FIC: To Thine Own Self Be True 16/? B/W

["mike" <wizathogwarts@xxxxxxxxx>]

Title - To Thine Own Self Be True 16/?
By mike (wizathogwarts@xxxxxxxxx) 
SPOILERS: Season 1, Up to episode 4.
RATING: PG13. It is a Buffy/Willow fic that includes smoochies, 
caressing and mystical intimacy. 
DISCLAIMER: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all characters belong to 
Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and Fox. 
FEEDBACK: Constructive comments are encouraged but I reserve the 
right to debate.  Debating doesn't mean I think you're wrong, it 
just means convince me. 
SUMMARY: (Buffy/Willow) Buffy and Willow deal with the impending 
return of Willow's parents and a long night of slaying.
Authors Notes: 

To Thine Own Self Be True
Chapter 16
A long night.

We had just finished our homework and heard mom's call that dinner 
was ready.  The sun was setting, just a yellow orangish sliver on 
the horizon shedding it's last beams of daylight through the 
window.  My breath caught as Willow lifted and turned her head into 
the light.  Her hair shone brightly from the sun and the sparkle in 
her eyes mesmerized me.  She notices the adoring expression on my 
face.  Her cheeks turn that rosy color I love so much then her mouth 
slides into that impish smile with the slight tilting of her head 
that totally undoes me.  I reached my hand out and gently stroked my 
fingers across her cheek, the tips coming to rest on her soft, 
delicate lips.  Her eyes slowly darkened as she raises her hand up 
to carefully grasp mine, opening her mouth to kiss, then she 
languidly sucks on the ends of my fingers.  My skin tingles and heat 
flashes up my spine.  I lean in to replace my fingers with my lips. 
Our kiss was slow as we sample each others lips, gently sucking and 
nibbling with long slow sweeps of our soft moist tongues.  Sighing 
heavily, we draw back slowly, the passion in our eyes almost too 
much to bear.

"The hors d'ourves were great, what's for dinner."  Willow spoke low 
and huskily.

"I don't care, as long as you're dessert." I replied earnestly.

"BUFFY! WILLOW! DINNER NOW!"  Mom's voice reverberated through the 
house causing us to jump slightly.

Willow giggled as we clasped hands and headed down for what we hoped 
would be a quick and not too filling meal.

After getting settled in with dinner, mom set her water back on the 
table after taking a drink.  She had her 'It's time to tell me 
everything look'.  Glancing at Willow, [are you ready for this?]

[sure, and even though we don't have everything worked out her input 
has always been helpful.  Maybe she can help us fill in the gaps.]  
Willow raised her eyebrows as she conveyed this thought to me.

[hope so 'cause I'm feeling the grand canyon right now] I responded 
with pursed lips.

I felt a soft touch on my cheek and felt it deepen.  Eliciting 
enticing feelings as Willow's gentle extension caressed my face with 
the care and gentleness of her love.  Almost immediately I was much 
calmer.  I had become much more comfortable discussing things with 
mom but the recent years of her not having time to listen were very 
difficult to overcome.  Fortunately Willow had no such history and 
actually relished sharing things with her.

[thanks will.  You make everything better.] I looked at her and 
smiled my contentment.

Willow returned my smile with a soft combination of sexy down turned 
head with eyes peeking out through falling hair and a smile that 
would melt the largest iceberg.

"Do I need to remind you two that you're at the dinner table and not 
alone?" Mom's stern voice snapped both our heads around.

Expecting to see a stern look of disapproval we were instead greeted 
to a mom smirk that immediately brought giggles of relief to both of 
us.

"OK mom, where would you like us to start?" I snickered out as I 
tried to get my tension induced relief under control.

"How about we start with what happened at school today.  Anything 
happen there that I need to know about?"  Mom's tone while calm and 
non-threatening also was able to convey the thought 'tell me 
everything and I'll decide what I need to know'.

"Well, there was no evil goings on.  Classes went fine.  And nothing 
unusual happened except for Amy and Jesse possibly getting 
together." I spoke while absentmindedly pushing my food across my 
plate.

Mom then looked to Willow for the non Cliff notes version and Willow 
happily obliged.  I sat back and watched my green eyed beauty 
gesture with her hands, toss her head for effect and punctuate all 
her words with facial expressions that made the words almost 
unnecessary.

"So Amy seemed OK going with her father?" Mom's concern was evident 
with the scrunch of her eyebrows.

"Oh more than OK, she was totally jazzed."  I added my own 
endorsement wrapped around a mouthful of food.

"Good.  Now when do I get to meet Mr. Giles? She annunciated the 
question with a couple taps of her dinner fork.

"Hopefully we can get you guys together tomorrow evening.  We 
haven't discussed it with him yet but after checking out the new 
training facility, we're hoping he will come in when he drops us off 
and explain the college extension program he's setting up for us."  
I kept my voice even and steady to belie my actual nervousness over 
their impending meeting.

"That would be great.  I've found someone to help out and this would 
be a perfect opportunity for Kim to close up.  I can leave at five 
so she'll only be by herself until eight." Mom paused a moment, then 
pointedly asked, "So you get to see the training facility tomorrow?  
Will you get keys so you can go there on your own, meaning you can 
show your mother around?"  

"That's a great idea.  That way Buffy and I can train on things we 
don't want Giles to see yet."  Willow chimed in helpfully.

"Yea mom that is a good idea.  We hadn't thought that far ahead 
yet."  I added my own suck up.

"That's not like you two.  Your planning so far while not perfect 
has not missed the obvious details.  Is something bothering you?"  
Mom's concerns were clearly defined in her voice and her face.

I glanced at Will and she gave me a little nod and smile for 
encouragement.  "Yea, Giles is supposed to be receiving something 
today or tomorrow that may reveal the origins of the Watcher's 
council and how they came to oversee the Slayers.  We are torn 
whether or not to spy on his reading or wait for him to tell us.  
We're starting to like him and feel we should start trusting him.  
He has done some things to earn our trust and we feel a bit guilty 
spying on him."  I gave a slight shrug of my shoulders and looked 
down at my plate as I spoke.

Mom was thoughtful for a few moments and then fixed us both with her 
most understanding and supportive expression.  "I'm very proud of 
you both for wanting to extend your trust to Mr. Giles.  And I agree 
that his actions are heading in a trustworthy direction.  But this 
could mean your lives."

Mom paused momentarily while she made certain we both understood 
where her priorities were.  "And while I don't believe Mr. Giles 
would willingly hurt either of you, there are still too many 
unknowns and potential for deceit and disaster to throw caution to 
the winds.  I know this won't make it any easier for you but I'm 
going to have to insist that you continue to monitor Mr. Giles for 
the time being.  At least until we know this Council's agenda and 
how much control they are able to exert over Mr. Giles.  Good people 
with good intentions often perform heinous acts merely because their 
natures lend them to be loyal, even when the agency they are being 
loyal to does not deserve it." 

Mom's words washed over us like being splashed in the face with ice 
water.  She was right and wrong.  It would still bother us to 
monitor a person we felt we should be trusting, but what she said 
eased our doubts and reservations against doing so.

"Thanks mom, that helps a lot."  I thanked her accompanied with a 
small smile.

"Yea, me too.  Thanks mom.  I'm no longer all yucky guilt girl about 
spying on Giles, just uncomfortable that we aren't able to fully 
trust him yet."  Willow expressed her feelings on the matter with an 
exhalation of resigned relief and just a slight pout to her mouth.

"Remember girls, only martyrs can afford to never leave the moral 
high ground.  For the rest of us, there will always be compromises.  
Keep your intentions focused and you're unlikely to make a 
compromise that will harm you." Mom's gaze had slowly traveled from 
me to Willow and back as she spoke.

"Now for some news of my own.  I spoke with your parents this 
afternoon Willow.  They expect to arrive home around eight tomorrow 
evening.  I suggested that you spend tomorrow night with us and we 
all get together for lunch on Saturday.  They said that would be 
wonderful.  They are looking forward to seeing you and meeting Buffy 
and I.  They said they would be here at noon on Saturday, after 
which they would take you home with them."  Mom finished speaking 
and watched carefully for our reactions.

"They're going to take me home?"  Willow's words were gasped as she 
stared at mom with growing horror and then her face turned towards 
me.  I got out of my chair at Slayer speed and immediately wrapped 
my arms around her as we both were confronted with our imminent 
separation.  The thought of being apart for even a single night was 
as if some cold pit of icy darkness had opened within us and was 
slowly eating us from the inside out.

"I love you." Willow spoke in a pained voice.  With those three 
words, I felt warmth in the center of my chest dispelling the 
internal cold that had a moment before nearly engulfed me.  I became 
calm and opened myself to the love I felt from this incredible woman.

"I love you." I spoke also and began to caress her with waves of my 
love.  Pouring out from the depths of my being the certainty of our 
being together forever no matter what obstacles we encountered in 
our lives.

I felt her body calm as her arms more tightly squeezed me.  She 
relaxed and the rigid ness slowly left her.  With a soft sigh, "Oh 
Buffy, the thought of sleeping without you scares me so much but I 
guess it's something we'll have to get used to."

"Yea, I guess it's something we should learn to at least tolerate 
without falling apart.  If your parents don't have any objections to 
sleepovers, there's no reason that sleeping apart has to be the 
norm.  Maybe it can just be the annoying exception."  I pulled my 
head back and smiled at her.  I gently stroked her cheek and she did 
the same for me.  We then leaned in and kissed gently our deep love 
for each other.

"I can see that you girls will be just fine.  And if the Rosenberg's 
have no objections, I don't see why you can't have your first 
sleepover at Willow's on Saturday.  It's the school nights that will 
be the problem."  Mom had waited until we had finished our little 
joint melt down and recovery before tossing us the small but 
appreciated bone.

The rest of dinner went smoothly with some really comical banter as 
mom regaled us about some eccentric customers.  We were just 
completing clean up when a demon made its presence known.

I looked to Willow for confirmation about the location and she 
replied, "It's at the docks." She confirmed.

"Call Giles, I'll get the bag."  I called back over my shoulder as I 
leaped up the stairs.  We had decided to keep these conversations 
audible for moms' sake and so as not to have to repeat ourselves.

With experienced precision, we quickly gathered ourselves at the 
corner in wait of Giles.  Giles appeared in his decrepit car within 
minutes of our arrival, obviously pushing his natural inclination 
for speed limits.  With barely a glance we both jumped in the back 
seat and we took off for the docks per Willow's instructions.

Keeping the demon under observation, we took the time during the 
drive to get a visual, and what a visual we got.  It was a giant 
bug, like something out of a 1950's horror movie.  It had just 
entered an alley leading through the warehouse district and we gave 
Giles directions for heading it off.  As we pulled into the alley 
the headlights fully illuminated the thing in all its ugliness.

"Jeezus, is that thing ugly.  You sure you want to go up against it 
with just a sword Buffy?" Willow asked as she gripped my arm.

Before I could reply, Giles interrupted.  "Girls, are you sure of 
what you are seeing?"

"Yep, big ugly bug with really long pincher thingies.  How about you 
Will?" I leaned over the car seat to stare at Giles not believing he 
didn't see the thing.

"That's right, big ugly bug."  Willow leaned over my shoulder to get 
a closer look at Giles whose face was a portrait of serenity as it 
gazed upon this Vincent Price nightmare as it approached the car.

[buffy, look at what's coming from the bug.  It's like a grayish 
wave that's washing over Giles.  I think it's affecting what he 
see's.]  Willow's desperation came across in waves as she tuned me 
into the vision.

[i see it will, can we block it some how?]  I gasped as I watched 
this sickening emanation penetrated everything except for our own 
natural shields.  

[will, i'm such a dummy, our shields are blocking it.  Let's just 
extend a shield to giles.] I said while slapping my forehead.

Quickly extending a shield around Giles, it was amazing to see the 
transformation his face under went as his sight was no longer being 
fooled.

"Oh lord, where did that come from and why didn't I see it before?"  
His voice raised an octave and his eyes shot wide open.

"We'll explain later, now we kill it." I exclaimed as I clamber out 
of the car with a nice heavy battle axe in my hand.

[be careful and I got your back] Willow let me know and as I 
approached the creature, I felt Willow creating shields to cover me 
if necessary.

The thing had an incredible reach I quickly discovered and was a lot 
faster than it looked.  I barely ducked under a snapping pincer but 
was now close enough to swing my axe into its lower abdomen.  The 
blade bit with a nice crunching thunk eliciting a high pitched 
squeal.  But before I could wrench the blade free, it was able to 
hit me with one of its arms sending me tumbling.  I rolled and 
quickly came to my feet to see my axe still imbedded in the things 
body with lots of yellow fluid leaking onto the ground.  As it 
attacked, I got under its guard and grabbed the axe, ripping it free 
with all my might.  The damage this caused sent the creature 
stumbling.  I quickly followed up by swinging at one of its flailing 
arms as it tried to keep its balance.  I took the appendage off half 
way to its shoulder but at the same time it tried to blind side me 
with its other arm which was stopped about a foot from my head by a 
quickly interjected shield from my lovely protector.  It screeched 
in pain and frustration as I then followed up by cutting its leg off 
and as it lurched forward I finished the task with a satisfying 
decapitation.

Swinging the axe to my shoulder, I turned and walked over to my 
gorgeous counterpart.  With an anticipatory smile, Willow leaned 
forward and captured my lips.  Our mouths melded and became one 
symbiotic organism that gave and received soft, moist affection.  
With gentle sighs of contentment we slowly pulled back from our 
mutual appreciation of each others mouths.

I turned to see what Giles was doing and beheld him vigorously 
wiping his glasses while his gaze was focused on the sky. 

Just then we became aware of a new demon presense, and not in a 
cemetery like normal.  This one was downtown, a few blocks from the 
Bronze.

"Wow, where'd he come from?"  Willow's gasp and look of befuddlement 
was precious, and probably mirrored my own.

"No idea Will, but we better motor quick."  I replied while waving 
at Giles.  

"Hey Giles, got a new one.  Get your butt in gear and let's go." I 
called to him then turned and followd Willow to the car.

I heard Giles quickly move to the car and entered as we settled 
ourselves in the backseat.

"Where to?" Giles asked as he started the engine.

"Couple blocks this side of the Bronze.  Head up Main and we'll let 
you know when to turn left."  Willow advised him with a bit of 
excitement in her voice.

[you're getting excited, aren't you?]  I asked teasingly.

[after the fight, then the kiss I was already excited!] As she 
squeezed my thigh and bumped shoulders.  I didn't have to look but I 
did anyway just to see that sexy grin on her face.

[hope this is quick, 'cause I need more willow kissage]  I grinned 
back and gently scraped my short finger nails up her inner thigh.

Willow started to grin then turned all serious.  [no rushing things 
and you need to keep your mind on the slayage or their might not be 
any kissage.]

[ok will, slayer mode now but you better be ready for some serious 
lip lockage after the dust settles.]  I settled back in the seat and 
grabbed a rag out of the bag to wipe my axe clean.

[that's my good slayer.]  She responded softly.

"Turn left at the next street, then there's a parking lot next to 
what looks like a bar a block and a half on the right."  Willow 
instructed Giles as she leaned over the seat and pointed with her 
right arm.

Giles swung into the parking lot which was mostly empty except for a 
very large demon that was trying to corner a small cat next to a 
garbage bin.

As Giles came to a stop, I jumped out the left side with a sword 
that I has swapped  for my axe.  Willow was right behind me.  The 
demon turned and I beheld a really ugly greenish grey body looking 
something like the creature from the black lagoon.

"Buffy, it's a Polgara demon.  It has long spikes that come out of 
it's wrists.  Beheading it should kill it."  I took in Giles 
information and slowed my approach a bit watching his movements 
carefully.  With a roar, he suddenly charged and as it swung it's 
right arm at me, a long spike sprung from his arm aimed right at my 
chest.  I leapt above his strike throwing a flying kick into his 
face knocking the creature onto his back.  As he rolled to his left 
to get back up, I swung my sword as hard as I could right at his 
neck.  His head came cleanly off, rolling across the pavement with a 
soft bumping sound.

"Well, that was disappointing."  I quipped as I turned back towards 
Willow and Giles.

"Buffy, this place isn't right.  I can't see inside.  There's some 
kind of shield around it."  Willow's concern was evident in her 
voice as she met me and took my free hand in hers.

We looked over at Giles' to see him take a few steps towards the 
dark building with a single light over a solid steel door.  A sign 
was on the wall beside the door saying simply 'Willy's Place'.

Giles turned back to us and with a thoughtful expression asked us 
earnestly.  "You say it has a shield on it Willow?  Can you do 
anything with it?"

I looked at Willow to see her adorable face as she slowly smiled and 
her eyes light up.  

"We can take care of it together."  She assured Giles while looking 
at me.

"I trust you."  I answered in respone to the question on her face.

[think we should load up on a little extra juice first?]  I asked 
her quietly.

[absolutely] She replied as she took my hand in hers.

We quickly slipt off to our wonderous fountain until we felt fully 
powered and returned, the time elapsed was only a few minutes.

Still holding hands, we turned and faced the decrepit building.

[we need to create a blanket that we bring in contact with it all at 
once.  since we can't surround it from both sides, i'm not sure what 
will happen so i want to but a thick shield between us and the 
building in case the thing implodes.]

"Giles, stand behind us and don't move.  Willow thinks it might 
implode so we're putting up a shield in front of us."  I told Giles 
without looking at him.  I heard him move behind us as we erected a 
shield in front of us with wings on each side bent back towards us.  
We anchored the shield into the ground and then began preparing the 
blanket Willow wanted to use to cancel the dark shield around the 
bar.

It took us about five minutes before Willow was satisfied with the 
shape of the blanket.  I felt her squeeze my hand then she spoke out 
loud for Giles' sake.

"Now!"  And with that we brought the blanket into contact with the 
magical shield covering the bar.  

An unearthly groan sent chills down our spines turning quickly into 
a load screeching noise like a train slamming on its breaks.  Then a 
hellish rainbow of light spread everywhere.  Purple, red, dark 
sickly greens quickly turned to bright yellow and red of a giant 
fireball as we were simultaneously hit with a giant roar and pieces 
of the building flying at us.  The heat wave from the explosion 
rolled over our shield and over our heads baking us with its 
intensity.  We instinctively ducked to our knees and I coverd 
Willow's body with my own.  Debris rained down upon us but Will 
quickly raised another shield above us.  As the last sound of 
falling building parts passed, we looked up to survey our 
handiwork.  Streaming from the building were as mixed a bunch of 
demons and vampires as I had ever seen.  Our demonscape had gone 
bonkers just seconds after the shield collapsed so we knew to expect 
twenty-two demons.  There were seven vamps on fire who quickly 
turned to dust so the count was quickly down to fifteen.

[i can't let any of them escape] I told Willow as I clenched my 
sword tight and released Willow's hand so that I could replace it 
with a stake.

[we can't buffy, and we won't.  i'll keep them separated into small 
groups.  work with me buffy and we can do this.]  Willow corrected 
my thinking with a mental resolve that hit me like a bucket of ice 
water.  I looked back at her and winked.

[you got my back and i won't do anything stupid.  is that pretty 
much what you wanted to say?]

[yea, pretty much.  now that you've got the right idea, what are you 
waiting for?]  She asked while tilting her head.

With that I headed towards the first group of demons who finding 
that they couldn't escape to the back left or right were charging 
right towards us.  The others were boxed in three goups.  As the 
closest demon came within reach with his arms streched out in front 
of him I went low and cut his right leg off just above the knee.  
This positioned my sword to run the next demon right through the 
chest.  I kicked out knocking the next demon back as I yanked my 
sword free swinging it around to decapitate the third and last demon 
in this group.  I then went back to the one legged demon who was 
howling bloody murder and removed his head.

[ready for the next?]  I asked Willow as I bounced lightly on my 
toes.

[yea, but can I try something first?]  She asked almost timidly.

[sure will, what did you have in mind?]  I asked wondering about why 
she was so timid in asking.

[well, you know those horror movies where the walls move in on you 
with the spikes?]  She asked with anticipation in her thoughts and 
on her face.

[ahhh, taking all my fun away.]  I now knew why she was timid with 
her request.  She was afraid that I would be disappointed about 
missing out on the personal combat.  And I would, but there were 
still twelve big mean ugly suckers that wanted nothing more than to 
rip us limb from limb.  Hey, I might be an adrenalin junkie but I'm 
not stupid.  Well not as a rule at least or not while Willow was 
watching is more like it.

[sure will, lets do it together]  I put my stake away and took her 
hand.  I heard her sigh of relief and we quickly restructured the 
first cell with spike on two of the opposing walls and then slammed 
them together.  As they pierced the first demons, the walls broke 
down, leaving two demons mostly unscathed.  I quickly released 
Willow's hand and attacked the closest demon just as we heard sirens 
approaching.

"Buffy, Willow, the authorities are approaching.  We can't be 
discovered here.  We must go quickly."  Giles spoke quickly with 
only a hint of panic in his voice.

"We can't leave these demons alive with the police.  They'd be 
slaughtered."  Willow hissed angerly at him.

I let Willow handle Giles as I finished ugly number 1 and ducked 
under number two's clumsy swat at my head.  With a back swing I 
removed the offending arm and then split his chest wide open with a 
powerful swing that almost cut him in half.

[will, do the spike wall on the rest quick.  i'll take care of the 
ones  that survive.]  I felt Willow focus on the remaing two cells 
and watched three get taken out in the first but only two in the 
second before they realized they were free and quickly rushed 
towards me just as I heard the squeal of tires into the parking lot.

"Everybody on the ground now.  This is the police."  Was heard very 
clearly over their loadspeaker.

[buffy, he has a gun.]  I could almost hear Willow squeak in her 
thougt.

[just keep a shield between me and the cops so they can't shoot me 
and don't forget to shield giles and yourself.]  I told her quickly 
as two of the demons converged on me at once.

These guys were a lot more agile than the previous ones and I was 
dodging, jumping and swinging for all I was worth allowing bad guy 
number three to get by me.  As I critically wounded one of the 
demons facing me, the one that got by decided to for for the police.

"Stop or I'll fire."  Was immediately followed by gunfire and raging 
howls from the demon.  I finished up my demons and turned to see a 
demon just about to grab a policeman who was desperately trying to 
reload his gun.  I flung my arm back and threw my sword with every 
once of strength I had.  I was rewarded with the gurgling groan of 
the demon as my sword pierced his back all the way to the hilt.

I ran towards the officer who had been dropped and fortunately moved 
out of the way of the collapsing demon.  I reached him in moments 
and bent down slowly, placing my hand on his shoulder.

"It's OK, it's dead.  You're going to be alright."  I assured him in 
the most soothing tone I could manage.

He just gazed at me all shocked, then shook his head and tried to 
regain his feet.  I grabbed his forearm and pulled him the rest of 
the way up.

"Damn, I'd heard about these damn things but they said they left us 
cops alone."  He said while running his hand over his short dark 
hair.

"And who and what are you?"  He regained his composure and now 
focused on me.

"Well, I'm Buffy."  I felt Willow join me with Giles a step 
behind.  "And this is Willow and the guy behind me is Giles.  Willow 
and I are students at Sunnydale High School and Giles is our 
extension course counselor.  And we also kill demons."

He looked at me encredulously for a moment then I could see him 
replay the events he witnessed through his mind.  "You saved my 
life."  He said softly.

"Well that goes with the demon killing.  Just part of the job."  I 
assured him.

"Well thank you anyway."  He was now smiling a little.  "I'm officer 
Stanwyck, Brett Stanwyck"

Giles took this moment to make his presence felt.  "Officer 
Stanwyck, we'd prefer not to be here when the rest of the 
authorities appear.  If you have any questions you can reach us at 
the school.  May we go now?

"Yea, don't know how I'm going to explain this, but something tells 
me that once they see the bodies, my bosses aren't going to want to 
know."  He grimaced, then raised his hand in a shooing motion.

"Go, get out of here.  Things will actully be easier for me if 
you're not here.  And thanks again Buffy."  He waved as we quickly 
made our to the car waving and saying our goodbye's.

"It's been a long night, I better get you and Willow home."  Giles 
said glancing over his shoulder at me as he pulled out of the 
parking lot.

"Home sounds relly nice right now."  Willow sighed and slumpled back 
into her seat.

[uhhh will, remember who's waiting for us at home]  I asked trying 
to figure out how we were going to tell mom about this night.

[yea, you're mom. ohh you're mom!  well you'll just talk to her 
while i run upstairs quickly to take a shower.] she answered 
nervously knowing how she opens up to mom.

[i think mom's shown us the best thing is to just tell her 
everything, holding nothing back.  besides she'll know if we do. and 
look at the bright side, no one got hurt this time.]  I told her 
assuringly.

[ok, but be ready when she asks me for my version.  you know how i 
get.]  Willow sounded so meek and adorable I just melted and put my 
arms around her kissing her cheek.

[i love you and mom loves you.  you've got nothing to worry about.  
i've got your back this time.]  I sent her waves of love and comfort 
and felt her immediately relax.

As Giles came to the corner, Mom stepped out into the light and 
leaned her head into the car.  "Mr. Giles, please pull your car into 
the driveway.  It's time we talked."  Mom withdrew her head before 
Gile's could sputter a response.

"You better do as she says.  Pissing mom off is never a good idea."  
I said as I could see his indecision.

"It's just that I have no idea what I'm going to say to her.  I 
can't imagine what she thinks what with an older man out at night 
with two teenage girls.  How can I explain nothing inappropriate is 
going on when I can't tell her the truth."  He sputtered out 
haltingly as drove the car into our driveway with mom standing on 
the front porch watching our arrival.

"My only suggestion is don't lie.  If you lie, well you don't want 
to know and neither do I so just don't."  I said quickly as Willow 
exited the back of the car and I quickly followed.

Giles cut the engine and we could hear him following us slowly.  As 
we walked up the steps, I smiled at mom.

"Hi mom.  Home safe and sound.  How was your evening."  I asked her 
as walked up the steps.

"It was going fine until an explosion rattled every plate and window 
in the house.  I don't suppose you know anything about that, do 
you."  She asked pointedly.  She then pulled us both into a big 
hug.  "I'm so relieved that you're both alright.  I was so worried.  
Now I want you both to go upstairs and get cleaned up and stay there 
until I call you.  I'm going to have a talk with your Mr. Giles.  
Feel free to listen in."  She whispered softly while her head was 
between both of ours.

"Come in Mr. Giles."  As she released us from her arms we quickly 
went inside and up the stairs, greatful that we didn't have to 
explain to mom what went down tonight.  

Willow and I imediately tuned into the conversation downstairs as we 
started to get undressed for our shower.

["Make yourself comfortable, could I get you something to drink?  I 
imagine some tea would be nice."

"Well I really need to be going.  I don't really have time for tea 
but thank you for offering."

"Mr. Giles, you're going to be here for as long as it takes to come 
to an understanding.  I prepared a whole pot of water so it's no 
problem.  I have Early Grey or would you prefer a herbal?"

"Uh, yes, the Early Grey would be nice.  Thank you very much."

"Please make yourself comfortable, I'll be back in a flash."]

Willow and I had took this opportunity to finish undressing and get 
in the shower.  Our interest in the conversation downstairs took 
most of our focus leaving getting clean to just getting clean.

"Mom's back."  Willow whispered and we focused again on the 
happenings in the living room.

["Please help yourself Mr. Giles."

"Thank you.  It appears you have something of importance to 
discuss.  Would you like to begin?"

"I think I'll just cut to the chase.  Buffy's the Slayer and your 
her Watcher.  Buffy has convinced me that she can't stop being the 
Slayer.  And as much as it frightens me, I do realize the importance 
of her calling.  I plan on supporting her in this cause but my 
primary goal is probably different than yours.  Your goal is to use 
Buffy to destroy Vampires and demons.  My goal is to see that Buffy 
lives a long happy life.  I believe that our two goals can coexist 
if we work together.  What do you think?"

"Errr, the Slayer is the instrument of the Council for battling the 
demonic evils in the world.  A long and happy life for the Slayer 
has never been the council's objective.  Frankly, while I applaud 
your determination to support Buffy, I don't see how the two 
objectives can coexist."

"No, I don't suppose you can considering that your knowledge of 
dealing with Slayers is thousands of years old and probably hasn't 
changed much since the beginning.  Tell me how the first Slayer came 
to be and how the council came about."

"The origins of the Slayer and Council have been hidden, but with 
Buffy's prodding I was compelled to call in a few favors and 
received today a manuscript that describes their origins.  I've only 
had a chance to scan it but the gist is that three sorcerers, 
concerned with the rising tide of vampires decided to chain a young 
girl to a rock that was a powerful conduit.  They performed a 
ceremony that imbued the girl with dark power, making her 
supernaturally strong and fast.  This girl was to be their 
instrument to fight the vampires."]

As Giles completed this description, Willow and I had a shared 
vision.  Obviously another of the Goddess' time delay messages.  We 
hovered over a dark cave, dimly lit with flickering torches.  A 
young girl was chained to an oily black rock in the center of the 
cave.  Three men with staffs stood around chanting as a dark smoky 
thing undulated it's way towards the helpless girl.  The darkness 
began to enter the girl and there was a bright flash of light that 
blinded the three men.  If they could have seen, they would have 
witnessed a blue and gold light wrap itself around the darkness 
trying to enter the girl and seen it destroyed, and replaced by the 
light which merged itself with the body and spirit of the girl.  As 
it did so, another light split off and travelled far away to enter 
another girl but not merge.  Merely to lie dormant until called.

Our minds were again back home after receiving this newest fragment 
from our visit with the Goddess.  I looked at Willow in amazement 
over this incredible revelation.

"The Goddess intervened.  And only we know the real truth."  Willow 
gasped.  "They think the Slayer is imbued with darkness, but you're 
not.  You were given your power by the pure light and power of the 
Goddess."

"But what does this mean?  Would the council even care?  They just 
want a Slayer.  What difference does it make where she gets her 
power from?"  I asked Willow feeling my head spinning while I tried 
to understand the implications.

"I don't know Buffy, lets finish listening.  Maybe Giles has more 
information."  Willow whispered while slowly shaking her head.

["...everything to do with how the Council treats the Slayer.  It's 
long been the belief of the Council that since the Slayer derives 
her power from darkness, that eventually it will consume her, making 
her more dangerous than the evil she battles.  That is their 
reasoning for making certain that Slayer's do not have a long life."

"That is perposterous, there is no evil or darkness in Buffy!  Their 
arrogance and fear and need to control prevent them from discovering 
the truth."

"Two weeks ago, I would have just treated what you just said as the 
typical response from a loving mother.  But now, after having 
observed repeatedly Buffy and Willow's handling of pure positive 
energy and the way it reacts to dark magics I too must conclude that 
the Councils beliefs are based on faulty information.  But I still 
don't know how to give Buffy a long and happy life.  At some point, 
the Council will step in and attempt to end her life for fear of her 
becoming consumed by the darkness they believe is the source of her 
power."

"I'll tell you how.  We do it slowly and by keeping the Council in 
the dark as to what's really going on.  All they need to know is 
that Buffy is a dedicated and reliable Slayer.  I'm guessing they'll 
keep their distance until her 18th birthday as long as they don't 
suspect anything unusual."

"I believe you to be correct in that assumption.  With minimal 
support, Slayers tend to expire earlier rather than later, just they 
way they like it."

"Good, then we have almost two years to prepare for their coming.  
If we do this right, they'll never know what hit them."]

tbc 



















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

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