Taking the Initiative: A downright rude awakening
by bob_obo
Giles awoke to an insistent hammering. To his surprise, it wasn't inside his own skull, although it seemed to reverberate through it, each blow pounding on his abused synapses like an elephant stamping on peanuts.
He winced, and dragged himself vaguely upright to blearily consider his surroundings whilst sifting futilely through his fragmented memories.
To his vague surprise, he'd managed to find his way to his bed. However, he obviously hadn't felt up for much more, he was still fully clothed.
He swung his legs down, and felt something against his ankle which went glink. His questing hand retrieved the empty whiskey bottle. Ah...
The hammering on the door started afresh, giving every impression that the visitor would not stop until they battered their way through or the world ended. Giles felt a brief rush of alarm.
Buffy. Even as he lurched gracelessly to his feet and stopped, hanging onto the door frame until the vertigo and nausea swam past, the panicked thought was replaced bitterly, unlikely – if there had been an emergency then this would be the last place she would turn. And with good reason.
He somehow stumbled out of the room and down the stairs. It would have been a lot easier if the damn room would stop spinning...
Eventually, with scarcely more direction than a random particle, he meandered his way across the apartment and gently bounced off the front door.
Ha ha ha, a random particle, he thought vaguely. Well, I know where I am right now at least.
He pulled the door open and peered myopically out into the wet darkness.
Immediately, Spike barged past him into his apartment.
“Spike?” Giles blinked groggily, “What the hell do you think you're doing?”
The vampire turned, and Giles focused on the limp form cradled in his arms.
Instantly, Giles' world coalesced into icy clarity.
“What happened?” he barked.
“Demon,” Spike shrugged, “big, hairy, claws. Decided the slayers insides would look better on the outside.” he stopped and looked purposefully at Giles, “You might be thinking to remedy that, mate?”
Giles gaped for a moment, then caught himself. Without acknowledging Spike, he half ran into the kitchen and pulled open a cupboard which contained his more than ample supply of first aid equipment.
When he returned to the living room, he saw Spike had lowered Buffy to rest on the couch, and was bending down gently brushing a damp strand of hair from her face. When he heard Giles enter, he straightened up self-consciously, and glared as if daring him to comment.
Without a word, Giles set about tending to his charges injuries.
They were myriad, but thankfully mostly minor. There were several tears scoring her arms as she'd attempted to defend herself. Several cruel lacerations to her stomach and chest were testimony as to the inadequacy of that defense. More alarming however was the wound to her head. Unwilling and unable to guess the true extent of the damage, Giles trusted to the endurance of his slayer and stoically set to work.
As Giles worked, she stirred and cried out, but didn't awaken. Something inside him burned with scarcely controlled anger as he looked down at her injured and vulnerable like this.
He looked up, and was momentarily surprised to see Spike staring back, his own emotion mirrored in the demons eyes.
“The creature that did this?” he asked hoarsely.
“Dead.” Spike said softly. He smirked, and his expression turned unreadable, “Very much dead.”
“Good,” Giles whispered, almost to himself. Then he frowned, and glared coldly, “And you had nothing to do with this?”, his gaze flickered to Buffys mutilated body.
For an instant, Spike looked stunned – as if Giles had suggested he'd grown an extra head. Then his expression hardened angrily, “Well, no. More's the pity really, I'm all for a good bit of damage to the slayer usua - ”.
Whatever we was about to say was cut short, as Giles rose in a sudden rage and grabbed the front of his coat, lifting him off the ground in fury and slamming him against the wall.
“If I find out you have anything to do with what happened,” he whispered softly, “What is left of you will beg to die.”, he shook the vampire in emphasis, with seemingly no more effort than a child shaking a doll.
In spite of the precariousness of his situation, Spike couldn't help but grin. “Well, Giles old boy,” he drawled insultingly in parody of the watchers own accent, “I do believe there's hope for you yet.”
Giles glared for a long moment in which Spike insolently met his gaze, then carefully lowered him to the ground.
“Tell me.” he said softly.
Spike didn't answer immediately, but slouched across the room until he stood halfway between the watcher and the slayer, looking down at her thoughtfully. Just as Giles felt his tenuous grip on his patience beginning to slip again, he raised his head.
“First off, I'll have you know I saved Goldilocks here from the... big bad wolf... thing.” he shook his head, as if to erase the previous sentence, “Point being, I was out trying to find her. To help her. Me and Buffy see, we've never exactly been friends,” his head raised and he grinned at the understatement. “I might well be stupid, but I'm not deaf and even now there's not much goes on I don't hear about.
I've heard about you lot and your run in with the Mien Walsh. You know I'm not a fan of the bitch queen. Sticking this bloody chip in my head might figure largely on that score.” He stopped, and glanced at Buffy again, and again for a moment there was a glimmer of something disturbing that Giles couldn't quite read in his eyes, “Point is – I'm a bloke with his ear to the ground and what I've been hearing isn't good.” he grimaced as if the words were bitter to him, “I want to help. For your sake, and for mine. Ok, more for mine.” he admitted easily.
“And how do you plan to do that?” Giles asked acidly, “Talk them to death?”
Spike smiled, “I've got some information you might just be interested in. For once we're on the same side Rupert. We've got to take this bitch down.” he smiled chillingly, “And I know how to do it.”

This story archived at: The Slayer\'s Fanfic Archive
The Slayer\\\\\\\\'s FanFic Archive - http://www.slayerfanfic.com/viewstory.php?sid=15656