Until We Meet Again

Chapter 11

Pretending to read was no easy task while Giles’s hairy eyeball was aimed at her. Buffy raised her magazine a little higher, hoping that it would hide her face and the smile threatening to erupt as she sank further down into her train seat.

After breakfast, Buffy had called Dawn, who had been thrilled to hear from her. They had chatted for a few minutes before Dawn had demanded to talk to Giles. He hadn’t been given the chance to get a word in edge wise, but Buffy gathered from his happy expression that Dawn was gushing ‘I’ve missed yous’. His eyes had gotten a bit misty and he’d had a soft smile on his face that had made her heart melt. She had known without a doubt that Dawn wouldn’t hold his disappearance against him, and now she hoped Giles believed it as well. She knew he felt guilty, and she didn’t know what to say to convince him that the guys back home wanted nothing more than to hear from him again.

When they had finally managed to get her sister off the phone, Buffy had called Willow, who had been just as ecstatic to hear from her as Dawn, and had an endless string of questions, barely letting her answer before asking the next one. Willow had also demanded to speak to Giles, and once again the happy expression and misty eyes appeared on his face. When he handed Buffy the phone again, Buffy had given him a pointed look that clearly told him she wanted to talk to Willow in private. Giles had left the room, throwing an apprehensive look over his shoulder.

She didn’t tell Willow anything about the new development between Giles and her. Of course, when he came back into the room, she didn’t tell Giles that; she was merely cryptic about their talk, hinting that their conversation had covered the newfound skills and hidden sides of her Watcher. Giles had blushed a shade of red she had never seen, sputtered and mumbled. He had been on her case ever since they left the house for the train station to tell him exactly what she’d said.

Buffy wanted to keep their relationship to herself a bit longer – at least until she knew where it was going. How could she tell Willow anything when she didn’t even know herself? Yes, they had both admitted they loved each other, but where would they go from there? Keeping their relationship between themselves seemed like a good idea to her, she thought.

Giles was currently giving her the silent treatment, sitting across from her on the train, but the feel of his stare spoke volumes. It was so much fun. Giles pretended to be absorbed by a periodical, but -- unless he was a slow reader, which she knew wasn’t true -- he had been staring at the same page for more than half an hour.

It had been twenty minutes since he’d last attempted to get her to speak, but she suspected the off-air button was about to be switched on any minute now. As she felt his foot nudge hers, she knew she was right. Her magazine was suddenly yanked right out of her hands, and she schooled her face to an innocent look.

“Yes, stud muffin?” she said as she met his gaze. Giles gave her a glare that clearly said ‘oh no you didn’t’, and she laughed in delight.

He leaned forward and she copied his posture, and placed a finger on his lips before he had the chance to say anything.

“Giles,” she said softly, “I didn’t tell her anything. Why are you so worried?” A sense of unease settled in her stomach. “You’re not embarrassed are you? Of us, I mean?” He gave her a confused look, which immediately softened. He grabbed her hand.

“No, Buffy, I am not embarrassed about us. Don’t ever think so!” He kissed her tenderly and brushed her nose with an Eskimo kiss that made her heart flutter.

“However,” he said with a smile, “I’ve heard you talk about your….um, romantic interests before, and I would like to be able to look Willow in the eyes again without blushing. You know I am a private man, and the idea of a girl talk between you and Willow leaves me slightly worried. No, scratch that, VERY worried. I would like to keep this to ourselves for now.”

Buffy smiled, then her heart started to beat a bit faster with worry. She could understand he wanted to keep their relationship private, as in no sharing of their intimacies with others, but did he mean that he wanted to keep the entire relationship quiet? She had no need to flaunt their relationship, but she certainly wanted to acknowledge it. The fact that Giles didn’t seem to want the same made her question his intentions.

Was this relationship only meant for when she was there in France with him? She knew they both had responsibilities -- on different continents to makes things worse -- but they could over come that, couldn’t they? She swallowed uneasily and looked out the window. God, she really needed to avoid these depressing thoughts. It was probably nothing, and she was blowing it all out of proportion.

Giles suddenly kissed her cheek, seemingly oblivious to her distress. “Lovely shoes by the way.”

Buffy looked back at him confused, and found him staring down at her shoes.

“Excuse me? Did you just compliment my shoes?”

Giles grinned. “Very lovely. They make your ankles look sexy. Not that you need shoes to do that though.”

Buffy gaped at him and Giles laughed when he raised his head and saw her stunned expression.

“What?”

She shook her head in disbelief. “It’s just that you didn’t exactly approve of my choice of shoes in Sunnydale, so coming from you that’s a big compliment.”

Giles shrugged and gave her a small smile. “A lot has changed since then.”

Buffy smiled at him, and her fears disappeared when she found herself getting lost in his adoring gaze. “Yes, it has,” she said, softly. “No complaints, I hope?”

Giles immediately gave her a reassuring smile. “None.” And pulled her into a kiss.

Neither noticed the man approaching them as they wrapped themselves in the kiss, but his voice quickly pulled them apart.

“Feeling better, Rupert?”

Giles ducked his head and blushed when he saw his co-worker from the museum looking at them with an amused expression.

“Pierre. What are you doing here?” Giles asked while nervously running a hand through his hair.

Buffy had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing. Busted!

Giles told her he had called in sick at the museum to explain his absence, and although they both suspected Pierre knew something was up, they hadn’t expected to be caught with their hand in the proverbial cookie jar.

Pierre grinned impishly. “Since my boss is sick, my work load was considerably cut down and I decide to take a long weekend to go visit my girlfriend.”

Giles’ blush increased, and Buffy almost felt bad for him. Almost.

Pierre thankfully chose to ignore Giles’ reddening cheeks and turned to Buffy with a wide smile. “Nice to see you again Miss Summers. I assume you are enjoying your stay? Rupert taking good care of you?”

Now Buffy was the one who was fighting a blush and Pierre’s smug smile indicated that his question was not as innocent as it might’ve seemed. A mischievous thought entered her mind. Two could easily play that game, unfortunately Giles had to be collateral damage. Oh well, he was a big boy.

“Oh he’s been an exceptional…..host.” She replied coyly.

Pierre’s smile turned into a wide grin and Buffy couldn’t help but return it, both ignoring the mortified groan coming from Giles.

“I am sure he has.” Pierre laughed. He looked over at Giles, who had his head buried in his hands.

“You don’t sound very well, Rupert. Make sure that Miss Summers takes good care of you this weekend.” With a final wink to Buffy he left the pair alone.

After a few moments, Giles raised his head and scowled at Buffy. “Cute. Very cute.”

Buffy giggled and picked up her magazine. “I thought so.”

Chapter 12
When they arrived, Buffy took her time to admire her surroundings, while Giles got them checked in. The hotel was ideally located facing the sea, just steps from the Promenade des Anglais and the beaches. It was romantic and elegant with modern facilities, and Giles could not have picked a better place.

Buffy sighed wistfully as she gazed out towards the sea. It almost felt like a dream being at this place with Giles, and a small part of her worried that she would wake up any moment now in her own bed in Sunnydale. This seemed almost too good to be true.

She giggled slightly and looked quickly over her shoulder to glance at Giles. She couldn’t help but notice the nervous butterflies moving about in her stomach. She couldn’t really understand why they were there because it wasn’t as if she hadn’t had sex before. But never had anyone mattered as much to her as Giles did, and she wanted nothing to ruin their weekend.

She was drawn from her musings when two strong arms wrapped around her abdomen, and a soft kiss was placed on her neck.

“Checked in?” she asked softly, incapable of building a proper sentence, pleasantly distracted by Giles’ soft lips on her skin.

“Mmmm. All set.” He mumbled into her neck and tightened his arms around her.

Buffy turned around in his arms, and gazed adoringly into his face. Giles handed her a keycard and pecked her softly on her lips.

“I am just going to go and make some arrangements for tonight. Why don’t you head upstairs and get settled? The bellboy has already brought our bags up.” Giles spoke softly as he let the back of his fingers trail down her cheek.

Buffy beamed at him, excited about what his “arrangements” could be. “Will do! See you soon.”

They shared another kiss, then Giles turned and walked toward the dining room as Buffy went to the elevator. Waiting for it to arrive, she fiddled with the keycard until a thought struck her. She immediately turned and headed towards the front desk.

“Excuse me, does this hotel have a gift store?” She asked the man behind the counter.

“Mais oui, madame. Just around the corner. You can’t miss it.” The concierge replied in broken English.

Buffy found it quickly, and immediately went to the counter where an older looking woman greeted her with a friendly smile.

Buffy couldn’t help the blush that filled her cheeks, and the words rushed out. “Um, do you have some protection?” she asked in almost a whisper, with a ‘you know’ look on her face.

The older woman looked at her in confusion for a second. “Protection?” Then her eyebrows threatened to jump into her hair line as she whispered back. “Like a gun?”

Buffy’s jaw dropped and she stepped back in alarm. What the hell did she look like, some criminal hiding from the law?

“No!” She shook her head profusely then stepped closer, and lowered her voice.

“Um, what I mean is, do you have some, um, contraceptives?” Once again she gave the woman a pointed look.

The woman scrunched her nose. “Contrepives?”

Buffy groaned, and resisted banging her head on the desk. God, could this get any more embarrassing?

She leaned even closer, throwing a quick glance over her shoulder, which the woman followed in confusion, before leaning in towards Buffy. “Madame?”

Buffy looked down and spoke through clenched teeth in a hushed whisper. “Prophylactics.”

“Exscusez-moi?” the woman now whispered as well, clearly drawn into this mysterious events happening on her job.

Buffy was close to losing her patience and spoke up a bit louder in exasperation. “Prophylactics! Do you have any prophylactics!?”

A smile spread across the woman’s face and she said excitedly. “Ah! Un preservatif!”

Bu now Buffy was so distraught and mortified. Preservatif? What the hell was that?

“CONDOMS!” she almost yelled.

The lady nodded and repeated once again. “Un preservatif.”

“No no! Not preservatives!”

The woman looked at her as if she had grown and second head. “Non?”

Buffy groaned mortified, covering her eyes with her hand. Could this get any worse?

“Need some help, my dear?” she heard someone say behind her. Apparently it could, as she recognized Giles’ amused voice.

Buffy turned around and wished that the Hellmouth would open up beneath her.

“Hi Giles,” she said, meekly.

He was wearing a big grin, his arms crossed over his chest. “What are you doing?” he said in an amused voice.

Buffy moaned and started her infamous babble. “I’m getting some supplies for tonight, I wasn’t sure if you had gotten some, and I figured hey why can’t I get them, you know? Why should the guy be all in charge of this? Even though I am so down with having your kids someday, I am just not ready YET you know. But I totally don’t know the French word for condoms!”

She drew in a huge gulp of air and continued on, completely missing Giles’ wide eyes stare. “I wanted no interruptions tonight and I was worried you had forgotten and I didn’t want us stopping at some crucial moment and you had to go down here all, you know, riled up, because that would just be so embarrassing for you, and then we could never come back here, and we might even get thrown out if you came down looking all ready to-mpf.”

Giles’ jaw had dropped and he had covered her mouth, a move Buffy was thankful for because she was beyond mortified at this point. The woman behind the counter was looking back and forth between them as if she was at a tennis match, with an amused expression.

He looked at her with wide eyes, then gave their audience behind the desk an apologetic smile and grabbed Buffy’s hand. “Come with me.”

Giles didn’t say a word while they were walking towards the elevator, and Buffy struggled to hold back tears and a hysterical laugh. Great going Buff! Here you are coming off as some sex crazed woman. Way to go with the romance! She had definitely been the one in this relationship pushing for sex, and now Giles must think she had no restraints.

Giles pushed her gently into the elevator, which unfortunately wasn’t empty, and Buffy bit her lip in worry. She glanced at Giles, but he was watching the numbers in the elevator climb, not sparing her a glance. When they reached their floor, he grabbed her hand again and walked her down to their room.

He let her in without looking at her, and Buffy again glanced at his face nervously. She thought she saw a tiny smile on his face, but it disappeared so quickly, so she figured it had been her imagination. The butterflies in her stomach were now working overtime, and she swallowed nervously.

She stepped further into the room with a sigh and walked over to the window, wrapping her arms around her stomach to keep them from trembling, not noticing the beautiful ocean view in front of her. God, was he going to yell at her now? Sit her down and teach her about proper conduct when staying at a fashionable hotel?

She didn’t even hear Giles’ approach, and jumped when he stepped up behind her and circled her waist, gently untangling her crossed arms. He enveloped her in his arms, while resting his chin on her shoulder. Buffy felt close to falling apart from nervousness.

Giles thankfully broke the silence. “You want to have my child?” He asked in an incredulous voice.

Buffy felt slight tremors running through his body, and intertwined her fingers with his. She felt kind of like Hamlet, speak or not to speak? Speaking could mean more of her infamous babble, but then again, not speaking would be rude. She decided to take a flying leap into ‘risk all’.

“Yes” she whispered. “Not just yet, but eventually yes.” She prayed to god he would not leave the room running, screaming his head off in fear.

Giles tightened his hold and buried his head in her neck, letting out a long sigh. “You know,” he murmured after a moment. “My plan was to take you to dinner. Compliment your beauty, dazzle you with sweet words and loving caresses. Wine and dine you, even take you dancing if that would be your desire. Everything I could think of to make this evening perfect for us.”

Buffy swallowed, worried the other shoe would drop any minute now.

“However, after your admission I can’t follow through with my plans, love. You have me spellbound beyond words. You have given me everything I could ever want and more.”

He drew in a breath and whispered into her neck. “And as of now I need you so much. I can’t wait. Let me make love to you.”

Buffy’s breath disappeared in a whoosh and she turned in his arms, meeting his suspiciously moist eyes with her own. “I’d like nothing more” she whispered and lifted her mouth to his.

Their mouths merged in a tender kiss, and Buffy let her hands glide through his hair, gently scraping his scalp with her fingertips.

Suddenly a thought struck her and she pulled away slightly. “Um, Giles. What about-“

He chuckled adorably. “All take care of, dear. I got them at the train station.”

Buffy laughed in relief then pressed her lips to his, letting her tongue trace them before plunging into his mouth to brush her tongue sensuously against his. Giles moaned and broke the kiss to taste the skin of her neck.

“I want you” he choked out. “I want to feel your soft skin and curves underneath my hands.”

His hands moved to the hem of her top and he pulled it over-head slowly. The warm summer wind from the open balcony door grazed the curtains before brushing against her naked skin, leaving goose bumps in its wake.

Buffy shivered slightly, more from his touch than the breeze, and stepped closer to his warm body. She pulled his shirt out of his pants and ran her hands underneath the fabric to stroke his ribs. His eyes closed and his jaw tightened, but he kept speaking. “I want to be inside you, feel your excitement, make you shiver beneath me.”

His voice and words made it feel like hot liquid was running through her veins, and heat pooled in her stomach.

“God, Giles.” She whimpered. “I want you so much.”

She moaned with pleasure when his hands teased her breasts, skimming over her swells, and she drew in a large gulp of air as his hands traveled to her back to unfasten her bra.

"I want to hear you scream out my name in passion," he whispered as he claimed her mouth once again. The moment his lips touched hers, Buffy let her own open, then gasped as his tongue met hers in a sultry dance.

The urgency of their kisses escalated. They became rougher and more demanding, and Giles lifter her from the floor, letting her legs wrap around his waist, and carried her over to the bed. He lowered her softly, and covered her body with his.

Buffy immediately went to work on the buttons of his shirt, which was no easy task since Giles were preoccupied with her pants. There was a slight struggle of who was first to divest the other of the clothes, but Giles finally relented, straddling her thighs to help her, throwing his shirt to the floor. He got rid of Buffy’s jeans immediately, and before she had the chance to return the favor he got rid of his own.

Buffy reached for him when he leaned over her again, placing her hands open–palmed on his broad chest, sighing happily as her fingers moved over his soft chest hair.

When she brushed against his nipples, Giles moaned her name with an excited catch that did unbelievable things to her. She was having this effect on him. She was the reason his muscles rippled with passion and restraint beneath his skin. She was the reason why his breathing was suddenly coming in short, fast gasps. It was the most powerful feeling she’d ever experienced.

He allowed her exploration for a short moment, then caught her hands and kissed each palm, before lowering himself between her legs. When he shifted to press closer there was no mistaking the hardness between her thighs, and Buffy whimpered with need.

His hot tongue explored every surface of her mouth, battling gently with her own before letting his mouth travel down her cheek and down her neck. His teeth grazed her collarbone and she shivered with excitement, her hands curling in his hair. When he reached her naked breasts. Buffy moaned and dug her fingers into his skin.

He paused briefly in the warm dip between her breasts, laving until she shifted beneath him, arching and sighing in pleasure. He slowly turned his head to catch one hard nub in his mouth. She felt his tongue rasp the erect nub then press against it firmly as he began to suckle. Her head twisted on the pillow, overwhelmed by what she was feeling.

She moaned into his mouth, the sound a half growl, wanting him so keenly it was a physical ache. Muscles were clenching and unclenching all over her body. Giles lifted his head, let his mouth join with hers before breaking the kiss, taking the time to nip and suckle lightly at her bottom lip before lifting away from her.

His eyes stayed on hers as he grasped her panties and dragged them down her legs. He swiftly got rid of his own, reached to grab a condom from his pants pocket, before crawling back into her open arms. Their mouths met in mid air as Buffy lifted her head from the pillow and both sank back down towards the sheets.

Buffy groaned and broke away. “Now, Giles.” She murmured against his cheek.

Giles gasped her name as her hand reached down to brush against the length of him. He reclaimed her mouth, kissing her with abandon as he thrust into her hold. Then he reached between them and brushed her hand away. He tore his mouth from hers and sat back on his haunches to sheath himself with the condom.

He kissed her softly as he positioned himself against her center, then guided himself into her, stopping when she moaned at the stretching sensation. He withdrew, then eased in a bit further, making sure he wasn’t hurting her.

Buffy bit her lips in pleasure, then reached down to his behind and dug her fingers into his skin as she arched upwards, trying to force him to enter her all the way. Giles moaned against her neck, then reclaimed her lips and gave her what she wanted, trusting his tongue deep into her mouth as he finally, fully thrust his body into hers.

Both cried out as he filled her. It was a union that felt like it had been years in the making. Buffy could not remember feeling anything like it. For her it was what she wanted and needed, but it was almost too much. He withdrew, then thrust forward almost at once. Buffy gasped and sighed, shuddering and trembling as his lips and tongue moved across her skin.

His head was buried in her neck, breathing heavily, and Buffy moved her hands to his back, her nails unconsciously digging in and scraping the skin up to his shoulders. She grasped his upper arms and thrust against him.

“Giles.” Buffy groaned, then placed a hand on his cheek and turned his head so that she could reach his mouth. His response was gratifying and overwhelming. His tongue ran along her lips, then thrust into her mouth when her lips parted.

The need for release was building, making her strain towards him, urging him on. His kisses became more insistent as he drove into her over and over again, until she stiffened beneath him, as her release slammed through her body.

The moment it did, Giles broke away with a moan, tossed his head back, thrust one last time, pinning her shuddering body to the mattress as he fell against her. His weight was comforting and she held on to him when he tried to move. He relented and stayed within her arms.

Neither spoke, just held each other tightly, waiting for their breathing, heart and blood pressure to slow to normal and their muscles to relax.

After some time, Buffy regretfully released him so he could take care of the condom, too exhausted to move a muscle. He returned swiftly and cradled her in his arms, stroking her skin.

A fine perspiration was covering their bodies, but neither moved to cover themselves up. The sunset was lighting their room in a warm glow, the summer heat keeping them warm.

Just as Buffy was about to fall asleep, Giles pulled her close, tangling their legs together and murmured into her hair. “I love you, Buffy.”

“Love you more.” Buffy mumbled, dropping a soft kiss on his chest, finally succumbing to sleep.

Chapter 13

It was early morning, and the sun had barely begun its rise over the horizon when Giles woke from his slumber. He started to stretch lazily, until he found he couldn’t due to the person lying next to him.

A smile immediately spread across his face, as memories of the previous evening and night’s activities assaulted him, and he turned his head to look down at Buffy, whose head was resting on his chest.

He gently let a finger brush some hair away from her face, then trail down her cheek as he felt his heart threaten to burst from happiness. The night before they had spent hours feasting on each other, making love more than once, forgoing their dinner reservations and his other plans to focus solely on each other.

Making love with Buffy had been marvelous. Beyond anything he had ever known. It was an experience he would gladly repeat. As a mater of fact, he never wanted to stop. His fondest dream had come true, and he was very reluctant to let it go.

Neither of them had spoken about their relationship, nor what they would do when she eventually had to go home. He was no fool. He knew Buffy couldn’t stay. Even though her responsibility as a slayer was somewhat diminished, she still had a responsibility to her sister, and it would never occur to him to take Buffy away from her home. To him it really didn’t matter that much where he lived. As long as he was with Buffy, it would always feel like home.

Buffy’s sigh broke his thoughts, and he watched her roll onto her back, still asleep. He followed her movements and rolled onto his side, propped his head in his hand, and admired her body with undisguised pleasure. Both had fallen asleep without covering themselves up, too exhausted to move after their latest union. Since it was summer it was fairly warm, but the early morning breeze coming from the sea still brought with it a slight morning chill.

Goosebumps spread across Buffy’s thigh, and Giles reached down towards the blanket lying at the foot of the bed and gently covered her. His bladder suddenly made its presence known, and he reluctantly scooted off the bed and headed towards the bathroom.

He gave her one more glance as he approached the bathroom, and his heart melted as he watched her hand move across his part of the bed, seemingly searching for him in her sleep. He was tempted to return, wake her up and make love to her all over again, but decided to let her get some more rest.

When he returned, he grabbed a sheet from the bed and covered himself up before stepping out on the balcony. The view was spectacular, with the sun slowly coming over the horizon, and for a second he considered waking Buffy so she could share the moment with him.

A slight proud grin spread across his face as he remembered how he had kept her up half the night, and once again decided against it. Maybe this night he could keep her up all night and then they could watch the sunrise together. He shook his head and chuckled lightly. Jesus, he was acting like a randy schoolboy.

“Hey, what’s up with the toga party? Why wasn’t I invited?” Buffy’s voice suddenly came from the doorway.

Giles looked over at her, and his breath caught in his throat as his eyes fell on her naked body. He had to clear his throat before he was able to reply.

“Well, my dear. A toga party generally requires a dress code.” He gave her a pointed look, and Buffy laughed.

“I figured I could just share yours.” She said with a gleam in her eyes.

Giles swallowed and opened his arms. Buffy immediately took him up on his wordless offer and nestled into his embrace. They both hummed in pleasure as their skin met, and Giles burrowed his face into her neck and mumbled. “A party much more to my liking.”

Buffy hugged him tight, then gave him a soft kiss. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

Giles smiled against her lips. “Mm-hmm, I slept very well. How about you?”

Buffy nodded and kissed him again. “The best.” She whispered. They gazed at each other adoringly, sharing tender soft kisses, until Giles turned Buffy around with her back against his chest, so she could watch the view.

“Oh wow.” She whispered in awe. “It’s beautiful.”

Giles tightened his hold. “Sure is.”

He lowered them both into the deck chair on the balcony, cuddling Buffy in his lap, and wrapped the sheets around them tightly. He rested his chin on her neck, while slowly stroking her skin.

They both sat there in silence for a long time, reveling in the vibrant colors that spread across the sky and the feel of each other. Buffy’s stomach suddenly growled, and Giles chuckled into her neck. “Is that your way of telling me I should take you out to breakfast?”

Buffy laughed and turned around in his arms so she could straddle his thighs. She brushed her lips against his neck as she spoke. “Yeah. I was a little distracted yesterday, and completely forgot to eat.”

Giles gasped in mock horror while letting his hands slide down her back to her thighs, circled her waist, then let the back of his fingers brush up her stomach. “What? That simply won’t do. Who was this culprit who distracted you?” He murmured.

Buffy’s eyes were now closed and her breath caught a bit when he brushed against the underside of her breasts. “Um, can’t remember his name just now, but I am pretty sure you know him.”

“Oh, is that so?” Giles mumbled distractedly as he watched the sheet slip from her shoulder and bared her naked chest to his hungry eyes.

“Mm-hmm” was her only response as his hand covered one breast, as his lips sought out hers. Their tongues met eagerly, and Giles shivered in delight when Buffy scooted closer to him and covered his lap with her own.

She undulated slowly against him, and Giles tore his mouth from her distracting kisses, so he wouldn’t forget all about decorum and make love to her right there on the balcony.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and rose from the chair, making sure the sheet did not slip down further, exposing her backside to anyone who could be watching. Buffy lifted her head from his neck, where she had been busy tasting his skin. “Room service?”

Giles bent his head to taste her lips, while simultaneously trying to walk without getting his legs tangled in the sheet as he crossed the floor towards the bed. “Room service” he confirmed in a husky voice.

“But not now?” Buffy said breathlessly.

“Not now.” He agreed against her lips and lowered them both to the bed.

He fought briefly with the sheet to let them both go as it was trapped half under them, wrapped half around them. It finally relented, giving him more freedom to move against her skin with his own body.

Buffy moaned when he nipped her pulse, and wrapped her legs around his thighs and running her fingers down his back. The sound of the phone ringing made them both jump, and Giles growled into her neck. “This better be bloody important.”

Buffy groaned, reached out a hand and grabbed the intrusive object impatiently. “Hello?”

Giles suddenly felt her whole body tense and lifted his head from her neck and looked at her with worry. He heard a distraught voice on the other line, but he couldn’t figure out who it was.

“Dawn, slow down.” Buffy said in a worried voice.

Giles lifted himself away from her body so she could sit up and rested his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture as he saw the distress on her face.

“Oh god, is he alright?” Buffy chocked into the phone, and ice settled in his stomach. He moved closer and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as the Dawn’s voice on the other line rambled on.

Buffy lowered her head to his chest and grabbed his hand. “What does the doctor say?

Giles felt dread fill him as every possible scenario went through his head. God, had they not been though enough?

“No, no, of course, Dawnie, it will be alright. Just, just, oh god” Buffy drew in a breath and brushed a tear from her cheek. “I’ll make some arrangements, let me call you back, ok sweetie?”

She said goodbye and hung up the phone slowly. Giles met her tearful eyes and braced himself for the worst.

Buffy crawled into his lap, clinging to him tightly and sobbed into his neck. “I have to go home. My dad’s had a heart attack.”


TBC