The rhythmic ticking of the carriage clock on the mantelpiece echoed loudly through the long silence consuming the room. Angel watched wordlessly as Giles rose from his seat, crossing the small distance to the sideboard and pouring himself a large whiskey from a crystal decanter stationed there. Giles took a swig from the glass before pouring another and handing it silently over to Angel. The vampire nodded his thanks, raising the glass up to the light to examine the amber liquid before downing it in a single swallow. It was good quality liquor, a single malt that slid smoothly down his throat. He smiled ironically to himself – it was a bit late for Dutch courage now, he’d already bitten the bullet and confessed everything to Giles.
After arriving in London he’d tried to pick up Wesley’s trail, but had failed miserably. He’d contacted all his connections in the capital city and its environs, but no one had heard anything about a single man travelling with a baby. They were all however (demons and humans alike) full of tales of a new player in town, an old fashioned kind of a guy, not exactly big on acting low profile and apparently in search of the same baby Angel was. Police and newspaper reports concerning the incident at Heathrow airport on the day of Wesley’s flight had confirmed the undeniable truth, causing Angel’s heart to sink and raising his anxiety for Connor even further. Holtz was in England. He’d obviously followed Wesley there and was now in search of the former Watcher in London. But one fact still remained that Angel wasn’t sure whether to be worried or grateful about – Holtz had had apparently no more luck in locating Wesley and Connor than Angel was having now. The two of them seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth.
After exhausting his contacts in London, Angel found himself with one obvious place left to turn – Giles. If there was one person Wesley could turn to in England, it would be him. And even if Wesley hadn’t been relying on Giles’ help then maybe Angel could. The Brit was far more at home in England than Angel could ever be, considering he hadn’t visited in the country in over eighty years. Giles knew the places Wesley could be hidden, and the people to ask in order to ferret him out. Furthermore, despite the differences that had arisen between the two men in the past, Angel knew he could trust Buffy’s ex-Watcher without question. He was a good man, and a very wise one – he could do everything in his power to help Angel get Connor back.
Giles stoked the fire thoughtfully, aware of Angel’s eyes piercing into his back as he did so. He was still having trouble digesting the vampire’s news, but then Angel had always been a mystery. He was full of surprises, both good ones and bad ones. And just when Giles had thought he’d heard it all, the only souled vampire (of his knowledge, let alone his acquaintance) turned up out of the blue and dropped an even bigger bombshell.
“And you still have no idea how it could be possible,” Giles asked incredulously. “How a child could be born from two vampires?”
Angel shook his head. “None whatsoever. Wesley researched the topic rigorously, but I guess anything he found he didn’t tell me.”
Giles frowned. “Really this business with him abducting the child – Connor, you say – bothers me. The old Wyndham-Pryce wouldn’t have had the guts to do it, and the new…well,” Giles sighed ruefully, suddenly regretting missed opportunities for camaraderie, between himself and perhaps both Wesley and Angel. “He sounded like he was a very loyal friend.”
“It more than just bothers me, Giles.” Angel replied darkly, suddenly wishing there was more whiskey in the glass. “This is my son we’re talking about, and we have no idea why Wesley would have taken him. And without significant evidence of his motivation, I don’t know what to believe.”
Giles took another sip of his drink. He wouldn’t have believed Wesley capable of actually meaning harm to the child, but then he would never have thought that shy, unassuming schoolgirl Willow could ever mature into a witch so powerful she could actually raise people from the dead. Sometimes it wasn’t just vampires that surprised you. “He hasn’t called since the first time?”
Angel shook his head. “Cordelia’s been manning the phones 24/7. There’s been no word. She dug out his address book and started calling his old friends in London too, and none of them have heard from him either.”
“Of course, it could be possible he’s engineered a total disappearance completely by choice,” Giles suggested.
Angel considered the scenario then shook his head again. “Not Wes. He’s good at research, but hopeless in the field. I already know of one bad guy who managed to follow him from LA over to England. There’s a trail a mile wide until he left Heathrow airport. Then it suddenly peters out. Like somebody stepped in to make it that way.”
Giles sucked in a breath, almost convinced that Angel was right, though wanting it not to be true. If somebody else had Wesley and Connor then it didn’t bode well for either of their chances of survival. Before he could reply, however, he was interrupted by a knock at the door. Hurrying quickly up from his chair, he peered out from behind the curtains of the sitting room window before answering the door. He caught the glimpse of a taxi driving away and was immediately intrigued. Two unexpected guests in one evening – not something he was exactly accustomed to in his new home. At first he had enjoyed the quiet, bachelor life moving back to England had afforded him, but now more and more he found himself missing the excitement of the Hellmouth and the companionship of his children. He thought the last with a rue smile. His ‘children’ were all grown up now, which was precisely why he’d left them in the first place.
Pushing aside all thoughts off Sunnydale and California he moved to open the front door, grateful – not for the first time – that he could actually do that here, without worrying about arming himself with stakes and crosses first. At the sight of his guest, however, he suffered no less amount of shock then if it had been a whole nest of vampires.
“Buffy!” He exclaimed, simultaneously thankful and concerned to see her. “What-what are you doing here?”
“Nice welcome,” she quipped, though he could tell her heart wasn’t in it. “Are you going to invite me in, or do you want to check my pulse first.”
“Of course, of course,” he stammered. “Come in.” She stepped across the threshold and he pulled her into an embrace, becoming even more worried when she held on a little tighter and a little longer than he would have expected her to. “It’s wonderful to see you,” he continued, as they broke apart. “But – ”
“What am I doing here?” Buffy finished the question for him then suddenly hesitated upon being expected to provide an answer. “Things haven’t exactly been stress-free in Sunnydale recently,” she spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully and with false brevity. “The gang thought I could use a break, so they ordered me to spend some time here for a while.” She rummaged in her shoulder bag and handed him a letter almost reluctantly, refusing to meet his eyes. “Tara sent a note to explain.”
Giles reached over to pick up Buffy’s suitcase, which was strangely light and small for a girl he knew had as many outfits as she did. There was definitely something more to this sudden visit than met the eye, clues to which he was almost certain he would find in Tara’s letter. In the meantime he was just glad to see his surrogate daughter. “You must be hungry after such a long trip,” he critically eyed how thin she had gotten recently. “Come and sit down, I’ll get you something to eat.”
He had just pointed her in the direction of the sitting room and was entering the kitchen, when the recollection of his other guest hit him. Giles sighed in disbelief. How could he have been so stupid, forgetting Angel was even here – and on such an errand? The shock of seeing Buffy turn up at his door unexpected had been enough to put the vampire’s presence completely out of his mind, and now the damage would have been done. The two former lovers must have seen each other, and Giles was going to have to be the one to deal with the fallout. He sighed again, flipping the switch on the electric kettle and measuring several scoops of loose tea into a pot. Giles wasn’t going to interrupt now, Buffy and Angel were mature enough to deal with their own problems.
Setting three cups and saucers onto a tray, along with the sugar and milk, then sliding several slices of bread under the grill, he leaned back against the counter and decided to read the note from Tara while waiting for the water to boil and the toast to brown. Slitting the envelope open with a butter knife, he smiled to see the blonde witches neat handwriting. Tara had written to him a couple of times since he’d left the US, however, her letters had trailed off a few months ago leaving Giles really missing them. He had always had a great respect for Tara and was almost as fond of her as Buffy’s other friends, Xander and Willow, he had known for much longer.
He skipped over the first paragraph thanking him for his last letter, apologising for not having written back sooner and assuring him everyone in Sunnydale was in good health. The next section concerned Xander’s wedding. Giles wasn’t exactly shocked that Anya had ended up skipping town, but nonetheless he could feel only sympathy for Xander. He had matured so much in the last few years, mostly due to his relationship with Anya, and Giles’ could only be sorry – if not surprised – that it hadn’t worked out for him.
The next paragraph, however, made him sit up and take notice. He had to read it three times before the meaning fully sunk in, leaving a heavy, sick feeling in the base of his stomach, as well as the kind of protective rage only a father could feel.
‘You must be wondering why Buffy’s visit to you was unannounced,’ Tara had written. ‘And why the explanation for it is coming from me and not from Buffy herself. Well, we all agreed that it was best for Buffy’s welfare that she leave Sunnydale as soon as possible, at the moment the emotional and physical demands on her there have simply become too much for her to handle. Furthermore, Buffy has recently been very distressed, the reason for which, she thought that you should know but preferred I explain to you. She confessed to me a few weeks ago that she had become involved in a relationship with Spike – one that can only be described as violently sexual in nature. The relationship ended with what we assume was a suicide attempt by Buffy, interrupted by Xander. I’m sorry you had to find out this way…’
Giles threw the letter down on the table, his head reeling at the concept of Buffy and Spike together. Violently sexual, were the words Tara had used to describe their relationship, something he knew must be the truth, because of the witch’s customary shyness in that area. The facts as quoted by Tara were more likely to be under, rather than over stated. And then there was the issue of Buffy’s apparent suicide attempt. Had things really become so bad for her that she had to end it all – and in the arms of Spike of all people? Of course, Giles had known Buffy wasn’t exactly a virgin, but he’d never imagined she would reach such a low point that she would actually consider sleeping with a soulless demon. Losing her virginity to Angel was one thing, she had been young and in love but –
Angel! Giles suddenly panicked. He had left Buffy alone with him. Buffy who had recently been having sex with Spike, who was still clearly in a very fragile emotional state, alone in a room with her vampire ex-lover who now had a child with his temporarily resurrected evil demonic Sire.
“Oh dear,” Giles uttered the understatement of his life and rushed off to confront the two of them before the emotional fireworks became so explosive they did permanent damage to his collection of antiques, let alone Buffy’s psyche…