Who, What, Why, Where, When?

CHAPTER 19

Angel quietly unlocked Giles' apartment door. He had assured Giles that he wouldn't use the spare key he had been given, but he needed to check some of the texts they had been using and he was pretty sure he could get in and out without disturbing them.

Moving swiftly over to the table he was surprised when a light came on and he found himself staring into the business end of a crossbow. "Giles!" he whispered and took a step back.

"Sorry" Giles mumbled and put the weapon down. "Wasn't sure it was you" he sighed and returned to the pile of books he was reading.

"Giles are you OK, you look terrible" Angel asked then realised that he already knew the answer to the question. "Did you manage to sort everything out with Willow?"

Giles looked up at him. "Yes, we managed to sort it out, that's why she's sobbing her heart out in the bedroom and I'm down here bleeding to death with a pile of books" He raised his right hand and Angel saw a bloody dish towel wrapped around his fist.

"What happened?" Angel asked as he moved to the kitchen to get more towels.

"I smashed a glass then cut myself trying to clear it up … and Willow was crying upstairs …. and I couldn’t open the medical kit …. and I didn't know what to do …and" he ran out of steam.

Angel sat down next to him with the medical kit and a bottle of whiskey. "Drink some of this and let me sort that for you" he gently removed the sodden towel and winced at the deep gash across Giles palm. "This is pretty deep, should I call Fraser to give you some stitches?" he asked.

Giles shook his head. "It's not that bad, can't you do it yourself?" he asked plaintively.

Angel nodded and pushed the bottle towards him again. "Start on the anaesthetic or we'll wake up the entire block" he suggested and hunted for the needle in the kit.

Half an hour later Angel had finished dressing the deep gash and was helping Giles finish off the bottle of whiskey. "Don't you think you should check if she is OK?" he asked and nodded his head towards the stairs.


"She just doesn't believe me when I say that I can do this" Giles sighed and settled further into the sofa. "I mean I wouldn't risk my life if it wasn't completely necessary, especially now that we are together " he frowned and took another pull at the glass in his left hand.

Angel sighed as well. "I'm not taking sides on this but perhaps she is right?" he started quietly and was relieved to see the alcohol dulling the righteous indignation Giles was trying to express, turning it into spluttering instead. "Hear me out Giles" he said quietly and moved to take the glass from him.

"While you were in the kitchen tonight we were discussing your recovery and everyone agreed that you aren't back to your old self" Angel began and returned to his seat. "I argued that the personal side may have changed but the business part of you still seemed pretty much as I remembered it" he smiled as Giles stopped trying to interrupt and settled with a happy grin on his face. "But I'm not so sure now" the grin faded as quickly as it had appeared. "Before the accident you tried to protect all of them to the best of your ability but you still sent them out on patrol and you still gave them the information to try and beat whatever the 'Hellmouth Poster Boy of the Week' threw at them." Giles nodded and his eyelids drooped a little. "I guess I've just realised that you don’t do that anymore, now you want to go out there and fight the bad guys for them and that's not what you're good at"

Giles opened his eyes again and sighed. "There have been other occasions when I've had to be on the front line because of my particular skills and everyone has understood that before, why can't they understand it now?"

Angel shook his head. "I think they are just worried that you haven't fully recovered and don’t want to risk you, after all Bolak may be defeated but it won't do anyone any good if his last act is taking you with him"

"Or Willow?" Giles asked quietly. "It's not just because we're together now that I don’t want her doing this"

Angel interrupted him. "I know that Giles, it's because she's never faceythiything like this before and you have" He sighed "If only there was some way for both of you to do this together, her strength and your experience would be an unbeatable combination". Giles continued to stare at him for some time in deep thought before his eyes started to droop again. Angel smiled at him and glanced out of the window where the early signs of dawn were already showing. "Damn" he swore under his breath and moved to put a blanket over Giles' gently dozing form.


He glanced around then seemed to come to a decision. With his usual stealth and speed he mounted the stairs and headed for the bedroom. He paused half way up the stairs, memories of his previous visit inundating him for several minutes. Finally he sighed deeply and reached the bedroom.

Willow was lying on top of the bed, still fully dressed. He smiled in relief and moved to kneel by the side of the bed. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder and whispered her name. "Willow wake up, its me Angel …… come on Willow wake up". She started to stir then opened her eyes and nearly jumped out of her skin. He moved back and raised his hands while frantically shusshing her. "It's OK, stop shouting or you'll wake up Giles"

At the mention of his name she stopped and took a deep breath. "What on earth are you doing here and what time is it anyway" she asked as she reached for the bedside clock. "Five thirty am, are you insane?" she whispered fiercely at him. "Oh my God what's wrong, is Buffy OK" she jumped from the bed and headed for the stairs.

He sighed and reached her before she had made it half way. Gently he guided her back to the bed and sat down beside her. "Everyone's OK except you and Giles and I'm sorry it's so early but I needed to borrow some texts and ended up talking to Giles downstairs until after sunrise"

She was fully awake now and had gathered herself together. "Is he OK" she asked sadly and nodded her head towards the stairs.

"He'll be fine, although he'll have a hangover and the stitches will probably hurt like hell for a couple of days" he smiled to reassure her. It didn't work.

"Stitches" she said in a loud voice and was on her feet again. "What happened to him, how did he get hurt?" she was heading for the stairs again when he started to laugh. Willow stopped in her tracks and turned to stare at him. "I've never heard you laugh before" she said in amazement and moved to sit next to him again. "OK" she smiled at him. "Now you've got my attention but make it quick before I tickle you!" she grinned at his look of amazement.

Angel recovered fairly quickly and put hand and on her arm. "He cut himself while he was cleaning up some broken glass and was feeling a bit sorry for himself when I arrived. I tidied up the wound and we ended up talking about the best solution to the problem". He realised that she was fighting to hold back tears. "He is OK, I promise" he said urgently.


"It's my fault, I made him break the glass" she mumbled and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. She took a deep breath that turned into a sob but she managed to regain control and looked at him again. "Anyway, we did resolve the problem earlier, I'll do the host spell and he can be my backup" she nodded and met his steady gaze.

Angel shook his head. "I know why you would suggest that and I agree with you but there must be another way" he stood and moved to the armchair that faced the bed. "Ideally we would find some way to get Giles' experience and your strength together but we can't have that so we need to work out a compromise which will mean a minimum amount of danger for whichever one of you is the host." He bowed his head and pretended to stare at his clasped hands in his lap, instead he sneaked a look at her and found her staring at the wall with a concentrated look on her face. He smiled to himself and waited for five minutes before standing up and sighing. "I'm sorry I can’t come up with anything useful but I will study the texts all day and see if I can find something"

She shook herself out of the reflective mood and stood to face him. "Could you help me get him up to bed" she asked quietly and he smiled at her and nodded.

Giles woke later that morning and groaned as the sunlight shone through the open curtains. He turned over and tried to pull his pillow over his head but his hand wouldn’t work and he grumpily woke up to see Willow sitting in the armchair reading a newspaper. "What time is it?" he asked and started to cough as he found his throat dry and discovered a taste in his mouth as if some unknown animal had chosen to die there.

Willow glanced up from her newspaper and sipped her coffee. "Ten thirty" she said brightly. "Sleep well?" she asked as he struggled to disentangle himself from the bed covers. Eventually she stood and helped him up. "If you keep on like that you'll tear the stitches" she suggested in a tone reminiscent of her mother’s voice.

He stopped in the middle of his shuffle to the bathroom and looked back at her. "Stitches" he mumbled and brought his hand up to his face to peer at the dressing. "How the bloody hell did that happen?" he squinted at her and she shook her head and gave him his glasses.

"You were clearing up some broken glass and cut yourself" she explained and led him to the bathroom. "Get a shower and I'll sort out some tea and aspirins" she said quietly as she closed the door behind him. She waited until she heard the shower start before heading downstairs.


Angel looked up as she reached the bottom of the stairs. "How is he?" he asked.

"I'm just glad Fraser didn't ask for triple or nothing on our bet" she sighed and filled the kettle. "Would you like some tea or coffee?" she asked him. "I'm sorry we don’t have anything else…" the sentence trailed off.

"Tea would be fine" he smiled and put down the book he had been reading. "I'm sorry you're stuck with me all day, you two should be sorting this out between you"

She smiled as she sat next to him at the table. "We'll sort out our problems once Bolak is out of the way" she nodded definitively and pulled a large, leather bound book towards her. "I've been thinking about what you said last night" she looked up at him. "About putting our strengths together to take care of demon guy"

He nodded. "It was just an idea but I'm not sure it would work, after all it took Xander, you and Giles to strengthen Buffy the last time around" he looked speculatively at her. "Have you worked out a plan?'

"Sort of" she nodded eagerly. "The only problem is that we need the grumpy papa bear to check it out and he's not going to be much use until he has his porridge" she grinned at Angel then jumped at a voice just behind her.

"You'd better get out of my favourite chair then Goldilocks" he growled and put his arms round her as she jumped out of the chair.

"Rupert" she squealed and wriggled in his arms. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that on a hellmouth" she huffed when she couldn’t loosen his grip.

He leaned down and kissed her neck before sliding onto the chair and grinning at Angel. "So where's the porridge?" he asked and laughed as she rolled her eyes and headed for the kitchen.

"You seem a little brighter" Angel said quietly. "How's the hand?"

"Bloody sore and impossible to shower with but I remembered, while I was washing, the subject of our discussion last night and I think I've got a plan" Giles suggested eagerly and was about to expand when Willow put his tea in front of him.


"This is turning into cunning plan day" Willow sighed and set a mug in front of Angel before settling herself into a chair. "While you were sleeping" she started pointedly and noticed him looking guiltily at Angel. "I called on Mrs Leech this morning and got a description of the dog. Buffy is checking out the pound to make sure it hasn’t ended up there" she smiled at him. "OK, now tell us your plan" she sat back and took a drink of her tea. "Oh, before you start" she jumped up just as he was about to speak. "Good morning darling" she said quietly and kissed him before returning to her seat. "Ready when you are" she nodded and drank her tea.

Angel smiled and looked away as his friend tried to gather his thoughts. Eventually Giles coughed a little to clear his throat. "I'm assuming a worst case scenario, that Bolak has taken human form again. Angel and I were talking last night and he said, off hand, that it was a pity that we couldn’t have your strength and my experience in one body" he nodded at Angel who glanced quickly at Willow to see her reaction. She was looking at him intently and a small smile crept over her face before she composed herself and turned back to Giles. Angel knew she would play her part.

"SO" Willow asked in an exasperated tone as Giles took his time to get to the good bit.

"SO" he glared at her. "Perhaps we can effect some sort of transition to get the best of both worlds, after all we've done something similar before"

"But it took both of us and Xander to get there before and we were only backing up the slayer, how can we manage something like this without them?" she asked and noticed Angel take a drink of his tea to hide his smile. She knew she was playing his 'devils advocate' role but she was determined that he wasn't going to have all the fun.

Giles didn’t notice their interplay as he stood and started to pace. "I admit the timing is going to be the most difficult part but I think we can do it" he turned to look at her. "It would mean that, although I was the host you would be there with me to back me up" he looked towards Angel.

"I've been checking some of the texts you referenced when you joined at the Initiative and I think I may have found something that will help" Angel said quietly and pulled a large book from the top of the pile.

Willow came to stand and read over his shoulder, after a few seconds she gave up and returned to her chair. She smiled at Giles "I still can’t sight read Sumerian that quickly" she sighed.


Angel and Giles spent ten minutes reading through various parts of the text, occasionally disagreeing over the translation of one word or another. Willow sighed as she saw Giles get more and more agitated, and she knew that they had found what they were looking for. After all, if anyone could recognise the look on his face when he found the important clue to solve that week's mystery it was his research assistant.

Buffy arrived after lunch, tentatively knocking on the door and waiting for it to be answered. Willow pulled open the door and looked at her in astonishment. "Buffy, what's the matter?" she asked as she looked around behind the Slayer.

"Is it OK to come in?" Buffy asked in a stage whisper and tried to see behind Willow into the room.

Willow looked suspiciously at Buffy then opened the door wide and said in a loud voice. "NO, I do not invite you in"

Buffy stared at her for a second then brushed her aside as she walked through the door. "If I was a vampire I wouldn't be up and about during the day would I" she said sarcastically then stopped in her tracks as she saw Angel standing at the fireplace. "Or then again maybe I would"

Willow laughed and shut the door behind her. "It's just I've never heard you knock on Rupert's door before" she smiled at Buffy. "A girl can't be too careful in this town you know" she nodded as if to emphasise her pronouncement.

"What happened to your hand?" Buffy asked Giles as she nodded to Angel and sat on the sofa.

"Minor accident in the kitchen" Giles murmured and moved to stand next to Angel. "How did you get on at the pound?" he asked.

"Lots of fluffy puppies but nothing close to the description I'm afraid. I gave the attendant the usual 'my room mate’s dog's been missing for weeks now" story but he hasn't had a dog like that in months"

Giles nodded. "Willow and Xander should concentrate on tracking down any missing persons or missing pets over the next few days, in the meantime I think Angel has come up with a plan that may work if we need to tackle a human host" he stated.


Buffy raised her eyebrows. "Are we OK with the plan now?" she asked, looking between Giles and Willow.

"Essentially" Giles said and looked a little uncertain. "Willow and I have agreed that we both need to be involved at the final stage, however, we haven't quite worked out the details yet"

Willow nodded. "Angel has found a variation on the joining we did to defeat Adam and it should be strong enough to allow us to combine Giles' knowledge and experience with my strength"

Buffy shifted her gaze to Angel and raised her eyebrows. He nodded slightly and she held his gaze for a few moments. Eventually she stirred herself. "So long as the slayer spirit and cheese guy aren't part of the deal it sounds OK. I think I need some fresh air, how about joining me for a run, if you're feeling up to it Giles?"

He looked at her a little surprised. "Well actually I'm quite tired, I didn't sleep much last night and I did have quite a lot to drink and we still have a lot of work to do and …"

She cut him off. "No more excuses" she announced and took her sweater off to reveal a t-shirt underneath. "You need some aerobic exercise and fresh air" she glanced at Willow. "You're heading back towards the flabby librarian we used to know and I don’t think I'm the only one to notice"

"He is not flabby" Willow started and then realised Buffy was joking and sank down on to the sofa. "OK, maybe you're right" she nodded and stood up to kiss Giles. "I'll be ready with the massage oil when you come back" she whispered in his ear and watched him blush and start to cough.

"Willow!" Buffy shouted in outrage. "Please don’t do that to my Watcher" she moved to Giles side and helped him to a chair. "Go and hunt up his running gear while I revive him" she ordered and watched as Willow smiled and headed upstairs. As soon as she was out of earshot Buffy gestured to Angel to join them and knelt in front of Giles. "OK, what's the plan" she whispered and all three huddled together as the two men explained the basics to her.

By the time Willow returned they were all sitting on chairs around the table and discussing battle tactics and venues for the upcoming encounter. "I'll wait down here while you change" Willow smiled at Giles. "I've left your things on the bed"

Angel smiled and sighed. "Perhaps we could have a break as well?" he suggested to Willow and headed for the kitchen. "Lunch?"


Willow agreed and helped him choose sandwich fillings while Buffy started stretching. Giles emerged a couple of minutes later in his running gear and carrying a pair of dark glasses.

They ran for five minutes before he finally stopped and put his hands on his knees to gulp air into his tortured lungs. "Getting too old for this" he rasped and sat down on the grass beside the track.

Buffy jogged on the spot for a few minutes then sat down next to him, looking across at his face before asking "Are you happy?"

"If my lungs don’t burst in the next two minutes I'll be delirious" he managed and looked across at her serious face.

Buffy smiled and leaned her head back to feel the sun on her face. "I meant a little more long term than the next two minutes"

He laughed and lay back, putting his hands behind his head. "I am truly happy but I still wonder if Fraser is right and I'll wake up one morning as grumpy Giles and spoil everything"

"What makes you think that Willow won’t love you anyway?" she asked quietly.

"It's not Willow I'm worried about, after all I do believe her when she says that she loves me and has done for some time" he paused, sorting his thoughts before expressing himself. "I'm worried that I'll return to being petrified of being in love with her and put up all of the barriers again, pretending that we're just friends and not allowing anything else to happen"

They both lay quietly for several moments before he climbed slowly to his feet. "Come on, I think I'll last a few more laps without medical intervention" and he slowly jogged away from her.

Buffy caught up with him and turned to face him, jogging backwards and keeping pace easily. "I think you will get all of your memories back but I don’t think you have to worry about running away from the relationship, after all you were able to deny your feelings before you knew what you were missing, it isn’t as easy to give it all up, believe me"

He stopped running and stared at her. "My memory still bothers me, were you always this smart and understanding?"

"Oh yes" she nodded and pulled away from him as she lengthened her stride. "You often used to come to me for relationship or careers advice"


He knew he had no chance of catching up with her but gently jogged for another couple of minutes before giving up. Buffy completed her fast laps and returned to sit next to him. "Are you sure you're up to dealing with Bolak?" she asked, taking a drink from her water bottle.

He lay on his back, seriously considering his answer before sitting up and taking his sunglasses off to stare at her. "I wouldn't endanger you, Xander and Willow by attempting this if I didn’t think I would succeed" he stated with certainty.

She stared back at him, noticing his bloodshot eyes and the touch of gray at his temples. "I know the old Giles would never have considered that for a moment but I just needed to hear it from you, today" she nodded and handed him a bottle of water.

"Do you really think I've changed that much" he asked as he finished his drink and replaced his glasses. "I remember what I was like and it doesn't feel any different to how I'm reacting to things now" he reflected.

"You said it yourself" she sighed and leaned back to enjoy the sun. "You used to be much more reserved about things. We only ever knew you to completely relax once and that was when you sang at the Espresso Pump, I only wish I had been there to see it. Since the accident you seem to be 'Mr Acoustic Rock God' all of the time. Not that it's a bad thing, I kind of like the new you and I know that Willow really likes the new you!"

He laughed. "After this is all over perhaps we could have a night out at the Espresso?" he suggested. "I'm fairly sure I can remember most of the old classics, although it may take a while for this hand to heal" he winced as he flexed it.