Little Sister

S J Smith

Summary: Everybody's gotta grow up sometime.

Rating: If you watched the TV series....

Disclaimer: I promised Mr. Whedon I'd put his toys back when I was done playing with them.

A.N.: Post Not Fade Away.

A.N. 2: For a2zmom, who wanted more Buffy fic from me.

Everybody remembers the story, right? Girl sleeps with a guy, guy goes evil afterward. Of course, when your sister is the girl sleeping with the guy, it can't be that easy. No, no, her guy went totally evil and Buffy sent him to hell. Really hell. He came back - because of course, Buffy's life is like that - and he got better but no one really trusted him again. Well, except Buffy. And me but, hey, little sister and no one's gonna pay attention to a word I say.

Still.

And because I'm the 'little sister', I'm still kept out of the loop - like that's fair or anything - but I've learned to get around that. Sure, I get to sit in on meetings and things, and train with the Slayers, and even get to do research and all. But when it comes to important things, they forget that I've been through this same hell with them.

Thing is, I'm not the only one they're hiding secrets from. I overheard Giles talking on the telephone - totally innocent, I swear - I was coming down the hall to get a book from him for more research into that Hyleta demon that Willow was trying to reach an agreement with and heard his name.

And Giles was actually talking to him. To Angel. And sounding polite - oh so uber-polite, like Xander would say - which just meant he didn't really want to talk to Angel at all. Which I could understand - Angel did kill Giles' girlfriend and then tortured Giles. Not to mention coming after all of us but...anyway, Giles lied.

Lied right through his teeth.

Will's not on some astral plane.

Buffy's not busy - well, no more busy than she would be, training a hundred or so girls how to fight. But anyone can do that.

And then Giles left the office and didn't notice me in the hall. And I sneaked in and got Angel's number. I love modern technology.

But I didn't call him. I know I should have; especially when I went online and read the reports of what happened in Los Angeles. Dad was there, maybe; and Angel and Cordelia. And that girl, Fred, that Willow had talked about. And Wesley.

And Los Angeles...is just gone.

I haven't told Buffy yet. I'm not sure what to say to her. All I know is that someone needs to say something because it isn't right.

I steel myself and knock on the door, hearing the okay to come in, and close the door behind me.

"Giles, we need to talk."