The youthful man peered in through the porthole type windows of Sunnydale's Library. It appeared to be empty. Getting a firmer grip on his briefcase, he thrust his shoulders back and his chin up, pushed through the doors and strode in.

A quick look around showed no one else.

"Hello?" he spoke tentatively, his voice not as strong as he would have liked. Clearing his throat, he tried again. "Hello!"

"Yes?" Startled, he whirled around and saw a man in his early forties, jacket off, tie loosened, holding a cup of tea in his left hand.

"Yes. Mister Giles? Rupert Giles? I am Wesley Wyndham- Price." He stepped forward and held out his right hand.

Giles studying him briefly then reached out to clasp the hand.

"The new Watcher."

"Yes. I am." Wesley stood proudly, then Giles' flat tone finally registered with him and he realized he was waiting for some sort of approval from the man he had been sent to replace. That certainly wouldn't do.

He glanced away and cleared his throat again, his fingers fiddling with the knot of his tie.

"I, ah, wonder if it would be possible to meet the Slayers?"

Giles' stare was as cold as his voice. "Yes. Of course. Buffy is here at school. I'm not sure where Faith is at the moment."

"A Watcher should know where his charges are at all times."

The senior Watcher's expression changed then. Wesley wasn't sure if 'lightened up' was the phrase that fit but it definitely wasn't as harsh as it had been. There did seem to be a glint of amusement in Giles' eyes now.

"Had much experience with teenage girls?" Giles asked, taking a sip of his tea.

"Certainly not! Oh. You mean teenage girls who are Slayers, of course."

"Of course," Giles agreed mildly.

Fighting off a furious blush at his faux pas, Wesley replied, "This is my first assignment."

"Ah. Well, you'll find that they tend to have a mind of their own."

Trying to win back some of the ground he'd lost, Wesley said, "Yes, I read the reports from the Council about your methods of training Miss Summers and Miss...uh..."

"Faith. Just Faith."

Frowning, Wesley shoved his glasses up on his nose. "The reports say that you have little or no control over Miss Summers and...Faith, which is the reason why you're being replaced."

Giles' gaze hardened yet managed to retain that glimmer of humour that was beginning to worry Wesley. "As I said, teenage girls can be quite willful. These two in particular."

"We shall see about that," Wesley spoke confidently. "All they need is a firm authority and a Watcher who shall command them with skill and strategy."

In the midst of taking another drink of his tea, Giles nearly choked on it.

"Right. That is all they need."

"Now you are mocking me, sir."

Giles turned away and went into his office, coming back out minus the teacup. He slipped his hands into his pants pockets as he leaned against the door frame.

"A word of advice if you'll take it."

"Certainly." It wouldn't do any harm to listen.

"Neither Buffy nor Faith respond well to orders. You'll have to find your own way with them but go easy at first."

"Nonsense. A Slayer ought to respond to her master's voice. Just because you failed in that regard does not mean that I shall."

The line of Giles' mouth set into a straight line and he tilted his head back just enough that the light from above reflected off his glasses. Wesley could no longer see his eyes. Forgetting whatever else he was going to say, he swallowed and simply held his ground.

The abrupt sound of the doors swinging open behind him caused him to start.

A redhaired girl walked in, her arms laden with books. She looked at Wesley and the smile she wore faded slightly. Gazing past him, she brightened considerably and moved to stand close to Giles.

"New Watcher?" she murmured.

"New Watcher," Giles agreed in a slightly resigned tone. "Is there something I can do for you, Willow?"

"Just returning these books on magic. Thanks for letting me look at them but, uh, you know, they're awfully basic. I already know most of that stuff."

"Precisely why I wanted you to read them. If you're going to learn you must begin at the beginning. Once you get a solid grounding in the basics then and only then will I feel comfortable letting you move on."

"But Giles, I've gone so far beyond that to be starting over now..."

"No buts. Those are my requirements. Accept them or we go no further."

Willow pouted but agreed. "All right," she grumbled. "But you promise we will go to the next level once you're happy I've learned this stuff?"

Giles smiled fondly at her. "Of course. I just don't want you to make any serious mistakes." "If you see Buffy will you ask her to come here, please?"

Willow looked at Wesley who had been listening to the entire exchange, her expression nearly matching that of Giles' from earlier. "Sure. I'll do that. Bye."

She went out without another word.

"That was Miss Rosenberg?"

"Yes."

"Ah, yes." Wesley pulled up the information from his excellent memory. "One of several young people who help the Slayers. Endangering the lives of civilians is frowned upon by the Council."

"Willow is extremely bright. Her talents as a researcher have aided us more times than I can count and she has a right to choose her own path. Right now the path she has chosen lies in helping Buffy."

"What about the others?"

"You'll get to know Buffy's friends soon enough. They all contribute their own talents to the cause."

"Good heavens! How many of them know about the Slayers?"

"The general public lives on in ignorance." Giles walked over to the table in the center of the room and sat upon it.

Wesley watched him. "That hardly answers my question."

Fixing his stare on the middle distance, Giles said, "When I came to Sunnydale there was no other Watcher to answer my questions. There was no one. Just Buffy."

Annoyed, Wesley said, "I see. You're telling me that I must find my own answers."

"It is part of learning."

Opening his mouth to protest, Wesley was interrupted when the doors to the Library opened again and a slight blonde girl bounced in.

She greeted Giles. "Willow said you wanted to see me?"

Giles gestured. Wesley stepped forward with his hand out.

"You must be Miss Summers."

Making no move to shake his hand, the Slayer looked at him but spoke to Giles.

"New Watcher?" She hardly sounded enthused.

"New Watcher." Neither did Giles.

Momentarily put off, Wesley realized he had his work cut out for him. Clearly no one here was going to make it easy, but he hadn't expected easy. Not really. Not exactly. It would have been helpful, however, if someone turned out to be...helpful...in some small way.

Rallying the spirit that had gotten him this far -- to an assignment on an actual Hellmouth in charge of not one, but two active Slayers -- Wesley set his mind on business. Too bad if none of these people took it as seriously as he did. He was in charge and they'd soon understand what that meant.

~ end ~