Chapter Five
The agreed upon few days stretch into a few weeks, and Buffy and Dawn spend the time touring the city and patrolling the streets and cemeteries even beyond the Quarter. They run into the New Orleans Slayer, Emily, and help her with a few crises. They also eat lots of Cajun food and pralines, and Dawn discovers a penchant for the baked oysters at Acme Oyster House while Buffy prefers the chicken and sausage gumbo at the Gumbo Shop.
Everywhere they go, they search faces for a glimpse of Spike, but they never find him. Even though they don’t find him, Buffy and Dawn spend a good portion of their time re-visiting memories of their life in Sunnydale. Sometimes the other’s perspective on certain events is very surprising and illuminating. In any case, the time together really talking about real stuff brings them closer.
What finally makes them decide to leave New Orleans is the change on William Abbott’s website. The book tour is cancelled, and Spike posts a letter to his fans, apologizing, citing illness, and stating that he has returned to New York to write his next book.
The sisters are both heartbroken but resigned, and they call Giles to tell him that they are on their way. They fill him in on the details, and although he says that maybe it’s for the best, Buffy can tell he hurts because they hurt. When they arrive in Houston, he’s waiting for them at the airport, and he hugs them close and carries their luggage. Even though Buffy would have been fine hauling everything, she lets him take care of her.
They discover that Giles changed hotels and now has a large suite with an extra room, so they stay with him. The hotel even supplies them with an unusually comfortable sofa bed, and Giles gets permission from Dawn’s training Watchers for her to stay with them and not head back to Council headquarters. Dawn is more than thrilled to be getting field training from Giles. Somehow being back with Giles brings Buffy comfort even if he has them reading a pile of books almost as soon as they walk in the door.
* * *
The day after Buffy and Dawn arrive in Houston, Liz and Jenn tumble into the Giles’s hotel room, bearing research snacks and energy. The two Slayers could be sisters. They’re young and both tall and slim with dark wavy hair. They laugh a lot for Slayers, and instead of saying “you guys,” they say, “y’all.” The darkness somehow hasn’t touched them yet. Buffy vaguely remembers being that young and naïve, and she definitely knows she doesn’t want to go back there.
“So what have you guys learned while Dawn and I were in New Orleans?” Buffy plops in one of the empty chairs around the designated research table.
Chewing on a Twizzler, Liz says, “Well, we did a bit of recon, and we now know that the vamps have an ‘in’ through a group of engineers. The engineers usually meet for weekly margaritas at Chuy’s, and one of those nights went wrong. Some of them are now vampires, too.”
“Who turned them?” Dawn asks, snagging a Twizzler out of the bag on the table.
A thick volume balanced in his hand, Giles runs his finger over a paragraph. Then, he takes off his glasses. “I believe a lesser known student of Sir Isaac Newton. Like Newton, he studied mathematics and astronomy.”
Buffy opens a bag of chips and decides maybe focusing on the exposition will help her divert from her thoughts and feelings about Spike. “Does this student vamp have a name?”
Giles continues, “He’s so lesser known that when he was turned, he took on a new name. He’s changed surnames over the centuries, but he always keeps his adopted first name.”
“Which is?” Buffy asks.
“Isaac.”
“Way to be creative. What’s his current last name?”
“Taggart,” Jenn supplies.
Forehead crinkling, Buffy frowns. “Are you sure this isn’t Isaac Newton himself getting his undead self on? ‘Cause that would be kinda cool being that he’s a historical figure and all.”
Jenn shakes her head. “We thought about that. Nope. Not Isaac Newton.”
“Is he dangerous?” Dawn scoots her chair closer to the table and tugs over one of the open books.
Giles walks around them, resuming his exposition, “Well, he’s smart, so he often lays low, and he has rarely allowed himself to be identified in any slaughters over the centuries. There are rumored accounts that he was an active participant in several mass slayings of villagers in Europe, Asia, and oddly enough, Latin America. But what makes him unique is that he’s amassed a rather large. . .”
Taking a sip of her Dr. Pepper, Liz interrupts, “He’s rich. . . like millionaire rich.”
Buffy is thoughtful. “A vampire with resources. That’s not exactly new, but it’s interesting how he’s using them. Why does he want a hand in this industry?”
Giles shuts the book he’s holding and taps his glasses on his lower lip. “My guess is more power and resources along with connections in the oil and space industries will allow him to have a worldwide influence, which he can use. . .”
“In a variety of nefarious ways per usual?” Dawn asks.
Giles sighs, clearly giving up.
Jenn types an address in the Google Earth app on her phone. “And we found where he currently lives. He has a house in Bellaire.” She reveals a picture of a large two story white house with very few windows and a gated fence.
Dawn squints at the image. “Far cry from a crypt.”
“He’s got several minions, and we think one of them is a witch. So we’ll need as much help as we can get. We think he’s turning one or two of the engineers at a time and then helping them through the initial phases until they can return to their jobs,” Liz explains.
Buffy leans back in her chair. “So stopping him is a priority.”
“Yep. He’s already had a few problems with his engineers. Some of them have gotten away and gone home and killed their families.”
“Damn.” Buffy is still amused that her little sister curses.
“Right?” Jenn grins at Dawn.
“We got a witch to counter their witch?” Buffy asks.
“Nope, but Giles called Willow. She gets in town tonight.”
“Oh good.” Buffy hasn’t seen her friend in a while, and she could really use some best friend talk.
Liz and Jenn give each other a look and stand as one, which is half-creepy, half-cute.
Jenn speaks up, “We’re going to head out for supplies. Dawn, wanna come?”
“Sure!”
Now Buffy feels really old.
When Giles and Buffy are alone, Buffy says, “Thank you. For coming all this way.”
Giles slides into a seat next to her, arms between his splayed legs. “You’re welcome. I haven’t exactly always been there when you needed me, so I try to make up for it every now and then.”
Buffy leans her head on her father figure’s shoulder, “You’ve been there plenty. You’re here now.”
After several seconds, he says, “Regarding Spike.”
“What about him?” She has to try hard to sound nonchalant.
“When I said that it was for the best, I didn’t mean. . . . I’m sorry things didn’t turn out the way you hoped in New Orleans.”
Buffy closes her eyes. “Honestly, I’m not sure how I hoped they’d go.”
“I’m also sorry for how I handled things with him in Sunnydale. It wasn’t my place to. . . not after the way I botched things the previous year. I decide I need to step away from taking care of things for you and then I think I have a right to step back in again?”
Buffy hesitates, not sure how to react. She knows Giles is referring to his role in Principal Wood’s vendetta. The spark of anger is muted now. She finally says, “Thanks.” This doesn’t let Giles off the hook, but it also means she forgives him.
“I suppose his sudden reappearance has me thinking about Sunnydale and how things ended there. . . what we did.”
“Join the club.” Her mind goes a thousand other Sunnydale-related places besides Spike. “I believe we did the best that we could.”
“Jennifer and Elizabeth are. . .”
“Exceptionally perky. . . almost obnoxiously so?” Both Giles’s eyebrows go up, so she adds, “We were like that once, weren’t we?”
“Well, I was not, but you, Willow, and Xander. . . you were young. You certainly kept me on my toes.”
“We’re not young now?”
Giles chuckles. “Not as young, but aren’t we all?”
Before Buffy can reply, someone’s cell phone rings on the table. She lifts her head as Giles leans forward for the device.
“I still can’t get over you having a cell phone. . . and texting!” she teases. Although she’s tempted, she decides not to revisit the digital book idea right now.
“I’m not that old!” Donning his glasses, Giles studies the screen as if hunting for something and then pushes on the screen to accept the call.
“Hello.” A pause and then, “This is he.” Buffy intently watches his face for a hint about the conversation as Giles listens, but he’s not good at giving her clues the way Xander does when he’s on the phone. “I see. Well, that is surprising.” After several more seconds, Giles begins to pace around the room. “Dear Lord. Why didn’t you call me sooner?” A shorter break. “The time difference doesn’t matter! If you receive any more information, I expect a call straight away.” He catches Buffy out of the corner of his eye. “Or at least send a bloody text!” Then, he hangs up.
Buffy is impatient. “What is it?”
“It seems that William Abbott has donated a sum of money to the Council and flagged it for you and Dawn.”
“What?!” Buffy’s mind spins, and her rebellious heart trips into hope.
“The amount is sizeable.” Giles sets the cell on the table.
“Like how much?”
“Half a million dollars.”
Buffy is floored. After living paycheck to paycheck for years, taking stuff out of the grocery cart at the front of the line, and once having the electricity turned off, she can’t even fathom that amount of money. “Spike has that much money?”
“William Abbott does.”
“Why would he do that?”
Giles softens toward his Slayer. “Apparently, something you said struck a chord.”
“Wow.” Her choice of words seems woefully inadequate.
“The more troublesome part is that now, he’s coming here. To Houston. I believe he’s trying to cross paths with Willow on the way. She’s had a few layovers.”
“What?!” Buffy repeats. Unbidden, her heart is hurting again. Stupid heart.
* * *
Almost as soon as Dawn, Giles, and the two Slayers leave the hotel to further investigate Isaac Taggert’s witch and to patrol some cemeteries, Buffy receives a text from Willow.
“Buffy? I just landed at Houston Intercontinental. I’m in a long line to catch a cab. Will be there ASAP.”
Buffy, who stayed behind and has been obsessively and surreptitiously monitoring Willow’s flight status while the others did more planning, types back, “I know. I’ve been checking.”
“I had some delays, but I’m here now. Heard you and Dawnie were in New Orleans. How was the city since Katrina?”
Buffy tries to figure out how to sum up her time there in a text. After a few seconds, she decides she can’t and only answers Willow’s question. “Not bad. I don’t think the Quarter got hit too badly.”
“Good! You’ll never guess who I ran into at the airport!”
Buffy holds her breath. “Let me guess. . . Spike. Well, not exactly Spike.”
“How did you know???”
“We found out from the Council.” For once, Buffy is finding that texting is not conveying nearly enough information. “Can I call you?”
“Er, no.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s waiting for a cab with me!” Buffy grins, picturing Willow being flustered.
“Oh. Well, is he being. . .” She doesn’t know what to type and decides on, “strange?”
“No. Actually, he got stuck with me on a layover in Chicago, and we ended up at a bar. We had drinks, and he filled me in on his current status.”
“What do you think?” Buffy twists her braid around her finger.
“Well, he’s definitely human and not a demon or shapeshifter or anything.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
“There’s something about him. Something’s unstable about his essence.”
“What do you mean?” Buffy’s fingers stay ready to type as she leans against the wall.
“It’s something changing about him. Like part of his aura is splitting off.”
Buffy wonders if what Willow’s describing is what she witnessed in New Orleans. “I think I know what you mean.”
“I’m not sure how to describe it, but I think something in his timeline as William is overlapping with his timeline as Spike. I’m actually glad he found me. . . found us because I think that this shift could be bad for the world’s timeline.”
Buffy feels queasy. “Do you think that Dawn and I caused this?”
Willow’s response is clear and direct. “No.”
“Can we help him?”
“I think so. Actually, I’ll have him talk with you when we get there. Gotta go. We’re up for a cab.” “Okay! See you soon!” Buffy frowns at her final, overly cheerful message. It doesn’t communicate just how concerned she suddenly feels.