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F E A T U R E D F I C O F T H E M O M E N T
INDEX
BRE'S ARCHIVE
AUTHOR'S ARCHIVE
INTERACTIVE
AUTHOR
SITE
 C H A R M I N G Y O U ' R E N O T S E R I E S B Y B R E P A R T O N E "I cannot believe you took my new Prada shoes!" Cordelia Giles screeched at the top of her lungs, flinging an older shoe at her sister’s head. Buffy Summers ducked and picked up another one of Cordelia’s shoes, throwing it back. "I didn’t!" Buffy yelled. "If you hadn’t been so obsessed with your new boyfriend, you might have noticed that your stupid friend came over to borrow them!" "I would never let anyone touch my shoes!" Cordelia yelled back, having ducked Buffy’s precise throw. "Yeah, well, you did!" Buffy spat before turning and storming from her older sister’s room and into her own. Fighting the urge to slam the door, she closed it loudly enough to make sure Cordelia heard it. Closing her eyes in irritation, Buffy rubbed at her temples, wishing she had a sledge hammer so she could take it to her sister’s head. As the violent image filled her head, she grimaced. Apparently being the Slayer brought out a whole new level of violence in the small blonde. Sighing, Buffy opened her eyes and walked to her closet, stepping in to change. Sunset was approaching and she needed to get out into the city to patrol. This part of her day had become her favorite. It was night that she felt the most alive and powerful, so akin to the night air. She felt fast and assured of herself, unlike how she had felt in high school. Not that college was really any different. It was just harder work and more time taken, with more boys throwing themselves at you and much more parties. Slipping out of her long skirt and t-shirt, she kicked off her knee-high boots and grabbed her favorite pair of Levi jeans and a black t-shirt. Carefully folding her skirt for dry cleaning and throwing her t-shirt into her laundry basket, Buffy put her shoes back on and shrugged on her new leather jacket, thrilled at the prospect of slaying in it. Pulling her hair back, she went about the complicated task of French braiding her hair. It was fifteen minutes later when she left her room, shutting her door behind her securely, that she ran downstairs as the sun set. Tucking a stake in her pants at the small of her back and one in her sleeve, she twirled her favorite between her fingers and ran into the kitchen in search of her uncle. Rupert Giles was standing before the stove, fiddling with the kettle as it screamed. Relieving it of it’s heat, he turned around to look at his niece and charge. "Going on patrol, then?" Buffy nodded. "Yep. Gotta get the big bad before they get me." Hiding the grimace at her choice of words, Giles turned around with his cup of tea in hand and looked at her. "Do be careful, Buffy." "You know me," Buffy said, smiling, "I’m full of carefulness." Nodding, Giles turned to leave before turning back around, stopping Buffy from exiting out the back door, where the laundry room was. "Buffy?" Poking her head back in, Buffy asked, "Yeah?" "Would you like to try the new sword we’ve been practicing with?" Giles asked, intrigued with the idea. Buffy looked at him like he was crazy. "I don’t really think walking down the street with that thing would be such a good idea. That’s a big attention getter of the wrong audience." Buffy brightened noticeably. "But I’ll take that new dagger you just bought." "Most certainly not," Giles snapped. "That is a rare piece of weaponry that-" "Yeah, yeah, whatever, Giles. I’ll see you later!" Buffy called as she exited, slamming the door behind her. Sighing, Giles stared at the door where his Slayer had just exited, sending a prayer to the Fates that tonight would not be the night that took her life.
Willow Giles smiled in satisfaction as the piece of art before her sold for $120,000. Dressed in a light grey skirt and blazer, the redhead clasped her hands behind her back as she continued to watch the auction. The pieces were selling for more than she had originally planned and her boss would be pleased. She was just glad that she was getting through the auction without dropping dead with exhaustion. She had spent the last five months working her ass off to get to this point, bringing in more pieces than she should have been able to handle. And her home life wasn’t anything to be happy about. The twenty-two year old had climbed in rank at the Buckland Auction House and made a name for herself without a problem. She was a genius when it came to computers and research and had the best memory around. But it was her home life that really asked the most of her. She was constantly arguing with her sisters over the smallest things, fighting over stupider things. If it weren’t for her Uncle Giles, things wouldn’t be going as smoothly as they were, even with all the rough kinks in the way. But even he wasn’t always there, most of his time spent with her youngest sister, Buffy, the Slayer. Willow wanted to fight down the irrational jealousy that always swept over her when she thought of the little blonde, but it was hard. And then there was Cordelia. Willow hated how spoiled she was. Her stepfather had made a mistake in spoiling her because she turned out to be one of the snobbiest people on the earth. She had to have the perfect clothes, hair, nails and whatever else she fancied and she was glad that her family had a long-line of wealth, or else they would be bankrupt and screwed over, living on the streets instead of the rather lush surroundings they had. Watching the burly moving men move the large statue, she wondered why Uncle Giles, or Giles as the sisters happily called him, didn’t discipline her better. But the thought of Giles yelling at Cordelia brought a smile to her lips. The thought was absolutely absurd. Giles was too English, even though he was American born. Poor guy spent too much time with the scones and tea over in England. The sound of her cell phone suddenly ringing startled her and she reached into her small purse. "Hello?"
Cordelia Giles walked down the stairs carefully, entering the dining room and finding her Uncle Giles bent over a book, sipping tea. His back to her, Cordelia stared at his graying hair and wondered why she had been born into this family. She was nothing like any of her siblings. Everyone else had something in common with Giles that she didn’t have. Buffy was the Slayer and their uncle was her Watcher. Willow had a knack for reading and studying old things and she often shared her studies with the older man before her. And what of her? Well, unless Giles decided he suddenly liked Prada and Gucci, they’d forever be out of touch. And she had no problem with that. She’d just as soon move out of the godforsaken Manor and get herself a nice loft somewhere in New York. Away from her family that she often felt ashamed of. But none of them could leave. Uncle Giles vehemently advised against it, keeping Willow and herself here. Although Buffy had just celebrated her eighteenth birthday and could easily move out, she couldn’t because she was tied to her Slayer duty and had college and such to think about. Willow had work although she could easily find her own place, but didn’t because of Giles. And Cordelia? Well, she didn’t have anything holding her back except the wishes of her uncle. And as much as she wanted to move, she just loved him too much to say no. "I’m heading out, Giles," Cordelia said loudly, startling her uncle. She saw his shoulders jerk and she held the giggle in when he spilt his tea on the table. "Yes, indeed," he muttered. Standing, Giles grabbed the white cloth he kept in his pocket and began wiping away at the cooled liquid on the wood table. "Do be careful, Cordelia," he said, turning around to face her with real concern on his face. "Do you-" "Yes," she broke in impatiently, the conversation already having grown old. She held up her perfectly manicured hand as she began ticking off the list. "Yes, I have my holy water, my mace, my stake, my cross, my cross necklace and my brass knuckles, although I’m sure Buffy would appreciate those more than I do. They’re heavy as hell." "You know you don’t need to carry those around. They are merely a backup in case you lose something," Giles said, smiling gently at her fussing. He saw her roll her eyes and turn back around, grabbing her coat. She shrugged it on and grabbed her purse once more, waving back at her uncle. "I’ll be home!" she shouted as she closed the door. "Not too late, Cordelia!" Giles responded, but his reply was cut short as the front door slammed shut and he faintly heard her heeled feet colliding with the ground. Then he heard a squeal of tires as she drove off in her new car. Frowning at her choice of vehicle, Giles continued cleaning the tea up and walked back to the kitchen, intent upon another cup of tea. Gently placing the tea cup in the sink, Giles threw away his ruined cloth. Returning to the stove, Giles absently focused on the new tea cup behind him and snatched it out of the air as it flew to his hand. Ah, how he missed the simplicity of a little telekinesis. But there was no way he would do such things in front of his nieces. They weren’t ready.
Buffy yelped as one of the others vampires in league with the one she was pummeling landed on her back and ripped the sleeve of her new jacket with his talons. Falling forward, Buffy growled in annoyance and disgust as the creature’s rotting breath settled on her neck. Fighting the urge to gag as she smelled dead meat and the copper of blood, Buffy rammed the back of her head into his nose and rolled over quickly when he howled in pain. Scrambling to her feet, Buffy grabbed the stake at the small of her back and watched as the trio stood. Feeling a spark of righteous anger, she risked a glance at her left arm. There was a deep gash underneath the flap of leather that rustled in the wind. Turning to glare at them, she said, "This jacket was brand new!" "Obviously cheap," the female in the middle smirked and Buffy dove into the fight they openly invited. Fists flying and feet kicking, Buffy neatly staked the female before turning her attention to the last two males. In a few short minutes, they were ashes in the wind and only Buffy’s heavy breathing could be heard among the faint movement of the large trees’ leaves in the graveyard. Looking around her, scanning the darkness automatically to assure herself that there was indeed no more danger, she turned her attention to her sleeve. Groaning unhappily, she slowly took it off as not to agitate the slash in her skin. Bringing the sleeve closer to her face, she sighed before slipping it back on. No stitches could fix this. God damn vampire claws! Spotting the stake she had dropped earlier, Buffy snatched it up and slipped it back into her sleeve, throwing away the one she had used to stake the trio. It was dull and useless unless she wanted to use more strength to officially stake the vampire. Walking away from the grave where she had been sitting earlier, Buffy studied the area around her, attuning her ears to the slightest sound that would give a vampire away. That was five that night. Giles would be proud. Buffy grimaced as she moved to stretch and groaned. She could still feel the adrenaline of the fight in her blood and wished for more violence. Oh, how she hoped that there was some hopeless victim out there that needed saving. Or not, ‘cause then that would mean that someone might die if she didn’t get there soon enough. Licking her lips, Buffy was contemplating leaving the dark quiet of Restfield Cemetery to enjoy a hot mocha at the Espresso Pump when her cell phone rang from deep inside her jeans pocket. Fishing it out, Buffy pushed the talk button and brought it to her ear. "Hello?"
Cordelia had been dancing for what seemed like forever and though she would never show it, her feet were killing her. The new pumps she had bought were taller than what she usually wore and she pushed her way through the crowd in the Bronze to find a comfortable seat as her date got them a drink. Older men. The only way to go. Sitting herself on one of the plush couches in the darker corners, Cordelia settled down and took the weight off her feet. Oh, much, much better. It was then that her date, a certain Bailey Knocks, brought her her diet Coke and she smiled her thanks. Then she heard the loud tune that signaled her cell phone was ringing. Sighing in annoyance at whoever the hell was calling - who could this be? Everyone knows I’m on a date - Cordelia picked up the noisemaker and flipped it open. "Hello?" she practically yelled over the loud music.
"Giles?" Willow asked in a low whisper as she moved away from the auction and to somewhere she could better talk. "You would never believe how well this auction is doing! It’s amazing-" "Willow," Giles said faintly on the other side. "-and this guy just bought... Giles? Is everything okay?" Fear gripped Willow’s heart. "Is it Buffy?" "Willow, something happened. Not to Buffy. But..." "Giles?" Willow asked softly as tears already filled her eyes. "It’s your grandmother. She’s in the hospital. She’s dying."
Cordelia froze as the news hit her like a ton of bricks. Grams was in the hospital? She was dying? "Oh, God, no," Cordelia whispered softly and she thought she felt Bailey’s hand on her shoulder but she ignored it none the less. "I need you to meet us at the hospital, Cordelia. Can you do that? Is it safe for you to drive?" she heard her uncle ask. Cordelia nodded, not finding the capability to talk. "Cordelia?" "Yeah," Cordelia responded and she turned off her phone as Giles informed her that he would call Buffy. Turning to look at her date, she shook her head. "I have to go," she said before getting up and making her way to the door, absently forgetting her purse and jacket as she grabbed her keys.
"Hey, Giles, I just kicked these vamps’ asses! It was great but one of them tore my new leather jacket. Can you believe the nerve?" she asked, not hearing Giles’ attempts to capture her attention. "And you’d be proud to know that I staked five vampires tonight so far. That’s right. Count ‘em. The first one-" "Buffy!" Giles said loudly, finally getting the small blonde’s attention. Her brow furrowed. "What is it, Giles? Did something... Oh, great. Perfect timing." Grabbing her stake from her sleeve, Buffy said, "Hang on a sec, Giles." "Buffy, no-" "Do you guys have a little book scheduling the times that’d be best to disturb me?" Buffy demanded as the small vampire stood ten feet away, crouching low on the ground. Ignoring the dark, army-type gear on his body, she focused on the long sword that hung loosely in his hand. "That wouldn’t be a gift for me, now would it?" "Charmed One," he hissed through his long fangs and Buffy frowned at him. "No," she said slowly. "That would be ‘Chosen One’. Although I like that one, too." Growling, he leapt at her and Buffy easily dodged the attack, gracefully snatching the sword out of his hand and twisting it in her grip as she turned back to face the demon. It hissed at her in a language she couldn’t understand for the life of her and tried to keep up with it and file it away for Giles later as he pulled out two small daggers. With one hand holding the phone and the other holding the sword, Buffy easily fell into a fighting stance and grunted as he began swinging his arms around, all intent on killing her, or quite possibly just shredding her to death. Not the best way to go, she decided. The fight was long and drawn out as Buffy was forced to drop her sword twice to parry his attack. He lost one of his daggers and it was finally Buffy’s punishing blow that left him headless before bursting into dust on the ground. Panting, Buffy stuck the sword in the ground and leaned on it as she brought the phone back to her ear. "Sorry, Giles. This guy started calling me ‘Charmed One’ and going on in this language-" "Buffy, please!" Giles said urgently, the hair on the back of his neck rising at the admission of the demon knowing her, what he thought soon-to-be, witch status. "Something has happened and I need you to come to the hospital immediately." "What happened?" Buffy asked urgently, already on her feet headed toward the hospital. "It’s your grandmother. She’s dying." No, Buffy thought frantically, increasing her speed, angry with herself for putting Giles on hold to fight. Not Grams.
Giles immediately stood as Willow, Cordelia and Buffy reached the hospital at the same time, bursting through the doors that lead to the waiting room in a flurry of color. Buffy launched herself into his arms as questions rolled out of their mouths. "Hush," Giles said softly, quieting them as the other people in the waiting room began casting curious glances their way. "She wants to see you all." A sob tore from Cordelia’s throat and Willow turned to put an arm around her. Buffy stared quietly at Giles, her face tight and curious. "What’s going on, Giles? What’s wrong with her?" "No questions now, children. She wants to see you. She says..." Giles’ voice hitched, but he quickly covered it. "She thinks her time is almost up and she wants-" "No," Cordelia said brokenly, her face a mask of misery and ruined makeup. "She can’t... not Grams." "Come along, then," Giles said, fighting his own tears as his mother laid on her deathbed. "I’ll show you the way." They all walked through the heavily lit corridors of the hospital, dread, sorrow and fear filling them all. Giles had his arms wrapped around their shoulders in a show of comfort as they finally reached the door where a part of their family laid dying. "I can’t do this," Cordelia babbled silently to herself, berating herself at the same time for not wanting to see one of the most important people in her life before she died. But she was afraid. How do you tell the person that you most admire goodbye? "She’s waiting..." Giles said softly and reached forward to open the door. Stepping back, he watched as his nieces filed into the room in single file, oddly enough eldest to youngest. The door softly shut behind them and he stared at the large piece of metal, part of him curious as to what his mother’s last words would be to her grandchildren and the other dreading their reaction when they realized that their life was about to be complicated. It was originally the spell his mother had not had the chance to perform. After Joyce had died at the hands of her lover, his mother had feared for Joyce’s daughters’ safety and as the years passed, she saw them all growing apart from the other drastically. They argued and fought over the stupidest things and the realization that the power they were meant to be endowed with would likely destroy them instead of unite them ate away at his mother. She was deathly afraid that the line of power would be destroyed, thus aiding in the destruction of the world. Without the Charmed Ones protection, the plane of existence they lived on would fall into the hands of Evil and would never be recovered. When Buffy had been called to be a Slayer, her calling had only further distanced herself from her sisters. They all fell into different lives and continued on acting as if they were unrelated to the other. It hurt Giles that though they all still lived in the same house - a constant fight he kept up so the Charmed Ones could at least live under the same roof - they were all strangers to the other. Or so it seemed. And now they were being faced with something that would most likely leave them all scarred in someway. The fact that they were all being forced to go through it together was something that Giles was sure would further distance them from the others. But it couldn’t be helped. Too many things couldn’t be helped these days. Such as the spell his mother was meant to perform on Buffy’s eighteenth birthday. But the Fates had other plans it would seem, and they appeared dire in Giles’ mind. Leaning against the wall, the elder man sighed heavily as he waited.
"My babies." At the sound of their grandmother’s voice, Cordelia broke down and covered her face with her hands, throwing herself into the hard chair next to the hospital bed. Willow’s inner bottom lip was bleeding as she continued to chew on it at the sight of her grandmother laying in the bed, looking so small and fragile, surrounded my the machines. Buffy merely stared at the elderly woman in the bed blankly, her face emotionless. It was as if she just shut down. "Oh," Grams murmured as she reached a hand out to stroke Cordelia’s head, reaching her other one for Willow and Buffy. Willow immediately moved to the bed but Buffy merely sat at the foot of the bed she would consider a metal trap of death. "Please don’t cry. It’s just my time to go, my sweets." "Why you, Grams?" Cordelia asked quietly, her voice sounding small and lost. "You don’t deserve this." "It’s not about my worth in this world, children," Grams said quietly, stroking Cordelia’s hair from where she had leaned forward. Willow felt a tear slip down her face as she gripped her grandmother’s hand. "I’m an old woman and I’ve done all I can in the world for this time. Perhaps in my next life we will see what else I can do." At the emission of her impending death, Cordelia broke down once more and Grams began cooing soft words of nonsense as Willow leaned forward to rest her head on her shoulder. Buffy felt tears rise in her eyes and her eyes blurred. Blinking quickly, she looked down at her hands. "How long do you have?" Buffy asked quietly. Grams looked up at her and Buffy saw something flicker in her wise eyes. What she thought was fear and a deep sadness gave way to warmth as she smiled at her youngest grandchild. "I don’t know," she answered honestly and when none of them responded, she continued, "But there are things I want to tell you before I go." The room was quiet for what seemed like an eternity. Buffy gradually made her way into the tight embrace and Grams wrapped her arms around them all. "You all have a destiny in this world. In time it will present itself to you and you will know what your worth in this world is, just as I have, just as your mother has and just as all of your ancestors have in the past. While I will be gone, your uncle will be here to help guide you and help ease you into the new world you will all be presented with. "I wish that I could be there to see you all grow up into the beautiful young women I know you will all become but I have not been afforded that chance. Just remember that I will always be there, just as your mother has always been there for us. And I can guarantee that you will see me in the future. "I love you all so much. And I want you to promise me one thing." As if pausing for dramatic effect, Grams waited for one of them to say something. When no one uttered a word, she continued, "I want you all to become sisters again. Get to know one another and never stray far. You are stronger together then you ever will be apart. Remember that." Cordelia was openly sobbing by the time her small speech was over and Buffy had her head buried in her grandmother’s pillow as Willow held her face in hands. "I love you so much," Cordelia sobbed, hugging her grandmother tightly. They each took their turn. And when they stood to leave and say goodbye, Grams cut them off. "There is no such thing as goodbye." Cordelia broke down once more as they all left. "Good luck, my Charmed Ones."
She eventually died from a fatal heart attack that stole her life later that night. Giles and his nieces were at home and got the phone call from the doctor. Her funeral was in a week’s time. Giles made all the necessary preparations and allowed the sisters to deal with the pain in their own way. But he never expected his young charge to leave without notice the night before the funeral was to be held, leaving only a note in her stead. It read: I’m moving to New York. I’ll be in touch. I’m sorry that I’m so weak. I’m sorry if you all hate me when I come back but I couldn’t handle this. It was too much to take. I can’t live around the house knowing that Grams is dead and sitting up there somewhere where we can’t see her. I love you all. I’m sorry we didn’t get to be together like she wanted. Love, Buffy P.S. Sorry, Giles. I’ll keep slaying. Willow threw herself into her work after the funeral and Cordelia grew colder than she ever was. No one ever told her that they could hear her crying in her room late at night. They were all too afraid to. And so it went on, that thing called life. Until six months later when Buffy suddenly reappeared on their doorstep, bags in hand and wondering if she could stay there for a little while. That’s when everything changed.
l be kind, rewind l back to top l
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