Part six

“I’m glad you still recognize me after all this time,” Angel said, standing up and hovering over Giles.

The Watcher shook his head, as though that might make the vision go away, “It cant be...it’s only been a few months.”

“For you maybe. But for me...” he snarled, “it’s been longer than that. Much longer!”

“B...Buffy, sent you to Hell,” Giles stammered, “H...how d...did you escape?”

Angel sat down on the bed, beside Giles and smiled, “Well you see, that’s the funny thing about dreams...they seem so damn real, don’t they?” He reached down and ripped the IV catheter out of Giles arm, and added, “They even feel real too.”

Giles bit back the urge to cry out. The pain in his arm felt so real. Part of his mind recognized this as a hallucination brought about by the fever, but at the same time, he couldn’t shake the idea that this was somehow more than just a dream. He was too afraid for it not to be.

“W...what do y...you want?” Giles asked, fearing he already knew the answer.

“Why Rupert haven’t you figured it out yet,” Angel said, tightening the restraints on Giles’ arms, “I’m here to finish what I started. I mean, I don’t want to be known as a quitter...do I?”

Angel took several metal instruments from the small cart in the room, and moved toward him. The nightmare that he had tried so hard to forget came flooding back, along with the searing pain, he could never forget.

And with that...Giles screamed.

******

“Doctor, doctor!” Joyce yelled in panic, “Somebody please I need help!”

She watched helplessly as Giles thrashed about in the bed. She tried to hold him still, but even the restraints that the orderly had placed on him to prevent him from hurting himself, were threatening to give way.

“What happened?” one of the nurses asked her, as they ushered Joyce out of their way.

“He was mumbling something about Angel and Hell, and then he cried out. I think he’s having a nightmare.”

The nurse who was talking to her motioned for another to call the Doctor, while several orderlies prepared an ice bath. “It’s the fever,” she explained to Joyce, “They’re not nightmares, they’re hallucinations. His fever has spiked to 105.2. If we don’t get it down fast, it could cause brain damage, and kill him. Please, just stand back over here and we’ll take care of him.”

“No....no!” Giles screamed, waving his arms wildly the moment the restraints were loosened, “P...please stop...stop.”

As soon as the bath was ready, the head orderly gave the command, as he put his strong arms under Giles’ back, “On the count of three...”

“Geeze this guy’s strong,” another orderly grunted, trying to get a good grip of the Watcher.

“The gates of Hell is closed,” Giles said through cloudy eyes, “You shouldn’t be here. Acathla is no more!”

The orderlies looked at each other with puzzled expressions, “Who the hell is Acathla? What’s this guy raving about?”

The nurse shook her head and replied, “Does it really matter now, guys? Let’s get him into the bath, before we loose him. And where the hell is Doctor Wilson?!”

Joyce watched as the three big men lifted Giles’ struggling form and place him into the ice water. She had seen people sick before, but never like this. Even when Buffy had the flu and was rushed to the hospital, she didn’t feel this completely useless. She wanted to help, to do something...but all she could do was watch...and hope that wherever Giles was in his mind, the nightmare would soon end...

******

“Do you want it to end, Rupert?” Angel said with a wicked grin, “Do you want the pain to stop?” He paused for a moment and considered what he had just said, “Wow, deja vou. Didn’t I say that to you once before? Oh, yes, the last time we were together, as I recall. You were so defiant, I almost thought I would never get the information from you...although I did have a blast trying. But still, if it wasn’t for Dru pretending to be your long lost love, I would never have freed Acathla. Of course I would never have been sent to hell either. But hey, it was a good plan anyway.”

Giles looked weakly at him and said, “That’s your problem, you’re incapable of doing anything on your own. You look for the easy way...out. Typical.”

“Excuse me? What are you talking about?” Angel said with mild annoyance.

Giles mind raced. He knew that what ever he said next would either mean his freedom or his death. He had to choose is words well...

“You needed Drucilla to get the information that you were incapable of getting, and even now...you have me tied here where I have no sporting chance. You’re faster and stronger than me...what are you afraid of?”

“Oh, I get it,” Angel said menacingly, “This is the part in which I fall for you lame attempt to use my pride to get you free. Sorry Rupert, reverse psychology doesn’t work well on me.”

“Then how about bashing your head in?” A voice from behind said.

Giles heard the thumping of a blunt object on the skull, then saw Angel sink to the ground unconscious. Standing there with a crow bar in hand, and a smile on her face was...

“Jenny!”

“Hi England,” she said, throwing the metal bar to the floor and loosening the straps that bound the Watcher to his bed, “So, you want to get out of here, or do you want to go a few more rounds with Angel? I’m sure he won’t mind when he comes to.”

“I think a quick escape would be preferred,” he said, slowly getting out of bed. The pain was tremendous, but he knew that if he didn’t get out before Angel woke up, it would be much worse.

Jenny saw that Giles was having a difficult time getting up, so she went over and put her arm around his, gently helping him rise to his feet.

God, it felt so good to be in her arms again, he thought, as the two of them made their way out of the hospital room. Even if it was only a dream, and a nightmare at that, this was a moment he never wanted to end.

Giles looked around the hallway and noticed it strangely empty for a busy hospital. Of course, being a dream, strangeness was to be expected. But still, it didn't make him feel any more comfortable knowing that. He looked at Jenny, who was trying to find a place to hide, and sighed. She looked as beautiful as the day they met. It was as though the past year had never happened.

But the memory of Angel torturing him, still fresh in his mind, was a constant reminder of how wrong that really was.

They made their way to the elevator, and Jenny pressed the button. Soon they would be out of the hospital and in the safety of...of what? He thought. Where could they possibly hide from a dream demon? And how can they fight him?

"Rupert in here," Jenny beckoned to him, pulling him into the elevator, "We have to get to the basement. It's our only escape."

"The basement?" Giles looked at her puzzled, "What's down there?"

"You'll see." She assured him.

They were silent through the ride. Giles was still shocked to see her, and wasn't sure what to say. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her, and how sorry he was that he couldn't save her. But every time he tried, something made him stop. He just couldn't bring himself to say anything.

When the doors open, Giles was struck by how cold it was. The temperature was almost biting. As they stepped out and began to wade through ice cold water that pooled around their ankles, Giles couldn't stop shivering. He looked around at his surroundings trying to make sense of the images that began to melt together.

“Wha...what’s ha...happening?” He shivered, rubbing his arms to try to get warm.

“You have to escape,” Jenny said, touching his arm gently, “You must wake up. You have to fight it.”

“F...fight w...what? Angel? I d...don’t know h...how. G...god I’m s...so c...cold.”

Jenny led him down the corridor, “They are trying to save your life. Help them. Wake up.” She said, pulling him close to her.

“B...but, I don’t w...want to leave y...you,” He said, trying to hold on to her image, as it slowly faded. “Jenny!” He cried, as she kissed him firmly on his lips. He could feel the warmth of her full lips, and taste the salty, sweet flavor that he had become accustomed to. Then, he felt something unexpected...her breath mixing with his, filling his lungs with her essence...

******

“He’s back with us,” The nurse sighed with relief, putting the thermometer back into her pocket, “101. Not the greatest, but after that episode, I’ll take it.”

The orderlies lifted Giles out of the ice bath and helped dry him off. He was still hot to the touch, but the danger had passed...at least for now. As soon as he was back in bed, and the nurse put the IV in his arm, Joyce was allowed to return to his side.

She sat down and put her hand on his. He was still unconscious, but at least he wasn’t trapped in the grip of that horrible nightmare. She wondered what could have possibly happened to him to cause such terrible dreams.

She knew that last summer, right before Buffy ran away, Giles was kidnapped by her daughter’s ex-boyfriend, Angel. She also remembered that blonde haired boy...what was his name?...telling Buffy that Angel was probably torturing Giles. She wished she could remember more, but she was so confused by the events that she couldn’t remember what was said after that.

Could he have dreaming about that?

God, she wished she could do something to help!

“Keep fighting Rupert,” she said, patting his hand, hoping her words would reach him, “Buffy needs you to.”

******

Cordelia wondered why she was risking getting into trouble for some stupid box. Then again, when it came down to Buffy and her friends, she often wondered about a lot of things. But, she reminded herself for the tenth time, this was for Giles...and more importantly...for Xander.

So, Cordelia Chase, took a deep breath, opened the door to the evidence room...and hoped for the best...

“Can I help you miss?” The clerk asked, eyeing her from head to toe.

The man must have been in his late forties...because he looked even older than Giles. He was well on his way to becoming a spokesperson for Hair Club For Men, and the uniform he was wearing was about two sizes too small. Either that, or his gut was two sizes too large. But no matter how much she wanted to run, she knew she had to go through with it.

“Um...well...yes you can,” Cordelia stumbled over her words, trying hard not to sound nervous, “When Kerri was showing me around, I think I lost a contact lens back there. It’s stupid of me really. I mean I should have just gotten the disposable ones, but I didn’t, and now...if I don’t find it, my parents are going to kill me,” She stepped forward and batted her eye lashes, “Please help me out.”

“Where’s Officer Stanton?” he asked, still undressing her with his eyes.

“Oh, he had to talk to someone,” she lied, “It looked kinda important, and I didn’t want to bother him. Besides,” she said, inching her way closer to the clerk, “I just knew you were the one to ask for help. You...you seem so...capable.”

Deep inside, Cordelia cringed. The last thing she wanted, was to be known as another Mata Hari, but if using her feminine appeal got her the box...then put her on trial and call her a spy, ‘cause that’s just what she was going to do. And, oh...will Xander pay her back for this one!

The clerk looked at her for a moment and weighed his options. He knew he probably should have called someone, to verify what she had told him, but...damn, if she didn’t look hot! And besides, he reasoned, she’s only a kid. What harm could she do?

“Well,” he said at last, “I suppose I could look for a few minutes with you,” he got up and opened the fenced gate, “Now,” he said, wrapping his arms around Cordelia, “where did you say you lost it again?”

******

“Trick or treat!” Buffy heard some children shout.

Her and Faith had been patrolling for the better part of the evening, and the only monsters they saw where of the imagined kind. Witches, gouls, zombies and ghosts paraded up and down the streets, looking for the candy that would satisfy their un-earthly needs...

Sugar highs...gotta love ‘em.

“I remember when I was little, my Mom used to take me out on Halloween for the annual candy hunt,” Buffy explained to Faith, as they both side stepped a heard of Barneys, “Every year I would dress up as a princess, and every year I would come home with piles of candy...in which...my Mom and Dad would eat most of it. You know...they had to test it out, to make sure it wasn’t poisoned, or so they kept telling me.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Faith replied simply.

“You never dressed up for Halloween?”

“Nah,” she said, kicking a stone, “my mom wasn’t into all that play pretend.”

“Yeah, now that I think about it, it does seem kinda silly,” Buffy agreed, “I mean, after fighting the real things every day, who would want to dress up as one? But still...it was fun...at least when I was a kid.”

Faith nodded and the two girls continued to walk down the busy street. After a few minutes of silence, Faith finally asked, “So, you were a princess?”

“Yeah,” Buffy said, “What little girl didn’t want to be?”

“Me.” Faith said, stopping and looking down at the ground, “I always wanted to dress up as Wonder Woman.”

“Really?” Buffy chuckled, “I could just picture you in the red, white and blue tights and the gold bangles...” Then seeing the annoyed expression on her friend’s face she quickly added, “Which would have looked great on you.”

“Yeah, well...I try not to think of the would have’s.”

“Hey, I just thought of something,” Buffy said, stopping and looking directly at Faith, “Being a Slayer...I guess you got your wish. You are Wonder Woman.”

At that, Faith smiled, “Yeah, except for the tights...”

“...and the bangles...”

“...and the invisible plane.”

“The invisible plane,” Buffy agreed, “Now that was the way to travel. You could park anywhere you wanted and wouldn’t get a ticket. What a cop can’t see...he can’t ticket.”

“Speaking of cops,” Faith asked, “I wonder how Xander and Cordelia are making out with the box?”

******

“Are you sure you lost it in here?” The clerk asked Cordelia, as he rummaged around the floor.

“Positive,” She replied, slowly inching her way to the shelf that housed her prize. The box wasn’t big, in fact, it would fit quite neatly in her over sized pocket book. Her only problem was to divert the police officer’s eyes from her legs, long enough for her to snatch it. “I think it might be over there,” She pointed to a spot in the far left corner.

As he swept his hand across the floor, Cordelia took the opportunity of the moment’s distraction, to whisk the box into her purse. “I don’t see it here,” he sighed, not noticing the hurried movement of her hand, as it swung out of her purse.

“Oh, gosh,” she said, giving the appearance of embarrassment, “It was in my purse all the time. It must have fallen out into it,” She made a quick motion with her finger to her eye, “There,” she smiled, “I can see again. Thank you so much officer! You’ve been a big help...really!”

“But I didn’t find anyth...”

“But you tried,” Cordelia batted her eye lashes, “And that’s all that matters.”

The clerk gave her a confused smile and led her to the door. Her purse had seemed a bit bulkier since she came in, but he chalked that up to her being a teen age girl. They seemed to be able to fit their whole life in one single pocket book, he figured. As she left the room, he watched her walk. God, if he were only ten years younger...and not married...

“Hey Cordy,” Kerri puffed, “I hope you weren’t waiting too long.”

“No, I managed to keep myself occupied. Did you find the case?”

The young man shook his head, “No, I didn’t. And we combed the entire room. Are you sure you lost it?” He said, looking at her purse, “Maybe you should check your purse again?”

“No...no,” she said quickly, “I did...um...twice. Oh well, don’t worry about it, I can get another one.”

“But, I thought you said it was very old, and had sentimental value?”

Cordelia swung the purse to her other arm and took Kerri’s hand in her’s, “Well, yeah...it does. But I can ask my grandmother to give me another one. I am after all, her favorite Grandchild.” Then adding, “Besides, if you find it...you know where to reach me. I’m sure that my Mom would love to have you over for dinner sometime.”

“Really?” he said, glowing with excitement, “That would be great! Wow! Dinner at your house...sure I’d love to!”

“Um yeah,” Cordelia sighed, wishing she had not said that, “I’ll talk to my mom. But first, you have to escort me home.”

Kerri smiled triumphantly as the two exited the Police station, “To drive you home, Cordelia, would be my pleasure."

“I’m sure it is,” she sighed under her breath.

“Say,” he said, as they passed hordes of sugar driven kiddies, “I don’t mean to pry, but what do you keep in that thing?”

Cordelia moved his arm from her waist to her shoulder, away from her bulging purse, and said, “You wouldn’t understand...it’s a girl thing.”

“Oh,” he replied, opening the car door for her, and helping her in.

Cordelia looked back at the ever receding view of the station and smiled. For once in her life, a plan of her’s was going to work. And God, if success didn’t taste ever so sweet?

******

By the time Cordelia made it back to the Library, the rest of the Gang was already there. She was so thrilled with her success that she didn’t noticed the grave looks on her friend’s faces.

“You wouldn’t believe what I had to go through to get this thing!” she sighed, pulling out the small box from her purse, and placing it down on the table. Then turning to Xander she added, “You owe me big time. A debt that I’ll expect you to repay in full...later...in private...” She stopped and noticed for the first time, her compatriots. “Hello?” she said, “I thought everyone would be thrilled that I managed to get the box. And not even a ‘Thank you Cordelia’? Well, that’s gratitude. I mean...”

Willow was glued to the computer screen, the rings under her eyes made it evident that she had been staring at the monitor for far too long, “My eyes hurt. Who ever had this delivered covered his tracks well. It was bounced back and forth to at least a dozen places. It’s gonna take me a while to find it.”

“Keep trying Will,” Buffy said, looking just as haggard. She then turned to Cordelia, who was now in full indignant mode, “Cordelia, hi. That’s the box? You did great.”

“Well, try not to be over enthused,” Cordelia sniped, “You might break a blood vessel.”

“Cordy,” Xander said, trying to soothe his girlfriend, “we just got word from Buffy’s Mom...Giles is getting worse. And we are no close to finding out who did this than we were before. It’s just a little frustrating.”

“At least with the box, it’s a step in the right direction,” Buffy added, picking up the box that had caused all of their problems, “You really did great. Now if we can figure out who sent it and what these writings mean...that would be even better...”

“Ah ha!” Willow shouted, regaining her enthusiasm, “Or should I say, eureka! He was good...but not that good.”

“Who Will?” Buffy asked, “You know who sent it?”

Willow smiled with great satisfaction, “Yes I do. And you’ll never guess who...”

******

Doctor Wilson paced the room nervously. He had been kept waiting for the better part of the hour and had begun to wish he never came at all. “This is for Emily,” he thought to himself, “This is all for her. And God will damn me for it!”

The fireplace had given the room a cozy atmosphere, which was something Wilson found very disturbing. On the outside appearance, one would think he was dealing with a gentleman of good tastes...instead of the monster he truly was. But, you didn’t have to scratch far below the surface to see that. God, why couldn’t he have just been strong enough to said no! Why did he ever agree to work for Mister Trick!

Then, he reached into his pocket and found the answer he sought for. He took out the picture of his daughter, Emily, and choked back a tear. How could he not work for this monster if it meant saving his little girl’s life? Emily’s life for the life of some other girl. The Slayer, Trick called her. Kill her, and everything will be like it was. And all it would cost him was his soul. But now, everything was going to hell. An innocent man was going to die, and it was all his fault.

All he wanted was to take Emily into his arms and run away...far away. But first, he had to finish the deal with this devil.

“So,” Trick said, entering the room, “How did it go? I’m sorry if I kept you waiting, but I had some business to take care off.”

Some how, the thought of a demon having business made Wilson want to laugh. But that was an emotion he was wise to keep to himself. “It didn’t work,” he explained, trying to keep his composure, “The Slayer didn’t open the box.”

“It was addressed to her, wasn’t it?” Trick eyed him suspiciously, circling him as though he were prey.

“Y...yes it was,” Wilson shuddered, all too aware of the precarious situation he was in, “But she didn’t open it. Some school Librarian did.”

“Mr. Rupert Giles,” Trick said.

“Y...yes, but h...how did you kn....”

“He’s her Watcher,” Trick said, walking away from him and sitting in his favorite high back chair, “Mmmm, not exactly the result I wanted...but not too bad either. Take away the Watcher, and you take away her confidence,” He paused and picked up the poker for the fire, “Is he dead yet?”

“N...no, not yet,” Wilson felt himself beginning to babble, yet was unable to stop, “It’s pretty remarkable, actually. The poison was designed, as you requested, to take out some one with higher resistance...some one like this Slayer. It should have killed him instantly...it didn’t.”

“Well,” Trick said, taking the hot poker out of the flames and pointing it at the Doctor, “maybe you didn’t do as good a job as you thought,” He waved the poker closer to Wilson’s face and sneered, “Perhaps, I should motivate you even further...”

“N...no...p...please!” Wilson pleaded, backing away, “I swear, I didn’t cheat you! I would never do anything to jeopardize our agreement. Please...in twenty four hours he will be dead, and I can still make more of the poison. Please let me try.”

Trick considered what the Doctor said, and lowered the poker. With a Watcher-less Slayer, this could make the hunt all the more enjoyable. Perhaps the idiot doctor did him a favor. He hadn’t hunted in a long time, and he could always use the exercise.

“All right,” he said at last, “one more chance. But, this time...don’t fail me!”

“I won’t I swear,” he said, quickly leaving the room.

“Oh, I know you won’t,” Trick said, opening a panel behind the bookcase, to reveal a terrified little girl...still in her night gown, “You wouldn’t dare risk such a precious young thing.”