Watchers Council

Chapter 13

Xander looked up from his desk and smiled as he saw Giles knocking gently on the doorframe. “Giles” he stood up and went round to shake his hand. “How’s the shoulder?” he playfully aimed a punch but Giles met his fist with an open palm. “Hey, I thought you werppospposed to slow down in your old age?”

“Now I know I’m home” Giles sighed and nodded towards the office’s other occupant. “Alexander, how are things with you?” he smiled.

“Everything’s fine sir” the young man smiled back at him. “Do you want me to find somewhere else to be?” he asked politely and was surprised when Giles started to laugh.

“No” Giles indicated he should sit back down. “Sorry but I’m not used to Xanderisms in an English accent” he looked towards Xander. “You’ve been a bad influence on Alexander’s language skills”

“We’ve been teaching each other” Xander grinned and waited a beat before adding “Old boy” in a shockingly bad Oxbridge accent. They all laughed and Giles was relieved that the two men had found a way to work together. “Is this a social call because I was just about to do my morning rounds and you’re welcome to join me” Xander suggested.

“That would be ideal” Giles stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets and waited till Xander collected his papers. “Dawn won’t allow me back into the office till the shoulder has healed a little” he explained to Alex. “If she calls looking for me can you tell her I’m with Xander?” he asked.

“Of course sir” the young man nodded.

“And Alexander, please call me Giles or Mr Giles if you must” he said gently.

“I always found G-Man was a little easier on the tongue” Xander suggested with a wink at the younger man and grinned at Giles. “Come on” he picked up his own hard hat and gave one to Giles. “Let’s introduce you to the people who do the hard work around here”

Giles was trying desperately not to smile as Xander treated him like a royal visitor. He knew that the young man was trying hard to show that he was on top of everything but it was only when something went wrong that Giles finally understood how well he had fitted into his role.

“Sorry about that” Xander muttered as they left a group of workmen pulling out some defective wiring. “I think I’m going to have to keep an eye on that crew, I won’t let anyone use sub standard materials”

“You handled it very well” Giles assured him quietly as they walked past another group of workmen. “But perhaps you should see about hiring some more foremen?”

“Nope” Xander held open a door for Giles and they both squinted as they stepped out into sunlight. “I’d rather make sure they all knew I was making regular inspections and that I’d spot any corners they were trying to cut” he shrugged. “Even if they find out about the false eye, most of them know that they won’t get much past me”

“You know that the Board of Directors are very impressed with everything you’ve achieved” Giles nodded to some watchers who walked past them.

“I couldn’t let you down, not after you’d persuaded them to give me the job” Xander looked across at Giles as he stared off into the distance. “Come on, you didn’t think I knew how many favours you had to call in to get me this gig?”

“Xander we are talking about the Council of Watchers, I ran out of favours many years ago” Giles finally looked at him and smiled. “You were given the position by the Board because you were the best man for the job”

“Whatever” Xander shrugged. “Anyway, why did you come back early from the jungle, run out of loin cloths?” he grinned.

Giles rolled his eyes and took the opportunity to change the subject. “Honestly?” he glanced across at Xander as they continued towards the main building. “I was bored out of my mind and fed up having to rough it”

Xander stared at him in amazement. “And the shoulder, a final swing through the trees?”

Giles laughed as he explained to Xander exactly what had caused the injury. They were still laughing together when they got to the front steps and met Buffy. “Hey Buffy” Xander smiled at her then frowned when he saw the concerned look on her face. “What’s up?”

“I think Willow and Alex have finally sorted things out” she nodded her head towards the gardens and the two men followed her towards the memorial. “I was over there for a while last night” she turned to look at Giles. “Willow had asked Alex to read the journal she had written at the coven”

Giles blew out a breath and took his glasses off. “Did she read all of it?” he asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Everything” Buffy nodded and sat down on one of the benches. “What I’m struggling with is that she never even told us she had written it and from what she let slip it seems to be fairly graphic about what she went through during her time at the coven”

“What kind of thing?” Xander asked and looked between Buffy and Giles. “What happened to her?”

“The first few weeks were quite disturbing” Giles admitted quietly and stood in front of them. “The removal of the power that she took from me was painful and she battled every step of the way” he started to pace. “I can’t really imagine what she was going through and I wasn’t around for the early part of it” he put his glasses back on and stared at Buffy as she interrupted him.

“That’s something else you and I need to talk about later” she told him and he knew that something serious had happened the previous night.

Giles nodded and returned to his train of thought. “Once Willow had relinquished the majority of her power she agreed to keep a journal of her experiences, as a way to measure her improvement over the months to come” he walked towards the memorial but stopped before he reached it. “I knew she was writing it but I never asked to read it and I doubt she ever expected anyone to see it”

Buffy nodded. “That’s why she called me last night, she was worried about how her state of mind would come across”

“It must have been harrowing to read” he agreed.

“Was it that bad?” Xander asked. “I mean, I know it must have been awful but she didn’t try to do anything..” he let the sentence trail off and looked uncomfortably at Giles.

“I think in the first few days she would have ended it if she could” he said quietly and watched the colour drain from Xander’s face. “She was still being ruled by the dark magics and the coven expected the reaction and had adequate safeguards in place, she wasn’t in any real danger”

“I had no idea” Xander whispered and looked towards Buffy. “I just guessed that they would take care of her”

“I know” Buffy nodded. “We were too busy dealing with the fallout and helping each other cope that I didn’t give much thought to what she was actually going through either”

“You shouldn’t feel guilty” Giles said quietly. “There was no other way, nothing you could have done” he turned to face the memorial. “She had more strength than any of us realised and the coven were surprised at how quickly she improved after the initial stages were over”

“Why didn’t she tell us?” Xander asked and rubbed his hands across his face. “She must have been keeping all that bottled up inside her since she came back, we could have helped”

“I think that’s what Alex is doing now” Buffy smiled. “She handled last night really well and when I left it looked like Will was finally dealing with the last of her emotional baggage”

“So what do we do now?” Xander looked towards Giles again, keen to do something to make it better for his best friend.

“I don’t think we do anything” Giles put his glasses back on. “Willow has dealt with this herself and with Alex’s help she has hopefully taken another step in her recovery”

Xander stood up from the bench. “And we don’t tell her we know about the journal?”

“I would assume that it’s going back to her hiding place, I doubt that anyone will ever see it again” Giles suggested and the three of them headed back towards the main building.

*****

“So let me get this straight” Alex puffed as she lifted another bag into the trunk of the car. “My girlfriend is a witch with unlimited powers and I still have to carry heavy bags?” she complained.

“Absolutely” Willow nodded as she dumped two more into the trunk before checking everything was safely stowed and closing it. “Besides my powers are only unlimited if I get a decent night’s sleep and someone has been keeping me awake for the last week” she pinched Alex’s ass as she went back to lock up the apartment.

“But an indecent night’s sleep is so much more fun” Alex pouted and slid into the passenger seat. “Remind me why we’re having to be sociable and go out tonight instead of staying home and being naked?”

Willow shook her head and slipped her seatbelt on before starting the car. “It’s Thanksgiving and we have a lot to give thanks for” she smiled sweetly. “And it’s Giles’ first big celebration since the Council opened up here so we’re going to celebrate in style”

“No warrior spirits?” Alex grinned and ran her hand across Willow’s thigh.

“I am so going to get Buffy Summers, she doesn’t have any idea when to stop sharing” Willow scowled and then slid down in her seat a little to give Alex more leg to play with. “Just remember to behave yourself in front of the Board of Directors” she managed to get out seriously before she groaned. “You ought to have a Surgeon General’s Warning when you’re in this mood” she sighed and reached out with her right hand to brush against Alex’s breast. “Alex please” she begged ten minutes later as she pulled the car into the parking area. “I can’t go into a building full of people who work for me if I’m like this” she indicated her slightly dishevelled outfit and very prominent nipples.

“You’ve been managing fine for the last few weeks” Alex grinned and leaned across to capture the dark red lips. “New lipstick?” she licked her own lips as she pulled away and ran her hands through her hair. “You look fabulous” she took a deep breath and watched as Willow straightened her skirt and adjusted her blouse.

“Willow, hurry up” Xander tapped on the driver’s window. “I don’t have all night” he stood back as she pushed the door open and grinned at him. “Can’t you two behave for five minutes?” he asked and shook his head as he lifted several bags from the car. He peaked inside one of the bags and smiled “At least dessert will be edible”

“Xander” Willow scolded him. “The cooks have been working really hard to get the recipes right for tonight”

“Alex?” Buffy came out to find out what was keeping them. “Willow” she nodded and lifted the rest of the bags from the car.

“See, I told you we should have got a slayer to load the car in the first place” Alex pointed at Buffy as she effortlessly carried the bags into the kitchens.

*****

“Rupert” Alex goosed him as she came up behind him then blushed scarlet as she realised he was talking to an elderly gentleman who could only be a member of the board. “Sorry” she whispered in his ear as he turned round to hug her.

“Justin” Willow hugged the elderly man and shook her head. “I don’t believe you’ve met my girlfriend, Alex” she grinned at the young girl as she held out her hand for her.

“My dear” Justin smiled and took her other hand, bending over to kiss it. “You are a very lucky woman” he said quietly as he moved to stand a little closer to her.

“Watch out for him” Willow said in a stage whisper. “Uses impeccable manners and his old country charm to entice young women”

“And he’s really good at it too” Alex admitted and smiled as Justin grinned at her. “You must have taught Rupert” she suggested with a cheeky grin and heard Giles clear his throat behind her.

“Perhaps we should find our seats?” he suggested with a raised eyebrow.

*****

“I couldn’t eat another thing” Xander declared as he pushed his empty plate away and leaned back in his chair.

“And you were worried about the food” Willow reminded him as she finished off her pie.

“Hey guys, the band’s arrived!” Buffy grinned around the table. “Dawn and Danny are showing them where to set up”

“I’d better just go and help them” Giles suggested before Buffy put her hand on his arm.

“I think they can deal with it” she smiled. “But if you want some fresh air I wouldn’t mind a walk” she suggested and put her arm through his when he offered it to her. “It’s been a really nice night” she sighed as they headed towards the path around the building.

“Indeed it has” Giles sighed contentedly. “I was a little worried but we all seem to have managed to get into the spirit of the evening” he paused. “No pun intended” he smiled at her and nodded to a couple who walked past them in the other direction.

“I’m glad we’ve got a chance to talk” Buffy suggested and felt him tense against her arm. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing too heavy” she smiled and felt him relax again. “I just wanted you to know that I’m glad you decided to set up here and persuaded the Board to let us help out” she leaned her head against his shoulder. “I really missed you whenever you went back home”

“I missed you too” he smiled. “All of you” he admitted and sighed.

“I lied” she mumbled after a few moments.

“Sorry?” he asked, not sure he understood her.

“I lied, when I said it wasn’t too heavy” she sighed and sat on a low wall near the edge of the driveway. “I wasn’t sure whether to tell you or not but the night when Dawn, Alex, Xander and I were staying at your place I read your diaries” she said and watched him turn to look at her with his undreadable expression firmly in place. “The others just skimmed through some of the passages so that we could bring Alex up to speed but I read all of them”

“And?” he waited for her to choose which entry had caused her this much discomfort.

“And I know about what you did to Ben” she finally admitted and saw him smile a little in relief before the serious expression appeared again.

“I’m assuming you know why I did it?” he asked quietly.

“I do and I just wanted to thank you for making the decision when I couldn’t” she met his eyes and squinted a little to try to read what was going on behind them.

“Was there anything else?” he asked, worried that she had picked the easiest one to begin a long list of complaints.

“Nope” she stood up abruptly and continued on the path around the main building.

“And you read all of them?” he checked to make sure she wasn’t stalling him.

“Yes” she turned to grin at him. “Plenty to take in and I’ve been thinking about a lot of stuff since, but nothing I need to share yet” she shrugged and turned to face him as she continued walking backwards. “Was there anything you think we should be having a discussion about?” she teased him.

“Nothing at all” he grinned and shook his head, relieved that she hadn’t read too closely the entries around the incident with her mother.

When they returned to the main hall they found controlled mayhem had taken over the gathering. “What is going on?” Giles finally asked a passing student.

“There wasn’t enough space for a dance floor so everyone is moving the tables” she shrugged as if this should be obvious to even the most casual observer.

“Justin?” Giles scanned the room only to catch a glimpse of the Chairman of the Board of Directors helping to move some chairs to the edge of the room. “What on earth are you doing?” he asked as he reached to take the chair from him before wincing.

“Don’t you dare” Willow scolded him as she patted his hand away. “Dr Crow said your shoulder is almost back to normal and I didn’t stay up with you for two hours last night just for fun” she pursed her lips.

“I can testify to that” Alex said with a grin as she handed Giles a glass of amber liquid. “Fun was had last night, but not with you” she whispered as she leaned closer to him.

“Thank you for reminding me” he whispered back just as quietly and smiled at her as she blushed. “This is good” he held up the glass to admire the colour before turning to Alex. “Where did you steal this from?”

“Nowhere” Alex tried to be innocent. “Justin brought a case of it as a present for the staff and he said I could open one of the bottles to give you a taste test” she watched him take another sip and savour the taste before he swallowed. “So, is it pepsi or coke?” she asked impatiently and saw him close his eyes and lean his head against the wall.

“Have you ever tasted really good scotch?” he asked her and took a quick look round to see if anyone was watching them. He nodded as he saw everyone else involved in organising the furniture and creating a dance floor. “Try it, just a sip” he held the glass out towards her and saw her glance to make sure Willow was otherwise engaged. “Like it?” he waited until he saw the slight blush rise to her cheeks and she blew out a small breath.

“Packs quite a punch” she suggested with a slightly croaky voice. “Warm though” she nodded and cleared her throat.

“It’s not something you can enjoy straight away but you should try to develop a taste for it” he took another sip himself. “So what were you doing last Thanksgiving?” he asked as she settled back against the wall next to him.

“Some friends and I went to a cabin in the woods and we all ate turkey sandwiches followed by toasted marshmallows” she grinned at the memories before nodding towards his glass. “Can I try another sip?” she asked and rested her fingers on his arm as he held the glass out to her. “Mmm, gets a bit better every time” she nodded and watched the controlled chaos of those around them. “What about you, were you in Sunnydale?”

“No, I was in England and only remembered in the afternoon that it was Thanksgiving” he shrugged. “I called Buffy and the others but the time difference caught me out and they were patrolling”

“It’s strange to think we’ll always be together on this night for the rest of our lives” she glanced at him to see his reaction.

“So you’ve definitely decided to stay?” he asked and took another sip.

“I might not always be here but I’ll always be with Willow” she nodded. “If she’ll have me” she added.

“I don’t think there’s much doubt of that, do you?” he asked and watched her face.

“I don’t know” she shrugged. “I thought I knew her a few weeks ago and look at what we’ve shared since” she took a deep breath. “But fundamentally I think we will grow old together into wizened ladies of disgraceful reputation with lots of cats” she nodded as the mental picture formed.

“I think we should check your progress towards those lofty goals every Thanksgiving” he suggested solemnly and toasted her with his glass.

“So long as we both have glasses of the good stuff” she agreed and leaned in for another sip. “Mmmm, remind me to get you some of this next time I go through duty free”

“Alex!” Willow was standing watching as Giles hastily pulled the glass away from her and tried to hide it behind Alex. “What are you two up to?” she looked suspiciously at her girlfriend.

“Nothing” Alex assured her confidently and met the steely gaze without a flicker. “If the dancefloor is ready I think you owe me a dance” she reminded Willow as the band finally started playing their first set.

“Actually I came to ask Giles if he wanted to dance” Willow smiled at the stunned look on both of their faces. “So if you want to give Alex the remainder of the scotch to look after, perhaps you’d do me the honour?” she held out her hand.

Giles grinned and swallowed the remainder of his drink before handing the empty glass to a scowling Alex. “You know where the bottle is” he whispered as he followed Willow towards the edge of the dancefloor. Alex shook her head as she saw them lean together and headed towards the bar.

“You know I don’t really dance” Giles leaned forward to make sure she heard him.

“I know” she nodded and held her arms out. “We can just sway for a minute or two, I wanted a word and this is the easiest way to get you on your own” she smiled as he took her in his arms and they slowly picked up the lazy rhythm of the ballad. “I guess Buffy told you about the journal?” she finally asked as she grew confident of their movements.

“She mentioned that you had let Alex read it” he acknowledged.

“I couldn’t think of any other way to explain to her what it was like” she shrugged and looked up to meet his eyes. “It was a last hope and I didn’t think it would really work, I was convinced she would be horrified by what she read and finally find something she couldn’t live with” she admitted.

“The conversation you interrupted a moment ago seemed to suggest otherwise” he gently reminded her.

“I know” she nodded. “Which is why I need to let you know how much I appreciate all of your advice and help over the last few months” she took a deep breath. “If Alex hadn’t come along when she did I think I may have tried to act on the feelings I was having for you at the time” she watched his face for any reaction but he was staring over her shoulder. “And I’m not entirely sure they would have come as a surprise to you” she said softly and knew she had his attention again as he quickly looked down at her. “I also think you may have agreed to help me work through my feelings” she was slowly getting to the point. “And I think you may have been having similar feelings for me” she finally got out the sentence that had been hiding behind her teeth since they’d started to dance.

“That’s an awful lot of hypotheses without any concrete evidence” he said quietly, his face neutral.

“I know it’s completely hypothetical but if I’m right then it just makes the help you’ve given us even more incredible” she felt her eyes begin to sting and blinked rapidly a few times to clear them.

“I only ever wanted what was best for you” he ran the back of his finger under her left eye to gather the single tear as it fell. “For both of you” he swallowed and pulled her closer as the song came to an end. “Don’t get caught up with the ‘what ifs’ in life Willow, our time on this earth is too precious to waste it”

“Thank you” she said quietly and pulled him into a tight hug, using his jacket to wipe up the next few tears to fall.

He held her tightly until she had gathered herself and then he released her. “Let’s find Alex, you owe her a dance and she owes me another drink” he smiled.

*****

“So I’m sorry, perhaps Xander would go with you?” Willow mumbled sadly into the phone. “I know he doesn’t like chick flicks but he would probably make an exception for you” she listened for another moment or two. “I love you too” she whispered and hung up the phone with a deep sigh.

“Is everything OK?” Danny asked as he looked up from his keyboard.

“Yeah, I just hate having to cancel stuff at the last minute” she shrugged and returned to her own screen. “Anything?” she looked up to see if anyone in the room had any good news to share. She saw seven heads pop up from behind their monitors to shake disconsolately before disappearing again. “Never mind, we’ll find it” she said with a brave smile before returning to her screen.

“And she cancelled on you?” Xander asked with a laugh as he finished washing up his dinner dishes. “Of course, I’ll pick you up in fifteen minutes” he chuckled and ran upstairs to change into something suitable for a romantic comedy. “So how do I look?” he twirled in front of the stairs to her apartment twenty minutes later.

“Very leading man” Alex checked him out and nodded. “Are you sure you don’t mind?” she asked again as he held the car door open for her. “We can give the movie a miss if you’d rather do something else”

“Nope” he shook his head before pulling away from the curb. “Besides, you’ve hardly been outside the apartment for the last few weeks and you deserve a night out” he grinned at her. “What on earth is more interesting than you to the Willster?” he asked and turned to watch her face as he stopped at lights.

“She didn’t really say, something about a problem in Cleveland and they can’t find a reference so everyone on her team is pulling an all nighter” she shrugged and was surprised to see him look a little concerned. “Is everything alright?” she asked.

“I think so” he nodded. “Cleveland is the place where the other original slayer, Faith, is based” he explained. “It’s the site of another Hellmouth and she went to keep on top of it with some of the other potentials from Sunnydale” he decided to keep Kennedy’s name out of the conversation.

“So something going wrong there is probably not good?” she guessed and saw the agreement in his eyes. “Isn’t there anything we can do to help?” she asked and saw the good idea light bulb appear above his head.

“I can finally show you what I did during all of those years at Sunnydale High” he grinned and turned left at the next junction.

*****

“Xander?” Willow said in surprise as she saw him push the door open with his elbow.

“The cavalry has arrived” he announced and switched on the overhead lights to the groans of everyone in the room. “Everybody’s taking a ten minute break, the pizza has arrived” he dumped several boxes onto one of the tables along the edge of the room. “And my lovely assistant is on her way with some refreshments” he popped his head round the door to look down the corridor before returning to the room “tadaaaaaa” he announced her arrival.

“Give me a hand” she laughed from under a huge armful of soda cans.

“Alex?” Willow grinned as everyone helped themselves to pizza. “What on earth are you doing here?” she took a can of soda from Alex and pulled her to the other end of the room.

“Xander and I were heading to the movies when I told him about Cleveland and he said you always used to solve the big problem at Sunnydale High just after he arrived with the pizza” she shrugged and looked around the room. “So we decided not to jinx his perfect record and went to the nearest pizza place instead” she explained.

“You are an idiot” she giggled as Xander came up to her with a large slice of pizza.

“Willow, this is the best brain food there is” he scolded her. “Eat and then you can solve” he waited till she had taken a bite. “So where are Giles and Buffy, I feel an old team all nighter coming over me”

“Giles is in his office monitoring the situation in Cleveland” she wiped some cheese from her chin. “Buffy is downstairs in the gym hitting things with a big stick”

“Ah” Xander nodded and turned to explain to Alex. “She always gets a bit antsy when she misses a big fight and the thought of Faith getting a little action is probably driving her crazy” Alex raised her eyebrows in astonishment and Willow nearly choked on the soda she had sipped. “A little action in the fighting demons and bad guys sense” he held up his hands in panic. “Nothing else, I swear” he turned to watch the others. “So, where do I start?” he asked, rubbing his hands together.

“I’m not sure” Willow finally managed to stop coughing. “We’re going through the old library material item by item because the original text has been lost” she shrugged. “Perhaps Giles could do with a hand in the office?” she suggested before turning to Alex. “I’m really sorry but this is pretty serious, I need to stay here until we find this”

“I know” Alex nodded. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way” she assured Willow and wiped some more cheese from her chin. “I think I’ll check on Buffy, perhaps she needs someone to work out her frustrations with?” she suggested with a perfectly straight face. Willow and Xander both started to cough at the same time and the other people in the room turned to stare as they leaned against each other and tried to catch their breath. “Come and get me wyou’you’re done” Alex smiled at Willow and kissed her before patting Xander’s ass and leaving them to their shocked expressions.

“Where did you find her?” he finally gasped at Willow.

“At a water park that you took me to” she poked him in the chest. “Thank you” she finally gave in to the grin and kissed his cheek. “And thanks for the supplies, hopefully your theory will work” she turned back to find the others laughing and relaxing. “I hate having to do this” she whispered to him before clapping her hands and looking around them all apologetically. “Let’s get this done” she suggested and a few people picked up slices of pizza before heading back to their computers.

“Giles?” Xander knocked on the door gently and found him sitting in his chair, his feet resting on his desk and a book balanced precariously on his chest as he dozed. Xander shook his head and slowly removed the book from under his hand before taking his glasses off and putting them on the desk. He looked around and found a pad with some notes scribbled on it. Settling down in the other chair in the office he read through the notes then picked up the book Giles had been reading.

*****

“Need a hand?” Alex asked as Buffy delivered a series of blows to a punch bag.

“Alex?” Buffy looked surprised and rotated her shoulders to loosen them a little. “What are you doing here at this time of night?”

Alex explained about Xander’s theory and his suggestion to wait with the others till they had found what they were looking for. “Besides” she shrugged. “I’m guessing I should get used to these things cropping up from time to time”

“Not as often as before but yes” Buffy agreed. “You probably want to change out of those clothes if you’re serious about training” she nodded towards Alex’s short skirt and high heeled shoes.

“Give me a couple of minutes” Alex agreed and headed for the changing rooms. She emerged shortly in her training gear and stood behind the punch bag. “At last, I finally get to use the good stuff, am I doing it right?” she asked and Buffy explained how she should cushion the shocks with her body. “Ooff” Alex landed three feet away after the first roundhouse kick and waved her hands in the air to get the feeling back in them.

“Are you OK?” Buffy was by her side in seconds and quickly unwrapped the protection from her hands. “I’m sorry, I thought you were ready” she quickly and efficiently patted down Alex’s body to make sure there were no obvious broken bones before holding out her hand to help her stand up. “Are you OK?” she tried again.

“Yes?” Alex sounded a little unsure but was getting her breath back. “Yes” she decided and looked incredulously at the small woman standing in front of her. “Wow” she said and shook her head. “I never really got the slayer thing before but, wow” she said again.

“I’m so used to training with the other slayers that I forgot” Buffy was embarrassed. “I don’t think you broke anything, can you still feel your legs?” she checked and allowed a small smile to break through.

“My legs and your hands on them” Alex was back to normal now and remembering the checkover from the slayer. “Don’t tell me you’ve got some of Willow’s healing hands thing going on too?”

Buffy looked panicked. “No” she held out her hands and looked over Alex’s shoulder to make sure they were still alone in the gym. “Giles taught me some basic first aid and I was just making sure everything was still where it should be”

“Rupert does that to you regularly?” she asked and quirked an eyebrow at the blush that rose to the other blonde’s cheeks. “Xander said you’d be frustrated but I had no idea” she let the sentence trail off before starting to laugh at the astonished look on Buffy’s face. “I’m kidding” she admitted and explained about her parting shot at Willow and Xander.

*****

The phone rang and Xander quickly reached to pick it up while Giles jerked awake. “Sure he’s here, I’ll just get him for you” he put his hand over the mouthpiece. “It’s Faith’s watcher, Grant, needs to talk to you”

Giles took the phone and ran his hand through his hair. “Grant, what is happening?” he asked and then listened for several minutes, occasionally taking notes. “Fine, we still have the team trying to locate the reference and I’ll call you as soon as we find it” he assured the other man and hung the phone up. “When did you get here?” he smiled at Xander and stood up to stretch.

“Half an hour ago” Xander nodded towards the phone. “What’s happening?”

“They’ve managed to track the Knarin demon down to a section of the sewer” Giles poured himself a mug of coffee from a thermos and offered one to Xander. “Faith and Kennedy are keeping it busy but they can’t defeat it until ind ind the correct liturgy to banish it from this dimension for good” he yawned and rubbed his eyes.

“That’s what Willow and her team are looking for?” Xander guessed and turned his nose up at the tepid coffee.

“Yes, it seems the original text was incorrectly referenced and they have to search through all of the associated documents for the three or four lines we need” Giles explained. “Just our luck that the first real test of her new system falls down because of a text misplaced thirty years ago” he shrugged.

“Let’s go and help them out” Xander suggested. “You can use the phone down there and I’m sure they could use three extra eyes” he smiled.“We “We can pick up some fresh coffee on the way” Giles nodded and followed the young man.

*****

Two hours later Willow finally let out an exhausted sigh. “Giles” she said quietly and looked up to find where he was sitting. “I think I’m on to something” Although she was speaking quietly the entire room focussed on her, everyone crowding round her screen. “I remembered something I had read years ago when we were trying to find a way to defeat the Lurconis demon and I followed that to some related references and well..” she trailed off as she pointed at the screen and yawned.

Giles leaned on the back of her chair and quickly read the text on the screen. His left hand rested on her shoulder and squeezed gently as he started to grin. “That’s it, well done Willow” he blew out a deep breath and looked around at the expectant faces. “We’ve found it, can someone get me Cleveland on the phone?”

Buffy and Alex had eventually given up on exercise and raided the kitchen instead. Alex was explaining the finer points of sandwich preparation when they both heard a rumble in the corridor. Buffy put her head round the door to ask what was happening and turned to grin at Alex. “They’ve got it” Alex looked at the mess in the kitchen before she shrugged and followed Buffy towards Willow’s office. “Hey, way to go team” Buffy high fived Xander and hugged Willow before turning to Giles. He smiled at her but continued his phone conversation. “What was it?” Buffy asked and Willow explained about the similarity to the demon the Mayor had been involwithwith during the Band Candy incident. “No wonder Giles didn’t remember anything about it” she grinned and Willow and Xander laughed.

“Can we go home now?” Alex whispered in Willow’s ear as she put her arm round her waist.

“We just need to wait to see if it works, should only take ten minutes” Willow told her before closing her eyes and licking her lips as Alex remained by her ear to kiss it. “Maybe five minutes” Willow swallowed and found her mouth suddenly dry. “Giles?” Willow squeaked as Alex started to nibble her way down her neck.

He glanced up at her and held up his hand. “It did?” he waited for another moment before grinning and nodding. “I’m glad no-one was injured, pass our regards onto Faith and Kennedy” he smiled before hanging up and blowing out a deep breath. “The liturgy had the desired effect, one less demon in this dimension” he said finally giving in to exhaustion.

“Everyone’s OK?” Buffy asked.

“Faith is fine, Kennedy has some cuts and bruises but she’ll be fine in a couple of days” he shrugged. “Let’s go home” he looked around the small group and suddenly flashed back years to the library and early morning victories. “Xander, do you have your car with you?” Giles picked up his jacket and hussled them out of the office.

“Sure” Xander started but Willow interrupted him.

“I’ll take my car, no sense in taking you out of your way” she hurriedly tried to avoid explaining her need to get home as a matter of urgency.

“But you’re exhausted, perhaps you could pick the car up tomorrow?” Giles suggested before Buffy and Xander grinned at each other and grabbed an arm each, pulling him in the direction of Xander’s car and away from an occupied Willow and Alex.

Willow was pushed against the cold door of the car by Alex’s body and groaned. “Home” she gasped between kisses. “Now” she managed when she next came up for air.

“I’ll drive” Alex mumbled and took the car keys from her. “Buckle up” she suggested as she pulled out of the car park at speed and ran an amber light. Five minutes later she pulled up outside their apartment and barely had time to shut the engine off before Willow was climbing into her lap. “Will, we’re here” she pulled away from the frantic nips and licks. “We’re home” she said and looked at the glint in Willow’s eyes.

“I’m home whenever you’re with me” Willow whispered and leaned down to kiss her gently. “As soon as you started to kiss my ear in the office, I was home” she kissed Alex’s ear.

“But this home is the one where we can take our clothes off” Alex explained reasonably.

“We can do that in my office” Willow licked from just behind her ear to her shoulder. “We can do that here if you want” she pulled the sweatshirt down a little and continued to lick. “You’re all salty” she looked back up and tasted her tongue.

“I was training, with Buffy” Alex explained and opened her door, trying to persuade Willow to get out of the car. “I’ll probably need to take a shower” she suggested slyly and laughed as Willow slid off her lap and held her hand out to her. “I thought that would work” she grinned and followed her inside.

“I’m pooped” Willow yawned as she dropped her clothes in an untidy pile on the bathroom floor. “I think I need to sleep for about three weeks”

“How about a quick shower together and then straight to ” Al” Alex suggested. “No nonsense” she warned and started to lather some soap in her hands. Ten minutes later they were rinsing each other off and Willow was yawning almost constantly.

“I’m really sorry” she mumbled as Alex wrapped a huge fluffy bath towel round her. “Not very romantic”

“It’s OK, I guess I’m partly to blame” Alex muttered as she dried her off. “You haven’t had an entire night’s sleep in weeks, and you have been back at work full time for over a week now” She patted her ass and gently pushed her towards the bedroom. “Go heat up my side for me while I get dried” she suggested. Five minutes later she made sure all of the lights were off and crept into the bedroom. “Willow?” she whred red and smiled as her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness and she saw the red head sprawled across the bed. “I love you” she whispered and kissed her forehead before pulling the duvet over both of them and snuggling in next to her.

*****

Alex woke the next morning and patted the empty space beside her for a moment before opening one eye to scan the room. “Willow?” she croaked grumpily and eventually decided to get up and search for her. “Honey, what are you doing?” she asked when she found her hed oed over her laptop at the dining room table. “Morning” she planted a kiss on the top of her head and looked at the screen.

“Coffee’s ready” Willow nodded towards the kitchen and glanced from the laptop screen for a moment to watch the naked figure walk away from her. She quickly saved the file she had open before following her. “Morning” she came up behind Alex and wrapped one hand around her waist. “Did you sleep alright?” she mumbled as she nibbled the still sleepy warm neck.

“Mmmm” Alex let her head roll forward and closed her eyes. “Nope I think I need to return to bed immediately” she finally gathered herself and turned in Willow’s arms. “And I think I need something warm and cuddly to snuggle up to”

Willow grinned before leaning in for the inevitable kiss. “You are insatiable” she pulled back for a moment and lifted some hair from Alex’s forehead before kissing the place gently. “I already called in and told Dawn the entire department would be out till tomorrow” she smiled and saw the calculation in Alex’s eyes. “Which means I am free on a school day and we could finally take that picnic we’ve been talking about”

Alex scowled and furrowed her brow. “Again with the going out and being in public thing” she pouted as well for good measure. “Don’t you want to stay in bed all day”

“Sweetie we’ve done that for the past month or so” Willow looked apologetic but decided to keep going. “You know how much I love that part of us but we agreed to trial living together and that tends to involve the going out thing just as much as the staying in thing” she ran her hands down Alex’s back. “I want to show you off to my friends and go out shopping with you and see the sunlight through your hair and..” she didn’t get to the end of the sentence because Alex’s lips were suddenly in the way. “Of course, the sunlight thing doesn’t really work well until the afternoon so we need to keep ourselves occupied till then” she suggested hopefully.

“Explain to me exactly what was so intriguing on the laptop that you got up anyway?” Alex asked as she led her back towards the bedroom.

“I just had an idea how to speed up searches like last nights and I wanted to send an email before I forgot” Willow shrugged and dropped her t-shirt to the floor. “Of course, I was just about to come back and ravish you when you woke up” she pointed out and dropped her shorts next to it.

Alex shook her head and licked slowly between Willow’s breasts, her hands fluttering up and down her spine. “I love it when you’re all smart and brainy” she grinned before moving to lick and suck her nipple. “You know that’s what first attracted me to you” she suggested while moving to the other nipple.

“Uhuu” Willow was vaguely aware of the conversation but most of her brain cells were given over to working out how to keep standing when all of her blood was being diverted to more interesting places than her feet. “My turn” she finally decided to move the action to the horizontal and gently pushed Alex back onto the bed as she moved over her. “So the swimsuit was just a distraction?” she asked as she finally tuned into the topic they were supposedly discussing. Her index finger traced spirals on Alex’s abdomen and her left leg insinuated itself between her thighs.

“I’ve seen hundreds of women in swimsuits, it’s my job remember” Alex shrugged and then hissed as the spirals continued to move lower. “Although Buffy doesn’t know what she’s talking about, you have fabulous legs” she grinned and let her thighs open further, pushing up against Willow’s thigh.

“Don’t remind me about the other women in your life” Willow mumbled and captured Alex’s lips in a searing kiss. Her hands had moved to autopilot, gently stroking her girlfriend’s clitoris and squeezing her breast as she moved to lie on top of her completely. “I didn’t thank you properly for last night” Willow smiled up at her as she slowly kissed her way down the writhing body. “Also, I need to make up for cancelling the movie” she remembered just as she reached her belly button, slowly dipping her tongue in and swirling around before nibbling a little.

“Too slow” Alex managed to grunt out between gritted teeth, her hips shuddering as she tried to get contact to generate some friction. “Too slow” she said a little more forcefully and ran her fingers through Willow’s hair.

“Trust me” Willow waited till Alex’s eyes had focussed on her own before continuing the downward trend. “I want to make it last” she moved to lie between her thighs, one hand returning to her clitoris while the other stroked the inside of her thigh. “I think I know what you like by now” she smiled and leaned down to kiss the same spot on the thigh that she had just been stroking. “You are a goddess” she moaned as she inhaled the scent of Alex’s arousal. When she breathed out against the damp curls she heard the high pitched whine start above her. Grinning she recognised the noise and leaned forward a little to lap at her clitoris. The pitch got higher until she was fairly sure that every dog in the neighbourhood would know they were having sex again.

Alex’s mouth was open but there was no audible noise coming from it. Her hands had moved from Willow’s head to grab fistfuls of duvet, the knuckles turning white as she tried to control the incredible sensations centring around Willow’s tongue. “Sweet Jesus” she finally gasped and took several deep breaths before Willow wrapped her tongue around her clitoris. This time the whine started high and quickly dropped to guttural grunting sounds as she desperately tried not to clench her thighs together.

Willow hummed as she continued to lick and suck at Alex’s clitoris. She felt the thigh muscles quivering and decided to speed things up a little, gently probing with two fingers to find the one place that was guaranteed to push Alex over the edge.

When she was finally able to organise her thoughts again she opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. It took another few moments before her breathing had returned to anything resembling normal and she was finally able to turn her head to watch the red head lying next to her, gently stroking her hair away from her face. “Willow” she mumbled and took a deep breath. “I’ve never been with anyone quite like you” she shook her head.

“Oh, come on, you are much more experienced than me” Willow smiled and raised herself onto her elbow to reach across and pull the duvet over both of them. “I don’t mean that in a slutty way” she quickly reassured Alex as a surprised look formed on her girlfriend’s face.

“I know” Alex finally found the energy to flop onto her side and pull Willow into an embrace. “It’s just always been physical stuff before” she tried to explain. “Even when I was with someone I really cared for it wasn’t ever as intense as us” she kissed Willow softly, frustrated at not being able to explain herself properly. “Do you understand?” she asked.

“I think so” Willow nodded and snuggled a little closer. “I had the same kind of thing with Kennedy” she was focussing on the memories and didn’t realise what she was saying. “It was good but nowhere near what Tara and I had and nothing compared to what we have together” she finished by looking back at a slightly miffed Alex. “What’s wrong sweety?” she tried to kiss her but Alex pulled back slightly.

“Kennedy, that’s the name of the slayer who was in Cleveland” Alex mumbled and raised her eyebrow. “You were sleeping with a slayer?”

“She was only a potential slayer for part of the time and we all thought we were going to die” Willow shrugged. “I told you there had been others, is that a problem”

“No” Alex shook her head. “It’s just weird knowing that you are so powerful and all of your friends and previous lovers have been so powerful” she shrugged a little sheepishly. “Sometimes I wonder what you see in me, that’s all”

“You are the one who controls me, the most powerful witch in this hemisphere, and you wonder what I see in you?” Willow said softly. “You really have no idea the hold you have on me?” she leaned forward to cup Alex’s cheek in her hand. “I may be able to heal other people but there wouldn’t be enough power on the planet to repair my heart if you ever left me”

Alex watched Willow’s eyes as they stared at her. “No pressure then?” she smiled and pulled her closer. “I’m not going to leave you, not after earlier” she waggled her eyebrows and leaned in for a kiss. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound jealous” she slid further down to lie next to Willow. “I’m just a little insecure sometimes” she admitted.

“Right” Willow nodded. “You, the swimwear model are a little insecure about going out with the computer geek” she mocked. “Used to happen all the time in high school, I had to get Buffy to threaten the fool tel team before they would stop begging me to go out with them”

“You’re mocking me?” Alex straddled her, pinning her arms above her head. “For someone that’s hoping to get some action that’s a pretty dangerous tactic” she grinned.