Devil's In The Details

Buffy lay in her bed with Xander holding her in his arms. He felt warm and comfortable, like something that she had waited for all her life. She smiled as she turned to kiss him; he smiled back as she pressed her lips to his. Then suddenly she felt a presence, she looked up, and there was Spike and Angel. They grabbed Xander and began to pull him away.
“NO!” Buffy screamed and Xander tried to wrench himself free. The door opened and a dark figure was in the doorway.
“BUFFY!” Xander yelled and Buffy tried to get up but she couldn’t she looked closer and saw that the man was Wesley.
Buffy woke with a start to hear knocking at her door. The sun was only slightly high in the sky and she groaned, she missed not having to get up with the sun. But then, she thought, Xander’s shift must be over. She jumped out of bed and threw on her robe. She discovered Giles on the other side of the door.
“Can I talk to you?” Giles asked and Buffy nodded she let him into her room and he looked uncomfortable.
“What is it?”
“It’s about Wesley,” Giles said and Buffy nodded her head.
“He’s definitely sends the wiggins down the spine lately.” Buffy said and Giles looked confused for a moment then sighed.
“Yes, it seems a little odd to me that he shows up at the exact right time, with the exact right thing we need to make us help him and Angel.” Giles said Buffy looked at him.
“Do you think he had something to do with what happened to Xander?”
“I’m not going to rule it out.” Giles said and he cleaned his glasses.
“I’ll kill him.” Buffy said as she ran to get dressed. Giles got up and stopped her.
“We can’t prove anything; he’s much more powerful than he was when he left Sunnydale. He could have had a million ideas on how to talk us into helping, but when he saw this opportunity he grabbed it.”
“But he has been a bit fishy on the details though hasn’t he?” Buffy said as she sat down on the bed.
“Yes, that’s the other thing that I’m worried about.” Giles said and he sat down.
“What if it’s all smoke and mirrors Buffy? What if he’s just telling us that he can cure Xander so we’ll continue to help him?”
“Because he knows that I would remove his rib cage and wear it as a hat?” Buffy cheerfully answered but Giles just glared.
“But he’s already dead Buffy, I don’t think whatever we could do to him would really make a dent. Wesley’s loyalty to Angel is very deep, if he thought we would fend off this Wolfram and Hart until the smoke had cleared then his mission is accomplished. No matter what he leaves in his wake,” Giles felt himself sink into depression over the idea that Xander would never be human again.
“There’s too many unanswered questions Buffy.” Giles said and they heard another knock at the door.
“You should hide.” Buffy said and Giles looked at her like she was crazy.
“If it’s Wesley he shouldn’t know that we’ve been talking.” Buffy whispered and he looked at her like she was a petulant child then walked over to the bathroom and closed the door.
“Just a minute,” Buffy said and she gathered herself and opened the door. Willow stood worried on the other end.
“It’s about Xander.” Willow said and Buffy let her in.
“Giles!” Buffy yelled and Giles came out of the bathroom shocked to see Willow in the room.
“We were talking about Wesley. But throw you’re two cents in.” Buffy said as she sighed.
“The fang brothers down there told me that Xander’s not like they are.” Willow said and Buffy sighed.
“Hold that thought, I’m going to get dressed.” Buffy said and she went into the bathroom with some clothes.
“So what’d I miss?” Willow asked while Buffy got dressed.
“A little unsure of Wesley’s motives,”
“Aren’t we all?”
“Yes but we need to get some information out of him.”
“I can do that.”
“Without hurting him,”
“I can do that too.” Giles looked at her accustationally, Willow frowned slightly. “You don’t know.”
“I’d rather just ask him before we’re forced to get physical, if that’s all right with you.” Giles said as Buffy came out of the bathroom.
“So fill me in on the rest.” Buffy said and Willow explained what she saw in the training room and how Xander had kicked the crap out of Alyria.
“That’s more than a bit odd I have to admit.” Buffy said and the gears in her head continued to spin.
“But he could just be better than they are.” Giles said and Buffy nodded her head.
“But if he’s different that would follow in with your theory that Wesley has something to do with what happened to Xander.” Willow said.
“I think that Willow and I should have a look around for unusual vampire activity in town. And Giles can beat the crap out of Wesley until he tells us what he wants to know.” Buffy said and Giles glared.
“I’m not going to beat the crap out of him.” Giles said as they began to walk out of Buffy’s room.
“What about Xander and the fang gang?” Willow asked as they made they’re way down the hallway.
“Tell them to stay here and train Xander, I know they’re weirded out but he’s still not experienced as they are. Plus we can keep them out of the loop if they’re in on the plan with Wesley. We’ll leave Dawn and Andrew here to keep an eye on them.” Buffy said as she started down the steps she saw Xander talking to Dawn. He seemed to be calming her down, Buffy rushed down and looked at Dawn.
“Are you ok?” Buffy asked and Dawn nodded her head.
“She was a little mad at me but I think were better.” Xander told Buffy and Buffy sighed gratefully; she looked at Xander for an extra moment, so happy to have him in her life.
“Listen, we’ve got some research to do in town, stay here with Angel’s gang and keep training, ok?” Buffy told him and he smiled and nodded his head.
“Don’t forget about tonight ok?” Xander told her and she nodded her head.
“I’ll be looking forward to it all day.” She told him and kissed Dawn on the cheek and made her way with Willow down the steps.

Giles quietly watched Wesley pouring over books in his library. He tried to gauge who this person was in front of him. He wasn’t the uptight boarding school brat that he had known in Sunnydale. He was stronger, quieter, but at the same time something about him was broken.


That was the word, broken, he wasn’t alive anymore, that he had proven, was that why his eyes seemed slightly empty? Is that why every so often he would stop working and look into space and then he would sigh and continue on.
“If you want to ask me something just ask me.” Wesley said, he didn’t look up but he awoke Giles from the haze of his thoughts.
“I just want to know you’re playing at?”
“Playing at? My motives are as pure as the driven snow.” He said he looked up at Giles and Giles laughed and moved closer to him.
“You seem to have exactly what we want the exact moment when we need it.” Giles said and sat down across with him.
“Well working with Wolfram and Hart has helped me make my knowledge of the occult are more extensive. But if you want to know...”
“What happened to you Wesley?” Giles said cutting him off. Wesley looked up at him, he closed the book in front him.
“What do you mean?”
“I remember who you were, you may have fumbled now and again, but you were never what you are now.” Giles looked at him with the look of a concerned parent. The look that he gave to everyone one of the Scooby gang at one time or another.
“I’m not a child Rupert, you want me to open my soul and tell you everything that’s happened that’s made my smile turn upside down.” Wesley told him and Giles continued to look at him with the same expression.
“Just tell me what this is all about, what your plan is.”
“Why, don’t you trust me?
“To be honest, no,”
“Then Xander stays as he is. I’m sure you can tell Buffy, she’ll understand.”
“Did you turn Xander?”
“How could I have done that? I’m not a vampire.”
“But I bet you know a few.”
“Maybe, but last time I checked vampires don’t play well with others.”
“Tell me what you did Wesley.”
“Saved the lives of my friends,”
“ But at what cost?”
“I had to come here.”
“They don’t even know what you’ve done, do they?”
“They know that I’ll do anything to protect them that are all they need to know.” Wesley said quietly and stalked out of the library. Giles took off his glasses and rubbed them with his hankercheif. He thought to himself. I should have just beaten the crap out of him.