Chapter 6:  Coming Apart at the Seams

Word after word, entry after entry, the shock sunk in.  The chaos demon, the fight with demon Arthur, the sunset – all of it danced on the fringes of our minds as if it was a dream and with each word it became a harsh reality.  A reality that had been stolen from us, ripped from our memories as if it never mattered – made to look like it had never happened.  Each kiss, each embrace, each first time was wiped out and we felt like we’d been raped.  He took it all from us for the ‘greater good’, but we couldn’t understand or even begin to imagine his motives.  Even now, with my lover’s head in my lap and the rhythmic breath of sleep the only sound, it’s still but a dream.

Years upon years stolen from us and all I can think of is, not the council, but him.  He did it and from the tone of his last entry he knows that forgiveness may not be an option.

“Will?”

“Shh, I’m here.  You fell asleep.”

“What are you doing?”  Buffy rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat up.

“I’m writing in my Watcher’s diary.  I got it for graduation and I thought now would be the best time to start.”

Buffy looked at her surprised.  “But. . .you graduated from Oxford, not the Council.  You mean your still gonna work for them after what they’ve done to us?”

Willow put her hand on Buffy’s shoulder.  “No.  I’m working with Giles here, not the Council in London.”  She smiled and kissed Buffy’s lips.  “I told you I didn’t want to be away from you again and I meant it.”

Buffy let go a sigh of relief.  “Ohh, good.  How long have I been out?”

“We fell asleep here last night.  I woke up about an hour ago and re-read the diary.”

”You know what we have to do, Will.”  Buffy gave her the ‘time to get serious’ look.

Willow nodded.  “I know.  Giles has had this diary for a long time.  We have to go talk to him and find out why he never told us.”

Buffy nodded then looked around the room.  “Guess I did a little damage here last night.”

”Yeah.  I’m just glad your mom was at the gallery waiting for a late shipment.”

”Slayer temper.  What can I say?”

The table by the door was smashed into an unrecognizable heap.  Glass shards littered the kitchen floor.  The bookcase with all of Willow’s own collection from her years at Oxford was tipped over and the books were scattered across the living room.  Both girls were sitting on the hide-a-bed assessing the damage.

“Will, I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to scare you last night.”  She placed her hand on her shoulder.

“You were angry, Buffy.  I understand.  I know you would never hurt me.  I feel bad for the bookcase though.”  She let a little smile escape.

Buffy pulled her into a hug. “Never.  I’d never treat you like that bookcase.  You did some damage yourself last night you know.”

Willow laughed.  “Yeah. But there’s a big difference between floating pencils flying out the window into the tree and smashing a table into dust.”

”We should get up and get ready.  By the time we eat breakfast, Giles should be up.”

”Yeah.”

“Giles!”

The Watcher stirred in his bed, absentmindedly reaching out for his glasses.  <8am.  Who was here at this hour?>

“Giles man!  Get your ass down here now!  We have a problem!”  Spikes disembodied voice called from the first floor.

He shot up and ran down the steps quickly.  “Spike?  Do you know what ti—“  He stopped dead in his tracks.  “Oh, dear.”

Spike was still giving off smoke from where the sun had hit him on his way in.  Slumped over his shoulder was a very badly beaten Xander.  He was almost unrecognizable except for the bright blond hair.

“Is he—“

”No, I found him in time.  Bloody hell man, give me a hand here.  He may look thin but the boy’s got some weight to him.”

They carried his limp body over to the couch.  He was bleeding from his nose, which by the sight alone Giles could tell was broken.  Upon closer inspection there were a few cracked ribs and his wrist was broken too.  He had two black eyes and a serious head wound.  Giles turned him over and pulled up his shirt and literally gasped.

“What is it mate?”

“It’s . . .some sort of pattern or design carved into his back.  Some of these scars are old but there are fresher ones over here.”  Giles touched the center of his back and Xander suddenly went stiff.  “I’ve seen this before.”  He laid him back down and walked over to the bookcase.

Buffy walked through the door with Willow right behind her.  She headed straight for Giles and held out the diary.  “Care to explain this.”

He looked up at her, shocked.  “Buffy, where. . .where did you get this?”

“Will and I were researching the mind reading thing and she came across it.”

Willow tugged on Buffy’s arm.  “Buffy.”

She followed the redhead’s gaze to the couch.   “What the?  Xander?”

Willow slowly walked up to him and took in his battered appearance.  “Giles. . .”

Giles walked up behind them and spoke softly.  “Spike just now brought him in.  I haven’t found out what happened yet.”

“I found him at the mansion.  He was left for worm food is my guess.”  Spike offered from the kitchen.

Willow automatically went into repair mode.  She got the first aid kit that was ever present on top of the bookcase and went to work.  Buffy still stood there unable to move.

“Spike, what happened to him?”  She asked without taking her eyes off of Xander and Willow.

“It’s quite the story luv.  And I think with what I’ve found out and what Giles here knows already, your boy Xander got himself sucked into the middle of a prophesy.”

Buffy looked at Giles.  All he could do was remove his glasses and nod slowly.