Title: Back to You
Summary: Giles and Willow come back from England.
Spoilers: Through ep 7.1, "Lessons".
Pairing: B/G, duh. We'll see if anything else happens.
Rating: At least an R by part 2! :)
Use: Want. Take. Have. Just tell me where it goes.
Disclaimer: Obviously not my characters, as I imagine we'd all be a
lot happier if they were! They're all owned by Joss the Evil, ME, UPN
and a bunch of people I don't know. I'm just borrowing them.
Feedback: Yes, please!

A voice crackled over the speaker in the plane's cabin.

"We'll be arriving in Los Angeles' LAX airport in approximately
fifteen minutes. Please make sure you're in your seats with your tray
tables put away and your seat backs up. Thank you."

"You're shaking." Giles voice was quiet.

"I'm...really nervous. Like...first day of school nervous." Willow
squeaked.

"They're still your friends."

"I know...but, well, I wouldn't be really excited to see me either.
If..if I weren't me."

"They only want to help you. You do know that?"

"Yeah. But...it's gonna be hard to face them, anyway. I killed people.
I tried to kill them."

"Well...you beat the stuffing out of me and we're still on speaking
terms."

She laughed in spite of herself. "Thanks."

"Besides," he continued, "I've been corresponding pretty regularly
with Buffy..things seem to have calmed a bit in Sunnydale."

"Buffy writes letters?"

"Well, what with the time difference and her slaying duties, it just
became easier to write. She's been worried about you."

"I miss her."

"So do I," Giles murmured softly.

"What?"

"Nothing. Buffy's done quite a bit of growing up of late...it's really
quite amazing."

"I guess we all have. Pretty much sucks."

"Well, you had to. All of you."

After the plane touched down, Willow stood to get her bag from the
overhead compartment. Then she took a deep breath, and squared her
shoulders. "Let's go."

"Buffy," Dawn snapped. "For God's sake stop fidgeting. You're creeping
me out!"

"Sorry. I guess I'm just nervous."

"She's still Willow, Buff," Xander said.

"I know."

"You never know. She could still try and kill us all again."

"Anya!"

"Sorry."

"Think she'll be very different?" Dawn asks.

"Giles says she's quieter. Kind of jumpy." Buffy answered.

"When did you talk to Giles?"

"He wrote me. Never was lots of time for phone calls. What with the
time difference and all."

"The board says they're at Gate 24. Should we head over there?" Xander
asked.

"Yes." Without waiting, Anya led the group off in that direction.
They all followed.

At the gate, it was Giles they all saw first. He
looked...different...the glasses had been removed in favor of
contacts, again, and he was dressed in a forest green sweater. There
was a sense of barely leashed power eminating from him that had never
existed when he was librarian or magic shop owner. He looked rugged,
and incredibly handsome.

Buffy felt her breath catch. They locked eyes for a long moment, and
the Slayer was actually unaware when the tiny red head appeared behind
her Watcher.

"Hi," Willow said quietly. Xander moved quickest, crushing her in a
huge hug.

"I missed you," he whispered. "I'm glad you're home."

"Thanks," she hugged him tightly.

Xander then hugged Giles briefly before returning to Willow's side.
There were hugs all around, and expressions of pleasure at being
reunited. No one mentioned Willow's descent into darkness, or said
Tara's name, and for a few moments things felt all right again. Then
an awkward pause arose, as no one was sure what to say anymore.

Giles interposed. "Ah, Buffy...why don't you help me fetch the luggage
while Xander and the others get the car? Put that super strength of
yours to use." He smiled easily at her.

"Sure."

The group split up.

Giles and Buffy walked slowly toward baggage claim. "It's good to see
you, finally." His voice was light. "Though, you were a better
correspondent than I expected you to be."

She smacked him in the shoulder. "Hey! I'd never written so many
letters before in my life!"

"I know. And I appreciated it, truly."

"It ended up being pretty fun," she smiled up at him.

They rounded a corner, and as soon as there was no chance of being
seen by the rest of the Scoobies, Giles grabbed Buffy's hand and
pulled her into an unused waiting area. He looked in her eyes, and ran
his hands over her cheeks. Then he swept her up into his arms and
kissed her throughly.

She whimpered slighly, and pulled away. Gasping. "I wanted you...I've
wanted you to do that for *months*."

He laughed, "I've wanted to do that for *years*."

"I'm so glad you're here."

"I can't believe we took so long to have a first kiss."

He kissed her again. She felt faint and gripped his shoulders tightly.

"Oh, Buffy," he murmured. "What are we doing?"

"I think...it's called falling in love?"

His eyes were dancing. "I fell a long time ago."

She smoothed his sweater. "You look so handsome."

"Why, thank you. I do try."

She sighed. "I guess...I guess we aren't going to..."

"Not yet. They're...Willow's stability.."

"I know. It's okay. I get it."

"We should get back before they miss us."

Buffy wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him once more,
passionately. "Okay. Just...I need you, Giles."

"Agreed," he smiled softly. "I shall do my best not to neglect you."
He reached into his pocket and handed her an envelope.

"A letter?" She smiled. "What for?"

"It was a long flight, and Willow slept for half of it," he shrugged.
They held hands while they waited for the bags, and let go only when
they had to.

"Stay with us instead of some lame hotel," Buffy said quietly.

"There are certain...perks...to my residing in a hotel for the time
being." He looked at her knowingly and she cracked up laughing.

"Nevermind." She grinned wickedly.

They got themselves, and all the luggage into the car, and headed back
to Sunnydale. The ride was largely quiet.They dropped Giles off at his
hotel, and Anya at her apartment building, then the remaining four
headed back to the Summers house. Xander helped Willow get upstairs
and get comfy, while Dawn ran off to Kit's house, muttering something
about a school project.

Buffy walked into the living room, settled on the couch and pulled the
letter from Giles out of her purse.

My darling Buffy,

As I write this, I'm within hours of seeing you again...and truth be
told I feel...afraid. Afraid that you'll realize that you're far too
good for me. That I'm far too old for you. That we've both gone mad.
But...the excitement that fills me when I think of seeing you, of
holding you finally, after all these months, generally cancels out the
fear.

How in the world did we get here? I suppose it's always easier to be
honest in one's writing than in one's face to face
contact..but..nevertheless...this is so very not the way that I always
imagined this would go. I was supposed to charm you, and wine and dine
you, not crack jokes on stationary from thousands of miles away. I
don't know what you saw in the me in my letters to make me worthy
of...well, anything, and I'm spectacularly grateful for it. You have
my heart, Buffy. You always have, whether you've known it or not. And
it, like the rest of me, is pretty much yours to do with as you
please.

It feels funny to write this when I'm going to see you so soon...but I
miss you, you know. When I'm away from you...it feels as though a part
of myself is missing as well. I always imagined it was some kind of
bond between Watcher and Slayer but, now, I think it's because you're
my soulmate. Which sounds utterly daft considering we haven't even
seen each other since these "feelings" were declared...but, Buffy..I
only say it now so that you will know that this, that you, are
absolutely everything to me.

All my love,
Rupert

Buffy's eyes glistened with tears and her heart was skidding rapidly
around in her chest. It took all her self control to not start jumping
up and down and screaming. It was a juvenile reaction, she knew
but...this was so...intense that she felt she had to get it out
somehow! Calming herself she picked up the phone and dialed Giles'
hotel.

She told the desk clerk that she'd like to leave a message for Rupert
Giles, and left a meeting time and the name of an out of the way
restaurant near the beach.

Running upstairs, she bumped past Xander, grinning, and thinking of
what to write in her own response, and naturally, what to wear.

"What's up with her?" Xander's face is curious. "Um...Buffy? Shouldn't
you be doing the whole Scooby thing with me and Will?"

The door of her bedroom slammed in answer.

"Something funny is SO going on here!"

**************************************

After a restful nap and a long shower, Giles picked up his messages
from his hotel's front desk, grinning as he saw a message from Buffy.
Dinner reservations. Some restaurant that he'd never heard of, way out
of town. There was a long white envelope waiting for him as well. He
opened it to find another letter from his Slayer. He wondered how
she'd managed to get it to him, but didn't dwell on it, and instead
pulled the pages out and settled on his bed to read it. He wasn't sure
why he loved that she'd continued their letter exchange, even though
he was back in America, but it touched him. Especially since, at
least for a while, they were going to have to pretend that nothing was
going on between them.

My Rupert,

It still feels weird writing that out. No matter how many times I do
it. You've just always been Giles. I mean, duh, you still are, but...I
like this, too. Makes me feel close to you. Like you're mine. Which,
by the way, you better be. I know, you probably think its dumb that I
am still writing...like you're still in England...but I like it.

Why didn't you ever tell me that you were such an amazing kisser? I
had all these things I wanted to tell you...and, well, now all I can
think about is how I want to be kissing you right now. How your mouth
feels. Tastes. Oh, God, I'm blushing right now. Thank goodness you
can't see it. I don't know how I'm going to manage to not be all over
you in front of the gang. I know that we have to...for now. For
Willow, for everything and everybody. Funny how nothing is ever
allowed to be about us. What we need. So, I guess that's why I'm still
writing. Because I'm afraid that..I don't know, you'll get the wrong
idea or something because I have to act a certain part.

When I saw you....I felt like I stopped breathing. This is so real for
me, Giles. I was nervous, before you got here. That...that everything
between us was something that we could only have on paper. When you
kissed me...I knew. It's the most incredible feeling.

Okay. Going to stop right here, and get dressed. 'Cause rather than
writing you, I'd really rather be kissing you. Among other things.
Telling the gang I'm going patrolling, then giving you an update when
I'm done, so we're covered for tonight.

Don't be late. I love you.
Buffy

He smiled as he put the letter away. He'd read it twice over already.
His hands shook slightly, and his heart was thudding loudly.

"I haven't felt this nervous since I was a lad," he whispered. He
threw a hurried glance around the room and made sure that it looked
suitably romantic.

He dressed as quickly as possible, and headed out to find this
restaurant.

"Dawn! Xander! Willow!" Buffy called.

"Yeah?" Dawn hollered back.

"Where is everybody?"

"Willow took Xander to some wicca group thing the coven recommended. I
think it's like AA for witches."

"I'm going patrolling. Gonna be okay on your own?"

"Yeah," Dawn replied. She took in her sisters black pants and sparkly
top. "Aren't you awfully dressed up to go kill things?"

"Well, bait. Look helpless, they will come."

"Be careful, kay? Hi to Giles."

"Sure will." She walked out. Buffy showed admirable reserve until she
was out of sight of the house. Then she actually bounced. Embarassed,
she caught a cab.

The second Giles caught site of Buffy, a grin spread over his face. He
walked toward her slowly.

"Hey," she said softly. She took his hand.

"Buffy," his voice was shaky. "You look...God, you look beautiful."

"Thanks." She smiled up at him. "You don't look half bad yourself."
She smoothed his tie.

They stood looking at each other for a minute. They said nothing. Then
Giles laughed.

"Oh, love, I'm sorry. I'm...a bit..overwhelmed."

"Me, too. It's weird. But...not in a bad way. In a this is changing my
life kind of way."

"Something like that." She stepped into his arms eagerly. He brushed
his mouth over hers gently. "Do you still want dinner?"

"Oh, I want a lot of things."

"Naughty, naughty, Miss Summers."

"To be honest...can we just take a walk on the beach for awhile? I
really...I just want to be alone with you."

"Not going to argue with that, am I?" he smiled.

They walked in silence for a while, hands clasped. Buffy leaned
against his arm. "It's beautiful out here," she whispered.

"Perfect," he said hoarsely.

Suddenly, Buffy kicked her shoes off. "C'mon." She yanked him toward
the water.

"What are we doing?"

"Getting rid of this stupid tension." She shoved him into the surf.

He came up laughing, and splashed her playfully. "I'll have you know
it's bloody cold in here."

"I'm going to ruin these pants, aren't I?" she grinned.

"Oh, sod your pants," Giles growled, yanking her to his chest, pulling
her with him into the chest-deep water. Then he kissed her, slowly and
deeply. His tongue slipped into her mouth, and his hands cupped her
face.

Buffy moaned softly, wrapping her arms tighter around his neck. The
tension and nervousness had disappeared. She felt like she had come
home.

"I love you," she whispered. "So, so love you."

Giles trailed kisses down the side of her neck. "I love you too, dear
heart."

She ran her hand down his torso. "Show me." She pushed his jacket off
his shoulders into the water.

"What?"

"You heard me." She loosened his tie.

Giles caught her hands in one of his and kissed her hungrily. With his
free hand, he explored her curves, massaging her breasts with his
fingertips. Buffy moaned into his mouth and pressed her body closer to
his.

Giles laughed huskily, "I'm not too terribly sure that I can perform
in this climate."

Buffy laughed with him. "This was kind of a spur-of-the-moment idea.
And...you do look really sexy all wet like that. Like you need help in
that department."

His voice got quiet. "Come home with me."

"You didn't have to ask me, you know."

"I'm trying to be a gentleman, pet."

"Take me home, Rupert. Love me."

He grinned at her, "Say that again."

"What?"

"My name."

"If you play your cards right, I'm thinking you'll be hearing it a lot
later."

They both laughed and then hugged tightly, even though sopping wet.

"I don't think that I'm going to be able to stand this," Giles said.

"What?" Buffy's eyes were wide. Her voice shook.

"Acting like I can stand five minutes without touching you."

"Oh, for the love of God get a cab. Or you *are* going to have to
manage to perform right here."

**************************************

Buffy whimpered slightly and pressed herself into Giles' chest. She
whispered his name softly and he kissed her again, sending pleasant
shivers down her spine.

"Giles." She whispered quietly.

The kissing continued for a long moment.

"Giles." She poked his ribs with a finger.

"Yes?" He panted, his lips inches from hers.

"We should, oh, maybe get out of the doorway. Actually make it into
the hotel room. I don't think the...ah..other guests are enjoying our
free porn show."

He kissed her roughly again, this time picking her up as he did so.
She squealed, then laughed as he nearly dropped her fumbling with the
keycard.

Slamming the door behind them, he pushed her up against it, his tongue
plundering her mouth again.

"Happy now?" he breathed.

"Quite," she replied, wrapping her legs around his waist.

They stopped kissing long enough for Buffy to look around the room.
"Oh, Rupert," she whispered, taking it in. There were banks of candles
in every corner, burning brightly. There was a steaming tub full of
bubbles and more candles in the bathroom.

"How'd you? A bubble bath?" She laughed softly.

He grinned widely, pleased with himself. "Well, I am quite the
magician, you know, love. Or, I can be. For the right reason."

"You're so amazing."

"I had a bit of inspiration."

"And apparently were very sure you were going to get lucky tonight."
Her smile was impish now.

"Dearest, it's pure luck we didn't adjourn to a stall in the airport
bathroom the moment we saw each other, and you know it." He pointed
towards the bathroom. "Into the tub with you, missy. You're soaked
through. You'll catch your death."

"God, you are *so* British."

"I thought it sounded better than simply 'strip'."

"That's terribly hot, Mr. Giles."

And somehow she was back in his arms kissing him passionately while at
the same time wriggling out of her wet clothing. Giles ran his hands
down her soft shoulders, in something like awe, as her fingers deftly
unbuttoned his shirt.

"You're so beautiful, my love," he whispered.

The water in the tub was warm and sudsy, and Buffy fit against his
chest just as though she'd always belonged there.He kissed her neck,
and she moaned. She shifted position in his lap until she faced him,
elicting a series of grunts and moans from him. Water sloshed over the
edge of the tub. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed the tip
of his nose. "I love you," she said quietly. "This is...I can't
believe that you did all this for me. That you want me this badly."

Giles grabbed her hips and shifted her position deliberately. "Oh, I
do indeed want you that badly." He grinned wickedly, and kissed her
again, winding his fingers into her hair.

Buffy moaned, and when Giles scooped her dripping form up into his
arms and carried her to the bed, she couldn't think straight over the
pounding of her heart. She didn't break eye contact with Giles once,
even when they were both crying out. Buffy wasn't surprised to find
that her Watcher was such a tender lover, and that he knew her body so
well. She felt like her whole body was going to explode. Giles thought
he was going to die. When they finally came apart, their hands were
still clasped.

The both of them cried when it was over. Buffy was embarassed, and
Giles kissed her tears away, laughing. They fell asleep wrapped around
one another.

In the morning, Giles was the first to wake, and his heart thudded
unsteadily at the sight of the soft blond hair spilling over onto his
pillow. He'd dreamed of Buffy, as per usual, and it was...surprising
to awaken and see her sleeping next to him. He watched her soundlessly
for an interminable amount of time.

Buffy murmured, half-asleep still, "Rupert?" She scooted closer and
nuzzled into his neck.

"I don't know that I can bear your not sleeping here every night."

"It is pretty nice, isn't it?" She yawned, and pressed into his
chest. "Sleepy Buffy."

"I'll go get us some breakfast if you like. It's early enough that we
have time before you...have to leave. You can still get home before
Dawn wakes up."

"If I can sleep while you get it."

Giles laughed. "Of course." He kissed her cheek. "There's a...ah..bit
of a present for you. When you manage to rouse yourself enough to open
it. It's on the table."

She murmured something unintelligible at him, and still laughing, he
left.

Giles returned a short while later to the sounds of Buffy in the
shower. She came out wrapped in a fluffy towel.

"Sorry I was so out of it." Her voice was almost shy.

"Buffy. Please." He caught one of her hands in his and turned it up to
kiss her palm. "You're not...ah...wigging, or anything, are you?"

"No. Well, maybe a bit. I mean...what if you..didn't..like...I mean,
what if I did something wrong? Or...or drooled all over you in the
night."

He snorted. "Please, love. You were *there* last night. I thought I
was quite vocal in my enjoyment of...events. And, I'm of the opinion
you have extremely cute drool."

"Oh. My. God."

"Kidding about the drool."

She swatted him, before helping herself to a bagel and the extra large
coffee. "I remember distinctly something about presents. But..I was
kind of asleep."

"I said you had a present on the table, when you felt like opening it."

"Really?!" She scooped up the small box, and ripped the wrapping
off. "Oh, Giles, and a letter? You're such a sap at heart."

"Indeed," he murmured, his mouth full. "It's a tradition, I think
worth keeping up. Especially given our respective miniscule self-
esteem levels."

She swatted him again, before opening the box. "A pager? Giles, I have
a cell phone. You have the number."

"It's something...well, something I bought because I liked the idea of
it being for just us. A way to stay in touch. That no one has to know
about for the time being. Its one of those newfangled text messenger
kinds."

"You're so sweet. We're so modern!" She kissed him. "Thank you.
Embarassingly enough, I'll probably sleep with it. Well, when I'm not
with you. Cause that..would be weird. And...uncomfortable."

She paused.

"I'm babbling aren't I?"

"A touch."

"I...I don't want to leave you. I don't want you to think that this
is...dirty or weird or whatever. I want to be here. With you."

"I understand, love. As long as you don't leave me by my lonesome for
too terribly long, I should be all right."

They kissed again. For a long time.

"I'll read this when I get home." She tucked the letter into her bag.
"And I'm stealing a sweatshirt. Somehow...I don't think my halter top
is too salvageable after all that."

"Can I...see you tonight?" His voice was very quiet.

"Duh." She smiled. "We'll go patrolling. That way, we kill the evil,
we sneak in some smoochies, we work up a...ah..."

"Appetite?" He grinned.

"Exactly."

"I love you, Buffy."

She kissed him once more, hard. "Ditto." She ruffled his hair. "I'll
call you later?"

She looked back three times on her way to the elevator, before blowing
Giles a kiss, and getting in.

Buffy pulled the letter out of her purse as soon as she got a cab. She
was surprised, but it was very short.

Buffy,
Watching you sleep is... there are no words. Thank you for last night.
You...God, you are the most exquisite creature I've ever seen. And,
you're here with me. I feel very blessed this morning, regardless of
whatever may come. And dear heart, whatever does come...I will be
here. Always. That I promise. Because, heart and soul, I belong to
you.
I love you,
Rupert

Feeling her breath catch for what must have been the millionth time in
two days, Buffy realized that...she had to break the news to the gang.
About Giles. And her. Because...it wasn't fair to pretend that these
beautiful feelings weren't there. It just wasn't.

"Deep breath," she whispered to herself as she got out of the cab near
her house. "Calm and rational. Grown-up. Can do this. Can."

**************************************

Buffy walked into her house, mentally preparing her "We Have to Talk"
speech for her friends.

"Morning, Buffy." Willow's voice was tired. "Hard night's slayage?"

The redhead handed her friend a cup of coffee. "Um..yeah, I guess.
Nothing too bad..but...eh. Not worth talking about." Buffy took a big
sip out of her mug to hide her nervousness. Well, she thought to
herself, don't suppose I could have *opened* the conversation with,
actually, no, not slayage, but I did shag the daylights out of Giles
all night...

She blushed, in spite of herself.

"Buff? You okay?" Willow was looking at her oddly.

"Oh, yeah. Fine. Tired."

"Y'know, I know that we're not all...well, we aren't on the best of
terms lately, but really if you...and Spike...again...," she
paused. "Well, you could just say so."

"Will!" Buffy squeaked. "I was not..Spike...oh, God. No." Unbidden,
her mind flashed back to the scene a few months before in her
bathroom. Her voice shook a bit."No."

"Sorry. I didn't---"

"It's okay." She shook her head. "I think...I think I'm gonna go and
shower."

Buffy walked upstairs. So much for the new honest Buffy.

Xander joined Willow at the breakfast table. "Morning, Will."

"Hey."

"Why so glum?"

"Tired. And..I think I made Buffy mad."

"Why? Is she even home?"

"Just got here. Said something not the brightest about her maybe
sleeping with Spike again. And how she could tell me. You know, if she
was."

"She's sleeping with Spike again?!?" Xander shot upright.

Willow put a restraining hand on his arm. "No. Or, at least I don't
think so. I just...she got a funny look on her face and ran upstairs."
She sighed. "I'm putting my foot in it all over today, aren't I?"

"Good to be home, isn't it?" Xander laughed softly. "It's not you.
Buffy's been...well, not really acting normal for awhile now. I
think...like everybody, she's...she's just adjusting, Will. You know
how hard this is. Let her be."

"I think grown up Xander is going to take getting used to."

"Eh. We got time."

They sat in silence until they were rejoined by Buffy, sporting a
towel around her hair.

"Guys," she began slowly, "we need to talk about something...and I
don't..I don't really know what you're going to--"

"I didn't mean what I said about Spike---"

"Willow," Buffy held up her hand, "I know--"

"Spike?" came a voice from the doorway. "Why are we talking about
Spike? Did he...did he try to--to you.." Dawn spluttered.

"You told her?!?!" Buffy hissed, kicking Xander under the table.

"I thought she should know."

"Dawn," Buffy turned to her sister. "Nothing is going on with Spike. I
haven't even seen him since...since..the, yeah. I wasn't even going to
talk about Spike. I don't know why you guys can't just let this--"

"Oh, maybe 'cause you didn't tell us about him for months?" Xander cut
in.

"Xander, I swear to God, I thought we'd been through this, I am SORRY.
You try coming back from the dead and see how you like it!" Her voice
shook.

"Guys," Willow tried to intervene, but Buffy turned angrily to her.

"And, you! You trying to---with the judgment! Willow, you know damn
well there are about a million things that no one is saying to you,
and that you deserve to hear! Like, hey, thanks for not killing me, or
Giles, or, oh, everybody in the world! But, no, you're "recovering" so
no one can say anything to you! Oh, Willow's so fragile! Why the hell
doesn't anybody ever let *me* recover!"

And, Buffy burst into tears. She pushed past Xander and her sister and
fled upstairs. They heard the slam of her bedroom door.

"Wow. PMS, much?" Dawn's comment hung in the air for a moment.

"Oh, my kingdom for a different comment to have entered on."

"Giles. What are you---"

"Buffy and I discussed perhaps doing some training today. But...it
appears I'm interrupting something..."

"Nah," Dawn hugged him quickly, before grabbing a piece of toast and
her bag. "Buffy's just all drama girl this morning. Very Days of Our
Lives. Spike's name came up. Not pretty. With the whole attempted
violation aspect and all. Asshole."

Willow and Giles' mouths both drop open. Xander is too stunned to say
anything, as Dawn exits the house.

Understanding fills Giles' eyes, as confusion colors Willow's
face. "Xander?" she whispered.

He took her hand. "Um...Will, there's some stuff we haven't exactly
told you. Or you," he turned to the spot Giles had been standing in,
but he was already gone. He turned back to the witch. "See...right
before...before Tara...Spike.."

"Oh. My. God. That night. In the bathroom."

"Yeah."

There was a knock at Buffy's bedroom door.

"Go away," was the muffled response from its occupant.

"Buffy. It's Giles."

The door opened. He stepped inside, and she was in his arms like a
shot, hugging him close.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to...well, to see if you perhaps wanted to get some training
in this morning, and because, quite embarassingly, I missed you.
But...it's like Armageddon down there. What's going on?"

"It got a little ugly. Yeah. I was going to try and tell them about
us, but then it got all about Spike, and like I haven't apologized for
*that* enough, and I said--"

"Did he...He tried to hurt you?"

Her face collapsed. "They told you."

"I guessed." His face was unreadable, a mask of hate and
pain. "Were..you..ever going to tell me?"

"I couldn't, Giles. I just...I couldn't."

"Why?" His eyes searched her face.

Buffy's eyes filled with tears. "Do you think that I...that I wanted
you to think of me like that?"

"Think of you like what? Nothing...you may have made some bad
decisions, dear heart, but we're all guilty of that. You didn't ask
for..."

"I should have known better."

"Buffy--"

"And it's not like things have gotten complicated enough between us
lately, as it is, without you going all Rambo and maybe getting
yourself killed defending my honor." Her voice cracked. "When I'm the
one that--the Slayer, if I'd just--"

Giles wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Shhhhhhh. I *will* kill
him for this. Make no mistake on that front. But, you, darling, you
did nothing... nothing to make me think less of you. Nothing. I
just... I hate the thought that you've been carrying all of this by
yourself, when..I perhaps could have helped you. In some small way."

Buffy said nothing, and buried her face against his chest. Her
shoulders heaved with sobs. She felt so small, so fragile and delicate
in his hands, that Giles' heart ached. The poor girl. Always trying to
shoulder much more than she could bear.

"It's all right." Giles smoothed her hair. "I'm...I understand why you
didn't want to say anything. Though I still wish that you'd told me...
before we, I mean before last---"

"What, so the whole time you could worry that I was freaked out that
you were touching me because of what Spike did? I don't think so."

"It does give one a bit of a complex."

"I love you." She met his eyes. "I love you. I love the things you do
to me. Trust me, Spike was *not* in my mind last night."

Giles blew out a breath, and kissed her forehead. "All right. If
and/or when we ever see Spike again, then we'll deal with it---or
rather, I'll deal with it. But, until then, we won't mention it
anymore."

"Still want to fight me?" She smiled charmingly at him. "Work our
agressions out in productive ways?"

"Let me talk for a moment with Willow, and I'll meet you in the
basement? I rather imagine that has to be our impromptu training room
with the store in ruins."

"I'll get dressed and go clear the extra crap out of the way down
there. You go talk to Will."

Giles headed downstairs, and found Willow in the kitchen, moodily
staring into her coffee. Xander had vanished somewhere.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Not worth it. I just...I feel bad, Giles. Everything. It's just all
wrong."

"It doesn't have to be. You came home to try and start moving
forward. Try and do that."

"How?"

"Trust me, I know you don't want to do this...but I think it's time
for you to go and say goodbye to Tara."

Willow looked down at her cup. "I know. I...that'll just mean she's
really gone. And, that those...those things I did.."

"I know."

And, Willow started to cry. Giles patted her hand. "I'm sorry, I
haven't another handkercheif, love. Buffy used mine up earlier."

Willow wiped her nose on her sleeve. "You didn't see that."

"It'll get better. I know that sounds...trite at the moment, but...
dear child, I promise you, love will find its way back into your life."

Seeing the somewhat goofy grin on his face, Willow's brow
furrowed. "I've never known you to be such a romantic, Giles. What is
going on?"

"Going on with who?" Buffy's voice broke in.

TBC....

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