HELPFUL
by Moscow Watcher
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Joss says he doesn't mind - so I play with'em.
Summary: Buffy learns about another aspect of the Cruciamentum.
A/N: This fic is inspired by debates on comics on Buffyforums.

"Quentin Travers is a douchebag." Buffy winced as Giles put a band-aid on the wound on her forehead. "I can't believe he fired you."

Giles sighed. He couldn't believe it either. Couldn't believe he got off the hook so easily.

"Here's what I do," Buffy said. "I stop working for the Council until they reinstate you. We'll send them - what's it called? An ultimatum?"

Giles slowly cleared the table of the bloodied pieces of cloth and cotton, playing for time. "I don't think it's a wise idea, Buffy."

"Why not? That scum deserves..."

"He did the best he could do in the current situation, Buffy." Off her incredulous gaze Giles added softly, "He risked a lot, actually. It's in our mutual interests not to attract too much attention to what happened here tonight." He put on his coat and took his briefcase. "I'll drive you home."

She just sat there, looking at him with that long unblinking stare he knew too well.

"There's something you didn't tell me."

He looked away, fighting the urge to start polishing his glasses.

"I need to know the truth, Giles."

He shook his head.

"Buffy, the less you know, the..."

"Don't you dare talk to me like that! After all the things you've done to me!" Her lip was wobbling. Again.

He couldn't stand to see her lip wobbling.

"Actually, Travers covered up for me."

"What?"

Giles rubbed the bridge of his nose. "He may be a prat but he's not stupid. Of course, he figured me out."

"What do you mean - figured you out?"

No, he couldn't. He couldn't go on without a drink. Giles hastily retreated to his Secret Shelf where a bottle of Glenlivet was hidden behind the dog-eared second, revised and improved edition of "Complete History of D?mons".

Buffy stared, her mouth slightly open, as he took a big swig from the bottle.

"The injections I gave you. They do not only affect a Slayer's physical condition. They should prevent her from thinking rationally. Make her prone to blind panic as soon as she sees a vampire." He looked her in the eye. "Buffy, I couldn't substitute the organic compound in the syringe. But I knew a way to neutralize one of its effects."

She bit her lip. His clever girl, putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

"Amethyst," she said, finally. "You said that amethyst is used for... for charm bags, money spells, and cleansing one's aura."

She had learned her lesson. He smiled despite himself. Despite knowing what was about to follow.

"You made me look at your amethyst for a long time, several days in a row." Buffy's eyes sparkled. "You were cleansing my aura from the effect of the injection, so that I could think clearly and devise a plan to defeat Kralik!"

He nodded wearily. "Travers knew that you wouldn't have been able to come up with the idea to switch regular water for holy water unless I had found a way to neutralize the effect of the injection. But he's chosen not to pursue the matter. He could send me back to Britain, make me persona non grata in the USA, even put me in jail - but he only fired me."

Buffy snorted contemptuously. "Ever a gentleman." She frowned. "But I don't understand. If a Slayer is usually left without her strength and her wit, how is she supposed to defeat a vampire?"

Here we go. Giles took another swig. "She's not."

"What?"

"She's not supposed to defeat a vampire. Eighteen is the Slayer's expiration date." He fumbled with the empty bottle aimlessly, avoiding Buffy's eyes. "So far, there have only been a few precedents of a Slayer surviving her coming of age. I don't know much, but the last time it happened, about thirty years ago, the Watcher was fired too. The Council couldn't prove that he had cheated, so they left him alone. Crowley helped his slayer unofficially and even brought up her son after her death. So, I hope, Travers will be able to hush up my case."

She laughed bitterly. "So, we should be grateful to him. He's our noble savior."

"Buffy..."

"Don't, Giles! Don't say anything. It's so disgusting, so sick - to use girls and kill them before they grow up and realize that they're shamelessly exploited. I don't want to talk about it. Drive me home."

He stood up, a bit unsteady on his feet. She gave him a quick once over and chuckled softly. "Forget about driving. I'll walk you to your apartment. And - try not to fall, Giles. I don't have slayer strength to carry you."

She steadied him and let him lean on her. His heart missed a beat when she briefly hugged him.

He had told her the truth. She hadn't asked him to tell the WHOLE truth.