=Part IV=

The next morning, Giles walked into the library to find Buffy sitting there, waiting for him.

"Well, this is a surprise." He made a show of checking his watch. "7:50 a.m. Late night, or should I check for sign of four horsemen somewhere?"

She made a face. "Very funny."

He took off his coat and hung it up, waiting.

"Look. Last night. I'm sorry, okay. I came on a little too strong."

"A little, yes," he agreed calmly.

"And I ruined your evening with an old friend, and now you're pissed at me."

Giles pulled out a chair next to hers and sat down, reaching out to tilt her chin up so that she had to look at him, then dropping his hand back to his side.

"No. I'm not, as you so quaintly put it, pissed at you. I understand that is is difficult --" He stopped. "It's difficult. For me as well."

"So you didn't expect to see her here, huh?"

"No. Meddy and I... have a relationship that is rather difficult to explain."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "There's that word again. Difficult."

"Story of my life," he muttered.

"Well," she said, standing up and putting on a brittle veneer of brightness. "I'm so glad we had this little talk. Just let me know when you're ready to get back to work."

"Buffy --" he said, standing up as though to stop her, but she was already gone.

"Well, that was... effective," he said to the empty room, running his hand through his hair. "Women. They're difficult when they're teens -- then they become impossible."

"Hey. I resemble that remark."

Giles spun around to see Willow standing there, one of the heavy leatherbound volumes he had loaned her clasped in her arms.

"Oh. Willow. I didn't see you there."

"That's because I just got here."

"Oh. Yes." He stopped, taking another look at her. "Willow, I think you've been spending entirely too much time with Buffy. That was a distinctly Buffy-sounding comment."

"You think?" Her face brightened.

"That was not a compliment."

"Oh." Her face fell

Giles sighed. Fragile, he reminded himself. Potential. Handle with care.

"So you enjoyed the Mysteria?"

"Oh, yes. But I'm not sure about the third section."

"Mmmm." He adjusted his glasses, put fingers to his mouth as he thought. "I'm not sure I'm the best teacher on this subject. You might want to talk this over with Mada."

Willow brightened. "Meddy knows about this stuff?"

Giles hid a smile. "Oh, yes. I think it is safe to say that Meddy knows a bit about magics."

"Cool. I mean, not that I don't think you could explain it all perfectly well, but --"

"No. I think that she is the best teacher for you on this."

"Is she... is she going to be coming by, so I could ask her?" Willow looked up, as though expecting the woman to suddenly appear.

Giles winced slightly. "No, I think that it would be best if you met somewhere away from here. Somewhere far away from here."

"Huh? Oh, drat. That's the bell. I'm going to be late."

Giles smiled wryly, taking the book from Willow and raising his hand in farewell as she dashed back out into the hallway.

"Yes. I think she will be quite the perfect teacher for you, little sister."

Buffy shoved her legs out in front of her, frowning at her toes. Willow had taken off somewhere right after school, Xander had muttered something about having to clear out a closet or something, and Giles... She frowned harder. Giles had been impossible to deal with ever since Miss Meh-dah No-Last-Name.

And it was still daylight, so she couldn't go see Angel.

Well, she could. But he wouldn't be much fun.

"Is this seat taken?"

She looked up into Giles' concerned face.

"Yeah. I mean, no. It's not taken. Sit down."

He settled himself on the porch steps next to her, stretching his legs alongside hers. She wondered sometimes what other people thought, always seeing them together. Probably nothing -- just a bunch of losers hanging out with the loner librarian. She smirked. In her old school, Giles would have been hauled off to some board or another to explain why he spent so much of his time with two underage female students. Her smirk intensified. And an underage male student.

Not that she had ever thought of Giles as being, well, sexual. Not even when Ms. Callander was finding new ways to make him blush. Not until last night, anyway. She shied away from that thought.

"I think we need to talk."

"Whatever." Here it comes, she thought defensively, pulling her legs up and wrapping her arms around her knees.

"No." His voice was hard, the way it had been the night before, and she stiffened in injured reflex. "Not whatever. This is important."

She heaved a sigh. "Okay. Fine. Talk away."

"Buffy... Mada is someone very important to me. I can't explain it, not really. But no matter how important she is, you mustn't feel that she's taking any of my attention away from you."

"Is this, like, the you'll-like-her-when-you-get-to-know-her talk? Because if it is, I think I'll take a pass. Been there, done that, killed the robot to show for it."

"Buffy. Please."

"Right. I'm behaving. You were saying?"

Giles looked skyward as though asking for patience. "I was telling you that Meddy is a very dear friend of mine. And that it would please me if, for the short time she is visiting, you were able to dredge up some --"

He stopped to think of how to complete the sentence, and there was a moment of silence before Buffy started to laugh.

"Yes." He tried to look insulted. "Thank you. I've been reading up on some parenting books that came in to be catalogued. How do I sound?"

"Like you should start on a cat, first or maybe a goldfish. But yeah, okay. I've been like, megabitch, and she doesn't deserve that. And neither do you. So I'll be polite."

"Good. I'm so glad we understand each other, then. Now you'd best get your homework done, we've a full night ahead of us."

"Work, work, work, work," she grumbled, but stood up, brushed the seat of her pants off, nd trudged up the stairs into the house. "I should get a choice, homework or slaying. Both is kind of like cruel and unusual punishment, don't you think?

"Buffy..."

"All right, I'm going. No cow needed."

Before she reached the door, she stopped and turned back to Giles. He was still sitting on the steps, body language indicating that he was far too pleased with himself.

She smiled fondly, and went inside. parenting books. Poor Giles. Well, homework to knock off, and then vampires to slay. Mada would stay awhile, then she'd go away, and life would be back to normal.

Seven hours later, Buffy was wondering what she had thought was so great about her typical, normal, everyday slayer life, anyway.

"So. Where is everyone, anyway?" She kicked aimlessly at the ground, walking through the graveyard.

"Here, vampire. Nice little vampires. What is this, bloodsucker vacation time? They all took a cruise to Translvania for Winter break?"

"Translvania is a landlocked area --"

"Yes, Giles. I know. It was an =expression.="

"Ah. Yes."

"So." She held her stake up as through to insepct it for splinters.

"So."

"Call it a night?" The stake went back down to her side, like a twirler's baton.

"It does seem as though we shan't have much luck. Perhaps they know that you have a history test tomorow?"

Buffy made a "hah hah" face. "Very funny."

A sound behind her made Buffy turn, swinging her stake up in an offensive maneuver.

"Whoa!" Angel stopped short, his hands up to ward off an attack.

"Oh. Angel. What's up? No, wait, let me guess. Bad news."

"Rumor has it there's going to be a game tonight."

"Oh, goody. And they didn't invite me? I'm always the last picked for any teams." Buffy raised one eyebrow. "So?"

"No teams. One human, lots of vampires."

"A fox hunt," Giles said.

Angel nodded. "Yeah." He looked grim. "And rumor says, Xander is the fox."

Buffy swore under her breath, taking off across the parking lot at a dead run.

"Buffy, wait --" Giles called after her. For a wonder, for once she did what he asked.

"Come on! We don't have much time --"

"Then might I suggest we take my car?"

"Right." Reversing direction, she took off again, with Giles and Angel close on her heels. Giles managed to start the car on the first try, muttering under his breath as he pulled out into the street, breaking the speed limit before he reached the first corner.

"That was a stop sign, I think," Angel said from his position in the back seat.

"Shut up, Angel."

Angel shut up, strapping himself in as the car took another corner on fewer than the manufacturer-recommended number of wheels.

"Killing ourselves before we get there isn't going to do anyone any good," Angel said, but he said it quietly enough that nobody told him to shut up.

The ride took too long, but eventually they pulled up in front of Xander's house.

"Now what?" Angel asked.

"I havn't a clue." Buffy admitted. "I guess, go see if Xander's ho--"

There was a thud on the roof of the car, and all three in the car jumped back when a demonic face pressed itself, upside down, against the windshield. "Slayer come out and plaaaaaaay?" it asked in a sing-song voice.

"Damnit, I knew I got that information too easily."

Buffy smiled fiercely back at the vampire, reaching for the door latch. "Only if I get to pick the game," she replied, stepping out.

Giles placed his head down on the steering wheel for an instant, then gunned the car forward, dislodging another vampire still on the roof, and running over the one which had slid down the hood.

"And those were new tires, too," he said regretfully before throwing the car into reverse and backing up over the crushed body again.

"Giles? A little help out here, if you don't mind?"

Leaving the car running, just in case, he got out -- and blackness crashed down on him. Perhaps, next time, he would stay in the car.