Ten Years Later: Part Two
by Paul Leone
Disclaimer: Buffy, Faith, Giles, Willow, Cordelia, Spike, Oz and Xander are the creation and property of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Mira Roukas is mine, however.
Author's Notes: Thanks to Teresa and Ra for helping me brainstorm and edit this. Also, I crave feedback. That's NovusSibyl@aol.com. Thank you. Push the button, Frank.

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Part II - Random Encounters

The next day goes relatively normally. I take a couple stabs at the police network, but can't find anything. They either don't know anything or have seriously upgraded their security. I do a little checking on the things the Pastor mentioned from her dream, but no luck there, either.

Naturally, she calls me up and asks me to come over the second I give up hope of finding anything useful.

"Hey, Willow. What's up?"

"Um...hi, Faith. Nothing. Just, you know, doing the hacker thing."

"Any luck?"

"No. I did have a run-in with the new Slayer last night, though."

A five-second silence, then "Oh. What happened?"

"Nothing. She killed some vampires. I stood around like a fifth wheel. Then she ran off."

The Pastor laughs softly. "Jittery, isn't she?"

"I guess."

Awkward pause takes over.

"So did you have another dream last night?"

"No. I'm not sure if I should be thankful or worried. Worried, probably. But there's something that's been bothering me. The rainbow..."

"What about the rainbow?"

"That's the problem. I don't know. But it's worrying me. I think it might be important."

"Maybe. But I haven't found anything in any of the books."

"That doesn't necessarily mean anything."

I glare at the phone. She's still an annoying bitch sometimes. Especially on those too-frequent occasions when she has a point.

"Okay, you're right. I could do some more poking around, see if any of Giles' old index volumes have anything."

You can hear the wheels turning in her mind as soon as I say Giles' name.

And sure enough... "You know, Willow, Giles took a lot of his books with him...there could be something there."

"This is true. But I haven't talked to Giles in almost five years, Faith. I don't even know where he lives."

"He still has the winery in Sonoma County."

It's just so ironic that Faith, of all people, knows that for sure and I don't. "Fine. Just say it, Faith."

"Say what?"

"Say that you want me to go crawling to Giles for help."

"Now wait a second, Willow, that's not what I was going to say." Five seconds. "Okay, I was thinking maybe it would be better if you want than if I did, but I'm not going to beg you to do it."

"Okay, I'll do it."

It's good to know that I can still make Faith speechless. It's petty, but that's about all I have these days.

"Well, uh, good...Let me know how it turns out."

"Yeah. I guess I should leave now if I'm going to be back tonight."

"Okay. Drive carefully."

"Yes, mommy. I'll call you later, okay?"

"Uh-huh. Bye, Willow."

I hang up without saying goodbye. Sorry. I'm in a hurry. Really.

I'm already on the Interstate when it occurs to me that I probably should have called ahead. How do I even know Giles is in the country, let alone at home? Of course, actually having his phone number would be helpful. On the good side, the day can't get much stupider, right?

Right.

It starts out well. I make good time on the Interstate and it's still light out when I reach the little two-lane road that goes into wine country.

I love Sonoma. Maybe I'm jaded, maybe it's just Sunnydale, but you just don't see bicyclists who wave at you instead of giving you the finger much anywhere else. It's even warm enough to roll down my window - the one that works - and feel the breeze as it ruffles the grass and the leaves on the trees.

It's so Giles-y, like God made the town just for him. And the sign on his little winery - West York Winery - looks like it's been there for years. Maybe it has. I never asked Giles about it before we stopped talking, really.

So now what? I haven't seen Giles in almost five years. I'm getting the shakes just standing at his door. Should have stayed in therapy longer.

The door swings open, sparing me further misery.

God. He looks exactly the same.

"Willow! What - why - who - "

Sounds the same, too.

"Hiya, Giles. Mind if I come in?"

"Oh! Of course. Wait. No. Why are you asking?"

"Huh?" What the hell is he talking - oh, for the love of God. "Giles, it's still sunny out." Fine. I hop over the threshold. "Happy? Still alive and soulful, see?"

"Yes, well, good." He starts to hug me, then just shakes my hand. "What brings you to Sonoma, if I may ask?"

"I was hoping you could tell me, actually."

"Oh? How so?"

"There's this - dreams - and Faith. A rainbow."

Giles' eyebrows ratchet up another notch. "I see."

"I mean, Faith thinks she had a prophetic dream. Something about lightning. And a rainbow. And the new Slayer. Maybe. I couldn't find anything in the books you gave me and I was hoping that you had something here because I think it's going to be really important."

"Same red hair. Same voice. If she didn't look so serious, I'd think that was my Wills talking."

Oh, my *God*. I didn't even see the shadow lurking behind Giles in the dark foyer. But a tall young man steps out of the dim light and -

"XANDER!"

I nearly knock Giles over in my haste. No wonder he was surprised. Two of the old gang showing up on his doorstep at once....

Xander and I must have been hugging each other a little longer than decorum decreed, to judge by Giles' polite cough in the background. I haven't seen the man in nearly ten years, not since Buffy....well, not since a few days after that. I've gotten postcards over the years. One from Toronto, a few from Western Europe, and one from South Africa, of all the improbable places for Xander to end up.

He's changed.

I realize it when I step back and almost run into Giles again. It seems like he's gotten taller, or maybe he just stands straighter. He's got a black leather jacket on and a scar across his cheek; his hair's been cropped short, it's already got a streak of grey in it, and his eyes are....darker somehow.

"I knew it had to be Willow," he says with a sad smile. Giles puts his hands on my shoulders - I knew I was shaking, but I didn't realize how much.

"He's been here for a few days," Giles says softly.

"Came in on the midnight train from Georgia," Xander nods. He's so grown-up. Xander wasn't supposed to grow up. He's supposed to be a slouchy, tousle-haired goofball. "Had to look up Giles while I was en route. He convinced me to stay." That same lopsided smile, as if he doesn't remember how to really do it anymore. "Well, the wine convinced me."

"Thank you," Giles says wryly, then lets go of my shoulders. "Come, you must be tired - are you still living in Sunnydale?"

Of course I am. "Yeah."

"You drove up in a single day?"

"It's really, *really* important."

Xander starts in to agree with me, but Giles puts up a hand. "I know you wouldn't have come if it wasn't - oh good *Lord*, I didn't mean it that way - I just meant - I hadn't heard from you - " He shoots a pleading look at Xander.

"He doesn't get out much," Xander says with a dark grin. "Come on. We were gonna head out to look at the vineyards when you arrived. Let's hit the library, we'll talk it over there."

I still shiver when he puts his hand on the small of my back to guide me up the stairs.

It's a lot like the high school library, really; a little smaller, but I just know that it's probably most of the second floor - knowing Giles, he has a closet bedroom so that he can fit more library space in. The last of the daylight filters in through huge floor-to-ceiling windows on one side, and Xander drops into a chair that's just in shadow.

"What about you?" I ask, as Giles excuses himself for a second. "Ten years, Xander. *Ten years*. You could have sent me an address."

Xander shrugs. "I guess I never really had one."

"What did you *do*?"

"A little bit of everything." He glances down at the tabletop. "A little bit of nothing. I ah...I meant to write. More often. I...hell."

"What?"

"I used to buy things to send to you - I just never ended up sending them. Except the postcards. There's still an authentic Kenyan dance mask sitting in an apartment in Johannesburg somewhere, waiting to be mailed."

"So you had an apartment anyhow."

"Not mine. A friend's."

"Since when do you have friends in South Africa?"

"Since a lot of things happened, okay?" he snaps. "I've got a lot of friends in strange places now."

"Such as Sonoma," Giles puts in, returning with a bottle of wine and three glasses. "You're only allowed one glass, Xander."

"Killjoy."

"You're not fighting tonight, you only need one." Giles is firm. About what, I'm not sure, but I don't even know if I want to ask anymore. I don't want to get a bad answer. "Willow, would you like some?"

"Not much...thanks." I accept the quarter-full wineglass and stare at the dark liquid, trying to come up with the words to explain the last few days.

"This was the first pressing. Not a bad concoction." Giles grins wearily. Has everyone forgotten how to smile? "Now. Your reasons - Faith's dreams."

"Hang on a second. Faith as in psycho Faith? Coma Faith?"

"Oh. Well, she's better now. She's a priest."

"Okay, I know I'm sober, so I must be losing my hearing. You didn't just say Faith was a priest...did you?"

"Faith has changed quite a bit since her, um, coma."

"Faith, a priest?" Xander just gnaws on his lip. "Buffy must have hit her really hard."

"She says she saw God."

"Really really hard."

Giles coughs. "Be that as it may, I doubt she'd make up something like this."

"So what is the 'this', anyway? Lighting and rainbows? Not the usual demonic preview."

"Well, it could be any number of things. Lightning is a common element in supernatural events, of course. Rainbows, though...That sounds familiar somehow." He walks over to one of the bookshelves at the far end of the room and pulls down a dusty leather-bound book that must weigh fifteen pounds. "Let's see what this has to say."

"Oo! The Seleucian Sibyl. I didn't know there were any copies outside of the Watcher archives in London."

"Yes, well..." Giles fidgets and flips through the pages. "I somehow forgot to return it when I left the Watchers."

"You bad boy, Giles. I bet there's a huge overdue fine."

"Ah! Here we are. I was right." He pokes one of the entries towards the back of the book. "Fragment number 415. What do you think?"

I stare down at the text and squint a bit, then shrug. "Um, it's all Greek."

"Oh. Oh! Yes, of course." Giles picks the book up and recites the text. "When Athena's heir takes up her sword, there shall - There's a bit missing, unfortunately. But it carries on. The children of Hades shall cry out as one and Zeus will rain his arrows upon them in his wrath, but the sleeper shall arise upon the blood of the slain unless the champion of the rainbow and the keys - and that's where it stops."

"Well, that's cheery. And so helpfully ending right at the important part."

"That's true, but it does at least tell us that Faith's dreams do have some significance. Now we merely need to discover whom the sleeper in question is, and who the champion is, and...I'll see if there's anything in the Lancer Commentaries." He gives a strained smile and retreats to the shelves.

"Still loves his books, doesn't he?"

"You can take the Watcher out of Giles, but you can't - no, wait. You know what I mean."

"The scary thing is, I do." He takes a long sip of wine, then smiles. "God, I can't believe how you're all grown up now, Wills."

If you hadn't run off, you'd have been there with me, Xander. I just smile and nod. "You look - older. What have you been doing all this time? I demand details!"

Xander's smile just shrivels up and dies. He stares at his wineglass for a few seconds, then shrugs. "Well, for a while after...all the stuff, I was a wreck. I ended up living with my Uncle Rory for a while. Then I just left. Got on a bus heading east and ended up in Baltimore." He steals Giles' wineglass and finishes it off. "This stuff is great. Where was I?"

"Baltimore."

"Oh, right. Baltimore. This was probably four months after I left Sunnydale. I...well, really long story goes there. But basically I ended up almost becoming a midnight snack for a vampire..."

"And?"

"And I kicked his pasty little ass. That's when I realized that I was actually good for something."

"Killing vampires?"

"Bingo. Five years with...five years in Sunnydale knowing what was *really* going on, it teaches you a few things."

"Tell me about it." That wine keeps looking more tempting. Xander pours us both another when he finishes his.

"I cleaned up Baltimore pretty quickly. Second-rate, the lot of them. After that I went to Canada - you wouldn't believe the bastard demons they've got up there. I always thought Canada was quiet and boring. That Due South show betrayed me, I tell you."

"Okay...So you what, you're like a guy Slayer?"

Xander shook his head. "Not really. I'm not super-strong or, well, super-smart, but I do what I can. I spent a couple years in England..."

"England?" I don't like where this is going.

"Yeah. I, um...I got some professional training there, kind of got me a mentor."

"A mentor? Who?" I ask as my stomach sinks down into my toes.

He jerks his head towards the bookshelves. Fuck. I hate it when I'm right like this. "We ran into each other in some little hick village in north England about eight years ago. Who knew one of his old college buddies lived next to a Hellmouth? He taught me a few tricks, some weapons stuff, and then I headed across the Channel to France. I asked him not to tell anyone."

"You bastard." Must be the wine that's stopping me from breaking his neck.

"I know, Wills. I'm sorry."

"You *bastard*."

"Willow..."

"Sorry." I hate this. I hate Faith for making me come out here. I hate Xander for being here, for ten years without even a fucking phone call. I hate Giles for not telling me. "Go on."

"Not much more to tell. Wandered around Europe for about five years, busted up a few vampire nests, killed this really slimy...worm-thing...in Estonia, then I got word of a big hellmouthy deal in Johannesburg. Turns out it was nothing, but I got sidetracked with some jungle demons and stayed in Africa for a while. Came back to the States - I really did just come from Georgia. I was on my way to....hell. Sunnydale. I didn't think I was, I thought I'd hit San Francisco, but ten *years*, Wills. I got...homesick."

What the hell does he want me to say? Ten years without even a phone call. Why didn't you take me with you, Xander? I would have come. I would have dropped it all to go with you rather than stay here and pick up the pieces after Buffy died. I just nod and squeeze his shoulder.

All I can do is smile and hope I don't start crying. "It's good that you're back."

"It'll be just like the old days, Wills. So what about you? What have you been doing all this time?"

"Oh. Well, I finished college and got a job teaching Computer Science at the new high school. Oh and some nights, I go out to hunt vampires." God, I really am pathetic, aren't I? I don't need to go into the therapy and string of failed relationships.

"Still kicking butt! That's my Willow."

Your Willow? I'm this close to calling him on that little gem when Giles comes rushing back.

"Ah-ha! I found it!"

He slams another book down on the table, shaking up a cloud of dust thick enough to make me gag.

"According to this annotation, the original written oracle was altered by pagan copyists in the 2nd century BC - the proper names have all been changed to those of Greek gods. But the Watchers managed to get one of the originals. Athena appears to indicate some kind of semi-divine warrior. A Slayer, in other words. Children of Hades is obviously a reference to vampires."

"What about the rest of it?"

"According to Professor Lancer, it seems to be a prophecy of a ritual of resurrection."

"Vampire resurrection?"

"Precisely," Giles says, a satisfied look on his face.

"But what vampire?"

Poof! There goes the smugness. "Well...of course, there's no way to know for sure. It must be a powerful vampire to inspire this sort of loyalty among its followers, of course."

"Great, that really narrows it down, G-Man."

"Xander...It's okay, Giles." Crap. It's almost eight. "I have to go. I've got papers to grade by tomorrow or the dean will have my head. I'll call you if anything comes up, okay?"

"Okay. Be careful, Willow."

"I will."

Giles gives me a quick handshake, then goes back to his books.

"I'll, uh - I'll show her out, Giles."

"Hm? Oh, yes, quite." Then he's back in the shelves.

Even with the streetlights, it's almost pitch black outside on the street. I can barely see Xander.

"Where are you staying?" I hear myself ask after a few awkward seconds.

"Giles has a spare room. I've got a sleeping bag. Match made in heaven, right?"

"Yeah..." That of all things does it. I'm glad it's dark - he can't see me crying. "I'll call you guys tomorrow, okay? I wish I could stay."

"I wish you could, too," he says in a strange, soft tone of voice.

"Good night, Xander." I pretty much run to my car and tear out of the parking lot, out of Sonoma, before I can get second thoughts.


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