Disclaimer: I don't own Giles or any of the characters that you recognize from BtVS. I am just taking them off the shelf, dusting them off, and letting them play with some of the people from my shelf. I promise to put everything back where I found it when I am done.

Author's Note: If you haven't read my other story Yellow, it is the sequel to this one. Yes I know I am odd, but I wrote that one first. Major Thanks to Jazz who really cleaned this up!

Secret Demons Series Info: All the stories are posted on my website. 1) English Demons (on hold), 2) Yellow (completed), 3) That Christmas Thing (on hold).

Distribution:  As far as I know, Fanfiction.net, Hello World: Fan Fiction is Fun.  Anyone else, ask first, please!

English Demons - Chapter 2: Reunion Awry
by Annabelle

Rupert Giles put his hand to his cheek.  It still stung and he knew that the skin was red.  He looked into the angry eyes of his daughter and was speechless.  "I know I deserved that," he finally managed but she walked away from him in obvious disgust.  "Wait," he called after her but wisely did not try to stop her.

"Why?"  She was behind him now.  She did not turn to face him.

"I was coming to talk to you," he turned to face her but she kept turning away.

"Funny, I really don't feel like talking much," then she faced him.  "Not anymore."

"I can imagine."  He tried to take a step closer to her but she backed up.  "Evelyn I know you and I haven't gotten off on the right foot."

"Oh," she hissed at him.  "Well I say you get the award for biggest understatement of the year."

"Evie, please," Giles begged her.

Evelyn crossed her arms in front of her. "Fine.  Talk."

"I just wanted," Giles stammered.  "It's just that, well it looked like.  I am sorry Evie.  I thought that Quinten was mistreating you."

She snorted.  "He is one of the few people who has never mistreated me in my life."

Giles felt his face falter.  "I know that we have a lot of things that we have to work through.  But were getting off to a good start awhile ago."

"Yeah," Evie rubbed her arm a little as if to keep herself calm but still glared at him.  "Then you left."

"You know I had no choice," he reached his hand out to touch her check.  "I wanted to stay but they brought her back and I had to go.  I had no idea that was going to happen."

"Or what?" she slapped his hand away.  "You would have stayed there and never come back?"

"That's not fair." Giles was starting to get frustrated with her.  "I called you.  I tried.  But you didn't return a single message I left.  I even called at times that I was sure that you were going to be at home.  Which were often nine hours earlier for me.  So don't you act like I didn't try."

Evie could feel the tears start to in build her eyes again. "You tried once!  Once in the almost nineteen years that we have been apart, and you want credit it for it!  Well excuse me if I don't give it to you."

"Hey Evie," Peter came out into the hallway and saw that he was interrupting something.  The older man that was with her he could tell was Mr. Giles even though he looked at the ground.

"Yes Peter?" Evie did not look at her father.  She looked through him to her friend.

Peter felt sorry for them.  He knew how much Evelyn loved her father even if she would not admit it.  His sorrow made him momentarily forget what he had come to tell her.  "We need you back in here.  Quinten has some news," he jerked his thumb back to the training room where a group of the younger Watchers was starting to form.

Evie smiled at him, "I'll be right there."

Peter nodded and ducked back into the room.  Evelyn looked back at the floor again for a moment, like she was waiting for her father to say something.  Then she looked back at him her eyes were blank.

"We are done here," she said simply and started to walk away.

"Tomorrow's Saturday," Giles started to say.  He heard her stop.  "Will you come by Winbourne?  For a visit?  Some tea maybe?"

Evelyn did not turn this time.  She stood there for a moment.  Then she sighed and kept walking.

Giles shook his head, "That went incredibly well."

***

The sun had been up for hours and it was a beautiful day outside with white fluffy clouds and clear blue skies.  Rupert Giles however had kept himself cooped up inside all day long in the library of his home.  He had been going through every book he owned to try to find information about a prophecy that Quinten had told, rather than asked, him to look into.

"Mr. Giles," Hoyle called up to him.

Rupert had been balancing himself on the rolling ladder that was used to reach some of the texts that were higher up.  Hoyle's sudden call to him made him falter for a moment but he managed to stay upright. "Yes Hoyle?"

"I was just wonderin' if you were goin' stay up there all day with your books or if you would be comin' down for tea," the older man smiled at him gently.

"I'll be there in a few minutes," Rupert replied and looked back at his book.  "Thank you Hoyle."

"Aye," he started to hobble out of the library.  "We'll be in the greenhouse."

"Yes," Rupert did not look up from his book.  It was a few short seconds after Thomas Hoyle left the room, what he had said finally hit the other man.  "We'll be in the greenhouse?  No, it couldn't be.  He must have meant just the two of us."

With his curiosity heightened, Rupert descended the ladder and made his way to the greenhouse.  He walked through the sitting room and down a hallway to the south side of the house.  Turning the knob of the door he walked into a small room with glass walls that was used as a nursery for plants that were not ready to be potted.  The door that led to the main room of the greenhouse was made of glass and had a metal bar that had to be pushed or pulled on to open.

He pushed the glass door open and walked into the large room.  The roof was rounded in the traditional style of old fashion greenhouse.  This one had been built for his mother because she loved plants so much.  He remembered her spending hours at a time here, tending to everything.  Afternoon tea in the greenhouse was a frequent thing in his childhood.  They had a rot iron table and chair set put in a few months after the construction was finished.  The room was big enough and the table counters far enough apart that it was not a problem.

There sitting at the table was what Rupert swore was the ghost of his mother.  He shook his head a bit and let his eyes focus more on the young woman sitting at the table.  Evelyn was in the far chair leaning slightly against the back with her legs crossed.  She had a simple dress and a sun hat to match that was titled to the side to help keep the heat of her face.  She did not look up at him.

"Evelyn," he ventured to say.

She looked at him but said nothing.  Hoyle came in carrying the tea set and she stood to go help him.  "Oh thank you Miss Evie but you don't need to do that," he protested slightly.

Evie smiled at him. "I don't mind Mr. Hoyle."  Then she gave a slight glare to her father, "I like serving tea."  She took the tray from him and set it down on the table and repeated the same task that she had tried to perform yesterday.  Hoyle sat down to her right but Rupert stayed standing.

Handing a teacup to Hoyle, Evie then looked up at her father, "Aren't you going to sit down?  Or are you thinking of starting another scene?"

Rupert was put off by her harshness. "Actually I was wondering why you bothered to come to tea if you were just going to cold to me the whole time?

"I always come to Winbourne on the weekends to have tea with Mr. Hoyle," she handed a second cup to Rupert and then poured herself some.  "Someone has to check up on you and make sure that you don't go out on that tractor," she said giving Hoyle pointed look.

"Bother," Hoyle huffed.  "I haven't been on that old contraption in ages now.  You and Virginia saw to that.  Hiring that young Davey Wilson to come here and take my job."

"We did it for you own good," Evie replied plainly.  "You can work here till the day you take your last breath but I am going to do everything in my power to make sure that isn't for a long time."

Rupert sat back and sipped his tea quietly and listened to the banter that went on between the two.  It sadden him a little to see how relaxed she was with groundskeeper, knowing that his relationship with her was far from ever being like that.  His interest was raised however when Hoyle asked her what she had done with the Council this week.

"Well I stopped two demons in North Hampton," Evie's voice was calm as if this was an every day occurrence.  "I trained some with James, he is getting better with the sword."

"Oh is he?" Hoyle did not seem surprised.  "Will he be beating you an time soon?"

"No," Evie laughed.  "He is still in need of more training.  He faltered a bit at North Hampton when we were under attack.  The moves are not all automatic for him yet."

"You stopped two demons," Rupert had a serious look on his face.

Evie stopped laughing and looked at him. "Well not by myself totally.  I had a team of others with me protecting the people that were under attack.  But when it came to the hand to hand stuff I pretty much did it on my own."

"A team," he managed to choke out.  "There are other people besides the Lords of the Council that know about you?"

"Well yeah," Evie gave him a strange look.  "I have been living here and working with this people for five years now."

"That is not what I meant," he said.  "I meant that there are other people in the Council besides the Lords that knew that you are a, well that you-"

She gave him her best glare laced with full disgust.  "How about you stop trying to say it?  Yes there are other people besides the Lords that know.  Quinten for one, but you knew that.  Peter and James know because the arranged for my townhouse in Luton."

"Speaking of which," Hoyle interrupted.  He did not like the way this conversation was going, "Why don't you move to Winbourne Evie?  You are a Giles, you should be living here, not in Luton."

"You are still staying in Luton?" Rupert felt his blood start to boil a bit.

"Why shouldn't I?" Evie's voice was emotionless.  "The townhouse is bought and paid for.  It is mine."

"It is not yours," he yelled slightly this time.  "It is a payoff for putting your life in danger.  It is temporary and constant reminder that they own you."

"What is it with you," Evie did not try to suppress her screams like he did.   "Why do you have come here and criticize every part of my life?"

"Because you don't realize what they are doing," he slammed his cup down.  "You don’t see how much you are under their thumb.  They have you right where they want you and you are too naïve to see it or do anything about it."

Evie rose from the table, "How would you know?  You haven't been a real part of my life since I was four.  A few days here and there and two months doesn't count.  There is know way that you could have any idea what my life is like or whose thumb I am under!"

Rupert knew that he was getting nowhere with this, he would not be able to convince her of the Council's true motives.  Quinten was right; even if she did believe him she would hate him.  "Evelyn Rose," his voice was soft now.  "I don't want to fight with you.  I want to be part of your life."

His daughter looked at him taken aback.  She did not expect him to say that and did not know what to do or say.  Then she let her breathing even out and spoke, "If that is what you want then you need to start asking questions about my life first.  Don't go off trying to rescue me from something that is not dangerous to me.  That's how you end up falling of your horse."

Despite everything that had happened he laughed at what she said.  Then he smiled at her, "Alright you have a deal."

For the first time that she had seen him since he had returned to England Evelyn Rose returned her father's smile.  He knew that it was a small step, but it was one in the right direction.  She did not sit back down though.  Instead she thanked them both of the tea and excused herself saying that she had a dinner that evening with friends that she had to get ready for.  After she was outside and got in her car he watched her headlights fade into the distance from the windows in the library.  Standing there in their family home he made a vow that one day he would make sure that his daughter would not suffer under the Watchers Council as he had, he would safe her despite her protests.


get this gear!