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Chapter 19: Incognito Giles sipped his tea with a deep frown on his face. He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes, he had barely had any sleep at night. He set the cup down and grabbed the phone. While dialing he couldn't help but miss his old phone. ”Hello? Wesley? - Yes, this Giles. - Very well, and you? - That is good to her. But the reason I phoned is, I found something I believe you would like to see and I was thinking of sending the papers through fax. I know a fellow who has one and I would rather not send this kind of information through the post. - Yes. - How about Angel and Cordelia, are they going to...” He chuckled as he heard Wesley's response. ”Well, I would keep my distance on those things as well, but I'll try my luck this time. - I have some errands to run but I'll send the papers once I have the time. - Yes, you as well. Goodbye.” He hang up the phone and went to the kitchen, pulling out the book and papers from the cabinet. He looked through them once more with a frown on his face. He put them into a briefcase and after few arrangements, he left the apartment to deal with his errands. Nearly two hours later he walked into an office building and made his way into one of the offices. He knocked on the door. ”It's open!” a male voice called out, not sounding very happy. Giles opened the door and peeked in. ”Is this a bad time?” he questioned and a wide smile rose to the man's face. ”Rupert! Good to see you. Nah, I just thought it would be that imitation of a woman down the hall, she's been breathing down my neck the entire morning”, he answered, giving a dismissive wave of a hand, then signaled Giles to come in. Giles stepped in and closed the door. ”It's good to see you also, Marcus”, he said and shook the man's hand. ”Do you mind if I use that machine of yours?” ”As I said on the telephone, no I do not mind. You go ahead and use it, we can catch up while I get some work done”, Marcus said and went back to sit by his desk. Giles went to where the fax machine was set and started to work with it. Despite his tries to get it send the papers forward, the machine started to bleep and flash lights at him. He tried pushing the buttons but nothing seemed to happen. ”Blasted thing!” he growled and resisted the urge to hit the uncooperative machine. ”Still not a fan of technology, Rupert”, his friend chuckled and Giles sent a glare at his way. ”It seems technology does not like me very much. And the feeling is mutual”, he stated, glaring at the fax machine. Marcus laughed. ”Why don't I see what I can do with it”, he said and made his way to the table. He pulled the stuck paper out and reprogrammed it. But again the machine started beeping and flashing lights. ”Damn useless piece of rubbish!” Marcus cursed. ”See”, Giles said almost gleefully, apparently he wasn't the only one having trouble with it. Marcus glared at him and angrily hit the side of the fax. The lights stopped blinking and it seemed to continue working.
Lilah strolled into the Hyperion lobby and looked around herself, it seemed deserted. She frowned as she looked at her surroundings, every cabinet was locked. She wasn't sure if it was safety precautions for the coming baby or because they had finally got smart. She chose the first option. She sighed, there was no reason to snoop around since everything seemed to be behind locked door and she couldn't use psychological warfare when no one was around. She was on her way to the door when the sound of the fax machine made her stop. A smile rose to her lips as she turned around and made her way to the receptionist desk while keeping an eye on the stairway. She grabbed the papers at the rate as they came and quickly scanned the content. Her interest peaked as she recognized the marks as something very old she had seen on one of the prophecies on Angel. Quickly she hid the papers into her case and headed to the door. ”What are you doing here, Lilah?” Angel's voice made her stop. She turned around with a cocky smile. ”Just came to check the quality of this dump. Wolfram & Hart is considering on buying this building, naturally I have my company's best interest at mind. So tell me, since you have the inside information on this, which room is the best?” Angel folded his arms in front of him and gave her a withering look. ”What are you really doing here, Lilah?” He wasn't on the mood for her games. ”Oh, I just thought you might be lonely now that the missus is out of town”, she said innocently. Angel's face darkened as she mentioned Buffy. Lilah could see she was skating on thin ice, she might have been working for Wolfram & Hart but she still had plenty of self-preservation. Maybe Lindsey had been right, maybe the little slayer really was the way to get to him. ”You stay away from her”, Angel ground out, fighting to keep his demon in check. Lilah felt chills running down her spine but didn't show any emotion. ”Why don't you go sunbathing, Angel”, she snapped and headed towards the door. The papers in her briefcase were making her fingers itch. She had a feeling she was going to like what ever they held and she couldn't wait to find out. But her journey to the door was interrupted when Angel grabbed her arm in a vice grip and spun her around to face him. ”I know you're a smart woman, Lilah. So don't start acting stupid now. Stay away from Buffy”, he growled and looking into his eyes, Lilah wasn't all sure if it was Angel anymore. His hold on her arm was cutting off the circulation and it was already starting to go numb. 'That's going to leave a bruise', she thought to herself. Angel pushed her back towards the stairs, letting go of her arm. She could feel the blood rushing back to her arm and unconsciously rubbing the spot his hand had been, she rushed to the door. Angel stood in the lobby, trying to gather himself. His fists were clenching in the suppressed anger and he had to fight not to let his demon surface. ”Did I hear someone talking?” Wesley's voice came from behind him. ”Lilah graced us with a visit”, Angel stated. ”Oh”, Wesley just said, then seemed to realize something else. ”Has the fax machine gone off?” He walked around the receptionist desk to check the machine but found it empty. ”I haven't checked. Are you expecting something to come through?” Angel answered and turned to look at him. Wesley shook his head. ”No. Just wondering”, he stated, it was too early to tell the others what he knew, especially to Angel and Buffy. Angel watched him closely, wondering what he was hiding. He could hear his quickening heartbeat and it only confirmed his suspicion that Wesley wasn't telling the whole truth. But he trusted the former watcher, he had become his friend and he was sure the man would come clean once the time was right.
Buffy went to Giles' apartment, this time he was alone. ”Have you seen Faith? She hasn't reported back in two days, not that it is unusual”, Giles questioned as Buffy lowered herself to his couch. ”Yeah, I saw her when I got here. She said she's been doing some extra sweeps, even the cemeteries that are slow and had Spike handling the ones she's not”, she answered and struggled to bend down enough to remove her shoes. She was glad that Giles was the only one there to see her. Finally she managed to release her feet from the binding things and settled into trying to find a more comfortable position. ”Sorry. I know this looks funny and is annoying but the huge stomach really doesn't agree with me”, she said and continued shifting on the sofa. ”Yes, I believe it might be... difficult”, Giles said awkwardly and removed his glasses, looking away as he polished them with his handkerchief. ”That's putting it mild”, she answered and sighed in relief as she finally found a position that didn't hurt her lower back. ”Ow!” she cried out as the baby kicked. Giles jumped in alarm and turned to look at her. ”Are you alright? Is something wrong?” he questioned nearly frantic. ”I'm fine”, she said with a pout, then continued almost accusingly, ”The baby just has been kicking my ribs all day.” Again Giles removed his glasses, polishing them and jumped to his feet. ”Tea?” he suggested. She looked up to him, little suspicious of his behavior. ”Sure. Do you have that same one as the last time? It seemed to calm the baby.” ”Umm... Yes, I believe I still have some”, he answered and hurried to the kitchen. Buffy looked after him with a frown but her attention was drawn back to her stomach as the baby kicked once again. ”Would you stop that, we're not going back home in two days”, she said to the bump and was rewarded with yet another kick. ”Boy, you're stubborn”, she sighed. Some time later Giles returned from the kitchen with a tray. He set it on the coffee table and awkwardly Buffy shifted enough to sit on the edge of her seat so she could reach the cup. They drank their teas and talked about nothing in particular. During the many topics of conversation going from her mother to Cordelia's career, Buffy noticed he seemed to be avoiding mentioning her pregnancy or if it came up, he quickly changed the subject. But she decided to put it under the fact that he was like a father to her and didn't want to think about how she got pregnant. She set down the second cup of tea she had drank and turned to look at him, remembering why she had originally came to see him. ”Do you have the...” she started to ask but couldn't remember the name. ”What ever the books name was...” she added trailing off and reached for her coat, digging into the pocket for the note Wesley had written for her. She smiled triumphantly as she found it but frowned as she read it and just opted into handing it to Giles. He read the note. ”I do have it but it's actually loaned to Faith”, he stated. Buffy gave him a questioning look. ”Faith is reading that?” Somehow it seemed highly unlikely. ”She was interested in the many techniques to kill a Locha-demon, the book is very graphic about them”, Giles stated. Buffy glanced at the clock, stating that she had enough time to stop by Faith's apartment and then bum a ride from her mother. ”Okay, I think I'll head to Faith's. Wes has been talking about that book for a week and I'll never hear the end of it if I forget it. Thanks for the tea and I'll see you later”, she said and grabbed her coat, pulling it on. ”Yes, I'll talk to you later”, Giles said and took off his glasses. As Buffy had left, he put them back on with a frown on his face.
Faith jogged to her apartment building, the patrol had been pretty much for nothing, just one freshly risen vampire. She was digging her keys at the door as she was violently pushed against it. She felt the air being knocked out of her lungs but managed to recover instantly. She spun around, facing her attacker, a vampire that was wearing the tackiest clothes she had ever seen. ”You're time has come, slayer”, the vampire growled and despite the seriousness of the situation, she had to roll her eyes. ”Are we going to fight or are you just going to bore me to death?” she asked and with a angry growl he attacked. They traded punches and Faith was surprised how strong the flamboyant vampire was. She managed to corner him against the wall and pulled a stake from her jacket, swiftly aiming it to the heart. But the vampire grabbed her hand mid-swing and with his other hand took a hold of the stake, snapping it in half. ”You have lost your weapon, slayer”, he said and punched her, sending her staggering to the other side of the corridor. In a blink of an eye, he was standing in front of her and wrapped his fingers around her throat, pressing her against the wall behind her. ”You have the honor of being the first slayer I have killed. I shall relish on your blood”, the vampire said, squeezing Faith's throat more tightly and leaned closer for the bite. ”Oh come on!” Buffy cried out from the door. ”You talk as cheesy as your name is”, she stated and threw the stake at him. Faith caught it from air and sank it down to the vampires back, piercing the heart. The vampire looked at her in shock before crumbling into ashes. ”Thanks, B”, Faith said as she wiped the dust off her clothes. ”Any time”, Buffy answered. Faith walked past her into the apartment and Buffy closed the door. Faith threw the stake to the couch and lazily sat down next to it. ”Not that I'm not glad, but what are you doing here? I thought you weren't supposed to be moving around after dark. Big man's orders, you know.” ”It wasn't dark when I got here”, she defended herself. ”So how come you're still here? It's been dark for hours”, Faith asked and looked at the blond with scrutiny. ”Cause my feet were killing me and I fell asleep on the couch, that's why”, Buffy said with a hard glare, she was tired and feeling grumpy. She had a craving for oranges and pickles but all Faith had stocked was noodles, beer and lumpy milk. ”I didn't see your car in the front”, Faith stated, looking at Buffy with questioning eyes. ”I used the bus. Angel was all concerned I might get into an accident. Come on! It was he who taught me to drive”, Buffy said and a smirk rose to her lips as she remembered those lessons. She shook herself out of the memories and took a more serious expression. ”And he used the pregnancy clause. Plus he's all paranoid after what happened the last time I drove here by myself.” A frown formed to her lips as she thought about how she had met Lindsey. 'Stop it! You need to get over it!' she yelled at herself in her mind. ”Well, you can crash here. Just give your mother a call and you can sleep in the bed with me as long as you don't hog the covers”, Faith promised and slowly started to rise from the couch. She turned to look at Buffy with amusement. ”Don't worry, I'm not into pregnant chicks”, she stated with a smirk. ”Haa haa”, Buffy said sarcastically, pulling a giggle from Faith.
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