Title: What Lies in Your Heart

Author: Froxyn

Rating: FRM

Pairing: Buffy/Giles

Timeline: Sometime after Riley, but he’s a non-issue. And…there’s no Dawn because she annoys me. Basically, this is AU.

Synopsis: Buffy and Giles become trapped in a cabin in the middle of a blizzard. How did they get there? Why are they there? Will they be able to return to Sunnydale? All questions answered in time.

Special thanks to wyvernwolf for being such a wonderful beta!

2 3

“Dammit!” Giles swore softly as she disappeared into a maze of trees, hot on the heels of the fourth vampire of the night. He gripped the crossbow tightly and broke into a run in an attempt to catch up to her.

Five strides into the woods, he was tackled by a cold, heavy body and lost his grip on the weapon. He grunted as his back connected with a log, the air forced from his lungs. He reached for the crossbow only to have a cold hand wrap around his wrist.

“Not so fast, Watcher.” The vampire snarled as he used his foot to kick the weapon further away. He grinned down at the fallen man, wrapping his cold hand around Giles’ warm throat. “I’ve often wondered what the blood of a Watcher would taste like.”

“Coppery, I would imagine.” Giles spat out as he stared into the demon’s yellow eyes.

The vampire growled and drew back his fist.

“Hey!”

The vampire and Giles both turned towards the voice. A smile appeared on Giles’ face when he saw Buffy standing there, the crossbow in her hands. The vampire chuckled menacingly.

“Too late. I’ll snap his neck before you can take one st – ”

The bolt piercing his heart halted his sentence. Giles coughed lightly as the cloud of dust covered him. Buffy ran to him, kneeling at his side.

“You okay?” She asked worriedly.

“Quite.” He offered her a smile, his soft voice soothing her. “And the one you chased into this death-trap?”

Buffy grinned as she stood, reaching down to take his hand. “Dust. Any reason you followed me in here?”

He stood and brushed the dust from his clothes. “I’m your Watcher. You were out of my sight and I couldn’t…”

“Watch me?” She finished for him with a chuckle.

He gave her a glare, which held a tinge on amusement in it. “Well, yes.”

She rolled her eyes and nudged him. “Come on, let’s get out of here. Forests freak me out.”

He snorted softly, turning in the direction he had entered the woods. “This is hardly a forest, Buffy.”

Buffy fell into step beside of him, gesturing at the trees. “Lots of trees, less than good visibility. Seems foresty to me.”

Giles laughed and took a step to his right to avoid a fallen branch. His laughter ended abruptly and he inhaled sharply. Buffy looked at him in alarm, jumping over the branch and grabbing his arm.

“Giles?”

He looked around, studying their surroundings. “Can you feel it?”

“Feel what?” When he didn’t answer immediately, she tugged on his arm. “Giles, you’re freaking me out more than the forest is. Feel what?”

He took her free hand and pulled her towards him. When she gasped in surprise, he looked down at her.

“That.”

She shivered lightly as the cold air surrounded them. “Um…what is that?”

“I’m not entirely sure.” As the temperature began to plummet, he grabbed her arm. “But, I think we should get out – ”

His thought remained unfinished. They both wobbled slightly and collapsed to the ground. Seconds later there was a bright flash of light. When the light faded, there was no sight of either Watcher or Slayer.

The only sign that there had been anyone there at all was the crossbow lying in the grass.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Giles opened his eyes and pushed himself off the hardwood floor. His eyes surveyed the room as he stood, his brow furrowing as he tried to make sense of where he was and how he got there. Hearing a soft groan next to him, he looked down to find Buffy’s eyes fluttering open.

He exhaled slowly, shivering against the cold. “Buffy?”

Her eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly, inhaling sharply as her skin broke out in gooseflesh. “Jesus, it’s cold in here!”

He took in her attire, sighing when he realized that she wasn’t even wearing a jacket. She rarely did when on patrol these days. Buffy’s eyes darted around the room.

“Uh, where is here?”

He ran his hand through his hair and looked towards the window. “I have no idea. But, there’s snow.”

“Snow?” Buffy jumped up from the floor and ran to the window only to find that the snow was deep, almost to the windowsill and showing no signs of stopping anytime soon. “Lots of snow. Like, enough snow that even if we had a car, we couldn’t drive anywhere because we can’t even get out of the freaking house!”

He turned to her quickly, lowering his tone in an attempt to soothe her. “Calm down, Buffy. We’ll figure this out.”

“Calm down?” She stared at him incredulously. “We don’t know where we are, why we’re here…I don’t have my phone on me, and there’s twenty feet of snow outside!” She shivered as her panic grew, her voice rising with each word. “Not only that, it’s fucking cold in here!”

He nodded in understanding, quickly slipping his jacket off and wrapping it around her shoulders. “It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing.”

He sighed and walked into the next room. Buffy followed closely.

Giles began opening cupboards in the small kitchen, a tiny smile playing on his lips. “Well, there’s food at least.”

Buffy flicked the light switch on the wall, groaning when nothing happened. “No electricity though, so no way to cook.”

Giles looked at the stove and smiled. “Wood stove.”

Buffy stared at him and pointed towards the window. “Great. But…wood? You’ve seen what it’s like outside!”

“Buffy…” Giles sighed, the smile fading from his lips. “Follow me.”

She narrowed her eyes slightly, but followed him as he opened a door off the kitchen. She walked into the small room and looked around. “Wood. How did you know this was here?”

Giles shrugged his shoulder. “Wood stove. Most houses that have a wood stove have a storage room used specifically for this. I hazarded a guess.”

“Oh.” She said in a small voice. When she noticed him shiver, she moved around him and started gathering pieces of wood. “Come on, it’s cold. The last thing we need is to get sick or freeze to death before we figure out where we are.”

He nodded slowly. “There was a fireplace in the main room. We, uh…we can use that for heat. It should be sufficient if we close off the room.”

She met his eyes and offered him a gentle smile. “Why don’t you see if you can find some blankets or something and I’ll get the fire started.”

He picked up a few pieces of wood and returned her smile. “I’ll just get the wood stove started first. It’ll take a while to heat up. I’ll see what I can do about putting something together for dinner while you’re working on the fire.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

She busied herself with loading a bushel-sized barrel with wood as Giles got the stove lit. When she walked back into the kitchen, he was gone…but the fire in the stove was burning well. She lugged the barrel into the main room and began strategically placing pieces of wood into the fireplace. She had just gotten the kindling lit when he walked back into the room, a blanket in his hand.

“I, uh…there’s one bedroom. One bed, one blanket.” He spoke softly.

She turned and looked up at him, trying to hide the disappointment in her eyes. “Okay, better than none.”

He lowered his eyes and cleared his throat. “It does seem to be quite warm and large enough for both of us.”

She placed a log on the fire and smiled softly. “Bring it over and sit in front of the fire. We’ll be all toasty in no time.”

He hesitated for a moment, nearly stating that she could have the blanket to herself. When a cold chill raced up his spine, he realized that he’d probably die of hypothermia at some point if he insisted on that. He took a deep breath and walked over, sitting down next to her and wrapping the blanket around them.

They sat in silence for a while, watching the orange flames lick around the log. Buffy bit her lip nervously and looked up at his profile.

“You didn’t happen to see a phone or anything, did you?”

“No. I…I did look.” He responded quietly.

“Um…bathroom?”

“This is a very old house, Buffy. When it was built, it was uncommon for a bathroom to built indoors.”

Buffy’s eyes widened as she stared at him. “There’s no bathroom? I’m going to have to go outside…in a fucking blizzard, no less…to go to the bathroom?”

He chuckled lightly and turned his eyes to hers. “However, a bathroom has been added on to this house. Down the hall, last door on the left.”

“Asshole…” She muttered under her breath.

The smile danced in his eyes as he nudged her shoulder with his. “I’m sorry. I just felt that the mood needed to be lightened somewhat.”

She huffed and pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders. “Were you joking about there only being one bed too?”

His smile faded as he shook his head. “No. Um…you’re more than welcome to the bed. I’ll, uh…I’ll sleep out here.”

Buffy narrowed her eyes. “Okay, I don’t know much about fire safety, but…I’m thinking it won’t be too safe to have a fire burning all night out here.”

“No. I’ll put the fire out after you go to bed. The room should maintain some heat for a couple of hours.”

She stared at him, her voice softening. “And then what? Freeze to death during the night because I have the one and only blanket? And, besides…” She gestured around the room. “Where do you plan on sleeping? A cold hardwood floor? If you haven’t noticed, there’s not even a couch.”

He was quiet for a moment before slipping out from under the blanket. “The, uh…the stove should be hot enough for cooking now. I’ll see what I can do about dinner.”

She stood up as he left the room, the blanket still wrapped around her as she walked into the kitchen. She leaned against the doorframe, listening to him mumble incoherently as he pulled various boxes and jars down from the cabinets. When she distinctly heard the word ‘idiot’ fall from his lips, she stepped forward and spoke.

“Who are you calling an idiot? Me or you?”

He jumped, startled by her voice, and turned around. “You should be in front of the fire, keeping warm.”

“I’m warm. And you would, wouldn’t you?” When he narrowed his eyes at her confusing question, she continued. “Allow yourself to freeze to death overnight on a cold floor to make sure I was comfortable?”

He lowered his eyes from her gaze before turning back around and pulling a large pot down from the wall. She took the two steps needed to stand beside of him and slipped her hand out from under the blanket to touch his back.

“We’ll share the bed…and the blanket. I’m not letting you freeze because we’ve never shared a bed before, Giles.”

He coughed lightly, but couldn’t meet her eyes. “I, uh…”

“No arguments, Giles. We’re both adults and I’m sure we can both control ourselves.”

“Yes, of course.” He lowered his head slightly. “You should, uh…your hand is cold…you should get back in front of the fire. I shan’t be long here.”

Realizing he had closed the subject, she nodded and stepped away from him. She sighed sadly as she walked back into the main room and sat down in front of the fire. ‘Yes, of course’ wasn’t exactly what she had wanted to hear. She shook her head and pulled the blanket tighter around her.

“I’m the idiot…” She mumbled.

* * *

He waited until he heard her leave the room before lifting his head. He took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in his throat.

‘I’m sure we can both control ourselves.’ The words played over and over again in his head. He grumbled softly, knowing that he was going to have to figure out where they were and how they were going to get back to Sunnydale. Soon.

“Idiot.” He murmured again and set to the task of making dinner.

Chapter Two

He had been able to concoct a fairly tasty soup out of the ingredients he found in the kitchen. Buffy had raved about it and had three bowls before declaring herself stuffed. Night was beginning to fall, the light outside the windows turning to a dull grey. When he saw Buffy yawn, he offered her a smile.

“Go on to bed, Buffy.”

“I…” She hesitated and met his eyes. “You coming?”

He nodded slowly, the light from the fire casting a glow in his green eyes. “I’ll just put the fire out.”

“I’ll just go to the bathroom…um…meet you in the bedroom?”

He lowered his eyes quickly, hoping that he had been able to avert them before she saw the flicker of desire her words had caused. “Yes, um…I’ll be in soon.”

She slid out from under the blanket and wrapped her arms around herself. “Bring the blanket with you.”

He turned and watched her run down the hall before proceeding to smother the fire.

* * *

Giles was spreading the blanket across the bed when she walked into the room. He looked up as she kicked her shoes off and slipped under the blanket. She smiled shyly and curled up on her side.

He took his own shoes off and unbuttoned the first three buttons of his shirt. He exhaled slowly and climbed onto the opposite side of the bed, pulling the blanket over him as he rolled onto his side to face her.

“Any ideas so far?” She asked as she snuggled further under the blanket.

“Other than the fact it’s magic? No.”

Her eyes widened. “Magic? How do you know that?”

“There was a crackle in the air a couple of minutes before you came into the bedroom. And…then the temperature took a dramatic drop.” He explained casually.

“So…someone put us here…on purpose?”

“It would seem so.”

Her eyes narrowed at his calm tone. “Why?”

He sighed and shook his head. “That I’m not sure of, Buffy.”

She suddenly shivered violently. He bit his lip nervously and then took a deep breath, reaching out and pulling her closer to his body. He offered a gentle explanation when her eyes silently questioned him.

“The closer we are physically, the warmer we’ll both be.”

She thought about it for a second and then scooted even closer to him, until her body was pressed against his chest. He closed his eyes briefly, praying to whoever was listening to give him strength. He wrapped his arms around her, his hands rubbing her back as she curled into him.

“Better…” She mumbled against his chest.

He nodded in agreement, his voice a mere whisper. “Sleep, Buffy.”

They both began to slowly relax as their bodies warmed one another. He held her tightly, only allowing himself to surrender to sleep once her breathing had evened out.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Buffy turned in her sleep, pressing her back against Giles’ chest. Giles sighed in contentment as he slept, gently nuzzling her hair. His hand moved and covered her breast, softly caressing it with his palm. Her soft moan penetrated his hazy mind and he inhaled deeply. The familiar scent of Buffy’s herbal shampoo wafted around him and, as she moaned a second time, his eyes snapped open.

His hand froze on her breast as his heart began to race. One thought entered his mind.

‘Oh dear God…’

He carefully removed his hand, fighting the urge to replace it when she whimpered in her sleep. He rolled onto his back, wondering how he could get his arm out from under her without waking her.

She shifted in her sleep, rolling over and draping one leg over his thigh as she snuggled closer to him. He stifled his groan, his mind beginning to race as his semi-hard cock now began to rise to full attention. He bit his lip and tried to extricate his body from hers.

His efforts were met with her arm flinging over his chest, holding him tightly as she mumbled sleepily. “Don’t go.”

He raised his head and glanced down at her face, fearing that he had wakened her with his movements. He sighed in relief to find her still sleeping soundly. Her leg moved, causing her knee to brush against his erection. He swallowed thickly and stared at the ceiling.

‘This isn’t helping the situation.’

He sniffed, the distinct odour of sulphur filling the air moments before he felt the crackle. His eyes narrowed, his ears picking up one softly spoken word in a vaguely familiar voice.

“Padiox.”

His eyelids suddenly felt heavy and he yawned as his eyes closed.

* * *

Buffy smiled as she woke slowly, the soft heartbeat under her ear soothing her. Her hand moved down his torso, stopping when she reached the waistband of his trousers. Softly rubbing her cheek against his chest, she shifted her leg. Her eyes snapped open when she felt the hardness under her knee.

She heard the deep rumble in his chest as his hand moved to her knee, applying gentle pressure to hold her against his erection. She swallowed nervously and lifted her head, sighing softly with relief to find him still sleeping deeply.

Reaching down, she covered his hand with hers and gently removed it from her knee. When she moved her leg from his, he mumbled softly, a frown appearing on his face.

She watched him for a moment, sighing heavily when she realized that he was dreaming. Convincing herself that he was thinking of someone else…Jenny, Olivia, some random woman from his past…she carefully moved away from him and climbed out of the bed. She shivered and found his jacket, slipping it on and pulling it tightly around her.

She watched him for a few seconds and then, with a heavy sigh, she left the room and closed the door behind her.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The sun beaming through the window woke him up. He groaned and rolled over, automatically reaching for the warm body that had been lying next to him all night. Not finding anything other than the cool sheets, he opened his eyes and sat up.

He looked around the room, exhaling sadly when he found it empty. He climbed out of bed and slipped on his shoes before grabbing the blanket. He took a deep breath, hoping that she hadn’t attempted to leave the house without telling him. With as much snow as there was lying on the ground outside, she wouldn’t have gotten very far.

A sudden fear rushed through him and he jerked the bedroom door open, running down the hall. He opened the door to the main room and hurried inside, suddenly aware of the warmth in the room. As he closed the door behind him, the door leading into the kitchen opened and Buffy walked in.

She looked at him in genuine surprise and smiled. “Hey.”

He ran his hand through his hair and dropped the blanket to the floor. Seeing the blind panic in his eyes, she rushed to him.

“What’s wrong, Giles?”

He shook his head slowly, his heart rate beginning to calm from his fear. “I, uh…I was worried…” He chuckled nervously and looked at the fireplace. “It’s fairly warm in here.”

“Yeah…you were right. Closing off the room makes it warmer.” As he nodded in agreement, she tilted her head thoughtfully. “Why were you worried?”

“Hm?” He responded distractedly before looking down at her. “Oh. Um, you were…well, I thought maybe you had, uh…well, left.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Left? And where would I go?”

He shrugged a shoulder and smiled shyly. “To find a way out of here?”

“In a blizzard?” She snorted softly. “Even I’m not that irrational, Giles.”

When he blushed lightly, she took his arm and led him to the fireplace, a few cushions and pillows resting on the floor. When he looked at her with a puzzled expression, she smiled.

“I found them in a storage closet. Figured it would be more comfortable than sitting on the hard floor.” She gently tugged on his arm. “Sit down and get warm. I’ve got breakfast ready.”

He sat down on the cushions and looked up at her. “How long have you been up?”

“Couple of hours.” She smiled as she made her way back to the kitchen. “Be right back.”

He nodded silently and turned to stare into the flames. He thought about how her body had responded to his touch the previous night. He narrowed his eyes as it occurred to him that he had fallen asleep…with a throbbing erection. That just didn’t happen…ever. And then he remembered the voice…his eyes narrowed further as he tried to place the voice.

Buffy walked back into the room, carrying two plates of steaming food. She sat down beside of him and handed one of them to him. “What’s on your mind, Giles?”

He turned his head towards her quickly and looked into her eyes. “I’m sorry?”

She smiled with mild amusement. “You had your ‘I’m deep in thought, don’t bother me’ look on your face.”

“Oh.” Giles responded quietly as he took the dish from her hands. “Something…um…odd happened last night.”

She lowered her eyes quickly, hoping she didn’t blush, and used her fork to stab a piece of scrambled egg. “Oh? Like what?”

Noticing her reaction, he bit his lip. ‘She knows. She knows what I did and now…’

He cleared his throat and picked up the fork. “I, uh…I heard a voice. It was late and I, uh…I woke up. I was having trouble going back to sleep and then I heard a voice.”

She swallowed the egg and looked up at him. “What did it say?”

“I don’t know.” He shook his head as he lifted a sliver of fried potato to his lips. “The voice was familiar, but…I don’t know. I just remember hearing…something…and then I woke up and you were gone.”

She nodded slowly. “Yeah…that is definitely odd. Kinda goes with the dream I had.”

Giles paled, lowering his fork and swallowing the potato. “Dream?”

Chapter Three

Buffy clenched her eyes shut, not intending on mentioning the dream. She waved her fork in a nonchalant manner. “Just an odd dream, nothing prophetic or anything.”

“It might be beneficial, no matter how odd – ”

Buffy shook her head quickly, her face reddening deeply. “It isn’t beneficial, Giles. It was just…a dream that I’m not sure you’d want to hear about.”

“Oh.” He said in a small voice, staring at his plate of food. “An…uh…an erotic…uh, dream?”

She opened her eyes but refused to look up as she nodded slowly. He took a deep breath and set his plate to the side.

“I…I don’t need, or want…the details. But, if you could tell me…who…it might help.” He cleared his throat and continued softly. “There are instances involving magic where a person affected by the spell has…dreams…about the spellcaster…”

“I really don’t think the guy in my dream is the one who cast the spell or whatever this is.”

Giles sighed and lowered his head. “Buffy…Angel is capable of…”

“It wasn’t Angel in my dream.” She whispered softly.

“Oh.” He reached up and adjusted his glasses. “Perhaps Riley has…”

“It wasn’t Riley either.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “It was your hand touching me.”

He looked up and stared at her in disbelief. When he didn’t say anything, she shrugged her shoulder.

“And, I’m pretty sure you had nothing to do with us being stuck here.”

“No.” He coughed lightly and stood up.

As he began to pace, she chewed her lip and placed her plate on the floor. “Giles, I – ”

“It wasn’t a dream.” He stated softly. He walked over to the window and stared at the falling snow. “I’m sorry, it wasn’t…I had no intention…” He sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets as he turned to face her.

“I was holding you in my sleep. I woke up and…” He averted his eyes from hers. “I was touching you. I…I stopped…as soon as I realized…”

“Your hand…on my breast? That was real?” She stood up as he nodded slowly. She lowered her voice to a whisper as she walked over to him. “Giles?”

“I’m sorry, Buffy. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

She looked down at her hands and sighed. “Well, you were asleep. It’s not like you were even thinking of me or anything.”

When he didn’t reply, she looked back up. She swallowed nervously, not seeing agreement in his eyes. “Giles?”

He took a deep breath and glanced at the fireplace. “I, uh…I think we need to add another log to the fire.”

Without waiting for a reply, he walked around her and over to the barrel of wood. He pulled out a suitable log and knelt in front of the fire. He carefully placed the log in the fire and stared at it as the flames licked along its edge.

Buffy moved slowly and knelt beside of him. “Giles?”

“Hm?” He mumbled absently.

“Were you thinking of me?”

He was slowly nodding before he decided to verbally answer her softly spoken question. “Yes, I was.”

Buffy’s eyes widened in surprise. As her heart began to race, she took a deep breath. “So, uh…when I woke up pretty much lying on top of you…and you kinda held me against your, uh…”

Giles turned his head towards her quickly, his eyes wide. “That wasn’t a dream?”

She shook her head slowly. Giles’ face reddened. He cleared his throat and looked into her eyes. He saw a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes and shifted his body until he was facing her.

“What are you thinking right at this moment, Buffy?”

Her answer spilled from her lips automatically.

“I want to kiss you.”

He licked his lips and stared at her. “Why?”

She moved closer to him, rising up on her knees so that she was eye-level with him. She lifted her hand and touched the side of his face as she whispered to him.

“Because I’ve been thinking of you…for a very long time.”

He leaned into her touch and exhaled slowly. “Be very sure, Buffy.”

She gazed into his eyes and smiled. “I am. And in case you’re wondering…this isn’t because we’re stuck in some house in the middle of a blizzard with no idea how we got here or why we’re here. This is because I…I think I’ve fallen in love with you.”

His eyes darted to her lips as he leaned forward. “Oh…I...”

Her eyes closed as his lips brushed across hers. He whispered her name as he kissed her again, his fingers combing through her hair as he suddenly deepened the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, returning the kiss with equal passion and desire. He gently pushed her down onto the cushions and slid his left leg between her thighs. She groaned into his mouth as his thigh rubbed suggestively against her denim-clad core.

His lips moved to her neck, gently nipping, licking, and sucking the tender flesh. She bucked her hips, increasing the pressure of his thigh against her. Her hands gripped the fabric covering his back as he rocked against her, rubbing his erection against her hip. When he lightly bit her neck, she whimpered in pleasure. He increased the pressure of his teeth against her skin until she trembled underneath him and screamed his name.

He lifted his head, his eyebrow raised and a smile on his face. “Should it concern me that you seem to enjoy being bitten?”

“Only by you.” She panted heavily, her fingers moving to the buttons on his shirt.

She quickly had his shirt undone and leaned up, capturing a nipple with her mouth. She sucked hungrily on the nub, causing him to groan loudly. He cradled the back of her head with his hand, holding her mouth to his chest.

“Dear Lord…”

Her hand slid down his torso and quickly pulled his belt free. When she fumbled with the button on his trousers, she released his nipple and lowered her eyes for a better look. He took the opportunity to grasp the hem of her shirt and tug it upwards, quickly removing the garment and dropping it to the floor next to them.

He shrugged off his open shirt and undid the button on his trousers for her. He smiled softly, using his thumb to trace a hardened nipple through the pink satin and lace. When her eyes closed and a soft moan escaped her lips, he leaned down and covered the other nipple with his mouth. Sliding his free hand under her back, he expertly unclasped the closure.

She placed her hands on his chest and, using slight force, pushed him back. He gazed into her eyes, asking a silent question. In response, she smiled at him and pulled the bra from her body, tossing it to the side.

His gaze dropped to her chest and his erection twitched almost painfully in his jeans. “My God, I want you, Buffy.”

She reached down and popped the button loose on her jeans before sliding the zipper down and then working on his. “I want you too, Giles.”

A growl rumbled in his chest as she reached into his open trousers and caressed his erection before pulling it out. As her fingers circled his cock and began to stroke him, he lifted his hand and cupped her face. As their eyes met, she smiled lovingly at him.

“I love you.”

He returned her smile, his eyes brightening as he leaned down to kiss her. “I love you, Buffy. I love you so very much.”

As their lips touched, a bright light flashed around them.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At Buffy’s groan, Giles opened his eyes. The damp grass felt cool even through his jacket. He pushed himself up and looked over at Buffy as she sat up. Their eyes met and she exhaled slowly.

“Tell me I didn’t pass out and everything was a dream.”

He licked his lips, his eyes darting to her neck. Just above the collar of her shirt, he saw the light bruise left by his mouth. He smiled as he reached out and brushed his fingers across the mark.

“I don’t think it was.”

She closed her eyes at his touch and sighed. “It wouldn’t have surprised me if it was. That’s normally when I wake up…before we really get started.”

He grinned and slipped his hand around to the back of her neck. He drew her to him, kissing her deeply before resting his forehead against hers.

“What’s going on, Giles?” She whispered softly. “Where were we?”

“I don’t know, love. I should probably do some research…” He gasped as her hand rubbed against the nipple her lips had toyed with earlier. “Tomorrow. I’ll research tomorrow.”

She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. “And tonight?”

“Tonight?” His thumb traced her bottom lip. “Tonight we go home and finish what we started.”

Buffy’s eyes sparkled in the moonlight as she stood up and offered her hand to Giles. He took it happily and stood beside of her, bending down to pick up the crossbow next to his feet. As she started to lead him out of the woods, she looked up at him and smiled.

“If you feel any cold pockets, run.”

He chuckled and laced his fingers with hers.

* * *

When they reached the red BMW, Giles narrowed his eyes. Buffy looked at him quickly, feeling the sudden tension.

“What is it?”

He gestured towards the car with the crossbow. “A note.”

Buffy followed his line of vision and saw the piece of paper stuck underneath the windshield wiper. “Maybe it’s just one of those advertisement thingies that people stick on cars in parking lots.”

Giles glanced down at her and raised an eyebrow. “We’re on a road that leads here. Which is nowhere, unless you’re a vampire or a demon.”

“Well, yeah…okay. It was just a thought.”

When they reached the car, he pulled the piece of paper free and narrowed his eyes as he read it. When he finished reading it, he rolled his eyes.

“Oh, for God’s sake.”

“What? What is it?” Buffy asked anxiously.

Giles handed her the paper and opened the trunk, dropping the crossbow inside. Buffy furrowed her brow as she read the note.

If you’re reading this, then you’ve completed your task and have found yourself back in this lovely town called Sunnydale. Where you were is of no importance. The reason you were there is.

People who care very deeply about the both of you enlisted me to help in this experiment. These people have grown tired of watching the two of you dance around one another, pretending that there’s nothing more to your relationship than you being a Watcher and her being your Slayer.

Everyone (including myself) has known differently for years. It’s time that you both figured it out as well.

I’m sure you’re wondering, so I’ll just tell you. You two were sent to an isolated area to discover what lies in your hearts. Once you finally admit, and truthfully (the spell will know otherwise) admit, that you’re in love…you’ll be sent back. You’ve only been gone for a couple of hours in Sunnydale time, so you haven’t missed anything in your absence.

I hope the house was to your liking.

Be seeing you.

Ethan

Underneath Ethan’s signature were four others. Xander, Willow, Anya, and Tara.

Buffy shook her head in amusement and climbed into the passenger seat. As Giles slid behind the steering wheel, she rested her hand on his thigh.

“Sometimes…Ethan’s not too bad.”

He chuckled as the car roared to life. “Sometimes, indeed.”

She smiled as he quickly navigated the roads back to his apartment. He wasted no time and actually ran a red light that was taking too long to turn green. She grinned brightly as her hand travelled up his thigh and rested against the hard bulge in his trousers.

Yes, there was definitely unfinished business that needed to be taken care of.

~ End

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