The Threefold Cord

Chapter 14 - End Games

by: JBG

Rated PG-13

The remainder of Buffy's hospital stay went without a hitch. Angel arrived sometime after dark with a half-dozen earth demons to watch the hospital. The hidden guardians didn't see anything even remotely unusual, and even the fairies in the woods nearby reported that everything was quiet. After seeing that everything was under control, Angel left to set up his headquarters in the old mansion. He decided to give Giles the documents about the prophecy when Buffy got out of the hospital.

When Buffy was released the next day, a small entourage was there to escort David and Abigail home. Cedrick followed the two parents in his car, while Bill and Willow, Xander and Anya, and Joyce and Wilton followed in their own cars. It was quite a procession. They weren't aware of the extra car that followed them at a discreet distance. Their minds were occupied with more pleasant things.

Several days passed without too much excitement. Giles took several days' leave from school with Wilton's jovial approval. He studied Angel's documents, cleaned house and trained with Marcus, leaving Buffy to spend most of her time with the twins.

She quickly settled into a routine. Wake up when a baby cries. Feed baby. Change diaper. Go back to sleep. Wake up when the other baby cries. Feed second baby and change. Go back to sleep. Wake up and eat when husband insists on it. Come downstairs when there were guests cooing over babies. Hug oldest child from time to time so he won't feel left out. Look over husband's shoulder occasionally as he researches. Go back to bed. She wondered why both babies couldn't just be awake at the same time and save her all that running around.

Giles did his best to help Buffy with the babies' care, but breastfeeding them both was a bit overwhelming for her. She was determined to give them the same advantage as Marcus, and she'd breastfed him for several months. With two nursing children, she didn't always have enough milk to express, so Giles wasn't able to feed them as much as he would have liked. He held them as often as he could, making sure the bond between father and child was strong.

Giles' days of leave were over too soon, and he reluctantly returned to his classes. At Father Denning's suggestion, Giles hired a housekeeper to stay with Buffy for the weeks leading up to final tests. Buffy protested, but she knew her limits. She accepted the help gratefully. The housekeeper was a member of Father Denning's church, and was wonderful company while Buffy was getting herself organized again.

Giles called and made arrangements with her teachers to tape the remaining lectures so she could take her finals by mail. Wilton offered to administer the tests so Giles could concentrate on his own classes, and Buffy accepted eagerly. She really didn't want to retake the entire semester just because she missed her due date.

Once Giles' classes were done and Buffy's tests were taken and turned in, they sighed in relief and looked forward to a peaceful, baby-filled summer. Angel went back to LA, thinking his mission was over, leaving his books and manuscripts with Giles for continued study. The little family almost forgot about the prophecy, Cordelia's vision, and the reason that Angel had come to Sunnydale to protect them in the first place. The babies turned one month old, and they held a small party in commemoration.

Then the attacks began.

********

The moon was bright and low in the sky as Giles woke with a start. He heard something moving in the hall near the nursery. He listened, reaching out with the Bond until he made contact. Whatever it was, it reeked of evil.

He slid from the bed, not registering the fact that Buffy was still sound asleep. He reached under the bed for his sword and made his stealthy way down the hall. Marcus hadn't awakened, either. He wondered if it was some sort of spell. He then wondered why he was immune.

He peered into the nursery. Both babies were safely asleep, completely unaware of their peril.

He started back down the hall, but stopped wondering when he felt something brush against his back. He whirled, snarling, as a black shape appeared in his path. He brandished his sword and attacked, grunting with effort. Pieces of the demon, or whatever it was, flew in all directions. When it was completely dismembered, he stopped, taking gulping breaths.

The second brush made him spin again. He fought like a fury, defending his family with all his might. Sweat poured from him as he battled the darkness. How dare they invade his home, his sanctuary? More monsters threatened, and he destroyed them with mindless efficiency.

Another touch at his shoulder made him whirl again. He was about to strike when he faintly heard Buffy calling his name. He froze, squinting in the eerie moonlit hall. Something hit him on the arm. Hard. He winced and almost lifted the sword again, but her familiar voice stopped him.

"Rupert Giles! Wake up! You almost gutted me, you big goof!"

He stared at her stupidly, wondering where she'd come from. "Buffy?"

"The one and only, almost becoming the 'late' one and only. What is wrong with you? I've been calling your name forever. It was like you didn't even see me."

He put a hand out and touched her. Solid. Real. The sword clattered to the floor. "You didn't see them?"

"See what? You were shadowboxing. Or shadow-swording. Whatever it's called."

"You didn't see the demons? Black, oozing creatures with malevolent red eyes and fetid breath?"

She stared at him. "Way too descriptive, Rupert. Yuck. No oozing. No halitosis. Just you and your sword." She listened for a moment and then relaxed. "Good thing you didn't wake the babies, Daddy. Mummy would have been miffed."

"I... I..." He looked around, bewildered. "How did I get out here?"

"Beats me, babe. Just be careful with that sword. I don't want anyone getting decapitated in the hall."

"Oh, my God..." Giles moaned, realizing what he'd just experienced. Violent shivers began to run up and down his spine. "It was a dream. Buffy... I didn't see you come down the hall. I didn't even see you standing next to me... I could have killed you!"

"I doubt that. Slayer speed and all."

"But you wouldn't have ducked, would you? Because it was me... you would have believed that I would stop before I hurt you!"

"Rupert, honey, you're making a really big deal out of this."

"You don't understand," he said desperately, grabbing both her hands. "I was seeing something that wasn't there, and I wasn't seeing what was real. I could have killed you and never realized... or Marcus... or... or... God!" He began to cry silently, tearing himself away from her and standing with his shoulders hunched.

"Babe, you wouldn't hurt me." It was the wrong thing to say.

"You still don't understand!" he snarled. "I didn't see you! I didn't sense you! It was as if you weren't there!"

She gasped as the meaning of his words began to soak in. The Bond was no longer their perfect defense. Someone, or some thing, had found a way to penetrate their shield. To separate them.

"Oh, God in Heaven," Giles groaned, falling to his knees. "The prophecy!"

A door clicked behind them, and a sleepy Marcus padded to his mother. Rubbing his eyes, he asked, "Mummy? Daddy? What's wrong?"

The full impact of their situation hit her. Even her gifted son wasn't aware of what was going on.

"Daddy had a really scary nightmare," she said shakily. "We need to call Grandpa Cedrick. Daddy needs help."

Marcus felt her fear, and he began to get worried. "Let me call him," he offered. "He won't get mad if I call him." He turned and shuffled back to his room to use his new telephone.

"I don't... I'm not sure what time it is, exactly," Giles said weakly.

"Me, neither."

They both heard Marcus through the Bond. 'It's one o'clock, Daddy.' He shifted to verbal and said, "Hey, Grandpa, I'm sorry to wake you up, but Mummy and Daddy need you over here right now." He dropped his voice and said into the mouthpiece. "Daddy had a bad dream."

********

"This is unbelievable." Cedrick pushed his book back on the dining room table and rubbed his tired eyes. "A nightmare that can circumvent the Bond?"

"Believe it," Buffy stated flatly. "I didn't even hear him get out of bed. Marcus didn't wake up. The babies didn't wake up. Only Giles was affected."

"It's... I've never heard of anything that powerful."

Giles was sitting hunched over in his chair, looking lost and miserable. "I had no idea it was a dream, Father. I brandished my sword in the hall."

"Of course you did, son. You saw danger, and you reacted. It's perfectly normal."

"Unless there's nothing there," Giles insisted with distaste. "Then it's perfectly, completely mad."

"What did Bill say when you called him?" Buffy asked her father-in-law, deliberately avoiding her husband's assertions of madness.

Cedrick didn't look up.

"You didn't call Bill," she accused.

"No, I didn't. Young Armstead is a steady fellow, but I still find it difficult to trust Connors."

"You think because his boss is a crook that Bill is, too?"

"No. I think Connors' motives are suspect, and that means that Armstead's orders are suspect as well. I don't doubt the young man personally. If Armstead knows, he will call his superior, as he was trained to do. And Connors will send reinforcements, no matter what Armstead says."

"That's all we need. More Watcher guys hanging around, getting in the way."

"I know," Cedrick said with thinly disguised anger. "Far be it from any of them to pay attention to advice from the man on the field."

"Or the woman on the field," Buffy said with a small snort. Giles put his head down into his hands, exhausted. Buffy began to stroke his hair gently, hurting with him. With clenched teeth, she grated, "Do you think they're doing this? The Council guys, I mean?"

"Hardly," Cedrick scoffed. "Connors is the only one with enough connections to hide this sort of activity from the Director, and while he agrees in theory that the Bond exists between Slayer and Watcher, he continually scoffs at anything overtly supernatural. He believes only what he sees, and prefers brute force over finesse."

"I wonder how many Watcher guys he'll send?"

"A task force normally consists of ten."

Giles groaned. "Ten suspicious Watchers to reckon with. How lovely."

"Yeah, I know. Like we need something else to worry about."

"Do you want me to stay and keep watch tonight, Rupert?" Cedrick offered. "I've had a rather decadent amount of sleep lately."

"I'm afraid that's about to change," Giles said gloomily. "Yes, Father, I'd very much appreciate it if you would prevent me from killing my family in their sleep."

"Rupert!" Buffy exclaimed, shocked at Giles' fatalistic attitude.

"I'm sorry, love. The idea that I could unknowingly harm one of you... it turns my stomach."

"I know, honey."

Just then, a thin wail from upstairs was accompanied by an insistent nudge from the Bond. Instantly all three adults jumped to their feet. They stared at each other in amazement, smiles spreading across their faces as they realized what had happened.

"David just called us!"

"I felt it!"

"Extraordinary!" Cedrick exclaimed, feeling suddenly warm all over.

"Mom?" Marcus called from the top of the stairs. "David's hungry again!"

"We know," all three adults chorused.

********

When Buffy awoke the next night, she was completely unaware that she was caught in a dream. The room looked perfectly normal, right down to the pile of unfolded underwear on the chair. One of Rupert's socks hung limply over the edge, barely defying gravity. Her hairbrush sat on the dresser in its usual place. It was so normal that she pinched herself to see if she was awake.

"Ouch. I guess that's not a good test," she said to herself. She looked over at Rupert. Sound asleep. How could he sleep through all that racket?

A low thumping noise was coming from downstairs. She knew Cedrick was in the house somewhere, but this noise was too heavy sounding to be human. She decided to investigate, just in case. She reached under the bed, forgetting that Cedrick had confiscated the more dangerous weapons. Finding nothing, she grimaced and eased herself across the room to peek out the door. The hall was empty, but the thumping was getting louder.

"I hope Cedrick isn't watching late-night TV," she commented, sounding more light-hearted than she felt.

She crept down the hall, every nerve screaming. Marcus' room was quiet except for his steady breathing. She ducked her head into the nursery, but David and Abigail were fast asleep. She paused to marvel at that miracle, then shook herself and started downstairs. The thumping was coming from the living room area.

When she stepped off the last step, the noise resolved itself into more of a chopping sound. It wasn't in the living room. It was in the kitchen. Her stomach began to lurch as she heard soft accompanying noises that went with the thumping.

Something being dragged across the floor.

Something wet.

She bit her lip to keep from screaming.

Easing along the wall, she made her way across the darkened room until she was across from the doorway. The sound was almost overwhelming here. Moonlight streamed into the room at a low angle. If she'd been thinking clearly, she would have wondered about that. The moon was in wane at the moment.

When she gathered her courage and looked around the wall, she almost threw up. Something large, black, and billowing was wielding a large meat cleaver. The rhythmic thumps were caused by the knife's impact against the vinyl floor. She couldn't see what was being chopped, but there was a spreading stain of blood pooling around and underneath the horrible figure. The pristine white walls of the kitchen cabinets were spattered in random patterns. As if it sensed her presence, the hideous thing stopped its hacking and turned evil, narrow red eyes towards her. It grinned. She let out a desperate cry and pushed into the room.

"Cedrick!!!"

In the living room, the man being called bolted out of his chair. He hadn't even heard Buffy pass by him. He took a few steps towards the kitchen but realized how foolish that would be. He decided to hide instead.

It turned out to be a wise choice. He dove behind the entertainment center, calling Buffy's name via the Bond. He couldn't contact her at first, so he bore down, concentrating with fierce determination. It made his head ache terribly, but he persisted. In her anguish, Buffy dismantled most of the downstairs before Cedrick could get through to her. He couldn't see her, but when he finally heard the ring of metal hitting the floor, he stood and carefully and began looking for her.

"Buffy? My dear, are you all right? You're safe. We're all safe. Where are you? It was another dream! Please, speak to me!"

A sudden silence answered him. He cautiously left his hiding place and found her in the dining room. The table and chairs had been chopped into kindling wood. She was standing in the middle of the destruction with tears running down her face. A badly blunted butcher knife was lying by her feet. She looked so very small and alone.

"Buffy? Are you awake?"

She began to sob.

"Oh, my dear..." he said brokenly and reached for her. She fell into his arms, nearly hysterical.

"What are we going to do, Cedrick? I can't stop this! What if I hurt you, or Rupert, or one of my babies? How can I protect you from me?"

He realized that this was something they couldn't handle alone. It was time to call in the troops. He only hoped that he wasn't playing into enemy hands.

"Father? What on earth... oh, my God." Cedrick heard his son's footsteps coming down the stairs. Giles skidded to a halt in the living room, looking around at what was left of the furniture. "Dear God in heaven... Father? Buffy?"

"In here," Cedrick called hoarsely. Giles ran to them, ignoring the rest of the rubble as he focused on Buffy's heaving shoulders.

"The dreams got to her, didn't they?" His voice was hollow. These faceless, nameless attackers made his skin crawl and his stomach turn, but there was no one to fight, no target to eliminate. He'd hoped somehow that she would be immune, that her power was greater than his. If he went mad, she could easily contain him.

But what could they do against a demented Slayer?

"Those cowards," he spat venomously. "Attacking us in our sleep. Father, we need help."

Cedrick nodded dumbly. Buffy's sobs shook him both physically and mentally. What could they do? It was only a matter of time before someone got hurt.

"Call Connors," Giles commanded, his voice thin and icy. "Let's not wait on Armstead. Call him yourself."

Cedrick nodded again. He turned Buffy into her husband's arms and went to find an undamaged telephone. He had to go upstairs. There wasn't much left on the main floor except the television and the curtains.

He met Marcus in the hall.

"It happened again, didn't it?" the boy said sadly, still rubbing one eye.

"Yes, it did. Go back to sleep now, it's over." He walked up to Marcus, putting a gentle hand on his head.

"It isn't over, Grandpa. Not until you stop the evil people."

"The what?"

"The evil people. The ones casting the spell."

"You can sense the spell, Marcus?"

Marcus shook his head slowly, trying to put into words what he was feeling. "No, just the evil people that cast it. I think I dreamed about bad stuff coming in the house while we were asleep, but then I couldn't wake up until it was already gone again." He looked at his grandfather in sorrow. "I wish I could just wake up."

"So do your mother and father," Cedrick said, patting Marcus' shoulder. "Go back to sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

"Okay, Grandpa."

Cedrick went on to his son's room and sat on the rumpled bed. With a giant sigh of apprehension, he dialed the man that had removed him from office to ask for help.

Cedrick calmly explained the situation as it stood, hoping that Connors would overlook personal dislikes and do his job. Once convinced of the imminent threat of danger, Connors became surprisingly solicitous, agreeing at once to send help. Regardless of whether or not Connors liked Cedrick Giles, a threat of this magnitude could hardly be ignored. Assisting a Watcher and Slayer, retired or not, was a matter of pride. Connors promised to send as many qualified Watchers as he could spare, confident that sheer numbers could search out the source of the nightmares and break its hold.

While Cedrick was hanging up the phone, he heard muffled sounds in the hall. He went to the doorway, seeing Giles coming towards the bedroom with Buffy curled up in his arms, weeping like a small child. Giles' voice was low and soothing, whispering gentle reassurances to the traumatized Slayer. Giles looked up at his father, his eyes desperate and fearful.

"I'll be in the guest room if you need me," Cedrick said softly, moving towards his own room. "I'll talk to Armstead in the morning. There's nothing he can do at the moment." Giles nodded gravely, catching the implied statement, 'there's nothing any of us can do,' and turned into the master bedroom. Cedrick could hear Buffy's sobs until he closed his door.

********