Current mood:	nervous
Entry tags:	fic type: gen, fic type: stand alone, giles only, rating: pg/frt, z_creator: cmk418

FIC: ME PROTECTING HER (Giles & Dawn, FRT) by cmk418
Title: Me Protecting Her
Pairing: Giles & Dawn (gen)
Rating: FRT
Disclaimer: These are Joss' creations, also belonging to ME & Fox.
Summary: Dawn dreams of Buffy jumping into the portal and wants to keep her sister safe
Notes: Today's my day! I thought I'd post a few pieces involving Giles and a few folks he's not normally paired with. This is set in England, post-Chosen (no comics references) with a smattering of Joss' dialogue from "The Gift" included. Hope you enjoy!




“Buffy, no.”

“Dawnie, I have to.”

“No.”

“Listen to me. Please. There’s not a lot of time. Listen. Dawn, listen to me. Listen, I love you. I will always love you. This is the work I have to do. Tell Giles that-“

Dawn woke up with a start. She was at Council Headquarters. Buffy had the room across the hall and was safe. They all were. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the dreams were more than nightmares.

She crawled out of bed, not wanting to close her eyes again for fear the dream would return. Watching Buffy dive from the tower was bad enough the first time. She didn’t want to see that – or anything like it - ever again.

She padded down the stairs to the library. She could spend an hour or two surfing the internet and then go back to bed.

There were a few lights on in the room. She glanced around, spotting the “Best Watcher Ever” coffee mug on the desk in the corner. “Giles?”

Giles’ voice came from the stacks. “Is everything all right? Is Buffy-?”

“She’s fine. I think.”

Giles walked back to the desk. “You’re not usually up this late.”

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Would you like a cup of tea?” He motioned with his own before taking a sip.

“No thanks. I’m just down here to check my e-mail and maybe download a little internet porn.” She gave Giles a grin to let him know she was joking.

“I’m sure you’ve discovered the firewalls on the computer.”

“And I’m sure you’ve realized I can get past them.”

“Dawn, those safeguards are put up for your protection.”

“And when the evil beings featured on Hot Military Guys dot-com start attacking, I’ll be the first line of defense.”

“I’ll remember that.”

Dawn sat on top of the desk, facing Giles. This was the perfect opportunity to plead her case. It was late. He was on the verge of sleep and there was probably more than tea in that mug. Don’t tip your hand too early, Dawn. “About that... Giles, with this many Slayers, how exactly do you choose who to send out for action?”

“Well, when the military storms the front door, I’m sure we’ll have a plan.”

“No, no, in regular circumstances.”

“Several factors. A girl’s training, her strengths, her weaknesses, her experience. Those are the obvious ones. There are other factors that come into play as well.”

“Like what?”

“Distraction – a Slayer needs to be focused. Anger – a little is good, but if a Slayer, how can I put this...?”

“Gets off on the violence...”

“Quite right. It can create problems. Overkill. A failure to cover one’s partner because one is so swept up in the moment.”

“Sounds like Faith.”

“I know you don’t trust Faith. But she’s changed. She’s doing wonderful work in Cleveland.”

“She could be doing wonderful work here.”

“I offered. She thought she could do more good in the States especially with Buffy being the senior Slayer here on campus. Now, where were we?”

Time for the million dollar question. “Why do you let Buffy continue patrolling?”

“At this point, I don’t ‘let’ Buffy do anything. Buffy patrols because she is a Slayer. It’s in her soul, in her blood.”

“In case you forgot, I share her blood. I’m not one who rushes headfirst...”

“I have to jump. The energy…”

“It’ll kill you.”

“I know... Buffy, I know about the ritual. I have to stop it.”

“Dawn?” Giles’ voice interrupted the memory.

“Do you know what tonight is?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“Yes.”

“I just realized. It’s seven years, Giles. Seven years tonight that she fought Glory and went away. Hasn’t it been enough? Will it ever be enough?”

“Buffy feels-“

Dawn raised a hand. “I want you to tell her to stop. She won’t listen to me. She’s out there, risking her life night after night. She’ll listen to you, Giles.”

“She hasn’t listened to me. Not for a very long time.”

“If Glory begins the ritual, if we can’t stop her...”

“Come on. Say it. We’re ‘bloody well’ talking about this. Tell me to kill my sister.”

“So you’re just going to sit there and let her get killed.”

“It’s a Watcher’s duty to-“

“Oh, cut that Watcher’s duty crap. This is your show, Giles. You make the rules. Take her off duty. For me.”

“No.”

“No?” Dawn’s voice went up an octave.

“If the ritual starts then every living creature in this and every other dimension imaginable will suffer unbearable torment and death, including Dawn.”

“Then the last thing she’ll see is me protecting her.”

“She is the best and most-experienced Slayer that we have. I would be foolish not to let her go out in the field with the younger girls. It’s as much for their protection as for the rest of the world. I would never knowingly send her into a situation that she couldn’t handle.”

Dawn considered her plan for a moment. “Maybe you could have Rona go with her. I’d feel better about it if she was with someone who I know would have her back.”

“I’ll look into it.”

“And, Giles?”

“Yes?”

Dawn leaned toward him and whispered. “I know about the old Council's little eighteenth birthday ‘surprise’. Even if you have abolished the practice, it still makes a nifty little bedtime story for all those really young girls.”

Giles was taken aback. This cheeky girl thought she would blackmail him? Mentally he ran through a count of every Slayer under the age of eighteen currently on campus. Thirty-three. Damnation. “So... Rona on the odd days, Vi on the evens?”

Dawn grinned at him. “Works for me.”

Giles didn’t want to encourage a repeat performance, but Ripper would be proud of the young girl’s initiative. “One day, all of this will be yours,” he said, returning her grin.

“I can wait,” replied Dawn. “So... you want to check out this cool demon magick website I found the other day?”

“Dawn!”

“Just kidding.”