Carpe Diem - The Novel Version: Part 2 Continued
by Gaius Petronius



Carpe Diem part 2 continued



CARPE DIEM - pt. 2 Continued

Chapters 6 - 8

by Gaius Petronius

DISCLAIMER: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all the characters
that appear on the show are the exclusive property of Joss Whedon,
the WB and Mutant Enemy, Inc. GP only lays claim to the character
of Jonathan, but Mutant Enemy can have him anytime they want him.
The Ancient One is loosely derived from the Cthulhu Mythos stories
of the classic 20th century horror writer, H. P. Lovecraft. The
selected lyrics from "It's a Beautiful Life" are copyright
by Ace of Base and Arista Records. Obviously, I make no money
from any of this.

Spoilers and Synopsis:
Originally written as a script in mid season 2 (Jan - March 1998)
just after Angel lost his soul. Willow accidently reanimates an
eighteen year old telekinetic from the seventeenth century, Johannes
Martel who may hold the secred to restoring a vampire's lost soul.

Rating: PG-13 for some violence and language.

A Note On the Text:
The plot for the original script version of Carpe Diem was drafted
in mid season two before Angel's age and the relationship with
Dru and Spike were fully developed. The dating in this story and
their backgrounds, as a result, are a departure from BtVS canon.

* * * * * *

Jonathan settled in closer to study the monitor screen. Willow
talked in a chatty voice while her fingers flew across the keyboard.

"First I open my search engine," she said, "Then
I type in 'Johannes Martel' and click 'search.'"

She looked up at Jonathan who clearly hadn't understood a thing
she had done.

"Trust me," she responded to what she knew was a
million questions.

"I'm hearing a lot of that around here lately," he
answered as he glanced with a smile over his shoulder at Buffy.

"Now we wait, while it does its thing . . ." Willow
continued as a series of links popped up on the screen, "See,
there it's coming up. Oh! There's a bunch of stuff!"

"Oh," Jonathan muttered, not sure exactly what he
was looking at.

"There's a file I haven't seen," Willow said with
a little surprise at having missed data in the previous day's
search, "We'll bring that one up."

She clicked her mouse, selecting a link.

"Now we wait again . . . " she smiled as she sat
back in her chair. The monitor flickered as a page of text appeared.
"There! Let's read all about you!"

"Doesn't that feel kind of creepy?" Buffy said to
Jonathan.

"Yeah," he answered quietly.

"Wow!" Willow exclaimed as she read, "You were
in the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor at Vienna during the Thirty
Years War?!"

"The How Many Years War!?" Jonathan exclaimed, the
smile vanishing from his face.

"Skip that part, Will," Buffy said quickly.

"And it says you were engaged to the Crown Princess of
the Holy Roman Empire!" Willow said excitedly as she stared
back at Jonathan. Suddenly she realized he was a little more than
just "cute."

"Yeah," he said humbly, "You see, Telemon says
I'm supposed to be descended from Charles Martel, the father of
Charlemagne. They reestablished the northern part of the Roman
Empire 400 years after it fell and Charlemagne was crowned the
first Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day, in 800 A.D."

"Then, . . . you're . . . like royalty?" Buffy asked,
barely able to contain her astonishment.

"No!" Jonathan contradicted her with a scowl, "I'm
just me. The old emperor Constans was failing and his daughter,
the Crown Princess would have nothing to do with any of the prune
faced nobles they were trying to marry her off to."

Buffy studied Jonathan as she began to see him in an entirely
new light.

"Couriers from the court came one day and ordered Telemon
to bring me before the Emperor and the Crown Princess. Telemon
thought it was a tremendous 'opportunity,'" Jonathan paused
as if he were remembering a day long distant in time.

"And . . .?" Buffy exclaimed impatiently.

"I told him he was nuts!" Jonathan smirked, "But
I'd come along for the ride. The couriers' swords, also, were
persuasive."

"What happened? What about the Princess," Willow
asked and Buffy, for once, wished Willow hadn't spoken up as she
saw Jonathan smile fondly.

"She was real funny," he said as he grinned, "A
little drifty upstairs, not quite right, but we had a lot of fun.
She couldn't stand all the dress and formality at court so we
played practical jokes, covering for each other. Ya know . . ."

Jonathan waved his hand like he did at Principal Snyder in
the hall. Willow snickered.

"Wow, you two had real intense authority problems,"
Oz said cracking the faintest grin.

"Now this is my kind of guy! No fear!" Xander agreed.

Jonathan relished the attention, laughing as he remembered
what were obviously better times.

"The Princess always would break up during the most solemn
ceremonies," he exclaimed as the grin spread across his face,
"And we loved humiliating the stupid ambassadors. They were
the ones who wanted her to marry some Duke or Count who was like,
. . . decrepit!"

"Eeew," Cordelia responded with her favorite vocabulary
word.

"It was so easy," Jonathan rattled on and Buffy marveled
at how his smile was almost as broad as Willow's. "Once in
a while I'd get caught with my little . . . , " here he waved
his hand again, "And she'd have to throw a fit, you know,
rolling around on the floor, kicking and all that to cause a diversion.
Give me a chance to sneak away."

Everyone in the library broke up laughing.

"OH MY GOD!" Cordelia squealed.

"And we thought life was wild on the Hellmouth!"
Buffy said enthusiastically, trying to get Jonathan's attention
but Willow interrupted her.

"And it says you drove off the army of Gustaphus Adolphus
by making the sun disappear?!" Willow read off the screen.

"What a load of rat's crap!" Jonathan replied, waving
his hand dismissively, "That was just a solar eclipse. The
Swedish army had the capital surrounded so I sent an ultimatum
under Constans' name to Adolphus threatening all kinds of stupid
magic shit."

Buffy shook her head in disbelief.

"Then Telemon and I went up on the city walls half naked
in view of the Swedish army, yelled some nonsense and lit off
gunpowder. Astronomy and superstition did the rest!"

"That's crazy!" Xander exclaimed and added a thought
that entered his head, ". . . and beyond dumb!"

"It was risky," Jonathan agreed, "Adolphus and
his generals knew it was a trick, but it scared shit out of the
superstitious troops just enough so they wouldn't fight."

"No, I mean you! You're a screaming crazy man," Xander
added in admiration.

"It was kind of funny," Jonathan said modestly and
smirked at the same time.

Laughter rang out again in the normally stuffy confines of
the library. Willow, wanting the fun never to end, continued reading
off the computer screen.

"And let's see, what's next," she said smiling as
she scrolled down the page.

She read to herself but what she saw no longer made her laugh.
Her eyes widened in horror and the smile vanished from her face.
She looked at Jonathan.

". . . the plague . . ." she said, barely able to
read.

All the laughter in the room suddenly died like the descent
of an early autumn frost on a field of wildflowers. Jonathan turned
away from Willow and the computer screen. Buffy saw his smile
slip away replaced by a look of aching intensity far greater than
she could possibly imagine from someone her own age.

"In the last days of the siege, the plague appeared in
the city," Willow read slowly from the text on the screen,
"Soon Death loomed over every door. Bodies lay unclaimed
in the streets. The Wizard Martel traveled from house to house
using spells and potions to combat the disease, his patients largely
children."

Buffy and Xander stared at Jonathan as both struggled to understand
what they were hearing. His face creased with the pain of the
memories, Jonathan began talking out loud as if no one else was
in the library.

"The adults . . ." he said softly, "With the
plague they cursed everything; the sun, the moon, the stars, angels
in heaven, devils under the earth. But the children . . . they
only whimpered, or suffered in silence as if accepting what fate
had cast down on them . . ."

Suddenly Jonathan looked up at Buffy and cried out, the despair
in his voice sending chills down her spine.

"I had to do something!"

Willow read more from the text.

"Desperate parents from all across the city and even from
the countryside brought their children to him, some in the final
throws of disease and some beyond all aid."

A tone of fear suddenly crept into Willow's voice as she looked
up at Jonathan sitting near her side.

" . . . And he healed them, . . ." she said almost
in a whisper.

"I did everything I could, but it wouldn't end! I ran
out of herbs and had to use only 'the gift.' But there were so
many. It got so I could hardly walk, I got dizzy . . . so many
I couldn't help. The children just kept coming!" Suddenly,
Jonathan hung his head and put one hand over his face.

And still Willow read from the nightmare chronicle.

"For days and nights the Wizard wandered the city from
door to door giving aid to all he met until beggars found him
collapsed at the base of the Stairways of Mourning, himself now
a victim. He lay there alone, unaided as none dared approach for
fear of the contagion. Then finally several women, mothers of
children he had healed, bore him away to his chambers where he
lay unconscious three days."

"That's enough, Willow," Buffy said coldly, her face
drained of color, "Turn it off."

"But there's more," Willow said innocently.

"Turn it off!" Buffy almost shouted, the anger welling
up inside her, "Save it! Whatever!"

For a moment, no one in the library moved. Finally Jonathan,
his eyes now red and his cheeks glistening, looked back up at
Buffy and the others.

"It was just a few months back . . ." he stammered,
"But I guess it really was a long time ago . . ."

"Not long enough from what it sounds like," Xander
answered as he struggled to find the right words, "You know,
Buffy and the rest of us here fight vampires and demons . . .
and the occasional bug headed teacher."

Buffy looked at Xander and both smiled sensing this was the
right kind of Xander joke for the moment. Then Xander spoke seriously.

". . . but it makes it all worth while," he continued
slowly, "When you get to meet . . . one of the Good Guys."

Quickly, Buffy sat down by Jonathan's side. She placed her
hands on his shoulders, encouraging him to look over at her.

"This is the New World," she said gently but at the
same time trying to pass as much of her Slayer's strength to him
as she could, "We try not to look back. That way it doesn't
hurt so much."

Buffy wrapped her arms around Jonathan. As she did, she felt
his muscled arms trembling in her embrace. He buried his face
in her long blonde hair as she held him tighter and whispered
in his ear.

"Gimme a hug, Couz," she said softly, "Ya dun
good."

As the others gathered around, Xander stood behind Jonathan
and patted his hand firmly on Jonathan' shoulder as if to say
"Good Man." No one saw any reason to move when the school
bell rang the end of sixth period study hall.

* * * * * *

Chapter 8 - Seize the day

"You're looking for somewhere to belong,
You're standing all alone,
For someone to guide you on you way,
Now and forever,
It's a beautiful life . . ."

Dingoes Ate My Baby was as much a fixture at the Bronze as
the tables, chairs and the occasional vampire. The band's music,
sometimes driving, sometimes lilting, slow and lyrical, could
be counted on to either sooth away the teenage hysteria of a particularly
brutal day at Sunnydale High, or just blast the memories out the
head. Whichever, Dingoes was a Bronze favorite.

Buffy, Jonathan, and Willow sat quietly at a corner table amidst
the surging rhythms. On the dance floor, Cordelia and Xander spun
wildly, their bodies lurching back and forth, giving spectators
a sneak peak of what could only be imagined from beyond the locked
doors of the Sunnydale High broom closets. On stage, Oz, gazing
impassively out over the sea of swaying heads, ran his fingers
effortlessly up and down the neck of his electric guitar. At their
table, Jonathan stared, his mouth hanging wide open, at the gyrating
bodies.

"Hey," Buffy nudged him, "Close your mouth.
You look like a fish."

Jonathan, still gaping, turned to Buffy. Mechanically he snapped
his jaws shut so that his teeth clicked out loud. He cast one
more glance at the dance floor then just stared off at nothing.

"Yoo hoo?" Willow said, tilting her head sideways
and waving her hand in his face.

"Come on, get it together," Buffy poked him again,
"You haven't said boo since this afternoon."

"Boo," Jonathan replied quietly.

Buffy scowled and shook her head. On stage, the music of Dingoes
ground to a halt.

"Oh, the band's taking a break," Willow exclaimed
as she jumped to her feet, "I'm a groupie. I gotta go hang
with my squeeze. See ya!" Quickly she shot off past the tables
and the surge of bodies leaving the dance floor as she aimed for
the band members on stage. In a moment more, she was by Oz's side
before he could even slide the guitar strap off his shoulder.

"What the hell did she just say?" Jonathan asked
as he stared at the stage then back at Buffy.

"That's better. . . " Buffy replied as she realized
that her "Cousin's" emotional funk was finally breaking,
"Come on, shake it off! . . .You've gotta stop thinking about
the bad stuff."

She reached her hand over and placed it on top of his.

"You did everything you could," she said softly as
she rubbed the back of his hand, "Hell, more than anybody
could of, even today."

"I know," he sighed as returned her gaze, "But
it's never enough."

Okay, Buffy thought, this is the Bronze. Everyone comes her
to lose the funky blues, not wallow in them.

"Listen, you gotta get the trip here right," she
said firmly, "You and I don't have a choice in what we are
or what we have to do. Do you think I went to the guidance counselor
and said 'Gee, Slaying sounds like a cool career, hanging out
in graveyards and busting blood suckers!'"

Jonathan, listening intently to Buffy, began to grin. Realizing
she was now gaining the upper hand, Buffy continued with just
enough sarcasm to keep the conversation from getting too heavy.

"And Giles, he really loves spending all his time watching
out for demons and Ancient Ones and all that crap. . . ."
Suddenly she paused and reconsidered, "Well maybe with Giles
he does . . . But you, did you choose to become . . . "

Momentarily at a loss for words, Buffy waved her hand in the
air at Jonathan, ". . . whatever you are?"

"No," Jonathan shook his head, "I was being
trained before I even remember much of anything else. I can hardly
recall my parents, just Telemon."

"None of us, me, Giles or you chose this deal," Buffy
said.

Jonathan nodded in agreement. For a second, Buffy was silent
as she considered carefully whether she would say the next thing
that had come to her mind. In the end, she decided it was important
and she really wanted to share it with someone.

"And we've lost a lot," the Slayer said looking down
at her hand resting on his on the table top, "For what we've
had to do."

"You're right," he nodded again and spoke gently,
"Your first love, huh?"

"Yeah," Buffy replied, her voice barely audible,
"Who filled you in on the details?"

"You have a good friend in Iskander," Jonathan grinned.

"It's 'Xander,'" Buffy quickly corrected him.

"Right . . ." he smiled and then asked carefully,
"What about your Watcher, Giles?"

"I can't even guess what he has been through," Buffy
said, shaking her head, "I just know of one. Jenny Calendar."

Again, Buffy hesitated before proceeding. She then threw caution
to the wind. She had to know.

"And you?" she asked turning her blue eyes to meet
his, "It was your Princess, wasn't it."

Jonathan nodded silently and looked away. She realized that
he might not continue so she gently squeezed his hand to draw
back his attention.

"None of us knew she had been sired," he finally
said as Buffy sensed the lack of emotion in his voice was in reality
some kind of deep protective "control" he was using
to block out the pain, "I was blind to it for weeks. She
turned the Imperial Chancellor and was slowly draining the life
out of her father, the emperor Constans."

Buffy listened in rapt attention.

"When I finally realized what had happened and confronted
her, she laughed and offered to sire me to 'consummate our union.'"

Buffy shuddered at the thought as Jonathan spoke.

"When I refused and tried to retrieve her lost soul, she
and the Chancellor ordered me arrested and set the mob against
me. That's when they burned my study."

"Some of us have had it a little rougher than others, I guess,"
Buffy replied.

"How so?" he asked, looking up at her puzzled.

"I can't imagine what it must have been like . . . trying
to help all those children," Buffy said.

"And what about you? " he returned her gaze, "Every
night alone . . . fighting the undead. A one woman war protecting
this . . . place. It's something I wouldn't want to do."

"Yeah, it does suck . . ." Buffy agreed, "But
you almost died!"

"And you didn't?" he answered.

Buffy was silent as her mind suddenly reeled from the flood
of distorted memories of her lying lifeless at the feet of the
Master.

"Iskander told me," Jonathan said gently, "You
did die."

"Yeah . . . but I'm still here!" Buffy quickly responded,
her defiance revitalizing her Slayer's strength, "You don't
know how many times I've told Giles to take this job and shove
it! But I'm still here. And so are you!"

"Sometimes I think that's all that keeps me going,"
he agreed as he pulled his hand out and now placed it on top of
hers.

"That's what keeps us both going," Buffy declared
and she could see the impact her powerful declaration was having
on the young telekinetic, "Next day the sun's up and there
you are! You do what you have to do! 'Cause without you what would've
happened?"

"Yeah," he said firmly, "And without you this
new world . . ."

"Would be a real creeped out mess!" Buffy completed
the sentence with a verbal swagger.

"So that's all you need to keep going, huh?" Jonathan
asked, as he finally understood.

"Just be at the party and dance . . . " Buffy smiled
a grin that would put Willow's to shame, "Feelin' better?"
She squeezed his hand again.

"Yeah," he said humbly, now looking down at their
hands on the table once more, "Thanks," he smiled back.

Dingoes slowly reassembled on the stage. A sensuous riff of
chords drifted softly from Oz's amplifier. The female lead singer
leaned seductively into the microphone as the rhythms of a slow
song wafted over the couples assembling on the dance floor.

"Come on, Couz," Buffy said as she clamped her Slayer's
grip on Jonathan's wrist, "Time you learned how we boogie
in the new world."

"Huh?"

Buffy dragged her confused "Cousin" out onto the
dance floor. Firmly she positioned his arms around her waist and
she draped her arms over his shoulders.

"But I don't. . ." he sputtered.

" Shh! Just go with the music. Move back and forth."

As Buffy's hips swayed slowly in time, Jonathan quickly matched
her rhythm. Under the dim lights, the two danced, each sharing
these moments out of time with someone they both never dreamed
existed.

*****
One of the best ways to end an evening at the Bronze was with
a drive in Cordelia's red convertible, . . . with the top down
. . . and all the Scoobies, Xander, Willow, Oz, Buffy and Jonathan,
piled into the back. Oz's amp and guitar kept Cordelia company
in the passenger side front bucket seat. Cordelia had complained,
not due Xander's refusal to sit next her but because the sharp
corners on the amplifier might puncture the seat leather.

Usually Oz just tossed the equipment in his van but tonight
the old workhorse was in the shop. Melvin the Mechanic (Sunnydale
High 1991) at Sunnydale Auto Body and Detailing said something
about the distributor freezing up and having to order the parts
because the heap was so old.

Anyway, cruising the streets of downtown Sunnydale on a warm
school night, well it didn't get much better than that. Yes, Buffy
nodded to herself as she sat on Jonathan's lap, the Cordelia/Xander
relationship did have some beneficial side effects.

Being a week night, the action on the streets was light, so
Cordelia made the first drop off at Buffy's house.

"You gonna walk me to the door, stranger?" Buffy
said cheerily to Jonathan as she jumped over the closed car door.

"Sure thing," he said joining her but exiting by
the more conventional method of opening the car door. Together,
they walked slowly down the sidewalk that led to the Summer's
residence front walk.

"Wild day. I had fun, though," he said as they turned
towards her front door, "Thanks for sharing it."

"Yeah, me too," she smiled back as a million thoughts
ran through her head.

"This New World of yours, it is 'awesome,'" he said
sincerely.

"We think so," she smiled again.

As they reached the front door, Buffy turned to face Jonathan.

"You know," he rattled on, "We have to work
out what we are going to do about the Ancient One. If the vampires.
. ."

Quickly, Buffy reached up and put her hand over Jonathan's
mouth, cutting him off in mid sentence.

"Giles says they can't do anything until tomorrow night,"
she said, trying to keep him focused on her, "We've got plenty
of time. I don't want to deal with it now."

"Okay . . . " he nodded and then said quietly almost
to himself, "'Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.'"

Buffy gave him "the look."

"You know the talking weird thing?" she said in a
gentle reproach, "It's kinda like the clothes."

"Oh, sorry. Bad habit," he answered a little humbled.

"That's okay."

Suddenly, she leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Carpe diem," she said quietly as she drew her lips
away.

Eyebrows raised, Jonathan looked at her a little surprised
but with understanding.

"I got it off a tee shirt," she said apologetically,
"It's the only Latin I know."

Suddenly they both realized they were drawing closer to each
other.

"Seize the day," Buffy said softly as she felt his
arms wrap gently but firmly around her back.

Their lips met. It was not a deep kiss, not a sloppy, groping,
raw passion laden exchange. Rather, their lips barely touched,
brushing softly back and forth, over and over, each drawing in
the other's breath. The effect was electric. Refusing to pull
away, Buffy found herself holding on tighter and tighter with
each passing second. She and Jonathan stayed wrapped in the embrace,
for how long she couldn't tell. When they finally drew back from
each other, their blue eyes locked for an instant. Abruptly Buffy
turned and ran inside, calling out over her shoulder as she did.

"Good night!"

The front door slammed. Jonathan stood in silence for a few
moments. He ran his fingertips across his lips, as he struggled
to comprehend the many paths branching off into the future from
where he was standing at this moment on the Summers' front steps.
Every avenue his mind sought came up blank. Not that the paths
were all obscured, just that, for some unknown reason, there was
a dark emptiness everywhere he looked.

"Good night, Buffy," he said softly under the porch
light.

Jonathan turned to walk back to the car. Deep in thought, he
shuffled towards the sidewalk and was barely aware of his surroundings
until he came within a few inches of the curb. Suddenly he stared
up, seeing the entire Scooby gang had been an audience. They were
all smiling, and Willow grinned broadly covering her mouth with
her hand.

"Aaww maaaan!" Jonathan howled.

*****

Inside in the front hallway of the Summers house, Buffy leaned
with her back to the closed door, shut her eyes and sighed.

"Buffy, is that you?" Joyce Summers' cheery but slightly
harried voice sang out from the kitchen.

"Yeah, Mom," Buffy shouted back as she entered the
living room and tossed her shoulder bag on the sofa.

Buffy's mother zoomed in and the grilling began immediately.

"Where did you go tonight?"

Although still confused, Buffy felt the constant teenager/Slayer
need to conceal everything receding in the face of what she had
just experienced.

"We hung out at the Library, then went to the Bronze.
Same old, same old. No big deal."

"Who were you with?" Joyce asked, trying not to press
too hard, "Willow and Xander? And who else?"

"Mom!" Buffy exclaimed.

"You don't tell me anything, so I have to ask. . . ."
Joyce said, still trying to keep things light as she delved into
what she knew was going to be forbidden territory, "Who was
that boy that walked you to the door?"

"His name is Jonathan Martel," Buffy offered to her
own surprise, and the half fib came out perfectly. "He's
an exchange student staying with Giles."

"Wow, a name," Joyce marveled, "That's a first.
He's older than you, isn't he?"

"Mom!"

"Buffy, after all that trouble with Angel . . ."

"Jonathan is nothing like Angel," Buffy was surprised
again, this time with her vehement defense of the young telekinetic.

Joyce paused before she spoke again as she studied the unexpected
smile on her daughter's face. She had never gotten this far discussing
anything with Buffy and she wanted so much to share the new experiences
with her.

"You like him, don't you," Joyce said gently.

Buffy thought for a moment, partly to decide whether she should
break the teenage code of silence and partly to try and sort out
her own feelings.

"Yeah," she finally confessed, "I think I do.
Mom, I promise I'll introduce you next time he comes over. . .
Oh, could you get me up early? I have some stuff to do at the
library."

"Now I know something's wrong!" Joyce smiled as she
put her hands on her hips, "You're either sick or in love

. . . and it better be the first!"

"Good night, Mom!" Buffy announced as she turned
to leave the room.

"Good night," Joyce said lovingly.

Buffy bounded up the stairs to her bedroom leaving Joyce Summers
standing alone in the living room in the company of her ever present
worries.

*****

At Giles' apartment, Jonathan sat uncomfortably on the sofa
where he would be spending a second night. His arms and legs felt
weak and his hands trembly but he just chalked it up to the events
of the last twenty-four hours. Coming back into the material world
after four hundred years would tend to take a little out of someone,
he thought glibly. Giles puttered about, tidying up and stashing
away an armful of books in his floor to ceiling bookshelf.

"Well, I guess I'll be turning in," the Watcher announced
as he shoved the last volume into a lower shelf, "If you
need anything just help yourself."

"Thanks," Jonathan replied, "I'll probably call
it a day, too. I'm really tired."

"Good night," Giles called out as he climbed the
stairs to the bedroom.

Jonathan sat alone thinking about the last few hours and about
Buffy in particular. Suddenly, he realized the shaking in his
hands was increasing, escalating into an outright tremor. Then
he winced as an unexpected pain shot through his insides. Just
as quickly, it faded. Bewildered at first, he shook his head attempting
to clear his thoughts. Then the pain struck a second time, hard
and more debilitating, and immediately he understood what was
happening.

He held up both hands which were now shaking uncontrollably.
As he stared at them, the substance of the skin started to turn
translucent and tiny particles of what appeared to be dust fell
from the fingertips.

". . . no . . . no . . . not yet!" he whispered in
desperation to the empty room, "Please not yet!"

At the same time, Buffy was just drifting off to sleep in her
bed. Suddenly she began tossing, thrashing about under the influence
of a restless nightmare. In it she held Jonathan in her arms as
she had on the front porch. She pressed her lips to his as he
ran his hands through her hair. But now, all of a sudden his body
was fading away. Darkness swept in closer as he opened his mouth
to speak, almost as if he were bidding her farewell, but there
was no sound. Buffy gripped him tightly, struggling to hold him
back, to keep him with her if only for a few seconds more but
in an instant her arms were empty.

In the apartment, Giles reappeared at the head of the stairs
and wandered down, puzzling over something.

"Oh, you know I forgot to tell you that . . ." he
said as he paused halfway. Immediately he spied Jonathan in distress.

"Oh God!" he shouted as he took three steps at a
time and raced across the living room to the sofa. "What's
happening?! What's wrong?"

"The spell . . . " Jonathan stammered, struggling
to speak as his face turned ashen, "It's collapsing!"
In that instant, Giles knew the situation was desperate.

In her bedroom, Buffy's sleep became more disturbed as she
tossed again and again. Suddenly she sprang awake, her eyes wide
with fear. In her gut, she knew something was terribly wrong.
The image in her dream told her one thing. She threw aside her
comforter, grabbed the portable phone off the bedside table and
hit the speed dial.

Giles now knelt by Jonathan's side.

"What can I do?!" he asked frantically.

Jonathan grabbed the Watcher by the hand. Giles thought he
could feel the grip disintegrating.

"Hermes Trismegistos!" Jonathan begged. "Do
you have a copy of Hermes Trismegistos?!"

"The Dialecticon!" Giles exclaimed, recognizing the
ancient alchemist's study on spell reinforcement. Before Jonathan
could speak again, Giles was on his feet, zeroing in on one section
of the bookshelf. He immediately snatched out a small black volume.

"Book twenty-three, verse seventeen!" Jonathan called
out, his voice weakening.

Giles spun the pages effortlessly to the needed section and
he

This story archived at: The Slayer\'s Fanfic Archive
The Slayer\\\\\\\\'s FanFic Archive - http://www.slayerfanfic.com/viewstory.php?sid=3343