Part four

Giles placed the crystal gently on the desk next to the box and paused. Something made him turn to the mysterious box and look inside it again. He knew it would still be empty, yet he couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something. Something important.

"What is it?" Joyce frowned, "Do you see something?"

"I'm not sure," He said, reaching into the box, and touching the false bottom, "Of, course! I should have seen it!"

"What?"

The box seemed too shallow for its height. He smiled, reaching for the bottom, "It has a false bottom. Now, all we have to do is remove it, and see what's hiding underneath."

As he pulled on the wooden bottom, he heard a clicking noise, then felt a sharp pain in his palm, as thought a needle pierced his flesh.

"Ouch!" he hissed, pulling his hand quickly away. He looked down at his hand and saw blood dripping from the tiny wound.

"What happened?" Joyce asked. The concern was visible on her face as she craned her neck to inspect the wound, "Are you okay?"

Giles took a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it to the wound, "Y..yes, I'm fine," he said, "It appears that the lock was not the only thing protecting whatever was inside. I believe I sprung a trap," he smiled with a trace of embarrassment, "Either that, or the box bit me."

"Let me see that," Joyce moved closer to him, her maternal instincts were in full swing. Buffy may know how to slay, and Giles may know how to...well, whatever it is he does, but she knew how to fix boo boos. She chuckled at that thought...Joyce Summers, the boo boo Slayer. "You need to wash that out before it becomes infected. Do you have any iodine?"

"It's not that bad, r..really," Giles assured her, "It's just a scratch, barely pierced the skin."

"Still, you should clean that out," she insisted, "I mean you don't know what germs could be on that old thing...."

Giles stopped. What indeed was on that small piece of metal?

"Y...you're right," he said, moving quickly to the kitchen sink, "I really should clean it well." He turned on the water and began to scrub out the wound feverishly. This is just a precaution, he kept telling himself as he continued to scrub. There is nothing wrong here. Nothing strange about a trapped box with mysterious writings, delivered to the mother of the Slayer, who happens to live on the Hellmouth.

Nothing wrong at all.

"Mr. Giles," Joyce called after him, "is everything all right in there? Your water is boiling. Do you need help?"

"I..I'm fine," he said, turning off the water, and reaching for the pot of tea. But the moment he picked the boiling kettle up off the stove, he knew he was not fine.

Something was very wrong.

Giles blinked several times, trying to regain the focus that he was rapidly losing. The room had begun to spin out of control, threatening to take him along for the ride. He tried to replace the kettle back on the stove, but missed, dropping it onto the kitchen floor. Its contents spilled out, creating a swirl of liquid that spread outward to infinity.

Joyce heard the crash and raced into the kitchen, "Are you all right?" she asked. Then seeing the Watcher stumble into the counter, she added with great concern, "I would take that as a no."

She helped him into the living room and sat him down on the couch. He looked horrible. The color had vanished from his face, and yet he was hot to the touch. She loosened his tie and looked into his hazel eyes, "Mister Giles, can you hear me? What's going on?"

"The b...box," he struggled to say, "P...poison. C...call....Buffy."

Picking up the phone she said, "I'm calling an ambulance first. You just hang in there, Mister Giles. Mister Giles? Rupert!?"

But Rupert Giles didn't hear her. He had all ready slipped into the dark abyss.

******

"This movie's a riot!" Xander laughed, " 'We're watching now sir.'" he mimicked the character on the television screen.

"Yeah," Scott agreed, "I must have seen it a hundred times. And it keeps getting funnier each time."

Buffy tilted her head at the screen and shrugged, "To each his own. Any one for refills?" She said collecting the glasses.

"Let me help," Willow offered.

"Oh great," Cordelia said, crossing her arms, "You two are going to leave me with the 'Wonder Twins'. Thanks."

"I have all the confidence in you," Buffy said with a grin, "Besides, if they give you any trouble, Faith can keep them in line."

"What, her," she said, pointing to the Slayer who was rolling on the floor with laughter, "She's not any better!"

Once in the kitchen, the two friends put the empty cups down on the counter. Buffy went into the refrigerator and took out an open bottle of soda and began to refill them. For the first time since Willow could remember, her best friend looked happy.

"This is nice." Willow said, taking out two bags of chips. "Just a bunch of friends doing normal friend things. And no, fighting-off- nasty-demon things. That's always a plus."

"Yeah, a normal night," Buffy said with a sly grin, "Scary, huh?"

Buffy looked at her friend. She knew Willow well enough to know when she wanted to ask her something. And right know, she had that, "I-really-want-to-ask-you-something-but-I'm-not-sure-how." look on her face.

"Okay," Buffy asked, "What's the sitch? You have that look."

"Look, what look?" Willow said innocently.

"That, I-want-to-ask-you-something look."

"Oh, that look," Willow hemmed, "Well, I was just wondering...you and Scott seem really happy lately...and...well...have you...you know..."

"Jeez, Will," Buffy said with mock exasperation, "What is going through your smutty mind? Oz must really be a good influence on you...or a dangerous one."

"Oh, no...it's not that at all," she replied nervously, "It's just...I'm just curious that's all. You being really happy and all...after everything that's happened..."

"Relax, Will. It's no biggie. And, no...we didn't...you know. We're just friends." She saw Willow's expression and added, "Well okay, we're a little more than 'just friends'. But," she quickly qualified, "We're not sleeping together. I don't think I'm ready for that yet. Not after..."

She trailed off, and looked down at the filled glasses. They both knew who she was speaking of, but neither went any further. Angel was a subject that was still a sore spot with the Slayer and her friends. Besides...he was gone now, and she had moved on. Or, so she kept telling herself.

"Scott's really nice," Willow said, trying to change the subject, "and he likes you a lot."

"Yeah," Buffy agreed, "it's nice to be dating a normal guy," she stopped, hearing the hysterical laughter coming from the living room, and added, "Well, almost normal."

"Hey," Xander's voice carried through the walls, "are you guys getting the drinks or what?"

"Coming," Buffy called back. Then grabbing the tray of filled glasses, she said to Willow, "Let's bring our 'normal' friends their drinks before they turn into raging, hideous creatures from hell."

"Gee, you just described Cordelia."

The movie was over when they brought out the drinks, but Scott had quickly put another tape into the machine. Another two hours of crazy fun, Buffy thought, placing the drinks down onto the coffee table.

"You guys are gonna love this movie," Scott said, taking a sip of his soda, "It's a classic...and fitting for the holiday."

"I thought we weren't going to watch horror," Cordelia sighed.

"We're not," Xander defended, "It's more Mel Brooks."

"Young Frankenstein," Scott added.

"A real classic," Xander said proudly.

"Oh, god," Cordelia groaned.

Buffy had managed to watch about ten minutes of the movie, before the phone rang. Disappointed, she got up to answer it. She had actually liked this movie, remembering watching it with her dad when she was a kid. Well, at least there was always the rewind button.

"Be right back," she told her friends.

"Want me to pause it?" Scott suggested.

"Nah," she said, "I've seen this movie a hundred times. It doesn't get really good for a little while, I won't miss too much."

Willow watched her friend go to the phone, wondering who it could be. Was it Oz, telling her he couldn't make it? Was it Giles, with the answer to the strange box? Was it...

"Oh my god!" Buffy said in shock, "What happened? When? I'll be right there."

"Buffy what's wrong?" She asked her friend, as Buffy hung up the phone.

"It's Giles," she said absently, "He's in the hospital. Something about being poisoned. My mom's down there now. We've got to go."

"Poisoned?!" Xander said leaping to his feet, "Is he okay? How'd it happen?"

"I don't know," Buffy answered, getting her keys, "Mom didn't say...just that he's in the hospital."

Scott stopped the tape and took it out of the VCR, "I know how close you are to Mister Giles, do you want me to come along?"

"Oh, Scott," Buffy said, shaking her head, "You and I can't seem to get a break, can we? No, it's okay; I'll be fine. It's probably nothing, really. I'll call you as soon as I find out anything, okay? I'm sorry."

"That's okay," Scott said, kissing her, "Don't be sorry. Give me a call as soon as you know. I hope Mister Giles is okay."

"So do I."

******

Buffy and the gang arrived at the hospital and raced through the halls to the emergency room. This can't be happening, she thought, as they looked for anyone who might know what was going on. This just can't be happening!

Buffy looked around and saw her mother sitting in one of the chairs, looking haggard. She looked as though...

"Mom?" she asked, trying to hide the fear in her voice, "What happened? Where's Giles?"

"Oh Buffy," Joyce said, hugging her daughter, "I didn't know what to do. One minute he was fine...looking at the box. The next...god, he looked so pale. The doctor's in there right now with him. I don't know anything else...they haven't said anything."

"The box, Mom," Buffy asked slowly, as though she was speaking to a child, "where is it now?"

"I don't know," she answered, shaking her head, "The police have it. I think they are testing it for poison. Who would do something like that to him?"

"It wasn't for Giles," Xander said, giving voice to Buffy's thoughts.

"The package was marked for 'Ms. Summers'," Buffy added.

"Then it could have been for...me?" Joyce said, sitting back down.

"Or, more likely...me," Buffy said, hoping it would relieve her mother's concerns, but knowing it probably would not.

"This is insane!" Joyce said angrily, "I can understand you going out and killing vampires...and what ever else you do...I'm learning to accept that. But this?!? Poison sent in strange boxes. What's going on?"

"Um, Mom," Buffy whispered, "The whole point of keeping being a Slayer a secret, is not to have the entire world know."

"You may not want to say it that loud," Willow said. Then turning to Buffy she added, "I'm gonna call Oz."

"Mrs. Summers?" The doctor said to Joyce, "I'm Doctor Wilson. Where you the one who brought him in?"

"Y..yes. I was with him when this happened. Is he going to be okay?"

"Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," he looked at Buffy and her friends and asked, "Are they with you?"

"Yes," she answered motioning to Buffy, "this is my daughter Buffy, and these are her friends. They are very close to Mister Giles. What ever you need to discuss with me, you can do so in front of them."

"We've admitted him to ICU" he said gravely, "The problem we are having is that if he was poisoned...it's nothing we've ever encountered before. On a first glance I would say he had a very bad case of the flu, with a fever of about 102. But that is not the worst of it." He waited to see their reactions before going on, "He's going through periods where the fever spikes to about 105."

"That's not good," Xander said.

"No, it isn't," Dr. Wilson agreed, "If it continues to spike uncontrollably, it will end up causing quite a bit of damage to his brain, and he could die."

"Isn't there something you can give him to lower the fever?" Cordelia asked, "My mom used to make me take aspirin when I was sick."

"We've tried. He's not responding to the medication we are giving him to reduce the fever."

"And a poison did that?" Faith said, folding her arms.

"We'll only know that after we do more tests," He looked at Faith solemnly.

"He could die before that," Buffy said in near panic, "What about the box? Why don't you check the box?!"

"The police are looking into that, young lady," the doctor said, flipping through his clip board, "Right now the best thing for you to do is wait and see. We'll do everything we can to help him..."

"That's not good enough!"

"Buffy," Joyce said gently yet firmly, "You heard him. They're doing the best they can. Let them do their jobs. I'm sure they will do everything humanly possible to save Mr. Giles life."

"Yeah," she replied, eyeing the doctor, "I'm sure they will," Then turning to him, she asked, "Can we go to see him?"

"He's pretty out of it, so I wouldn't recommend all of you visiting at once," Dr. Wilson said, "But, one at a time will be all right. Though, I doubt he'll know you're there..."

"Can you give us a prognosis?" Joyce asked the question, none of them wanted to.

"It's too early to tell," he said truthfully, "Plus, we don't know what is causing this yet...but," he sighed, "I would seriously think about contacting any family he has. Do you know if he has any?"

******

That was a good question, Buffy thought, as she slowly walked to Giles' room. Her Watcher had kept so much of his life a secret that she had no idea if he had any relatives back in England. Oh, he occasionally spoke of his grandmother and father, both of whom were Watchers, but never in the present tense. Were they still alive? Did he have brothers or sisters? And why did he never speak of his mother?

All of those questions ran through her mind as she opened the door, and looked into the hospital room where Rupert Giles lay. She couldn't believe this was the same man whom she had trained with those countless days in the library. His usually tall frame seemed so small and frail under the sterile sheets of the bed. His hair was matted down from the perspiration caused by the fever, and yet he looked so pale, as though all of the life was slowly draining from him.

Who was she kidding...it was.

She walked over to the bed, picked up his hand in hers, and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead. Buffy watched his chest rise and fall erratically, as though even breathing was a task too great for the Watcher. His lips moved, as he muttered something in his delirium. She wasn't sure what he was saying, but she somehow knew he wasn't having pleasant dreams.

This was the Hellmouth...there seldom ever pleasant dreams.

Buffy placed his hand back down on his chest and looked at him sadly, "Don't worry," she said to him, hoping he could hear her, "I'm going to find out who did this to you...and I'm going to kill him!"

******

Outside in the lounge, the rest of the gang waited anxiously as Buffy left the room to join them. Xander could see the look of worry on his friend's face, as well as something else...determination.

"So," he asked Buffy, "how is he?"

"Bad," she said plainly. Then switching to a professional mode she said, "Xander, I want you and Cordelia to try and get that box back from the police. Something tells me they aren't gonna be much help. Willow...I want you and Oz to go through Giles' books and try to find anything on strange boxes and mysterious poisons. Faith and I are going patrolling. If this thing was really meant for me...then whoever did this might come after us...I hope."

"I could also look up the sender of the package from the UPS files," Willow suggested.

"Good idea, Will," Buffy agreed, "As soon as Oz shows up, fill him in and head out to the library."

"One problem with this brilliant plan of yours, Buff," Xander said, "Just how are Cordelia and I going to steal the box from the police station? I know they're not exactly swift over there, but they're not completely stupid."

Before Buffy could answer, Cordelia said with a smile, "Don't worry, I have a plan." All eyes turned to her, "What, I can't have plans?"

"Not ones that work," Xander replied.

"Yeah, well," she said indignantly, "this one will work!"

"Okay," Buffy said, "We all know what we have to do. We'll meet back at the library in four hours..."

"Buffy," Joyce asked her daughter, "I want to help. What can I do?"

Buffy had almost forgotten about her mother as she planned for battle. She appreciated her mother's interest in the slaying aspect of her life, but sometimes wished she had never found out. It was hard enough worrying about her friends, who risk themselves every day for her, but she didn't want to worry about Mom.

Yet, she couldn't just dismiss her...again...

"Mom," she said, "can you stay here with Giles? I'd feel better if he weren't alone. Besides, maybe you could find out about his family?"

"Yes," Joyce said, trying to comfort her distraught child, "I can do that. And Buffy?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful."

Buffy stopped, turned to Joyce and said the only thing she could... "I will, Mom. I will."