Ripper 3/3 - B/W/T G/J G/E - R

["Hunter Ash" <carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx>]

Ripper
Part 3
Red Moon, Book 7

Author: Frau Hunter Ash 
Copyright © 2003by Hunter Ash. All Rights Reserved.
Email: carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx  Feedback welcome!!
Homepage Addy: http://www.hunterash.com/ 

Disclaimers: The characters and show all belong to Joss Whedon, Fox,
Mutant Enemy, Kuzui, and God only knows whom else. The storyline,
however, is the sole property of the author. This story cannot be sold
or used for profit in any way. Copies of this story may be made for
private use only and must include all disclaimers and copyright notices.

Dedication/Thanks:  Dedication/Thanks: To Rachel for allowing me to
use the idea of the attack by Eyghon. She's a fantastic writer and a
great RPG player. I'm grateful.  Check out her stuff at: 
http://www.palaceofwinds.com/ink/ original beta reader and best friend
and sometimes muse.  With the three of you - I stay slightly sane.

F/F romance: the story assumes a loving and sexual relationship
between people of the same gender and may even include 3 at the same
time <G>.  If this offends or is illegal for you, then please leave. 
Come back when you are older, have an open mind, moved, or changed
your laws. 

Spoilers: This series starts at Season 4 and branches off. 

Summary:  Tara calls on Buffy to help connect with Giles in the
Dreamscape and Buffy is surprised to find out who else is helping the
Watcher. Can any of them face what Giles can't and get him to move
past it?

Rating: R (US), 15 (UK), MA (Aus)

# # #

Buffy sat against the wall near the sleeping Tara and Giles and
semi-tranced Willow. Joyce hovered on the other side of the bed,
holding Giles' hand.  It felt like it had been hours since Tara had
gone inside Giles' mind to try and guide him back to reality.

The Slayer glanced at her watch and frowned, it had only been and hour
and a half. Xander had stuck his head in after a half hour and looked
worried and pained when Buffy merely shook her head to his unanswered
question

Buffy jumped to her feet instantly when Willow coughed and stirred.
Joyce moved around the bed Willow raised her head and opened her eyes,
blinking.

"Will?" Buffy asked anxiously.

"I'm okay, they're okay," she said softly.  "It's like they're taking
a break or something. I'm still connected to Tara though."

"Can you tell how it's going?" Joyce asked gently, glancing at her
husband.

Willow looked up into Buffy's eyes and then away quickly. "Uh, I can
tell Tara is seeing some stuff that& that horrified and disturbed her.
I don't think she's made direct contact with him."

Buffy looked over at her Watcher and wished this was something she
could hit, slay or banish. This was something spiritual, an area where
the Slayer wasn't the strongest. Buffy wrapped her arms around Willow
and held her tightly until Willow pulled back slightly. 

"I need to go back in," the red-haired witch said reluctantly. "Guys,
I don't know if this is going to work. I'm getting a sense that Tara
hasn't seen everything, like& like it's not in the present yet. Short
sentences get through but& it's like a fuzzy walkie talkie or
something. She hasn't found the key yet." 

"She's seeing memories?" Joyce asked with a puzzled expression.

"I think so, she hasn't tried to guide him out yet," Willow nodded,
closing her eyes. "And& there may be another energy in there. It
doesn't feel threatening and she seems okay with it but it's confusing
me."

"Another energy? Someone guiding or distracting her?" Buffy asked,
suddenly very worried.

"I don't know what it's doing but Tara doesn't seem concerned, more
like curious," Willow said slowly. "I don't dare try and get closer, I
want to maintain a little distance so I can, uh, pull her out if&"

"If things go wrong and she can't bring him around," Joyce finished,
moving back to hold Giles' hand.

"It's okay, Will," Buffy said softly, kissing the witch tenderly.
"Take care of her and you."

"We won't lose him, Buffy," Willow whispered as she hugged the Slayer.

"I know."

# # #

Tara felt Willow joining her again, reconnecting their life-lines
together. The blonde witch was slightly worried, if she became lost in
the dreamscape world of Ripper, Willow might be caught up as well.

Older Ethan walked up out of the fog and smirked at the witch. "Ready
for the next round?"

"If you weren't there, how do you know what happened?" Tara asked.

"I've been in his mind and nightmares since," Ethan shrugged. "I've
already been in those places that he can't look. I needed to know what
they did to him, I needed answers."

"If you know it wasn't his fault that he left, why do you torment him?"

"Because he didn't come back," Ethan snapped. "He chose to stay with
Her, even after he was fired."

"You're upset because he stayed Buffy's Watcher?" Tara asked,
confusion in her voice. "That's what he was destined to do, like she
didn't have a choice in being the Slayer."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ethan muttered. "I know all about that. He was
released from that obligation and stayed!"

"But the only time you've been around has been to cause trouble," Tara
countered. "How could he know how deep your feelings went when you
were trying to kill Buffy or cause havoc?"

"I'm dedicated to chaos, that's what I do," Ethan shrugged. "And you
don't know how many times I've been in Sunnydale and been with him or
when we would get together on some of his trips away from this damned
place."

Tara was stunned and it showed. "H-he would see you? Friendly like?"

"Not always friendly," Ethan chuckled. "Sometimes there was the
requisite clobbering before the shagging. Shouting at me about his
Slayer, whacking me and then trying to walk away. All it would take
would be one kiss and a grope of the hand and he was mine again."

Tara wondered if she really wanted to know how recent Giles had been
with Ethan. She knew Giles loved Joyce very much, it was to Buffy's
mother he had turned to when under the influence of bespelled candy
and Joyce he always came back to.

But there, apparently, was always Ethan in the background and Tara was
afraid to learn that might be one of the things Giles was having a
problem in dealing with.

Tara blinked and felt Ethan moving closer to her as she looked around
the semi-dark room. She made out Giles lying on the floor of a dingy
cell. The witch started towards him and Ethan held her back.

The future Watcher had been beaten so badly he just lay on the cold
cement floor, curled up in a ball. He was dressed in a pair of sweat
pants and a t-shirt that might have once been white but was now rust
colored from dried blood and dirt.

"What happened?" Tara whispered.

"More re-education training," Ethan's voice was bitter and pained in
her ear. "This is about a month after they found him. Just watch. I& I
can't."

Tara looked around panicked.  "Ethan? Where are you?"

The witch tried to fight against the panic and looked back at Giles as
the door to the cell opened. The young man whimpered and tried to curl
up into a tighter ball and covered his head. Two large men dressed in
hospital whites, reached down and dragged him out of the cell, his
feet dragging behind him.

Tara found herself following reluctantly.

# # #

Buffy jumped out of her chair when Willow's head snapped back and the
witch whimpered. "Willow?"

Tara sat up suddenly, crying out as if in pain. 

Buffy grabbed Willow, ensuring the witch didn't fall out of her chair
as Joyce rushed around to Tara.  The blonde witch's eyes were wide
with fear and her hands were clenched into fists.

"Willow? Tara?" Buffy asked softly as Willow opened her eyes, blinking.

"Oh God, that hurt!" Willow whined, curling up in Buffy's arms.

Tara's head dropped forward for a moment and then she looked up again,
her eyes calmer and more aware.

"I'm sorry. I-I c-couldn't take it anymore," Tara whispered.

"What happened?" Joyce asked urgently. "Is he alright?"

"Just caught in his memories," Tara shook her head. "No real change,
he can't get past the memories of them.  He's now seeing things he
hasn't looked at in years, most of it he blocked and didn't remember."

"What happened to Giles?" Buffy demanded, helping Willow sit up.

Tara let Joyce wrap an arm around her shoulder as she trembled. "The
Council tortured him until he blocked Ripper out of his mind and hated
his own bisexuality."

"Torture?" Joyce asked, her voice disbelieving.

"I& I couldn't& they did horrible stuff," Tara whimpered, tears
streaking her face. It was several minutes of crying in Joyce's arms
before Tara could tell them only that.

"They programmed the perfect Watcher," Willow said bitterly. "How do
we get him past it?"

"I don't know," Tara admitted.

"He needs to accept Ripper and his past," Willow said slowly. "And
accept and remember what the Council did to him."

"How do we do that?" Buffy frowned. 

"I'll try and draw him past it and talk to him, pull him into
remembering and past it. I might have some help," Tara sighed. "I need
to go back in."

"Help?" Joyce asked, "What kind of help?"

"I'll explain when I bring him back," Tara said, laying back down on
the cot. 

Buffy hugged Willow and then Tara as both witches closed her eyes.

# # #

Tara looked around the cobblestone streets and found Ethan leaning
against a familiar wall. "Will you help me?" she demanded.

"Hello to you too," Ethan smirked. "I've tried in the past to get him
past this. I'll help, that's why I'm here."

"If we get him back, he's married to Joyce and happy, what do you get
out of it?" Tara asked, puzzled.

"I want him awake and aware," Ethan shrugged, moving closer to her.
"I'll chance how we deal with each other in the future. I'm hoping for
a truce and occasional contact."

"Not like before," Tara clarified. She knew Joyce wasn't the type to
share her husband with a former lover, especially Ethan.

"No, I won't come between them," Ethan sighed. "You'll get your Giles
back."

"If you can't get him back, then why?" Tara asked as the scene began
to shift again.

"I have reasons for wanting him awake," Ethan frowned. "Can you reach
him? He thinks I'm just part of his nightmares."

"We can try," Tara nodded, turning to look at the young man playing
the guitar in a grimy low-rent apartment kitchen. Back in time in his
memories, once again avoiding moving past the torture.

# # #

It seemed like an hour later before Tara huffed in frustration and
turned to Ethan. So far nothing had gotten through to Younger Giles.

Ethan shrugged. "Told you, I've tried before. I was hoping he'd
remember you and jump start him forward."

Tara frowned and looked at young Ripper playing his guitar.

"We didn't see what broke him, did we?" she asked softly and saw the
pain in Ethan's eyes. "What happened?"

Ethan looked down at his shoes as the scene shifted again to the
fog-bound streets.  "I've seen it once, I can't see it again."

"You want him back? We need to get him past it!" Tara said forcibly.
"I've an idea. What was the thing that broke him?"

Ethan sighed as tears filled his eyes. "They broke him. Finally
resorted to keeping him from sleeping and beating him. Lack of sleep
will drive someone insane pretty quick, you know."

"They didn't trust that he'd follow his destiny.  They thought he
would come back to me," Ethan said softly. "They hate emotions and
attachments. They are the only things they can't control in humans."

"Buffy explained that's why most potential Slayers are taken from
their families and Watchers aren't allowed spouses if they have
Slayers," Tara nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah," Ethan agreed, leaning against a damp wall.

"So& they had to break his relationship with you," Tara said slowly.

"Finally catch on, do you?" Ethan asked bitterly. 

"He loved you deeply," Tara muttered, looking down as she pondered. 
"They had to break that so he'd never go back to you or the magic. He
shut Ripper away and Rack opened it up again."

"And his mind couldn't handle it without coming into conflict with the
conditioning," Ethan finished the line of thought. "Yeah, Rack smashed
the walls Jack had kept pretty well up."

"Alright then we're approaching this wrong," Tara decided, looking up
at the sorcerer.

"Eh? I thought we were supposed to get him past it," Ethan complained.

"Yes, but we're going in the wrong direction," she insisted. "Come on,
think! Get us to the Watcher, the perfect Council Watcher!"

Ethan frowned. "That's not my connection with him! That's your end!"

"No," Tara shook her head. "He had already changed by the time I met him."

"Then bring in one of the other brats," Ethan snapped. "Much longer in
here and we'll be pulled into one of these damned memories and get lost."

"Stay here," Tara said firmly.

"And where would I go?" Ethan growled. "Silly bint."

# # #

Tara opened her eyes to find Willow and Buffy standing next to her,
the red-haired witch holding her hand and Buffy brushing her hair back.

"Hey, baby," Willow said softly as Tara looked over and found Joyce
anxiously watching Giles for any change. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," Tara said slowly as Buffy helped her sit up,
wrapping an arm around the groggy witch. "How long have I& Nevermind,
important stuff. Which one of you can reach the Watcher you first met."

Buffy looked puzzled and Willow's eyebrows rose in surprise. 

"What do you mean, Tar?" Buffy asked softly.

"To get him back, we need to get the perfect Watcher to face something
from his past," Tara tried to explain. "I don't know that Giles, you
both do. Which one of you could get him to be aware of you in there?"

"Buffy," Willow said quickly and Quentin stood up, his face turning red.

"Shut up, Jeeves," Buffy muttered. "How do I do this?"

"I'll guide you and Willow will anchor you," Tara explained. 

"Alright," Buffy said calmly. "Anything for him."

The Slayer found it easier than she thought to join Tara in the
dreamscape and Buffy realized how tired she was. 

Buffy looked around and was stunned to see what Tara now considered
almost a second home, the fog bound street of 19th century London. "What?"

"Where his mind goes subconsciously," Tara smiled, taking Buffy's
hand. "Now, listen closely, baby. There's someone here that's been
helping me and I need you to promise not to yell or hit him before we
talk, okay?"

"Hit?" Buffy repeated, puzzled. "Whoa, Willow said someone was in here
with you but it felt okay."  

Ethan smirked as he stepped around the corner of a building. "Don't
hit me this time. I actually get along rather wonderfully with your
wife. Why can't you be like her?"

"And why couldn't you be more human?" Buffy snapped, her hands
clenching into fists. 

"Buffy, he's been helping," Tara repeated, stepping between them. "He
wants Giles back like he was."

"There's a trick," Buffy muttered, watching the sorcerer and glaring
at his smirk.

"No, I don't think so," Tara said softly, stroking Buffy's cheek,
trying to calm her protective Slayer. "Please, trust me."

"You I trust, him I'll pound if he hurts Giles," Buffy finally declared.

"Deal," Ethan said firmly. "What's the plan?"

"You two find the Giles he was after the Council trained him, after he
met Buffy and become very cemented in that role," Tara said slowly, as
if just working it out in her head. "Reach him and get him to see what
he can't face. He has to accept Ripper, Ethan and what the Council did
to him. Mostly, he has to accept his own betrayal."

"Betrayal? What happened?" Buffy asked anxiously.

"Giles was tortured until he snapped and he can't live with that
memory," Tara said gently. "He has to face that."

"Okay," Buffy said softly. 

"It won't be nice, baby," Tara warned. "They& they're modern Nazi's."

"I'll do anything to get him back, even hang with Ethan," Buffy
smiled, kissing Tara tenderly.

"Terrific, I love you too, Slayer," Ethan muttered. "Spoiled brat."

"Self centered coward," Buffy muttered back as Tara smiled and backed
away from them. 

"Bring him back, Buff," she said as she faded from sight.

"Okay, one Watcher in tweed coming up," Buffy shrugged. "How do we get
there?"

"Concentrate on where you want to go," Ethan sighed. "We're trying to
dive into his memories rather than flowing along with them. It's a
little harder to control. Think of when you met him, what was he like?
Was he like the first Watcher you had? Dressed in tweed and
stammering? Lots and lots of books but with a hint of strength in that
body?"

Buffy closed her eyes, remembering Giles and their awkwardness when
they first met.

# # #

It seemed like over an hour before Ethan finally threw up his hands
and snorted in obvious disgust. 

"I didn't have to see this the first time! Think I want to see it
now?" he demanded.

They had been watching various memories of Giles during his years at
Sunnydale High as Buffy's Watcher and mentor to the others and had
spent most of the time trying to reach him.

"You think I want to see my sense of fashion in those days?" Buffy
quipped, knowing it would irritate the sorcerer and she was right. She
laughed as he rolled his eyes. "Look, how do we get through to him?
It's like we're ghosts that no one can see or hear."

"What would startle him from you?" Ethan said slowly after a few
moments of watching Buffy fighting another two vampires and Giles
fighting one himself.

"If I was on time?" Buffy said absently and then grinned and
approached a very studious Giles in the familiar surroundings of the
school library that they would blow up on Graduation Day with a Snake
Demon Mayor inside. "Hey, Ripper!"

Giles' head snapped up, his eyes wide as Ethan chuckled behind
ghost-like Buffy. The Slayer knew she had reached him when his eyes
focused on her and widened.

"You're not& you're&" he stammered.

"I'm Buffy, Giles," she said softly. "Trust me and take my hand."

"No," the Watcher protested, standing up and almost tripping over his
chair. "It's a trick."

"It's not, I swear it," Buffy smiled. "You're John Rupert Giles, you
were known as Ripper in your youth and did some stupid things,
including getting a tattoo of a demon on your left forearm."

Watcher Giles blinked and glanced down at his tweed covered arm. He
looked back up at the girl in front of him. She was older than his
Buffy, more experience in her eyes and manner but something told him
this was his Slayer.

He held his hand out wordlessly.

The Watcher blinked, glancing around in confusion at the fog encased
streets the three of them found themselves at again. "Ethan? What?"

"Come on, Giles," Buffy urged. "Move your mind forward, damnit. I want
my step-dad back and Mom wants her husband."

Giles blushed and blinked. "J-Joyce?"

"Yeah, you married June Cleaver," Ethan smirked.

"Was that before or after I bashed you," Giles growled, his hand
becoming a fist. "What's happening?"

"You've been zapped mentally and are lost in your memories," Buffy
explained. "We're trying to get you back."

"Can't you make contact with my, er, well, current self?" Giles asked.
"And please don't tell me you married Xander or Angel."

Buffy looked down at her hand, realizing he had spotted the special
wedding band and grinned. "Uh, no to both."

Ethan smirked and leaned over her shoulder. "Can I tell him and watch
him faint?"

Buffy elbowed him in the ribs and kept her focus on Watcher Giles.

"Alright, what is holding me in here?" Giles asked, ignoring the
sorcerer as well.

"You were shocked into Ripper again and couldn't handle it," Buffy
continued with the explanations. "Your mind can't accept all the parts
of you, Ripper, Giles, Rupert, Jack, whatever."

"Of course not!" Watcher Giles frowned. "People died when I was
Ripper, you know that Ethan."

Ethan shrugged. "We all paid for that, mate."

"Giles, I need you to see something, okay? Keep trusting me?" Buffy
said urgently.

"Alright," Watcher Giles nodded. "I don't see why you need to focus on
Ripper. That's dead and buried in the past."

"And the past comes back and bites you in the ass," Buffy grumbled.
"Scream 3, Jamie Kennedy. Xander would be so proud of that."

Watcher Giles blinked. "Xander didn't change over the years?" he
asked, his voice slightly whining and Buffy grinned. 

"Well, he married an ex-vengeance demon and they have sex frequently,"
Buffy laughed as Watcher Giles blinked and began cleaning his glasses.

"Uh, yes, well, uh, where are we going?" he stammered.

"To when the Council tortured you and drove you insane," Buffy said
firmly and grabbed Giles' arm when he tried to back away.

"T-that never happened! They rescued me, let me go back and trained
me," he protested.

Buffy grabbed both arms and forced him to look at her.

"Listen to me, if you don't face this I lose you! You'll roam through
here until your body just gives up and dies," the Slayer growled. "My
Mom loves you very much and we'd be lost without you! Willow, Xander,
me, and other people you don't remember yet! My Watcher left the
Council because they wanted to separate you and me! Come on, Giles!
You don't run from things!"

Giles' eyes narrowed with a flash of emotion and Buffy nodded. 

"If this is one of your tricks, Ethan, I'll hurt you so badly they'll
have to use fingerprints to identify you!" Watcher Giles warned.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, already got the warnings from Super Bitch Barbie
here," Ethan shrugged.

"Ethan, I haven't seen where we need to go," Buffy said softly and saw
Ethan wince.

"I have once," he admitted. Buffy thought for a moment that he was
going to refuse and was amazed, she had never seen strong emotions
from the sorcerer other than self-preservation.  Buffy was beginning
to think he had a lot to do with what they had to see.

"Close your eyes, kiddies," Ethan sighed and concentrated.

# # #

Buffy felt the tears staining her cheeks as she held a sobbing Giles,
sitting on the cold hard floor of the Watcher Council medical area
where they had tortured him to the point of madness. Just to build him
into the perfect Watcher.

She glanced up and found Ethan hugging himself, biting his lip as the
brown eyes darted between the shattered young man on the gurney in
front of them or the weeping ex-lover Buffy was holding.

"Giles, come on, you survived this," Buffy said softly. "You broke
their conditioning and became a loving, emotional, and talented guy.
Kinda sexy and cute too."

"E-Ethan!" Giles sobbed. "I& I betrayed us!"

"Accept it and move on, Jack," Ethan said softly. "I forgive you.
Anyone would have broken. They took the one love, the one true emotion
you had left and shattered it. The bird is right, you found it again."

Buffy sighed. Tara had warned her that it would be unpleasant but
watching them torture the young man until he screamed for them to
torture Ethan instead, that it was all Ethan's fault, had been hard to
deal with. Having to watch Giles relive it with her had been worse. 

The Slayer had almost resorted to strangling him or breaking his arm
to keep him there with her and Ethan.

"Look forward, Giles," Buffy urged. "Move past what Rack did. You love
my Mom, you love all of us, even Xander."

"Ethan?" Giles asked, looking up at the sorcerer.

"We were done after that night with Eyghon, luv," Ethan said softly,
squatting next to his former mate. "We were on borrowed time. We're
not friends, we're not enemies. Sometimes we're at odds."

"I& I didn't find you, Eth?"

"No, they had their cardboard tweed guy," Buffy said gently. 

"I love you, Rip, and I wouldn't mind a shag, which we've done
occasionally. Maybe I'll mess with you and Mrs. Clever someday. Not
right now though," Ethan shrugged.   

Buffy resisted smacking Ethan for even suggesting sex with Giles. The
images suddenly popping into her head were going to last far longer
than she could ever want and she wanted to pound the sorcerer for it.

Giles nodded and looked into Buffy's eyes.

"I want to go back," he said softly.

"Then make peace with yourself, Ripper," Buffy said firmly. "You are
John Rupert Giles, aka Ripper. You were in love with Ethan, you loved
Jenny Calendar and you love my Mom."

The Slayer stood up and looked at Ethan. "This doesn't make us friends
but& I won't hit you on sight anymore."

"Thank you for bringing him back to life," Ethan said softly and Buffy
knew how hard it must have been for such a prideful man to say thank
you, to anyone but especially to her.

"You're welcome," she nodded and closed her eyes. "Willow, bring me home."

# # #

Buffy opened her eyes and found Willow moaning and holding her head
and Tara holding Willow. Joyce was in her usual spot next to the
comatose Giles. The Slayer sat up slowly.

Quentin Travers and Council members were by her side instantly.

"Well, how did it go? What did you see?" Quentin demanded.

"Send your soldiers out," Buffy said softly.

"What, they're here to&" Quentin began to protest.

"Send them out!" Buffy snapped as Willow shook her head and stood up.
The two witches joined their Slayer, both faces firm.

Quentin nodded and the Watcher researcher and magic user left the room.

"I saw the reconditioning the Council put Giles through," Buffy said
softly, glancing over at her mom, hoping she wouldn't have to describe
too much of what they had seen in Giles' mind.

"And I saw more," Tara added.

"And?" Quentin asked softly and Buffy thought he suddenly looked ten
years older than normal.

"I saw where he broke, the point where he couldn't live with the past
and himself," Buffy said slowly. "I also saw a young man named Quentin
demanding that things change later in front of the Council."

Tara and Willow turned to Buffy with surprised expressions.

"You changed the Council, didn't you? That's why Giles stayed and was
given a Slayer, me," Buffy ventured and Quentin nodded.

"They wouldn't listen to me at that point but when they did, I made
sure that never happened to another Watcher, destiny or not," Quentin
said softly. "No one deserved that."

"Why didn't you try to get him some help?" Tara asked, still shaken by
what she had seen.

"It was determined that it would do more damage and he was functioning
fairly well," Quentin sighed. "I fired him from the Council but I was
glad it happened like that. It pleased me that he had attached to you
and was rediscovering his emotions and capacity for love. He was far
too emotional to be a Watcher."

"You've hated us ever since then!" Buffy protested.

"Of course! You're a spoiled brat who goes against every common sense
course of action from the Council," Quentin grumbled. "I thought it
was good he left the Council, that didn't mean I wanted YOU to leave,
young lady."

"Why didn't you ever tell him or us?" Buffy asked, trying to fight off
a headache.

"For what purpose? He had left the Council, was building a life, still
acting like a Watcher and helping you all save the world," Quentin
shrugged. "Even battling against the Council was seen as a good sign
that he could work past the conditioning eventually."

"And then Rack blasted the walls down instead of opening a door,"
Willow grumbled.

"So now what?" Joyce asked from her husband's side.

"Now we wait and see if our Giles can make peace with Ripper and
Ethan," Buffy mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

# # #

It seemed like an hour but the clock in the room let Buffy know that
only twenty minutes had passed when Giles' body jerked and her mother
cried out in surprise.

"Rupert?" Joyce asked anxiously, stroking his forehead and hair.
"Honey? Can you open your eyes?"

"Giles, come on back to us," Willow urged, squeezing Buffy's hand
tightly as Tara wrapped an arm around the red-head's shoulders.

"Come on and fight, Ripper!" Buffy said firmly, hoping to shock him
with the name and Giles' body jerked again, his hands clenching suddenly.

Giles opened his eyes slightly, his left hand rising off the bed and
then falling back again.

"Stay here, damnit!" Joyce shouted, shaking him. His eyes opened
wider, surprised.

"Joyce," he whispered, his voice more of a croak from a dry throat.

Joyce broke into relieved tears. "Yes, Rupert, I'm right here. You're
safe."

"Love& you&" he said slowly as Willow held a cup with a straw to his
lips. Giles closed his eyes and his breath evened out.

"He'll sleep easier now and he'll wake up himself," Quentin said calmly.

Joyce sighed with relief. She could tell that something had changed.
It was as if she could sense or see that her husband was once again in
his body and his spirit was no longer lost. She looked up at her
daughter and Buffy's wives.

"Thank you, all of you," Joyce said softly.

"You bet, Mom," Buffy smiled and stood up with a stretch. "Food?"

"Oh yeah," Tara agreed. "Very hungry."

Slayer and witches stopped when the hospital room door opened and
Ethan stuck his head in. "Still not going to hit me?" he grinned in
Buffy's direction.

"You're safe," Buffy said slowly. "No tricks, Ethan. None of us have a
sense of humor right now."

Buffy noticed Willow moving back around Giles' bed to stand next to
Joyce and Tara moved protectively in front of Giles.

"Pax," Ethan smirked, stepping into the room. "I told you I wanted him
back as he was. Now that we worked things out maybe I could pop around
every six months for a night out at the pub."

"Maybe," Buffy said slowly. Glancing back she saw her mother's
confusion and shrugged. "I'll explain later, Mom."

"He caused this!" Joyce protested.

"Actually, the deal with Rack was for one night," Ethan shrugged. "He
broke the deal and zapped the hell out of me. I couldn't get back in
to get Rip out so I made sure you could track me without making it too
easy."

"Because if you just came to us for help&?" Willow snapped.

"You would have suspected a trap and bashed me and wasted all kinds of
time," Ethan smiled. "I don't like being hit by a Slayer."

"But I still hit you to ensure the information was correct," Buffy
grinned. 

"You just like hitting me," Ethan muttered and then brightened. "Well,
I told you I had reasons for wanting Jack back to himself."

"Uh oh, here's the catch," Willow complained in a low voice.

Ethan grinned and opened the door wide. "Come on in, luv. Meet the
people I've been telling you about."

A teenage girl of about sixteen walked cautiously inside the hospital
room and stood near Ethan.  She had long brown hair, blue eyes, and
sharp features. A somewhat thin frame that hinted at a touch of height
in a year and an intelligence in her eyes that Willow could appreciate.

She was dressed in a nice flower print blouse, hip hugger jeans and
shoes that Buffy recognized immediately as being very fashionable. 

"This is Dawn. The guy on the bed is John Rupert Giles, that's his
wife Joyce. The soulful eyes over there is Tara. The red-haired one
with the stubborn streak is Willow. Barbie over there is Buffy and the
stuffed shirt is Quentin Travers," Ethan said as way of introduction.

"Hey, Dawn," Willow said with a cautious smile. 

"What's up, Ethan?" Buffy asked, wanting to know what the catch was.

"Well, Quentin will remember that Giles cut loose for a long weekend
about seventeen years ago," Ethan said slowly, wrapping an arm around
Dawn. "Went and got drunk, listened to rock music, and did a bit of
magic. Something of a relapse. Monday morning the Council found him,
smacked him around a bit and took him back to the bloody fortress.
Leaving behind one broken-hearted waitress."

"Oh man," Willow muttered.

Ethan's grin widened and Buffy felt her mind trying to go numb. It was
too much to absorb in one day.

"This is like a bad romance novel," Joyce complained. "Let me see if I
can fill the rest in. The waitress found she was pregnant but couldn't
find Rupert and he didn't know she was pregnant and never went back."

Ethan nodded. "Maggie found me. She was a smart one, actually. Went
researching the tattoo at a bookstore that a friend of mine owned. He
put her in touch with me and I pieced things together and took care of
her."

"Mum died in childbirth," Dawn said softly. "Uncle Ethan raised me."

"Why didn't you tell Giles?" Joyce demanded. "She's his, right?"

"Yes, and Maggie and I never hooked up," Ethan smiled. "I knew he
couldn't handle it. That would have been the same as what Rack did. Me
showing up with his daughter."

Buffy didn't believe Ethan for a moment that he hadn't been closer to
Dawn's mother but kept quiet. It wasn't the time or place to debate
his past sexual history or motives with him.

"So you needed him integrated," Tara suggested.

"It came up after Rack was done with him and I ran with it," Ethan
corrected. "I sent for Dawn and helped you get him back."

"Well, Dawn," Joyce said slowly, watching the young girls' fearful
eyes. "Welcome to California and the Summers family. Rupert will be
surprised but pleased, I think."

"Yeah," Buffy smiled. "I'm your step sister. Your older step sister."

"I've explained the weirdness of the family but not Sunnydale," Ethan
smiled and kissed Dawn's cheek. "I'll be around off and on."

"Okay, take care, Uncle Ethan," Dawn said, quickly hugging him.

"Welcome to Sunnyhell," Willow muttered, frowning in deep thought.




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"It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in."
"I kinda love you."
Buffy & Willow, 'Choices'

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