quote:
INT. BUFFY'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHTWillow is rummaging around in the cupboards. A noise turns her. She sees Giles in the doorway.
WILLOW
Hey Giles.
He closes the door. Looking a bit grim.
WILLOW (cont'd)
You have a good talk with Buffy?
GILES
Yes, now that she's back.
WILLOW
Isn't it awesome?
GILES
Mmm. Tell me about this spell you
performed.
WILLOW
(suddenly excited)
Okay. First of all - so scary.
Like, the Blair Witch would
have had to watch like this.
(covers eyes)
And this giant snake came out my
mouth and then there was all this
energy crackling and then this pack
of demons interrupted but I totally
kept it together and the next thing
you know ... Buffy.
She proudly awaits his kudos.
GILES
(sadly, quiet)
You're a very stupid girl.
Beat. Willow blinks, re-grouping ...
WILLOW
What? Giles ...
GILES
Do you have any idea what you've
done? The forces you've harnessed?
The lines you've crossed?
WILLOW
I thought you'd be ...
(swallows)
...impressed, or something.
GILES
Oh, don't worry, you've made a
deep impression. Of everyone
here - you were the one I trusted
most to respect the forces of nature.
WILLOW
Are you saying you don't trust me?
GILES
Think what you've done to Buffy.
WILLOW
I brought her back!
GILES
At incredible risk.
WILLOW
Risk? Of what? Making her deader?
GILES
Killing us all. Unleashing a hell on
Earth. Shall I go on?
WILLOW
No! Giles, I did what I had to do.
I did what nobody else could do.
GILES
Oh, there are others in the world
who can do what you did. You
just don't want to meet them.
WILLOW
Okay, probably not - but they're bad
guys. I am not a bad guy. I brought
Buffy back to the world and maybe
the word you should be looking for
is "congratulations."
GILES
Having Buffy back in the world
makes me feel indescribably
wonderful - but I wouldn't
congratulate you if you jumped
off a cliff and happened to survive.
WILLOW
That's not what I did, Giles!
GILES
You were lucky.
WILLOW
I wasn't lucky, I was amazing.
How would you know anyway?
You weren't even there.
GILES
(almost yelling)
If I had been I'd have bloody well
stopped you! The Magicks you
channeled are more primal and
ferocious than you can hope to
understand, and you're lucky to
be alive, you rank, arrogant amateur.
Beat. Giles is done. Willow flatlines, total calm, staring into his eyes. Then:
WILLOW
You're right. The Magicks I used are
incredibly powerful. I'm incredibly powerful.
(beat)
And maybe it's not such a good idea
for you to piss me off.
The two just stare at each other. Long beat. Finally, Willow relents, back to herself.
WILLOW (cont'd)
C'mon, Giles, I don't want to fight.
Let's not, okay? I'll think about
what you said, and you ... try to
be happy Buffy's back.
Giles just regards her a moment before responding.
GILES
We still have no idea where she was
or what happened to her.
EXT. BACK PORCH - NIGHT
Buffy is standing outside, within earshot of the kitchen. She is hugging herself against the cold, and hearing every word from overhead:
GILES (O.S.)
And I'm far from convinced she's come
out of all this undamaged.