A Different Life: Part 4

The British Museum had just received a new shipment of Egyptian artifacts and one of Buffy’s instructors had made arrangements for the class to go watch the museum experts catalog the new arrivals. Buffy was standing with the rest of her classmates as she looked at tables that were loaded with crates. Several larger crates were on the floor. They had all been opened, as the lids, while still resting on top of their respective crates, were askew.

The instructor, a Miss Thompson, was filling them in. “Apparently the Curator came in yesterday and checked that everything arrived safely and that nothing was missing. We’re a few minutes early but the experts in Egyptian relics should be here shortly and they will explain several of the artifacts in the time allotted to us.”

Part of Buffy was thrilled to be here. The other part of her wanted it to be Saturday already so she could try and find that man at Russell Square. Miss Thompson caught her students’ attention. Several people had just walked in, three men and two women. One of the women smiled at the students. Determining that Miss Thompson was the instructor she spoke to her. “It usually works better when we split the class up and each of us takes a few students.” She explained what each of them would be working on and with a minimum of confusion the class was divided into five parts.

Buffy went with one of the women. She was Asian, and very beautiful. She walked over to the crates on one of the tables in the rear of the room. As Buffy was listening to the woman speak she was distracted by a crowd of people entering the room from the other side. A man was walking backwards towards her as he spoke to a group of about 10 people. The group was an equal mix of men and women and they were clearly riveted by what he was saying. They all started to chuckle at something he said.

The Asian woman looked up and smiled. She looked at her group of students. “It’s the boss. Let’s let him get through and then we’ll continue.”

Buffy prepared to wait when she heard the man start to speak again. Goosebumps broke out on her skin and she stared at his back, willing him to turn around. In time he did and it was all Buffy could do not to run to him. Her eyes widened as she took in his appearance. He was dressed in a suit and he looked gorgeous.

Giles noticed the Asian woman. He smiled. “Ah, here’s Dr. Chin. She’s one of our most renowned Egyptologists on staff here. Dr. Chin, perhaps you might explain to our guests the contents of the crate in front of you and the process we go through to catalog each item.”

She smiled back. “Of course, Dr. Giles. I’d be glad to.” They all knew the drill. These tours meant money, more money for digs, more money for obtaining exhibits like this one. Dr. Chin launched into her spiel. Giles moved out of the way and that was when he noticed Buffy.

Giles had dreamed about her two nights in a row now, and both nights she’d been dead. He hadn’t realized how much the dreams had impacted him until he saw her, standing there, very much alive. It was all he could do not to run to her and hold her, feel the warmth of her skin. Giles could hear Dr. Chin coming to the end of her speech. He moved quickly over to Buffy. “How long are you here for?”

Buffy looked at her watch. “Another 45 minutes but…” She was about to tell him that she was free after that. This was her last class for the day.

He interrupted her. “I’m sorry, I can’t keep them waiting. I’ll be back before you go. Don’t leave.” With that he went back to his group and started leading them out.

Dr. Chin gave her an odd look. “Do you know Dr. Giles?”

The name finally sank in. “Giles? His name is Giles?” She remembered her dream. The dream where he saved her. And she had known his name was Giles. Somehow she had known.

Dr. Chin was nodding. “Rupert Giles. He’s the Curator here.”

Buffy finally caught the fact that everyone was staring at her. She stammered out an excuse. “I…one of his dogs ran me down in the park the other day. I didn’t know who he was.”

At that Dr. Chin laughed. “Those dogs of his should be classified as lethal weapons.” Mystery solved she went back to lecturing to her students. Buffy barely paid attention. She just wanted him back, wanted him back by her side.

When the 45 minutes were almost up, Giles ran back in. Panicked that he might have missed her he searched the room. She was now with another staff member. Giles relaxed when he saw her and he leaned against a wall and waited. In a few minutes the instructor thanked all the staff and started to round up her students. Giles noticed Buffy checking her watch, looking around, a look of frustration on her face. He stepped away from the wall and she saw him. He walked over to her.

Buffy smiled. Miss Thompson called her name from across the room. “Miss Summers?”

Giles stood completely still. He looked at her. “Buffy Summers?” Her name had been on the tombstone.

Buffy looked at Giles, her eyebrows high. “Good guess. How did you know?”

Miss Thompson walked up to her. “You need to come now. I promised the museum that I’d make sure we’d leave this area on time.”

“I’ll take responsibility for her.”

Miss Thompson started. She hadn’t even noticed him standing there; he’d been so still. She looked at his badge and started again. “Oh, oh, certainly.” She smiled at Buffy. “I didn’t realize you knew…” She grew flustered. “Well, thank you again for letting us come visit.” She gave him a nervous smile.

Giles smiled back and that flustered her even more. She couldn’t imagine how she had missed him before. “You’re entirely welcome. Thank you for including us in your class plans. One of our goals is to increase the community’s awareness of what we do here. You help us accomplish that.” Again he smiled.

Miss Thompson blushed. She stammered out a good bye and with one last look at Buffy she left. Buffy grinned up at Giles. “Smooth talker.”

Giles laughed. “Yes, well, it’s one of the things I’m paid for.” He looked down at her, pleased beyond belief she was with him.

Dr. Chin looked up and saw the two of them. She nodded to one of her peers and within a few moments the five of them were watching their boss. To see him paying such close attention to a woman was unusual enough. The fact that he was doing it in public was unheard of. They all watched in fascination.

Giles lifted a hand and touched her cheek. He said her name again. “Buffy Summers.” He smiled and dropped his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Buffy touched her cheek where his hand had been. “How did you know my name?”

Giles just shook his head. He touched a curl of her hair. “I can’t believe you’re here.” He knew he was acting bewitched but he couldn’t help it. He moved his hand again to her cheek.

She just stared at him. She covered his hand with her own and the tension between them grew. “I knew it too.”

Giles shook his head again, just barely. “What? What did you know?”

“Your name.” She touched his badge. “I knew your last name. I knew it was Giles.” She looked up at him. “I dreamed about you.”

Giles lowered his head, just a bit, as if he might kiss her. One of his staff gasped. Giles took a step back and looked up to find he had an audience. His eyes rolled. Gesturing to himself he spoke. “Do I look like I’m from Egypt?” He shooed them away with his hands. “Don’t you have items to inventory, exhibits to design?” They all grinned at him and went back to their work, still keeping an eye on him and his companion.

Giles sighed and looked down at Buffy. “Do you need to leave? Keeping you here was a bit presumptuous on my part.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m done. That was my last class.” She looked around. “You’re the Curator here?” She found that amazing, and she found that it was something that made him even more attractive. She wanted to run her hands up his jacket and lace them behind his neck. He had almost kissed her, she was sure of it. Her stomach was still doing flip-flops.

“I’m afraid so.” He grinned. Giles glanced at his staff and they all pretended to be very busy. He let out another sigh, this one a bit more exasperated. He gestured to Buffy to suggest that they leave. “Would you like to get some tea? Or perhaps you’d rather have coffee?”

At that moment an older man came rushing up. “Dr. Giles, Dr. Giles. You’ll never guess.”

Giles looked down at the man. Buffy could see the affection on his face. “You’re quite right, Nathan, so put us all out of our misery, will you?”

The man’s eyes were lit up with excitement. “Daniel’s on the line. They’re through; they got through. Wait until you hear what they’ve found. He’s on the line waiting for you.”

Giles stood up taller. “Good Lord. They got through? So fast?” He grinned at Nathan. “Can I take it in my office?” At Nathan’s nod he made as if to stride off when he spun around back to Buffy. “Oh, Lord. I’m sorry. I’ll just be a minute, do you mind if I take this call?” His eyes were pleading.

She grinned. “Are you kidding? I wouldn’t dare say no.”

Giles put his hand on her arm in thanks. “Really, I won’t be long. Feel free to wander around.”

Buffy smiled and waved him away. Giles looked back at Nathan and the two of them dashed off. Buffy grinned at his retreating back. She turned her head to the side. A very nice retreating back. Feeling eyes on her she looked around and saw the same five staff members staring at her as she stared at their boss. Buffy blushed and waved her hand in the air pointing in another direction. “I’ll just go wait over there.” She moved away quickly.

Buffy started looking at some of the exhibits. She found several that would be invaluable on her project. Of course, she was thinking that a certain Dr. Rupert Giles would be invaluable as well. The Curator. Her mom would flip. Buffy wandered until she heard an announcement that the museum was closing. Startled she glanced at her watch. Two hours had gone by. She frowned and started heading towards the back, where Giles had left her.

A guard stopped her. “Sorry, miss, you’re not allowed back there.”

“But, Dr. Giles is waiting for me.”

He shook his head. “Sorry, miss.”

Buffy looked for another way through but she got caught up in the exiting crowd and before she knew it she was outside and another guard was locking the door. Buffy stood there, not sure what to do. Part of her wanted to wait, sure that he would expect to find her there, and sure that he had simply gotten delayed. Another part of her wondered why he hadn’t come back, why he hadn’t gotten a message to her, and wondered if this was his not so subtle way of ditching her. She waited another fifteen minutes but then the early evening air started to chill her and Buffy shivered. Looking into the now darkened building one more time, Buffy turned around and left.

Giles had been so excited about the phone call that he lost track of time. This dig was going to be one of the museum’s most successful one to date. When he looked at the clock he let out a groan. He gestured to Nathan. Putting his hand over the handset he spoke. “Nathan, do you remember that woman I was with?”

“The blonde one, sir?”

“Yes. I told her I’d be just a few minutes and it’s been at least an hour and a half. Will you see if she’s still waiting and…and ask her…” He didn’t feel comfortable asking Nathan to get down on his knees and apologize.

Nathan helped out. “Shall I escort her here, sir? Perhaps buy her some flowers if we pass by a conveniently placed florist shop?”

Giles grinned and slapped Nathan on the arm, nodding. He headed off. Nathan looked for her but was unsuccessful. He got distracted a few times by fellow staff members who had heard rumors about the dig, about what they’d found. By the time he finished combing the first floor the museum was closing. Checking the back area one more time he headed back to Dr. Giles’ office.

Giles looked up when Nathan walked in and felt a keen sense of disappointment when he walked in alone. Giles spoke into the phone. “Daniel, can you hold on for a moment?” Putting his hand over the phone again he spoke to Nathan. “She wasn’t there?”

Nathan shook his head. “I’m sorry, sir, I looked but I…”

Giles just nodded his head and went back to the phone. “Sorry, Daniel, go ahead.” Giles closed his eyes. Of course she hadn’t waited. He could have kicked himself. His eyes opened in alarm as he realized that he had neglected to get her number. If she didn’t come back, and he could hardly blame her if she didn’t, he had no way to get in touch with her. Giles tried to focus on what Daniel was saying to him but he couldn’t get past his fears that once again he had let something precious slip through his grasp.

***

Buffy ate her dinner and thought of Giles. The box of tea was still sitting in front of her. She opened it and was dismayed to discover that it was loose tea. Buffy had no idea what to do with loose tea. A memory flitted through her brain. Giles, in a small kitchen, measuring out tea, putting it in a small silver ball and suspending it in hot water. Two cups, one for him and one for her.

Buffy didn’t understand what was happening. Why she was dreaming of him, and having these thoughts of him that made her so sure that she knew him, that she had known him for a long time. Shaking her head in confusion she put her dirty dishes in the sink and turned to her homework. In time, she closed her books and went to bed.

She dreamed of him again. She was in some sort of store. Giles was standing across from her, leaning against a counter. She was standing in front of a group of men. One of them, an older man, was speaking to her and all she felt was anger and disdain for him. “Buffy, I can sense your resistance, I don’t blame you. But I think your Watcher hasn’t reminded you lately of the relative status of the players of our little game. The Council fights evil, the Slayer is the instrument by which we fight. The Council remains, the Slayers change, been that way from the beginning.”

Giles crossed his arms across his chest, disgusted. “That’s a very comforting bloodless way of looking at it, isn’t it?”

The man looked across at Giles briefly. “Giles, let me talk to Buffy, because I think she’s understanding me.” He looked back at Buffy. “Glory is stronger than you. She is a more powerful instrument, if you will. We can help you, we have information that will help.” Buffy’s anger grew as he continued to talk. “Pass the review and we give it to you without reservation. Fail the review either from incompetence or by resisting our recommendations…”

Giles interrupted, walking towards the man. “Resisting your recommendations? She fails if we don’t do whatever you say. How much under your thumb do you think we are?” He stood a couple of feet in front of the older man. The man standing next to him was watching Giles closely.

The older man spoke. “How much do you want our help?”

Giles lunged at the older man, shoving a pointing finger in his face. The man standing next to him kept Giles at bay, a hand on his chest. Giles was livid. “She is not your bloody instrument and you have no right to do any of this.”

Buffy called to him. “Giles.” She wanted him to stop before he got hurt. She didn’t know how far the man would go to protect the older man.

Giles, with a fast movement backhanded the man’s hand away. He turned away in frustration. Buffy watched him. Loving him, loving how he was trying to protect her, feeling so grateful that he was her Watcher and not any of these other men looking at her with such contempt in their faces. She hated them all.

As the scene played over and over in her head, Buffy tossed and turned until it finally shifted into another scene.

Buffy felt as if her heart was breaking. “Are you saying you’re gonna leave me?”

“I have to.”

Buffy couldn’t believe he was saying something so stupid. “Uh-huh.”

“You have to be strong. I’m trying to…”

She interrupted him. “Trying to…to what? Desert me? Abandon me? Leave me all alone when I really need somebody?”

“I don’t want to leave.”

“So don’t. Please don’t. I can’t do this without you.”

“You can. That’s why I’m going. As long as I stay you will always turn to me. If there’s something comes up that you feel that you can’t handle, I’ll step in because…because I can’t bear to see you suffer.”

“Me, too. Hate suffering. Had about as much of it as I can take.”

“Believe me, I’m loathe to cause you more, but this…I’ve taught you all I can about being a Slayer. And your mother taught you what you needed to know about life. You…you’re not going to trust that until you’re forced to stand alone.”

“But why now? Now that you know where I’ve been, what I’m going through?”

“Now more than ever. The temptation to give up is going to be overwhelming, and I can’t let…”

Again, she interrupted. “So I won’t. No giving up. You can be here, and I can still be strong.”

“Buffy, I’ve thought this over and over. I believe it’s the right thing to do.”

Buffy looked at him with angry eyes. “You’re wrong.”

An almost physical pain woke Buffy up. The words Watcher and Slayer were strong in her mind. She knew she ought to know what they meant but she didn’t. She felt again the emotions of that second dream. The sense of abandonment was complete. Somehow she knew what had happened next. He’d left her. He’d gotten on a plane and left her. Buffy tried to believe that it was only a dream but it felt so real. She lay in bed until the sun rose, aching for him.

***

Giles let himself into his home. After throwing his briefcase and coat on the sofa he crouched down so he could greet Ethan and Rayne. It was late. Once he’d realized that Buffy had gone he had stayed on the call for another hour and then simply remained in his office getting some work done. The thought of spending the evening alone in his flat had been unbearable. As the dogs romped around him he made some tea, measuring it out and placing it in a silver tea ball. As it steeped he leaned on the counter and stared outside.

When he finally went to sleep he dreamed again of her. He heard footsteps and he began to make his way out of the stacks. A girl’s voice called out. “Hello, is anybody here?”

He gently reached out and touched her on the shoulder. “Can I help you?”

She looked startled. “Anybody’s here.” She collected herself. “I was looking for some, well, books. I’m new.”

Giles stared at her. “Miss Summers?” He couldn’t believe she was finally here. His Slayer. The one he was destined for, to help, to train, to protect.

Buffy was surprised. “Good call. I guess I’m the only new kid.”

He paused, savoring the moment. Not even sure where to start. He gestured at himself. “I’m Mr. Giles, th..the librarian.” He began to walk behind the counter.

“Great. So you have, uh…”

Giles smiled. This is where it would begin. “I know what you’re after.” He pulled out a book and placed it on the counter in front of her. It was a large book, leather bound, with a single word set on its cover: Vampyr.

Buffy looked alarmed. She stepped back. “That’s not what I’m looking for.”

Giles was confused. “Are you sure?” He had been so sure it was she. Could he possibly be mistaken?

“I’m way sure.”

“My mistake.” He replaced the book back under the counter and when he went to speak with her again, she was gone. Giles’ brow furrowed. He was sure that had been her name. He looked at the door to the library that she had gone through and ran a hand through his hair.

As the dream came to a close Giles mumbled and rolled over onto his stomach. He immediately began to dream again.

He stood inside the door not believing his eyes. It was she. His Slayer, his other half, the woman he had failed to protect. He couldn’t move. Not until she noticed him and began to move towards him did his legs start to function again. “Oh, God, Buffy. You’re alive.” They reached for each other and held on tight. “You are here.” It hurt, the hug. He let out a painful laugh. “And you’re still remarkably strong.”

Buffy’s eyes widened and she pulled back. “Huh? Ah, sorry.”

Giles put his hands on her upper arms, not wanting to let go of her for a second. The amazement was shooting through his body, his face still mirroring his disbelief. “Willow told me but I didn’t really let myself believe it.”

Buffy smiled her half smile. “I take a little getting used to. I’m still getting used to me.”

Hands still clasping her tightly he smiled softly at her, his eyes full of love. “It’s…you’re…” He didn’t even know what to say, his words failing him for once.

Buffy sort of nodded. “…a miracle.”

His smile grew and he felt a love for her that almost overwhelmed him. He placed his hand on the side of her face, wanting to feel her warmth. “Yes, but then I always thought so.” Their eyes met and locked, so much emotion passing between the two of them. Only the realization that they weren’t alone broke them apart. He could have held her all night.

Giles woke up and rolled over to look out the window. It was still dark. Hugging a pillow tight against his chest he watched the night sky until it became light, wishing she were with him, wishing he was holding her. He swore to himself if he found her again, he was never letting her go.

End of Part 4