Yowsa!

Victor, go get 'em, baybee, this is wonderful.

I was waiting for Faith to bounce him off a wall. Nice!

Buffy looked away, knowing very, very well that he was right. She'd risked everything to keep Dawn from harm, dragged her unwell mother out of the comfort of her own home, disrupted everyone's lives, demanded obedience to her demands that Dawn's safety come first--and gotten it.

Maybe those monks had put that in her, that blind focus on Dawn's safety before everything else. Whatever the source, she simply couldn't bring herself to risk opening the portal before the deadline, risk Glory getting her hands on the Key after everything they'd done. The writers of the Slayer Handbook would approve. The girl who knew that the Slayer was stronger with friends and family, though, screamed in her mind, "But they're dying! They're covering your ass and they're dying for it! As least give Glory a target that's not so fragile!"

She couldn't stay here, not while knowing her mother and Willow and Xander and Anya and those nice nuns and, heck, even Spike were holding the line for her and losing. But she couldn't go back, she couldn't take Dawn back there yet--

"Goose, corn, fox," she whispered.

Dawn blinked. "Huh?"

"There's a game. You've got a goose, some corn, and a fox, and you have to get them across a river. But you can only carry one thing at a time in the boat. The fox will eat the goose and the goose will eat the corn if they're left alone together."

"So?"

Buffy turned to Giles. "Please, let me trust you just one more time."

He tilted his head at her in that painfully familiar way. "Excuse me?"

"I can go back there, if I leave Dawn here with you."

He smiled suddenly, proudly. "Instead of the goose alone with the fox, Dawn should be the corn?"

She nodded. "Let me trust you to keep her safe. Despite whatever your brain is currently telling you is a good idea, please be my Watcher again for just a few more minutes, instead of something I'm supposed to kill."

The look he gave her was dispassionate and assessing. "And you would believe me why?"

"I would if you promised."

"I'm not Spike. He was raised on tales of chivalry and noble quests."

"No," Buffy nodded. "You're not Spike. You're Giles. And if you promised, I'd believe you."

"You shouldn't," he said softly. "You can't. Not now."

"I know. But I would. Please? For just a little while?"

He'd only ever lied to her when she'd insisted. He would keep things from her, try to change the subject, try not to say anything at all, but he'd always told her the truth. He studied her for several moments, his thoughts locked behind remote, unhuman eyes. Then he smiled, and the man who'd wielded chainsaws in her behalf with such disturbing glee was back.

"I promise. I'll keep Dawn safe while you're gone, and we'll come back just as soon as sun clears the horizon and it's too late for any of Glory's plans to work."

Buffy ran to hug him, but not long enough for the lack of heartbeat to register or for the chill in his skin to feel like anything more than someone who had been out in the cold. "Thank you. Now, where do we open the portal so I can get home?"

“Old Rupert did always have good taste,” he thought, as he took a sip.

One wee thing...

No one would say that about Johnny Walker Red. That's just a step above Monarch.

Oh, and Victor? Is it ok if I feel a little sorry for James?

No one would say that about Johnny Walker Red. That's just a step above Monarch.

I would take Plei's word on the Scotchness of it all. What was Giles' tipple, anyway? Is that known (in terms of canon)?

I was waiting for Faith to bounce him off a wall. Nice!

Heh. I couldn't resist, really.

No one would say that about Johnny Walker Red. That's just a step above Monarch.

Fair point, although--ahem--I used to drink it. Suggestions for better?

Oh, and Victor? Is it ok if I feel a little sorry for James?

Oh, certainly. James is being put through the wringer here.

Fair point, although--ahem--I used to drink it. Suggestions for better?

Lagavulin 16

Lagavulin 16

Done and done.

She nodded. "Let me trust you to keep her safe. Despite whatever your brain is currently telling you is a good idea, please be my Watcher again for just a few more minutes, instead of something I'm supposed to kill."

Okay, you're breaking me here. Keep it comin'.

I MUST see Manchild. Now. (In other words, I'm loving it, Victor.)

Fun, Victor! I can't wait to see what happens next.

Connie, I love that Giles of yours. All your characters are wonderful.