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** Buffy was asleep, she knew that she was asleep, but she kept being drawn deeper into the dream anyway. She was walking the halls of an empty Sunnydale High, the hall to the library, but she should have reached it. As she walked, she was joined by Giles and they walked side by side. Then Willow and Xander, but they were circling around her and Giles. Then Angel, but he was walking backwards, in front of her, just out of reach. Then Cordelia joined Willow and Xander and circled them as well. Then Jenny Calendar, she walked in front of Giles, but she watched Angel. Then Oz, with a guitar, he circled Willow, but watched everything.
Then Angel was Angelus, he turned to Miss Calendar and she disappeared with one last look to Giles and Buffy, an apology on her lips. Buffy turned away. Then Angelus was gone and Angel was behind them, he dropped farther and farther back.
Cordelia turned and headed down another hall, away from them. Wesley took her place. Buffy caught a glimpse of Faith, but when they reached the spot where she had been, Faith was gone.
Buffy moved closer to Giles as they reached the Library door. Buffy went through the door, followed by the others.
Inside the library, the others moved away from her. Cordelia was back and lead Wesley up into the stacks, only for him to return and he stood on the stairs alone. Oz and Willow walked into the cage. Xander watched her from just inside the door. Angel watched from the hall, through the window in the door.
Giles headed towards his office and Buffy stood alone. Then Giles stopped at his office doorway and turned back to her. He reached out a hand and she took a step towards him ... **
Buffy's eyes popped open, awake in her bed. She sat up and looked around her room. Four days before Graduation and she'd been having that dream for a week. Parts of it she could decipher, but she still didn't understand what it meant. Should she mention it to Giles? She hated to burden him with anything else. She looked at her clock, eight o'clock Sunday morning and she knew exactly where he would be.
Rupert Giles was looking around the library. Once Buffy graduated, he would be leaving. Assuming he survived the Ascension, he had a position waiting at the Sunnydale Museum. He was packing his things slowly, a little at a time and taking them either to the Museum or his home. He was heading for his office, when he heard the door swish open.
Buffy stopped at the sight, so like her dream. Giles in the office doorway and he turned towards her. She shook off the eerie feeling and saw that he looked oddly melancholy. She saw the packed box. "Don't tell me that you're actually going to miss this place." Buffy commented as she walked over to him. "Actually, yes." Giles admitted a bit sheepishly.
"I told you not to tell me that." Buffy said blandly She looked around the library herself. "A lot's happened here."
"And so little of it involved you and reading." Giles teased her.
"You did more than enough for both of us." Buffy returned. "Besides, if I did the reading, what would I need you for?"
"I have the weapons." Giles told her without missing a beat.
"Then, I guess we're stuck with each other." Buffy commented. She slanted him a challenging look. "Scared?"
"Terrified." Giles responded.
Buffy laughed. "Four out of five Watchers would agree."
Giles couldn't help himself, he had to ask, though he knew he shouldn't. "And the fifth?"
"Totally insane." Buffy assured him.
Giles shook his head. In some ways, Buffy hadn't changed. She tilted her head to the side and waited for his rebuttal. He didn't disappoint her. "The truth can be painful, but you carry it well."
She pushed him with her shoulder. "So, are you looking forward to being the new Curator at the Museum?" Buffy asked as she picked up the box on the counter.
He looked at her. "Yes, I am looking forward to it." He took the box from her. "And the students will get to use the library again." They walked out side by side.
They walked to Giles car. "The new Curator of the Sunnydale Museum needs a real car." Buffy told him as he put the box in back.
"There is nothing wrong with my car." Giles said as he opened the car door for her.
Buffy gave him an odd look as she got in, he never opened the car door for her before, unless she was hurt or sick. "So, what happened to the last Curator?"
"Missing." Giles said and closed the door. He finished once he got in the driver's seat. "No one knows where she is." He started the engine and pulled away from the school.
They talked about the Ascension. Buffy noticed that whenever Giles spoke to her about it he always said 'when' she stopped the Ascension, not 'if'. He saved the 'if' for others. She never brought up the dreams, probably because he seemed so preoccupied. After the Ascension ...
Two Weeks Later
The dreams started again. The old library, which she missed terribly. She never quite reached Giles in the dreams. Last night, she woke up just before she placed her hand in his. Buffy walked through the quiet house. Her Mom was in LA on a buying trip. Her Dad was in Chicago. Xander was still on his road trip, cross country. Oz was on a short tour with the Dingoes and Willow had gone along.
What did these dreams mean? She needed to talk to Giles, and this time, she needed to actually tell him about the dreams.
Buffy found Giles taking tea in the courtyard of his complex. She didn't blame him, the day was lovely.
Giles looked up from his paper and smiled when he saw her. "Good morning Buffy. What brings you here?"
Buffy shrugged as she joined him at the small table.
"I thought your father was picking you up today." Giles commented. "We put it off until July." Buffy told him. "Then, I'll only stay a couple of weeks." She added.
"Why not the whole summer?" Giles asked, concerned.
"He'll be spending most of the summer in Chicago." She told him, which was true. What she didn't tell him was that her Dad had asked if she wanted to go with him or even stay at his house while he was gone. But she didn't want to abandon Giles, and that's what it felt like. "I want to get a few things taken care of before classes start in the fall."
"Have you decided on a major yet?" Giles asked.
"Not yet." Buffy answered. "I thought I'd wait and see what I like." She looked at him seriously. "Do you think I'm wasting my time?" She asked, referring to her attending college.
Giles glanced at her. "No, I don't." He sighed. "Do you?" He asked gently.
"I don't know." Buffy told him. "I mean, I'm the Slayer. It's not like they can train me for that. But, I want to go. It's ..." Her words trailed off, she didn't know how to express what she felt. She looked at Giles, helpless to explain.
"It's part of a normal life." Giles filled in the blank. "I do understand. So much has been taken from you already. And yet, you've beaten the odds so many times."
"Odds? You mean like actually living to see eighteen?" Buffy asked bluntly.
"Well, I ..." Giles was flustered. After all this time, he still wasn't accustomed to her bluntness. "Yes, it's true. The life expectancy of a Slayer isn't long. They seldom survive the first year. You've survived nearly four. Most of that on the Hellmouth, no less. It's truly a remarkable feat."
"What are the odds of my living to be a college grad?" Buffy asked. Giles was quiet a moment. "What do you want me to say, Buffy?" He asked quietly. "That one day you'll die. You will. So will I. But you are remarkably gifted. Extraordinary. But, I can't tell you what will happen."
"I know." Buffy said with a sigh. "Just promise me something?"
"Of course." Giles assured her.
"If I die the night before graduation," Buffy told him. "Bury me with my diploma."
Giles gave her a reproachful look. "You'll note that I am not amused."
"That's okay." Buffy said. "I'm not kidding." She shrugged and smiled.
Giles decided on a change of subject. "Is Joyce still in LA?" He asked. Buffy searched his face. Ever since that night with the candy, she'd wondered. She knew, that more had happened that night than she'd first thought. Giles and her Mom. She'd given it a lot of thought and she decided that she didn't like the idea. It bothered her in ways that she didn't even understand. "Yeah, 'til friday."
Giles nodded. He knew that Buffy had issues regarding him and Joyce. He just didn't know how to explain that, chocolate not withstanding, he really didn't have an interest in Joyce. Aside from her being Buffy's Mother. The only thing they had in common was Buffy. He looked at his watch, then Buffy. "I need to get to the Museum."
Buffy nodded. "Can I stop by later? I need to talk to you about something."
"Of course." Giles told her. "If you'd like, I'll give you a tour."
"Cool." Buffy said as she stood. "But no Mummies, okay?"
Giles smiled. "Certainly not." He stood as well. "Did you want me to drop you anywhere?"
Buffy shook her head. "I think I'm going to take a walk." She called herself a coward for not telling him.
Giles was walking into the Museum as another man joined him. "Hello Mr. Giles."
Giles looked at him. "Oh, hello, Mr. ... Damon, isn't it?" They were about the same age, Giles thought as they shook hands.
Damon nodded. "Getting settled?" He asked.
"Trying to, yes." Giles responded. "It's good to be back in a Museum again."
"Don't take this wrong." Damon said. "But, how do you go from being a Curator at the British Museum to being the librarian at Sunnydale High?"
Giles blinked and pushed up his glasses. "Yes, that does seem a rather curious career move, doesn't it?" Giles commented.
"Does it have anything to do with the fact that Sunnydale sits atop a mystical convergence?" Damon asked as if he were asking about the weather.
Giles was taken by surprise with the question, so it took him a moment to answer. "In a roundabout way, yes. How do you know about that?"
"How could I not know?" Damon asked in return. "I've lived in Sunnydale all my life. Except college."
"It seems that most people don't." Giles commented.
"They don't want to know." Damon said. "That's what I think, anyway. Those that do know, just don't talk about it much."
"Why do they stay?" Giles asked.
"It's their home." Damon said simply. "It's an interesting place to live."
"Yes, one would never get bored in Sunnydale." Giles said. The two men headed inside the Museum.
Hours later, Giles had just finished the paperwork on a several gems that were being loaned to them by the British Museum, when a twenty year old intern poked his head in the door.
"There's a babe out here lookin' for ya' Mr. Giles." Darin Jenkins told him.
"I beg your pardon." Giles returned.
Darin just shook his head. "A woman asking for you."
Giles moved around his desk and left his office. He saw Buffy across the room, looking at a partially unpacked set of armor. "Buffy." He said with a smile as he walked towards her.
Buffy returned the smile. "I'm here for my tour." She looked back to the opened packing crate. "What is that?" She asked.
Giles looked at it a moment. "Roman Centurian." He told her.
"Oh." Buffy said in a small voice. "Can he breathe in there?" She joked.
"Remarkable condition. It was found in Wales." Giles told her.
Buffy looked at it again. "I wonder who he was." The armor almost mesmerized her, her eyes continually drawn to it.
"We don't know really." Giles explained. "Rather odd actually. It was found, preserved, in an Abby of all places. Dr. Becker said that it resembled a shrine."
"And that's odd because ...?" Buffy asked, her eyes still on the armor.
"Considering that it was the Romans that crucified Christ. A Centurian, Longinus, is said to have speared him. The spear of Longinus is said to have magical power." Giles realized that he digressed. "For a sect of the Christian faith to build a shrine to honor a Centurian should have been considered blasphemy."
"And yet ..." Buffy encouraged him, oddly fascinated.
"And yet," Giles continued, pleased by her interest. "There he was. There's an inscription, poorly eroded. All they've managed to salvage and translate is 'Protect'."
Buffy's eyes shot to his. "Protect who?"
"Whom." Giles corrected automatically. "We may never find out." Giles guided her away from the Centurion, with a hand to her back. He showed her around.
"Have you settled in?" Buffy asked.
"Yes." Giles responded. "I had an interesting conversation with a gentleman that works here."
"Was it about old stuff?" Buffy asked, she couldn't help teasing him.
"Actually," Giles said ignoring her. "It was about Sunnydale sitting atop a mystical convergence." He told her about the conversation with Ted Damon.
"Yeah, but does he know about the vampires?" Buffy asked.
"He didn't mention them, so I didn't raise the subject." Giles told her.
"Was that a pun?" Buffy asked with a grin.
"What?" Giles asked in return without a clue.
"Guess not." Buffy concluded.
************
Giles showed her the exhibits, the exhibits in wait and a few things that they were not quite certain how to exhibit. He led her to a small exhibit on Queen Elizabeth the First. Excited, he took her hand and led her to a small display case.
Buffy looked at the necklace in awe. "Giles, you shouldn't have." She couldn't resist the comment.
The necklace was diamonds and emeralds in a gold setting. Giles looked from it to Buffy. "Even though I thought of you when I saw it," Giles told her evenly. "Theft would not look good on my resume."
Buffy smiled, he'd finally learned to take her teasing in stride. Most of the time. She reached out a hand, but pulled it back before she could touch the glass. "It's beautiful."
"It's believed that it was given to Queen Elizabeth by Sir Walter Raleigh." Giles explained. "Actually, it's a replica, the original is at Buckingham Palace." He looked back to Buffy. "It's said that Elizabeth was a staunch supporter of the Slayers. That she took an active interest in the Council. According to some, she once harbored an injured Slayer in her private chambers, tending to the Slayer herself." Giles led her back to the main room of the Museum.
"Do you think that's true?" Buffy asked wistfully.
"I like to think so." Giles answered. Giles guided her through the Ancient Man exhibit, they walked through it quietly. Finally, he broke the silence. "What's bothering you Buffy?"
Buffy sighed, she knew that hadn't been fooling him. "Dreams." She said softly.
"Prophetic?" Giles asked.
"Not exactly." Buffy told him. "Mostly just repetitive." She told him what she could remember, she hesitated a little over the part with Jenny. "And each time, there's a little more, I'm a little further." She looked at Giles. "So, what does it mean?"
"Parts of it are certainly clear." Giles said. "The school hallway representing the path you've taken as the Slayer, since arriving in Sunnydale. Your friends around you. Angel ... Jenny." He said her name sadly. They went outside.
Buffy almost wished that she hadn't mentioned the part about Jenny. She hated doing that to him, but she knew how hurt he would be if she held back and he found out. And he always found out.
"You still carry so much guilt where Jenny is concerned." Giles said, he tried to sound unaffected, but he knew that he didn't pull it off.
"Gee, I wonder why?" Buffy asked sarcastically. "I only blamed her for everything, kept her away from you and then she was killed because she was trying to help me." She looked at him with sad eyes. "Why didn't you run, when you had the chance? You could have gone home. Had a real life. Away from here. Away from ... me."
"Buffy." Giles was surprised, upset and concerned. "What's brought this on?"
Buffy looked at a loss. "I honestly don't know."
Giles sighed. "Buffy, this is my home now. Despite what the Council believes, my life is here with you. Not out of duty, but because what happens to you matters to me a great deal."
"Why?" Buffy asked.
Giles blinked, surprised by the question. "Is there something you're not telling me, Buffy?"
Instead of answering, Buffy asked the one question that she has tried not to think about since she found out about the prophecy about the Master and her own death. "What will you do when I'm ... Gone?"
"Are you leaving?" Giles asked. He deliberately misunderstood.
"I know the reality Giles." Buffy said calmly. "The odds of my living a long and healthy life are nonexistent. Only one Slayer in twenty makes it to eighteen. I don't even want to know the odds of making it to twenty."
"That's the second time today that you've brought that up." Giles said worriedly. "Why?"
"I don't want you to be alone because of me." Buffy told him softly. "You've given up so much, lost so much already because of me, when I die ..."
"... I'll grieve." Giles told her gently. "As will your parents and Willow and Xander and Oz. Angel. But as much as I hate to break it to you, I will survive." He said ruefully with a touch of wryness.
Buffy smiled, just a little. "I guess I just want you to know what it means to me that you stayed. Something's urging me, as if it's afraid I'll wait too long."
"Like a premonition?" Giles asked.
Buffy shrugged. "Maybe. I do feel like something's about to happen."
"Are you going to patrol tonight?" Giles asked next.
"Planned to. Why?" Buffy returned.
"I'll go with you, then." Giles told her. "Come by my place about six, I'll fix us both supper."
"You don't have to do that." Buffy told him softly.
"I know." Giles responded. "I want to. And I don't think you should be patrolling alone, feeling as you do."
"Giles ..."
"Now, I suggest you go home and rest." Giles said. "I'll expect you around six, then." He turned to go back inside.
"Thanks Giles." Buffy said to his retreating back.
Giles turned back to her. She smiled and waved at him, before she turned and started to walk away briskly. Giles watched her, more concerned than he'd like to admit, until she turned the corner.
As soon as Giles reentered the Museum, Damon fell into step with him and they headed back towards the offices.
"Isn't she a bit young for you?" Damon asked, mildly amused.
"I beg your pardon?" Giles said, oblivious to the innuendo and the humor.
"What is she? Eighteen?" Damon asked next, his amusement growing.
"Eighteen, yes. Why?" Giles asked, still oblivious.
"Well, at least she's legal." Damon commented.
"Legal? What ...?" Giles finally focussed on the conversation at hand. Comprehension hit him. "Oh for ... Don't be ridiculous." He managed to say.
Damon laughed. "Are you going to tell me that you haven't noticed that she's an attractive young woman? I wouldn't believe you. Besides, you're both adults." And with that, he walked off.
"But ..." Giles began, but it was too late, Damon was gone. Just as well, he didn't know how to respond. Why do people always point out what you're trying so very hard to ignore?
Buffy felt watched as she made her way home. She never saw anyone though, as hard as she tried. She moved a little faster than when she first left the Museum.
Once home, she went inside and locked the door. When she looked out, there was no one, nothing.
She went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottled water from the fridge. She opened it and took a drink.
Back in the living room, she popped a tape in the VCR and plopped on the couch. After she placed the water on the table, she leaned back. Before the 'Also on home video' previews were done, she was asleep.
**She was reliving the night that Jenny Calendar died. The phone call from Giles, the police tape across his door, the arrangements that Angel had made. She could smell the roses.
She found Giles at the factory. Druscilla, Spike, fighting Angel. The fire. Getting Giles out of the factory. She could smell the smoke.
When she held Giles in her arms and they cried.
"You need him." She heard Jenny's voice. "He needs you. Don't let go of each other ... He needs you."
Buffy woke with a jerk to the sound of the phone ringing and the end credits to 'Sixteen Candles' playing on the TV screen.
Buffy got up and answered the phone. "Hello." She looked at the clock, 5pm already.
"Buffy, are you all right?" You sound ... I don't know, strange." Joyce Summers said to her daughter. A mother's concern, multiplied by ten.
"I'm fine Mom." Buffy assured her. "I just fell asleep on the couch."
"If you're sure ..." Joyce's words trailed off. "I talked to your Dad. He thinks you're mad at him."
"No, I'm not mad at him." Buffy told her. "I just don't want to go to Chicago and I don't want to stay at the house in LA alone. I was planning to visit when he got back from Chicago."
"Are you sure that's all there is to it?" Joyce asked.
"I'm sure." Buffy said. "I'll call Dad and talk to him tomorrow."
"All right Honey." Joyce said. There was a knock at her hotel room door. She held a hand over the mouth piece. "Just a minute Frank." Then to Buffy. "I gotta go." She sounded anxious. "Bye Buffy."
"Bye." Buffy said bemused. She hung up the phone. Frank?
"Do you think she had a date?" Buffy asked Giles during dinner after she told him about the phone call.
"Is there a reason she shouldn't?" Giles asked in return.
"Well, no." Buffy answered. "She just hasn't mentioned anyone." She sighed, glad that Giles wasn't bothered. In fact, he seemed happy for her Mother. "I just hope that he's a real person this time." She commented.
"Yes, I think that would be best." Giles agreed. It was time to bring up the subject that had been successfully avoided thus far. "You said that the phone woke you, did you dream?" He asked.
Buffy couldn't look at him. It was a good thing that that they'd nearly finished eating, she'd just lost her appetite.
Giles watched her closely, had seen her face pale slightly. "Did something new happen?" He asked concerned.
"Different dream." She told him. She didn't want to talk about it.
"Buffy? What is it?" Giles asked. "Are you all right?"
"It was about Jenny." Buffy told him before she could lose her nerve. "The night she died." She wiped her eyes. "It was living the night over again." She looked at him, finally, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. "I heard her voice."
Giles had his own difficulties, he had to swallow twice before he could ask, "What did she say?"
Buffy's voice was barely a whisper. " 'You need him. He needs you. Don't let go of each other. He needs you.' " She wiped her cheeks again. "What does it mean? I know I need you."
Giles tried to remain objective. "There are a number of possibilities. A sub-conscience need for forgiveness."
"Nothing sub-conscience about that need." Buffy told him.
"The manifestation of guilty conscience." Giles said next.
"Really don't need help there either." Buffy said. "I've had nightmares about that night before, but nothing like this. I could smell the roses, the smoke. I could feel the fire. Feel Angel hitting me ... Feel you push me away." She closed her eyes and took a deep, quavering breath. "It was worse than those damn prophetic dreams."
"There is another possibility." Giles said hesitantly. "Jenny could be trying to communicate with you through your dreams."
"Why?" Buffy asked in a small voice.
"Perhaps you should try to ask her." Giles suggested.
"Could someone be doing this to me?" Buffy asked. "Messing with my head?"
"I suppose it's possible." Giles said. "What makes you ask?"
"On my way home from the Museum, I felt like I was being watched." Buffy told him. "I never saw anyone though."
Giles decided not to mention that it could still be Jenny, his record in this area was not great. "All the more reason that you shouldn't patrol alone."
"Hey, I'm not arguing." Buffy said as she put her hands up in a mock surrender.
<No, she's not.> Giles thought. Odd, in and of itself.
"Giles?" Buffy said in a small voice. "Could it really be Jenny?"
Giles took a couple of deep breaths. "I don't know."
**********
On patrol in the cemetery, Buffy was fighting a vampire. Giles watched, she really was impressive. He sighed, foolish old man. He saw her stop cold, her eyes were on something over his shoulder. He looked, but saw nothing. He looked back to Buffy in time to see the vampire rushing her. "Buffy!" Too late.
Buffy couldn't believe that she'd forgotten the vamp, and now he had her pinned down. <Some Slayer.> Above her the vampire turned to dust and she could see Giles with a stake in his hand.
Giles reached out a hand and helped her to her feet. "Are you all right?" He asked.
"I thought I saw ..." Her words trailed off as her eyes returned to what had caught her attention. "Oh God." She whispered.
Giles eyes, once again, followed hers. Nothing. "What is it?"
"You don't see her?" Buffy asked, her eyes glued to that spot.
"Who?" Giles asked in return.
"Jenny." Buffy told him in a whisper. "It's Jenny."
Giles' eyes flew to Buffy's. "Where?"
Buffy pointed. "She's about fifteen feet away." Buffy told him. Giles looked again, but he still saw nothing. "I don't see her, Buffy."
Buffy looked at Jenny. "Why can't he see you?" She asked.
"He's not why I'm here." Jenny explained. She moved towards her, slowly.
"Then, why?" Buffy asked.
Giles watched Buffy, concerned and a little frightened.
"I came for you." Jenny told her. "I don't blame you, Buffy. For what Angelus did, it wasn't your fault. You must stop blaming yourself."
"I-I can't." Buffy said. "It *was* my fault. If I hadn't ..."
"No." Jenny said gently. "They should have told me what could happen. I should have told you." She looked at Giles. "Both of you." Back to Buffy. "Who I was. I'm sorry."
"No, *I'm* sorry." Buffy said.
"I know." Jenny began to fade.
"Don't go." Buffy pleaded. "Please, don't go Jenny." She felt something brush her shoulder and knew she was gone. Buffy closed her eyes and tears slid down her cheeks unchecked.
"Buffy?" Giles said softly.
"She's gone." Buffy said tearfully. "How could she forgive me, Giles?"
"Because, she never blamed you." Giles told her. "The only one that blamed you, was you." He put a hand to her cheek and swiped her tears with his thumb. "There was no way that you could have known what would happen."
"I loved him so much." Buffy said. She looked at him. "But I knew it couldn't work. I just couldn't walk away."
"Do you think I don't understand?" Giles asked. "I do."
"You're stronger than I am." Buffy said.
"How do you figure that?" Giles asked.
"You had the strength to walk away." Buffy explained.
"Do you mean from Jenny?" Giles asked and she nodded. "Buffy, that wasn't strength, it was anger. She lied to me, she lied to you. She put you at risk. I'd give almost anything for that time back. She betrayed our trust. Not because she didn't care, but because she was frightened. I forgave her. Although, if Angelus had ... Hurt you, I'm not sure I'd have been able to."
"I've come to a very painful conclusion." Buffy told him. "Love stinks."
Giles smiled at her. "Not always." He took her arm. "Come on, let's get you home. We're not exactly at our best right now."
"Can I sleep on your couch?" Buffy asked. "I don't think I want to be by myself."
"Buffy, I'm not certain that's the wisest ..." His words trailed off as he looked at her. It was the rather haunted look in her eyes that did him in. "All right. But I'll take the couch." He didn't, Buffy wouldn't let him.
**Buffy walked up the steps to the Museum. She went inside and towards the offices. She stopped to look at the armor of the Centurioan. She reached out a hand, but pulled back when a face appeared briefly. She had just a perception of dark hair and eyes, before it was gone. She backed away. She found Giles' office. "Giles?"
Giles turned to her with a smile. "Buffy. What brings you here?"
"I-I don't know." Buffy said uncertainly. "I guess I was looking for you."
"You guess?" Giles asked. "Don't you know what you're looking for?"
"I ..." Buffy closed her eyes. When she opened them, the room was bigger and Giles was farther away. "Giles?" She moved towards him, but bounced back when she hit some kind of an invisible wall. She hit it. "Giles!" She kicked it.
"Giles! Giles, I can't get to you. Help me?"
"He can't help you." Jenny said calmly.
Buffy whirled to face her. "What? Why can't he help me?"
"You put the barrier there, Buffy." Jenny said. "Only you can move it."
"I put it there?" Buffy asked. "How? Why?" She looked back to Giles, he reached out to from the distance.
"He's waiting." Jenny said. "He's been waiting for a long time."
"Waiting? I don't understand, Jenny." She turned, but Jenny was gone.
Only her voice remained. "Tear it down, Buffy. You're so close already."
Buffy hit it and kicked it, all the while screaming for "Giles!" **
Giles heard Buffy scream his name and he jumped out of bed. He grabbed his robe and went tearing down the stairs, throwing his robe over his pajama bottoms as he went.
Buffy was on the couch, striking out at something. "Giles!"
He heard the desperation in her voice as he grabbed her flailing hands.
"Buffy!" He said loudly and firmly. He sat on the edge of the couch, next to her.
The flailing stopped and Buffy's breathing came in gasps. "Giles?" Her voice
was small and frightened.
"It was just a nightmare." Giles told her gently.
Buffy, still afraid, carefully opened her eyes. She looked at him for a long moment before she sat up and threw her arms around his neck, nearly sending them both to the floor in the process. "Oh God, Giles, I couldn't reach you. You were there, but I couldn't get to you." She cried into his neck. "I couldn't get to you."
"Shsh. It's all right." Giles said. "I'm here now." He rubbed his hands up and down her back in gentle, comforting moves. "Can you tell me what happened?" He felt the tears on his neck. It must have been horrifying.
Buffy laid her cheek against his shoulder. "I went into the Museum. It was late, there was nobody there. I saw that Centurian, you know, the Roman one?" She felt Giles nod. "Then, I was in your office. You were there. You smiled and asked why I was there. I thought I must have been looking for you. You said, 'Don't you know what you're looking for?' and I ... Then the room ... And you were further away and there was a wall."
"What kind of wall?" Giles asked.
"Jenny called it a barrier." Buffy told him.
"Jenny was there? Why? What did she say?" Giles asked.
"She said I put the barrier there." Buffy told him. "That only I could tear it down." She pulled back and looked up at him. "But I tried and tried and couldn't get through. You were reaching out and I couldn't take your hand." She looked confused. "Jenny said that you were waiting for me. What did she mean?"
Giles fought to keep his face impassive. <How could Jenny know?> "What else did she say?" He asked.
Buffy looked thoughtful. "That you couldn't help me. What does it mean Giles? Is there a barrier between us? Did I do something?"
"Oh Buffy, no." Giles assured her. "As to what it means, only you can answer that."
"Are the dreams connected?" Buffy asked.
Giles thought about she'd told him about the dreams. This one and the first both ended with him reaching out to her, for her. The second dream was little more complicated, but ... "Yes, I believe so." She looked at him with wide confused eyes. He wanted to show her, but he needed her to get there on her own, not because he led her. He laid her back down and tucked the blanket back around her. "You should try to sleep, it'll be morning soon enough." Buffy watched as he stood and noticed for the first time that his robe was open and his chest bare, she stared at it.
"Is something wrong, Buffy?" Giles asked with a glance at his chest to see what held her attention.
"No." Buffy said as she managed to tear gaze from his chest to his face. "Thanks Giles."
Giles smiled in question. "For what?"
"For being here." Buffy told him. "For letting me stay."
"You're always welcome here, Buffy." Giles told her softly. "And I'll always be here," He paused. "Tell me, in your dream, you could see that I wasn't hurt or in danger. Why did you panic? That isn't like you."
"I couldn't reach you." Buffy told him. "I needed you, but I couldn't get to you."
"You needed me?" Giles asked. "Why? There was no threat. No danger. Why did you need me?"
Buffy looked at him like she couldn't believe he had to ask. "I always need you. Like tonight, I was scared and wigged."
Giles' eyes lit with her humor. "So, I'm a human security blanket?"
Buffy smiled, but her answer was serious. "In a way. I mean, I love Mom and Dad and Willow, Xander and Oz, but ... And I know they'd try, but they can't protect me from the dark. By which, I don't mean the lack of light, but what's in the dark."
"And you believe I can?" Giles asked surprised.
"I know you can." Buffy said simply. "And without you, I couldn't protect them."
Giles was touched, by the sentiment and the trust behind it. Would she ever cease to surprise him? "Thank you Buffy."
Buffy laid back. "Night Giles." She said softly.
"Goodnight." Giles returned before he went back upstairs.
Buffy watched him go. Why had she panicked? What had Jenny meant that he was waiting for her? Waiting for her to what? If the dreams were connected, what connected them? Giles? Her and Giles? They were a hell of a team. Her eyelids drooped. <What's he waiting for me to do, Jenny?"> Was her last thought before she dropped back to sleep.
Buffy awoke the next morning to the whistle of the tea kettle. She stood and stretched and made her way to the kitchen, yawning. She stopped when she saw Giles. A royal blue polo shirt and jeans. "You going to the Museum like that?" She asked.
Giles looked up from his tea preparations. "Good morning, Buffy. And yes, we're doing some inventory today. Why?" He looked down at himself. "Is something wrong with it?"
"No, there's nothing wrong with it." Buffy assured him. "In fact, it looks good on you." She grinned. "Are you trying to impress someone?" She asked, then frowned as she tried to figure out who it could be.
Giles flushed a bit. "O-of course not. I simply wanted to be comfortable." He told her, but didn't meet her eyes. "Did you have any more dreams last night?" He changed the subject.
"Wasn't one enough?" Buffy asked. "It would help if you'd just tell me what you're waiting for." For just a moment he looked at her so intently, that she thought she felt it. Then he looked away and she could breath again. What the hell was that?
Giles cursed himself. How he wished he could tell her, could show her, but if she came to him, she had to find her own way. He looked at her, she was looking at her hands, they were shaking. "Buffy?"
Buffy looked at him. "Yeah." She answered a bit distracted.
"Are you all right?" Giles asked.
"Fine." Buffy lied.
"What are your plans today?" Giles asked casually.
"No plans." Buffy told him. "Would you like some help?"
Giles gave her a soft smile. "If you'd like."
{{ Jenny watched them with a sad smile. Buffy was close now. It wouldn't be long, especially with what was to come. She'd watched them, really, since she 'died'. Even when she was alive, she knew that Buffy would have always been first for him. She had understood, a Slayer's life tended to be short. When Buffy was gone ... She'd hated herself for the thought. She watched now and knew that she had kidded herself. He would never have been hers, not really. He'd loved her, but Buffy ... Buffy was a part of him and he, her. They belonged together.}}
To be continued...