TITLE: Cruel & Unusual Punishment
AUTHOR: Ragna (writinggoddess@aol.com)
RATING: FRT
SPOILERS: None, unless I miraculously get hired to write for the show.
DISTRIBUTION: Sure, just tell me!
DISCLAIMER: Everything except what comes out of my pretty little head belongs to Joss and Mutant Enemy.
FEEDBACK: Wanted. Needed. SEND IT!
***
Instead of heading towards town, Alex went to the field instead. The sight she saw upon breaking out of the forest was a horrendously ugly demon, who was about to be killed by Elizabeth. Gaby, Xander and Tom were setting up the ritual site while Gillian and another person were fueling a magic barrier to the ritual.
Suddenly, behind Alex, the bushes moved, and a man was standing nearby, watching in wonder. Alex went up to him.
"Did you see that? Oh please, kind sir, take me away from here!" The young man looked at Alex up and down, then quickly complied, leading her back through the forest. As soon as they were out of there, he stopped.
"What was going on?" he asked.
"Nothing you'll remember," she said quietly, casting a forgetfulness spell. Suddenly the man's face became blank, and then alive again.
"Miss, what are you doing out here?"
"You helped me, kind sir. I was being waylaid by some robbers, and you saved me."
"Do you need to get to the village?" he asked, and she quietly nodded her head. He led her down the road towards the village.
***
"Finally!" Gaby said, looking at the now dead demon. "Cut out his heart, please."
Elizabeth paled at the request, so Tom took the sword and cut it out. For such a big demon, it's heart was the size of a paperback book. He took the heart and dropped it in an earthenware bowl on some herbs.
Gaby stepped aside as Gillian said the words for the spell and the heart burst into rose colored flames. Rose smoke wafted around the field, and finally settled on the ground before disappearing.
Gillian looked up and smiled. "Finished. Check your book, Gaby, to see if it was successful."
Gaby flipped through and nodded as she scanned each page of history. "No mention. We're all safe."
Xander hugged Gillian and Elizabeth quickly, and kissed Gaby as soon as she set the book down. "I kept my promise. See?"
Gaby laughed. "Yeah, you did."
Fredrick cleared his throat. "I'd say we should let this body burn and then return to the village." He turned around to gesture at the body, but it was gone.
"One less mess to clean up," Gillian said, wrapping her supplies up in a cloth. "Now, I need some sleep."
***
The door to their room was slightly ajar, and Tom pushed it open carefully.
"I wondered what took you so long," Alex said, getting up. Gaby ran over and hugged her sister. "Hey, calm down, little one."
"How much sleep have you gotten lately?" Gaby asked.
"My, isn't that the popular question these days. Not much, really."
Gillian smiled at her. "I asked her the same thing, Gaby. How did you get Spike to let you come?"
Alex shrugged. "I didn't."
Xander went over and hugged Alex. "Why are you here?"
"Next time you do a spell, guard the area. I stopped someone who was going to tell Duke Jeremy you were witches and have you burnt at the stake. The man won't remember this night as long as he lives."
"Good. Now we can go home!" Gaby said, but Alex shook her head.
"Gillian and I can, but you guys can't. You have to wait two more days. The Druidic spell would prevent us from taking you."
Tom looked down at the ground. "Could you take Elizabeth?" He looked at her Watcher, who nodded, and then he looked at Elizabeth. "Would you come with me? To the future?"
She smiled and kissed him sweetly. "Of course I will, Tom."
"Very well then. Gillian, stay here until they have to leave, and let Elizabeth leave first. Then follow."
"You're not staying?" Gillian asked.
"Dear, when I told Spike I'd be gone a day, I meant it. Besides, he's probably really angry with me for leaving, so if I make it longer, I might not have him in my life at all when I get back." She smiled, muttered the spell again, and disappeared before their eyes.
Elizabeth fainted.
***
Spike was sitting in the bedroom, waiting. A glow started in the other room, and by the time he got out there, Alex was standing there in period clothing.
"You." Spike said it simply but with a mixture of anger and love in his voice. Alex, however had other ideas at the moment, walking past him and heading towards her closet, taking the dress off as she moved.
"Why did you do it? Do you know how much it worried everyone? You almost gave your uncle a bloody heart attack!" He stopped as he realized she hadn't said a word in her defense. "Aren't you paying attention?"
"Yeah, but I'm trying to take this corset off." He looked in the darkened room and saw her struggling with it. He walked towards her and gently untied the ribbons holding it on. As it fell to the floor, she turned around and smiled at him before heading to her chest of drawers. "You can continue now."
Spike looked at her for a few minutes, trying to remember all the things he'd thought about saying since he found the note, but not a single one came back to him. He watched her change into modern underwear, and them walk to her closet and pull out a dress, putting it on carefully. "You had everyone worried."
"You already said something to that effect."
"I did?"
"Yeah."
"Oh. Well, did I ask why you'd done it?"
She nodded. "And my reason was I could help, and I would feel bad having to explain to the Council that, while I could have helped, I didn't. Plus Gaby would be miserable, and I couldn't let that happen." She struggled with the zipper on the dress. "Help, please?"
He walked over to her and carefully zipped the dress up. "How do you manage to do this, love?" he asked, standing over her closely.
"Do what?"
"Make sure that if I'm angry with you I don't yell at you?"
She shrugged. "I have no idea, but I really am sorry. At least I left a note, though."
He turned her around so they were facing each other. "True."
"And I did get back in one day," she said, a little breathlessly.
"True."
"So you can't be too mad at me, right?"
His answer was the sweetest kiss that had ever touched her lips. And that was the only answer she needed.
***
"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Tom asked Elizabeth for the hundredth time. The tavern was empty except for the guests, which was only the time travelers.
She nodded. "How many times do I have to answer?"
"I don't know...every time he asks?" Xander said, receiving a light punch from Gaby. Everyone laughed.
"Well, I would love to stay at listen, but I need some sleep. We can all leave in two days." Gillian said, yawning. "Goodnight." She headed up the stairs towards the room.
"I can't wait to go home," Gaby said leaning on Xander a bit.
"Me neither. I miss my junk food so much."
"I just miss my friends and family. I wonder what they're doing," Gaby said.
"Planning a huge welcome back party, I hope," Xander said.
Gaby smiled and nodded. "They'd better."
***
"So, they should come back in two days?" Willow asked.
"They'll go back to Galway, not here," Giles said. He was worried again because he had not heard if Alex had come back.
Willow's laptop beeped. After she'd taken that annoying "You've got mail" sound off, she replaced it with a sound file of her friends saying "you've got mail." It was cute. She opened up her inbox and recognized the address.
Willow smiled. "Alex is back. She just e-mailed me. And she said Spike chewed her out."
"That's good," Giles said.
Willow looked at him, and burst out laughing. "Never mind, I won't say it. Hey, when is everyone supposed to come back?"
"Alex and Spike return from London in about four days, and Xander and Gaby come back from Galway in a week and a half. It's her graduation present, but she might cut it short." Giles said. The doors opened, and Oz and Buffy came in with food.
"What'd we miss?" Buffy asked, setting the food down.
"Not much. Everything looks as though it will be okay." Willow said.
"For once," Giles added.
"Well, I'm starving. Let's eat," Willow said.
Buffy was looking at the open Watcher's Diary. "Hey, did you know that changed?" she said, pointing to a passage. Giles quickly read it, then grabbed a text and looked at it.
"I don't think it's too bad," he said. "Elizabeth, it seems, decided to come back with us. Which is just as well, considering that before the passage said she died the day after everyone left. She killed herself."
"At least now she has a chance to live a bit." Oz said.
***
The sun set the next day slowly, a rosy blush creeping on the sky as the dark night came. Preparations were made by the travelers to get ready and leave the next evening. For the first time since they arrived, there was a sense of relief and anticipation. That evening was a bit somber as they lounged around in the room, happy but sad as well.
Xander and Gaby had spent most of the day shopping, just watching and looking at the various things back in time. Gillian joined them for a bit, and stopped at a doll shop for a while, leaving with three dolls for her nieces. Gaby bought a bit of beautiful jewelry and some clothing. Xander just enjoyed watching them.
"You know that white dress I bought?" Gaby asked no one in particular. Most of the people in the room nodded. "I might wear that as a wedding dress if I ever get married. With a few alterations, it will be gorgeous."
Xander smiled at her. "Surprised you're thinking about that."
"I've been thinking about that since I was about six and I got my first Barbie." The general conversation lapsed a bit, and Tom and Elizabeth continued to talk. Tom was telling her about different things in the future.
"It must have been love at first sight," Gillian mused.
"Don't you have a boyfriend?" Gaby asked.
Gillian shook her head. "I'm not that lucky. There are so few people that understand the Watcher's and Slayer's life, it's hard to find a friend, let alone someone to date."
"Maybe you'll get lucky soon," Xander said.
"Doubt it," she replied smiling a bit. "I live in North Carolina, but I was considering moving to LA. Maybe getting a job as an actress or something. Then I'd probably have a great chance at finding a boyfriend."
"You act?" Gaby asked.
Gillian nodded. "Drama and comedy, but I love musicals. I actually have done..." She closed her eyes and thought for a moment. "Probably 20. In my life. And I've been in almost 100 productions."
"I'm impressed," Xander said. "What was your favorite?"
Gillian smiled. "My high school wanted to do a spoof on horror movies, and being a Watcher, I knew a lot about them. So I wrote a really good play, and I ended up getting the lead part of the Slayer."
"Didn't the council get mad?" Gaby asked.
"Not really. I did it in a way that also parodied Slayers as well. Most people just thought it was something I made up. Those who didn't laughed it off, saying I'd found out about them in old books."
"Wow. I don't think I could have done that. I'm not that talented," Gaby said.
"Writing's one of my four main talents. I also sing, dance and act. I can paint and draw, too, but not well. I've always been really artistic." Gillian stood up and yawned. "I'm exhausted. I'm going to go to my room and get some sleep."
"Goodnight," Gaby and Xander chorused.
***
It was quiet as the two lay in bed. This was the first time they'd been truly alone in the last few days, and they wanted to make the most of it before returning to Galway and then to Sunnydale.
"Are you okay?" Xander asked, holding Gaby in his arms as they lay there listening to each other breathe and waited for the other to fall asleep.
"With what?"
"This. You and me...sleeping together."
"If I wasn't, would I do it?" she asked a bit pointedly. "Stop worrying so much, Xander."
"I know that. I'm sorry. It's just...I'm not used to it. And I know that you know that I wasn't a virgin."
"Xander?"
"Yes?'
"Let me fill you in on something. You were my first, and that will always mean something. But I understand where you're coming from. Right now, though, would you shut up and kiss me for a bit?"
Xander smiled at her. "Definitely."
***
"Ow!"
"What's wrong, sweet?"
"You just hit a sore spot on my back, that's all."
Spike sat up and turned on one of the small lamps in the room. "Alex, love, let me see your back." She turned around, pulled off her shirt and he got a very good look at it. "My God, what happened?"
"I slipped and fell down the stairs," she said, wincing as he lightly touched her bare back.
"Was that the racket that woke me up?" he asked.
"Yeah. I didn't think it'd hurt this bad, so I didn't say anything. That's why I haven't let you hold me or anything tonight."
"Were you wearing your glasses?" She nodded as he got up and went towards the bathroom.
"It was wet because of the rain," she said. She looked up in horror as he brought out some cotton and rubbing alcohol. "That stuff stings!"
"Well, you cut your back up," he said calmly, putting some rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball. "Don't want it to get infected." He very gently cleaned the wounds on her back, and when he was finished started kissing her neck.
"I never get to do that to you," she said, turning around and ruining his fun. "You heal too fast."
"Yes, but I have scars all over, and you don't," Spike replied, running his hands over her shoulders before putting her shirt back on her. "Be happy for that."
"I wonder if anyone else in the world is having a conversation as ridiculous as ours," she wondered. Her answer was a pillow thrown in her face. "Why you rotten vamp!" she cried indignantly, throwing it back at him.
"You're too serious, Alex. Lighten-" The sentence was cut off as she hit him in the face with another pillow.
"Up?" she replied smiling. Spike grabbed a pillow, swung and missed. An all out war was declared. And with both of them being so good at fighting, it was hard to tell who was winning. But the fight, after many shrieks of laughter and good natured threats, ended with a peace treaty that began with a kiss, and it seemed as though all their problems melted away.
***
The sun rose quickly in Ireland, and it was a sight to behold. Without pollution or tall buildings in the way, it filled the sky with a beautiful rainbow of colors. And Gaby and Xander watched the entire thing, unable to sleep much the night before.
"I wish I could paint that," Gaby whispered, awestruck by it's beauty.
A knock on the door interrupted the viewing, and, while both of them were dressed, they were in no hurry to ruin this moment. The person kept knocking, though. Finally, Xander muttered, "Who's there?"
"Friends," Gillians' melodic voice said. "With breakfast."
Gaby and Xander moved away from the window and opened the door to see Gillian, Tom and Elizabeth on the other side with a basket of fruit and a warm loaf of bread. "The innkeeper's going away gift," Tom said.
"Smells delightful," Gaby replied. The three walked in and sat down. Gaby and Xander went towards the bed, Tom and Elizabeth on the couch and Gillian in a chair. They ate their breakfast slowly.
When they were finished, Gillian smiled. "Today's the day," she said brightly. "Finally, we can get out of these corsets!"
"Thank God!" Gaby said happily. "One more day in this and I'd go crazy!"
"You already are," Xander muttered a little. Gaby smiled at him.
"Maybe. Or maybe I'm just pretending."
The conversation switched to the more practical information, on how everyone would leave, and how they would get out of town unnoticed. Gaby listened on and off, her attention on the three people she would probably never see again. And that was a shame.
In the two days since she met Gillian, they'd become good friends. And Tom was interesting, as well as Elizabeth. She might be able to visit them, but...
"Paying attention, Gaby?" Xander said jokingly.
"Yeah. And thinking deep thoughts," she said quietly. She let the others talk for a while, and just nodded a bit. And hoped it was appropriate.
***
The sky was dark as the travelers crept out of the inn. They were quiet and quick, heading towards the empty field with parcels and packages. The women had cloaks pulled around them in an effort to stay warm, and the men ran with them quickly.
"We have to be here by midnight," Gaby said, "and it's already 11:45." She smiled at Gillian. You'll follow us, right?"
Gillian nodded. "And I'll bring Elizabeth and the parcels." The three who would leave in less than 15 minutes were nervous with anticipation.
The good-byes were brief because they knew they'd see each other again in a few minutes. As the minutes ticked away, the anticipation grew.
Finally, the three of them felt the same feeling of being spun around and picked up. A few seconds later, they got dropped on the field, surrounded by black-robed Druids.
Donald smiled at them. "I see all of you survived."
Gaby nodded. "We have company coming soon." And as she said that, parcels and Elizabeth appeared next to the Druids, followed by Gillian.
"Hi, all."
***
"That is an interesting story," Donald said as he glanced at the five of them. He had been extremely surprised by the other girls' appearances, but once they all explained, he accepted it. Everyone was back in modern clothing, and Elizabeth was getting used to wearing it.
"You weren't there," Gaby said. "It wasn't that hard, really. We had help."
"From Gillian, and Alex." Xander supplied, forgetting that Alex wasn't supposed to have helped.
"She did, did she?" Donald said, frowning.
Gillian interrupted. "She was allowed. The Council backed off, and so she got permission."
"I heard about those meetings but I never got the transcripts," Donald said. "Did she really bring a vampire into the Council Chambers?"
"Yeah. In fact, he's more accepted than some of the Watchers there."
Donald nodded. "Gaby, have you contacted your family yet?"
She shook her head. "You guys haven't given me my laptop back yet." Donald quickly remedied that. She logged on and typed out a message.
She sent the message and waited for a reply as the others talked about what had happened.
***
Willow was still at home, having overslept. She had been researching for her summer class and had left her laptop on.
"You've got mail, Willow!"
She woke up immediately and opened her mail. Smiling, she replied to it.
She got up and threw on some clothes, grabbing her laptop and wallet as she ran out of her dorm room.
***
Alex was sleeping peacefully, her head on Spike's chest and her back off the bed. The beeping of her laptop failed to wake her up at first until Spike moved. And even that didn't wake her up much.
Spike gently lifted her head up and crept out of bed. He walked over to her laptop, turned it on and opened her mail. She didn't mind, of course; in fact, once he'd gotten the hang of e-mail, she got him his own address. She usually let him check her mail while she was at the school.
He opened the letter and went straight back to Alex, who hadn't moved since he left. "Alex...Alex...Alex," he said gently, shaking her a bit. She reached over to punch him and he blocked the shot. "Love, your sister's back."
She woke up almost immediately. "Why didn't you say that first!" She jumped out of bed and went straight to her laptop. "Yes!!!!" she said, practically beaming. She went over and pulled a chair over to her kitchen table and typed a reply.
She sat back in the chair and then jumped back as her back hit the wood back of the chair.
"When are we leaving?" Spike asked.
"As soon as possible!" she said, grabbing her lover on the way to the room and kissed him. "Help me start packing. Please?"
***
The reunion at the library was loud, due in part to the sisters meeting up right before they walked into the library.
"They're definitely home," Buffy said as they all waited inside. The two girls burst inside and were met with even more noise. Everyone was laughing, crying and screaming, more of the latter directed at Alex.
The other people walked in, and a look of surprise was eminent.
"L.A. didn't work out, so I thought you might like another Watcher," Gillian said, setting down her bags.
"Introductions?" Willow asked.
"Oh," Gaby said. "This is Gillian Streep, the watcher who helped us."
Everyone crowded around them, hugging the returning Sunnydale citizens and welcoming the newcomer. Then everyone piled into the food and ate as much as they wanted, filling in the story as they ate.
***
"And so that's the story," Gaby concluded.
"So Tom and Elizabeth are living in Galway together?"
Gaby nodded. "And, well, me and Xander are getting an apartment together."
Giles nearly choked, but Alex gave him a look that said "Leave them alone." He complied.
"And what about the Council?"
"Well," Alex started," George Gooding is in charge, with Emma Neill next in line. Both of them are very talented and much better at their jobs than Arthur was."
"And what of him?" Giles asked.
"He died. Got attacked," Spike said.
"By vampires?"
"No, actually, by a group of irate Watchers. Then by the vampires. The vamps killed him."
"Oh," Giles said, blanching a bit. "Excuse me." He left the room with his hand over his mouth.
"I wonder what I said?" Spike said curiously, with a slight glint in his eye.