RE: Fic: Coming Apart (3/?) (Severe Spoiler Warning)

[Carol.Clarke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

As always more please, it's got me on the edge of my seat. If only the
season was this interesting. You need to write for them.

-----Original Message-----
From: buffythebushkangaroo [mailto:buffythebushkangaroo@xxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2002 9:50 AM
To: buffywantswillow@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Fic: Coming Apart (3/?) (Severe Spoiler
Warning)


Severe Spoiler Warning.

(Spoilers for episodes:

17 - Normal Again.
18 - Entropy
19 - Seeing Red
20 - Villains

You have been warned.)

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For Carol, who noticed.

Anne-Lise.

--

"Quentin," Giles greeted as he strode in Travers' office.
"Rupert." Quentin gestured to the empty chair opposite where he 
sat. "Tea?"
Giles nodded. "Why not?" He sank slightly into the over-padded 
leather chair as Quentin pressed buttons on his walnut-fascia desk 
and ordered tea from his harried secretary.
"Won't be but a moment." He spoke with a studied tone of 
voice, "Rupert, why didn't you tell me that Buffy Summers was still 
alive?"
Giles, unprepared for the question, removed his glasses for a 
cursory polish as he formed a reply. "Actually," he began, "I never 
lied to you. She *was* dead."
"Oh? Do tell." He raised a hand. "Over here, Miss Parkins. Thank 
you."
Giles looked up startled as the slim secretary sussurated past and 
placed down a tray with tea and biscuits. She stepped quietly; Too 
quietly. A martial-artist, perhaps. Or something maybe not-quite 
human...
As the secretary left, Travers poured the tea. "You were saying, 
Rupert. You let her die, yet again, and then...?"
"Yes..." Giles sighed, and told Quentin all he knew. He didn't want 
to, but such was his duty.

*

"Willow!" Buffy rushed to her wan friend as she entered the kitchen.
Willow wrapped her arms around Buffy before dissolving into the 
pent-up sobs she'd been withholding until now.
"Buffy! Oh, Buffy. I'm so sorry... I couldn't stop..."
"Its okay," Buffy smoothed Willow's hair away from her face. "Its 
okay."
Willow shook her head. "No... Its really not. I couldn't stop, 
Buffy! It was like... Like it wasn't *me*!" Willow started crying 
again. Grief, frustration, anger, self-pity... All warred within and 
overwhelmed.
"Shush..." Buffy held her tighter. Neither knew who kissed who 
first, but both realised at the same time and broke apart.
"I..." Willow censored her own thoughts. "I need to use the 
bathroom... Clean up."
Buffy nodded, and stared after her.
"That was," Dawn spoke up from where she and Xander were still 
standing in the corner, "well, unexpected."
Buffy hadn't the words to reply.
"I need a drink," Xander said.

*

"Sunnydale!" Spike laughed in glee as he drove a battered and mud-
streaked Corvette past the Welcome sign. "Population: decreasing..."
Echoing laughter followed his careering path.

*

"She called *you*?" Giles stared at Quentin with wide eyes. "Why 
would she do that?"
Travers grinned without malice. "Am I to presume that was emotional 
rhetoric, Rupert, or would you prefer I hazard a guess?"
Giles fumed and grabbed his cup, swallowing furiously.
"I would presume," Quentin continued with a superior smirk, "she 
needs our help."
Giles digested this, then shook his head. "More likely she needs 
your financial resources."
Quentin's eyebrows lifted. "Are you saying we should consider 
*hiring* the Slayer?" He sputtered. "But... Its her duty to..."
It was Giles' turn to act self-satisfied. "Do *you* realise, she's 
the oldest Slayer we've had the pleasure to train? Most never 
survived late teens..."
Quentin laughed. "Quite. Quite."
"Welcome to post-suffragette England," Giles welcomed.

*

Buffy patrolled the midnight streets, her thoughts a maelstrom of 
fear over Willow. Everything was such a mess; but at least things 
were likely to settle down now...
"The Slayer!" Spike stepped from behind a tree.
Buffy couldn't help herself. She burst out laughing.
"What?" Spike looked affronted. "Is that any way to treat your one 
true love?"
Buffy's laughter trailed off. "Oh, get over yourself, Spike! I was 
just using you for cheap sex, and you know it!" She 
grinned. "Besides, I've found someone new."
"Oh yeah?" Spike moved closer. "Captain cardboard come back to give 
you what you've been missing, in my absence?"
Buffy frowned. "You've been absent? As in, not in Sunnydale?" She 
shrugged. "What've you been cooking up Spike? Or should I say..." She 
dropped her voice to a stage-whisper, "The Doctor?"
"It doesn't matter," Spike replied. "But let me just say... The 
wind's are changing, m'love. Believe me, everything will seem 
different tomorrow."
Buffy stared after him confused as Spike ran off into the night.
"Too much kitten urine in the blood," she surmised aloud.

*

"I can't believe I'm going back," Giles sighed as he tried to get 
comfortable on the Delta Airlines economy seat. "And I really can't 
believe you couldn't get us better seats!"
Quentin agreed. "I think, perhaps, Miss Parkins may be due a 
lesson. but let us not spar... Your Slayer needs our help, and I need 
to catch up on my sleep." Travers sank into his seat, and into 
slumber.
Giles expression failed, in his reserved British way, to reveal the 
worry and anger he felt.
And the betrayal.

*

End Part 3.




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