Title: Misunderstandings - Part 3b
Rating: FRAO (Adults Only)
Pairing: Buffy/Giles (eventually)
Summary: Another birthday has tragic consequences for Buffy
Setting: set after season seven
Warnings: contains non-consensual sex
Disclaimer: These are not my characters. They belong to Joss, Twentieth Century Fox, UPN, WB & Mutant Enemy. This is purely for fun.
Many thanks to MissWitch, Catherine, and Gretchen. Your help has been invaluable.
pt 1 ~ pt 2 ~ pt 3a ~ pt 3b ~ pt 4 ~ pt 5 ~ pt 6 ~ pt 7 ~ pt 8 ~ pt 9 ~ pt 10 ~ pt 11 ~ pt 12 ~ pt 13 ~ pt 14 ~ pt 15 ~ pt 16
* * * * * * * * * *
Buffy groaned as she opened her eyes. “Where am I?”
A firm hand pushed her down as she tried to sit up. “The infirmary.”
“The infirmary?” Buffy asked in confusion. “Why?”
Willow appeared by the side of the bed. “Xander and Dawn brought you here. Xander was going to take you to his place, but you passed out.”
“I don’t need to be here, Will,” she argued.
“The doctors disagree.” Willow was quiet for a while before asking, “Buffy, what happened?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she answered, turning her head away from her friend.
“We think this was a planned attack. The doctors found drugs in your system, very specific drugs. Someone knew just what to give you to weaken you. Buffy, we need to know what happened so we can find out who did this.”
“I told you I don’t want to talk about it. Just leave me alone,” Buffy demanded.
“You have to talk about it sometime. At least talk to Giles when he gets home,” Willow suggested, not noticing Buffy flinch at the sound of his name. “He’s your Watcher. He’ll be able to help.”
Buffy felt her stomach lurch at the mention of Giles. “Don’t count on it,” Buffy muttered under her breath. “No one can help, especially him.”
* * * * * * * * * *
As Giles opened the door to his office, he realized there was someone inside. He turned to leave but stopped when he heard crying. Pushing the door open slowly, he glanced inside.
“Dawn?” He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.
“Giles?” she asked in surprise, wiping tears from her eyes. “I thought you were still out of town. I came in here to be alone.”
“Things didn’t take as long as I expected.” He moved closer to her, and she rushed into his arms. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Buffy. She’s hurt,” she said between sniffles. “We found her outside. She was throwing up - a lot. She had cuts on her hands and feet, and there was blood –” She stopped and took a gulp of air. “Buffy won’t tell anyone what happened; she won’t talk to anyone.”
Giles battled his emotions. He was angry with Buffy, but she was still a Slayer, still his responsibility. There really was no need for him to check on her, except that it was his job. He knew she would heal and go on with her life. She didn’t need him. ‘Why do I feel compelled to see her then?’ he asked himself.
“There’s more,” Dawn said, interrupting his thoughts. “The doctors said she had drugs and alcohol in her system.”
Giles grip tightened slightly at the news. “Buffy doesn’t–”
“Someone spiked the punch last night at the birthday party,” Dawn told him between sniffles. “I don’t think she knew until Willow told her.”
“And the drugs?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” She was silent a moment before asking abruptly, “Are you going to go see her?”
“Yes.”
“Can I stay here?”
“If you’d like.”
As he let go of her she started to cry harder. “Giles, I’m sorry. I spent the night with friends. If I’d stayed home –”
“You might have been hurt too.” He told her. “Did someone break into the house?” he asked, trying to determine what might have happened. Buffy wasn’t hurt when he saw her. He tried to make sense of it.
“I don’t know. Xander wanted to take her home, but she freaked out when he suggested it.”
Giles wondered if something had happened before Merissa had left or if something happened after he passed out. He thought about what Dawn said about alcohol and drugs. If Buffy had been intoxicated, she wouldn’t have been able to defend herself from an attack. The only thing he knew for certain was that Buffy hadn’t been there when he woke up.
“Giles, what could have done this to her?” Dawn asked.
“I’m not certain, but I intend to find out.”
He didn’t let Dawn know what he really suspected. That was between Buffy and himself. They would deal with it privately. Until then, he would lock away the emotions and do what he did best; he would be her Watcher.
* * * * * * * * * *
Giles watched Buffy as she slept on the cot in the infirmary. The doctors had sedated her when she’d tried to leave on her own. It was for her own good, they’d told him. She wasn’t healing as quickly as she should be, and her strength wouldn’t return for several more hours. It was best for her to stay until she recovered fully.
So, he waited by her side. ‘Buffy,’ he thought, ‘why couldn’t you wait for me? One more day, that’s all I needed.’
He was startled out of his thoughts when Buffy started talking in her sleep.
“Don’t do this. Please don’t do this.” She kicked the sheets away, beating her fists at the empty air around her. “Stop! You have to stop!” she screamed.
Horrified, he realized she was reliving her attack. He stood and reached for her, wanting to calm her, or just wake her from her nightmare. Before he could touch her, her eyes snapped open. The hate he saw in her eyes made him stumble back.
“If you touch me, I’ll kill you.”
Those were the exact words she had spoken to him on her eighteenth birthday.