DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the characters of Buffy, Giles, Xander, Willow, or anything else in, from, or related to the Buffy Universe as created by the all mighty man, Joss, and owned in some strange way I don't get by WB. I DO, however, like messing around in other people's universes. And I'm poor. To quote our favorite principle, "Don't sue."
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Part Two
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"Giles"
The sound of pain in her voice was unmistakable. He had finally found her, and the scene that greeted his eyes wasn't something even his nightmares had encompassed. He had never thought Buffy would be capable of taking her own life.
She was leaning against a huge red oak tree. Her face seemed wan, but she was still conscious, still standing. The twin gashes on her forearms slowly oozed blood that ran and puddled on her skin, causing Giles to marvel in morbid fascination.
"Why?"
Had he actually spoken the thought? Apparently he had, as Buffy managed to thrust herself away from the oak, wobbling slightly as she stepped nearer the center of the grove of trees. Some silent observer within his brain noted that Buffy wasn't really answering his question, but it was, as stated, a silent observer of this fact.
"No Angel."
She raised her arms slightly toward the sun in explanation. It unmindfully shined through the trees overhead. She stumbled slightly as she turned to face a slightly different direction, dragging her feet through the thick bed of fallen leaves.
"No Xander, No Mom."
Xander had been dragged away by his parents. Giles vaguely remembered the concept of immersing the boy in his extended family to 'aid him in his time of need.' Buffy's mother thought her daughter was with Xander. Xander had covered for her the entire weekend. He certainly couldn't have known Buffy's intentions.
He watched her shuffle a few more steps until she tripped over some hidden obstacle and fell forward, clumsily breaking her fall with her hands. She cried out and brought her arms close to her chest, as if to cradle them. He started to rush towards her, but halted when she looked up at him.
She stared at him harshly, as if blaming him for his presence.
"No you."
And he was supposed to have believed Xander's cover stories. But he hadn't believed that Buffy would leave so abruptly, particularly when he'd fabricated some excuse and gained entrance to Buffy's room. It had been far too orderly for someone who had reportedly broken half her belongings a few nights before. And then he had found the letters, carefully placed under a pillow, addressed in a steady hand he easily recognized; Mom and Dad, Xander, Giles, Angel. And he had known, then.
And so he was here, in the one place Willow had ever mentioned actually *liking* in the outside world of Sunnydale. His one and only thought of where Buffy might have gone. It had just happened to be right. That scared him more than anything else had in his life.
He crouched down next to her and gently reached for her arms. She tried to pull away, but her teeth were chattering and she was shivering and it seemed to Giles she suddenly realized she was very afraid of death, and when she looked back up at him it was without any trace of the malice she had held in her eyes before.
"This was pretty stupid, huh?"
It was so utterly Buffy that he started to smile, and then he reached down and held her in his arms for a few precious moments as he half laughed and half cried and she did the same.
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