Changes: Part 1
"Damn it, Giles. Wake up." Roger kept applying pressure to the bleeding wound on Giles' forehead. It just didn't seem to want to stop. He looked around their cell and sighed. They hadn't even gotten completely out of the car before they'd been attacked. All he'd felt was a hand over his face, and the smell of chloroform and the next he knew he and Giles were here. Wherever here was.
Roger looked back down at Giles. He had Giles' head resting on his thigh. Clearly the attack had been meant for Giles, or at least the message was directed at him. While Roger had simply been rendered unconscious, Giles had been beaten. And he had not regained consciousness. It had been long enough that Roger was starting to feel nervous. His pupils looked all right and his pulse was strong, but still. It had been too long. Roger realized that part of his anxiety was due to the fact that he just wanted Giles awake. He wanted Giles to be figuring out what had happened and how to get them out of here.
Giles had several bruises on his torso. One eye was black, and he had been cut on his forehead. Roger imagined he'd been hit other places as well but he didn't want to strip Giles down to find out where, and Roger knew that the body was capable of taking hits without bruising at all. Roger felt a surge of anger. Beating a man when he was unconscious seemed to be an unforgivable act but the fact that it was Giles made Roger want to hit someone himself.
It was a futile effort but he checked all their pockets for a cell phone again. He kept hoping that maybe he'd missed one on his several previous searches, but they had obviously been taken, along with his pager and his palm pilot. Between them they had their wallets and one pen. Not exactly the stuff of daring rescues. He didn't think even MacGyver could make good his escape with those supplies.
There were two transom windows, high on one of the walls. The door was heavy and bolted shut from the outside. There was a steel urinal and a sink. That was it. Both Roger and Giles were on the floor and a concrete floor at that. Clearly, their comfort was not an issue.
Roger figured this had to do with the appointment they were supposed to have today. Giles had finally secured a meeting with Quentin Travers. He was even coming from England to LA to meet with Giles, and with Roger. Giles had insisted on that. He had wanted Roger there to help explain the medical side of things in case questions arose that Giles couldn't answer.
Roger wondered if the Council had ever intended to meet with them at all, or if this had been the plan all along. Had Giles frightened them so much with the changes he had proposed? Roger shifted his body trying to get a little more comfortable. He lifted his hand from Giles' forehead to see if the bleeding had finally stopped. Yes….no. He put his hand back in place. He closed his eyes remembering the conversation when Giles had told him what he'd been planning.
~~~~~ "So, all the tests show that Buffy should be able to get pregnant?"
Roger nodded. "Yes, if she stops slaying." Roger grinned. "Have you guys picked a date yet, for the wedding?" Roger signaled for the waitress and ordered another round.
Giles rolled his eyes. "I'm doing my best to stay out of it. I'm hoping Buffy will just tell me where I'm supposed to be and what she wants me to wear and that will be the extent of my involvement in the whole thing."
"Well, hopefully the after wedding activities will keep you more interested." Roger sent a mischievous grin Giles' way.
Giles couldn't help but grin back. He decided to change the subject. "I…I actually do have one chore I need to take care of." He coughed a little, nervous for some inexplicable reason. Roger lifted an inquiring eyebrow. "Would you…will you be my best man at the wedding?"
Roger gave Giles an enormous grin. "Are you kidding? I'd be crushed if you didn't ask." He frowned. "What about Paul?"
Giles grinned. "Buffy's going to ask him to walk her down the aisle. Don't say anything to him."
Roger's grin grew. "Who'd have guessed when we met you at this bar that we'd be a part of your wedding less than a year later?"
"Certainly not me. I'd have laughed at you." Giles sent an affectionate gaze Roger's way. He knew that he owed his relationship with Buffy to this man, and to Paul. And it had been Roger's wise-ass matchmaking comments that had started the whole thing for him. Made him think of Buffy that way. It might have happened anyway but Roger had spent a little over one hour with him and Buffy before he realized they were meant for each other but just didn't know it yet. And by the end of the evening he'd been proven right. He and Buffy had fallen in love that night and woken up in each other's arms. Giles smiled, just thinking about it.
Roger interrupted Giles' silent reverie. "I'd be honored to be your best man." He looked nervous. "Oh, God, does that mean I have to do things?"
Giles laughed. "We'll ask Buffy to make you a list, or better yet, we'll ask her to give it to Linda."
Roger nodded. "Good idea." He took a swallow of his beer. "Okay, let's talk about the rest of it. I want to know what you've been thinking about so hard. What you need me for."
Giles took a swallow of his beer too. "All right." He let out a deep breath. "I keep wondering what happens when a Slayer is called. What changes in her body, from one moment to the next, that gives her the enhanced senses and strength? We know who's likely to be called, although Buffy was unexpected, but we don't know exactly who it will be or what exactly happens when the transition occurs. All we know is that when a Slayer dies, that the next one is called. I want you to try and figure that out."
"I'd be glad to but how am I supposed to do that?"
"Well, it will require the cooperation of the Council, a conversation I am not particularly looking forward to. But I need access to two things." His face grew guarded and Roger watched him closely, not saying anything. After a few moments Giles spoke again. "Remember when I told you and Paul about Buffy's 18th birthday?"
Roger spoke carefully. "Yes, when you gave her those injections and her power went away?" His face lit up with comprehension. "You want me to study it?"
"Yes. I was told, and it was what I told Buffy, that it was a mixture of muscle relaxants and adrenal suppressants, but I know it's more than that. It made all of her powers go away, and no muscle relaxants can do that. I want to give it to her again, obviously in safer circumstances, and let you test her, see what it does, how her body changes because of it."
"Okay, that's one. You said we needed two things from the Council."
Giles nodded. "I need access to one of the Slayers-in-training. We need to see how they differ from Buffy. And if they both differ from someone who will never be called, like Willow or Tara."
Roger ran a hand over his face. "Assuming you can get me these two things, I can certainly run tests, and Linda can do pathology studies. But, where are you going with this? What's your overall goal?"
"I need to know if the call, when it comes, is physical, or mystical in nature. If we can figure it out maybe we can duplicate it. The world needs more Slayers. Maybe at one time one Slayer made sense, when so much of the world's population was more centrally located but now, there is so much evil in the world going unchecked."
Giles was just getting warmed up. "If we could activate Slayers they could be all over the world. They could work in teams, protect each other, and extend their life spans. With enough of them, Slayers could retire. They could put in their five years and get a gold watch. Go on and fall in love and get married and have a family, if that's what they want. Or pursue a career, travel. Live life like a normal person, having done their duty. It's inhuman, the way it is now. I can't abide it."
"Will the Council agree to this?"
"I don't know. They tend to be a bit on the conservative side. Buffy and I have always been a bit on the edge as far as they're concerned."
"And yet here she is, almost five years later. She takes a licking and keeps on ticking."
"Excuse me?"
"Advertisement, Timex watches." Roger waved a hand. "Never mind. Have you spoken to Buffy about this?"
"Yes."
"And…?"
"She's a bit apprehensive about contacting the Council. She hasn't had the best experience with them. But, she likes the idea. Actually she loves the idea. She is and I quote: 'way ready to retire', end quote."
"So, are you going to call them?"
"I wanted to make sure you were willing to help first."
Roger grinned. "Giles, I'm your best man, remember?"
Giles lifted his beer in salute and he grinned back. ~~~~~~
Roger looked down at Giles again and spoke. "Come on, Giles, wake up."
***
Willow put her hands up as if to protect her eyes. "Help, your ring, it's blinding me."
Buffy grinned and pretended to attack her with it. Then she held her engagement ring up, admiring it, and sighed. "Isn't it beautiful?"
Willow nodded. "It's gorgeous. It took you long enough to pick one out."
Buffy pouted. "I wanted it to be perfect. It's the only one I'm planning on getting."
Paul reached for her hand. "How much did this lovely little bauble set Giles back?"
Buffy laughed. "I wouldn't advise you to ask him that unless you have a CPR team standing by."
Linda smacked Paul on the arm. "Giles would have spent twice that if it made Buffy happy."
Paul grinned. "I thought it was the thought that counted."
Buffy shook her head. "Not with engagement rings."
Paul pursed his lips. "Ah." He locked eyes with Kevin and rolled his eyes. Kevin was perfectly happy to roll his eyes right back.
Willow got a dreamy look on her face. "I still can't believe you're getting married."
Buffy shared the dreamy look. "I know."
Linda took over the salad making duties, seeing that Buffy wasn't getting very far. She looked at the clock. "Shouldn't we have heard from Roger and Giles by now?"
Paul looked up at the clock as well. "Probably. Hopefully this just means that the meeting is going well."
Buffy scowled. "Meetings with the Council never go well. I wish he'd taken me with him."
Paul agreed. "Or me, or both of us for that matter." He was trying to set the table but as usual, there wasn't enough silverware. "Roger must have loaned you guys the silverware again. I'm just gonna run over and get it."
Buffy nodded. "Okay, the dishes in the dishwasher are clean if they're in there."
As Paul headed out Linda smiled. "Roger and I have decided we're buying you lots and lots of silverware for a wedding present."
Buffy laughed at that. She grinned at Kevin. Kevin had ruined quite a few pieces trying his best to bend them the way Buffy could.
Willow spoke up. "Hey, me and Tara were talking about having your bridal shower. We need to pick a date." She frowned. "Have you guys picked a date for the wedding yet?"
Buffy whined a little. "No. I just know that whenever I set a date that the next big and evil will be standing by to schedule the new and improved apocalypse for that weekend."
Linda munched on a carrot. She looked at Willow. "I understand you're going to be the Maid of Honor."
Willow almost bounced in her seat. "I know, I'm so excited." She gestured at Linda. "Buffy wanted you and Tara and Anya to be her bridesmaids but…"
Linda laughed and finished Willow's sentence. "But by the time she had the entire wedding party organized she realized that everyone she knew would be in the wedding…"
Buffy chimed in. "And no one would be sitting and watching."
Willow nodded. "Sort of like having a play without an audience."
Linda sighed. "I love weddings." She glanced at Buffy. "Yours will be especially nice because I know it will work out. So many people get married and even at the wedding people are wondering how long it will last." She grinned. "Giles is completely head over heels in love with you."
Buffy sighed. "Yeah, it's great, isn't it? He's so great." She reached for a carrot as well. "Isn't it weird though? I mean, I've known him so long. Who would have guessed that we'd fall in love and get married? Sometimes it just seems so strange."
Willow laughed. "That's true for almost all of us. I don't think any of our lives quite worked out as planned."
Buffy looked at her, nervous. "But that's a good thing, right?"
Willow touched her hand. "That's a totally good thing."
Buffy let out a sigh of relief. "Good."
Linda's lips tightened as she turned back to the salad. She couldn't believe how much these young adults had already suffered through in their lives. It took her breath away sometimes. Especially in light of the fact that they were still so full of joy and the capacity to love. She felt honored to know them all. She took a deep breath and turned back to Buffy. "So, have you decided what you plan to wear? And what you're going to inflict on Willow?"
Buffy got an evil grin on her face.
***
Paul let himself in and began hunting for Roger's silverware. When he decided he had recovered most of it the phone rang. He deliberated for a moment and then he decided to answer it. "Giles' residence."
The voice on the other end was annoyed. "This is Quentin Travers. Is Rupert Giles there?"
Paul started to get a knot in his stomach. "Quentin Travers?"
"Yes. Is Rupert there?"
"No, he went to meet with you. He left hours ago. Weren't you supposed to meet at 1:00?" Paul hoped it was just a scheduling snafu.
"Yes, we waited for three hours and he never showed up. We've gone back to the hotel."
"He wanted to meet with you badly. He wouldn't have just not shown up."
"Then where is he?"
"I don't know." Paul's mind was racing, his heart clenching at all the negative possibilities. "Let me have your number." Travers gave it to him. Paul took a deep breath. "Mr. Travers, who knew you were coming to see Giles?"
"The entire Board did. I would never have agreed to meet with him to talk about possible changes of this magnitude without their backing."
"Were there people on the board who were opposed to Giles' suggestions?"
Travers let out a short laugh. "Most of them, including me."
"Why did you agree to meet with him then?"
"Just because I don't agree, doesn't mean I'm blind, boy. I could see the merits of his plan even if I understand that it would set the entire Council on its ears and create chaos. Mistakes happen when there's chaos. Dangerous mistakes." Travers suddenly realized he had no idea to whom he was speaking. "Who is this?"
"Paul Erikson."
"Ah, the policeman."
"Chief of Police, yes." Paul was beginning to see why Giles and Buffy weren't inordinately fond of this man. There was something innately patronizing about him. Paul continued, needing more information. "Would anyone have opposed Giles enough to stop this meeting from happening?"
There was a moment's hesitation. "Yes, I suppose that is a possibility."
"A remote possibility?"
Travers let out a breath. "No."
Paul got angry. "Why didn't you think of this before? If we'd known Giles might be in danger we could have set up something safer. Damn it, Giles and Roger could be…" He stopped, unable to finish that sentence. He just prayed it wasn't true.
"I'm not responsible for Giles' safety. Nor am I responsible for actions taken by other Board members. I will wait until tomorrow. If I haven't heard from Giles by early evening, I will be returning to England."
Paul wanted to reach through the phone and throttle the man. "Well, I'll be sure to pass your message along to the Slayer. I'm sure she'll find your viewpoint an interesting one."
Travers swallowed and his face tightened. He didn't understand how that snip of a girl fostered such loyalty. All she did was aggravate him, with her insolence and disobedience. One of the reason's Giles' plan appealed to Travers was the thought of more malleable Slayers at his beck and call. "Yes, I've no doubt she'll be quite vocal about it. Perhaps she might want to spend her time more wisely looking for her Watcher." Travers hung up. He turned to his two companions and smiled. "She'll be coming soon. Get ready."
End of Part 1
Changes: Part 2
Paul slowly hung up the phone. He punched in the number to the precinct. Once connected he asked them to do a search for both Giles and Roger for accidents or hospital admissions. Then he punched in another number. He tapped his fingers impatiently waiting for her to pick up. "Angel Investigations."
"Cordelia, it's Paul."
"Paul! This is a pleasant surprise." Paul could hear the pleasure in her voice and he grinned. Then he remembered why he was calling.
"Well, not really."
"Why, are you breaking up with me already? We've only gone out on one date. It couldn't have been that bad."
Paul let out a short laugh. "Cordy, it was a wonderful date. This is just more along the lines of a business call. I think Giles and Roger are in trouble."
"Oh. That kind of call." There was a pause. "You thought it was a wonderful date?" She pulled it together. "Sorry, you want to talk to Angel or Wes?"
"Wes." There was a short pause and then another British voice got on the phone.
"Paul, it's Wes. What seems to be the trouble?"
"Well, Giles and Roger left earlier today to meet with Quentin Travers and a couple of his cronies to discuss the research they want to do and they never showed up. I just got off the phone with Travers and he said there was quite a lot of opposition. I was wondering if you could do any ferreting around, see if there is some sort of plot brewing. And I was hoping you could check out the place where the meeting was to have taken place."
"Hmmm. Yes, quite. I'll certainly see what I can find out, although I don't have the connections I once did. I'll send Angel out to the location. It's dark now so he'll be the only one who could find anything, assuming there's something to find. What car were they driving?"
"Giles' BMW." Paul gave Wes the location of the meeting. "I'll be coming down, I'm sure Buffy will too."
"Of course, we'll arrange some rooms for you."
"Great, and thanks, Wes." Wes was muttering to himself. Paul grinned and hung up. Wes couldn't quite rival Giles for research mode but he ran a close second. Paul let out a breath looking at the house next door. He wasn't looking forward to telling either Buffy or Linda that something might have happened to Giles and Roger. He checked the phone to make sure there were no messages. When he saw that there weren't he headed back over to Roger's, the forgotten silverware sitting on the counter.
***
Lights flashing and sirens blaring Paul and Buffy passed the sign welcoming them to Los Angeles. Buffy couldn't believe how fast they had gotten there. Her stomach was in knots wondering if Angel or Wes had found out anything. She began to direct Paul to the Hyperion. Paul pulled right up to the front, and parked in a no parking zone. He threw his police parking identification up on the dashboard.
Buffy hadn't said a word the entire trip down once she'd gotten past the initial questions.
~~~~~~~
After Paul had dropped the bombshell about Travers' call, Buffy stood and immediately started pacing. "How long has he…have they been missing?" She sent a small worried smile over to Linda.
"Travers said they never showed up. They were due down there to meet with him at 1:00. It's 5:00 now, so four hours at the least."
"Could they have gotten in an accident?"
"I'm having that checked now."
"We need to call Angel."
"Already done. I spoke with Wes. He's sending Angel to go look for Giles' car."
"We need to go down there."
"I know. Wes is making room arrangements."
Buffy walked over to Paul and gave him a brief but rib-cracking hug. "Thank you." She looked up at him. "We'll find them."
Paul smiled at her, worry clear in his eyes. "I know." Paul looked over at Linda. "I'll call you as soon as I know anything."
Linda was trying to keep her tears from falling, not wanting to appear too upset in front of Kevin. "I'll be here."
Willow walked over to Buffy. "Can I do anything?"
"Just stick close and have your laptop handy, just in case."
Willow nodded. "Be careful." She gave Buffy a hug. "He's all right. I know he is, they both are."
Buffy had a look of grim determination on her face. "They're fine." It was clear to all the adults in the room that if they weren't, that there'd be hell to pay.
Paul looked at Buffy. "Go get ready." Then he looked at Linda. "Do you have that picture of the three of us, me, Roger and Giles?"
Linda nodded and went to retrieve it off the refrigerator. "Here. Why do you need it?"
"Is your fax working?" It had been broken.
"Yes. Willow fixed it."
Paul grinned at that. He turned to Willow. "Go scan this in and set it up as a file, would you? I'll send it to the station and have them put out APBs on Giles and Roger. It won't hurt to have extra sets of eyes." Willow went into the office and got to work. Paul followed her in a few minutes and sent the file off to the station with instructions.
Within 15 minutes he and Buffy had been out the door. ~~~~~~~~~
And she hadn't said a word since. All she'd done is play with her engagement ring and look out the window. Paul couldn't even imagine Buffy without Giles at her side. Paul couldn't imagine his own life without Giles at his side, let alone his brother. As he and Buffy approached the door he put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find them, Buffy."
Buffy looked up at him. "I know." But Paul saw the doubt in her eyes and knew it was mirrored in his own.
Cordelia met them at the door. "Hey guys." She stood back and let them enter. Wes was sitting behind the counter. He stood and walked around it to greet the two of them.
Buffy went directly to the point. "Have you heard anything yet?"
Wes shook his head. "No, it's the middle of the night in England, unfortunately. I've tried a couple of people but I haven't had much luck as most of the numbers I have are business numbers."
Buffy pointed towards the phone. "Call Willow. She can get home numbers for you." As he headed over to the phone she stopped him. "Has Angel called in?"
"No, but I don't imagine he will unless he finds something. He'll just come back. He should be here shortly." Buffy nodded, not satisfied, and she began pacing around the lobby.
Cordy walked over to Paul. "Hey, are you all right?"
Paul shook his head. "No, I'm not." He looked down at Cordy. "But I am glad to see you." He smiled at her.
"Me too. I'm sorry it's for such a sucky reason though."
His answering laugh was bitter. "No shit." Paul looked over at Buffy, watched her frustrated pacing. "Maybe we should go find Angel."
"No need, I'm back." Angel hurried into the room. He nodded to Paul and then walked over to Buffy. Paul and Cordy headed over to join them.
Buffy could barely stand to ask. "What did you find?"
"I found his car. There was definitely a struggle. The doors were still open. I found these." He reached into his inner pocket and pulled out Giles' glasses. Buffy let out a soft cry and took them from him. Angel hesitated but Paul could tell there was more.
"Angel, what else did you find?"
Angel's lips tightened. "There was blood. At least one of them was hurt. I don't know who though."
Buffy's face got very still and her eyes filled with tears. She brought Giles' glasses up to her breast, as if to hold them over her heart. Angel tried to give her a hug but she put up her hand. Her voice was tight. "Do we have any idea who it was? Could you tell? Were they human?"
"There were several of them but the ground was so scuffed it was hard to figure much more out than that. I'm sorry, Buffy. I wish I had more to tell you." Once again he tried to reach for Buffy but she started pacing again.
Paul's eyebrows furrowed as he watched Angel. Cordy put a finger up to touch his forehead. "What's this for?"
"He still loves her, doesn't he?"
Cordy followed his eyes to Angel. She frowned too. "Yes, I think he'll always love her." She looked back at Paul. "Why do you care?"
Paul shook his head. "I don't know. The guy just makes me nervous."
"Angel makes you nervous?" Cordy's voice was incredulous.
Paul shot her an exasperated glare. "He's a vampire."
"So, Spike's a vampire and you seem majorly buddy buddy with him."
"Spike's different."
"How?"
"He hasn't done…" Paul shook his head. "Never mind." He didn't think he could explain how protective of Giles he felt whenever Angel got brought up or was around.
Cordy put her hand on his chest. "No, I get it. He hurt your friends. But, he's fine now. He'd never do that, he has his soul back."
Paul looked down at Cordy, his face serious. "He could lose it again. And he'd come after them again. He'd come after you. Can you honestly tell me you don't think about it? That it never worries you?" Cordy scowled. Paul pressed her. "You don't ever wonder if it could happen again?"
Cordy scowled again. "Well, all right, I think about it. But, I think about getting hit by a car when I cross the street too. I trust him, Paul."
"I know you do. They trusted him too. Buffy trusted him completely. Look what happened."
"But, now he knows he can't do that. He won't put us at risk like that."
Paul cupped her cheek with one of his hands. "I hope you're right." Shifting his hand he brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you."
Cordy grinned. "Too late." Paul grinned back at her impish tone. He turned as he heard more people enter. It was a young black man and a young woman with long brown hair and glasses.
"Paul and Buffy, this is Gunn and Fred." Cordelia did the introductions. She pointed at Fred and Gunn again. "They work here too."
Fred was looking at Buffy closely, a nervous look in her eyes. "You're Buffy?"
Buffy nodded distractedly. She looked up at Paul. "I need to talk to Travers."
Gunn spoke up. "I've been checking on him. He's at the Piermont. There are at least two guys on lookout, one at both entrances. I couldn't ID anyone in the lobby but there could be more."
Buffy looked up at that. "When Travers came to Sunnydale, this last time, he brought a whole gang with him. He likes to feel important."
Cordelia grimaced. "He came to Sunnydale again?" That first time, at Buffy's birthday, hadn't gone so well.
Buffy grimaced back. "Yes, another test for my 21st birthday. If I didn't cooperate they said they'd take Giles' green card away and deport him."
Paul walked over to Buffy. "What? Can they do that?"
"Giles said they could. He said that the Council could kill you with a pen. That paperwork and messing with the system was what they did best."
Cordy saw it then. She let out a squeal. "Oh my God, is that an engagement ring?"
Despite the seriousness of the situation Buffy couldn't keep a grin off her face. She held up her hand. "Yup, he bought it for me yesterday." Her eyes filled with tears.
Fred picked up her hand and looked at the ring. "You're getting married?" She looked at Angel. "But not to Angel, right? You're not marrying Angel?"
Paul saw the flash of desolation that passed over Angel's face but then it was gone. Paul spoke up. "No, she's marrying Giles. One of the men who's missing."
Wes slammed down the phone and all eyes were on him. "The Council has just informed me that they haven't sent anyone to meet with Giles. They say an official decision hasn't even been made yet."
Buffy's eyes grew very hard. "So it is Travers. Travers did this, he took Giles and Roger." She looked at Paul. "Let's go."
Angel stopped her. "Buffy, don't you think that's what he wants? This is a trap of some sort."
"I don't care. He has Giles."
Wes spoke up. "Buffy, Angel's right. We need a plan."
"I don't have time for a plan. One of them is hurt. Maybe both of them. I need to find them."
Cordy snickered. "Well, you haven't changed much. Getting captured yourself is so not going to help either of them."
Buffy let out a long breath. "Fine. You have ten minutes to come up with a plan. Then, I'm out of here." She looked at her watch and then looked pointedly at Paul. "Ten minutes." Paul nodded.
***
Giles was finally starting to come around. He wasn't completely awake yet but he'd started moaning and shifting a little and Roger knew that was a good sign. He put a hand on Giles' shoulder and gently shook it. "Giles, wake up."
Giles' eyes snapped open and he tried to sit up. He didn't make it very far and he would have fallen back if Roger hadn't caught him. He helped Giles scoot back to lean against the wall. Giles tried to get comfortable but his injuries hurt too much. "What happened?" He reached up to touch his face and winced at the pain.
"I don't know. We were jumped and knocked out. They left me alone but they beat you up. We're locked in, and no one's been around to check on us."
Giles put both hands to his head again, to his temples, to try and massage his headache away. "Do we know where we are?"
Roger shook his head. "No, but when you feel better I can boost you up and you can look out the window. I'm not tall enough on my own."
Giles nodded but made no effort to stand. "Give me a minute."
"Take your time." Roger flashed him a sardonic grin. "I don't think we're going anywhere." He felt better now that Giles was awake. "I'm sorry I don't have anything to give you for the pain."
Giles shook his head and then grimaced. "That's all right. I'll be all right." He looked up at the window. "Can you guess what time it is?"
"It didn't get dark that long ago. I'd guess around 6:30?"
Giles tried to stand and Roger rushed to help him. He limped over to the window. "Maybe I should boost you up. I feel pretty stiff to be doing any kind of balancing act."
Roger agreed and Giles made a step with his hands and braced them on his knee. He grunted when Roger put his weight on him but he stayed steady. Roger cleaned the window off with his sleeve. Giles called up. "Can you see anything?"
"Looks like we're in an old business district, pretty run down. I see some neon lights but nothing recognizable that would tell me where we are."
"How high up are we?"
"About twenty floors or so."
"Will the window open?"
Roger tried to get it open. It was painted shut. "Not without a lot of work." Roger could feel Giles giving out and he quickly stepped down. He assisted Giles back over to the wall and Giles thankfully slid down it and sat.
Roger stayed standing and went to try the door again. No give in it at all. He turned back to Giles. "Can you do any magic to get us out of here?"
Giles rolled his head from one side and then to the other. "I could probably put up wards, maybe keep anyone from coming in but that's about it. And someone coming in may be our only way out so I don't think that's a good idea."
"Can you send a message to Buffy somehow?"
Giles considered this. "I don't know. I've never tried it before." He glanced up at Roger. "I guess it's worth a try." He held his hand up. "Give me another minute. I probably ought to see what's outside the window so I can send that to her. I need to rest first though." His breathing was labored.
Roger walked over to him, concerned. "Is it hard to breathe? Or is it just that you hurt?"
Giles put a hand on his chest. "It is a little hard to breathe, but I think it's maybe just a broken rib or two."
"You can take a full breath then? Do it, let me see."
Giles took his time because it did hurt but he breathed deeply in and out enough to minimally satisfy Roger that his lungs weren't damaged. Roger sat down next to him and waited until Giles felt ready. When Giles tried to stand again, Roger again assisted him.
Giles wasn't looking forward to this. He looked down at Roger's laced fingers with some trepidation. Roger sent him a small smile. "I'll try and do most of the work, just get your foot up here."
Giles slowly lifted his leg, trying not to jostle his broken ribs. When he had his foot resting on Roger's hands he blew out a breath. "Ready?" Roger nodded. "One, two, three." Giles pushed off from the ground, not being able to avoid the groan that left his lips. He was gasping from the pain as he hung onto the window ledge. Roger moved beneath him and tried to take as much of his weight as he could, letting Giles practically sit on his shoulder. Giles had one hand on Roger's head and one on the ledge as he tried to fill his mind with any possible landmark that would pinpoint their location. After a minute he nodded. "Okay."
Roger frowned. "Okay. I'm not quite sure how to let you down. Wait…" Roger slowly started to lower his body, using one hand on the wall to help balance himself and the other to hang onto Giles. The last couple of inches he went down pretty fast and he grunted as his knees made contact with the concrete.
Giles was able to just stand at that point. He flashed Roger a grateful look and a grin. "Well, if I ever lose the shop we can start our own tumbling act."
Roger grinned back. He stood and rubbed his knees. "Only if we buy a heavily padded mat to practice on." Giles went to sit down again. Roger watched him. "Do you need me to do anything?"
Giles shook his head. "No, I'll just…I guess I'll just try and send Buffy a message." He shrugged his shoulders. "Like I said, it's worth a try." He stretched out his neck again. "Although I have to admit I feel pretty silly trying."
Roger sat down next to him. "Don't. If any two people could connect this way it would be you and Buffy." He let out a gasp. "Or you and Kevin."
Giles considered that. There was no doubt that Kevin seemed to be unusually tuned into Giles. Especially now that Giles was working with him to determine the strength and capabilities of Kevin's magic. Kevin seemed to know where Giles was, when he'd be home, when he was calling on the phone. "I hate to get him involved."
Roger rolled his eyes. "Giles, he'll be fine. Not much rattles that kid. You know that. Plus, he'd do anything for you. He worships you. He'll be thrilled to think he was helping. And Buffy would slay you alive if she found out you didn't try and something bad happened to you."
Giles tightened his lips on a grin. She would at that. "All right, I'll try." He rested his head against the wall and focusing all his concentration he sent out to Kevin.
End Part 2