Embrace the Night

author: Lucinda
rating: pg 13
main characters: Rupert Giles, Jeanette
Pairings: Jeanette/Giles
disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to any characters from
either Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Forever Knight.
distribution: TNL, Twisting, Paula, Cat if she wants it.
note: set post season 5 finale, AU for Forever Knight so that
Jeanette is still around.
note 2: refer to TNL scenario #12.

Rupert Giles sighed as he tried to relax. He was supposed to be on a
vacation, a time to relax, to allow himself to unwind from his
stress and tensions and frustration. It wasn't working very well.

He'd been under so much stress for so long, to learn what he needed
to know, to deal with Buffy's willful ways and try to keep her safe,
the trials and tempests of life in Sunnydale. He wasn't even certain
that he would know how to relax anymore.

Perhaps that was part of the reason why he was making such a dismal
mess of this vacation. He wasn't terribly relaxed, and kept
wondering what sort of creatures lurked in the darkness of this
place. What dangers were waiting for the cover of darkness?

He fidgeted again, debating just going back to his hotel. It was a
lovely day, nice weather, some clouds but none that threatened rain.
Mild breezes had kept the air moving, and there was the scent of
apples carried in the air. Over all, it was a beautiful day, perfect
for relaxing and just enjoying life.

In the end, he decided to go for a short walk, following a path
through some lovely trees. He had a few things in case of danger, a
decent sized knife that he'd been able to hide under his jacket,
some vials of holy water... And just sitting here trying to relax
was driving him mad.

As he was following the hiking trail, the sun began it's descent,
turning the sky into a glorious blaze of crimson and purple. He kept
walking, now calling himself a fool. It was one thing to have a few
precautions while sitting in the park, it was another to be in an
unknown forrest with inadequate weapons in uncertain territory.
Anything could be lurking out here.

There was a small meadow, with pale shapes that he assumed were
flowers, judging by the faint scent that perfumed the air. A gentle
splashing and gurgling noise hinted that there was a small stream
with rocks somewhere close by. There was a woman in the clearing,
kneeling by the flowers, her long dark hair spilling down her back
in an untamed mass of curls.

"Good evening, miss." Rupert offered the greeting, his upbringing
demanding courtesy even as a part of his mind wondered why she was
out here so late. Didn't she know that it wasn't always safe for a
woman alone after dark?

She looked up, giving him an impression of pale skin and dark
eyes. "Yes, it is a nice evening. Would you mind if I walked with
you for a bit?" Her voice was melodious, and carried a faint accent,
perhaps French, perhaps a hint of German. There was a pause as she
brushed some of her hair back from her face. "There are sometimes
people in the park that... what is the words? Misbehave?"

"Well, I think... that should be perfectly fine. Although you hardly
know me, perhaps I am not the sort you would prefer to associate
with?" Giles felt himself smiling. The woman sounded so charming, a
bit cultured.

She walked closer, her hips swaying in a subtly provocative manner
that made his trousers feel much tighter than they had mere minutes
before. "I think you'll be perfectly charming company."

Rupert swallowed once, finding the soft scent of her perfume,
perhaps Sandalwood? almost intoxicating. It teased at his senses,
causing all nature of ideas and suggestions to form, emerging from a
bit lower than his brain. "I'd... be delighted to walk with you for
a bit."

They walked for a while, the woman close enough that her hand
occasionally brushed his, but not consistently. Her perfume teased
him, whispering provocative images into his imagination. "I don't
even know your name."

"Jeanette." Her smile was audible.

"That's a pretty name. I'm ahh..." For a terrifying moment, he felt
as if his tongue had gone numb. "Rupert Giles."

"Rupert Giles, hmm? I like the name." She almost sounded as if she
was purring.

Things continued in alternating silence and awkward attempt at
conversation for a while, her hand still brushing against his as
they walked. Then, there was a change in the air, the crickets
silent, no sounds of birds. Instead, there was something, a sort of
hoarse breathing with an almost liquid gurgling coming from the
undergrowth to the right.

Jeanette made a small gasp, one hand gripping his shoulder with
unsettling strength. "What... I do not like the sound of that."

"Something predatory... but I don't think it's a bear." Rupert
frowned, wracking his memories for something that it could be. It
was much harder due to the fact that all he had was the location and
the sound of it's breathing. "Some sort of carnivorous lesser demon
I think..."

"A demon? Do you really think that there is some sort of demon out
there?" Jeanette's worried whisper tickled his ear.

Barely a heartbeat after her whisper, there was a scrabbling noise
as the thing charged them from the underbrush. It had dark skin that
looked in the dim moonlight as if it was covered with oozing sores,
and there was a foul reek, like festering pus. It made a sort of
squealing noise, and resembled a large boar, almost four feet at the
shoulder, with four beady dark eyes and four sharp looking tusks.
Something drooled from it's mouth, and it definitely seemed to be
considering them as a late night snack. Clawed feet scrabbled over
the dirt, surely sharp enough to rip through flesh.

Jeanette made a startled noise, like she had wanted to scream but
only squeaked instead. Giles pulled his knife, wishing desperately
that he had something more effective, or that he'd not gone onto the
path at all. He tried to twist out of it's path, the knife slashing
into it's side, provoking an enraged squeal from the beast. It
turned, charging at him again, and this time, the tusks ripped into
his side, causing blood to spurt from his body, and burning pain
engulfed him. He gasped from it all, stabbing at the back of the
things head, hoping to damage the spinal cord.

"Run!" He hoped that Jeanette could get away from it. Hoped that he
could manage to save one last person, even if a proper hero walked
away from his encounter with the dreaded beast.

The clawed foot lashed forwards as the tusks ripped higher, and
Rupert couldn't feel his arm anymore, the knife falling from
suddenly limp fingers. His leg was an agonized protest, and it
wouldn't support him any more. He felt himself falling, and why did
he feel so cold now? Dimly, there was a frantic squealing sound, and
a dull thump, followed by the sound of something twitching as it
died slowly. Bloody hell, couldn't he even manage to save someone?

"Rupert?" Jeanette's voice sounded like a faint whisper. "Rupert,
can you hear me? You've been injured..."

He coughed, feeling his ribs move in ways that they shouldn't. "No,
I'm dying. There's a..." He coughed again, tasting blood on his lips
when he'd finished, the pain becoming stronger. "No doctor in the
world could save me now."

"Just like that? You're giving up?" She sounded upset, and there was
something else in her voice, something that didn't sound quite right
for the situation.

For a moment, he just lay there, struggling to breathe, unable to
feel his arm, his ribs and leg burning with pain. "Not... that
simple. I know... can't recover from this. Too much... it's the
blood loss making me cold..."

Her hands were at his face, her hair brushing his shoulders. "Would
you like to live? Even if it meant things were different?"

"Life... is better than death." Rupert tried to force the darkness
away from his vision, tried to concentrate on her face. "But not...
not as a cripple."

"Non... not as a cripple, Rupert." Her voice was a bare breath in
his ear, and then he felt something at his throat, a prickling
sensation, and then it was as if something had placed a space
between himself and his pain. He could think clearly. Jeanette was a
vampire, and had bit him. Well, that shouldn't have been much of a
surprise.

She held her wrist to his lips, blood dripping into his mouth as she
whispered. "Drink, and you will live. You will be whole and strong."

He swallowed, hoping that he wouldn't wake up the same sort of
monster that he'd spent so long fighting in Sunnydale. Darkness
claimed him, and he welcomed the end of his pain.


end Embrace the Night.