Final Phase
by GylzGirl
Disclaimer: Joss, aah, savior of the universe.
Type: Angst, You're Soaking In It (aka Aww I Need a Hug)
Rating: PG-13
Ship: W/O [W/X mentioned]
Written: Fall 1999
******
Chapter One
Willow stood silently, clutching her sleeping two-year-old son to her body just above the bulge of her pregnancy. Her normally pale skin seemed almost shock white against the black linen dress she wore. The only color to her face was the dark circles under her bloodshot, tearless eyes.
Xander Harris stood by her side in a navy colored suit. Indeed, he had not left her side since she got the news a few days earlier. As the casket began to lower, they made their way to the tall British man standing a few feet away.
Willow smiled up at Giles slightly and leaned her cheek down upon her child's head.
"How are you doing Love?"
"I'm getting through. As best as I can. I'm fine as long as I don't think about how this baby is never going to know her father. How her father will never sing her to sleep, or hold her, or tell her that he loves her. How Rupert is going to forget his father ever did those things for him because he is too young." She choked back a sob.
Xander put his arm around her. "Take it easy Willow. Remember what the doctor said." She nodded and leaned against his shoulder.
"Buffy hopes you aren't too upset with her for not coming," Giles said.
"Of course not. How is Joyce?"
"She's responding well to the chemotherapy. Buffy intends on coming back as soon as her mother is a bit stronger. She'd like to call you this weekend."
"That's be nice." The child at her chest stirred. " I think someone needs changing. Giles, you're coming to the house after right?"
"Of course."
"Good." She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. He smoothed the red hair on his namesake's head.
"I'll catch up in a few Wills," Xander said. Willow toted her son towards the facilities. When she was well out of earshot, Xander turned to Giles. "So you heard why it had to be closed casket right?"
Giles cleared his throat, looking first at his shoes and then at Xander. "He was...mutilated?"
"Shot with a silver bullet, skinned," Xander's eyes bored into Giles', "one tooth missing."
The color drained from Giles' lips. "Caine?"
"That's our guy."
"Does Willow know?"
Xander nodded. "It wasn't my shift at the precinct. Some rookie caught her coming out of her office at the University. She was wearing a raincoat so I guess he didn't notice her condition. Anyway, he took her to ID the remains. By the time I heard the news and got there, she was unconscious on the floor of the morgue. She almost lost the baby."
"Good Lord," Giles said, sadly.
"Yeah. Then to top it all off. I got a letter today from Will and Oz's lawyer. It was something Oz wrote to me in case...well in case exactly what happened were to happen." Giles arched an eyebrow in interest. Xander looked slightly away from him, watching for Willow to emerge from the building.
"He said that he'd known Willow and I were meant to be together all along. That it was how he had come to accept what had happened between her and I senior year. He said he'd also known since he found out he was a werewolf that he probably wouldn't have a long life, and he thanked me for letting him have his time with Willow because she was his whole world." Xander turned a little more from Giles' view and tried to nonchalantly wipe away a tear. It did not go unnoticed by the Englishman.
"He asked me to be there for Willow and the kids. And when she was ready, to take his place in their lives," he laughed bitterly, "as if anyone could. He said he was counting on me."
Giles put his arm around Xander's shoulders. They watched Willow appear, walk to the car, and wait for Xander. "There's more...about Caine. It's too much to tell now. See you at the house tonight?"
"I'll be there." He patted Xander's shoulder and the young man moved off to drive Willow home. Giles solemnly watched the gravediggers fill in Oz's final resting-place.
******
Giles finished loading the dishwasher at Willow's house, glancing with a smile into the living room as Xander made Willow stay put in her chair as he attended to the departing guests. After he showed the last guest out, Xander turned to Willow's chair, where she sat, sleeping. He smiled affectionately and covered her with a blanket before moving to the kitchen. Xander motioned for Giles to sit down at the table.
"You said earlier, there was more?"
"Right. The coroner found a blood type other than Oz's on the body. Specifically, in the mouth. Our friend Caine has a record and when I checked the two against each other..."
"They matched."
"They did indeed."
"So Mr. Caine is a werewolf now...or will be come next month's full moon."
"We can use this right?"
"Oh yes," Giles said in a low, dangerous voice Xander had come to identify with Ripper.
"OZ!!!!!!!" Willow screamed and sat up in her chair.
Xander was on his feet in a split second. "Willow! Calm down! I've got you."
Her arms reached out for him. "It's my fault! It's all my fault!" She was flailing wildly, nearly hysterical.
"Stop! Stop! You have to stop!" In desperation to keep her still and out of his own fear for her safety, he embraced her.
Willow clutched desperately at his back, sobbing heavily. "Why didn't I make sure he was secured?! Why didn't I double-check all the locks so he couldn't get out?! Why?! Why?!"
Xander was blinking back tears. "Hold on Wills. I'm going to take you to your room." He pulled back the blanket and his eyes widened in total fear. "GILES!"
Giles, who had been watching the two of them worriedly from the doorway, let his gaze follow Xander's. The lap of Willow's dress was drenched in blood. "My God!" Xander scooped her into his arms. Willow's head lulled listlessly against his shoulder. Xander looked to Giles, on the brink of panic. "Get her to hospital! I'll mind Rupert."
Giles opened the front door and Xander rushed out with her. Giles watched as Xander put her in the passenger seat, ran to get into the driver's side, attached a red flashing light onto the roof of the car and sped away. Giles silently closed the door.
As he turned back into the living room, a pair of wide innocent eyes looked up at him from the hallway. "Rupert?" The little redhead padded slowly over to the chair where Willow had been sleeping. His hand neared the bloodstain as Giles moved to him quickly and pulled it away.
The child calmly looked up to him. "Mommy hurt."
"Your Mum will be fine Love. Come here." He effortlessly picked the boy up. Rupert's arms came around Giles' neck and he leaned his head on his Godfather's shoulder. Giles bent to the discarded blanket on the floor and covered the crimson on the chair. He carried the tot back to his room, lay him on the bed, and sat beside him as he tucked him in. Large green eyes shimmered at him in the near dark.
"Bad man hurt Daddy."
Giles smoothed down Rupert's hair. "I know Love."
"Mommy sad."
"I know Love." Giles looked into the boy's eyes and saw understanding there. These were obviously not just words to him. He knew what he was saying. He seemed to understand the situation beyond his ability to verbalize it. "You know too, don't you?" The boy nodded slowly. "I think maybe you have more of your Mother in you than we thought. Something else we share besides a name." Giles leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. "Go to sleep now." He moved to stand up when a tiny hand reached out for his arm.
"Don't go?"
Giles smiled gently and shrugged out of his jacket. He lay down so that his head rested on the pillows and stretched his arm under Rupert's head. The boy turned against him and hugged to him tightly. Within minutes, both were asleep.
******
Giles awoke in the morning to an incessant ringing noise. He blindly reached out to shut off an alarm that wasn't there. When he realized that was not the culprit, he awakened more fully and recognized it as the phone ringing down the hall. He gently lifted Rupert off of his chest and back onto the pillows, then hurried quietly to the phone.
"Giles?" It was Xander's voice. Gods he sounded tired.
"Yes. Did she lose the baby?"
"No. But they've had to sedate her, and she'll be laid up in bed for the rest of the pregnancy."
"Well, stay as long as you need to. Rupert's in good hands."
The young man let out a long breath. "I know..."
"What is it?"
"I want to kill him. Caine. I want him dead."
"I know. Now isn't the time to discuss that though. Emotions are riding too high."
"Right. And he's probably left the state by now."
"Oh I don't think so. When a werewolf is first created, its instincts tie it to the area in which it was made. It's some sort of leftover pack instinct. That takes a while to wear off, sometimes years. Trust me, our Mr. Caine isn't going far."
"I do trust you it's just...I have to call you back Giles, the Doctor just came in."
"Talk to you soon. Give Willow my love." As he hung up the phone, Giles sat and ran his hands through his hair. Yes, emotions were riding far too high right now. That interfered with creating an effective strategy. Something had to be done about Caine, and soon. Before Buffy came back and could talk him out of what he was thinking. Before Willow could be traumatized anymore by that bastard. Before Xander went off half-cocked and did something silly, something similar to the ideas that were going through his own mind. Yes, something had to be done about Mr. Caine. On the next full moon. And by Rupert Giles, and Rupert Giles alone.
by GylzGirl
Disclaimer: Joss, aah, savior of the universe.
Type: Angst, You're Soaking In It (aka Aww I Need a Hug)
Rating: PG-13
Ship: W/O [W/X mentioned]
Written: Fall 1999
******
Chapter One
Willow stood silently, clutching her sleeping two-year-old son to her body just above the bulge of her pregnancy. Her normally pale skin seemed almost shock white against the black linen dress she wore. The only color to her face was the dark circles under her bloodshot, tearless eyes.
Xander Harris stood by her side in a navy colored suit. Indeed, he had not left her side since she got the news a few days earlier. As the casket began to lower, they made their way to the tall British man standing a few feet away.
Willow smiled up at Giles slightly and leaned her cheek down upon her child's head.
"How are you doing Love?"
"I'm getting through. As best as I can. I'm fine as long as I don't think about how this baby is never going to know her father. How her father will never sing her to sleep, or hold her, or tell her that he loves her. How Rupert is going to forget his father ever did those things for him because he is too young." She choked back a sob.
Xander put his arm around her. "Take it easy Willow. Remember what the doctor said." She nodded and leaned against his shoulder.
"Buffy hopes you aren't too upset with her for not coming," Giles said.
"Of course not. How is Joyce?"
"She's responding well to the chemotherapy. Buffy intends on coming back as soon as her mother is a bit stronger. She'd like to call you this weekend."
"That's be nice." The child at her chest stirred. " I think someone needs changing. Giles, you're coming to the house after right?"
"Of course."
"Good." She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. He smoothed the red hair on his namesake's head.
"I'll catch up in a few Wills," Xander said. Willow toted her son towards the facilities. When she was well out of earshot, Xander turned to Giles. "So you heard why it had to be closed casket right?"
Giles cleared his throat, looking first at his shoes and then at Xander. "He was...mutilated?"
"Shot with a silver bullet, skinned," Xander's eyes bored into Giles', "one tooth missing."
The color drained from Giles' lips. "Caine?"
"That's our guy."
"Does Willow know?"
Xander nodded. "It wasn't my shift at the precinct. Some rookie caught her coming out of her office at the University. She was wearing a raincoat so I guess he didn't notice her condition. Anyway, he took her to ID the remains. By the time I heard the news and got there, she was unconscious on the floor of the morgue. She almost lost the baby."
"Good Lord," Giles said, sadly.
"Yeah. Then to top it all off. I got a letter today from Will and Oz's lawyer. It was something Oz wrote to me in case...well in case exactly what happened were to happen." Giles arched an eyebrow in interest. Xander looked slightly away from him, watching for Willow to emerge from the building.
"He said that he'd known Willow and I were meant to be together all along. That it was how he had come to accept what had happened between her and I senior year. He said he'd also known since he found out he was a werewolf that he probably wouldn't have a long life, and he thanked me for letting him have his time with Willow because she was his whole world." Xander turned a little more from Giles' view and tried to nonchalantly wipe away a tear. It did not go unnoticed by the Englishman.
"He asked me to be there for Willow and the kids. And when she was ready, to take his place in their lives," he laughed bitterly, "as if anyone could. He said he was counting on me."
Giles put his arm around Xander's shoulders. They watched Willow appear, walk to the car, and wait for Xander. "There's more...about Caine. It's too much to tell now. See you at the house tonight?"
"I'll be there." He patted Xander's shoulder and the young man moved off to drive Willow home. Giles solemnly watched the gravediggers fill in Oz's final resting-place.
******
Giles finished loading the dishwasher at Willow's house, glancing with a smile into the living room as Xander made Willow stay put in her chair as he attended to the departing guests. After he showed the last guest out, Xander turned to Willow's chair, where she sat, sleeping. He smiled affectionately and covered her with a blanket before moving to the kitchen. Xander motioned for Giles to sit down at the table.
"You said earlier, there was more?"
"Right. The coroner found a blood type other than Oz's on the body. Specifically, in the mouth. Our friend Caine has a record and when I checked the two against each other..."
"They matched."
"They did indeed."
"So Mr. Caine is a werewolf now...or will be come next month's full moon."
"We can use this right?"
"Oh yes," Giles said in a low, dangerous voice Xander had come to identify with Ripper.
"OZ!!!!!!!" Willow screamed and sat up in her chair.
Xander was on his feet in a split second. "Willow! Calm down! I've got you."
Her arms reached out for him. "It's my fault! It's all my fault!" She was flailing wildly, nearly hysterical.
"Stop! Stop! You have to stop!" In desperation to keep her still and out of his own fear for her safety, he embraced her.
Willow clutched desperately at his back, sobbing heavily. "Why didn't I make sure he was secured?! Why didn't I double-check all the locks so he couldn't get out?! Why?! Why?!"
Xander was blinking back tears. "Hold on Wills. I'm going to take you to your room." He pulled back the blanket and his eyes widened in total fear. "GILES!"
Giles, who had been watching the two of them worriedly from the doorway, let his gaze follow Xander's. The lap of Willow's dress was drenched in blood. "My God!" Xander scooped her into his arms. Willow's head lulled listlessly against his shoulder. Xander looked to Giles, on the brink of panic. "Get her to hospital! I'll mind Rupert."
Giles opened the front door and Xander rushed out with her. Giles watched as Xander put her in the passenger seat, ran to get into the driver's side, attached a red flashing light onto the roof of the car and sped away. Giles silently closed the door.
As he turned back into the living room, a pair of wide innocent eyes looked up at him from the hallway. "Rupert?" The little redhead padded slowly over to the chair where Willow had been sleeping. His hand neared the bloodstain as Giles moved to him quickly and pulled it away.
The child calmly looked up to him. "Mommy hurt."
"Your Mum will be fine Love. Come here." He effortlessly picked the boy up. Rupert's arms came around Giles' neck and he leaned his head on his Godfather's shoulder. Giles bent to the discarded blanket on the floor and covered the crimson on the chair. He carried the tot back to his room, lay him on the bed, and sat beside him as he tucked him in. Large green eyes shimmered at him in the near dark.
"Bad man hurt Daddy."
Giles smoothed down Rupert's hair. "I know Love."
"Mommy sad."
"I know Love." Giles looked into the boy's eyes and saw understanding there. These were obviously not just words to him. He knew what he was saying. He seemed to understand the situation beyond his ability to verbalize it. "You know too, don't you?" The boy nodded slowly. "I think maybe you have more of your Mother in you than we thought. Something else we share besides a name." Giles leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. "Go to sleep now." He moved to stand up when a tiny hand reached out for his arm.
"Don't go?"
Giles smiled gently and shrugged out of his jacket. He lay down so that his head rested on the pillows and stretched his arm under Rupert's head. The boy turned against him and hugged to him tightly. Within minutes, both were asleep.
******
Giles awoke in the morning to an incessant ringing noise. He blindly reached out to shut off an alarm that wasn't there. When he realized that was not the culprit, he awakened more fully and recognized it as the phone ringing down the hall. He gently lifted Rupert off of his chest and back onto the pillows, then hurried quietly to the phone.
"Giles?" It was Xander's voice. Gods he sounded tired.
"Yes. Did she lose the baby?"
"No. But they've had to sedate her, and she'll be laid up in bed for the rest of the pregnancy."
"Well, stay as long as you need to. Rupert's in good hands."
The young man let out a long breath. "I know..."
"What is it?"
"I want to kill him. Caine. I want him dead."
"I know. Now isn't the time to discuss that though. Emotions are riding too high."
"Right. And he's probably left the state by now."
"Oh I don't think so. When a werewolf is first created, its instincts tie it to the area in which it was made. It's some sort of leftover pack instinct. That takes a while to wear off, sometimes years. Trust me, our Mr. Caine isn't going far."
"I do trust you it's just...I have to call you back Giles, the Doctor just came in."
"Talk to you soon. Give Willow my love." As he hung up the phone, Giles sat and ran his hands through his hair. Yes, emotions were riding far too high right now. That interfered with creating an effective strategy. Something had to be done about Caine, and soon. Before Buffy came back and could talk him out of what he was thinking. Before Willow could be traumatized anymore by that bastard. Before Xander went off half-cocked and did something silly, something similar to the ideas that were going through his own mind. Yes, something had to be done about Mr. Caine. On the next full moon. And by Rupert Giles, and Rupert Giles alone.