A Twist in My Story: Chapter 15
Aug. 30th, 2011 12:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_huffsterTitle: A Twist in My Story
Author: the_huffster
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Rating: R
Timeline: AU
Synopsis: After giving up his life as Ripper, Giles seizes the chance to live a normal life and doesn't return to the Council. But years later when he meets first grade teacher Buffy Summers, he wonders if it's possible to really escape Destiny.
Author's Note: I decided to mess around with the years and make Giles younger just so it will fit with how I have this fic planned out. So please bear with me on the messing with years/ages.
Rupert had woken up face first on the desk in his study, a serious kink in his neck. In the two hours that followed, he had learned that Chris had taken his children to school and then proceeded to explain the details of the previous night. He then spent 30 minutes arguing his point on why Buffy being the Slayer was such a big deal, something that apparently only made sens to him. But now Chris had gone to help Jess and Blake at the shop, leaving Rupert alone in his house.
As he flipped through the television for the fifth time in a row, Rupert knew that he had made a mistake in sending Chris away. Compared to the deafening silence in his house, he realized that he would much rather have Chris’ nagging questions in his ears. He eyed the bottle of scotch longingly before shaking his head, knowing it wouldn’t be good to be drunk when his children came back from school.
Shaking his head, Rupert stretched out on the couch and stared at the ceiling as he tried to ignore the pounding in his head. He let out a sigh before closing his eyes, thinking that sleeping may be his best bet at the moment.
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He had been up and dressed an hour before Blake had dropped off Nathan and Addison, only offering Rupert a sympathetic smile. Blake hadn’t stayed long, stating that he had a few things he needed to take care of and Rupert found himself on the couch with his children.
“I saw Buffy today,” Nathan said as he looked up at his father, a curious look in his dark green eyes. “She looked real sad.”
“Did she?” Rupert asked, looking at Nathan before looking at Addison when she tugged on his shirt.
“You look sad too, Daddy.” The five year old said, a worried look on her face.
“Did something happen last night?” Nathan asked, his bottom lip held between his teeth as he waited for the answer.
Sighing, Rupert ran his hand through his hair as he prepared himself for the onslaught of questions he was sure to receive.
“Sometimes people fight, and sometimes you can’t fix that relationship.” He glanced at his children, the confusion shining in both their eyes breaking his heart. “Last night, Buffy and I got into a…an argument, and…and, um…”
“You broke up,” the seven year old finished for him, his tone catching Rupert by surprise.
“What’s that?” Addison asked, her gaze going to her older brother.
“Dad and Buffy aren’t friends anymore.”
“But you love her!” she looked up at Rupert, her expression tugging at his heart.
“Sometimes just because you love someone doesn’t mean you can make things work out, Princess.” He softly explained, wrapping an arm around his daughter.
There was a moment of silence before Nathan grabbed his backpack, muttering something about doing homework as he stomped up the stairs. Rupert flinched when he heard the boy’s door slam. He was going to have to talk to Nathan later that night.
“So you and Buffy aren’t talking to each other?” Addison’s small voice broke the silence.
“No, we’re not.” He whispered as his gaze drifted to the floor.
There was a moment of shock when he felt his daughter wrap her arms around him as best as she could before he returned the hug placing a kiss on the top of her head. Addison hugged him for a moment before kissing his cheek and settling on the couch next to him, getting her homework out so she could start on it.
“What was that for?” Rupert asked, moving her homework folder so it wouldn’t fall off the edge of the cushions.
“You always me and Nafan when we’re sad,” she began, looking at him like it should have been obvious. “And since you don’t have anyone to hug you now that you’re sad…”
He smiled when she trailed off and shrugged her shoulders.
“I really liked Buffy, Daddy.” She said as she stared at the piece of paper in her lap.
“I did too, Addie.” He nodded, taking a deep breath before distracting her by helping her with her homework.
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“Nathan?” Rupert asked as he slowly opened his son’s bedroom door, sighing when he saw the boy sitting up in his bed as he drew in a notebook. “Can I come in?”
The seven year old shrugged, something that had become his way of communicating ever since he had learned about the break up- that had made dinner a very trying event. Rupert ran his hand through his hair as he walked into the room, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. There was a few minutes of silence before Rupert decided to figure out what was bothering Nathan.
“What’s wrong, son?” he asked, gently taking the notebook away from the boy.
“You broke up with Buffy,” he muttered as he played with a loose thread on his comforter.
“Why does that bother so much?”
“You love her, Dad.” Nathan looked up at him, his fingers still pulling at the thread.
“I loved your mum, and we didn’t work out either.” Rupert pointed out, quickly looking at the doodles his son had been doing. “Sometimes love isn’t enough, Nathan.”
The seven year old just shrugged, muttering under his breath as he leaned against his pillow and started playing with his stuffed dinosaur.
“What was that?” Rupert asked, placing the notebook next to him.
“It isn’t fair,” he repeated, his eyes focused on his toy.
“How is it not fair, Nathan?”
“You love her and she loves you, people who love each other get married.” He began explaining, his eyes filling with tears as he spoke. “I’m just tired of not having a mum,”
Rupert stared at his son, looking away as Nathan’s words sunk in. At the sound of a sniffle, his head shot back to see the seven year swipe at the quickly falling tears. There was no hesitation as Rupert moved to sit next to his son, holding the boy to him as his tears fell faster.
“You’re not the only one who doesn’t have a mum,” he whispered as he held him close. “I’m sure there are plenty of students whose parents are divorced…”
“Yeah, but they get to see both of them!” Nathan pushed away from his father, glaring up at him. “I don’t get to see Mum, or even talk to her. All I had was Buffy, and you took that from me!”
“It’s not like you can’t see her, Nathan. She didn’t die…” he stopped himself when Nathan furiously shook his head, his tears gradually slowing.
“You love Buffy, Dad.” He repeated as he laid down, holding his dinosaur close to him as he buried himself under the covers. “And you broke up with her instead of marrying her and giving me a mum.”
Rupert just looked down as Nathan turned so his back was facing him, effectively ending the conversation. Sighing, he slowly pushed himself to his feet and walked out of the room. He turned off the bedroom light before closing the door behind him, walking towards Addison’s room to check on her.
A soft smile made its way on to his face when he saw Addison snuggled under her blankets, her stuffed horse clutched to her. He sat at the foot of her bed, content to just watch her sleep. Her nightmares had calmed down somewhat in last two months and he was so glad for it. There were a few minutes of silence as he thought over his conversation with Nathan, a frown replacing his smile.
He couldn’t help but wonder how much he had hurt his children by never dating since the divorce. He had never thought about what they felt about growing up with one parent, especially Nathan who had memories of his mother- no matter how vague they were, they were still there for him. Rupert looked at Addison and sighed, knowing she wasn’t as affected by any of it as her brother. Rupert shook his head, not wanting to continue with his current line of thought; he couldn’t change what had happened between him and their mother, and there was no point in thinking about things that would never happen.
At the quiet whimper, he looked to see his daughter start to toss and turn. He waited a few more minutes before gently picking her up and holding her close, her whimpers turning into small cries as she clearly fell into another nightmare.
“It’s alright, Addie. I’m right here,” he whispered when he heard her call for him.
He continued to comfort his daughter until she woke up, fear in her eyes as tears spilled on to her cheeks. Rupert just held her closer and listened as she described the monsters in her dream, telling him he wasn’t allowed to leave the house ever again. If didn’t know about the sort of creatures that lurked outside at night, he would have found the command funny.
“It was just a nightmare, Princess.” He whispered, walking towards his room with her cuddled closed to him. “It wasn’t real.”
“You have to promise, Daddy!” Addison insisted, clinging to his neck. “The bad man was hurting you and Buffy couldn’t save you,”
Rupert sighed as he set her down on his bed, sitting next to her. He handed the five year old her stuffed horse before motioning for her to get under the covers.
“No one is going to hurt me, Addison.” He promised her as he placed a kiss on her head. “Go to sleep. I’ll be right here, I promise.”
“He’s gonna hurt you, Daddy. You can’t go out at night, okay?” she restated, tears shinning in her light green eyes.
“Okay,” he sighed before encouraging her to go back to sleep.
Instead of sleeping as he had planned, Rupert just laid there and watched his daughter sleep- ready in case another nightmare decided to plague her.
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“You look like hell,” Jess said as Rupert walked into the shop, Nathan running to the middle table while Addison slept in her father’s arms. “Nightmares?”
“All bloody night,” he muttered before heading towards the back and placing his daughter on the couch, draping the blanket over her body.
“What about?” Chris poked his head from around one of the bookshelves as the older man walked back into the front of the shop.
“Apparently, a bad man is supposed to hurt me.” He yawned, sinking into one of the chairs next to his son.
Nathan just looked at him before grabbing his notebook and coloring pencils and heading to the upper level of the shop. Rupert just sighed and buried his head in his hands.
“What was that about?” Jess asked, her eyes focused on the stairs the seven year old had just disappeared up.
“Nathan isn’t very happy with me at the moment,” he muttered as he shook his head, pushing himself to his feet when he realized that he wouldn’t be able to stay awake for much longer. “I’m just going to take a nap for a few minutes.”
Both employees watched him disappear into the back, matching expressions on their faces.
Author: the_huffster
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Rating: R
Timeline: AU
Synopsis: After giving up his life as Ripper, Giles seizes the chance to live a normal life and doesn't return to the Council. But years later when he meets first grade teacher Buffy Summers, he wonders if it's possible to really escape Destiny.
Author's Note: I decided to mess around with the years and make Giles younger just so it will fit with how I have this fic planned out. So please bear with me on the messing with years/ages.
Rupert had woken up face first on the desk in his study, a serious kink in his neck. In the two hours that followed, he had learned that Chris had taken his children to school and then proceeded to explain the details of the previous night. He then spent 30 minutes arguing his point on why Buffy being the Slayer was such a big deal, something that apparently only made sens to him. But now Chris had gone to help Jess and Blake at the shop, leaving Rupert alone in his house.
As he flipped through the television for the fifth time in a row, Rupert knew that he had made a mistake in sending Chris away. Compared to the deafening silence in his house, he realized that he would much rather have Chris’ nagging questions in his ears. He eyed the bottle of scotch longingly before shaking his head, knowing it wouldn’t be good to be drunk when his children came back from school.
Shaking his head, Rupert stretched out on the couch and stared at the ceiling as he tried to ignore the pounding in his head. He let out a sigh before closing his eyes, thinking that sleeping may be his best bet at the moment.
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He had been up and dressed an hour before Blake had dropped off Nathan and Addison, only offering Rupert a sympathetic smile. Blake hadn’t stayed long, stating that he had a few things he needed to take care of and Rupert found himself on the couch with his children.
“I saw Buffy today,” Nathan said as he looked up at his father, a curious look in his dark green eyes. “She looked real sad.”
“Did she?” Rupert asked, looking at Nathan before looking at Addison when she tugged on his shirt.
“You look sad too, Daddy.” The five year old said, a worried look on her face.
“Did something happen last night?” Nathan asked, his bottom lip held between his teeth as he waited for the answer.
Sighing, Rupert ran his hand through his hair as he prepared himself for the onslaught of questions he was sure to receive.
“Sometimes people fight, and sometimes you can’t fix that relationship.” He glanced at his children, the confusion shining in both their eyes breaking his heart. “Last night, Buffy and I got into a…an argument, and…and, um…”
“You broke up,” the seven year old finished for him, his tone catching Rupert by surprise.
“What’s that?” Addison asked, her gaze going to her older brother.
“Dad and Buffy aren’t friends anymore.”
“But you love her!” she looked up at Rupert, her expression tugging at his heart.
“Sometimes just because you love someone doesn’t mean you can make things work out, Princess.” He softly explained, wrapping an arm around his daughter.
There was a moment of silence before Nathan grabbed his backpack, muttering something about doing homework as he stomped up the stairs. Rupert flinched when he heard the boy’s door slam. He was going to have to talk to Nathan later that night.
“So you and Buffy aren’t talking to each other?” Addison’s small voice broke the silence.
“No, we’re not.” He whispered as his gaze drifted to the floor.
There was a moment of shock when he felt his daughter wrap her arms around him as best as she could before he returned the hug placing a kiss on the top of her head. Addison hugged him for a moment before kissing his cheek and settling on the couch next to him, getting her homework out so she could start on it.
“What was that for?” Rupert asked, moving her homework folder so it wouldn’t fall off the edge of the cushions.
“You always me and Nafan when we’re sad,” she began, looking at him like it should have been obvious. “And since you don’t have anyone to hug you now that you’re sad…”
He smiled when she trailed off and shrugged her shoulders.
“I really liked Buffy, Daddy.” She said as she stared at the piece of paper in her lap.
“I did too, Addie.” He nodded, taking a deep breath before distracting her by helping her with her homework.
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“Nathan?” Rupert asked as he slowly opened his son’s bedroom door, sighing when he saw the boy sitting up in his bed as he drew in a notebook. “Can I come in?”
The seven year old shrugged, something that had become his way of communicating ever since he had learned about the break up- that had made dinner a very trying event. Rupert ran his hand through his hair as he walked into the room, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. There was a few minutes of silence before Rupert decided to figure out what was bothering Nathan.
“What’s wrong, son?” he asked, gently taking the notebook away from the boy.
“You broke up with Buffy,” he muttered as he played with a loose thread on his comforter.
“Why does that bother so much?”
“You love her, Dad.” Nathan looked up at him, his fingers still pulling at the thread.
“I loved your mum, and we didn’t work out either.” Rupert pointed out, quickly looking at the doodles his son had been doing. “Sometimes love isn’t enough, Nathan.”
The seven year old just shrugged, muttering under his breath as he leaned against his pillow and started playing with his stuffed dinosaur.
“What was that?” Rupert asked, placing the notebook next to him.
“It isn’t fair,” he repeated, his eyes focused on his toy.
“How is it not fair, Nathan?”
“You love her and she loves you, people who love each other get married.” He began explaining, his eyes filling with tears as he spoke. “I’m just tired of not having a mum,”
Rupert stared at his son, looking away as Nathan’s words sunk in. At the sound of a sniffle, his head shot back to see the seven year swipe at the quickly falling tears. There was no hesitation as Rupert moved to sit next to his son, holding the boy to him as his tears fell faster.
“You’re not the only one who doesn’t have a mum,” he whispered as he held him close. “I’m sure there are plenty of students whose parents are divorced…”
“Yeah, but they get to see both of them!” Nathan pushed away from his father, glaring up at him. “I don’t get to see Mum, or even talk to her. All I had was Buffy, and you took that from me!”
“It’s not like you can’t see her, Nathan. She didn’t die…” he stopped himself when Nathan furiously shook his head, his tears gradually slowing.
“You love Buffy, Dad.” He repeated as he laid down, holding his dinosaur close to him as he buried himself under the covers. “And you broke up with her instead of marrying her and giving me a mum.”
Rupert just looked down as Nathan turned so his back was facing him, effectively ending the conversation. Sighing, he slowly pushed himself to his feet and walked out of the room. He turned off the bedroom light before closing the door behind him, walking towards Addison’s room to check on her.
A soft smile made its way on to his face when he saw Addison snuggled under her blankets, her stuffed horse clutched to her. He sat at the foot of her bed, content to just watch her sleep. Her nightmares had calmed down somewhat in last two months and he was so glad for it. There were a few minutes of silence as he thought over his conversation with Nathan, a frown replacing his smile.
He couldn’t help but wonder how much he had hurt his children by never dating since the divorce. He had never thought about what they felt about growing up with one parent, especially Nathan who had memories of his mother- no matter how vague they were, they were still there for him. Rupert looked at Addison and sighed, knowing she wasn’t as affected by any of it as her brother. Rupert shook his head, not wanting to continue with his current line of thought; he couldn’t change what had happened between him and their mother, and there was no point in thinking about things that would never happen.
At the quiet whimper, he looked to see his daughter start to toss and turn. He waited a few more minutes before gently picking her up and holding her close, her whimpers turning into small cries as she clearly fell into another nightmare.
“It’s alright, Addie. I’m right here,” he whispered when he heard her call for him.
He continued to comfort his daughter until she woke up, fear in her eyes as tears spilled on to her cheeks. Rupert just held her closer and listened as she described the monsters in her dream, telling him he wasn’t allowed to leave the house ever again. If didn’t know about the sort of creatures that lurked outside at night, he would have found the command funny.
“It was just a nightmare, Princess.” He whispered, walking towards his room with her cuddled closed to him. “It wasn’t real.”
“You have to promise, Daddy!” Addison insisted, clinging to his neck. “The bad man was hurting you and Buffy couldn’t save you,”
Rupert sighed as he set her down on his bed, sitting next to her. He handed the five year old her stuffed horse before motioning for her to get under the covers.
“No one is going to hurt me, Addison.” He promised her as he placed a kiss on her head. “Go to sleep. I’ll be right here, I promise.”
“He’s gonna hurt you, Daddy. You can’t go out at night, okay?” she restated, tears shinning in her light green eyes.
“Okay,” he sighed before encouraging her to go back to sleep.
Instead of sleeping as he had planned, Rupert just laid there and watched his daughter sleep- ready in case another nightmare decided to plague her.
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“You look like hell,” Jess said as Rupert walked into the shop, Nathan running to the middle table while Addison slept in her father’s arms. “Nightmares?”
“All bloody night,” he muttered before heading towards the back and placing his daughter on the couch, draping the blanket over her body.
“What about?” Chris poked his head from around one of the bookshelves as the older man walked back into the front of the shop.
“Apparently, a bad man is supposed to hurt me.” He yawned, sinking into one of the chairs next to his son.
Nathan just looked at him before grabbing his notebook and coloring pencils and heading to the upper level of the shop. Rupert just sighed and buried his head in his hands.
“What was that about?” Jess asked, her eyes focused on the stairs the seven year old had just disappeared up.
“Nathan isn’t very happy with me at the moment,” he muttered as he shook his head, pushing himself to his feet when he realized that he wouldn’t be able to stay awake for much longer. “I’m just going to take a nap for a few minutes.”
Both employees watched him disappear into the back, matching expressions on their faces.
