FIC: Per Omnia Saecula Saeculorum (part 4)

["cdreramius" <mike_mcd@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Title: Per Omnia Saecula Saeculorum
Author: Tony McD
Rating: M (15+ for language and adult themes)
Summary: The events and consequences immediately after `Grave'.
Distribution: Anywhere, just keep my name on it. As long as I am
remembered, I will never truly die.
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor do I own any
other characters. This is a work of fiction written for your enjoyment.

*-*-*-*-*

The soft knock on the door awoke Xander from his sleep and it took a
moment for him to remember where he was and why.

The bedroom door opened and Dawn slipped in with a small pile of
clothes, which she placed on the dressing table.

"Dawn." Xander whispered, not wanting to wake Willow. Dawn paused near
the door, unsure of what to do. In the end she padded softly over to
Xander's side.

"Hey." She whispered back.

"Hey Dawn Patrol." Dawn liked Xander's nickname for her. He reached
over and brushed away a stray hair from her eyes.

"How you feeling?" she felt stupid by asking. Xander gave a small smirk.

"I've had better days."

"A lot of that going around lately." She half joked. Dawn marveled at
how Xander had an almost supernatural ability to make her feel a
little better, to inject even the smallest bit of light and humor into
the darkest moments.

And for this she loved him even more.

"What about you?" he enquired.

"I'll live."

"Where's Buffy?"

"She's gone to pick Giles up from the hospital and grab you some
clothes from your place. I've put some of Willow's clothes on the
dressing table."

"Ok." A moment of silence passed.

"You want anything? Some breakfast or something?"

"I'll pass on the food for the moment but some hot buttered pain
killers would be nice."

Dawn smiled for the first time in a long while.

"Sure thing." She started to move but stopped and took hold of
Xander's hand.

"Love you Xan."

"I love you too Dawnie." Xander looked over at the sleeping redhead.

"I love all my girls."

*-*-*-*-*-*

Omnia vestra in caritate fiant

(Let all your things be done in love.)

*-*-*-*-*-*

"3:30 this afternoon? OK. See you then. Bye." Buffy hung up the phone,
glad that one of the more unpleasant but necessary tasks for the day
was done. When the coroner had picked up Tara's body, they had left
the name of a company that specialized in cleaning up crime scenes
after the police had finished collecting evidence.

With Sunnydale being the way it was, Buffy was sure that it was a high
demand business.

Heading out of the kitchen, Buffy flopped down on the couch in the
lounge room and looked over to her Watcher.

She noticed that the lines in his face were deeper and there was more
gray in his hair than she remembered. The events of the last few days
had taken their toll on them all and his injuries added to his aged
look. But Buffy had to face the fact that it had been a long time
since she had first teamed up with a stuffy yet lovable Watcher. None
of them were getting any younger and Giles hadn't been young to start
with.

With a sinking feeling, Buffy realized that she had known Giles for
years, fighting beside him, depending on him to be a key part of her
life as both a Slayer and a person, yet she had no idea how old he was
or even when his birthday was.

She didn't even know when the man she loved as a father was born.

Yet another thing on her long list of things to regret and fix.

Giles for his part watched as Buffy got up and moved over to him. She
snuggled close to him and he put his arm around her, giving her the
comfort she silently sought from him.

In the beginning he had tried to keep his distance from his Slayer. A
Slayer's life was often brutal and short and he had been taught that
emotional attachment was inappropriate and harmful.

Like all the best lies, it was a mix of both truth and lie.

He had, over the years, become close to her, her family, and her
friends. He had once been sacked for having a father's love for her.
Giles had then had spent the next few years trying to avoid that role
only to discover that now he didn't want to.

He had hurt both himself and Buffy in his efforts to deny what was in
his heart.

That denial ended now.

Father and daughter held each other, drawing comfort and silently
expressing their bond.

Ten minutes later, Dawn came down the stairs and sat down on the other
side of Giles.

"How are they?" Giles asked.

"Willow's a wreck. She wouldn't eat, she hasn't stopped crying, and
she's showing no signs of letting go of Xander any time soon. Not that
Xander is showing any signs of letting her go either." Dawn observed.

"We really need to get Xander to hospital to get those ribs checked
out. Then there's the matter of getting the window fixed and calling
Xander's boss and telling him that Xander wouldn't be at work for a
while." Buffy listed. She hoped that Xander wouldn't loose his job.

"Buffy, when you call Xander's boss, see if he can recommend somebody
to fix the window and the bullet holes in the side of the house."

"There's bullet holes in the side of the house?" Buffy didn't remember
seeing any, but then the last time she was out in the back yard she
was too busy watching Xander trying to save her life.

Again.

"Yeah. I... I went out there while you were picking Giles up." It had
been tough for Dawn to stand where so much death and destruction had
started. A moment, that's all it took. The time it took for a blood
vessel to rupture, a body to fall from a tower, or a bullet to fly and
her world came crashing down.

"Oh. Ok, well, I better call Xander's boss." Buffy said a little
awkwardly and headed over to make the call.

Over the past two years, Buffy had called Xander's boss a number of
times, usually to inform him that Xander would be late or not in that
day, usually due to Hellmouth related causes. His boss (`just call me
Jim') was always friendly and understanding and never gave Xander any
grief about the amount of time he had off from work. Indeed, Buffy was
surprised that Xander still had his job, not because of any lack of
ability or work ethic on Xander's part, rather the amount of time he
had taken off for various `family emergencies'.

"Robinson Construction, this is Emily speaking."

"Hi, it's Buffy Summers calling on behalf of Xander Harris. Can I
speak to Mr. Robinson?"

"Oh! Buffy, I heard about the shooting on the news. I'm so sorry about
what happened. How are things over there?"

"Pretty bad." `Understatement of the year' Buffy thought to her self.

"Xander's Ok, isn't he?" there was a tone of genuine worry in her voice.

"He'll be Ok, eventually." Buffy informed Emily

"Thank God. He's such a sweet guy. Just hold on and I'll get hold of
Mr. Robinson for you."

There was a couple of seconds of music as Buffy was put on hold.

"Buffy? Jim Robinson."

"Mr. Robinson..."

"Just call me Jim."

"Uh, Ok."

"Emily told me what happened over at your place. Is everyone alright?"

Buffy sighed.

"No. We lost one of the nicest people in the world and came close to
loosing a lot more." `Try six billion' Buffy thought.

"Damn. There's not really much I can say at a time like this. How's
Xander holding up?"

"Cuts, bruises, I think he's got some broken ribs but I can't be sure
until I get him to the hospital. I'm not sure when that will be though."

"Don't worry, Xander can take all the time off as he needs on full
pay. He's too valuable a person to loose, but I already guess you know
that."

"Yeah, I do now." A hint of anger directed at herself for her
selfishness crept into her voice.

"Buffy."

"Yeah."

"What can I do to help you?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not quite..."

"Buffy, at times like this you need all the help you can get. Tell me
what I can do."

Jim's firm yet gentle insistence on helping touched her.

"You might be able to give me a number for someone to do some house
repairs. There's a bunch of bullet holes in the side of the house and
a window as well. I'm kinda hoping that you might know someone that
can fix it. I don't have that much money at the moment but..."

"Say no more. I'll send someone out to have a look and see what we can
arrange."

"Thanks Jim. Bye."

Hanging up the phone, Buffy went back to curl up next to Giles. The
three of them curled up together provided a feeling of family that all
of them had been missing for so long.

*-*-*-*-*-*

Inclinatus sum et incurvatus nimis; tota die contristatus ingrediebar.

(I am miserable and am bowed down: all the day long I walked in sadness.)

*-*-*-*-*-*






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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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