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Giles walked up to the Summers residence carrying a sack of his dirty laundry. He had moved off Buffy’s sofa but he still hadn’t found a new flat so he was staying in a hotel near the Magic Box. He could use their laundry facilities, however he didn’t really want to spend four dollars per load, and doing it at Buffy’s house gave him the opportunity to check in and see how she was coping.
He rang the bell and waited for an answer. When Buffy did open the door she looked disheveled, though he was happy to see that the vacant stare seemed to be gone.
“Giles, hey…” She stepped aside, giving him a silent invitation, and glanced at the canvas bag. “Presents?”
“Not as such.” He said. “Unless you want my dirty shirts.”
“Huh?” She asked, confused.
“I asked you before I moved into the hotel if it was alright for me to bring my laundry over once a week or so.” He reminded her.
“Oh, right.” She looked a bit frazzled and he was worried his coming by had done more harm than good. Still, he needed to wash his clothes.
“Alright, well, I’ll just go get this load started and maybe I can take you to lunch?” He asked, as he started heading for the basement.
“No!” She called after him rather forcefully. He froze and looked at her, his brow furrowed in question. “I mean, you don’t have to do that. I can do it.” She reached out for his laundry bag and he held it a bit tighter.
“It’s quite alright, Buffy, I’m more than capable of doing my own washing.” He assured her.
She yanked the bag a bit harder. “No, you told me I needed to stand on my own two feet right? So I have to do this. Into every generation a laundry slayer is born, Giles. I’m the chosen one.”
“That’s not what I meant, Buffy. You don’t have to do other people’s chores. I’m not trying to get you to be a doormat.” Ultimately he was no match for her slayer strength and the bag was ripped right from his grasp.
“You can come pick it up in a couple hours.” She called behind her before walking down to the basement, the door slamming shut behind her.
“There’s a shirt in there that’s hang dry only.” He called after her, hoping she heard him. He waited a few more minutes but she never came back up, and when he went to go down to the basement he found the door locked. “That’s… strange.” He noted before turning around and leaving. He’d come back in a couple of hours, perhaps Buffy was just having an odd morning.
For three weeks the same thing happened every Tuesday. He’d stop by around twelve with his clothes, Buffy would disappear into the basement and he’d come back a couple hours later to clean laundry.
Her mood had been better, she was eating normally again, and her relationship with Dawn had also improved. She was still having issues with money, but he was glad to help when he could, especially now that she wasn’t trying to avoid her problems. He was even going through the paper with her to look for potential employment.
Still, he couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that something was off. A week after he first brought his laundry over he was having dinner and Buffy needed something, when Dawn told her it was in the basement it was as if a switch had been flipped. Buffy raced to the basement and slammed the door behind her as she went to get it herself.
He looked at Dawn and she shrugged. “She’s been really weird about the basement lately. She won’t let any of us go down there.”
“Has she said why?”
“No.”
“Have you asked?”
“Um… no.” She told him. “Buffy isn’t being all avoid-y anymore, I’m not going to question it.”
Of course she had a point, but Giles still had his concerns about his slayer. He was determined to get to the bottom of the bizarre behavior.
His opportunity came a week later. He arrived an hour earlier than usual to do his laundry, he and Anya were supposed to do the monthly inventory at the shop later and if he was late again he was going to have to sit through another one of her lectures on needing a raise if she was going to be doing more work. He pointed out that when he made her partner when he left for England she was getting an equal share of the profits instead of an hourly wage, but he did promise to arrive on time for inventory from then on.
He rang the bell a couple of times then knocked but there was no answer. He shifted his laundry bag to his other hand and pulled his keys out of his pocket. He still had his spare key she gave him in case of emergencies, which he’d also used when he was staying with her for those few weeks when he got back from England.
He let himself into the house and called out, just in case someone was home that hadn’t heard the knocking and the bell. He received no answer so he made his way to the basement.
To say he was surprised by what he found would be an understatement. “Bloody hell.” He muttered as he stepped off the stairs into the basement where he was surrounded by twenty tiny kittens.
He set his bag down and moved to the middle of the room and sat down. They were meowing and trying to climb on him. He picked up one kitten at a time and gave them a quick once over before setting them back down and moving onto the next one.
They all seemed relatively healthy. There were three litter boxes in the corner of the basement that all looked like they’d been changed out recently. In the other corner there were food and water dishes. There was also a large pile of blankets for them to lay down on and several cat toys.
It was clear Buffy was taking excellent care of the cats. So the question he had was why was she taking care of them? And why were there so many?
He stood back up after a few minutes and started on his laundry. Once that was done he made his way upstairs to wait for his slayer. He knew Dawn, Willow, and Tara were all at school so it would be a while before any of them came home.
He didn’t have to wait too long for Buffy to return home. He stood up and waited for her in the living room.
She froze when she saw him. “Giles? What are you doing here already?”
“Anya and I have to do monthly inventory, so I came by early, but you weren’t home.” He explained.
She looked around the living room. “Where are your clothes?” She asked him, her voice quiet, almost small.
“In the wash.” He told her, stepping closer, she looked like she was about to collapse. “Buffy, why didn’t you just tell me what was down there?”
“I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me.” She admitted. “You told me I needed to stand on my own two feet, and I’m using every cent I have to take care of them instead of taking care of us. The food, the litter, I had to take a couple of them to the vet because they were sick. It all adds up really fast, but I don’t know what else to do, Giles, they’re just kittens.”
He placed his hand on her arm and gestured for her to take a seat. He sat next to her. “Perhaps you should start at the beginning. Where did they all come from?”
She started telling him the story about spending time with Spike after the Groundhog Day Magic Box Remix, and how Spike and some other demons were playing poker wagering kittens.
“After that I came across a couple more kitten poker games and I knew that if I didn’t take the kittens the demons would just double back for them, so I brought them home. Then I took them to the shelter the next day and… I knew something was wrong right away. We used to do field trips to the shelter in elementary school, when I was living in L.A. I think it was supposed to teach us about responsibility and spaying and neutering our pets or something. Anyway, the shelters were always deafening. There were always dogs barking, cats meowing. The one here in Sunnydale wasn’t like that.”
“Odd, perhaps they had all been adopted out.” He suggested.
“Which is exactly what I asked, and one look from the lady at the desk said it all. I asked her what happened to all the animals. She said they were having frequent break-ins. They had tried hiring security, but they stopped after the fourth guard mysteriously died of neck trauma.”
Giles paled at the thought. He supposed it made sense, animals would be low risk targets for vampires, especially with a slayer living in the same town, it was a good way to keep under the radar.
“So you brought them home and you’ve been caring for them ever since?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I know, you’re disappointed in me.”
“On the contrary, you’ve done an extraordinary thing, Buffy. Humans or not, you saved twenty innocent lives. I’m just less clear on why you hid it and what your plans are for them long term. Kittens have a tendency to turn into cats, and they can’t stay in the basement forever.”
“I know, I hadn’t really gotten that far yet.” She admitted. “You’re really not angry that I spent all the money on this?”
He sighed. “While I admit it was a bit short sighted, you’re not going to be able to help any of them if you’re living on the street, if you had told me I would’ve helped you… I’ll still help you if you’ll let me.”
“But what about doing things on my own?” She asked.
“Taking responsibility doesn’t mean doing everything for everyone.” He told her. “I’m not stupid, I know you’re not going to be able to make enough money starting out to afford the same lifestyle Joyce provided. In fact if you worked full time at minimum wage, after taxes I doubt you’d even bring home enough to cover the mortgage, let alone enough for groceries for four, utilities, and anything else that comes up.”
“Then why were you always on me about finding a job, and paying bills?”
“Because you were shutting down. You weren’t even trying, you didn’t care about anything. When Dawn got in trouble you expected me to talk to her, even though I’m not her parent, her sibling, or her guardian. She needed you to care, not me. As for the money, it wasn’t even so much about money as trying to get you to figure out what your next step was, but you needed to move in some direction. I figured if I held you over the flames eventually you’d save yourself from getting burned.”
“...Oh.”
He looked at her and reached out for her hand. It wasn’t often that he showed any sort of physical affection, but it seemed appropriate for the moment. “I am sorry for being unclear. I never meant for you to feel like you couldn’t talk to me.”
“No, it’s okay… I get it. I was kind of out of it for a while.”
“Understandable given the circumstances. And you’ve seemed happier the last few weeks than I’ve seen in a long time.”
She gave him a genuine smile. “I feel like I have a purpose. Everytime I go downstairs I see the kittens I just… I saved them. Sometimes with slaying it seems so pointless. I slay, but people still die, I kill one vampire another one rises and all those people are in just as much danger as before. But with each kitten I bring home that’s one less potential victim. I thought if you guys found out you would make me stop.”
“I’m not going to do that.” He promised her, pulling his hand back so he could take his glasses off and clean them. “We do need to come up with a solution as far as what we’re going to do with the cats.”
“I was thinking we could adopt them out.” She said. “I’ve already managed to adopt out a couple of them, but I don’t really know anyone else that needs a cat, and I know if I’m not careful the demons are just going to get them back.”
He gave her a small smile as he pushed his glasses back onto his face. “I’m going to switch over my laundry, then perhaps you can introduce me to some of the kittens. Then, this evening I’ll bring dinner and we can invite Xander and Anya and we can talk to all of them about your new venture.”
“Really? You’re going to help?”
“I am, and I’m going to try and get them to help as well.”
Giles pulled a little orange and white tabby out of a travel carrier and placed her in the kennel labeled "Apricot". He pulled the clipboard off the kennel and marked down that she was fixed and vaccinated. He checked off the last box on the list indicating that she was now ready to be adopted.
“How many is that?” Buffy asked as she finished up with the little black kitten she named Coal, who came in with his littermates, Smokey and Ash.
“I believe we have six that are ready for adoption, five that aren’t big enough to be fixed yet, and ten leaving for their transfer on Monday.”
Over the last few months he and Buffy had worked tirelessly toward their cause. He had recruited Xander to build kennels in the basement so they could keep the cats separated so there would be less chance to spread diseases since most of the younger cats weren’t fully vaccinated.
Willow and Tara put up wards around the shelter so hopefully there wouldn’t be anymore attacks, Buffy had also started patrolling in the area every night to deter demons from even trying.
Giles did all the paperwork, getting their licensing and permits to have all the animals on the premises, tax documentation for 501(C)(3) status, he was also the first patron, dedicating a small percentage of his paycheck to the rescue every month. He reached out to a local vet, they would give the rescue a discount for exclusive spay/neuter and vaccination services. He and Buffy were able to reach out to several rescue organizations around the state to try and transfer some of the cats off the hellmouth. Many cities had programs to trap spay/neuter, and release strays back into the streets, but that would be a death sentence in a town like Sunnydale.
Dawn helped with feeding and changing the litter. Since they’d blown up the only local high school Dawn had to attend a charter school in town and it required all of its students to have thirty volunteer hours. Buffy had the extra help with the cat chores, and Dawn got to sign it off for school.
When Willow finished the website it was official. Queen of Hearts Animal Rescue was officially up and running.
He smiled as Buffy looked around at everything she had created. “You did this, Buffy. They’re all going to get a second chance because of you.”
“You guys helped.” She said, giving him a small smile.
“But it was your vision. I’m proud of you. You’ve accomplished a lot in very little time. Did you need help? Yes, but as I said when we started this journey, being an adult isn’t about never needing help.”
He gestured to the three cats in the far kennel. “I think I’ll bring them to the Magic Box tomorrow.” He told her.
It had been Anya’s idea to sell cats as familiars at the Magic Box. An idea he quite liked, though she hadn’t been too keen when he told her that all the money would go directly back to the rescue. It had all worked out well though, very few cats were adopted through the program, but their presence did bring in more customers. Sales were up ten percent, which Anya was more than happy to take credit for.
“Are we still training tomorrow night?” She asked him.
“Of course, I’ll give you a ride home afterwards if you’d like, since I have to bring the kittens back.”
“It’s a date.” She replied, walking up the stairs with him.
“Are you ready?” Giles asked from the doorway. He was dressed in a nice suit, which was nothing new since he became the head of the Council in the year since the collapse of Sunnydale and the destruction of the previous headquarters.
Today was different though. It was Buffy’s day. When they were rebuilding he floated the idea of a different way to rebuild the Council. Two heads, one advocating for the watchers, the other for the slayers. He wanted that to be Buffy. She initially agreed, but they could tell fairly quickly that her heart wasn’t in it. He knew she would never tell him that, still not wanting to disappoint him, so he floated another idea by her. Retirement.
He still remembered the way she recoiled at the word, she thought it made her sound old. So he told her she didn’t have to leave the Council, but she didn’t have to have to be the general anymore, she could finally rest, if that was what she wanted. She had more than earned it.
Faith had become a strong leader, and many of the new slayers looked up to her. Faith confided in him that she was tired of feeling like she was always on the run and looking over her shoulder waiting for them to drag her back to prison. She wanted to settle down somewhere new. She even hinted that she would like to settle in London to help train the new slayers. It couldn’t have worked out any better really.
Buffy didn’t tell him what she wanted until a couple weeks later. She wanted to get back into rescue work, she knew the slayers were still encountering some of the same problems they had in Sunnydale with demons using animals as currency in gambling as well as a food source, especially in larger cities, like London, with a larger population of demons. There was also the matter of animals left behind when their humans fell victim to demon violence. She also wanted to expand to dogs as well.
It was going to be a much larger undertaking than before. He loved the idea, and offered to have the Council fund the project. It would still be a non-profit, and once it was up and running they would need to rely heavily on donors and volunteers, but he saw the potential for a program that would change lives. He offered up the building next to headquarters. It was Council owned and had been vacant for years.
Over the next six months she had organized everything from builders to renovate the space, permits, partnerships with veterinarians and other rescue organizations. She was able to convince Willow to put the website back up, with a few new features, and updated with their current information. She even recruited some watchers and slayers stationed in London to be pet foster parents.
Today was her day.
She didn’t usually wear a dress to work; animals, especially puppies and kittens, usually meant she was usually having to deal with some sort of bodily fluid at some point during the work day, so she usually stuck with nice jeans and a blouse, and an entire drawer of lint rollers in her desk.
Today they were doing the ribbon cutting ceremony and they had arranged for some local press to attend, hence the dress.
“How do I look?” She asked, turning to face Giles.
He smiled. “Lovely. But unless you want to be late to your own ceremony, we should probably leave now.”
“Right. That would be bad. Is the gang meeting us there?” She asked.
“Yes, I believe Willow and Dawn are already there, but Xander’s flight was delayed, he will probably miss the ceremony, but he will be here for the celebratory dinner tonight.”
“Good. It’s been too long since we’ve had everyone in the same room.”
He offered her his arm, which she happily accepted as they walked. She had originally chosen a flat based on its proximity to the Council headquarters, just a short two blocks away, so it was also very close to the rescue, which had come in handy when she needed to stop in if there was a problem with the renovations, or a surprise inspection.
At the actual ceremony Giles introduced her, talking a little about her history, though obviously glossing over the part about vampires and demons. He wanted the headlines to read “Young Woman Gives Second Chance to Animals in Need” and not “Local Nutter Talks Vampires at Charity Event.”
When it was her turn she gave a short speech and took a few questions. He was surprised at how confident she was in front of the press. She was a slayer, destined to live in the shadows, but she was naturally charismatic. It made her an effective leader all those years in Sunnydale, and it made her a force to be reckoned with now, as she started on her next adventure.
When the press was gone and the doors were unlocked, he watched as the slayers who were volunteering were showing people around, introducing them to the adoptable pets.
He excused himself for a few minutes, letting Buffy catch up with her sister and Willow, while he made his way to the cat room. He’d been contemplating what to do for a couple weeks. As he helped Buffy set everything up, spending more and more time with the cats and dogs that were already in her care, he’d realized how much he missed having animals around. When the first had started causing trouble they had managed to get all the cats in their care out of Sunnydale, and by the end they hadn’t even seen any strays in weeks, probably having left in the mass exodus in the days before the collapse.
He knelt down as his new friend started rubbing her head against his leg. He had been there when this one came in with her brother. She was a shorthair cat with all black fur and the most brilliant green eyes he’d ever seen. He named her Minuit, French for midnight. Her brother was her polar opposite, all white fur but with the same green eyes. He had named him Radieux, which usually meant radiant or gleaming, but could also be used to describe a bright light.
“What does that even mean?” He remembered Buffy asking when he told her the names.
“I seem to remember you taking French in high school.”
“I seem to remember sleeping through French in high school.”
He knew Buffy was particularly fond of little Radieux, or Rad as she had taken to calling him.
“Hello, Minuit, are you ready to go home little one?” He asked, scratching the kitten’s ears, eliciting a purr. He grinned and picked her up and nuzzled her neck, briefly musing on what his young friends in Sunnydale would’ve said if they’d seen that when he first arrived in his layers of tweed and stiff upper lip.
He made his way back up to the front desk and caught Buffy’s eye. “I would like to be the first adopter today, if that’s alright.” He said, giving her a grin.
Her eyes widened and she glanced down at the kitten he held against his chest. She reached out to scratch her chin. “Hey, Minnie, you gonna keep an eye on my watcher for me?”
“I have rather missed having cats around.” He admitted. “I was thinking I could even bring her to the office with me during the day.”
“That’s a great idea, Giles.” She started filling out some paperwork while he retrieved his checkbook from his pocket. He already had it filled out, he slid it across the counter.
“Uh, Giles, this is twice as much as it should be.” She said, raising an eyebrow.
“Not if I’m bringing home two cats.” He told her with a grin.
“Two? Giles, two?” She asked, shocked.
“I couldn’t very well risk her favorite brother ending up on the other side of the country.” He told her.
He watched as a brief look of sadness passed across her face, followed by a smile that was just a little too wide. He knew right away he’d made the right choice.
“Right. That’s great, Giles. Give me just a minute, I’m gonna get someone to go get Rad for you, and a couple of carriers.” She pulled out another paper and started filling out the paperwork for the second adoption.
Thirty minutes later he walked out with his kittens. He had to make a quick stop at his apartment, but then he had to get his surprise ready for Buffy.
He had just about everything set up, he just hoped he hadn’t miscalculated. His rescue journey with Buffy started when he let himself into her house with a spare key. What better way to start the next chapter than with a little breaking and entering. Well, more like unlocking an entering.
He set the envelope with Buffy’s name on it and leaned it against the cardboard carrier. He was about to leave when he heard the door, Buffy was home earlier than expected. He whipped around just in time to see Buffy noticing his presence.
“Giles? What are you doing here? I thought you were picking me up later for dinner.” She hung up her coat and bag and watched her watcher getting flustered.
“I, uh.”
She glanced at the coffee table and noticed the cardboard carrier. “Giles, I don’t think the restaurant allows cats.” She tilted her head when she noticed the envelope with her name on it.
“I don’t understand.” She said when she stepped closer and picked up the envelope. Her brow furrowed. “Giles, why did you get me a gift certificate for my own shop?” She asked, looking up at him, holding up the £100 gift certificate for the Queen of Hearts Gift Shop.
“Well, I knew you’d need bowls and a litterbox and whatnot, it didn’t really seem like a gift if I just dropped him off and left it up to you to pay for all of it.” He explained.
She looked at him, and at the paper in her hand, then at the carrier on the table. She quickly opened the carrier and squealed when she saw the kitten inside. “Giles, you got me a cat?” She asked, picking him up and holding him to her chest.
“When he was fixed and you had to put the sign up saying that he was ready for adoption I saw the look on your face and knew you didn’t want to see him go. And I already knew I wanted Minuit, this way they can still visit each other. Plus you said you’d been lonely since Dawn left for uni.” He knew he was speaking too quickly. He was suddenly very nervous that he’d read it all wrong.
He watched as she set the cat back down in the carrier and stepped closer to him, before wrapping her arms around him in an almost bone crushing hug, which he returned in kind.
“Thank you, Giles.”
“You’re welcome, Buffy.” He pulled back after a moment. “I was worried perhaps I’d misinterpreted.”
“No, you were right. I am lonely since Dawn left. I’ve never lived alone before, there was always my parents, or Dawn.”
“Or a small army of potential slayers.” He added.
“Or that.” She agreed with a laugh. “I didn’t know for sure how sad I would be until you told me you were adopting him.”
“Well, now he’s yours, so you don’t have to worry about anyone else taking him. Though if you do need someone to watch him if you need to go out of town I’m sure his sister wouldn’t mind the company.”
She grinned and hugged him again. “Thanks.”
He hugged her back. “Go get ready or we’ll be late for dinner.”
They walked into the restaurant, fifteen minutes late, and found the group already sitting down.
“Hey guys, sorry we’re late.” Buffy said, taking the empty seat next to Xander, giving him a hug before she sat down. “Your plane get in okay?”
“Yeah, though three hours later than expected. Sorry I missed the opening. Dawn said it went really well.”
Giles took the other empty seat between Buffy and Dawn.
“Yeah, we adopted out three dogs and eight cats. Plus I already have about a dozen applications from watchers and slayers from all over asking about adopting as well. I’m hoping we can accommodate those requests, but I know the paperwork and quarantine procedures might be a little tricky.”
“That’s awesome, Buffy. I wish I could’ve stayed longer, but I had to pick some guy up from the airport.” She teased. “But we can make it up.” She nudged Xander and he took his cue to pick up the present from where it was leaning against the leg of his chair.
He handed it to Buffy. “This is for you.”
“Ooh, another present?” She said, happily reaching out for the gift.
“Another present?” Dawn looked at Buffy in confusion.
“Giles got me a kitty.” She said, smiling and looking over at her watcher.
“Awww, Giles, you bought her a cat?” Dawn asked.
“Wait, that white one you were always sending me pictures of?” Willow asked.
“Yeah. He adopted him today with his littermate, and I was sad to see him go, though I was happy I’d still get to see him whenever I visited Giles. But then when I got home I caught Giles trying to leave him as a surprise. We had to go get some supplies before coming here, that’s why we were late.”
“Why doesn’t anyone ever give me a cat?” Dawn asked, lamenting her misfortune.
“Well, there was that thing with Miss Kitty Fantastico.” Willow pointed out.
“That was an accident! I don’t leave crossbows lying around anymore.”
“You also live in a dorm.” Xander said.
“Oh, I can get you a fish.” Buffy offered, then laughed when Dawn made an annoyed face.
“Well, it’s not a cat, but we all got this for you to hang up at the shelter.” Xander said, gesturing to the present.
“I know a gentleman who will mount anything.” Giles said. Everyone looked at him with a mixture of shock and confusion. “Uh, signs, and plaques… on walls. The walls at the shelter are brick. He could help.” He clarified, gesturing to the still wrapped gifts, his ears turning a bright shade of pink.
Buffy laughed and quickly unwrapped her gift, though the whole day had been a gift in itself.
In her hands was a plaque with a photo of her with a kitten in her arms below it read:
Founder
Buffy Summers:
patron saint of poker kittens