Buffy sat quietly in the bus, curled into a ball. Giles drove and hummed quietly while Xander cried steadily but without a sound across from her, looking out the window. Willow slept soundly, curled next to Kennedy who was drifting but still hadn’t slept. Wood was sprawled across two seats in the very back so he didn’t block the hall or break his makeshift stitches that Faith had admonished without a hitch. “I’m a skilled seamstress,” she joked uncharacteristically. Wood assumed she learned in jail and didn’t ask questions.
Miscellaneous potentials… no. Miscellaneous Slayers groaned in their sleep. The problem with travelling on a school bus was that there was no washroom in the back, so Giles pulled over once every three hours at a convenience store, and a troupe of a dozen injured girls formed a line. During one of these occasions, Giles came back and sat beside Buffy. “Where do you want me to drive?” he asked her quietly.
Buffy looked tiredly but contentedly at her former Watcher. “I don’t know. Just drive, Giles. I’ll know when we get there.” She blinked at him. “Do you need to sleep?”
Giles shook his head slowly and smiled fondly at the woman he’d come to know as his daughter. “No. No, I’m in better shape than anyone else here. Besides, it’s all much too exciting to sleep,” he said, grinning widely. Buffy raised her eyebrows skeptically. He shook his head. “If I get tired, Buffy, I’ll pull over and sleep. There’s nothing you can do to stop me.” He grinned again and Buffy reflected just how much he looked like he used to back when she was in high school.
The high school that was now rubble.
Twice.
Buffy exhaled. “It’s been a long day, Giles. Sleep soon, okay? Promise?”
He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Promise.” Then he started the engine to signal to everyone that he was about to pull out, with or without them on the bus.
Buffy noticed that this was three stops ago, which equated to nine hours. Giles still hadn’t slept. Neither had Xander, and neither had Buffy, for that matter. Andrew fell asleep amongst the girls hours ago.
“Poor little guy’s all tuckered out,” Faith noticed, sitting in front of Wood and actually having a decent conversation with someone who wasn’t a vampire with a soul or someone connected with the law. “No pun intended, what with Tucker being his brother and all.”
“Yeah,” the principal said. “He looks so… cute. Like a little angel or something. Shouldn’t he be awake to enjoy all the female attention he’s getting?”
“Aw, he doesn’t feel that way about the girls. He’s like their sister, really.”
Wood laughed for a second, but trailed off as soon as possible. He hurt, but he figured he’d be all right until they got where they were going. He could walk fine and all organs seemed to be working, so he assumed he’d live.
Dawn sat near Buffy and Xander, but was careful to remain perfectly silent. They both lost people they loved. Dawn wept for a very long while over both their losses for many hours, but slept for a while and had picked up nickels and dimes along the road to buy a 25 cent book at the last pit stop. She was the only one who could read; Giles drove, Xander and Buffy stared, Wood and Faith talked and the rest sat in quiet reflection when they weren’t sleeping, which they had been for the past twelve hours. So Dawn read.
But she was happy. She felt lonely, which was nothing new, but she knew that everyone did right now, Buffy and Xander most of all. She felt safe with all these people that had lived in her house for so long. She knew she’d be fine and she knew she’s end up perhaps happier than anyone else on this bus because of every experience Buffy and Giles has led her through. She knew exactly who she wanted to be.
Giles pulled over as the sun rose and parked the large yellow bus between a gas station and a motel. Dawn was thrilled to notice that the gas station had a restaurant built in. The former Watcher yawned and pulled his wallet out from a pocket inside his jacket. Dawn’s jaw went slack. “You have your wallet?” she hissed at him.
Giles looked mildly surprised. “Yes, yes. It never hurts to be prepared.” Despite the fact that both parties of the conversation were whispering, people around them started to wake up, rubbing their eyes.
“Why’re we stopped?” Vi asked sleepily.
Giles smiled. “I’m tired. I’m parked in a small town complete with clothing stores where I fully expect you lot to buy a set of new clothes.”
“With what money?” Kennedy asked.
Giles held up a credit card. All the girls save Faith, Willow, Buffy and Dawn in the vehicle collectively took a sharp intake of breath and looked up at the piece of plastic as though it was a God. This wasn’t lost on Giles.
“Ah, ah. No. I will pay for a hotel room. One hotel room. You may take turns showering as long as you don't wake me. I’ll be asleep on the bed. I expect you to go in groups of five to the mall, each group accompanied by either Buffy, Willow, Xander or myself, where you may each buy ONE change of clothing. I expect to see receipts. No chocolate, no other silly confections. We will stay here until dusk, when we will continue on our way. I will also pay for two square meals at this… erm… fine diner here; one right now and one just before we leave. Any questions?”
“Yeah,” a Slayer said, eyes twinkling. “When did you get to be so cool?”
“You should hear me sing.” Giles grinned again. Buffy was again astounded at how young he looked despite how tired he was. She hadn’t seen him look so exuberant since before Angel killed Jenny Calendar. She wondered what he was hiding.
The girls started piling off the bus after Giles. Kennedy spoke softly to Willow and asked her how she was. Faith helped Wood up with ease and she helped him hobble off the bus. Andrew hopped after the Slayers and chattered on about nothing as usual, occasionally clapping his hands excitedly. Soon it was only Dawn, Buffy and Xander still on the bus. Dawn stood.
“You guys coming?” she asked.
Xander nodded but didn’t move. Buffy watched him for a moment and then quietly told Dawn to go ahead and tell Giles that she was talking to Xander. Dawn hopped off the bus reluctantly after giving Buffy a hug and joined the chattering crowd that just piled into the diner. The waitresses looked astounded and started shouting orders to get more cooks on staff, now.
Buffy continued to watch Xander and his less-than-conscious reaction to life. She moved across the aisle and sat next to him on his seat. He didn’t move. A tear rolled slowly down his right cheek.
“Xander,” Buffy said softly, and grabbed his hand. “I know Anya’s death is a blow. But I swear to you, when we get to wherever we’re going, and you and I are going to sit down and get seriously drunk about it.” Xander exhaled sharply with almost laughter, but more tears just fell out of his good eye. His jaw quivered and he clenched his teeth to prevent from completely breaking down. Buffy noticed and she entwined her fingers with his, putting her other hand on top and looked straight at him. “Quit holding back, Xand. You loved her. She died knowing that, she died loving you, and most of all, she died a hero. But take it from someone who’s been there. It’s going to take a long time. You’ve been sitting here for the past two days, crying quietly, trying to let it pass. But it hasn’t even hit yet. It will soon. When it does, I’ll be here. I’ll be right here, sitting beside you, holding your hand and getting you through this.”
Xander finally turned to face Buffy and searched her green eyes with his one brown. “I really thought…” he whispered before his voice caught and he let go, taking his hands from out of Buffy’s and putting them over his face. Buffy reached over and pulled him toward her, lying him down with his head on her lap and letting him cry, unconsciously matching each of his tears with one of her own.
***
“Stop,” she whispered. She opened her eyes and stage-whispered to Giles, “Giles, we’re here.”
Giles slammed on the brakes with the sudden ruckus. He turned around to face her, rather annoyed. “A little more warning might be presidented next time.”
“Sorry,” she mumbled. She stood up and Giles let her out of the bus.
“Buffy…” he said slowly, not rising from his seat. “You were asleep just seconds ago.”
“I know. It woke me up.”
“What did?” he asked.
She smiled slowly. “The Hellmouth.”
He frowned and looked about.
“Buffy… there’s no Hellmouth in Iowa.”
She nodded, still smiling. “I know.”
He got out of the bus and went to stand next to her. “Then what in the bleeding hell are we doing here?”
She had to turn to look at him to make sure it wasn’t Spike sitting at the wheel. It was Giles, but he still looked remarkable. “Giles, when did you get so young?”
He grinned. “That’s the best compliment I’ve received in… well, it’s been the only compliment aside from ‘your money is appreciated’ four days ago.” He realized his words and he and Buffy slowly looked down and let the memory of Anya pass. “When was the last time you saw me outside of Sunnydale, Buffy?” he said after a few moments.
“Well, it’s been a…” Buffy frowned. “Have I ever seen you outside of Sunnydale?”
Giles shook his head and smiled lightly. “When Willow was staying with me in Britain, she noticed the difference, too. I didn’t act as differently, but she saw the physical difference.” She smiled down at his former Slayer. “It was the Hellmouth. The further I get from it, the better I feel. I look different, too. It’s nice,” he added. “But it always makes me feel more inclined to pick up the spellbook we made when we raised…” he shook his head. “I was always so stuffy in Sunnydale because the Hellmouth made me feel that way. In Britain I’m a gentle, well-spoken bloke with a good reputation. Here, I’m a rebel.” He grinned.
Buffy smiled. Then she reached over and closed the bus doors. She made sure all the bus windows were closed before speaking. “What are your plans, Giles?”
“Well, I plan to reconstruct the Watcher’s council in America from Britain.”
Buffy stared. “Why not reconstruct it in America from America?”
“Because I miss Britain too much,” he said simply. “I believe the council would do best in America, but I certainly don’t want to live here anymore. The food is atrocious. I’m amazed I’ve withstood it this long.”
Buffy’s turn to grin. “I love you, Giles,” she said, and hugged him for the first time in years. He hugged her back.
“What about you?” he asked quietly.
She thought. “I’ll get to that in a second. I need you to do me a favour.”
“What’s that?”
“I want you to put Dawn in a Watcher program. Actually, Dawn wants you to put her in a Watcher program. Where are you planning on setting up the council?”
“New York, I was thinking. It’ll take me a couple of years to get it started, though.”
“Perfect. Dawn will be eighteen and she can move out on her own.”
“Where do you want to go now?”
“I want to go to Cleveland. Dawn agrees with me. I think Xander’s going to come too, and Willow and Kennedy might as well. I’m not so sure about Wood and Faith, but I think we should get them someplace so Wood can see a proper doctor to make sure he’s not punctured fatally or something.”
“And the Slayers?”
“Oh, they’re going home. I think we should take them to New York airport, because that goes everywhere. They can call home and get a ticket home. If they can’t afford it, then I’ll pay.”
“And by that you mean I’ll pay.”
“Exactly.” She grinned.
Giles nodded and thought the plan over. “I might fly out in New York as well.”
She nodded back at him. “That’s fine. Dawn and I can find our way to Cleveland. I’ll make Xander rent a car, and then Dawn can drive since she’s so eager to taser Xander and do that anyway.”
“Well, that was a rather foolish plan,” he said teasingly.
“I had to try.”
“I know.” He looked at the bus. “Well, most of us survived. We’ve done the impossible.”
She shook her head. “If it was impossible, we wouldn’t be here. It was the only way it could have gone. We were going to win. I’m just surprised I didn’t notice sooner.”
Giles grinned at his as-good-as-daughter and pushed his way back into the bus. All the Slayers were awake and pretending not to have been trying to listen. “We’re going to New York, and then you girls are going home,” he announced to the bus. An uproar of female voices and Andrew hit the roofs of the bus. Xander sat up and looked around in alarm, and grinned genuinely at Buffy. She smiled back and she knew that everything was going to be perfect.
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