A Different Life: Part 6

A long time later they were lying side by side, taking a quiet moment, content to be still. She turned until she was on her stomach, resting her head on his chest. “Giles?”

“Hmm?”

“Have you ever been to America?”

“A few times actually. Never for very long, just for conferences and that sort of thing.”

“You ever been to California?”

“I’ve been to LA and San Francisco. Why?”

She shook her head. “I just feel like I’ve met you before. I keep trying to figure out where it could have been.” She looked at him. “I feel like I’ve known you forever.”

“I know. I feel the same way. But I don’t know how we could have met. When I’ve been in LA I’ve spent all my time in museums and conference centers.” He rolled on his side and grabbed a pillow for her to rest her head on. He held her hand. “Why do you call me Giles?” She had called him Giles all evening, all during their lovemaking. And not once had he considered it odd, but now suddenly he was curious.

She frowned. “What do you mean? It’s what I’ve always called you.” Her brow furrowed as she listened to her words. The gaze she shot Giles was almost frightened. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”

“That makes two of us. But I don’t think I really care as long as you’re here with me.”

“Do you mind that I call you Giles?”

He let out a soft laugh. “No, it feels right, somehow. As if it is what you’ve always called me. Feel free to call me Rupert though, or Ru, that’s what Gwen calls me.”

She softly kissed him and then she laid her head back on the pillow. A remembered piece of one of her dreams flitted through her brain. “Have you ever heard of Watchers and Slayers before?”

Now that Giles cared about. He sat up and looked down at her. “Why do you ask that?”

She shook her head. “I dreamed about it. I dreamed that I was something called a Slayer and you were my Watcher. And this man was saying something about a Council remaining and the Slayers changing. And you got so mad at him for saying that. Then he said that I was an instrument and you practically took his head off telling him that I was not his bloody instrument and that he had no right to do this. He was doing some sort of test.” She shook her head again. “I didn’t understand much of it, but it felt so real.” She looked up at him. “Do you know what it means?”

Giles was even more confused now. He tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. “Not really, or at least not why you would be dreaming about that.” He didn’t explain further. “I also dreamed that I was your Watcher and that you were my Slayer.” His eyebrows were furrowed.

“What is a Watcher?”

Giles let out a short laugh. He had no idea how to explain. And he was still under oath to protect the Council’s secrets. He decided to ask a question instead. “What else did you see in your dream?”

“Dreams, actually. I’ve had them almost every night since I met you. We’re always in some sort of danger and we’re trying to protect each other. And that man, he said that we fought evil.” She took a deep breath. “And then the last dream I had, you left me. And I hated you for it.” She shook her head as if to try and erase how the dream had saddened her. She looked up at him, her realities confused for a moment, tears in her eyes. “Why did you leave me?”

Giles shook his head. “I didn’t leave you. I’m right here.” It had to be magic. Giles couldn’t imagine what else it could be. “Buffy, I know these dreams feel very real, but they’re only dreams. I didn’t leave. We’ve only just met.” Even as Giles said those words he knew that somehow they weren’t true.

“What did you dream?”

“I dreamed that you died, twice. Once I just saw your tombstone. It’s how I knew your name. Then I dreamed that I watched you fall to your death and afterwards I held you in my arms. Both times I felt as if I had failed you. But then you came back; you were alive again. I…” He laid a hand on the side of her face, remembering how he had touched her in the dream, needing again, right then, to feel her warmth, to know she was alive. “I couldn’t believe it. You were alive again.”

This time it was Buffy who reassured him. “I didn’t die, I’m right here.” She kissed him softly on the lips. “Why is this happening?” She ran her fingers down his arm until she noticed his tattoo. “And this tattoo, I know it.” She touched the back of her neck. “I had one, I think. Back here.” She covered his tattoo with her hand. “What does this mean?”

Giles pulled her towards him so he could look at the back of her neck. There was nothing there. “It’s a reminder of the foolishness of my youth.” He covered her hand that was covering the tattoo with his and let out a cry as he felt a flash of heat shoot through her hand to his. He tried to remove his hand and he couldn’t. He was thrust into a waking dream.

Giles watched as Ethan placed the mark of Eyghon on the back of Buffy’s neck. He spoke to her in that mocking tone of his. “You can go ahead and scream.” Buffy grimaced but stayed silent. Giles was appalled at what he was seeing. Why would Ethan be doing this? How would he even know Buffy?

He realized he was seeing this part of the dream through Buffy’s eyes. Giles could still feel her next to him and he tried to speak to her but he was frozen as more scenes played themselves out. Images started playing one on top of another. Him crossing names off a list, Thomas Sutcliffe, Phillip Henry, Deirdre Page, Eyghon engulfed in flames, Deirdre screaming, a possessed Phillip crashing through a window, Ethan pouring acid on his arm to obliterate the tattoo.

Giles watched the sequence realizing that in this dream that all his friends were dead and Ethan was planning on having Buffy die in his place. Giles cried out and he wasn’t sure if it was him or the man he was watching. “Ethan…oh, no” He staggered up and stumbled to the door, filled with an urgent need to get to Buffy, to keep her safe.

Ethan wrapped a bandage around his arm. He turned to Buffy. “I hate to mutilate and run, but…” He looked up; he had taken too long. Eyghon was there.

Ethan backed away, fast. Eyghon menacingly walked up to him. “It is your time.” It moved in closer but then it suddenly swung its head to Buffy and moved to attack her instead, following the lure of the tattoo.

Giles slammed open the door just in time to see Eyghon go after Buffy. He yelled. “Eyghon. Take me.” Eyghon whipped its head around. Giles yelled again. “Buffy, get out of here.” Eyghon went for Giles.

Buffy screamed. “No!” She tried to move in between them. Eyghon raised its hand and touched its finger to Buffy’s face. A surge of energy rushed through the touch and Buffy was thrown across the room.

At the same time the surge of energy threw their hands apart and the dream stopped. They sat there facing each other, panting with imagined fear and exertion. Giles touched her face. “Are you all right? Did it hurt you?” Realizing the absurdity of the question Giles shook his head. He pulled Buffy down again to look at the back of her neck. There was still nothing there. “I don’t understand. That’s not what happened.”

Buffy was looking at Giles just as confused. “That was Ethan Rayne wasn’t it? The man you named your dogs after. What was he doing to me?”

Giles ran his hand over his face. “I don’t know. But Eyghon’s dead. Ethan and I killed him five years ago when he tried to possess Thomas. But he’s fine, him and Phil and Deirdre; they’re all fine. None of them died.” Only Randall had died. But he and Ethan had saved the rest of them.

Buffy looked at Giles with widened eyes. “You mean there was a thing like that? Boy, I had no idea that being a museum curator was such an exciting life. Was it like one of the mummies, did it come back to life?” She almost looked thrilled about the possibility.

Giles barked out a laugh. Again, he didn’t know how to explain. But, if he really wanted Buffy in his life she’d have to know about this, about this and a great many other things. There were still occasions when Giles found himself on the other end of a stake as it plunged into a vampire’s heart. He had saved Gwen from one the first week he was home after quitting the Council. Choosing not to be a Watcher didn’t make the night any safer. And then there was the fact that being a museum curator sometimes was pretty exciting, although to date, none of the mummies had come back to life.

Giles lay down and he pulled Buffy down with him. Holding her close he stroked her hair. “I don’t know how to explain any of this to you. I want to but I don’t know where to start. I don’t want to scare you away.”

Buffy leaned up and over him. “Just tell me something for now. Which is real? This life we’re in or the one we’re dreaming of. Which one is real?”

He lifted his head up and kissed her. “I know which one I want to be real. This one. That other one, the one we’re dreaming about, it hurts too much.” He smiled softly at her. “And despite how real they feel, I do believe they’re only dreams and unless someone has changed the rules this life feels very real to me. You feel very real to me.”

Buffy held him tightly. “I wish they’d stop. I don’t like them. I don’t like to feel that we’re always in danger, and always almost dying and hurting all the time. How do we get it to stop?”

“I don’t know.” He didn’t know how to fight this, not when he didn’t know what it was. Besides, whatever it was, it had brought them closer, it had connected them. Looking up at her he began to kiss her. The kiss grew passionate and for a while their thoughts turned away from their dreams and became entirely focused on each other.

***

The next morning it was nearing the time when Giles needed to leave for work. Hugging Buffy tightly he spoke to her. “When can I see you again? I can hardly bear the thought of letting you go. I’m afraid I will be quite worthless all day.”

Buffy grinned. “I love how you say things like that.” She ran her hands down his suit jacket lapels. “You look so handsome.” She was thrilled that he was hers. “Besides you’re much busier than I am. When are you free?”

He considered her question. “When am I free?” He ran his thumb over her bottom lip. “How about the rest of my life?” He smiled at her.

Buffy’s eyes widened but then they grew very bright. “Well, I’ll have to check my calendar but I think I’m free too.”

Giles kissed her, a kiss that started spiraling out of control. Only the dogs barking to be let back in kept Giles from taking her back into the bedroom, or taking her right there in the foyer. Sighing he let the dogs in. “Perhaps I should actually feed you tonight.” They’d never gotten around to eating last night. “There’s a wonderful little place right by the museum. Perhaps you could meet me there.” He pulled out a business card and wrote the name of the place on it and another number and then he handed it to her. “That’s my number here, and the name of the restaurant. And my direct line to my office is on that card.” He winced as if already apologizing. “If I’m late, call me.”

Buffy laughed. “At least I’ve been forewarned. I can see lots of waiting in my future.”

Giles kissed her again. “If anyone can cure me of it, it will be you.”

“See, there you go again, saying those wonderful things.”

Giles softly laughed. “You’re so easy to say them to.” At Buffy’s grin he grinned back. Then he looked concerned. “You will be there, won’t you? You’re not going to just vanish on me?”

Buffy squeezed him tightly. “I’ll be there.” She grinned. “And if you’re late, I’ll call.” She waved the card at him. Standing on her toes to kiss him she spoke softly to him. “I’m missing you so much already.”

Giles began to kiss her when his eyes lit on the clock in the hallway. “Good Lord, is that the time? I have to go.”

Buffy grabbed her jacket, laughing. “Let’s go then.” Buffy walked with Giles partway until they reached the road to her apartment. Kissing briefly and hugging for a longer time they finally parted.

***

A short while before Buffy planned to head out to meet Giles she called home. She still hadn’t quite gotten into a rhythm that took into account the time difference. Her dad had probably already left for work but she should still catch her mom. She had to tell somebody.

“Hello?”

“Mom, it’s me.”

“Buffy, your dad and I were just talking about you, trying to decide when we could fit in a trip to visit you.”

“Really? That would be so great.”

“How are you? You sound good.”

“I met someone.”

Buffy could almost hear her mom smile. Buffy was always meeting someone. “That’s nice. One of your classmates?”

“No, I met him in a park. He was out walking his dogs.”

“So, tell me about him.”

There was a brief pause. “He’s a little older than me.”

“How much older.”

“He’s 46.”

“Buffy, he’s as old as I am. I’m not sure…”

“Mom, he is so handsome, and in great shape and…”

“Does he have a job?” Joyce had visions of some deadbeat older man sponging off of Buffy.

Buffy laughed. “Are you sitting down?”

Joyce grimaced. “No, should I be?”

“He’s the Curator at the British Museum.”

There was a silence. “You mean, The Curator?”

“With a capital T. He runs it, mom. He’s the boss.”

“The British Museum? That big one in Bloomsbury Square?”

“Yep, that’s the one.”

“Oh, my.”

“And he’s got a Ph.D., and everyone calls him Dr. Giles, and he teaches at my school sometimes although he isn’t teaching this term.”

“Oh, my.”

“And he is so smart, and so funny, and has a great sister and two great dogs.”

Buffy’s enthusiasm was almost buffeting Joyce. “You seem quite taken with him.”

Buffy let out a sigh. “I am. His name’s Rupert Giles. His sister calls him Ru.”

“Rupert Giles. That’s a strong name.”

“Mmmm.” Buffy could feel his strong arms around her.

“Are you sure he’s not married?”

“He’s never been married.”

“Why hasn’t he ever been married?”

“Mom.”

There was a pause. “When are you seeing him again?”

“Tonight. He’s taking me out for dinner.”

“That’s nice. The Curator, you say?”

Buffy smiled. “Yup, and I’m sure he’ll give you guys a private tour when you come and visit. Into all the cool back rooms where you can’t usually go.”

Joyce’s eyes gleamed at the thought. “Well, perhaps your father and I will firm up our plans tonight. Of course, I realize that you might not still be dating him when we arrive and I don’t want you to feel badly about that or stay with him…”

Buffy interrupted her. “Mom, this is for keeps. I don’t understand why I know that, but I do.”

Joyce sat down. “Buffy…”

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to wig you out but you’ll understand when you meet him. Come soon, I miss you, you and dad.”

Joyce’s mind had wandered again. “The British Museum.” She couldn’t quite get past that.

Buffy laughed. “I gotta go. I love you. Give dad a hug for me.” At Joyce’s distracted response Buffy hung up. Grabbing her coat she practically skipped out the door.

End Part 6