Watchers Council

Chapter 14

“So explain to me why this is a good idea?” Buffy folded her arms and glared at Giles.

“I’ve been trying to explain for the last ten minutes” he sighed and looked around the table. “We have a student body made up of 400 young women, all of whom are activated slayers and all of whom are activated in every other way to be expected of teenage girls” he gulped a little to hide the embarrassment.

“Exactly why this is a stupid idea” Buffy interrupted triumphantly.

“Buffy, let him finish” Xander said quietly and nodded towards Giles.

“Thank you Mr Harris” Giles deliberately tried to remind everyone of the formality usually employed at the department head meetings. “We need the goodwill of the local community and we also have an obligation to try to avoid too many visits from government agencies interested in our work” he saw several nervous glances between the heads of the more esoteric departments. “Therefore” he took a deep breath. “I think it’s important to forge some links with other schools in the area and start to behave like the educational establishment we purport to be”

“I agree” Buffy nodded. “Mr Giles” she added reluctantly and saw Giles smile at her. “But where does it say that we need to start this programme by inviting the students from the local all male boarding school to a Christmas dance?”

“Ms Summers” Giles swallowed the grin. “I think I am the most qualified person in the room to decide on the appropriate way to deal with the emotional lives of young slayers” Xander grinned while trying not to laugh and he heard Willow cough to hide hers. “I have found that trying to keep a lid on all emotional attachments is the most likely way to encourage inappropriate ones to happen” he soldiered on, trying to avoid the astonished look on Buffy’s face. “I propose that we begin a process of close co-operation with the local boarding school and that this is the first of many joint events”

“But they’re teenage boys” Buffy finally managed to find her voice.

“Exactly” Giles nodded. “And we need lots of them to provide a normal social and emotional education for our teenage girls” he bit his lip as he heard Willow moan under her breath trying to keep from laughing out loud. He glanced round the table and saw many of the department heads grinning and trying to avoid the serious gaze of the slayer. “Buffy, how much longer can we keep them cooped up in here with no male company apart from Xander’s construction crew and the teaching staff?”

“This is a disaster waiting to happen” she threw her hands up in the air in defeat.

“If there is nothing else?” he looked around the table and finally nodded. “Good, I’ll contact the head of the other school and make the arrangements, perhaps you could all filter the decision down to your staff and I’ll make an announcement to the students at the next assembly” he stood up and finally looked towards Willow and Xander. “Would join me in my office?” he asked and turned away quickly to keep control.

*****

“I thought she was going to explode” Xander gasped as he leaned on the edge of the desk.

“When you mentioned your qualifications I thought I would explode from trying not to laugh” Willow slid further down in her chair and wiped the tears from her face.

“I honestly didn’t think she’d react like that” Giles admitted and cleaned his glasses. “I invited her to take part in the meeting because I expected her to remember what it was like for her and to be the first to agree” he grinned.

“I think she does remember what it was like and she’s worried that we’ve multiplied it by 400” Xander suggested and they all suddenly sobered up a little. “Wait a minute” he glanced between the two of them.

“Ah” Willow nodded in understanding. “Did I forget to mention that I’m busy that night and won’t be able to chaperone?” she asked.

“I haven’t announced the date yet” Giles said dryly and ran his hands through his hair. “Perhaps Buffy has a point but..” he didn’t finish.

“Giles” Buffy opened his door without knocking and saw the three of them looking worried. “What on earth are you doing?” she threw her arms in the air. “Do you have any idea..”

“I think we’ve all just got to the same page” Xander suggested and pulled a chair forward for her.

“I agree with you that we need to do something to provide an outlet” she continued uncomfortably. “But inviting 400 frustrated boys into an all girl school filled with slayers who haven’t had a chance to kick any vampire butt?” she left the sentence unfinished.

They all sat in silence for a few minutes before Dawn knocked lightly on the door before entering. “Can I make a suggestion?” she asked and grinned at them. “Perhaps we should propose something other than a dance in a dimly lit room as the first meeting?” she offered.

“What do you mean?” Giles looked intrigued.

“Well I would guess that an all male boarding school is bound to have a sports department” she looked around the room. “Perhaps we could set up some sort of sporting event”

“Good idea” Willow nodded. “But the only sport’s we teach involve crossbows and killing things” she pointed out.

“Archery, running, judo and swimming” Dawn rhymed off a few more conventional alternatives that could easily explain their unusual syllabus.

“I think the Dawnsters got something” Xander nodded in agreement. “But how would we explain beating them in every event?” he looked towards Willow.

“Don’t ask me” Willow threw her hands up in the air. “The closest I ever got to sport was ogling you in your speedos” she grinned and they all laughed at his blush.

“I think the strategy of how to let them think they are just a little bit better than us at some things might well be an excellent learning experience in its own right” Giles suggested and nodded towards Dawn. “Could you ask the other watchers to attend a planning meeting this afternoon?” he asked and waited for Dawn to nod her agreement. “I still think we should go ahead with the Christmas event” he said quietly and waited till the inevitable murmurs died down. “I understand your concerns Buffy but I think we need to start somewhere and we don’t have an entire school full of sex maniacs” he reminded them reasonably.

“Well not if you take the faculty out of the equation” Buffy suggested with a raised eyebrow towards Willow.

“Hey” she shouted as Xander sniggered. “You’re just jealous” she laughed and looked towards Giles for help. “Haven’t they got any staff members we could set her up with” she nodded towards Buffy.

*****

Several days later Giles was explaining the progress on his plan. “It turns out several of their teaching staff had concerns similar to Buffy’s so we have agreed on a programme of sporting events with a dinner for those taking part” he was pleased to see Buffy looking a little less concerned. “It also keeps the numbers down to a more manageable sixty or seventy by the time we account for the sports in which we can reasonably compete with them” he nodded as Alex refilled his wine glass.

“Should still be interesting” Xander suggested. “I guess the watchers are going to decide the outcomes beforehand?”

“Which means no side bets” Giles looked straight at Buffy.

“Spoilsport” she stuck her tongue out at him and grinned.

“Can’t we just allow all 400 of them to come to a dance and then Willow can put a spell on everyone who attends that they don't want to have sex for 48 hours or something?” Alex suggested with a perfectly straight face.

“No way”, “I hardly think” and “NO” were the simultaneous responses from Dawn, Giles and Willow respectively.

Alex grinned and squeezed Willow’s hand. “I was kidding” she assured her. “I just wanted to see who thought they were likely to be affected and Dawn I can understand but Giles” she turned to look at him. “You sly old dog”

“He just doesn’t want me doing love spells” Willow smiled at Alex then looked intrigued as Giles cleared his throat and blushed.

“Or he’s been working on something other than closer school relations with the Principle of St Mark’s” Dawn grinned.

“Euuwww” Buffy and Xander both reacted at the same time.

“She’s a woman” Giles shook his head wearily and rolled his eyes. “And our relationship is strictly professional” he continued before seeing everyone grinning at him.

“I think we should continue this later” Alex suggested as she waved at one of the waiters. “That is if we ever plan on coming back to this restaurant?” she looked round everyone and handed her gold card to the waiter. “Dinner is on me, as a very belated thank you to all of you” she held her hands up to stop the protests. “You didn’t think I got paid in sun cream did?” s?” she raised her eyebrows and turned to find the waiter hovering at her elbow. “Thanks” she mumbled as she signed the credit card receipt. She looked up at him as he remained where he was.

“I’m sorry” he said apologetically and pulled a calendar from behind his back. “But you’re Alex Taylor, aren’t you?” he handed her the calendar and she grinned and took it from him.

“What’s your name?” she asked and took the pen back from him.

“Well” he looked up at the astounded faces of the others before glancing over his shoulder.

Alex followed his look and saw a group of young men jostling each other for position in the doorway to the kitchen. “Perhaps everyone could get a coffee while I sign some more of these” she nodded towards the table and turned to Willow. “I’m sorry about this, I’ll only be five minutes” she kissed her lightly and followed the waiter towards the kitchen.

“What the hell just happened?” Buffy asked and looked to an equally perplexed Willow.

Xander thanked the waiter who brought him his coffee and then laughed as the young man practically ran back to the kitchen. When he opened the door they all heard the laughter and cheering from the staff. “You don’t know?” he shook his head. “I’ve lost count of thmbermber of calendars she’s signed for the guys on the site” he grinned.

“What?” Willow looked incredulously at him. “You have a picture of Alex in your office?” she started to get angry.

“Not in my office” Xander assured her. “I keep mine on the fridge at home” he nodded and turned to Giles as he groaned. “What?” he asked innocently.

Giles cleared his throat and turned towards Willow. “You knew what Alex did when you first started going out” he said quietly. “You must have known how successful she was?”

“Yeah” Xander agreed. “I mean you’ve seen her right, in a swimsuit I mean?” he added and looked between Buffy and Willow. “You guys didn’t know?”

“I think it’s cool” Dawn announced and smiled at Xander.

“Willow it’s just her job” Giles tried to reassure her. “This is part of it and I’m surprised it hasn’t happened before now”

“Well we haven’t really been out much” Willow mumbled and blushed, looking down at the table and missing the grins from everyone else. “But this is really weird” she decided and looked up to find everyone looking somewhelse.lse. “Don’t you think this is really weird?” she asked Buffy but Xander interrupted her.

“Will, the only weird part of this is that a famous model is hanging out with us” he indicated the group. “I mean we know how weird our lives normally are but this is weird plus” he suggested. “We’ve all been fixating on how she’s been adapting to our lives and none of us have even tried adapting to hers”

Willow scowled as she thought about what Xander was saying. Giles nudged her when Alex reappeared from the kitchen arguing with the owner of the restaurant. “Anthony I can’t allow you to do that” she held the credit receipt away from him. “I’ll never come back here again if you don’t let me pay” she stood her ground and stared him out, watching the turmoil on his face. When he nodded a reluctant agreement she handed the receipt back to him. “And I’ll check my statement to make sure it goes through” she assured him before turning to find Willow staring at her. “Are we ready?” she held her hand out and suddenly they were surrounded by waiters who helped them from their chairs and held coats for them.

*****

“Somehow I think I’ll get some very good service the next time I use that restaurant” Giles suggested as he walked beside Alex and Willow.

“Perhaps you should take the Principle there for your next meeting?” Alex suggested and giggled at his expression. “So what’s she like?” she continued to tease him.

“She’s tall and brunette and an English Literature teacher” he grinned back at her before turning to Willow and taking a deep sigh. “And we genuinely have just been having planning meetings” he said a little sadly.

“Perhaps, but you still didn’t want Willow to do the no sex spell” Alex reminded him quietly and smiled as he blushed a little. “When do we get to meet her?”

“At the dinner” he glared at all of them. “Where you will all be on your best behaviour” he reminded them sternly and waited for the others to catch up to emphasise his point.

“Will, are you OK?” Alex asked as they continued to walk arm in arm. “You’ve been a little quiet since the restaurant”

“I’m fine” Willow smiled bravely.

“Only if fine is being used in some previously unknown way” Alex suggested and pulled Willow’s arm more closely against her.

“Honestly, I just haven’t seen anyone do that before” she shrugged and kept her eyes firmly on the ground.

“The autograph thing?” Alex asked softly. “I’m sorry Will, but they didn’t mean any harm, it happens sometimes” she shrugged. “And, hey, it’s not as if you have anything to worry about” she lifted Willow’s chin and stared into the troubled eyes.

“I know” Willow nodded and tried to smile a little. “It’s just that, until now, I’ve managed to completely ignore the fact that millions of people see you practically naked every day” she finally admitted.

“OK” Alex took a deep breath. “First of all the calendars only sell in the hundreds of thousands, not millions” she started practically. “Secondly I’m not naked in any of them, never have been, never will be” she said seriously and stood in front of Willow, putting her hands on her shoulders. “Thirdly and most importantly, they are just work” she bent down to meet Willow’s eyes as they tried to avoid hers. “It’s how I make a living and I thought you understood that” she said seriously.

“I do” Willow mumbled miserably. “And I’m not really jealous it’s just” she struggled for the right word. “Weird” she finally decided and closed her eyes.

“This is weird?” Alex hugged her tightly. “Honey this is the least weird thing that’s happened to us since we met”

“Do you think they’ll be OK?” Buffy asked and glanced over her shoulder at the couple. “Willow really looked wiggedk thk there”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine and I honestly can’t believe that neither of you considered this before” Giles suggested and looked seriously at Buffy. “I know how many of the students now train with you and Alex, did you think they wanted to spend more time with you?” he suggested wryly.

“Oh” Buffy blinked and considered what he was saying. “You mean” she pointed towards Alex and thought back to their most recent sessions. “Oh” she finally said again as she realised what Giles was suggesting. “So we never mention this to Willow?” she asked and saw Giles nod in agreement. “And I’ll change our training schedule” Buffy took a deep breath.

“At least it means you don’t have to worry about bussing in boys for all 400 students” Dawn suggested and grinned innocently at the three shocked friends. “What?” she asked and walked ahead, shaking her head. Giles followed, protesting in fierce whispers that his motives were purely educational and then becoming even more irate at Buffy and Xander’s snorts of derision.

By the time Alex and Willow had caught up with them they were all walking in silence. “Did you have to tell her about the signed calendars on the site?” Alex punched Xander’s arm. “You can forget about your personalised Christmas card from Miss January” she glared at him.

“Ow” he grumbled and rubbed his arm. “It was better that I tell her than she find one herself” he suggested and pouted.

“I’m standing right here” Willow reminded them and shook her head. “I’m OK with this” she looked round them all. “Honestly, I’m dealing” she pulled her resolve face out of the closet and tried it on for size, it very nearly fit and the others realised she was trying really hard so went easy on her.

“Anyway” Buffy blew out a breath and decided to change the subject. “I was thinking it was about time that I spelled Faith in Cleveland” she smiled at Giles. “Perhaps she could be here in time to help out with your sporty date-a-thon?”

Willow and Xander smiled at the look of astonishment on Giles’ face. “Somehow I don’t think Faith’s the ideal role model in that situation” larelared back at Buffy. “However, if you want something to do I’m sure I can find a snot monster somewhere that needs to be defeated”

Dawn took Buffy’s arm and dragged her ahead of the others as they all started laughing. “Don’t rile him” she warned her sister and turned to wave to the others. “I’ll see you in the morning Giles”

The remaining four stopped at the corner and Alex grinned at the two men. “You guys up for some coffee?” she asked and nodded towards their apartment. Giles and Xander both admitted that they had paperwork to complete before the next morning so thanked Alex for the meal and headed off together. “Good” Alex whispered to Willow and winked at her. “I have plans that do not involve company for coffee” she giggled and dragged a laughing red head down the street.

*****

There was a palpable buzz in the corridors during the three days leading up to the planned sports competitions. The watchers carefully chose the teams to take part in the various sports, ensuring the best students were rewarded and that they would agree to the strategy of deliberately losing some of the events. Giles was pleasantly surprised to discover the boy’s school had a flourishing fencing club and tutored three of the older slayers in the necessary competition skills with a little help from Buffy.

“But you’ve got to have cheerleaders” Alex grumbled to Willow and Buffy as they enjoyed a late dinner in the cafeteria. “Who’s going to lead the cheers?”

“You just want to watch a load of young slayers in short skirts” Buffy suggested and laughed as Alex had the decency to blush a little. “Anyway we didn’t have the time to work out any routines” she grinned.

“Giles was very keen to get this up and running before Christmas” Willow brought up something that had been troubling her since the beginning. “Why couldn’t it wait till after the holidays?”

“Maybe he just needed an excuse to meet up with the English Lit woman?” Buffy suggested.

“I don’t think so” Willow shook her head and looked concerned. “I just wondered if he was getting some heat from the local authorities and needed something to happen sooner rather than later”

“Perhaps” Buffy shrugged. “Either way, it’s not as if we needed much training time to be ready”

“I’m just glad it’s happening while I’m here” Alex smiled at Buffy but avoided Willow’s eyes. “I got word through yesterday, I’ve got a week long shoot in January and three weeks in February lined up”

“Hey that’s great” Buffy tried to sound happy but was painfully aware of the silence from Willow. “I guess the living together thing is a success?” she tried to focus on the positive.

“Absolutely” Willow nodded and tried to look brave. “We knew this would happen and we’re both OK with it”

“I need to go” Alex leaned down to drop a kiss on Willow’s head before waving to Buffy. “I’ve got a few people to call”

“You’re OK with it?” Buffy waited till Alex had disappeared before turning back to Willow.

“Not so much” Willow acknowledged and looked miserable. “I knew she was going back to work, I can’t expect her to hang around here while I get on with my career” she shrugged. “It’s just difficult now that she has a date to leave”

“But she’s coming back here after the jobs?” Buffy checked.

“Oh yeah” Willow nodded and they both headed towards her office. “It’s just that I wasted so much time at the beginning with the revelations and everything and now the time has just flown by and..” she shrugged and sighed. “I’ll be fine” she nodded.

“You’ll have a great Christmas together and then I’ll be waiting with the ice cream when she leaves” Buffy hugged her and headed for Giles’ office.

“Are you busy?” she looked round Giles’ office door and tried to find him behind several enormous piles of books. “Giles?” she wasn’t sure he was even in the office.

“Buffy?” she heard his voice from somewhere near his desk. “Are you looking for me?” he finally popped up from the floor.

“What on earth are you doing?” she asked and picked her way carefully across the book strewn floor.

“We had a purge of the more esoteric books from around the school and I’m just going through them before I hand them over to Willow’s team” he smiled and ran his hand through his hair, coughing as dust rose above his head.

“Couldn’t you just put them in one of the classrooms and lock the door while they’re here?” she suggested and held out her hand to help him stand up.

“Well yes” he nodded in agreement and sneezed. “But the Principle is their English Literature teacher and she wouldn’t take no for an answer if she saw a classroom filled with old texts” he sniffed and cleaned his glasses on his handkerchief.

“So let’s get them boxed up and shipped to storage for a week” she shook her head. “Honestly, I thought now you were in charge of the chocolate factory you wouldn’t need to binge any more” she held his gaze.

“Perhaps you’re right” he agreed sheepishly. “Was there something I could help you with?” he climbed over a pile of books and indicated that she should precede him to the corridor.

“Just something Willow said earlier and I thought I should check with you” Buffy handed him a can of soda from the machine and smiled at his upturned nose. “You should get a scotch dispensing machine” she suggested and sat in one of the chairs in the lounge.

He grinned at her and took a sip from the can before leaving it on the table. “Willow?” he prompted her.

“Oh yeah” Buffy nodded. “She was just asking if I knew what the rush was with the sports day and dinner” she waited for an answer.

“Rush?” he said mildly and lifted the can for another sip.

“Everyone agreed it was a good idea but nobody knows why it has to happen before the holidays” Buffy explained. “You’re usually careful planning guy and yet we’re all running around doing the last minute thing”

“Ah” he smiled and looked around to see if they were still alone. “That is my fault entirely” he admitted and took a large drink before sitting back and crossing his legs. “The local authorities contacted me a few weeks ago to discuss their school inspector’s initial visit and I managed to persuade them to wait till after Christmas” he explained. “But I realised that they could drop i any any time and everyone around here is a little complacent about maintaining the secret identity” he shrugged. “So I manufactured a little pressure to remind everyone that we need to keep on our toes”

“So why didn’t you share with us?” Buffy seemed a little offended. “You don’t think we’re complacent?”

“Oh no” he shook his head. “Of course not, why would I think you couldn’t keep the ancient slayer destiny a secret?” he asked with just a hint of sarcasm.

“Hey” Bufinalinally got the mocking tone. “It wasn’t my fault that they got involved” she protested. “It is a well known fact that I had a slacker for a watcher” she grinned. “So this is just an excuse for a drill?” she confirmed and saw him nod.

“Essentially” he agreed. “But it is still a valid point that we need to start establishing our credentials within the area”

“And none of it has anything to do with the hot English teacher?” she leaned closer to him. “Because I wouldn’t be totally shocked to learn you were abusing your position”

“I can assure you my motives are sneaky but not personal” he shook his head. “I think I need to go home and have a shower” he looked down at his dust covered clothes.

“I’ll walk you home” Buffy suggested and waited for him to collect his jacket from his office. “Alex has a date for her next trip” she told him as they crossed the street.

“How is Willow dealing with that?” he asked and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“You know Will” Buffy suggested and shrugged her shoulders. “She’s trying to be brave but it’s going to hit her pretty hard”

“It’s something they need to work out between themselves” he counselled her.

“I know” she nodded and turned to smile at him. “I’ve only offered the ice cream therapy”

“Ah” he nodded sagely. “The ancient remedy for all female ills” he smiled at her.

“I don’t think it’s gender specific” she shook her head and smiled back at him. “Anyway” she remembered why she had told him in the first place. “I was wondering what you were planning for Christmas day?”

“Well the lunch will be held in the main hall and then I think some of the watchers have arranged for appropriate movies in the lounge” he shrugged. “It will be a strange day for everyone but most of the students and staff will be travelling to their homes in the run up and only a few will remain in residence”

“I know what they are doing” she tutted. “I meant what are you doing?”

“Nothing else planned” he admitted.

“Great, I think we should all spend the day together” she tried to persuade him. “The original scoobies, plus Alex and Danny” she clarified. “It’s our first Christmas since you moved back here permanently and I feel the need to have my family around me” she nodded.

“You won’t be cooking?” he asked timidly.

“You’re never going to let me forget that are you?” she pouted at him. “We could all eat at the compound before heading back to my place for festive frolics and movie marathons”

He thought about it for a few moments before putting his arm round her shoulders. “I think that would be lovely” he agreed.