A Very Ordinary Evil, Page 8
Part 28 | Part 29
Part 28
Dead Ends and Distractions
Immediately following the previous part
Willow spoke up. �I think we�re going to need a variety of firepower. These
are the useful combat spells I can use effectively: Transmogrify, Teleport,
Not Here and Barrier. Giles, Spike and Xander are all reasonable with
crossbows. Spike is excellent at hand to hand and Xander can handle
himself.� Willow came to a blushing halt at Anya�s coarse snigger and
Xander�s offended yelp. �Cordelia,� she continued bravely, as she blushed
furiously, �do you have any abilities that you�ve picked up in LA?�
Cordelia looked surprised at the clinical detachment that the Sunnydale
Scoobies brought to the discussion. They had matured, and she realised it
was like when she had worked with the guys in LA, before Angel�s
intolerance had driven her back to the Hellmouth. �Yes Wills,� she answered
after a moment of thought, �I can use a crossbow pretty well. Not great but
not horrible either.�
Willow nodded. �Good. In that case, I think we can do it. Spike my love, I
do like your idea to lure the empath demon away, but I can cast the spell
on someone else and they can do it, leaving me to help take down the big
guys. I�m thinking Anya would do that well, and Xander to guard her. Plus,
no offence, Anya, but your brain is � weird enough that it may confuse the
empath for a while.�
Anya looked up, offended. �At least I�m a patriotic ��
Willow cut her off as she was just beginning to hit her rhythm. �Anya, I
meant that you were a demon for over a thousand years. That should confuse
the empath more than anything we could do.�
�Oh, I suppose that�s all right then.� Anya huffed.
Giles looked over at Willow. �This �Barrier� spell of yours, if we could
separate the humans from the vampires, you could hold them off with ease.
That would allow us to shoot and if necessary, Spike could go hand to hand
against either that may have survived.�
�So who handles Holly while we�re doing all this? Willow is magic casting,
Spike is fighting, Giles is, I assume, shooting while Xander and Anya are
keeping the empath busy.� Cordelia asked the question simply and directly.
�Well,� Willow ventured, �I was hoping it would be you. She knows you, and
you should be able to lead her to �safety� away from the fighting.�
�Me? How come I�ve gotta do it? Why do I always have to be the sweet one?
Why can�t I shoot? Oh, I know. Don�t bother answering. It�s that she�ll
trust me because we used to hang. At least it�s a logical reason this time.
In L.A. it was always �protect Cordelia�.� She sighed dramatically as she
wound down.
�Which leads us rather nicely, albeit somewhat long-windedly, to the next
question,� Giles continued once Cordelia had finished. �Where will we take
Holly?�
Xander entered the conversation. �Why not to my parent�s basement? Nobody�s
ever there, the windows are still covered from when Spike was there and I
still have a key. It won�t be needed long, just enough time for Wills to do
her thing with the truth spell and then we can blindfold her and dump her
somewhere.�
�Good plan Chubs, in part.� Spike�s interjection came unexpectedly. �She�ll
recognise Huntress at the very least though. We need a way to erase her
memory. Or, we could just kill her. Less fuss that way.� He looked
genuinely surprised at the shocked looks he received. �What? She�s evil
too. Way eviller than me. Plus, we fight evil. And she arranged a contract
on me, and possibly Red. I take that all rather personally. Just because
she�s a human she gets special treatment? That seems a bit dubious.�
Spike�s diatribe had caught the others by surprise. They instinctively
realised the validity of his points, but, with the exception of Willow or
Anya, were unable to overcome the fact that he was a vampire. It also
raised another legitimate issue. Did Holly Charleston deserve death, and if
so, should her humanity give her some special status? Conflicting thoughts
whirled through everyone�s minds.
At length, Giles decided it was time to take the bull by the horns. �The
question that Spike raised has to be considered. What consequences would
there be if Holly finds out who we are? Would we put ourselves in danger?
And, is killing her our only option? Willow, do you have a spell which
blocks memory?�
�No, I�ve never even looked for such a spell. There are chemicals that may
do the trick, if we can get them.� Willow spoke a little distractedly. She
was thinking about the points which Spike had raised. {Are humans
inherently different?} She thought, {are they somehow entitled to be
treated by different standards than demons?}
Willow realised the discriminatory nature of the arguments, but this was
the first time she had considered it seriously. She found, to her surprise,
that Spike was right. The double standard was wrong; that both humans and
demons should be judged on their behaviour, not their species. The
realisation was doubly shocking when she saw that it was simply the next
logical step past racism, and concluded that she had, until now, been too
close to the centre of things to take the time to reflect properly.
�I�ve got no problem in killing her if we have to.� Willow�s voice cut
through the quiet conversation like a knife. �Spike was right about one
thing at least. We shouldn�t be judging by a double standard. If she
deserves to die, then her humanity shouldn�t protect her.� She was rewarded
by a collection of stunned looks. �What?� Willow asked in an unreasonably
reasonable voice.
The gabble of voices prevented anyone from airing their views clearly.
Eventually, Cordelia�s penetrating voice overcame the opposition. �Yeah!
Wills is right. Remember Doyle? He was half Bracken Demon. He gave his life
to keep innocents from being killed. He was just as good as any human.�
Cordelia received as many odd looks as had Willow. �What? Sorry people,
remember the tact comments you used to make? Well, I still only say true
stuff. So deal with it.�
Giles was deep in thought as he considered what both Willow and Cordelia
had said, and was consequently surprised at Anya�s foray into the
discussion. �Isn�t treating demons and people differently unconstitutional?
I mean, �all men are created equal� means that you can�t treat people
differently.�
�Anya, demons aren�t people. And you have to remember that when the
Declaration of Independence was written, that phrase meant precisely what
it said.� Giles moved into lecture mode with practiced ease. �Women weren�t
entitled to vote, and in most ways they a woman was also seen as the
chattel of the man to whom they were married.�
Giles looked over his glasses at the suddenly silent group and smiled. He
realised they were really listening, and so he continued. �There was no
real equality between women with men, legally, until women were granted the
vote. That was done first in New Zealand in 1893 and the United States
didn�t follow suit until 1919. What you�re talking about, Anya, is
essentially the same thing. You can look at the issue of slavery as
another, similar example. Legal equality is an emotional minefield. In
short, Anya, no, there is no constitutional right for a demon to be treated
in the same manner as a human.� The entire gang was looking at Giles
stunned. They had become used to him having known more about demons and
vampires than the rest of them combined. However, having him know about
voting rights for women had wigged them all.
�The issue, though,� Spike said, �is this daft bint Holly. What do we do
with her?�
�I really don�t know,� Giles answered. �I�m really rather unhappy with the
idea of killing her, but I can�t think of anything else at the moment. Can
I suggest we have an early night and resume this tomorrow?� Murmurs of
agreement came from all sides, and the meeting broke up without resolving
anything.
Spike eyed Willow as they shut the door behind the rest of the group.
�Well, pet, a day off. Any ideas on how we could fill in this unexpected
gap in our schedule?� The look on his face was one of pure lechery. Willow,
looking away, didn�t detect the lechery, however.
�What we should do, Spike, is start either my combat training or your
hacking lessons. Which would you prefer?� She turned innocently towards
him, and was surprised at the confusion that covered his face. �What?� she
asked, confused. �We were talking about that outside the Bronze.�
�Er, true pet. Sorry. I got thinking nasty thoughts, again.�
�Again, don�t you mean still?� Willow�s pert, even cheeky, answer, was
belied by the smile on her face, one which communicated love so intensely
that it proved that love wasn�t only blind, but also mentally retarded. As
she spoke, she moved up against Spike and wrapped around him, almost
leech-like. She lifted her head and kissed him softly. �Much as I�d like
to, I really do want to start learning how to fight.�
�All right Red, if you�re determined to get bruised without any fun, we�ll
do some basic hand to hand training.� Spike grinned as he spoke, enjoying
the teasing banter that they always shared. Spike wrapped his arm around
Willow�s shoulder and they walked companionably toward the small, enclosed
courtyard.
* * * *
Willow groaned as she soaked in the bath and simultaneously indulged in
self-recrimination. (Spike had suggested a nice little play session,} she
thought. {Did I listen though? No, of course I didn�t! Even if He�d tried
out the new flogger, I�d be hurting less than this. Goddess, every inch of
me aches. And not even a decent spanking to show for it.} She groaned again
as bruises and rarely used muscles protested vehemently at the slight
movement she had made.
As Willow thought back to the training session, her first, another thought
occurred to her. She was sure that not every vampire had had the kind of
combat training Spike had received, so why did all vampires seem to have
the martial arts abilities that they had? She saw almost immediately what
had to be the answer. The demon. The demon had to have inherent combat
capabilities, some combination of unarmed combat skills. So � in the same
way that the human personality provided the demon with a cover, a way of
readily blending into human society, the demon aided the human as well.
Willow smiled. That fit the Law of Reciprocity quite nicely.
She suddenly became aware of the coolness of the bathwater, and sighing
regretfully, clambered out of the tub in an ungainly fashion. Groaning as
her muscles once again protested the movements she required them to do, she
began drying herself. Willow had discovered very quickly after she and
Spike had begun living together was that he didn�t like locks on internal
doors. In fact, he had gone through the whole apartment and removed every
internal lock in the place except the one to the playroom in the basement.
Therefore, Willow wasn�t totally surprised when the door opened and a
concerned face peered in, asking �Are you all right there pet?�
The petite redhead looked up and smiled a little shakily. �Pretty much,
except for the muscle pain. No-one ever tells you how much this sort of
thing hurts. At least the worst that�ll happen to you is a sore wrist.�
Spike laughed very coarsely. �Had them before luv.� He grinned as he spoke.
�When you�re dry come into the bedroom, I�ll fix you right up.�
Willow smiled happily. She had been �fixed up� once before. Who would have
suspected that Spike was such a skilled Shiatsu masseur? �I�ll be right in.�
Part 29 Return of the Slayer
The following evening, at Giles' apartment
Spike and Willow walked in, the last to arrive. "Sorry we're late," Willow
said, "we were training." As she spoke, she winced and sat gingerly on the
last available chair while Spike perched on its arm.
"What training? And how did you hurt Willow?" Xander's protective instincts
took full flight, oblivious to Anya's jealous sigh as he shot the questions
at Spike.
Spike shook his head sadly as Willow answered "I'm teaching Spike about
hacking. And I'm not hurt, I'm sore because I used muscles I didn't know I
had last night."
"Excuse me?" Xander's suspicions were heightened rather than reduced by
that comment.
"We practiced hand to hand combat last night, you steaming wally." Spike's
acerbic comment surprised the others. Since he and Willow had begun living
together, his manner had changed; he had been quieter and
politer than the Spike they had known previously.
"Anyway, Xander, I don't like what you're implying." Willow's voice was
even and placid, but her resolve face was in place. "It's no-one's business
but Spike's and mine if our lovemaking is gentle and soft, or hard and
violent. I don't try and protect you from Anya's sexual extravaganzas and
no-one tried to 'protect' me from Tara, so stop being such a ... a buttinski
and let me live my life!" Xander was taken aback by Willow's response. He
knew he was trying to protect his best friend; and could not understand why
she objected so much. He decided to let things go for now, but intended to
make certain that she was safe. He did not quite know how he would
accomplish that, but he was determined that he would, somehow.
"All right Giles, why don't we get started?" Willow decided to move the
meeting along before anything else could be said.
"Well, yes ..." Giles started, then paused. "We're still really stuck on the
same point as last night, of course. What do we do with Holly?"
Unexpectedly, it was Anya who spoke. "I remembered that there's a spell to
blank memory. But I can't remember anything about it."
Giles smiled wanly, "At least it?s a start," he said sotto voce. "Can you
remember the context in which you encountered it?"
"Only that it was before I became human again." Anya's voice was quiet as
she spoke, encompassing the feelings of both wonder and loss that she felt
at her new-found humanity.
"So, do you think you heard it from D'Hoffryn?" Willow asked the question,
leaning forward in her urgency.
Anya considered Willow's question calmly and slowly. "I ... " She paused,
"No, it wasn't him. It was two wizards. They were talking about sleeping
with the local peasant girls and blanking their memories of the events. One
of them had an infuriated wife." Anya smiled happily as she recalled her past.
"Damn!" Willow cursed. The mild but unexpected expostulation startled the
others. "We aren't getting anywhere."
"Er, I have an idea." Spike spoke up, almost diffidently. "We could use
that stuff they use in hospitals. Sodium something or another. It's called
a truth drug because it makes the person unable to summon the concentration
to lie. That, with a bit of hypnosis should be enough, don't ya think?"
Willow looked up, shocked. {Why didn't I think of that? I'm research gal!}
She rallied quickly, though. "Yes, Sodium Pentothal. That should work, as
long as Giles is willing to use the hypnotic techniques the council taught
him."
Giles looked old and drained; removing his glasses and pinching the bridge
of his nose, he slowly began speaking in a weary, almost querulous voice.
"I have to be honest, I do not like the idea of treating a human being in
this way. But having said that, I do understand, and even sympathise with,
the points Willow raised last night. In a way, I'm trying to overcome a
lifetime of conditioning by the council. But be that as it may, I'll do my
best."
Willow smiled at Giles, remembering the crush she used to have on him as a
high school student. For as long as she had known him, he had repeatedly
redefined who and what he was to keep Sunnydale as safe as he could. She
still admired him greatly for his dedication to an organisation that he had
continually moved further away from philosophically, while maintaining the
rightness of his cause. She realised, in a moment of total clarity, that
what Giles was dedicated to was the safety of the innocent. He was taking
the last and hardest step in that belief now, accepting the concept of
sapience as valuable, rather than humanity. She idly wondered for a moment
if it was Giles' enforced house-sharing with Spike that was the real
turning point for the Watcher.
"So, all in favour?" Xander spoke up. Seeing what he thought was a viable
plan, he wanted it decided on quickly, his concern for Willow, his worry
that she was somehow, in some strange way, in danger driving him.
"I can't see a better option," Cordelia said. "That ditz Holly needs to be
dealt with quickly."
"I agree, wholeheartedly." Willow also spoke up, quietly but clinically.
"The main thing we have to do is to stop the attacks, and to do that, we
have to know who has ordered them. So Holly's the logical answer."
Giles nodded his agreement. "Yes, especially after the last attempt. Can
you imagine if it had been carried out during opening hours?" He shuddered
eloquently as spoke. "That alone is reason enough to put an end to this."
"So, we use the plan we roughed out yesterday?" Spike asked. "We use Chubs
and the demon to lure the empath away, Red blocks the humans down, Giles
and I engage the vamps and Huntress lures the chit into a dark alley?" As
the others nodded slowly, he continued. "Right then, when?"
"Well," began Willow, "it's Sunday. When is she there? Thursday to
Saturday, right?" She looked around, seeking confirmation.
Giles looked up and nodded, before adding, "We'll need to keep you two safe
until then."
"Keep who safe from what?"
The whole group turned towards the voice coming from the open doorway.
"Buffy?" The looks Buffy received were a mixture of incredulousness,
confusion, anger and joy. Xander moved immediately to embrace her, but was
almost pushed aside as the slayer stalked towards Spike and Willow.
"Get away from her, you bastard!" Buffy glared at Spike as she spoke in a
low, threatening voice.
Spike and Willow both looked back at her, Spike with murder in his eyes and
Willow with something cold and frightening. "Buffy," Willow began in a
relentless and chilling voice, "if you make any more threats, I'll deal
with you. Permanently."
Buffy looked shocked as Willow spoke. "Willow, I don't know why you're
acting like this. I'm doing what's best."
"No, you aren't Buffy. You're dictating to people."
Buffy turned in shock as Giles spoke. "Giles, Spike is a vampire."
"Really? I hadn't noticed." Giles? sarcasm spoke volumes about his
feelings. "Buffy, understand this." Giles tone became more serious as he
continued. "Spike is currently incapable of harming humans. Furthermore,
while you have been ... ill, Willow and Spike have developed a friendship
that has done wonders for both of them. They're happier than I've ever seen
them before. Spike has become a valuable asset to us and Willow's abilities
continue to grow and astonish me. While you've been recovering, people have
changed. You have to deal with that Buffy, one way or another."
Buffy looked at Giles, astonished. It had been years since he had
challenged her so profoundly. "Giles, I am the slayer, aren't I? Shouldn't
it be me who decides who's evil and who we fight?"
"Buffy!" The sarcasm and remaining gentleness had left Giles' voice and it
cracked like a whip as the street accent of Ripper came through. "Stop
behaving like a spoiled child this instant! You know perfectly well that
all the decisions were made as a group, everyone having input. If you
persist in this behaviour, I'll have no choice other than to ask the
council to recall you and, if necessary, place you in confinement."
Buffy looked at Giles, her face a story of shock and betrayal. "Giles! You
can't do that, I have rights!"
"Watch me." Giles' simple statement, delivered in such a calm and matter of
fact tone, scared Buffy more than anything in her life had before.
The slayer reached into her jacket and began a throwing action, but froze
as Willow forestalled her. Caught in the act of drawing and throwing a
stake, she looked surprisingly like a wax figure. "Don't worry," she spoke
to everyone, including Buffy. "All I've done is to put a barrier around her
that conforms to her body. It means she can't move until, or if, I let her
go. She can breathe quite happily though since I don't want to hurt her."
Willow stood and walked to the woman she used to consider her closest
friend. "Buffy, why'd you make me do this? I stopped you from hurting Spike
before you went to hospital. And I warned you I'd do it again if you tried
anything. Now you have. I've got just one question, why?" As she spoke,
Willow made a curious twisting gesture with one hand; as she did so, Buffy
began to answer.
"Because he's evil Willow. I don't care about the chip in his skull, he's
evil. He tried to turn us against each other while we were fighting Adam,
and this time he's succeeded. I don't know who he's working for this time
but I will find out."
Willow shook her head sadly. "Buffy, I honestly think that your fight with
Glory, and falling so hard as you stopped Dawn being cut, may have done
something to you. You did hit your head kind of hard, when you caught
yourself."
"Don't treat me like I'm an imbecile Willow! I know that somehow, that
bastard has fooled you. He's done a spell or something to make you think
he's good. I don't know what, but I promise you, I'll stop him."
Willow sighed sadly. "Buffy, you really don't understand, do you. It's got
nothing to do with magic, or anyone being fooled. Spike and I really love
one another. It's that simple. You, of all people, should understand that.
After all, Angel's a vampire too."
"Don't even think of comparing Angel with that monster over there!"
Willow erupted, her temper completely gone. "Y'know something Buffy, to
hell with you! Until you can learn to be polite you can remain silent!" As
she shouted, she gestured again, and Buffy's response was inaudible. Try as
she might, Buffy could not make a sound.
"Willow!" Xander sounded shocked as he spoke. "What's up with you? You've
never acted like this before!"
"It's pretty simple Xander. Buffy won't let Spike and I make our own
decisions. She insists on trying to break us up. I've warned her twice
before. I told her that I wouldn't let her threaten him any more but she
obviously doesn't care what I want. I don't know what's got into her. Look,
you really don't like vampires, but you're at least willing to let Spike
and I try. She won't. And frankly, after all the dramas over Angel ... "
Willow pointedly turned to look directly at Buffy as she continued, "I'm
surprised and hurt that Buffy hasn't been more supportive."
Xander's face turned thoughtful. "So," he began slowly, "you're saying that
..." he paused as he reordered his ideas. "What you're actually saying is
give Spike the same chance we gave Angel?"
"I wouldn't have put it in that way, but that's a neat way to say it."
Willow flashed Xander a smile.
"Okay, I can do that. Even if he is the 'Big Irritating'." Xander flashed a
grin back at Willow.
"Oi! Whatcha mean ..." Spike's offended squawk was cut off as Buffy's eyes
bulged.
Giles was in the position to see best and reacted most quickly. "Willow,
release her. She's swallowed her tongue!" Willow gestured once again. Buffy
instantly slumped to the ground, and Giles immediately tried to force her
jaws apart to free her tongue. As he struggled, Anya moved away, horrified
at the evidence of potential human mortality before her while Xander and
Cordelia both tried to gather items useful for aiding in shock.
Willow watched, her eyes fixed wide in horror. As she turned toward Spike
for comfort, Buffy started to convulse. Giles' struggles intensified as he
attempted to release the girl's tongue from her throat. As Buffy's
convulsion subsided, he was able to force a finger behind her teeth and
yank hard, pulling her tongue clear of her trachea. Buffy remained
unconscious but her respiration resumed and the cyanotic pallor, which had
begun tinting her face, receded.
Giles almost collapsed. He looked shocked and exhausted. His struggle to
keep Buffy alive had drained him utterly and now that he had succeeded he
wanted nothing more than to sleep. He was aware, however, that Buffy still
needed medical assistance. "We need to call an ambulance for Buffy. She'll
need to be checked out by a doctor at the very least. And I may have
damaged her jaws during the struggle to start her breathing once again." As
he spoke, he moved wearily to the telephone and dialled 999; almost
instantly realised his mistake and dialled 911, just as Anya and Cordelia
returned with blankets, pillows and, in Anya's spare hand, an empty hot
water bottle.
"The ambulance will be here shortly." Giles sat and tried to gather himself
together. "Now, we have to make sure that Buffy doesn't mention vampires
again, or we'll be back to square one." he continued after a brief pause.
As he spoke, he looked down, to see Buffy just beginning to regain
consciousness.
"Buffy, what do you remember?" Giles asked in a gentle solicitous voice.
"Not a lot. Just getting angry and now waking up."
"It's okay Buffy. That's basically what happened. I think it's just an
aftereffect of your illness. You did stop breathing for a very short time,
so we called an ambulance for you."
Buffy looked up, shocked. "I did what?"
"It was a side effect of your anger. You swallowed your tongue." Giles
explained evasively.
"Oh." Buffy seemed confused. "How did I do that?"
"To be honest, I'm not really certain, but you're all right now, and the
paramedics will check you over." Giles answer was once again economical
with the truth. "Just lie there Buffy, it's probably best that you don't move."
At that moment, they heard a siren approach, getting louder with each
second. In short order, the ambulance stopped outside Giles' front door and
he moved to open the door prior to the paramedics needing to knock.
As the paramedics briskly walked in, they looked around. "Which one's the
patient?" Asked the lead officer. Giles indicated Buffy with a vague
gesture. "Her. We called mainly because of worries that she may do it
again. Swallow her tongue I mean. We don't know what caused it other than
her getting very angry."
Nodding absent-mindedly, the paramedic moved over, crouched down and began
to examine Buffy dispassionately. He concentrated the examination on her
neck, head, jaw and chest. "Who reported that she had swallowed her tongue?
And who removed it?"
"I did, I'm afraid. Was that wrong?" Giles answered nervously even as he
voiced the previously unexpressed question that had lurked in the back of
his mind.
"No, anything but wrong. In fact you did a better job than I could; I
think. You hardly bruised her, let alone anything else. In over half the
cases where people are saved from choking like this, the jaw's broken. Did
the young lady have any convulsions before the incident?"
"No," Giles responded, and then, thinking a moment added, "She did have one
convulsion after swallowing her tongue but before we could get it out."
Again the paramedic nodded. "That's not unusual as the air supply's been
cut off, once the brain runs short of oxygen, convulsions are a way of the
body rapidly moving oxygenated blood to the brain. In itself, that's
nothing to worry about. I'd have been more concerned if she had stopped
convulsing."
He looked strangely at Buffy. "Ma'am, I have no idea where you got your
recuperative capacity, but I can tell you right now, it's amazing. The
bruises I saw when I came in have completely healed, and there's no
indication that you ever had this happen to you. There's no reason to take
you into hospital. Even your respiration and pulse are normal. And that's
just not normal. If you follow me."
"Uh, yeah. I've always healed fast." Buffy said, perhaps a touch inadequately.
"Honestly, Ma'am, there's nothing we can do that your body hasn't already
done by itself. I wish all our calls could come out like this." Smiling, he
turned, rejoined his silent partner and they left, quietly shutting the
door behind them.
Giles spun toward Buffy. "That's it, you?re staying right there until the
council come and collect you! I've had more than enough of your childish
tantrums and attempted violence. Now sit down. Do not move, do not speak. I
mean it Buffy, if you even twitch I'll put a sedative dart into you with
the trank gun." He reached into a cupboard as he spoke and removed the
tranquiliser rifle. "By the way Buffy, this contains the same muscle
relaxants I used on your eighteenth birthday, so you know how you'll feel
if it happens."
"Giles! I ?" Buffy's protest died in her throat as Giles turned the rifle
menacingly towards her.
"Willow, could you pick up the cordless phone please, and dial as I dictate
and when it rings hand it to me. 011, 44," he continued with the rest of
the English number. "Ah, yes. I need Quentin Travers, urgently. It's Rupert
Giles speaking. Ah Quentin, we need Buffy collected as soon as possible.
You'll make all the necessary arrangements including visas and such? Good,
and when can you collect her? That soon? Wonderful, I'll see you tomorrow
then."
He looked at Buffy and drew a syringe from his pocket. He handed the rifle
to Willow and said simply, "Cover her." Then he stood up and walked towards
Buffy. Don't move or Willow will shoot you, and that's a lot more painful
than what I'm about to do will be."
"Please, Giles. No. I'll be good, I hated that. It made me so weak and
helpless." Buffy couldn't control the shudder that jarred her from head to
toe as Giles pressed the needle in as gently as he possibly could. The
shudder was followed by a long drawn-out sob.
"You hate me, you all do. It's the only reason you're doing this!"
Giles sighed. "No Buffy, we're doing it because we love you. You were just
released from a mental hospital after suffering combat fatigue. You're
suffering from badly distorted perceptions and you're still very fragile.
We want you to recover. That's why we arranged for you to go to England.
After all, if we hated you as much as you seem to think we do, we could
have left you to choke on your tongue, couldn't we?"
Buffy looked up at Giles in shock as she nodded. "I'd like to go to sleep
please, Giles. The drug's made me very tired."
"Of course, Buffy. Let me help you up the stairs." Giles stood and escorted
the blonde gently as she staggered upstairs.
When he returned, Giles looked at the group. Apparently no-one had spoken
since he left to help Buffy. "She'll sleep until after they collect her. I
added some morphine to the mixture."
TBC
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