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DISCLAIMER: The book needed is mine
SUMMARY: AtS3/BtVS6. The AI team needs a book, Fred has to go collect it.
WORDCOUNT: 1770
THANK YOU to Vixen for her suggestions.
For Michelle at the Female
Ficathon
ACQUAINTANCES
by Leni
In the end Fred was the only one who could go.
She didn't like it, how they'd come to that decision. If they had thrown a coin or chosen
sticks maybe she wouldn't be so upset. But as she prepared her bag for the trip Fred
couldn't stop resenting that she was chosen only because nobody else would do it.
Damn heroes she had chosen to live with. They couldn't even face a single man in some
little Californian town. True, it was on a Hellmouth. So what? Weren't they the beloved
neighbours of Wolfram and Hart?
It was frustrating how they had dismissed her, categorically refused to go with her to
pick up the necessary book.
"We can't afford spending so much time there," Wesley had said dismissively, too
distracted in his newest translation. Fred laughed at that, making him look up at her.
They'd gone to another dimension and they couldn't drive for a couple hours?
Somehow she wasn't buying that. She had stomped out of the room, something she hadn't done
since she was a teenager. Oh, did these men's stubbornness get on her nerves!
But they didn't notice that.
Angel wouldn't hear about it, muttering about 'not wanting to intrude' and then slamming
doors and glaring at whoever dared mention the issue. "It's Giles," he had told
her as patiently as he wasn't these days, "you'll be perfectly safe." She
remembered how he'd been after he returned from his 'interview' with his ex and decided to
let him be.
Fred still could not believe Gunn was leaving her on her own. He'd been almost
enthusiastic - in that Gunn way of his, shrugging and saying it was okay while his eyes
went through the weapons, choosing one for the trip - about going to Sunnydale. But, as
soon as he'd heard the real assignment, he'd kissed her brow and told her that she was a
big girl and could take care of herself. He'd even dared to laugh when Fred accused him of
staying only so he could finally test the new weapon she'd invented. But he hadn't denied
it either.
Even now Wesley just shuffled his feet under the desk - in that way he thought nobody
would notice - and politely told her not to count him for this while he leafed through the
same book he'd been studying for the past week. Fred was tempted to tell him that if he'd
been half as preoccupied about his reading days ago maybe they wouldn't be needing Mr.
Giles' book so bad. But she didn't say anything, just lifted her chin, told Gunn that she
was ready to leave and went upstairs to grab her pack.
It had finally been Cordelia who gave her a real clue into what was happening. "It's Giles,"
she had said, flipping through the channels absently. "There's history between
them."
"Do you know him?"
Cordelia nodded, settling on a show Fred wasn't familiar with.
"Why don't you come with me?" she asked hopefully. Cordelia came from Sunnydale
too, her presence would certainly make her interview with the ex Watcher less awkward.
Cordelia laughed, turning the TV off to face her. "Because it's Giles, and where
Giles is, so are the others. I can't, no, I won't go back without something better
to show than a new ability to file and tell the difference between Grya and Husta
demons."
"But... the visions. They are important too."
"Not when you swore you'd be rich and famous," Cordelia muttered, chuckling
self-deprecatingly.
Gunn called before Fred could answer to that. She had been a bit relieved, she had no idea
what to tell the brunette. Then Gunn came upstairs and picked up her bag while he tugged
her hand. The van was ready to take her to the bus station.
---
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Fred didn't have to wait long until the door opened. Behind it appeared a man, older than
the ones she'd grown accustomed to. "Mr. Giles?"
He took her in, settling his glasses a bit straighter on his nose. "Ms. Burkle, I
assume?" At her nod he continued. "Yes, Angel called to say you were on your
way." The door opened wider and he stood at a side, giving her the space necessary to
step inside.
Fred noticed that he didn't invite her inside in any way and tried not to smile. That had
been the first thing Wesley had taught her. His apartment fit the picture she had imagined
through the few tales Cordelia let escape sometimes. Nice and painfully ordered, a couple
of book shelves against the walls. Fred wondered if Mr. Giles knew how much his home
resembled Wesley's private space.
She sat on the couch, her back straight and kept her bag close to her. She noticed the ex
Watcher giving it a subtle glance. "It's just some easy spells," she said, the
habit of explaining herself too ingrained. "Just in case your book won't like leaving
with strangers."
"Had there been a danger, I would have told Angel about it," he said stiffly,
obviously not liking being doubted.
Fred managed a small smile. "Better safe than sorry," she tried to placate him.
He smiled back, still tightly but very politely. Must be the British in him, Fred thought,
giggling to herself. "About the book," he began after an awkward pause.
"I'm afraid that after the original library was destroyed, most of the books had to
be kept at a... colleague's." One of Cordelia's ex classmates, Fred guessed. It was
interesting how Mr. Giles couldn't find a right definition for his charges. He consulted
his watch and frowned. "Who should have arrived half an hour ago."
"Oh." Fred guessed this man didn't like tardiness. He almost reminded her of
Wesley ranting when Gunn went hunting on his own and wouldn't reunite with the rest at the
designated hour. "My bus back to L.A. doesn't leave until ten, I'm sure your friend
will be here by then." She didn't know why she was reassuring him, maybe because she
always did the same for Wesley back home.
He nodded and tried to engage her into small talk. Fred could have told him right away
that it wouldn't work. She was used to talk about numbers and theorems, maybe go on a
babble about something catching. But she never had learned the subtlety of talking about
friends' lives with strangers, even when they were mutual friends... or whatever this man
was to Wesley and Angel.
When the silences became too painful, Mr. Giles offered her a cup of tea. Again, she was
amused by the parallels. Now Fred was sure that she was seeing who Wesley would become in
twenty years. She wondered if he'd be mad if she told him that.
An hour later she was sipping her third cup of tea, all pretences gone. Interestingly, in
one desperate move Giles had mentioned his old thoughts about the existence of parallel
dimensions. Fred had been fascinated by the concept of a demon who could create
them, then disappointed when told that said demon had turned human years ago. Of course,
that had led to a discussion about the possible outcome of a demon entity in an human
body, which had lead to vampires, which had lead to Angel's 'special case' and it had run
a full circle when she summarised how Angel had saved her from another dimension. Then
Giles had brought in some books. His favourites, he explained, those he couldn't part
with. Before she'd noticed it they were researching the myths of parallel dimensions, how
they may interact with this world and the possibilities of them having a single origin.
It had felt good to share time with someone who obviously understood her, even when she
used complicated words to describe portals and auras. Sometimes even Wesley got lost
around her research-mode.
By the time the door opened they were so engrossed in their conversation that it took them
several seconds to remember that they'd been waiting for these intruders.
Fred smiled slightly at the newcomers, a petite blonde and a dark-haired guy with the
expected book in his hands.
"Sorry Giles, we ran into some v-" The boy began. Then he noticed Fred and
halted insecurely. "Uh. trouble."
The blonde's eyes widened when she saw Fred, and she tried to hide the large book behind
her body. Needless to say, it was an unsuccessful attempt. "We didn't know you had
company tonight." Then she elbowed her companion sharply. "I told you we
should have knocked."
"It's Giles!" he answered, flicking his gaze between the older man and
her. Fred wondered if anyone who had met the Watcher understood how much that phrase
seemed to imply. "How was I supposed to know he was..." His hand gestured
towards her and it took Fred two seconds to get what they were implying. "...you
know."
Apparently Mr. Giles didn't need so much time to understand. "No, you do not
know." He raised from his seat and walked towards the couple still rooted in front of
his door. "Buffy, the book."
Now it was Fred's turn to be surprised. So this was Buffy? Angel's Buffy? She took
advantage of the time the trio were focused on the book, explanations and apologies to
study the Slayer. Fred had expected... more. Here was the girl who had thwarted every
major evil plan for the last years and who could turn life at the Hyperion upside
down without even setting a foot there... and she was smaller than Fred!
The youngsters didn't stay for long at the apartment. Once Mr. Giles told them that she
was Angel's employee, Xander whistled and said something that was quickly stopped by
Buffy's hard glare. They left shortly afterwards.
Mr. Giles gave her an apologetic look and Fred only smiled in reassurance. Now that she'd
seen how it was to work with people barely out of their teens, she was suddenly glad with
her own work. They finished their tea slowly, still with an hour to kill until she had to
be at the bus station.
Once she was back in her own room, Fred realised that she was glad to have been sent on
her own. It was true, anybody else's company would have predisposed her opinion about Mr.
Giles. She smiled at the thought and glanced at the card where she'd scribbled his
personal number.
With his life at the Hellmouth and his role as a mentor in his group, he'd be an
interesting person to talk with whenever life at the Hyperion turned too strange.
The End
04/07/04
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