"Obeying Nature" - Part 2 NC17
Chapter 11
Buffy woke surrounded by the wonderful smell of him. She realized she couldn’t remember the last time she woke up with a smile on her face. His arms were wrapped around her, and their legs were tangled together. She held back a chuckle when she realised they had fallen asleep without covering themselves up, and it was at that moment she realised what had woken her up.
A figure was walking down the hall. She held her breath as she recognised Xander heading for the bathroom. She silently begged that it was dark enough so he wouldn’t be able to see their naked bodies entwined on the bed.
Giles was disturbed from his sleep at a tad too tight squeeze. He was just about to speak when he heard someone opening the door to the bathroom, and his whole body froze when he realised they were stark naked without anything covering them. At a loss, he didn’t move a muscle until he heard the flush from the toilet and the same person exited the room and padded down the hall without a halt.
His body was finally able to relax when he heard the door close. A giggle rose up from Buffy’s face, pressed into his chest, caused him to grin, and he let one of his hands roam her naked back as he kissed the top of her head.
“Thought that was funny did you?”
Buffy continued to laugh as she raised her head so she could see his face. “Oh yeah. I wish I could’ve been able to see your face, because if the tension in your body was any indication I’d say it would be sporting an expression of complete mortification of Xander seeing us together in all of our naked glory.”
His grin turned into a slightly worried expression. “Oh my God, that was Xander?”
He could have handled Anya, and maybe even Willow, but Xander was the one who he was most worried about finding out about their relationship.
“Yes it was Xander, but don’t worry, he was half asleep and didn’t even look over here.”
She laughed again when his breath washed out of him in relief, and couldn’t resist helping herself to a kiss. He responded with a happy sound that made her heart quicken. After several minutes of that delightful activity they broke, and Giles looked over their naked bodies with an amused smile.
“Hmm, it looks like we fell asleep rather quickly last evening?”
“Sure did, I wonder why?”
With a twinkle in his eyes, he rolled her on her back so his body covered hers.
“I have no idea. Let’s try and find out.”
*****
Her moans as he moved inside her were working havoc on his control and he knew any minute now he wouldn’t be able to hold back his release. Just as he was about to move his hand down so he could bring her with him, one of her hands grabbed his shoulder in a tight hold. She threw her head back as she yelled his name.
“Giiiiles!”
“Giles?”
“Giles!!”
With a start he woke, and realised his very erotic dream had turned into the harsh reality of Anya standing next to his bed, calling his name as she tugged on his shoulder.
Immediately he lifted his head from the pillow with an anxious look on his face to make sure both he and Buffy were covered. The sense of relief that they were didn’t diminish the fact that he had been left hanging at the brink of an orgasm, and his body squirmed with unreleased tension.
Tightening his hold on Buffy to hide his erection, he looked up at Anya. “What?”
It came out slightly more irritated than he would have liked, but at that moment he was pleased that he had been able to even speak.
“After the night you must have had, Giles, I would have expected you to be a lot friendlier.” Anya said, unfazed by his tone.
At his less than friendly glare, she continued. “I just wanted to let you guys know it is eight am, and you should probably think about getting up. Even though I don’t think the others will wake any time soon, you should probably be on the safe side.”
Buffy at this time had started to stir, and Giles bit his lip as he felt her body move against his.
She pressed closer and started placing kisses up his throat with an aim for his mouth, and raised her head with a pout when he didn’t respond.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Giles’ pained expression on his face looking up at Anya.
“Anya! What are you doing here?”
Anya gave her a big grin. “I was just telling Giles it is eight, and that you should probably think about getting up. Maybe not right away though,” she continued after a beat. On that note she turned away from them and went back to her room.
Buffy felt the tension in Giles’ body and looked back at his face. She got concerned when she saw the troubled look in his eyes. His body suddenly shivered, and she brought her hand up from under the covers to stroke his cheek with a questioning look.
“What’s wrong? Are you alright?”
He closed his eyes, and then leaned his head on her shoulder as he took a deep breath.
“I was woken rather, uhm, unexpectedly and, and, inconveniently,” hoping that it would be enough of an answer.
“You had a nightmare?” she asked worryingly.
Apparently not clear enough, he thought, as a blush crept over his face. “Not exactly.”
Buffy’s brow creased in confusion for a second until her face lit up with a knowing smile.
“One of those huh?” she said as she let her hand slip back under the covers to run down his chest. At the smug tone of her voice, Giles couldn’t help but chuckle, but it was quickly interrupted as her hand
circled his erection.
“Was I a part of this dream?”
His brain was now too fogged with sensations to come up with a clever answer, so all he did was nod against her neck. His hands had started wandering her body, and his arousal grew as he heard her breathing speed up. He moaned when she moved her head to capture his lips with hers and straddled his body. It did not take long until his morning picked up where his dream left off, except this time she was looking down at him as they moved together.
Just as in his dream, he was worried that he would be unable to wait for her, but then he could feel her inner muscles tense and he finally got the release he sorely needed.
After several minutes Buffy finally lifted her head from his chest where she had plopped down and gave him a loving smile. “Good morning.”
Giles smiled in return and gave her a slow kiss before releasing her mouth. “To say the least!”
She gave a quick glance down the hallway and then turned back to him with a mischievous smile.
“Do you thing we woke anyone up? I thought we managed to be pretty quiet.”
Giles sat up with her still attached to his chest. “Let’s not stay to find out.” Holding her tightly he got them both out of bed and gave her another one of his long kisses, before letting her feet touch the floor.
“Why don’t we put some clothes on and spend the morning by the lake?”
Buffy nodded happily and put on her t-shirt before heading to her room. A few minutes later they both quietly exited the cabin and walked hand in hand into the woods.
Chapter 12
In her opinion the morning passed too quickly. The entire day too, and now she stood on the porch of their cabin watching the sun set. She and Giles had spent the morning by the lake alternating between napping, cuddling, kissing and swimming, before joining the others for a late brunch. The rest of day they had gone over their battle plan for the evening, and were now almost set to go.
“A quarter for your thoughts.” She smiled as Giles came out and stood right next to her, resting his hands on the railing right next to hers.
“Inflation?” she asked playfully as she let her eyes meet his.
“No, but not one of your thoughts could be worth any less than that” he responded with a grin. She could hear the happy chatter of the others inside and was amazed at how relaxed they always were before heading out to battle with her.
“Are we leaving?”
Giles nodded. “Yes, are you ready?”
With a deep breath to prevent her hand from covering his, she nodded. They turned towards each other. He patted her shoulder in a quick and awkward gesture of comfort, and they both laughed as their eyes met.
“You know Giles, I think you can do better than that.”
He huffed a little and put his hands in his pockets. “Yes, well, not here though.”
Buffy cocked her head, and looked up at him and whispered dramatically.
“I don’t think the others would die of shock if you gave me a proper hug.”
“But see that’s where you’re wrong. A proper hug from me would involve the lengths of our bodies pressed tightly together, my hands under your shirt spread on the naked skin of your back, and my face buried in your neck so I can place hot open mouth kisses on your skin.” He bit back a smile as he saw her eyes grow dark with desire. “And I am definitely sure they are not ready for that.”
“That, Mr. Giles, was not fair!” she admonished him.
“No I guess not, but I can make amends by giving you a preview of coming attractions” he said and pulled her into his arms, while resting the top of his head on hers. He made sure he was facing away from the door to the cabin so he could close his eyes.
“I love you Buffy” he whispered tenderly.
She tightened her hold on him and whispered in return. “I love you too Giles.”
“Hey, are we ready to go?” Xander’s voice shattered the serenity of their hold.
Buffy made sure not to draw away too quickly to avoid raising suspicions. At the look of Xander’s face, she realised he didn’t suspect a thing. He looked at their embrace with a bland expression.
“Sure!” she said with false bravado.
Giles gave her arm a quick squeeze, and stepped away from her. “Let’s go.”
*****
Everything had gone according to plan, with little blood and mayhem. Well, at least none of their blood had been shed, and that was most important.
The demons had been hard to kill. The fact that they were carrying knifes had been unexpected, and since relatively close contact was required to kill them, had made it even more risky. But once they had figured out that their movements were slowed because of their size they were easily gotten rid of. Now there was only one demon left, and he was growling as they carefully encircled and inched closer to him. Buffy could see that the demon was unaware of how close Giles was behind him as the others distracted it.
Within seconds a gruesome howl was heard through the forest as Giles ran his sword with a fierce momentum through its back.
It roared in anger and whipped its body around to face him before it fell to the ground, almost taking Giles down with it, who managed at the last minute to step back and fall on his butt.
Xander immediately ran over and beheaded the creature with a triumphant yell. “Geronimo!!”
Giles looked up at Xander with a bemused smile. “Geronimo?”
“It was the only thing I could think of” Xander said as he gave Giles his hand to pull him up. “Besides, the last time I yelled that, Buffy thought it was really cool. Isn’t that right Buff?”
Giles who had been dusting his pants of twigs and dirt, looked over to Buffy with a smile, but it died quickly as he saw her standing bent over with a hand clutched to her abdomen.
“Buffy?”
The others, who had been dusting their clothes as well, all looked over to her as they heard the alarm in his voice.
Her head rose with tearful eyes to meet his and his stomach clenched in panic as he saw a knife protruding from the side of her waist and blood leaking down her pants.
Chapter 13
As tears leaked down her face, Buffy was unable to hold herself upright. She fell to the ground on her knees with a cry.
Giles reached her just as she started to fall backwards, and he cradled her body as his eyes teared up. Her hand was pressed against the knife sticking in her side. He gently shushed her painful sobs as he carefully removed her hand to take a look.
The others had come quickly to their side and watched in horror at the amount of blood that now seeped from her wound.
“Oh God, this wasn’t the way it was supposed to happen” Buffy whimpered as one of her hands clutched Giles’ shirt.
“Xander, get the car!” Giles yelled as he slowly pulled the knife out, not realising that Xander was way ahead of him, running as fast as he could to reach it.
Buffy’s scream of pain tore at his heart and he pressed his lips to her forehead. He could see that a piece had broken off, and was worried out of his mind that he would make more damage by pressing on her wound to stop the bleeding.
“I’m sorry Buffy. We will get you to the hospital, just hold on!” Her eyes opened, and they were laced with pain and sorrow as she looked into his. She raised a bloodied hand to his cheek as tears spilled down the side of her face.
“I am so sorry, Giles” she managed in a tearful voice that made his eyes spill over as well.
“Sorry? No, no, love, you were magnificent, as always. You have nothing to be sorry for” he choked out. He kissed her forehead again.
“I should have told you, but I just couldn’t. I thought as long as I kept my distance it wouldn’t happen. I am so sorry I didn’t tell you.” Her voice had now turned to a whisper, and he had to strain to hear her.
He was distracted from what she trying to say when he heard Xander yell for them to bring her to the car since he couldn’t get it any closer. Giles quickly picked her up and hurried as fast and gently as
possible.
“Save your strength, love. You can tell me later.”
Buffy lay in his arms, soundless, with her eyes closed against the pain. He held back a sob and finally reached the car. He got in with her still cradled to his chest. Willow and Anya jumped in from the other side. Xander wasted no time turning the car around and driving as fast as possible towards the nearest hospital.
Willow watched Buffy’s closed eyes with tears streaming down her face, and whispered to Anya. “Is she…?”
Anya only shook her head and took hold of Willow’s hand. “No, she is still breathing, I think she is unconscious, but….”
There was no need to say anymore, they all knew what she was thinking. Time was running out for Buffy fast. Not another word was spoken.
The silence was broken by Giles’ tearful whisper as he stroked Buffy’s cheek. “Please don’t leave me.”
Chapter 14
Xander’s car skidded to a stop as he pulled in front of the emergency doors. He helped Giles get Buffy out of the car, while Anya and Willow ran inside to get help. Giles was met by several doctors and nurses with a stretcher, and before he knew it Buffy was taken from his arms and wheeled through some doors, while being told to wait.
Unable to do anything but watch them wheel the love of his life away, he remained motionless for the longest time staring at the closed doors they took her through.
Finally he turned around, and found the others looking at him with pain-ridden expressions that were trying to be reassuring. His body was shaking and as his knees threatened to give way. Unable to stand anymore, he lowered himself in a chair, buried his face in his hands and started to sob.
Xander and Willow watched him with breaking hearts, and found themselves unable to move to console him, since his sobs only echoed their own pain. Surprisingly, Anya was the one who moved to his side and pulled him into his arms. Even more surprisingly, he willingly let her, and clung to her as if she was his lifeline.
****
Minutes turned to hours, and no one came to inform them what was going on. A nurse had come to take Buffy’s information, but she hadn’t known anything about her condition.
Anya and Willow were both cradled against Xander’s chest, asleep. He watched Giles. The watcher had barely moved in the last hour. Although his sobs had stopped, his head was still buried in his hands, and Xander wondered if he had fallen asleep like that.
The door Buffy had been taken through suddenly opened, and Xander jumped as Giles immediately rose from his seat to face the man in the white coat heading their way.
“Are you the ones who brought Miss Summers in?”
He realised his question was pretty futile as his eyes landed on the older man standing in front of him with red eyes and blood soaked clothes, and the three youths who had come up behind him, also looking tired and pained.
For a second he was at a loss as he was confronted with the pain in the older man’s eyes. He worked at a hospital, and was confronted with distressed friends and family of his patients every day, but something in this man’s eyes shook him to the core. He looked as if his life was over.
They merely nodded at his question, and watched him with worried eyes.
“I am Dr. Bocho, head of surgery. I understand you have been waiting for information about Miss Summers? As she came with severe internal bleeding, and one of her lungs was at a risk of collapsing, but we managed to. . .”
“Dr. Bocho.” He was startled as the older man interrupted him. “Is she still alive?”
The doctor realised they could not care less about medical explanations, and quickly reassured them.
“Yes, she is.” At their relieved breaths, he quickly continued. “But, she is still in critical condition, and after surgery she slipped into a coma. All we can do now is wait.”
Giles could feel his stomach clench again, and closed his eyes briefly to stop more tears from spilling before asking. “Can we please see her?”
The doctor immediately started to shake his head, but Giles’ pained voice stopped him from talking.
“Please, I need to see her.”
“We need to see her” the dark haired boy who had been standing close by said. At the look on their faces, the doctor finally gave them reluctant nod.
“Alright.”
He called a nurse to bring them to her room, but stopped the older man before he had a chance to follow.
“I am sorry sir, but you need to change your clothes and wash up.”
Giles looked at his clothes as if seeing them for the first time. They were covered in Buffy’s blood. Xander heard the exchange, and came to Giles’ side.
“I have some clean clothes in the car, I’ll get them for you.” In no time he was back with jeans and a white t-shirt, and gave them to Giles with a shaky smile.
“We’ll wait for you.”
“That’s alright”, the doctor said. “I’ll take him to Miss Summer’s room as soon as he is cleaned up.” Xander gave Giles a doubtful look, but gave a reluctant shrug as Giles told him to go ahead. As they disappeared though the door, Dr. Bocho felt bad watching the longing on the man’s face.
“Come on, you can get cleaned up in there” he said as he pointed towards a sign for the men’s bathroom. Giles nodded and hurried down the hall and disappeared through the door. He was shocked when he was faced with his haggard appearance in the bathroom mirror. Not only were his clothes covered in blood, his left cheek had blood on it as well. He realised it must have happened when Buffy touched his cheek in the woods.
He shook his head to get rid of the memories and quickly washed and changed before joining the doctor in the lobby. The man mercifully took him to Buffy’s room.
Chapter 15
Willow, Anya and Xander were seated in some chairs at the far end of the room, but Giles paid them no attention as he moved to Buffy’s side. Wiping an errant tear away from his cheek, he gently took her hand in his and sat carefully on the bed.
She looked so small and pale against the big bed and white sheet. He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer to anything that was listening for her to come back to him. After a short while he opened his eyes again, ran a hand down her cheek and whispered her name.
Xander held back a surprised gasp as he saw Giles lower himself so he was lying next to Buffy on the bed. He watched Giles gently wrap an arm around her, carefully arranging it a safe distance from her wound. He shared a questioning look with Willow, who looked just as bewildered as he did.
Then they heard Giles’ soft voice start singing, and they looked back at the bed with their hearts melting.
We have both been here before
knocking upon love's door
begging for someone to let us in
knowing this we can agree
to keep each other company
never to go down that road again
My beloved one
My beloved One
Your eyes shine through me
You are so divine to me
Your heart has a home in mine
We won't have to say a word
With a touch all shall be heard
When I search my heart it's you I find
My beloved one
My beloved one
You were meant for me
I believe you were sent to me
From a dream straight into my arms
Hold your body close to me
You mean the most to me
We will keep each other safe from harm
My beloved one
My beloved one
My beloved one
As the last words faded away his voice broke. Tears spilled on all their faces while every person in the room silently begged for Buffy’s recovery. Willow and Xander didn’t hope mostly for their sake, but for Giles’. His song made them realised that the Buffy was his world. If she died this time, he would fall apart.
Exhaustion finally took its toll on their bodies, and one by one they fell asleep. Giles tried as hard as he could to stay awake, and had spent his time fighting sleep watching her chest rise and fall with every breath. The doctor had told him it was a good sign she was able to breathe on her own, but Giles wouldn’t be satisfied until he was able to look into her eyes.
Finally his eyes started to droop and without being able to fight it any longer, he fell into a restless sleep.
*****
Thus they all missed the flutter of Buffy’s eyelids. Not even the change in Buffy’s breathing pattern or her gentle movements managed to rouse Giles. It took a little time for her eyes to open, and even longer for her to realise where she was and to remember what had brought her there.
A gentle tickle from a breath to her neck made her turn her head, and her eyes lit up as she saw Giles’ sleeping face lying close to her. They immediately grew worried when she saw that even in his sleep he was frowning with weariness.
She brought a hand up to stroke his forehead, to try to remove whatever bad things were going around in his head, and her breath caught as his eyes suddenly opened.
His relieved exclamation of her name woke the others, but she kept her eyes on his. He looked into her eyes like he hadn’t seen her in months. When he tried to get up to fetch the nurse, she dug her hand in his t-shirt. “Don’t go!”
He remained still, and stroked her cheek, before pulling at the calling line tied to her bed. “I’m right here, love, I won’t go anywhere.”
The others finally stood and circled her bed, but Buffy was looking nowhere but at the man lying next to her.
Chapter 16
The moment between them was shattered as the door to the room opened, and Dr. Bocho rushed in with a nurse. Giles reluctantly slid from the bed as the doctor checked on Buffy, but kept her hand in his.
“Glad to see you back among us Miss Summers” Dr. Bocho said as he checked on her wound. “Your friends have been very worried about you.” He took a quick look at her face, and smiled as he saw that she wasn’t paying attention to a word he was saying or what he was doing. Her eyes were glued to the man holding her hand.
When he had first seen them, he thought the older man was probably her father. But when he saw the loving look between them he realised he was very mistaken. Father-daughter love wasn’t even close to the thing radiating out from them.
Turning his attention back to her wound he continued to talk. “You were very lucky Miss Summers. The knife in your side did quite some damage, and the broken piece from the knife almost pierced your lung. I have to say I am rather amazed at the state of your wound. It looks like you were stabbed days ago.”
When she said nothing, he only shook his head in disbelief and prodded her skin a little harder. Buffy suddenly cried out in pain and her eyes snapped shut as if she was trying to block out the pain. Giles’ eyes welled up with tears at her distress. The doctor immediately let up, and apologized, before picking up her file to make some notes.
When Buffy’s eyes opened she saw a tear spill down Giles’ cheek, and she tugged on his shirt so he leaned down towards her. She brushed the tear away and left her hand on his cheek. “I’m ok.”
All he could do was nod and place a kiss on her forehead.
The doctor finished with his file, then took a look at the small crowd surrounding her bed, before turning back to his patient.
“Ms. Summers, you need to get as much rest as possible. I will be back tomorrow morning before my shift ends, but until then you must sleep. We can get a couple of cots in here for your friends, but we won’t be able to fit them all.
Buffy looked at him with a stubborn look in her eyes before responding. “Xander and Anya can share one, and Willow can take the other. Two are all we need.”
He merely nodded and then turned to look at the man by her side.
“I can find you a better place than a chair for you if you would like sir?”
“He stays with me” Buffy said in a soft voice, and Giles squeezed her hand in response, feeling just as strongly about the matter.
“Miss Summers, you need your rest, and I highly doubt you would be comfortable enough to sleep while sharing your bed.”
Buffy answered with a voice that left no chance of dismissal. “I won’t be comfortable, or even able to rest, unless he’s lying here right next to me.”
A short staring match ensued. The doctor quickly lost, and they all laughed when they heard his grumble. “There used to be a time when doctors were the ones who ran this hospital, not the patients or their visitors.”
Buffy gave him a happy smile that he couldn’t help but answer. With some last minute instructions to the nurse he went on his way. An orderly came in with the cots, and they all helped to set them up. Grateful that now Buffy seemed to be out of the woods, so to speak, the entire gang couldn’t wait to get more restful sleep.
Chapter 17
After the light had been turned off and the others settled down, Giles was about to climb back into Buffy’s bed, but stopped when she shook her head at him. He kept his voice low and leaned down to avoid disturbing the others as much as possible.
“What’s wrong, love?” She lifted her sheets and responded in a whispered voice.
“Under the covers, not over.” He gave the others on the cots a quick glance, but the room was too dark to see their reaction. The next moment he decided to hell with all of it, and climbed in to pull her gently into his arms. Some things were much more important than their friends’ reaction to a relationship between them.
“Are you alright?” he asked while closing his eyes and burying his nose in her hair.
“Mmmm, perfect.” She turned her head slightly so she could rest the side of her face against his chest and took a deep breath.
“Giles?”
“Mmm?”
“Why do you smell like Xander?” Her question caused both Giles’ and Xander’s eyes to snap open.
Not wanting to relieve the emotional hell he had been through, Giles decided to keep his explanation short and trivial.
“I wasn’t my usual impeccable self when we came in here, and they made me change before I came in to your room. Xander had a change of clothes in his car and lent it to me.” She tugged on him to make him scoot down a little so they were face to face.
“Covered in dirt were you?” she asked with a cheeky smile that lost its power as she saw his face go sombre.
“Not quite. I was rather covered in your, ah, blood.” Immediately she felt bad, not realising until now the pain he must have been going through. The sound of his voice and look at his face made her understand.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” He only shook his head as if had been nothing and pulled her close again.
“Giles?”
“Mmm?”
“Take it off.”
This time Xander’s eyes grew even bigger and his mouth formed a silent ‘what?’ as well.
“The t-t-shirt?” Giles managed to stutter out. Buffy gave a little giggle as she heard Giles’ famous trait.
“As much as I love Xander, I don’t love him like that, and I would like to fall asleep to your scent, not his.” Xander waited for an embarrassed answer, or any answer at all, but all he heard was the rustling of fabric, and then Giles’ quiet whisper as they settled down.
“Better?”
“Much better.” She let one hand stroke his chest and took a deep breath. A little too deep, apparently: her injured side screamed in protest. She couldn’t help but let out a whimper, and Giles immediately raised his head to looked at her.
“Buffy?”
“It’s alright, I just got a little overambitious for a second. See what your body does to me?”
Her comment didn’t sink in until he’d checked her over twice to make sure she was ok. Then his face suddenly sported a grin.
“Is that so? Well, the feeling is entirely mutual. But we are not acting on it until you are one hundred percent better.” Her own grin turned into a pout.
“Not even a kiss? You know, you haven’t kissed me once since I woke up. I am feeling rather insecure you know. As a matter of fact . . ” To end her whispered tirade, knowing she wouldn’t go to sleep until he had obliged her, Giles covered her lips with his. Not that kissing Buffy would ever be something he had to oblige, he thought, as he let his tongue gently brush hers.
He kept the kiss soft and undemanding, making sure to raise as little passion as possible. At least for her, he thought, as he felt the familiar tightening in his lower stomach. A mere touch from her could raise him in no time. When he felt her fingers tighten in his hair and her breath quicken, he eased himself out of the kiss and leaned his forehead on hers with a rueful smile.
“God, what you do to me Buffy.” She smiled before letting her lips brush his briefly and then rested her head back against his now naked chest.
“I love you, Giles.”
Xander’s initially shocked expression had turned into one of acceptance as he had listened to their whispered conversation. His eyes closed with a smile just as he heard Giles’ shaky response.
“And I love you, Buffy.”
Chapter 18
After fighting the morning sun (that shone right in his face) and the cramps left from lying next to Anya on the small cot for several minutes, Xander finally decided to get up. He stretched lazily as he rose. His face sported a grin as his eyes fell on the couple in the hospital bed. Deep down he admitted that he was slightly confused about what actually was going on. No, that wasn’t right. He had a pretty good idea what was going on, but when it had happened was beyond him.
“Tell me I’m not seeing things?’
Xander’s grin widened as he heard Willow’s surprised voice coming over his shoulder. He turned to find her standing next to him.
“Nope, you are not seeing things. But had you been awake last night, you would have been a lot more prepared for it.” As he looked at Willow, her face got even more confused, and he had to hold back his laughter.
“Come on, let’s wake Anya and get some breakfast, and then we can put whatever this is under the microscope later.”
Willow merely nodded as she continued to watch Buffy and Giles on the bed, while Xander dragged a cranky Anya up from the cot. A couple of groans and whines later, Xander had successfully managed to push his girlfriend and best friend out the door, and closed it silently behind him.
*****
Giles woke to the sounds of the others leaving the room, but resisted the pull of wakefulness as long as he could. He revelled in the smell of Buffy’s hair; where his nose was buried.
Suddenly he remembered that the doctor had promised to come by early this morning and regretfully opened his eyes to look at his watch. It was nearly eight, and he suspected the doctor would be around shortly.
He carefully raised himself up on his elbow, and let his eyes roam her sleeping face. He was glad to note that her colour had come back, and he lifted her shirt so he could look at her wound. It was nearly closed, but it was surrounded by dark bruises, and he suspected it would take several days until she was fully healed. He covered her wound, and lowered his lips to place soft butterfly kisses on her cheek. He could feel her waken, and decided to wake her up with a proper improper morning kiss.
In a matter of seconds their tongues were mating, and both managed to pull several moans from each other.
After several minutes of exploring every nook and cranny of Giles’ mouth, Buffy pulled away from the kiss. Giles let his lips continue over her cheek and nipped down her neck.
Her mind was still sleep muddled, and without thinking she said exactly what she was thinking with a slight hitch in her voice, “What a wonderful way to wake up, I wish I could wake up with you every morning.”
His body froze, and his kisses stopped, but he didn’t raise his head from her neck. Buffy’s eyes shot open as she realised what she had said. Her face got a panicked look. Oh god, oh, god, oh god, was all she could think, as she braced herself for his reaction.
After what seemed like and endless moment, he finally lifted his head and looked at her with an unreadable expression.
Buffy held her breath as she prepared herself to be let down. Worst case scenario: Giles would run screaming out of her room. Clearly her revelation was too soon for him. She’d lost him.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to speak, the door to her room opened, and Dr. Bocho walked in.
“Miss Summers, good morning, you are looking much better this morning. How are you feeling?”
Buffy tore her worried eyes from Giles, relieved by the distraction, and plastered on a smile. “Ah, much better thanks.”
She ignored her body’ cries for Giles’ as she felt him stand and pull on the t-shirt he had discarded the night before. She saw Dr. Bocho raise his eyebrows, but thankfully he did not comment.
“Good to hear. Now, let me take a look at your wound.”
Giles didn’t say a word while the doctor examined her, and although Buffy could hear the doctor making comments, all she could think about what would inevitably come when the doctor left the room. She avoided looking at Giles to prevent her eyes from spilling, and tried her best to calm her nervous breathing. She finally realised the doctor was addressing her directly, and forced herself to listen to what he was saying.
“…so with that said, I would say that we should keep you one more day, but then you should be more than well enough to go home. However I strongly suggest that you get someone to help you out. You will need a couple of days rest before you resume normal activities.”
With a quick glance at Giles he continued. “Do you have someone you can ask?”
Before Buffy had a chance to reply, Giles shot in. “She does. Several as a matter of fact.”
Buffy looked at Giles for the first time since Dr. Bocho had come in, but he was still wearing his unreadable expression, and he was looking at the doctor.
“Good” the doctor replied, and gave Buffy’s shoulder a quick squeeze. “I will stop by tomorrow morning for a last check-up. Make sure you rest as much as possible today.”
Buffy was only able to give him a weak smile, before he gave Giles a short wave and walked out the door, leaving the two of them behind in a deathly silence.
Chapter 19
Buffy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, while she struggled to come up with something to say. Her heartbeat increased when she felt Giles sit next to her on the bed. She opened her eyes and mouth to say something, but he lifted his hand and let two of his fingers cover her mouth to prevent her from talking. His expression was deadly serious as he spoke.
“Did you mean what you said?”
She thought about making a joke, anything to ease the tension that was threatening to suffocate her, but as she looked into his eyes she decided against it.
She gave a small nod.
His fingers still covered her mouth. “Are you absolutely positive?”
Once again she nodded, and this time he removed his fingers and let his hand cup her cheek.
When he didn’t say anything, she figured she should say something.
“Giles, I know this might be too soon, but I love you. . . and. . . and we both know our time is precious.” His eyes got a pained look, but he didn’t say anything. This is it Buffy, it’s now or never, she thought as she prepared herself to put it all on the line.
“Giles, Angel might have been my first love, but you are my one true love. Whatever time I have left in this world, I want to spend it with you.” The fear that had gripped her since her unintentional slip earlier finally released her as she saw his face soften, and mist gather in his eyes.
With a barely audible whisper he finally spoke. “Nothing would make me happier than moving in with you. You are everything that I have always looked for, but I never thought I would find.”
Her own face lit up with a thousand-watt smile, and she pulled him down into a toe-curling kiss. When they finally needed to breathe, he didn’t release her, only hugged her close.
Neither of them could tell how long their embrace lasted. Both were content to stay within each other’s arms as long as possible. Buffy let her hands stroke his back with long strokes, and once in a while she ran them through his hair. Despite her tender wound, she could never remember being as content as she was at that moment.
When Giles spoke, she should have realised it wouldn’t last for long.
“Buffy? I need to ask you something about last night.” As he raised himself so he could look at her he continued. “Yesterday was too confusing and unsettling for me to actually wrap my mind around it, but just now I remembered something.”
Buffy knew what was coming.
“When you got wounded in the woods, you said something very peculiar. You said there was something you should have told me, and you apologized for getting hurt. What was that all about?”
He silently watched her as he saw the proverbial wheels churn in her brain, without a doubt thinking up something to evade his question.
“Don’t you dare lie to me, Buffy!” he growled, and almost grinned in satisfaction as he saw her tell-tale blush. She had been planning on doing just that.
With a sigh she took his hand in hers. “A couple of weeks before we came up here I started having these dreams. Several, as a matter of fact. You were even witness to one this weekend.”
He nodded as he remembered the one he had woken her from. “Were they nightmares?”
She shook her head and waited a bit before she continued. “They were more of the prophetic kind.”
She could see his jaw tighten in anger. She’d expected it.
“You knew.” he stated in a fierce whisper. “You knew what would happen in the woods. You knew you were meant to die. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!” His voice rose along with his anger.
She nodded again, and continued in a rush. “But Giles, there was nothing you could have done, I had to do it my way.” By now he had risen from the bed and was pacing the floor. “And although it was close, I made it didn’t I?” she asked in a timid voice.
His eyes snapped to hers. “That’s not the point! You should have told me Buffy! I am your Watcher - we work together! And to make matters worse, we’re lovers! Buffy, how could you keep this from me!!”
Hearing the anger in his voice Buffy’s eyes welled with tears. “I couldn’t tell you Giles. You were so happy that I was back, and I knew that if I told you, you would have done anything to keep me away from the fight - you always do!” Her own voice had risen in frustration, and now tears were cursing down her cheeks. “And one of these days it will get you killed, and I can’t live without you. Don’t you get that by now?!”
Seeing her tears, his anger quickly deflated and he swiftly made his way to her bed and cradled her in his arms. He soothingly stroked her hair and back as tears made their way down on both their cheeks.
When her sobs quieted he spoke in a soft voice. “That applies to me as well, love. But you need to tell me about these things. We are not two entities anymore, nor are we simply Watcher and Slayer any longer. We have something much more profound. We’re now two parts of a whole. Promise me you’ll never keep something like this from me again?” The last question was said in a pleading voice.
“I promise Giles. But you need to promise me you won’t go all gung-ho, as you have other times. From now on we discuss everything in a calm and rational manner without making any rash decisions.”
He had to hide a grin against her hair, because he knew without a doubt that he and Buffy would never talk about prophecies in a calm and rational matter. It simply wasn’t their way of working together. He was momentarily frightened that now that their emotions were running eve deeper than they had before, they would fight like cats and dogs about how things would be solved. But, as long as they fought out openly, it would have to do.
“I agree.” he murmured into her hair before raising his head.
“God, we are a pair, aren’t we?” Buffy laughed soggily as they brushed errant tears off each others’ faces.
“Are you reconsidering your earlier proposition of letting me move in with you?” he asked playfully. He’d intended the comment to make her smile, but she became more serious than before.
“Never!” she said fiercely before pulling him into a fervent kiss.
The couple was so wrapped up in each other that they both missed the opening of the door. A rather stunned Willow stood with her jaw dropped. Xander, who was standing right behind her, had a mixed expression of “ewww” and a smile, while Anya, who had seen it all before, merely yawned.
As the couple seemed completely oblivious of the fact that they were being watched, Xander decided to break them apart before they were introduced to a NC17 rated show right in front of them.
“Ahem! Does anybody care to tell us what is going on?”
Buffy and Giles jumped apart. “Ah. . . this isn’t what it looks like” Giles immediately said to his defence. “Oh, alright, it is” he quickly amended as Buffy swatted his chest. “But, let us explain.”
Anya immediately cut in. “Giles! I was the one who was going to tell this story remember?”
Ignoring both Buffy’s and Giles’ protest she turned towards Willow and Xander.
“Ok, it’s like this. It’s really thanks to me you know. Without me there would have been no happy orgasms for either one of them.”
Buffy buried her face in Giles’ chest in mortification to tune out Anya’s embarrassing chatter of Anya. She wasn’t terribly comforted since Giles was actually shaking with laughter. He immediately wrapped his arms around her and settled them both comfortably on the bed. They would have time to tell their much edited and more accurate version later. They were together and that was more than enough.
THE END