Chapter 34
More time needed

Buffy sat in her car in the prison’s parking lot for a good half hour, staring straight ahead, her expression blank. She was desperately trying to put some order in her thoughts and make sense of the new situation she found herself in. She knew that when the shock wore off, she’d probably start panicking again, but for now she was just numb. The tough part would be going through the day, smiling, talking, doing her job, as if nothing was wrong. She had yet to find the strength to get out of the car. The idea of seeing people right now was too much for her fragile nerves, but she had to. Beside, Giles must be waiting for her.

Oh God. Giles. She had completely forgotten about him. He was probably waiting to find out if there was something wrong with her or not. How was she going to face him? What was she going to tell him? Lie? Didn’t she mention already that she was terrible at lying? Especially when she was in this kind of emotional state. And telling him the truth was out of the question. She could only imagine the kind of lecture she would be subjected to if she’d tell him she was pregnant with Spike’s baby. Giles was her friend, she had no doubt about that. But there had to be a line she couldn’t cross and this just might be it. How many times could she make stupid decisions and be irresponsible before he got tired of it? She really didn’t want to find out.

And what about Spike? The New Year’s Eve events were still fresh in her mind. How he had flipped out, saying that it was too painful for him when she’d told him what a great life they would have when he got out of jail. Knowing that he was going to be a father and not there to be part of it, that he would have a family out there and couldn’t be with them… it would kill him. How could she do this to him?

Buffy gripped the steering wheel almost painfully, her knuckles white with the effort, and rested her forehead wearily against it. She couldn’t think anymore.

A knock on her car window almost made Buffy jump out of her skin. She looked up, heart racing, only to see the parking attendant standing there. Lowering her window, she forced herself to smile.

“God you scared me, John.”

“Sorry ‘bout that, Ms. Summers. I was just wondering if you were all right. You‘ve been sitting there for a hell of a long time.”

“Yeah, I know. I was just lost in thought. I didn’t realize how long I’ve been here.” She answered, trying her best to sound cheerful. She took the keys out of the ignition and started gathering her purse and briefcase. “I guess I should get to work now.”

“Good. I was just checking. You know.. To make sure you were OK.”

“I know. I appreciate it. Thanks.” She watched the man go back to his booth and got out of her car.

She didn’t feel ready yet, but she had to do it.

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Kate Lockley walked back into her office where Wesley was waiting for her. She had a file in her hands and a scowl on her pretty face. The tall woman took a seat at her desk without looking at the private investigator who was standing in front of it, his hands buried deep in his jeans pockets. The silence dragged on as she perused William Rayne’s case.

“Damn it, Wesley. You want me to reopen a case that was closed nine months ago. It was clean, straightforward… perfect.” She looked at the file that was opened in front of her, her blonde brows drawn together in frustration. “Boy loves girl, girl turns out to be a cheating bitch, boy gets upset and shoots her. End of the story. Now why in the world would I want to go and try to find the flaw in this perfect picture?”

“I’m disappointed in you, Kate. Aren’t you just a tad curious about this? Doesn’t it look a bit too perfect to be true? You know who that case was assigned to and let’s just say Jeremy Cohen isn’t the brightest crayon in the box. The guy is all rules and procedures but never stops to ask himself the real questions. Thinking outside the box is a concept lost on Cohen. He sees something and doesn’t even question it. Anything to save himself trouble. Doesn’t that make you want to find out if he might have missed something?”

The blonde woman ran her fingers through her shoulder length hair. She looked at a loss as to what to think. She’d known Wesley Wyndham-Pryce for years, had collaborated on many cases with him, and one thing she knew was that he was never wrong. The guy was like freakin’ Columbo, only sexier. But this was different. There was absolutely nothing in this case that could raise any doubt. The Rayne case had been open and shut in a matter of two months. Quick, easy and painless. Reopening it would be idiotic. And kind of a bitch to explain to her boss.

Seeing that she wasn’t going to answer, Wesley continued. “I know it makes me want to find out if maybe the other story I’ve heard about what happened that day is true. And I’ve got to tell you, Kate, I’ve been following this Angel around for a week now and it helped me make up my mind. The bloke is such a disgusting individual it’s painful to watch.”

“How sure about this are you, Wes?”

Wesley tried to hide his smile of victory but failed miserably.

“Hey! Wipe that smile of you face, I didn’t agree yet. How. Sure?”

“Pretty damn sure. And you know me, I’m usually right.”

Kate shook her head wearily and mumbled under her breath. “Smug bastard.”

The grin on the private detective’s face grew wider. “You know me.”

“Yeah, and sometimes I can’t help but think that my life would be much simpler if I didn’t.”

“You say that, but you don’t really mean it. Your life would be so incredibly boring in this little hellhole if it weren‘t for me.”

She couldn’t help smiling at that. “I guess it would be. Anyway, who got you involved in this case? No one seemed very interested in defending William Rayne when the case was in court. Why now?”

Wesley took a seat in front of her and waited a beat or two before answering. “My client wishes to remain anonymous. There’s too much laying in the balance for her if her identity is revealed and I’m going to respect her wish.”

By the look on his face, Kate knew it was pointless to insist. He wouldn’t tell her more. “Fine. You said you met Liam MacAllister, but did you meet with the alleged killer, William Rayne?”

“No.” Wesley answered reluctantly. “My client doesn’t think it would be a good idea. She doesn’t want him to know we’re working on his case. She’s afraid that if it doesn’t lead to anything, he’ll get his hopes up for nothing.”

“Understandable. But tell me… What do you want me to do exactly?”

“Trust me implicitly?” He said with a boyish grin.

She huffed. “Right. Like that didn’t get me in trouble in the past.”

“I want you to reopen the case, give me the green light to do as I please and stay out of it.” He said more seriously. “I want to go in wired and get a confession out of that bastard. I‘ll also need you to get a positive identification of Liam MacAllister‘s voice from his interrogation tape. When I come in with the evidence, I don‘t want any doubts that it‘s the same guy.” He omitted to mention that he wouldn’t be the one to approach Angel. It was irrelevant and it would make Kate hesitate about the whole thing.

“Do you have a lawyer working with you on this? Because you’re gonna need one if you want to get Rayne out of jail.”

“Yes, I’ve been in contact with a lawyer at Wolfram & Hart, Lilah Morgan. My client has also had contact with this person before regarding the case and she agreed to help. She‘s preparing the documents and as soon as it‘s done and she can put a good argument together, she‘ll present it to a judge.”

Kate‘s blue eyes widened comically. “Wow. I’m guessing not for free. What are they? The most lucrative law firm in United States? Your ‘client’ is really serious about this, isn’t she?”

“Very.”

“All right, Wes. I’m gonna be really stupid here and trust that you know what the hell you’re getting yourself into. I’ll talk to my boss and try to convince him that it’s not a waste of time to reopen this case.”

Wesley stood up. “Thank you, Kate. I owe you one.”

“Yeah. More like a hundred. I should keep a list of all the favors you owe me. You do realize that if it leads to nothing, I could get my ass fired for this?”

“Like I said, I owe you one.” Wesley winked at her and walked away. “Call me as soon as it’s done.”

Kate watched his retreating back and sighed. She was definitely a sucker for a sexy British man with a devastating smile. But then again, what woman in her right mind wouldn’t be? Picking up the phone, she dialed her boss’s extension and waited for him to answer.

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Giles walked to Buffy’s office, wondering if she was back yet. Spike was walking in front of him and he made the prisoner sit on a chair by Harmony’s desk. Spike gave him a worried look.

“Hey, why the bleedin’ hell are you making me wait here? With her? I didn’t do anything to deserve this kind of punishment.”

Harmony, who was on the phone, didn’t seem to hear the comment. Giles just gave the blonde man a warning look. “I have to talk with Ms. Summers first. So wait here and don’t move or there’ll be hell to pay. Am I making myself clear?”

“No need to get all scary on me, mate. I know you’re just pissed off by the little conversation with your bird.” Spike smirked in that infuriating way of his.

Giles ignored the comment. “I said am I clear?”

“As clear as soddin’ crystal, mate. Not moving a muscle. But if she starts talking to me,” He tilted his head toward Harmony. “I just might break that promise.”

The guard didn’t dignify this with an answer and just turned to knock on Buffy’s office door. He disappeared inside after she told him to come in, shutting the door behind him.

Right away, he could tell that something was wrong. The young woman wasn’t good at hiding her emotions.

“Hello, Buffy.”

“Hi, Giles.”

There was an awkward pause. Buffy tried to smile to lighten up the heavy atmosphere, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Do you mind if I sit?” Giles finally asked.

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Is everything all right? You don’t seem quite like yourself. Did the doctor say something that upset you?”

“What? Oh. Huh, no. Everything is just fine.” She looked down at the pen she was playing with, mentally slapping herself for sounding so not all right. Giles wasn‘t stupid, he‘d see right through her.

And of course, he did. Frowning with concern, he leaned forward. “Buffy? What did the doctor say? You don’t have some kind of terrible illness, do you?”

“No. Of course not. It’s just like I told you. There’s nothing wrong with me.” Well, that wasn’t a lie. Nothing was technically wrong with her. Pregnancy was a natural thing. So yeah, not lying. “Just stress.” Now that was a lie.

Giles didn’t look like he believed her at all and that made her angry. How come people could see right through her bullshit like that? Was there a ‘Buffy’ handbook that everyone received and that she wasn’t aware of?

“Would you stop looking at me like that?” She snapped at him. “I’m telling you there is nothing wrong with me. I’m fine, OK. I’m just FINE.”

Giles just kept looking at her without a word, worry written plainly on his face. That’s all it took to break through Buffy’s resolve. Unexpectedly, the Warden broke down into tears. Giles got up and went to her side, crouching next to her. Buffy put her arms around his neck and hid her face against his shoulder.

“Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on?”

“I’m pregnant, Giles.” She whispered it so softly that he barely heard her.

“I figured that much.”

Buffy pushed away from him and gave him a watery, disbelieving look. “What?”

“As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, I wasn’t born yesterday.” He chuckled. “I didn’t want to mention it as a possibility because I knew you would get upset. And also because I felt it wasn’t my business.”

“I just don’t know what to do, Giles. God, all this crying gave me a headache. It feels like all I’ve been doing all day is sobbing like an idiot. Not very productive.”

“But understandable. I’m surprised you’re even here at all actually. Perhaps you should go home and get some rest.”

“What for? So I can stare at a wall and feel sorry for myself? I’m pregnant, not dying. Other women do it all the time so I don’t see why I should whine. And if I want to be honest with myself, I can admit that it’s all my damn fault for acting like an idiot. I should have been more careful.”

Giles sat on the floor, his back against the desk, his shoulder slumped as if under a heavy burden. “I presume you could have been more careful, but what is done is done. It’s nonsense to beat yourself up over this. It won’t accomplish anything productive.”

“I know, but I can’t help it. All I can think of turn out to be a bunch of ‘what ifs’. It won’t change anything, but I have a hard time being logical right now. Spike will be devastated.”

“You don’t know that.”

Buffy snickered. “Don’t I? Isn’t he missing out on enough already? He’s stuck in here while the world keeps going on without him, he has a girlfriend that he can only see for a few stolen moments here and there, and now, he’ll have to find out that he’ll be a father and won’t be able to be part of his child’s life. And you don’t think he’ll be devastated?”

“All right, you have a good point. It won’t be easy for him. But you’re going through a hard time too and you need his support.”

She hugged herself, panic obvious in her eyes. “I can’t tell him just yet. Please, Giles, I know you won’t agree with my decision, but I can’t do it. I need time. I’m asking you not to make me tell him before I’m ready. I need to come to term with the news myself before I can face him.”

Giles stood up. “Of course. It’s your decision and I respect it. But I wouldn’t wait too long if I were you. The longer you wait, the harder it will be.”

“I know.”

“Speaking of the devil, he’s waiting outside and I’m a little worried about leaving him in Harmony’s company for too long. If you’re too upset to see him right now, I can bring him back to his cell.”

“No. I want to see him. Why did you bring him in?”

“He got into a bit of a fight last night and since he was at the infirmary, I figured it would be a good excuse to bring him here without raising suspicion.”

“He got into a fight?” Surprisingly, it felt good to Buffy to worry about Spike instead of worrying about herself and her not so distant future as a single mom. It gave her brain something else to think about and she welcomed the distraction. “How is he? He didn’t get too badly injured, did he?”

“No, he’s fine. Just a few stitches, cracked ribs and bruises.”

“And you call that fine?!”

“I know it sounds bad, but believe me… the way he was enjoying mocking me earlier, I’d say he’s fine.”

Buffy sighed. She didn’t think her nerves could take much more of this. “OK. Bring him in before Harmony drives him to jump out the window.”

Giles squeezed Buffy’s shoulder in a show a support. “You’ll see, you’ll be fine. Sometimes, things have a surprising way of working out.”

“I hope you’re right because I’m starting to have doubts.”

He turned to leave the office just as a loud “RUPERT!“ was heard from the other side of the door. Giles rolled his eyes and walked out of the office to go rescue Spike from Harmony, leaving Buffy alone with her thoughts.

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CHAPTER 35: Men have the worst timing

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