Tumbling Down by Elisabeth

Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over these characters. I am merely borrowing them from Joss et al.
Distribution: Willow's Dragony Dreams: /www.dragonydreams.com/
The Mystic Muse: /mysticmuse.net
Spoilers: Wild at Heart.
Feedback: Yes, please.
Pairing: Willow/Giles

Summary: What if Riley hadn't been there to pull Willow out of harm's way during Wild at Heart?

For Willow Rosenberg it was when she skipped into the crypt her boyfriend locked himself up in when he went all wolfy, only to find him not alone, and naked. In her young life she had never known pain so acute before. The man she loved more than anything had just ripped her heart to shreds.

For Rupert Giles it was when Buffy called him from the hospital. Willow had been hit by a car while crossing the street, with Buffy having to watch from a block away. She was still unconscious. The woman he secretly loved might die without knowing how much she meant to him.

Giles couldn't remember how he got to the hospital. Ever since he hung up the phone after speaking with Buffy he felt numb. He was in complete denial.

"It's not true. It can't possibly be true. Please God, let her be alright," he muttered to himself in various combinations and tones of voice.

He had recently admitted to himself that the feelings he harbored for the redhead were different than the familial feelings he held for the others. He chastised himself, saying that it was wrong, he'd become a pedophile, she could never want him, and other self-recriminating remarks. He had gone and fallen in love with a vibrant young woman who was twenty-five years his junior. She wasn't even as old yet as he had been when she was born. How could she ever look at him as someone to desire?

With all of these doubts and judgments filling his head, Giles was able to hide his true feelings from those around him. He hid the pain he felt watching Willow and Oz fawn over each other. He longed for her to look at him with such love and devotion. Occasionally he would hope that she could ignore his age, perhaps come to love him for it, just as she dealt with Oz's lycanthropy. Then he would drink himself back to reality.

Tonight he didn't have time to wallow in depression and drink. Nothing sobers a man like learning that the woman who holds his heart could be dying, or dead.

Giles rushed through the doors of the emergency room, desperately seeking out Buffy. He finally found her in the waiting room, holding back her own tears.

When she saw him, Buffy rushed to Giles, wrapping him in a comforting hug. After a brief, awkward, hug Giles pulled out of Buffy's arms.

"How is Willow? Is she going to be alright? What happened? Does Xander know?" Giles asked in rapid fire.

Starting with the last question, Buffy replied, "I sent Xander to the vending machines to give him something to do." After a small smile she continued. "The doctor hasn't told me anything yet even though I've grabbed every single doctor and nurse trying to find out how she's doing. As for what happened…" Buffy couldn't contain the tears any longer. "It's all my fault."

Buffy collapsed in a hard waiting room chair; a bewildered Giles sat next to her. "I highly doubt that," he tried to comfort. "Tell me what happened. You mentioned something about a car accident."

Buffy nodded, tears splashing off her cheeks. "I was on my way to the cemetery to see if Oz was up yet. I wanted to tell him that I hadn't found the other werewolf on patrol last night, but I'd keep looking. Anyway, I saw Willow walking towards me like a block up on the other side of the street. She wasn't watching where she was going and she stepped into the street. I called out when I saw the car coming straight at her, but I was too far away. She stopped and looked up when I called out. She was just standing there in the middle of the street when the car plowed right into her." Buffy broke down into sobs, unable to speak for several minutes. "If I hadn't called out to her then this never would have happened. She would have made it across the street and been fine."

Giles took his sobbing slayer into his arms. "It's not your fault," he tried to reassure her, forcing his voice to remain steady. "As you said, you were too far away. And it sounds like the car was going too fast for Willow to have avoided being… hit. Did you catch the license plate?"

"No, I was too concerned about Willow to even look at the car. I'm sorry, I should have looked."

"Yes, she is," Xander agreed, returning to the waiting room, arms laden with candy bars, chips and snack cakes. Buffy and Giles looked at his armload, neither feeling remotely hungry. Xander shrugged. "I didn't know what to get." He dumped the food on the chair next to Giles and sat in the empty one next to Buffy.

"Has anyone informed her parents?" Giles asked, knowing they were on yet another business trip.

"I left a message with their answering service," Xander replied. "They're in Europe, so I don't know if they'll get it."

Giles nodded. He didn't understand how her parents could spend so much time away from their wonderful daughter. Luckily a doctor entered the waiting area before Giles could contemplate any more of Willow's attributes.

Walking up to Buffy the doctor asked, "You came in with Willow Rosenberg, correct?"

Checking his chart, the doctor answered, "Well, she has a mild concussion, her left hip was fractured, and she has several bruised ribs."

"When can she leave?" Xander asked, knowing his best friend's loathing of hospitals after her last stay.

"Well, she will need to have surgery on her hip to stabilize the broken bones," the doctor began. "We have scheduled the surgery for early tomorrow morning. After that Willow will need to remain here for at least a week so that she may begin to heal and we can monitor her progress, keep her properly medicated, and begin her physical therapy. She won't be able to get around on her own very easily – depending on the speed of her recovery she will need a cane or crutches to move around. Does she live alone?"

"Unfortunately, Willow won't be able to navigate stairs easily for a while. What about her family?"

"They're out of the country," Xander supplied. "Besides, her room's on the second floor there too."

"And you are…" the doctor asked, wondering who this Englishman was, who was much older than the others, and why he would take the girl into his home.

"Just the loft where my bed is. I have a guest room on the main level, which is also where the bathroom and kitchen are." Giles tried to keep the hope out of his voice. He would like nothing better than for Willow to live under his roof – aside from her sharing his bed, of course.

Xander looked like he was going to protest Willow moving in with Giles, but Buffy's bruising grip on his forearm stalled any comments. Instead he ground out, "Is she awake yet? Can we see her?"

"She is awake, but heavily medicated. You may go visit briefly with her, but she needs her rest."

The doctor led the trio to Willow's room and was heartily thanked for his efforts.

Once the doctor left, Xander slowly pushed open the door to the room. Willow was lying propped up in the bed, the harsh lighting making her pale skin appear almost white, especially against her red hair. She tiredly blinked her eyes at the sound of the door opening and wanly smiled at her friends.

"Hey," she quietly greeted them. Buffy and Xander were instantly on either side of the bed, each holding one of her hands. Giles stood at the foot of the bed.

"By what?" Giles asked, having been wondering about this since he heard about the accident.

Tears welled in Willow's eyes and she looked away. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Oz," Buffy suddenly exclaimed and Willow turned nervous eyes to the slayer, afraid that she knew. "No one called to tell Oz what happened."

Buffy reached for the phone next to the bed but Willow's frantic voice stopped her. "No! Please, don't call him."

Buffy immediately sat back on the bed, promising, "I won't. What happened Will?"

Sensing a need for a change of subject, Xander said, "So the doc said you get to spend the next week relaxing at the lovely Sunnydale General Hospital."

"But the surgery will make it better, right?" Xander pressed, trying to find the silver lining.

"I guess so," Willow agreed. "I just hate sitting here by myself all day with nothing to do."

"You won't be by yourself all day," Buffy reminded her friend. "I can swing by between classes and patrol."

"And I'll bring by some books that you can read. Perhaps we can even do some research from here," Giles suggested.

"Yeah, it's not like G-Man has anywhere else he needs to be," Xander pointed out. Giles glared at the boy.

"But what about when the week's over," Willow began to panic. "Where will I go? I can't stay at the dorms or in my parents' empty house."

"If is alright with you," Giles started, "I told the doctor that you are welcome to stay with me."

"Of course not. You could never be an imposition," Giles warmly smiled. "Unless you would feel uncomfortable living with me."

"No it isn't," Xander objected. "Wills, are you sure you want to live with him? He's so… old."

"Besides, it's not like he has anything better to do than take care of Willow," Buffy defended.

"It'll be fine, Xander," Willow told her oldest friend. "I trust Giles. I know he'll take good care of me." To herself she continued to mutter, "Not that I want to be taken care of. I don't know what he would want to be stuck with me for."

"Perhaps we should leave and allow Willow to rest," Giles suggested, noticing Willow's drawn, tired features. She smiled her thanks.

"But we'll be back first thing in the morning," Buffy offered. "You'll have your own cheering section in the waiting room."

"Sleep well," Giles fondly addressed the redhead as he slipped out the door. He couldn't wait to get home and begin preparing the spare room for Willow's arrival.

Willow was surprised by how quickly her week in the hospital flew by. Her surgery had been a rousing success with no complications. Upon waking she noticed a considerable lessening of pain in her hip, for which she was thankful.

Willow easily fell into a routine for the rest of her time at the hospital. She had her physical therapy sessions starting the day after surgery to get her used to using her hip again. Of course, that first day her exercises consisted only of moving from the bed to a chair and back again.

Her friends also seemed to set up a visitation schedule. Xander would stop by before work to give Willow a cheery outlook for the day. Giles would stop by mid-morning with her textbooks and whatever tome he was working his way through at the moment. They'd talk comfortably at times and sometimes just work on their separate "assignments" until Buffy showed up after class with Willow's new assignments. Giles would politely excuse himself, leaving the girls to chat. Buffy would then catch Willow up on the latest gossip and her progress with the psych TA, Riley Finn.

One thing Willow refused to talk to anyone about was Oz. She wouldn't explain what had her so distracted that she wouldn't notice a car speeding up the street towards her. Nor would she explain how this was connected to why she wouldn't talk about Oz. Buffy had gone to talk to Oz, despite Willow's wishes that he not know about the accident, to find that he'd suddenly left town, the day of Willow's accident.

The time that Giles spent away from the hospital was spent fixing up his home. He was practically giddy at the prospect of Willow living with him. He cleaned his home from top to bottom. He aired out the spare bedroom as it hadn't been used in a long time. He made certain that all of the outlets worked properly and there was one near the bed, or at least an extension cord, so that Willow could use her laptop when she was too tired to get up. He bought new sheets and remade the bed in colors that he thought she'd like. Buffy and Xander helped him to get together enough of Willow's belongings and clothing to keep her comfortable during her stay. He even stocked up on the types of food that he knew Willow preferred.

Finally the day came for Willow to leave the hospital. Buffy and Xander had wanted to go with Giles to pick her up, but fearing that having so many people around fussing over her would upset Willow, Giles insisted he go alone. Therefore he asked them to wait at his apartment, be the Welcoming Committee as it were. At the prospect of making paper banners to strew about Giles' apartment they readily agreed.

Giles was shamed to notice that his palms were slightly damp. He felt like he was picking up his high school sweetheart for their first date, not picking up his young charge. Then again, Willow was no ordinary charge… far from it.

Willow was dressed and waiting in a wheelchair when Giles arrived at the hospital. Her bag was packed and sitting on the bed. Her new light-weight metal crutches were resting against the bed. The only reason she was in the wheelchair was because of hospital policy.

A wide toothy grin split her face when Giles entered the room and he felt his heart skip a beat, knowing that smile was for him.

"Are we ever," Willow virtually bounced in her chair. "I am so sick of hospital food. And hospital beds… not the most comfortable. And if you thought dorms were noisy, you've never had to sleep with all of the beeping machines and intercom announcements and people crying out in pain."

"No orderlies required. Just hand over my bag and crutches and let's blow this pop stand."

Giles did as was requested, doing his best to suppress the grin threatening to spread across his face. He felt this was a good sign – Willow allowing him to push her wheelchair – to accept his help. In the garage he helped her into his ancient car, quickly stowing her belongings in the back seat.

The drive to his apartment wasn't long, but somewhat awkward in its quiet. Each was lost in their own thoughts. Finally Giles cleared his throat when they were a few blocks from the building.

"I hope you will be comfortable. I don't know how much your friends have told you, but they brought over some of your belongings, including your laptop, to make you feel at home."

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Giles," Willow told him. "It's not like it's going to be forever, just until I can move around easier on my own."

Luckily Willow had turned back to look out the window and missed the frown that crossed Giles' face. He didn't like the idea that Willow seemed to see him merely as some sort of convalescent home.

He pushed his more melancholy thoughts aside as he pulled into his parking space behind his apartment. He was extremely grateful at the moment that his spot was level with the apartment so that Willow could avoid the steps down into the courtyard.

"My apartment," he confirmed, turning off the car. "That's right, you've never arrived this way before."

"Wait right there," Giles insisted as he exited the vehicle. He quickly moved around to open Willow's door for her, assisting her to stand. As she held onto the door and roof for support Giles fetched Willow's crutches from the back seat and handed them to her. Once he was certain that she was able to maneuver the crutches, Giles led the way into the apartment.

Willow smiled and entered her temporary home. Her smile grew as she entered the living room. It was covered in paper streamers and a big Welcome Home banner was hanging from the loft.

A moment later they came running down the stairs from Giles' bedroom. His smile immediately faltered.

"Welcome home, Wills," Xander exclaimed, bounding over to his best friend, enveloping her in a hug.

Releasing the redhead, Buffy shrugged one shoulder, "Well, your home away from home."

"And I do hope that you'll feel like this is your home Willow," Giles warmly stated, resting his hand on Willow's shoulder. Willow smiled at him again and he felt his spirits lift. So it was with a light heart, despite the stern voice, that he turned on Buffy and Xander. "And what were you two doing in my bedroom?"

"Yeah," Buffy agreed. "It's not like we started rifling through your drawers trying to answer the age old question."

Xander elbowed the slayer in the side as Giles looked down his nose at the blonde. "And what question is that?"

Giles' face whitened at the thought of these two rifling through his undergarments.

The ex-watcher let out a sigh of relief, not noticing Willow's raised eyebrow, nor Buffy's air drawing of a box and the girls' shared conspiratorial smile.

"So, Giles," Willow said, trying to hide the giggle that was trying to burst forth. "You gonna show me my new digs or what?"

Starting out of his embarrassment, Giles turned to Willow. "Please forgive me, you must want to relax. Allow me to show you to your quarters."

'Show you to your quarters,' Xander mouthed to his friends. Doing his best at impersonating an English accent he said, "Yes, Jeeves, show us the way."

Giles thought about retorting, but decided that it would be pointless. With one faltering step Giles led the procession to Willow's new room.

With a flourish Giles opened the door, which also had a handmade sign on the door proclaiming it to be Willow's Room.

Willow hesitantly hobbled into the room, curious to see where she'd be living for the next however-many weeks. A small gasp escaped her lips as she took in the room. Artfully placed around the room were Willow's belongings from the dorm. Her laptop was open on a breakfast tray on the bed. As she moved further into the room she peeked into the closet to find it full of her clothes and she suspected that the dresser would be full as well. Her smile faded when she noticed what was on the bedside table – a photo of Oz.

"Of course," Giles agreed, removing said object. He was beginning to get a clearer picture of what happened that fateful day. Buffy and Xander exchanged a curious look, getting a similar idea about why this happened to Willow, but held their tongues.

"I'm actually kinda pooped. Do you guys mind cutting the visit short so I can get some rest?" Willow asked, sitting on the bed.

"We'll come by tomorrow," Buffy said, giving Willow a quick hug and a sad smile.

Giles escorted the two out and returned to Willow's room. He nervously stood outside the door, lightly knocking to acknowledge his presence.

"Do you need help with anything? Can I get anything for you – something to eat or drink?"

"As you like." Giles crossed the room to move the breakfast tray off the bed, setting it off to the side. "Do you want your nightshirt from the hospital or a fresh one?"

Willow watched as Giles moved to the dresser and pulled a nightshirt from a drawer. Willow thought she could almost see him blushing as he handed the garment to her.

"Yes, of course, holler." He backed out of the room, closing the door behind him. He stayed leaning against the doorjamb with his eyes closed for several minutes as he unsuccessfully tried not to image Willow changing into her nightshirt. He could hear her slight whimpers of discomfort as she eased her clothes off. He desperately wanted to go in and assist her, but knew that he couldn't. When it sounded like she was finally lying in bed, Giles pushed himself away from the door and headed to the kitchen to make tea.

Giles sat at his desk, an old leather-bound book open before him, a cup of cooling tea within reach of his left hand. He tried to tell himself that this was a normal afternoon – quiet apartment and prophecies to research. Unfortunately he wasn't listening.

He could not push aside the knowledge that Willow was resting just down the hall, especially when she began to talk in her sleep. Her voice was muffled with sleep and distance, so Giles tried to ignore it. It wasn't until her murmurs grew more desperate that he stood to intervene.

Standing outside the closed door he could hear her better. Repetitions of "Oh, God, no…Oz…payback…why?" could clearly be heard. Carefully, Giles turned the doorknob and let himself into the room.

Willow was tossing her head on the pillow, whimpering slightly as the pain the violent motion stirred the rest of her body, jarring her damaged hip. Her face was suffused with pain, both emotional and physical, as she was obviously dreaming of something traumatic. Silent tears slid from her eyes.

"Willow," Giles whispered, not wanting to startle her. Without giving any signs of waking she relaxed her thrashing. Taking this as a good sign, Giles sat on the edge of the bed. Brushing the hair off her face he continued to coax her to wakefulness. "Willow, wake up. You're having a bad dream. It's alright."

Slowly Willow's eyelids began to flutter and she opened sorrowful eyes to see Giles' soft, worried gaze upon her.

Willow squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, a tear escaping out the side of one eye. Giles brushed it away with his thumb, as she whispered, "No, it wasn't. I can ignore it while I'm awake, but it all comes back to me when I sleep."

"It might help to talk about it." Willow shook her head in refusal. "Believe me, it's not healthy to keep things bottled up." Willow looked at him thoughtfully, trying to decide if she could open up to Giles. Then he said something to convince her. "I promise I won't tell the others anything we discuss. This can remain just between the two of us, although I would highly recommend that you share with them. They are worried about you and only want to help."

Willow sighed and slowly nodded her head. She struggled to sit up, suddenly feeling uncomfortable having Giles leaning over her as she lay in bed. Giles stood, allowing her easier movement under the covers, wincing in sympathy at the flash of pain across her face.

Willow looked around the room as Giles slipped out. She had to admit that Giles had gone out of the way to make the room comfortable. The dresser was next to the closet, making it easy for her to get everything she needed at once. There was a bookshelf on the wall near her bed so that she wouldn't have to go far for either a text book or a novel.

A part of her felt guilty for putting him out like this. She knew that if she wasn't here to bother him that Giles would be nose-deep in a book, ciphering out some apocalyptic prophecy or other. Then he'd research it to death. Willow had always admired how dedicated he could be when he set his mind to a task, sometimes losing sleep in order to puzzle out a problem. And now his self-appointed task seemed to be playing nursemaid and counselor.

Giles reentered the room carrying a tray with the tea, two cups, milk, sugar, lemon and painkillers. He set the tray on the bed near her feet and moved to set the breakfast tray across her lap before moving the tea tray again.

Once they had both fixed their tea and Willow had swallowed her pills, Giles opened, "When ever you are ready."

Willow momentarily closed her eyes and took a deep steadying breath. Opening her eyes to stare at the cup in her hands Willow said, "I guess you've figured out that the accident had something to do with Oz."

"You know that other wolf that Buffy was looking for?" Again Giles nodded. "Well, I found her." Willow sniffled. "Oz locked her in the cage with him. They were laying on the floor…naked…scratched."

Giles removed the tray from Willow's lap and set her cup aside to gently take her in his arms. Willow clung to his solid frame, burying her face in his sweater.

"You poor girl," he comforted, running a hand over her hair. "No wonder you didn't want anyone calling him or his picture in here. Why didn't you say anything?"

"Whatever were you embarrassed about?" Giles couldn't help asking. Willow was the wronged party – she hadn't done anything to feel shame over.

Pulling back slightly Giles met Willow's eyes in order to make certain she understood what he was about to say. "That is utter nonsense. Willow, put the blame where it lies, with that unfaithful…wolf. It is not your fault that he betrayed you."

"No," she disagreed, having spent many hours thinking about this at the hospital. "I wasn't wolf enough for him. He needed someone more passionate, wilder, not boring old predictable Willow."

"You are neither boring nor predictable, and hardly old," Giles countered. He hated seeing her doubt her wonderfulness. "Oz was probably confused having never encountered a female werewolf before…"

"You're defending him!" Willow snapped, pushing Giles away, her face hardened in anger.

'Shit,' Giles thought, scrambling to find a way out of this situation. "Hardly," he retorted. "I am merely trying to point out that his indiscretion was just that – HIS. He could have warned you that he was going to be locking that other wolf in with him, but I am assuming that he did not." Willow nodded her confirmation. "Did he explain himself at all?"

"He tried. He said that he doesn't remember what he does as a werewolf, but SHE did. He said that he didn't have a choice, that he couldn't let her roam around free to kill."

"A valid point," at Willow's glare he hastened to add, "but I disapprove of his methods. It was wrong of him to lie to you, and everyone, when he said that he had no knowledge of another wolf. I am very sorry you had to witness his indiscretion, but it is better that you now know."

"That's just it, I did know. I knew something was going on, that he was attracted to her, but he was being all elusive and aloof. But that's how Oz always is. Xander said that he probably knew I sensed something which is why he wouldn't…" Willow ended her ramble with a blush, realizing that she had almost told Giles that Oz wouldn't sleep with her that day.

Giles coughed and removed his glasses to clean them, his brain having filled in what she hadn't said. "Yes, well, I, um, can see why you were distracted that day."

Still unable to meet the other's eyes, Willow and Giles silently picked up their tea cups again and took a sip. The simultaneous action caused Willow to giggle – after she swallowed her tea, of course – breaking the awkward silence. Giles smiled as well.

"Did you want to try to get some more rest?" Giles queried, uncertain what to do now. What he wanted to do was take Willow in his arms and make her forget all about her cheating boyfriend, but he knew that wasn't an option.

"No, I think I've had all the 'rest' I can stand for the moment." Willow didn't want to dream any more even though her body was still tired. She wished Giles could distract her dreams as easily as he distracted her troubled thoughts.

Needing that distraction she asked, "What were you doing before rushing to wake me?"

Giles desperately tried not to vocalize the images that danced through his head at her words. Oh the things he wanted to do with her in that bed!

Giles stood, slipping his hands into his pockets, clearing his throat. "Right, well then, I'll just go get the books and notes."

Willow watched with an amused look on her face as Giles rushed out of the room. She had no idea what flustered him, and hoped it wasn't what flustered her. Even as she'd said the words, sinful images of Giles joining her in the bed came unbidden to her mind. She pushed those long repressed thoughts out of her head.

She refused to admit, even to herself, that her high school crush on the former watcher wasn't nearly so gone as she would like to believe. There was just something about this man that made her belly flutter. She hadn't noticed it for the last year or so, but then again, she'd had Oz to distract her…

Giles once again returned to the room, arms laden with books and notepads. He momentarily regretted having removed the small desk from the room, but at the time it had seemed like the right thing to do – giving Willow more space to maneuver around the room. He looked around, then to the books in his arms, and bowed his head.

"I had planned on keeping you company as we worked, but it would appear that you are occupying the only available place to sit."

"What are you talking about?" Willow gestured to the half-empty bed. "There's plenty of room to share."

"Of course not. Now quit stalling – there's a prophecy to read about." Willow grinned.

"Alright." Giles moved the tea tray to the dresser and placed the breakfast tray back over Willow's lap.

"How dreadful indeed," Giles deadpanned. He handed Willow her laptop, withdrawing his hands as quickly as possible, afraid that he'd catch the same sort of addiction just from touching it.

Willow laughed at his antics, booting it up with a sigh of contentment. Giles shook his head in disbelief and moved around the bed. He stared at the empty space for several seconds before being able to bring himself to gingerly sit on the bed. He toed his shoes off and scooted back against the headboard, stretching his legs out before him.

Giles pulled a book onto his lap and found where he had left off in his notes. He briefly filled Willow in on what they were looking for and soon both became lost in their work.

Giles was startled out of a particularly difficult passage by a weight on his shoulder. He distractedly looked to his side to see Willow slumped against him. A small smile lifted the corners of his mouth as he realized that she had fallen asleep. Instead of leaving, as he told himself he should do, so that Willow may get some proper rest, Giles inched closer to the sleeping girl so that she wasn't leaning over so much. Willow sighed in contentment, wrapping an arm around his and drifted further into sleep.

Willow gradually came to wakefulness. She was reluctant to leave the pleasant dream she'd been having of a candlelit bubble bath, soft relaxing music playing in the background.

Willow groaned as her stiff muscles protested the return to consciousness. Her neck was a little sore and her pillow felt harder than she remembered. She also couldn't move one of her arms.

Upon opening her eyes, Willow found that her pillow was hard because it was Giles' shoulder. Her muscles were stiff because she had been sleeping sitting up, and leaning over to the side. She couldn't move her arm because it was wrapped around Giles', their fingers intertwined.

Willow sheepishly looked at Giles' bemused face. "Sorry," she apologized as she moved away from the warmth of his body. Giles reluctantly released his hold on her small hand, which Willow pulled onto her lap.

"There's nothing to apologize for," Giles insisted. "You were tired and needed rest."

"But I didn't need to find it on you. You've been trapped here all this time and it's all my fault."

"I was hardly trapped. I could have moved at any time if I had needed to," Giles once again insisted. "How are you feeling?"

Willow's stomach chose that moment to remind everyone that while Willow had spent much of the day asleep, it had been neglected. The color rose on Willow's cheeks at the noise. "I guess I'm a little hungry."

"That's understandable. I could do with some food myself. Is there anything you're in the mood for?"

"Soup?" Willow bashfully requested. "Despite all the horrible food in the hospital they never once served chicken soup. And in my head, sick equals soup."

Holding his hands up in defeat, Giles conceded, "Fine. Are you going use that excuse to win every argument?"

"Right. Chicken soup on the way," Giles said as he set his books aside and moved to stand. "Do you want to eat in here or would you care to join me in the kitchen?"

"Kitchen," Willow decisively said. "I can't be spending all of my time lying in bed, it's not good for my hip. Need to keep moving."

"Very well. I will begin preparing the soup and you can meet me in the kitchen when you are ready."

Willow moved the breakfast tray with her laptop still open to the space Giles had just vacated. She then reached for the crutches she had propped up next to the bed. Swinging her body around until her legs were off the bed was a slow and mildly painful process. She sighed with relief once she was balanced on the crutches.

Willow moved to the door. She turned her head towards the kitchen, hearing Giles rummaging around in the fridge and cupboards. She was having second thoughts about the soup if he had to dig that deep to find the can and can opener.

She closed the door and opened the closet to survey the contents. She wanted to wear a skirt, thinking it'd be easier to move around in, but she was shamed to realize that her legs were in desperate need of a shaving. She'd have to try to do it in the morning; she hoped that Buffy had packed her razor. With a sigh she began opening drawers until she found a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt.

Giles was relieved that he had all of the necessary ingredients for chicken soup on hand. It hadn't occurred to him that the girl would ask for soup. But if it was soup she wanted, it was soup she would have.

He had a couple of chicken breasts in his freezer which he defrosted in the microwave and was cooking in the chicken broth on the stove as he washed and cut the carrots, celery and onion. Willow entered the kitchen as he began cutting the vegetables and adding them to the broth.

Looking around, Willow asked, "Where's the can opener? Or did you already put it away?"

"Can opener?" Giles repeated, before turning to the redhead aghast. "Do you mean to tell me that you've never had homemade soup?"

Willow bowed her head and shook it. Raising her eyes back to Giles' she admitted, "My mom always made it out of a can."

"Well then you're in for a treat. There is nothing as good for the mind and body as homemade soup."

"If you wish…" Giles agreed, not realizing she was naming a popular self-help/inspirational book.

Willow thought about correcting his obvious miss of the reference, but decided to spare him the embarrassment. Instead she took a seat on the bar stool Giles had brought in from the other room and set next to the counter and watched as Giles prepared the meal.

"Did you make any headway with the prophecy while I was, um, asleep?" Willow asked conversationally.

"Some." Giles added the last of the vegetables to the pot on the stove and lowered the heat to let it simmer. He began to wash the cutting board and knife as he spoke. "There had been one passage that had been giving me quite a bit of difficulty, but I finally managed to finish it."

"It was rather a let down, actually," Giles sighed, finishing with the dishes and drying his hands. "This prophecy isn't going to come into fruition until sometime near the end of the 24th century, in Guam."

"Yes, I'll condense my notes and add them to my 'future occurrence' prophecy file."

"Of course," he said as if it was the only possible thing to do. "What did you think I did with prophecies we've discovered that wouldn't occur for some time?"

"I never really thought about it," Willow admitted. "Are you gonna put them together in a book? The Giles Codex?"

"I think you should do it," Willow encouraged. "Ooh, I could type up all your notes for you, put them together on a CD-ROM to make it easier for the publisher."

"That isn't necessary, Willow. This isn't something that I have been serious considering. Merely an idea I've been toying with in my spare time."

Giles turned his attention back to the stove, hoping the subject would now be closed. He wasn't sure why he'd admitted such a fanciful idea to Willow. Composing a Codex would take an enormous amount of time and energy.

He stirred the contents of the pot and brought a spoonful to his mouth for a taste. The temperature was certainly correct. He pulled a carrot out and cautiously bit into it – still a little hard. Next he pulled out a piece of chicken. The color was correct, but he needed to cut it to make certain it was cooked all the way through. It was.

"Just a few more minutes," he informed Willow as he turned back to the redhead, whose eyes were glazed over.

Willow was prepared to tell Giles that he really should do the book, but her voice caught in her throat as she watched him. Giles was bent slightly over the stove, the steam from the pot lightly fogging his glasses. He brought the spoon to his mouth and gently blew on the contents before lapping at the broth and then sucking a carrot into his mouth.

Willow had to repress a groan at the simple act. Her nipples pebbled as she imagined that the spoon was her breast that he was lapping at, and the carrot was a nipple he sucked into his mouth and would then continue to lap at. She was so lost in the pleasurable imagery that she failed to notice that Giles was speaking again.

Giles smiled, glad she had obviously been having pleasurable thoughts. "I just said that dinner will be ready in a few minutes."

"Alright," he chuckled. Giles tested the soup again and found it to be ready. "Perfect," he commented after biting into a soft carrot.

He took two bowls down and ladled soup into them. He placed them on the table before setting out a couple of dinner rolls and glasses of water. Finally he gave Willow a spoon as he joined her at the counter.

Willow eagerly filled her spoon, blowing on the contents to cool them off, and took a bite. "Ow, ow, yum, but ow." She quickly set her spoon back down and took a big gulp of water.

"Yeah, I got that," Willow said, wiping the tears from her eyes. She lifted her refilled spoon, this time giving it more time to cool off before placing it in her mouth. She slowly pulled the spoon back out, savoring every drop that it had contained. Willow closed her eyes as she chewed, loving the softness of the vegetables, the way the tastes blended so perfectly together, warming her thoroughly. "Mmm," she sighed.

Giles was thankful Willow's eyes closed when they did. He couldn't believe how incredibly erotic she could make eating a spoonful of soup appear to be. His eyes were riveted to the way her lips surrounded the spoon, caressing the metal as it slowly retreated from her delectable mouth. And then she vocalized her pleasure…

Willow opened her eyes, surprised to find Giles looking at her with what appeared to be lust. She audibly swallowed before she could answer. "It's perfect. Just what the doctor ordered."

The meal continued in silence, both wondering if the heat in the room was from the soup or the company.

After they finished eating Willow insisted on helping with the clean-up, offering to dry the dishes as Giles washed them. The remainder of the soup was stored in the refrigerator for another day.

"I thought I'd check my e-mail," Willow said. "It's probably piled up and my on-line friends must be wondering what's happened to me."

"Of course. Just let me get these out of your way." Giles picked up his books and notepads, double checking that everything was there. "If you need anything, please let me know."

"I will," Willow smiled as she logged into her email account – once again grateful that she'd had Giles' apartment made accessible for her wireless internet.

"I'll see you in the morning then," Giles said. He leaned down to brush a kiss across Willow's forehead before heading out of the room.

The next morning Willow was frustrated to realize that she wouldn't be able to shave by herself. The doctor had been adamant that she couldn't get her stitches wet, which meant no baths or showers. Willow sighed as she draped a towel over the toilet and lowered herself onto it. She hated bathing with a washcloth and a sink. Even worse was that she couldn't bend over far enough to shave her legs.

Once she was sufficiently clean Willow dressed in another pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. Even though she hadn't been wearing her sneakers lately, having begun wearing "real" shoes, Willow figured she'd be able to move around better in the flat, rubber-bottomed sneakers than in her healed boots.

She was sitting in the kitchen with a bowl of cereal and a mug of tea when Giles padded his way down the stairs. He looked deliciously disheveled in his bathrobe with his hair rumpled.

He started when he saw Willow sitting at the counter. 'She really is here,' he thought in amazement, having feared that her stay was yet another dream.

"Mornin' Giles," Willow brightly returned. "There's tea," she pointed to the pot sitting on the counter with her spoon.

Giles gratefully filled a mug and brought it to his face, inhaling the aroma, before taking a sip. "Perfect," he sighed.

He set the mug on the table and prepared his own bowl of cereal before joining Willow.

She waited until he was settled before lightly commenting, "Now who would have thought that I would be up and dressed before you?"

Giles imparted a rueful smile before saying, "Normally I would be properly dressed by now, but I was up rather late, reading."

Giles hoped that the blush he felt wasn't visible. He'd been up late reading over his personal journals – especially the entries focusing on the woman before him. He'd needed to see for himself if the attraction he felt for Willow was something new; that the feelings he'd experienced in her close proximity yesterday weren't some fluke brought on by his need to care for her. He was relieved, and ashamed, to see that he had in fact been harboring feelings for her for quite some time.

Willow had noticed the color in his cheeks and neck before he'd spoken. She raised an eyebrow at his answer, but wasn't about to press him about his late night reading habits. She'd learned that lesson hard way from being friends with Xander forever.

"Oh, okay," she said. Changing the topic, she asked, "So what're we doing today?"

"We, you and me," Willow clarified. "It's not like I'm going to be hobbling around campus, right? You've got books and research and stuff to do, so I'll be helping you out."

"That really isn't necessary, Willow. Life isn't all about research and books and…"

Willow grinned at his response, cutting him off, "You don't really spend your days buried in books do you?"

Giles looked aghast. His eyes darted around the room, feeling like his cover had been blown. "Well, there's only so much research that needs to be done…"

"Relax Giles," Willow laughed. "I didn't really think that was ALL you did all day." Giles let out a sigh of relief. "I mean, how many hours a day are you expected to do research when there isn't a big bad that needs to be taken care of."

"Nah," Willow waved the idea off. "If it makes you feel any better, I won't tell the others what you really do with your days." Willow patted his hand reassuringly.

"I, ah, I usually start the day off with a run – hence the bathrobe during breakfast. I run errands, I sometimes watch the telly, I read, and yes, I do research."

"Well, don't let me get in the way. I can entertain myself," Willow insisted, continuing to mumble to herself, "been doing it my whole life."

"If you're certain you don't mind…" Giles began, not wanting to leave Willow alone on her second day in his home.

"No, go," Willow insisted. "Running is important – keeping the body fit and limber…" Willow couldn't help picturing Giles' muscles all taught from exertion, a fine sheen of perspiration covering his face and torso as she spoke, her words dwindling as the picture became more solid.

Luckily Giles missed the look in her lust-glazed eyes as he had turned to wash his, and Willow's, dishes. By the time he turned back Willow had composed herself.

"All right, then," Giles consented. "I'll just go change." Giles dashed upstairs, returning several minutes later dressed in sweats and a t-shirt, a towel around his neck.

"I shan't be more than an hour, most likely less," Giles informed the redhead, who was now resting on the couch. "Can I get anything for you before I leave?"

"If you don't mind," Willow began, hating to ask for help. "Could you bring out my laptop? I want to email my professors to see if I'll be able to do the work from home or if I'm going to have to drop this semester."

"Of course," Giles agreed. Upon returning with the requested item he asked, "Do you think that will happen? That you'll need to retake this semester?"

"I hope not. Most of my profs are pretty cool, only requiring you to show up for exams. And I can get the class notes from some of my friends or through the Student Center. The only one I may have to take during the summer is Intro Psych. Professor Walsh is a real stickler for the rules, but Buffy's almost dating the TA for the class, so maybe he can help convince her to give me some leeway."

"Buffy's dating a TA?" Giles asked in amazement. She hadn't mentioned to him that there was a new beau on the horizon.

A guilty expression crossed Willow's face. She nibbled on her bottom lip as she said, "Uh, yes?"

Giles turned his eyes heavenward. "Well, it's nice that she feels the need to keep me up to date on what's going on in her life."

"I'm sure it's not that," Willow quickly assured him. "She's probably just keeping it quiet, ya know, after the Parker situation."

"And I also kinda knew because Riley came to see me in the hospital and asked for advice on how to get to know Buffy better."

"The boy came to you?" Giles was impressed; maybe this boy won't be so bad after all.

"Yeah. He knew he liked Buffy but he didn't really know much about her and wanted to know the best way to approach her." A slight frown crossed Giles' face – he was wary of people wanting to know too much about his slayer. "Don't worry," Willow rushed on, "I didn't say anything that would betray any secrets. Just normal girl info."

"I'm probably just being paranoid. I think it's amenable that he would take the time to ask the people closest to Buffy how to get into her good graces. And I'm sure she'll tell me when the time is right."

After emailing her professors, Willow decided to bite the bullet and swallow her pride. She called Buffy to ask her for a huge favor.

The blonde showed up at the apartment half an hour later with a drug store bag in her hand. Knowing Willow wouldn't want to get up to answer the door, Buffy waltzed right in.

Leaning heavily on the arm of the couch, Willow stood to greet her friend. "Thanks so much for doing this Buffy. I really hate to ask, but I didn't see any other way."

"Pfft," Buffy waved the apology off. "Hey, what are best friends for? You want to do this now?"

Willow made her way down the hallway and entered the bathroom. She retrieved the towel she had used earlier and draped it over the toilet again. She sat down and prepared to remove her sweats.

"Um, Buffy, could you grab a pair of boxers out of my room?" she asked with a blush.

"Oh, um, the whole leg, if you don't mind," Willow embarrassed asked. "Some of my skirts are above the knee."

"Why don't we just put a towel over your lap then. Then you can wear a pair of real shorts when we're done."

"I guess…" Willow agreed. She still couldn't believe she had asked Buffy to do this. As the redhead worked on overcoming her embarrassment, Buffy went to the kitchen to heat the wax.

Buffy understood Willow's embarrassment about asking this favor. As far as she knew, Willow had never been to a beauty salon for a full body treatment.

She knew how difficult it was for Willow to ask any kind of favor, so to ask for something this personal was a big deal. Buffy was happy and relieved that Willow had asked her. She wanted Willow to be able to trust her with what was really bothering her, and this was a good step in the right direction.

By the time Buffy returned to the bathroom with the hot wax Willow was pants-less with a towel across her lap and her resolve face on.

Buffy propped Willow's feet on the overturned garbage bin and swathed an area of her calf with the wax, covering it with a strip of cloth.

Deciding to distract herself from the physical discomfort with some emotional discomfort, Willow began to relate the events of the day of the accident to Buffy.

Buffy listened silently, adding the occasional supportive comment, as Willow proceeded to tell her about finding Oz with Veruca, the other wolf. Buffy had suspected that Oz must have done something awful to drive Willow to such distraction and then suddenly leave town. No wonder Willow had protested so strongly to any mention of Oz this past week.

Buffy told Willow of Oz's departure the night of the accident. She didn't know if Veruca had gone with him or not, but she hadn't been looking for her either. She made a mental note to ask around after the singer/werewolf. Buffy wasn't sure if it would be better if Veruca was still around or not. Would it be more painful for Willow to accidentally run into her or to know that she and Oz were together? If she was still around, Buffy thought she might 'accidentally' fill her gun with silver bullets instead of tranquilizers during the next full moon.

Giles returned home at some point while the girls were talking. He'd planned on showering right away, but realized the girls were in the bathroom. The door was closed so he couldn't make out what they were saying, but he assumed that Willow's occasional yelps weren't serious as Buffy was with her.

He knocked on the door, saying, "Willow, I'm back. When you and Buffy are finished in there, please let me know so that I may shower."

"Okay Giles," Willow called back, laughter in her voice at Giles' guesses for why Buffy was in here with her.

"Hello Buffy," Giles greeted his slayer. "Very well. I'll be in the living room."

The girls broke into a fit of giggles as Giles' footsteps retreated. Willow raised her good leg and ran her fingers over her now smooth, hairless skin.

She sighed and grinned at Buffy. "Thank you so much again for doing this. It was above and beyond the call of duty."

"Nonsense. What are best friends for if not the occasional beauty treatment bonding session?"

"Buffy, you know I don't care about all that pampering stuff," Willow protested.

"Nope, no buts. Don't make me use slayer strength to force you into some relaxing fun. It's not like you can outrun me," Buffy teased.

"I guess so," Willow confirmed. She looked at her sweat pants in a pile on the floor next to her, then to the towel in her lap. "Um, Buffy?"

"Could you, um, get me a skirt or shorts or something?" the redhead slowly asked.

A minute later Buffy returned to the bathroom with a pair of shorts in hand. She helped slip them over Willow's feet and the redhead pulled them up to the hips. Using one hand on the sink to push herself into a standing position, and the other pulling the shorts up, Willow was able to finish dressing. Buffy hung the towels back up and tossed the used waxing materials in the up-righted trash while Willow dressed.

Giles looked up from the newspaper he was reading as the girls' voices drew closer. He felt his breath catch as Willow entered the room. Despite the crutches aiding her movement, he was drawn to her shapely legs. Were they always so creamy and long?

"I did?" the blonde questioned. She vaguely remembered him coming home from a run during that whole demon roommate Kathy fiasco. "Oh, right. So you're still doing it?"

"Yes," Giles tiredly replied, frustrated by Buffy's lack of memory of his life. "I find it to be a great way to start the day."

"Good for you." Turning to the redhead now seated on the couch she asked, "Anything else I can do for you before I leave?"

"Anytime. Bye guys." Buffy gave a small wave and left to the good-byes of her friends.

"Nothing's wrong I hope," Giles asked, his voice full of concern. He sat on the couch near her.

"No, nothing bad, I promise," Willow immediately said. "She just, ah, waxedmylegsforme," she said in a rush, holding up her good leg for inspection. "And I told her about Oz."

Giles chose to ignore the beginning of her admission, not wanting to think about her soft, smooth, silky legs. "I'm glad you were able to talk with her."

"Yeah, me too," Willow shyly admitted. "You were right. It felt good talking about everything with Buffy. I feel like a weight has been lifted."

"As I hoped it would." Giles squeezed her hand gently, the back of his fingers grazing her bare thigh. Their eyes met and a moment of understanding passed between them.

Giles stood quickly. He coughed and stuttered, "I-I should go… and shower… now."

Willow's look of confusion softened and she nodded her head. "You've earned it. I'll see you when you're done."

"Of course," Giles agreed. He headed off to the bathroom for the first of what was sure to be many cold showers.

The rest of the day passed quickly in easy conversation. Before she knew it, Willow was getting ready for bed again. She was extremely pleased with the conversation she and Buffy'd had that morning. As she fell asleep she couldn't help thinking that it had felt surprisingly good to talk about what had happened with Oz.

She was in one of the chemistry labs on campus. Her Wicca stuff was spread before her. Liquids in prime colors were boiling in some of the beakers before her as she prepared to cast a spell.

She incanted, "I conjure thee by Barabbas, by Satanas, and the Devil. As thou art burning, Let Oz and Veruca's deceitful hearts be broken. This way. I conjure thee by the Saracen queen And the name of hell. Let them find no love or solace. Let them find no peace as well."

Willow took a photograph of Oz from where it had been resting among the other spell ingredients. Slowly she brought it towards the flame as she said, "Let this image seal his fate, not to love, only hate."

She looked at the photo again. It was one of the few she had where he was doing that cute little half-smile thing he sometimes did. She had been so happy with him. The last words she had spoken of the spell replayed themselves in her head, 'Only hate.'

Willow dropped the photograph. She may be full of anger and pain now, but she can't bring herself to condemn Oz to a life of pain and hate. As the photo hit the counter the beakers (which she hadn't even realized had been floating) dropped to smash against the counter, startling her.

Tears filled her eyes, again, as she berated herself for not even being witch enough to curse the man who betrayed her.

A voice startled her out of her self-flagellation. "Wow. For a minute there, I thought you might actually play rough." Willow spun around to see Veruca standing by the door. "Sometimes you have to, you know? To keep what's yours, sometimes you have to kill." She paused to look out the window. "How 'bout that? The sun's almost down."

Veruca locked the door with an audible click and began to stalk towards Willow. "Can't say I'm surprised you didn't go through with your little hex. You don't have the teeth."

Willow backed away from the advancing she-wolf. Despite her pain she tried to stand up for herself. "You don't know what I have. You don't know anything about me."

Oz burst through the door as Veruca continued to stalk closer to Willow. "Don't touch her again," he demanded.

Veruca preened in the presence of her chosen mate. "Come stop me," she purred. "I like it rough, remember?"

Oz wouldn't give in to her that easily. Not again. "You wanna hurt me, hurt me. You leave her out of this."

Willow didn't know what to make of this confrontation. They'd seem so cozy this morning. Granted Oz had thrown Veruca out as soon as Willow had caught them together, but she'd thought that was out of guilt. Now it seemed like he couldn't stand being in the same room as her. Willow crouched in a corner as they continued to circle each other in the small space of the lab.

"How can I?" Veruca demanded. "She's the reason you're living in cages. She's blinding you. When she's gone, you'll be able to admit what you are."

"You don't wanna find out what I am," Oz insisted as his face began to change to that of a wolf.

"You're an animal. Animals kill," she reminded him, her transformation starting as well.

"You're right." Oz agreed, having come to a decision. He closed the distance between them. "We kill."

He fully wolfed out, as did she. They leapt at each other, rolling around on the ground as they attacked each other with claws and teeth. Oz-wolf pounced and ripped out Veruca-wolf's throat with a growl. Veruca whimpered a final time before her body went slack with death.

Willow, who had been watching from the corner, had tears streaming down her face. She couldn't believe what she'd just witnessed.

Willow reached a hand out in question, hoping to make contact with her boyfriend, hoping that some part of him remained in the animal. "Oz?"

Oz scented her tears, but in his wolf state he didn't recognize the redhead as his girlfriend… just food. With Veruca's blood still dripping from his jaw he sprang at Willow, only to fall flat on his face.

Willow looked up to see that Giles had grabbed Oz's foot, preventing him from attacking.

"Giles," Willow called out as Oz turned on this new threat, moving to attack, but Giles kicked him out of the way. She called out to him again, in warning, in relief. He pulled the gun that had been hanging from his back into his hands and shot Oz with a tranquilizer. Oz tried to get up, but passed out instead.

Once he was certain the wolf was down, Giles rushed to Willow's side. He pulled the sobbing girl into his arms, offering her any comfort he could give. For the first time that day, Willow felt safe. In Giles' strong embrace her tears ebbed and the intense pain she'd been feeling began to recede.

Giles was awakened by the sound of Willow's voice. She was calling out for him with such fear in her voice. He leapt from his bed and rushed down the stairs to her room, heedless to the fact that he wore nothing but pajama bottoms.

He burst through the door of Willow's room, rushing to her side. "Willow?" he softly spoke.

He realized that she was dreaming, and not pleasant ones at that. Tears were sliding down her cheeks as she whimpered and called out to him again. Giles brushed the tears from her cheeks and her hair from her face.

Soothingly he coaxed her to wakefulness. "Willow, I'm here. Let me help you, just follow my voice."

In her sleep-addled mind, Willow recognized that the threat was gone. With one last look at the drugged wolf-form of the man she loved, Willow allowed Giles to pull her to her feet. With an arm wrapped around her, he led her out of the room – out of the dream – and into reality.

Willow opened her eyes to see Giles once again leaning over her prone body, worry in his soft green eyes. A wide smile spread across her face.

Before he could say anything, Willow pulled him down on top of her, embracing him in a tight hug.

"You're welcome," Giles automatically replied, his confusion evident in his voice. Afraid his weight would become too much for her, and afraid of his body's betrayal at her breasts being pressed against his bare chest through her nightshirt, he pushed himself off of Willow.

"What did I save you from?" he asked the sleepy girl. He resumed stroking her face and hair as she wrapped one of her hands around his forearm, keeping him beside her.

Realizing how she'd answered him, Willow expanded on the topic as best she could. "He killed her. In front of me. I tried to curse them, but I couldn't go through with it. She attacked me; said Oz was hers. Oz stopped her from attacking me and they went all wolfy. But after she was dead, he…" Willow felt the tears well up again. "He turned on me." She took a moment to compose herself as Giles digested what she was saying. No wonder he'd heard fear in her voice when he'd woken.

"Yeah," Willow smiled slightly. "You came in and pulled him away when he started to attack me. Then you shot him with a tranq, at least I think it was a tranq. I hope so because as much as he hurt me I don't want him dead, even in my dream."

Giles couldn't hold back the small smile that spread across his lips. Even half asleep and talking about a frightening dream, Willow was babbling.

Giles' eyes widened a bit in surprise. His wonder was quickly replaced with contentment. He gave Willow a self-deprecating smile. "I am honored."

Willow could still feel that overwhelming sense of comfort and safety being here in Giles' presence. She didn't want that feeling to end.

When she didn't speak, Giles assumed that it was out of tiredness. He began to stand, to allow her to get some more sleep.

"Don't go," she pleaded. "What if he comes back? What if he attacks me again?" Her voice began to take on a hysterical edge. "What if he doesn't come at all and SHE attacks me again? You can stop them. Please don't leave me alone."

Giles immediately sat back on the bed with her first desperate plea. He gently lifted her into his arms, wrapping them tightly around her. Willow buried her face in his neck as he soothingly ran a hand over her hair.

"I'm right here," he promised. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll watch over you while you sleep."

Willow's hands clenched on his bare back, pulling him closer to her body. "Promise?"

She pulled back slightly to look into his eyes. "You'll keep me safe," she quietly stated.

Giles was amazed to see such trust in her shining emerald eyes. Even though it hadn't been a question, he answered her. "Always."

Giles eased Willow back down until she was once again lying on her back, her face turned slightly away from his. Her arms were still wrapped tightly around him, as if she were afraid that he'd leave if she let go.

Giles moved to place a kiss on her cheek as she turned her head to face him. Their lips brushed against each other's in a ghost of a kiss.

Giles froze. His entire body was tingling from that brief contact. His brain was screaming at him to move away, distance himself from temptation. Yet his body was straining to lower his head that fraction of an inch and take her mouth in what was sure to be a mind-numbing kiss.

As always, his brain won the argument. He tried to push himself back, prepared to start apologizing.

Instead he found himself in heaven as Willow raised her head that same fraction of an inch to press her lips against his. She softly brushed her lips against those of the man above her, barely touching them to his. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips, wetting his as well, so small was the distance between them. Her tongue was barely back in her mouth when she pressed hers firmly against Giles'.

While he had been debating whether or not to pull away, Willow had been having a similar mental debate. Sure she'd fantasized about kissing Giles for years, but she'd just lost her boyfriend. He was only in her room now because of her nightmare. Yet he'd saved her in her dream. He'd made her feel safe. For some reason her subconscious had chosen Giles to be her savior, not Buffy, not the slayer. She decided that her subconscious must know what it was doing, so she pressed her advantage, so to speak.

Giles moaned into her mouth, giving in to his deepest desire. He moved his lips against hers; reciprocating the pleasure he was receiving. He pulled her bottom lip between his, sucking gently, earning him a moan in return. He felt his body thrumming with heat and desire. Reluctantly he released her lip, offering one more solid kiss before pulling away.

His eyes searched out Willow's, nervously looking for any sign of regret, or worse, repulsion. He found only desire, contentment, and a hint of disappointment for having had it end. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Willow cut him off by placing a finger against his lips. She smiled at him. "I'm not sorry. And I don't want to analyze it yet. Let's just get some sleep."

Giles returned her smile, not really wanting to ruin this moment with talk either. "Alright."

Even as he crossed to the empty side of the bed Giles wasn't certain that statement was true. Who would protect her from him? What if he couldn't keep his hands off her? 'She's still injured you prat,' he told himself. 'You aren't going to try anything in your sleep.'

He slid under the covers, pulling them up to his chin. Willow wished she could roll over and snuggle into him, but she could barely roll onto her side. She smiled as she remembered what her PT told her about sleeping on her side.

"Can you hand me that extra pillow?" she asked her bedmate. He looked at her quizzically, but reached behind his head for the spare pillow. He started to hand it to her.

"Wait, put your hand on the bed first." He did, still unsure of what she was doing. Willow grasped his arm and pulled herself onto her side, facing him. She winced momentarily as she adjusted to the new position. "Okay, now hand me the pillow."

Giles watched as the pillow disappeared beneath the covers. He saw her upper leg lift a bit under the covers and stay there. He guessed that it was between her legs. He couldn't help but envy that pillow.

"Now come here," Willow requested, holding her arm out to him. Giles raised an eyebrow at her request, but found himself unable to refuse. He inched his way closer to Willow, lying on his back next to her.

Willow shifted a little closer until she was able to rest her head on his chest. She draped her arm over his chest and he was forced to settle his around her shoulders. Willow sighed contentedly, ruffling the hairs on his chest with her breath.

Giles felt Willow's breathing slow as she returned to sleep. He felt her breasts pressing against his side and the pillow that was between her legs against his. He was grateful that Willow was able to sleep so easily. At least one of them should get a good night's sleep after all.

Giles finished turning off the lights and made sure the front door was locked before proceeding to the bedroom. He paused in the doorway, observing the scene before him. Willow was sitting under the covers, several pillows behind her back propping her up. She was reading a novel, always a novel before bed. Her face lit up as she tried to stifle a laugh at something she was reading.

Willow looked up when she finished the paragraph she was reading. She smiled at Giles and lifted the bookmark from the covers to mark her page before closing the book and setting it on the nightstand.

Moving into the room, Giles observed, "You seemed to be entertaining yourself well enough without me. I'm amazed you even noticed I wasn't here."

"I always notice when you're not here," she lovingly commented. Willow hungrily watched as Giles began to change into his pajamas. She loved watching as he stripped out of his clothing, even if he would be covering his toned body again.

Giles looked up at her when he was stripped down to his underclothes. He was always taken aback by the desire he'd see on her face for him.

"Shall I continue changing or do you want to finish for me," he cautiously asked. He knew from experience that just because she may look at him with lust didn't mean she was in the mood to act on it.

Wordlessly he continued. Willow kept her eyes downcast as Giles slipped into bed with her. He slid over to lay next to her on his side. His hand moved to cover hers on her extended belly.

"My hopes haven't been dashed," Giles insisted, stroking her belly lovingly. "You carry all of my hopes and dreams already."

"Less than a month," he agreed. Whenever they spoke of their child he couldn't keep the awe out of his voice. Giles had never allowed himself the luxury of imaging children in his life, aside from Buffy. Now here he was, with a beautiful wife, who was carrying their child. He couldn't be happier.

Giles resisted waking for as long as he could. It had been a long time since he'd had such pleasurable dreams. He felt the body lying against his side, the warm breath exhaling against his bare chest, the curves under his arm, the hair tickling his shoulder.

"Willow." Her name was a soft exhalation, a sigh of regret, a reminder that it was just a dream.

"Mmmm." She answered him even in sleep. "Fifteen cantaloupes in the watermelon patch."

Giles' eyes popped open at the mumbled sentence. First of all, because he wasn't expecting to find a warm, sleeping body in bed with him. Secondly, because the warm body belonged to Willow. And thirdly, because what she said made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Turning his head, Giles' eyes confirmed what his body had already told him. Willow was curled around his body. From her deep even breathing he assumed that she was still asleep. A smile curled his lips. He bent his head to brush a soft kiss against her hair.

Willow began to stir as her pillow started moving. She'd heard her name, but the voice was too far away to answer. Something brushed against the top of her head and she moved her arm to swat it away. Instead, she hit something.

Willow opened her eyes and turned her head to see what she had hit. Her eyes widened as she saw Giles rubbing his scruffy cheek.

"Oh my gosh, Giles, I'm so sorry," she apologized, trying to raise herself onto her elbow. She winced at the slight pain radiating from her hip at the action.

Giles pressed her back down against him. "I'm alright, Willow. Just a little startled."

"I'm so sorry. I mean, here I am, sleeping practically on top of you and then I go and hit you in my sleep."

"Were you able to sleep well?" he asked, changing the subject rather than try to deflect her apologies.

Willow shared a pleased smile with him. "Not a one. I told you that you'd keep me safe."

"I doubt that my presence was what kept the nightmares at bay. It is more likely that you were simply exhausted."

Willow's brows drew together in confusion. 'Why did he do that?' she wondered. Too sleepy to try to answer the question herself, she went ahead and asked him. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" Giles retorted, not sure what he could have done already to cause Willow to frown like that.

"Brush off your protecting ability. If I say that you kept the nightmares away then that's what happened. You don't need to get all… modest… and self-deprecating. I slept better than I have since the accident last night and that's because of you."

Willow's resolve face had slid into place by the end of her little speech and Giles couldn't help smiling at her tenacity.

"All right, fine, you win," Giles conceded, the grin evidencing his amusement with her outburst.

"Don't patronize me." Willow plopped her head back down on his chest. She unconsciously began tracing patterns through the hair coving Giles' chest as she pouted. "I'm not a child."

"I know that you're not a child," Giles agreed, quickly adding, "And I'm not trying to patronize you. I was merely trying to be logical."

Giles had to suppress a groan, not only at her words, but also at what her gentle touches were doing to him. "Not lately," he admitted. Not wanting to delve further down that line of thought, Giles returned to the earlier subject. "For the record, I slept better last night that I have in a long time as well."

"Really." Giles began to stroke her hair gently, the situation becoming increasingly dangerous.

"I did, but I don't recall what now," he lied. He wasn't ready for Willow to know the kind of life he dreamed of with her.

"I believe you said something about cantaloupes in the watermelon patch," Giles teased.

A hand flew up to cover her mouth in embarrassment. "I did? I don't even know where that came from. Oz always used to tease me about talking in my sleep."

"I was." Giles moved his hand to trace her jawbone, memories of Willow lying pregnant in his arms close to the surface.

"Good dreams I take it," she smiled, leaning into his touch. She was amazed at how comfortable she felt lying here with Giles, like they were old lovers spending the day in bed. 'Woah, where'd that come from?'

"Very." Giles didn't want ruin the comfortable mood that had settled between them, yet he knew that they needed to discuss the kiss from last night. "Willow…"

"So that you can tell me that it was a mistake?" she accused. She couldn't keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "It was an accident. We were caught up in the moment. It can't happen again."

"Are you quite finished mocking me yet?" Giles asked, trying to keep the pain out of his voice.

Willow was startled at his tone of voice. She was so sure he was going to deny what had happened. She nodded mutely.

"Yes, we were caught up in the moment. And yes, it was an accident." Giles placed a finger over Willow's lips when she was going to interrupt. "But I don't think it was a mistake."

"No, I don't. My conscience is telling me that I should, that it was wrong to kiss you when you were in so much pain over your break up with Oz, yet my heart can't deny how right it felt."

"That was your only concern… that it was too soon after Oz?" she asked, still not believing that he wasn't denying what had happened.

Giles cut her off. "The others are of no importance. Now, do you feel it was a mistake?"

"Not at all. It felt right, like it was supposed to happen. I've always wanted to kiss you," she shyly admitted, "and I couldn't let the opportunity pass me by."

Giles thought his heart had stopped for a moment before it felt like it was going to pound its way out of his chest. She'd thought about kissing him before!

Willow watched the stunned disbelief turn into pleasure on his face. It was obvious that he'd thought about it before too.

"And here I thought I was the only one harboring unrequited feelings," Giles virtually purred.

Willow felt a shiver run down her spine at his tone of voice. "No, they're requited. They're very requited."

Willow reached up and pulled Giles' head down to hers. This kiss conveyed the hunger and longing that had been building inside them for years. Feelings that had been repressed out of necessity – due to age, or circumstance, or significant others – rushed to the surface and escaped through their joined lips.

The position was a little uncomfortable, so rather than break the kiss, Giles slowly rolled Willow onto her back, settling himself next to her. Willow whimpered softly into the kiss as her body settled into the new position.

A ringing telephone eventually broke through the lust-filled haze surrounding Willow's bed. As it was Giles' apartment, he heard it first and reluctantly pulled away from the woman in his arms.

"Hey, where do you think you're going, mister?" Willow protested, panting heavily, and trying to pull him back to her.

Giles hurried to the kitchen, catching the phone on its last ring before the machine would have picked up.

Willow heard his somewhat annoyed greeting of, "Giles here." She giggled, pleased that he was as reluctant to get up as she was.

She lay back on the bed, contemplating what had just occurred. 'I kissed Giles! And it was amazing. Who knew he'd be such a good kisser. Of course I always imagined he would be, but wow. It's sure is nice to be proven right.'

Willow was still lost in her thoughts with a silly grin on her face when Giles returned to the room. He took a moment to admire her. She looked radiant – thoroughly kissed.

"Not Buffy," he confirmed. "That was your Rehab clinic calling to remind us of your appointment this afternoon."

"Oh joy," she sighed. "I suppose I should get up, even though I was really enjoying myself right here."

"As was I. But we do need to get on with our day," Giles agreed. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"I could definitely eat," Willow acknowledged, her stomach growling at the mention of food.

Giles gave her a quick kiss, because he could, and headed into the kitchen to gather together the breakfast supplies as Willow maneuvered herself out of bed and the bathroom before joining Giles for a leisurely breakfast.

The radio alarm sounded the arrival of a much anticipated day, two days after Willow's physical therapy appointment. Willow made a noise of disapproval for being awoken in such a rude manner. She lifted her head to glare at the clock over Giles' chest, reaching out her too-short arm to turn it off.

Giles chuckled as he reached behind him to silence the offending alarm. Wrapping his arm back around the redhead he asked, "Better?"

They had been sharing a bed every night since Willow's nightmare of Oz and Veruca. Willow had claimed that she had slept better with him there, so it made sense for him to continue sharing her bed. They both knew that was just an excuse, but since it was what they both wanted, they used it.

"You do know that the alarm went off for a reason," Giles pointed out, turning on his side to face Willow.

"Yeah," she smiled. "Today I get my stitches out." She whispered this last statement, afraid that if she said it too loudly it wouldn't happen.

"A big day," Giles agreed. "One that deserves a hearty breakfast. We can't have that doctor of yours thinking that I'm not taking good care of you."

Willow snaked her fingers out to capture Giles' pajama top and pulled him closer. "Oh, I think you're taking very good care of me, Nurse Giles."

Before he could protest the title, Willow had succeeded in pulling him into thought-stopping kiss. It never failed to amaze him how passionate their kisses could be. In fact, it still amazed him that Willow wanted to kiss him at all, let alone share her bed with him. Granted all that they had done in it was sleep, and kiss, but it was an incredible honor nonetheless. One that he didn't take lightly.

"We must get up then," Giles regretfully said, pulling away from Willow and standing.

"Aw," Willow pouted momentarily, then broke into a grin at Giles' amused expression. "So what's on the menu this morning Nurse Giles?"

"Must you call me that?" he whined. "You make me feel like I should be behind some kind of glass window holding a clipboard, doling out medication."

"Yes, I must," Willow grinned. She slowly eased her body out of the bed and followed him into the kitchen. "You're the one nursing me back to health, so suck it up and take it like a man, Nurse Giles." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"So long as I don't have to wear some kind of white uniform…" Despite the exasperated tone in his voice, Giles' eyes sparked with amusement.

"Get with the times, old man," Willow teased. "In this day and age nurses wear scrubs."

Giles abandoned his breakfast preparations to swoop Willow off her stool and into his arms, kissing her soundly.

"Giles," Willow squealed in the half a second she had before Giles' mouth had descended on hers. Her arms snaked around his neck, holding his shoulders tightly.

He gently set her back down on her stool and returned to the business of making omelets.

"Do you want to go freshen up while I finish preparing breakfast," Giles offered.

By the time she returned, clean and dressed, Giles had a feast of cheese omelets, toast, orange juice and tea waiting for her.

"Yum," Willow commented, taking in the spread. "You didn't have to go to all this trouble."

"It was my pleasure," Giles said, helping her to sit before joining her at the counter. "This is a big day for you and you deserve to be well fed for it."

After the meal Giles quickly showered and dressed. Before he left his room he double checked to make sure his present was well hidden. He knew Willow was going to love his surprise.

"Do you want me to come in while the doctor removes the stitches?" Giles asked as they sat in the waiting room.

"No, I should be fine. It's just a few pulls – no blood. There's some stuff I need to talk to him about anyway." Willow hoped that he couldn't see the faint blush tingeing her cheeks.

"All right." Giles squeezed her hand. He wondered what she could have to ask the doctor that she didn't want him to hear, and caused her to blush. "If you change your mind you'll send for me?"

"Here," she said, easing her body out of the chair to follow the nurse down the hall.

Willow changed into the hospital gown, leaving the opening in the front as instructed, and sat on the examination table. Just as she was beginning to wish that she'd brought a book or magazine with her there was a knock on the door and the doctor entered.

"They haven't caused you any problems have they?" the doctor asked, donning a pair of plastic gloves. He sat on a stool next to Willow, motioning her to lie back. He separated the gown enough to have access to her left hip.

"Only in the non-bathing sense," Willow commented. "The stitches themselves behaved."

"That's good to hear. They look it. You obviously followed the care directions to the letter."

"That's me, practical, reliable girl," Willow agreed, for once not feeling that these are bad things to be.

Dr. Ashman stood to retrieve the tools needed to remove the stitches. He saw that Willow seemed to have steeled herself for what was to come when he returned to her side. He smiled to himself at the concentrated look on her face.

"Keep in mind that you will need to continue to care for the area where the stitches are being removed to prevent scarring."

"I know," Willow said. "I read the pamphlets. I'll need to wash the area gently and rub a medicated ointment gently over the scars to minimize their permanency."

"I like to be prepared." Willow winced as the doctor began to gently tug the stitches free from her body.

"If only all of my patients took such care of their injuries…" Dr. Ashman wistfully commented.

"Um, speaking of being prepared…" Willow hesitantly began, deciding this as good a time as any to ask.

"How long, um, how long should I wait…How long do I need to wait before I can have sex?" The end of her question came out in a rushed whisper.

Dr. Ashman blinked and momentarily paused his actions at her question. That wasn't what he had been expecting her to ask him. From what he understood from Willow and her friends, she had been injured in a car accident after breaking up with her boyfriend. He briefly wondered how she could have met someone new so quickly that she'd be asking this question. Pushing aside his personal questions, he answered her professionally as he returned to his task.

"Some time, to be blunt. Your hip has sustained major trauma, Willow. Even with the surgery it will take time for the bones to heal and adjust to the pins that are now there. It's been how long since your surgery…two weeks?" Willow nodded, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. "Three months is the average time I recommend waiting for such an activity."

"That will of course be dependent upon the progress of your recovery," Dr. Ashman continued. "We will be meeting again in a month and I can give you a better estimate at that time."

"Just about done," the doctor said, removing the last stitch. "There, done." He wiped the area where the stitches had been with an antiseptic, making sure they were clean before covering them with a gauze bandage.

"For a time, yes. This area of your hip will still be sensitive, especially after being tugged at this morning. You should still take particular care of this area for the next several days."

"Yes," the doctor chuckled. "You may take a bath. You may need some assistance getting in and out of the tub because you won't be able to put your full weight on your left leg while climbing in or out."

Relief washed over Willow's face. She knew exactly how she was going to spend her afternoon. "I can live with that condition. Are we done?"

"Yes. Please stop by the front desk on your way out to schedule an appointment to come back in a month's time. When you feel you are ready, you may stop using one of the crutches, but only if you are comfortable. Don't push yourself to try to heal faster than your body is ready to. I know you don't want to do anything to slow down your healing progress."

Giles stood when he saw Willow coming down the hallway, a smile on her face. He met her near the door.

"Everything went smoothly I presume?" he asked, slipping an arm around her shoulder.

"Blue skies all the way," Willow agreed. "I just need to make a follow-up appointment and then we're outta here."

"Do you know what you would like to do this afternoon?" Giles asked once they were back in the car.

"Absolutely," Willow confidently said. "I will be wiling away my afternoon in a bubble bath."

"Were you able to discuss everything you needed to with your doctor?" Giles carefully queried.

"Yep. He said that I have done an excellent job of taking care of my stitches and that I should be able to get rid of one of the crutches in a couple of weeks if I feel stable enough."

"Is that all you discussed with him?" He doubted it; otherwise he could have held her hand while her stitches were being removed.

His heart sank; he had hoped that they could discuss anything with each other. "Of course, I'll respect your privacy."

"It's nothing bad," she assured him. "And you'll find out eventually. I'm just not ready to share yet."

"Well, he did say that if I plan on taking baths, that I will need some assistance getting in and out of the tub since I can't put my full weight on my left leg."

"He did, did he?" Giles leered slightly at the blushing redhead next to him. "I think I am up to that challenge."

"Who said I was going to ask for your help?" she impishly countered. "Maybe I was talking about Buffy or Xander."

"And who said that I'm ready for you to see me naked?" she continued to tease him.

"Oh, um, I hadn't thought of that," Giles soberly replied, a slight frown creasing his eyebrows. "Of course…I didn't mean to presume…"

Luckily Giles had just pulled into his parking space. He turned his head and caught the lustful look Willow was fixing on him. His breath caught and the depth of the emotion he saw on her face, knowing her statement meant more than simply preparing for a bath. He silently prayed that his body would behave itself so that he would be able to do this for her.

Willow watched as his eyes changed from bright-eyed shock to lust-darkened yearning. Her heartbeat quickened at what she saw and she desperately wished it were two months later.

Willow found her voice first. "We, we should go inside." She fumbled with the door handle for a moment before her fingers obeyed the command to open the door.

Seeing Willow move brought Giles out of his thoughts. "Right. You've got a bathtub with your name on it."

Giles quickly exited and moved around the car to assist Willow in getting out. Once she was safely on her feet, he went ahead and opened the door for her.

"Wh-why don't you g-go ahead and change into your robe while I prepare the bath," Giles suggested.

Giles dashed up to his room to retrieve the gift he had purchased for Willow for this day. He brought it with him into the bathroom as he began to fill the tub with hot water.

While he waited for the tub to fill he paced. The enormity of the situation laying heavily on his shoulders. 'I'm going to see Willow naked,' he gleefully thought. It wasn't the way he had imagined his first time seeing her sans-clothes would be. In his mind, he had always imagined that he would be the one to get her into a state of undress. He had often imagined what her face and body would look like as he sometimes lovingly, sometimes desperately, peeled the clothing from her body.

He'd never imagined that it would be under these circumstances. How was he expected to keep his emotions at bay when confronted with her completely bare skin? Was he supposed to ignore the fact that a beautiful woman, for surely could be nothing short of gorgeous, was to be naked in his arms. Perhaps he wouldn't have to ignore it so much as look at the situation in a different light.

Giles poured a generous amount of bubble bath from Willow's present into the tub as his mind continued to wrestle with the situation.

Willow was still fragile. He knew that she would most likely be embarrassed by the situation they were in. He doubted that this is how she imagined she would first be naked with him as well. Yet it was what was necessary for her to have the bath she so desperately wanted.

A light rapping on the door announced Willow's presence. Giles stopped his pacing and turned his resolved face to greet Willow. She looked so small wrapped in the terrycloth robe between her crutches. In that moment, Giles knew he could do anything for her.

Willow was oddly relieved to find Giles pacing when she reached the bathroom. She'd been questioning the rationality of having Giles assist her with taking a bath as she'd changed.

Part of her was embarrassed at having to need his assistance period. The greater part of her doubts was her own insecurities. 'Giles is going to see me naked,' she thought nervously.

Willow had always felt that her body left much to be desired. She was thin, slightly bony after her hospital stay, with pale flesh dotted with freckles. She knew that she wasn't as developed as many girls her age were, including Buffy and Cordelia. Would Giles still want to be with her after seeing her naked?

Maybe she was being presumptuous that he even wanted more of a relationship with her. What if he wasn't thinking far enough ahead to want to sleep with her? She realized that she had been the aggressor with most of their kisses so far. What if he was only being polite and he didn't really want her?

Willow shook her head as she tied the belt closed on her robe. She was being ridiculous. Giles wouldn't lead her on like that. Besides, she'd brushed against his arousal often enough in the last couple of days to know that he desired her, or at least his body did. She smiled as she made her way to the bathroom, and Giles.

"It smells wonderful in here," Willow commented upon entering the room. "Roses?"

"Um, ah, yes," Giles confirmed, pulling himself out of his musings. He presented her with the gift bag.

"In honor of your first bath post-surgery," Giles said, presenting the gift with a flourish.

Willow clapped her hands with child-like glee. "What do we have here?" She mumbled as she pulled the tissue paper out of the bag, dropping it on the floor. "Ooh, rose scented bubble bath, which I see you already opened."

"Not at all. There's more!" Willow proceeded to pull out apple scented shampoo, a loofa, and a rose scented candle. "Thank you Giles! I'd jump up and give you a hug if I could," she gushed.

"Of course I do, I can't wait to try them out." Willow said excitedly before the reality of the situation hit her again.

Giles silently turned the water off, testing the temperature one last time before turning back to Willow. "No time like the present," he shyly said.

Willow sagely nodded. She avoided looking at him as she pulled the tie on her robe and shrugged out of it. Her hands moved to cover her exposed body as she awaited Giles' reaction.

Giles noticed Willow's trepidation as she disrobed and tried not to watch her – a difficult task. He rolled the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows as he waited. He heard the heavy material hit the porcelain of the toilet and took that as his cue. He raised his eyes. Even trying to hide within her skin, Willow was beautiful.

Willow's entire demeanor changed. She sat up a straighter and her face was lit up with her smile. "You think so?"

"Yes." His voice still held a sense of awe that sent delightful shivers down Willow's spine. "Let's get you to your bath."

Willow reluctantly moved her arms, preparing to wrap them around Giles as he bent to pick her up. He tried to ignore the delightful sensations running up his arms where her bare skin touched his and concentrated on not dropping her. Kneeling next to the tub, Giles lowered Willow into the water, hiding her body beneath the bubbles.

Willow sighed with pleasure as she released her arms, allowing them to slide into the tub. Giles allowed himself the pleasure of brushing his hands along her body as he removed them from water.

"Do you want me to go?" he nervously asked, handing her a small rubber pillow to sit on, hoping that she'd say no.

Willow reached out and caught an arm before it was completely out of the tub. "Stay," she shyly requested.

"Mmm, that'd be nice." The heat of the water was relaxing Willow as she lay her head against the tub.

Giles quickly retrieved Willow's gifts. He excused himself briefly, only to return with an empty pitcher. He filled the pitcher with water from the tub before requesting, "Sit up."

Giles tilted her head back and poured the water over Willow's hair, he repeated the process until it was thoroughly wet. He set the pitcher aside and uncapped the apple shampoo, pouring a generous amount into his hands. "You can sit back now," he informed Willow before working the shampoo into her hair.

Willow played with the bubbles surrounding her, pulling them over her body, making sure she was covered, despite Giles' previous view of her. She relaxed against the tub as Giles proceeded to wash her hair. At first she felt a little silly having him do this for her, but she quickly changed her mind. She'd had other people wash her hair before, at the beauty salon when she had her hair cut, but it was nothing like this.

Giles worked the shampoo into a lather as he massaged her scalp. Using small circles, his strong fingers kneaded Willow's scalp beginning along her hairline and around and up to the top of her head, releasing any tension in her body as he cleaned her fiery hair. The pleasure-filled moans Willow couldn't contain only spurred him on.

Willow whimpered in protest as he removed his hands, rinsing them in the water. "Don't wanna."

"How do you propose I finish washing you if I can't rinse your hair?" he asked, filling the pitcher with water.

"Good point," she agreed, using the sides of the tub to pull her body into a sitting position.

"Close your eyes." Using his free hand to keep the soapy water from her face, Giles proceeded to rinse her hair.

Giles picked up a washcloth and poured some bath gel on it. Starting with her shoulders, Giles began to wash the rest of her body. He ran the cloth over one shoulder and over her chest to the other, back to the bit of chest exposed above the water before dipping below. He held his breath as his cloth-covered hand ran over first one breast and then the other.

A long low moan made its way out of her throat as the rough texture of the washcloth ran over her breasts. Willow arched into his touch, trying to prolong the contact.

Giles grinned at her reaction and lingered on her breasts for a few more minutes before running the cloth over each of her arms. He rewashed her breasts as he continued his downward motion. He flitted over her fluttering belly and purposely bypassed the juncture of her thighs. Instead he lifted her right leg out of the water and ran the cloth from hipbone to toes. Then he repeated the process, although much slower and at a lower altitude, with her left leg. When he neared her pelvis again he paused and chanced a look at Willow's face to see if he should continue.

Willow met his questioning eyes, dark green boring into light. With her bottom lip between her teeth she nodded. Keeping their eyes locked, Giles ran the cloth over her sex.

Willow's body was on fire. She wanted nothing more in that moment than for him to abandon the washcloth and touch her. But at the same time, she knew they weren't ready for that yet.

Giles saw the emotions play over Willow's face. He felt the almost imperceptible lift of her hips, encouraging his touch, but her face belied her body's response. He could see the war being waged between her eyes. Being the gentleman he was, Giles went against instinct and retraced his path back up Willow's body.

As he returned to her head, Giles abandoned the washcloth and lowered his head to capture Willow's lips. She moaned into his mouth, brushing her tongue against his lips, inviting his out to play. An invitation Giles was more than happy to accept.

Many minutes later Willow pulled out of the kiss and leaned forward again. "Don't forget my back," she impishly said, handing Giles the washcloth from the bottom of the tub.

"Wouldn't want to forget that," he mumbled, somewhat put out to have the kiss end.

"We need to get me out of this tub then," Willow announced. "Buffy and Xander are supposed to be coming over around two."

"If we must…" Giles reluctantly agreed, a slow smile spreading across his face. He began to drain the tub as he reached for a towel. He took a minute to try to figure out the best way to get a wet Willow out of the tub without becoming soaked himself. Finally he opened the towel across his chest, holding one end in each hand. Making sure that the towel didn't dip into the retreating water, he once again knelt next to the tub and reached in, pulling Willow into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and Giles lifted her over the edge of the tub, and stood her on her feet. Keeping his hands on her hips as she steadied herself on her right leg, Giles turned his head away allowing Willow as much privacy as possible to dry herself.

Giles left her side for a second to retrieve Willow's robe and was back before she knew he was gone. He helped her into the robe from behind, then reaching around her, he tied the belt and held her in his arms.

Willow leaned back against Giles' solid frame. She turned her head to look up at him. "Thank you. That was the best bath I've ever had."

"You're more than welcome," Giles said, dipping his head for a brief kiss. When he pulled back he picked Willow up in his arms again and carried her to her bedroom.

"Aw, that's so sweet." Willow's fingers played with the hair at the nape of his neck until he set her down on her bed.

Willow was dressed and seated on the couch when Xander bounded into the apartment, without knocking.

"Hiya Wills," he greeted the redhead, dropping down next to her on the couch and pulling her into a quick hug.

Willow tried not to wince at the jostling as she returned his greeting, "Hey Xan."

Willow blushed, remembering her recent bathing at Giles' hands. "It was wonderful," she sighed.

"Geez, Will, there's no reason to get all misty over getting some stitches out."

"Stitches, right," Willow agreed, sobering. "I'm just really happy that they're gone."

"Not really. There was some tugging…" Willow paused as Xander began to turn a little green. "It didn't hurt. I'm a little sore now from the skin being pulled though."

Willow turned her head to see Buffy closing the apartment door, setting her backpack on the floor.

Giles, who had overheard Willow and her friends from his loft, decided to intervene. Walking down the stairs, he said, "Ah good, everyone's here."

Willow sent him a grateful look and mouthed, 'Thank you.' He nodded imperceptibly, turning his eyes back to their guests.

When Willow returned her eyes to Buffy she received another look which clearly said, 'Girl talk later.'

Xander's eyes were slightly glazed over from all the talk of Willow and baths, so he wasn't able to send Willow any silent messages.

"Yes, the troops are gathered. Is it time to circle the wagons?" Buffy wryly asked.

"I should probably be asking you that question," Giles returned, sitting in his favorite chair. "Anything interesting turning up on your patrols?"

"P-patrol?" Buffy squeaked. "Oh, um, patrol…nothing unusual. I see a vamp, I slay a vamp." She sat up straight, hoping no one caught her slip.

"Oh, Buffy," Giles sighed in disappointment, realizing that his slayer was shirking her duties.

"Well…Angel," Xander gestured. The girls gave him withering stares and Xander suddenly felt very small. Thinking on his own track record he asked, "He's not some other kind of demon is he?"

"No, he's your average, ordinary, human guy." Buffy stated, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Xander, I wouldn't dig too deep if I were you," Willow told her oldest friend sympathetically. Then she whispered, "Anya."

"Are we finished categorizing everyone's significant others?" Giles wearily asked from his corner.

"Yes, Giles," the three on the couch said together, then burst into giggles. Giles rolled his eyes.

"Let me summarize then," he offered. "Buffy has been too busy with her new boyfriend to notice anything unusual on patrol. Xander has been too busy with Anya to know about Buffy's new boyfriend and Willow had her stitches out today. Does that about cover it?"

"Right then, I'll leave you to catch up with Willow. I have some errands to run anyway," Giles said as he stood.

"Hey, Xan, would you mind getting me a soda?" Willow asked her friend. Wanting a moment alone with Giles she suggested, "Buffy, why don't you go grab something to drink too."

Buffy gave Willow a strange look, but shook it off as she joined Xander in the kitchen.

"What was that all about," she whispered from the relative privacy of the kitchen.

They poked their heads through the window between the kitchen and living room just in time to see Giles quickly kiss Willow's smiling mouth; her hand rested on his chest.

Xander opened and closed his mouth several times before sound would come out; his eyes were wide as saucers.

"That was just a friendly, 'I'll see you later' kiss, right?" he desperately asked the blonde.

Buffy shook her head to clear the image from her eyes. She felt slightly nauseous. "Oh, God I hope so."

Nervously they risked another glance, relieved to see that their friends were only speaking quietly now. The subtle glow that remained on their faces unnerved the occupants of the kitchen.

Xander quickly grabbed a couple of sodas out of the refrigerator, handed one to Buffy and headed back to the living room.

Willow and Giles shared a nervous glance. One that didn't go unnoticed by Buffy.

Giles removed his glasses, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket to clean them, avoiding looking at Buffy. Willow paled and her eyes grew wide – a sure sign that she had something to hide.

Willow and Giles hadn't really discussed what was happening between them, so neither was sure how to answer. They both wanted to believe that they were a couple, but they weren't certain of the other's feelings.

Willow decided to take the initiative. "Kind of." She sighed with relief when Giles took her offered hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

"We haven't really discussed it," Giles supplied, returning his glasses to his face.

"Buffy?" Giles quietly entreated the slayer. She hadn't said anything since posing her assumption. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she quietly answered. She swallowed, the said a little louder, "I'm happy for you."

Buffy wasn't sure how she felt about her best friend getting together with her watcher, but she knew better than to say anything else before she had a chance to examine her feelings. Just because she'd always considered Giles to be like a father to her didn't mean the others felt the same way. She grabbed Xander's sleeve and started pulling him out the door.

"Come on Xan, let's get you out of here before you put your foot in your mouth."

"Yes, I did. But we need time to absorb everything. Then we can give them our full support," she calmly explained. A little too calmly.

"Thank you, Buffy," Giles said, feeling a tremendous amount of pride for his surrogate daughter.

Buffy pulled the still protesting Xander out of the apartment, leaving the couple alone.

"That went better than I expected," Willow sighed as Giles settled next to her on the couch, pulling her into his arms.

"I don't know. Like you said, we haven't really talked much about what's going on here, aside from the fact that we both want to kiss each other."

"But is it more than just kissing feelings?" Willow asked when her mouth was free.

"Yes," Giles softly admitted. Willow's eyes widened in hope, as his hand began to caress her hair. "I promise that I won't rush you to do anything you're not comfortable with, but I would love to have a relationship with you Willow."

Willow didn't resist the urge to kiss him before giving her own answer. "Is it too soon after Oz? I honestly don't know. I don't have a whole lot of experience in the relationship department to know when too soon to move on is after having your heart broken. I want to be with you, I love waking up in your arms and I love kissing you. Is that enough to build a relationship on? Because I'd like to do that."

As much as he knew the answer might pain him, Giles had to ask, "Do you still love him?"

"Of course," Willow sadly admitted. "Am I in love with him? I don't think so. It's kinda hard to stay in love with someone after seeing them cheat on you and then skip town without so much as an explanation or a good-bye. What about you…and Olivia?"

He ruffled her hair. "You know as well as I that people don't always get together out of love. Olivia and I are friends, sometimes more, but nothing serious, and never for long."

"So you just sleep with her when you're on the same continent?" Willow asked, honestly curious. This is a side of Giles she'd never seriously contemplated before.

"Yes, I was. Especially with you lot off discovering your own paths. So when Olivia mentioned that she would be in California…"

"You agreed to see her." Giles nodded. "I'm glad she was able to make you feel better. I'm sorry we kind of abandoned you when school started."

"You had a lot going on," he reminded her, grateful that she wasn't condemning him for his actions. "You had to adjust to living in a dorm and college life and…everything."

"If you're offering to make it up, I'll take it under consideration," Giles playfully offered.

"I think I'm up for the challenge." Willow met Giles' mouth, teasing his tongue with her own, making promises for future payments.

"Three months for what?" Giles asked, his kiss-fuzzy brain having no idea to what she was referring to.

Giles' eyes grew bright and he lifted an eyebrow in comprehension. "Why three months?"

"That's why you didn't want me to come in with you?" Giles was floored that she'd already had the foresight to ask the doctor about making love with him.

"Yeah." Willow's blush deepened. "Just in case you wanted to…I wanted to make sure it wouldn't interfere with my healing."

"Three months," Giles repeated, suppressing the groan of disappointment, of desire. Her admission that she wanted him was enough to make him want to carry her to her bed and spend hours pleasuring her.

"At least it'll give us time to get to know each other as a couple," Willow giggled, reading Giles' expression for what it was.

Willow began to giggle, drawing a questioning glance from Giles. "Sorry," Willow apologized, catching her breath. "I was just thinking that you should prove to Xander how not old you are the same way you showed me."

Giles joined her laughter this time. "I don't know that I'd be able to carry him around the apartment as easily."

Willow sobered. "Xander will come around, eventually. Once he realizes that you make me happy, he'll be all for it, so long as he doesn't have to see it."

"I know. She was pretty wigged when Olivia was in town and realized that you have a personal life that doesn't revolve around her."

"I think some part of her actually wanted you to get together with her mom," Willow told him conspiratorially. Giles looked at her in shock. "After the whole mind-reading thing when she found out about you two the night of Band Candy, after she stopped freaking out over the idea of her mom having sex with you, in public, she kinda warmed to the idea. Not of you two having sex, but, well, you know she already sees you of like a surrogate father, and her mom's her mom. I think that in her mind she wanted her mom and "dad" to be together."

"Did she tell you this?" Giles asked in awe. He had never even considered Joyce as possible dating material, even after she found out about Buffy being the Slayer, or even after that night when they were acting like teenagers. One of the main reasons he'd always considered her off- limits was the very fact that she was Buffy's mother. Should they have a relationship, and it not work out, it would have devastated Buffy even more.

"No, she never said it out loud. But best friends can tell this kind of thing from what isn't said. She'll be fine with us once she gets over the fact that you won't become a part of her family. Then she'll just have to deal with the fact that her father-figure is dating her best friend."

"That may take some time," Giles sighed, knowing how stubborn his slayer could be when things don't go as she planned.

"Willow, I told you that this isn't necessary," Giles stated for the fifth time in twice as many minutes.

"It will be," Willow grinned. "You are the best researcher I know. Why wouldn't the Counsel want to publish a compendium of prophecies?"

"Because I put it together," Giles said with a frown. "It's no secret that the Counsel and I are not on the best of terms at the moment, what with them having fired me."

"Well then we can shop it around and once they see what a wonderful book you've put together they'll be crawling on their hands and knees to get you to come back," Willow excitedly said.

"There's no time like the present," Willow offered. She rubbed her hands together. "Let's see those prophecies."

"Very well," Giles sighed, inwardly thrilled that Willow wanted to work on this project with him. He unearthed a file box containing some of the last three years' worth of prophecies that won't come to fruition for many years to come. Even though he'd often toyed with the idea of compiling them into a book, he'd never given it serious consideration. This was only one of the many good things to come of his burgeoning relationship with Willow.

It had been a week since Buffy and Xander had discovered that he and Willow were now a couple. Seven long, tension filled days. The more time that passed, the more worried Willow grew. She knew that it would take her friends some time to adjust to her relationship with Giles, but she thought she would have heard from at least one of them by now.

She had suggested beginning working on the book as a means to distract herself. No matter how often Giles reassured her that they would come around, Willow couldn't help thinking about her friends' distance. Having a project to work on would, hopefully, keep her better distracted.

The box that Giles dragged over to the couch, which Willow had long ago claimed as hers, appeared to be packed to the brim. When the cover was lifted off her suspicions were confirmed.

"All of those files are for future prophecies," Willow asked in awe. There had to be at least 20 packed file folders in the box.

"This is only the first box, with the earliest prophecies," Giles sheepishly admitted.

"I take it back," Willow said, the tone of awe still slightly evident in her voice. "This book needs to be published like yesterday." She looked up at Giles. "You really set aside every possible future prophecy didn't you?"

Giles removed his glasses and began to clean them in his embarrassment. "I thought they might be useful one day," he sheepishly admitted. "It was silly of me, I know…"

"No, it wasn't," Willow reassured him. She wanted to stand and pull him into a hug, but instead pulled him down to sit with her, keeping a grip on his hand. Making him meet her eyes, she asked, "How many times did we stay up late searching high and low for the prophecy that would explain what was going on? How many different texts did we have to rifle through to find all the pieces of those prophecies? Just think how much time we could have saved if someone had thought to gather all of the information together when they first came across it and put it all together in one place."

"Far too many nights," Giles agreed. A wistful look passed over his face as his hand moved on its own to cup Willow's cheek. "Although I wouldn't trade a single one of those long nights where you and I would be the only ones doing the research."

Willow's eyes teared slightly at the expression on his face. She'd loved those nights too. Giles would be sitting surrounded by books, skimming the pages for that one pertinent bit of information as she sat at her computer scouring the web for that same bit of missing information. Xander would often be with them, but he usually passed out after only a couple hours of research. They'd never told Xander that they knew about his "naps" during research. It was their little secret.

"I loved those nights," she whispered, leaning into his caress. "I had such a crush on you. So it was great for me to be able to spend all that time basically alone with you. You always treated me like a grown-up, expecting me to be able to work on my own and find what was needed. Even if I didn't, you never made me feel like that was my fault."

"I saw no reason to treat you like a child when you didn't act like it. I knew, I do know, how smart you are. Why would I want to stifle that intelligence under reprimands and low-expectations?"

"Xander acted like a child," Giles countered. "If he were to demonstrate that he could handle more responsibility I would give it to him."

"Xander's good at self-fulfilling prophecies. He behaves as he thinks he's expected to. If you act like he's going to mess up and not follow through then that's what he'll do. Why do you think he did so poorly in school? His parents and teachers never expected him to succeed, so he didn't try to change their minds. I've always known that he could do better than he was. I've always encouraged him, but it wasn't always enough," Willow ended sadly.

"And here I thought you only encouraged him because of that crush you had on him for years," Giles chided, trying to lighten the mood.

"It was obvious in everything you did. Every look you gave him. How he managed to miss it for so long is a mystery to me." Giles ducked his head as he admitted, "I sometimes used to wish that someday you'd look at me with that much longing."

Giles closed the remaining distance between them, which had shortened remarkably during their last exchange, to capture his temptress' mouth.

Willow wrapped her arms around Giles' neck, pulling him closer until he was seated between her legs. Her right leg, which had been hanging off the side of the couch, drew up until it was resting across Giles' lap, her foot hooked behind his hip. Giles had his right hand wrapped in Willow's fiery tresses as his left rested on the thigh on his lap. His thumb made small circles on the thigh under his hand in time with his tongue's plundering of her mouth.

Unconsciously, Giles' hand began to work its way up Willow's thigh, running along the crease between her hip and leg. Willow moaned at the contact.

Giles' mind tried to figure out what the body had done to draw such a wonderful sound from the woman in his arms. Unfortunately, when the mind realized where the hand was, it pulled not only the hand, but the entire body away.

Willow whimpered in protest as Giles scooted away from her as if he'd been shocked.

"I don't… I'm sorry." Giles didn't know how to explain that he'd gone too far, touched her too intimately.

"What are you sorry for?" Willow asked, having no clue as to what had gone wrong. She'd been thoroughly enjoying herself. "Stopping?"

Giles gestured with the offensive left hand towards Willow's right leg, which was once again hanging off the side of the couch.

"My hand," Giles practically yelled. "I shouldn't have been touching you like that."

"Did you hear me complaining?" Willow asked, a huskiness evident that wasn't there a minute before.

"You're not being too forward," Willow assured him, taking Giles' right hand in both of hers. She brought it to her lips, kissing the back of it before licking and nipping at his fingertips. "Don't worry, I'll let you know if you've gone too far. But honestly, there's nothing that you could ever do or want that I won't be ready for."

Willow took Giles' thumb in her mouth, laving the pad with her tongue, keeping her eyes locked with Giles'. The look of lust in her eyes was matched and surpassed by the look in his. Giles felt his heart rate and breathing increase at the erotic act. His body ached for it to be another part of his anatomy being pleasured by that perfect mouth.

Willow withdrew Giles' thumb, smiling at his groan of disappointment, certain that she'd made her point. "No more pulling away?"

They had only been organizing the information in the first folder for an hour when there was a knock at the door. Giles looked up startled, not used to having people take the time to knock.

He was pleasantly surprised to see Xander standing outside his door with his hands in his pants pockets, looking nervously at his feet.

"Xander," Giles welcomed him in with a gesture of his arm, closing the door behind them. "What brings you here?"

"I, um, figured that since you're a couple now you wouldn't want us just barging in all the time," he admitted.

"Then you're okay with us being a couple," Willow asked, trying to keep the hope out of her voice.

Xander was now standing next to the couch in front of Willow. He sat on the coffee table so that he could look into her face.

"Promise me that this is what you want. That you're not just trying to live out some fantasy like with me."

"It is," Willow told him without hesitation. "I want to be with him. He makes me happier than I can ever remember being. This has nothing to do with the crush I had on him in high school. How did you even know about that?"

"C'mon, Wills, I've known you forever. Who can read you better than me?" Willow raised an eyebrow as if to say 'What about my crush on you?' Xander read her expression correctly. "Except when it came to your feelings for me."

Willow smiled, a big toothy grin. "You and Giles were both so oblivious to how I felt about you for so long."

Willow giggled. "He knew about my crush on you and you knew about my crush on him. No wonder I was dating Oz, he was the only one who knew how I felt about him."

Both men tensed slightly at the mention of Oz, both afraid that Willow would become upset at the mere mention of his name. They both breathed a sigh of relief when Willow giggled again at her own joke.

Speaking for the first time since the boy entered, Giles asked, "You've truly accepted us?"

Xander looked up at the man he'd considered a father and a friend. He made a mental note to try to change the father notion in his brain. "Willow is the smartest person I know, no offense, and if she says that you make her happy, then who am I to begrudge her that happiness."

"Okay, ow. Note to self, don't make Willow happy when sitting two feet away from her unless you want to go deaf."

"I couldn't agree more," Giles said affectionately. Willow turned her head to smile up at her boyfriend.

Xander watched the silent communication and knew that he'd made the right decision. They obviously had very real feelings for each other and he didn't know two people who deserved to be happier.

Xander cleared his throat when his friends hadn't looked away from each other after a minute.

"I'm glad it only took you a week to figure things out," Willow said. "I was starting to wonder if I'd lost both you and Buffy."

Xander sheepishly looked at his lap. "I don't know about Buffy, but I figured things out the next day. I've just been busy."

Xander looked at him gratefully, wishing his own father had reacted so supportively to the news. 'No, not fatherly,' Xander reminded himself. 'Uncle-y?'

"Construction." Willow looked at him with disbelief. "I know, I've never been big on the whole manual labor thing, but this is different. For one thing, I'm getting paid and the money isn't half bad. And this isn't carting around heavy books and weapons, no offense Giles."

"I was hired to work on this crew to build the new Cultural Center at UC Sunnydale. It's hard work, but I like it. I never thought I'd say this, but there's something gratifying in knowing your using your body to help build something that people are going to use one day. That sounds silly, doesn't it?"

"No, it doesn't," Willow assured him, proud that her friend had finally found some direction in his life.

"And hey, just look at the muscles I'm growing with this job," Xander goofily grinned, flexing his arms.

"Yeah," Xander agreed with a slight blush. Desperately wanting a change of subject, he asked, "So what were you guys doing when I got here?"

Willow got a wicked gleam in her eyes causing Xander to rush to add, "Unless it was kissing. I don't need to hear about kissing."

Willow taunted him with her silence for a little while longer. Giles took pity on Xander. "We were sorting through some old files I've been collecting."

"Would you rather hear we were kissing? 'Cause we were doing that earlier," Willow teased.

Xander made a point to stop by the dorms when he got off work the next day. He had debated going home to shower and change first, but he figured that he should bite the bullet and go see Buffy while he was still on campus. And before he could chicken out.

Buffy was sitting at her desk, trying to think of ways not to study. She didn't want to admit it, but she really missed Willow being there. Not only was Willow a wonderful source of information and school help, but it was so quiet with her best friend gone.

Unable to get the redhead off her mind, Buffy found herself wandering over to her side of the room. She knew that she should probably pack up the rest of Willow's stuff and take it over to Giles', but she wasn't ready to accept the fact that she wouldn't be moving back this semester. She also wasn't ready to see them together, not yet.

A knock at the door made Buffy drop the pillow she had been holding. She placed it back in its rightful place on the bed before answering the door.

"I, uh, got a job doing construction on campus," Xander said. "Hence the dirty."

"But you didn't just stop by to show me how dirty and sweaty you get at work. To what do I owe this pleasure?" She silently added, 'As if I couldn't guess.'

Buffy looked sufficiently guilty. "Me too. But I can't see them, not yet. Not together."

"I don't get it," Xander threw his hands up in exasperation. "Giles and Willow are the most important people in your life after your mom. Why are you avoiding them?"

Buffy sank onto her bed, avoiding his eyes. "You wouldn't understand," she mumbled.

"Start with Giles," Xander suggested, guessing that's where most of her issues lay. "Is it because he's so much older than her?"

"In part." Buffy squirmed. "Doesn't it wig you out that he's old enough to be our father?"

"Yeah, I stopped by yesterday. They make a good couple, Buff. I didn't want to believe it, but they really care about each other."

"But he's always treated her differently," Buffy protested, hoping that she didn't sound as jealous as she did in her own ears.

"But she's our age!" Buffy exclaimed. "If he acts like a father to me, and he acts like a father to you, why isn't acting all fatherly to Willow?"

"I know this is going to sound awful, but Giles has been more of a dad to me than my own has."

"I mean, he even got fired from the Counsel for his fatherly feelings for me. I just don't understand how Willow can see him as anything other than a father-figure."

"Buffy, you know she had that crush on him through high school," Xander reminded her.

"Yeah, but not until after we made with the illegal smoochies, several times." Xander countered with a blush.

"Exactly," Buffy said triumphantly. "Once she had a taste of you she no longer wanted to be with you, no offense." Xander shrugged and motioned for her to continue. "What if that's all that she's doing with Giles?"

"You think Willow's using Giles," Xander doubtfully asked. "C'mon, this is Willow. She doesn't use people like that."

"But she and Oz just broke up a couple of weeks ago. They didn't even really break up; Willow found Oz with that skanky ho, they had a fight, she got hit by that car and he skipped town. They haven't had any kind of closure. What if he comes back and tries to get back together with her? Oz is the first guy she ever dated. What if she goes back to him?"

"Willow wouldn't take Oz back," Xander said with certainty. "He betrayed her. He lied to her about sleeping with that wolf chick."

"Those don't even come close to comparison. Willow and I kissed a few times, that's it. Oz had wild animal sex with Veruca. If she had been some groupie I think Wills could maybe forgive him, someday. But she wasn't. She was another werewolf. And that's always going to make her wonder if she'd be able to compare to someone who knew exactly what he was going through."

"Just because I don't always act like it, doesn't mean that I don't notice what my friends are going through."

"I've been busy," he shrugged. "It's not like we've all been hanging out that much lately. I mean, I've got my new job and Anya, and you've got school and slaying and Riley. And Wills can't really go out Bronzin' with us…"

"So she's been stuck spending all of her time with her one-time crush in close quarters without her friends to keep her company, and no boyfriend to distract her," Buffy surmised.

"I'm a bad friend," Buffy frowned, staring at her hands. "It's my fault she and Giles turned to the only other person they knew who was unattached."

"It's no one's fault," Xander insisted. "Willow told me yesterday that Giles admitted to wanting her even back in high school. This isn't something new, for either of them."

Xander couldn't help laughing. "I know, it freaked me out at first too. But it makes sense. They were always doing that smart book thing together. They speak the same language, Buffy."

"Yes you did," Xander laughed. "But it's okay. I'm sure they'd both agree with you, but they'd be proud of it. You know what they were doing when I got there?"

Xander grinned, knowing Buffy didn't realize what she'd just said. She caught his knowing grin and the light bulb switched on.

Memories flashed in front of her eyes: Willow sleeping at her computer to find the missing bit of info they needed on the web, Giles searching through book after book to find the way to stop that week's big bad, Willow freaking out when Giles was fired, Giles' overwhelming sense of loss when they thought Willow was a vampire and his relief that she was alive. Instance after instance of things that her two favorite people had in common made themselves known to the blonde and she realized how selfish she was being.

"You gonna be okay," Xander asked, worried about how Buffy would handle her epiphany.

"Yeah," she slowly smiled. "I think I get what they see in each other now. I'm not saying that it'll be easy seeing them together now. I mean, he's still practically my dad."

"It'll get easier once you've actually spent some time with them. Giles can still be your surrogate dad, even if he's Willow's… boyfriend."

"Well, there are certain advantages to dating a man…" Buffy trailed off with a blush.

Xander covered his ears, "Blaahh, I don't want to hear about it. I never need to hear what you and your undead 240 year old boyfriend did. Ever."

"Okay, okay," Buffy giggled, knowing how much Xander hating hearing about her relationship with Angel.

"But maybe you could talk about it with Willow," Xander suggested, getting serious again. "I can tell how much she needs your support in this."

"No, she'll do what she wants. And she deserves to be happy, even if it's with Giles. She'd just feel better knowing you didn't hate her for dating him."

"As soon as I can. I'm going out with Riley after a quick patrol tonight, but maybe tomorrow, or the day after that."

Xander slapped his hands on his thighs as he prepared to stand. "On that note, I have a shower with my name on it. I'll see ya later, Buffy."

Buffy just smiled in response, hoping that was true, hoping she'd be able to be supportive when she saw them together again.

It took Buffy another three days to work up the nerve to talk to her friends. She told herself that she was just too busy to stop by, but she knew that wasn't true. Afraid that she would walk in on something she really didn't want to see, she decided to call first.

Holding Mr. Pointy in one hand, needing the familiarity and comfort it provided, and the phone in the other, Buffy started to dial Giles' number. After hanging up twice, she finally managed to dial all seven numbers and let the phone ring. Just as she was about to hang up again she heard the familiar English accent that always made her feel safe.

"Buffy," he practically sighed her name, relieved to hear her voice. "I'm glad you called."

"Is something wrong? Is Willow okay?" She'd never forgive herself it something had happened to Willow while she was working through her issues.

"Willow is fine. In fact, I'm afraid she'll injure herself in her haste to get to the phone," Giles chuckled. His voice became muffled as he lowered the phone to his chest to ask Willow not to strain herself, saying that she could talk to Buffy in a moment. Buffy smiled at the affection and concern in Giles' voice.

"Sorry about that," he apologized when he returned the receiver to his ear. "We're just both so pleased to hear from you."

"I'm sorry I've been stay-away gal," Buffy responded, knowing it wasn't enough. She had been purposely ignoring her friends.

"That's quite all right, Buffy," Giles tried to reassure her, but she could hear the hurt in his voice.

"Of course you can over," Giles repeated for Willow's benefit. Buffy could hear the happy squeal from the redhead in the background. "You're always welcome here, there's no need to ask."

"Maybe. I'll come over now." Buffy said, knowing she needed to do this while she was thinking about it.

"We'll see you shortly. Wait one moment, please." Buffy heard muffled talking again. "Willow says she is excited to see you as well."

Buffy couldn't help laughing quietly at Willow's objections to how Giles had rephrased her remarks in the background.

"Me too. I'll see you both soon." Buffy hung up the phone and took a deep, calming breath before gathering her keys and purse and heading out the door.

Willow was virtually bouncing with excitement, a wide grin lighting her face. "She's really coming over?"

Giles sat next to her, feeling as excited as Willow, but able to keep it inside, although he was wearing a matching grin.

"Did she say anything about us? How did she sound? Should I go change?" Willow bubbled.

Giles couldn't resist kissing her, leaning over to silence Willow's excited questioning. Willow readily transferred her nervous energy into a more productive kind, returning Giles' kiss with more passion than he had intended the kiss to hold. Not that he would ever complain about any kiss Willow shared with him.

When he finally pulled back, Giles simply said, "All that she said was that she wanted to come over."

"Perhaps she was just trying to give us some privacy," Giles offered, doubting the statement even as he said it.

Willow gave him a disbelieving look saying, "I guess we'll find out soon enough."

Giles hated how nervous and defeated Willow became. They both knew that it would be difficult for Buffy to accept them as a couple, but they had hoped that she would have come around sooner.

"Scoot forward," he requested, standing to allow her the room to move. Willow looked at him quizzically, but did as he asked.

"Oh," she gasped when Giles sat in her recently vacated spot and lifted her onto his lap. He pulled her to lean back against his chest and wrapped his arms around her.

"Me too," Giles whispered into her neck, affectionately nuzzling the sensitive skin beneath her ear. Willow tilted her neck, giving him better access to one of her more sensitive areas.

A soft moan escaped her lips as Giles began to brush his lips against the side of her neck, mere whispers of kisses. His fingers gently skimmed her belly over her clothing, causing the muscles to flutter with anticipation. Like his mouth, his hands barely touched the fabric. Willow's hand snaked around Giles' head, running her fingers through the soft hairs at the nape of his neck. She tried to pull his head closer for more fulfilling contact, but Giles resisted, reprimanding her with a "Shhh" against her skin. The exhalation of that word sent pleasurable shivers down Willow's spine.

Her hand still on the back of Giles' neck, Willow turned her head to capture his teasing lips with her own. The kisses remained light and teasing, slow and shallow, and incredibly unfulfilling.

A knock at the door answered her question, causing both occupants of the couch to groan in disappointment.

"Just a moment," Giles called out as he disentangled his body from Willow's and moved off of the couch.

"I jinxed us didn't I?" Willow rhetorically asked as she tried to calm her racing heart and will away the tingling under her skin.

"Hardly," Giles assured her, kissing the top of her head. "We shouldn't have started anything when we knew Buffy was on her way."

"That's our Giles, always with the logic," Buffy said with feigned light-heartedness as she walked into the apartment, having caught Willow's statement.

"Buffy, it's good to see you," Giles greeted the blonde, closing the door behind her and joining Willow on the couch again, this time keeping a respectable distance.

"Still there. It's getting a little easier to walk. I'm down to one crutch now, soon I'll be able to switch to a cane."

"But you didn't call to come over here to ask about my hip, did you?" Willow asked her friend, watching her lower her head slightly with guilt. Willow took the opportunity to swing her left leg off the couch and onto the coffee table, urging Giles to sit next to her.

Catching on to what she was doing, Giles slid his arm around Willow's shoulders. They both knew that Buffy had been trying to cope with their new relationship, so they may as well show her that they weren't afraid to be affectionate around others.

When Buffy had steeled herself and returned her gaze to the couch, she couldn't help blanching upon seeing Giles with his arm around Willow, her head resting on his shoulder.

Buffy stood abruptly, nearly tripping over the coffee table in her haste. "I was wrong. I can't do this yet." She started to rush towards the door.

"Buffy, no, wait," Willow called after her. "Please don't leave, I can't chase after you."

Buffy stopped with her hand on the doorknob. Slowly she turned around. "I'm sorry, Willow, you too Giles, but I just don't think I can handle you two being together. I thought I was okay with it. Xander helped me see that you'd be a good couple together. But thinking about it and seeing it are two completely different things."

Giles had crossed the room to his slayer, torn between wanting to comfort her and offended that she was taking his relationship with Willow so badly.

"Please, just come and sit with us. Tell us what bothers you so about our being together," Giles entreated.

"We won't act all couply," Willow added from her position on the couch. "Just talk to us."

Buffy nodded and allowed Giles to lead her to the leather chair in the corner. Giles then returned to the couch, but remained at the far end from Willow. Buffy let out a small sigh of relief upon seeing this.

"Now how can we convince you that Giles and I make a good couple?" Willow asked her friend.

"That's part of it," she conceded. "I mean, last year you were fired from the Counsel for your fatherly feelings for me. Why don't you feel all fatherly towards Willow too? I mean, she's even younger than me!"

"As your Watcher a good part of my job was to protect you, to prepare you for what was to come when you face demons. Much in the way I would imagine parents would prepare and protect their own child. I have never denied that I see you as the daughter I will probably never have. I fear for your safety every day, as any parent would."

"But don't you fear for Willow's safety? Don't you want to protect and prepare her for the dangers our lives hold too?"

"I do, but Willow was not my responsibility, as were you. When she and Xander learned our secret, I feared that she would become a target for being associated with us. Yet time and time again she has proved that she is up to the challenges the Hellmouth has thrown at us." Giles turned his eyes away from his slayer and towards the woman next to him, his eyes shining with affection. "As we constantly found ourselves the sole researchers, I came to learn that Willow had one of the sharpest minds I had come across, sharper than many of the adults I have known. Through our long discussions of topics ranging from books, to demons to the possible benefits of a computer over the written word, she ceased being a child in my eyes, and yet remained someone I never thought I could have."

Willow's eyes were shining with unshed tears, listening to Giles describe his feelings for her. She placed her hand, palm up, on the space between them. Giles clasped her small hand in his, squeezing gently.

"What about Oz?" Buffy loudly asked, needing to break the moment between the two across from her.

"I know what he did was awful, but what if he comes back and says he wants you back. He was your first love. Can you honestly say you wouldn't take him back?"

"Yes, I can. Oz hurt me, Buffy. There's no going back. I should have learned that lesson the first time. I know that I would always wonder if I was enough for him, and that's no way to live."

Willow and Giles exchanged a curious look. "To whom were you addressing?" Giles asked, amusement in his voice.

Willow motioned with her hand for Giles to go first. "Buffy, if Willow and I are together, how would we meet someone our own age?"

Buffy glared at her watcher, hating having the irrationality of her question pointed out to her. "Well, someone could try to pick one of you up," she said uncertainly, grasping at straws.

"But we're together, so we'd brush them off, just like if we were the same age," Willow countered.

Buffy was beginning to feel outnumbered. She knew deep down that they made the perfect couple, but she wasn't ready to accept them together yet. Why couldn't they understand that? Why were they taunting her like this?

Willow raised an eyebrow at the blonde. "I know; you told me. Giles and I have talked about it. We've talked about everything. I know that he has never considered having a relationship with your mom. I know that Olivia is a casual fling. Just as he knows that I would never go back to Oz."

Buffy turned tearful eyes to Giles, "You never even considered dating my mom? Not even after…"

Giles moved to kneel in front of Buffy, taking her hands in his. "I don't mean to hurt you by saying this," he began, "and I mean no disrespect to Joyce. She is a fine woman, and a wonderful mother to you, but you mean too much to me to risk having a relationship with her."

"No, even if Willow and I hadn't discovered our interest in the other was mutual, even if Olivia never returned to Sunnydale, I wouldn't risk hurting Joyce, or you, if she and I had attempted a relationship and failed."

"So you let yourself be afraid of failure instead of taking a chance?" Buffy asked, barely restraining the tears of discovering the impossibility of a long-held dream.

"I admit, I was playing it safe. However, what I feel for Willow is much stronger than anything I have ever felt for Joyce."

Buffy slid to the floor on her knees, crying on Giles' shoulder. "You're never going to be my family," she whispered through her tears.

Giles wrapped his arms around her, wishing he could ease the pain she had unintentionally brought on herself. "No," he replied just as quietly, "not in the legal sense, but I will always love you as if you were my own."

"I love you too," Buffy hiccupped, wiping away her tears with the heel of her hand.

The whistle of the tea kettle startled them. Looking around the room they realized that Willow wasn't on the couch anymore.

"I'll just go help her with the tea. There's no way she's going to be able to manage a full tray, even with only one crutch. Why don't you go splash some water on your face," Giles suggested.

"I must look awful," Buffy said, getting to her feet, following Giles out of the room, continuing into the bathroom when he ducked into the kitchen.

Giles wrapped his arms around Willow's waist from behind as she finished setting the tea cups on the silver serving tray.

"I thought you could use a minute alone. Makes me wish I wasn't right," Willow said, resting her hands atop Giles'.

"You are very observant," Giles agreed. "It breaks my heart to see her watch her dreams fall apart in front of her. I wish there was something I could do."

"There isn't. Now that Buffy knows the truth, she'll be able to move past it and give us a chance. I hope."

"I'll try," said a voice from the doorway. "I really will. I want both of you to be happy, I just never thought it would be together."

"You know, tea is not the answer to everything," Buffy joked, following Giles back to the living room.

The next two weeks rushed by in a flurry of activity. With all of the emotional drama encompassing their lives, they were surprised to realize that it was nearly Christmas.

Buffy and Willow were able to spend some quality time re-bonding in the age-old fashion: shopping. Even though Buffy would make faces and cringe when Willow insisted on visiting every lingerie shop in the mall, it was done in the most playful manner. Especially when Willow pointed out that Buffy could shop there too.

Giles also insisted on at least one shopping trip with him, alone, so that he and Buffy could spend some quality time away from the apartment, and slaying, to reaffirm their relationship. Their trip to the magic shop wasn't entirely unexpected for Buffy, even if the reason behind it freaked her out a bit.

While Buffy, Willow and Giles went Christmas tree shopping, Xander planned his own holiday surprise. Using the key he had been given as a child, Xander let himself into Willow's parents' house. It took him about an hour to unearth the menorah Willow had been given as gift by one of her aunts, but eventually he found it.

He returned to Giles' apartment to find a beautiful, full, balsam fir set up next to the fireplace.

"Hey, Xan, hurry up, we were waiting for you to start decorating," Willow invited.

Placing his surprise in Willow's lap, Xander explained, "I needed to pick something up for Wills."

Willow looked at her oldest friend, the question clearly written across her face. Her hands explored the plastic bag in her lap, feeling the familiar shape beneath her fingers. Her face lit up. "Is this what I think it is?"

Willow carefully pulled the plastic away, revealing her menorah. "Where on earth did you find this?"

"This is my menorah. I haven't seen it in years. I got it as a gift at my Bat Mitzvah, but I never had a chance to use it before. We always just used my parents' menorah." Willow pushed herself off the couch and wrapped Xander in a big hug. "Thank you, Xander."

Xander returned the hug. "I thought you might be wanting it, seeing as how Hanukkah has already started."

"I was just going to skip it this year," Willow shrugged, stepping back from her friend.

"Well, now you don't have to," Giles said, taking the menorah and placing it on the fireplace mantle.

"There are candles in the bag too." Xander added. "Not much use for a menorah without candles."

"Not till after sunset," Willow corrected, placing the candles next to the menorah.

"Because that is the way it is done," Giles answered. "Until then, we have a tree to decorate."

Joyce prepared a special dinner for everyone. Buffy had been nervous when she'd told her mom about Willow and Giles' new relationship. After the initial surprise, she had been amazingly supportive. When Buffy had tried to express her own beliefs about whom Giles should be with, Joyce had laughed. She told Buffy that she had no interest in being anything more than friends with Giles, and she never had. In fact, since everyone else was bringing a date, she would as well. There was an art dealer in town that had been flirting with her, so she had invited him to Christmas Eve dinner.

The food was delicious, the atmosphere comfortable, and the company heartwarming. The evening was filled with love and laughter, embarrassing stories and fond memories. Tokens of friendship were exchanged amongst those closest to them.

Eventually Buffy and Riley left for a quick patrol. Xander and Anya left to have sex, which Anya had proudly proclaimed as Xander hushed her out the door. Joyce escorted her date back to his hotel. And Willow and Giles returned home to exchange their own gifts.

Willow insisted that Giles wait in the living room while she prepared his present in her room. Giles was grateful for the opportunity to dash up to his the loft to retrieve Willow's gift. He was nervous about her reaction and hoped that she wouldn't take it the wrong way.

Giles felt the fluttering of anticipation in his stomach when he heard his love call out, "Rupert, I'm ready."

Willow wasn't in the living room when he descended the stairs, so he proceeded down the hallway to Willow's bedroom. He found himself in front of a closed door. A smile spread across his face as he knocked.

The anticipation he had been feeling upstairs escalated as Giles opened the door. His breath caught at the sight before him. The room was bathed in candlelight. There were clusters of both red & green and blue & white candles, but Giles didn't notice. His eyes were transfixed on the woman on the bed.

Willow was reclining against the headboard wearing a beautiful red silk robe that Giles had never seen before. She could feel her body temperature rise as Giles raked his eyes over her body.

Fingering the sash holding the robe closed, Willow sultrily asked, "Aren't you going to unwrap your present?"

Giles blinked to pull himself out of his lust-induced thoughts. On his second attempt to speak he said, "Perhaps you should go first, or else you may not get to yours tonight."

Willow's giggle was music to his ears. She held out a hand to him, inviting him to join her on the bed. As he sat, Giles placed a beautifully wrapped box on her lap.

Giles watched her intently as Willow unwrapped the box and lifted the lid. A curious smile spread across her face as she sifted through the magickal ingredients she found. She pulled out a piece of paper and read the words carefully written on it.

"Strengthening spell," she repeated in awe. "You want me to heal myself with a spell?"

Giles nodded. "I know you haven't been practicing magicks since the accident, and I am guessing that you have missed it."

"I am suggesting that you use this spell to speed the healing process; encourage the bone and muscles to knit faster."

"You just want to get into my pants faster," Willow said knowingly, the desire in her eyes and voice letting him know that it was what she wanted as well.

Running a hand along the edge of Willow's robe, Giles said, "And the purpose of your present to me would be…?"

"Speaking of my present…" Giles began, openly leering at Willow's reclining form, amusement in his voice. "You bought yourself lingerie?"

Willow set the magick supplies aside and slid to the edge of the bed, the silk easing her movements. She huskily whispered in his ear, "It's what's under the lingerie that counts."

Giles felt his breath catch and his half-formed erection spring to life at her words. "Show me," he breathed.

Willow's hand slipped up Giles' thigh, stopping just shy of the straining material below his belt. "You don't want to do it yourself," she asked with the most sinfully tempting pout on her lips.

Giles leaned forward to slowly lick the protruding lip, his hand moving hers to rest on his very obvious arousal. "Maybe next time," he said in a voice filled with need.

Willow kissed him hungrily, massaging him through his pants. Giles didn't even try to restrain the moans Willow's mouth eagerly absorbed.

Willow smiled and got up on her knees. She motioned for Giles to take her place against the headboard. Giles instantly scooted back, his face alight with boyish enthusiasm.

Willow continued to tease Giles for a several long seconds. Slowly she pulled the end of the sash, releasing the loose knot. However her other hand was holding the material together, so nothing was yet revealed to Giles' hungry eyes. Just when she thought he was going to tell her to hurry up, Willow dropped her hands and arched her back, the silk easily slipping from her shoulders, revealing a matching red satin and lace nightie that barely reached the tops of her thighs.

Despite the lesser amount of clothing, Willow felt the heat in the room escalate under the look in Giles' lust-darkened eyes.

"You like?" she asked, not the least bit surprised by the sultriness of her voice, given the look she was receiving.

"You're a goddess," Giles honestly told her. "A more beautiful creature could not possibly exist compared to you. Come here."

Willow crawled towards him, allowing him a view of her cleavage as she moved up the bed and over his body, straddling his legs.

Giles ran his hands over her body, the satin sensuously moving against her skin as he traced the curves still hidden from his eyes. "You, my love, are radiant. A fire goddess whose spell I've fallen under."

Willow continued to undress the man beneath her. Her fingers eagerly unbuttoned his shirt. Even though she had seen him shirtless, and usually slept next to him that way, she had never gotten him that way herself, and she relished uncovering his flesh with her own hands.

"Love?" Giles questioned, hope filling his eyes as his hands stilled on her hips.

Willow finished with her buttons and met Giles' eyes. Nervously biting her lip she nodded her head. "Yes, love. I…I love you, Rupert Giles."

Giles searched her eyes, afraid to find some sign of resignation. When all he saw was her nervousness and undeniable love, he lowered his lips to hers, taking her mouth in a slow, sensuous kiss. His full name on her lips, accompanying the words he had longed to hear for years, nearly sent him over the edge.

Willow had expected such a revelation to result in a fierce, passionate kiss. This kiss, however, was not what she had expected. Oh, it was passionate, no denying that, but instead of inflaming her, it turned her to mush. Willow felt her muscles slowly melting, her bones turning to butter, as Giles teased her mouth slowly with his, his tongue languorously moving against hers. Willow whimpered at the intense pleasure he was invoking, her body going limp in his arms.

Before she knew what had happened, Willow found herself on her back, with a nearly naked Giles pressed against her side wearing nothing but a pair of dark blue, tented, silk boxers.

Meeting her disoriented eyes, Giles proclaimed, "I love you, Willow Rosenberg. As if you didn't know."

"I suspected," she grinned, tracing the lines of his face she so dearly loved. "But it's still good to hear."

Giles kissed her forehead, her nose, her cheeks, her chin, down her neck, on downward, murmuring, "I love you," against her skin between each kiss.

When the material of Willow's nightie halted his progress, Giles looked up at his love. "May I finish unwrapping my present?"

Resting his hands against her hips, Giles drew the soft material up Willow's body and over her head. He helped her to lie back down, admiring the beauty before him. "A goddess," he softly repeated. He loved the way her body flushed under his praise.

Dipping his head, Giles took one rosy nipple into his mouth, lovingly tasting and teasing her flesh. Willow's breathy moans excited him beyond belief, as did her hands that roamed as far as she could reach. The groan of pleasure Willow emitted when he switched breasts had him grinding his hips against the bed, needing some kind of friction to offer him some relief from his nearly painful erection.

Trying to ignore his own body's needs, Giles skimmed a hand down over Willow's tense belly to run through her curls and on down. He found her hot and wet for him. He moaned against the breast in his mouth and easily slipped a finger inside his love.

Willow's hips arched up at the pleasurable intrusion. She ignored the slight stab of pain the motion caused, the pleasure quickly drowning it out. Her hands blindly sought to return the pleasure she was feeling, sliding beneath Giles' body in search of the erection she knew must be painful by now.

Giles automatically lifted his hips, getting to his knees, as he felt Willow's delicate hand trying to move under him. He gasped and rested his forehead against her chest when he felt her trace the outline of his erection through his boxers, the silk caressing his sensitive flesh.

Giles crushed his lips to hers when Willow's hand slid inside the opening of his boxers to touch his flesh. She lightly stroked him in time with his hand's movements inside her. Giles had added a second finger by now and his thumb was beginning to stroke her clit in small, rough circles. Willow traced the head of his erection with her thumb in a similar motion, dipping beneath the foreskin to capture the moisture there, spreading it into his flesh as she slid back down to the base, before repeating the motion.

Giles could feel his orgasm nearing. Reluctantly ending the kiss he desperately told her, "Willow, love, I don't think I can last much longer."

She recaptured his mouth, redoubling her efforts to bring him release. Giles seemed to redouble his efforts as well, wanting to bring her over with him.

Willow broke the kiss this time in order to vocalize her pleasure. She was finding it difficult to continue a smooth motion on Giles as she felt her inner muscles begin to clench. Her grip on him tightened briefly as her body went rigid, the pleasure washing over her. Giles thrust into her hand, taking her distraction for what it was. He grunted against her neck as he felt his balls draw up and his body jerk as he climaxed in her hand, staining his new shorts.

They stayed as they were, hands around and inside of each other, as they came down from their highs. Both were panting harshly when Giles rolled onto his back, withdrawing his hand and causing Willow's to be pulled away as well.

Turning his head to look at Willow, Giles said, "Now that's what I call a present."

"I don't think I can move from this bed," Giles admitted, knowing he'd have to in order to get them cleaned up.

Giles lifted his head enough to see that on the nightstand was a pitcher of water next to a bowl with a washcloth in it.

"Hey, goddess here, remember? We tend to know these kinds of things beforehand."

Giles forced himself to move enough to retrieve the items on the nightstand and lovingly ran the cloth over Willow's hand and between her thighs before discarding his boxers and tending to himself. He stood to return the items to the nightstand. He extinguished the candles before turning down the covers and helping Willow under them. He then joined her, pulling her against his sated body.

"You know," Willow casually said, "I think that I should start doing that spell tomorrow."

Giles chucked, pressing his lips to hers in a quick kiss. "Eager for more are we?"

"Yeah, it was." Willow leaned up to kiss him before snuggling into his side and drifting off into a contented sleep.

Giles smiled, his heart still skipping a beat whenever he heard his given name on his love's lips. He stood from his chair on the other side of the room. Picking the requested notes up from the couch where they had been left earlier, Giles crossed to the table Willow had taken over. Books were scattered around the tabletop, pieces of paper stacked between volumes, with Willow's laptop nestled among them.

New among old, technology working with ancient texts, different mediums used to bring about one goal.

Giles stepped behind Willow, setting the papers down to her left, saying, "Here you are."

Giles rested his hands on Willow's shoulders, absentmindedly beginning a light massage as he looked over her shoulder at the computer screen.

"Ahh, Thank You," she said in response to the massage. Her hands dropped to her lap and she rested her head back against Giles' chest.

In the nearly two weeks since Christmas they had barely been able to keep their hands off each other. They were like a couple of teenagers, discovering the opposite sex for the first time. Any and every opportunity that presented itself to touch the other was taken.

They had promised themselves, and each other, that today they would try to behave and concentrate on inputting Giles' notes into the computer. Which is why Giles had been sequestered in his chair in the corner of the room while Willow diligently typed away at her laptop in the center of the room. The physical distance seemed to be working rather well, for the fifteen minutes that they were able to stay apart.

Willow didn't even realize that she had put them in the dangerous position of being next to each other when she had requested Giles to bring her the notes. As tended to happen, she had been immersed in what she was working on and had only processed that the notes she needed were closer to Giles than to her.

She debated being upset with herself for creating the situation of being distracted from her task. Then Giles slipped his hands down her chest to cup her breasts and kissed her in an upside-down kiss and she no longer cared. Work be damned, her lover was touching her.

Giles knew that they had agreed to behave themselves today, but he simply couldn't resist not touching Willow when he was so close to her. It was only going to be a momentary massage. Honestly. But then she abandoned her work to relax against him and he was doomed. His hands moved of their own volition to cup her breasts and her mouth was just too inviting.

The upside-down angle was a little uncomfortable, so at Willow's moan of encouragement, he moved swiftly to lift Willow into his arms, setting her on one of the smaller stacks of paper on the table.

Willow's arms instantly went around his neck, pulling his mouth back to hers. She loved the way he kissed her; the way his lips would soften and mold to hers. His hands alternated between holding her face, guiding the kiss and resting on her hips, allowing her to take control.

Time seemed to stop. Nothing existed except for the feel of the other pressed against them. The kisses only pausing occasionally in order to breathe.

Which is why they failed to notice Xander enter the apartment half an hour later.

"Geez guys, don't you ever come up for air?" he teased, having walked in on a similar scenario at least twice before in the past two weeks.

Giles immediately started to pull back out of embarrassment at being so caught, again. However, Willow's hands were on his face, insisting that he not end the kiss so abruptly. She gently separated their mouths, licking his lips as she pulled away. She licked her own lips, holding Giles' heated gaze, silently promising more once they were alone again.

"Hi Xander," Willow greeted her friend, finally breaking the eye contact, but keeping her legs firmly wrapped around Giles.

Xander could feel the sexual energy, like a living thing, floating around the couple before him and he suddenly wished he was at home with Anya.

"I take it we're feeling better," he leered at Willow, noticing her legs were still wrapped tightly around Giles.

"Much better," she purred. It was true; since she'd started doing the healing spell she'd noticed a marked difference in her hip. It wasn't that she had been in a lot of pain before, but she was definitely moving around easier now. She was still being careful, sitting on a pillow to keep her hips a little more elevated, using the beautiful cane Giles had given her as a Hanukkah gift, and taking it easy as much as possible.

Giles finally managed to will away the erection Willow had so easily brought about and disentangled himself from her limbs. Willow pouted slightly as Giles lifted her by the waist to help her stand before he backed away from her completely.

"Yes, Willow has been taking very good care of herself," Giles agreed. They weren't ready to share with Xander, or Buffy, that they were using magick to speed her recovery along.

"Lots of hands on, tender loving care, right," Xander quipped, crossing the room to flop down on the couch. Luckily he had managed to 'flop' on the only open space on the seat cushion.

"What are you guys working on here anyway?" he asked, taking in the tornado of papers and books around the living room. "Every time I come over here it's, 'Nothing to research,' or 'Working on a personal project'. What gives?"

Willow and Giles exchanged a look. Willow knew that Giles didn't want to tell the others about the book they were compiling information for.

"Just organizing some old research," Giles said as casually as possible. He knew the boy meant well with his questions, but he wasn't ready to reveal his possible book plans to him yet.

Knowing Giles' sensitivity to this subject, Willow rushed to change it. "Hey, not that I'm not thrilled to see ya, but shouldn't you be at work?"

Xander eyed her critically for a minute, but shrugged off any strange vibe he picked up. "Someone had written a bunch of strange markings all over the site so they shut down for the day to get rid of them."

"Strange markings?" Giles asked, his Watcher training kicking in. "Did you happen to see them?"

"Yeah, I saw them," Xander said. "I'm the one who found them. Why would anyone want to repeat the same set of 3 markings in all over the site?"

"Can you draw them?" Giles asked, excited by the possibility of some kind of ritual that needed to be researched.

Willow hobbled over to look at the drawing along with Giles. Shaking her head, she couldn't help asking, "A napkin?"

Xander shrugged noncommittally. "You know me, I used what was handy. So does it mean anything G-man?"

While Giles drifted towards his library, Willow guessed, "They probably used the construction site because it's a nice big open space."

"Yes," Giles agreed, picking several volumes up off a shelf. "And possibly for the supplies as well. Were any of them missing?"

"Not that I noticed, but then again, I don't keep track of inventory," Xander mused.

"Xander, can you draw where these markings were located on the construction site?" Willow asked, knowing that their positioning may be important.

"No prob." Xander found a blank page on one of the legal pads lying around the room and made a rough blueprint of the site layout.

"Not necessarily. It depends on what the symbols mean. Three is a powerful magickal number though, so three powerful symbols, repeated three times…"

"Uh-huh. You want me on the net?" Willow asked Giles, who was lost in one of his books already.

Several hours later they were still working on deciphering the symbols. There had been several arguments over the meaning of the symbols.

"Giles doesn't want to believe that these are Etruscan pictograms." Willow fumed.

"That is not what I was saying," he argued. "What I said, is that we don't know what form of Etruscan they used to perform their ritual."

"Yeah, at my construction site. We found these three symbols repeated in a triangle on the site. They closed it down to remove them." Xander explained.

"Oh, hey I know these." Buffy casually said. Three pairs of eyes turned to her. "The vamps I dusted last week wore them on a crest-like thing on their jackets. I thought it was kinda lame, like a fraternity emblem."

"Seeing as how the Etruscan alphabet was derived from the Greek alphabet, that makes sense." Willow pointed out.

"And why am I just now hearing about these vampires?" Giles asked, managing to look offended and sound disappointed at the same time.

"I didn't think it was a big deal," Buffy rolled her eyes. "How was I to know the frat vamps were up to no good?"

"Buffy, any time vampires form a club they've got to be up to no good," Xander said.

"Well, at least we know that they're vampires," Willow optimistically said. "Now we just need to figure out what they were doing."

"Buffy, when you patrol tonight, see if you can find any more of these vampires. If you do, see if you can get any information out of them."

"Right, because I'm sure they're just dying to share their secrets with me," she sarcastically replied.

"In the mean time," Giles continued, ignoring her remark, "I believe a trip to Willy's might be in order."

"Right then. Buffy will talk to Willy and then patrol. Xander why don't you go with her. Willow and I will stay here and continue to work on deciphering the symbols."

"You sure we can trust you to do your assignment?" Xander asked with a waggle of an eyebrow.

"Of course we can," Willow said with a blush. "We're not totally ruled by our hormones."

"And on that note," Buffy said, heading towards the door. "We have demons to find and a snitch to beat up."

"You're asking the wrong gal," Willow said, sliding her arms around his waist. "I don't think we spend nearly enough time listening to our hormones."

"Darn tootin'." Willow proudly agreed. She silenced any further remarks with a long overdue kiss.

Giles insisted that the best way to try to figure out what the "frat vamps," as Buffy had called them, were up to, would be to explore the construction site themselves. Willow made a show of protesting, but was just as eager to see the symbols in their intended use. They only hoped that the remainder of the construction crew hadn't finished removing all of the symbols yet.

When they were nearly at the site, Willow was struck with a thought, causing her to grab Giles' arm.

This was an idea that Giles had been mulling over himself. They had been so caught up in trying to figure out what the ritual was for that they hadn't considered whether or not it had occurred yet.

"I know. It's not very likely that they went to the trouble of drawing the symbols without using them. Unless they were simply trying to plan ahead?" Willow ended on a skeptically hopeful note.

"Oh, sorry," Willow apologized. She jerked upright in her seat, recalling that the blond vampire hadn't made any kind of retaliation against Buffy for taking away his opportunity to be indestructible. "You don't think Spike had anything to do with this, do you?"

"It's a possibility," he reluctantly agreed. "We haven't seen him for a while, not since the debacle with the Gem of Amara. Perhaps he's found a new way to annoy us."

"But joining a fraternity?" Willow said disbelievingly. "That doesn't sound like the Spike we all know and loathe."

"Agreed. But it is a possibility to keep in mind. He has been known to recruit other vampires to do his dirty work."

They pulled up in front of the construction site and were relieved to see it abandoned. They didn't know how they would explain their nosing about to a bunch of construction workers.

"Let us hope." Giles pulled back a loose part in the fence, holding it for Willow, before crawling in after her.

Looking at the blueprint Xander had drawn earlier, Willow moved in the direction of where one set of symbols had been made.

"Well, it's still here," Willow commented, looking down at the burned markings on the ground. It was easy to see how the lines could be mistaken for spray paint, but upon closer inspection, it was obvious to one trained in the use of magicks that these were the remainder of markings burned into the earth.

"What could do that?" Willow asked. She knew the markings were left by fire, but she wasn't sure what would have to have been burned.

"Most likely the symbols were laid out with an herbal mixture. Traditionally the herbs would then be lit as a chant was being performed." Giles informed her, kneeling next to the markings, careful not to touch them.

"It would appear so. Now we need to determine what ritual was performed so that we will know how to combat whatever is thrown at us."

"Do you know what it says now that you can see the markings up close and personal?"

"They appear to be a more modern dialect. If I'm not mistaken, the letters in English would be: V-H-U."

Willow and Giles had been so absorbed in studying the burn markings before them that they had failed to notice that the sun had set and the site was now being illuminated by streetlights.

Slowly they turned around to find half a dozen vampires, all wearing the same symbols on their chests in full game face. Giles stood and pulled Willow into his arms.

"Vampires have healers? And you've unionized?" Willow couldn't help asking, the idea too bizarre to believe.

"Of course we do, and have," the leader said condescendingly. "Just like any other creature, we sometimes require a bit of additional healing that our bodies cannot provide themselves."

Giles was sufficiently intrigued to lessen his fear of the situation. "Healers?" he questioned. "You use magicks to heal others of your kind?"

"As do you," one of the other healers confirmed, nodding his head in Willow's direction.

Willow couldn't help looking down at her, magically enhanced, healing hip. In awe, she whispered, "You can tell I've been using magick to speed my recovery?"

"Have you always been in Sunnydale," Giles asked, wondering how this Union could have existed right under his nose without his knowledge.

"And you were needed here," Willow surmised. "Why now? Wouldn't you constantly be needed here on the Hellmouth?"

"With a slayer present, there really isn't much for us to do. There is no need for healing once becoming dust."

The humans spun around to find Spike leaning against a pile of two by fours, a freshly lit cigarette hanging from between his lips.

Remembering the vampires who were now behind them, the couple shifted around so that they could see both Spike and the Healers.

"*I* am not up to anything," Spike drawled. "Would I be in need of healers if I was?"

Spike simply rolled his eyes in answer and took a drag off his cigarette. "Sit down kiddies, let uncle Spike tell you a story." He paused for dramatic effect. "Fine, don't sit. So there I was, minding my own business, watching the slayer." When Giles looked like he was about to interrupt, Spike cut him off. "Don't get your panties in a twist, Watcher. I'm a vampire; it's what I do.

Like I was saying, there I was, standing around minding my own business, when I get ambushed by these military blokes. Shoot me full of electricity and knock me out they did. Where do I wake up? Some bleeding cell in a demon lab. Well, let me tell you, William the Bloody is no lab rat. Tricked them I did. I made it out of there with guns on my heels."

"That's all very exciting, but where do these fellows come in?" Giles interrupted, not at all impressed the bleached vampire's escape.

"I'm getting to it," Spike snarled. "Right, so I get away and head straight for the campus, knowing the slayer was behind my captivity. Just my luck, no one was home. I was starving, I hadn't eaten in who knows how long while I was knocked out. It was easy getting invited into some co-ed's room …your generation is really so friendly, Red. Well, you can imagine my surprise when I go in for the kill only to be stopped by the worst bloody headache I've ever had the displeasure to experience. Didn't take long to figure out that those commandos had done something to me while I was their unwilling guest."

"Yeah, I'd heard about the VHU back when I was trying to figure out how to cure Dru," Spike answered. "I gave them a chant and here they are."

"A-and you fixed whatever it was that made Spike unable to bite?" Giles nervously asked.

"What was it?" Willow asked, her natural curiosity getting the better of her. "What made you unable to bite?"

Willow eyes widened, equally appalled and curious. She was a computer geek after all. "The 'commandos' found a way to modify your behavior with a computer chip?"

"Fascinating," she exhaled. Noticing the golden eyes staring at her and the low pitched growling directed at her she was quick to add, "Wrong, but fascinating nevertheless."

"Willow, love, don't drool over the technology in front of the vampires, please." Giles whispered in her ear.

"Well, look at this," Spike drawled. "Looks like Daddy's been acting rather unpaternal."

"Yeah, I must." He licked a canine. Unabashedly running his eyes over Willow, taking in her use of a cane, he continued. "Can't say as I blame ya. Better to catch 'em while they're young and weak, easier to train that way."

Spike sucked in an unneeded breath, not liking the comparison. Seeing he wouldn't ruffle Giles, he turned on Willow. "So I take it wolf-boy dropped you. Can't see you leaving the mutt for the geezer." Spike smirked as the color rose on Willow's face.

"You leave him out of this," she fumed. "Yes, Oz is gone. And I couldn't be happier. I have Giles now and I couldn't imagine my life without him."

"There's no need to defend ourselves to him," Giles said comfortingly, knowing now was not the time or the place for an altercation with the blond menace. "We've discovered what we came for, lets go home."

"You're right," Willow blew out a breath, calming herself. "I believe we have unfinished business at home anyway."

"That's right, go home and snog your girl," Spike leered. "Nothing more here to concern yourself with."

"I assume that you will be leaving town now?" Giles directed his question to the lead healer, who had been watching the scene with amusement.

"Not just yet. Spike may not be the only vampire who has been so violated. We shall remain until we are certain we are no longer needed."

"We are not here to cause trouble," the leader assured them. "We are healers, not fighters."

"Oh, um, if you're sticking around, do you think you could find somewhere else to do your rituals?" Willow nervously asked. "It's just, the construction crew had to shut down today to try to remove the symbols and my friend is on the crew…"

"The energies here are perfect for what needed to be done," the leader informed Willow.

"Yeah, but this is the Hellmouth. Shouldn't there be strong energies other places too? There are some nice clearings in the woods on the edge of town. If you need big spaces and natural materials then what could be better than being out in nature?"

"Thank you." The leader made a small bow of acceptance and dismissal. He gestured to the others and led them away.

"Not me," Spike spoke up. "I plan on stickin' around and causing all kinds of mayhem. Just you wait."

"I wouldn't be too sure 'bout that, Red." Spike sauntered towards her. "Seeing as how I plan on gettin' even with the slayer for my bein' captured, I think you'll start to care."

"Well then I'll tell Buffy to feel free to dust you at first sight," she innocently grinned.

"Spike, you've done what you came for. If you're finished gloating and strutting about, we have…things to return to." Giles put his arm around Willow's waist and ushered her back to the car.

"Willy's was a bust," Buffy announced as she and Xander entered Giles' apartment. "All the little weasel would say is that they're not here to hurt anyone. As if."

"How would you know that?" The slayer asked, glaring menacingly at her watcher, taking a small degree of satisfaction in his backwards step.

"They're healers," Willow added, leaning against Giles to offer him some moral support.

Now Willow looked nervous too. She glanced up at Giles, wondering if they should say who was healed. "A vampire," she vaguely said. "They used the site because of the natural materials and the open space. I asked them to move any future rituals to the woods at the edge of town."

"Any vampire in particular," Buffy asked, knowing her friends were keeping something from her. They obviously knew who was healed, and why magick was needed to do it.

"Sure," Willow admitted. "One who had been captured and had a computer chip put in his brain so that he couldn't bite people anymore."

"What aren't you telling me?" the blonde asked, throwing her hands up in frustration. She spun to look at Willow, "They can do that? Make vampires not able to bite?"

"Yep," the hacker agreed, grinning widely. "I wish they'd saved the chip. I would have loved to study it."

"The vamp must have hated that. Not being able to feed." Xander grinned, having no issues with frustrating the vampire population.

"Yeah, that's why Spike called on the VHU to take it out." Willow slapped a hand over her mouth as she realized what she'd said.

Willow looked up at Giles, panic etched into her face. He took pity on her and confirmed, "Yes, Spike is the vampire who had been neutered."

Buffy and Xander broke out in a fit of laughter, as if they'd just been told the best joke in the world.

As she tried to catch her breath, Buffy panted, "Spike, William the Bloody, couldn't bite. Man, I wish I could have seen that."

When Xander put together the information about the healers and Spike he paled. "But it's gone now? He can bite again? With all kinds of anger and aggression to work out?"

They were all silent for a minute as they contemplated the dangers of Spike out for revenge against humanity.

"I guess it's time to finally dust the blond wonder once and for all," Buffy finally said.

"They said they would stay in town until they were certain their services were no longer needed," Giles said. "Spike may not have been the only vampire who was so incapacitated."

"Well, okay then," Buffy nodded, hoping to she'd be able to get them to provoke her.

Willow had sought them out one evening to ask if they could tell her whether or not the strengthening spell was working. After much convincing, the leader agreed to read Willow's aura and determined that her hip was indeed knitting faster than it should be. Willow squealed in joy and ran home to make an appointment with her doctor with many thanks to the VHU.

Several days later Buffy drove Willow to the doctor's office. Willow insisted that she wanted her friend to drive her, despite Buffy's knuckle-whitening driving skills.

Willow sat nervously on the examination table, awaiting the doctor's return with her newest x-rays.

"This doesn't make any sense," Dr. Ashman muttered as he opened and closed the door to Willow's room.

Worry immediately flooded Willow's face. "Is something wrong with the x-rays?" she asked, wishing she'd asked Buffy to come in with her.

"What?" the doctor distracted asked. Realizing he'd spoken his thoughts aloud, he quickly apologized. "No, nothing to worry about. Quite the contrary." He put the x-ray on the backlit board. "See here, this is where the pins are. Usually at this stage we still see obvious fracture lines, but here you can see this area of calcification," the doctor trailed a finger over a more brightly lit area on the bone, "indicating there's been far more healing than we usually see at this stage, post-operatively. Remarkable," he muttered.

Willow enthusiastically nodded her head. "Yes, there's hardly any pain at all anymore. I'm still using my little cushion and the cane, because I'm still kinda stiff, but it doesn't really hurt." Willow paused to look down and blush. "I've even tried using the stairs in the apartment and I can almost do them normally."

"I know, but it wasn't hurting," Willow quickly tried to explain. "Besides, you had said that stairs would be a test of healing, so I was testing myself."

"And if you weren't going through this remarkably speedy recovery you could have seriously hampered your recovery." Dr. Ashman looked down at her.

"But can I…I mean am I ready…Is my body…" Willow struggled with the words she desperately wanted to ask her doctor. Finally she whispered, "When I can I have sex?"

Years of being in the medical profession had steeled Dr. Ashman for questions of this nature, no longer causing him to fidget nervously and/or blush. He could understand the desire for physical intimacy, especially when knowing you can't have it.

"Let's do a few more tests before I give you a green light on that," he offered.

"We'll meet with your physical therapist, and if I see with my own eyes that you appear to be in no discomfort then I will caution you to be careful, but to proceed."

"Don't thank me yet. Let me call down to the training room and we'll see if we can schedule a time for later this week."

Dr. Ashman chuckled. "I have other appointments this afternoon, Willow. As I'm sure your PT does. You've waited this long, a few more days won't kill you."

Two days after her appointment with Dr. Ashman, Willow met him, and her PT for additional tests. She had waited to do her strengthening spell until an hour before her appointment to make sure she passed her tests with flying colors.

They had her do resistance tests, weight lifting tests, bending exercises, and finally the test of all tests, the Stairmaster. Willow patiently and diligently performed each new exercise, easily completing each task as desired.

When she returned from changing back into her street clothes, the doctor and physical therapist were deep in conversation. Cautiously, she approached them.

"Well," Dr. Ashman slowly began, "For some reason that I can not fathom, your body seems to have healed itself in half of the time that I expected. I would caution you to continue to take things slowly, but I don't see any reason to delay intimate relations."

This time Willow impulsively wrapped her arms around the doctor, hugging him tightly for several seconds before regaining her composure. "Thank you so much, Dr. Ashman."

"I didn't do anything," he denied. "It's your body that worked overtime to heal itself. I don't know what you were doing at home, but keep it up."

Before she had a chance to leave, Dr. Ashman cautioned, "Willow, pardon me for saying this, but even though I said it should be okay for you to resume intimate relations, I need to caution you to be careful. Your hip, despite its apparent health, is still mending. You should try not to put undue pressure on it. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Willow was blushing furiously by now. "Yeah, I think so." She lowered her voice and leaned in closer to whisper in his ear. "You're suggesting I should be on top."

Dr. Ashman needed to clear his throat before he was able to nod his agreement. "Ah, yes."

She picked up her bag and would have skipped down the hallway if the doctor hadn't been watching her. Instead she settled for walking with a bounce in her step to meet Buffy. They had some serious planning to do.

In anticipation of a positive outcome of Willow's tests, Buffy had booked them an afternoon of pampering at the one and only spa in town. They got facials, manicures, pedicures, leg and bikini waxings, and massages.

They discussed the best possible ways to tell Giles what the doctor had said. Buffy, pretending that it wasn't her watcher they were talking about, suggested not telling him anything and simply jumping his bones when Willow walked in the door. As tempting as that sounded to the redhead, she thought something a bit more romantic was in order.

Despite all of the relaxing they were doing, Willow was internally a jangled bunch of nerves. Not only was there the lingering concern that she didn't want to do anything to damage her hip, but she was going to make love with Giles. It was something she had always fantasized about, even before she had a practical understanding of what sex involved. While she hoped his body ached for hers as much as hers did him, there was that girlish fear that when the time came he wouldn't want to. If that was the case, she'd just have to convince him, she thought, an impish grin spreading across her face.

Willow entered the apartment through the back door, alone. Buffy knew better than to attempt to come inside with the amount of sexual energy radiating off her best friend. As she neared the living room she could hear music. Her eyes opened wide when she saw Giles sitting on the couch, playing a guitar.

Giles was so absorbed in practicing his song, humming along softly to it, that he hadn't heard Willow enter the apartment. He knew her appointment with her doctor and physical therapist was today and he was dying to know how it had gone. He'd gone so far as to pull his old guitar from the back of a closet in order to calm his nerves.

He'd always found music to be a wonderful way to focus his nervous energy. Instead of fidgeting he plucked the strings, lovingly coaxing favorite songs out of the instrument. He'd been so busy in the last several months that he hadn't had time to practice, but today he strongly felt the need for some consolation from his old friend.

"That's beautiful," Willow said, interrupting his train of thought. "I didn't know you played."

"Nonsense," Willow contradicted. She entered the room and sat down next to Giles on the couch. "You were playing wonderfully. The song sounded familiar, what was it?"

Giles was nervous about playing for Willow as he usually only played alone, but she was looking at him with such love and trust that he found himself unable to deny her. "All right."

Willow sat back against the arm of the couch so that she could watch Giles as he played for her.

Memories of watching Oz play flitted through Willow's mind. She had spent countless hours watching him practice with the other Dingoes or on stage at the Bronze. But she couldn't remember him ever sitting down to play for just her. Maybe it was because he was a guitarist and not the singer for the band. She wouldn't have cared if his voice had been terrible though, so long as it was directed at her.

But Giles, her Rupert, was singing for her and her alone. He was sharing with her his voice and his music, which she could see he liked to keep to himself. Heck, she had been living with him for two months and she'd had no idea he knew how to play the guitar, let alone so well or with such confidence.

It was Willow's sigh of contentment that drew Giles' eyes to her face as he broke off the song. He hadn't allowed himself to watch her as he'd bared his soul, instead closing his eyes, concentrating on the notes and words.

Giles had to swallow around the sudden lump in his throat at the look on Willow's face. It was a radiant mixture of surprise, happiness, love and lust.

"You have a beautiful voice," she huskily whispered, licking her suddenly dry lips.

Willow shook her head. "He always said that he was only good when playing with the others. He also said he couldn't sing, and what's the point of playing just the guitar parts without the words."

"Lucky for you," Willow grinned, sliding next to her current boyfriend. "And me."

"No," Giles softly said, running a hand through Willow's hair. "I haven't played for a woman since before I left England."

Willow grinned, unbelievably happy with that idea. It was selfish she knew, but this was her man and right now she didn't want to think about anyone else hearing his voice so full of love and music as she just had.

Willow finally gave in to temptation and gently pressed her lips against Giles'. She slowly moved her lips against his, savoring the feel of them against her own. His mouth was soft and pliable, welcoming her teasing pressure.

Giles groaned into the sensual kiss. He wanted to pull Willow closer, take control and ravage her mouth, but he was enjoying this kiss way too much to change it. Even so, he managed to pull Willow onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her body.

Willow was surprised to realize she was now sitting on top of Giles instead of next to him when she pulled back so that they could take a couple of deep breaths, but she wasn't about to complain. When she kissed him again she allowed her tongue to tease his mouth open before finally sliding inside to mate with Giles'.

Giles' hands caressed every inch of Willow's back from her silky hair to her luscious bottom. On one upward trek he slipped his hands beneath her shirt, reveling in the feeling of heated flesh against his hands. Willow moaned into his mouth at the touch as well.

"He said I should be on top." Willow wriggled on his lap, just in case he had any doubts as to what the doctor had meant.

Once the look of shock faded from Giles' face a slow, sexy grin took its place. His body relaxed as tension of a different kind overtook him. When he spoke, his accent was thickened with desire, "Did he now?"

"Well, not in so many words…" Willow trailed off with a blush, her hands stilling on his chest. Even though she knew she was about to have sex with Giles, she still felt embarrassed to talk about it with him. "He said that, for some strange reason, my hip seems to have healed in half the time it should have. He said that it should be fine to… resume intimate relations, but he cautioned me not to put undue pressure on it."

"Um, yeah," Willow ducked her head, a little embarrassed for her brazen comment.

Sensing Willow's embarrassment, and wanting to return her to her playful mood, Giles raised her face to meet his eyes. "I don't think that will be a problem," he told her, claiming her mouth with a passionate kiss.

Willow felt her reservations wash away under the intensity of the kiss. A small part of her still feared that now that they were able to make love that Giles wouldn't want to. Or that he would want to wait until he could be on top. The fact that he seemed even more turned on, if the bulge digging into her thigh was any indication, only fueled her ardor.

The next time they separated for air, Willow couldn't help saying, "If you don't want to do this now, we can wait."

"Do you want to wait?" Giles asked, disappointment entering his eyes before he could stop it, the idea never having entered his mind.

"Goddess, no; but I've had more time to get used to the idea. I didn't want to seem all demanding with a 'since we can, let's jump into bed now' behavior."

"Willow, it feels like I've been waiting years for this moment, no further delay is necessary." To emphasize his point, Giles slipped an arm under Willow's knees and stood. He swiftly headed towards Willow's bedroom, his guitar forgotten on the coffee table.

The second Willow was on her feet, she attacked Giles' shirt, inwardly cursing his choice of a button-down shirt today of all days. Giles chuckled at her enthusiasm, catching her hands in his before she pulled a button off in her haste. He brought their joined hands up to his lips, lightly kissing her knuckles in response to her glare.

"Not wanting to delay doesn't mean that we need to rush," he told her. "I don't want our first time making love to be a quick shag. Let me love you as you deserve to be."

Willow nodded her head, unable to find words as her mind filled with images of Giles slowly loving her. Her heartbeat quickened as she relaxed her posture, waiting to see what he had in mind.

Seeing her compliance, Giles returned Willow's hands to his shirt, whispering against her lips, "Slowly," just before lightly pressing his lips against hers. His lips were soft, gently teasing Willow's. She opened her mouth in invitation, but he ignored it, for now. Instead, he took her bottom lip between his, gently sucking and nibbling it with his teeth.

Willow moaned at the gentle assault that was quickly turning her knees to jelly. Instead of completing the unbuttoning of Giles shirt, her hands splayed against the bit of chest she'd already uncovered, leaning against him for support.

Giles' arms were wrapped securely around Willow, helping to keep her upright. He loved that she was virtually putty in his hands. He loved that he was able to turn this amazing, strong woman into a puddle of goo with a few words and gentle touches. As much as he wanted to take it slowly, his body's need to be inside Willow was quickly taking control, and he decided to move things along.

Giles moved his kisses down to Willow's neck, finding that sensitive spot behind her ear. He felt her shudder in response and grinned against her skin. His hands found the hem of Willow's shirt and he lifted it up and over her head. When he lowered his head again, he began to cover her shoulders with kisses.

The cool air against her heated flesh did wonders for refocusing Willow's attention. She realized that Giles had succeeded in removing her top and she had yet to do the same to him. She returned to her task of sliding each button from its hole, in part to remove the offending garment, but also as a means to distract herself from Giles' wonderful mouth exploring her skin.

She finally opened all the buttons she could reach, and pulled the shirttails out of Giles' pants to reach the last couple of ones. Once free, she slid her blunt, newly manicured nails up his furry chest, from belt to shoulders in order to push the material down his arms.

Willow slid her hands back up his arms and around his back to grasp his shoulders from behind. She placed a kiss on his sternum before altering her course and taking one of his nipples into her mouth.

Giles hissed in pleasure at her warm mouth covering his nipple. His hands sought out the catch on Willow's bra, growing frustrated when he wasn't finding it by touch. Willow giggled against his chest as she reached up and opened the front clasp and shrugged out of her bra.

"Sorry," Willow apologized, clearly not. Running her hand along his waistband, she began to unbuckle his belt. "Let me make it up to you?"

"Hmm, not just yet." With greater speed than Willow could have predicted possible, Giles lifted her and set her on the bed, capturing one of her breasts in his mouth.

Giles wanted to grin, but his lips were otherwise occupied, conforming to Willow's breast. His tongue alternately flicked its point against her pebbled nipple and lapped at the surrounding flesh. Willow's fingers wound into his hair, holding him close, encouraging his actions.

He only spent a couple of minutes worshiping this breast before switching to the other one, paying it equal homage.

As much as Willow loved the feeling of Giles' mouth on her breasts, it was a feeling she had experienced before. Having had hours to fantasize about this final joining, she was ready for him. While Giles was distracted nibbling a taught nipple, Willow slid her hands down his back, under the waistband of his pants, and around to the front where she resumed unbuckling his belt.

When Giles realized his fly was open he pulled back to look up at Willow. Taking advantage of his curiosity, Willow pushed him over onto his back and stood, reaching for the waistband of his pants. Giles kicked off his shoes when he realized what Willow was doing, then lifted his hips to make it easier for her to pull his pants and boxers down.

Once Giles was lying gloriously naked on the bed, Willow took two steps back and kicked off her sandals. She teasingly unbuttoned and unzipped her shorts, shimmying out of them. Her panties quickly followed.

Giles was on his back, propped up on his elbows, blatant hunger in his eyes. Willow's eyes pulled away from his, skimming over his firm chest, down to his bobbing erection. Even though she had seen and played with it before, knowing that it would soon be inside her as it was meant to be sent shivers of anticipation down her spine. Unconsciously, she stepped forward, hand outstretched, to feel the hard flesh again.

When Willow broke eye contact, Giles took the opportunity to lovingly admire the curves of the redhead's body he so loved. Her hair was slightly disheveled from their earlier play, her lips were full from their kisses, her breasts were full and tipped with puckered nipples. Traveling down her body, Giles admired her flat stomach and, hello, her manicured mound. 'So that's where she was after her appointment,' he silently mused, admiring the trimmed triangle of red hair above Willow's sex. He was so transfixed on her newly-styled thatch that he didn't notice Willow had moved closer until her warm hand wrapped around his cock.

Giles hissed in pleasure when Willow took him in her hand, stoking him lightly a couple of times. He knew he wouldn't last long, just the knowledge of finally making love to Willow having him hard and ready for her.

Willow couldn't contain the blush his forward words raised. She loved when he licked her, but to have him ask for it was still shocking. Even though she was ready to simply climb on top of him and sink onto his cock, she also couldn't resist the call of Giles' mouth on her. She climbed onto the bed, straddling Giles face and grabbed a hold of the headboard for the support she knew she was going to need.

Giles ran his hands up Willow's smooth legs, following the crease where her thighs met her pelvis and around to rest on her bum. He pulled her down until he could run his tongue along her slit – one long lap along her outer lips before dipping underneath.

He moaned in pleasure at the wetness he found already waiting. He was relieved that it wouldn't take nearly as long to prepare her as he'd thought. Moving one hand back around, he easily slid first one and then two fingers inside her, his tongue attacking her clit.

Willow held herself as still as possible, not wanting to move too quickly. It was a difficult task when the feeling of Giles' fingers and mouth were rapidly driving her insane. She bit her lip to try to stave off her impending release, failing miserably just a couple of minutes later when she cried out, "Goddess, Giles," as her climax flooded Giles' face.

Giles lifted Willow so that she was now sitting dazedly next to him on the bed. It pleased him that she was so turned on already that he was able to bring her to climax so quickly. Taking advantage of her daze, Giles slipped off the bed to wipe his face and retrieve a small foil packet from the dresser.

Willow was vaguely aware that Giles had moved from the bed, but she was still high from the endorphins that were released during her orgasm to care yet. When she came back to herself, he was lying on his side, stroking her hair.

"Oh, I'm here," Willow responded. "You're amazing." She kissed him briefly. "Where'd you go?"

Giles held up the condom in answer. "Good thinking," she mumbled, not having thought that far ahead, and definitely not wanting to get pregnant.

"Well, thinking rather is my specialty, isn't it," Giles teased. "Are you certain you're ready for this?"

Willow let her eyes travel over his body one more time and despite her recent orgasm, her body surged with desire. "Absolutely," she breathed.

Giles quickly opened the packet and rolled the condom over his straining erection. Then he took Willow's hands and guided her over his body. With one hand on her hip and the other holding the base of his cock, Giles helped ease himself inside of Willow.

Willow balanced herself on with one hand on Giles' chest and the other holding onto his arm that was bracing her (uninjured) hip. Slowly, she lowered herself, inch by inch, until he was fully inside her. They both sighed when Willow rested against Giles' thighs.

After a moment of adjustment, Giles began to lift Willow, setting a comfortable pace. She caught onto his rhythm and took over the movement of her body so that Giles could concentrate on lifting his hips to meet her halfway. Their eyes locked, light green focusing on dark, lust matching desire, love matching love.

Giles sat up, capturing Willow's mouth in a fiery kiss. His tongue thrust into her mouth in time with his hips' frantic thrusts up into Willow.

Willow held onto Giles tightly, wanting to say something, but having no words for the incredible pleasure she was feeling. She eagerly returned his kiss, expressing herself through her body what she couldn't say aloud.

When he pulled back for air, Giles panted, "Are you all right? Is there any pain?"

"Pain? Never heard of it," Willow grinned, nipping at his earlobe. "All I feel is like I'm gonna cum again."

"That's good, as I'm rather close myself," Giles admitted. With one more brief, yet passionate kiss, Giles lay back down in order to get better leverage of their bodies.

Willow also slightly altered her movements so that her clit was now rubbing against him with every thrust. Her hands were once again resting against Giles' chest, her nails pulling at the hairs covering his skin. She began to pant as she felt herself nearing the edge again.

Giles tried to keep his grip on her hips light. He could feel his sac tightening as his movements became more disjointed. Finally with a several short jerks, he roared, "Jeez… Willow."

She didn't hear him as she was caught in her own cries of release, her muscles clamping down on Giles, squeezing him as if she were never going to release him. Her head fell down to rest on the sweaty chest beneath her as the last ripples of her orgasm ran through her.

Giles wanted to lift his hand to stroke the head that was suddenly on his chest, but found that it wouldn't listen to him. Instead, it remained a dead weight on Willow's hip. When he realized he was beginning to soften, Giles reluctantly urged Willow off of him in order to dispose of the condom.

Willow didn't want to move… ever. She was sated and in the arms of, okay, on top of, the man she loved. She groaned in disappointment when she felt Giles' hands lifting her up again, but she helped him nevertheless. With a pout she sat up until Giles slipped from her body, then rolled onto her side.

Giles reluctantly got up to tie off and toss the condom before turning to rejoin Willow on the bed. The sight of her lying sweaty, sated, and waiting for him, filled him with a contentment he had never known before.

Giles slid into bed behind Willow, who had her eyes closed. He pulled a blanket up over them before making himself comfortable, slipping one of his legs between hers and wrapping an arm around her waist.

"You're perfect," he corrected. "I love you Willow, more than I ever thought possible."

Willow tiredly lifted the hand that was around her waist to her mouth. She kissed it before putting it back. "Love you too. Go sleepy now."

"An excellent idea," Giles sighed. He snuggled in closer to his lover, a smile gracing his face at how appropriate the word now was.

Giles woke several hours later, wrapped around Willow, who was still sound asleep. A small smile of wonder crossed his face as the events of the afternoon replayed themselves in his head.

He and Willow had made love… and it had been perfect. Willow had been playful and nervous and incredibly sexy.

Giles had to suppress a chuckle, remembering her declaration that she should be on top. As if he would pass up the opportunity to watch Willow's beautiful, lithe body ride him, watching as her pert breasts danced before his eyes, begging for attention…

He had also been relieved that she hadn't balked when he'd produced the condom. Despite having lived a life of sexual inhibition in his "reckless youth," Giles knew better than to take such risks anymore. He cared for Willow far too much to risk getting her pregnant. Her body was in no state to carry a child. Although, for the first time in his life, Giles could imagine starting a family of his own – with the woman in his arms.

The pressure on his bladder, and the slight rumble from his stomach finally convinced Giles to pull himself from the body intertwined with his. He pulled the pillow from beneath his head and slipped it between Willow's legs as he removed his. He paused as Willow shifted, but didn't wake, before rolling out of bed. He grabbed his robe off the hook on the back of the door before heading to the bathroom.

In the kitchen, Giles debated making a lavish meal, knowing Willow would wake just as hungry as he had. Not knowing how long she would sleep, he opted for making a couple of sandwiches. He ate his quickly in the kitchen, famished as he was. Then he carried a plate with Willow's sandwich, along with a glass of milk, back to Willow's room.

Willow was still asleep, bless her heart. Although she was now wearing a slight frown, as if she knew he was no longer next to her.

Giles set the food on the night table and stole a look at the dresser. With a foolish grin and a shake of his head he crossed to the dresser and removed the box of condoms hidden inside.

He knew it was presumptuous to think that Willow would want to make love again so soon. Her body may be too exhausted, or sore, to go again just yet. A man could hope though.

Giles set the condoms next to the food and slipped off his robe, hanging it back up before crawling back into bed with his love. Sliding behind Willow, he resumed the position he had woken in; replacing his leg between Willow's legs, removing the pillow, his arm wrapping around Willow, his hand lightly cupping one of her breasts.

Willow's eyes slowly drifted open and a wide, satisfied smile spread across her face. She could feel Giles pressed against her back, his thumb was lightly caressing her breast, the hairs on his thigh were tickling hers, and she could feel his half-formed erection against her butt. She turned her head to find him watching her.

"Hello, yourself." Giles turned his head slightly to kiss her palm. "How are you feeling?"

"Only if you are," Giles seriously said. "I never want to make you feel pressured. It's not my fault you keep me in a constant state of arousal," he teased.

When they separated, Giles panted, "Well, in that case…" He turned and grabbed a condom off the bedside table.

"Plan ahead did we?" Willow giggled, happy to see Giles so excited to be with her again.

Willow started to pull away to move onto her knees, but Giles' hand on her hip stayed her.

Giles silenced her with a hungry kiss, trailing his hand down her abdomen and between her thighs to dip his fingers beneath her folds. He lightly stroked her clit, sliding two fingers inside her. Breaking the kiss, Giles continued to stimulate her.

"No," Willow moaned, thrusting her hips back against him. She was always amazed at how quickly he could arouse her.

"Yes," Willow said, the word nearly lost in the hitch of her breath. She whimpered at the loss of Giles' hand when he withdrew it, but she could feel him moving around behind her, fitting himself with a condom. She was really going to have to get back on the pill soon so he could stop fiddling with those things. She made a mental note to call her gynecologist first thing in the morning.

All further thought was promptly put on hold when Giles lifted her leg a bit more as he scooted down the bed a bit and positioned himself at her entrance. Willow took a deep breath as Giles slowly rocked his hips against hers. With each roll of his hips he slipped a little farther into her body. Willow released the breath she was holding on a hiss when Giles was fully embedded inside her warmth.

Giles lowered his head to kiss Willow's shoulder, keeping his hips still, needing a moment to regain control of his body. Willow was just as tight as she had been earlier; perhaps more so due to their current position.

Willow pressed her hips back into Giles, eager to get on with it. Her hand slipped back to run over his hip and ass. She felt the cheek clench as Giles began to move again. Turning her head back to Giles', Willow recaptured his mouth in a slow, sensuous kiss.

Their movements were slow, almost languid. The desperation of their earlier lovemaking was completely absent now. Instead, they slowly teased each other's bodies towards climax. Everything, every movement – from their deep kisses, to their wandering hands, to rocking hips – was a gentle stoking of the fire between them. Giles' hand eventually found its way back between Willow's thighs, his fingers stroking and pinching her clit at the same, slow pace as the rest of their lovemaking.

Willow felt the pressure building inside of her. Giles had done a wonderful job of teasing her body to readiness, and ready she was. Each gentle touch, each stroke of his tongue against hers, each brush of his fingers against her clit, made her body tremble with need. She wanted to push away from him as the stimulation became almost too much; she wanted to pull him closer, press back against him harder, in order to push her body over the edge. She began to whimper into Giles' mouth at the sheer need she felt.

Giles chased Willow's tongue back into her mouth as she whimpered again. He knew her whimpers had nothing to do with pain, and everything to do with their joint need to find release. He felt it as well and groaned into her mouth. He sped up his rocking, just barely, putting greater force behind each forward movement.

The pressure finally became too much when Giles began to thrust into her with more determined strokes. Willow pulled out of the kiss in order to gasp when her body suddenly tensed. Her entire body became rigid as the dam finally burst from the delicious pressure Giles had built. Then, from her center on outward the flood was loosed, and Willow cried out, "Oh, Goddess, Rupert," her nails digging into his flesh.

Giles nearly yelped at the vice-like grip of Willow's body as she climaxed. He tried not to wince at the incredible pressure on his aching cock, instead watching Willow as her body tensed and relaxed as she found release. She was truly magnificent. The sight caused him to join her, no longer needing to hold back.

Giles rested his head against Willow's shoulder, his moist breath mingling with her sweat. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had an orgasm that intense. If his brain were working he would attribute it to the woman who seemed to be having as difficult time regaining the use of her body as he was.

It was the embarrassingly loud growl coming from Willow's stomach that finally caused the lovers to disentangle their bodies and Giles to take care of the necessities.

Giles chuckled, "I woke up hungry as well. In fact," he said, sitting up and reaching for Willow's sandwich and milk, "I brought you something."

"You made me dinner?" Willow grinned, pulling herself into a sitting position as well.

"It's just a sandwich," Giles admitted, offering her the food. Willow took the milk first, taking a long drink before finally reaching for the sandwich. "I wasn't sure how long you would sleep," Giles continued. "I wanted to make you a grand meal, but I was afraid that if you were to sleep for a while that it would get cold."

"That's okay," Willow said after a couple of bites. "This is gonna hit the spot. A big meal might just make me more sleepy."

"That it was," Giles agreed, running his hands over Willow's body, unable to resist touching her after such an intense sexual experience. "You… are… amazing."

Willow blushed, "You're weren't so bad yourself. Pretty mind-blowing actually." Ducking her head, Willow continued to eat her sandwich self-consciously as Giles watched her.

"No. I just like looking at you," Giles said, tearing his eyes from Willow's face. "I've never seen you more beautiful."

"Exactly," Giles leaned over to kiss her quickly. "You look like you've been thoroughly loved."

"I have," Willow agreed. She set the empty plate on her bedside table so that she could re-capture Giles mouth in a passionate kiss.

It was days before Willow heard a peep from her friends again. She assumed that Buffy had told Xander about the doctor's green light and they were giving her and Rupert some privacy. The new lovers were content to stay wrapped in each other's arms and bodies, feeling as if time itself had stopped to show its support of this new stage in the their relationship. Willow and Giles only left her bed to visit the bathroom and/or kitchen.

After three days of luxury they convinced themselves that they should get dressed and try to get back to working on Giles' notes. This time, however, they made no pretenses that they needed to keep their distance. They knew well enough that they were still way too physically dependant upon the other to deny themselves the other's touch. Not that they wanted to anyway. As they had learned from experience, denying themselves permission to be near one another only drew them together.

They were deep into deciphering Giles' notes when there was a hesitant knock on the door. If they hadn't been sitting near the door they might not have heard it. After exchanging a startled look, they grinned and said, "Buffy."

Willow moved to answer the door, a big grin lighting her face, knowing her best friend would be dying for answers. She was surprised to see Xander standing outside the door next to Buffy, looking equally nervous.

"Hey guys, what brings you here?" Willow asked, standing back to allow them to enter.

Peering around her, Buffy asked in a not-so-subtle whisper, "We're not interrupting anything are we?"

The look on Xander's face at what he thought he could be interrupting only made her want to tease him. She called back over her shoulder, "Rupert, Buffy and Xander are here; you might want to put some clothes on."

As hoped, her friends visibly paled until Giles joined her at the door, fully dressed. "Did you need something, dear?" he asked, wrapping Willow in his arms.

Willow closed the door behind her friends and resumed her place beside Giles at the table. "We were working," she answered, gesturing at the books and papers surrounding her laptop.

"Is there some big bad coming that I need to worry about?" Buffy asked, perching herself on the back of the couch. "Do you have a new prophecy?"

"None that occur in this century," Giles said. When met with Buffy's questioning eyes that seemed to say, 'Then what are you bothering looking at it for?' Giles turned to meet Willow's eyes. She silently told him that whatever he chose to tell the others she would support.

Clearing his throat, Giles admitted, "Willow has been helping me with a project during the time that she has been living here."

"I am writing a book," Giles announced in hopes of distracting the conversation from returning to his love life.

Buffy sighed with relief. It was bad enough being one of the oldest living slayers. But she didn't need the pressure of having her triumphs and failures, not that there were many, laid out for the world to criticize.

"Well, you know all those prophecies we've uncovered over the years that didn't seem to take place for many years, and sometimes centuries, to come?" Giles paused for them to nod their heads in acknowledgement. "Willow has been helping me to compile them into a book."

"Of course, I did." Giles said. "What would you have me do with them? Forget about them so that in fifty years when a certain prophecy is coming to pass the watcher for that slayer can scramble to find out what is happening? No, I saved all of my notes and notations with the hope that some day they could prove useful to someone."

"I caught him going over some of his notes one day after I started staying here and he told me about his idea for the book and I kinda encouraged him to actually do it." Willow looked affectionately at Giles.

"With Willow's generous offer to type up my notes on her computer, I couldn't find any reason to delay at least organizing my notes."

"So that's what you guys have been doing every time we stopped by when you weren't making with the smoochies." Xander stated.

"How's it coming?" Buffy asked, glad that Giles had found something to do with his time. Now she didn't need to feel so guilty about not calling round very often.

"Remarkably well," Giles said. "Willow's skills with that machine have been wonderful in reorganizing my notes."

"Please, don't remind us," he playfully whined before waggling his eyebrows and leering at his best friend. "So, I hear the doc gave you a clean bill of health."

"Xander!" Buffy chided him, slapping his arm. "You weren't supposed to say anything."

"First, ow. Second, why not? It's not like we don't know they'd make with the nasty as soon as they got the chance."

Still blushing, Willow said, "Yes, Xander, the doctor gave me a clean enough bill of health, and yes, we took advantage, and that's all I'm gonna say."

Giles cleared his throat, relieved at the apparent acceptance of the new stage in his relationship with Willow by their friends. "Might I ask what brings you two by today?"

"We hadn't seen you for a few days and wanted to make sure you were still alive in here," Buffy answered with a shrug. She left unsaid that they purposely stayed away to give them some 'alone time.'

"So nothing on the slayage front that we need worry about?" Willow asked, glad to have the attention drawn away from her sex life.

"Not really," Buffy sighed. "The frat-vamps seem to have closed up shop and moved on, and so has Spike. There was one thing… but I don't think it's demony."

"Well, when I was out on patrol, I crossed paths with these guys dressed all in black carrying guns. I saw them back around Halloween, but I thought they were just in costume."

"Could be," Buffy agreed. "I'm just not sure if they're anything we need to worry about though. I mean, if they're capturing vampires and making them all non-bitey, they can't be bad, right?"

"I'm with the Buffster," Xander said. "Anyone looking to do damage to the demon population has gotta be on the side of good."

"While the idea sounds wonderful, the ethics of it are rather shady," Willow hesitantly suggested.

"So you're saying that if a group of demons captured you and made it so that you couldn't eat your favorite foods anymore, that would be okay because to them you are something to be toyed with?" Giles proposed.

"Exactly," Willow agreed. "Isn't that what these commandos did to Spike? Make him unable to feed himself, regardless of the fact that his favorite food happens to be people?"

"Buffy, the next time you notice these soldiers, I want you to try to follow them, see where their base of operations is. You too Xander, keep an eye out. Willow, can you see what you can find out on the net about them?"

"Sure, but what about our project?" Willow gestured to the papers strewn about the desk.

"We can work on both of them, darling," Giles said, wrapping an arm around Willow.

Willow pouted. Leaning closer, she whispered in his ear, "But what about… you know. Our new pastime?"

"Oh, I don't think we'll have trouble finding time for that," Giles purred in her ear, capturing the lobe between his teeth, giving it a playful tug.

"Gah, stop it you two," Xander exclaimed, covering his eyes. "I don't know what you're saying, but get those looks off your faces."

"If you have a problem with our behavior in our home, you don't have to stay to watch," Giles pointed out.

With an insistent tug on Xander's sleeve, Buffy said, "C'mon Xan. I guess three days wasn't enough time."

Not looking away from Giles, Willow said, "Sorry guys, but you know how it is…"

"It's okay, Will. You two kids have fun, and don't do anything too strenuous," Buffy winked.

"Thank goodness they're gone," Giles said. Unable to resist kissing Willow any longer, he closed the small distance between them and did just that. Willow eagerly wrapped her arms around Giles and returned the kiss hungrily.

"Darling, I'm up for anything you have in mind," Giles moved her hand to rest on his growing erection. "What are you planning?"

With an impish smile and a quick kiss, Willow stood and offered her hand to Giles. "You'll see."

Giles was on his feet in a flash, placing his hand in Willow's, eager to see what she had up her sleeve. Expecting her to lead him towards her bedroom, Giles was surprised when Willow turned towards the staircase.

As she slowly started to climb the stairs, Giles remained rooted at the bottom. Willow turned back to look at him when she realized he wasn't following her.

"Are you certain? It's just, you've never been to my room before." Giles tried to explain.

"I know. I really want us to be about us, not just me and my recovery." Willow moved back down the stairs until she was eye level with Giles. "You've been amazing, spending every night for months in the guest room with me. But this is your home, and you haven't spent a single night in your bed, with your girlfriend, in two months. Well, you will no longer be a guest in your own home mister."

Giles' heart swelled at Willow's words. A small part of him still feared that she was with him because he was convenient and would no longer want to be with him when their lives returned to what went for 'normal'. Their entire courtship, for lack of a better word, had taken place on the main level of his home, Willow's bedroom their sanctuary – a place out of time and reality. Now that they once again had slayer-related research to perform and Willow was walking around virtually pain-free, instead of her pushing him away, she was leading him to his bedroom.

Giles hadn't minded that the loft was more like his closet than his boudoir for the past couple of months. He would much prefer to spend his nights asleep beside his beautiful Willow than in his cold bed. Granted, it was slightly inconvenient for when he needed to get dressed in the morning, but something that he was happy to live with.

"I-is this just for now, to do something different? Or will you be moving upstairs with me, permanently?" Giles hesitantly asked.

"I, uh, well, yes," Giles stuttered. "I can't imagine living here without you. I want to fall asleep with you in my arms every night and wake with you still there every morning. I don't want you to leave now that you don't need me anymore."

"I do need you," Willow insisted, wrapping her arms around Giles and kissing him. "It never even occurred to me that I could move out now that I'm better. I don't want to sleep without you either. I love you, Rupert. I'm not going anywhere."

"Except upstairs," Giles corrected her, a wicked gleam in his eyes. Leaning down, Giles swept Willow into his arms and began carrying her up to the loft.

"I like the sound of that," Willow sighed, resting her head against his shoulder.

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Tumbling Down

by Elisabeth

Copyright © June 2003

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