well, those were the worries of tomorrow, right now she just wanted to be with Graham, be there for him. "Hi there." She said and Graham turned around surprised by her voice. He looked at her tear-streamed face and knew that this was the critical moment of whatever relationship they were going to have. He felt like his soul was on trial. Was she going to be condemning or was she really the compassionate girl he thought her to be? When she threw herself in his arms, crying, he didn't have to worry anymore. With a little smile on his face, Graham hugged Willow closely to him and knew he wanted to hold her for the rest of his days. ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
After Willow had left in search for Graham, the remaining Scoobies tried to gather themselves. Buffy took a deep breath and turned to Giles. "That's why the Council is against slayers having family and friends, huh?" She asked suddenly understanding. "Yes, Buffy, Anna-Belle Hurley did a big mistake when she included Graham Miller in the slayer training." Giles answered quietly. "But the Council did approve, didn't they?" Xander asked confused. "Yes, they did. But the Council just saw him as help for the slayer, they didn't understand the connection between them." "Does that mean you're against us helping Buffy?" "No. Buffy has the mental strength Angelin lacked and can very well be the greatest slayer of the 21st century." "This is a very nice bonding moment, but what about the new 'big bad' in town, the one you brought us out of bed for?" Anya asked bluntly. "Yes, oh well, I think I let Spike tell you this one." Giles answered. "Yeah, Miller-boy is really going to love this." Spike said with great irony. "The new threat in town is Lucian Moonglow, the vampire king who killed Angelin Miller."
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