__Childproof Tops__
By Beth C
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 put each put in 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, placed it beside him, and
embraced the only person he let in. 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."
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.
* * *