ONE NORMAL LIFE / TWO EXTRAORDINARY LIVES

CHAPTER 195 – BOXING DAY
With the exception of stealing some time for themselves in the late afternoon, William and Buffy spent the remainder of Christmas day in the company of others. After brunch, while Giles went to visit friends, Willow joined them for a stroll around Greenwich Park and Greenwich University campus.
When they’d returned from their walk, they called their friends and loved ones back in the states. Knowing Dawn, Buffy knew it would cost William emotionally to talk to her. She would never just let William off the hook without first having her say regarding exactly how she felt about what he’d put them - the people who loved him the most - through. Therefore, she was so proud, when not only didn't he avoid talking to her, but initiated the idea of calling her himself.
After speaking to both Dawn and John, they called Xander. After Buffy, Willow, and Giles had spoken to him, William spoke to Xander alone for a long while,
presumably, to reconnect with him after the many months since he’d had any contact with him. Afterwards, he was all relieved smiles and grins, as he told her of Xander’s promise to bring the whole family out to visit them in California in the near future; their plans to go fishing, and of having spoken to Alex and even little Ann.
Next on their list was Edna, who was overjoyed to the point of tears to hear from them - especially William, Buffy guessed. Clem was also glad to hear from them. At his cousin Marlong's in San Diego, he could be heard happily munching upon chicken wings and other demon delicacies, which fell into their long-standing and agreed upon category of, 'don't ask, don't tell.' Lastly, even her father got a quick phone call.
Later on, while Giles and William played chess in the study, Buffy and Willow spent some best-friend time together, as they warmed up leftovers for supper, and reminisced about some of their happier and even less-than-happy memories of Sunnydale. Olivia came by, bringing deserts and some exotic dishes to add to the menu. After dinner, Vi and two other slayers Buffy had met at the party - Megan and Teresa - came over, bringing board games, wine, and DVD’s.
Overall, it had been a wonderful Christmas; one that Buffy couldn’t have envisioned only a few days before. It wasn’t only the holiday, but the seeds of hope that had been planted firmly in her heart once again for the future that she and William might still have. One that, this time around didn’t include secrets. Buffy looked across the table to catch him staring. With a private look reserved just for her, one that spoke of his love and desire, he smiled, and her cup of happiness runneth over.
As for William, being this close to Elizabeth again meant instead of the holiday season tearing him up inside, he was able to revel in it, and the cherished memories he held so dear of last Christmastime were now once again joyous, not bittersweet. After everything that had transpired these past months, from what he’d put her through, to what he’d thought was his final song; to be spending another Christmas basking in her love was beyond cherished. It was miraculous.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DECEMBER 26, 2009
FRIDAY
10:00AM
Buffy stopped at the kitchen door, staring at the scene before her. Both the counter and table were covered with bags and boxes of food, as well as other sundry items.
“Did Grocery Santa make a stop here last night? Is this some quaint, or in this case, perhaps not-so-quaint British tradition that I didn't get the memo on?"
"Ah...Buffy, I see you're up. Sleep well?" Giles asked.
"Uh...yeah. Very well, thanks," Buffy said, keeping a knowing smile to herself. She walked over to the counter and poured a cup of coffee, then took a seat next to Giles in the spot he cleared for her.
"And William? He's also been sleeping well I take it?” Giles asked, although he needn’t have. For the first time in weeks, the all night long pacing back and forth across his ceiling had blessedly ceased. Of course, noises of another sort also filtered down a floor, and in all likelihood, would’ve traveled across the knoll as well, had it been summertime and windows open. Still, he couldn’t begrudge the young couple their reunion.
“Uh huh,” Buffy said, struggling to keep her face neutral.
“He’s had no more nightmares?"
Buffy shook her head. "No. Not since I've been here.”
"Then you must have been just what the doctor ordered," Giles said, smiling kindly at her.
“You really think so?”
“I do. It’s quite obvious to me that your coming here has made all the difference to the way William perceives the world and his place in it. Especially, given what has happened to him.”
Buffy took a sip of coffee before answering.
“Seems almost too simple, doesn’t it? Like a lull before...God! Why am I even saying that? William’s fine! He’s just fine!” Buffy said, hating that she'd even given voice to any doubts over what had been the most wonderful days she'd had with William, since before everything had hit the proverbial fan.

Giles reached over and covered her hand with his. "My dear, after what you've both been through, it’s quite understandable that you would be cautious with your...assumptions. Perhaps that’s why now that things are going so well, you’re apt to consider them as too simple, rather than merely good.”
She let out a sigh. "I guess that makes sense. At least in a Watcher-y sort of way,” Buffy said, with a wry grin.
Giles smiled gently at her. "Just take each step as it comes. The rest will follow.”
"I will. I am,” Buffy said, then pointed to the array of goods, "However, again I ask, what’s with all the stuff?”
"What? Oh...some of the girls brought these over this morning for me to take to St. Sebastian’s for Boxing Day; and before you ask, it has neither to do with the sport of boxing, or boxes."
"Duh..." Buffy said, giving him a patented roll of the eyes. "I'll have you know that I learned all about Boxing Day in my Comparative Cultures course in college..."
"Good. Then I won't have to..."
"...Which I then promptly forgot once the class was done."
Giles shook his head.
"However, William told me all about it last Christmastime, so once again, I'm up on my Boxing Day customs," Buffy said, grinning.
Giles sighed. "Yes...well then, perhaps you and William would care to participate?"
"How so?"
"Every year the local churches provide a warm meal, and distribute food and other goods for the less fortunate. For the past four years, we've been volunteering."
"That's really nice, Giles."
"Unfortunately, our volunteering didn't start out from a point of altruism. Five years ago, a group of demons organized a series of attacks on half a dozen churches in Greenwich and Blackheath on Boxing Day. Reverend Handley, the vicar at St. Sebastian’s, only nearly escaped being killed; many others weren't as lucky. Since then myself, and the slayers who are still in town, have gone to the various churches in order to provide a presence in the event that anything would happen again, which luckily, it hasn't. So, you see, the volunteering grew out of our mission."
"Still, it doesn't make it any less of a good thing, does it?"
"I suppose not," Giles answered, musing. Unconscious of the gesture, he ran a hand through his once much fuller, much darker hair.
"You'd think churches would be the last place demons would want to go."
"One would think..."
"Or maybe for them, it’s like churches are the forbidden fruit, ergo, the attraction. You remember that time when Adam convinced those vamps to attack those people in the church, back when Faith did that body-swap thing?"
"I do," Giles said, nodding. "However, that aside, these vamps had no need to actually go into the churches. They only needed to lie in wait as the poor sods came and went; easy pickings as it were."
"Bastards,” Buffy cursed, disgusted.
“Quite. In any case, I highly doubt that it’s likely to happen again. The word has long been out that St. Sebastian’s and the other churches have slayers guarding them on Boxing Day. However, if you and William would like to come along this afternoon, I’m sure Reverend Handley would be most appreciative of any help he can get. Willow is going to be coming with us as well.”
“Sure, I’d be glad to, but I’ll have to ask William. He’ll be down in a few minutes.”
“What about me?” Willow asked, as she walked into the kitchen and headed for the coffeepot.
“Good morning, Willow,” Giles said. “I was just telling Buffy about St. Sebastian’s.”
“Oh. Are you guys thinking about coming?” Willow asked.
“I told Giles I would, as long as William is okay with it.”
“Good morning all. As long as I’m okay with what?” William asked, as he walked into the kitchen.
“Hey,” Buffy said, smiling at him. She rose and went over to him and gave him a warm hug. “Sit, I’ll get you some tea while Giles and Willow fill you in...”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2:00PM
Not far from the main campus the car slowed as it neared an imposing classical styled building of white stone, which nearly took up the whole block.
“Is that part of the university?” Buffy asked.
“No, my dear. That’s St. Sebastian’s.”
“Holy sh...Um, I mean wow, it’s huge.”
“Yes, quite. But you have a good eye. Greenwich University and St. Sebastian’s do have a familial, architectural relationship, as it were. St. Sebastian’s was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, who trained under Sir Christopher Wren when he was working on the Greenwich Royal Naval Hospital.”
Giles smiled in the rearview mirror at the nonplussed look on Buffy’s face.
“And whom you’ve probably never heard of, although William has most likely,” Giles said, turning his gaze towards him. “Perhaps even saw or read something about him the time you and your father went to visit your Great Uncle Alfred there?”
William nodded.
“Uncle Alfred?” Buffy asked. Apparently, not only had William gone to Giles for help in reconciling his past, but had also divulged a family story that she’d never heard. Of course, she realized that William being back in England and staying with a fellow countryman was the most likely reason for the shared confidence. Still, it hurt a bit to be out of the loop.
“Hey, there’s Megan and some of the others,” Willow said, pointing to some of the slayers who were on their way into St. Sebastian’s, before William could answer her.
Giles nodded as he pulled into a parking space across the street from the church. Buffy looked over at William, realizing that in the midst of the short ride and friendly chatter between her, Willow, and Giles, William had barely spoken.
“Are you okay?” Buffy asked softly.
William nodded and squeezed her hand. The smile he gave her, however, didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Shall we?” Giles asked, stepping out of the car to open the boot, thus, interrupting her query. Instead, she squeezed his hand back.
As it turned out, they weren't the only ones there. Many students and faculty from the university's large community had also come to either drop off goods or to volunteer. Someone had the idea of having the drivers that had brought goods stop in front of the church to be unloaded, then find parking. It was an efficient plan. A line was formed, and in that manner, all the vehicles were unloaded. Buffy and Willow soon found themselves recruited by the inside crew to unpack the goods and set up the tables for the kitchen volunteers, while William stayed outside helping to unpack the vehicles.
After the last car in the queue had been unpacked, the other volunteers made their way inside, except for William and three of the girls from the school. A couple of minutes later, Giles appeared at the church door.
“People are going to start arriving soon,” he said, coming down the stairs to where they stood. “I’d like to have a few slayers stationed outside this afternoon to be on the lookout for anything unusual, just in case..."
“I'll stay outside,” William said quickly.
Giles turned to regard him silently.
“Not as a slayer, obviously,” William said, clearing his throat. “But if anything happens, I can certainly hold my own.”
“Of course you can; you’re quite capable. I just thought...”
“We’ll stay outside with William,” volunteered one of the slayers. The other two nodded their agreement.
“Very well,” Giles said, giving the group a final glance before retreating back inside the church.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the time the doors opened, a line had already formed outside the church and halfway down the block. While Willow had been assigned to the kitchen, Buffy found herself working in another area of the church, helping those who had come for donations of clothes and other non-food items. A few hours later, she was relieved of her duties to take a break. Walking towards the dining area, she spotted Willow sitting at a table with one of the slayers and some other people she didn't know.
"Hey, Willow."
"Hey! Buffy! This is Charlotte, and these are the Smiths."
"Hello."
The girl who was introduced said hello, as did the family of five, who were sharing the table with them.
"Get yourself some food and come and sit down," Willow said, patting the seat next to her.
"Okay, let me go get William first. Is he in kitchen?” Buffy asked, looking around and spotting Giles and some of the other girls in the serving line.
Willow shook her head. "I haven't seen him. Wasn't he with you?"
"No. I'll be right back."
~~~~~~~~~~
“Buffy,” Giles waved to her as she approached. “What would you like? We have roast beef, chicken, bangers and mash...”
"Giles, I’m not here to eat. Have you seen William?"
"Ah...yes, of course. He’s outside."
"What do you mean, he's outside?"
"William volunteered to stay outside with a few of the slayers to keep an eye on things out there."
"And you let him?" Buffy asked, anger flaring.
"I didn't let him, as you put it, Buffy. It was his choice. I'm sure he's perfectly safe." Giles said, leaning over the table and keeping his voice low. "Like I told you, nothing has happened in quite a few years. And besides, he's with other slayers.”
Once again, Buffy felt a pang of something...not quite jealousy, but perhaps akin to it being reminded that she was not the only slayer anymore - no longer the one girl in all the world with the sacred calling. She shook off the feeling. After all, she’d made her choice - a most necessary choice.
"I just wish you'd let me know."
"I would have, Buffy, only things got busy as you know, and I didn't see you about."
"I know. I'm going to go find him."
~~~~~~~~~
Stopping just outside the church doors, Buffy let her eyes grow accustomed to the dark as she looked around for William. Spotting some of the slayers near the front walk, she hurried towards them.
"Have you seen William?" Buffy asked, as she approached them.
"Yeah, he just went to walk a couple of the older women to the bus stop. He didn't want them to walk all by themselves."
"Or have to carry all those packages themselves," said the other.
"Either that or he hailed them a cab. He did that quite a few times tonight, and even paid for it himself."
"He's so sweet, isn't he?" Asked the first slayer, a sort of dreamy look in her eyes.
"It's not that I want to interrupt the William Fanclub here, but did any of the slayers go with him?" Buffy asked, glaring at the two girls.
"Um...no."
"Why not? Something could happen to him too, you know. You're supposed to be protecting everyone!"
One of the girls was about to say something, when she spotted William walking towards them. Relieved, she motioned for her to look. Buffy’s heart sped up, seeing his familiar walk – seemingly, more self-possessed - when framed by the billowing of the black duster that he’d grabbed on their way out. It was the first time she’d seen him wear it since Los Angeles, and it still had the same effect on her – Spike! She gave one more scathing glance to the girls, before walking down the sidewalk to meet him.
"Elizabeth," William called, smiling at her as he hurried towards her.
"I only just found out that you were out here all this time! You must be frozen, or hungry. Or both," Buffy said, quickly scanning him over as they faced each other.
"I'm fine," he said, pulling her into an embrace, then whispered into her ear, "Especially now. I missed you."
"I missed you, too. I thought you were in the kitchen or serving area the whole time. I didn't know you were outside until just now."
William shrugged. "Yeah. They needed people outside, so I stayed."
"You shouldn't be walking around by yourself," she scolded.
"I can take care of myself. Not the first time I've walked around by myself, you know."
"I know. It's just..."
His gentle kiss silenced any further protest.
"I'm okay."
Buffy looked at him, and nodded. "I know. Anyway, come inside for a while and get a bite to eat. Willow is waiting for us."
"I'm not really hungry," William said, darting a wary glance up at the church.
Buffy looked at him, following his glance. Understanding dawned on her, but she wasn't about to let it deter her.
"You're coming in anyway," Buffy said firmly, grabbing his arm. "And I'm not taking no for an answer."
"Elizabeth..."
"You can come back outside after you've eaten and warmed up. Okay? Please...for me?”
“Alright, luv,” William said with a sigh, and let himself be led into St. Sebastian’s.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy went to get William a plate of food while he freshened up in the lavatory, then they both rejoined Willow and the family she had found herself sitting with.

“It’s been nice meeting you,” Mrs. Smith said; as her group got up to leave a short while later.

“You, too. Good luck with your interview,” Willow said to Mr. Smith.

“With any luck, we won’t need to be coming here next year.”

“I’m sure you won’t.”

“Come on, dear. We’ve got to catch that last bus,” Mrs. Smith said, helping the children on with their new coats and digging in the large bag she’d been given for gloves and scarves.

“I’m going to walk them out,” William said to Buffy, as he started to rise.

“Wait,” she said, her hand on his arm stopping him. Looking around, she spotted one of the slayers nearby and motioned to her to come over.

“Could you walk these folks out to their bus stop if you’re not busy?”

“Sure,” the girl replied, walking over to the Smiths. They watched as the mother nodded her assent.

“See? No problem,” Buffy said, smiling as she turned back to William.

“No problem for you, you mean,” he returned, his voice surly.

Buffy looked at William, her mouth opening and closing.

“Um, I’m going to get some more...food. Yep, more food,” Willow stammered, as she excused herself from the middle of the sudden rise in tension.

“You’re angry at me, aren’t you?”

He looked at her without saying anything.

“I just wanted...”

“You think I can’t handle a walk to the bloody bus stop?”

Buffy shook her head. “No. That’s not it. I just wanted you to stay inside for a while...with me. You were outside for hours and...”

“Well, it looks like it’s winding down,” Giles said, suddenly appearing at the table.

‘Uh, yeah...looks like,” Buffy said, half-heartedly looking around at the, now, mostly empty tables, between glances at William.

“I’d say we can probably leave within the hour. I’m going to see what else the vicar needs us to do.”

“Okay, let me know.”

They sat in silence after Giles left. Finally, William sighed and reached across the table to put his hand on top of hers.

“I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I didn’t mean to overreact; it’s just...” William started, then stopped as Giles once again appeared at the table.

“Buffy, if you’d like to help out, I’m told the girls in the kitchen could use a hand.”

“Um...sure. I’ll get right on that,” she said, but didn’t move.

Giles paused a minute as he looked from one to the other, before turning and walking away.

“I guess I’m going to help clean up a bit, then we can leave,” Buffy said, reluctantly standing up.

William nodded.

“I’m sorry about...”

“It’s alright, luv. Go on now; do what you you’re going to so we can get out of here,” he said, reaching up to caress her face.

Buffy closed her eyes for a moment and leaned into it, turning her face to kiss his palm. She held William’s eyes for a moment, before finally walking off towards the kitchen.

There were still a few people in the room, but they ignored him as they went about the business of cleaning up. For a few minutes William lingered, but soon felt uneasy, sitting there all alone at the only table still occupied. When Elizabeth and the others had been there, he’d been able to ignore the crucifixions and other holy icons in the room, but now their omnipresence weighed heavily on his consciousness. His hand stole down to the pocket of his duster and came in contact with what it sought. Relieved, he got up and hurried towards the front door.

Once outside, he retrieved the half-empty pack of cigarettes and lighter from his pocket and lit up, sucking the acrid smoke deep into his lungs to calm himself. Halfway through his cigarette, the door opened, and the vicar stepped out. With a combination of guilt and irritation, William started down the steps to put out the cigarette, when the vicar’s voice stopped him.

“You wouldn’t happen to have an extra one of those, would you?”

William nodded, and came back up to where the vicar stood, and offered him the pack and a light. Reverend Handley looked at the younger man’s face, briefly illuminated by the flicker of the flame.

“Know I should give these up, but it’s difficult. Especially at my age.”

William laughed softly at the irony. He imagined that if he counted all the years, or most likely decades, Spike had smoked, he’d have quite a few on the vicar. Sure enough, even though he’d never smoked in his life – at least during the his first go ‘round as a human - he’d taken to it like a duck to water this time after moving out of the house in Julian.

On either side of the steps they stood, smoking in silence for a few minutes.

“I haven’t seen you here before. Which diocese do you belong to?”

“I don’t,” William said, a bit too quickly.

“I see.”

“I mean, not anymore. My family...” William paused, the words, ‘my family,’ bringing an unexpected lump to his throat. “We used to go to St. Alban’s.”

The vicar nodded. “Ah. I thought I detected a North London accent. St. Alban’s did you say? Then you must know Reverend Moody.”

William shook his head. “Sorry. It was a long time ago. It was Reverend Stephens.”

The vicar made a mental note to look up Stephens. As far back as he could remember, Moody had the St. Alban's parish. Still, he was likely mistaken. Moody may have very well been at another diocese when he first met him.

Reverend Handley studied the younger man who seemed to be doing all he could to keep, as much personal space between them as was polite.

“Did you get enough to eat?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“I know that you may have seen that we’re in the process of cleaning up, but I don’t want you to feel shy about taking home anything that you need. That’s why we’re here, after all. There’s still a ton of food in the pantry; just yours for the asking.”

William gave him an odd look, before it dawned on him what the vicar was inferring.

“Oh, no. I’m not here for that.”

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of...”

“Vicar, you misunderstand me. I’m one of the volunteers. I came this afternoon with Elizabeth and Mr. Giles, and... ”

“I’m so terribly sorry. Forgive my ignorance....what is your name?”

“William. William Worthington.”

The vicar walked over to William and extended his hand. William took it and they shook, noting the warm and firm handshake the older man gave.

“Again, my apologies, William. It’s just with so many people around today, I didn’t even notice you.”

“You wouldn’t have; I was outside until a bit ago.”

“Ah. You said you came with Mr. Giles? A fine man. How is it that you know him?”

“I...we knew each other from California.”

“Then you must be the young man that he mentioned was staying with him, along with his former slayer, I believe.

“Uh...yes. Elizabeth,” William said, a bit taken aback that a man of the cloth knew about slayers. Of course, they’d explained to him why they were coming to volunteer on Boxing Day in the first place. However, hearing it from the vicar himself only served to drive home the point that there were two worlds, and, once again, they made him feel like they had collided.

“There was also another young lady who now lives England. The one with blonde hair?”

“No, Willow is the one living in England. She has red hair. Elizabeth is the one with long, blonde hair.”

“Ah yes, she was the one helping to distribute the clothing. Wait, then who’s the young lady Mr. Giles refers to as Buffy?”

“That’s Elizabeth. The others call her...by that name,” William said, once again, unable for some reason to utter it himself, as though some invisible, physical force was preventing him from doing so. Over the past year, unbeknownst to her, he had tried. However, saying that name, along with what he’d once assumed was his strange memory loss, had just been put down as another quirk of his that he had to live with. Now once again, he couldn’t help but wonder about it.

The vicar was about to say something when the door was flung open and the woman in question heaved a large sigh upon seeing William.

“There you are. I thought you were going to wait for me.”

“I’m sorry. I needed to get some fresh air,” William said, reaching out to take hold of her hand as she approached him.

“Is that what they’re calling it these days?” Buffy asked, looking askance at the cigarette butt William had hastily thrown down.

“I’m afraid that’s my fault. I offered him one, and I’m sure that your young man didn’t want to say no to a Reverend.”

“Yes, I’m sure that was it,” Buffy said, giving William a knowing look.

The vicar took a final puff and bent over to ground out the flame, then deposited the butt into his pocket before going to the door.

“Well, duty calls. I thank you both for coming to help out today. It’s deeply appreciated by myself, and by those who you helped to have a safe and more prosperous holiday than they would have had otherwise. God go with you,” Reverend Handley said, then retreated inside the church.

“You’re already finished?”

“Yep, been excused from further duty. You ready to go home.”

“Most assuredly.”

“Let’s go then,” Buffy said, starting to pull him towards the church steps.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” William asked, resisting her pull.

“What?”

“Giles and Willow?”

“Nope. They’re going to be a bit longer so I thought we could just walk, since it’s not that far. Besides, I want to experience Greenwich Park all lit up for the holidays on foot, not just driving through it.”

Relieved to be leaving, and pleased to be able to spend some time alone with Elizabeth, William nodded and offered her his arm.

“Then experience it you shall.”

END CHAPTER 195