Chapter 18
The next morning Xander and Anya come over before she has to open the store. Anya picks her way through the living room and into the kitchen to go over money prospects with Buffy and Giles.
“It may pay you to make a claim on the home-owner’s insurance.” Giles suggests.
“With this damage they’ll expect a police report, crime scene photographs. You’ve already moved things.” She nods to where I’m sweeping the glass and small splinters of wood – ah, smallest stakes ever—for the Barbie vampires.
Dawn and Willow are trying to glue together the lamp that was on the end table, something that we’d pulled from the gallery things to use. Xander has gone from measuring the banister area to seeing if he can fix the coffee table.
“I ask again.” Buffy says to the house at large, “How did Mom do this?” she shakes her head, waving around one of the pieces of paper, “We still—well we definitely now need to do the re-pipe pronto given there’s a huge chunk of it missing and I know I like showers I’m sure everyone else does too. I just don’t want to take them in the basement.”
“It’s not fun.” Dawn puts in with a shudder.
I feel a small whoom of energy and look over to where she and Willow are sitting and Willow is holding a fully formed lamp.
Dawn stares excitedly at her, “If you do that with everything we won’t need to worry about the insurance whatever.”
I can feel Giles staring at Willow from behind me, concerned and … disappointed is what I’m reading from him whereas Buffy looks hopeful.
“I..uh…” Willow hesitates. She knows we can’t be using magic for every little thing. She must have been super frustrated, but still, “The lamp was small—the house might be a bit much.” She says, looking over at me.
“Especially so soon after all the energy the spell to get Buffy out of Hell took.” I put in, “You don’t want to overdo things and make things worse.”
“How about if we all work together.” Dawn suggests.
I sigh.
“Magic may be a tool.” Giles explains, “But if you abuse the use of it the universe is likely to hit you back. You’re entreating ancient Gods and Goddesses generally they don’t like to be pestered constantly especially for ‘little things’.” He cleans his glasses, “Now I know the issue with the house is huge for you but imagine a bee walking up to you and asking you to—” he looks like he’s losing his metaphor, “—move a flower. How would you feel?”
“First,” Xander says, “I’d be curious why it was walking and not flying, then I’d be freaked out that it was talking to me, but I mean it’s just one flower…”
Giles shoots him a withering look. Xander doesn’t notice having gone back to the table.
“The point stands.” Giles says, “because it wouldn’t just be one flower. The bee knows you can move them now, so then it starts asking for whole trees and bushes to be moved, as well as more flowers, more pollen, eventually you might be tempted to just squash the bee and be done with it.”
“Bees sting.” Willow remarks, “I wouldn’t want to squash it.”
“The forces you’re dealing with would care far less about a bee sting than having peace and quiet.” Giles says, sterner than I can recall seeing him.
“What about Tara doing the locator spell to see who the demon was hired by?” Willow asks.
Giles pinches the bridge of his nose, removing his glasses with his other hand.
“I-it’s okay.” I put in, “Like I said the other locator spell only worked because I knew who I was trying to locate. I don’t know who these people are—”
“We’ve done other locator spells before.” Willow points out, “for demons.”
I feel my face flushing, “Yes, and I sabotaged that one because I thought I was a demon at the time—and whose to say the M’Fash…nik was working with other demons. You have the horn but—”
“Wouldn’t that just locate other demons of the same type? They get hired. It could be a human who hired them.” Anya points out.
“There are ways to tweak things.” I point out, “Someone connected to the demon—someone who has been around their energy, and that would be something less frivolous to ask for.”
Buffy makes a grumbling noise, “There’s no saying this wasn’t just a one off. They got away with stealing—they might take that and be done with it. Right now, there’s too much personal stuff for me to deal with.” She brushes a hand down a pants as she stands up, “It’s a lot.”
“Of course.” I say.
Willow nods in agreement. Dawn goes and hugs her.
Anya stands up declaring that she needs to go open The Magic Box before she loses out on Saturday morning curious people.
“Xander.” She remarks, given she hasn’t learned to drive yet, and she’ll need a ride. There’s another one of those look exchanges, and then her looking affronted.
“I don’t think I can fix this table, anyway.” He remarks dropping the leg down on to the remaining top, “Maybe your Mom saved some money by getting a cheap one.”
“Well, we’ll get another cheap one to replace it.” Buffy says, “Especially if it’s going to get destroyed again.”
“We could just go without.” I point out.
“That’s better than cheaping out.” Anya remarks, “Sometimes the extra expense is worth it. You get one and Xander can reinforce it and then no breaking.” She cocks her head on one side, “In theory.”
“Let’s get you to the shop.” Xander remarks, “I’ll swing back by with some supplies.” He says, “You can pay me later.” He adds, “At least he didn’t break the door itself. I’ll get that back on when I come back.”
“Yeah, that was great.” Dawn says, sarcastically, “The whole door, I mean.”
Xander looks at her questioningly but Anya is pulling him towards the door, so Dawn doesn’t get chance to explain to him about being pinned under the door.
Giles takes Buffy back to the kitchen, and they start having a quiet conversation. Willow and Dawn come help sweep things into a box so that the broken glass doesn’t shred a garbage bag, one holding a dustpan and the other the box.
The phone rings and Buffy goes to answer it.
“I bet it’s creditors.” Dawn says, “You think we’ll starve?”
“I very much doubt it.” Giles says, from the entryway between the two rooms.
“No chance I’d have to quit school and work assembling cheap toys in a poorly-ventilated sweat shop?”
I have to laugh.
“What have you been reading?” Giles inquires looking at Willow and I.
“Has to have been at school.” Willow says.
“Everything’s been paid up to date.” I put in, “So, there’s little chance it’s creditors. Maybe the bank has changed their mind about consolidating the loans?”
Giles frowns, “That’s doubtful too, I’m afraid.”
Buffy comes out of the kitchen, holding the handset against her chest and looking pensive, “It’s Angel.” She says.
“Something’s happened to him?” Dawn asks, panic edging her voice.
“No.” Buffy says, “I have to go see him. He knows I’m…I have to see him.”
“Of-of course.” Giles says, “Do you need help getting to LA?”
Buffy shakes her head, “No. I know the way.” She heads upstairs still holding the phone.
“Don’t worry about me.” Dawn murmurs.
I give her a hug.
“I know. I know.” She says, “We’re all adjusting.”
“It’s okay to be frustrated and angry.” I tell her.
“I know that too.” She says, pulling away, “I’ll go get started on my math homework.” She tromps upstairs, passing Buffy on the landing. There’s a stilted hug.
Buffy has a satchel and takes the stairs down two at a time stopping on the last step and looking at us.
“Buffy—” Giles remarks.
She gives him a smile and then looks over at Willow and I before stepping down and taking Giles’ hands, “Thank you for taking care of everything.” She says, before disappearing out the door leaving us to stare at each other for a moment.
“Are you okay?” Giles asks.
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. Willow raises and lowers her arms to her sides with a thwap and turns around going towards the kitchen.
“It is Angel.” I point out to Willow, “From what you’ve told me that’s a very complicated history.”
“Yes.” Willow remarks, “It’s just—” she sighs, murmuring ‘Give her grace’ over a few times while leaning against the table.
I go over at hug her, rubbing a hand down one of her arms, “It’ll be okay, Will.”
“I know she’s going through a lot.” Willow says, firmly, “I just—I wish she’d talk to me—”
“Instead of Angel?” I ask.
Willow looks at me, a touch of misery on her face, “I guess I’m being a jealous b-word, huh?”
“Maybe.” I tell her, “Maybe there are some things she feels she’ll be able to relate with Angel a bit more right now? You said he’d been to Hell as well?”
Willow nods and then sighs, “True. I’m less with the Hell trips and shared experiences of late. I just feel like she’s pushing us all away.”
I take Willow’s hand and thread our fingers gripping hers tightly, “It will probably never be the same as it was, Will.” I warn her, “Traumatic experiences change a person fundamentally…they get to a new baseline.”
“Where’d I get lucky enough to have a girlfriend so wise and caring.”
I feel the heat climbing up my cheeks and elsewhere. Any time she calls me her girlfriend it does something heady.
“And so cute when she blushes.” Willow adds.
Giles clearing his throat almost sends me into orbit. My world had been the light that is Willow and everything else was eclipsed.
“I’m sorry.” He says, “To butt in but there are certain things that should be done sooner rather than later.” He nods to the sink.