Title: Misunderstandings - Part 5
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
* * * * * * * * * *
Faith watched Giles closely as he left Buffy’s room. He appeared to be as shocked as the rest of them. No one had expected Buffy’s outburst, and Faith didn’t know what to make of it. Buffy was the good one. She didn’t lie or make things up. ‘Something is seriously wrong here,’ Faith thought. Deciding to check out her story, Faith followed Giles.
Cautiously, she followed him through the labyrinth of corridors, carefully staying out of sight, until they reached his office. ‘Not exactly where I expected him to go.’ Unsure how to proceed, Faith waited in the hall. Before she could decide whether to stay or go, she saw Willow creeping toward her.
Spotting her, Willow joined her by the door. “Is Giles in there?” she asked in a whisper.
“Yeah,” Faith answered. “What’s up?”
“We got the test results, so I decided to find Giles. I didn’t think he should hear it from the doctors.”
“You’re saying he really did do it?” Faith asked in disbelief. “He raped Buffy?”
“I don’t know,” Willow said as she moved toward the door, trying peer inside. Unable to see, she started back down the hall. “All it proves it that they had sex.”
Frowning, Faith followed her but kept an eye on the office door. “It doesn’t make sense. She thinks it happened, but he doesn’t remember a thing. Was he drunk or something?”
“I’ve seen Giles when he’s drunk,” Willow admitted. “He doesn’t get violent. He’s more of a happy, trip over your own feet, laugh at everything type of drunk.”
“So it’s something else then.” Faith thought for a moment. “Do you think it’s magic? Is that why you came to talk to him?”
* * * * * * * * * *
Faith knocked on the door to Giles’ office and waited for a response. She barely heard the mumbled “Go away.”
“It’s Faith. I really need to talk to you.” She heard some rustling of papers and some cursing before the door finally opened. Giles looked at her but didn’t say a word. “You alone?” Faith asked.
He nodded and stepped aside, allowing her to enter the office.
She barely heard him shut the door as she examined her surroundings. Books and papers were scattered around the room. The desk phone lying on the floor as if it had been shoved away to silence it. The smell of alcohol lingered in the air.
“God, Giles. What happened?” Faith asked. When he didn’t answer, she tried a different approach. “Willow has been trying to reach you all day,” she said casually. “She’s been leaving voice mail for you - must have left fifty messages by now. Don’t you ever turn on your cell phone?”
“Occasionally,” Giles mumbled. He picked up a glass and bottle that were sitting on a filing cabinet next to the desk.
Faith watched as he opened the bottle and began to pour himself a glass of Scotch. He changed his mind and drank straight from the bottle. “What do you really want, Faith? Why are you here?”
She continued to look around the room as she spoke. “We’re worried about you. I wanted to see if you’re okay.”
“You’ve seen me,” he replied. “Now leave.”
Faith spied his cell phone among the papers littering the desk. She picked it up and turned it on.
“Look,” she said. “No one blames you for what happened to B. We all know that you would never do that, but –”
He started to take another drink of Scotch, but Faith grabbed it out of his hand before it reached his lips. “I think you’ve had enough,” she warned, tossing it to the side. Scotch poured from the bottle onto the floor. “This isn’t the answer, Giles. We need to find out what really happened to Buffy. Drinking yourself to death won’t help anyone.”
Before he could respond, his cell phone rang, sounding much like an old rotary phone. Faith looked at it for a moment. “I should’ve known you’d have a ring tone like that.”
She felt the change in the atmosphere even before she saw the change in his posture. She felt the magic in the room before she saw it in his eyes.
“Giles?”
“I know what you really want, Faith,” Giles said as he approached her, a predatory look in his eye. “It’s what all Slayers want eventually, what Buffy wanted, what all women want.”
He grabbed her with a strength she never expected, shoving her against the wall. She was surprised by sudden panic she was feeling. He wasn’t really stronger than her; he’d just surprised her, caught her off guard.
Ignoring his roaming hands and lips, she concentrated on focusing her energy. She needed to stop him, but she didn’t want to hurt him - much.