Slayer's Daughter

Stay

    "What's with the sad faces?" Sarah asks, walking into the library.
    "Giles is leaving," Buffy says.
    "What?"
    "He called to say he's going back to England."
    Sarah runs out of the library into the rain and to her car, driving to Giles' house. She bangs on the front door. He opens it and she stares at him for a moment.
    "Pease don't go."
    "What?"
    "Stay, please. Buffy needs you. I need you."
    "I'm not...going anywhere. Where did you get that idea?"
    "Buffy and Co."
    Giles smiles, "you need me?"
    "Well, yeah. You saved my life."
    "I didn't save your life, I found you."
    "Yeah, but you still saved me."
    "Well, I wouldn't leave right now, Buffy does indeed need me, Dawn is just starting high school, everyone is going off to college. They need me now more than ever."
   "Rupert, can we talk?"
   "About what?"
    "Everything."
    "Well, since you drove all the way over here to tell me you'll miss me," he smirks, "of course."
    "I was wondering if you could tell me about Jenny and what exactly happened there."
    Giles takes a deep breath, "Jenny...had been fighting a lot. She had been possessed and it was, it was my fault. She was sent to watch Buffy and Angel and lied to me about it. But in the end, she made it up to me and tried to fix things with Buffy. She um, she was trying to cure Angelus and he found out about it and snapped her neck and left her in my bed. I went after Angelus but Buffy came and got me."
    "I'm so sorry, that's awful."
    "Yes, well, what happened with uh, Lucus."
    "We were in college together and we started dating. We got engaged and moved in together. One night I heard him scream and I went downstairs and he had two little holes in his neck. I buried him and sure enough, he was a vampire. But when I went to the graveyard he was a Vampire. I was attacked and he killed another Vampire and let me go."
    "He must really love you," he says, glancing sheepishly at her.
    "And I loved him. But sometimes you have to let the people you love go."
    "So, have you let him go?"
    "For the most part, yes."
    "For the most part?"
    "I think he will always have a special place in my heart."
    "As will Jenny."
    Sarah smiles, "I would hope so."
    "What would happen if Buffy..."
    "It's her job, she doesn't know him."
    Thunder crashes and Sarah jumps, grabbing Giles' thigh. He rests a hand on her back and stares into her eyes.
    "Are you okay?" He asks.
    She lets out a shaky breath, "mhm."
    Giles pushes her hair behind her ears, "what's wrong?" She swallows hard, closing her eyes. "Come here, lean on me," he says, pulling her into his chest.
    "I'm sorry Rupert," she whispers.
    "For what?"
    "For...this, for everything."
    "You're shaking."
    "Sorry."
    "You don't need to apologize. What's wrong?"
    "That night my mother died, there was a thunderstorm," she sighs. "It's dumb."
    "It's not, have you considered therapy?"
    "How would I explain what happened?"
    "Good point, maybe I can help you."
    Sarah smiles, "I would love that."