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Part One
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"Hey Giles!" Buffy said cheerfully. She strolled into the library carrying a notebook and munching on a shiny red apple.
"Hello, Buffy," he said distractedly, barely looking up.
"Nice to see you too..." she muttered. Giles finally tore his gaze from the single sheet of facy printed paper he was holding to look at his charge.
"Acually, I was about to come looking for you anyway," he admitted, and slipped his glasses off to rub his hands over his face. Buffy didn't like that gesture; it always meant news of some kind was coming.
"Why?" she asked cautiously, immediately suspicious. Giles didn't leave his sacred library unless he absolutely had to.
"Well, I recieved this in the mail this morning," he said, gesturing to the card in front of him. "And I needed to tell you about it."
"What is it? Prophecy? Death threat? You won Publisher's Clearing house?" She smiled.
"No, no, nothing like that." He ignored her flippancy. "It is very serious though. You've been summoned." He looked up at her to guage her reaction, but he only saw confusion. She lowered herself into a chair as she spoke.
"Giles, we've through this before. This isn't news...I'm the summoned one, the Chosen One, and so on and so on. I know-"
"No, that's not what I mean! Just let me finish!" he exclaimed, exasperated, but he couldn't help but smile as he said it. "The Watcher's Council has summoned you. Every Slayer is called to them at some point or another during her lifetime, to be presented. It's quite an honor, actually." He picked up the paper again. "This is the invitation."
Buffy took it from him gingerly, holding it only by the edges, and read it.
"The Watcher's Council formally requests the presence of the Slayer and her Watcher at the Livingston Ballroom for an honorary banquet on the date of August Thirty First, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety Seven. Please attend."
She set the card back down and looked at Giles. "It sounds like attendance is mandatory." Giles sighed.
"Well, I wouln't say it's *mandatory*, but it would be extrememly rude to refuse. And you *would* be the first Slayer in history who declined a formal invitation from the Watcher's Council."
"Well, we can't have that, now can we?" She said dryly. A trip to England to meet a bunch of Watchers. Lovely.
"We should go. You can tell your mother that you've joined a summer enrichment program or something of that nature, and that we're taking a trip to England." He was thinking hard now, trying to plan everything out.
"Giles, who's paying for all this?" she asked. She knew *she* wasn't doling out any cash...
"The Council pays for everything. Don't worry about that. You go home and start packing, tell your mom your story, and I'll call the airlines and a hotel. We'll leave next Monday, is that all right?"
"Yeah, that's fine I guess." A thought had just occurred to her..."Giles, this is going to be, like, a really fancy thing huh?"
"Very formal, yes."
"Great, well, I have to go get a new dress. And only three days to do it in! I've gotta get going. I can't believe I agreed to this," she was talking more to herself now than to him. "See ya, Giles."
* * *
"So, let me get this straight. You're going to England, without telling your mom the real reason why, and it's just going to be you and *Giles*?" Willow asked, incredulous.
"Yeah, kinky huh?" Buffy replied, distracted and with no humor in her voice what so ever. She was pawing through a rack of dresses.
"Yeah, no kidding," Willow agreed, not sure whether her friend was kidding or not. Suddenly, she saw The Dress. "Buffy, this is it!" Willow grabbed the hanger to lift the garment off of the rack.
Buffy turned to stare, and realized that Willow was right, this was IT. The dress was beautiul. It was deep red satin, sleek and fitted all the way down, with a slit up the side that would reach to just above her knee. Buffy ran her hands along the material as Willow held up the dress.
"It's beautiful," Buffy breathed.
"Yeah, and what's more fitting than a Slayer dressed in red?" Buffy looked up from the dress to smile at her friend.
"It's perfect. I want to try it on." Willow handed the dress to Buffy and waited outside the door while she slipped into it. She emerged, and Willow grinned. The dress fit like it was made for Buffy. It was sleeveless, with a tastefully low neckline, and it was very flattering to her figure.
"Giles won't know what hit him!" Willow exclaimed, and laughed at the thought of Giles's face when he saw Buffy in this red number. Buffy just smiled and rolled her eyes, and clicked the door shut again to change back into her clothes.
She and Willow approached the counter a few minutes later.
"I'll take it." Buffy said, and she and Willow shared another smile.
* * *
The flight attendant had just passed out beverages and those infamous little packets of peanuts. The tall blond woman was certainly interested in Giles, but he paid her no heed, focusing his attention solely on Buffy. The woman didn't seem to be getting the hint, and Buffy was greatly amused at Giles attempts to fend her off.
"Sir," the attendant crooned. "Are you *sure* you don't need anything else? A pillow, a blanket..."
"A sharp wooden stake...?" Buffy muttered, and luckily only Giles heard her. He elbowed her in the side.
"No, no we're fine, thank you."
"Can I get anything for your daughter?" she persisted, refusing to speak directly to Buffy, whom she most likely viewed as competition for Giles's attention. The amusement had left the Slayer's face, and she was curious to see what Giles was going to say.
He looked the pesky woman in the eye. "She's not my daughter, if you know what I mean." A horrified expression passed over the woman's face before she could hide it, and she moved on down the aisle quickly.
Buffy snickered, and Giles blushed sweetly. "Sorry," he said, embarrassed by the insinuation he had just given the woman. Buffy laughed and patted his arm.
"Good thing I was here, she might've taken advantage of you!" She broke down into giggles at the mere thought. "I could've taken her out anyway! No one messes with *my* Watcher," she said, still laughing.
After she calmed down, the conversation continued quietly and turned to more serious matters.
"So, they basically just want to meet me? Why am *I* such a big deal?" she wondered out loud.
"Buffy, you don't understand how important you are. These men and women...they have been trained their entire *lives* for you. You are the reason for their existence. You can imagine how they'd like to meet you. A Slayer just coming to be presented to them is quite an occasion. Of course, it's an incredible honor for me too...reminds me of how fortunate I am." Buffy smiled at his compliment. She then threw her head back and released a huge yawn. The time change was beginning to affect her, and she rested against his shoulder for the remainder of the flight.
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