William sat nervously, shifting as the unyielding wood began to numb his backside. He nibbled at his bottom lip, watching as his father paced silently in front of him. Kitchen, turn, pace, living room, turn, pace, pause and glower, pace. Back and forth.

Finally, he couldn't stand it any more. He sat up straight and tried to look as determined as possible. "Father, I understand that you're upset, but I couldn't very well leave them to fend for themselves! I think that--"

Rupert held up a hand, interrupting William's impromptu speech. Very quietly, he said, "I am not upset that you felt the need to help your friends. I am not even *too* terribly upset over the fact that the four of you decided to-to arm yourselves and venture out even when you knew what could very well happen. What I *am* upset about is that you felt the need to lie to me!"

"But I--"

"William Alastair Giles, you will sit there, and you will listen to me, is that understood?"

Eyes wide, William nodded.

"I will tell you right now that there are few things you could do that I would consider to be worse than lying to me. Now," he pulled a chair over and sat next to William. "I understand that you must have thought it would be easier not to tell me the truth. Certainly, you must have thought I wouldn't believe you anyway. But...you didn't even try, William." Rupert sighed and combed his fingers through his hair.

"With all honesty, I must admit that I would have found the truth difficult to swallow. I'm just disappointed that you didn't give me a chance." He faced his son seriously. "What the four of you did was dangerous, and poorly thought out. Someone could have been seriously hurt. *You* could have been hurt." Rupert removed his glasses, setting them carefully on the table. Head bowed, he rubbed his eyes. "I couldn’t stand it if you were hurt, William."

William swallowed. Taking a deep breath, he slid out of his chair and knelt next to his father. "I'm all right, Da. Willow's terribly smart, and she and I found out as much as we could before we went out. We weren't defenseless. And now that we know what goes on around here at night, we'll be able to stay even safer."

"That's what you thought last night, too, wasn't it?" Rupert shook his head. "Even then, with all your precautions, your friend Xander managed to get injured. Can you honestly tell me that won't happen again?"

William shrugged. "No, but--"

"William, tell me something. When you saw that Xander had been hurt, that he was bleeding and you had no idea how badly off he was...how did you feel?"

William blanched. He swallowed hard, his hands shaking as he brushed his hair out of his face. "I...I felt..." He struggled for words, finally admitting in a forlorn whisper, "It hurt."

Rupert reached out and pulled William to him. "How do you think I'd feel if anything happened to *you*?" he asked fiercely, holding William tight.

Shuddering, William wrapped his arms around his father. "I'm sorry, Da," he said miserably. "I didn't...I didn't think about..."

"Hush. I know." Rupert rocked his son tenderly. "I just want you safe, that's all."

They sat together in silence for a while, until finally William spoke up again. "Am I still in trouble?"

Rupert snorted. "Yes you are, young man."

"Oh."

Rupert gently set his son aside and reached for his glasses. He put them on and stood, arms crossed as stared at William thoughtfully.

"Are you...you're not going to thrash me...are you?"

Rupert winced at the slightly tremulous tone. "No. I'm not. However, you *are* grounded for a week." He held up a hand, ticking off each point on his fingers while he spoke. "That means no television, no phone calls, no going out with your friends. It also means that during your lunch and free period at school, you will come straight to the library to study. You will also come to the library after classes are done and wait for me to take you home. When you are home, you will either be in your room studying, in the living room studying, or at the table studying." He'd run out of fingers by now, but that didn't deter him in the least. "If you manage to run out of schoolwork, I'm sure I can find something else to keep you occupied. Do I make myself clear?"

William shut his mouth and nodded. "Yes, Da."

"I also expect you to be in bed, lights off, by 10:00. That goes for the weekend as well."

"Yes, Da."

"Once the week is over, I fully expect you to tell me *explicitly* where you and your friends intend to go. You will keep reasonable hours, and you will not, under *any* circumstances, go anywhere alone after dark. If necessary, I will come pick you up, or I will give your friends a ride home. Understood?"

"Yes, Da," William agreed.

"Good." Rupert gazed at his son, who was sitting miserably on the floor. "William, stand up." When he had done so, Rupert pulled him into a fierce hug. "I just want to keep you safe, son," he said in a suspiciously husky voice.

William hesitated a moment before burrowing into his father's embrace. "Are...are you still mad at me?"

Rupert sighed. "No, I'm not mad. But if I *ever* find out that you've lied to me again..."

William shook his head. "I won't. I promise."

"Well then." Rupert cleared his throat. Pulling away, he clapped William on the back. "Let's see about dinner then, shall we?"

~~~~~~~~~~

Jesse caught up to William in the hallway. "Hey man, how'd it go with your dad? Were you, like, in *major* trouble?"

William brushed a lock of hair aside as he shrugged. "I'm grounded," he confessed.

"How long?"

"A week."

Jesse winced in sympathy. "Well, cheer up. That's not so bad. I mean, you've still got us! You and me and Willow and Xander can all hang here at school. We'll share your pain."

"We'd have to, um, 'hang' in the library. Da says that's where I have to go during lunch and free periods. After school, too."

Jesse cringed. "Ok, *that's* harsh." He shuddered, but smiled bravely. "I can handle it. Don't worry, we'll keep you company."

William offered Jesse a small grin. "He said I have to study while I'm there," he added.

There was a choking noise, and Jesse stopped to lean against a locker. His eyes bulged in horror as he stared at William. "Are you serious?"

William nodded.

"The whole time?"

He nodded again.

Jesse swallowed. "What about at home?"

"There, too."

His mouth gaped open for a moment before Jesse let out a gasping breath. "Dude. Your dad is *evil*."

Xander came up behind Jesse, Willow in tow. "Who's evil?"

Jesse let out a loud squeak at the question, whirling around to glare at Xander. "Would you *not* do that?! Geez!"

"Do what?" Xander looked at his friend in baffled innocence. He shrugged and transferred his gaze to William. "So? How'd it go with the parental unit?"

William smiled shyly at Xander. "Grounded for a week."

"Well, it could be worse," Willow piped up cheerfully.

"Worse?" Jesse asked, aghast. "It *is* worse. He's confined to the library and his place. And he has to *study*. The *whole time*!"

"What's so bad about that?" Willow frowned slightly in confusion.

Xander sighed and slung his arm around her shoulders. "Wills, we love you. You know that, right?"

"Well, of course I know that, silly! What's that got to do with studying?"

Jesse and Xander just shook their heads.

"What? Come on, guys!" She scowled at the boys as they continued to gaze at her in pity. "Stop it!"

Just then, the bell rang for class. William sighed. "I have to go," he told the others.

"Sure." Willow fixed Xander and Jesse with a stern look. "We'll come to the library to study...and to keep you from being too lonely. Won't we, guys?"

There was a moment of hesitation before Xander nodded. "Yeah, sure we will."

"But--" Jesse grunted when Xander elbowed him. "I mean, yeah. Wouldn't miss it." He grimaced.

"Ok. Um, See you later then." With a wave, William hurried off to his class.

*****
TBC...