Oh, Victor, that's wonderful.

Oh, Victor, that's wonderful.

Thanks, although I suspect I'm too much of a sucker for a more-or-less happy ending.

"Oh," Andrew flapped his hands. "Angel's like Gamera."

BWAHAHAHA!!! Lorne's making our little Andrew a man BWAAHAHA!!!

Thanks, although I suspect I'm too much of a sucker for a more-or-less happy ending.

Nonsense! Why the hell else do we have to put up with Hope having slithered out of Pandora's Box if not to have the occasionaly more-or-less happy ending?

Anyway, next post, more V!Giles.

Buffy didn't know she was asleep until she jerked awake. Dawn was curled up next to her in the corner farthest from the doorway, but Giles was nowhere to be seen. It seemed a little brighter, though the light had a weird pinky tone to it like Barbie's Dream House gone bad.

She got to her feet slowly, doing her best not to wake Dawn, then she walked silently to the doorway. The wind blew louder through the plants, and the temperature was a bit higher. Daytime? Dear god, did Anya say if the sunlight in this place was dangerous to vampires? Buffy hadn't thought to ask. Maybe Giles had miscalculated, maybe the wind that blew the weedy things around had swept his dust away, too.

She told herself the fear in her gut was because Giles was the only one who knew how to get them home. There was no sign of him outside; none of the dirt had the consistency of vampire dust, and she felt foolish for checking. She tried to control her anxious breathing as she listened, then she ran down the trail, to where she heard something disturb the gravel.

He was practicing sword katas, chopping and slicing at an invisible opponent, moving at vampire speed that made the sword edge whistle in the air. He still wore his human face, all his attention focused on the movements.

A knot built in Buffy's throat as she watched. He moved the way a young man would, the way he never had in the time she'd known him. Was he remembering the strength and skill of his youth, or merely enjoying the demonic abilities of his new form? She'd always wished there was a way she could make him stop hurting, take away the twinges and aches that made him move so stiffly on bad days. She'd used them against him, too, on selfish days when his middle-aged human endurance was no match for teenaged Slayer energy.

Watching him now, she realized that he still knew more weapons technique than she did. In hand-to-hand she thought she could take him, but only Slayer speed had ever helped her beat him when they were sword-to-sword. He pulled a combination gut-slash/decapitation so quickly the sword blurred, and he was back two steps from his position before the afterimage had faded from her eyes.

Note to self: If it all goes bad, do not let Giles get his hands on a sword.

He looked up and spotted her, and the remote, inhuman look went away. "Is something wrong?"

"Uh . . . no. I--just woke up and wondered where you'd gotten off to."

"I didn't want to wake you and I was feeling restless." He swung the sword up and into the sheath on his back without even checking.

"What time is it?"

"Nearly 2. Not much longer."

Buffy nodded absently. She kept trying to fall into the old habit of "aimless chatter with Giles", then her memories kicked her with "this isn't your Giles." She couldn't afford to forget the differences between Giles and Ripper. No matter how easy it would be. She glanced up at the sky, where the pink glow had gotten more pronounced. "So is the sun up?"

"I believe so. In any case, the light doesn't seem to be harmful to me, which was quite a relief." His smile was the old self-deprecating one, and she imagined him poking a finger cautiously out into the light to see what would happen.

"If we're staying here until after the sun comes up at home, what are you going to do when you go through the portal?"

Giles started to reach for his glasses again. "Run, I imagine. The mountains to the east of the convent are sufficiently close that there should be shade in the courtyard well after the time of dawn. That should give me time to find proper shelter. Spike says it's character building, to play tag with the sun."

"Yeah, like he's a good role model."

"Indeed."

"And then what?"

"What do you mean?"

"The world is saved from Glory's portal, Dawn is safe. What do we do about Glory?"

Giles sighed. "I'm not sure, to be honest. The texts suggest that she is fighting a deadline of her own, that it is more than just homesickness and the desire for her full power that is driving her to open the portal. Being in our world weakens her, and it's possible that she will eventually be weakened far enough to be destroyed."

"How long will that take?"

"I have no idea."

Buffy started to pace. "Even with her weakened, she's still pretty darn indestructible. And she won't go quietly."

"No, she won't. But our first goal has always been the preservation of the world."

"No, our first goal has always been the preservation of Dawn."

He smiled very slightly. "Which is why both of us are here. We can worry about dealing with Glory once we know Dawn and the world are safe."

"And after that? Assuming we do bring down Glory?" She sat on a nearby rock and studied him. "We save the world, but I don't think it's going to be time to party."

The remote look was back on his face. "You'll have to do what you think best. A Vampire Slayer's duty is clear."

"You're telling me to come after you and Spike."

"Neither of us would be surprised if you did."

"And you two would just let me."

"We wouldn't be able to stop you making the attempt. But I would not count on your success being guaranteed."

He'd only ever lied to her when she asked him explicitly. She shouldn't be surprised that he could discuss a campaign against himself so matter-of-factly. He knew her and her sense of responsibility better than anyone. And fighting Angelus, who wore the form of the man she loved and surgically exploited all her weak spots, was not as frightening as the idea of going up against the mind that had trained her, that knew things she had only ever had glimpses of. Her trust in him had been her refuge, and she kept thinking, "Giles will know how to deal with this."

He relaxed slightly, let the aura of Ripper dissipate. "You ought to get more sleep. Surviving till d

He relaxed slightly, let the aura of Ripper dissipate. "You ought to get more sleep. Surviving till dawn is only part of what we have left to do." He started back up the trail towards the shelter where Dawn still slept. All Buffy wanted to do was to sit in the weird Barbie light and cry a few frightened, grieving tears, but she followed, instead.

Every scar, the ache in his fingers on rainy days, even the sunlight hitting his floor at just the right angle at just the right time of day

Oh, Steph. Dayum.

snerksnerksnerksnerksnerkGAMERA!ANGELsnerksnerksnerksnerksnerk

Buffy saying "bloody hell". Totally - wow. Damnit, Victor.

Connie, nice.

Victor, a wonderful end to the story. I love Buffy in London.

I'vemissedyouallsomuch

Victor, send me file, and I will put it up!

But, err, turnabout is fair play, and I wrote two with Wesley and I'm a little afraid to hear what you think, but I'm such a whore that I'll still ask.

When I am fully-recovered from HellHope, I shall comment.

At the moment, I stink of woodsmoke and wish I'd had more whisky and ginger. But I'm home. Which means I'm not there. Which is good.

PLEI!

You'rebackyou'rebackyou'rebackyou'rebackyou'reback!

"The world is saved from Glory's portal, Dawn is safe. What do we do about Glory?"

Connie, such a good question, and not one that they ever really explored on the show. And - oh! oh! - they have no idea that BenisGloryGloryisBen! Shit... And I remember now what you're doing next and I love you even more!

Such lovely Giles and Buffy interaction. I miss it. And I miss the days when Giles would only lie to Buffy when she asked him.

Victor - I have to read this all in one piece. It's so damn good.

The drabbles were all fantastic.