Title: Mark of the Thorn
Rating: FRAO
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Timeline: Four months after the
end of Something to Be.
Synopsis: An old acquaintance returns bearing some not
so good news.
Notes: Unbeta’d as usual for this series. If you come across any problems, please let
me know.
Buffy was
writhing on the bed, her fingers twisting in the sheets as she moaned. Giles opened his eyes and looked up at her,
his head buried between her thighs as his tongue quickly flicked against her
clitoris.
He wanted to
take his time, hold her on the precipice of her orgasm for a while before
allowing her to come. But, their lives
were very different these days…and their two-month-old daughter had a habit of
waking up and demanding attention at very inopportune times. And so he continued, pulling her clit into
his mouth and sucking hard at the bundle of nerves as he thrust two fingers
into her.
Her body trembled
violently as she came quickly, flooding his hand with her juices. He groaned and pushed himself up her body,
covering her mouth with his to muffle her loud moans. She gripped his shoulders and rolled their
bodies until she was straddling his hips, his erection pressed tightly between
them as she plundered his mouth with her tongue.
She wanted
to slide down his body, kissing every inch of his skin until she reached his
cock. But, what she wanted more was to
feel him inside of her…and they didn’t have the luxury of doing both these
days. She lifted her hips and reached
down, guiding his hardened flesh into her wet channel.
They groaned
simultaneously as he filled her. His
right hand grasped her hip as she lifted his left to her mouth, sucking the
sticky fluid from his fingers before dragging her tongue across his palm.
“Christ…Buffy!” He growled as he thrust his hips upwards.
She released
his hand and placed hers on his chest for balance as she met each of his
thrusts. She knew that it wouldn’t take
long for either one of them and she quashed the temptation to draw this out for
as long as possible, slamming her hips down onto his.
“Giles!
Oh, God…yes…”
He watched
her ride him, her heavy breasts bouncing as she slid up and down his length. He ached to lean up and take her nipple into
his mouth, but knew from past experiences that she didn’t really enjoy his
mouth on her breasts while she was breastfeeding. He pushed past his temptation and made the
quick decision to use words to bring her, and him as well, over the edge.
“Fuck me,
Buffy…talk to me...make me come.” He
whispered in a lust-laden voice.
She opened
her eyes with some effort and gazed down at him, her eyes dark with
passion. “How do you want me to fuck
you, Giles?”
His eyes
widened and he gripped her hips tighter as she quickly moved to her next
question.
“Do you want
me…to fuck you with…my tongue? Shove my
tongue…up your ass while you’re jacking off for me?”
“Jesus…” He groaned and bit his lip.
“Or…do you
want my fingers inside of you…your cock down my throat…” She scraped a fingernail across his hard
nipple. She grinned down at him when she
felt his erection thicken within her.
“That’s it…come for me…”
He shook his
head and, on his next thrust, rolled their bodies so that he was nestled
between her thighs. “Not without you…”
His pace
quickened, the bed squeaked lightly as he pounded his hips against her. Feeling her inner walls begin to clench
around him, he groaned and stared into her eyes.
“Do you…have
any idea…God, Buffy…I love you…everything about you…”
Her response
was cut off by her scream as her orgasm crashed over her. He cursed softly and covered her mouth with
his, swallowing her cries of ecstasy as her spasms pushed him closer to the
edge. Her nails raked across the pale
scar tissue on his neck and she felt the low rumble in his chest as his body
began to tremble violently.
She tore her
mouth from his and moved it to his ear, sucking the lobe into her mouth and
tugging hard on his earring. “That’s it, Giles…fuck me until you come…”
She
scratched across the scar once more and he bit down on her neck, stifling his
scream as he came forcefully within her.
She answered his orgasm with another smaller one of her own, throwing
her head back against the pillows as she bathed his cock with her hot fluid.
His thrusts
slowed gradually, his chest heaving as he fought for breath. The muscles in his arms quivered with
exertion and he collapsed onto the mattress beside of her. She rolled into his embrace, sliding her leg
over his as she nestled against his sweat-drenched chest.
“Wonderful…” He mumbled softly, his hands rubbing soothing
circles over her hot skin.
“Mm.”
She sighed heavily in response.
“I love you.”
He smiled
lazily and pressed a kiss onto the top of her head. “Love you too.”
A small
whimper was heard through the monitor resting on the bedside table. Giles chuckled softly as Buffy groaned.
“And
Princess Haddie’s timing is impeccable…”
Buffy nodded
slowly and pushed herself up. She tilted
her head slightly, listening to the soft cry.
“I was gonna make you go, but…that’s her ‘feed me’ cry.”
He smiled
warmly and sat up, brushing her damp hair back from her face. “Can I…watch?”
She arched
an eyebrow. “You’re so strange sometimes.”
He blushed
lightly. “I don’t find it erotic,
Buffy. I…I think it’s beautiful. Watching you nourish our daughter…it’s…I
can’t explain it, really. It’s just…a
beautiful sight to behold.”
She grinned and
leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. “Come on then…we’d better go before she wakes
the whole house up.”
He smiled
brightly and climbed out of bed, grabbing his robe as she slipped into hers.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Amelia
Clayton walked into Giles’ office and smiled, finding him staring at a pile of
papers…a pen held in his left hand, his head propped up with his right. He looked up wearily when he heard her come
in.
“Good
morning, Amelia.”
Her smile
grew as she sat down in a chair in front of his desk. “You look exhausted.”
“Mm.”
He sighed softly and sat up in his chair, running his hand through his
hair. “Haddie hasn’t quite grasped the
concept of sleeping at night yet.”
Amelia
chuckled and crossed her legs. “And how
is Buffy coping?”
Giles
scoffed lightly. “Fine. Haddie sleeps during the day. With Braden in school and Lucas in daycare,
she can sleep as well. The nights, on
the other hand, are a completely different matter…especially on nights when
Buffy feels the need to patrol.”
He tilted
his head and looked into Amelia’s eyes.
“Did you have this problem with your daughter?”
Amelia
laughed loudly. “I had that problem with
all three. Consider yourself lucky that
you’ve only dealt with this once.”
“If this was
an issue with Braden, he very well may have been an only child.”
She laughed
again and shook her head. “She’ll get
the hang of it soon. How is she
otherwise?”
His tired
eyes shone brightly as he smiled. “She’s
an absolute angel. She looks more like
Buffy every day. I think the only thing
she inherited from me is her eyes.”
Amelia
smiled affectionately. “Not a bad thing
to have inherited. I think that was the
first thing I noticed about you.”
Giles
blushed lightly. He opened his mouth to
respond as the phone rang. He smiled
softly and reached for the receiver.
“Rupert
Giles.”
“Mr. Giles,
you have a visitor at reception. He has
passed through security. Would you like
me to send him up?”
“Do you know
the nature of the visit?”
“He stated
that he has information regarding a possible issue in
Giles
narrowed his eyes and glanced at Amelia.
“Send him up, please.”
“Yes, sir.”
The call was
disconnected and Amelia looked at him in concern as he hung the phone up. “Rupert?”
Giles
straightened his tie. “Apparently I have
a visitor. There could be a problem in
“What kind
of problem?” She asked, her concern
evident in her voice.
“I’m not
sure. Hopefully, this visitor will be
able to clarify that for me.” He looked
up as a young man was ushered into his office, his eyes widening as the young
man smiled at him…his eyes glowing an eerie orange.
Amelia
gasped as the demon closed the door behind him.
Giles stood slowly and stared at the young man.
“Novak?”
The man
nodded, his smile growing as he stepped forward. Amelia stood quickly, backing around Giles’
desk. Novak cast her a quick glance and
sighed softly.
Giles placed
his hand on Amelia’s shoulder and smiled softly as she looked at him. He tilted his head towards Novak. “It’s alright, he’s a Cortosan Cirjan. We’ve met before.”
“A few years
ago now.” Novak added quietly.
“Yes, it has
been a while.” He moved around his desk
and stood in front of the demon, extending his hand towards Novak. “How have you been?”
Novak shook
Giles’ hand and shrugged his shoulder.
“Well, I suppose. I returned to
this dimension two years ago. I…went to
the town where we met before, but…it no longer exists.”
Giles
exhaled slowly. “
“I’m glad
you survived.”
Giles smiled
warmly. “As am I. We moved here shortly afterwards.”
“Your wife
and child survived as well, then?”
“Yes,
thankfully. We now have three children.”
Novak
grinned and bowed his head slightly.
“Congratulations to you.” When
Giles smiled in response, Novak looked around the office. “And now you’re in charge of the Council?”
“Ah,
no. I assisted in the reformation.” He gestured towards Amelia. “This is Amelia Clayton, she is the Head of
Council.”
Novak darted
his eyes between the two. “You were
lovers at one time? Not in a very long
while, but at one time, yes?”
Giles
coughed lightly. Amelia blushed
heavily. Novak smiled.
“I
apologize, I didn’t mean to make either of you uncomfortable with my
question. It’s just…” He gestured towards them, his hand aimed
above their heads. “Your auras are
slightly tangled together.”
Giles
cleared his throat. “It was a very long
time ago.”
Novak nodded
and smiled at Amelia. “It is very nice
to meet you, Mrs. Clayton.”
Amelia
returned his smile. “And you as well,
Novak.”
Novak turned
his eyes back to Giles and sighed. “My
visit is not entirely social, I’m afraid.”
Giles
gestured towards one of the chairs as he sat down on the corner of his
desk. “Yes, I was told that you have
some information concerning a possible issue in
Novak sat
down and nodded sadly. “Yes. Concerning your vampire friend, Angel.”
Giles’ eyes
widened slightly. “He, uh…he’s not
actually…well, we haven’t spoken with Angel for some time now.”
“You are
aware that he was successfully initiated into the Circle of the Black Thorn?”
“Yes.” Giles crossed his arms and glanced at Amelia
before turning his eyes back to Novak.
“We were under the impression that it was merely a ruse in order for
Angel to infiltrate the Order.”
“And so it
was.” Novak agreed softly. “However, things are changing in
Giles stared
at the demon. “Angelus has returned?”
“No. Well…not yet, at any rate. But the situation is progressing quickly.”
“Situation?” Giles prompted warily.
“The Senior
Partners of Wolfram & Hart have plans for Angel. They have for many years, hence the offer of
the
Giles moved
from his desk and ran his hand through his hair. “Tell me what you know.”
Buffy made her
way through the Council halls, Haddie in her arms, Braden to her left side, and
Lucas to her right. Braden shifted his
back from his right shoulder to his left.
“Miss Parker
asked what my parents did for a job.”
Buffy smiled
and looked down at him, turning into the hallway that led to her husband’s
office. “Yeah?”
Braden
nodded. “She asked all of us what our
parents do.”
“And what
did you say?”
“Daddy reads
a lot of books for work.” He looked up
at her and narrowed his eyes. “Is that
right?”
Buffy nodded
as she reached down to run her fingers through his thick brown hair. “That’s part of what he does.”
“What do you
do?”
“Saves the
werl.” Lucas replied nonchalantly.
Buffy
quickly looked at her younger son.
“Where did you hear that?”
Lucas looked
up at her as he chewed a grape. “Yan.”
Buffy
narrowed her eyes. “Anya told you that?”
“Yep.”
Buffy shook
her head in annoyance and glanced at the elevator as the doors opened. She smiled as
“Hey,
Buff.” Xander smiled brightly.
“Hey,
Xand.” She shot Anya an annoyed
look. “You and I need to talk.”
Anya smiled,
seemingly oblivious to Buffy’s demeanor.
“Okay. But…right now we have a meeting
with Giles, so it’ll have to wait.”
As soon as
he saw Oz, Lucas ran to him and wrapped his arms around his leg. Oz grinned and reached down to pick the boy
up. They chatted quietly to one another
as they walked the short distance to Giles’ office. Braden walked beside of Anya, laughing at a
joke she had told him.
Xander held
back and looked at Buffy. “What’s
wrong?”
Buffy
shifted Haddie in her arms and sighed heavily, lowering her voice to a
whisper. “Anya apparently told Lucas
that I save the world.”
Xander’s
eyes widened. “Oh, uh…before you go all
ballistic on her…that’s kinda my fault.”
Buffy stared
at him incredulously. “What?”
Xander held
up his hand in a request for her to listen.
“Hold on…it’s not like we just said ‘hey Lucas, guess what your mom
does’…Anya and I were talking…to each other.
I said something about you should take some time off…you know, just so
you could spend some quality time with Giles and the kids…and Anya said that
it’s hard to take time off when you keep having to save the world.”
“You had
this conversation in front of Lucas?”
Xander shook
his head quickly. “No…well, yeah, I
guess we did. But…we didn’t think he was
paying attention to us. He was looking
at a book…”
Buffy sighed
heavily. “You know he’s like his father,
Xander. He can be looking at a book…or
playing…or whatever…but, his ears are always open and listening to everything.”
Xander
ducked his head slightly. “I’m
sorry. We didn’t mean anything by it…”
“I
know. We’ll deal with it later.” She handed Haddie to him when he silently
reached for her. “So, what’s up with the
sudden Scooby meeting?”
They quickly
caught up with the others at Giles’ office door and Xander shrugged his
shoulders. “Have no idea…you didn’t know
about it?”
“No, but…he
knew I’d be coming by after I picked Ru up from school anyway.”
Braden
looked up at his mother and grinned as he pointed towards the door. Buffy smiled and gave him a nod, silent
permission for him to open the door.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Giles looked
up as his door opened. He smiled as his
two sons ran into the office and made a bee-line for him.
“Daddy!” Both boys cried out in unison as Giles walked
around the table and knelt on the floor.
Novak raised
an eyebrow, confusion in his eyes at the show of affection. He turned his head towards the door as five
other people entered the room, one of the young men carrying a baby.
He regarded
each of the newcomers carefully, smiling when his eyes landed on Buffy. He turned back to Giles and the two boys, his
smile growing as he listened to the older boy excitedly tell his father about
his day at school while the younger boy sat on Giles’ knee, playfully tugging
at the golden hoop in his father’s ear.
Suddenly the
younger boy looked up at Novak and tilted his head. “Arng eyes!
I like arng.”
Everyone
turned to look at Novak, who was staring curiously at the boy. Giles cleared his throat and smiled at the
demon.
“
Buffy
narrowed her eyes. “Uh, Giles?”
“Hm?” He placed Lucas on the floor and gently
pushed him towards the toy box in the corner as he met Buffy’s eyes.
She gestured
towards Novak with a tilt of her head.
“What’s going on?”
Novak stood
and gently bowed his head. “Hello, Mrs.
Giles. I am Novak.”
Buffy
thought for a moment and then her eyes widened.
“Oh. Wait, I remember this…” She turned towards her husband. “The guy you met on patrol with Angel one
night…”
Giles
smiled, gently plucking his daughter from Xander’s arms. “Hello, gorgeous.”
Haddie
smiled and snuggled against Giles’ chest.
He bent his head and placed a soft kiss on the golden curls covering her
head.
Novak took
another look at everyone in the room.
“Interesting.”
At the
softly stated word, Giles looked up from his daughter. “I’m sorry?”
Novak
gestured around the room. “The auras
are…interesting.”
Buffy moved
to Giles’ side and met Novak’s eyes.
“What do you mean?”
Novak smiled
warmly. “The two of you…your auras are different, but complimentary. Twisted together tightly. Unbreakable.
Your children’s auras are an interesting amalgamation of your
complimentary colors.” He glanced at Braden
and smiled. “His is extremely bright,
his destiny will be fulfilled one day.”
Oz arched an
eyebrow, but said nothing as the demon continued.
“The younger
boy…” Novak looked into Giles’
eyes. “His is nearly identical to
yours. And the girl’s is warm. Like…compassion.”
He turned
around and stared at Anya. “Yours is
broken.”
Anya crossed
her arms and glared at him. “Well, that
was just rude.”
Giles
chuckled. Anya turned her glare onto
him. “Well, it was. And…it’s rude for you to be laughing about
it!”
Novak shook
his head quickly. “No, what I mean
is…it’s not consistent.”
Xander
grinned. “That’s my Anya…inconsistent
girl.”
Giles
cleared his throat and stepped in to help Novak. “What I believe he is sensing is the fact
that you were once demon, then human, then demon once more. It’s inconsistent.”
“Oh.” Anya replied softly. “Well, okay then.”
Xander put
his arm around Anya and smiled. “What’s
mine say?”
“You’re a
passionate man.”
Anya grinned
broadly. “I can vouch for that!”
Not really
knowing how to reply to that, Novak looked at Oz. “Loyal.
Fiercely loyal. Almost…” He took a step back as his eyes widened in
fear. “Lycan.”
Giles
stepped forward quickly, cradling his daughter in his right arm, and placed his
left hand on Novak’s shoulder. “I’m
sorry, I should have prepared you. Oz is
in complete control of the wolf. He will
do no harm to you, Novak.”
Novak read
the truth in Giles’ eyes and, with a hard swallow, nodded. Giles explained the fact that Lycans had
hunted Cirjans in earlier times and that Lycans were still a problem in the
Cortosa Dimension.
Oz nodded
sympathetically and smiled at Novak.
“I’m not your typical Lycan.”
Novak smiled
shyly and then looked at
* * *
After the
excitement of the unintended announcement of
Haddie
squirmed in his arms and yawned, closing her eyes. Giles shook his head slowly, amusement
showing in his eyes.
“Now you
sleep.”
Buffy smiled
and leaned back in her chair. “Okay,
Giles…what’s with the Scooby meeting?”
Novak
narrowed his eyes in confusion.
“Scooby?”
“Oh.” Novak nodded uncertainly.
Giles
cleared his throat and took a deep breath.
“There’s a problem with Angel.”
“They stop
making the hair gel he prefers?” Xander
asked jokingly.
Giles stared
at him and then looked at Buffy. “His
soul has been compromised.”
Buffy paled
and licked her suddenly dry lips.
“Angelus?”
The room was
silent, everyone anxiously awaiting Giles’ explanation. Giles shook his head and handed Haddie to
Amelia.
“Not yet.”
“What’s
going on?” Buffy whispered softly.
“When Angel
was initiated into the Circle of the Black Thorn, he was presented with the
Mark.” Giles glanced at the others as he
continued. “The Mark is…well, it’s
somewhat of an invisible brand, if you will.”
“And this
invisible brand causes him to lose his soul?”
Anya asked quietly.
“Well, that
would be a gross over-simplification, but…yes.
That would be the end result.”
Giles swallowed
and leaned forward, folding his hands on the table. “Even though Angel accepted the Mark with the
intentions of destroying the Order, the Mark itself is a symbol of evil. And…it is slowly corroding his soul.”
Silence hung
in the air as everyone took in Giles’ words.
Buffy inhaled deeply and met her husband’s eyes.
“So…we get
rid of the Mark and he gets better?”
Giles
covered her hand with his and spoke softly.
“It isn’t that easy, Buffy. From
the reports that Novak has given me, Angel’s soul is…breaking. The Mark must be removed magically.” He glanced at
“But,
magic…I can do magic.”
“This
requires dark magic. I cannot allow you
to participate in this, especially considering the fact that you’re expecting.”
Buffy’s eyes
glistened. “That means…you?”
Giles nodded
slowly. “As well as Ethan and…” He turned his eyes to Anya. “You…if you’d be so inclined to offer your
assistance.”
Anya gave
him a nod after a moment’s thought.
Giles smiled softly in appreciation.
“Okay, so
what’s the plan then?” Buffy asked
hesitantly. “We get him to come over
here and…”
“No.” Giles exhaled deeply. “His soul is not entirely corrupt, but it has
been damaged enough at this point that we can’t rely on him actually coming.”
“So, we go
to
“Buffy…you
can’t go.” He looked over at the sofa
and sighed. “The children…you need to
stay with the children.”
When Buffy
began to protest,
Oz smiled in
understanding when Giles hesitated in agreeing.
“We could come with you. We can
book a few rooms, under an assumed name, and stay in the hotel with the kids. I know neither one of you want to be away
from them…but, it would be too difficult if both of you were away. Especially with Haddie being so young.”
Giles
thought for a few long moments before looking at Amelia. “We’ll need to borrow the jet.”
Amelia
nodded and gave him a small smile. “It’s
yours.”
“If you two
don’t stop bickering, I’m going to throw both of you out of here.” Giles growled.
Anya crossed
her arms and huffed as Xander flushed lightly.
“Sorry, Giles.”
“Thirty
bloody minutes into the flight…” Giles
grumbled under his breath.
Buffy
chuckled softly and placed her hand on his thigh. “As least the kids are asleep.”
He nodded in
agreement. “I must say that I’m more
surprised that Haddie is asleep than I am over Braden or Lucas.”
She smiled
and leaned her head against his shoulder.
“I know it’s been kinda rough for you…but, she’ll get settled into a
night time sleeping routine soon. Maybe
with the time difference, this will help her adjust.”
Giles smiled
and covered her hand with his. “One can
hope.”
She was
quiet for a few minutes and then looked up at him, lowering her voice to a
whisper. “Giles…what if he’s too far
gone?”
He squeezed
her hand gently and sighed. “Come with
me.”
She narrowed
her eyes in confusion as he stood and tugged on her hand. “Where are we going?”
“To
talk. Come on.”
When she
stood, he let go of her hand and knelt next to
He nodded
his thanks and stood, taking Buffy’s hand and leading her to the small room in
the back of the plane. As they passed
Anya and Xander, Anya grinned up at them.
“Off to join
the mile-high club?”
Giles rolled
his eyes, pausing his forward motion.
“Already a member, thank you.”
Xander’s
mouth dropped open in shock. Anya smiled
brightly, obviously pleasantly surprised.
Giles resumed the walk to the room without another word spoken. He quickly ushered Buffy inside and closed
the door behind them.
He looked
down at her to find her smiling up at him.
“What?”
She chuckled
and sat down on the small sofa. “I can’t
believe you said that to her. It was
so…un-Giles-like.”
He shrugged
and sat down beside of her. “Sometimes I
find it annoying that she assumes we’re always having sex. Besides, I didn’t lie to her.”
She blushed
lightly, remembering the plane ride from the States to
He cleared
his throat softly and turned his body towards her. “To answer your earlier question…” He exhaled slowly. “If his soul is too corrupted to repair…he
will need to be, uh…well…”
“Slain?” Buffy asked in a sad whisper.
“Yes.” He lifted his hand and ran his fingers
through her hair. “I wouldn’t ask you to
– ”
“Vampire
Slayer, Buffy the…or a now. Anyway, it’s
what I do.”
Giles nodded
in agreement. “And normally, I would
stand back and let you. But…this is
Angel. This is…different.”
She shook
her head sadly. “No. If he’s too far gone, it isn’t Angel. It’s Angelus.
And…I won’t let him go again. Not
after everything he put us…you…through.
I’ll take care of it.”
“Buffy…”
She stopped
his protest with a gentle whisper. “Just
kiss me, Giles.”
He looked
into her eyes and leaned forward, capturing her lips with his.
* * *
Oz glanced
over at Novak, who was sitting alone, and gently patted
“I’m going
to talk to Novak for a minute.”
“You gonna
ask him what we’re having?”
Oz smiled
cryptically and stood up, kissing her cheek as he did so. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Novak looked
up in surprise when Oz sat down next to him.
Oz smiled softly at the demon.
“Hey,
Novak.”
Novak gave
him a nervous nod. Oz sighed.
“I promise,
I’m in complete control of the wolf.
And, even if I weren’t…it’s still a couple of weeks until the next full
moon.”
“What can I
do for you?” Novak replied quietly.
Oz tilted his
head in thought as he collected his words.
“You mentioned Braden’s destiny.”
Novak
smiled. “Yes, he’s – ”
Oz shook his
head quickly and Novak quietened. “I
know about his destiny. The problem
is…only one other person does.” He
gestured towards Ethan. “Him.”
Novak
narrowed his eyes. “Why only the two of
you?”
Oz took a
deep breath and quietly explained everything to Novak. When he was finished, he looked into the
demon’s orange eyes.
“With
everything going on, I’m not sure Buffy and Giles picked up on the comment you
gave about his destiny. But, I’m worried
that she may question you about it later.
It’s very important that they not know.
For Braden’s sake.”
Novak nodded
slowly, understanding Oz’s concern. “I
will not divulge this secret to anyone, I assure you.”
When Oz
smiled, Novak leaned closer to him.
“Would you like to know the gender of your unborn child now?”
Oz glanced
at
Novak smiled
and whispered one sentence. “Your wife
is carrying your daughter.”
* * *
The kiss had
gotten out of hand within a matter of minutes.
What had started out as a loving kiss of reassurance was now a kiss of
unbridled passion. Buffy had rearranged
their bodies, pushing his back against the cushions and quickly straddling his
thighs. Their tongues fought for control
of the kiss, neither yielding to the other.
He groaned
softly as she pressed her heated core against his erection. His hands moved from her hips to cup her ass
as she slowly moved against him. The
plane hit a small pocket of turbulence causing her to bounce on his lap. They tore from the kiss and groaned
simultaneously.
She rested
her forehead against his, breathing heavily.
“God, Giles…”
He swallowed
hard and moved his left hand to her back, caressing her gently. “We should stop.”
“Mm…” Her fingers ran through his hair. “Don’t wanna.”
“Nor do
I.” He murmured as she lightly fingered
his earring.
“So…let’s
not.” She smiled as he pulled back and
looked into her eyes. “They think we’re
doing this anyway…”
He chuckled
and slid his hands under her shirt, slowly pushing it up. “Buffy-logic…”
Her eyes
sparkled as she lifted her arms, allowing him to remove her top. “You love my logic.”
“I love…you.” He whispered as she began working on his
shirt. “Your logic included.”
With his
shirt quickly unbuttoned, she moved from his lap and knelt between his
legs. She looked into his eyes as she
unbuckled his belt and unfastened his jeans.
“I love you
too.”
He lifted
his hips as she tugged his jeans and boxers down. He whispered her name, his voice thick with
desire, when her hand curled around his erection and she placed a warm kiss on
the glans.
“It feels
like it’s been forever since I’ve tasted you, Giles.”
His eyes
darkened and glazed. “We, uh…haven’t
really had time…”
She shook
her head slowly, disagreeing with him.
“We’ve had time…just not for everything.
And, I’ve been a little greedy in the wanting you inside of me thing.”
His eyes closed
halfway as she dragged her tongue along the underside of his cock. “I…don’t remember complaining…”
She smiled,
rubbing her thumb through the wet path her tongue left. “No, you haven’t. But…I am.”
Any response
he was going to give was lost in a strangled groan as she quickly took him into
her mouth. He combed the fingers of his
left hand through her hair as he watched her.
He found the sight of her mesmerizing.
Kneeling between his thighs, wearing only her jeans and bra, her cheeks
hollowed as she sucked his hardened flesh.
Sensing his
gaze on her, she raised her eyes to meet his.
He gasped at the intensity in her eyes and tightened his fingers in her
hair, involuntarily thrusting his hips against her.
“Sorry…” He mumbled softly and focused on keeping
still.
She shook
her head slightly, her eyes shining brightly at him as she continued to slide
her mouth along his erection. He
regarded her closely and licked his lips.
“You…want me
to?”
She hummed
against his flesh, her affirmative smile showing in her eyes. He shrugged his shirt off and smiled as she
gave his chest an appreciative gaze. He
moved his right hand along her collarbone, edging the strap of her bra off her
shoulder.
“Take it
off.” He demanded in a husky voice.
“Mzzy.” She mumbled around his cock.
He shook his
head and inhaled deeply. “Not too busy
to take it off for me…”
She sighed
heavily and eased her head back, allowing his erection to slip out of her
mouth. She smiled and reached behind her
back, quickly unclasping her bra and letting it drop to the floor. His fingers gently brushed over her hard
nipple causing her to shudder.
He looked
into her eyes and smiled. “I love you so
much, Buffy.”
Her fingers
curled around the hard shaft of his cock.
“I love you too.”
As she
leaned forward, her intention of taking him back into her mouth obvious, he
stopped her with a soft ‘wait’. She
looked up at him expectantly and he gestured to the couch.
“Come up
here.”
Her eyes held
a curious expression, but she released his erection and stood in front of
him. “How are you wanting this?”
He quickly
removed the rest of his clothing and pulled her down beside of him, carefully
pushing her back until she was lying underneath him. His fingers pulled the button on her jeans
free and, as he slid the zipper down, he smiled.
“Remember
what you were saying about you being greedy?”
She nodded,
lifting her hips as he tugged her jeans and underwear down her legs. He dropped the clothing onto the floor and
knelt between her open thighs, rubbing his cock through her wet folds.
“I’m feeling
somewhat greedy myself.” He whispered as
he leaned down and flicked his tongue against her lips.
“But…” She protested softly, her arching hips contradicting
her protest. “I…want…”
He smiled
softly and nodded, pushing himself up.
He gently pulled her up until she was sitting beside of him as he
settled back into the cushions.
“Giles?”
He ran his
fingertips down the side of her face.
“You want to taste me, yes?” He
smiled again as she nodded. “I want to
be inside of you. It doesn’t necessarily
have to be my cock inside of you…I just want to feel you come.”
She shivered
lightly as he trailed his fingers over her breasts and down her torso. He licked his lips and took a deep breath.
“If you’re
on your knees, leaning over me…I can reach you while…”
She grinned
in understanding and quickly moved to her knees and leaned over his straining
erection. She looked up at him as her
tongue darted out to caress the swollen head.
“So, the
plan is…your fingers inside of me while I’m sucking?”
He nodded
slowly, his eyes darkening even more.
“Yes.”
She moved
her mouth to the shaft, using her lips to nip along the flesh. “Will you come in my mouth?”
“Yes…” He whispered breathlessly.
“Touch me,
Giles…” She pled as she licked across
the frenum. “Make me come with your
fingers.”
He groaned
and easily slipped two fingers into her slick channel. She moaned softly and lowered her mouth onto
his cock. He bit his lip to stifle his
groans, thrusting his fingers in perfect rhythm with her mouth sliding over his
flesh. His free hand slipped into her
hair, gently guiding her at the pace he wanted.
He turned
his hand slightly so that he could press his thumb against her clit. Her moan vibrated against his sensitive
skin. He inhaled sharply and thrust his
hips upwards.
“God,
Buffy…close…too close…” He panted
softly, thrusting harder with his fingers as he urged her to come with him.
She mumbled
incoherently and increased her suction, pushing her hips back against his
hand. His fingers tightened in her hair
and he pushed a third finger into her.
Her inner muscles began to quiver almost immediately and she tilted her
head slightly, allowing his cock to slip into her throat.
“Christ!” He hissed, mindful to keep his voice
low. “Buffy…”
She felt his
erection thicken and heard his breathing change, both telltale signs of him
nearing orgasm. She timed her move
perfectly, pulling back until only the head was held between her lips as he
gave a low growl and came forcefully.
The taste of
his come in her mouth sent her over the edge.
She gave a muffled moan, her own fluids flooding his hand as she
swallowed his hungrily. He came again,
not nearly as violent as his first orgasm, as his hand slipped from between her
thighs.
He licked
his hand clean of her fluid as she busied herself with the enjoyable task of
bathing his softening flesh with her tongue.
His chest heaved as she allowed his cock to slip from her lips. She leaned up and kissed him deeply, letting
him suck the remnants of his semen from her tongue.
He ended the
kiss slowly and sighed. His hands
caressed her heated skin lovingly as he whispered to her. “We should get dressed.”
“Yeah…” She agreed softly, not making any effort to
move from his embrace.
He tenderly
tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled.
* * *
Twenty
minutes after he had stated they needed to get dressed, they made their way
back to their seats. Giles heaved a sigh
of relief to find Xander and Anya both sound asleep. After checking on their children, and finding
all three of them sound asleep, he sat down and closed his eyes as Buffy
snuggled against him.
They both
missed the knowing grin shared between
Buffy
collapsed on the bed, yawning widely as Giles smiled at her. “Tired, darling?”
“Mm-hm. Transatlantic flights aren’t fun…then cross
country…I’m exhausted.”
He nodded
sympathetically. “Why don’t you get some
rest. I need to talk to Ethan and
Anya. I’ll drop Braden and Lucas off at
“Haddie?” She asked sleepily.
“I’ll take
her with me.” When Buffy raised an
eyebrow at him, he chuckled softly.
“It’s not as if we’re going to a bar, Buffy. I thought we’d have our discussion over
coffee at that café just down the road.”
She smiled
back at him and glanced at the clock.
“Might want to take a bottle with you.”
“Along with
nappies, a change of clothes…this isn’t my first go with a baby, Buffy.” He replied, a hint of amusement in his voice.
“I
know.” She rolled her eyes and beckoned
him with a small wave of her hand. “Come
here and give me a kiss.”
His eyes
twinkled as he placed one knee on the bed and leaned over her. “Such a hardship, that.”
She sighed
softly as his lips brushed across hers.
“More?”
He shook his
head slowly, a grin on his face. “You
know exactly where that will lead.
And…there are two boys running around this suite who could barge in at
any moment.”
No sooner
had the words left his lips, Braden ran into the room with Lucas hot on his
heels. Giles winked at his wife.
“See?”
“Sometimes I
really hate it when you’re right.” She
mumbled as both boys jumped onto the bed.
Lucas
crawled up beside of Buffy and laid down.
“Mummy’s tired.”
Buffy
chuckled and kissed her son’s forehead.
“Mummy’s very tired.”
Lucas yawned
and snuggled closer to her. “Me
too. Bay’s not.”
Braden shook
his head quickly. “Nope, I’m not
tired.” He looked up at Giles and smiled
brightly. “Haddie’s still asleep.”
Giles ran
his fingers through Braden’s hair and returned his smile. “Would you like to go to Oz and
“Yeah! Oz said he’s gonna teach me how to play
guitar like you and him.”
Giles
laughed softly. “Alright. Go get your things ready.”
Braden
jumped off the bed and looked at his younger brother. “You coming, Luke?”
Lucas shook
his head. “I stay with Mummy.”
Braden
looked disappointed, but shrugged his shoulders and ran out of the room. Giles sat down on the edge of the bed and
gently stroked the side of Lucas’ face.
“You’re
going to stay here and take a nap with Mummy?”
“Uh-huh. Tired.”
Giles leaned
down and kissed his son’s head.
“Alright. Have a nice nap.”
Lucas smiled
sleepily and closed his eyes. “Night.”
Giles
smirked and met Buffy’s eyes. “I shan’t
be very long.”
“Be
careful.” She whispered softly.
“I
will. I love you.”
She reached
up and ran her fingertip over his bottom lip.
“I love you too.”
He fought
the urge to take her fingertip into his mouth.
Braden ran back into the room, his backpack slung over his shoulder.
“I’m ready,
Daddy.” He said brightly.
Giles
cleared his throat and nodded, turning toward the boy. “Alright.
Let’s go get your sister dressed and ready to go.”
Braden
nodded quickly and ran back out into the main room. Giles turned his eyes back to his wife.
“Sleep well,
love.” He whispered, his voice thick
with sudden desire.
She glanced
down at Lucas, already snoring softly beside of her, and then gave Giles a soft
smile. “Tonight.”
He inhaled
deeply at the promise that one word held.
Hearing his son’s voice calling from the other room, alerting him to the
fact that his daughter was now awake, he swallowed and stood up.
“Tonight.”
She smiled,
closing her eyes, as he quietly left the room.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
They sat
around a small table, three cups of coffee and a bottle resting on the
surface. Haddie was sitting on Giles’ right
thigh, reclined against his abdomen as his arm wrapped protectively around her
stomach. Ethan winked at her and she
smiled as her tiny fingers curled around the button on her father’s shirt cuff.
Giles lifted
his cup of coffee, shaking his head in answer to Anya’s question. “No, it wouldn’t be wise to just have him
slain.”
“Well, if
he’s evil and all…”
“We don’t
know that he’s evil, Anya.” Giles
replied softly before taking a sip.
“Angel has been a great asset in the past.”
“Not so much
lately.” At Ethan’s look, she
shrugged. “Well, he hasn’t…not to us,
anyway. How long has it been since any
of us have actually seen him?”
Giles
lightly bounced his daughter in time to the music playing over the speakers in
the small café. Ethan smiled, sure that
Giles didn’t even realize he was doing it.
“Point
taken.” Giles said in response to Anya’s
statement. “But, the answer is still the
same. Slaying Angel is the last resort
for this issue.”
Ethan leaned
forward and took a deep breath. “So, the
vampire stays alive…or undead, as it were…until we are able to determine
whether or not his soul can be repaired.
Fair enough. How do we go about
repairing this souled demon?”
Haddie
whimpered lightly and Giles glanced down, smiling at her as he reached for her
bottle. He shifted her small body as she
took the nipple into her mouth and ate hungrily. When she wrapped her fingers around Giles’
pinky, he bent his head and kissed her forehead.
“That’s my
girl.” He whispered softly.
He looked up
to find his two companions smiling brightly at him. He cleared his throat and attempted to answer
Ethan’s question.
“The Mark of
the Thorn needs to be removed. From what
I’ve ascertained from my research, the thorns embed themselves in the soul and
essentially feed off the bearer’s humanity.
The longer the Mark remains, the more humanity it devours.”
He paused
for a moment, closely regarding Ethan before continuing. “The only way to remove the Mark is through
Poxilium.”
Ethan swore softly,
pushing his cup of coffee away. “You’re
not being serious.”
“Unfortunately,
I’m very serious.”
“If I’d
known that, I wouldn’t have come.” Ethan
shook his head. “You know that it would
be easier to let him die than to perform this ritual.”
“Yes.” Giles glanced at Anya and then looked back at
Ethan. “We both are fully aware of that
fact.”
Ethan stared
at him in disbelief. “And yet, you want
to save this vampire.”
“Angel has
done a lot of good in the past.”
“And this
has nothing to do with Buffy?” Anya
asked as she raised an eyebrow.
“Buffy is
prepared to Slay him…if need be. I’m
hoping it doesn’t come to that.” Giles
answered in a cool tone.
“And you’re
prepared to perform dark magicks in order to save him?” Ethan shook his head and sat back in his
chair. “I just don’t understand. You know how dangerous this is.”
“Yes. I also know that I can’t do it on my
own. If you’re choosing to not assist
me, then you should tell me now. And…go
home.”
“That’s not
what I’m saying, Rupert.” Ethan sighed
heavily. “He’s not just going to sit
there and let us do this. You know
that. He’s going to fight it every step
of the way.”
“Angel still
has a prophecy to fulfill. If he loses
his soul now, everything he has worked for would be for naught. This isn’t something to keep my wife’s
ex-boyfriend in existence. If his soul
is lost, it would be extremely detrimental to the world.”
“So…save
Angel, save the world?” Ethan asked in
an exasperated tone.
Giles exhaled
slowly and looked down at his now-sleeping daughter. “That about sums it up.”
“When do you
want to do it?”
Giles looked
up, hearing the resigned tone of Ethan’s voice.
“Buffy and I are going to see him tomorrow. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find out how
compromised he is at the moment.”
“Okay.” Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly. “You know I’m not exactly happy about this,
yeah?”
“Yes.”
“As long as
we’re in understanding about that fact.”
Ethan looked down at Haddie and sighed.
“Anya and I will get the necessary supplies ready tomorrow while you’re
visiting Angel.”
“Thank
you.” Giles whispered softly, looking
down at Haddie when she squirmed in his arms.
“I, uh…I should get back. I’ll
call you when we get back to our room…we’ll brief you on his condition and
decide on which further steps we need to take.”
Ethan nodded
in agreement as Giles stood. “Just…for
God’s sake, be careful.”
Giles smiled
softly. “We will. Goodnight, Ethan…Anya.”
Anya gave
him a smile and a wave. Her smile faded
as Giles walked out of sight and she met Ethan’s eyes.
“I know this
is dangerous…dark magicks always are.
But…he hasn’t exactly told me what the Poxilium consists of…”
“Didn’t
think so.” He tilted his head towards
the bar across the street. “Come have a
beer with me and I’ll explain everything to you.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Four hours
after Giles had returned to the suite, all three children were sleeping soundly
in their beds. Four and a half hours
after he had returned, he was holding Buffy’s nude body in his arms as she
kissed him deeply.
His hand
gently squeezed her hip as she broke the kiss and looked into his eyes. “You’re tense.”
He nodded in
agreement. “It’s a tense time.”
She moved
off of him and knelt at his side. “Roll
over.” When he merely stared at her, she
nudged him. “Go on, roll over. I can’t make love to you when you’re all
stiff.”
A small grin
played at his lips and she rolled her eyes.
“You know what I mean, Giles.
Roll over.”
He chuckled
softly and complied with her softly-spoken order, carefully positioning his
body so there wasn’t too much pressure placed on his semi-hard cock. She straddled his hips and placed her warm
hands on his back, instantly feeling the knots under his skin.
“I’m
surprised you can even move…” She stated
as she started kneading the muscles.
He groaned
softly as her hands worked their magic.
“You know how this is going to end up.”
“Mm-hm.” She smiled as she pressed her hands along his
spine, the pops and crackles sounding loud in the room. “With you either asleep or…very horny. What do you think it’ll be this time?”
He inhaled
deeply as she slid backwards, resting on the backs of his thighs and placing
her hands on his lower back. “I think
it’s safe to assume that I’m not exactly feeling sleepy.”
She leaned
forward and kissed his back softly before dragging her tongue along his
spine. He hissed as her hand moved lower
and kneaded his ass. He felt her smile
against his skin before she lifted her head and whispered to him.
“I think you
know what I want…”
He groaned
as she placed a series of warm, wet open-mouthed kisses across his lower back
before gently nipping the firm flesh of his ass cheek with her teeth. His hips jerked, pushing his now fully erect
cock against the mattress beneath him.
“Buffy…”
She grinned
and blew a puff of warm air over his flesh.
“I think you want it too.”
His left
hand gripped the sheet tightly as he groaned into the pillow. “Yes…”
“Tell me,
Giles…” She whispered huskily as both hands
rubbed his firm flesh.
“Christ,
Buffy…” He moaned as her thumbs dipped
into the crevice between his cheeks.
“Tell
me.” She repeated, gently scraping her
thumbnail across the puckered opening.
His hips
jerked again, a light sheen of sweat coating his back as he growled
softly. “Fuck me.”
She smiled
and reached for the bottle of oil she had placed on the bedside table earlier,
carefully hidden behind the lamp.
When he felt
the oil drizzle between his buttocks, he gasped and twisted his fingers in the
sheet. When he felt her finger slide
through the oil and nudge the puckered orifice, he groaned and shuddered.
“Buffy,
wait…”
She looked
up as he turned his head and looked at her over his shoulder. His heart pounded in his chest as he took in
the sight of her straddling his left thigh, a loving smile on her lips. He could feel her warmth as she gently ground
her core against the back of his thigh.
Her finger
nudged him again, her voice soft as she spoke.
“I thought you wanted this.”
He swallowed
and gave her a quick nod, his eyes nearly black with lust. “I do.
God, I do.”
“What’s
wrong?”
“I’m
too…” He licked his dry lips, his chest
heaving as he panted. “I’m going to come.”
She rocked
her hips lightly, rubbing her wetness across his skin. “So am I.
You can feel that, right?”
He nodded
slowly, carefully turning his body onto his side, biting his lip as she shifted
and gave him the room he needed to move.
She tried to hide the disappointment on her face as she knelt on the
bed.
His slightly
trembling hand took hold of her wrist and gently tugged. “Come here, Buffy.”
She allowed
him to pull her up towards him and she lay down beside of him, facing him. He smiled softly as his fingers lovingly caressed
the side of her face.
“I want to
make love with you.” He whispered. “I want to move inside of you…slowly. I want to kiss you and feel your nails
scratch my back. And…I want to be able
to look into your eyes as I come inside of you.”
She inhaled
sharply at his words, feeling her skin flush with desire. “Giles…”
He gently
rolled her onto her back and leaned over her, his lips hovering millimetres
above hers as he gazed into her eyes.
“Please…allow me to make love with you.”
She lifted
her hand to his cheek and smiled. “You
and your words…”
He smiled
softly and descended towards her lips. A
whimper was heard through the monitor resting on the bedside table. He dropped his head to her shoulder and
sighed heavily.
“No…not
now…” He turned his eyes to the monitor,
his voice pleading. “Please, Haddie…go
back to sleep, sweetheart…please…”
Buffy rubbed
his back soothingly as Haddie’s whimper began to morph into a full-fledged
cry. “I’m sorry, Giles. I’m so sorry.”
He fell to
the mattress, rolling onto his back and exhaled deeply. “There’s nothing to apologize for, love. Shall I go?”
She patted
his chest and shook her head. “I’ll
go…hopefully, it won’t take long.”
He nodded as
she climbed out of bed and grabbed her robe.
Buffy quickly left the room and made her way to their daughter. He smiled as he listened to his wife whisper
softly to Haddie. As his erection began
to subside, he closed his eyes and focused on Buffy’s voice…and Haddie’s soft
coos.
It wasn’t
long before the exhaustion of the long trip claimed him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Giles woke
to a slight heaviness on his back, a small hand patting his shoulder. “Wake up, Daddy!”
He opened
his eyes and took a deep breath. “Good
morning, Lucas.”
Lucas
giggled brightly. “You awake!”
Giles
chuckled softly. “Where’s your brother?”
“Heppin’
Mummy.”
He carefully
rolled onto his back when Lucas moved to his side. He narrowed his eyes, confused by the fact
that he was wearing pajama pants. He
didn’t remember putting them on. In
fact, he didn’t remember Buffy returning to bed.
“And what is
Mummy doing?”
“Pancakes!” Lucas replied happily.
Giles smiled
and reached up, brushing the boy’s hair with his fingertips. “Wouldn’t you prefer eggs?”
Lucas shook
his head quickly. “I like pancakes.”
“Yes, I
know.” He sat up and leaned against the
headboard. “And your sister?”
“Addie’s
awake.” Lucas looked down at Giles’ side
and touched a pale line of skin. “What’s
that?”
Giles looked
down and sighed. “A scar. That happens when you get hurt and the body
heals itself.”
“Oh.” Lucas looked up quickly and pointed to his
father’s neck. “Like that?”
Giles nodded
slowly. “Injuries happen from time to
time, son.”
“Mummy has a
car like that.” His green eyes still
focused on Giles’ neck.
“Yes, she
does.”
Lucas met
his father’s eyes and tilted his head thoughtfully. “Hurt?”
Giles smiled
warmly and leaned forward, kissing Lucas’ cheek. “Better now.”
Lucas
grinned and wrapped his arms around Giles’ neck. “Want pancakes?”
Giles
chuckled and hugged his son tightly.
“Pancakes sound wonderful.”
* * *
Lucas ran
through the suite towards the small kitchen area. Giles smiled as he followed him, looking down
at the blanket on the floor where his daughter was lying on her back and
kicking happily. He bent down and picked
her up, giving her a soft kiss.
“Good
morning, Haddie.”
Haddie
smiled and cooed softly. Braden turned
around from helping Buffy and grinned broadly.
“Hi Daddy!”
Giles walked
into the kitchen and knelt in front of the boy, wrapping his free arm around
him and pulling him into a close hug before kissing his temple.
“Good
morning, Braden. Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah. Luke was snoring though.”
Buffy turned
around, a grin on her face as she placed a plate of pancakes on the table. “So was your father.”
Braden
laughed as Giles smiled, leaning down to kiss Buffy’s lips. “I’m sorry about that.”
Buffy
caressed his cheek and gave him a wink.
“Make it up to me later.”
Giles
cleared his throat and sat down at the table, Haddie on his thigh and Lucas
sitting in the chair next to him. His
eyes wandered over his family and his heart swelled with love. Buffy tilted her head and regarded him
closely as the boys began to devour their pancakes.
“You okay,
Giles?”
“Hm?” He met her eyes and smiled. “Oh, yes.
Just…thinking.”
Buffy poured
the syrup over her stack and raised an eyebrow at him. “Good thoughts?”
Giles nodded
as he looked at their children once more.
“Extremely.”
She smiled
brightly, listening to her sons’ playful banter as they enjoyed a nice family
breakfast.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Buffy sighed
heavily as they stood outside of Angel’s office. Giles looked down at her, concern in his
green eyes.
“Are you alright?”
“Oh,
yeah…peachy.” She met his eyes and shook
her head. “Sorry. I’m just a little nervous. And…do you think it’s really strange that the
girl at the information desk just sent us straight up?”
He lifted
his hand and rubbed her back gently. “Somewhat, yes. But, it could be simply that she knew who you
are and assumed that we are here on something of an apocalyptic nature.” He smiled as she raised a doubtful
eyebrow. “Or it could be something
completely different.”
She scoffed
lightly. “Way to reassure me, Giles.”
He gave her
a warm smile and gestured towards the door.
“Ready?”
“As I’ll
ever be, I guess.” She raised her hand
and gave the door three quick raps with her knuckles.
Angel’s
gruff voice sounded through the wooden door.
“Come in.”
Buffy took a
deep breath and opened the door. Giles
gave her an encouraging smile and gently ushered her inside.
Angel looked
up, his eyes narrowing slightly as Giles closed the door behind them. “Buffy, Giles…hello.”
“Hello,
Angel.” Giles responded quietly as the
vampire stood.
Buffy gave a
small smile. “Hey.”
“It’s been a
while.” Angel gestured towards two
chairs in front of his desk. “Have a
seat. Can I get you anything? Tea, coffee?”
Giles waited
until Buffy sat before lowering his large frame to the chair next to her. “No thank you.”
Angel nodded
and sat back down, folding his hands on his desk. “So…welcome to the L.A. Branch of Wolfram
& Hart. What can I do for you?”
Giles’ eyes
narrowed slightly. Buffy tilted her head
as she regarded the vampire closely.
“All
business these days, Angel?”
He offered
her a smile and leaned back in his chair.
“Well, I assumed that you were here on business. We haven’t been exactly social in the past
few years.”
“True.” Giles responded softly. “Actually, we’re here to talk to you.”
“I’m gonna
go out on a limb and say that you’re here to talk about the rumours floating
around.” Angel smiled at the
Watcher. “My soul?”
Giles’ eyes
widened a fraction and Buffy leaned forward.
Angel chuckled and gestured vaguely.
“Vampire
hearing…people forget how clear it can be.
I hear people discussing their concern that the Mark of the Thorn
has…what was the word they used?” He
thought for a moment and then nodded.
“Corrupted…that’s it. They’re
worried that my soul has been corrupted.”
Giles
cleared his throat. “Yes, well – ”
Angel smiled
warmly. “My soul is fine, Giles. All intact and I’m still as…broody…as ever.”
Giles opened
his mouth to respond, closing it when he noticed Angel’s eyes dart to his
wife’s breasts quickly. His eyes
narrowed as Angel lifted his gaze and looked into Buffy’s eyes.
“You’ve had
another baby.” He smiled, knowing Buffy
was at a loss for words, and gestured towards her chest. “Your breasts are…fuller. And you don’t exactly look pregnant at the
moment. Is this three or four now?”
Buffy
swallowed, unconsciously leaning towards Giles.
“Three. Angel – ”
“Another
boy?” Angel turned his dark eyes to
Giles. “Or did you finally get the girl
you’ve wanted?”
Giles shook
his head in confusion. “Our children
aren’t up for discussion, Angel.”
Angel picked
up a pen and rolled it between his fingers.
“And neither is my soul…which is perfectly fine. I appreciate your concern, but there’s no
need for it. If there’s nothing else, I
have a nest of Quandesh demons on the North side to take care of.”
“Angel…” Buffy started, but stopped when the vampire
shook his head.
“I’m busy
right now, Buffy. But…maybe if you’re in
town for a few days we could do dinner one night. I wouldn’t mind catching up with you guys.”
Giles nodded
slowly, taking Buffy’s hand. He stood
and pulled her up with him, offering Angel a smile. “That could possibly be arranged. We’ll be in Los Angeles until Thursday.”
Angel smiled
and stood, extending his hand.
“Great. Leave your number with
Janice, the lady at reception, and I’ll give you a call.”
Giles shook
the proffered hand briefly and led Buffy to the door. “Will do.
Good day, Angel.”
Angel smiled
as Buffy and Giles walked into the hall.
His smile faded as Buffy closed the door behind them. He quickly picked up the phone and punched
the number that would connect him with reception.
“Janice,
there will be two people coming down soon.
Man and a woman…blonde, short…get their details for me. Phone number, hotel…anything you can get from
them.”
He hung up
the phone and sat down behind his desk.
A green flicker of light flashed in his dark eyes as a smile formed on
his face.
The large group
had gone to dinner together, cryptically discussing the issue with Angel. Buffy and Giles needed to get the information
to the others, but were careful of their words around the children. Especially Lucas, as it seemed that he was
always listening.
When Giles
noticed his sons growing tired, he suggested that the group adjourn to the
suite that the Giles family was currently occupying. The boys were bathed quickly and dressed for
bed, giving out goodnight kisses and hugs before being put to bed.
Buffy
brought Haddie’s monitor out of their bedroom and placed it on the small coffee
table as everyone got comfortable. Giles
handed Xander a bottle of beer, pouring himself a small tumbler of scotch
before settling next to Buffy.
“So, he
denied it?” Anya asked carefully.
Giles nodded
and took a sip of his drink. “Fairly
vehemently, as well.”
“And you
don’t believe him?” Ethan questioned,
lifting his beer to his lips.
Giles stared
into Ethan’s eyes and shook his head slowly.
“I don’t.”
Buffy sighed
heavily and leaned back into the cushions.
“I don’t either.”
Novak
cleared his throat and leaned forward.
“We have little time before his soul is beyond repair.”
“So, it’s
time to finalize the plan?” Xander asked
nervously, reaching over and lacing his fingers through Anya’s.
“I know what
the plan is for us.” Willow gestured
between herself and Oz as a pout formed on her lips. “We get to baby-sit.”
Oz smiled
and patted her knee lovingly. “I’d
rather think of it as protecting the children.”
Giles gave
Willow a sympathetic smile. “Normally, I
would request your presence, Willow.
But, given the circumstances…you being pregnant and the nature of the
spell…I’d feel safer if you were with Oz and our children. Please understand…”
Willow
sighed heavily. “I understand,
Giles. I really do. I just…want to help.”
Buffy smiled
at her best friend. “And taking care of
our children is the best way to help us right now. We know they’ll be safe with you guys…and
we’ll be able to focus on what we need to do.”
Xander
drained his beer and balanced the empty bottle on his knee. “There’s not much I can do…spell-wise. I can stay with Will and Oz…help them with
the kids.”
“Thank
you.” Giles smiled softly at the young
man before he took a deep breath and leaned forward, darting his eyes between
Ethan and Anya. “I’ll need the two of
you to buy me as much time as possible in order for me to take the Mark.”
Buffy
lowered her eyes, twisting her hands in her lap. Novak stared at Giles, his orange eyes
flickering in the light of the room.
“Take the
Mark?”
Giles nodded
slowly. “After researching this issue
fully, performing Poxilium is the only viable – ”
Novak
interrupted him gently. “Take the
Mark? You?” He shook his head, his eyes full of
concern. “You’re suggesting that you
take ownership of the Mark.”
“Yes.” Giles responded quietly. “Once the Mark is in my possession, Ethan and
Anya will work to repair any damage to Angel’s soul. And…then we’ll work on destroying the Mark.”
Novak’s eyes
narrowed. “And the damage the Mark will
do to you?”
Giles
glanced at Buffy, sighing as she stood and walked across the room to stare out
the window. “I have not earned the
Mark. The Mark of the Thorn corrupts the
souls of those who have been initiated into the order. From the research I’ve done, it shouldn’t
affect me.”
“Shouldn’t…” Buffy whispered softly, wrapping her arms
around herself.
“When are
you wanting to do this, Rupert?” Ethan asked
softly as Giles watched Buffy.
“Tomorrow
afternoon. Three o’clock.” He stated, not taking his eyes off his
wife.
“Why
three?” Anya questioned.
Giles stood,
placing his empty tumbler on the table.
“Optimum time for the Poxilium.”
Without another
word or glance, he made his way to Buffy.
He stood behind her and slid his arms around her slightly trembling
body, pulling her against his chest.
“Buffy…” He whispered softly.
She shook
her head and sniffled. “I don’t like
that word… ‘shouldn’t’. I want something
more definite. Like… ‘there’s no chance
in hell of it affecting me’.” She turned
in his arms and looked up at him. “Say
that to me, Giles.”
He lifted
his hand and caressed her cheek, sighing sadly as a tear spilled down her
face. “You know that I can’t. Chances are very slim that it will affect me,
but…”
“Very
slim…see, that’s not a definite statement to me.” Her bottom lip trembled. “What if I lose you, Giles?”
He pulled
her tightly against his chest, lowering his mouth to her ear and whispering
softly. “You’re not going to lose me.”
Willow stood
and cleared her throat, gaining Giles’ attention. She gave him an understanding smile and
motioned towards the door.
“You two
should talk. Um…so, we’re going to go.”
Giles nodded
as everyone stood and started towards the door.
“We’ll meet here tomorrow for lunch…go over the last details of the
plan…”
Willow
nodded in agreement, slipping her hand into Oz’s. “Yeah, we’ll be here. Get some rest tonight…I think you’re going to
need it.”
As their
guests left and the door closed, Giles looked down into Buffy’s watery
eyes. He lowered his voice to a gentle
whisper and ran his fingers through her hair.
“It’s the
only way, Buffy.”
A tear
rolled down her face. “I know…it doesn’t
mean I have to like it.”
He leaned
down and placed a tender kiss on her lips.
Her hands gripped the front of his shirt as her mouth opened under
his. He gasped softly as her tongue slid
along his bottom lip. As her fingers
unbuttoned his shirt, she broke the kiss and looked into his eyes.
“Giles?”
“Yes?” He responded quietly.
Her eyes
shone brightly with unshed tears as she pushed his now-open shirt off his
shoulders. “I really need you to make
love to me.”
He
understood her statement for what it was…fear.
Fear of losing him, fear of the Mark somehow damaging him, fear that
this may be the last chance they had. He
understood her fear.
He couldn’t
truthfully tell her that he was one hundred percent sure that he would come out
of this unscathed. He also knew that her
fear was warranted. Should Angel, or
rather Angelus, decide to exert the power of the Mark…this very well could be
their last chance.
And so he
did what he could. He lifted her into
his arms. And when she wrapped her legs
around his hips and laid her head on his shoulder, he carried her into the
bedroom.
* * *
He grunted
softly as her teeth bit his shoulder. He
hooked his arm under her knee, opening her wider as he continued his furiously
slow pace. Sweat dripped from his chest
onto hers, the beads of moisture trickling down her sides to fall onto the
sheets.
His tongue
glided along her collarbone, his lips nipping at her sensitive skin
periodically. He was pushing her towards
her fourth orgasm when her nails raked across his back.
“Christ,
Buffy…”
She smiled
and moved her mouth to the front of his throat.
She felt his hard swallow and pushed her hips upwards, urging him
towards climax. He groaned softly when
her teeth scraped his skin.
She felt the
tremble in his back muscles and lowered her head back to the pillow. She offered him a lazy smile and licked her
lips.
“Come…with
me…this time.” She whispered as he
continued his thrusts.
“I love
you.” He whispered in response, closing
his eyes when he felt her inner muscles begin to quiver once more. “God, I love you…”
“With me,
Giles…please…”
He gave her
a slight nod, lowering his head to her shoulder as he quickened his
strokes. Her fingers slipped through the
sheen of sweat on his back as she met each of his thrusts in perfect time.
“Yes…Giles…yes…”
He mumbled
incoherently against her flesh, his tongue lapping at the salty moisture on her
neck. She felt his cock thicken inside
of her and she gave a low moan of ecstasy.
As her fluids rushed over his thrusting erection, his back muscles
tensed. He allowed the warmth of her
juices to take him over the edge, his deep growl vibrating against her skin as
he came forcefully within her.
He moved his
arm, letting her leg fall to the mattress as he lifted his hand and cradled her
face. He stared into her eyes for a
moment, relishing the sensation of her fingers combing through his
sweat-drenched hair.
“What is it,
honey?” She asked softly, recognizing
the intensity in his darkened green eyes.
“I’d do it
all over again.” He whispered hoarsely,
his thumb stroking her warm cheek.
“Do what?”
“Everything.” His eyes glistened in the dim light as he
leaned down and gently kissed her lips.
“Absolutely everything.”
She exhaled
slowly, understanding his words. Her
thumb brushed over his eyebrow and down the side of his face. “Me too.”
He smiled
softly and moved to her side. She rolled
over and faced him, returning his smile as he wrapped his arms around her.
“Do you know
how much I love you, Giles?”
He pushed
her damp hair back from her face and nodded slowly. “As much as I love you.”
She snuggled
against him, sighing as she listened to his heart rate calm. After a few moments, she broke the silence.
“Are you
scared about this?”
He cleared
his throat and inhaled deeply. “I’d be
lying if I said I wasn’t nervous, Buffy.
However…I honestly believe this will work. I can’t tell you that everything will be
fine, as much as I want to. But, I can
tell you that I believe in my heart we’ll be alright…all of us.”
“I want to
go home, Giles. I don’t think I like
California anymore.”
He rubbed
her back soothingly, pressing a kiss into her hair. “California isn’t the problem, darling. The State itself has some rather enticing
attributes. Our dealings with California
are tarnishing your image of your home.”
“No.” Buffy disagreed softly. “Our dealings with California do nothing but
make the images of my home brighter.”
She lifted
her head and looked into his eyes. “If it
weren’t for our dealings with California, I wouldn’t have a home. You’re my home, Giles.”
“As you’re
mine, love.” He glanced at the bedside
table and narrowed his eyes. “We left
the monitor in the other room.”
Buffy lifted
her head, narrowing her eyes as she listened for any noise. “Think maybe Haddie’s gotten the idea of
sleeping through the night?”
Giles
chuckled softly. “I wouldn’t count the
chickens just yet. It’s not even one…”
“She’ll be
hungry soon.”
Giles smiled
and gently pushed her down to the mattress, pulling the sheet and blanket up
over them. “I’ll go when she wakes. You should get some sleep.”
“So should
you.” Buffy narrowed her eyes as she
placed her hand on his chest. “You’re
the one doing all the hard work tomorrow.”
“Which is
why I’m unable to sleep.” He lay down
beside of her, resting his head on the pillow as he smiled at her. “Go to sleep.
Everything will be fine.”
She shook
her head, even as she yawned widely.
“Not tired.”
He raised an
eyebrow, sliding his hand over her hip.
“Then I obviously didn’t complete my task earlier.”
A smile
tugged at the corner of her lips.
“Trying to wear me out?”
“Mm…” He licked his lips as his fingers gently
pushed through her wet folds. “Seems as
though I should try harder.”
He smiled as
she groaned his name and closed her eyes.
Lunch had been a fairly subdued affair.
Giles and Buffy attempted to keep the situation as light as possible for
the sake of their children. They
succeeded for the most part, though tensions were running a bit high.
It had been agreed that Xander would stay with Willow and Oz. Xander wasn’t exactly happy with the decision
as he was worried about Anya. But, Anya
assured him that she’d be alright and sealed the promise with a tender
kiss.
Giles and Buffy spent some quality time with the children before giving
each of them a kiss goodbye. Giles
turned around as he reached the door, smiling at the image of Willow cuddling
Haddie lovingly. He met Oz’s eyes and
cleared his throat.
“Take care of them.” He stated
softly.
Oz nodded, placing his hand lightly on the top of Braden’s head as Lucas
playfully argued with Xander. “Do what
you need to do.”
Giles gave the young man a quick nod and opened the door. He gave his children one last smile before
following Buffy, Ethan, Anya, and Novak down the hall to the elevator. When he sighed heavily, Buffy took his hand
and gently squeezed.
“You know I’ll do everything I can to protect you, right?”
Giles offered her a small smile and nod, gesturing to the elevator when
the doors slid open. “After you, love.”
* * *
Ten minutes after the others had left, Willow took Haddie into the
bedroom to change her diaper. Braden was
helping Xander build a city out of blocks as Oz read a story to Lucas. Xander glanced at Oz when a knock sounded on
the door. Oz shrugged a shoulder,
continuing to read as Xander stood up to answer the door.
Angel smiled as the door swung open.
“Hi, Xander.”
Xander narrowed his eyes. “Hey,
Angel. What are you doing here?”
“Just thought I’d drop by to say hi.”
Xander took a step back, his eyes widening as Angel walked through the
door. “I thought you had to be invited…”
Angel grinned and closed the door behind him. “Common misconception. That rule doesn’t apply to hotel rooms. You should know that…that’s how I saved you
when Faith was choking the life out of you.”
Oz dropped the book onto the couch and stood with Lucas in his
arms. Xander quickly backed up and took
Lucas from Oz. Lucas settled comfortably
in Xander’s arms before settling his eyes on the tall stranger. Angel watched Oz move across the room to the
older boy. When Angel met Braden’s eyes,
he was slightly surprised to find the boy staring at him intently.
Angel tilted his head and pointed to the boy. “You must be Braden.”
Braden nodded slowly as he stood up.
Oz stood next to him in a protective manner. Angel chuckled and turned his eyes to Oz.
“You his bodyguard?”
“What do you want, Angel?” Oz replied
with a calmness that he didn’t really feel.
Lucas stared at the visitor, his eyes widening as the man’s visage
morphed. The young boy screamed loudly
for his mother.
Willow snapped her head towards the door as she quickly picked Haddie
up. Grabbing her mobile phone, she
quickly sent a message to Buffy.
* * *
Buffy pulled her phone out of her pocket and flipped it open, easily
navigating the menu until she reached her inbox. Her face drained of color as she read the
message that consisted of three characters.
911.
“Go back!”
Giles hit the brakes quickly at her scream of panic.
* * *
Angel grimaced and gestured at Lucas.
“Could someone please shut him up before I have to eat him?”
Xander lovingly patted Lucas’ back as he whispered to the boy. “It’s okay, Lucas. Shh…”
Angel began to pace across the room.
“So we have Braden and Lucas.
Buffy says there was a third.” He
stared at Oz through soulless eyes.
“Where’s the baby?”
Hearing a mobile phone ring, Angel ran towards the bedroom and flung the
door open. Willow jumped back, holding
Haddie close to her chest as she dropped the phone to the floor.
Angel grinned. “There’s the
baby. Hi, Willow. Why don’t you bring the baby out here with
the rest of us. We can have a little
reunion party while Buffy and Giles are looking for me at the office.”
Willow rushed past Angel and ran to her husband. Angel rubbed the palms of his hands together.
“Now…where should I start?”
Braden peeked out from behind Oz’s legs.
Angel noticed the movement and shook his head, confused by the fact that
Braden didn’t seem to be overly frightened of him.
He turned his gaze to the boy in Xander’s arms. Despite the fact that the child had screamed
for his mother, Lucas’ green eyes were staring at him in a most disconcerting
manner.
“Buffy will be back soon, Angel.”
Willow offered quietly.
“No she won’t. She and Giles are
on their way to Wolfram & Hart…to cure me of my ailment.” Angel laughed loudly, taking a few steps
forward and glancing down at the baby.
“Cute baby. She looks like
Buffy.”
Haddie shivered as Angel’s cold fingers touched her face. Braden quickly moved around Oz, anger in his
eyes.
“Don’t touch her!”
Angel smiled, his face morphing back into its human version as he turned
around. “Ah, protective big
brother. This is going to be fun.”
Oz growled softly as he grabbed Braden’s shoulder. Angel smirked at the young man.
“I’d heard you had control of your inner beast. Wasn’t quite sure if it was true or not.”
“Take one step closer and you’ll find out.” Oz’s eyes darkened as he stared at Angel.
In an act of defiance, Angel took one large step towards Braden. Within seconds he found himself face to face
with a werewolf as Braden sneezed. Angel
gave Oz an appreciative smile.
“I’m impressed. Know any other
party tricks?”
Angel turned quickly when he heard the hotel room door open. “Ah, Buffy…Giles. So nice to see you again.”
As the parents quickly cast their gazes over their children, Angel
chuckled. “They’re fine. I haven’t done anything to them…except for
introduce them to the appearance of a vampire.
But, I figure they’ll have to know about that soon enough…right?”
As Anya, Ethan, and Novak ran into the room, Angel rolled his eyes. “And the party keeps getting bigger.”
Buffy narrowed her eyes and moved towards Angel. “How did you know?”
Angel clucked his tongue in disappointment. “I run Wolfram & Hart. I have ways of finding out anything I feel
the need to know.” He licked his lips and
gestured towards Giles as he stared into Buffy’s eyes. “Tell me, Buffy…have you two ever taped
yourselves having sex? If you
haven’t…you really should. Better than
most adult movies I’ve seen…”
“You’ve been watching us.” Giles’
voice held the icy tone of borderline rage.
“How long?”
Angel shrugged a shoulder and pulled a knife out of his pocket. “Long enough that you’re planning something
to reconstruct my broken soul. Kinda
sweet when you think about it.”
Braden’s eyes widened as the light glinted off the blade. “Daddy?”
“It’s okay, son. Stay with
Oz.” Giles softened his voice, but kept
his eyes locked on Angel.
Angel’s eyes flickered. “Aren’t
you a good father, Giles?”
“He’s the best.” Braden stated,
starting to walk forward and stopping when he heard Oz’s soft growl.
The vampire looked down at the boy.
“You gonna be like your Dad one day?
Have a Slayer of your own?” He
smiled at the confusion in the child’s eyes.
“Your Mom is your Dad’s Slayer, you know.”
“Angel…” Giles’ warning tone did
nothing but make Angel smile wider.
“Remember this, young Braden.
There’s only one thing better than sex with a Slayer…and that’s the
taste of her blood.” He turned to Buffy
and grinned. “Isn’t that right, Buffy?”
Giles struck quickly, landing a solid left hook to Angel’s jaw. Angel countered with a swipe of the knife in
his hand, slicing through the flesh on Giles’ arm.
“Daddy!” Braden screamed, his
sudden rush forward halted by a large paw on his shoulder.
Giles pressed his hand over the wound and glanced at his son. “I’m alright, Braden.”
As soon as they realized that Giles had been wounded, Anya and Ethan
began concentrating. Giles held his arm
so that the blood trickled down to his hand.
Buffy glared at the vampire.
“Bastard.”
Angel twirled the knife in his hand before lifting it to his mouth and
licking the blood from the blade.
“Self-defense, Buff. He hit me
first.”
Buffy looked over at Xander, relieved that he had turned and shielded
Lucas from the sight. She heard her son
whimper and Xander whisper to him softly.
She returned her eyes to Angel when she heard him address her husband.
“Come on, Watcher. Shall we
finish this?”
Giles took a deep breath, sensing the energy filling him. He stood tall in front of Angel, his eyes
sparking with rage.
“Yes.”
Angel licked his lips and lunged forward, slashing through the air with
the knife. Giles dodged quickly and then
ducked when Angel countered with a backhanded swipe. As Angel turned to face him full on, Giles
quickly uttered four words in a language that was decidedly not English and
slammed his bloody palms against Angel’s chest.
Angel froze, his eyes widening in pain and fear. The knife dropped from his hand and bounced
on the carpeted floor, leaving a blood smear on the fibres. As the vampire dropped the floor, Giles
followed him down.
He shoved Angel onto his back, leaning over him as he continued his
chant. After a few moments, Angel’s eyes
gleamed brightly and he screamed. Giles
stiffened and gasped loudly. Buffy ran
to him when Ethan yelled that it was done.
She grabbed her husband and pulled him up. Giles pushed away and stumbled
backwards. He breathed heavily as he
looked at Ethan and pointed to Angel.
“Check…him…”
He wobbled once and then fell backwards onto the floor. Buffy knelt on the floor beside of him, her
eyes glistening with tears as she checked his pulse. Oz caged the wolf as Braden screamed out for
his father.
Buffy looked up as both boys started crying. Willow gently comforted Haddie as she began
to whimper restlessly.
“He’s going to be okay, Braden.
Come here.”
Lucas squirmed until Xander put him down. He moved cautiously towards his parents and
brother.
“Daddy?”
Buffy pulled both boys into her arms.
“He’s going to be okay, he’s just really tired right now.”
Lucas pointed at Giles’ arm.
“Daddy’s hurt.”
Buffy watched as Braden tenderly stroked Giles’ hair, the same way Giles
stroked Braden’s hair in comfort. She
looked up at Oz and Xander, still holding Lucas tightly.
“Help me get him to the bed.
And…then take the kids to our room.”
Braden looked up quickly.
“No. I want to stay with Daddy!”
“Me too!” Lucas stated
emphatically.
Buffy shook her head slowly.
“Daddy needs to rest for a little while.”
Braden pursed his lips and sighed heavily. Lucas moved out of Buffy’s arms and leaned
down, kissing Giles’ cheek.
“Love you Daddy.”
Buffy knew that neither of the boys were happy with not being able to
stay with their father and she really couldn’t blame either one of them. She also knew that it was for the best.
She watched Braden turn his eyes to the man lying on the floor a few
feet away, Anya and Ethan chanting furiously as Novak looked on. Braden’s jaw clenched and then released.
She knew that Braden would remember everything that Angel had said. There would be questions that would need to
be answered sooner rather than later.
Willow stepped forward, Haddie sleeping in her arms. “I’ll take them to your room, Buffy.”
Buffy nodded absently as Xander and Oz carefully lifted Giles from the
floor.
With the
children safely in Buffy and Giles’ suite with Willow and Ethan and Anya
working on Angel, Buffy quickly made her way to the bedroom. She walked in to find that Oz and Xander had
been able to get Giles onto the bed and under the blankets. She immediately noticed that he was trembling
violently, pain etched clearly on his face as beads of sweat rolled down his
skin.
She moved to
the side of the bed, kneeling on the floor and reaching up to run her fingers
through his drenched hair. “Giles?”
He turned
his head towards her voice and opened his eyes.
She inhaled sharply at the intensity of his pain showing in his darkened
green eyes.
“Buffy…” His voice cracked as he tried to speak.
Buffy shook
her head quickly, tears in her eyes as she continued to tenderly stroke his
hair. “Ssh…you’re going to be okay,
Giles. But…you need to rest right now.”
Giles
swallowed and tried to focus his vision.
“Braden…Lucas…”
“They’re
fine. They’re with Willow in our
room.” She looked down at his arm, the
towel that either Oz or Xander had wrapped around it to stem the blood flow was
no longer white. “I should have a look
at that…”
Ethan and
Anya walked into the room and closed the door behind them. Ethan cleared his throat, getting Buffy’s
attention.
“First
things first, Buffy. We need to destroy
the Mark now.”
Buffy
nodded, swallowing as she glanced at Oz.
“Hand me another towel?”
Xander met
Anya’s eyes and gestured towards the door.
“Angel?”
“Sleeping at
the moment. But, according to
Novak…there are no more breaks in his aura.”
Oz handed
Buffy a fresh towel. “Well, that’s a
good thing…”
Buffy’s jaw clenched
and released as she tenderly wrapped the towel over the blood-soaked one. “I don’t want to talk about Angel right
now. My husband’s in pain.”
Oz gave her
a nod of understanding and took a step towards the door. “I’ll go help Will with the kids.”
Buffy met
his eyes briefly. “Thank you.”
Oz smiled
softly and left the room. Xander shifted
nervously. “What can I do?”
Ethan turned
his head towards him and sighed. “Help
Novak keep an eye on Angel. The fewer
people in here during this procedure, the better.”
Xander gave
a reluctant nod, gently squeezing Buffy’s shoulder in silent reassurance before
giving Anya a tender kiss. As the door
closed behind him, Giles groaned in pain.
Ethan spoke
softly. “We need to do this now, Buffy.”
Buffy looked
up, determination in her eyes. “I’m not
leaving him.”
Ethan nodded
quickly. “I wasn’t going to suggest
it. We need to get him on his right
side…”
He trailed
off and looked down at Giles, his green eyes opening but not able to
focus. Another wave of pain crashed over
Giles and his trembling increased.
“Anya and I
will turn him. I need you to help him
focus.”
A tear
rolled down Buffy’s cheek as she stood.
“How?”
“Lie beside
of him, facing him. Talk to
him…anything…just try to get him to focus on you.”
Buffy nodded
slowly and moved around to the other side of the bed, carefully climbing onto
the mattress as Ethan and Anya rolled Giles onto his side. Ethan pulled a pair of scissors out of his
inside jacket pocket, shaking his head when Buffy’s eyes widened.
“Just need
to get his shirt off.”
“Oh.” Buffy whispered and laid her head on the
pillow. She reached out and gently
caressed the side of her husband’s face as Ethan quickly cut the material away. “Giles?”
Giles opened
his eyes slowly. “Buffy.”
“Hey…” She rubbed his cheek with her thumb and
offered him a small smile. “Ethan says
you need to focus, okay?”
“On…what?” He asked with some difficulty.
“Me.”
A minute
smile appeared on his face for a brief second.
“Hardship…”
Ethan chuckled
softly and placed Anya’s palm on Giles’ left shoulder blade before climbing
onto the bed behind Buffy. He studied
their positions carefully and, realizing he wouldn’t be able to properly reach
Giles, straddled Buffy’s hip.
Giles
glanced at him and furrowed his brow.
“Why…are you sitting…on my wife?”
Ethan smiled
and shook his head. “It’s perfectly
innocent, Rupert. I need to reach your
chest…I need Buffy here…logistically, this is the best way to do this.”
Giles
snorted softly and then grimaced in pain.
“Bloody…hell!”
Buffy looked
up at Ethan, fear in her eyes. “Ethan?”
“We need to
work quickly. The thorns are embedding
themselves…” When Giles cried out once
more, Ethan bit his lip and looked at Anya.
“We’re going to have to put him under.”
“What?” Buffy asked, panic in her voice.
“He’s in too
much pain to focus properly. And…this
procedure is going to be even more painful for him. So, we put him under…he relaxes…we remove and
destroy the Mark…”
“And then he
wakes up?” Buffy asked nervously.
Ethan
swallowed and returned his eyes to Giles.
“That’s the plan. And…then we can
work on his arm.”
Buffy looked
at Giles to find him staring intently at her.
“What is it, honey?”
“I love
you.” He whispered, his eyes glistening
with unshed tears.
“No, no,
no…you don’t cry. You only cry when – ”
“The
kids…tell them – ”
Buffy
interrupted him quickly as a tear spilled from the corner of his eye. “No! You
can tell them anything you want after you wake up!”
“Buffy…”
She leaned
forward and quickly, but tenderly, kissed his dry lips. “I love you, Giles. And I’m not letting our family lose you.”
He gave her
a tired smile and glanced at Ethan.
“Ready?”
Ethan gave a
short nod and spoke two softly uttered words.
Giles’ eyes fluttered and then closed, his trembling ebbing somewhat as
his breathing evened out. Ethan reached
into his pocket and pulled out a small sphere that looked like a snow globe to
Buffy.
At Buffy’s
questioning look, Ethan closed his fingers tightly around the sphere. “I’ll pull the Mark from Rupert. It’ll travel to the sphere. When it’s trapped, then it can be destroyed.” He placed his free hand on Giles’ chest. “Theoretically.”
“Should
I…should I move?” She asked with slight
trepidation.
“No. Even though he’s unconscious, you’re still a
grounding point for him. Just…don’t
touch him once we start the procedure.”
“Okay.” She whispered and pressed another soft kiss
to her husband’s lips. “Whenever you’re
ready.”
Ethan took a
deep breath and met Anya’s eyes. After
sharing a quick nod, they both closed their eyes and began to chant. Buffy kept her eyes locked on Giles’ face,
her heart rate quickening in anticipation and fear.
Giles’ body
stiffened and he moaned softly, attempting to pull away from Ethan’s hand. Ethan followed the movement and Anya pressed
harder against Giles’ shoulder blade.
Fresh beads of sweat formed on Giles’ brow and rolled down his skin,
dampening the pillow beneath his head.
Buffy ached
to touch him, to hold him tightly in her arms.
Remembering Ethan’s warning to not touch him, Buffy settled on
whispering soft words to him. The faint
odour of burning flesh brought her attention to the light wisps of smoke
curling around Ethan’s hand.
She was getting
ready to say something when Giles’ loud cry of pain sounded loud in the
room. Ethan hissed and gripped the
sphere tighter in his hand. He suddenly
stopped chanting and Anya doubled her efforts.
Ethan trembled as the sphere began to glow.
Giles quietened
almost immediately. Ethan pried his hand
from Giles’ chest and fell backwards onto the mattress, the now-green sphere
dropping onto the bed next to him. Anya
opened her eyes and inhaled deeply.
She offered
Buffy a small smile as she removed her hand from Giles’ back. “It’s done.”
Buffy
inspected the burned flesh of Giles’ chest…a perfect thorned circle. “Is he okay?”
Anya placed
two fingers on the side of Giles’ neck and nodded. “Good pulse, breathing is fine. He’s just resting.”
Buffy
tentatively reached out, tracing her fingertip around the singed flesh. Anya gestured towards his arm, noticing that
the blood had now soaked through the second towel.
“That should
be looked at pretty soon.”
Buffy
nodded, sniffling softly. “I’ll take care
of it.” She glanced down at Ethan before
looking back at Anya. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah…it’s
exhaustion. I’ll let him rest for a few
minutes and then…” She reached over
Giles’ sleeping body and picked up the green sphere. “We’ll take care of this. Do you need any help with the arm?”
Buffy shook
her head and quickly scrambled off the bed, grabbing the first aid kit that Oz
and Willow always carried with them.
“No, I’ll be okay.”
Anya nodded
slowly and smiled softly as Ethan moaned.
“I’ll just go get Xander to help me with Ethan.”
Buffy didn’t
respond. She was too busy carefully
peeling the bloody towels away from Giles’ injured forearm. She winced as Giles whimpered softly, some of
the fibres from the towel that were stuck to the open gash pulling at the
wound.
“I’m sorry,
honey.” She whispered, unsure as to
whether he could hear her or not.
“S’okay…” He mumbled, his voice sounding slightly
drugged.
Her eyes
darted to his face. “Giles? Are you awake?”
“Dunno. Am I…alive?”
She smiled
briefly and reached up to wipe a tear from her face. “Yeah, you’re alive.”
He nodded
slowly and carefully rolled onto his back.
“Then I’m awake.”
She brushed
his damp hair back from his face. “How
do you feel?”
“Like I’ve
been run over by a lorry.”
“Yeah…” She sighed softly and pulled the bottle of
antiseptic out of the kit. “Just relax
and I’ll take care of this for you, okay?”
“Mm-hm.” He glanced at the other side of the bed and
narrowed his eyes. “Is Ethan alright?”
“Yeah, he
is. Anya will be back in a minute with
Xander to get him.”
He nodded
slowly, reaching for the green sphere and lifting it up. “Angel?”
She dabbed
the antiseptic around the wound carefully before picking up a sterile package
of sutures. “Apparently, it worked.”
He turned
his eyes to her as she set to the task of closing the gash. “You don’t seem overly happy about that.”
She shook
her head, keeping her eyes on his arm.
“He threatened the children. He
threatened you. He basically told Braden
about everything…no, I’m not exactly happy at the moment.”
“Has…has
Braden asked any questions yet?” He
winced as Buffy pulled a suture.
“Sorry.” She whispered and then started the next
stitch. “No, not yet. But…he will.
He was too worried about you to ask anything.”
Giles opened
his mouth to respond, closing it when the door opened. Noticing that he was awake, Anya smiled and
gestured to Ethan.
“We’re just
here to get the sleeping man. You
feeling okay?”
Giles
shrugged his shoulder. “I’ve been
better.”
Xander
sniffed the air. “Why does it smell like
a really bad barbeque in here?”
Giles smiled
softly. “I would imagine that would be
me.”
Xander
stared at Giles’ chest, his eyes widening.
“Jesus! They burned it out of
you?”
“It was the
only way.” Anya replied quietly before
glancing at the burn. “It should heal
quickly, but…you’ll probably have a scar.”
Giles nodded
and handed the sphere to her. He looked
down at Buffy, who was nearly finished closing the wound on his arm.
“A scar I can
deal with.”
Buffy looked
up as she tied the last stitch and smiled.
“Me too.”
Xander
gently nudged Anya’s shoulder. “Come on,
let’s take Ethan into the other room.
Buffy and Giles have a few things to talk about.”
Anya nodded in
agreement and slipped the sphere into her pocket.
Giles sat
with his back resting against the headboard of the bed and watched silently as
Buffy carefully bandaged his arm, securing the gauze with three strips of
tape. She sighed softly, glancing at his
chest before meeting his eyes.
“Should I
put something on that?” When he only
shook his head, Buffy lifted her hand and caressed his cheek. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I, uh…I
could probably use a hug…” He admitted
softly.
She quickly
climbed over him and settled on his right side.
She smiled as she slid her arm around his back and snuggled against him.
“Hugs are
easy to give.”
He closed
his eyes and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly to his body. “I love you, Buffy.”
She laid her
head on his chest and listened to his heart.
“Did…did I almost lose you?”
“Buffy…” He took a deep breath and cleared his throat
as he waited for her to look up. When
she did, he continued. “Kiss me.”
“I did,
didn’t I?” She whispered, her eyes
glistening. “I almost lost you.”
“Ssh…” He lifted his hand, grazing his fingertips
along her cheek. “Kiss me.”
She shifted
carefully, moving until she was straddling his thighs and facing him. She darted her eyes to the angry blistered
skin on his chest, the perfect shape of the Mark showing clearly.
“Am I
hurting you?”
He gave her
a slight shake of his head, sliding his hand to the back of her neck and
drawing her towards him. “Kiss me,
Buffy. Please…”
At the nearly
begging tone of his voice, she looked up and saw the plea in his eyes. She leaned forward slowly, careful not to
touch the burn.
“I love
you.”
He sighed at
her whispered words and closed his eyes as he closed the gap between them. The kiss was slow and warm, lips gently
massaging one another as fingers skimmed over flesh. He edged his fingers underneath her shirt,
rubbing her soft skin.
She gasped
at the contact and he deepened the kiss, nudging his tongue against hers as he
slowly moved his right hand up and tenderly cupped her full breast. She groaned into his mouth, shifting until
she was centred over his quickly emerging erection. He gently squeezed her hip with his left
hand, urging her to move against him.
She broke
the kiss and moaned softly as she rubbed her denim-clad core over his hardened
length. “Giles…we shouldn’t…not here…”
He released
her breast and moved his hand around her back, easily finding the clasp of her
bra and flicking it open. “I need you.”
“But…” She trailed off with a sigh as he slid his
hand into the loosened cup. “Oh, God…”
“I need
you.” He repeated softly before
reinitiating the kiss.
She returned
the kiss fiercely, mindful of his injuries but moving her body against his as
his fingers rolled her sensitive nipple.
Their moans and groans were muffled by one another’s mouth as they both
pushed each other closer to orgasm.
Neither
heard the bedroom door open.
* * *
Angel sat
quietly as he watched Anya and Novak take care of Ethan. The ritual had been successful and his soul
had been repaired. He fought back his
tears as he relived his recent actions.
He glanced towards the closed bedroom door and swallowed nervously.
Knowing that
the three other people in the room were otherwise occupied and not likely to
miss him soon, he quietly stood and made his way to the door. He calmed his nerves as much as he could and
turned the doorknob, silently slipping into the room and closing the door
behind him.
He averted
his eyes quickly from the scene. He wasn’t
sure what he was expecting when he walked in, but was definitely sure he wasn’t
expecting to see Buffy writhing on top of Giles as they shared a nearly carnal
kiss.
Buffy broke
the kiss and lowered her mouth to Giles’ neck.
A deep growl rumbled in his chest as he moved another step towards
climax. His eyes fluttered open
briefly. Less than a second later, his
eyes snapped open to find Angel standing near the door with his hands shoved in
his pockets. The vampire’s head hung low
as his eyes stared at the carpet.
Feeling
Giles tense beneath her, and realizing that it wasn’t pre-orgasmic tension,
Buffy raised her head. Giles eyes were
focused on a point behind her and, after receiving no response when she
whispered his name, Buffy slowly turned.
Hearing the
bed squeak as Buffy moved off of her husband, Angel cleared his throat. “I, uh…I didn’t realize…”
“What are
you doing?” Buffy asked tersely as she
quickly pulled the blanket up over Giles’ groin.
Angel raised
his eyes. “I…wanted to apologize. I didn’t know that you would be…” He gestured towards the bed as he trailed
off.
“You want to
apologize.” Giles stated coldly.
Angel
nodded, his eyes darting to the Watcher’s chest. “Yes.”
Giles
narrowed his eyes and carefully climbed out of bed. Buffy moved to stop him, halting her motion
when Giles gave her a quick glance.
Instead, she gave him a gentle nod.
Giles stood
next to the bed and took a deep breath.
“What exactly is it that you wish to apologize for?”
“Everything.” Angel replied softly.
Giles shook
his head and took a step forward. “No,
in this instance you need to be specific.”
“I…” Angel started, but realized quickly that he
wasn’t sure how to go about this.
Giles’ eyes
darkened. “Are you apologizing for
threatening my children? Or threatening
my wife? Or…attempting to kill me?”
Angel’s eyes
glistened as Giles took another step forward, his eyes nearly black with
rage. He stared at Giles, not noticing
Buffy slide out of bed as well.
“Or…are you sorry
for telling our five year old son that his mother is a Slayer and his father is
a Watcher?” Buffy asked icily as she
walked around the bed to stand next to her husband. “How about…you’re sorry for exposing two
young boys to a side of their lives that they weren’t ready to know even
existed.”
Angel
flinched as Buffy’s voice rose. “I
didn’t mean…”
“No, you
never mean to do anything, Angel.” Giles
clenched his fist, releasing it when Buffy took his hand. “You were ignorant…and arrogant…of everything
concerning the Circle of the Black Thorn.
You knew the risks involved and yet…did you think that you were above
the side effects?”
“I thought I
could control it.” Angel offered weakly.
Giles shook
his head. “You can’t control the Mark of
the Thorn. You are destined for great
things, Angel. And you threw it away…”
“I destroyed
the inner sanctum of the Order. They
can’t hurt anyone anymore.” Angel
protested as he stared at Giles.
“And it
nearly cost you your soul, you bloody idiot!”
Giles yelled, causing both Buffy and Angel to flinch. “And the lives of those who cared about you!”
Angel’s
mouth dropped open, but he said nothing.
The bedroom door slammed open and Anya, Ethan, and Novak rushed into the
room.
Anya grabbed
Angel’s arm. “What the hell are you
doing?”
“Apologizing,
apparently.” Giles growled, not taking
his eyes off of the vampire.
“I, uh…I
think it’s a little late for apologies, mate.”
Ethan huffed.
An icy tear
rolled down Angel’s cheek. “I thought I
could control it.”
“You’ve
tortured me in the past. You’ve broken
Buffy’s heart on more than one occasion.
You forced her to send you to Hell…do you have any idea what that
did to her? You’ve hurt all of us, in
one way or another, over the years. And
yet, here we stand…in Los Angeles. Here
to save your soul once again.”
Giles moved
forward until he was standing directly in front of Angel. “Do you know what your worst mistake
was? Do you have any fucking clue?”
“Giles…” Angel took a step back, only to find his back
pressed against the wall.
“You put my
children in danger.” Giles snarled as he
grabbed the front of Angel’s shirt. “For
that, I should kill you right now.”
Novak’s
orange eyes widened. Ethan’s eyes darted
between Buffy and Giles. He noticed that
Buffy’s eyes held as much anger as Giles’ did.
“Rupert…” Ethan spoke softly.
A tear
spilled onto Giles’ cheek. “I shouldn’t
allow you to live.” He took a step back
and shook his head. “But, you have much
left to do in this world.”
Buffy placed
her hand on Giles’ back. She felt him
tremble under her touch. She watched as
Angel moved from the wall towards the door.
He looked back at them, sadness showing in his dark eyes.
“I’m leaving
Wolfram & Hart.”
Giles stared
back at him. “Do what you feel you must. The Senior Partners aren’t to be
trusted. Though, I believe we told you
that some years ago now.”
Angel was
quiet for a moment and then ran his hand through his hair. “I…I am sorry. For everything you mentioned and so much
more. I…I can help you…with your
children.”
Buffy felt
Giles tense. She couldn’t see his eyes
at the moment because she was staring at Angel in disbelief, but she could
imagine how dark they were.
“I believe
you’ve ‘helped’ enough.” Giles responded
thickly. “Come near them…and I will kill
you.”
Angel
nodded, respect for the man showing in his eyes. “You are a good father, Giles.”
Giles said
nothing, just stood there and stared at the vampire. Angel cleared his throat and turned his eyes
to Buffy.
“I am
sorry.” He whispered softly before he
walked out of the bedroom.
Novak
followed Angel into the main room. Anya
and Ethan exchanged a quick glance as Giles took a step back and stumbled. Buffy grabbed him quickly, preventing his
fall.
“Hey…you
okay?”
Hearing the concern
in Buffy’s voice, he offered her a weary smile.
“Too much, too soon…perhaps.”
She led him
to the bed and sighed. “Sit down for a
few minutes…”
Even as he
shook his head, he did as he was told.
“I’d much prefer to find a shirt…and go see our children.”
Anya
gestured towards the door. “I can do the
‘find a shirt’ thing…”
Buffy
offered her a grateful smile. “Thank
you.”
As Anya
rushed out of the room, Ethan came forward and sat down beside of Giles. He looked at Giles’ chest and sighed.
“I was
hoping that wouldn’t happen.”
Giles looked
up, narrowing his eyes in confusion.
When he realized what Ethan was looking at, he shrugged a shoulder.
“It could’ve
been worse.” He grimaced as Buffy
gingerly applied a salve to the blistered skin.
“How are you?”
Ethan
smirked. “Magick hangover…nothing I
haven’t been through before. I’ll
live.” He gestured at Giles’ bandaged
arm. “How many stitches did it take?”
“I’ve no
idea. Buffy?”
Buffy placed
a large piece of gauze over the burn, careful to make sure that the tape didn’t
touch the blistered skin.
“Fourteen. But it shouldn’t scar
too badly…I’ve gotten pretty good at stitches.”
Ethan nodded
and then took a deep breath. “How much
of what was said do you think Braden will remember?”
“All of it.” Giles and Buffy answered simultaneously.
Ethan cursed
under his breath. “What are you going to
do?”
Giles rubbed
the side of his neck and sighed heavily.
“I’ve always said that when they started asking questions, I’d be honest
with them.”
Ethan nodded
slowly as Giles continued.
“I just
didn’t think the questions would start when Braden was five. I was hoping that he’d be able to just be
oblivious for a while longer.”
Ethan
chuckled softly. “I don’t think he’s
ever been oblivious, Rupert. He’s a very
intelligent child…he knows that certain things are different. How many five year olds know that they’re
allergic to werewolf fur?”
Before Giles
had a chance to respond, Anya came back into the room with one of Giles’ shirts
in her hand. “Okay, here you go. Look…Haddie’s fussing…Willow thinks she’s
hungry and she’s refusing the bottle.
Braden and Lucas are bombarding Xander and Oz with questions…and…now
they’re really wanting to see you.”
Giles smiled
his appreciation as he took the shirt from Anya and slipped it on, with Buffy’s
help. Anya glanced back into the main
room and narrowed her eyes.
“Oh…and
Angel and Novak are both gone.”
Buffy
quickly buttoned the shirt and then rolled the cuffs twice…just the way Giles
preferred. “Both of them?”
“Yeah…” Anya’s concern showed clearly. “Should we be worried about Novak?”
Giles shook
his head. “No. He’ll be back after he’s spoken with
Angel.” He met Buffy’s eyes and smiled
softly. “Take me to see our children
now?”
Buffy stood
and helped Giles up. He wobbled slightly
and she wrapped an arm around his waist.
“You okay?”
“Yes.” He laid his arm over her shoulders and leaned
down, kissing the top of her head. “I
need some quality time with my family.”
She smiled gently
and began the slow walk across the room.
When they reached the door, Giles turned around and narrowed his eyes,
slightly confused by the fact that neither Anya nor Ethan had moved at all.
“Are you
coming?”
“Huh?” Anya asked, completely perplexed.
Ethan
cleared his throat softly. “You said you
need quality time with your family…”
“Yes, I
do.” Giles offered them both a gentle
smile. “Why are you still sitting
there?”
Ethan
blushed lightly and Anya grinned broadly.
Buffy opened
the door and winced as she heard her daughter squalling. Giles smiled and gently nudged Buffy inside.
“Someone’s
hungry.” He whispered softly as his eyes
scanned the room.
Buffy nodded
in agreement and moved to the side, allowing enough room for Anya and Ethan to
enter behind them. She shook her head at
the scene in front of them.
Willow was
trying her best to give a bottle to a very reluctant Haddie. Braden was arguing furiously with Oz,
demanding to see his father. Lucas was
sitting on Xander’s knee, looking up at him and having a serious discussion
about…teeth, as far as Buffy could tell.
The soft
sound of the door closing quietened the room briefly, with the exception of
Haddie loudly demanding to be fed. A
smile appeared on Braden’s face and Lucas jumped from Xander’s knee.
“Daddy!” Both boys cried simultaneously and ran to
their father.
Giles
carefully knelt on the floor, grimacing as his sons rushed into his arms. Buffy quickly took Haddie from Willow and
looked down, immediately aware of Giles’ pain.
“Careful,
boys!”
Braden
looked up with concern in his green eyes.
“Are you okay, Daddy?”
Giles smiled
and kissed the boy’s forehead. “I’m
fine, Ru. Just somewhat sore…and fairly
tired.”
Lucas
narrowed his eyes. “Hurt Daddy?”
Giles tenderly
stroked his younger son’s cheek. “I’ll
be okay, Lucas.”
Buffy tapped
Giles’ shoulder and motioned towards the bedroom when he looked up. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, okay?”
Giles nodded
and gestured towards his crying daughter.
“May I? Just for a second?”
Buffy smiled
lovingly and handed the baby to him.
Giles steadied himself and reached for Haddie, holding her securely in
his arms as he placed a soft kiss on her head.
She quietened somewhat, but the tears still streamed down her small
face.
After a
softly whispered ‘I love you’, he handed her back to Buffy and smiled. She leaned down and gave him a quick kiss
before rushing down the small hallway and into their bedroom. He looked down at his bandaged arm when he
felt a gentle pressure on the wound. He
took a deep breath when he realized that the pressure came from Braden’s
fingers carefully touching the gauze.
“Braden?”
The boy
looked up, his eyes glistening. “He hurt
you.”
“It’ll heal,
son.”
“ ‘Nother
car?” Lucas asked, his eyes drawn to the
white bandage.
Giles
chuckled softly. “Probably.”
Braden
suddenly crushed himself against his father’s chest, wrapping his small arms
around Giles’ neck. Giles hissed in pain
before he could stop himself, a sudden dizzy spell rushing over him as Braden
let go quickly.
“Daddy?”
“I’m…I’m
okay.”
Ethan
grabbed Giles’ shoulder to steady him.
“Come on, Rupert…let’s get you on the lounge.” He glanced at Oz and smiled. “Give me a hand?”
Oz nodded quickly
and went to Giles’ other side, grasping his arm carefully. Giles inhaled sharply as the two men helped
him to his feet. He stood still for a
moment and when the dizziness passed, offered them a smile.
“Thank you.”
They led him
to the couch, Braden and Lucas following behind them. As soon as they had gotten Giles settled, the
boys climbed up to sit on either side of him.
Seemingly unhappy with his position, Lucas climbed onto Giles’ lap,
sitting on his father’s right thigh and resting his head on his shoulder.
Giles curled
his arm around his younger son protectively, using his other arm to pull Braden
closer. Giles’ shirt hung loosely, the
top few buttons undone. Catching a
glimpse of his father’s chest, Lucas furrowed his brow and sat back up.
His small
hand pulled the material open and revealed the large bandage. “What’s that?”
Braden moved
to his knees, leaning over to look at what his brother had noticed. Giles sighed softly, wishing for the first
time that his children weren’t so observant.
“It’s just a
burn. It doesn’t really hurt all that
much.”
Lucas nodded
slowly, his eyes focused on the gauze.
“Big teeth.”
Giles
regarded the boy carefully. “Pardon?”
“That man
had big teeth. And ‘ello eyes. I don’t like ‘ello. I like arng.”
Giles
swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. He was searching for a response when Braden
softly asked a question.
“What’s a
Watcher?” When Giles closed his eyes,
Braden quickly continued. “He asked if I
was going to be like you when I grow up.
He said you were a Watcher. I
don’t know what that is.”
Giles opened
his eyes, which were glistening with unshed tears as he whispered to
himself. “So young…too young…”
“And…he said
Mummy is a Slayer. What does a Slayer
do?”
“Saves the
werld.” Lucas stated as he laid his head
back on Giles’ shoulder.
A tear broke
free and rolled down Giles’ face. Braden
stared at him, concern and confusion in his eyes. “Daddy?”
Giles met
Willow’s eyes and shook his head. “I
can’t…”
Willow
nodded in understanding and stood, gesturing towards the hallway even as she
walked hurriedly. “I’ll get Buffy.”
Lucas gently
patted his father’s back. “S’okay
Daddy.”
The others
exchanged nervous glances as another tear spilled down Giles’ cheek.
* * *
Buffy looked
up when a knock sounded on the door, immediately opening before she had a
chance to respond. Willow walked in and
sighed.
“Sorry to
bother you, Buffy.”
Buffy
narrowed her eyes and switched Haddie to the other breast. “What’s wrong?”
“Braden just
asked Giles what a Watcher and a Slayer are.
And…he’s not dealing well.”
“Oh,
God…” Buffy quickly grabbed a light
blanket and draped it over her chest, allowing Haddie to continue feeding.
She rushed past
Willow and down the hall, stopping when her eyes took in the tired and teary
eyes of her husband. “Giles?”
Braden
jumped off the couch and ran to his mother.
“I made Daddy cry. I didn’t mean
to, Mummy!”
She looked
down into her son’s worried eyes and offered him a gentle smile. “I know, Ru.
It’s okay.”
Giles
swallowed and wiped his hand across his face.
Lucas was still on his lap, his fingers lightly touching the tape
holding the bandage in place on his chest.
Buffy
shifted the baby, causing the blanket to slip.
Willow grabbed it quickly, tucking it back into place. Buffy gave her a smile of gratitude and made
her way to the couch. She sat down
beside of him, placing her hand on his thigh.
“Hey…”
“They’re too
young, Buffy. My God…Lucas isn’t even
three and he says that you save the world.”
“I
two.” Lucas offered quietly.
Buffy sighed
softly. “He doesn’t really understand
what that means.”
Giles turned
to her, tilting his head towards Braden.
“He does. He’s five years old,
Buffy. I didn’t want to have to explain
this to a five year old.”
“Bay’s
fibe. I two.” Lucas babbled as he snuggled against Giles.
Xander
cleared his throat and knelt on the floor in front of Giles. “Would you like us to take the little
man?”
Lucas lifted
his head and looked at Xander. “I
tired.”
Xander
smiled warmly. “How about I read you a story and maybe we can take a nap?”
Lucas
grinned. “You make funny voices?”
“Yeah,
little man. I’ll make the funny
voices.” He held out his arms and, after
kissing his father’s cheek, Lucas allowed Xander to pick him up.
Xander stood
and looked down at Buffy and Giles.
“Just give us a call when you’re finished.”
Giles nodded
and took a deep breath. “Thank you,
Xander.”
Willow met
Buffy’s eyes. “Haddie?”
Buffy
chuckled softly and shook her head.
“Still eating, but thanks.”
Willow
gently ruffled Braden’s hair.
* * *
Braden had
listened to his parents’ explanations with a level of concentration that Xander
had yet to master. Not only had he
listened, but he had asked questions requesting as much information as he could
possibly receive.
“Angel is
your friend.” Braden stated quietly,
glancing at Giles’ arm.
Giles
cleared his throat, carefully choosing his words. “At one time, yes…he was.”
“Not
anymore?”
“I, uh…not
at the moment.” Giles answered softly.
“He’s a
vampire. But…he’s a good vampire?”
“Most of the
time.” Buffy answered, knowing that
Giles was growing more uncomfortable with questions concerning Angel. “Angel has a soul. Which means he’s different than other
vampires. He feels bad about the things
he’s done…and now he tries to help people.”
“But he hurt
Daddy.” His eyes clearly showed his
confusion.
Buffy looked
at Giles, unsure how to proceed. Giles
took a deep breath.
“Sometimes…” He started and then shook his head. “Remember when you and Lucas were running
through the living room and you ran into the coffee table and injured your
leg?”
Braden
nodded slowly, listening intently to his father.
“When
Angel’s soul gets injured, then he has trouble remembering how to be good. It’s a vampire’s nature to be bad.”
“His soul
was hurt?” When Giles nodded, the child
tilted his head thoughtfully. “But, you
fixed it?”
“Yes.”
Braden was
quiet for a few minutes and then looked at his mother. “If he was bad…you would have killed him?”
“Staked
him.” She corrected gently. Of course, it meant the same thing…but, she
didn’t want her son to associate her with a common killer.
“Because
you’re a Slayer.” He said slowly,
letting the words sink into his mind. He
looked at his father. “And you’re a
Watcher.”
“Yes. As was my father and my grandmother before
me.”
“And you
teach the Slayer?”
Giles smiled
softly. “To some degree. I train the Slayer. I’m…”
Buffy smiled
warmly as he trailed off. “Your father
is the best Watcher ever. He’s taught
me, he’s protected me, and…he’s loved me…for many years now. He’s very good at his job.”
“Will I be a
Watcher too?”
“Only if you
want to be. You can be whatever you
want, Braden.” Giles replied with
conviction.
Braden
looked into his father’s eyes. “Did you
want to be a Watcher?”
Buffy
laughed softly. “No. Your father had very definite plans for his
future. He was going to be a fighter pilot.”
“Or possibly
a green grocer.” Giles added with a
smile on his face. His smile faded
slightly as he reached over and ran his fingers through Braden’s hair. “I wasn’t given a choice. But, I’m very proud of what I’ve
achieved. It isn’t an easy job, but it’s
extremely rewarding. You have a choice,
Ru. You don’t have to make it now. You can be whatever you want to be…remember
that, above all else.”
“And
Luke? He can be a Watcher too?” When Giles nodded, Braden smiled. “Maybe we can be Watchers together. You know…when we’re old enough.”
Giles felt a
sense of pride at his son’s words. Buffy
gently squeezed his hand when she saw the smile tug at the corners of his
mouth.
“If Slayers
are always girls, will Haddie be one?”
“No.” Giles answered quickly. “Watchers can choose to become Watchers. Slayers are chosen by a higher power. They…do not have the privilege of becoming
something else.”
“Oh.” Braden replied, not really understanding what
his father meant.
Buffy
grinned and pulled her son onto her lap.
“You’ll understand one day. But,
for now…how about you just be a normal five year old boy who loves his brother
and sister and likes to build Lego cities with Xander?”
Braden
giggled as Buffy tickled his ribs. When
he met his father’s smiling eyes, his decision was made.
One day he
was going to be just like Daddy.
He giggled
harder as Giles joined in the ticklefest.
~ End