Who, What, Why, Where, When?

CHAPTER 8

Giles was on the phone when they arrived, and he gestured them inside. He took the phone back into the kitchen and they all moved to take up their usual lounging positions. He finisheminuminute later and apologised. "It was an old friend from England" he smiled and pointedly didn't expand. Buffy raised her eyebrows at him and he imperceptibly shook his head. She guessed that it had been Olivia and hoped that Willow didn't notice the sudden blush that crept over his face.
Willow did notice the blush and realised who it must have been but she couldn't feel jealous, after all Olivia had already made her choice and was still in England. Instead she pown own the book she had started to leaf through and looked up at him. "Where do we start?" she asked in a quiet voice.

He cursed inwardly as he realised that she knew exactly what had just happened. Perhaps she should go out with Fraser after all, he certainly couldn't make her any unhappier than she was at the moment. Instead he moved to pick up several books from the table. "These all seem to lead in a similar direction" he began. "I think we would have followed leads from some if not all of these to the prophecy which I kept from all of you." Xander looked up at him expectantly. "I'm sorry I still can’t remember what the prophecy concerned but I'm quite sure we are nearly there"

Theynt tnt the next three nights working until they grew too tired to read the words on the page. On Friday Buffy was the first to stir from her concentrated pose and ask Giles to check the reference she had found. He leaned over her and read the passage she indicated. He smiled and let out a small sigh "I think that's what we're looking for". Everyone let out the breath they hadn't realised they were holding.

Giles checked the reference once more and started looking through the pile of books for the next link in the chain. Xander said he would organise some snacks Willow stood up to stretch her back and neck.

After another half an hour Giles removed his glasses and wiped his face with his hand. "I think that's enough for tonight, I should be able to crack this in the morning".

Xander jumped up from the chair with surprising speed. "You don't need to tell me twice, I've got some quality R&R due and I'm not going to spend another night here" The last words were flung over his shoulder as he headed out the door.


Buffy laughed. "Somebody's keen, I'll go with him and make sure he gets home safe and sound\She She moved over to Giles. "Well done" she said as she put a hand on his shoulder. "We're nearly there and you'll soon be back to the stuffy old librarian we all know and love"

He looked a little wearily at her. "Thank you Buffy" he said dryly. "Perhaps you should hurry to catch up with Xander?"

She smiled at Giles and looked over towards Willow. "Do you want me to wait for you?"

The question seemed to bring Willow back from the daydream she had been absorbed by. "Sorry, no its OK, I'll wait here for a while". She looked over towards Giles. "If that's OK with you?" she asked shyly.

"Of course" he said, affecting a lack of concern he certainly didn't feel.

"OK, if you're sure" Buffy stared at her for a moment then nodded and headed out to catch up with Xander.

Willow moved over to the table to examine the book he had been reading. "You don't really mind if I stay to help, do you?" she asked.

"No" he answered without looking up. "I was going to call it a night as well and finish this in the morning but I could give it another twenty minutes I suppose"

Her laugh was deep and an expression of genuine amusement. "They may believe that you would call it a night but I know that look on your face". He looked up at her and smiled gently. "We'll both stay on this until the research is done, then we'll both get some rest". She pulled out the chair across from him and sat at the table. "What did you come up with?"

He explained the stage he thought they were at and showed Willow the passages in the latest book that he thought were most promising. In order to read the same book she moved her chair round and scrunched up next to him.

He hadn't realised how much he had missed her smell, her warmth and her energy until now. He knew that something had been missing since they had mutually decided to give each other some space, but he didn't realise how much it had affected him until she had returned. He had stolen occasional glances at her during the evening and marvelled at her composure when she had looked up once and caught him, holding his gaze, apparently daring him to take the moment further. He had simply shaken his head slightly and looked back to the book on his lap.


Willow took a deep breath as she realised that he was glancing at her while she finished the passage he had marked for her. She had known how hard it would be to be in close proximity to him again, but it was hardly the biggest sacrifice she had ever made for their work. She had been aware os eys eyes earlier in the evening and had held his gaze for what seemed like hours, wishing he would find the answer and that Buffy and Xander would leave them alone together. Eventually he had broken the look and she had cursed herself for allowing her feelings to surface so obviously. After all, she was the one who was denying their burgeoning romantic relationship and it wafairfair of her to give him glimpses of her desire.

Both of them realised thaitheither had turned a page of the book for some time and she sighed a little guiltily. "Perhaps a cup of tea would get our concentration back?" she asked.

"Let me" he said, his voice a little hoarse. "Would you like something to eat?"

"No thanks" she answered, surprised at how cold her shoulder felt when he moved away from her side. With a small shudder she realised that he must have been breathing on her neck and shoulder and mental pictures of him continuing to do so flashed through her mind before she could stop them. She held her head in her hands and moaned slightly under her breath.

Giles glanced round at her from the kitchen and saw her holding her head. He moved quickly back to her side. "Willow are you OK?" he asked with concern in his voice.

"Sure, I'm fine" she answered and looked up a little embarrassed. "I think I've just got some eye strain causing a bit of a headache"

He straightened up and looked seriously down on her. "As the resident expert on headaches I say we should have a proper break, away from the books". She giggled slightly as he put his hand on his hip but allowed him to manoeuvre her from the table to the sofa. He cleared a stack of books out of her reach and moved over to switch the record player on. She winced slightly as the volume blasted out the beginnings of a rock track but he quickly turned it down and changed the record to a more soothing instrumental track. "Sorry" he said as quietly as he could and practically tip toed back to the kitchen.

"Giles" she laughed. "I'm supposed to be the one looking after you" and she got up to help him carry the cups through from the kitchen.


Willow felt a little awkward as she sat sipping her tea. In the past they had been able to talk for hours or not talk for hours and be just as comfortable with each other. Now she felt tilenilence weighing heavily in the air and wracked her brain to come up with a topic of conversation that wouldn't make them feel any more awkward in each other's company.

"Buffy told me about tomorrow night, it sounds like a great idea" she even managed to sound enthusiastic.

"Mmmm" he agreed around his mug of tea. "I think she was a little surprised that I told Fraser about us but she's prepared to put it down to my addled old brain for now". He was hoping and praying that Buffy hadn't told Willow about the second part of the conversation.

Willow was about to continue when she remembered about Fraser's confession to Giles. She squirmed in her seat a little and tried to find something else that didn't lead to broken hearts or kissing. Sighing she finally admitted "I don’t think we're ever going to get back to being regular research buddies are we?"

He was relieved that she had finally broken her silence. "Perhaps, with a little more time, you will be able to forgive me and feel comfortable with me again"

She was getting more than a little fed up that he was taking all of the blame for this again and found herself getting very angry, very quickly. "Stop being so bloody understanding about this".

He looked genuinely shocked at the change in her demeanour. "What do you mean?"

"I mean" she said and stood up to pace. "That we both experienced very strong feelings for each other and I'm the one who put the brakes on things going any further" He sat up in the armchair and was about to interrupt. "Let me finish" she practically snarled at him. "You have been a perfect gentleman and anything that has happened between us was between consenting adults. I've caused the discomfort between us and I just wish you would stop being so noble about it all"

He started to laugh. "You want me to start blaming you for the situation we find ourselves in?" She had turned to stare at him, her hands on her hips and a look of defiance on her face. "OK" he agreed. "I still don't remember how we felt about each other immediately prior to the accident but what I do remember is a very close relationship and a feeling that if I hadn’t been such a bloody coward I would have taken things further".


Her face fell a little as she continued to stare at him.

"I remember the emptiness in this room when you left after every research session." He was on a roll and she moved to the sofa while keeping eye contact with him. "God help me I even remember those feelings first surfacing when we were working together just before we blew up the school". He stood up this time and started to pace, he needed to keep moving until he could get control of his emotions again.

"I remember the fear I experienced every time I let you go out on patrol with Buffy, the relief whenever you returned safely. I even remember trying to be severe with you during the training sessions for your magic studies and how you used to look innocently up at me and assure me that you were being careful" He finally remembered to breathe put put his mug down.

Willow was speechless, she couldn't believe that he was saying everything she'd hoped for but she still felt unsure as to how much he remembered. "If you felt that way about me why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't know you had feelings me ame and I thought it would upset the group dynamics if I said something and was rebuffed. Perhaps you would trust me less or work with me less often and that would have affected the survival chances of all of us" he wouldn't meet her eyes.

Willow shook her head in wonder. "How could you not know the feelings I had for you?" She was incredulous. "I picked up the signals you were sending me and you weren't even trying to send any, my God I must have been glowing in the dark with what I felt for you!"

He took his glasses off to clean them and she moved forward and took them from his hands. "Giles, the only reason I haven't tied you down on this sofa and ravished you so far is because I wasn't sure the 'before you' felt the same way about me"

He looked round astonished and started to laugh quietly. "Lets keep the mental picture of you tying me down for a while shall we?"

She smiled gently at him.

He ruffled his fingers through his hair. "I remember being madly in love with you for a long time before the accident. Last week I even started to remember the erotic fantasies I used to have about you, after Oz left. Fantasies in technicolour with bloody surround sound". He blushed a little as he thought about them and she stepped back in astonishment.


She was staring at him open mouthed. "You had fantasies about me?" she asked in a weak voice. He just nodded but wouldn't meet her eyes. "Tell me about them"

"Please Willow" he covered his eyes with his hand. "The important thing here is to get this work finished and I can't concentrate on that and have those pictures of you running through my mind at the same time".

When he uncovered his eyes she was staring at him. "We have one more hour to find the information we're looking for"

He looked perplexed. "one one hour, we'll take as long as we need" he replied.

"I can just aboutrantrantee to keep my hands off of you for an hour and neither of us will be in the correct frame of mind to be undertaking serious research after that" she nodded and headed for the kitchen to splash some water on her face.

He stared after her and finally gathered himself together with an effort. When she returned to the living room he was back at the table with the book in front of him and a notepad beside it. "I'll note the texts we need to cross reference if you'et set started on the first one?"

"You’re the boss Mr Librarian" she nodded and moved to pick up one of the texts he had indicated earlier. It was going to be the longest hour of her life but it may just turn out to be worth it, after all the fantasies sounded intriguing and she was a sucker for a good bedtime story.

When she finally found the passage it was an anti climax. He had moved to the armchair and was reading when she said quietly "I think I've found it".

Because she didn't sound excited he didn't quite get her drift. "Mmm that's good" he mumbled then suddenly dropped the book he was reading and moved to join her.

He looked over her shoulder and read the chapter she had found. "Oh dear lord" he finally managed and moved back to the chair with his glasses in his hand.

"Well it certainly explains a lot" she sighed and moved to the sofa. "Buffy and I thought you were certain one of us was going to be killed and that was why you kept it a secret but this makes much more sense". She looked at her watch "I'll wait till the morning to tell Buffy and Xander"


"No" he said quietly and she wasn't sure she had heard him correctly. He finally shook his head and put his glasses back on. "You can't tell Buffy or Xander about this".

"Don't idicidiculous of course we have to tell them" she began then saw the anguish on his face. "Don't we?" she ended uncertainly.

Giles sighed and explained, in a quiet but determined voice, exactly why she couldn't tell the others.

"You're worrying over nothing" she finally said to him. "The chances of these events recurring are remote".

He shook his head. "You, of all people should understand, in Sunnydale these events could occur every week and I can't have the slayer being distracted by worrying about me"

Willow was pacing again. "OK, lets think about this rationally".

"I thought that was what I was doing!" he said, getting a little angry.

She ignored him. "Bolak is an ancient demon ws abs able to move to a new ‘host’ human body, we're not sure how yet, but is hell bent on avenging the death of his original body by a slayer several hundred years ago. In order to achieve this he enlists the services of vampires"

"Exactly" he nodded and started pacing as well. "Which is exactly the reason why this revenge motive won't disappear any time soon. If he didn't die during the last battle he'll be back and just because his plan didn't work first time around doesn't mean he won't try it again!"

"Which is exactly why we have to tell Buffy and Xander what we are all up against!" she was frustrated that he couldnsee see the obvious point she was making.

"But the prophecy says that 'during the battle the one who watches will lay down his life and, only through his death will the slayer escape and vengeance be served' " he translated from the manuscript in his hand.

"Look" Willow said in an exasperated tone. "We beat him last time and you didn't die but you're telling me the only way to get rid of him for good is for you to sacrifice yourself?" When he didn't respond she started to get angry again. "Why don’t I just stake you thh thh the heart right now, that should sort him right out!"


Giles was now getting angry as well. “You don’t understand anything. If I tell Buffy and Xander then they will prevent me from taking part in the next attack on Bolak and she may die” His face crumbled a little and Willow took a deep breath and bit back the comment she was about to make. “You may not believe it but I would sacrifice myself to allow the slayer to continue her work”

She was staring at him in horror he he moved to be beside her on the sofa. “I’m not saying I’m going to commit suicide as a noble sacrifice but I don’t think it’s a good idea to put any more pressure on Buffy to protect me. After the last battle she’s already going to be distracted and watching my back instead of her own”

“I just don’t think I can do this” Willow whispered. “We’ve finally admitted how we feel about each other and I don’t want to lose you before we’ve had a chance to see if this will wor
“I
“I know love” he said as he took her in his arms. “It’s going to be very difficult for you but now you can see why I didn’t tell you before. I couldn’t admit my feelings for you, only to disappear from your life a short time later”

Eventually she ran out of steam and gave up putting the same arguments to him time and time again. “I know I can’t stop you but you also can’t stop me from telling Buffy and Xander what I know!”

He looked at her and nodded sadly. “I don’t think I’ve ever been able to make you do something you didn’t want to, but I can appeal to your conscience” She looked sceptically at him, unable to think of anything he could say that would change her mind.

“I just don’t think we could live with ourselves, as individuals or a couple, if anything happened to Buffy because she was being over protective of me” he looked away from the pain in her eyes. After a few minutes of silence he roused himself. “Can I give you a lift home?”

She looked at him as if she had forgotten he was there. “No it’s OK, it’ll be dawn in half an hour and I think I’d like the walk to try and clear my head”. She stared into his eyes, noticing the tiredness etched in the lines and black marks around them. Even when he was exhausted and rumpled she found herself wanting to kiss him. She noticed him leaning against the chair and pinching his nose. “Are you OK” she asked in a worried tone.

“I’m just a little ti he he replied. “This is the first all night research session I’ve done since the accident and I’d forgotten how much they take out of you”

“You should get to bed, I’ll just tidy up a few things here and then I’ll head off”


He was dog tired and, although he hated to leave her alone with her thoughts he knew he needed to get some sleep soon or he would pass out and that would only worry her more. “If you’re sure” he mumbled and headed for bed.

Willow phoneffy ffy early Saturday morning. "Buffy, we found it".

Buffy whooped. "And it was good news, right, the prophecy is finished with?"

She sounded a little worried towards the end of that sentence and Willow tried to sound certain. "Yup, nothing to worry about any more"

"Excellent, let's meet funchunch and celebrate" Buffy sensed a little hesitation. "Willow, are you OK?"

"Sure, I just didn't get much sleep last night" Willow realised that this was the truth, although not all o.
.

"Hey why don't I bring some sandwiches to the dorm and we can have lunch there?"

"Well" Willow hesitated again and sensed her friend getting impatient. "I'm not at the dorm, I stayed at Giles' place last night" she eventually admitted.

"Willow" Buffy yelled. "No wonder you didn’t get any sleep!"

Willow sighed long sufferingly. "We were researching until 5.30 this morning"

"Oh" Willow could almost here her winking. "Is that what we're calling it now?"

"Buffy please" Willow said a little more forcefully. "I want to tidy up some of our notes and check Giles is OK before I leave. Perhaps we can talk about this later?"

Giles groaned and turned over as the sunlight crept through a gap in his bedroom curtains. He realised that his head ached and he had a horrible taste in his mouth. After ten minutes of trying to regain the bliss of unconsciousness he gave up and pulled on his robe over his pyjamas. Wiping sleep from his eyes he headed downstairs to the kitchen for some breakfast and was surprised to find Willow lying on the sofa, fast asleep. She had used the throw from the sofa as a blanket and he gently replaced it over her where it had slipped off.


She woke thirty minutes later and found him sitting in the chair nursing a mug of tea and concentrating on a newspaper in his lap. She thought about lying still and watching him for a while but a bone-crac yaw yawn gave the game away and he looked up as she stretched and shook herself fully awake.

"I didn't know you had decided to stay" he said quietly. "I would have given you the bed and I would have taken the sofa"

She smiled gently and headed for the kitchen. "You're still officially the patient remember, besides I'm kind of getting used to the lumpiness of your sofa"

When she returned with her own tea he laid the newspaper aside. "Perhaps we should talk about whappeappened last night?" Her head had ducked and he sighed. "Please Willow, neither of us can go on like this for much longer"

"Before we do I need you to know that I phoned Buffy this morning and told her everything was fine.” Her voice was flat as if she didn’t know which emotion came top of the list of pain, hurt, fear, betrayal and sorrow that were running through her at that moment. “How much do you remember from before your accident?" she asked in a small vo sti still not meeting his gaze.

He nodded in reply to her statement but knew that nothing he could say to her now would make her decision any easier to live with. Instead he answered her question. "I'll need to check with Fraser but I think I've got pretty much everything till about two weeks before the fight" He put down his mug and moved over to sit beside her on the sofa. "I know this is difficult for you but keeping the prophecy from the others is the only way I can think of to keep them safe in the future". She nodded but still wouldn't meet his eyes. "Please Willow, if you can think of another way tell me!"

"I know you're right about this, it just doesn't make it any easier on you and I hate having to lie to Buffy and Xander" she was speaking quietly and finally looked up at him.

"About the memories you’re missing, I have something to tell you which may mean you'll feel differently about me"

He looked intrigued sat sat back. "I doubt that but please tell me what you know". He knew that she was about to let him in on the secret that they had all been keeping from him for the last two weeks. A strange sense of foreboding came over him but he pushed it down and smiled gently to encourage her to be



"OK" she blew out her cheeks. "I'm going to have to fill in some background so stick with me". He nodded and she continued. "It begins with the fight with the vampires at the crypt, where we lost the book they were reading from?" Again he nodded that he remembered that much. "Anyway, after that we were all pretty much in full-on research mode. I don't think any of us left this apartment for the next week except to pick up food and patrol. Eventually Buffy and I had to attend some classes and Xander had to persuade Anya that he hadn't been horribly disfigured and was hiding u the the scars healed" she rolled her eyes and he smiled. "We all helped you as much as we could but you were really intense and eventually Buffy and Xander checked in every day but left the researching to you and I".

He laughed a little "No change there then!"

She smiled as well. "Buffy covered for me and we spent the next week tracking down the leads we've just followed again." She seemed a little more nervous as she reached this stage. "Near the end of the second week we were both pretty much dead on our feet and I fell asleep at the table. While I was sleeping you obviously got lucky and skipped a few steps to come upon the manuscript that prophesied your own death and then decided to keep it from all of us, including me"

She still couldn’t believe that he had decided to keep her in the dark about this, but took a deep breath to gather her emotions and continued. "I was out for about four hours but it was long enough for you to destroy the notes we'd made and hide the manuscripts which le to to this stage. By the time I woke up you told me you had found the prophecy but it was nothing to worry about and we should go ahead with the attack as planned". A silence fell between them. "We know now that Buffy would only have stopped you from joining in the attack" she said in a quiet voice and he nodded his agreement. He was about to answer her when she shook her head. "We're getting ahead of my story"

"So" she straightened up on the sofa and ran her hands through her hair. "We all think that the battle is going ahead as prophesied and we have the usual odds stacked against us but nothing more serious than the end of the world rests on the result". She looked at him to check that he was following her and also to see if he showed any sign of remembering any of it. "About this point I begin to wonder whether the signs I'm picking up from you are really telling me what I think they are or if I am just wishful thinking"


He sat up himself and took more notice. "That's the second time you've mentioned that, but I was trying not to show my feelings around you!" he protested.

She shook her head and smiled indulgently. "I eventually realised that three months of being madly in love with you may end with one or other of us dying in the attack without the other knowing how we felt. I decided to act on an impulse and simply ask you whether you wanted me as much as I wa you you".

She noticed his jaw slacken a little as he understood what she was saying and she continued, determined to get this out in the open once and for all. "Anyway I finally plucked up the courage the night before the attack and, even though I say so myself, I thought it was a well thought out and reasoned argument I put to you for us to be together!" she smiled a little.

"You did?" he looked completely bewildered and obviously still had no recollection of the events she was relating. "What did I say?" he asked and swallowed nervously, he knew it wasn't going to be a good answer.

"You flat out denied having any feelings of that nature for me" she let the import of that sink in and took a few seconds to ensure she didn't cry over the next few minutes. "You told me that I was a good friend but you didn't love me any more than you loved Buffy and Xander and you were happy with that state of affairs and saw no reason to change the status quo" she was obviously quoting his exact phrases.

"Oh my god Willow" he swallowed. "What have I done to you?" He reached out to touch her hand and looked into her eyes. "I obviously thought it was for the best but if I had known how much I was hurting you .. how can you ever forgive me?"

She frowned a little but left her hand in his, he felt soft and warm and she needed that right now. "At the time I was shocked, I mean I didn't think I could have beo wro wrong in interpreting the looks, dilated pupils and increased respiration from you whenever we were near each other. After the shock wore off I got angry and we had a blazing row". He used his free hand to remove his glasses and pinch his nose.

"We both said things which were very hurtful. If I had known then tyou you were only trying to protect us from the knowledge of the prophecy I wouldn't have dreamed of saying the things I said, but you had made me feel pretty awful and I wasn't thinking straight".


She sounded as if she wasn't too sure whether to continue but he replaced his glasses and covered her hand with both of his. "Please continue, I need to hear all of this before I can start to repair the damage I inflicted".

"That was pretty much it" she sighed. "During the battle you saved my life, as usual, and then, because of me, you got hit upside the head with a very large tree trunk thingy and I thought you had died" she had tried to be matter of fact about this but she finally broke down. "It was terrible" she sobbed. "I thought you were dead and the last thing we had done was argue and say horrid things to each other".

He held onto her for ten minutes, although her crying had subsided after a couple of minutes and he kept her in his arms until her breathing returned to normal.

"I'm sorry about your PJ's" she said as she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt.

He glanced down at the damp patch on the front of his top and shrugged. "I have some questions but I need some time to think about this and I guess I should be getting changed anyway, can you put the kettle on again while I grab a quick shower?"

He stood under the water jets and tried to remember anything of what Willow had just told him. Shaking his head he angrily muttered “Shit” and turned the water off. All of his adult life he had been able to rely on his intellect and reasoning to get him out of most situations. He had never before experienced a prolonged period without these most precious assets. Even when he had been drinking heavily or indulging in soft drugs he had always been aware of what he was doing and the consequences, although he would never admit this to Buffy or her mother!

Ever since he had regained consciousness he had been completely at a loss to understand or rationalize his feelings for this young woman. He could now remember her as a child when they first met and feel slightly guilty that, after only a few years, he could envisage erotic encounters without too much effort. Indeed many of his most recent fantasies came unbidden, although not unwelcome.

Sighing he finished toweling himself dry and groaned at the reaction from hisy. “y. “Oh bloody hell, not now” he muttered and moved to get dressed as quickly as he could.


She heard him moving around in his bedroom and set the breakfast out on the table. Stifling another yawn she remembered that her sleep patterns had been disturbed by thoughts of Giles, in one way or another, for several weeks now. She smiled wearily and sat down to daydream about their picnic. She was remembering their first kiss when she heard him cough gently from the stairs.

“Willow, I’m sorry to disturb you but you can have a few hours in bed if you want” her eyebrows automatically shot up at this phrase matching her fantasy almost exactly and she laughed a little when she saw him blush bright red. “To catch up on your sleep I mean” he mumbled.

She shook her head and tried not to laugh again at his embarrassment but she failed dismally and heard him sigh as he moved towards the breakfast she had set out.

“I’m definitely getting too old for this” he mumbled and poured them both some coffee.

“Were you always like this with women?” she asked in a wondering tone.

“I could lie and say that I used to be a stud but the head trauma has turned me into a bumbling idiot?” he left the sentence unfinished but she started to laugh again. “Or I could tell the truth and say that there haven’t been that many women to practice on and they didn’t stay long enough to allow me to perfect my technique” he was laughing as well now.

“What are we going to do?” Willow asked as she buttered some toast for him. “Now that we both know how we feel abeacheach other, I don’t think I can go back to being Scooby gang members and nothing else”

He looked at her for a few seconds, as if gauging his reply very carefully. “I really don’t believe for a minute that Fred and Daphne were celibate, do you?” he asked in a quiet voice.

“Giles!” she squealed. “You know who was in the Scooby Gang!” Immediately she finished this sentence the meaning of what he had said reached her cognitive reasoning center, which immediately passed everything onto her adrenal glands and she had jumped into his arms before she realized what was happening.

A slight groan escaped his lips as she crushed his slice of toast against his shirt but then his glands took over as well and his brain shut down for several minutes.