Childproof Tops
He fumbles with the cap. No matter how many years go by, the opening of a prescription bottle never gets easier.
Finally he pops it open. A line of 14 pills, 2 in each of the 7 small dividers inside the wooden box next to various others. Small blue discs, beside beige ovals, beside shiny capsules; some with prescriptions registered at Sunnydale Pharmacy and some on order from a local coven.
Jenny had laughed the first time she saw his old plastic organizer. "Those are only made for hypochondriacs and old men," she giggled, pulling the small wrapped box out of her purse. He didn't know whether to be offended or pleased when he saw the delicately designed case. It's not every woman who buys you a pill box.
It was a circle that smelled of sandalwood and made of a wood Giles couldn't identify but could tell was from a tree much older then he. There were seven small stones for each day and a delicately carved knot on the front. Jenny curled onto the couch next to him, dangling her legs over his, balancing her head on his shoulders. He breathed in deep, and smelled only the smell Jenny produced; of earth, and blossoms, and woman.
"The first stone is a blue lace agate for peace and happiness-Rupert! Keep your hands where I can see them," she laughed, pushing his hands back out of her skirt.
He smiled slyly,"I'll abide, but I haven't the faintest idea what you are talking about. I'm a proper gentleman."
"Proper my-," she smiled,"the next is a red agate for it's calming power."
He nuzzled her neck,"It's very beautiful, but not as beautiful as the woman who bought it."
"Ahem...thank you for removing yourself till I'm done..the third is amber to help control your-um-problem,-" she paused, looking to him unsure.
"It's all right Jenny," he rubbed her back comfortingly, "I understand."
"Just never quite sure how to put it. Then fourth is kunzite to center you, the fifth is moonstone to protect you, then a piece of turquoise to heal and finally spinel for energy ," she explained proudly, "It's just a little gift I made for you."
He took the small box in his hand, then placed it beside him, and embraced her tightly. That was their last night together, and then her void in his life was filled by a new set of purple pills. The same color as her bedspread, and as her favorite sweater, and of the scarf that she left on his dresser that he moved to beside him on the pillow.
Ethan once told him that the medicines held him back.
"They make you docile, they make you weak,"he'd taunt him.
Soon the medicine was sold to the local bums for money for supplies, and Giles was embracing the other side. He learned quickly though that he needed something to keep him together. Self-medication came next.
After he left Ethan and before he joined the Watchers, the council sent him through detox.
"You can't be watching a slayer at night, and shooting up during the day," his father scolded, standing over his only son's bed.
"What's wrong with me?" Giles asked for the first time.
His father shook his head while his mother stepped out of the room. "We'll never truly know," he said forlornly.
It was the only time he actively searched for answers, even though he knew he didn't really want the answer. He didn't want to know why the Watchers had him undergo yearly psychological examinations, or why he was called Ripper, or why one day his parents looked him in the eye, and the next they stopped completely.
But then answers came in the form of a file and a small note. "Dear Ripper, I guess it was wrong of me to tell you to stop the medications. Sometimes mood control is the only answer," the note taunted with it's messy scribble and final closing of, "Love Always, Ethan."
He held the file, and cried. He cried for the mornings he woke up with blood on his hands, and the nights he fell asleep with no recollection of how he ended up in that person's bed.
Jenny asked him once why he took the medication for so long without ever knowing what it was for.
"I knew it was necessary and I knew I had no interest to know what drove me to such awful things," he frowned,"although I only assumed I did awful things from the grins Ethan would give me each morning."
He read each page slowly, praying with each new incident that things wouldn't get worse.
PROGRESS REPORT-AGE 10
Agatha Giles had an affair with a demon from the hell dimension of Cainlil while her husband Rupert was working abroad for the Council. From that relationship came Rupert. Medication was began immediately to prevent the demon side from taking form to fulfill the prophecy.Then, a new aspect was born when young Rupert suffered severe abuse from his true father at the age of 7. His true father was only able to rescue him after the damage had been done. A new personality had formed for Rupert to compensate for the feeling of helplessness. His new personality also suited his half-demon aspects, and paired together, this other half of Rupert is volatile and potential lethal. Without proper medication and care, Rupert could use his innate magical power for a level of evil unknown to this world. He knows of his duty to the slayer, but if anyone ever brings him astray, who knows what might happen.
PROGRESS REPORT-AGE 25
Rupert is now under the care of the council again, undergoing detox and cleansing. All of the crimes he committed while MIA from the Watchers have been covered up and all of the necessary parties have been compensated. Ethan Rayne is being taken care of, and the rest of Rupert's group is being reprogrammed. Rupert is progressing nicely through the program and will hopefully be ready by age 36 to take his post as the Watcher for the final slayer. Without him the world will end in pain, but with him the world will finally be made right again. But the truth must never be revealed to him, out of fear of what might happen. Such an emotional shock might awaken "THE RIPPER" (his demon side). Also, the binding spell has taken place and hopefully will keep his magical abilities limited. He does not need his powers till the day of the prophecy.
He read over the cleanly typed pages, of doctor's notes and workplace evaluations. He saw the police reports and the pictures of what can happen when the Ripper is let out. He cried tears for those he lost and for those he never truly knew.
But it changes nothing. He'll still take his medicine each morning, and still train with Buffy each day, and still fall asleep alone each night.
He turned his back on that life.
"No you didn't," it growls from deep within.
He turned his back on that side.
"You never lost me," it calls back.
He'll never submit.
"Don't be too sure," it taunts.
He's stronger then it thinks. He needs to be strong for those he cares for, and those he cared for, and the entire world on his shoulders.
When angry he'll count to ten, and when he feels the walls thinning he'll take a pill, and when he wants the Ripper to come out, he'll let him come out. But only a little bit. Only when the cap is really stuck on the bottle and he needs a little something extra to get it off.