invisiblecompany

It was a long flight and Willow was tired. She had spent most of the journey looking out from her window seat, lost in familiar sad thoughts. She could not sleep but was too tired to watch the movie or read the book that Dawn had put in her backpack. For most of the night flight all she could see was pitch darkness punctuated by the mesmerizing blink of the aircraft's navigational lights at the tip of the wings.

As the endless night gradually became dawn she watched as a tiny speck of orange peeked out from beneath the horizon and punctuated the deep darkess. It was much like the sunrises she had watched day in day out in Sunnydale, only from 39,000 feet it was much clearer. Much closer.

Once the plane broke through the clouds on descent she laid eyes on England for the first time. She tried hard not to think about how this was not the way she had always imagined her first visit to be like. In high school she had visions of visiting the Council with Giles, of standing in awe at the library where mini-Gileses in tweed studied to become watchers. Later her dreams changed to those of visiting Joey's home, of trying out funny sounding foods, of kissing Joey in the quad of her old college at Oxford.

It grew lighter and she was able to make out the endless fields of irregular shapes in shades of green and brown, like a vast earth-toned patchwork quilt covering the entire landscape. Now and then roads and villages and rivers would disturb the pattern, and as they drew nearer to London the green gave way to the grays of houses clustered closely together along narrow streets. Everything seemed so compact compared with California.

She managed to get out of the airport and onto the bus fairly quickly, only to be hit by the morning rush hour traffic. Once she had settled into her seat she entertained herself by reading roadsigns, trying out the pronounciations of unfamiliar places. Leigh Delamere, Colnbrook, Cirencester. The last one finally stumped her and she made a mental note to ask Giles. They stopped at a "service station" along the "motorway" and she had an unmemorable breakfast and tasteless coffee, although the caffeine injection was much needed. Her first meal in England ... no, not going there.

*****

"Will—." As soon as Giles opened the door he found himself in a bear hug before he was able to another syllable out. He stood there, arms pinned to his sides by a redhead half his age and size.

Willow finally released Giles from her vice-like grip. "Well, I made it."

"You did," Giles smiled. "Come in, come in, make yourself at home, I'll get your bags."

Willow found herself in Giles' warm and studious living room, much larger than his place in Sunnydale. Shelves groaning under the weight of books and papers, more mainstream books, she knew most of his occult and mystical books were back home where they were needed for research. She wondered where was home for him, Bath or Sunnydale, and decided it was probably both.

Her eyes were drawn to the photos of the Scooby gang lovingly displayed on the mantelpiece. She stopped at the group picture taken at Thanksgiving and gently traced her fingers over it. It was Joey's first Thanksgiving and she remembered how everybody had chipped in with the cooking and Joey's ridiculous expression when she stared at the mountain of food finally produced.

Of course there was the attack by the Chumash Indians but Buffy had quickly disposed of that threat. How little did they know it would be Joey's last and only Thanksgiving. Her heart grew heavy, like it always did, when she thought of firsts and lasts like that.

When Giles came back with the bags he found Willow forlornly staring at the pictures on his mantelpiece, tears in her eyes. Pictures of his children, one of whom was gone forever and another barely holding herself together in his living room.

"Willow. It's alright," he said as he took her into his arms. It hurt him to see Willow so vulnerable, in so much pain. Willow, who was always the strong one, with amazing resolve and latent power, not to mention off-the-charts intellect. She was the quiet pillar that supported Buffy all these years fighting evil, saving the world.

Giles recognized that he was not only Buffy's watcher, he was Willow's and Xander's too. And by extension, he had also watched over the others who came into the Scooby gang. That something so tragic would happen while he was away gutted him. He was angry at the Council, at the blasted time difference but most of all he was angry at himself. A part of him could not forgive himself for not being there to save Joey, to protect his charges, to help Willow deal with her grief. To help Buffy with the guilt that she must be piling on herself.

But he would not allow his inner turmoil to spill out. He had to be strong, be Willow's parental figure. So when she called to tell him she was coming to England he did not voice out his concern, that seeing Joey's parents and home might trigger more grief. Instead he clung onto the hope that being away from Sunnydale would be what Willow needed to come to terms with her loss. She could stay at his house as long as she wanted.

"I'm sorry, I'm being a crybaby. It's just, the pictures," Willow sniffed.

"I'll put them away, I should have thought of that," Giles apologized.

"No, don't. Please. They belong here, they look nice. I-i-i think I want to see them, it'll help. I'm ok now," she said with quiet resolve.

"Are you sure? Feeling better?" he asked as she nodded and straightened herself. "Alright, let me show you to the guest room. Take your time, unpack, freshen up. The bathroom is just outside your door. I'll make, well it's too late for breakfast, it'll have to be brunch. Then you should take it easy for the rest of the day. "

"Thanks Giles, you're the best," she smiled a little smile that brought a little hope to his heart.

*****

"Do you have any specific plans for the next few days?" Giles asked over dinner.

"Not particularly, though top of my list is to set up my laptop and your computer so you can start sending emails to Buffy and Dawn and I don't feel like a quadriplegic," Willow replied.

"I don't know what I was thinking when I said yes to letting the council buy one of those infernal contraptions." Giles grimaced at the mention of computers.

"Well I for one applaud the council for finally stepping into the 21st century. Look, I'll show you how to do email, that's all. Just think about it as a really fast way of sending letters, ok?" Willow said, amused at Giles' continued aversion to anything electronic. He was the world's biggest luddite, really.

"If you say so. So, any other plans?" he asked again.

"You're talking about Oxford?" He nodded. "I don't think I'm ready yet. I need ... more time, to gather my courage. Do you mind?"

"Mind? You mean about staying here?" This time it was her turn to nod. "Of course not, you're more than welcome to stay as long as you want. Thing is, I had a call from Quentin this morning. I have to go up to London, a team of experts on ancient Sumerian stone tablets is here at the council's invitation and all watchers have been summoned to this conference. Will you be alright on your own for a few days? I'll try to be back by the weekend."

"I'll be fine. I won't venture far," she reassured him.

"It's an important event, we may be able to get more insight into the significance of these tablets that are cropping up here and there. Just last week some archeologists on a dig in Pakistan found another one. It may be something, but it may be a co-incidence. I feel like I'm being a bad host though, you fly all the way here and I'm leaving you on your own in an unfamiliar town," Giles began.

"Giles stop being such a fuddy duddy. You don't have to hang out with me constantly, I'm the one imposing. I know you have lots to do each time you come back, I don't want to mess up your plans, ok?" Willow insisted. "I'll find my way round, I'll ask someone if I get lost, it's not like the natives are demonspawn or whatever. I'm sure they don't bite."

He smiled. "No, no demonspawn around these parts, well, none that I've come across in all the years I've lived here. The usual hauntings, curses and of course the witch at Wookey Hole. Most are local folklore embellished beyond belief."

"Really? Witches?" she asked, intrigued. "Real ones or the usual stereotyped hags with crooked noses and big teeth? And Wookie Hole? I didn't know witches hang with giant cuddly furry space pilots. Oh forget it, you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about," she added, laughing at his totally perplexed expression.

"Actually Wookey Hole is a cave not far from here that has been inhabited by humans for tens of thousands of years. The legends have always spoken of a witch in the caves who terrorized the nearby villagers, and that a monk from Glastonbury Abbey turned her into stone, obviously for being a witch. There's a rock shaped like a woman there. A woman's skeleton was also discovered inside the cave together with a polished alabaster ball which made the legend even more titillating," Giles explained.

"See, that's exactly why I need to get online, to learn about these fascinating places in and around Bath that I can visit."

"Pray what's wrong with the public library, or even the tourist information office?"

"Information at my fingertips, my dear Giles," Willow explained patiently. "No need to leave the comfort of your living room, or be bound by pesky inconveniences like opening hours."

"I can tell you right now where you should visit, without resorting to your laptop," Giles challenged.

"Fine, hit me."

"Well, Bath itself obviously. Both the Abbey and the baths themselves. Stonehenge, Wells, Wookey Hole you've heard of. Glastonbury with the Arthur connection. These are the most common. Then slightly off the beaten path are the stone circles at Avebury, the ruined castle at Tintagel, the caves and gorge at Cheddar and the white horse of Uffington. You can even venture as far down as Devon and Cornwall or further north to the Cotswolds," he effortlessly reeled off all the places of interests. It would take Willow quite a while to visit them all, but it was a good distraction for her and he was glad she was taking so much interest.

"Slow down! Let me write them down first. English places sound so strange I tell ya."

"And Fresno and Oxnard sound so much more normal."

"Hey buster, you live in California too!"

Giles smiled inwardly at the banter, a good sign that his charge was opening up. "I do indeed. Now it sounds like you can easily keep yourself occupied and out of trouble. Why don't we clear the dishes and call Buffy and the others? I want to check on Dawn and I'm sure Anya is dying to talk to me about how much more profitable the Magic Box is becoming since I left it with her."

"Yeah, tell me about it. She loves the money coming in, I have a feeling she secretly doesn't want you to go back so she can continue playing at being in charge. Well no, I'm not saying this right, we all want you to go back, so don't worry, she'll get outvoted for sure," Willow backpedalled. "You are going back aren't you? To Sunnydale? None of the leaving talk you swore me to secrecy last summer? Cos I'm not scanning your library again."

"No. I've learnt my lesson. I'm staying in Sunnydale. I do expect to be back here once in a while but no more talk of packing up or leaving," Giles said. He knew where his place was now. He would stay at the hellmouth for as long as he was needed. By his slayer and his children. With his family.